CHAPTER 19
Tank
I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and pancakes.
“Morning sleepyhead,” I heard Noelle’s voice and looked over to see her in the kitchen, making breakfast. We had spent the night on the couch, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
“I didn’t know what you liked for breakfast, so I made you everything. There are eggs and bacon and pancakes and coffee and tea and cereal, and I can make you some waffles too if you want,” she said, and I got up from the couch and strode over to her.
I was naked, and Noelle was in nothing but my discarded t-shirt. She smiled at me, and I pulled her into my arms.
“I don’t want anything else,” I said, as I covered her face in kisses. She pressed her tender body to me, throwing her arms around my neck as she kissed me back. My hands traveled from her gorgeous ass to her back, rolling the t-shirt up along the way. Her skin was soft and smooth like butter, and she tasted of coffee as I sunk into her lips.
When we parted, her cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes were bright.
“I hope you can call off your shift at the hospital today, because you’re spending the day with me,” I told her, weaving my fingers into her hair. Noelle caught my hand by my wrist and rested her cheek on the palm of my hand. She was excited at the prospect of spending the day with me, but couldn’t have imagined how happy I was.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“I’m going to make sure you have my MC’s full protection so that nobody can bother you or come close to you again,” I said, leaving out the part that it was possible that her life could be in danger too. She didn’t need another reminder of that. Noelle looked surprised, and she straightened her head to peer into my eyes.
“Is that possible? Will your club agree to something like that?” she asked and I stared back at her firmly.
“Yes, I’m going to make sure that they are,” I told her.
***
At the Rusty Pelican, I parked my bike outside its doors. I had sent a text to Gunner to ask Axel to call for an emergency Church meeting. I grabbed Noelle’s hand as I led her towards the doors of the bar, aware that she was nervous. I had a feeling that she had never been to a bar like this before. It was going to be a completely new experience for her, and I wished that I could ease her anxiety a little, but the truth was that I was nervous too. I wanted the meeting to go smoothly. Besides, I had never brought a woman back to the bar, or introduced her to any of my brothers; let alone Axel.
Noelle was walking by me closely, our arms grazing. All the information I had given her about this meeting; was that she was going to be walking into the midst of my entire Motorcycle Club and to just follow my lead. I knew she trusted me. She had just nodded her head and agreed with me regarding the plan.
When I pushed open the doors of the bar now, we were hit with the usual blasting of Classic Rock music, and a jumble of voices inside. I could sense Noelle’s muscles stiffening immediately as we stepped in. The air in the bar was slightly smoggy, filled with cigarette smoke and it smelt of masculine adrenaline and beer in there. These weren’t details I had always noticed, but with Noelle there beside me today, I was paying attention to them.
I could see that most of the Bad Disciples were there. Gunner had managed to organize Church pretty well on such short notice. I also noticed how most of my brothers stopped chattering, and turned to look at us the moment we stepped in. I didn’t even want to imagine what Noelle was feeling; with a bar full of hardened tattooed bikers, with thick beards and leather jackets, drinking in the middle of the day…staring at her.
I knew exactly what everyone in that place was thinking. That Tank had walked into Church with a woman in tow. Tank! Who had never been seen with a woman before, who kept his private life to himself, who didn’t smile or crack a joke. He had now turned up at the bar with a beautiful young woman who nobody recognized…well, I was sure that Glock and Gunner recognized her from the hospital, but their faces when I looked over at them, seemed just as much in shock as the rest of them.
I squeezed Noelle’s hand, and clenching my jaws, I led her through the crowd of my brothers towards the center of the bar where Axel was sitting on a bar stool. He was looking at us keenly as well, with narrowed eyes and his brows crunched up. He was just as surprised as everyone else.
I glanced a look at Noelle and saw that she was walking with her face turned to the ground. I could sense that she was embarrassed or self-conscious or both, and I didn’t blame her.
We came to a halt in front of Axel, who was now scanning Noelle up and down. From the corner of my eyes, I could sense Gunner and Glock exchanging looks. Someone had turned down the music in the bar too so that now it felt like we were surrounded by complete silence with everybody’s eyes on us.
“Well, Tank? Are you going to explain yourself?” Axel finally broke the silence, and I sensed a shiver run down Noelle’s body. I looked at Axel and drew in a deep breath. I didn’t even know where to begin.
***
“This is Noelle Peters. She was my nurse at the hospital when I got shot,” I said, looking Axel directly in the eye. I wasn’t sure how seriously he or my brothers were going to take this declaration of mine. Would they assume this was all a joke? Axel wasn’t smiling; instead, he was peering at Noelle like she was a creature from outer space. Then his gaze dropped to how I was holding her hand. Axel looked over at me again.
