I glared at him, catching my breath. I could have tossed him around for another hour;
the words he spewed about Lucy got my blood boiling. Tick stood in front of me, more to protect Marcus than me.
“You need him,” I heard Charlie say to Marcus, still trying to get him to calm down. “The other brothers will follow him, do you get that? They respect him. This club is falling apart.” He slammed his hand against Marcus’s chest, keeping him in the chair.
Marcus turned his steely gaze on me. “Get out.” He waved a hand at me, his chest still heaving from the physical exertion.
Charlie looked at me over his shoulder. “Let the other guys know, tonight at eight. We figure this shit out.”
“You got it.” Tick nodded and gave me a shove to get me moving. I kept my gaze on Marcus, wishing I could have another go at him. One fist to the gut hadn’t appeased my annoyance.
“What the fuck is there to figure out?” I kicked the dirt once we were outside by our bikes. A few members had been in the clubhouse and had heard the shuffle, but hadn’t asked any questions. They knew better.
“How to get his ass out of the fire, I guess.” Tick looked at his phone. “Fuck. I missed another doctor appointment.”
I looked at him, tapping away on the phone, probably begging for forgiveness, and felt another twinge of jealousy hit me. “You’d give this up for her, even if she doesn’t want you to?” I asked him when he slid his phone back in his pocket.
“She wants me out. She wants to raise our kids without all the drama and danger, but it's the only life she’s known—like you said. She’s scared. And right now, pissed.” He climbed onto his bike.
“She’s gonna have you whipped in no time.” I grinned at him, swinging my leg over my own hog.
“Have me? Hell, that woman had me wrapped around her finger the first time I laid eyes
on her. She deserves better than this.” He nodded to the clubhouse. Jessie, the blonde waitress that warmed my bed whenever I wanted, walked out of the front door at that moment, wiping her hand across her mouth. Her lips were swollen and her lipstick smeared across her cheek. Looking at her then, remembering the times I’d used her, my gut twisted. Such a waste. When she noticed us staring at her, she narrowed her eyes and turned away. “Still haven't heard from Lucy?”
“Nah. I’m gonna head to the diner, maybe she’ll be there. If I don’t hear from her soon, I’m going to have to go get her.”
“You can’t just march into Disciple territory. Not now. Not until we know what the fuck is going on. Wait until tonight; if you don’t hear from her, then you can decide to make a move.”
I nodded. He was right. Until I knew what happened down in Mexico, walking into their clubhouse would be a crap shoot. “If she’s not at the diner, I’ll head over to my ma’s. I haven’t seen her in a while, and she’s been bugging me to stop by.”
“You wanna crash with us tonight?” He snapped his helmet strap. “Less time here probably the better.”
I looked over my shoulder at Marcus, who had come out of the clubhouse still wearing his pissy glare. He watched me—I could feel his eyes on me when I turned back to Tick. “Might be a good idea. Seem to have lost some love around here.”
“He’s just looking for someone to blame and you were the closest to him. It’ll blow over.”
“Yeah, but he knows we want out. Probably taking it personally that I haven’t gone to him directly.”
“Probably,” Tick agreed. “After this is settled tonight, we’ll sit down with him. Tell him our plans.”
I gave him a wary look. “Maybe we should make some, then.”
He grinned. “Always wanted to open a bike shop.”
***
When I pulled into the diner parking lot I realized my stomach was in knots. At the idea of finding her, or not finding her there? As much as I tried to keep telling myself I was looking out for Lucy because she was an innocent, because she was mine for the time being, I realized I was a complete bullshitter.
I looked out for her because that pixie had wormed her way under my skin, and there was no way I’d be letting her go. Not now, and not ever.
Her car wasn’t in the lot, but I parked anyway. Maybe I got lucky and she finally upgraded that bucket of bolts
She wasn’t in the diner either, but Lucas was.
He sat in the back of the place, in a booth with a woman. She looked familiar, someone probably at the Disciple’s house. Lucas noticed me and stood up from the booth. He put his hand out to the woman to keep her there, and marched over to me.