Trust (Trojans MC Book 6) (12 page)

Climbing off, she removed the helmet, and he took it from her, holding her hand as they made their way upstairs toward her apartment.

“Okay, I want to know what you mean about being Dom on me. I’ve been thinking about it, and I can’t
not
think about it.”

He chuckled. “I figured that would give something to distract you all the way home.”

They entered her apartment, and she went straight to the bedroom. Knuckles stood in the doorway with his arms folded.

“I don’t get it.”

“Look, Daisy knows that side of me. It’s all he’s ever known. Once the brothers heard that I trained as a Dom, and that I enjoyed it, that was it for them. I was a Dom, and nothing else.”

“I don’t understand.”

“A Dom is a Dominant man, meaning he likes control. I take control, and you embrace that control.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“I’ve been guiding you. I helped with you getting that job with Clinton, and I checked to make sure he was safe. Fucking asshole should stay away from prank or mystery callers, but there we go. In the bedroom I take control. It’s not all about whips.”

“Do you like being a Dominant?” she asked, taking a seat on her bed.

“It’s what I know, and it’s what I can do.” He sat down beside her, taking her hand. “I told you how everything got started up. I’m not in desperate need to hit you with a whip.” He chuckled, which started her off. “In the club, what you’re known for, it gets heightened up. Yes, I’m a trained Dom, and I can hit your ass with a coiled whip so that it stung, and you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a few hours. I’ve trained with the equipment by expert men and women. I’m not begging to tie you up, Beth. I’m not going to start looking for a woman who is a sub.”

“You’re not.”

“It’s an element that I like within the bedroom, but again, it’s not what defines me. If someone was to ask who I was, I’d say I was Knuckles, a club brother, and your old man.” He locked their fingers together, kissing her hand.

“Why didn’t you ever dispute Daisy or the others?”

“What would be the point? They’re only being fuckers. It’s what they’re known for, and it is kind of fun. Scrap that, it is fucking funny.” He got to his feet. “There’s a party tonight. I’ve bought you something.” He moved toward their wardrobe. Knuckles had moved in with her, and she loved it.

At night with his arms wrapped around her, to Beth, was total enjoyment.

He pulled out a black skirt that would go to her knee, and a white sweater. Even though it looked conservative, it had a sexy appeal to it. “It’s going to be cold out, and I don’t want you sick after this.”

“I’ve heard that this is like a marriage. Is that true?”

“You got it, babe. After tonight, we’ll be married in the eyes of the club.” He put the clothes on the bed and moved to stand in front of her. He tilted her head back and slammed his lips down on hers.

When he pulled away, she was already gasping for more.

“I thought I should warn you that the couples in our club were married soon after, so if I was you, I’d be expecting a proposal soon.”

She jerked back. “What?”

“You heard,” he said, smiling.

“You can’t just spring that on a woman and walk away.”

He got to the doorway and looked back. “I just did.”

“When?” she asked, calling after him.

“When I’m ready to give you a ring.”

Her heart was pounding. Knuckles was going to propose to her. When? She was excited.

She’d say yes. Of course she’d say yes. There was no reason not to.

Chapter Twelve

Holly walked into Duke’s office at their home. She’d just put Bell and Drake down to sleep. It had been a few weeks since Winter had entered their lives, and she knew exactly what was going on. Duke didn’t keep anything from her, and since Clinton had handed this to the Trojans, her husband had been spending a lot of time alone, thinking.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No.”

Entering his office, she walked up toward him and placed her hand on his shoulders. “You shouldn’t stress yourself.”

“I shouldn’t? I don’t even believe for a second that Clinton even realizes what he’s done. It’s like a game to him.”

“He’s been here though, talking with you, and checking on Winter. He hasn’t just dumped it into your lap.”

“If they find out about her, there’s going to be a lot of bloodshed.”

She rubbed his shoulders. All of her life she had lived with that threat, and she was still here to tell the tale, and told him so.

“This is different.”

“I don’t know what to say to you to make it better.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Winter is still their daughter.”

“And yet they set some men to rape and beat her, Holly. The mafia, they’re not a bunch of kids looking for a fight.”

She sighed and moved to sit no his knee. “Duke, look at me.”

He turned his gaze toward her. “I don’t know if I can protect you.”

“You can protect me. We’ll figure something out. We always do.” She pressed her lips against his. “Remember, you’re part of the Trojans, and you’ve got a long history for being deadly. Just because you’ve got a wife and kids, don’t let that influence your life now. I can hold my own, and I’ll stand by your side. Every single man in that club, they voted to protect this woman. I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about, and remember, the mafia are just a bunch of men, like you.”

