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“You wanna grab some breakfast with me, River?”
My belly swooped as I smiled up at him.
I stood, allowing him to grab my hand and pull me out. The club filed in around the kitchen bar, and Red began instructing the other girls on dishing up breakfast. I assumed we’d be taking a seat as well when I saw Killian pull Natty aside.
They exited through the side door, right as Wes pulled my hand, so we were following. I glanced quickly to find my dog lying inside the kitchen, taking up a massive chunk of the floor while Red worked around him. I slapped my leg and called for him as we moved. “Max, come.”
His head lifted, and within seconds he was trailing us as we walked.
The sun was still clearing the valley, washing over the manicured yard, when we caught up to the two. Natty gave me a worried look while holding her elbow. Her thin frame was hidden by a large black zip-up hoodie, but I didn’t miss the pink lace dress that went to her calves, or the cute boots. I tried to remember what day it was, and realized it was Sunday, and she looked like she was already ready for church. She was stunning, while I had seen her before, out here, under the sunshine, it was like she was a different person. With her long gold hair and her green eyes that resembled gems. She had a small nose that was perfectly set inside a heart shaped face, with high cheekbones and a wide mouth. I’d seen her smile when she’d brought me the casserole, and for some reason her face seemed so empty without that warming grin gracing her lips.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice slightly shaking. I wanted to reassure her, but I had no idea what was going on either.
Killian glanced at Wes before explaining.
“Nothing at all, we just wanted to ask you somethin’ real quick.”
Natty searched both their faces, curiosity and confusion evident in her drawn in brows and narrow eyes.
Wes placed his hand on my hip, shifting on his feet. Max poked his head between our bodies, standing directly next to me. His eyes kept bouncing around from person to person like he wasn’t sure what we were doing.
“Simon arranged for you to be here from the Death Raiders a few years ago, right?”
“Yeah, two years ago,” Natty said.
Wes flicked his gaze to Killian, who focused on Natty.
“You don’t have to expand, or share anything you don’t want to, but would there be any reason for Silas Silva to be upset over you or anyone else being here?”
Natty’s eyes narrowed but it was too quick, which caught my attention.
“No, not at all. Silas wasn’t around during my time there, think he was traveling or something. Why?”
Wes and Killian glared silently at one another for a long moment before Wes let out a sigh. Max chose that moment to let out a chuff and plop to the ground, throwing his body weight against me.
“He mentioned coming to claim someone. Just trying to figure out who he might be talking about.”
Natty lifted her chin toward Killian. “My bet would be your vice president. Killian was talked about over there a lot. The men want to fight him, recruit him, or kill him. The women all want to fuck him.”
Killian tipped his head back and laughed.
Wes smothered a smirk, but I tilted my head, inspecting her lie. She was covering something up, and I had no idea why, but something told me to let it go. Besides, we hadn’t mentioned the tip Silas had given about the person not being an official member.
“Okay, thanks, Natty. You can head back in.”
She turned on her heel to leave, but then stopped, spinning toward us again.
“Just out of curiosity…rival clubs can’t just show up and claim people, right? We’re safe here?”
Wes nodded, solemn and firm. “Of course, you are. The only way someone could come and claim one of their previous members is if there was a rule broken, or a deal made where all parties agree on it…or war. In some scenarios, in order to end a club war, we’ll look at all our possible options and take the route of least resistance if no harm will come to the other party.”
Natty’s face paled as if she’d seen a ghost.
Wes and Killian stalked away from her. Max took a second longer to get to his feet, which allowed me an extra moment to squeeze her hand.
“Don’t worry about anything, it has nothing to do with you.”
She gave me a polite smile then rushed back toward the club, but there was something about it that set me on edge. Natty wasn’t telling us the entire truth, and while that was her prerogative, I worried about her safety. I wanted her to know she had nothing to worry about here. I’d have to find her later and see if I could dig a bit deeper into that.
