Page 139 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
She was sitting at a table, cradling a glass of gin in her hands and I could see her smiling widely. Some guys were standing around her, talking to her, and I could tell that they were making jokes and she was having a good time.
I liked seeing her smile, and I wished that this wasn’t happening so that I wouldn’t have to force her away from her friends…but she had no idea who they really were.
I could also see the way they were looking at her. Brooklyn was clearly one of the handful of women at the bar, but most of their eyes were on her. It was like she was giving out a glow of sensuality where she sat.
I wanted to barge in and rip their eyes out of their skulls for looking at her. I wanted them to know that she had gotten all dressed up that night for me. That we were supposed to be on a date, and probably would have still been on one if I hadn’t been fucking stupid enough to start a fight with her.
I should have known better than to assume that Brooklyn would just follow orders without question. I should have known that she wasn’t that kind of woman. She was feisty, independent and stubborn as all hell. Now I watched her as she flicked locks of curls over her shoulder and smiled and laughed as she talked with the men.
She seemed comfortable in her surroundings, and not threatened or afraid like any other woman might have been. It was like she had been doing this for a very long time. I wondered if she was one of the groupies. If she had ever been any of their property. Did I care if she was? I still wanted her to be safe.
I took the steps back down and walked to my Harley. I wasn’t going to leave without at least speaking to her and I pulled out my cellphone from my pocket. Through the window, I kept a steady eye on her as I heard the phone ring.
I watched as she looked about her, when she realized that she could hear a phone ring. Then she touched her purse, as though to feel for vibrations.
“C’mon Brooklyn…pick up,” I muttered under my breath. The ringing died, just as I saw her extract her phone out of her purse. I dialed her number again immediately and this time, she answered.
“Hello?” she said and I realized that my number was blocked, so she had no idea who was calling. She had ducked her head low and I could see the creased forehead, the look in her eyes that told me that she was hoping it was me.
“It’s me Brooklyn,” I said and there was silence on her end, other than the loud background music and the chatter of voices around her of course.
“Why are you calling me now, Gunner? I thought you were very busy,” I heard her say. I could see her still, and I saw the way she was looking suspiciously about her at the men. I could sense that she didn’t want them to know she was talking to someone.
Now I could understand her stubbornness better. She felt claustrophobic around those guys, and she didn’t want to feel pressurized by me too. But I had no other choice. Getting her out of there was the only way to keep her safe.
“Brooklyn, can we talk? Can we finish the conversation we were having?” I said, hoping that now I would see her stand up, but she didn’t. She only pressed her phone closer to her ear.
“I thought it was an argument we were having, and that you gave me an ultimatum,” she said.
“I didn’t give you an ultimatum, Brooklyn, I just want you to be safe,” I said.
“And I told you that they’re my friends and I don’t need your protection,” she replied.
“Okay, can we please just talk about this in person?” I said and I watched as she looked over her shoulders again. The longer I saw her cowering like that, the angrier I got. I wanted her to get away from all those assholes.
“I don’t know what more you could have to say to me,” she said.
“Let’s just talk and I’ll explain,” I said and then I heard her sigh.
“Well, I’m with them right now, so I can’t leave. That would be rude,” she said and I gritted my teeth. It wouldn’t just be rude, it would be much more than that. I strongly suspected that these guys kept a close eye on her, and they wouldn’t just randomly let her leave. I was surprised that she had even managed to meet me at Temple Bar. I would have expected her to get into trouble for that.
“Okay, so just come out and talk to me then,” I said and Brooklyn looked up. I saw the way her curls shook and how her mouth was pursed together. That mouth that I knew would fit so tightly around me cock. I needed to stop staring at her body, and concentrate on the problem in hand!
“Outside? What do you mean?” she asked, and I could hear the slight fear in her voice.
“Outside the bar. I’m parked outside The Bird,” I said and now Brooklyn stood up.
