She opened her mouth to say something else and that was when I knew I was going to have to put my foot down.
“Laurel,” I said and made sure I had her attention. “It’s club business. That means, that even if I did know what the fuck was going on, I wouldn’t talk about it.”
She didn’t look happy about that.
Which confused the hell out of me.
Because we weren’t anything. Or that was how she played it off most of the time. I was her little fuck toy. The man she called when she didn’t want to be alone. The guy that she, for some crazy reason, wanted to have in her bed despite the fact that we clashed more than we meshed.
Though I was focused on getting dressed, I could feel her eyes on me. Only I knew it wasn’t because she was taking me in with a heated gaze. There were questions and demands floating around that I was doing my best to keep quiet.
If she were an old lady she’d have to learn real quick to just deal with the not knowing.
Guessed it was a good thing she wasn’t close to being one then. Because no matter how deeply I felt for her, I knew my place well. I knew this wasn’t more than a fling that was kept in the dark corners. To think that Laurel would ever show up somewhere with me was the biggest joke in my mind.
And because I wasn’t ready to give her up, I kept digging around on the floor and picking up crumbs.
“Later,” I said after I slipped on my sneakers and stood tall.
For a long moment, we stayed frozen staring at each other.
“Sure,” she said with a hard sigh and turned over giving me her back.
I didn’t have time for this shit. Part of me hated leaving like this but at the same time, I knew by now that it was just the way she could be sometimes. It wasn’t about her being a bitch. Which, I could see how it might be perceived that way. No, it was about Laurel being insecure. Her turning away from me was her way to hide all that. She hated to be vulnerable in front of anyone. Especially given all the shit she’d been through lately.
There were times she let me in. Those were rare and I never pushed, but I made sure to be there for her in those moments. I may have even said they were my favorite because I got a glimpse at the real woman.
I didn’t say anything else as I made my way out of her apartment, making sure the lock was turned before I closed the door behind me.
“You good?” Iron asked me the moment I stepped into the clubhouse.
“Yeah,” I said with a firm nod of my head. I might have been bone tired but I’d been doing this long enough that I knew I’d make it through.
He eyed me for a good long moment and I started to feel the need to squirm under his gaze. I was sure it wasn’t lost on him that I spend a good number of nights away. Most of the time tearing out of here in the middle of the night only to return a few hours later. But he wouldn’t ever ask. He wouldn’t demand to know what I did in my personal time. Not that I really had personal time. He wouldn’t ever bring it up unless it became an issue. Which was something I’d never let happen. Club above all else. I held fast to those words all my life and it wasn’t going to change now.
“Go take a damn shower. You smell like sweet flowers and sex.” He shook his head and as he patted me on the back, I knew he was doing his best not to laugh.
Figuring that I had time until the mother chapter brothers got here, I ran up to my room and took the fastest shower known to man. Then I was back down, waiting in the lounge with all the other officers.
When Axe and Bocca showed up, we did a quick greeting then headed up to get things started.
There was an antsy kind of energy the moment they stepped through the door. I wouldn’t lie, it had me on guard more than normal. This wasn’t just some meeting. This was more. There was something going on and we were about to get filled in on it.
“So something happened a while back,” Axe started and I noticed he was looking around the room taking each and every single one of us in. “I kept it in-house because I didn’t want to set everyone on edge if there was no need for it. You’ve been dealing with a lot here and I think all of you have done a real good job getting this chapter up and running. That said, some things have come to light and I feel that I need as many eyes and ears on this as possible.”
Yep, I had been right. Something was up and by the grim look on Bocca’s face, it was going to be big.
“A few months ago, Bocca got a tip on a human auction. We were a little short-handed with all the new merchandise and runs so he had no choice but to go in on his own.”
Axe paused and I caught him staring at Brand. Brand looked shocked for half a second before schooling his face. Clearly, he hadn’t known about any of this and I felt like it was almost a test from Axe to see if he did. I tried to process why he might but realized it wasn’t the time to let my mind wander off.
I wondered if we had been the first chapter that he’d come to with this. It seemed like he was having a hard time, most likely putting the blame all on himself.
He shook his head and stood strong as he continued.
“He was supposed to go in and gather intel. The plan was to deal with these guys one by one later. Only something happened, and they knew who he was.”
Bocca softly placed a hand on Axe’s shoulder as if telling Axe that he could take over. Axe nodded and took a step back.
