Chapter 1 #2
I continued to eat but I didn’t speak, rather enjoying the perfectly cooked sausage and bacon. Even the toast was toasted just the way I liked, white with just a bit of brown around the edges. I usually got near burnt toast since that’s how my father liked it.
“You can’t protect me from them, you know,” I said, finally looking up. “My father has plans and they involve me. He won’t stop…and I know he’ll take it out on Shona and your club.”
I hated that he had that much of a pull over other MCs, but he did. He was a monster.
“I wouldn’t worry about us, princess,” Rebel said. “We can handle our own. Finish your meal.”
“I’m full…thanks, though.”
I got up and put my plate on the side of the sink and moved back to my room, wondering why I was acting so weird around him all of a sudden. Could a shirtless man really render me stupid? He was my captor, not a love interest, and yet I wouldn’t say no if he landed those perfect lips on my body.
After laying down on the bed for a few minutes, I heard him moving about in the hallway before he knocked on the door.
“I gotta go out for a bit,” he said. “Brogan is spelling me, but I’ll be back later. The pantry is stocked if you want to eat and the fridge is full.”
“Bye,” I offered but it came out kind of strangled and weird. God, Darby, get a grip! He probably had a girlfriend and was forced to spend time away from her for this.
I don’t know why, but the thought alone had my insides clenching and my fists balling.
Rebel
“All good?” Brogan asked as he met me at the door. I’d quickly pulled on a shirt and grabbed my cut from the bedroom I took close to the door.
“Yeah, she’s in her room down the hall,” I told him. “She isn’t usually annoying enough to have you pull your hair out, but she can be a bit of a pamper princess.”
Brogan smirked. “I’m sure I can cope.”
“Any word on the whereabouts of her brother?” I asked, keeping my voice down. No one had told her about the demise of her family and I certainly didn’t want a weeping woman on my hands.
“Not yet,” Brogan replied. “It appears he’s left Belfast but he hasn’t been sighted anywhere near Kilkenny.
We think he may have travelled in between Dublin and Galway, down the middle as much as he can.
He may be taking the long way but there’s no telling how long it will take. Best be on your guard.”
“I’ll be back after service,” I said. “Won’t be long.”
He nodded and walked down the hallway and knocked on Darby’s door. I left, jumping on my bike and heading back to Kilkenny. Riding has always been the only thing that makes me happy. The only damn thing to clear my head and right now, I definitely needed to clear my goddamn head.
Hearing Darby moan when she ate my eggs this morning had almost undone me.
She was fucking gorgeous, sure, but she drove me insane with her fucking princess behaviour, especially when she was horrified I’d cooked my own meal, and yet the second she moaned, my cock jumped to the party.
I could have easily swept the table free of food and pulled her legs apart and feasted on her all morning, just to hear those sweet little moans again.
I don’t know what I’d do if I heard her moan my name.
That would pull the most primal part of me out and I’d be lost in her.
There was a reason I hadn’t really fucked around with the bunnies, I didn’t want to see them every day and develop attachments. I knew I would, I’d get so lost in a woman that I could forget who I was…just like my father had and look where that got him. Serving a life sentence.
I pulled into the compound and cleared my head of all things Darby. The sooner we find her brother and take care of him, the better. She can go on to have her own life then and be clear of mine.
“You good, brother?” Viper asked as I headed into the clubhouse. He and Savage were sitting on the porch smoking when I pulled up.
“Yeah,” I answered before I headed inside. I could tell they knew I wasn’t. Hell, I had no idea why I wasn’t. Shona was behind the bar with Kayleigh and Shauna, looking at something on Shona’s phone. When she saw me, she handed her phone to Shauna and came over to me.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine,” I said. “Happy as a clam.”
Shona’s eyebrow raised and she cocked her head to the side. “‘How bad is it? Should I come over and talk to her?”
“No,” I answered quickly. “You need to stay away in case there are eyes on you. I got it. She’s just a spoiled princess.”
Shona nodded. “She may act that way, Rebel, but she’s not really. She’s had to go through the worst upbringing, always on guard, always wondering when my dad would push her into some bastard’s arms to pay off some kind of debt he had. It’s not exactly a fun life.”
