Ultimate mc romance coll.., p.118
Ultimate MC (Romance Collection), page 118
Thankfully, he seemed to take my explanation and apology, and I had to brace myself for a kiss when he stepped in and took me in his arms. It always sickened me to have him so close to me, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
I kissed him as briefly and passionlessly as I could, then forced a smile with my stomach churning, “I’ll text you as soon as I can.”
“Good,” he said. He turned and walked out the door, leaving me to run to the bathroom and rinse out my mouth. He tasted like stale booze and smelled of cigarettes, and I already felt sick to my stomach knowing that he had found out about me going to the restaurant.
It made me feel like I was being spied on, and I wondered if he had someone watching me at all times.
But there wasn’t any way I’d be able to find out, and I couldn’t ask him about it.
Before heading back out into the front of the shop, I shot Ryne a quick text.
Gus found out about me going to dinner last night, and he’s not happy about it.
I hit send but didn’t have time to wait for an answer. I just hoped to God Ryne’s friend could get me out of this mess before it got too deep. I hated being a part of this, and I wanted out. But I felt so trapped, I didn’t know how to even begin getting out.
Putting my phone back under the counter, I turned my attention back to the décor. Jonas walked over and slapped his hand on my shoulder. I knew he felt for me, and he was doing his best to give me some support.
I was ever so grateful for the gesture.
God knew it was some of the only support I had.
Chapter 11
Ryne
I flipped through the menus from the couple weeks prior, making notes of the dishes that did the best, and those that weren’t as popular. I tried to change the nightly specials often so that they didn’t repeat in a two-week cycle, but there were dishes that were so popular I didn’t feel I had a choice at times.
After jotting down some notes, I checked my phone. I was still waiting to hear from Raf. I knew he was busy working two jobs and maintaining his relationship, but I needed him, and I hoped he’d get back to me soon.
This was important, and I had to talk to him over the phone for him to understand that. I knew he would care as soon as he knew the details, but right now, he was just trying to get through his own schedule.
God knew I understood what it was like to be busy. When I was trying to fit in working at the bar along with the restaurant in my schedule, I didn’t feel like I had time for anything else. I couldn’t imagine throwing in a girl on top of it.
Now that I had just the restaurant to deal with, I could focus more on the extra things going on in my life–which meant this girl.
I was pissed over what she had texted me the day before. I never answered her, not wanting to say something I’d regret, but the fact of the matter was that I was furious as soon as I saw the words on the screen.
It bothered me that Gus knew she went out to dinner and was talking to me while she was out. How the hell did he find out? It wasn’t as though we were trying to hide anything, but the fact that he knew anyway was enough to put me on edge.
I wondered if he was watching her. He was just that kind of guy; it wouldn’t have surprised me if he was. I didn’t think he was watching me. He and I didn’t get along enough, and I was sure he liked to pretend I didn’t exist.
But still. He had known enough to have showed up to her work the next morning. It hadn’t even been a full day since it happened and he was already asking her what had happened; that made me sick.
From what I’d known about Gus, he seemed to have a temper. And with the way she constantly flinched when he touched her, I couldn’t help but suspect there was more going on than what met the eye.
And that led me to all kinds of other questions.
Did he hit her when they were alone? Was he abusive to her in other ways, too? If she was only with him because of her brother, how far did she let the mistreatment go? She was so nice and naïve from what I’d seen, did she think it was normal for a man to treat a woman that way?
She’d mentioned that her brother had taken care of her since their parents had died. Even though they were twins, I felt like she would look up to him and let him call the shots a lot, but I still couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.
Clearly, you will have to steal her for yourself. You can’t let this go on while you try to figure out what to do next. You’ve got to get her out of there before he does something to her that can’t be undone.
Do you think he would take it that far? It is Gus, and he’s a shitty guy, but against a girl? Who knows? The real question is–do you want to take the chance that it might go that far? There’s only one shot at some things in life, and him hurting her could turn into something that can’t be undone.
Then again, you can’t just go throw him out yourself. You’ve got to make this Hopper’s problem. He doesn’t know what kind of guy Gus is, or he wouldn’t put up with any of his shit.
The key is to figure out something Gus is doing that will push Hopper over the edge.
I sighed. Hopper was an excellent President, and I knew he would not put up with the shit Gus was doing if it went against Hopper’s own moral standards. The trick was to figure out how to expose Gus to Hopper and let Hopper make the final call.
I knew it would happen.
I just had to figure out how.
My phone rang, and I was relieved to see it was Raf.
“You called?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I really need to talk to you.”
“Okay,” he let the word hang in the air.
“Have you had any developments with your connections?” I asked.
“A few,” he replied. “But I’m not getting the impression you want to talk about that.”
“He knew she was at the restaurant,” I told him. “I think Gus is having this girl stalked.”
“Really?” Raf sounded concerned.
