Page 49 of Riot's Thorn
“You can’t force someone to marry you.”
I’m about to argue my point about her being mine and that, yes, I very much can force her, but a pounding on my front door draws both of our attention. “Ignore it.”
“Who is it?”
“I can’t see through walls, so I don’t know.”
“Did you just crack a joke?” She smiles, so I don’t want to tell her it wasn’t a joke. But I can’t see through walls, so I don’t know why she asked me who it was.
As the pounding gets louder, I sigh. “I better go see who it is.”
Climbing out of the shower, I pull the curtain closed after me and wrap a towel around my waist. The pounding sounds more like kicking now, and if this isn’t an emergency, I’m going to be pissed. I finally got Parker naked and was getting ready to wash every inch of her body.
“What?” I bark, throwing the door open.
A wide-eyed Killer stands on the opposite side, her short leg reared back to kick. Her eyes scan me from head to foot, and she smirks. “Hi.”
“Hi? You pound my door down to say hi?”
She shakes her head, and I notice she’s changed from earlier at the party. She’s now dressed in her killing clothes, black from head to toe, a balaclava pulled down around her neck. “No. We have a situation to take care of.”
“What kind of situation?”
“One that requires you to get dressed.”
I peer out into the yard, noticing the music is off and I can’t hear the boisterous sounds of a party anymore. There are too many trees in the way to see what’s going on, but it’s only around eleven at night, and these barbecues usually last long into the morning.
“Where’d everyone go?” I ask.
“That’s the situation. Do you know who Chaplain is?”
“Didn’t she used to hang around?”
“Yeah, and she was also Coyote and Riley’s babysitter. Last year, or maybe two years ago, she graduated from college and started teaching elementary school. She was Tyson’s teacher last year.”
“Coyote, the nomad for the Royal Bastards?” There are only two MCs in Reno worth a shit, the Sons and the Royal Bastards. We’ve had beef with the Bastards in the past, but recently, we’ve formed an unspoken alliance.
“Yeah, but he’s not anymore. He’s local.”
“What does Golden’s kid’s teacher have to do with me?” Our treasurer is the only ranking member who’s a father. The kid seems cool, though I think he’s afraid of me because he keeps his distance. I can’t fault him when the whole club thinks I’m unhinged.
Killer’s way more unhinged than I am, but I guess when you’re five foot nothing and a chick, people think your hairpin trigger is cute and a challenge. When you’re a built six-foot-four man with an inability to relate to others, you’re scary and aloof.
“Chaplain moved here to hide from her ex, and he found her.” Killer’s eyes go dead in the way they do right before she gets stabby.
“I’m guessing he didn’t just want to chat?”
“She’s in intensive care.”
“I’m also guessing you want to take care of the problem?”
“Fuck yeah, I do. Chaplain’s cool, and clearly, she doesn’t have anyone else because her emergency contact was Golden, and he’s an asshole to her.”
“Golden is?” I ask because that guy is nice to a fault. It’s why we call him our Golden Boy. He’s the first one to help old ladies across the street and shit. It’s probably because his one-night stand dropped a newborn on his porch and dipped. Now he thinks he needs to be an example for his kid.
“Yes,” she says exasperatedly. “How do you not know any of this? And can you please put on some clothes? You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“Hold on.” I slam the door in her face before she gets any ideas.
