Page 10 of Brick

“No, of course not.” I shake my head. “You’re coming with me.”

“Brick,” she starts to complain, but I put my hand up to stop her.

“Luna, someone just broke into your house and tried to do whatever. Be smart. You can’t stay here on your own until we figure out what the hell is going on here.”

She presses her lips together hard and looks around the room as if she’s looking for an exit.

“I can get a hotel.”

“Luna.” I growl, and she releases a deep breath when she realizes that there’s no getting out of this.

“Fine, let me just get some of my things.”

“No, I want to be out of here now. I don’t know if that jerk-off has any of his friends waiting for him. I don’t want to be here if they decide to come back.”

She looks up at me for a second before she finally gives in. She nods, and I pick her back up and rush out the front door. I don’t even bother to lock it behind me. I could give two fucks about what she’s got in there. All that matters is that she’s safe.

Quickly, I get her back downstairs and onto the back of my bike. For the second time tonight, I’m racing like the devil is at my back in the direction of my clubhouse. This time I’m not focused on the feel of her hands on my body. This time I’m focused on making sure I keep her away from whatever fucked-up mess she’s into.

The second she called my name, every last reason I had to stay away from her vanished. Her business is my business. And if there’s one thing that has always been true for me—it’s that I handle my fucking business.

Five

Luna

Once again,I'm on the back of Brick's bike. This time, instead of being able to focus on the thrill of the ride, all I can think about is the asshole who was waiting for me in my apartment. I don't know who it was, but I'm thinking it has something to do with my sister. It's the second time tonight that I've been attacked. That shit is getting old, fast.

I tried to get Brick to take me home; after all, I didn't really have any injuries, but just from the look on his face alone, I knew he wasn't going for it. He walked into my bedroom like he owned the place, grabbed a shirt for me to wear, and basically pulled me out of the apartment. Deep down, I'm happy to be out of that place. After tonight, I know it's going to be a long time before I feel safe there again.

I recognize the scenery as we whiz through the streets back toward his place of work. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to sleep there tonight, but I guess I can give it a try. A few minuteslater, we pull back up to the strip mall, and he helps me off the back of the bike.

"You remember how to get here?" Brick asks me as he gets off the bike himself. I didn't realize there would be a test. Looking around, I try to map out the roads he took to get here in my mind. I don't know the exact streets, but I think I can get back here if I try.

"Yeah," I reply, nodding my head.

"Good. If you ever are in any trouble or need someone to help you, I want you to come here." With that, he steps away from me, obviously expecting me to follow. I'm not sure what he thinks he's going to be able to do for me at his place of work, but then again, it's just nice to have someone offer to help me. It's not very often that I get even that.

I follow behind him, thoroughly expecting him to go right back into the shop, but he drifts to the side, walking down a long walkway.

"Where are you going?" I ask, looking over my shoulder to where I know the entrance is.

"Just come on," he grumbles.

Right away, I recognize that he's not happy about me being here, and it pisses me off. He could have left me where he found me. In fact, he didn't have to pick me up from the street. "No, I asked you a question. If you don't think it's reasonable to answer, then I can find somewhere else to go." I stop and cross my arms over my chest.

"You're not going anywhere else, not tonight." He glares at me.

"Yeah? And who's going to stop me?"

He narrows his eyes at me before he puffs out a breath. "You're going to be a problem, aren't you?"

I tilt my head to the side and smirk up at him. "Brick, you should know better than that by now. I'm going to be all of the problems. Are you going to tell me where we're going or not?"

I tap my foot, waiting for him to give me an answer or let me go.

"My room," he replies simply.

Now I'm confused. I asked him earlier if he lived where he worked, and he made it seem as if he did. If he didn't live there, where was he taking me? He doesn't give me any more information; he just turns on his heel and continues walking down the walkway.

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