“How else would he have known? Unless one of the boys was there and saw her and told him in conversation, but it seems like a long shot with the way he treats her,” I said.
“I agree with you there,” Raf said. “I think we need to go to Hopper over this. You know he’s not going to put up with that shit.”
“We can’t prove that he’s stalking her,” I said. “We’ll need something bigger. And I want to know what the fuck her brother is involved in that’s making her the pawn caught in the middle.”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Raf replied. “Hence, the phone call.”
“Let’s talk in person,” I told him. “Can you make it to the restaurant tomorrow night? Maybe bring Hopper along?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Raf said. “I’ll bring Kain along instead. He’s the VP, so he’s closer to Hopper than we are, and he’s one of our best friends, so he might be more inclined to listen to what’s going on.”
I wanted to slap my hand against my forehead. Why hadn’t I thought of Kain?
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ll put you two down for seven; dinner will be on the house. I can take an hour, and then and sit with you and we can talk.”
“See you then.”
After finishing the assembly of the last plate, I put it on a cart and wheeled it out to the dining room. A few of the customers looked at me with raised eyebrows as I walked by, confused as to why the head chef was bringing out the food.
But I took it to where Kain and Raf were sitting with their drinks and set the plates in front of them.
“Aren’t you going to announce what it is in some foreign language?” Kain teased.
“First of all, the foreign language would have to be Italian, and second, no,” I said with a smirk.
“What kind of service is this?” he shook his head, and I rolled my eyes. I set my plate down and took a seat while Stephanie wheeled away the tray.
“So what do you have for me?” I asked Raf.
“Gambling,” Raf replied. “Nathan, the brother, has gotten into some high profile gambling without having the means to keep up with the crowd.”
“Great,” I said sarcastically. “And he’s been borrowing money?”
“And betting against people, followed by losing said bets,” Raf said with a shrug. “Turns out Gus is really into this sort of illegal form of making money, and he’s been swindling many people out of their money.”
“I thought gambling was legal,” I said.
“When it’s done legally, duh,” Raf emphasized the word legally, and I shook my head.
“Well then, we’ve got enough to go to Hopper about this, don’t we?” I asked.
We both turned to Kain who sighed, “I don’t like the guy, either, and I’m sure Hopper will want him out of the MC when he figures out Gus has been doing illegal shit, but what does that mean for the girl?”
“It means she’s free to go,” I said with a shrug.
Raf and Kain exchanged a look.
“Not necessarily,” Raf said slowly. I looked at the two of them with confusion. I couldn’t follow.
“For starters, her and her brother’s debt have nothing to do with the MC,” Raf said. “Whether Gus is part of the MC has no bearing on what her brother owes him, or what he will do to get his money.”
I sighed. They had a point with that one. But I hoped if Gus were out of the MC, he would have to figure out something else.
“What if we drove him out of town?” I asked.
“What’s going to stop him from taking her with him, or coming back and hurting her out of retaliation?” Kain asked. “You know how Gus is. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself, and if there’s a chance, he can get revenge on someone through hurting someone else, we all know he will do it in a heartbeat.”
“I’ll protect her,” I blurted out. I didn’t know what came over me, but I knew I had to do something. Natalie didn’t deserve any of this, and I wasn’t going to let some dipshit like Gus hurt her because he was pissed off at the MC.
I didn’t care what he did to her brother. That wasn’t her problem, and as far as I was concerned, it wasn’t my problem, either. He had made his own problems, and it was up to him to get back out of them.
On his own.
“I still think it might be a good idea to at least let Hopper know what’s going on,” I said. “I would feel a lot better knowing the MC will monitor him.”
“I will give you that,” Kain said with a nod. “I think we should talk to him in the morning. This isn’t anything we need to call him over tonight.”
Raf agreed, and I nodded too. Even though I thought the sooner he was aware, the better. But I would trust these two men and let them do what they felt was best. They were two of my best friends, and there was a reason I called them to hear what they had to say about this.
I didn’t know how to go about handling it, and in my drive to protect Natalie, I knew I could get a little hotheaded, especially when it came to dealing with Gus.
“We’ll talk to him first thing,” Raf said. “But that’s enough talk about Gus for one night. He’s the last person I want on my mind ever.”
We laughed together, and Kain nodded, “This looks great, and it’s on the house, let’s not let it go to waste.”
“Let’s eat,” I said with a grin.
Chapter 12
Natalie
I was just heading out the door to make my way to work when my brother came up to the door of my apartment complex. I stiffened. I was still feeling on edge since I last spoke to Gus, but Ryne seemed to think he could take care of it.
He texted me the day before and told me to stay strong. He was talking to a couple of the other members of the MC at dinner that night, and he expected them to have an answer for what the next step would be.
I wasn’t going to be around for dinner, but I wished I could be. I wanted to know what they were planning to do and how it would affect my brother. Though I wanted nothing to do with him these days, it didn’t change the fact I still worried about him.