“How did you know where to find me, Gunner? What is going on?” I could hear the tremble in her voice, as I watched her trying to squeeze her way through the crowded bar to the front doors.
“I made a wild guess,” I tried to joke. “I don’t live under a rock, Brooklyn. I know where the Dragon Knights hang out,” I added.
Brooklyn had made her way to the door by now and she was just about to step outside, when I saw a tall muscular guy with a head of thick blond hair stop her. He had placed a hand on her waist and spun her around and the call ended. She had purposely ended the call.
“Brooklyn!” I barked into the phone, but the line was dead.
I watched in seething anger as the guy swung her in his arms. Brooklyn was smiling nervously at him, trying to slide herself out of his grip and I prepared myself to head inside. I wasn’t going to just stand by and watch her getting groped. No matter what the consequences were.
I took a few steps forward, and then saw as she slipped out of his arms and was at the door.
We were facing each other and she was standing with her mouth hanging open.
“Brooklyn!” I said her name, relieved, and she stepped towards me and then walked past.
“We need to get out of their sight first,” she hissed in the dark and I heard her heels clicking against the road as she made her way towards the end of the parking lot.
Chapter 13
Brooklyn
My heart was racing as I walked in the dark as far away from the bar as possible. Viper had caught me leaving at the last minute, asking me questions again…flirting. I was hoping that I’d managed to make my escape by claiming that I needed some air and I wasn’t feeling too well. I knew they had all been heavily drinking the whole night and maybe, if I got lucky, he wouldn’t notice how long I was gone. Either way, I needed to make this quick.
I turned around to face Gunner when I thought I’d walked far enough away from the bar. I was relieved to see him, happy that he had called…at least he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d just ignore me endlessly just because we’d gotten into an argument.
“So, what do you have to say for yourself?” I said and crossed my arms over my breasts. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness of the night, and his blue eyes seemed to twinkle in the dim silvery moonlight that was surrounding us. He towered over me, a hulking bulk of a man…all muscle and strength and I was quickly reminded of why I was so damn attracted to him.
“Well, I do want to apologize for my behavior. I should have explained it better,” Gunner said and I pursed my lips.
“You’re not very good at apologizing, are you?” I asked him, arching my eyebrows. Gunner wasn’t in good humor, unlike me…I was just glad to see him again. I was just glad that we might have a chance to make up.
“I said I wanted to apologize,” he said and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“But you didn’t actually say the words,” I tried to smile at him, but he was making it very difficult to.
“It’s hard to beg for an apology right now, given where you are,” he said and I rolled my eyes at him. Not this again! I thought we had gone past it. I thought he wanted to apologize to me for asking me to stay away from my friends.
“What are you doing here then, Gunner?” I snapped and he took a step towards me. Our proximity made my breath choke up in my throat. Just a step in my direction had a crippling effect on me that I couldn’t explain.
“I’m here to take you away from this place, to a safer location,” he said and I opened my mouth and shook my head in frustration.
“Why are you bringing this up again, Gunner? I thought you wanted to apologize,” I said and he stepped towards me again.
“You don’t know them Brooklyn!” his voice rose a little and I glared at him.
“And you know them, how? I’ve spent all my life in their midst, Gunner. They are not what they seem from the outside. Yes, they can come on a bit strong and they live life differently from the regular Joe…” I was speaking too quickly now, desperate for him to see reason. If we were going to have any kind of relationship…whatever it might be…he would have to accept my friends. The Dragon Knights accepting him was another question entirely.
“Brooklyn, you’re mistaken about them,” he interrupted me and I rolled my eyes at him again. He was just not hearing me.
“I think I know them better than you do! You’ve made your judgements about them, just like everyone else in Long Beach has. If you’re not in their bad books, there is no need to worry. And I’m not in their bad books, Gunner…like I said, I’m like family to them,” I said, stopping myself just in time from mentioning how involved my family had always been with the Dragon Knights.
