Wrath (Dirty Soul MC: Long Beach #2)

Chapter 28

“ Y ou and Ruckus? You and RUCKUS!?” I can’t stop staring at my best friend as she continues to bury her head in her hands. And I laugh, not only because this is insane but because this is so out of character for her.

“I don’t know what happened. I’ve never been that drunk before.”

“He’s an asshole, he should never have taken advantage of you like that.” I’ve got a good mind to find that cocky prick and kick him in his overused dick.

“Actually, I think it was my idea.” When I look back at Laura she’s chewing on her thumbnail. “I remember me and you saying goodnight to each other on the balcony. I felt like I needed more air so I stayed outside. I watched him come out of the clubhouse, and I remember saying something to him as he passed the stairs.”

“What did you say?” I ask, wondering how my timid best friend, who’s scared of her own shadow, ended up sleeping with a biker.

“I don’t know, but whatever it was made him come up here.” She doesn’t look so horrified anymore, in fact, she looks kind of pleased with herself.

“Laura, you have to go home and speak to your parents. I won’t have you fall out with them over me.” I move us on to what's more important. Although, I fully intend on getting back to the subject of Ruckus and what happened last night.

“What Mark’s doing is wrong and they have to understand that. You're so good at what you do, Katie. That’s what’s gotten you where you are, not his contacts. I’ve never spoken up to any of them before, but it’s time I did,” she tells me assertively.

“And that's exactly why I don’t need the business. Yeah, the fancy studio looked good, and the glamorous parties Mark took me to helped me network, but I don’t want to be judged on which circles I socialize in. I want to get work based on my talent. I appreciate you standing up to your family for me, that can’t have been easy. But you falling out with them is just as unnecessary as Aaron doing this tournament.” I feel the weight of all that worry settle deep in my stomach, the tournament date is getting closer and he’s still so determined to fight. I’ve let everything else that's going on distract me from how dangerous it all is.

“Mark’s an asshole who’s gotten too used to getting his own way,” Laura points out.

“You're right about that.” I grin at her as I take a seat beside her. “But your parents love you both very much and, of course, they are gonna take his side. You don’t have to put yourself in the middle of this. You and I are always gonna be friends.”

She rests her head on my shoulders and huffs out a laugh.

“So, Ruckus?” I wait for her to pull away from me.

“I don’t know what came over me, and yeah, it felt good at the time, but I’m not cut out for this life.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean that you won’t still visit.” I feel sad at the thought of losing her. She’s been such a big part of my life since I left here and has gotten me through some really tough times without even knowing it.

“Of course, I’ll visit, but I’m going to have to talk to Ruckus. He seemed really into me and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea about what happened last night. It’s going to be so awkward.” She shakes her head and sighs.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” I stroke her arm, still cursing Ruckus in my head for sullying my best friend.

“Come on, let's go get some breakfast. Peyton just texted to say Alicia’s on her way and I think she’s going to need some support after what happened yesterday.”

“So, how did it go with Saul?” Peyton asks while sipping her coffee.

“It went well, he’s being supportive, and sweet about everything.” Alicia picks up one of the pastries Polly made a special trip out to get for us.

“So, you’ve made a decision.” Peyton reaches across the table and takes her free hand.

“I’m having the baby.” The corners of Alicia’s mouth lift up and Peyton squeals.

“Does this mean I get to be excited now?” She gets up from her chair and wraps her arms around Alicia’s shoulder.

“Yes, you get to be excited, I know it’s not gonna be easy but Saul is gonna be there for us.”

“He’s not the only one.” I get up and get in on the hugging action too. I may have not known Alicia for very long but she’s been so kind since I arrived. I want to help her in every way I can.

“Now, I just have to find a way to let Griller’s family know” Alicia sighs.

“Oh, shit,” Laura whispers, nudging me hard under the table and lowering her head as if she has the ability to make herself invisible when Ruckus steps in through the door.

“Mornin’.” He looks over to our table and winks.

Cocky asshole

“You want me to cook ya somethin’ up?” Polly gets up and starts heading toward the kitchen.

“Nah, I’m good, I’m just waitin’ here for Troj and Storm so we can head to the gym and meet Wrath.”

