Saving Dallas (20 page)

Everyone was chatting away-laughing, talking
, and flirting.  I saw why Luke loved his club so much.  Everyone seemed to be family here and other than Maddie, they all seemed to accept me as part of it too. 

I sat at the head of the table next to Luke
, and from my seat I had a clear view of everyone around us.  Worm and Luke seemed to be in deep conversation about something and Luci B, who sat next to Worm, was laughing and chatting with Red.  Coon and Carla were in their own world.  They seemed so in love with one another.  I felt like I was intruding just by watching them, so I allowed my eyes to leave and fall on Juggs who was adjusting her breasts in her shirt, which seemed pointless considering Octane was constantly playing with them.  Buck and KD, along with Scratch, Bear and Crash were listening intently to Kev who must have been telling a joke, because they all erupted with laughter.  Gypsy rolled her eyes and shook her head at Kev, obviously disgusted at what he said.  The PROSPECTS were nowhere to be found and neither was Maddie. 

Tiny came up behind us and tapped Luke on the shoulder, motioning for him t
o come outside.  With a nod of his head, every man at the table stood and followed Tiny out.

“Good luck Babe,” Luke whispered in my ear. 

“Thanks
a lot,” I responded laughing.  He laughed with me and leaned down kissing the top of my head, and then walked out.  My eyes followed him and I had a big goofy smile on my face when my eyes fell on all the women at the table.  They were all staring at me open mouthed as if I were an alien. 

“What?” I asked.

Red was the first one to recover.  “Nothing, it’s just good to see Luke happy,” she said smiling.  The other women nodded in agreement and choruses of “yeah” and “that’s right” rang out from all of them while they busied themselves with their phones and drinks and averted their eyes to anything but me. 

“So, Dallas
, you are in real estate?” Jenn asked from the end of the table. 

“I am.  I own Knox Companies.”  Jenn almost choked on her drink. I
wanted to kick myself for opening my mouth
.

“You are Dallas Knox? Oh my god! I had no idea.” 

“That’s me.” I responded a little embarrassed.  For some reason, I didn’t want these women to know who I was.  The public already had stereotyped me into what they wanted me to be and I wanted these women to not know the real me, but the “me” that Luke knew
.

“Wow.  That’s impressive.  You know I used to work for a real estate company.  That was a long time ago though.  KD is actually fixing to take the exam to get her real estate license
,” Jenn said recovering from her shock.

“Really?  Well KD, I hope you will consider my company.  I could probably pull a few strings to get you an interview
,” I said winking at her.  They all laughed.

“Oh my god! That would be so great!”
she said, her face lighting up.  KD would be good for business.  She definitely fit the part.  She was attractive and outgoing and seemed that she could be very persuasive.  Red had made her way down the table to me and reached out to take my hand in hers. 

“So, I hear y
’all are official.” 

I looked down at my lap smiling.  “Yes, we are.  He really is amazing,
Red.” 

“Yes he is.  But don’t underestimate yourself
, Dallas.  You must be pretty great too, to land a catch like that.”  Her smile was genuine, as were her words.  These women were not much different than me.  I had expected them all to act like Maddie and treat me like an outsider, but since I had arrived, none of them made me feel the least bit uncomfortable or out of place.  I felt like I had known them all forever
.

Red leaned in close to me, her face taking on a serious expression.   “Ok, I am going to lay a few ground rules out for you.  This is your family.  There is nothing these ladies would not do for you.  They don’t trust you right now, but that comes with time.  If you are with Luke, then you are with them.  Don’t do anything to draw too much attention to yourself.  Be friendly but don’t suck ass. They can see straight through the bullshit.  Be genuine, respectful and above all, loyal.  If you see your sister in trouble, it is your place to help her.  If a man wants to join in with this club, he has to prospect.  It’s the same for the women.  Until you prove your loyalty, you will never be accepted.  Don’t let their charm and looks fool you, these women can be very ruthless, and that includes me.”  She sat back and seemed satisfied with what she had just told me.  I felt like it was a speech she had given many times.  I appreciated the knowledge and her honesty, but it worked both ways.  These women would have to earn my trust too.  I knew better than to judge a book by its cover.  I was a threat to all of them, especially Red.  If I stepped in, her position would belong to me and I wasn’t sure how much she would like that.  She was good at what she did, but if I was going to be with Luke, then I would have to learn her role and to prove I could do it; I was going to have to be better than her
. 

