Chapter 9
Ember
I blink up at the man that Daemon called ‘Prez’, and his cut confirms his road name is Tico.
Daemon told me a bit about him and the club last night in the hotel.
Tico’s an imposing figure, that much is very much true, and it takes me a moment before I realize he was the man I was drawn to in the crowd the other night.
The man who was sitting next to Daemon, and I vaguely remember Taco and a few other guys sitting with them in the VIP section last night.
Tico has to be over six feet tall and damn, all his tattoos on his arms, neck, and even his face…
they are all gorgeous and the black ink does amazing things to his tan skin.
Normally I don’t like facial tattoos, but his…
his I like. The black t-shirt he’s wearing is stretched so tight over his muscles that it looks molded to his skin.
His black hair is cut short on top and he has the lower half shaved which he also has tattooed.
Fuck, if he has that many tattoos visible, then I bet the rest of his body is also covered.
My artists brain whirls, wondering what else he has tattoos of.
As for my body…my body wants to climb him like a tree and lick every line of every tattoo.
Raising my gaze, I fight not to blush when I realize he caught me ogling him.
The corner of his lips twitch in amusement and his chocolate brown eyes bore into me as I struggle to remember what he asked.
“What all do you need?” he repeats.
I turn to Daemon in question. I hadn’t even had a chance to see the apartment upstairs before Tico and Taco, the other man, stormed in here. I have no idea what all is needed.
Daemon scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. “I don’t have much since I’ve never lived up there. There are a few things left over from the previous owner, but that’s mainly just some kitchen shit and the futon.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks. How am I going to pay to furnish an apartment? Instead, I stomp down that feeling. I’ll attack this like I do everything else.
One step, one day, at a time.
“Okay, well, we’ll just start with a mattress and then we can hit up a thrift store for the other stuff,” I tell him while mentally, I run through the amount of money I’d stashed away and add it to the amount I have in my purse.
I have more in my bank account, but if I withdraw anything from it, it will tip off Techy as to where we are.
Shit. We’re gonna be eating ramen for a while, it seems.
Daemon, Taco, and Tico all share a look. Then, Tico pulls out his phone and his fingers fly across the screen. I shift uneasily on my feet.
“Duncan,” I start, purposefully using his real name. He opens his mouth to reply, but Tico steps forward, piercing me with a look bordering on possession.
“You’re Daemon’s family, which makes both of you, our family. Ours to protect. Especially against the fucking Chrome Vipers.”
A current of need shoots through me at the possessiveness in his eyes. My thighs twitch with the urge to push them together for some friction, but I force my muscles not to move.
Then my stomach twists at the venom in his voice when he spits out Dad’s club name and suspicion rolls in my gut. Why is he helping us so quickly? I mean, Daemon most likely told him what all goes on in the club for him to hate them that much.
Fuck.
Worry spins in my gut, mixing with the suspicion. Does he think I’m weak for staying with them for so long? For waiting to escape until the last minute?
Wait.
Why do I care what he thinks about me? Sure, Tico’s hot as fuck, but all I have is Daemon’s word so far that the Royal Bastards are nothing like the Chrome Vipers, even if they are into some of the same illegal stuff.
I know Daemon would have never joined the Royal Bastards if they treated women like the Chrome Vipers do.
But to just blindly trust us and offer us protection?
Hmmm…
My gaze bounces between the three of them. I bet Tico’s already got his tech guy looking us up and digging up all our history. Either that, or he already did that after Daemon filled him in on the club.
I press my lips into a thin line as the three of them head upstairs without a word.
Pyper and I share a look but follow them upstairs with Reese taking up the rear.
The apartment opens up into a room with the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other.
There’s a hallway that leads to two bedrooms and I’m assuming the third door is the bathroom.
Once in the kitchen, the three of them start talking about what we’ll need as if we aren’t even standing here.
Reese leans against the wall, watching us.
“Daemon, we don’t need all that,” I start to say, but he either doesn’t hear me or is ignoring me.
“Tico,” I try again and then cross my arms over my chest.
My anger grows as I watch them go through all the cupboards and then disappear into the first room talking about getting beds, dressers, desks, bookshelves and TV’s for each room. With everything they add onto the list, my stomach twists even more.
“Fuck this shit,” I mutter and quickly stride over to the kitchen, setting my purse down on the counter.
Opening the cabinets, I quickly take stock of what’s here, which like Daemon said, isn’t much, and what we’ll need.
Then, I easily skirt around the guys and peek into the bedrooms and bathroom as they continue to talk about paint and refinishing the floors.
Sure, everything they’re listing off would be nice, but I refuse to be that indebted to them.
I’ll never be indebted to a club again. Not after everything the Chrome Vipers have put us through.
Back in the kitchen, I grab my purse and tilt my head at Pyper, then to the door.
Pyper tries to suppress her giggle by clapping her hands over her mouth as she quietly crosses the room.
A shadow falls over us and I look up, not at all surprised that Reese is coming with us.
His lips twitch with amusement and I smirk up at him before leading the way down the steps and outside.
Maybe after this the guys will think twice before trying to make decisions for me.
Outside we all pile into Reese’s SUV and he pulls out onto the street. “So, thrift store?” he asks and I nod. “Tina’s Treasures isn’t far from here and it will be a good starting place.”
“Thank you,” I tell him.
He chuckles under his breath. “I bet it won’t be long before they track us down. Then what are you going to tell them? They aren’t men to be trifled with,” he warns me and I hum.
“Yeah, well neither am I. They shouldn’t have been planning things and talking over us as if we didn’t even exist. I’ve had enough of that with the Chrome Vipers. I’m not taking it from them.”
He chuckles again but doesn’t say anything else.
A twinge of worry skates down my spine at what Tico will do when he finds us gone, but I push that away for now.
I still doubt his claim that we’re considered family and theirs to protect.
Sure, it’d be nice to be protected for once, but I still haven’t figured out if we’ve escaped one cage just to be thrust into another one.
Yeah, my lady bits were on board with how hot he is and my stomach swooped with that protective yet possessive gleam in Tico’s eyes when he looked at me.
Not a bad possessiveness, but in a cherished way, which surprises me since we just met.
However, until I know more, he’ll just be a mental image I pull up when I’m alone.
As Reese pulls up in front of a cute little store, I look back at Pyper. “Just necessities for this trip, but after a few paychecks, we’ll come back for more, okay, Kiddo?”
She nods her head, but I don’t miss the disappointment in her eyes, especially when I know they were fixed on the bookcases filled with secondhand books that’s visible from here.
As we get out of the SUV, I frown as my gaze goes to our bags that are still in the back.
Mentally, I run through everything I brought with us.
We’ll need to go shopping for school stuff before long and that thought has me biting my bottom lip in worry.
That means waving a red flag that Techy will be able to hone in on since I’ll have to list our contact information and where we live.
That is, if they let me register Pyper since I’m not her legal guardian.
Fuck.
“Focus on here and now, the rest can wait” I mutter to myself and follow Pyper into the store.