Nothin' But Trouble (7 page)

Court
didn’t respond, just moved away from Roan and closer to her. And then, as if
she wasn’t surprised enough to see him he dropped to his knees in front of her,
all six foot four inches of him, and reached out as if to touch her. He was
gentle as he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and leaned in to hug her. The
scent of grease and beer filled her nose, but it was the wild smell that she remembered
from their time together that rose up stronger than the earlier scents.

“Christ,
baby.” And then there he went and surprised her again with the endearment. He
had said it too low for anyone but her to hear it, but he had said it
nonetheless.

Lilly
looked over Court’s shoulder at her brother, and he appeared just as stunned as
she felt. They might have grown up around each other, but the age difference
had made it so they never ran in the same circles. She was just the little
sister of Roan. But now, as he held her, she felt like something more, like how
she had felt when he held her and kissed her in the back of his truck five
years ago. He pulled away and put a strand of hair behind her ear. The soft
look he had given her vanished as he became angrier the longer he stared into
her face.

“What
the fuck did he do to you?”

“I’ll
fill you in. She just got done telling me, and I don’t want her having to go
through it all over again,” Roan said to Court, but he still stared at her.

“Yeah.”
Court watched
her for a couple more seconds and then turned and took a step back from her. “You’ll
be okay for a few minutes, baby?”

She
swallowed and nodded.

“Dallas,
watch over her until I get back, okay?”

The
one she assumed was Dallas took a step closer.

“Lilly,
I’m going to talk to Court, and get everything taken care of. Then I’ll take
you home.” Her brother came over to her and kissed her on the forehead, but she
didn’t miss how he darted a confused look at Court. She could only imagine what
her brother was thinking about, and the connections he was making at Court’s
strange behavior. They left her alone in the room, shut the door behind them,
and she glanced over at the big ass biker named Dallas.

“Don’t
you
worry.
No one is going to fuck with you anymore,”
Dallas deadpanned and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Didn’t
know Court had an old lady, but it’s clear you’re something’ special to him.”
Dallas leaned against the wall, and she was about to correct him on how she
wasn’t anyone’s “old lady”, but he started talking again. “When you have
something that changes you in here,” he placed his fist on his chest, right
over his heart, “you don’t let it fucking slip through your fingers.”

Chapter
Five

Court
paced back and forth and felt the eyes of The Grizzlies and The Brothers of
Menace on him. But he didn’t give a fuck, because the female that he shouldn’t
have walked away from all those years ago had gotten the shit beat out of her
and had nearly been raped. He didn’t even want to think about all the heinous shit
that motherfucker currently tied up like a hog in the garage behind the clubhouse
would have done to her if Lucien and his boys hadn’t shown up.

He
looked at Roan and felt his blood rise violently to the surface of his body
once more. He wasn’t pissed at his once best friend, but at what Roan had just
got done telling Court. Just thinking of Lilly all alone out there, scared to
death and getting hurt, had Court’s grizzly bear pacing back and forth, ready
to hurt something,
someone
.

“You
need to relax.” He looked over at Jagger. The Grizzly President had insisted on
coming with Dallas, but Court was thankful he had the support and backup. Still,
no way in hell could he fucking calm down.

“Did
you not see what happened to her?” He pointed to the room down the hallway
where Lilly currently was. “Did you not fucking see her face, or hear what that
asshole would have done to her if The Brothers hadn’t shown up when they did?”
Court gritted out the last part and had to close his eyes and grapple for
control with his animal. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head around on
his neck. “You tell me if you could calm down if that was Darra in there. Lilly
is my female, and now way in hell can
I
fucking calm
down right now.” Everyone glanced at each other, and Court realized he had
called Lilly his female, but she
was
his, whether she knew it or not. It was a fucking shame that it had taken him
this long to realize what a coward he had been staying away like he had. But he
had thought it had been the right thing to do, and that all the shit he had
felt for her could be buried deep down inside of him. How wrong he had been.
All it had accomplished was hiding from Roan, being a shitty friend, and not
thinking being with Lilly could ever be anything more than that one night. It
could have been so much more if he had just allowed his fears and stubborn ass
to accept what was right in front of him. The past was just that, the past, but
he could make up for all the time that had passed. He needed to man up and be
the male that she needed now and the friend that Roan deserved.

Court
scrubbed both of his hands over his face. He was pissed, feral, and wanted
blood on his hands and chest as he fucked that bastard up. But he had to remind
himself that he needed to control himself around Lilly. He had done a damn fine
job when he was in the room with her, but he had barely been holding on,
especially when he had hugged her and felt the light tremor go through her
body.

“Take
me to him.” Court looked at the ground and clamped his jaw.

“I
want a go at that fucker, too,” Roan said with barely repressed anger himself.

Court
looked up at Lilly’s brother. Roan had every right to go after the man that
hurt her—more right than even Court since he really had no claim on her—but
that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get a round in. Besides, even if he had
fucked up by walking away, he cared about Lilly, and that had been brought
violently to the surface when he had seen her just minutes before. His crew and
Roan might not know that he wanted her, and had all but claimed her if he was
being honest, but he was done being a pussy on how he felt.

“Come
on, let’s deal with this.” Court nodded to Roan and Lucien. The Brothers of
Menace President didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to, because Court
wasn’t hiding his emotions. They were volatile, rage-filled, and he wanted
blood covering his body as the man that hurt his female paid for what he did
with his life.