“Who is Maddie with?” I asked.  She was my biggest problem and I had to cross that bridge before I could build another one
.

“Maddie is
a long story, but in a nutshell she is a part of this club.  She isn’t with anyone, but her history with the club is a long one.  I’ll leave the rest of that story up to Luke to tell.” 

Well I had already violated one rule.  I had not shown any respect to Maddie, nor had she shown any to me.  I guessed that was why nobody seemed to care what I said to her earlier.  A commotion at the pool tables across the room drew our attention. 

“Here we go,” Red said rising and heading across the bar.  The other women stood and followed suit.  I sat still, not sure what to do. 
Should I follow?  Should I stay?  Was this really my business?
  KD turned to look at me and discreetly motioned with her hand that I should join them.  I could tell she didn’t want any of the others to see what she was doing.  She was helping me out.  I was sure it was because of the job I mentioned earlier, but it was still a nice gesture. 

I joined the others and s
aw that Maddie was nose to nose with another woman who I noted was wearing red and gray colors.  I remembered the bikers I had seen earlier and silently wondered if she was with them.  I had not seen them when we pulled up, but there was no mistaking the man propped on the pool table behind them.  He was one of the ones riding in the pack, and although there was a feud going on before him, it was me he was watching.  I walked closer, trying to get a better look and saw one of our guys wearing a PROSPECT patch, pick up his phone and call someone.  He was standing right next to Maddie, in between the guy on the pool table and her.  A cold chill went down my spine as I made eye contact with the man staring holes through me.  It was as if he knew me and it was hard for me to pull my eyes from the large scar on his face.  I remembered him leading the pack when they passed my office earlier. 

Shouting caused me to direct my attention
to Maddie who had her finger in the face of another girl.  “You know better than to have your trashy ass in here,” she yelled.  That was the last thing said before the fight erupted.  Several other women in red and gray were there too, standing behind the woman and cheering her own.  My instincts kicked in and I ran closer
.
  Someone grabbed my arm and I whirled around to see the cold eyes from the man at the pool table staring into mine.  He had greasy black hair, small beady eyes, and looked like he was drunk or strung out on drugs. 

“Well hello, sleeping beauty
,” he said to me. I jerked my arm from him and surprising me he let me go.  I turned around and found myself in the middle of the fight.  I looked over to see that all the ladies from the club were involved in some way.  Some were separating women who were fighting and some were fighting themselves.  I had never seen anything like it.  These grown women were literally fist fighting as if they were teenagers.  I looked down to see two women had jumped on Maddie and she was doing her best to fight them off.  I was sure she deserved it, but a fair fight was a fair fight.  Besides, Red had said she was a part of the club and my job was to help if any of my family was in need. 

Putting my hatred for Maddie in the back of my mind, I allowed
my skills of fighting from my high school and college days to resurface, and leaned down to pull one of the girls off of her.  She swung her arm around, with absolutely no aim and I dodged it with ease and planted a blow to her face with my right hand and quickly followed with one from the left.  By the time she retaliated, I was in full fight mode and she didn’t stand a chance.  I had always been told that I was a good fighter.  My record was 13-2, not that I was keeping count.  I hit the girl, who was about my size, on the tip of her nose, and I knew she was down for the count.  Blood gushed from her nostrils and she was too busy holding her face to see the punch coming that put her on her ass.  I looked down and saw Maddie getting pummeled by a girl with a roll of quarters balled up in her fist. 

