Page 9 of The Queen of Nightmares

She laughed softly. “Yeah, it was pretty good. Looks like you didn’t get much sleep.”

“Nope. There is too much of me to go around. Gotta please all the pretty things, ya know?”

“For fuck’s sake. What’s the emergency, Barrel?”

He looked back at me, then gestured with a wave of his hand. “Maybe you, uh, should put that thing away before you give me an inferiority complex.”

With a grunt, I turned away, striding over to where my jeans lay discarded on the floor. I tugged them on while Sally walked over to the couch and sat down, and Barrel leaned against the doorframe, yawning again.

“What’s going on?” I asked while buttoning my jeans. I snagged my T-shirt off the desk chair and pulled it over my head. I needed a shower and hated putting yesterday’s clothes back on, but that would have to wait.

He glanced over at where Sally was sitting, watching both of us with interest. “Do you think we should talk in the meeting room?”

I shook my head once. “No. Sally can hear anything you have to say.” My tone was final, and there would be no arguments from anyone on the matter. Ever. If anyone disagreed with my Queen being privy to club business, they could get the fuck out. I almost lost her by keeping my distance. I wasn’t making that mistake again. Sally was the strongest person I knew. She could handle anything, and I knew she would always stay by my side, no matter what she learned about the club.

Barrel shrugged, seeming to accept my command easily. “Whatever you say, Prez. One of the guys was on patrol and caught one of the Boogeymen in the act of setting one of the warehouses on fire. He’s in the shed.” He eyed Sally once more. “He may not last long. The fight to subdue him resulted in a few injuries. Had to call Doc in to patch up our member, too. He should be here soon.”

Doc was on his way. Good. It was past time to have a talk with him. I needed men I could trust in my inner circle. Men who would have my back, and more importantly, men who would protect my Queen with their lives. I also had a Vice President position I needed to fill.

ChapterSeven

THE QUEEN OF NIGHTMARES

The knock coming from the office door jerked me awake, and I had a feeling of déjàvu as I looked around the room.

“Sally? Are you in there?” Kara’s voice called to me softly through the door, making me sit up. I had a brief moment of nausea as I rose from my lying position, but it passed fairly quickly after I called out to give me a minute.

I realized that I hadn’t been sick at all earlier when Jack and I woke up. I had to laugh softly to myself at that. Jack was good for more than just the fantastic orgasms he could give me. He also seemed to help with the morning sickness, too. Now that I thought about it, maybe a lot of the illness had to do with how depressed I was. The mind is a strange thing, and stress can do a lot of damage to a body. At least, I hoped it was that easy, because morning sickness sucked.

After Jack kissed me goodbye, promising that he would be as quick as possible and making me swear not to leave the clubhouse, I went into the restroom and cleaned up as well as I could with the soap and water there. It wasn’t the best, and it definitely didn’t come close to being shower-clean, but at least I felt fresher than I had when I woke up.

I walked barefoot over to the door and opened it to see Kara standing there with a smile. She looked a lot fresher than I did, obviously having had the shower I was craving. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a pretty top with a pair of jeans and sneakers.

“Hey, Kara.” I swung the door open wider in invitation, and she walked past me after giving me a one-armed hug. I noticed she was carrying a small package about the size of a shoebox.

“Hey, Sally.” She sat down on the couch with the box resting on her lap. She looked me up and down critically as if searching for something. “Are you okay?”

I closed the door and sat down on the other end of the couch, turning sideways with one knee bent, my foot tucked under my other leg so I could face her. “Yes? I’m great. Why do you ask?”

“Well, first, I want to apologize. As soon as we walked in, my ex saw me and pulled me away.” She bent her head down, looking embarrassed. “We, uh, stayed occupied for most of the night in one of the rooms.” She looked me up and down again, her eyes stopping on a few of the fingerprint sized bruises left on my skin from Jack’s hands on my upper thighs. “I heard that Bones was super pissed and dragged you back here to his office. I’m so sorry that I got you in trouble. I swear I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

I laughed at that. “I wasn’t in trouble. It’s fine. Jack just didn’t like that one of the guys got too close to me. Honestly, coming here last night was the best thing I could have done.”

Kara cocked her head, looking at me like I was crazy. “Sally, you have bruises. If he’s hurting you…”

I waved my hand, cutting off her line of thinking before she could go further. “Jack would never hurt me. I’m a redhead. I bruise like a peach, Kara. Trust me, nothing he did was harmful in any way.” I appreciated her concern. I wished that I’d had someone like her when I was growing up and needed someone to care more about my welfare.

I leaned forward and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for being worried about me. I really appreciate it.” I let go and sat back against the arm of the couch again. “But, seriously, there is no need for concern about Jack. He loves me.”

She let out a gust of air but still didn’t look entirely convinced. “Sally, that’s what a lot of abused women say. It’s easy to make excuses when the person that is abusing you makes you think they are your whole world and that you need them.”

My tone was a lot sharper when I replied. “I appreciate your concern. But, as I said, Jack is not abusing me. He treats me like a queen. In fact, he calls me his Queen. He loves me, and,” I leaned forward, making sure to emphasize my words, “he doesnotharm me.”

She stared at me for a long beat, her expression unreadable. “Okay, Sally,” she finally said softly. She stood up after that. “Well, I just wanted to check on you and also to apologize for ghosting you last night.” She gave me a smile that seemed a little forced, and I felt bad for being so harsh with her. “I’m really glad you’re okay and that it looks like the two of you worked out whatever was going on between you.”

“Thanks,” I said softly. I stood up to follow her to the door.

As Kara opened the door and started to walk out, she stopped and spun around to face me, holding the box towards me. “Oh! I almost forgot. As I was coming through the gate, the postal guy showed up. I saw that he had this package addressed to you and offered to bring it in.”

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