Chapter Thirteen

The moment Keres stepped into the newly built large two-story building, she wondered what in holy hell did she land herself in. Sons of Anarchy flashed through her head, along with the reputation of danger and destruction bikers carried.

Ronin held her hand and led her through what looked like the main den. A bar was at one end, with a young man serving drinks. A large black leather couch, a few recliners, as well as other chairs were scattered around the room. Bikers played a video game in one corner. A pool table stuck in another section had a couple of men around it. Scantily dressed women paraded around, some with their breasts hanging out. One couple was locked in an embrace, and she didn’t have to hear the moans to know what was happening there. She received many curious looks before they passed from that room and down a hallway, to a door where Ronin rapped his knuckles.

“Enter,” came a muffled voice.

Ronin opened the door and stepped in and closed it after she was inside what was obviously an office. A very large man sat behind the desk with silver-threaded hair, looking completely menacing until she saw the baby cradled in the crook of his arm. A beautiful woman with long brown hair sat perched on the desk next to them.

“Boss,” Ronin greeted. “Looking beautiful, Leia.”

The woman rolled her eyes but grinned at him. “Smooth talker.”

“How’s Leo?”

“Finally sleeping through the night,” she replied, hopping off the desk and coming around. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Leia and this is my husband, Brim, and our son, Leo.”

Keres shook her hand. “I’m Keres.”

Leia walked back to her husband and took the baby from him, then sat on the couch to give them space. Ronin guided her to one of the chairs in front of the desk and he took the other.

“What’s this about?” Brim asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Keres and her friend Darby blew up Davorin’s warehouse.”

Brim raised an eyebrow at the blunt statement, then he studied her with a completely different look. Like he was sizing her up. Under the intense scrutiny, she felt like a bug under a microscope.

“He found out who she was,” Ronin continued. “Came after her tonight. She was taken to the hospital, and I got there just in time to get her out of there when shots were fired.”

“A distraction?”

“Yeah,” Ronin replied. “I need to keep her safe.”

Brim leaned back in his chair. “We don’t have any beef with Davorin, but that’ll change if we grant her asylum. The asshole isn’t the diplomatic type.”

“This is the only place I know she’ll be protected.”

“It’s okay,” Keres said, placing her hand on Ronin’s thigh. “I’m toxic right now, and he has a baby to protect. Not to mention your entire club. I get it. I can take care of myself.”

Ronin covered her hand with his own. “Davorin’s not going to stop, Keres. There’s not a place he won’t overturn to find you.”

“All the more reason for me to leave.”

Ronin stubbornly shook his head. “Not happening.”

“This isn’t your fight.”

“It became my fight when you killed my marks.”

“ She’s the one?” Brim asked.

“I had help,” she said, lifting her chin. “Darby …he was, uh, the brawn. Subdued them for me to get close enough to slice off their dicks.”

Both men winced.

“This was personal,” Leia said softly. Keres stared at her for a long moment, then nodded, and understanding filled the other woman’s gaze. “I see.”

“What?” Brim demanded. “What do you see?”

“Nothing,” she told her husband. “I believe Ronin still rents a room here. Keres can stay there.”

“Lei a— ”

“Ronin has brought her here for protection,” she said, cutting him off. Leia stood up, cradling Leo in her arms. “We don’t turn our backs when one of our own asks for help. Come, Keres, let me show you around while the two of them finish talking shop.”

She gave a follow-me nod, and Keres looked at Ronin before rising and trailing after her.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to make trouble.”

“This is the clubhouse for the Death Riders. We always have trouble.”

They stepped from the hallway back into the large den area. Music pumped in from the speakers, the tone low enough as to not disturb the sleeping baby. In the few minutes she’d been in the office, several more couples were in various stages of undress. One woman was on her knees giving a blowjob to a man. People drank, laughed, and danced.

“Is this a party?” she asked.

“This is a Friday night,” Leia replied dryly.

Just then the door opened and a tiny woman with black hair came barreling in, followed by a tall, muscular, good-looking guy.

“Oh, it’s the baby!” the woman squealed and made a beeline to them. She didn’t touch Leo but gazed at him with a happy smile. “He’s so adorable. Not quite so squishy anymore. You know, it’s nice having someone littler than me around.”

“Don’t get used to it,” the man behind her said. “He’s going to grow up while you won’t.”

“Rude,” she said. Then she threw her hands out. “Wait! I have an idea. Maybe we can strap me to a stretching machine and see if I can get an inch or so.”

“Are you talking about the ancient form of torture called ‘the rack’? Where they tie your arms and legs to a contraption and pull until your joints are dislocated?”

The woman blinked. “Well, when you put it that way…”

“Not worth it for an inch or so.”

“I thought all men were concerned about size.”

Lincoln narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but the woman suddenly rushed forward to hug Keres.

“So nice to meet you!” she gushed. “My name is Vivi. That sourpuss is Lincoln. He’s my bae.”

“I thought we agreed not to use that particular word,” Lincoln grumbled.

“Eh,” Vivi shrugged without taking her gaze off Keres. “What’s your name?”

“Hi, I’m Keres.”

“Nice to meet you, Keres,” Lincoln said, giving a nod of greeting with his head. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a significant other to attend to.”

Then he picked Vivi up and ambled away, despite her slapping his shoulders.

“Put me down, Lincoln! I was making a new friend. Now she’s going to think we’re weird or something.”

“You are weird,” he said, disappearing into another room before Keres could hear any more.

“That was, um, interesting,” she remarked.

“Don’t worry, he knows how to handle her,” Leia said with a smile. “Just don’t eat anything she cooks. Not worth your stomach being pumped. Come on, let me show you upstairs so you can get comfortable. You’re about the same size as me so I’ll bring some clothes for you tomorrow.”

She prattled on more, but Keres’s mind was quickly shutting down, wanting this day to end. Wishing she could have a do-over. Would she stop her need for vengeance knowing Darby would die? She didn’t know how to answer that, and it scared her that she didn’t believe so.

So, what did that make her?

****

Brim waited about two point three seconds after the door closed behind the women to lay into the questions.

“What the hell, Ronin?”

“What did you expect me to do? Let her be killed?”

“People die every fucking day.”

“Not her!”

Brim sat back in his office chair, doing that shrewd contemplation look. “I see.”

“Don’t,” Ronin muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t psychoanalyze me.”

A long pause of silence stretched between them, and Ronin began to question his actions. The stalking. Bringing her into his sanctuary. It all led to him wondering why he brought Keres here. He could’ve just as easily dumped her into the huge house he rarely used. He didn’t owe her a damn thing, so nothing made sense.

“Fine.” Brim slid a folder forward. “I have another job for you. Should be eas y— ”

“No,” Ronin said, cutting him off.

“No?”

“My head wouldn’t be in the right place. Not until this situation with Davorin is resolved.”

“You care about her that much?” Brim asked.

“I don’t care about her,” Ronin replied quickly. Perhaps a little too quick.

“Your actions say otherwise.”

He sighed and leaned back, tilting his head so he could look at the ceiling. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening right now. She means nothing to me, but … damn it.”

“All right.” Brim took back the folder. “You’re right, your head isn’t in the right frame of mind to take on another contract. I’ll ask Ghost to take it.”

Ronin sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache forming. Trying to figure out how he’d gotten to this point. “Tell him he can use my loft to research the mark.”

“Will do. And Ronin, if you need help, just ask.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, then he left the office to track down his girl.