Know Your Place (Knights Disciples Motorcycle Club Book 2) (6 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The bath made Laura very sleepy. Will left her alone to let her nap. He left open the window overlooking the sea so she could rest in the sea air and be lulled to sleep with the rhythm of the waves. She awoke abruptly having fallen into a very deep sleep, though she had no idea for how long she had been out, to the loud rumbling noise of a brawl.  At least one of the Knights’ Disciples was in a fight. The first thing that came to her mind when clarity came to her was that maybe one of the Marauders, the gang that her young brother was now a part of, had found them. She checked herself to make sure she was suitably dressed, thinking for a moment she might have crashed in just her underwear, and crept down the stairs. Shouts from the first floor grew louder and louder as she made her way down two flights of stairs. Laura was somewhat afraid that weapons could be present. She wanted to call out for Will, but she felt very vulnerable. She pressed her back against the wall and crept down to the landing that was followed by another flight of stairs.

The fighting was fully physical, though there were people on the sidelines urging the brawlers to stop, to cut it out. Glass shattered and chairs tipped. A multitude of scenarios played through her mind – visions of Marauder Gang members fighting the members of the Knights’ Disciples Motorcycle Club. She imagined her brother, Lucas, being just around the corner. She fantasized that he was still a young boy in her mind, not that hard, cold man-looking creature that he had become through his association with the brutal street gang. She was afraid to go any nearer the disturbance. 

Out of nowhere, someone came up behind her, as if out of the wall, covered her mouth with his hand and drew her in close to him. It was Will. He had on fresh clothing, including his Knights’ Disciples leather vest. "Shhhh," he whispered. "It's okay, but let's not go in there."

"Where did you come from?" she demanded as he let go her mouth. She was shaken.

"Right behind me. Door to another set of stairs. Anyway, we got a couple of guys in there dukin' it out over a woman. Come with me through this door and we'll go out front."

She followed him through the door at the landing, which she assumed was some kind of closet, and down a flight of stairs that led to a dining room and around the main staircase out the front door. Will wouldn't even let her go in front of the main window so she could look inside to see what was happening.

"Why don't you guys call the cops?" she asked, once they were out in the sunlight. The day was cooling off now that it was late afternoon. 

Will smiled. "We are hoping they will work things out. Don't want one of our own going to jail while we are having fun."

"Looks like someone is going to the hospital. From the sound of it, they're killing each other.  I don't like it," she said.

Will brushed the hair from her face. "Let's go take a walk. Let's go have a beer and some munchies. We can do fancy dining next time. These guys will be out any minute."

"I wish you would take this more seriously," Laura said with frustration.

"It's Darren's date. She was seeing a guy for a while and decided it was so serious that she couldn't spend the weekend with Darren. And I guess the guy came here looking for her. She put Darren in the middle of it. We told him to send them both home but he wants to spend the weekend with her."

"Does he love her?" Laura asked her.

"He loves to fuck her," Will responded. Ordinarily the graphic talk would have excited her but the meaning turned her off. She and Will had a scorching sex life and he did call her his girlfriend, but is that how he looked at things? Was his definition of her
someone he liked to fuck?

They walked down the sunny sidewalk towards the tavern when lights and sirens did, in fact, wail, cop cars slicing through the streets to the Knights’ Disciples’ house. Someone had called the cops. 

"Should we go back?" she asked.

Still Will was casual. "No. Darren can handle it. There are plenty of witnesses. I think the less of us, the better."

From afar, Laura watched as the police walked Darren, his date, and his rival to the outside of the house. She saw a smiling Darren shake hands with a policeman. His date was not smiling and the other man was definitely not happy. One of the Knights’ Disciples pulled his bike round and Darren’s weekend date climbed on back. The police escorted all safely away. Will had called it correctly. She looked up at him and saw that he had been watching her, watching the scene.  He was grinning.

"So did that turn out okay for you? Can we go get something to eat?" he asked.

She was okay but she was still bothered by his words. "So what is Darren going to do now? Find someone else to fuck for the weekend?"

Will raised his brow. "Hey," he said.  "Where did that come from?"

"Am I just someone you love to fuck? And how do you know Darren likes to have sex with her? Do you guys talk about your sex life?" she said, the emotion rising in her voice.

Will towered over her, crowded her a bit and said with a scold in his voice, "I will answer all of those questions but let me give you a little coaching here. There is no need for you to create a thing just to raise an issue with me. All of those questions are valid and could easily discussed over a bottle of beer. You don't have to be defensive with me. If I say something that bothers you, say so. Don't stew in it."  He kissed her on the forehead.  "Okay?" 

Laura was sulking.  It was so frustrating because once the mood set in she had a difficult time in just snapping out of it. And she couldn't help but think that he basically just changed the subject into lecturing her.

But he took her hand firmly in his and led her the rest of that way to Big John's. A few of the Knights’ Disciples rode ahead of them and some walked behind them. Seems like it was going to be a house party at the tavern, which was complete with pool tables. The place was positively ancient inside. Laura could practically feel the ghosts. Will got them both a couple of bottles and took them to a remote corner.  "Let's get our cards on the table. I will answer all of your questions and then we can mix with everyone, have some fun."

"Will, you don't have to babysit me. I get the gist of what you are going to say. It's okay," she said.

He took her by the shoulders firmly, his face grinning but he was serious, she could tell. "Laura Mills, you are not a baby. But you have a tendency to act like one. Now, I obviously said the wrong thing. I know this because I am gathering hints from the jabs and slights that you are making. I haven't figured it out exactly. No matter. I did promise to discuss it with you. Is that off the table?"

Laura felt her face become long and stiff.  "I think I am going to play a couple games of pool and cool off."

He shook his head. "Do that.” He walked away from her towards the cluster of Knights’ Disciples.

