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I reached up to slap him, but before I made contact, he grabbed my wrist. He leaned down, his lips against my ear. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Princess. Don’t even fucking think about hitting me again because you won’t like the way I deal with you.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my skin burning from his hold. I should have been disgusted the more I learned about Cole, but I wasn’t. There was a flame deep inside me that I couldn’t extinguish. Even though I fought against it, an attraction was blooming to life, growing without my permission.
“Maybe you like dangerous. Maybe you’re tired of sitting on your throne being a pious bitch.” He released me and stepped back, his attention falling to my hard nipples that pushed through the thin fabrics of my bra and top.
“Fuck you.” My heart pounded, and my throat felt thick as I glowered at him. The nagging voice in my head told me I’d just woken a beast inside Cole that I wasn’t sure I could tame.
Chuckles filled the air, and I shot the guys a scathing look.
“Let’s get back to business,” King said, silencing the room. “Cole received a death threat, Shae. The man you saw that night was involved. We were protecting one of our own.”
My eyes widened. “Cole is in your MC?”
King pulled on the collar of his shirt. “No. He’s never prospected or patched in even though he could if he wanted. Everyone here would be cool with him joining because we’ve talked about it.”
“Patched in?” I asked, unclear of the term.
“It’s when a guy pledges for up to a year, then the club votes to see if we want him or not,” King explained.
I nodded, eyeing Cole, completely baffled that he led a double life.
“So, the dead guy ... did he try to hurt Cole or ... kill him?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. Maybe remaining naïve would be the best way to handle the situation.
“It’s a long story, Shae. What happens in the club stays in the club, but here’s what I can tell you. The cameras in the limo weren’t there to watch you. Your dad has meetings, clients, and staff in the car. It was a good place to learn who might be involved. It’s clear that they know Cole pretty well. Other than college, his family was the easiest to start with. It’s a process of elimination at this point.”
“But an innocent man lost his job. Ibrahim didn’t deserve to be caught up in Cole’s mess, either.” My stomach dropped to my toes at the thought of Ibrahim losing his income and reputation.
“I don’t know Ibrahim personally, Shae. All I can say is that you two were in the wrong car for your afternoon romp.” The corner of King’s mouth twitched, and I suspected he was trying to hide his smile.
“Shit. Did Cole show you all the video?” I glared at Cole. If he had, he’d be a nut short after I was finished with him.
King threw his head back and laughed.
“I tried to talk him into sharing it, but it was a no go,” Snake said, smiling. His perfectly straight white smile made him appear friendly. From the rumors I’d heard about motorcycle gangs and what I’d seen, I highly doubted he was a good guy.
“We all knew it went viral, but none of us saw it, Shae. It was taken down before we had access to it,” Taco explained as he shoved his fingers through his blonde hair.
“Girl, you need to wake up and see what’s in front of you. No way in hell would Cole have allowed anyone to see you in a compromising situation. Even if they’d wanted to.” King gave his men a pointed look.
Cole loudly cleared his throat, then muttered, “None of you fuckers will ever see it.”
Holy shit. Cole had just protected me. Confused, I wasn’t even sure what to do with what I’d heard.
King rose from his seat, grinning like crazy. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Back to the business meeting. Even if you went to the cops with what you saw, no one would believe a word of it. You were drinking and it was dark.”
“I wasn’t going to go to the police. Even though I can’t stand Cole, I didn’t want him to go to prison. I just don’t want him to be a controlling asshole. Besides, he would look horrible in orange.”
Chuckles filled the room.
“Now that you know I’m not going to rat him out, are you done with me? Can I go home?” My pulse raced while I waited for King’s response.
“That’s not fucking happening. There’s other shit going on, which means you’re stuck with us.” King released me, compassion in his expression.
Frowning, I placed my palm against my chest. “I don’t understand.”
King cracked his knuckles as though he were headed into a fight. “Cole’s already talked to your Pop. He knows what’s going on.”
I huffed. “Just because Cole pissed someone off and now they’re threatening him doesn’t mean my life has to come to a screeching halt.”
