What he said made sense, and after I had a chance to cool down, it might save him from ending up in the hospital. But at that moment, I couldn’t see past the fact that my woman had been in a dangerous situation under his watch.
“You bring an SUV?” Knight asked Carter while I breathed deep and tried to get myself under control.
Carter nodded.
Knight jerked his thumb toward the parking lot. “Get your asses to the car,” he growled. Then he pointed at Cat and Harlowe. “Talkin’ to you, too. Now.”
It looked like the girls wanted to argue, but they knew better than to step between a patch and his property. Their old men would tan their hides for interfering—they were probably in for a punishment for helping Oakley in the first place. Which made me feel only slightly better.
I waited until Knight had guided the others away before finally facing my woman. Her chin was lifted to a stubborn angle, and if I hadn’t been so angry and still a little scared from what could have happened, I might have smiled.
“You,” I grated through clenched teeth. “What happened to going to school?”
“This was more important,” she said, her chin lifting another notch.
“More important than your perfect attendance record?” I drawled, giving myself another minute to calm down before we talked about what just happened.
“Yes. They don’t keep attendance anyway. I–”
I’d heard enough. “You disobeyed me,” I accused.
“Um.” She shifted uncomfortably but didn’t look away, which I highly respected. “You said I couldn't come to work, you didn’t tell me I couldn’t stop by to get something.”
“Bullshit, baby. You knew exactly what I meant.”
“I only stopped by to pick something up. I swear. I was in and out in less than ten minutes.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to glare at her. “Pick up what?”
She smiled and held out her hand, showing me a thick folder and a manila envelope. “Everything you need to have the judge arrested and put away.”
I barely glanced at the items, more concerned with her lack of self-preservation. “You got any idea how much danger you put yourself in, Oakley?”
Her smile faded. “Seriously, Kendrick. Nobody even noticed me. And…don’t you care that I got what you need?”
I closed the distance between us and curled an arm around her waist, then grabbed her chin with my free hand. “You are what I need,” I rasped. “You and our baby.”
Her mouth formed a little O, and I raised an eyebrow, emphasizing my subtle hint. She clearly hadn’t thought about the fact that if she was pregnant, she’d put our child at risk too.
She sighed. “Okay, I wasn’t thinking completely rationally. But you have the evidence now.”
“I don’t give a damn about the evidence, baby. Not when getting to it put the woman I love at risk.”
14
Oakley
“You love me?” I blinked up at Kendrick, pressing trembling fingers against my lips as my heart started to race.
He pulled me closer, threading his fingers through the back of my hair. “Damn straight, I do.”
His answer sparked a flutter in my belly, but I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that this amazing man had fallen in love with me so quickly. “This isn’t just a heat of the moment thing? Because I put myself out there to get you what you needed? And you think I might be carrying your baby after this past weekend?”
“I can see why you want to become a lawyer, baby. You’re gonna be great at grilling people when they’re on the stand.” He brushed his lips against mine in a quick kiss. “But you’ve got this all wrong. I’ve seen many of my club brothers fall hard and fast for their women, but I never thought it would happen to me until I met you.”
“Really?” I gasped, those flutters in my belly turning into full-on butterflies that had taken flight and were flapping their wings as hard as possible.
“I wouldn’t have had Cat put you in my room if I didn’t already know I was going to claim you.” He captured my mouth in a deeper kiss that left me breathless and gripping his shoulders to hold myself steady. “Seems as though you’re the only one who didn’t realize what I was planning. I was acting so damn out of character, all it took was five seconds for Mac to figure out why and call me on my shit.”
I smoothed my hands down his chest, tracing my fingers over the Silver Saints emblem on his vest. “I was so worried that you were going to get in trouble with how angry he seemed.”
“Oh, he was still pissed as fuck because someone could’ve realized that I took you and clued the judge into the fact that the Silver Saints were looking into him.” He chuckled and shook his head, flashing me a cocky grin. “But he couldn’t say shit because he kidnapped Bridget out of her room on another MC’s compound where her dad was the president.”