Chapter 35
Demon felt Ronnie’s body tense for a moment when he’d said Amber was growing too fast. He couldn’t help but wonder what was running through her head.
This wasn’t the time or place to ask, but he’d find out later.
He wanted to question Krissi about that call she’d been on when they came in.
He was pretty sure she’d been on the phone with her father.
As far as Demon knew, she didn’t speak to him.
That she was on the phone with him, combined with what he’d heard, he could only hope that Ronnie would be safe soon.
But he couldn’t ask here. That was club business, and he would have to wait to ask his questions until they were behind closed doors, in the room they made sure was clean of bugs, cameras or any other spyware.
He wanted to make sure Ronnie was comfortable and occupied before he disappeared on her, even if it was only for a few minutes, until he could find out what was going on.
It only took a few minutes for Ronnie to start to relax. He gave her a tour of the clubhouse, or at least the main level.
“I’ll take you up stairs and show you my room later.” He lifted his eyebrows a couple of times until her face turned pink, then he tilted his head toward one of the pool tables. “You play?”
“Not in a long time.” She glanced toward the table, then around the room, as if trying to decide if she was ready to expose that much of herself in front of these people.
“Come on, firecracker, live a little,” he whispered close enough that she would be the only one to hear.
She took a deep breath, met his gaze, and nodded. “Let’s play. Just don’t expect me to be good.”
Demon couldn’t help the grin he wore. “Come on, this will be fun.” He didn’t care how good she was.
If she really sucked, then he would have fun teaching her.
Either way, he’d get to tease and talk to her.
Not to mention watch her as she bent over to line up shots.
No, it didn’t matter how good she was, he’d enjoy it either way, and he’d do his best to make sure she had fun too.
He wanted her to enjoy coming over here and to like his brothers and their ol’ ladies.
The Souls were a big part of his life. He wanted her to have as much invested in it as he did.
They’d played one game and there were only four balls left on the table, one of his, two of hers and the eight ball, when Beth, London, and Dana came in.
The way they all came in together, along with their chattering and laughter, told Demon they’d been somewhere together.
He didn’t want to know what they’d been up to.
“Hey, who’s this?” London said, approaching them with one hand on her hip.
“This is Ronnie,” Demon said. “Ronnie, this is London, she’s Tuck, my president’s ol’ lady. To the left is Dana, she’s with Maverick, and the one on the right, who looks like she’s going to pop any day, is Beth.” He left it at that, wondering if she would remember what Krissi had told her earlier.
“Beth is with Sadist, right?” Ronnie asked, glancing at him then turning back to the girls. Apprehension crossed her face, but she smiled and moved forward to greet them all. “Nice to meet you.”
“What are you guys up to?” Beth tilted her head to one side.
“He’s taking pity on me and teaching me some basics.
Actually, he’s trying to distract me from my world falling apart and burning to the ground around me.
” Her smile turned tremulous as she turned away and came back to him.
Several emotions flashed across her face, making him wonder what she was thinking.
Was she coming to him because she knew he would be there for her?
Was she looking for some kind of comfort?
He could, and would, do both, but did she know that or was she just hoping?
Was she just using him, and returning to his side as a chance to regain her composure?
“I’m sorry. We can help distract you too, if you’d like,” London said, watching the way Ronnie retreated to Demon, but not commenting on it. “We’re going to go over there, make Puck bring us drinks while we gossip, giggle and in general, annoy the guys. Come join us. It will be fun.”
“Well, everyone will be drinking but me,” Beth rubbed her swollen belly. “But you can have one for me, and I’ll just have to cut loose after this little monster makes his appearance.”
Demon’s gaze flicked back to Ronnie, who had stopped a bare couple of inches from touching him. He looked down at her for a moment, neither of them saying a word. Demon cocked one brow, still waiting for her to tell him what she wanted to do.
“It’s your turn. You can stop going easy on me. Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go have a drink or two. You can do whatever it is you’ve been waiting to do.”
“I don’t mind if you want to go have a drink but what makes you think I’m waiting to do anything but take you upstairs?” he asked with a frown.
“Cause upstairs isn’t through those doors over there and you glance over there every couple of minutes.
” She set one hand on his chest, then stretched up and leaned close enough to drop a quick kiss on his lips.
“Thank you for distracting me today. It’s one of the nicer things anyone has ever done for me.
” Her voice was soft enough that only he could hear.
“Okay. Go have your drink, I’ll take care of this.
” He hadn’t been aware she’d noticed him watching as Tuck, then Sadist had gone in, Gizmo was still at the bar, though he’d stopped by for a few minutes and met Ronnie on his way to get something to eat.
Demon took her cue stick from her and added it to his own to be put away.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be, but as long as you’re inside this building, you’ll be safe. My brothers will make sure of it.”
“They’re not all going in there with you?”
Demon shook his head. “It’s not a full meeting, and even if it was, Puck and Boomer are prospects, they would be out here either way.”
“Oh. Then go do your thing. I have my phone if I need anything.”
“That’s good, babe, but I won’t have my phone. If you need me or anything, just talk to Puck. He’ll either come get me or take care of it for you.”
Ronnie nodded, but didn’t ask any more questions. Maybe her obsession with that stupid TV show that got more things wrong than right was good for something. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her forehead.
“Go get to know the girls, firecracker. Enjoy yourself. I’ll be here for you.
” He used one hand to turn her around then, unable to resist, he smacked her ass as she started to walk away.
She turned and shot him a smoldering look over her shoulder that made his cock twitch in his jeans.
He wanted to take her upstairs and fuck her hard, until she screamed his name.
But that would wait. First he had to find out what that call between Krissi and her father meant.
He watched as she turned back to the women.
