Page 8

Locke

What the fuck did I do? What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn’t have let her kiss me. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I shouldn’t have fucked her. I can’t get involved with her. She needs to know I’m not the man she thinks I am, whatever that may be.

I run my hand through my hair as I walk into the clubhouse. I had to let her go in first, and I needed to clear my head.

“Have a nice trip?” Gunner asks as I step inside. I flip him off.

“You did that shit on purpose.”

“Yeah. I might have,” he chuckles.

“Got a bigger problem,” I tell him as his face goes from smiling to frowning.

“What? What happened?”

“Spike showed up. She was tryin’ on some clothes, and he snuck in there.”

“What the fuck? Did you find him? Did he hurt her?” he roars.

“He didn’t hurt her. Shook her up a little, but she’s okay. I looked around but couldn’t find him. I got guys on it,” I tell him. He scrubs a hand over his face, looking concerned. I know it’s his daughter, but he has to know I wouldn’t let anything happen to that girl.

“Do we need to lock down the club?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet. He’s just tryin’ to scare her, is all.” And that’s what I truly believe. If he wanted to hurt her, he had the chance. He could have tried something while he was in there with her, but he didn’t. Had he done anything, I would have killed him. I would have taken my time cutting him limb for limb. I shake my head. I’m putting too much into this girl. A girl I barely know.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. He had the chance, Gunner. He didn’t do shit. He wants her afraid and for us to know he’s around.”

“Okay. I appreciate you lookin’ out for her,” he says. How the hell could I not? She’s the Prez’s daughter and someone I can’t get out of my fucking head.

“I got this,” I tell him before he nods. I turn and walk away, grabbing a beer from the bar before heading out to the garage.

“What are you two doin’?” I ask when I see Remy and Duke out by the bikes. They’re checking them over, which means there’s either a run or Gunner has them out doing something.

“Gunner’s sendin’ a few guys out on a little recon mission,” Duke responds.

“Oh yeah? Whose goin’?” I ask just as Hodge walks into the garage. I take a long pull from my beer as I watch him walk over and stand next to us.

“We are.”

“Who is we?” I ask, taking another long pull.

“Me, you, Duke, and Remy.”

“I’m too old for this shit,” Duke whines as he pulls a beer from the cooler and pops the top off. “You boys go without me.”

“Are you serious?” Hodge teases him.

“Goddamn right I am. My back is killin’ me, brother.” The guys laugh as Duke flips them off. I just smirk.

“Fine. Your old ass can stay behind,” Hodge tells him.

“How long?”

“A few days. Might wanna pack a bag,” Hodge says, slapping me on the shoulder. I nod my head, turn around, and head back inside and down the hall.

I throw some shit into a bag, knowing I don’t need much for work like this. I heft the bag over my shoulder and walk into the hallway when I see her. Kiki. She stops walking and looks up at me, then down to the bag.

“You’re leaving?” I don’t miss the tears in her pretty brown eyes. I don’t miss the way she looks at me like I’m her goddamn savior, either.

“Just a few days,” I tell her.

“Is that safe? I mean, with everything going on?”

“It’s safe.”

“What about Spike?”

“Your dad’s here. The other guys are here. You’ll be fine. I filled them in on what happened,” I tell her, trying to keep it short and sweet.

“Did you … do they know?” I shake my head. I wouldn’t tell them I fucked her on the side of the fucking road. How the hell could I tell them that?

“I didn’t tell them. Just what they needed to know.” She sighs, and it seems to calm her slightly. The fact she thinks I would tell them that pisses me off a little. I finish pulling my door closed when Kiki speaks once more.

“Locke … just … be careful, okay? Spike was on a lot of shit when I left. He did things-”

“What things?”

“Things. He just … fuck,” she whispers before looking down. He did something to her. I can tell by the way she’s acting, and I don’t fucking like it. I reach for her and grab her face, forcing her to look at me.

“What did he do?” I growl this time. Kiki swallows hard before stepping back and pulling her shirt over her head. I’m not sure what she’s doing until she sobs and turns around to show me her back. That’s when my stomach rolls. Scars. Deep scars line the back of her body. I want to reach out and touch them, but I don’t. She pulls her shirt back over her head and turns to face me now.

“Fuck,” I roar before punching the wall. A cry falls from her lips, and I can’t help but grab her, pulling her into my arms. I hold her, letting her sob as she gets it out of her system.

“One day, you’re gonna tell me what he did, but not today. If you tell me today, I will fuckin’ kill him without warning.”

“I can’t tell you,” she whispers into my chest. I pull back, grab her face in my hands, and look her in the eye.

“You will, Kiki. You will tell me.”

“I’m so ugly now. I hate the way I look.” Shaking my head, I grab her hand and bring it to my chest, where my heart beats erratically.

“You feel that? That’s what my heart has done since the first day I saw you. There’s nothin’, and I mean nothin’ ugly about you. This is what the fuck you do to me.” Before she has the chance to say something further, I grab her and pull her into me. I press my lips to hers, knowing this is all kinds of fucked up, but I kiss her like this may be the last time.

“I need to go,” I tell her, pulling back only a little before kissing her once more. This is wrong, but I can’t stop myself with her. I don’t want to. Fuck the consequences.

“I know.”

