Marek (Knights Corruption MC #1) (20 page)

After checking my messages and staring into the refrigerator for a whole minute, trying to decide what we could eat, a loud knock on the door pulled my attention. As I moved toward the front of the house, Sully came walking down the hallway and headed toward the couch, sitting down and clicking the TV on, but only after asking my permission

It was gonna take her some time to get adjusted to living with me, but I was patient. Well . . . sometimes.

Cocking the gun at my side, I slowly opened the door. Jagger was standing on the front porch, looking put-out for having to rush right over, but so be it. He was a prospect, which meant he was the lowest man on the totem pole. Therefore, he would do whatever was asked of him, whether it was doing a pick-up run, cleaning up someone else’s puke or babysitting my new wife.

As soon as he saw me, he straightened and gave me a smile. “What’s up, Prez?” he asked, picking up his bag and waiting for me to invite him inside.

Jagger was all of twenty-two and was the fighter in our group. He’d competed in a few low-level MMA-type fights over the past year and won every one of them. He had a mean roundhouse kick as well as a lethal right hook. He and Stone had even gone toe-to-toe a few times, my VP showing him a few moves to make him even more of a contender. With his fighting skills, I trusted him to keep Sully safe while I wasn’t around.

“I need you to watch over her while I’m not here,” I told him, opening the door wider so he could enter. “I have business to attend to and will be gone for a few days.”

It was all the explanation he needed. He placed his bag in the corner and stood near me, waiting for instructions. He didn’t want to assume he was allowed to make himself at home, but seeing as how he was going to be staying there for a bit, I instructed him to relax.

And he did.

I didn’t need two people with sticks up their asses keeping each other company.

Looking at my watch, I cursed out loud after realizing I needed to take care of a few things at the club before Stone and I headed out in the morning.

I walked around the couch until I stood in front of Sully, making sure she was paying attention to me before I spoke. “I have to leave now, but Jagger is gonna watch over you and make sure you don’t try anything.” She looked a little dejected. “Plus, he’ll keep you safe. Just don’t do anything stupid and you’ll be fine.”

Turning toward the prospect, I jerked my head toward the front door. “Walk me out,” I demanded. As soon as we were outside, I laid down my strict list of rules. “You are not to leave her side. Where she goes, you go. If she goes to the bathroom, you follow and wait outside. If she’s in the living room, then so are you. You two are not to leave this house, and the only other person allowed inside, besides you two, is Adelaide. She’ll be dropping off some clothes for her.” Handing him a key, I continued, “I had a new lock installed on my bedroom door yesterday, one you can lock from the outside. That’s where she’s to sleep. Make sure to lock her in, that way you can get some rest and not have to worry about whether she’s gonna escape in the middle of the night.” I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him close. “Sully is now my wife, Jagger, which means she’s off-limits. Keep your distance . . . but keep her close. You feel me?” I growled.

Quickly nodding, he knew exactly what I was saying without having to spell it out. Jagger was a good-looking kid and he pulled down a lot of tail. I just didn’t want him thinkin’ he could fuck with my property.

Sully

“So, how have you been getting along these past couple days?” Adelaide asked, cupping the hot mug of coffee between her hands, and blowing on the liquid before bringing it to her lips. She’d stopped by to bring me some underwear and clothes, the sizes she picked out being a perfect guess.

Eyeing me ever so precariously, I knew damn well she wasn’t quite sure how I’d come to not only suddenly be part of the KC, but also ended up living in Marek’s home.

I’d considered telling her the whole story about how he’d kidnapped me and taken me hostage, putting a guard on me every second of the day so there was no chance of escape, but for some reason I chose to keep my circumstances to myself. What good would it do? She was the niece to one of the club members. Even if she believed me, what was she going to do? Rat out her family for a complete stranger?

Plus, there was the tiny fact that I had nowhere to go. I was stuck and I knew it. Trying to escape and go back to the Savage Reapers was a suicide mission. They would never take me back. In fact, they were probably ordered to shoot me on sight.

No, thank you.

I refused to suffer one more second of their hatred toward me, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to allow myself to die at their hands. Not when I had a choice.

Sort of.

It was funny. I used to pray for death . . . before I was stolen from my life. I lived only to exist. My days were gloomy, the only bright spot when I’d gotten my hands on a secondhand romance novel one of the club whores had left behind. I think some of them felt bad for me, witnessing how downtrodden I was, watching the way Vex and my father treated me. To be pitied by women who lived to have sex with as many men as possible was utterly pathetic. But it was my life, and I envied those women. Not for being used as nothing more than a place for any man to stick his dick, but for the freedom their lives held.

