Page 17 of King's Claim
Lena’s throat tightened.She sipped her coffee to buy time, but the bitter taste only reminded her of the conversation she’d been dodging with herself for days.“It’s nothing.Just life.Bills.Work.”
“Bills?”her mom asked.“You paid them, didn’t you?”
“That’s the thing.”Lena’s fingers tightened on the cup.“I went to the front desk the other day, and they said everything was covered.Already paid.”
Her mom’s brows drew together.“But you didn’t...”
“No.I didn’t.”Lena hesitated.“It was King.”
Recognition flickered in her mother’s eyes.Lena had mentioned him in passing.“The man from the MC?”her mom asked.
“Yes.”Lena swallowed, nerves tangling in her stomach.“He just took care of it.Thousands of dollars, Mom.He didn’t even tell me.I had to figure it out.”
Her mom’s thin hand shifted against the blanket, reaching until Lena leaned forward to clasp it.Lena started to talk, about how they met, and how she was trying her best to fight her attraction to him.
“King sounds like a good man to me,” her mom said.
Lena blinked, caught off guard.“A good man?Mom, he’s the president of the Devil’s Crown MC.People are terrified of him.He’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous isn’t the same as bad.”Her mom’s voice was faint but steady.“You said yourself he saved you when no one else would.That he gave you a job, and he’s also keeping an eye on you.And now this.”
“Exactly,” Lena said, leaning back in frustration.“King keeps inserting himself into my life, into our lives.Paying bills, throwing his weight around, acting like I need him.I can’t figure out what he wants from me.”
Her mom studied her with the kind of look that stripped Lena bare.“Maybe he just wants you.”
Heat rushed to Lena’s cheeks.“Mom.”
“I’m serious.”The older woman smiled faintly, squeezing her hand.“You’re so quick to take care of everyone else that you never let anyone take care of you.Maybe this is different.Maybe you should give it a chance.”
Lena stared at her, stunned.She’d expected warnings, the usual motherly instinct to keep her daughter away from men like King.Instead, her mom sounded almost hopeful.
“You really think he’s a good man?”Lena asked quietly.
“I think he’s showing you who he is.Believe actions, Lena, not rumors.”
Her chest tightened, her heart aching with the weight of those words.Thoughtful, unsettled, she kissed her mom’s forehead and promised to visit again tomorrow.
Her mind, however, was a storm as she walked down the sterile hallways and out toward the parking lot.The late afternoon sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the asphalt.Lena dug in her purse for her keys, distracted, still hearing her mother’s voice urging her to give King a chance.
She almost didn’t notice the two men leaning against a battered motorcycle until she was too close.
“Look who it is,” one of them drawled.
Lena froze.Her pulse leapt, recognition slamming into her chest.The taller of the two had greasy blond hair tied back, a serpent tattoo curling up his neck.She heard locals talk about him.Riker.The same Serpent who had cornered her at The Pit Stop, his leer burned into her memory.
“Well, ain’t this a pretty surprise,” Riker said, pushing off the bike and sauntering toward her.His buddy, broader and heavier, smirked and followed.“Out here all alone.Thought you’d be smarter after the other night.”
Her stomach dropped.She forced herself to straighten, fingers tightening on her keys.“Get out of my way.”
Riker chuckled.“Oh, she’s still got bite.I like that.”He leaned closer, and the reek of cigarettes and stale beer hit her.“You think that Devil’s Crown bastard’s gonna save you again?He won’t always be around.”
“Move,” she snapped, her voice shaking despite her effort to sound steady.
The bigger Serpent stepped into her path, cutting off the direct line to her car.“C’mon, sweetheart.Just want to talk.No need to get all riled up.”
Her heart hammered, adrenaline flooding her veins.She was seconds away from bolting, ready to scream if she had to.Then the roar of an engine split the air.
A black motorcycle tore into the lot, tires screeching as it stopped hard enough to make the Serpents stumble back.
