Marek (Knights Corruption MC #1) (23 page)

“Pretend I’m him,” he grumbled, obvious jealousy in his voice. The man was shit at hiding emotions, and I was sure right then that it was going to prove fatal for him in some future circumstance. I prided myself on reading people, and the man sitting across from me was a dangerous, soulless scum of the earth. Thankfully, it was probably the last time I’d ever have to lay eyes on him.

“Anyway,” Stone interrupted, pulling Yanez’s focus. “The final shipment for us is coming through in five days. We’ll have guys there to pick it up and transport it across state lines, with the final payment meeting to be arranged in the next week.”

The man who accompanied Yanez finally spoke up, his accent quite thick. While I had a hard time making out what he said, I understood three key components. Carrillo. Meet. Money. What the hell else was there to know?

Seeing we both struggled with his words, Yanez felt inclined to clarify what his man had just said. His thin lips parted, his lizard-like tongue sneaking out and wetting his bottom lip.

“Carrillo will get in touch with you to set up the final meet.” No more words were exchanged as both Los Zappas men rose from their seats and headed toward the door.

Well, I guess that’s the end of our meeting.

Sully

“No, no . . . NO!” he yelled. “Don’t go in there!” The noise from the movie did nothing to drown out the worry in Jagger’s voice. He was all caught up in the film, and while I’d been scared throughout the majority of it, witnessing his reaction did something to calm me. Seeing another respond so fiercely almost lightened the darkness of the movie for me. Almost.

It’d been five days since Marek had dropped me off at his house, and with a babysitter no less. And since there wasn’t much to do, we’d taken to watching DVDs to help pass the time.

While I remained quiet around the prospect, he’d opened up rather quickly, although something nudged at me that it was simply his personality. He’d become borderline jovial over the passing days, and I soon realized people could discover a lot about one another in less than a week if they spent every waking moment of their time with them.

Now I, on the other hand, was a tightly sealed box of secrets. I gave him short and simple answers when he tried to politely interrogate me. Anyone trying to extract personal information was someone to be wary of. It was how I was raised, what was ingrained in my head over the years. But Jagger was slowly tearing away that notion, his simple curiosity making me start to rethink everything I’d ever been told. To a certain degree, of course.

A loud, crackling noise burst forth from the speakers of the television, so loud I literally jumped in my seat and practically ended up wrapping myself around Jagger. His body instantly tensed, the muscles of his arms rigid against my touch. I hadn’t meant to react in such a way, but the damn movie he’d picked out was the newest horror movie. And it scared the hell out of me.

I’d quickly come to discover scary movies were not my thing. My life was enough of a fear-fest; I didn’t need to watch that shit for entertainment. With my fingers splayed over my face, I was able to block out at least one of the senses, allowing me to continue with the movie.

“Is this too much for you, Sully?” Jagger asked, genuine concern in his voice. He had no idea what my life was like before Marek swooped into our clubhouse and kidnapped me.

Saved me.

The only information he knew was probably what he’d heard about the Savage Reapers, but why would any reasonable human being believe they would treat one of their own so badly? They wouldn’t, so I kept it a secret. Only my new husband knew of such things, the evidence splayed all over my fragile stature.

“I’m okay,” I answered. No sooner had I spoken than the sound of a chainsaw erupted on the screen, throwing me into yet another spasm of fear. He knew I’d obviously lied, and being the kind person I was learning he was, he reached across me and searched for the remote.

The warmth of his toned body helped to relax me, but stir me up as well, in a different way. A way I refused to acknowledge. While Jagger was extremely good-looking, and had a body to drool over—which I’d encountered when he’d walked into the kitchen in nothing but a towel—he didn’t affect me like Marek did.

It just wasn’t the same.

Any girl with a pair of eyes would be drawn to the prospect. His dark golden hair was a little longer on top than the sides, a style he kept pushed off his face at all times. Amber eyes looked back at me with growing friendship, his pupils dilating whenever he became excited about a specific topic, movies and music being the main two.

While I could admit I was attracted to the guy who’d become my shadow, he wasn’t the man who consumed my thoughts day in and day out. I’d become somewhat comfortable enough with Jagger to actually enjoy his company with each passing day, and while I remained closed off about my life, my dreams were certainly up for discussion. Never having anyone to banter back and forth with before—besides the few interactions with Adelaide, of course—was something I never even knew I missed.

