Chapter 15 #3
This feeling of belonging to something bigger, to being a part of a family that would protect you and have your back no matter what. I was proud to be with them, and through this they had earned some of my loyalty in return. I wanted to protect them like they had just protected me.
Suddenly we were tilting to the right and I knew we were making our way to the dirt path leading down to the club.
The bikes slowed, but not by much. I held on a little tighter as the gravel under the tires seemed to get a little loose, and then finally, we were slowing enough that I lifted my head.
Killian must have returned from his trip because he was jogging down the stairs in front of the club, fury etched into his face like stone.
I swallowed thickly as his gaze landed on me and the rider in front of me.
A vein seemed to throb in his forehead, and to protect himself in the pouring rain, he only had on his cut with a Henley underneath.
His hair was soaked within seconds, but he didn’t seem to care.
He walked as though he couldn’t see anything except for me.
Suddenly Giles was in front of him saying something, but Killian pushed him out of the way and continued toward us.
The rider parked, and I scrambled off the back as quickly as possible.
“What the fuck?” Killian’s voice snapped, his glacial glare landing like stone on the rider I’d ridden with.
“It was a safety situation, Prez,” the rider clipped.
I recognized him now. It was Riley, a nice guy I’d flirted with a time or two.
“Thanks Riley.” I patted his shoulder, but Killian had my wrist in his grip a second later and began pulling me away.
We were headed to the apartment, even as Giles yelled at his back and Wes leveled us with a severe glare.
Wes was holding my best friend to his chest, her head tucked under his chin, as rain pelted them, and the sky seemed to break open.
Meanwhile, Killian ventured up the steps and barged into the apartment, slamming the door behind us. Within a single breath, I was pushed up against the door with his strong arms caging me in. I could hear the rain slamming against the roof and his breathing, but that was it.
His panting was erratic, and his eyes searched as though they were frantically hunting for something. His fingers tangled in my hair a moment later, his gaze following a trail of water down my face.
Between breaths, I wet my lips and muttered, “It was just a ride.”
A sharp laugh broke through his exterior, and that’s when I realized he was shaking.
“I don’t give a fuck about the ride. I care that you’re soaking wet and rode in twenty-degree weather while the rain drenched the roads. I care that you didn’t have a helmet, and when I heard what happened…” He faltered.
Those green eyes were unfocused as he worked to catch his breath, then his hands were on my arms, trailing down to my hands.
“Are you hurt?” He skimmed my stomach, and then as if he was certain there was a gunshot underneath, he pulled my sweater up over my head. “You smell like lighter fluid, tell me why the fuck you smell like lighter fluid.”
His voice was shaking, and it seemed to untether something inside me. Something that wanted his arms to come around me and hold me. Something I’d be an idiot to crave.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, the thud from the lighter in my pocket hit the floor and had Killian raising a dark brow in question.
I dipped to retrieve it. The silver Zippo was still in the tissue, so I walked to set it on the counter.
“There were two men wearing wolf masks. The driver was in that red car that swerved into your lane that day we went to the Drip. The second jumped out and doused Callie’s car with lighter fluid. He was about to torch it.”
If I thought that explanation was going to calm anything inside Killian, I was completely wrong.
With barely controlled rage, he stalked toward me, coldly asking, “and how is it exactly that you now smell like that lighter fluid, Daisy?”
The nickname had my heart swelling, and I hated myself for it. It had become so familiar, and so safe, like coming home.
I kept my glare on him and refused to dip my chin, regardless of how intimidating he was.
“I intervened.”
It was as though a spark had caught the fuse of a bomb. His eyes narrowed, his lips slid into a sneer, and he advanced.
“So, let me get this straight.” He held up his finger. “Callie was taken to safety…”
I nodded. “By Harris.”
He’d done his job, and I wanted to be sure everyone knew it. Dude was one of the best guys in the club, and I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
“But you…” He raised that dark brow again, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
“I ran outside and jumped on the hood to stop him. They were amateurs, Killian. I could tell, and I knew if they were confronted, they’d stop.”
Killian grabbed a glass that was sitting on the counter and threw it across the room.
“It’s a fucking car, Laura. Why wouldn’t you go with Harris?”
I knew his anger was because he wasn’t there, and some part of him worried for me. Or worried for his club, but I knew it wasn’t at me.
Firming my resolve, I crossed my arms over my small tank top. My cleavage was pushed up, and I smelled like a fucking gas station at the moment, but I couldn’t afford to care.
“Harris had one job and that was to protect Callie. He did it. He didn’t have room for two on his bike.
I knew I was on my own getting back, and I was fine with that, but I refused to let those shit bags start my best friend’s car on fire when it was preventable.
She just got that car, and she needs something safe to drive—”
“Stop,” Killian yelled, bringing his hand to his face, and rubbing his forehead, “just fucking stop, please. You’re standing here, smelling like lighter fluid, worried about Callie and her ability to get around when you nearly caught on fire today, Laura. On fucking fire!”
He stepped closer, and I retreated a step on instinct.
“You don’t have a way to get around, and yet you’re worried for her.
Fuck Callie. She has a rich husband who will provide everything she could ever want to hope for.
They have insurance, and within a single day, Wes would have a new rig in their driveway.
You, however, just ruined one of the three sweaters I know you own.
You hurt your leg; I can tell because you’re leaning to avoid putting pressure on it.
You’re soaked to the bone, and you’re standing here, not even officially a part of my club, telling me you put every one of its members before yourself. ”
He was breathing hard as he finished his sentence. His eyes were wild.
I stared, unsure what to do because he was right, and I hadn’t even considered what he was saying. I loved Callie, and I wanted her to be safe, but it was more than that. An attack on her was an attack on this place that had somehow become my home over the past three months.
His eyes continued to search my face, as if I could provide more details, and then his head lowered, and his mouth was on mine. His hand slid into my hair, cradling my jaw as he moved sensually slow, sliding his mouth from the side and invading me with his tongue.
My hands were up around his neck—my fears surrendered to the call of his touch.
I was an idiot, but I didn’t know another way to exist where Killian was concerned.
He kissed, and I kissed him back until he finally broke away, pinning his forehead to mine.
“You need to get in the shower, change into something comfortable and wait for me upstairs. I need to go take care of this.”
“I moved downstairs.” I shouldn’t have said it, but it just came out.
“Not anymore.” He said with one last glance at my lips. Pushing his eyes closed, he turned away from me.
Right as he was about to exit, I called toward him.
“You should know they only stopped because they assumed I was a random civilian. Not having a patch may have saved my life today.”
I turned and realized Killian was frozen at the door, his hand in midair as though he was about to open it.
I didn’t wait around to see what he’d say or do next.