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you shouldn’t skip it,” Polly lectures him.

“Who said anythin’ about me skippin’ it.” Ruckus looks at Laura and when his tongue slides along his top lip she instantly turns red.

“Oh, my god,” she mouths to me when he turns his back and heads for the coffee machine.

“So, what are your plans for the day, Laura?” Alicia doesn't seem to notice that she’s practically hyperventilating.

“I was, ummm. I need to…ermmm.”

“You were gonna speak to your parents, right?” I answer for her when I see her struggling.

“Excuse me, I need some air.” Laura rushes for the door that leads out to the balcony.

“Hangovers.” I roll my eyes at the girls before rushing after her and when I find her gripping the wood railing with her head between her arms, I can see how panicked she is.

“You okay?” I go to her and place my hand on her back.

“No, I’m not okay, last night I had sex with a fucking outlaw biker.” She turns her head to look at me. “That may be a regular thing to you these days but it’s not for me.” Her response proves that she knows about me and Aaron. I don’t know who I was kidding trying to hide it in the first place.

“Lau–”

“No, let me say this… I understand that you don’t love my brother, and last night was fun, but this isn’t where we belong, Katie. The longer you stay here, the more chance you’ve got of running into trouble.” I love my friend for caring so much but she really doesn’t understand.

“Laura...” I rest my forearms on the rail beside hers and look out at the ocean. “This place is my home now. Raze is my brother and me and Aar…I never stopped loving him. I tried but I couldn’t. Our past is tragic, but I’m really excited for our future. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but Katie’s gone, I’m myself again now, and I’d really like it if we can still be friends.”

“Of course.” She smiles at me before pulling me in for a hug.

“But, I should get back to Beverly Hills before my parents send out the search and rescue squad.” She laughs. “I guess I’m just going to have to get this done before I leave.” Blowing out a brave breath, she marches her way back inside the clubhouse. I follow her as she walks straight up to Ruckus, who’s now leaning on the bar talking to the guys from Colorado and Tawk.

“Ruckus, I want to thank you for last night. I had a very enjoyable time, however, I don’t feel as though we can…” She clears her throat. “I’m not looking for any kind of relationship and I’m not saying we didn’t have a connection, I just don’t think the two of us would work out.” I scowl at him over her shoulder hoping that he gets my warning while the two Colorado guys attempt to hide their smirks.

“Listen, darlin’, I ain’t the…” Ruckus starts talking and I shake my head at him. I will not have Laura leave here feeling any worse than she already does. Ruckus looks to the ceiling and draws some strength before he finally comes through for me. “Not gonna lie it’s gonna cut me deep but I guess I’ll just have to get over it.” He fakes a smile at her then snarls at me when she lowers her head.

“And please don’t think it was anything you did wrong. Everything was good. Very, very good.” She leans forward and strokes his arm, encouragingly. “I just think we’re better off as friends.” She stretches up to kiss his cheek before heading to the table where we’re all sitting and picking up her purse. I can see the guys struggling to hold back their smirks, and when Ruckus narrows his eyes at me, I quickly start ushering her out.

“It was lovely to meet you all, good luck with the baby.” Laura quickly says her goodbyes before I walk her out to the parking lot. We both get a death stare from Trinity and her crew as we pass the lower floor of the motel where they all gather around one of the doors.

“Do you think he’ll be okay, he looked kind of bummed?” Laura asks, dragging her case into the trunk as I open her car door for her.

“I think he’ll be fine,” I assure her, kissing her cheek and waiting for Rocco to open the gate to let her out.

“The people here aren’t what I expected at all,” she admits. “Perhaps you really can be happy here, Eden .”

I hug her again then watch her get behind the wheel and wave as she drives off. I’m heading back to my room when I pass Ruckus and the guys coming through the arch.

“I appreciate the way you handled that, I don’t think Laura’s ever had a one-night stand before.” I stop him before he can get to his bike.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Ruckus shakes his head.

“The main thing is, he did good.” The Colorado member they call Storm teases him by massaging his shoulders and Ruckus quickly shoves him away.

“Just for future reference, though, my friends are off limits.” I make that point very clear before leaving them to saddle up and move on.

