Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Morgan pushed open the door and ushered her inside. He kept a hand on her waist at all times. She made sure that some part of her was touching him at all times. The inside of the building looked larger than it had on the outside. There was more room than she had first thought. Morgan pushed his way through the milling crowd to the back of the building, where several pool tables were being used.

Twice, she felt a hand give her ass a quick squeeze, but she didn’t acknowledge it or say anything to Morgan. It wasn’t worth a fight. She’d been felt up before. It wouldn’t be the last time either. Instead, she concentrated on sticking close to him.

“How are you doing down there?” he asked just before they got to the pool tables.

“Fine.”

She didn’t elaborate, as they were stopping in front of a table with two men and three women. She had a feeling they were the top dogs in the bunch—gang, whatever.

“Rock, good to see you.” He bumped fists with a massive-looking man who had to weigh over three hundred pounds.

“Ace, how you doing, man? Heard you were in a bad wreck last summer.” Morgan turned toward the other man at the table.

He was thin and lanky, with long, stringy blond hair. He smiled, and she noticed two teeth missing, wonderful.

“Doing okay. Got a couple of plates and screws in my body now, but nothing’s changed,” the man he’d called Ace said.

“Who’s the bitch?” the one named Rock asked.

“Mandy, meet Rock and Ace.” He put his arm around her and hugged her tight to him. “She’s mine. All mine.”

“You know we don’t do exclusives, Morgan. What gives?” Ace asked.

Morgan didn’t let go of her but wrapped his hands around her and placed one of them on her belly. “She’s pregnant.”

No one said anything for a few minutes. Then Ace started laughing. A beat later, Rock joined in. Amanda didn’t dare say anything, but she wondered what was so funny. She didn’t have long to wait to find out.

“Morgan, man. You’re supposed to wear a raincoat, man. Didn’t you learn anything in the army?” Rock asked.

“Sometimes the gear springs a leak.” He shrugged.

Ace shook his head. “Man, how you handling it after losing your wife and kid?”

Everyone grew quiet. Amanda didn’t blink and didn’t look up at Morgan, afraid it would show that she didn’t know about there being a child. All he’d told her was that he was a widower.

“I don’t dwell on it,” Morgan said quietly.

Rock must have realized that it was still awkward because he changed the subject, sort of.

“So, Mandy, where did you meet up with Morgan here?”

“Truck stop.” She didn’t elaborate. Morgan could if he wanted to.

“Tyler around?” Morgan asked.

“Over in the corner with Bubblicious. You remember her, don’t you?” Ace asked.

Morgan squeezed her arm slightly. She could tell he was fighting something. She didn’t have to be told twice that Bubblicious was someone he and Tyler had shared in the past. No doubt he was disappointed that there would be no sharing around her. Because she wouldn’t allow it. If he were going to fuck her, he wasn’t dipping his dick in anyone else at the same time. She’d tell him that, too. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to, though.

Morgan steered her toward the back of the bar and a corner behind the pool tables. There in a booth sat the man she remembered from the truck stop with his arm around a buxom blonde bimbo who was almost sitting in his lap.

“Hey Morgan. ’Bout time you showed up,” he said. Then he noticed Amanda, and his eyebrows rose.

Morgan shook his head slightly, and Tyler shoved the bleached blonde off his lap.

“How about getting us another round of beers?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure. How long you need me to be gone?” she asked in a bored voice.

Tyler looked at Morgan. Morgan smiled at her. “Give us about twenty minutes.”

She shrugged and sauntered off, waving at everyone behind her with an ass that didn’t stop shaking.

“Have a seat,” Tyler said, pulling his legs in so there would be room beneath the table.

“Quick and dirty, Tyler,” Morgan said.

“Is there any other way?”

He leaned forward as they scooted into the booth across from him. Morgan pushed her in first so she was against the wall.

“This is Amanda, to be known as Mandy here. She’s pregnant, and her ex-boyfriend is trying to make her have an abortion. She’s on the run, and I’m helping her. She’s my woman while we’re here,” he explained quickly.

“No problem. I’m in. Want me as a second or just backup?”

Amanda quickly looked up at Morgan. Morgan sighed and seemed to think long and hard about it.

“Morgan?” she asked with a tremor in her voice.

“Not like that, Amanda. Just for show to give you more cover,” Tyler said softly.

“He’s got a good point, Amanda. With both of us, it will be harder for Guy to get to you, and it will soothe some ruffled feathers among the others,” Morgan explained.

“Nothing is going to happen you don’t want to happen,” Tyler told her.

“Tyler.” Morgan didn’t sound like he was okay with that.

“Okay, so maybe you’ll let me watch sometime?” Tyler asked with a grin.

“Is he always like this?” she asked.

“Sometimes he’s worse.” Morgan squeezed her shoulder, then stretched out his arm along the back of the booth to rest across her shoulders.