These bitches fought dirty. 
Well, two could play at that game
.
  I gave the girl a swift kick to the ribs, allowing Maddie enough time to recover from her fetal position and rein blows on top of the girl’s head.  I was grabbed and lifted into the air as the guys came in from outside and broke up the fight.  Within seconds of Luke barking orders, the fighting was ceased and everyone was standing around looking at one another.  The bar was silent as he walked over to the woman lying on the floor and pulled her to her feet. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, wearing this shit?” Luke asked her pulling on her vest. 

“Frankie sent me.  He has a message for you,” she responded trying to sound tough, but I could tell she was intimidated by Luke. 
Hell, who wouldn’t be?
 

“Oh yeah?  Well you tell Frankie that if he has something to say to me he knows where I am, and not to send bitches to do his dirty work.  Now, you get the fuck out of my town and it would be in your best interest to burn this shit.  If you ever flash those colors in my presence again, I’ll cut if off of you myself.”  The coldness in Luke’s tone had me shivering. 
He was a force to be reckoned with and everyone in this bar knew it.  He looked down at the girl as if she were nothing.  Like a scolded child, she hung her head, and along with four other women, left the bar.

“Everybody whole?”  Lu
ke asked, his eyes finding mine-giving me a once over-and then walking up to Maddie.  Luke put his hands on either side of her face, moving her head as if to look her over.  “You good?” he asked her. 

“Yeah.  I’m good.”  Luke let her go and she glared at me, spitting blood onto the floor.
Why was she so pissed at me?
  I just saved her ass.

“We’re out, bill me
,” Luke announced to the bartender, but made it loud enough for everyone to hear.   No one dared to utter a word until we were outside. 

All the women seemed to know their place and what not to say.  Apparently when Luke was in a pissy mood everyone knew to stay out of his path. 
Red shot me a wink and a smirk, and although the other women tried to hide it from the men, I could see satisfaction and approval on their faces. 

Luke had hardly looked at me since the scene unfolded, but when I went to put on my helmet, he grabbed it from my hands and stared at me.  I could see the concern behind the fury in his eyes.

“You ok babe?” he whispered.  Scared that I would say the wrong thing, I just nodded my head.  He shot me a look of warning and I quickly remembered his rule. 

“Yes, I am ok.”  My lips parted and my breath quickened at the thought of a lovely punishment fuck
.  How did he do this to me? 
He was obviously on to what I was thinking, because that damn smirk was on his face.  It relaxed me a little.  At least he wasn’t mad.  He put my helmet on then kissed my swollen, bruised knuckles and I clambered on the bike behind him.  I noted that everyone else was seated on their bikes and ready to go, but no one cranked their motorcycle until Luke did.  We pulled out onto the highway and I wrapped my arms around Luke.  We were going fast, like really fast, and the motorcycles behind and beside us were only inches away.  I looked to my right and Luci B was watching me intently.  She gave me a reassuring smile and I waved at her; only realizing how stupid it looked
after
I did it.  Riding so close to everyone made me nervous.  I looked in Luke’s rearview mirror and could see the pack behind us.  The synchronization was amazing.  When one moved they all moved.

By the time we got to Luke’s, I was afraid I would need a drink.  I followed Luke and the others into the clubhouse.  The window that had been broken
was now repaired.  Luke led me to the bar and swiftly kissed my cheek before going behind it and pouring us a drink.  It was a shot of some kind of liquor, but my nerves were strung so tight that I didn’t question it as I through it back and let the burn soothe me.  Luke gave me a wink, walked around the bar, and then unlocked the door to the room with the large table.  The guys, without even having to be told, walked in behind him; the last one closing the door.  I noticed one of the PROSPECTS stood guard outside of it and the others fell in behind the bar, making drinks and busying themselves.  “Why are they not in there?” I asked Red who had taken a seat next to me.