Chapter Four
King
“Before we go inside, you need to know a few rules,” I tell Madeline as she exits the car.
We’re currently sitting in the parking lot of the Obsidian MC. I called Ghost before we left Madeline’s house and told him that I needed a meeting with the brothers. I want to get this job done as quickly as possible so that I can get this woman out of my life.
“This is a motorcycle club,” I tell her. “There is a hierarchy that we follow. My brother, Ghost, is the one in charge. However, you’re still under my protection. If there is a closed-door meeting that you have not been invited to, do not go inside. Do not linger near the door. Those meetings are for patched members only.”
“I know how a motorcycle club runs,” she tells me. “My best friend is the enforcer in his.”
“What club?” I ask, testing her statement.
“The Wounded Souls over in Manchester,” she says. “Dillon and I met in college and he told me that he was prospecting to become a patched member. He was a brother for several years and was recently patched in as the Enforcer. He and his wife eat, live, and breathe that club.”
“The Wounded Souls’ Enforcer is Blackhawk,” I tell her, feeling a little skeptical about her story. “He’s almost as demented as I am. How do you know about him?”
“I just told you,” she says. “We went to college together. Dillon was always a happy man. He would walk around singing for no reason whatsoever. It’s why we got along so well. Because we were both happy people.”
“Now I know you’re lying,” I tell her. “We did a deep dive search on you and not once did we see a connection to another club. And Blackhawk is never fucking happy. He’s moodier than Steel.”
She looks at me with hurt in her eyes. I don’t know why she’s hurt when she’s the one lying to me.
“I don’t know who Steel is,” she says pulling out her phone. “But I don’t think I want to be your friend, anymore.”
“Good. We were never going to be friends, Madeline. I’m going to save your life so that you can get out of mine.”
She flinches and I almost feel bad.
I hate fucking liars.
“Who are you calling?” I ask. “We need to get rid of your phone.”
She pulls her cell from her ear and hits a button.
“Woman, you know good and well that I don’t get my ass out of bed until noon,” someone says through the speaker. “Not that I’m not happy to hear from you. It’s been over a week since you called. Molly and I were planning a trip to Harborbrook to come and visit for a few days. I miss you, Shortcake.”
“I miss you too,” she tells the man. “There’s a lot that I need to tell you and you’re not going to be happy I didn’t tell you sooner. But that’s not why I called. I need you to state your real name, your road name, your club’s name, and your rank in the club.”
“What the fuck, Maddy,” the man shouts. With the sleep out of his voice, he sure does sound familiar. “What aren’t you telling me? Are you okay?”
“What’s going on?” a soft female voice says.
“Something’s wrong with Maddy,” the man answers.
“I knew we should have gone out there sooner.”
“Guys, please stop talking,” Maddy sighs. “Please, just say what I need you to say so that I can shove something in someone’s face and I promise to tell you everything.”
“Fuck. Fine. My name is Dillon Brown but everyone calls me Blackhawk except for my wife, Molly, and my secret-keeping best friend, Maddy. I’m the enforcer for the Wounded Souls MC and if you do not tell me what the fuck is going on I swear on all things holy that I will fly out there, kidnap you, lock you in this house, and never let you eat another Slim Jim for as long as you live.”
“You wouldn’t?”
“Try me, woman.”
Feeling fully chagrined, I decide to take charge of the situation.
“Blackhawk, it’s nice to hear your voice, brother.”
“Brother?” Maddy says, her mouth wide open.
“Who the fuck… King? What are you doing with my girl? Wait, she isn’t your target, is she? Damnit King, if you so much as harm a hair on her head I will find a way to fucking kill you.”
“Relax, brother,” I smile. “Her father hired me to protect her. Listen, I’ll call you later and we can fill you in on the situation. Just know that Madeline is safe. I need to get her inside and update my club.”
“Maddy, I’m coming down,” Blackhawk says. “I don’t know what’s going on but you’re clearly in trouble if your father hired a fucking killer to protect you. I’ll be down in two days. You better not fucking die before I get there.”
“So, it’s okay if I die after you arrive?” she smiles.
I growl my own warning along with her friend. I may not want this woman in my life but I really fucking hate the images that flash behind my eyes of her dead body.
“Where will she be, King?” Blackhawk asks.
“Undecided,” I admit. “That’s one of the things I need to talk to my club about. I’ll update you later this evening. Talk soon.”
“Bye, Dillon. Bye, Molly. Love you, both.”
“Love you, too, Maddy,” the woman responds. “Stay safe.”
“Damnit, Shortcake, I can’t lose you. Do as King says. I’ll see you in a couple of days. If not sooner. Love you, little sister.”
With that, the call ends.
“So, you know Blackhawk,” I say. “Why not tell him about the threats? He’s more than capable of protecting you.”
“At first it was because I wasn’t too worried about it,” she tells me. “Then it got to the point that I was fearing for my life and I didn’t want to put him and Molly in a situation where they could get hurt. The only reason my parents knew was because daddy walked in on me one day when I was having a panic attack. I wouldn’t have told them either if that had never happened.”
“Were you expecting the threats to simply go away?” I ask, incredulously.
“Sort of,” she whispers. “That’s all in the past. Can we please get this meeting started? I’m bound to say more things that make me sound stupid and naive and I just want to get it over with so I can go somewhere alone and wallow in my embarrassment.”
“King, you two going to stand out here all fucking day? I’m starving and Ghost won’t let me order food until after this damn meeting. Hurry the fuck up.”
“We best go before Blaze withers away to nothing,” I laugh. “Come on, Madeline.”
***Maddy***
Come on, Madeline.
I feel like I’m on my way to the principal’s office.
King needs to get down off his high horse.
Freaking jerk.
I was so hurt that he didn’t believe me about Dillon. What reason would I have to lie? Especially about something like that. Seeing the shock on his face when Dillon mentioned who he was, made me a very happy woman. That man needs to be taken down a peg or ten.
However, nothing prepared me for the shock when I found out that Dillon and his Royal Jerkness knew one another. Dillon’s club is many hours from Harborbrook and I wasn’t expecting that.
“When my men ask you questions, you will answer them with the full truth,” King demands. “No half-truths. Even if you’re embarrassed. We need all of the information we ask for to protect you and figure out who is behind this. I mean it, Madeline. No lies.”
“I don’t lie,” I glare at his back as he leads me through the building. “I haven’t told a single lie to you, King. Why would I?”
“I hate liars, Madeline. Lying gets people killed in my line of work. I need complete honestly. Be sure to never lie.”
Freaking jerk. Can’t believe I ever that he was sexy.
We enter a room with a large table right smack dab in the center. Around the table are nine men looking right at me.
“Have a seat, Madeline,” King orders.
Seeing as how there is only one seat left, I walk over and sit. King stands right behind me.
Now I feel trapped.
“This is Madeline. She will tell you her story and then you may ask any questions you like. She will be completely honest. Isn’t that right, Madeline?”
Freaking jerk.