“And what is she doing here?” he asked, and another shudder ran through Noelle’s body. Now I was worried that she was too afraid, that she wouldn’t want to be here. Without the MC’s protection, it was going to be very difficult for me to keep her safe by myself.
“We are together,” I said and felt a twitch in my eyelids. I had never imagined myself saying those words, and especially not to Axel, in a bar full of my brothers. There was a low buzz in the crowd when I said the words and Axel lifted his hand up to shut it up.
“Do you mean that she’s your woman?” Axel asked, his brows knotted quizzically like he wasn’t buying it.
I clenched my jaws, holding his gaze and I nodded.
“She’s also carrying my child,” I said, and another buzz rang out in the crowd. My eyes flitted over to where Gunner and my friends were standing. He was in shock, as was Glock. Noelle’s grip on my hand tightened.
“Silence!” Axel called out, and the buzz died again.
“She’s going to be the mother of your child?” Axel asked, arching his eyebrows and I nodded again. Axel was now staring at Noelle again, he too, like everyone else in the room, seemed to be in utter disbelief.
Then, after a few moments of silence, he addressed Noelle directly.
“There must be something special about you, sweetheart because Tank has never introduced us to any of his girls,” Axel said, and finally, Noelle raised her eyes to meet his. I could see the way her cheeks were flushed, and how bright her eyes had gotten. She didn’t know what to say.
Then Axel looked at me again.
“The mother of your child is welcome to the Club, Tank,” Axel declared, and I felt a flicker of a smile on my face. Gunner and Glock were smiling too, and some of my brothers cheered. Noelle looked at me, a relieved smile stretching her face and I smiled back at her in reassurance.
“Now, sweetheart, if you can go to the back office over there, you’ll find the other old ladies having a chat. Brooklyn and Kylie, and my old lady, Rebecca. Sniper! Why don’t you take Noelle over and introduce her to the crowd,” Axel continued and gently, I let Noelle’s hand go.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she walked towards where Sniper was waiting to take her in. She threw me a look before she walked through the door, and I nodded my head again to reassure her.
When she was gone, Gunner and Glock came over to thump my shoulders and congratulate me.
“So, you’re going to be a father, Tank!” Axel said, and I pursed my lips together and shrugged. There was no chance that I was going to demonstrate to my brothers just how excited I was at the prospect.
“It’s a hard job. It doesn’t come naturally to men like us, which is why we need women like them,” Axel said and tipped his head towards the back office where his own old lady was sitting. Some of the others chuckled, and I smirked.
“Before I worry about that, there is something else to take care of,” I said, interrupting the cheerful spirit in the bar. Axel arched his eyebrows at me again.
“You mean taking care of the Dragon Knights?” he asked, and I glared into his eyes.
“One of the assholes, Viper, saw Noelle in the hospital. He knows she’s pregnant,” I said, and Axel’s eyes changed instantly. It went from diffused and calm to enraged.
“If they know she’s carrying your baby, they’re going to use that against you,” he said, and I nodded. I could feel Gunner’s anger from across the room. Gunner and Viper had history, and I knew him threatening another woman would push him over the edge.
“It could put Noelle and the baby’s life in danger,” I said, and Axel shook his head. He was staring at me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Threatening one of the MC members was one thing, but threatening one of the old ladies or one of the kids of the Club was a completely separate matter. It was intolerable in Axel’s eyes. Gunner stormed over to us.
“Did he hurt her?” Gunner hissed, and I clenched my jaw at the thought of it.
“He was rough with her. Pulled her arm. Asked her about me. He knows,” I replied, and Axel scrunched the can of beer in his hand out of anger and threw it to the floor.
“It’s time,” Axel said, in a louder voice, so that he was sure that the entire MC was paying attention to what he was saying. “No more waiting. We need to take down the Dragon Knights before they strike or harm one of the old ladies or children,” Axel continued, and a cheer rang out in the bar.
I felt Gunner’s hand on my shoulder, and he squeezed it in support. Glock, Sniper, and Hunter had joined me too. When I looked at their faces, I could see that each of them was in agreement with Axel and me. The Dragon Knights had had a personal role to play in each of their lives, all their women were in danger as long as the DKs were allowed to run free. We all agreed that they needed to be taken down.
When I looked back at Axel, I saw that he was smiling at me. This had been my plan since that night I got shot, and now it was finally going to be set in motion.