Kaden’s hands were on top of the table, and the moment Marek uttered his response to Cutter, his fingers curled into the palm of his hand.
“What does that mean?” Kaden asked, his question coming out harsh and impatient. “What did you find out about him?”
“We’ll deal with it,” our VP answered, leaning forward and glaring at Kaden. There was so much hostility directed toward him, even I felt uncomfortable.
Kaden turned his attention away from my ol’ man and back to Marek. “I think I have a right to know what’s gonna happen, what the truth is about Tag.”
“You have the right to know?” Marek asked, his brows shooting upward. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely surprised by Kaden’s words or pissed off because of them.
“Yeah, as part of this club, I, like everyone else, have a right to know what’s gonna be done,” he replied, the coloring in his fist paling the longer Marek chose to keep him, and us, in the dark.
“I’d like to know if the guy is really a Reaper,” Brick added, shrugging like it was no big deal either way.
“Me too,” Hawke sneered, his attitude back in full force now.
“In due time you’ll all be brought up to speed,” Marek said, staring at each of us like we were bothering him.
“You just told Cutter—”
“I said… In. Due. Time.” Prez looked pissed, yet again, but it wasn’t like his frown ever disappeared for too long.
Kaden vibrated with anger, but he didn’t speak again, drawing his fist into his lap and pushing away from the table. Marek hadn’t used the gavel to release any of us, so Kaden stayed seated.
“Back to the biggest issue we have right now,” our leader grumbled, his eyes landing on me. I took a deep breath and swallowed nervously. My ol’ man was a force to be reckoned with sometimes, but right then, I didn’t like the way Marek looked at me. “Go get that girl.”
“What?” I heard him but needed him to say it again.
“Go get her,” he repeated.
“Bring her in here?” There was a firm rule that no women were allowed inside Chambers, although I believed there were a couple of times when an exception had been made.
“Of course not. Bring her out to the common area.” Marek didn’t even ask if anyone had anything else to discuss before he slammed the wooden hammer down.
“Just don’t marry her, Linc,” Tripp said, a tilt of a smile ghosting across his face.
“Why would I marry her? I don’t even know her.”
“That doesn’t mean anything in this club.” Ryder laughed, he and several of the older guys all looking toward Marek.
“Shut the fuck up,” Prez growled before rising from his seat. Then he smirked. “I don’t regret it for a second.” I wanted to ask him what he meant, but Kaden flanked me on my right.
“This is bullshit.” He was pissed, and I couldn’t blame him. Everything that happened with Tag was beyond our comprehension. Not only was it confusing, but we’d been rocked off-balance the moment we saw him tied to that table, then having to witness what Cutter did to the guy was outside of what we were used to dealing with.
“I know, man. But what are we gonna do?” I genuinely wanted to know because I was at a loss.
“Dunno.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw several times before dropping his arm to his side. “You better go get her before anything else goes down.” He brushed past me out of Chambers and walked toward some of the others who were at the bar. It wasn’t even nine in the morning, yet Trigger handed several of the men a beer.
I caught up to Ace as he took a seat in the corner. “Where’d you go last night after everything went down?” I expected him to come back here, but he didn’t show up until this morning.
“I rode around for a bit to clear my head, then stopped at Chelsea’s.”
“And she let you in?” I asked, remembering their massive fight.
“Only after I sweet-talked her.” He smirked but deadpanned quickly, taking a sip of his drink.
I tapped the top of the bar before walking away, apprehension coating my skin as I walked down the hallway. Every step I took closer, heightened my nerves, the beat of my heart picking up its pace at the thought I had to pull her out of the security of the room and into the lion’s den. While the guys weren’t going to touch her, there was a possibility a few of them wouldn’t be their most polite selves. Not that most of them would normally win an award for etiquette.
I rapped my knuckles against the door, counting to three in case she wasn’t decent. The memory of her standing in front of me naked last night elicited anger I’d never felt before. Not only from the sight of the fresh bruises scattered among the healing ones, but that she’d been treated so badly, she felt like she had to give me her body in exchange for taking her away from those monsters. Deciding it best to hide my emotions, I kept my expression flat, or at least I hoped I had. Frightening her even more than she probably already was could only do further damage.
I turned the handle and slowly opened the door before peering inside. Maddie stood in the middle of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, bent over the sink spitting out the toothpaste she used to brush her teeth. She appeared to be lost in her own world because she never noticed when I entered the room. It wasn’t until I was directly outside the bathroom, did she turn her head and look at me, letting out a small shriek once she saw me.
“I knocked. I guess you didn’t hear me.” I rested my arms against the doorframe.
“I didn’t.” She tightened the towel around her chest, her eyes taking on a panicked look. “I… I fell back asleep for a few minutes. I only just now took a shower. I’m sorry.” She backed further into the bathroom even though I hadn’t moved at all.
“That’s fine. No problem.” My words came out slower than usual, my tone soft, much like one would talk to a frightened animal who was about to bolt.
Her breaths evened out while she watched me. I must’ve looked a certain way because she frowned. “Is everything okay?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” My cheeks puffed out before I released the air from my lungs. “Uh… I gotta… bring you out there.”
She grabbed onto the edge of the sink. “Out where?”
“Out there,” I answered, pointing toward the door. “To the common area.”
“Why?” Her voice trembled and I wanted nothing more than to give her a hug, to assure her that nothin’ was gonna happen to her.
“The president of our club asked me to.”
“Will he… will he force me to have sex?” A tear coursed down her cheek. My heart broke right then, and if it was the last thing I did, I’d make those fuckers pay for what they did to her.
“No. I guarantee he won’t touch you. No one will.” I briefly wondered how many times I’d have to say the same thing before she believed me.
Maddie and I stood staring at each other, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I detected a hint of curiosity shrouded behind her gaze. She didn’t seem to be frightened of me, not much, at least.
Taking her all in again, I deemed that her eyes were almost too big for her face, but in the cutest of ways. Her bottom lip was slightly fuller than her top, and her nose was small and in perfect alignment with the rest of her face.