Utah (Knights Corruption MC: Laredo #4)

Chapter 6

6

As I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, my stomach flipped with an emotion I couldn’t readily identify. Nervousness? Excitement? Apprehension? A blend of all three?

“Hey, sis.” Knox strolled toward me, his hair sticking up in several places. Something must be bothering him because his hair only looked like that when he was stressed out. Although, to be fair, losing Crash and almost losing Utah would be enough to unnerve him. Or perhaps my coming here to bring Utah back to my place to stay with me while he healed was the root cause. Either way, my brother was strong enough to deal with whatever came his way.

He’d been Evie’s and my protector since our dad died eight years ago. And while Knox drove us crazy with his overprotectiveness, deep down, my sister and I knew his actions were driven from a place of love. That didn’t stop us from arguing from time to time, though. I thought once Kyla came into his life, he'd focus more on her well-being and give his sisters a break, but no such thing happened. Apparently, he had enough annoyance to pass around .

“How’s everything?” I asked, slinging my purse over my shoulder before exiting the car. “How’s Utah feeling? I texted him to tell him I was on my way, but he didn’t respond.”

“He’s okay. I was just in his room.” Before I could mentally dive into the million reasons why he hadn’t responded to my message, Knox grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the clubhouse entrance. “Get out of your head, Ria. His phone died.”

It was both a blessing and a curse as to how well my brother knew me.

“I wasn’t thinking anything,” I lied, squeezing his hand.

“Uh-huh,” he mumbled, flashing me a loving grin.

Once inside, we walked past several of the guys, the tension in the air palpable. Rez and Nash leaned against the bar, nodding in my direction when we made eye contact. Two men I didn’t recognize stood near them. One of them was slightly bigger than Utah with a skull inked in the middle of his neck, the face of the image looking like it was on fire from the inside. The other guy was older, possibly in his late forties or early fifties, with dark blond hair cut shorter on the sides and a beard longer than that of the man I was here to see.

Their cuts gave away that they were part of the club, but I asked the question anyway. “Who are they?”

“The big fucker is Brick, and the other guy is Stone, the VP of the California charter.”

“Why are they here?”

“Club business” was all he uttered, practically dragging me toward the hallway.

“Slow down.” I tugged my hand free, and he slowed his steps until I walked ahead of him.

“Don’t want anyone else to get any ideas about you,” he said.

“Ha ha.” My sarcasm dripped over both syllables .

His smirk relieved me of any thought he’d been serious. There was a time not long ago when I believed Knox would never be friends with Utah again, but he seemed to have come around. Perhaps my pregnancy had something to do with him letting go of his anger, or maybe it was Utah nearly being killed. Whatever the reason, I was grateful we could all move forward.

As we entered the back bedroom, my gaze landed on the injured man. The corners of his mouth curved upward as he held out his hand to me. He was dressed and sitting at the edge of the bed.

“You’ve come to save me,” he joked, entwining his fingers with mine the second I was close enough.

“You mean she’s come to save us from your miserable ass,” Knox corrected, his tone light with amusement. “Good luck ’cause he gets extra pissy whenever it’s time for his pain pill.”

“I’m sure you’d be irritated too if you’d been stabbed and wanted some relief,” I countered, defending Utah but also cringing at the thought Knox would ever be in the same boat.

“Speaking of, it’s that time.” Utah held out his hand.

“Not for another hour.” Knox pulled a bottle of pills from inside his cut and handed them to me. “These are opioids. They’re strong. Make sure he only gets one every six hours.”

I tucked the medication into my purse. “One every six hours. Got it.”

Utah furrowed his brow, and I chalked up his slight irritation to that of being in pain.

Instead of saying anything further about his meds, he centered his attention on his friend. “Is my truck here, or is it still at Cloud Nine?”

The mention of the club’s strip joint irritated me. I hated imagining how many of those women hit on Utah. When we’d first started fooling around, I asked if he’d ever slept with any of the strippers, and he honestly answered that he had. But it’d only been with two of them, both of whom didn’t work at the club anymore.

“We brought it here yesterday. Why? You can’t drive.”

“I know, but Ria can.”

“We’re not taking my car?” I asked.

“I can’t get comfortable in your Mazda. It’s too small.”

“Maybe your ass is just too big,” Knox teased.

“That too,” Utah responded, not the slightest bit riled by the jab.

Add in Utah’s domineering presence to his physical stature and sometimes he seemed larger-than-life, a trait I found comforting at times.

“I can’t drive your truck. It’s huge.”

“Fine.” Utah made a noise as he rose from the bed, and I didn’t know if it was due to pain or frustration.

“You’re gonna need help getting situated, more than Ria can offer,” Knox said, running his hand through his hair. “Give me a sec.” He disappeared from the room, returning moments later with Brick.

“Knox says you need some help?” Brick walked toward us, glancing at me before turning his attention to Utah.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” He took two steps before grunting, his hand gripping his stomach.

“Stop being stubborn,” I said, moving aside so Knox and Brick could assist Utah as they walked out of the room and toward the exit of the clubhouse. Once outside, I headed toward my car. “I’ll meet you guys there.”

Brick and my brother helped Utah into the passenger side of a black SUV. They exchanged words right before Brick hopped into the driver’s seat and Knox headed toward Utah’s truck.

My random thoughts kept me busy on the ride to my house, from how quickly Utah would recover to the types of conversations we needed to have. With a baby on the way, we couldn’t escape what we needed to discuss for much longer. He hadn’t said anything to make me think he wanted to talk about a future together, but there’d been something lurking behind his piercing gaze when he looked at me recently that indicated that particular conversation might be on the table.