Page 9 of Bound in the Dark

"My favorite dessert is raspberry cheesecake."

Chapter3

I miss you like a squirrel misses its nuts.

Present day

Highdive glared at the text message on his phone. He took a breath then placed his phone down on the bar top at the Dark Sons’ Clubhouse. There were only a few Brothers scattered around the big room that acted as a hub for the MC. Other than the Prospect on duty he was the only one currently indulging in a mid-afternoon drink.

Because of the partial lockdown, everyone was busy getting settled upstairs or in the apartments on another part of the compound. Highdive was supposed to stay here to coordinate if anyone needed anything. He stared at his phone sitting on the wood in front of him. The text message from Luna was the cherry on top of the shit sundae that had been his week. The universe seemed determined that absolutely nothing should go the way he wanted.

It had started with two of his Brothers, Hannibal and Ink, losing their minds over a woman who had a pathological need to put herself in danger. The week had continued plummeting downhill when she got in trouble with the Bratva and Hawk had made the decision to back her up even though his Brothers hadn’t claimed her as their Old Lady. Now they were at war.

Highdive shook his head. He didn't really blame her for the war with the Russian mob. That had been inevitable. But it would have been nice to have more time to prepare. They could have avoided the war with what she had done if that lunatic Andre Petrov hadn’t shot Hawk without warning in the middle of talks.

Planning for and dealing with this crap was all part of his job. He was the Sergeant at Arms, the Enforcer, the person responsible for the physical safety of all the Brothers. It didn’t matter if the threat to them was internal or external, he was supposed to make sure they were prepared.

At times the task of keeping his Brothers safe felt impossible. Responsibility was a heavy weight on his shoulders. The only way to stay sane was to have a way to release that stress. Recently that had meant time with Luna at Dark Secrets. For the few hours he allowed himself to be with her all he had to worry about was their mutual pleasure.

Why couldn't Hannibal and Ink have found someone like her? Simple, uncomplicated, with no baggage to drag the club down. He took a sip of his beer.

At least he didn’t think she had baggage. She never shared anything heavy with him and he never asked. Truth was, while he knew hundreds of tiny things about her, they had never discussed what her life was like outside the club. He had no idea what problems she might have. Her text had driven that home.

Luna:I have to travel for work. I'll text when I get back.

No details. No endearments. That was all it said. Not that he was expecting heart emojis and flowers. They weren't dating, just play partners. He had been waiting for the right opportunity to see if she would be interested in more, but the time never seemed right.

What did she even do for work? Highdive picked up his phone and scrolled back through all their texts. Times, dates, and outfit requests, nothing at all personal or emotional. He knew she felt emotions, though she would probably deny it. They had been spending longer and longer after a scene just sitting and talking.

He loved the simplicity of those moments. Aftercare had never really been his thing but the moments he spent learning new things about Luna were now some of his favorite memories. He loved all the strange little things he now knew about her. They talked about current events and movies. It was peaceful. But he also now realized it wasn’t anything important.

How could he not know what she did for a living, or if she had any family? None of that had seemed important with her cuddled up against him.

He snorted at himself. Was he really getting sappy about cuddling?

It had seemed like a blessing that every time he said aftercare was over she would get up, thank him with a kiss on the cheek, and walk out without ever glancing backwards. Simple, uncomplicated pussy. Exactly what he told his Brothers that he wanted. A zero drama woman.

How pathetic did it make him that the first time she wasn’t available to him he wanted more? What would she be like outside the club walls? Her text was the first indication that she even had a job and that the job could take her away from the area. What would he do until she returned?

They'd never promised exclusivity. He could pick up someone else, either here at the clubhouse or at Dark Secrets. The idea turned to ash in his mouth. He didn't want anyone else. He wanted to find her and drag her back. She might not be safe with everything going on. Why hadn’t he warned her?

Even though they weren't dating, they had been regular partners enough that someone in the Bratva could have found out about her. If they did, she would become a target. He wanted her here, where she would be safe, not out traveling God knows where. If she got hurt because she was completely unaware of the danger he would never forgive himself.

For the first time since he had gotten her number he hit the call icon.

The phone rang a few times and then a long beep to indicate voicemail. No message. Just a beep. Who the hell didn't have a voicemail message? He hung up without saying anything. Not sure if his impulse to call her had even been the right thing to do.

“Get me a beer,” Hawk growled to the Prospect behind the bar as he slipped onto the barstool to Highdive’s right.

The President of the Dark Sons looked tired. If anyone had asked Highdive a few days ago if this man could ever look anything but powerful and in control he would have said no. In his fifties Hawk always seemed like a force of nature. Unable to be affected by the day to day life that pulled everyone else down. Usually, if it wasn't for his gray hair, you would never know he wasn't in his early thirties.

Taking a bullet to his vest, the club going to war, and finding out that he might have a daughter out there somewhere was obviously enough to make him show his age. Andre Petrov had dropped that bomb of knowledge before firing his gun. His President had apparently been secretly hooking up with a crazy Russian assassin named Akula for years, and she had kept a big secret from him.

Highdive took a sip of his beer. All his Brothers had lost their minds. He’d felt smug as he watched the officers fall like dominoes for women with enough problems to fill a truck. No matter how messed up he had stood by his Brothers' sides and helped end any danger to the women they loved.

Now, they were all starting to settle down in American Dream style bliss. The only single officers left were him and Grinder, who just got promoted to Road Captain. He glared at the text from Luna. Who was he kidding? He wasn’t single.

“Trouble?” Hawk’s voice broke him out of his uncomfortable thoughts.

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