DARK FALL(17)
“Fucking assholes,” Gaige said. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Who’s that?” Nate asked.
“Who?” Gaige asked.
“There’s a woman on the back of Erik’s ride.”
Gaige looked and raised an eyebrow. Erik put a finger to Gaige's chest and shook his head.
“Don’t,” Erik said. “Don’t say a fucking word.”
“I’m going to,” Gaige said.
“He picked her up like it was nothing,” Blaine said. “I offered to show her a good time and she didn’t want it.”
“That’s a surprise,” Jace said and the small group laughed.
Well, everyone but Erik.
Erik didn’t want to fucking laugh. Being back at the clubhouse suddenly made him regret helping Kaity. Being back at the clubhouse made him want to run back upstairs, get his gun, and finish what he started a while ago.
Just one fucking bullet… and it’s all gone.
“She took a bullet for me,” Erik said. “For us.”
Everyone shut up instantly. Shay slipped his hands into his pockets and looked at Kaity.
“She’s hurt?” Jace asked.
“Yeah,” Erik said. “Took one to the leg.”
“Damn,” Gaige said. “We need to get her upstairs. Fast.”
“Where’s Miller?” Erik asked.
“Upstairs,” Nate said. “We’re meeting soon.”
“Nate,” Gaige said. “Run up and tell Miller what’s going on and that we’ll meet soon. Jace and Shay, get the door open.”
“I’ll carry her,” Blaine said. He cupped his hands like he was holding a set of breasts.
“Fuck off,” Erik said.
“He’s grumpy,” Blaine mumbled as Erik walked back to Kaity.
He offered his hand to Kaity and nodded. “Hurry up. Don’t make me regret this.”
“Sorry I can’t move fast. I’ve been shot.”
“Just come on,” Erik said.
Kaity moved from the motorcycle. Erik watched her apply pressure to her left leg. She didn’t really wince yet Erik felt compelled to carry her. He grabbed Kaity by the arm, pulled her close, and then lifted her. She let out a whimper and her arms were then tight around his neck.
“I don’t have time to waste,” Erik said. “You saw what happened back there. I have to get moving.”
As he carried her, Erik felt Kaity looking at him. He knew if he looked at her something bad was going to happen. And bad meant good… and good meant kissing her. He had no idea what came over him to think that, but it was true. And if he started kissing Kaity…
“Welcome to the clubhouse, sweetheart,” Shay said with a laugh as Erik carried Kaity across the threshold.
Once in the clubhouse, everyone began to cheer. Landon, Miller, Griffin, Case, Jude, and Aiden applauded as though Erik had just come back from getting married. One of the guys behind the bar even took a handful of beer bottle caps and threw them up as though it was rice.
They scattered everywhere and Erik stopped walking. He put Kaity down on the arm of the couch and walked to the bar. He put a fist down and gritted his teeth.
“Give me two,” Erik said.
The guy who had thrown the caps twisted two new caps off and handed the bottles to Erik.
“There you go,” he said.
Erik spotted one of the bottle caps and grabbed it. He put it between his thumb and pointer finger. Then he aimed and flicked his finger, sending the bottle cap perfectly into the man’s eye behind the bar. The man grabbed his face and screamed. It pissed Erik off to see these weak guys that wanted to be part of the MC. Like they thought it was a joke or something cool. This wasn’t cool. This was real. Hearing the guy scream wasn’t good enough for Erik. He reached across the bar and grabbed the wannabe Back Down Devil member by his shirt. He pulled him forward and then took a handful of his hair. The bar erupted in yells, trying to call Erik off, but he didn’t give a fuck. He slammed the guy’s face into the bar. Erik let go and the guy flew back into a shelf of booze, and then fell to the ground.
“Anyone else want to throw shit at me?” Erik yelled.
Everyone quieted down. As Erik walked back to Kaity, it was so quiet that the sound of his boots hitting the beer bottle caps and scratching the floor echoed all around.
Erik handed Kaity the open beer bottles and then he scooped her up again. She cried out and some beer spilled on her. Erik didn’t care. He set his sights forward and walked her down the hall to the bedrooms.
At his door, he put her back down.
“This is my room,” Erik said.
He opened the door and surveyed the room for a second. It was a mess of clothes and other shit. The bed was a mess and the smell of booze, cheap perfume, and sex lingered in the air. Erik half expected to see the relievers from this morning still in the bed.