I wanted him to get out of the life he was living, but stay out of mine as well. He had made enough choices that I didn’t want much to do with, but I didn’t want to see him get in trouble, either.
Until he did shit like this.
“Hey,” I said before he reached me.
“You need to stay away from this Ryne guy,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“Ryne? Don’t play dumb with me. I know you know exactly who I’m talking about,” he snapped.
“I do, but I’m wondering how the hell you know who my friends are,” I said as I crossed my arms.
“I make it my business to know what’s going on in my business world,” he said with a sneer.
“I’m not in your business world,” I said, standing taller. I was shaking on the inside, but I felt bold. If Ryne were here, he wouldn’t want me to back down from Nathan. It offended me to know he thought of me as nothing more than a business transaction these days.
There was a time when he and I were close, two twins who were inseparable.
Evidently, that wasn’t the case anymore.
“You do what you’re told and leave the rest to me,” he announced, taking a different angle. Normally, that would have worked on me, but today, I wasn’t about to let him strong arm me into giving up my friends. I was already doing more for him than I should have been, and I wasn’t going to let that turn into him completely controlling me.
“I told Gus, and I’m going to tell you, too. Ryne is a friend of mine. He was the man who saved me in the alley from that asshole you tried to hook me up with two years ago, remember?” I snapped.
I hadn’t ever let him forget about that, and though he had admitted it was a bad idea to send me out with that asshole, I would continue to hold it over his head. I was pissed that Nathan had put me in that position, and I wasn’t going to follow what he had to say anymore.
It was my life, and I felt like I ought to at least have a little say in what was going on. Even if it wasn’t much, I wanted a little. I would still help him, but I wasn’t going to let him boss me around to the extent where he told me who I could and couldn’t be friends with.
“You are with someone. It’s not appropriate for you to have other friends,” he said.
“Sounds to me like you’re just worried I’ll dump your MC guy and you’ll be stuck with that bill,” I said with a smirk. I didn’t know what came over me. It was so unlike me to stand up to him, and I never brought up the problems he had.
The smile on Nathan’s face was strange. It wasn’t angry, but it wasn’t happy, either. There was a level of sadism to his look that made me cringe, and I didn’t want to know what was going on inside his head. He took a step forward, and I took a step back.
He laughed and shook his head, “That’s what I thought. You better not fuck this up for me, Nat, or you’re going to really regret it.”
I pushed past him, ignoring his jeer. I didn’t want to think he could make good on any of these threats, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out what he had to say, anyway. He didn’t realize just how much I was doing for him, and he would regret it if I was the one to step back.
It was his debt, after all, and Gus would be coming to him for the money. Sure, I knew Gus wasn’t going to be thrilled when the day came and I dumped him, but it wasn’t going to be the same as Nathan.
I owed Gus nothing. This was all for my brother, and he should be a lot more grateful to me for it. After all, if I ended this now, I had every right to do that.
At least, that’s what Ryne would say.
I felt powerful on the way to the shop, but I had to admit, I was shaking by the time I walked through the front door. Jonas was already there, but I wasn’t late. He had just been earlier than usual that day, and he looked up with a smile as I set my things under the counter.
“I’ll go pull my hair back,” I said as I headed to the bathroom. That was true, but that was only half of what I was doing. I felt so good about standing up to my brother, I wanted Ryne to know, and to know now.
I didn’t care what Nathan had to say about it. Ryne was the closest thing I had to an actual friend, and I wasn’t going to ditch him just because Gus was pissed. Jonas was there for me too, of course, but he was my boss, and I didn’t count him quite the same way.
Nathan tried to tell me to stay away from you today, but I told him to fuck off. I’m done being his possession, and Gus’s too, for that matter. I can pick my own friends, and both of them are just going to have to deal with it.
I hit send and stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. I didn’t feel very powerful, but I was still proud of myself for standing up to my brother. I knew Ryne would be proud, and I would feel a lot better when he confirmed I’d done the right thing with Nathan.
It wasn’t long before my phone buzzed, and I glanced down. He sent a smiley face first, but then a second text that made me feel even better than I thought I would.
I’ll send a couple of my friends to pick you up after work tonight. I’ve got news for you, and I want to tell you in person. They will drop you off at the restaurant on their way to work, okay?
I smiled. I was glad I got to see Ryne that night regardless of what Nathan had to say about it. Hell, I didn’t even care if Gus found out about it. I would stand by the fact that Ryne was my friend, and they could choose to get over it.
Sounds good. I’ll be out of here around four-thirty today.
I hit send and was glad when he told me that would work. I wasn’t sure who he was sending or what they did for a living, but I looked forward to meeting more of his friends. I wanted to feel like I belonged–like I wasn’t so alone in the world.
When I was being told by Nathan and Gus what to do all the time, and the two of them working together, I felt like I was the outsider. I could only do what they said, and if I was going to be happy and safe in life, it didn’t matter what I wanted.
