I woke up with a gasp, springing up into a sitting position and realized that I was covered in a film of sweat and was breathing hard. I’d been dreaming about Jenson again and I had to blink severely to get my normal vision back.

Immediately, I got a whiff of a female scent in the room and memories of the previous night came rushing back to me. I looked to my side and saw that Brooklyn wasn’t beside me. I fell back on to my futon with a sigh of relief. Glad that she wasn’t there to witness me having a nightmare.

Staring up at the wall, I tried to recall every moment of the night. How her body had smelt, how beautifully delicious her curves were, how she moaned when she came and it brought a smile to my face. It had been a long time since I could forget about everything else…my dad, Bryce, Jenson…everyone. In those few hours spent with Brooklyn, I had thought about nothing else except her body.

My phone beeped and I got up to fish it out of my jeans. It was a text message from Glock, telling me to go to Church again. I ran a hand through my hair and flung my phone away, before walking into the bathroom for a quick shower before I left. I’d made a commitment to the club now and I had to come through on it.

At the Rusty Pelican again, I was one of the last to arrive. The place was teeming with people, some of whom I’d been introduced to the previous night and some of whom I knew only by face. The club had at least a hundred members as far as I knew.

Axel was sitting on a high bar stool again and he acknowledged my presence with a tip of his head, as I weaved through the crowd to find Glock. Tank, Hunter and Sniper were with him and we exchanged thumps on each other’s backs as the usual greeting. The men looked serious and ready for a big announcement.

Around Axel, the other older members surrounded him. Ethan and Larry were in their fifties as well, and I knew had been friends with dad when he was alive. Even though I knew or knew of these men, I had never actually worked with any of them.

“Quiet,” Axel called out and the din in the bar died out and everyone looked up at Axel’s authoritative face.

“Firstly, lets welcome our newest member, Gunner,” he said and a few of the men clapped and Glock thumped me on my back again.

“You’re getting the full celebrity treatment,” Glock said with a laugh and I grinned.

“We’re proud to have you here, Gunner and now…getting down to business, I have an important announcement to make, so brace yourself,” Axel continued and another round of silence fell down on the group.

“As you all know, we’ve been thinking of making some big changes around here. Namely, finding an alternate trade other than drugs,” Axel said and some of the men around us whispered to each other.

“Over the past year, we’ve been building contacts in the weapon’s trade and we think we might finally have something,” he continued and the whispering chatter grew in the bar.

“Doesn’t that involve more risks, Axel?” Tank spoke up and Axel nodded his head.

“And the rewards are even higher,” he replied with a laugh. “Now, it doesn’t mean that we’ll be stopping our drug trade completely, it just means that we’ll concentrate on weapons more,” he explained and the men around me nodded in agreement.

“And now that we have Gunner with us, who has no doubt become somewhat of an expert in the weapons field, I’m sure we’ll manage just fine,” he added and I smiled back at Axel as he spoke, aware that there were eyes on us.

I kept my hands thrust into the pockets of my jeans and tried to assimilate all this information. As far as I knew through my association with the club, they had always dealt with only drugs, so now we were going to push our boundaries even further.

“This is gonna be good,” Hunter turned to us and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“Won’t that mean more storage space?” Sniper asked and the others laughed at him and Glock patted his shoulder.

“So young, so naive,” he joked and they laughed some more. If Sniper was embarrassed, he didn’t show it. He was probably already used to them pulling his leg for being the youngest member anyway.

“Quiet!” Axel called out again and we all turned to him.

“And there is something else that I want looked into,” Axel said and I squinted at him with my brows furrowed.

“This job is for Glock and Tank,” he added and I felt Glock stand up in tighter attention. “I’ve been hearing rumors that the Dragon Knights are running a sex trafficking ring. I will not allow that on my territory or anywhere for that matter,” Axel said, with his voice hardening.

I could tell that this subject was serious to him. He meant every word he was saying.

“I want you boys to find out everything you can and report back to me. This is going to stop if it’s true,” he said.

“Yes, Axel,” Tank said and Glock chimed in.

In this regard, I knew this would be what dad would have done as well. Dealing drugs and weapons was as far as our club would go, harming children and women was not and would never be allowed. Axel tipped his head at me again. I was glad we agreed.