“You’ll be okay. Your dad is here,” I tell her. She nods her head before I kiss her once more and pull away. I grab my bag from the floor and heft it over my shoulder before walking down the hall. I stop to take one last look at her over my shoulder before heading into the main room.

“You ready?” Hodge asks me. I nod my head and follow him and the others out the side door and over to the bikes. I tuck my bag into the saddle bag and climb on, revving the engine.

As we pull out, I see her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Something inside me flares to life just looking at her. Something that’s been hidden for so long.

I ignore the urge to go to her. The urge to take her with me. I shake my fucking head, knowing this is never going to work. I’m never going to be able to be with her. Gunner isn’t going to allow that to happen.

I shove all that aside and focus on the ride. It takes a few hours to get to Georgia. I love it. I love the ride. It’s a freeing feeling that just settles within you, and everything else just eases away.

We make great time and arrive at our destination. We set up at the hotel before heading out to do a little recon. It doesn’t take long to spot the motherfuckers.

“Are you kiddin’ me? It was this easy?” Hodge asks as we watch the idiots enter an abandoned warehouse.

“Seems to be. Wonder what they’re doin’ in there?” Remy asks.

“Why don’t we find out?” I suggest with a smirk on my face. This is what we were sent out here to do we might as well get to it.

“You a little bloodthirsty?” Hodge asks with a grin as he looks over at me.

“A little.”

“I’m ready when you are,” Remy adds.

“Then, let’s hit them. Fuck, just got here and already have the assholes in sight. This should make for a shorter trip,” I tell them.

“You’re right. The sooner we see what they want, the sooner we get home,” Hodge says. I lick my lips, ready to get this shit over with it even though we just got here. I feel like I need to be closer to Kiki. I need to be there if she needs me. And that’s some fucked up shit right there. I shouldn’t think that way. She doesn’t need me but I can’t stop the thought.

“Let’s do this,” Hodge says as he pulls his gun from his jeans. We do the same as we sneak toward the warehouse, moving around the building and up to the door. Hodge raises his hand and counts us down before I kick the door in. Shots are fired as soon as we move inside, but we quickly take cover and return fire. We move quickly, getting to them in no time.

With them injured, we managed to take them down quite quickly. We didn’t kill them, but I bet they wish they were dead. Remy moves around to zip-tie their arms behind their backs before kicking each one to the floor and onto their knees.

By now, anger surges inside me. It’s in my veins, and there’s nothing I can do to stop what I’m about to do. I walk up to the one who looks to be in charge, and I punch him in the face. He falls backward, and Remy repositions him so I can hit him again. I beat the shit out of this asshole knowing he’s with that fucker Spike.

“You run back and tell Spike I’m gonna kill his ass when I get my hands on him,” I tell him, growling close to his ear.

“You ain’t touchin’ him. He’s unstoppable.”

“He put his hands on somethin’ that has value to me, and now I’m gonna return the goddamn favor,” I roar as I kick the asshole in the ribs. You would think it was Spike himself in front of me, but it isn’t, and I can’t seem to care at the moment. I saw what he did to her. I saw the scars.

Hodge and Remy both take a man and beat the shit out of them before we turn and walk away. We head outside, and I light up a cigarette as we head back toward the bikes.

“You been a lot angrier lately. What’s goin’ on?” Hodge asks me. I shake my head. No way in hell am I having this discussion with him.

“Nothin’. Just off.”

“Don’t fuckin’ lie to me. What’s goin’ on, Locke?”

“He’s caught up on your little sister, is what’s wrong,” Remy and his big mouth chime in. I flip him off and keep walking when Hodge grabs my shoulder and spins me to face him.

“If it were any other girl, I’d say go for it and move on with your life but I can’t with her. Not my sister.”

“There’s nothin’ goin’ on.”

“Not how I see it,” Remy argues.

“What the fuck do you think you see, brother? Huh?”

“I see how you are when she’s around. I see how she is. Somethin’ is goin’ on.”

“There’s nothin’ goin’ on, Remy. So shut the fuck up before I beat your ass next!”

“Look, I get it. Kiki is a different breed. She’s one of us, but Gunner isn’t gonna go for that shit. He doesn’t like her in the club mess as it is after what happened with Spike. Is he glad she’s back home? Hell yeah but not the way he wanted her here. He wanted her to go to school and be somethin’. You get me?”

“I get it. You don’t have shit to worry about from me,” I reassure him. “I’m not the good guy here, Hodge. I’ve got my own fucked up shit.” Is it a lie? Probably because something about that girl pulls me out of the dark, I’ve been living in for so long.

“You’re a good guy, Locke. I trust you with her life, and that’s sayin’ somethin’. Do you have a fucked up past? Yeah, most of us do. And there isn’t shit we can do to change that. But as fucked up as your past is, I’m guessing Kiki’s isn’t far behind, or she wouldn’t have shown back up. Whatever happened to her out in New York must have really shaken her to send her runnin’ home. Just be careful. She’s fresh out of her shit and hasn’t even begun to heal.” I nod my head, understanding all of that. This whole thing is a mess, and I don’t need to be in the middle of it. But how do I stop myself now? She showed me a piece of herself before I left. She let me step through the crack in that closed door, and now I don’t know if I can come back out of it.