“Did I give you long enough?” Bubblicious was back with two drafts.

“Sure did, Honey,” Tyler said. “Meet Mandy. Mandy, this is Honey.”

“Hey there,” the other woman said with a suspicious look on her face.

“Hi.” Amanda didn’t have a clue what to say to the other girl. In effect, she’d just taken her man away from her, and she didn’t even want him.

“Um, bathroom?” she asked no one in particular.

“Come on. I’ll take you. I gotta pee, too.” Honey stood up again and waited.

Morgan looked at her, then nodded and scooted out to let her get out. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but she couldn’t wait around. Instead she grabbed Honey’s hand and tugged her.

“Come on. I’m gonna wet my pants,” she told the other woman.

Once they were away from the men, she let Honey lead her toward the bathrooms and inside, where there were three stalls—all in use.

“You look like you really gotta go. I’ll let you take the first one that opens up,” Honey said.

“Thanks.”

Amanda wasn’t sure she was going to make it. This immediate need to pee was about to take its toll on her. She didn’t think that came until farther along in the pregnancy. The last stall opened up, and she hurried inside. Honey set herself up outside her stall and talked to her, much to her annoyance.

“You’re going to take Tyler and Morgan away from me, ain’t you?” she complained.

“Um, I’m with Morgan, and if he, uh, wants Tyler, then I guess I can’t say much, can I?”

“Nope. They’re the boss,” she said matter-of-factly.

“They won’t leave you behind, will they?” Amanda asked, feeling guilty now.

“Naw, I’ll hook up with one of the other guys. I just prefer Tyler and Morgan. They know how to treat a woman. You know what I mean?”

“Um, yeah. I do.” She opened the stall door and walked over to wash her hands.

When she turned around, Honey was gone, and all the stalls were empty. Where had everyone gone? She checked each one to be sure, then shrugged and walked out of the bathroom to return to where Morgan was talking with Tyler. Honey was nowhere to be seen.

Amanda had only made it a few steps from the restroom when a hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled her into a hard body that smelled like cigar smoke and stale beer.

“Where you think you’re going there?” The owner of the voice bent down and sniffed of her neck. “You smell good enough to eat.”

“Um, I belong to Morgan—and Tyler,” she added quickly, thinking two would surely dissuade him.

She was wrong.

“Seeing as you’re all alone over here, I don’t think so. I’m thinking you’re belonging to me now.” He bit her shoulder, and she yelped, trying to pull away from him.

The man laughed and tried to shove a hand under her shirt to get to her breast. She stomped on his instep, but with boots on, it only pissed him off. He jerked her back and grabbed her jaw with his hand.

“You better learn your place, bitch,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.

She managed to scream out Morgan’s name before the other man’s mouth smeared across her lips. With how he had her jaw between his fingers, she couldn’t even bite him. She didn’t have to worry, though. Almost before it started, it was over with. Morgan grabbed her and pulled her away from the man as Tyler landed a blow to the man’s jaw.

“Did you tell him who you belonged to?” Morgan asked her.

“Yes. I told him I belonged to you and Tyler.”

Morgan smiled and hugged her close to him.

“She’s fair game if she’s by herself,” the other man said, holding his jaw where Tyler had hit him.

“Not when she tells you she belongs to someone else,” Tyler said and popped him on the arm with his fist.

“Bitch.”

“Our bitch,” Morgan corrected him. “Don’t make me mad, Carl.”

The other man shook out his arm and walked off toward the bar.

Morgan turned her around to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just shaken up is all.”

Tyler put an arm around her and walked with them back to the booth.

“Why didn’t you come back with Honey?” Morgan asked.

“She left me. I figure she’s a little pissed because I took her men from her.”

“Shit. Should have thought about that.” Tyler leaned back against the back of the booth.

“You have a room yet?” Morgan asked Tyler.

“Yeah, you ready to head back there?” Tyler asked.

“When does Rock plan on heading into Cavern, New Mexico?”

“He wants to ride through Albuquerque tomorrow and stop in at Lacey’s Bar, spend the night, then on to Cavern,” Tyler told him.

“Yeah, let’s call it a night. Amanda is tired. I can tell.”

“Amanda can talk,” she complained.

“But she shouldn’t when she’s around the other bikers,” Morgan cautioned her.

“Fine.”

Tyler led them through the throng of bikers to the door. Once outside, Amanda felt like she could breathe again.

“Amanda, I need you to ride with Tyler back to the room. We have to make it look like we really are sharing you.” Morgan gently pushed her toward Tyler. “I’ll be following right behind you.”

Amanda opened her mouth to refuse, but saw the men standing outside the bar watching them. She plastered a fake smile on her face and turned and wrapped her arms around Tyler. He laid an arm around her shoulders and led her over to where his bike was parked. Just before she turned away, she thought she saw anger on Morgan’s face. Then it was gone as if it had never been there. And maybe it hadn’t.