He chuckled. “You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. I’m your wife. Besides, how do you know the Abelli won’t see this as some kind of, um, business arrangement? When Winter’s old enough, she could marry one of the Trojans, and there you go, you’re allies, not enemies. Isn’t that the Trojan way?”

Duke gripped her hips and pulled her to straddle his waist, and she sank her fingers into his hair. “I love you, Holly.”

“I know. I’m hot stuff.” She took possession of his lips, rubbing her nose against his.

“You’re not afraid?” he asked.

She released a sigh. “I’m a little afraid, not a lot. You once told me that it took a lot to scare you. I’ve got a feeling the Abelli don’t scare you. Your family, they scare you.”

“I’ve got a gun, and I can shoot any man, but I’ve got so many lives to protect.”

“Now you see why my parents struggled so much. It was a huge decision for them both to make.”

“Speaking of decisions, I’ve got to head to the club. Knuckles is finally making Beth his old lady, and I’ve got to be there.”

She wrinkled her nose, recalling Darla’s initiation. “Old-lady-claiming is much nicer than club whores.”

“There’s a point to the club whores. They need to know they’re part of one club, wanted by many men, but not one.”

“It’s coldhearted, don’t you think?”

“It’s cold, but the life they lead, it has to be a cold one. No brother wants a woman who spreads her legs for multiple men.”

Holly shrugged. “Some men do. I don’t judge.”

Duke got to his feet. “Love you, Holly.”

“Love you, too. Now, go be a perv, and watch a claiming.”

Holly smiled as she watched her husband climb on his bike and head toward the clubhouse. Running fingers through her hair, she made her way back into her bedroom, where she had found the box that she’d possessed since she was a kid. Inside, there was a picture of a man, a man smoking a cigar, holding a glass of wine with an arm wrapped around her mother’s shoulders. Holly stood, four years old, in front of them. Flipping the card over, she saw the writing:
Abelli, Sheila, and Holly
.

Ever since the Abelli name had been mentioned, it had been driving her crazy. She recognized the name, and memories, or images had invaded her.

Sitting back, she rested her head, and wondered what her mother would have to say about this.

****

“Do you want me to contact him?” Sheila asked.

Russ shook his head, staring down at the pictures of another lifetime, a lifetime that came long before he’d taken the reins of the Trojans. He’d been a Prospect who liked to mingle with the mafia. Russ had earned himself a place as a fighter, and into the mafia’s good graces. They had even wanted him to become a soldier for them. He’d declined. Of course, he’d then met Sheila, and everything changed.

“Holly could remember. She’ll have questions, and when he finds out that Maya is here…”

“Winter. Her name is Winter, and you’re not going to contact him.” Russ rubbed at his face, wishing he’d put the Abelli bastard in the ground when he had the chance. They always said that skeletons in the closet had a way of coming out, and his had just fucking arrived.

Was it coincidence?

Fuck, he’d tried to bury the past a long time ago.

“Look, Russ, you knew this was going to happen. The Abelli, they’re going to come back, and when they do, our history is going to come to light.”

“Our history, you mean the fact that I fell in love with you, even though you were with him? You were married to Abelli, had a fucking kid with him: Holly.”

He gritted his teeth. Russ had a lot of regrets, but falling in love with Sheila wasn’t one of them. He’d been a kid, and Abelli had started to fuck other women. Sheila had been kind, and to a point innocent. She hadn’t completely understood what being married to Abelli meant, until she saw the kind of death and destruction her husband meted out. Russ didn’t care what anyone said. Holly was
his
kid. He’d been there when she was first born, and he’d nurtured her right under her own father’s nose.

Rubbing at his eyes, he shook his head.

Russ had gone at the Abelli all guns blazing, leaving only one man with the promise that if he ever came after them, he’d put a bullet in his head. The Abelli was on the other side of the world, and he had believed that he’d sent them to Italy.

There had been rumors, but over time, he’d started to feel safe.

“Winter is Holly’s half-sister.”

“I’ve got to tell Duke.”

No one in the Trojans knew the truth. Russ had kept it secret, killing anyone who doubted.

Looking back, Russ had been an animal, a monster.

“Why did you fight so hard for me?” Sheila asked.

He looked toward the woman he loved. “What?”

She forced a smile. “You once said that I deserved to be happy, and yet, you cheated on me just like he did. Forget it.”

“Do you regret our life together?” he asked, getting to his feet, reaching for her.

“I regret lying, Russ. This is what we’ve done. We have created a life together based on a lie. Holly, she’s going to find out, and she’s going to hurt because of it. Our past shouldn’t cause these problems.” Sheila sighed, turning away from him.

Grabbing the details he needed, Russ headed out to the clubhouse. His past was coming back to haunt him. He had walked away the victor, and now he didn’t imagine he was going to get very far.

