Page 67 of Snake (Road Rebels MC 3)
“Don’t look so nervous, darling. We won’t introduce you two tonight, not when you’re in these clothes. We’ll fix an appropriate date, when you’re better prepared to meet him,” mom added and she turned to dad and smiled.
The waiter came to us for our orders, and father ordered for all of us like he usually did. I didn’t even care or think about what he had ordered, because all I could think about was how cruel the universe was being to me today.
It was almost like it gave me a taste of the thrilling life of adventure I could have had…with a man like Tank…if I was a different girl. But then it was quick to remind me that I could never have that life because I wasn’t that girl. I had an image to maintain, I had parents to please…and I had a destiny to fulfill that my family had laid out for me. As much as I hated following their rules, I honestly didn’t know any other way. I had tried to fight them on their plan in the past, and they always managed to find a way to suck me back into their grip. I hated the thought of them being disappointed in me, and I would find myself giving in to them yet again.
“Noelle?” dad’s voice cut through my thoughts sharply, and I jerked my face around to look at him. I still felt like I was in a daze like I had no idea where I was or what I was doing. I felt like I was floating.
When I had been staring at him blankly for a few moments, he repeated himself.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he said, and I looked down and found that the waiter had already placed a bowl of warm mackerel salad in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed.
“Yes, of course, sorry I was thinking of something else,” I said with flushing apology as I tried to eat what had been served to me. My parents would never understand why all I could think about was Tank and how he was capable of making me feel.
CHAPTER 7
Tank
When I woke up the next day, I found Gunner sitting on a chair beside my bed.
“Brother!” Gunner got up and came over to thump my shoulder as I sat up.
“The nurses told me that you’re healing well,” Gunner said, and I nodded my head.
“I think so. I don’t feel any pain, but that could be because of all the pills I’m popping,” I said, and Gunner smiled and nodded his head.
“And Glock told me the official story you guys told the authorities,” he continued and I grunted a response. He went back and sat down on the chair, and I watched as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Axel sends his regards and wishes he could come,” he told me, and I nodded. I didn’t expect Aecel to be here, because he was the president of our MC and having him out and about in a public place like this could be dangerous, especially now that they Dragon Knights were starting to fight back. There would have to be additional security around him.
“How are the others? Was anyone else injured?” I asked, and Gunner shook his head.
“Only you got shot. That’s another reason why I’m here. I need your side of the story for Church. Axel wants your full report,” Gunner said, and I clenched my jaws as I tried to think. Even though my memory of that night had returned, I couldn’t be sure of all the details.
“Has Sniper given his account?” I asked, and Gunner nodded.
“Yeah, but Axel wants your version as well,” he said, and I ran a hand through my hair. It was long, and I hadn’t tied it up now, so it fell on my shoulders.
“We heard a bullet fire in the dark, it missed us, and we walked towards it. Then, two guys, I guess that were Dragon Knights, started firing full throttle and Sniper and I tried to take cover behind the wooden crates,” I related, and Gunner was watching me with narrowed eyes.
“Is that when you got shot?” he asked and tipped his head in the direction of the wound in my stomach.
“I guess so. I didn’t feel it then. I didn’t feel it till you pointed it out to me,” I told him, and Gunner took in a deep breath.
“You started shooting from behind the wooden crates?” he asked, and I clenched my jaw. I knew what Gunner was getting at. I should have stayed behind cover, but instead, I was putting my life in danger by getting up and shooting.
“I had to do something. I couldn’t just cower behind a crate like a pussy,” I snapped, and Gunner stood up from his chair and walked over to me again.
“I know why you did it, brother. Maybe I would have done the same. Our first instinct is to shoot. I’m just trying to establish the facts for Axel and Church,” he told me, holding my glare and I grunted and dropped my head back on the pillow.
“There were definitely two of them, but there could have been more,” I said, and Gunner pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Those mother fuckers ambushed us. How did we miss it?” Gunner was mumbling under his breath, while I stared up at the ceiling. Gunner was right. We were caught completely off guard by them. I hated that we weren’t more prepared. Sniper and I should have been making rounds through the warehouse, rather than shooting the shit smoking cigarettes. I felt like I let the Bad Disciples down.
“We underestimated them. That’s what happened,” I said through gritted teeth and Gunner reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You’re right brother, we did underestimate them, and they got us for that,” he said, and when I looked at him, I could see that his gaze had dimmed. “You could have been killed,” he added, and I took in a deep breath.
“They’re not going to kill me this easily,” I said, and even though I wasn’t smiling, Gunner did. Then he nodded his head and took his hand away from my shoulder.
“Yeah. Those mother fuckers can try as much as they want. We’ll get them the next fuc
king time,” he said, the smile still lingered on his face, and a magical sparkle had entered his eyes. I smiled back at him. My thoughts shifted back to that night to see if there was something I missed. I felt my blood drain from my face when I remembered about the shipment from the Fallen Idols. The guys were unloading it, while Sniper and I were taking the heat from the Dragon Knights.
“Is the shipment secure?”
Gunner smiled brightly and nodded. “We had everything in crates and put away by the time the shootout happened. The police sirens must have scared them off, so they weren’t able to take anything. Axel had a team pick it up and move it to another location yesterday, so if the fuckers come back, they will find nothing but empty boxes.” I let out a slight sigh of relief. At least our shipment was safe.
“We need to retaliate. We need to get them first,” I said quickly, and Gunner was looking at me again.
“You mean we need to ambush them?” he asked, and I nodded, as I straightened myself on the bed.
“You need to speak to Axel, and you need to convince him that we need to retaliate, as quickly as possible,” I continued and Gunner was slowly nodding his head.
“Okay, yes, you’re right. We need to nip this in the bud,” he agreed.
“Just give me a few days. I’m going to be discharged from this place soon, and when I’m out, we need to plan something fast,” I said.
“Yeah, we can’t let the Dragon Knights think that they got away with this,” he growled under his breath, just as the door of my hospital room opened and Noelle stepped in.
Her eyes fell on Gunner and me immediately, and she looked startled for a moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had visitors,” she said, and Gunner turned to her. I could see him scanning her body, till his eyes fell on her name tag. A look of realization seemed to enter his eyes, and I had a feeling that Glock had told him about Noelle and the way I’d been staring at her.
“No worries nurse, come in come in,” Gunner was beaming at her now, as she nervously tucked some hair behind her ears.
