Meant To Be (Heaven Hill Series) (24 page)

They arrived a few hours later, having boarded up the house as best as they could. The gate that usually stood open at the edge of the clubhouse’s property was only standing part way open. She recognized Prospects and lesser members of the club standing guard. Men stood on the roof of the clubhouse, watching over the groups of people coming in. They held guns, and it felt like she had stepped into a war zone.

“Grab your stuff and let’s get inside.” Liam’s tone of voice said there would be no argument. They needed to get inside where it was safe. He didn’t mind being out in the open, but he most definitely didn’t want her out there.

Tyler met him as Liam got out of his truck. “You’re the last of them,” Tyler informed them.

Liam turned back to where the Prospects and members stood at the gate. “Lock it down.”

He watched with keen eyes as the gate was closed and locked. Parking rollbacks and wreckers in front of it provided an extra barrier of protection. Reaching over, he grabbed one of the bags that Denise carried and ushered her into the clubhouse.

As they walked in, her breath hitched. There looked to be a couple hundred people there. She hadn’t realized how large the clubhouse was. She greeted the few people she knew and stuck close to Liam. Feeling her unease, he wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her in front of his body and letting her rest against him.

“You’re fine here,” he reassured her.

“I know, I’m just kinda put off by all the people.” Even as confident as she had grown, insecurities still lay just below the surface. She wondered how many of these women Liam had slept with.

“It’s okay, it’s a lot to take in.” He tried to see this through her eyes. Walking into this place with all these people that she didn’t know had to be intimidating.

William got everyone’s attention as he stood at the front of the room. “I want to welcome everyone and let you know that while you’re here, you’re safe. We have a threat to this club and everyone involved with us. While we have some business to take care of, you will all remain here. Any concerns, you see one of us and we’ll do our best to help you. We’re at full capacity so please have some patience with one another. Enjoy your stay.”

Liam leaned against the back wall, keeping his arm around her. “Do you need anything?” he asked.

“Just need to know where to put our stuff.”

“Let me take you to my dorm,” he bent down, grabbing one of the duffels they had brought with them.

They weaved their way through the large group that had gathered. He kept her hand in his, looking anyone in the eye who watched them. With this many men and women around, he wanted to let them know she was his and he was hers. It wouldn’t do for everyone to be fighting or to cause a fight because feelings weren’t clear. As they got to the hallway that led to the dorms, an older woman stepped in front of them.

“Liam, it’s good to see you.”

Denise felt his body tense, so she wrapped a comforting hand around his forearm. She wondered who this was, and it was on the tip of her tongue to ask. Instead, Liam took a physical step back and schooled his face to be completely devoid of any emotion.

“Lauren, wish I could say the same.”

Lauren. This was his mother, the one he never spoke about. She was standing right here in front of them. Denise wondered if there would be an introduction.

“Is this the woman in your life son? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Sighing deeply, he side stepped her. “I’d really rather not.”

With that, he pulled Denise down the hallway until they reached a room with his name on it. Pulling keys out of his pocket, he unlocked the door and shoved her inside. Anger radiated off his body as he pushed her against the now closed door and planted a kiss on her lips.

The predatory look in his eyes made her hot and scared her all at the same time. “Finally, we’re alone at last.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

“A
s alone as we can be with a clubhouse full of people around,” she quipped.

“I wish we were completely alone. Just you, me, and the kids. I don’t want all this other stuff, I don’t need it right now. It just stresses me out,” he admitted. His eyes were jumpy and darted back and forth between her and the door.

Understanding dawned on her when she realized this was his coping mechanism. He wanted to bury himself in her life to escape from his. Not deal with his Mom or any of the drama that whole situation brought. She had to get his mind on something else. Sex would never be the answer to any of their problems. “Besides, before we get some alone time I need to check on my kids, and I want to check on Meredith.”

He groaned, knowing that she was right. They each had responsibilities, and it wouldn’t do to just throw them to the wayside. After seeing his mother, he felt vulnerable. He hadn’t been prepared to see her that soon, hadn’t expected the anger that came so quickly. In retrospect he should have. He always seemed to see red where she was concerned, but he wished just once he felt some other type of emotion. He hated that was all that Denise saw when it came to him and the woman that birthed him. Denise was his strength and calming factor. Sighing, he ran his hands down her arms and clasped her hands. “I know. I’m sure there’s work I could be doing too, but doing you would be so much more fun.”

She giggled as she opened the door to the dorm room and then walked out. The look she threw back his way told him that she felt the same way.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” he asked as he saw her stop and look both ways down the hall trying to figure out where she needed to go. Instead of asking, she turned back to him, held her hands up, and shook her head. “You’re so cute,” he told her, putting his hands on her hips.

She blushed. “You got me. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going. Can you show me where everyone is?”

