OUTLAW KING(17)

Truthfully, I was feeling a little empty inside.

I saw the headlights of the car swing and face right at me.

I pushed away from the open door and reached back for my gun.

Who the f*ck would be here with a car this late?

The car pulled up to the bay and then the lights were killed off. The door swung open and someone stepped out of the car. It took my eyes all of two seconds to see who it was.

“Linds?” I called out.

She stood there in the rain, door open, getting soaked.

I put my gun down and ran out of the garage to the car.

“Hey!” I yelled. “What’s wrong?”

Linds turned her head and I saw the bruise next to her eye. She then looked at me again. Her hands held the top of the door. She was shaking. Shivering from the cold rain. But she was in fear. Terrified.

I reached for her and pulled her away from the car. I slammed the door. Now we were both standing in the rain, like damn fools, getting soaking wet.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He hit me,” she said. “Jim.”

“Your aunt’s * husband?”

“Yeah. I… he was drunk… he wanted to touch me… I pushed him away and he swung…”

“Let’s go,” I said.

I grabbed the door and opened it back up.

Fuck the Reap for a minute. Fuck my security post. Fuck it all. I was going to take care of this situation right now…

“No,” Linds said. “Please, King, no. Don’t. Not tonight.”

Linds touched my face. Her hand slid behind my neck and she moved to her toes. Our lips touched for a brief second.

“He can’t get away with this,” I said. “No f*cking way in hell.”

“I need you tonight,” Linds said. “I need someone to hold me. To love me.”

“I told you to move out of that house,” I said.

But what were her options? Move in with me? I didn’t have a f*cking home myself. I had a room in the back of the clubhouse that Knox and Slam vouched for me. She was trying to go to school to be a nurse, like her Aunt Jane was. I knew how the story went. If she didn’t do what they wanted, when they wanted, she’d be cut off from everything.

I took her by the hand and walked her to the garage. At the very least, we could be dry together.

As we stood right inside the garage bay, I gently touched her face.

“I’m so f*cking sorry, sweetie,” I whispered. “You deserve better than this. Where’s your aunt?”

“Working,” she said.

“Fuck. Where is he right now?”

“He’s home. Drunk. The usual.”

I slid my arms around her. I pulled her close. “Goddammit, Linds.”

Her hands were at her sides. I was holding her up. That’s when she started to cry.

The sound of the pouring rain outside. The sound of my girl crying. I hated it. I wanted to give her more in life. That piece of shit her aunt married needed to pay. The way he talked to Linds and the way he treated her had always been wrong. But now he hit her? Fuck no.

Linds moved her hands to the back of my leather cut. She clawed at me. She turned her head and looked up at me. I felt her lips touch my neck.

“I missed you,” she said. “So much, King. Just be here tonight with me, okay?”

“Always, sweetie,” I said. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

“Please, yes,” she said. “I feel so gross right now.”

“Not a chance,” I said. “You’ll never know how beautiful you are, Linds. I’m going to spend every day of my life showing you that.”

I finally got a flicker of a smile out of her.

Then I kissed her.

Then I led the way to the clubhouse to strip her out of those wet clothes and make her forget about the night.

It was an hour later when we were wrapped up together, naked, under a blanket. My cock was still throbbing from the things her sweet body had just done to it. I had my hand across her chest, feeling her heart still racing.

Her eyes were shut.

I refused to shut mine though.

Nights like that I didn’t want to end. Because they always brought tomorrow. And tomorrow for us had never really worked out.

So for me, I had tonight.

My girl, in my arms. Feeling her body. Feeling her heartbeat.

Feeling her love.





13


(Lindsey) *NOW*

I ALMOST PASSED OUT AGAIN.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. There was a red mark on my face but it wasn’t too bad. It hurt worse to touch than it looked. I couldn’t believe Nelson actually got drunk enough to do that to me. Better yet…

I shut my eyes and side stepped.

I left the bathroom and saw him standing in the hallway.

King.

It made my heart jump, twist, flip, and almost pop.

It made no sense. I never thought I would ever see him again. But there he was, standing in the hallway of my apartment. Filling the f*cking hallway with his wide shoulders and body. He had always been built, every piece of muscle and ounce of strength earned through living the hard life he did.

I just stared at him.

“Still shocked?” he asked.

“I feel like I’m going to wake up from a dream.”