Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
I’m pulling my hair out at the roots. “Is she going to be okay?”
Doc chuckles. “If you give us some room to breathe she will be. Quit hovering.”
I can’t help it. I might not ever stop hovering.
He stands up and smiles at Katie. “Rest for a while and drink that water with electrolytes. You’ll be feeling good as new in no time.”
She nods, but her eyes are still too wide, her skin is still too pale. I almost launch myself at her to check her pulse again.
“The woman’s been through a lot today,” Doc says as he punches me in the shoulder as I force myself to stay still. “Get her some real food and try not to scare the shit out of her again today.”
He walks out of my quarters, shutting the door.
I hardly know what to say and that’s never a problem for me. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”
Katie laughs softly, her eyes narrowing.
How can she be laughing?
“You look like the one who might faint now.”
“You fucking scared the life out of me. I almost didn’t catch you before you hit the pavement.”
She shrugs and sips through the straw Doc put in the cup of water.
Where the hell did he get a straw? Not like we have that kind of shit around here. This is a fucking rough-and-tumble biker clubhouse.
Katie shakes her head, saying in a light tone, “I would have been fine. I had a helmet on.”
Oh my fucking god.
I drop down onto the edge of the bed, making the frame shake and she scoots over to give some more room for me.
Instead of me comforting her, she rubs my shoulder. “Easy there, big guy. All that stress isn’t good for your blood pressure.”
“No shit,” I groan.
There’s a valve inside my head that’s in serious danger of failing. I rub the back of my neck trying to release the muscles.
When Slider signaled me we had a tail, I almost lost my shit.
Fuck those motherfuckers.
They will not get near my Katie.
“You’re growling. What are you thinking about?”
I turn to face her and my lungs refuse to work. “I’m worried about you.”
I never worry about anybody. Now I’m obsessed with keeping this little blonde beauty from so much as breaking a fingernail.
“I’m tougher than I look,” she replies, poking me in the ribs.
I snort and rub a hand over my eyes. “You sure do seem to bounce back.”
Sliding to the edge of the bed, she places the cup on my nightstand. The one where the condoms and the lube live.
Shit. I’m feeling all kinds of new emotions right now. That feels a lot like guilt. Only this time it’s for being a player.
“Are you going to show me around this place?”
My focus snaps back to Katie. “Doc said you need to rest.”
“Maybe for a bit, but I’m not spending my first evening in this maximum security whatever without seeing what it’s all about.”
Fuck.
“It’s going to be rowdy tonight. I’m not sure?—”
“The party the policeman talked about?”
“Uh,” I grunt. “Yeah. Our other chapter’s been through some shit lately and the women decided we need to be having parties.”
She perks up. “There are women here? I only saw men.”
Fucking fuck. I scrub my face again with the palm of my hand. “There are women. Some different kinds,” I choke out.
More than a few have had my dick inside of them.
Her expression darkens and she toys with the hem of her dress. “I’ve been a recluse for a while now. It would be nice to meet some new people.”
My throat is full of rocks, and my dick feels like it’s tainted with acid.
“Why have you been holed up?” I ask, hoping like hell I can avoid taking her to the cookout, but knowing this is a losing game.
She looks down at her hands before looking back at me with a sadness that rivals a gut-punch.
“My brother turned into a crazy man. He broke into my house looking for something from my mother. I’m not sure what he found, but he took everything. I mean everything. Right down to my car. That’s why I have the one I have right now.”
I’m already on my feet. “You got his address?”
Katie blinks up at me.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because I’ll get your shit back and make him regret the day he was born.”
A flicker of emotion crosses behind her eyes, but she quickly stuffs it down. “The restraining order is working.”
“Fuck restraining orders. A dozen blood-thirsty bikers is better.”
She pins me with a sharp look. “Skull, no. You’re not getting in trouble because of me.”
I laugh. Not an ounce of humor in it. “You think I’m worried about the law?”
When she doesn’t answer, I say, “You know that cop that came over there today? He’s just one of dozens that deal with our club, and when I say deal, I mean he’s literally in bed with our women.
He does whatever the hell we ask of him.
None of them will do a fucking thing against us.
It’s a new kind of alliance and it’s watertight. ”
Katie looks as if I’ve just confessed murder.
“Wait. The cops won’t stop you from?—”
I cut her off by replying, “Anything.”
She swallows roughly, color rising on her cheeks, before she quietly says, “Let me think about it.”
What?
I do a double take this time.
“You’re gonna think about letting me shake your brother down?”
She slides off the bed and walks slowly toward me. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this part.”
Oh fuck. I’m already in the red zone.
I pull her into my arms.
“What part?” I ask with a deep, rusty voice.
“He put me in the hospital. That’s what the restraining order is for.”
Visions of mayhem fill my head. “He’s never touching you again, Katie-girl. You’re safe here. That motherfucker’s gonna pay.”
“You can’t kill him,” she warns, wrapping her arms around my waist.
The old, dark, monster inside of me silently replies, accidents happen.
Instead of saying that aloud, I ask, “You just want him scared?”
“I… I think that would be nice. It sounds so weird hearing myself say that, but my whole life changed after the attack. I’m scared of the slightest noises. I can’t sleep in the dark. I have four deadbolts.”
I’m iced-over with fury. She wants him scared. I’ll fucking scare him right into the grave.
“You sleep in my bed now, sweetheart. No one is getting to you. Ever again.”
I hold Katie tight, planning my revenge until loud voices in the hallway cut into the silence.
A low knock rumbles on the door.
“That’s probably the Prez, coming to suss out this situation.” I kiss the top of her head, moving to the door.
Like an idiot, I don’t look out through the peephole.
“Skull,” Heidi purrs. “I just got here and wanted to see if you have some time to?—”
Her mouth stops moving, but her eyes don’t as they land on Katie.