Scarlet had embraced wedding planning which thrilled Cole. They set a date in early spring for their wedding in the mountains. All the neighboring clubs would be present as well as the Sinners, her Dad’s former club and the one she’d grown up in. It was going to be a huge party and a hell of a lot of fun.
For now, the wedding on everyone’s mind was Connie and Wes’. It was in just a few days and both Sal and I were busy with groomsmen and bridesmaid duties. This basically meant we needed to be able to throw back a shot and, in my case, shake my ass on the dance floor.
I may not have grown up in a club or been around bikers except for the past year, but I fit in fine. These were my friends, my family and I loved how they let their hair down, partied hard, and loved deeply.
“One more, Kat, come on!” Connie hollered, squealing in delight as we stood at the packed bar in the dance club downtown. She’d decided to have her bachelorette party several days before the wedding so she’d have time to recover. And judging by the way we were going tonight, she had made a smart decision.
The guys were across town doing god knows what for Wes’ bachelor party. Ryker and Jeb, another prospect, were on the hook for watching us tonight and I didn’t envy their job. By the time we left, they’d have some very drunk females to wrangle.
I threw back the latest shot, wincing only slightly as the liquor burned sweet and smooth down my throat. Scarlet shook her head at me, smiling ruefully at my antics.
“Let’s dance!” Ettie cried over the music, and the four of us made our way to the dance floor. There had been a few other girls with us earlier in the night–Connie’s friends from work but they’d started dropping off, leaving just the four of us to close things down.
I was sweating from both dancing and the crush of bodies, and I was ready for a break when Connie hollered that she needed to use the bathroom. I agreed to go with her; we were operating on the buddy system as we always did when we went out. I noted how Jeb stepped away from the wall he’d been leaning against to follow us at a distance.
When we entered the empty bathroom, the subdued bass was a relief from the noise outside. We giggled drunkenly while talking through the stalls as we peed and then washed our hands side by side.
We were about to head back out when Jeb came stumbling into the bathroom clutching his side, his eyes wide and face ashen. My lip-gloss clattered into the sink as my hands flew to try to catch him. Two men followed immediately behind, shoving Jeb to the ground and securing the door behind them.
I was able to half catch him as his big body dropped to the ground. He groaned loudly in pain yet managed to sit up against the wall, his face a mask of agony.
My body stiffened when the second man turned to face me. It was the bastard who’d attacked me.
His evil face turned into a satisfied smirk. “I was hoping I’d see you again,” he said as he licked his lips, his tone sinister. His eyes trailed my bare legs and form-fitting dress.
My gaze snapped down to Jeb’s slumped form and back to the two imposing men.
Oh, shit. This was bad. Very, very bad. It looked like Jeb had been stabbed. He needed to get to a hospital immediately, and Connie and I were in a seriously vulnerable position. I looked over at my friend, finding her eyes shocked and face pale. She looked ready to faint and I grimaced, clearly no help to be had there.
Any trace of intoxication fled my body, and I was suddenly stone-cold sober with adrenaline coursing through my veins. I’d learned some badass self-defense in my kickboxing class, and I was stronger than I’d ever been. But, taking on two huge, armed men wasn’t in the cards for me. So, I figured my only option was to keep them talking.
“What do you want with us?” I asked as I stood defensively in front of Connie whose breathing was coming faster as the minutes passed. If she passed out shit was going to go downhill fast, or more downhill than it already was.
The other man grinned and I looked at him closely for the first time before gasping in surprise. “You’re Allen Parker! You were at one of Sal’s parties,” I recalled with confusion.
I remembered the night well. Parker, as everyone seemed to call him, had been hitting on Scarlet. She’d later told me Parker and Cole were old enemies. Parker had been a prospect once, before he’d betrayed the Knights.
Parker grinned at me with a satisfied gleam in his eye. “I am,” he admitted. “I’m also the one who loaned your ma’s old man forty Gs with interest,” he added, pulling a large knife out from his back pocket and tossing it back and forth between his palms. Jeb groaned in frustration at being useless on the ground.
“What do you want with me?” I demanded, the blood whirring in my ears as I eyed his blade.
“You got forty Gs, gorgeous?” he asked with a satisfied smirk. He knew I didn’t.
I shook my head, swallowing the giant lump in my throat. I’d never felt fear like this, and I’d been in some pretty fucked up situations.
“I figured. Really, it was never about the money,” he said. “That pathetic bastard, Stu, approached me. Somehow your name came up, and I saw an opportunity to fuck with Sal’s girl,” he said as he cocked his head to the side, drawing closer still. “Really, I should thank you. I’m having so much fuckin’ fun,” he added, nearly gleeful.
Somehow I didn’t think his version of thank you was the same as mine.
“I think I’ll mark you, what do you say to my initials on your forearm?” he asked as he grinned, pulling my arm in his steel grip to jerk my body toward his. “That’ll really piss him off.”
I screamed the loudest, earsplitting scream I could muster, desperately trying to pull away from his grasp.
“No? How about your belly? Then Armstrong can look at my name every time he wants to fuck you.” He pulled my arm to his lips, giving me a loud, wet kiss.
I shuddered and wanted to vomit.
“Parker, man, we’ve already been in here too long,” creep number two noted nervously, holding a now struggling Connie and eyeing the door with unease.