Page 143 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
If I was going to stop these thoughts in my head, I would have to do a lot more than drink a few beers.
***
I woke up the next morning, in what seemed to be someone else’s apartment. It took a few minutes for the fogginess in my eyes to clear and for me to recognize that it was Glock’s place.
The room was lit brightly and I could see that it was early morning. Lying on my belly, I squinted my eyes against the light and tried to think about the events of the previous night, but that was a failed mission.
I couldn’t remember how I got there or what happened after the first three bottles of beer that I drank. I was on Glock’s couch and I moved and felt my brain rattle in my head. With a groan, I crashed back down on the couch and tried to sit up again. My limbs ached, my bones seemed to crack and there was a massive continuous throb in my head. I had tortured myself the previous night, knowing fully well the degree of the hangover I would have to go through the next morning. But I would have done anything to numb the pain. I’d smoked at least two packs of cigarettes, or at least that’s how my lungs felt that morning.
My mouth felt dry as well and when I cleared my throat, my vocal cords squeaked and rubbed painfully against each other. I knew my throat was going to feel hoarse all day. I flipped myself around on my back and stared up at the ceiling.
The previous night had been one of the worst drinking sessions I’d put myself through in a very long time. And I might have been able to forget Jenson and Brooklyn for the time being, but this morning, they were back fresh and with a vengeance in my mind and I felt like I was going to explode.
I couldn’t help but think about how peaceful I’d felt that morning when I woke up with her in my arms. How she’d smiled at me when she got up and revealed her bare body to me. I missed having her ass in my hands! How was she the first thought in my head these mornings? Why couldn’t I think of anything or anyone else but her?
I knew it had been a bad idea to drink that much, especially since today was going to be an important day. I knew we were all going to regret this and I wondered what Axel would have to say to us when he saw our condition.
“Yo,” Glock had walked into the room and I heard his voice before I saw him. Even turning my head hurt and I groaned again.
“Wow. You were on a roll last night,” he said and somehow, I managed to sit myself up on the couch. It was then that I noticed that Sniper was sleeping on the floor beside the couch while Hunter was sprawled on the carpet in the corner of the room.
“Did we all sleep here?” I asked Glock groggily, while he turned on the coffee machine. Sniper and Hunter moved when they heard our voices. Sniper was moaning as well.
Glock smirked as he prepared mugs for us.
“Yeah, looks like it. I have no idea how we got here,” he said.
Hunter was looking out of the window.
“All our bikes are here,” he said and pressed his temples with his thumbs. Sniper groaned and fell back down on the carpet.
“Today’s the big day!” Tank had walked into the room now, looking as fresh as someone who had just returned from the gym. He was showered and shaved and his ponytail looked shampooed too. How the hell had he managed to do that?
He clapped his hands together, rubbed them and walked over to help Glock with the coffee.
“Did you drink at all last night?” Sniper mumbled sleepily from his position on the floor and Tank looked at him, like he had been asked a silly question.
“Of course. I’m so fucking hungover!” he said and Glock looked at me with a knowing smile. We were all jealous of Tank’s ability to soldier through a hangover.
“We have to go back to the Pelican now,” Glock said, when he brought the mug of coffee to me. I took it from him, grateful for something to drink and gulped down the coffee even though it was burning my tongue.
“Yeah, I just got a call from Axel. We’re going to start putting things in motion now,” Tank informed us and Sniper started attempting to get off the floor again.
“I’m going to have to meet up with you guys later,” I said, finishing the coffee in a hurry.
“Where do you have to go?” Glock asked and I stood up from the couch, slightly unsteadily.
“I have something to do first. I’ll meet up with you guys there in a few hours,” I said and Tank followed me around the kitchen as I emptied the dregs of the coffee in the sink.
“You can’t keep disappearing on us like this, man. This is really important.” Tank started lecturing me and I clenched my jaw.
“I said I’ll be there. I just need to get something done first,” I said, glaring back at him.
“Guys, guys! Relax. Tank, he said he’ll be there and Gunner, just hurry up. Axel doesn’t appreciate delays,” Glock intervened and Tank threw me a threatening look before turning away from me.
I said nothing more to them, as I picked up my helmet from the floor near the front door and then walked out of Glock’s apartment. I could feel the energy returning slowly to my veins. The coffee had worked wonders. Either way, I didn’t have the time or the liberty to lick my wounds this morning. There were more important things to worry about than a fucking hangover.
I had to get Brooklyn out of that place no matter the cost.
Chapter 17
Brooklyn
I woke up with a gasp when I heard slamming on my front door. I realized that I was still wearing the corset and the black pants from the previous night. Events from the previous night hurled through my brain and I remembered why and how I was so afraid. The slamming on my front door returned. Whoever was doing it was in a hurry and was angry. The only person it could be was Viper or someone from the Dragon Knights.
With a shiver running down my spine, I hesitantly got out of bed. The banging on the front door hadn’t stopped and now it sounded like they were going to break down my door any minute. In the mirror in my bedroom, I caught a glimpse of myself. My curls were a mess, my makeup was smudged and there were dark circles around my eyes where my eyeliner had run and pooled. I looked like a complete hungover mess and I wrapped my arms around myself in fear.
Something was about to
happen. I could sense it in my bones. It had to be Viper. He was here to teach me a lesson on respect. No woman ever raised their hand to a member of the Dragon Knights. I had done something unthinkable and I would have to pay the price for it.
My feet trembled on the cold floor as I came closer and closer to the door. The banging grew louder and it looked like it was going to break apart any minute. There was no escaping this. Eventually, they would find me…Viper would find me and I would have to face the consequences. It didn’t matter whose sister I was, or whose daughter. The fact that I had slapped one of them put me in a position where I deserved punishment.
I tried to strengthen myself and I jutted my chin up in the air. There was no point being afraid of him. I had done it to defend myself, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. If Luke had taught me one thing, it was to never regret anything.
My hands were trembling as I unlocked the door and gently, I pried it open. The person on the other side pushed against the door wildly, flinging it open and I gasped in fright. But it wasn’t Viper, in fact it wasn’t anyone from the Dragon Knights. Gunner was standing in front of me, with his shoulders heaving and his body towering over me as I craned my neck to look up at his face.
“Brooklyn!” he said my name like he wasn’t expecting to see me. I parted my lips, but no words came out because I couldn’t believe how relieved I was to see him. I’d assumed I would never see him again. After our argument the previous night, I didn’t think he would have no reason to seek me out.
But, Gunner just kept showing up.
He was studying me closely, looking me up from my face, down to my disheveled clothes and then back to the mess of my hair. His blue eyes were stormy, his chiseled jaws were clenched.
“I was hoping you would be here,” he said, in a less panic-stricken voice and I gulped. Then he looked past me, into my apartment and I saw the creasing of his brows. He stared at my lipstick that was smeared around my mouth and looked back at the apartment again. That’s when it struck me. I knew what he was thinking.