I softened a little, hating that both Shona and Darby had that bastard as a father. “Yeah, I guess. It won’t be long and she can live on her own, do her own thing. It’ll be good for her.”
Shona’s eyebrows drew together and she continued to look at me like she was trying to read my mind.
“Church,” Viper slapped me on the shoulder as he and Savage came through.
I was glad for the interruption. I don’t know what the hell Shona thinks she saw but it was putting me on edge.
Fuck, this whole situation had me on edge and I didn’t like it.
I headed in the room with the boys and sat down in my seat.
Ace cleared his throat to silence everyone.
“We haven’t got a trace on Bran, Shona’s brother, as yet but he has left Belfast with his family. He hasn’t gone through Dublin or Galway, so he could only be in a few places undetected. We’ll find him. We need to keep Darby safe, which Rebel is doing in a safe location.”
Everyone turned to me, and some had the nerve to have smirks on their faces.
I rolled my eyes.
“She keepin’ ya busy?” Viper laughed.
“She’s annoying as fuck,” I said. “Pampered princess. I’ll ride up and meet Bran head on if it means I don’t have to babysit the pastel unicorn anymore.”
Everyone laughed, including Ace. Everyone except for me. Who knew babysitting a woman would cause me so much unrest.
“Fair enough. We can spell you whenever you need. Just send us word.”
I nodded.
“Next order of business. The Destructive Sons are no more which means Bran is operating as a free agent. Belfast is open. We are the strongest MC to take a hold there. With the funding from the Kings and the O’Farrell’s, we can set up chapters in all the main hubs.
This would mean some of you would be given your own chapter to run and that does mean separating from this chapter. How we feelin’ about that?”
The brothers were all murmuring amongst themselves.
I’d never felt like I fit anywhere before until I joined the Nomads as a wayward dickhead, taken under the wing of Hawk and Bear, and taught right from wrong.
I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I did have to admit I was getting restless here in Kilkenny while all my friends found women to be with.
Even Fury had a kid now. I barely saw the guy anymore.
I wasn’t daft enough to think I could run a chapter by myself, but I could easily move to another chapter if they needed me. I had nothing holding me down.
“Sounds like it’ll be tabled for another session. Think it over boys. How are we going on the runs, Bear?”
“Good, we have a shipment coming into Dublin next week, so I’ll need the boys to accompany me on that one,” Bear said.
“We have a couple of drug runs through Galway with the help of Killian which I’ll hand over to the Nomads.
I know Trigger has been keen on getting his hands in that trade for a while. ”
“Sounds good,” Ace nodded. “Hawk?”
“We need a new Chaplain,” Hawk said. “We also need new prospects. Now that we can focus on growing the club again, I think we need to get some word out. We’re down all our prospects and a man with Razor.”
My eyes drifted to Chains who still struggled with his loss. Razor and he had been tight, growing up together in the MC. Even I missed the fucker. It was getting better as the days dragged on, but we still hadn’t a clue who had killed him and that was hurting us as a club.
“We could look at some of the Nomads,” Savage offered. “They are booming, and I know some of them wouldn’t mind settling into one place.”
Ace nodded. “Yes, can you ride out there and look into it?”
He nodded. “I’ll take Shona. She’s good with people.”
I smirked at Savage. He hated social shit and yet his woman lived for it. Together, they were quite the pair. A pang of something foreign hit me but I pushed it down. I don’t know what the hell was happening with me lately.
“That’s it,” Ace said. “Any other orders of business we want to bring to the table?”
No one spoke and Ace dropped his gavel on the side. We all stood and headed out into the clubhouse.
“You going to stay for a drink?” Savage asked me.
“I don’t want to punish Brogan any longer than I have to,” I told him.
He laughed and waved me out of the clubhouse.
I headed down to my bike, wondering how much longer I would be away from this place.
I missed it and yet the house they had us in was secluded, quiet, and stocked full with food and drink which just happened to be a dream of mine.
I guess babysitting duties couldn’t be that bad after all.