Laura took a healthy sip of her beer. She removed a cue from the wall and racked up the balls on a table. She loved shooting pool, though it had it had been a while. The nicest thing about it all was that she was playing by herself. She could run the table and blow off some steam.

Will stood with his back to her, and seemed to have no problem having a good time.  He certainly wasn't pissed. In fact, he had forgotten her completely. From what she gathered, he and other Knights’ Disciples were reliving the whole Darren drama. The other Knights had their girlfriends.

A woman approached the cluster and joined in. Laura craned to see if she could tell whether the woman was a new friend or an old one. She didn't know how long they had a house in town, but it was apparently long enough to build friendly contacts. Everyone liked them. Laura burned as she saw the woman smile sweetly up at Will who seemed like the center of everything. Someone said something and the group roared. Even the bartender laughed. Laura looked at her table. She was bored with her game. She busily returned the cue to the wall and brushed the balls in their pockets. Her mood was officially foul. She did not want to be there.  She killed the rest of her beer and tried to discretely order another from the bartender at the end of the bar away from the group. 

Will looked over shoulder at her.  His eyes were smoky, dark. His demeanor changed quickly from the jovial life of the party to brooding, dominant and somber. It wasn't a look that said he was angry with her but one that was more like he wanted to spank her. Laura waited too long to turn away. She couldn't and his penetrating gaze was drawing her in. He crooked his finger at her and beckoned her to come to him. It had most definitely become a game and now they were toying with each other.

She dragged her feet and moved slowly towards him. When she was within distance, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her, and drew her into him. She fit perfectly into the crook of his arm. Any social discomfort dissipated because she knew her place and he basically announced it. She was still feeling cranky but that part of it was gone.

She had had that first beer pretty fast and was now on her second. The woman who had joined them gave her what she thought was a funny look. Laura widened her eyes and mutely asked if there was something she wanted. The woman looked away. Offended. Laura quipped, "Here we go again."

"How's that?" Will asked her.

"Just this feels a little bit of what Darren just went through with his date," she said quietly so that only the two of them could hear. The look on his face told her she might have gone a little too far.

"How is that?" he dared her. His face was like lead.

"Nothing," Laura said.

"Laura, baby," he warned her, "I think we are officially having our first fight, do you hear me? Stop now. Stop. Am I clear?" Will said.

"Sure," said Laura. "I'm sorry. I took it too far." She craned up to kiss him on the cheek. "We can talk later if you're up for it. I'm going to step outside on the deck and just get some air." She set what remained of her beer on the counter.

He pulled her close to him and took her chin to kiss her. "Okay," he said softly. "I'll come find you in a bit."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Spending 24/7 with each other had taken its toll and it was a good idea to take as much a breather as they could. The deck was furnished with upholstered bench seats. It was difficult to resist, since she was outside all alone, to recline on one. She was not a drinker and she had exceeded her annual intake on an empty stomach. Plus she just wanted to tune out and dream of the day when life didn't have so much drama. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. A firm hand jostled her shoulder. It was dark on the deck except for a stream of weak gold lanterns. She assumed Will was coming to find her as promised but when she sat up and her eyes focused she realized she was face to face with her brother Lucas. There was no trace of love that she had raised him with in his eyes.

“Get up, little sister,” he said. When he stood up straight, Lucas was a beanstalk that pierced the sky. He was nearly half her age but he was a half a foot taller. Though she was smaller than he was in stature, he was mocking her. “Act casually and quietly,” he ordered her. “Make a scene and I will finish you right here.”

Laura could hardly move she was so stunned. He had just threatened her life. As she made her way down the shadowy stairs that lead to the beach, she saw another figure crouching by a deck beam. It was another Marauder. “Who is this?” he asked.

“It’s my sister,” Lucas replied without emotion.

“How did you find me here?” Laura asked, her voice crumpling with fear.

“Don’t worry about that,” Lucas said, giving her a shove.

“I thought you said you could get the dude who punched our guy. The Sergeant at Arms or whatever you called him. That’s what we came down her for. You have to do it. No more stalling. You have to earn your wings man. We have waited for this long enough,” said the other Marauder.

Lucas tensed up. “How is it my fault they took a vacation? You’re the one who got us busted for the car shit.”

The other marauder pressed a gun to Lucas’s face. “I should off all of you.  But you are lucky we are supposed to both come back.”

“Relax. I took her. He will come to us,” said Lucas.

The other marauder said, “Let’s do this.”

“Let’s.”

Everyone whipped around to see Will Shriner standing like a giant wave behind them. “You boys have ID? I think you have to be twenty-one to go to this joint.”

Lucas and the other Marauder cackled and slapped each other with high-fives. Lucas whistled and about ten more Marauder gang members appeared. Will looked straight at Laura. He had a funny look on his face and she didn’t know if it was one of fear or sport. He shrugged and sent a roundhouse kick to Lucas, breaking his hold on Laura. 

Laura scrambled up the stairs, but only made it so far. Another Marauder lunged for her before she could get back to the tavern.

The racket of skirmish was familiar to the people inside the bar enough for them to know something was going on out on the beach. A mass of Knights’ Disciples filed out onto the deck.  They leapt over Laura, clearing the flight of stairs and landing directly onto the Marauders. But, somehow, a gang member scurried away with Laura, weaving underneath the pilings of the deck away.

It was the first man who had been with Lucas, who also had to prove himself to the Marauders for having gotten arrested for the car theft. He gripped her hair, dragging her by the head out and into a huge thicket of sea grass on the beach. The ocean waves crashed and roared as the guys tussled outside the bar.

The Marauder started to talk to her. “You’re kind of cute, you know. I am going to enjoy this,” he said, before he pushed her into the sand surrounded by grass.