He took her hand and directed them down the hallway. She loved walking with his hand in hers. She had never noticed it before, but he walked around like he owned the place. There was such an air about him, such a swagger of authority. Like he dared someone to come up to him and try to assert themselves over him. It was heady and she loved it. He made her feel protected at all times. Even now when she knew he was vulnerable with his kryptonite in the house. She had not one ounce of fear. She didn’t have any doubts – he could handle anything that anyone handed him.

“The kids will be in here,” he indicated a door with their clasped hands. “This is where the kids usually sleep when we have lockdowns.”

“Is a lockdown a normal part of life in the club?” She was genuinely curious.

“Would that change how you feel about this whole situation?” Liam hoped not. He liked their situation just as it was but knew she wanted a stable environment for her kids – and he did not begrudge her that.

She tilted her head and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t think so. I mean I’ve already been shot at. My house was vandalized, and I’ve already broken the law for you. I think it’s safe to say I’m already in pretty deep. I’m not goin’ anywhere,” she surprised him by winking.

Liam grinned, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her body so that they were flush with one another. He dropped his head and kissed her softly before pulling back and giving her the killer smile he seemed to reserve only for her. “I’m glad to know that. To answer your question we’ve only had about three lockdowns that I can remember since my dad founded this club. It’s violent, don’t get me wrong, but it’s usually not this bad.”

She cracked open the door, peeking in on her kids. She saw bunk beds taking up the walls, separated into boys and girls sides. All children appeared to be co-habitating well. She saw Mandy sitting at a laptop with another girl whose name she remembered was Layla. The two of them had taken to one another pretty quickly, and she had heard the name mentioned more than once. Drew sat at a table playing a card game with a group of boys. Feeling secure about where they were, she waved her fingers at her kids and turned back to him.

Now that she knew they were okay, she could concentrate on her friend. “Where’s Meredith?”

He grabbed her hand again, leading her into a room that had Tyler’s name on it. That took her by surprise, but she had known the Sergeant-at-Arms would be watching over her friend in some way. “She’s staying with Tyler?”

Shrugging, he knocked quietly on the door. “He found her, and he refuses to leave her side. When it comes to him, none of us really ask any questions. If he wants us to know something, he’s usually very forthcoming.”

They waited a few moments for someone to come answer the door. When Tyler finally appeared, he stepped out and closed the door so that the three of them were alone in the hallway. “She’s been asking for you,” he motioned to Denise.

“Should I know anything before I see her?”

His eyes were shadowed, displaying more emotion than Denise had ever seen from the normally quiet man. Obviously Meredith was in a bad way, and he was trying hard to keep it together. “I’m trying to convince her to either go get checked out or let me call the club doc. She’s in bad shape. I haven’t let her go take a shower yet. Try to talk her into letting someone come take care of her. Maybe since you’re a woman, you can appeal to her sensible side.”

She nodded. He wasn’t asking her, he was telling her. “I’ll do what I can.”

He smiled grimly, his lips making a thin line before stepping aside, letting her open the door. When she walked in and shut it quietly, Liam placed his hand on Tyler’s shoulder and squeezed.

“We’ll find out who did this brother.”

Tyler nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll kill the motherfucker with my bare hands.” The quiet spoken words were not a promise, they were a vow.

Denise walked in, noting that only one light was turned on and it was over on the far side of the room. Meredith lay with her back facing the door, curled into the fetal position. Not wanting to scare the other woman, Denise cleared her throat and walked over so that they were facing each other.

“Holy mother of God,” she whispered, getting her first glimpse of the devastation that had been dealt to Meredith’s face.

“It’s bad isn’t it?” Meredith asked, tears making her throat tight. It hurt to push the words out. She wasn’t sure if it was from where he’d shoved her face in the ground or where she had spent so much time screaming. All she knew was that she could still feel blood seeping from some of the wounds.

“I won’t lie to you, it is. You really need to see a doctor.”

Going to the bathroom that sat just off the room, Denise grabbed a washcloth and ran cold water over it. This gave her a little bit of time to compose herself. No matter how Tyler had tried to warn her, she couldn’t believe how bad Meredith’s face was. She folded the washcloth up in her hand and made her way back to the bed. Kneeling down, she began to clean the dried blood off of the tiny cuts marring the usually perfect skin. Tears pooled in her eyes as she gently ran the washcloth over her face. It broke her heart as tears slipped from Meredith’s eye lids, running down the dirt caked on her cheeks.

“I can’t believe I let this happen,” she whispered, a sob shaking her body.

Denise cautiously got on the bed, motioning for Meredith to sit up. Gingerly, she put her arm around the other woman, providing her as much comfort as she was allowed to. “You don’t
let
something like this happen. An evil person does this to another.”