King (Rogue Rebels MC 2)

By the time I reached downstairs, everyone had already assembled in the office around the big oak table that Dad liked to sit behind when he wanted to intimidate someone at a meeting. I was the last one to arrive, but I didn’t give a shit today.

“Thank you for gracing us with your presence,” Dad said, when I walked in through the door. Slade smirked and I ran a hand through my hair. I was hungover as fuck.

“Girth, you have the floor,” Dad said to him and he cleared his throat before speaking, his golden-brown eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“I staked out Mr. Hill’s pawn shop last evening. Commando asked me to because Mr. Hill was complaining that the Black Skulls have been paying him threatening visits lately,” he began to say.

I was standing in the middle of the circle of men, with my arms crossed over my chest. Dad was behind the desk with his fists on it, leaning himself over while he watched Girth with his narrowed eyes.

“Did you see anything?” Crawford was the one who asked, growing impatient and Girth shook his head.

“Nothing last night, but I have a bad feeling about it. Mahoney complained about the same thing last week and Mr. Hill said that some of the other businesses were shaken down too,” Girth continued and Dad looked up at me and I clenched my jaw.

“They might hit the shop again,” Girth said and I stepped forward.

“King and Girth should stake the place out for another night,” I said and Dad nodded.

“I was thinking the same thing,” King spoke up.

“What do you think they’re planning?” Slade asked and we all watched while Dad took in a deep breath.

“Whatever it is, we need to be prepared,” he said.

“Shoot on sight,” I said and there was silence for a few moments in the office. I knew I was being watched intensely by the others, just as much as they were watching Dad to see if he agreed.

“Shoot on sight,” he said and I sensed the workings of a murmur in the room.

“We are not going to allow them to get any ideas,” Dad spoke again and there was silence in the room.

“Girth, King, report back tomorrow morning and make sure you’re packing for the night,” Dad said to them, to which they both nodded their heads.

After that we dispersed, not before I exchanged knowing looks with Dad first. We weren’t speaking about it openly, but this was the kind of war he had been preparing me for my whole life. These were the kinds of decisions I would have to take when I took over the MC, and I was ready.

Chapter 7

Ava

It had been a week, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Commando.

Getting a hang of the job was easy enough. I had to serve the drinks and keep a tab on who was paying and who wasn’t. Big D was always around, which meant that I didn’t have to handle anything on my own. Besides, some of the guys with the vests were always around the bar, and in their presence, I always felt safe. I could tell that they belonged to some kind of Club…I had my suspicions that it was a full-fledged Motorcycle Club. And Commando was a part of it as well.

He still watched me around the bar whenever he was there, undressing me with his eyes, keeping an eye on my every move. And every time I saw him, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling I had that first night we’d met. I thought I was going crazy.

Big D had given me my instructions when I first joined, along with all the rest of my training. Employees were not supposed to sleep with any of the members, that is any of the guys with the vests. Which meant that Commando was off limits. I wondered if that was why he hadn’t come up and spoken to me since that first day. I had to keep my thighs squeezed together now, every time I saw him, because the more I thought about how he couldn’t have me; the more I wanted him.

My shift had just started when Commando walked in that evening. Leather jacket, hair styled perfectly, his shoulders heaving and his blue eyes fixed on me behind the counter. He stood near one of the tables, sliding his gloves off. I’d heard the roar of his bike outside and I’d started to recognize the distinct sound of his engine. My body was already prepared for his entrance, but even then, I felt like I he had grabbed me by my waist and pulled me to himself.

It was still early and the bar was empty. Only Big D was working away in the storage room behind me and there was one other patron at a far corner, having an early drink. Commando walked stealthily towards me, while I counted the cash in the register. I wasn’t really counting. I couldn’t actually concentrate with him there.

“Are you happy working here?” were his first words. He hadn’t spoken to me in a week, and here he was, asking me this deeply personal question. I looked up at him daring to meet his eyes and I forced a smile on my face and nodded.

Commando’s eyes were flitting over my body, drinking in the shape of my breasts, the slope of my neck…I felt naked and vulnerable again. I couldn’t help but imagine him taking charge, pushing me against the wall…

“Yes, I like it here,” I said instead, gulping down my fantasies while he stared at me. I wanted to run my fingers over his skin, feel his muscles move.

“You let me know if anyone gives you trouble,” he said and placed his helmet on the counter beside me. I could feel my cheeks flushing with those words. I knew that if there was any man who could definitely keep me safe, it was Commando. I didn’t know him, but I knew at least that much about him. He was still watching me with narrowed eyes and I looked away from him.

“Thanks, but everyone here is good to me,” I replied and my shoulders stiffened when he leaned towards me over the counter. His face only inches away from mine. What was he doing? What was he going to do? We were not allowed to get this close.