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Daisy wasn’t safe in my club anymore.
Fuck, she might not even be safe in Rose Ridge.
FOURTEEN
LAURA
I stared at my reflection in the mirror and tried to wrangle my hair into something presentable. The bathroom downstairs wasn’t nearly as large as the primary bedroom’s, but I’d get used to it.
I moved my mattress, suitcases and singular lamp down to the guest room after Killian randomly relieved me of the files the other day. He hadn’t been around much, and today would mark three days since I talked to him. I didn’t know what his plans were for the apartment. He’d told me he was moving in, so the first chance I had to move my things downstairs, I took it.
The last thing I wanted to do was get in his way or be caught near his bed. Especially if he decided to bring someone back here. That would not only devastate me, but it would start shit because I was too petty not to say something, and too annoyed to let it go. I would have if he’d just left me alone, like he had for three months.
Now things had changed. He’d been touching me, creating a whirlwind of expectation inside me. If he showed up with another girl, I would a thousand percent make a scene because he didn’t get to pin me to the door and tell me to fuck his hand one second and then bring someone else around the very next.
I understood it was common in motorcycle clubs, but I wouldn’t tolerate it.
Ever.
Finally twisting the last piece of hair into place, I flipped the switch in the bathroom and walked back into the guest room. Pulling on my boots, jacket and hat, I exited the apartment. Red wanted me to go to The Drip to grab a box of donuts. Apparently, there was going to be a big meeting, church or whatever they called it, and Red wanted them to have some sustenance.
The sun had barely cleared the ridge, the fog from overnight still hung in the air and likely coated the roads. Most of Rose Ridge wasn’t even awake yet, and I was heading out to pick up food for a club I wasn’t sure I’d remain attached to.
Red was all smiles and warm humming when I found her in the kitchen of the clubhouse.
“Morning.”
She peered over her shoulder. “Hey honey, you lookin’ for the keys?”
I knew where she kept them, but my mind was all over the place.
“Yeah.”
She wiped her hands on her apron. “In my purse, right?—”
I grabbed them from the top of her massive black leather purse. “Got ‘em.”
“Thanks for making the run, I need to keep an eye on this bread.”
I only smiled at her, unsure why she enjoyed making loaves so often. I came to work one morning and saw at least a dozen that had been baked, and while I had no idea what she did with it all, it seemed to keep her in good spirits.
With her keys tucked into my fist, I exited the kitchen, rounded the bar and veered for the front door. Right as I was cutting past the main room, feet pounded against the staircase to my left. My eyes flew up, right as Killian came into view.
He froze right as he saw me, and we both just stood there staring at one another. He wore a black hoodie, with his leather cut pulled over it. His hair was mussed from sleep or…sex. Dread curled inside my chest, like smoke.
I parted my lips to try and breathe through it, but it was so painful that tears burned the backs of my eyes. Not able to hold his gaze any longer, I dipped my face and thundered through the space until I was clearing the front door.
I heard him exiting a second later, jogging down the stairs as if the club was on fire.
“Laura.”
I didn’t stop. I just continued toward Red’s truck, ignoring the man at my back.
I heard him curse again, then it sounded as though he’d picked up his pace and started running.
Right as I reached for the truck door, his hand eclipsed mine.
“Fucking stop.”
