Page 40 of No Mercy

“You must have a death wish,” I said, staring into the worried eyes of Audra and trying to remain calm. I must have failed, because she picked up her phone, and I had no doubt who she was calling. “My friend is making a phone call−”

The man laughed into my ear. “I’ll find out what brother you belong to. In the meantime, tell Phantom Riders to watch their backs. Blue Knights are around, and they’re next on their list.”

Blue Knights? And that sounded like a threat! When I realized that they might be a rival club I spun around to get a good look at the man. The lighting inside the club was inadequate, and the distance between our tables didn’t give us a clear view of their faces. The five men had looked cute to me, but a lot of that could be attributed to the alcohol I’d consumed.

I half expected the man to be gone by the time I turned, but he was still there, no longer dancing, just standing there smirking down at me. His gaze dropped down my body as if he were sizing me up for something. I glared back at him, noting everything I could about his features. His height and size, the scar above his brown eyes that cut through his eyebrow, his handsome, almost boyish face, and the short cut of his dirty blonde hair. The only thing that suggested that he may be a biker were the heavy, black biker boots he was wearing.

“Getting a good look?” I was, but not for the reasons he was thinking. Then he leaned in again. At first I thought he was going to kiss me, and I felt a moment of panic, but he tilted his face toward my ear. “You’re hot, baby. I hope your man can protect you.” He pulled back. Our eyes met. I swallowed hard because of what I saw in his.

What did he mean by that?

Chapter 22

Allie

I didn’t have time to figure out what his comment meant because a commotion at the entrance of the club made me swing around to see what was happening. Crap! How had Rock and the others gotten here so fast? They pushed past security with surprising ease. One remained behind, holding security back, and saying something in the bouncer’s concerned face. I’m sure their heated conversation had something to do with the four big-ass bikers who had just invaded their club in an aggressive way. I stood frozen as Rock headed straight for me. I recognized Hawk not far behind him.

He grabbed my arm, as if afraid I would run away. “Where is he?” His gaze shifted around me with predatory raptness.

I turned to see that the man was gone. “I don’t know. He was just here.” My gaze darted to the table where the group of men had been sitting, and I was surprised to see that all of them were gone. “They’re all gone.”

Hawk had joined us by then, the man behind him continued past us. “All?” he scowled. “How many we talkin’ about?”

“There were five.”

Rock tugged my arm to get my attention. He looked angry. “The one you were dancing with, he say anything to you?”

“I wasn’t dancing−”

Hawk cut me off impatiently. “He say anything to you?” We were joined by the other biker who’d remained at the entrance with security.

“I−”

“Hawk.” Suddenly Audra was there, putting a hand on her husband’s arm and drawing his hard, fierce expression away from me. “Easy, big man. Give Allie a chance to talk.” It was amazing how her presence and softly spoken words calmed his demeanor and relaxed his tight-lipped mouth.

But where she had that effect on Hawk, it did nothing for Rock’s hard-jawed expression, or the angry glint in his eyes. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the man who’d walked past us earlier returned, and suddenly Rock and Hawk’s interest was on him.

“Saw five bikes riding away, but it was too dark to see if they were wearing any colors.”

“They weren’t,” Audra said.

“Fuck.”

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked no one in particular.

“They were already on their way here,” Audra said with a knowing smirk. “Remember what I said about them showing up here to mark their territory?”

Hawk grumbled and gently took his wife’s arm. “Let’s talk at the table where we’ll have more privacy.”

I began to follow, but Rock stopped me. Our gazes clashed. “Did he touch you?”

I opened my mouth, thinking about the man’s hands on my hips, but then closed it again. It was so minor it didn’t really warrant mentioning. “Not really. We weren’t dancing together, Rock. I thought I was alone until I turned around and he was just there.”

His gaze ran down the length of me before returning to my eyes. I could tell that he liked what he saw, yet his next words contradicted the lust in his eyes. “You come out looking like that and think you’re going to be left alone?”

My jaw dropped, and I glanced down at what I was wearing. I didn’t get a chance to dress up much so I’d gone all out in a tiny, black, figure-hugging dress, the kind that never goes out of style, and fire-engine red stilettos. The front was cut low and showed off the generous swell of my breasts, but it wasn’t indecent. The length was short, falling a couple of inches just below my butt.

I frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with my dress. Look around you, Rock. There are plenty of women here showing a lot more skin than I am.”

---