 
Lucien lifted his head toward the back of the
clubhouse, indicating without saying anything that the motherfucker Court and
Roan wanted was back there. Lucian then turned, and Court and Roan followed him.
Jagger stepped up behind then, too, and the four of them made their way to the
back of the clubhouse, headed outside, and continued to where a large garage
was. The Brothers of Menace clubhouse was on Sterling Hill, with thick forest
surrounding them, and privacy from the populated part of River Run. It was also
clear they had renovated the place that, as far as Court was aware of, used to
be a lumber distribution center. But thoughts of anything that didn’t pertain
to violence and bloodshed faded the closer he got to the garage. Court started
to get itchy and felt his bear pace inside of him. The wild animal wanted a
taste of the man that had hurt his female, too. The bay doors were shut, but Lucien
led them to a side door and opened it. Once inside Court took note that there
were two of Lucien’s club members leaning against a workstation. A few broken
down Harleys were in the center of the garage, and numerous toolboxes were
lined up along the walls, as well as other items that were needed to work on
bikes. But Court’s focus turned to the big motherfucker currently restrained to
a chair with a nasty, grease-stained rag shoved in his mouth.

“He’s
awake. Good.” Court felt adrenaline and endorphins pump through his body and
had to push his bear down, because although he wanted to let his inner animal
out and tear this man to shreds, his human side wanted at him even more. He
looked over at Roan, saw the other man was just as juiced up to do some damage
to this guy as he was, and took a step back. “You want at him first?” For a
human Roan was a big guy, always had been. Hell, he rivaled a lot of shifters
in the height and muscle department, Court included. The years had only seemed
to harden him, but Court knew he was working overtime at
Horrison
Construction, and putting in some long hours. Being a Grizzly member meant you
knew what everyone in town did. It was the only way to make sure Steel Corner
stayed safe and ran smoothly. He looked at Roan again. That manual labor
showed, and Court knew the human needed to get all that aggression out.

Roan
glanced at him. “I’m going to fuck him up.”

Court
grinned, but it was one of sadistic satisfaction. “Good, but leave some for
me.”

Roan
stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded. “We’ll talk later.”

Court
didn’t need to ask what he meant, because he knew damn well Roan was talking
about the shit he had said about Lilly being his girl, and the way he had gone
all possessive and territorial when he saw her. Court nodded once, and tipped
his chin toward the bound human.

“Let’s
get this fucking thing going.” As much as Court wanted to hurt this guy, he
wanted to get back to Lilly even more. He removed his cut, handed it to Jagger,
and then took his t-shirt off. This was about to get messy, but he was fucking
looking forward to that. Looking at Roan, he saw him clenching and unclenching
his fists, and then cracking his knuckles as if he were impatient. They had a
lot to talk about, he had a lot of explaining, and eventually the truth that
Court had slept with Lilly, and that was the reason he had acted like such a
fucking douche-bag, would need to be brought up. Hell, Roan might not even care
about what he and Lilly had done, and it would have meant Court feeling guilty
over it had all been for nothing. No, that wasn’t right either, because he
still would have felt like a piece of shit friend that had done something he
knew was forbidden. And it had been so damn wrong, yet had felt so fucking
right.

Stop thinking about the past right now,
Court. Right now think about this piece of shit getting so fucked up he won’t
survive the night.

Roan
turned and looked at Court, grinned the same sadistic smile Court had just been
wearing, and faced the bound man again. You know that girl in there?” The guy
was bound and gagged and couldn’t answer, but it hadn’t been something Roan
wanted a reply to, that much was clear by the tone of his voice and the way he
stalked forward menacingly. “That’s my baby sister in there, and the last
person you should have fucked with.” Roan was right in front of the guy a
second later.

Court
moved closer, needing to smell the fear that came off of the human about to get
his ass kicked by first Roan, and then Court.

Roan
grabbed the guy’s head, yanked it back with a chunk of his hair wrapped tightly
around Roan’s fist, and bared his teeth. “I’m going to make it so you can’t
walk, let alone hurt another innocent woman.” Roan slammed his fist into the
side of his face repeatedly.

The
guy’s eyes had already been swollen from when Lucien’s men worked him over, and
blood and gravel coated one side of his face. He was the worse for wear, but by
the time they were finished with him there wouldn’t be anything left. He
watched as Roan beat the living shit out of the human, so much that the guy
started throwing up blood and stomach contents. But the rag was in his mouth,
and he was choking on the vile shit. Roan reached out and pulled it out.

“No
way
you’re
going out like that.” Roan was breathing
heavily, and his knuckles were covered in a mixture of his own, as well as the
fucker’s blood. “Besides, I’m not the only one that is going to have some time
with you.” He slammed his fist into the guy’s head once more, so hard this time
that the chair tipped over and took the guy to the ground with it. He groaned
and grunted, but he didn’t beg and plead for his life like Court might have
thought, and there wasn’t any fear that came from him.
Huh.
This guy was either insane, or didn’t know who in the fuck he
had gotten involved with when it came to The Grizzlies or The Brothers. But
then, like he was psychotic, the fucker started laughing.

“You’re
lucky these biker fuckers came when they did, because I was about to tear that
pretty young thing up until she was crying and bleeding and begging me to end
her pain.”

Court
growled low, but Jagger placed a hand on his shoulder. The only reason he
didn’t turn around and tear the male holding him back from killing that human
prick was that it was his brother and his President that restrained him.

“Breathe.
You’ll finish it before you get to enjoy it.”

Court
knew what Jagger meant. The President wasn’t stopping him, but making sure he
got the pleasure of killing his female’s abuser. Court had been about to shift
without his human side enjoying the bloodshed. He took a deep breath and
nodded. Jagger let go of him, and Court rolled his head around his neck once
more.