Chapter Seven
Knox
Grace was still asleep, breathing softly and evenly. I quietly slipped out of bed and pulled my clothes on, doing my best to avoid waking her. I wanted to be able to slip out before she woke up. It would just be easier that way. I didn't want her tagging along for this. Given that the Dawgs were involved and thought they had the upper hand, I knew that things would more than likely go sideways. The last thing I wanted was for her to get caught in the crossfire.
In the darkness of the room, I could only make out the vague outline of her body. She'd surprised me not only by sleeping with me, but by her sheer ferocity in bed. She wasn't quite the pure, wholesome, girl-next-door she presented to the world. There were some deep, dark desires in her – an insatiable fire that was totally compelling to me.
Being with her had been intoxicating, and honestly, unlike any other woman I'd been with. Though it had been raw and animalistic, there was a tenderness and a vulnerability I saw in her eyes. It was like she was only just beginning to explore that wilder side of her personality and was somehow begging me not to judge her for it.
S was absolutely incredible in bed. And it left me wanting more. A lot more.
I knew it was absurd, but in the short amount of time I'd known her, I felt an attachment developing to her. There was some sort of connection between us that I couldn't even begin to explain. But having sex with her only seemed to cement that feeling in my mind.
We barely knew each other, and yet our bodies understood one another perfectly.
She was a stunner, to be sure. But more than that, there was a sincerity, openness, and intelligence in her that absolutely drew me to her. Not to mention a fierceness and a fire in her spirit that was incredibly appealing to me. Grace was absolutely the whole package. But as I looked at the dark outline of her body in the bed and listened to the steadiness of her breathing, I knew it was just a pipe dream. Yeah, she'd fucked me, but there was no way in hell a high-class woman like her would ever be with somebody like me. We would never have a serious relationship.
For her, this was probably just an experiment, a way to maybe blow off some steam all of the stress and pressure of Liam's abduction caused her. She probably felt safe having sex with me because it was a one-time thing and she was exploring some of those fantasies she harbored and repressed so deep inside.
Not to mention the fact that once this was all over, once we got Liam back, she'd be heading back to Charlotte and her white-picket fence world. She wouldn't give me or Blackburn, Tennessee, a second thought.
It was stupid to let myself feel anything resembling attachment to her because it was only going to end up badly for me.
I sighed softly and slipped out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind me and headed out to the clubhouse bar. Pink Floyd played on the speakers and there were a dozen of my guys all sitting around, drinking beers, and laughing with one another. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost ten – just a couple of hours until the meet.
I grabbed a beer from the bar and sat down next to Dean as the guys started hooting and hollering at me. I turned around and gave them an expression and a gesture that said, “what?”
“Don't even tell me you didn't tap that hot piece of ass,” Dean said.
I looked from the guys who were making lewd jokes about Grace to Dean, who had a smile on his face. Yeah, everybody obviously knew what happened in my room back there. At the time we were involved, I hadn't even given the guys in the clubhouse a second thought.
But now that they were throwing it back in my face and saying some things I thought were way out of line and inappropriate, I felt my anger starting to rise a little bit. For some reason, I suddenly felt defensive about Grace and felt the need to stand up for her.
I stood up and glared around the room. “Y'all can shut the fuck up now,” I shouted. “Jesus. Not everything I do is for your entertainment or gossip. You're all worse than a bunch of old women. And if any one of you says anything else about her, I'm going to personally whoop your ass. You got me?”
That only brought about another wave of laughter and lighthearted insults – at least this time, they were directed at me. I could deal with the slings and arrows; Grace didn't deserve them.
“You guys are a bunch of douchebags,” I said. “Just in case you didn't know.”
“We're well aware, boss,” Dean said. “And honestly, we don't give a shit.”
I punched him in the shoulder and laughed. These were my brothers. My family. I'd go to war for any of them. I'd lay down my life if need be. I hoped it would never come to that, obviously, but for my guys, I'd do anything. I always had their back – just as I knew they had mine.
The insults and jokes at my expense died down as the guys found some other topic to discuss. I settled down at the bar and slowly sipped my beer. Dean settled alongside me and looked me over thoughtfully. “You like this one?” Dean asked and took a long pull of his beer.
I looked at him and gave him a lopsided grin. “Why would you ask me that?”
Dean shrugged. “You just seem a little bit different.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Kid, how long have I known you?”
I tilted my head and thought about it. I'd known Dean a long time. My dad had been President of the Outlaws for a while, so I'd grown up in the life. Which meant I'd known Dean for most of it. He was a good man and a very valuable ally to have by my side. I couldn't function half as well as I did without him.