“That’s okay,” he reassured, clicking off the movie and choosing a home renovation show instead. “I can see horror movies aren’t your favorite. How about a romantic comedy? Chicks love that shit, right?” He chuckled, staring at me as if he’d hit the nail on the head.

“I guess so, although I haven’t seen many of them myself.” I’d since moved back over to my side of the couch, embarrassed I’d basically ended up in his lap to begin with.

I watched intently as he rose from the couch and rummaged through the box of movies Adelaide had dropped off the other day, searching for something he thought I might like. To anyone else, it was a simple gesture, nothing to even think twice about. A normal everyday occurrence. But to me, it was huge. His actions spoke volumes, and my lips turned up at the thought that we were quickly becoming friends. His concern for me was touching.

Shaking a movie in front of me, he smiled wide as he opened the case. A strand of his hair fell forward and covered his left eye, and in the moment he reminded me of someone younger, someone innocent and not a part of the evil ways of the world yet. He was only two years older than me, all of twenty-two, but I knew he’d seen things most people would never witness their entire lives. Much like me.

When his eyes reconnected with mine, I saw something new, an emotion I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Gone was the playfulness he’d displayed seconds before. His beautiful eyes quickly assessed me in a way he’d never done previously. Not while I’d been looking at him, at least. How he gazed at me when I wasn’t paying attention, I couldn’t say.

My breath lodged in my throat while I wondered what he was going to do or say next, the moment freezing us both in time, promising to shatter the second either one of us found our opportunity.

During my short life, I’d only been looked at as a means to an end, for some man to use and abuse as he saw fit. Never before had anyone stared at me in utter fascination. It was quite overwhelming and while I preferred it to being stared at like a piece of meat, my inner voice warned me to be careful. Of Jagger and of myself.

As if realizing he was staring a little too intently, he brushed his hair off his forehead, gave me a nervous laugh and turned around so his back was to me. I didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t help but stare at his backside. His dark-washed jeans were baggy and hung low on his hips, but they did nothing to detract from the firm muscles of his ass I knew existed just beneath the fabric.

While I was learning to trust Jagger not to hurt me, I was now aware he desired me. And if I knew anything, I knew it was a very bad thing. For both of us. Even though I didn’t return his affections, if Marek ever suspected his prospect harbored such feelings for his new wife, he’d probably kill him before confirming his suspicions.

Jagger sat down on the couch next to me, exactly where he was before getting up to change the movie, but for some reason it suddenly made me nervous. He wasn’t doing anything differently, but because the air between us had changed, his close proximity shifted things between us.

Everything was unspoken, yet it lingered in the air just the same.

“Ready?” he asked, looking at me expectedly. His sharp jawline was clean-shaven, unlike most of his brothers. Beards were a common theme among the members, although each one varied in length.

“How did you get your road name, Jagger?” I asked, the question coming out of nowhere. I’d meant to simply nod when he asked if I was ready to watch the movie he’d picked out, but apparently my brain wanted to know more about the man who’d been put in charge of watching me in my husband’s absence. Plus, I wanted to erase the tension-filled moment we’d just shared.

His expression shifted back to casual, his features softening while he leaned back on the couch.

“Well,” he started. “Ryder and me got to talkin’ about music one day and I mentioned how I loved the Stones. Long story short, he ended up nicknaming me Jagger.” I had no idea who he was talking about. It was written all over my face, so he graciously elaborated. “Mick Jagger. He’s the lead singer of the Rolling Stones. Only the best band in the world.” He chuckled, turning his body fully toward me, his arm resting on the back of the couch. His fingertips accidentally brushed over my shoulder, and when I jerked involuntarily, he apologized with his eyes and righted himself so he was facing forward again. “I’ll play you some of their music someday, if you want,” he offered.

“I’d like that,” I said truthfully. My life had been so sheltered I jumped at the opportunity to learn something new.

“Great. Now, what do you say we watch this movie?” He never waited for me to respond before he hit the Play button.

Marek

I loved my bike and reveled in the feel of the open road, but two days of continuous riding took its toll on me. Stone and I should have taken one of our trucks to Laredo, but like the dumbasses we were, we decided to ride instead, figuring the weather was nice enough to enjoy the trip. While the temperature had been favorable for the journey, my legs and arms were sore and my fucking balls ached. All I wanted to do was get home and take a long, hot shower. Preferably with some company.