Page 127 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
“It was my pleasure,” Viper said and reached for the bottle of Jack Daniels and poured himself half a measure as I watched him.
I’d tried being polite with Viper already, letting him down gently every time he asked me out, but he just wasn’t getting the hint. Besides, these guys weren’t anything if not persistent. Luke was just like them. He was just like his friends.
“Here by yourself? Where are the others?” I asked him, walking up to him with two glasses in my hands and the towel thrown over my shoulder.
“Just me. I thought I’d stop by and check up on you before I go meet the others,” Viper said, and even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel his eyes on me. Searing my skin as he watched my every move. Would it have been very bad if I was attracted to Viper? He belonged to the MC world that I knew so well. He was a friend of Luke’s. I’d known him for a long time…but I couldn’t just conjure up feelings for him when they didn’t exist.
“You don’t need to check up on me every day, Viper. I’m fine,” I told him, trying to smile as genuinely as I could. Ever since Luke’s death, the guys were constantly checking up on me. They were afraid that I was depressed…and they felt the same protectiveness towards me that Luke had felt. In essence, I’d inherited a dozen new protectors in the place of my older brother, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled.
“I know I don’t, Brooklyn, but there’s no harm in it either, is there?” he said, sipping his whisky as he spoke to me. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. There was no winning an argument with these guys, I knew that. Daddy had been the same and so had Luke.
Members of The Dragon Knights did not back down. People who messed with them, learned that the hard way.
Essentially, they were all the family I had left now and at the thought of that, I smiled at Viper. He might have been trying to date me, but ultimately, he was still a part of the gang. One of Luke’s friends, and I appreciated the support they had all shown towards me since he passed.
I poured him another measure of Jack in his glass and he picked it up and tipped his head in my direction.
“You’re an angel, Brooklyn,” he said with a smile and took another large sip. I wished I liked him that way. Despite his harsh appearance of tats lining his arms and most of his torso, I could tell he wasn’t as hard as he seemed. I just felt more like he was an older brother. Not that he could ever replace Luke, but the way he tried to protect me reminding me of that brotherly feeling.
“Thank you, Viper, and now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to work,” I said, still smiling at him and I walked away from him towards some of the other people who had taken seats at the counter.
From the corner of my eye, as I took their orders, I saw Viper finish his drink in one large gulp and then he was gone.
How long was someone from the MC going to be sent to check up on me every night? I knew it was supposed to make me feel protected. They were doing it because I was a little sister to them, just as much as I was to Luke, but I was worried that I might start feeling claustrophobic soon.
I was born into the MC. It was my father and brother’s legacy and I wouldn’t have changed anything about them. It was my duty to accept the MC’s protection now. I was a part of the family, but I knew that along with that came a lot of expectations. There were things I was supposed to do and things that weren’t allowed.
I tried to focus on the chatter of people in the bar now, and on the drinks that I was pouring and the money I had to collect. But I couldn’t help but wondering what Luke would have expected me to do about Viper. What would he have wanted for me? The number one rule of the MC was loyalty. That much I knew. Which meant that I was expected to eventually end up with one of them and it seemed like Viper had called dibs on me.
Chapter 3
Gunner
I headed to Church. After being around them enough, I knew the Bad Disciples called their meetings that. My dad and older brother, Bryce, had attended enough of them through my lifetime for me to be familiar with the term. But I wasn’t sure what it exactly entailed. I was just following orders.
The Rusty Pelican was the Bad Disciples’ haunt, a motorcycle bar in Long Beach and when I entered, I instantly realized that the bar had been cleared of everyone except members. I still couldn’t understand why they wanted me there, why Axel had asked me here specifically. I had nothing to give them.
Axel’s hair had considerably whitened since I last saw him. He’d been good friends with dad and now he was sitting on a high stool in the middle of the bar. Some of the others were playing pool nearby, while others were sitting around drinking. The lighting was too low in the place for me to see their eyes. I preferred looking into people’s eyes. It gave me the upper hand.
“Gunner!” Glock appeared out of nowhere and thumped my back and when he said my name, an immediate hush fell in the room. I thumped Glock’s back too, glad to see my friend…but I couldn’t shake off the feeling either. The feeling that there was something not quite right.
“Axel’s been waiting to talk to you,” Glock said and I looked up at the older man. He was stocky, muscular, with a long beard that used to be dark but was turning gray now. Various tattoos snaked up his arms, and he was clad in leather vest, white shirt and worn jeans. He had fixed a cold stare on me and I looked back at him, holding his gaze.
“Axel,” I tipped my head at him, while the other members of the Bad Disciples surrounded me in a tight circle.
“Gunner,” Axel said my name in a quiet calm voice and I clenched my jaw. “What makes you think you can come back to town? Right under my nose,” he added and a deathly silence had descended upon us in the bar. I fisted my palms on my side. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I knew it couldn’t be good. Had Glock knowingly led me into a trap? I was severely outnumbered and even though I was a highly-trained killing machine, even I wouldn’t have survived an attack from all these men singlehandedly.
Axel burst out in a loud laugh, and everyone around me started laughing too.
“You should see the look on your face!” Axel laughed, slapping his knee. Glock thumped my back again and I grinned. Feeling a rush of relief flooding my body. This was their idea of a joke? They had a pretty twisted sense of humor in that case.
“Welcome home, Gunner,” Axel said and threw open his arms. Glock gave me a push and I walked to Axel and we hugged.
“Your father and brother would be so proud of you. You followed in your brother’s footsteps and served your country like a real man,” Axel said, holding me at a dis
tance like a proud father.
“Yeah, except that Bryce never made it out of there alive,” I said, trying to keep my emotions in check. Axel stopped smiling and then quietly nodded his head.
“Your brother is missed. You know he was our brother. Just like your father was our leader. But you’ve honored their memory. You’ve lived up to their name and now we want to welcome you in,” he said and released my arms.
With my brows crossed, I looked around at the men surrounding me. Glock was standing to my side, beaming happily and with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Welcome me where?” I asked, looking at Axel again.
“Into the club, of course!” he replied and another round of laughter followed.
“I was never a part of this club, Axel. It was always just dad and Bryce,” I said and every time I said my brother’s name; I nearly winced.
“Yes, and now you have to carry on their legacy. Am I right?” Axel said and I glared at him from under my heavy eyelids.
“You have it all wrong, Axel. I don’t know what Glock has been telling you, but being a part of the Bad Disciples was never a part of my plan,” I told him and Axel took in a deep breath. The smile from his face had vanished again. A cold stern look replaced it.
“Glock didn’t have to tell me. I know whose son you are, whose brother…you have their blood running in your veins. You were always meant to be a part of this family,” Axel said and looked around at his men.
I clenched my jaw and stuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
“Why do you even want me here?” I asked and Axel was studying my face.
“Because you’re ready, my son. And now you have the military training that we can utilize. What will you do now, Gunner? Get a job bagging groceries? You need to use your skills how your father and brother used theirs before you. Don’t you think that is what they would have wanted for you?” He continued and my brain was working a mile a minute.
