Lawson stood up from the table he was sitting at, striding over to me. “Everything okay? Not like you to show up on your day off like this, especially wearing that,” he said, scanning his eyes over me. His eyes momentarily stopped on my tits, but he was quick to put those eyes of his back on my face.
“Just need to talk to the prez,” I told him, pretending like I didn’t see his wandering eyes.
He grunted and pressed his hand to my lower back before leading me down the hall to Johnston’s office. He knocked. “What the fuck?” Johnston snapped from behind the door, and my lips quirked with a smirk. Hehatedbeing disturbed when he was working. I was probably the only person he hadn’t lashed out at yet. Had no idea why. The man apparently had a soft spot for me.
I’d once accidentally dropped an entire tray of glasses, shattering all of them, and all he did was pick me up and set me down at a table, ordering someone else to clean it up. Yet, when someone merelycrackeda glass a few weeks ago, he’d lost his shit.
“Got a problem, prez.”
“For fuck’s sake!” Johnston exploded before he swung open the door. “What the—” He abruptly cut himself off when his eyes landed on me. “Get the fuck in here, Aaliyah,” he barked.
I slipped into his office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He shut the door in Lawson’s face, making me snort out a laugh, before turning to face me. “The hell are you doing here on your day off?” he asked, his voice a bit calmer now. “And in your goddamn pajamas, at that.”
I sighed and pushed my fingers against my forehead, where a headache was beginning to come on. “Got into it with Dirk. Pretty sure we broke up. He kicked me out.” I looked up at him. “I don’t have anywhere to go right now.”
Johnston leaned against his desk, crossing his bulky arms over his chest. His tattoos peeked out from beneath his long sleeves and crawled up his neck from beneath the collar of his shirt. “Always got somewhere to go, Red,” he said, calling me by that name he’d taken to calling me since I’d gotten hired. It made a weird feeling stir in my chest each time—a feeling I liked and probably shouldn’t. “You can stay here. I’ll put you in the room next to mine, make sure no one bothers you. You got your stuff with you, or do we need to gather up some guys and go get it?”
I shook my head. “I grabbed what was important,” I told him. “Don’t need the rest of it.”
Johnston arched a perfect, dark brow at me. “You sure? We can go. Fucker won’t touch you.”
I smiled up at him. He was always looking out for me, and it made warmth spread through my veins. “I’m sure, Johnston. I’d just really like to get in a bed. I’m still tired as fuck.”
He nodded and stood up straight. “Come on. I’ll have one of the guys get your bag out of your car while I get you in a room. How much sleep did you get?” He ran his eyes over me, and my nipples pebbled behind my shirt. His gaze stopped there for a moment, his eyes darkening the slightest bit, before he trailed them lower, stopping on my feet. He barked out a laugh. “Those fuckin’ slippers, I swear.”
I shrugged. “I was in a rush.”
Shaking his head, he opened the office door and beckoned for me to walk out ahead of him. I stood up and slipped by him, ducking under his arm that was holding open his door. He walked out behind me before shutting and locking his office, dropping the key into his pocket. “Geek,” Johnston called, grabbing the attention of the club Secretary, “go out to Aaliyah’s car and get her bag.”
“Already got it,” Law said, coming inside. He looked at me. “The fuck happened to your window? Dom and Drew are getting it fixed for you.”
I grimaced. Johnston tensed beside me. I could feel his gaze boring into the side of my head, but I didn’t dare turn around to look at him. “Dirk got pretty pissed this morning,” I said with a shrug, trying to blow it off.
“He touch you?” Johnston snarled, sounding dangerous and every bit of the outlaw I knew he was.
I quickly shook my head, lying to them, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Wouldn’t have been the first time Dirk put his hands on me. These men were protective of women.
Johnston growled quietly before grabbing my bag from Lawson and leading me down one of the halls where the living quarters were. He pushed open a door that was one up from the last one. “That one is mine,” he said, pointing at the last door. “If you need me, don’t hesitate to bother me.” He pushed open the door in front of us. “It’s not great, but it’ll do.”
I shrugged, taking in the mostly bare room. It had the necessities, and that was really all I needed. “Long as I can sleep and take a shower, that’s all I need,” I assured him.
He set my bag on the floor beside the bed. “Stay as long as you need, Red. No time limit for you, you hear me?” He pointed to the bed. “Get some sleep, and when you’re ready, come join the party and unwind.”
With that, he slipped from the room. I sank onto the bed, sighing at the softness of the mattress—so much better than Dirk’s piece of shit bed.
I glanced down at my duffel and grunted. I’d deal with it later. Sleep was calling my name, and this bed was way too comfortable. I’d sleep now and worry about everything else later.
CHAPTER THREE
Johnston
Ifelt like my teeth were going to vibrate out of my gums. The bass was thumping from whatever hip-hop song was playing—something from the early 2000s. The walls were shaking, and the floor was vibrating beneath my feet.
But so far, the party was a hell of a good one. I was pretty sure Gidget, the Texas charter’s Sergeant at Arms, and Blayke, my Vice President, were both right on the verge of getting one of the club girls naked and sharing her between them. Fuck—couldn’t blame them. She was curvy in all the right places, and those heels she had on would make any man want to fuck her.
“Yo, Aaliyah!” Drew shouted. I snapped my head up, almost dropping my beer. When the fuck had she gotten down here?
Sure enough, she was coming out of the back hallway, a pair of tiny ass shorts on with a crop top, her nipples straining against the tight, black fabric. The curve of her ass cheeks were visible at the bottom of her shorts as she turned and accepted Drew’s hug.