I stayed at Church for a couple of hours longer, getting better acquainted with the members of the club. I could see that Tank, Hunter, Sniper and Glock had become thick friends and I felt like I could rely on them as well. We were all in the same age group, the younger members of the Club and these guys seemed to like to joke around more than anything else. At least their chatter kept me distracted from thinking about other things, namely Brooklyn.

When I left Church, I got on my bike and rode it directly to PJ’s. At the bar, I knew it was probably too early for her to be on her shift, but I wanted to give it a shot anyway. I needed to see her again.

Sam was cleaning up the counter, the guy who I knew from before I left for Afghanistan. Sam had owned PJ’s for as long as I could remember.

“We’re not open for another hour,” Sam said when he heard the door open. When he looked up and saw me, a smile spread on his face.

“Gunner! You’re back. We’re always open for you, man,” he said and started pouring me a whisky before I even asked for it.

I approached the bar and took the shot glass from him and drank it all in one swig.

“Good to be back,” I said, feeling the burning sensation course down my throat.

“How come we haven’t seen you around here yet? Did you get back today?” Sam asked, genuinely pleased to see me again.

“I was here last night in fact,” I said to him.

“Oh yeah, it wasn’t my shift last night,” he said and gave the counter another wipe.

“Yeah, I know. I met your new recruit. Brooklyn,” I said, avoiding his eyes.

“Oh yeah, she’s something isn’t she?” Sam asked and I looked up at him. Something else couldn’t even begin to explain her.

“Hey, I was wondering if you had her phone number,” I said and Sam’s brows crossed. He looked surprised that I wanted her number. A slow smile spread across his face and he nodded his head.

“Sure man, whatever you want. You’ve served the country,” Sam said and found a scrap of paper to scribble down a phone number. I took it from him and folded it, before popping into my front jacket pocket.

“Thanks, man,” I said and stood up from the chair.

“Hey, will we see you back here tonight? Brooklyn won’t be here but maybe I’ll be good enough,” I heard him call out, with a laugh in his voice.

“Only if you dress up for me, Sam,” I said and as I walked out of the bar, I heard him break into another volley of laughter.

Outside, by my bike, I dialed the number on the scrap of paper, anxious to hear her voice again.

She sounded sleepy when she answered the phone on the fifth ring.

“Hello?” she said and I felt a tremor run down my spine. I wasn’t expecting her voice to have that effect on me.

“It’s me,” I said and waited for a few seconds to see if she realized who it was.

“How did you get this number?” she sounded a little worried and I was already imagining what she was wearing.

“Not important. What are you doing tonight?” I asked her. I heard her take in a deep breath before she spoke again.

“Working,” she replied.

“I know you don’t have a shift at PJ’s,” I said.

“Are you stalking me now?” she snapped at me over the phone and I didn’t even try to suppress the smile that formed on my face. She was feisty and I liked that.

“I won’t have to if you agree to meet me tonight,” I said and I could hear her breathing hard into the phone. I’d met her only once, but I felt like I knew her face by heart. I could picture her green eyes sparkling under heavy lids. Her curly long brown hair falling over her face as she tried to not look at me. Those curves. That ass. I gripped my phone tighter in my hands.

“I’m busy tonight, Gunner,” she said, but I wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“With what?” I asked and I could hear her thinking.

“Things!” she snapped and I smiled again.

“Something tells me that whatever you were trying to escape last night, has not gone away today. So, my suggestion is that we help each other forget for a little while longer,” I said and Brooklyn’s silence was encouraging.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, in a less enraged voice and I knew it would take only a few more minutes for her to agree to see me again.

“Oh, I think you do. Eight at Temple Bar,” I said and then hung up the call because I didn’t want to give her an opportunity to refuse me.

Satisfied with myself, I hopped on my Harley and prepared to ride back to my apartment. I knew she was going to show up. Something electrical had happened between our bodies the previous night which I knew she couldn’t deny.

I knew this wasn’t the time in my life to get involved in anything with a woman. I had a new life to concentrate on building, and it would be unfair to drag Brooklyn into my mess. But I also knew that I had to see her again. Maybe once more and then I’d be able to get over it. One more night with her and I’d be able to move on with my duties.