I was trapped.

Suffocating and slowly dying on the inside.

Then I was rescued.

I didn’t see it that way when I was forced to leave with the enemy, but since I’d been in their company, I’d come to realize just how messed up my life had been. Not once since I’d been in the Knights’ compound had a single person raised a hand to hurt me. Not once did someone say something to degrade me. Not once did they look upon me with disgust or go to the total opposite end of the spectrum and ignore me.

Ignore my cries.

Ignore my broken bones and bruises.

Ignore my broken spirit.

A breath of promise had been pumped back inside me, the vigor for life slowly coming back to me.

Eyeing Adelaide cautiously, I contemplated how to answer. I wanted to be truthful with her. She’d been the closest thing to a friend I’d ever had and I didn’t want to jeopardize our budding relationship, but the fact remained that she was still a stranger, and I didn’t know if I could trust her.

Tempting fate, I took a deep breath and opened my mouth. “I’m okay.”
So much for a big revelation or confession.
Her kind eyes prompted me to keep speaking, which I decided was necessary, needing the banter to make me feel like a human being again. “It’s weird being here, tucked away in this house with someone watching over me every second.” I left out the part about Jagger locking me in Marek’s bedroom when I slept.

“Well, that’s how these men are. From what I gather, at least. They’re very protective of their women, their families,” she offered, smiling before she took another sip of her coffee. Shuffling closer, she propped her chin up with her hand, tipping her lips in curiosity. “So . . . How long have you known Marek, and how the hell did you tame that man?” She wiggled her brows in jest, but I knew she really wanted answers.

“I’ve only known him for a few days.” I stopped talking and bit my lip in nervousness. I dropped my head from her glance but could feel her eyes burning through me. Thankfully, she didn’t push, reading my body language and realizing I didn’t wish to expand on my statement. For the next hour, we conversed about clothes and movies, two topics I had limited knowledge about, so I was happy she took the lead and did most of the talking.

Looking down at her watch, she made a face of disapproval and rose from her chair, carrying her cup to the sink. “Sorry, Sully, but I have to leave. My shift at the hospital starts soon, and I don’t want to be late. I can stop by tomorrow. Do you want me to bring you anything else?”

“No, thank you. You’ve done enough.”

“Okay, well, give me your number and I’ll call you before coming over, just in case you change your mind.” She pulled her phone from her purse and swiped the screen, lifting her head and waiting on me to give her my information.

“I don’t have a phone,” I mumbled.

Jagger walked into the kitchen just then, glancing back and forth between the two of us before heading to the fridge and snagging a beer. Twisting off the top, he took a long pull, the muscles of his throat working feverishly to allow the liquid to pass. He drank half the bottle before pulling it away from his lips.

“What?” he asked, frowning at the look Adelaide gave him.

“Is there a phone here? A landline?”

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“Because I’ll be coming back again tomorrow, and I wanted to call Sully to see if she needs anything.” Adelaide advanced on Jagger and he backed up a step, not quite sure what her agenda was.

She was forceful when she wanted to be, and I liked her even more because of it. “Give me your cell,” she demanded.

“What for?” He truly looked baffled.

“Just give it to me, Jagger. Or I’ll tell my uncle you tried to kiss me,” she threatened, a slight tilt to her lips as she watched his eyes widen in fright.

“Fuck that!” he shouted. Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he handed it to her, shaking his head in disbelief. “You better not tell Trigger that shit. I mean it. Or my death will be on your hands.”

“Oh, calm down, pretty boy. I’m just messing with you.” She punched in her information then handed him the phone back, but only after she used it to call hers first. “There, now we have each other’s numbers. I’ll call you tomorrow before I come over,” she said, looking at me while she spoke. “You let me know if you need anything, Sully. Anything at all.”

Rising from the table, I breached the short distance between us and stood in front of her, not quite sure what to do next. I was still very awkward with interactions of any sort, slowly fumbling through with each passing day.

“Thank you so much for the clothes . . . and for visiting with me.” Tears welled in my eyes before I could lock them up. I hated appearing weak in front of people, but unlike every other time during my life when tears meant sadness and pain, my emotion was a happy one. No one had ever taken the time to ask me how I was doing, let alone bring me a gift and purposely engage me in conversation.

“Don’t think twice about it,” she said, suddenly pulling me in for a quick hug. Awkwardly hugging her back, her sudden gesture of affection throwing me off, I stepped back and watched her move to the door.

Turning her head, she playfully threatened Jagger. “If you don’t answer your phone when I call, you’ll be gettin’ a visit from Trigger.” She laughed as she walked out the door.

Jagger didn’t find it too amusing.