Page 24 of Laying it Bare Biker Style - Grayson

“Do you think everyone got it wrong and it wasn’t a gang member?” Her eyes filled with tears before a couple slid down her cheeks.

“If they never caught the guy, it’s hard to say.” I swiped the wetness from her face. “And I would never lie to you. An MC member could’ve been responsible for it. I don’t know. I don’t remember hearing about the incident. But I will tell you this: it wasn’t one of ours. We don’t rob places and wedefinitelydon’t kill innocents. Ever. And I doubt it was a Pyro Devils member either. We have a weird alliance with them. They are more annoying than cruel. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t others out there who would. I told you a little about the situation with Sage. And then you had the confrontation with one of their members yesterday. So while my club is good hearted, there is enough bad shit going on to give club members a bad rap, whether we deserve it or not.” Dipping down, I joined our mouths in a slow gentle kiss. “But know this. I will protect you. You’re mine.”

“And my dad needs to realize there are good and bad cops too. And good and bad people from all walks of life.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “But anyway, I like being yours.” Her face lit back up with her smile. “Let’s go inside. I was serious about wanting to finish cleaning. It wasn’t just an excuse not to go with my dad. Although I really don’t want to spend any time with him right now because he pissed me off.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me inside.

After I stepped into her living room, I carefully closed the door, well aware it wasn’t secure. “How about after you finish cleaning you come back home with me? As long as Dani has somewhere safe to stay as well. I’d feel better having you with me until they figure out who the asshole was and find him.”

She stared at me for a beat. “I’ll call her and let her know what’s going on. How long are we talking?”

“As long as you want, but at least until they find the guy.”

An odd expression crossed her features. “Are you sure you want this with me? I knew my dad was going to be a problem. I just wasn’t ready for that kind of animosity.”

“His reaction was a bit much. I mean he never really did like us, but it’s worse since he knows you and me are together. That has to chaff his ass. But, yes, I want this with you. You are worth it.” I repeated her earlier words about me. “No matter what he throws at me.”

For a long moment, she merely stood there as if she were caught in her own thoughts. And I was incredibly curious as to what was bouncing around in there, but I didn’t ask, just hoped if they revolved around me, I was portrayed as worth all the detriment our involvement inflicted on her relationship with her dad.

“Go chill out on the couch with some television while I call Dani, finish cleaning, and pack a bag. I want to take my car though. I don’t want you to have to cart me around everywhere. And I will have a dinner date with my dad sometime this week.”

“Fair enough.” I’d have her in my bed and could wake up to her every morning for now and would work on making that permanent. So that was something I could work with while we ironed out the other issues surrounding us.

While Brooke walked back her hallway to make her call or pack or both, I plopped down on the couch and clicked on the television, settling on a rerun ofLast Man Standing. About ten minutes later, she buzzed into the kitchen, but paused at the bar to glance over at me. “Do you want something to drink? Damn, I never made any dinner either. And now that I have a chance to think about it; I’m starving. Did you get to eat? Although it hasn’t been that long since I left your house. Or has it? Hell, I don’t even know what time it is.”

“Take a deep breath there, Princess. And no, I don’t need anything to drink. Get your chores done so we can go to my place and you can relax. You play your cards right, I might give you a naked massage later.” I winked at her. “I’m assuming you got a hold of Dani and she’ll be okay with you not staying here for a bit.”

“A naked massage sounds amazing.” Brooke released a huge sigh and then grinned mischievously. “She actually met someone when she went out on Saturday night and was hoping to stay at his place again so was relieved I wasn’t going to be staying here. So that was the first surprise cuz she is even less likely to go home with someone than me. But she sent me a picture of him.” Her grin turned into a devilish smirk.

“Yes, I remember being flashed Friday night and not in a good way.” I shot her a wolfish smile.

“And she is actually stopping by after they are done at the restaurant to grab her hamster. Hopefully he doesn’t smell up his place or the guy will be kicking her to the curb. So that’s taken care of. Let me toss my clothes into the dryer, run the vacuum, and clean up the bathroom and then we can go. But are you sure you don’t want something to snack on? I’m sure we have chips.”

I planned to snack on something much later and it wasn’t going to be junk food. ”I’m good. I’ll text Ryder and let him know everything is okay and not to wait on us to eat.”

“I shouldn’t be too much longer. And let them know we can clean up the dinner after we eat. To leave it all out for us to take care of. They should relax, especially Sage.”

Her comment made me like her even more. She barely knew Sage yet treated her like a best friend.

While Brooke shifted her focus back to her chores, I split my attention between the show and the crazy hamster. Although when she stepped into the living room to run the vacuum over the carpet, my gaze centered on how sweet her ass looked in her cut off shorts as she pushed the machine.

When she was finished, she strolled back into the living room with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled at me but when her gaze drifted to the front door, she frowned. “I don’t know if I feel good about leaving while that door is like that. I’m famished and I know you have to be starving too, but shouldn’t we wait for him to get here?”

“I can text one of our Prospects to watch the house until he comes to fix it.”

“Maybe. I hate to bother one of them though.”

A knock sounded at her door. And she jumped.

Standing from the couch, I walked over to her and gathered her into my arms. “You’re safe now. But I’m thinking that’s your repair man. The other guy wouldn’t knock so politely.” Kissing her on the forehead, I strolled over to the door and swung it open.

A guy with blond hair and in a uniform nodded to me. “Is Brooke home? Jimmy asked me to come repair her door. By the way, I’m Frank.” His blue eyes studied me for a moment as he held out his hand. But I didn’t catch any judgement in his stare.

I shook it. “Thank you. I’m Grayson. Come on in. We were heading back to my place. Is that okay?”

Brooke sidled up to me, wrapping her arm around my waist. “Hey, Frank. Thank you for doing this, especially on short notice. Could you lock up before you go? And then I can get the keys tomorrow when I stop at the station after work to file a report.”

“Yup. I’ll leave them with Evalyne. She’ll be working at the front counter tomorrow.”

“That makes it easier than trying to track down one of you guys.” Twisting, she gazed up at me. “I’m ready to go then. Frank will get this fixed and I won’t have to worry about it.”

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