“I’m in.” She grinned. “How good is this Puck behind the bar? Are we looking at shots and beer or can I ask for something more exotic?”
London shrugged. “He’s got a phone and google.
Order what you want. What’s the worst he can do?
Say no?” She laughed, hooked an arm around one of Ronnie’s and towed her along with them as they moved to the corner booth someone had found and stuck along one wall.
For some reason he didn’t understand, the women gravitated toward that one table every time they were together and drinking, which he had to admit, wasn’t as often as it once was.
Once he was satisfied she was occupied, Demon caught Puck’s eye and waved him over.
“Hey, congrats,” Puck said as he clapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks. They surprised me with it a couple of days ago.”
“No party?” Puck asked.
“It’s coming. They probably wouldn’t have given it to me until then, but I had something come up that they decided I needed it early.”
Puck nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Speaking of. I’m about to head in.” He tilted his head toward the room where they held all their meetings.
“Keep an eye on her for me? The Devils are after her, and I’m doing what I can to keep her out of their hands.
” Demon shook his head as his mind flashed on images of what could happen to Ronnie if the Devils got their hands on her and sold her like he was sure they planned.
“Sure. Anything special?”
“Not really. She should be fine as long as she stays inside.”
“Think she’ll try to make a run for it once you’re out of sight?” Puck didn’t look at Demon as he spoke but watched where the girls laughed and sipped at whatever drinks he’d taken them.
“No. She knows she’s in danger and is going along with staying out of sight.” He didn’t say that had taken her being shot at for her to admit there might be something to what Demon and Gavin had been trying to tell her, that was none of Puck’s business.
“No problem. If there’s trouble, I know where you are.”
“Exactly. And thanks.” Demon clapped Puck on the shoulder then headed for the meeting room, dropping his phone in the bin that hung outside the door for them on his way by. He left the door open, because Gizmo would be joining them soon, he had no doubt.
“Come on in and have a seat,” Tuck said, motioning toward the length of the long solid wood table surrounded by rolling chairs.
“I know those are for officers, but what about the rest of them? Who sits where?” He didn’t want to steal anyone’s chair.
“First come first serve,” Sadist said with a shake of his head.
“Good to know.” Demon moved to a seat near the end where Tuck and Sadist already sat, but not too close in case Maverick or Ruger showed up. “What do we know?”
“Nothing yet,” Sadist said. “But Giz said he’d be here soon, and he has news.”
“He’s out at the bar. I assumed he was waiting for food.”
Tuck nodded. Whether he was acknowledging Demon or agreeing with him, Demon wasn’t sure.
“Things looked pretty cozy between you and the bounty hunter. I take it things are going well between you?”
Demon nodded. He didn’t know how much to say. He’d been willing to walk away from the club for her, even before he’d slept with her. That alone ought to tell his brothers something. He’d thought they’d understood when he’d brought in his prospect kutte, but maybe not.
“Good. After everything we’ve done, I can only hope she’s around for a while.”
“Unless I manage to totally fuck things up, she’ll always be around. She’s the one for me, I thought you got that.”
“I do.” Tuck gave him a wry smile. “But we can never tell how they feel about our knowledge, and I know better than to think you would force a woman to stay in a situation she doesn’t want to be in.”
Demon met his gaze and gave him a single nod. Gizmo came in, carrying a plate of food. The scent coming off the plate made Demon’s mouth water.
“Are we ready to close the door and get down to business?” Demon asked, hopeful. He wanted to know what was going on.
“Not quite. Ruger and Krissi are just a few minutes behind me.”
Demon scowled and wondered if that call they’d heard when they came in was about Ronnie after all.
“If we’re still waiting on them, I’ll be right back.” He stood, didn’t bother to wait for an answer, and went back in the main room. After using the restroom, he stopped by where the girls were still crowded into the booth talking and laughing.
“Doing okay, firecracker?” he murmured next to her ear as he bent close and dropped a quick kiss on top of her head.
“Yeah. I’m good. Everything okay?” She tilted her head back to look up at him.
Demon nodded. “I’m going to be in a meeting soon. If you need me, or anything, just let Puck know.”
“Will do.” She gave him an indulgent smile.
“I know I already told you, but we are waiting for a couple more people. If you get hungry, talk to Puck. He’ll know what’s available and get it for you.”
She nodded. ‘I’ll figure it out. It’s not like you’re going to be in there for the next six months. I’m not going to starve to death.”
“We’ll make sure she’s taken care of, Demon,” Beth said.
Demon turned to his VP’s ol’ lady. “Thank you,” he said with a nod. “Please stay inside, at least for now. I’m working on getting things taken care of for good, but she’s got bad news looking for her.”
“We can do that.”
He leaned down and dropped a hard kiss on her mouth. She softened, leaning into him and responding so that the kiss turned hot and consuming in no time.
“Demon!” Sadist’s voice penetrated the haze that had descended over his brain when Ronnie had melted against him.
“Sorry, firecracker, I’ve got to go,” he said, pulling away from her. He wished he could sweep her into his arms and never let go, but he couldn’t, not yet.
“Go. I’ll be here.” She shooed him away with one hand, then turned back to the women at the table.
He might have been hurt, if he wasn’t the one walking away and leaving her in an unfamiliar situation. Thankfully, she didn’t seem uncomfortable. That would only have made things harder.
Forcing himself to leave her, he turned and went to the meeting room. There, Ruger and Krissi had joined the others and were seated at the table.
“Everyone here?” he asked as he stopped just inside the door.
“Yes,” Tuck said. “Go ahead and close the door.”
Demon closed and locked the door before returning to the seat he’d had before and sitting down.
He was ready for this to be over so he could take Ronnie out without having to look over their shoulder all the time.
So she could go about her life without worrying if someone was going to kidnap her and sell her into a miserable life.