Page 25 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

“Ok.” He pushes off and grips my hand hard and pulls me at speed toward the clubhouse, ignoring the jeers and whistles of a couple of bikers watching with interest and I struggle to keep up with him. It’s only when he leaves me safe in the bar and heads off, that I get my breathing under control. When will I ever learn and not let my heart be so easily claimed?

* * *

Luckily,I have the place to myself for a couple of hours and I get a lot done. Marina finds me when I’m finishing up and smiles. “Hey, about that talk we were gonna have, I think now’s a good time, don’t you?”

“Sure, I could do with a break.”

She grabs a bottle of beer each and tosses one to me. “Girl talk is best conducted with alcohol, don’t you agree?”

She laughs as I nod with appreciation, and beckons me across to one of the couches.

“So, that was intense last night. How are you feeling today?”

“A word of warning would have been nice.” I glare at her and she shrugs. “The guys tell me nothing. The first I knew was when they closed in on you and Axel started the auction. I knew it was coming, just notwhen. It’s always the same though, they strike when the girl least expects it and give her no room to run.”

“It’s not right.” I frown and she nods.

“Of course it’s not right, most of the time its fucking rape but these girls know what’s coming when they sign up.”

“I was told differently.”

“Maybe, but then again, you must have known they wouldn’t stay away for long. These guys are animals, honey. They keep their dicks in their heads and their brains in their trousers.”

“Yes, well they don’t fuck with their brains, that’s for sure.”

She looks thoughtful. “You surprise me Millie, I thought Sawyer was different to the rest.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs and takes a swig of beer. “He always seems more like a gentleman. If you tell me otherwise, I’ll be disappointed.”

“He is.” I take a sip of my beer and wonder about Marina.

“How did you end up here?”

She looks down, which surprises me a little because she’s usually so confident, and I thought she just marched right on in here and told them how it was going to be. But she seems a little fragile as she shrugs.

“I was living with a guy who beat the shit out of me. This was the only place I felt safe from him. It’s well known that bikers take care of their own and nobody around here would mess with the Dragons if they had any sense.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I choke on my words because it’s normal for a girl to seek refuge in a biker’s club out of fear of violence elsewhere, and if anyone knows that, it’s me. Marina smiles as an understanding passes between us.

“So, did Axel claim you at the auction.” I’m interested to know how the woman who is half his age came to be paired up with the beast of a president and I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but she seems reluctant to speak of it.

“We did pair up, eventually, but I chose to put out instead.”

I stare at her in horror as she nods. “I wouldn’t recommend it. I thought I was keeping my options open, giving myself breathing space to come up with a better life plan. Turns out I was just a fuck toy, hard at work most of the time because when one guy finished, another climbed on board. It was exhausting, demoralizing and degrading and I suppose Axel took pity on me because when I told him I wanted an auction, he made it so he was the only bidder.”

She smiles ruefully. “He did me a favor because at least the older guys don’t expect it so much. He’s happy with a few times a week and that’s fine by me.”

Thinking about her situation makes me a little sad. “Don’t you love him?”

She laughs out loud. “Love, are you kidding? Love is for everyone else. Love is for normal people who work two jobs to pay the rent. Love is for couples who marry and make babies and dream of happy endings. Love has no place in a biker club, honey, not if you want to survive.”

She downs her beer in one, and I suppose this is the first time I’ve seen her rough edges. She’s always seemed so happy, but having broken down a few of her walls, I can see they are crumbling from the inside out.

Thinking of my own club and the bikers that live there reminds me how wrong she is. Love is the only thing that exists in the Twisted Reapers. Love for each other, our family and our way of life. Love for our country and the need to be the good guy. To tear down our enemies and make the world a better place. Love is everywhere in the Rubicon and the hearts of the warriors who live there. I must not forget how special it is there, which is why I feel so destroyed that I let them down at the first hurdle. Slade was my mission, and I failed and now I’m with Sawyer, I am disturbed to find that the thought of leaving him here when I head home, is tearing me up inside.

It’s only when we stand and head back to the bar, that something occurs to me. “Marina.”

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