“Twenty? Twenty-five years, I guess?” I replied.
“Right,” he said. “And I've seen you nail plenty of broads in that time. And in all those years, and all that ass, I ain't never seen you float around here on a cloud of fuckin' rainbows and sunshine like you are right now.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I said and laughed.
“I'm serious, kid,” he said. “You have like this fuckin' glow about you that I can't explain.”
I scoffed. “A glow. Right.”
“Laugh if you want, but it's true,” he said. “And I ain't never seen you take up for a broad to the guys like you did for Little Miss Sunshine back there.”
I shrugged and tried to play it off. “Even if I did feel differently about her, it's pointless,” I said. “She's going back to Charlotte soon enough and this will all be over.”
Dean looked at me for a long moment, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You sure about that?”
“Yeah, I'm sure,” I said. “She's going back to her world and leaving us to ours.”
“Yeah, maybe so,” he said.
I had been hoping he'd say something different – like he thought things between Grace and I could work out. I'd hoped he'd encourage me to pursue her. I'd hoped for – something. And when he didn't give it to me, I felt a little bit disappointed.
But still, I was right. Letting myself get attached would be stupid.
“So, when are we rollin'?” Dean asked.
“We?”
“Yeah, we,” he said. “As in you, me, and the boys?”
“We, are not rollin',” I replied. “I am rollin'.”
“The fuck you are,” he said. “You really think we're going to let you walk into a trap by yourself? The Dawgs want nothing more than to string you up by your balls, kid. We ain't gonna let that happen.”
“You don't have a choice, man,” I said. “They got my nephew. I'm not gonna put the rest of you in the crossfire.”
Dean stood up and banged his bottle on the bar. “Cut the music. Now.”
The music cut off instantly and all conversation died as all eyes turned to us. I knew what was about to happen and I needed to head it off before it did. The last thing I wanted or needed in that moment was for that snowball to get rolling.
“Dean,” I said. “Sit down and cut that shit out.”
He looked at me and smirked. “Like hell I will,” he said and turned to the rest of the guys in the room. “I need a show of hands, boys. Who's in for this little rescue mission tonight?”
Everybody's hand shot straight up without hesitation. Dean nodded and motioned for them to put their hands down, which they did.
“Dean,” I whispered. “It's not that easy.”
“Need to see another show of hands,” he called out. “Knowing that the Dawgs are on the other end of this and some shit is going to go down, and knowing that things could get really hairy out there, how many people are in?”
Once again, all hands went up without hesitation. Dean turned and looked at me, giving me a grin and a shrug.
“Ain't democracy beautiful?” he said.
“This isn't a democracy,” I said.
“No? Then tell them.”
Clearing my throat, I stood up and took a long pull of my beer, trying to pick my words carefully.
“Listen,” I said. “I appreciate you guys willing to put yourselves in harm’s way for me. And for my nephew. But I can't ask you to do that. I can't ask you to risk your own lives for me. This is my problem and I'm going to handle it.”
“You're not askin',” Burt said as he got to his feet. “We're tellin' you that we're comin' along.”
I shook my head. “No, man. I can't –”
“You remember last year when I got into that thing with a couple of the Diablos?” Burt asked.
“Yeah, I remember,” I said.
“You jumped into the middle of that shit without hesitating,” Burt said. “No regard for your own life. You did what you did to have my back, man. So, there's no way in hell I'm letting you go out there without some cover.”
“I appreciate that, Burt, but –”
“Kid, you've risked your ass for each and every one of us in this room,” Dean said. “Some of us – hell, most of us – more than once. You never asked, you never thought about yourself, you just acted and pulled our asses out of the fire.”
Everybody at the tables nodded in agreement, some of them vocalizing it.
“Whether you like it or not, we're comin',” Burt said. “We're family. And family always has each other's backs.”
The other men in the room banged their bottles on the table, nodding their agreement. There was no way I was getting out of it. They were coming.
“I appreciate that, guys,” I said. “So, if we're going to do this, we're going to have to be smart about it. He told me to come alone, so if Merle sees us all rolling up, it could go really badly for the kid.”
“Okay, then we take the vans,” Dean said.
I sighed. “No way I'm going to talk any of you out of it, huh?”
“You have a better chance of being elected President,” Dean said.
I looked around the room and felt a fierce pride in all of them. These truly were my brothers. My family.
“Okay then, time's running short, so let's come up with a plan,” I said and took a long pull of my beer.