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I nod along to her explanation. “How many of these guys are there?”
“Who knows. They’re in and out all the time. Most of them don’t live here. We’re actually looking at houses right now for the four of us.”
“Four?”I thought she only had two boyfriends.
“Oh, yeah.” She rubs her hand over her belly and beams at me. “I’m pregnant. Splitting my time between clubhouses was fine until they realized how territorial they both are. They don’t want to miss a second of time with me, or the baby once it's born.”
I find myself smiling along with her. “That’s amazing. My sister-” I snap my mouth shut. “Never mind. Did you know Layla?”
“Tree’s wife? No, she passed away a few months before I got here. Did you?”
“Yeah, she’s my sister.”Wasmy sister. “I guess, it makes sense you didn’t know her or you probably would’ve recognized me. Everyone says we looked like twins.”
“Oh, wow. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. That explains why he’s helping you out.” She frowns as she looks around. “Hmm. Well, you saw the bar, right? That area over there is where everyone hangs out a lot of the time. Be careful around the pool table. Pres is a little touchy about it. My guys broke it a month ago in a fight, and I guess someone broke it earlier last year.”
“I doubt I’ll have time to sit and relax. I have to rebuild a whole new life in this… place.” I can’t believe I fucked up so badly in my life that my best chance at survival is in an outlaw clubhouse with a bar straight in the middle of the foyer.
“I did that, too. If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you. Even if I'm notactuallyhere, you can always call me. Hand me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”
I give her my phone and she types her number into it. “Thanks for showing me around and all. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem. I know Tree has been a little out of commission lately, so I want to make sure that you’re taken care of. We’re a family. The club takes care of their own. It’s tough to start over, but this is actually a pretty good place to do it.”
“Thanks again.” I wave to her awkwardly as I walk away and back up the stupid steps for the millionth time. How do they all do this? I knock on the open door to Knox’s room. His head pops out of the bathroom so I ask, “Hey, can you help me with something?”
He wipes his hands on his pants and meets me in the doorway. “What’s up?”
“My bags are in the car. I don’t know if I can carry them all the way up these steps, and Maya just took me up and down them like ten times. Can you help me?”
“Yeah.” Knox steps out into the hallway with me. “I need to get the keys to your car actually so I can start working on it.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Today?”
“Do you need to go somewhere today? I can take you.”
“It’s not that. I just thought you’d be busy.” Doing biker things, like shooting people or harassing the police. I actually don’t have a clue what Knox does with the club. We didn’t spend much time talking about it when we all hung out. Layla did a lot of the talking. She was so bubbly she always kept the conversations going.
“Nope.” He takes another step closer, closing most of the distance between us. He’s six foot seven, so I feel like I have to bend my head all the way back to see his face. “My schedule’s clear. Let me have the keys. I'll get the bags and pull the car into the garage."
"Knox, you know you don't have to do that.” I take a deep breath, opening and closing my hands in front of me. I wasn’t this nervous about every word that comes out of my mouth before I met David. He made me this way. “I half expected you to turn me away. Why are you doing all this?"
Knox’s eyes lighten for just a second. "It's what Layla would've done."
I close my eyes against the pressure that builds behind them. Yeah, my sister was perfect.
"Keys?"
Right.I pull them out of my pocket and drop them in his open palm. "There's two bags in the trunk, and one in the back seat." I consolidated my entire life into three bags while David was out drinking. He got home and passed out on the couch early this morning, so I tossed everything I brought with me into my car and drove away. I had to stop three times and sit on the side of the road to keep the car from overheating. Thank god for the cool January weather, or I would never have made it.
"You're safe now, Nell," Knox tells me, rubbing my arm in a comforting gesture. "You'll be okay."
The positive words coming out of his mouth don't match the vibe he's giving off at all. He's got this dark aura surrounding him like a black hole. Knox used to be one of the happiest guys on the planet. Now, he's this. He's putting on a show for me, and it makes me feel uncomfortable.
He returns quickly, carrying all three of my bags on his arms. I show him into my new room and he puts everything on the bed. "Do you have any important keys you need on here? I'd like to hold onto them while I work."
I shake my head. "No, it looks like the only key I need is this one. It's the one for my room."
"Good."