****

“You can put all of your girly shit there, and if you want we can go and get some pink paint. Girls like pink frilly shit,” Landon said, looking around the room. Winter was staying at the clubhouse, and she stood in the doorway of her new room. “What do you think?”

“You stress out a lot.”

“Yeah, never had a sister to take care of, and as strange as it sounds, I want to do this job properly.”

She moved to sit on the bed. “It’s nice, and it’s loud.”

“Loud?”

“Most of the time at home, we weren’t allowed around many of my father’s associates. My mother, she was always out of it on drugs and alcohol. I was alone a lot of the time. My dad screwed the nannies so they were always disappearing. It sucked.”

“You lived a totally sucky life?”

“It wasn’t always bad. I got to wear nice things, and most people at school were afraid of me. I had guards all the time. It was really weird. My dad would always say he lost a kid before. I figure it’s because he’s so violent during a woman’s pregnancy,” she said, shrugging.

“You do know for a fifteen-year-old girl to be talking about violence like that, it’s not normal.”

“I’m not normal. I’m the daughter of Abelli. Some of us are lucky to be born into a nice loving home, and others into violence.” She shrugged. “We’re handed problems left and right.”

Landon took a seat on the bed, staring at the girl. She was fifteen years old, and yet she carried an intelligent conversation, which was new.

“You’re doing that weird staring thing. Are you a creepo?”

“No. Girls don’t do it for me. I’m more than happy to stick with a woman. Do you regret going to the cops?”

“I regret going to the wrong people. I don’t know if you know this, but getting beat up isn’t what the movies make out to be.”

“We’ll keep you safe here.”

“No offense, Landon, I’m not safe anywhere. If my father wants to find me, he’ll find me. He’ll kill me when I no longer serve a purpose to him.”

“Kill you? I thought you were already on the endangered list.”

She laughed. “No. That, the beating and stuff, that was just me getting punished for being naughty. I’m a woman. I’m good to be sold into marriage.” She snorted. “Over the years women are considered these waste-of-space items that men put up with. For parents, however, we’re the ones that are used to make empires, through marriage. We’re the most powerful beings on earth, we just don’t know it.”

“I’m thoroughly depressed.”

“Sorry, when you spend time on your own, you tend to do a lot of thinking, reading, and watching. I loved documentaries, history, stuff like that.”

“No romance there?”

“I’ve never believed in romance. I was never going to find someone to love, and I’m not going to start now. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not a romantic, and I find it sad you’ve only known violence.”

“When my father comes for me, don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Like what?”

“Like band together with him. My father’s deadly unless there’s something he wants, and then he’ll do whatever he can to get it. From what I saw, Trojans possess nothing that would interest him.”

“Hey, we’re an interesting bunch of men.”

She chuckled. “Okay, then.”

“I’m heading downstairs. I’ll be just across the hall.” He moved toward the drawers beside her bed. “Here’s a gun, and I read your file. You know how to use it. Anything happens, run, and use it.”

“I will.”

He left the bedroom and made his way downstairs. Brass was sitting at the table, nursing a beer.

“You okay?” Brass asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Women, they’re fucking freaky.” Landon waited for a beer to be put in front of him, and he took it, thankful for the distraction of the young girl upstairs. Landon felt protective of the girl. No one else had stood up for her during the whole of her life, and he wanted to be the man that was different from all of the others.

****

Knuckles held Beth’s hand as they made their way around the outside of the clubhouse. Many of the club whores were out in full force, teasing the brothers. He spotted Leanna and Crazy dancing together.

“What’s going to happen?” she asked.

“Just let it happen. It’s what we all do. Let the music take you, and have some fun. It’s no rush to get it over with.” He wrapped his arm around her, dancing. It was cold out, and he offered her more of his warmth as they moved around several of the brothers.

“Are you ready to be an old lady?” Mary asked, coming up toward them.

“I am.”

Pike moved up behind Mary, shaking his hand. Knuckles nodded at him. The brother had been in a better mood since Mary had finally come to her senses, and he was pleased. Knuckles didn’t like to see any unrest at the club.

“Daisy stayed home,” Pike said.

“That’s good. Do you want a beer, babe?” he asked.

Beth shook her head. “Juice for me, or soda.”

“Will do.”

Walking with Pike, he made his way inside, passing Duke’s office. Glancing inside, he saw a pissed off Duke and a worried Russ.

Pike sighed. “Don’t you like club life better when no one seems to give a fuck about what trouble is going down where?” he asked.

“I’d gladly take that shit.” Knuckles went straight to the fridge, grabbing out a cool beer and an orange soda. “I want to propose to Beth, only I want to do it properly. What do you think?”

“Man, there’s a whole lot of ways to propose to a woman. Beth’s a simple kind of girl. Nothing elaborate.”

“I’ve already asked Daisy, and her father.”