Page 13 of Knot My MC
“How many do you have to write to prove you understand the damn language?” He raises his eyebrows.
“This is a research paper.” I shrug and kick my shoes off. “They like to torture us. When will dinner be ready?”
“Six thirty.”
I nod. “Good, I’ll be done by then.” I drop a quick kiss on his cheek and snatch my bag from the floor. “See you in a bit.”
“Don’t work too hard, Kiki. That’s what they want.”
“Yeah, but I can’t afford bad grades,” I remind him. “It’s only a little homework, Dad. I’ll be done soon.” I jog up the stairs, slip into my room, and shut the door. I discard my things from school. There’s no paper. I just didn’t want to cry in front of him.
I drop onto my bed and unlock my phone. Zero alerts. Zero calls. Zero texts. Nothing.
Absolutely, definitively, nothing.
Something in me breaks, opening a wound so deep I can barely breathe. My stomach turns and my throat tightens and burns, a sob strangling me. I clench the device as my blood runs cold. They played me good. Really fucking good. I drop my phone onto the mattress, curling into a ball as nausea dominates me. My entire torso hurts and cramps.
Is this what it feels like to lose someone you love?
Is this how my dad feels every day?
Was their end goal destroying me? Because if so, they did a damn good job of it.
You’re Wrecker through and through, baby girl. You have to watch your back.Dad had warned me over and over again. I didn’t listen.
I should have known better than to trust those Hell Hounds.
They’re not my MC.
CHAPTERFIVE
KNOX
I’ve never experienced heartache before. I always thought people were exaggerating when they said a breakup made them sick. For two weeks I’ve been a miserable fuck. Jag and Crow are no better. Every time I climb onto my Harley, my stomach cramps. Tonight is no different. I fire up the motorcycle and nod at Jag before taking off. Crow is still laid up at home. The beating Axel and his friend gave him really messed up his hip and leg.
Jag and I ride side by side down the road, both of us knowing exactly where we’re heading. It doesn’t take long to reach her neighborhood, and when we do, we park a few streets over and slip through side yards and alleys until we reach the giant tree across the street.
Her light is on. It’s always on when we show up. Kiki usually doesn’t find her way to sleep until two in the morning. Jag and I stand sentinel; watching, but nothing more.
Axel showed up with a few of his crew—no Kiren in sight—while we were waiting for Kiki the other night.
Leave her alone or I’ll force her on my knot.
I lost my shit when he told me that, but it’s hard to fight someone with a metal rod in their hand. I’m still bruised around the ribs. Jag is pretty fucked up, but Crow got the worst of it. One of those fuckbags fractured his hip. Axel made it clear that we need to stay away. That won’t stop me from making sure she’s safe. I can’t get inside the Wrecker property, but I can and will be at her house every night, keeping watch.
A few hours pass. Jag goes through half a pack of cigarettes. Eventually Kiki’s lights go out. A bit after that the front door swings open. Jag and I duck low, expecting Kiren to storm over and rip into us. He wasn’t there with Axel that night. I know he won’t take kindly to us lurking outside his home. He’s not the dick that put Crow in the hospital, but he’s not a friend. Kiren quietly closes the door—almost like he’s the teenager and he’s trying to sneak out—then gets into a car that I hadn’t noticed before. The engine turns on and the car pulls away.
“I’m going in.” Jag is already halfway across the street.
“Fuck. Jag.” I rush after him. “He’ll be back.”
“I know he will; that’s why it’s in and out, Knox.”
“If she sees us—”
“She won’t. She’s asleep now.”
I grimace but follow him anyway. He’s always a little more reckless than I am, but right now I’d give anything just to smell her again. Jag insisted we douse ourselves in scent blockers, doing what we could to keep our presence unknown, and I’m damn glad I finally listened. Kiren would be able to tell we were here if we hadn’t. We can’t risk him saying something to Axel. Jag has the lock picked in two minutes and he slips inside first. Kiki’s scent slams into my body when I take my first step, making me stagger. The nausea in my stomach recedes, and I take my first full breath since the night we had to abandon her.
