My Dark Knight (Kings of Hell MC 2)

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

His instincts were that of a wounded animal, to shove her away and hiss, but she was too friendly, and he needed allies. Elliot took a deep breath. “I’m okay, thanks.”

Jake sneered at him but didn’t approach. “I might be a prospect, but I’ve got patches to show for it, you shit, so watch it.” He walked off without another look at Elliot.

Nao spun around with her brows low. “Out with it. What did you say to him? Jake’s a teddy bear!”

Elliot groaned. All he wanted was to go and lick his wounds in private. Not only was his body still hurting after the punch, but he was also left with the suggestion that Knight was fucking other people. Sure, it wasn’t as if him and Knight were a couple—Knight had made that pretty clear—but they spent so much time together when Knight was at the clubhouse, and Elliot happily gave Knight so much head, he assumed Knight wouldn’t have time or energy for any more sex.

Trapped between Violet’s compassion and Nao’s irritation, he had to say something. Maybe he’d hear some more gossip about Knight in the process. “He was saying shit about Knight.”

Nao crooked her head, and he knew right off the bat she didn’t believe him. “Jake adores Knight. It’s you who’s constantly antagonizing people. This can’t continue.”

Violet rubbed Elliot’s back, but she wasn’t there to play the good cop. “I know this place might be scary for you, but Fox said that whenever he hears your voice, it’s because of a needless confrontation. Nao’s right.”

“Knock it off. You’re just a guest here, and there’s only so much the patches are gonna take,” added Nao.

“Knight invited me,” Elliot mumbled, wishing he could scream. He turned to Violet. “And for the record, I didn’t eat Fox’s chicken, I saw that redheaded hangaround Missy eat it.”

Violet shook her head and took away her hand. It seemed that even people who’d started out with a positive attitude toward him were slowly drifting away. Soon enough they would no longer react if more violence came Elliot’s way. His breath caught when he looked above Nao’s head, toward the other end of the room where a woman gently spiraled around a stripper pole. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders in perfect waves, and the nude bodysuit she was wearing exposed more than it hid. She opened her mouth, saying words he could not hear over the noise, and then laughed as Knight playfully grabbed her ankle and pulled on it.

Elliot stopped hearing what Nao and Violet were saying. His head exploded with throbbing heat, and he once again found it hard to breathe. No matter how much he pretended he was cool with the casual thing he shared with Knight, jealousy repeatedly stabbed his guts with a sharp blade.

The girl was exactly how Knight liked them. Perfectly dolled-up, with a big smile and wearing stiletto heels. Her body was so lean and athletic, that her tits seemed too large in proportion—probably as fake as the tan she was sporting in December. But regardless of the artificial enhancements, she was undoubtedly beautiful. How could Elliot ever compete with that?

He looked back at Nao with a forced smile. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to hold my tongue.”

She frowned at him, then spread her middle and index fingers, which she first directed at her own eyes, then at Elliot. And then she got to her toes with a yelp when Joker slapped her ass while walking past them.

“You’re ruining my authority!”

“Authority? How about you show me some later tonight?” Joker yelled back with a broad grin.

Elliot was happy attention was off him, and he slipped away toward the doors. He looked back at Knight one more time, hoping their eyes would meet, but Knight’s attention was firmly on the beautiful stripper showing off her flexibility by raising one of her legs over her head.

Elliot had seen enough.

He walked out into the corridor with a sense of loss he didn’t understand. He had no right to be jealous, and yet he was. Every night when Knight was actually at the clubhouse, they slept together, talked about history stuff, or joked around about who would win their video bet. In that reality, there was no room for some girl with perfect hair.

Or he’d misunderstood things, and there wasn’t room for him.

With his stomach aching where Jake had punched him, he fled to the narrow staircase that was rarely ever used and sat on a dusty step. Someone started playing music so loudly the walls trembled, but the volume was thankfully reduced very soon. Elliot wondered if the sudden noise made the stripper slide off the pole and break her leg in the process. She wouldn’t be up for fucking then, even with Knight.

To ward off the grim thoughts, Elliot delved into his phone, cheering himself up with the positive reactions on his latest video, and banning all the haters. Being able to just kill the shitty comments was particularly satisfying.