Page 14 of Ruined (The Knights of Ruin)

CHAPTER FOUR

Smoke

‘HEY, PREZ. YOU got a minute?’ I stood aside as one of the club hang-arounds, a brunette called Bella, sidled out of Keep’s office, tugging down her skirt and doing nothing to hide the satisfied look on her face.

Keep himself was sitting at his desk, his hands loosely linked behind his head, looking extremely fucking satisfied himself. I guess there’s nothing like a lunchtime screw when there isn’t much else going on.

He grinned, lifting his chin at the chair opposite the desk. ‘Sure. Take a seat.’

I came in and sat down, leaning my elbows on my knees.

I didn’t like to ask favours of people since I hated being in debt—another thing that made me different from my old man—but Keep was different. He was my uncle, Dad’s younger brother, and the man who’d protected me when he could. He’d also been the one to introduce me to the Knights, becoming president not long after I patched in.

Being in debt to Keep was okay. He was a brother; he was my president, and he had my back. He had everyone’s back. That was why they called him Keep. Because he kept what was his and he didn’t let it go.

He gave me a measuring look, letting the silence hang there for a bit. Then he said, ‘So what’s up? Something important? I can tell by the look on your face.’

It was important. This was Annie and Cat, and there weren’t any other people on this whole fucking planet more important to me than they were.

But I had to be careful about how I was going to ask for this. Keep had a good relationship with the police chief, a relationship that was important, too—especially if you wanted to stay on the straight and narrow like Keep did. He made sure the club maintained a low profile with the law and stayed out of trouble.

Well, we weren’t called the Knights in Shining Armor. We were the Knights of Ruin for a reason. But that reason didn’t include drugs or whores or guns or any of that shit. We did the usual MC stuff for cash: a strip club, a couple of garages around town and a good bit of protection and hired muscle work. But we weren’t in it for the money. We were in it because we wanted to ride and live free, our brothers by our side.

Iwas in it because the Knights were my family—certainly more of a family than my own had been—and I wanted it to stay that way. I didn’t want to rock the boat.

Except this thing with Annie might just do a shitload of rocking.

I had to try, though. For Cat’s sake.

‘Yeah, something’s up.’ I met Keep’s gaze. ‘It’s got to do with Justin Grant.’

Keep’s blue eyes narrowed. ‘Campbell Grant’s son?’

‘Unfortunately.’

He sighed and unlinked his hands, sitting forward in his chair, folding his arms and leaning his elbows on the desk. ‘Fuck’s sake, Smoke. Not again.’

I fought a hot rush of irritation. Everyone knew I hated Grant’s guts because of Cat, and that if I’d had my way I would have put him in the ground with no regrets if I could have got away with it. But I’d never actually put a move on him. So Keep getting pissed at me was annoying.

Still, I knew where Keep was coming from.

Yet this was Cat. And that was a whole other story.

So I swallowed my anger, kept my posture loose and held his gaze steadily. ‘If it was just about Grant being a dick, I’d agree with you. But last night he didn’t return Annie, and when I caught up with them I found him putting her into a car with a big suitcase.’ I paused. ‘He didn’t look like he was planning on coming back, Keep.’

There was no expression at all on Keep’s face. He was good at hiding his emotions.

‘So? He’s the kid’s father.’

Keep knew all about Cat and Annie. He knew Cat was the only thing that kept me sane, the only bright spot in the entire damn world when things had got really dark. He knew what she meant to me and he knew why this was important.

The motherfucker was playing devil’s advocate.

‘And Cat is Annie’s mother,’ I said flatly. ‘He doesn’t have any right to take Annie away from her.’

Keep lifted a shoulder. ‘Sounds like custody drama to me. Let them sort it out themselves. Got nothing to do with us.’

‘Grant’s going to come back,’ I went on, ignoring him. ‘He’s promised to get a court order giving him sole custody. And because he’s a lawyer, and full of shit, he’s going to tell them about Cat working nights and about how she’s got a biker boyfriend, that it’s dangerous for Annie to be around her.’

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