After Diesel left, Knuckles stood and came around his desk and I followed suit.He stuck his hand out to me.“Good to have you back, man.”
I gave him a lopsided grin, the pressure in my chest finally easing.I was all too aware I’d let the club down by getting my ass busted on the biggest night of my life.“Knuckles…” I reached out and took the hand he offered.“I’m sorry.”
“Nothin’ to be sorry for.Yeah, the timing could have been better, but, whether you wanted him to or not, your brother came through with flying colors.”
“Yeah.I berated him for that.”
“’Cause you felt guilty.”
“I am guilty!I didn’t mean to kill the bastard, but he grabbed my date’s ass.I had to do something.”
“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Pain.As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to justify yourself to anyone.Any man who won’t defend a woman when she’s touched against her will ain’t much of a man, in my opinion.In some ways, I’d classify that person as worse than the one doin’ the touchin’.”
That statement threw me.Yeah, it had been my first date with Sondra -- Shonda?Sonda!-- but she’d still been with me.I’d shoved the guy, then punched him when he’d laughed and tried to make a grab for her again.He was too drunk to keep his balance and fell, his head landing on the corner of a brick step inside the bar.The impact of the landing caved in his skull at the temple and he later died.At the same hospital I’d just been hired on as a full-time surgical attending.
“You ever hear from your date again?”Knuckles’ question caught me off guard.
“No.”And that had hurt more than I’d expected.I hadn’t been in love with the woman.It was our first date!But I’d defended her.She had barely made a police statement before she’d hightailed it out of the bar.“But I learned better than to date from the nursing pool.”
“Shoulda known that from the start.”
“I did.But I thought I was the shit.”I shrugged.“Thought I could handle myself on one date.I’d already decided we weren’t going to fit anywhere.Not even in bed.The woman had a voice that simply to God grated on my last nerve.”
“Then why the fuck did you ask her out to begin with?”
“Heard she had good pussy.If that makes me an asshole, so be it.I told her what I wanted up front.Probably why I never saw her again.”
“Sounds about right.Tell me you’re not glad she split.”
“Nope.I don’t lie.By her giving me the kiss-off -- and probably rightfully so -- she saved me the trouble of dumping her after I met Nadine.Because no one is keeping me from Nadine but Nadine.And only if I can’t sweet talk her into keeping me.”
“She’ll stay.She’s a little reserved now, but you’re right.The women will bring her around.”
“Speaking of which, I need to go check on her.I don’t want to leave her alone too long.She’ll start questioning her decision to come with me and I’m not fighting a battle I’ve already fumbled my way through.”
“Good plan.Church will be at eight tonight.I think Hannah and Pippa are getting together a barbeque for afterward.”
“That a good idea?You know, with eyes on us?”
“They’re setting up in the center warehouse by the pool.I’ll make sure there are lookouts all around the perimeter and a couple up on the roofs at each corner.We’ll have a good warning if they decide to breach the place.We’ve all prepared the women, and they know what to do.Best get Nadine filled in.Hannah will make sure she’s taken care of if we get hit.”
“Ain’t likin’ this.”I scrubbed the back of my neck.
“Me neither.”Knuckles clapped me on the shoulder.“Go see to your woman.Get her firmly on your side so you can protect her.She’s got to trust you to keep her safe before she’ll let you.”
“On it, Prez.On it good and proper.”
Chapter Nine
Nadine
It’s funny how quickly a place built like a fortress could start to feel like home.I’d been at Kiss of Death for three weeks with Pain.Sometimes I could see flashes of Dr.Raven, but most of the time, he was Pain.I thought I might be more comfortable with Pain than I was Dr.Raven.It didn’t take long to establish a routine that felt almost normal.I mean, if you ignored the camo netting.
The whole place had seemed on edge from the beginning, but given what Pain had told me, I guessed I could understand.I’d seen the traffic around the compound, and even I could tell it wasn’t usual.It was disconcerting.It also made me hyperaware the men housed in this place weren’t safe.Not in any way.Having said that, I’d never felt more like I was part of a family than I had since coming to this place in Nashville.
“Hey, Nurse Hottie!”Tillie called as she sauntered into the clinic, her heavily pregnant belly leading the way.“Got time to check my blood pressure?Baby’s kicking like he’s auditioning for the damn UFC.”
I smiled warmly at the other woman.Tillie was with Xavier.Apparently, she’d gotten pregnant soon after becoming Xavier’s old lady, and now she was about eight weeks from delivery.And the kid was going to be a hellion if the way it kicked its mother was any indication.
