Lay It Down: Bastards MC Series Boxed Set (55 page)

“Future son-in-law, Daddy,” Taylor corrected, looping her arm through her his. “And Jo is always invited to our parties, but she’s had some difficulties over the past few years.”

His features wrinkled, and I could tell he was skeptical. I glanced toward Taylor, seeing the worry that she was trying hard to mask. I was missing something, that was obvious, but she seemed concerned that I was going to ruin their charade.

I stepped closer, hoping to ease his curiosity. “I’ve been going through a nasty divorce.” I waved at Taylor and Rob. “They like to try to protect me. To be honest, I haven’t been up for parties.”

Hal seemed to accept my explanation and offered his condolences before moving on to lighter topics. But I didn’t miss the look of relief that passed between Taylor and Rob, or the way that Rob stole me away from Hal as soon as he could.

As we walked to our table, Rob leaned in, grinding out just one word, “Later.”

***

Jonathan Greenwood was not at all what I’d expected. He didn’t look like how I thought a lawyer would, even though he was clearly more comfortable in his tux than the rest of the men at my table. He had accented his with a gray homburg hat and matching wool scarf, making him stand out from the rest of the black-and-white clad men. He was a solid six feet tall with wide shoulders, a thick chest, large arms that proved he worked out, and was shaved bald. If I didn’t know better, I would say he was hiding some serious ink under his formal wear and liked to ride a Harley on the weekend.

Thankfully, we hit it off immediately. He laughed at my jokes that no one else seemed to understand, and he winked at me when he told me he was also fluent in sarcasm. His easy smile put me at ease. We chatted all through dinner, and I almost forgot that we were at a table filled with other people. During the speeches and the start of the silent auction, he slid his chair closer to mine and kept me entertained by pointing out guests and gossiping about each one conspiratorially. By the time the last plate had been cleared away, I felt as if we’d been friends for years.

He held out a hand as he stood. “Would you do me the honor?”

I smiled and walked with him to the floor, nervous. “I can’t dance very well. No rhythm.”

“I don’t believe that for a second!” He pulled me closer. “There’s this little village in the south of France…”

I was so engrossed in the story of how he learned to dance that I completely spaced everything else, including my nerves and my awkwardness.

Well into our third song, he moved his mouth to my ear, voice low. “So which one do you belong to?”

I pulled my cheek off his chest and found him peering down at me. “I’m sorry?”

He smiled, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “Which Bastard do you belong to?”

I felt my eyebrows rise.

“There are many things I am, but naïve is not one of them,” he scolded, eyes gleaming with something I didn’t recognize. “I always do my homework, Ms. Walker. The Bastards have been trying to snag my attention for months, and I have no doubt that you, as absolutely delightful as you are, are another attempt to plead their case.”

I didn’t argue. There was no reason to when he had hit the nail right on the head.

He gave me a small smile and continued. “I know you aren’t a club whore. You’ve too much education and class to reduce yourself to that.” I wasn’t sure if I should thank him or be offended, but he continued thinking out loud before I could interrupt. “You’re here with Rob, but I can’t imagine he’d let me monopolize all your time if you were his. Even if he wants you to get close to me, the Bastards are a jealous lot. He’d rather die than let me hold his woman like this. So if you’re not Rob’s, and you definitely aren’t Jeremy’s type, I can’t help but wonder which one has claimed you.”

“I don’t belong to anyone. No one has claimed me.” I shook my head when I thought he’d argue. “It’s complicated.”

He chuckled. “It always is, isn’t it?”

I sighed, watching the other couples dance around us. “I fell in love with one of them before I knew he was part of the club.” I lifted a shoulder, deciding to stay with the truth as much as possible. “Then my life fell apart and I needed to start over, so I came down here to go to school. Rob’s been a great friend.”

“And the one you love?”

I hesitated, not sure how much to say. “Is taken.”

Without meaning to, my eyes found Taylor twirling around the floor with Rob, both looking serious as they had a quiet conversation. Jon, as he’d insisted I call him, followed my eyes.

“Ahh.” After a few minutes of silence, he shifted, moving my head back to his chest. The song ended and another began before he spoke again. “I’ve met Matt a few times.”

I stiffened. If there was a connection between Matt and Jon already, why in the hell was I there?

Mistaking my reaction, he apologized. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” I forced a smile, but the look he gave me told me he knew it was fake. When the music stopped, I pulled away.

His hand found the small of my back, and he leaned toward my ear once again. “If it makes you feel any better, I won’t be going to the engagement party.” He looked toward my date. “I’ve suddenly realized that something will come up that day, a schedule conflict.” His eyes twinkled as they looked back at me. “I would love for us to have dinner that evening, maybe show you around the city.”

I nodded, half numb as my heart thundered wildly. I’d done what I was supposed to do. I’d created a bond that would hopefully lead to the end result Rob was so desperate for. However, I was more confused now than I had been in months. Engagement party? What in the hell was going on, and why in the hell had no one told me?

***

The ride back to the apartment was filled with tension. I wanted to demand answers, but the warning look on Rob’s face told me I would have to wait. As our driver weaved in and out of traffic, I felt my annoyance grow. Maybe there was a perfectly good explanation, but the jerk could have at least warned me. No wonder Matty hadn’t wanted me to go tonight! He was going to give me some answers, and he was going to give them to me immediately.

I stormed out of the limo and into the building behind Rob, barely offering Hawk and Tabby a terse good-bye. Rob tried to say something once the elevator began to move, but I shook my head.

“No," I snapped. "Just save it! Matty and I need to have a long talk.”

He only nodded and pulled his cell from his pocket. I heard the chimes of the phone coming to life as I stepped onto the lower level of our house, and I marched straight for Matty’s room. I didn’t care if he was sleeping. His ass was getting up and finally answering all the questions I had. There was no escaping it this time.