“Does your friend plan on coming back?” Trinity calls out to me as I pass them again. Peyton and Alicia have already warned me about how this bitch can be, and I’m not feeling up to dealing with any bullshit today.

“I hope so. Why?” I move closer toward her and her friends when the bikes leaving the yard make it difficult for me to hear her answer.

“No reason.” Trinity looks me up and down as if I’m a piece of shit.

“Can you believe this is what Wrath made a claim on?” One of the girls talks under breath as she goes to head inside and Trinity stares me in the face and laughs at her friend’s comment.

“You know, you girls should try making something out of your lives rather than trying to bring others down, there’s a big world beyond those gates.”

“If that's the case then why are you here?” Trinity smirks at the girl who remains close beside her.

“I’m here because I’m not scared of my past anymore. There are people here who love and care about me, and I won’t deny myself that.”

Trinity chuckles to herself as she steps closer to me.

“You and your little friends are just a phase the club is going through. You haven’t got what it takes to keep men like Wrath and Raze.” She lowers her eyes down my body and sniggers.

“I guess we’ll just have to?—”

I get interrupted by the screeching of wheels as one of the black vans comes skidding through the gates and when Raze jumps out of the passenger seat and drags out a limp-bodied girl, I wonder what the hell is going on.

“Raze?” I chase after him as he carries the girl through the yard and barges through the clubhouse door.

“What the hell happened?” Peyton stands up, while Polly quickly grabs a chair for Raze to place her in.

“She’s a witness, the murderer had her.” Raze steps back from her and lights himself a smoke while Polly checks the girl over. She’s shivering and looks completely overwhelmed.

“It’s the drugs the docs gave her, they’re makin’ her drowsy,” he explains.

“Raze, this girl should be at a hospital.” I step closer and get a better look at her, the poor thing is covered in cuts and open wounds.

“Well, she didn’t feel safe at the hospital, and I need to know everythin’ about what happened to her. So she’s here.”

“What is it with you men kidnapping women from hospitals?” Polly looks as disturbed as I am.

“It’s not fuckin’ kidnap when they come willingly!” my brother snaps.

“The hospital is gonna find out you took her and it’s gonna make the club look guilty.” Peyton is clearly panicked, but she manages to stay calm as she steps in front of my brother and tries to make him see sense.

“Nah, we got it covered. Quinn’s handlin’ the CCTV and her friend made sure the ER hadn’t called the police. Quinn says she’ll handle any paper trail. She wants this guy off the streets just as bad as we do.” His eyes seem vacant, and I can tell he’s getting overwhelmed by everything that’s happening.

“Raze, this girl needs medical treatment. Her wounds are bad, she’s weak, not to mention the fact that she’s going to need professional help.” Polly looks down at the girl and sighs.

“It’s Cliff that’s doin’ this, she ran from him, she got away, which means she can tell us where he is.” My brother takes a seat at the table and I can feel the rage coming off him.

“And you agree with this?” I look up to Dev who was driving the cage, the only response I get out of him is a pout and a shrug.

“Babe.” Peyton moves cautiously to sit beside Raze, she can see how wound up he is, his eyes are focused and his knee is jerking up and down because, right now, he doesn’t feel in control of the situation. “We can’t just keep bringing everyone here, this girl is better off at the hospital. Anita needs professional help, too,” she talks to him softly.

“I’m just tryin’ to keep everyone safe.” He shakes his head as if he’s in some kind of trance.

“I get that, but we don’t know for sure that the murderer is Cliff, we’re gonna end up running out of rooms in the motel.” Peyton nudges his shoulder doing her best to make light of things, and my brother turns his head and looks at her.

“Do you realize how fuckin’ serious this is?” he snaps at her.

“Raze, I–”

“The next person he takes could be you or Eden… This is real, Peyton, whether it’s Cliff or not. I won’t have the women who live around here livin’ in fear. That girl asked me to take her, Anita was scared. I’m doin’ what I think is right.” My brother stands his ground and when Peyton takes in what he says, she nods her head.

“Come on, let’s go get this girl a room made up.” Alicia takes my arm and leads me out the door, and when I look back over to my brother, I can’t help worrying that he’s taking on too much.