Knight Read Online Free Page B

asked.
    “It’s safe at the garage.”
    “It’s safe at Sorceress too.”
    Luke smirked. His dimples were once a measured diplomacy. Now I was the only one who remembered them. “Obviously not. You better get your five grand back from Thorne. Why the hell would I take you to Sorceress when his men can’t save you from Temple?”
    “Because you haven’t got a choice. Unless you want to start a war, Sorceress is the only neutral ground you’ve got. Anathema won’t ask questions before they shoot, and you always manage to get in their crosshairs.”
    “You’re coming to the garage.”
    Fantastic. Whatever. So long as it was his property destroyed in the firefight this time.
    I knew exactly how it’d look when I hopped out of the truck wearing Luke’s jacket. I was never a girl who tolerated ownership , and I refused even the concept of a property patch.
    There was once a time when I was naïve enough to tolerate the attention from Luke. Then, it wasn’t a bad idea. Kinda fun. Flirty. Sexy.
    That fairytale ended the day he defected from Anathema. War was a good enough reason to end a fantasy before it began.
    He parked in the garage. Two closed bay doors and a handful of lunatics wouldn’t protect us, but it was a hell of a lot safer inside The Coup’s safe house than fleeing through the desert.
    I hopped out of the truck as Luke hugged Grim, slapping his shoulder and offering to buy them a drink. The floor was a mess of oil and grease, and I twirled my one remaining shoe in my hand.
    It shouldn’t have been awkward. Certainly not around Luke, though it was always tense anymore, especially when he caught me in his charm. The rest of the men I knew. They had once lived, breathed, and bled for Anathema. Now, they did all they could to ruin their former club.
    They made their choices. So did I.
    It least it was hard for them to resent a woman in a thong for adhering to her loyalty.
    Luke still bled, but he accepted a clean towel from a hulking man panting from the ride. Vega. I hadn’t seen him around Sorceress since he married my best dancer. I always knew Britney wanted to become an artist, but I never thought a member of The Coup would actually pay for the rest of her college and help her find a job.
    The war between Anathema and The Coup was as bizarre as it was bloodied. And the men trapped within the endless battles? Luke wasn’t a psychopathic criminal, just idealistic to a fault. I didn’t trust the rest of them.
    Grim offered me a roll of paper towels. He was a man who might’ve been a heartthrob had he not preferred his women handcuffed to a bed. He winked and cast the towels from the garage into their appointed chapel, offering me a clean path to walk.
    Absolutely not.
    I lived by two rules, and abiding by them kept me alive and Sorceress standing in the midst of total anarchy.
    First, I never got involved with any of the bikers. Even when I might’ve wanted to. Even when it hurt to stay away.
    Secondly, I stayed clear of their business. I didn’t pay Anathema protection money. It was contracted security . They dealt in smuggled cigarettes and violence. I operated with 1099s and proper tax codes and every legal means by which I could protect myself.
    That meant never stepping within one of their chapels. I didn’t care what they said in church, how they got their money, or what they did before or after they left my club.
    I wasn’t changing my stripes now. Especially when I wasn’t wearing enough clothes to cover them.
    Luke’s long strides mirrored everything graceful I tried to teach my dancers. He did it effortlessly, a pure movement of confidence, and he didn’t realize it. He stood before me. Without my heels, I had to look up to meet his gaze.
    “Did they hurt you?” he asked.
    I wouldn’t admit to it even if they had. “I’m fine.”
    Luke reached for my cheek. The bruise ached, and I stilled so he wouldn’t bump it hard. It hurt enough when his fingers happened to graze my skin