But Matty wasn’t in his room. And there were no signs he’d been there all night. Groaning in frustration, I yanked the bobby pins out of my hair, letting the curls cascade down around my shoulders. I’d go upstairs and face him, but I refused to do it in this damn dress.

The sharp double-knock on the door startled me.

“Jesus, Matty, it’s your room too. You don’t have to knock!” I yelled as I started to untie the knot on my hip. The knock came again though, and I hurried around the bed and pulled the door open.

Rob, jacket off and bow tie undone, stood in the hall, holding up a finger to me. I raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head. “No, we’re on our way. Just keep him there!” he snapped into the phone before jabbing it with a finger. He jerked his head toward the stairs. “You’re comin’ with me. Let’s go.”

Go? Where? “What’s wrong?” Panic started to rise. “What did you do now?”

“Me?” he asked incredulously, holding up the phone before shoving it into his pocket. “Eighteen messages. That’s how many I have, but I only needed to listen to one to get the fuckin’ point.” He grabbed the edges of the door frame, leaning into the room, every line of his body stressed with tension. “Matty is at the club, totally fucked.” Dark eyes narrowed at me. “I’m thinking that has more to do with you than me.”

Well, that explained why my boyfriend wasn’t there. I turned back into room, exhausted, intent on changing into pjs and falling into bed. “He’s pissed at me.”

“Yeah,” Rob snorted. “You could say that. You didn’t tell him you were coming with me. Why the fuck not?”

I turned back to him, irritated at his accusing tone. “Are you freaking serious right now? It takes seriously large balls to be irritated with me for keeping a secret after all the shit I found out you’ve been lying about! But to answer your question, I didn’t tell him because I thought that you would! You tell him everything else I do!”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my plate’s a little fuckin’ full right now!” he bellowed. “Is that really why you didn’t tell him, L.K.? Or was it some sort of screwed up payback?”

My mouth fell open in shock, but I couldn’t form the words to argue back.

The asshole took that as a sign of guilt. “You need to stop fuckin’ with his head or so help me god, I will…”

“What? What are you gonna do?” I cut him off before he could finish his threat, white-hot anger scorching through my body as I stepped toward him. My eyes flared. If only looks could kill. “We had a fucking argument! Wasn’t our first, sure as hell won’t be our last! Couples do that every now and then. I’m not some weak-minded little twit who's gonna roll over and do whatever the fuck he wants me to do, whenever the fuck he tells me to do it. He doesn’t own me! I am my own person, and just because I make choices on my own doesn’t mean I’m fucking with his head!” My fists balled at my sides, all exhaustion gone.

He watched my rant, unimpressed. “I like you, L.K. In fact, I fuckin’ adore you. But Matt’s my best friend. Yeah, I would take a bullet for any one of my brothahs, but Mateo and I have been through the fuckin’ wringah togethah. There isn’t a friggin’ thing I wouldn’t do for him.” He pulled himself up straight. “There is a lot of shit goin’ on right now, and I need Matt thinkin’ straight, not drunk off his ass or fucked up ovah you.” He pointed at me. “You ahh gonna go ovah theah and straighten this shit out. And you’ah gonna do it right now!”

It was my turn to snort. “Oh? And what am I gonna do—stroll in there and take the bottle away?” I’d done it once before, and it hadn’t been easy. Matty was a mean drunk.

He glowered, and I stepped back, momentarily terrified. “That’s exactly what you ahh gonna do.” If possible, his face got even darker. “You say you wanna know what secrets he’s keepin’? Well, I’ve watched him drink himself half to death ovah the last few months. We don’t sit around bitchin’ and moanin’ about our feelins, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s wrong.”

I shook my head, feeling the blood drain from my face. No. Matty had drunk himself into oblivion once before, a long time ago, when he and Becky got divorced. I’d been so sure he was going to kill himself, either with alcohol or by making a stupid decision because of it. Getting him sober had been hell, and I doubted he remembered the days I’d spent with him or the things he’d said while drunk. He’d promised me that he would never let anything get him that low again. That idea scared me more than anything else.

“You ahh his whole fuckin’ world, L.K. You ahh always so quick to remind everyone you don’t need to be saved. Did you evah stop to consider that you’ah the one who needs to save him?”

Chapter 22

Jo

The atmosphere outside the club was completely different than it had been two days ago. The parking lot was filled with motorcycles, the music was loud as it drifted out every time someone opened the door, and tough-looking men and a few women were gathered in small groups scattered here and there.

Most of the men spoke to Rob, some throwing a laughing insult, others just smiling in greeting. They all seemed to stare at me, curious about the woman their leader was bringing in. Not one of the women offered me as much as a smile. It was clear that even though they didn’t know jack shit about me, I wasn’t welcome.

As Rob pulled open the door for me, I wiped my sweaty palms down the front of my jeans. Thankfully, Rob had given me a few minutes to throw on pants and a T-shirt, because I couldn’t imagine coming here in my dress from earlier.

I saw him almost immediately. Tons of people were inside, scattered along the couches, huddled in groups at the high tables, and playing pool. Matty though was sitting on a stool at the bar, hunched over his drink, oblivious to the fun going on around him. One of the prospects was leaning against the other side of the bar, talking to Dean. It looked as though they were trying to include Matty, but he only had eyes for the glass in front of him.

He looked so sad that my nerves vanished immediately, and my heart tore a little.

“Oh, Matty!” The words came out as a whisper, but I had a feeling Rocker heard them anyway. I took a step forward, ready to hurry over and rescue my beautiful boy, but a hand closed over the top of my arm.

“Wait,” Rob growled in my ear, not giving me a chance to speak. “These boys don’t know you yet. Let’s not give Mateo a reason to start a fuckin’ fight. Yeah?”