The Biker's Fate Chapter 185

I waved my hand dismissively. "Club business, whatever. Outside of your forced protection of me, I have no ties to the Club, Mack, so I'm a free agent."

"That's total bullshit." Mack scowled. "So, I'm gonna ask you again. Why the hell are you here when you knew I wasn't scheduled?"

I chewed on my lower lip trying to come up with a valid argument.

"Kim—"

"Mack, I love you. You know I do, but you can't tell me what I can and cannot do," I said. "If someone tried to tell you who you could sleep with, how would you react?"

"That's different."

I scowled. "Screw you, Mack."

He glared at me. "Kim, you're fuckin' out of control, babe."

"Because I love sex?" I snapped.

"You don't love sex, Kimmie, you just wanna piss me off."

I threw my arms up in the air. "Are you serious with this shit? Forget it. I'll leave."

He laid a hand on my shoulder. "It's dangerous to be here lookin' for sex, babe. It's dangerous to be lookin' for it anywhere random. You wanna find a guy to take your mind off your troubles, you got good men in your life who'll do right by you. Pick one of them."

"None of this is any of your fucking business, Mack."

I blinked back tears of irritation and he hugged me. "I'll have someone walk you to your car," he offered.

"I took a cab," I grumbled.

"Then I'll have Pug drive you."

"I'd rather have crows peck my eyes out."

He chuckled. "You still dealin' with notes and shit?"

"Nope," I lied.

"Kim, why'd you come here? Really? I know your past shit, and I thought you were dealing with it."

Mack knew a little about my past sexual abuse. Not all of it...that was reserved for Dani, but he'd guessed (because he was smart) that something had happened to me, and offered a soft place to land if I needed it. I'd never taken him up on the offer and had been glad he didn't bring the subject up again.

"I needed a little stress relief," I snapped.

He studied me for a few seconds and then sighed. "You don't wanna tell me, don't tell me. Pug's gonna get you a cab, though."

"Tell him not to bother," I snapped as I pulled away from him, stalking out of the office and back down the hall. I stormed past Flea and detoured onto the dance floor, then toward the bar. If I was being forced home, I was goin' home drunk.

I slid up to the bar and Cricket handed me my credit card. "He cut you off, hon."

"Son of a bitch!"

Cricket grimaced. "Sorry."

"You alone?" a deep voice asked from behind me.

I turned, seeing he was kind of cute in a tight-ass, businessman kind of way, and smiled. "Yeah."

"Buy you a drink, beautiful?"

I bit my lip, then nodded. "I would love a drink."

Before he could order, Pug sat on the stool beside me and shook his head.

"Seriously?" I hissed.

"Walk away, man," Pug ordered.

My admirer did exactly what Pug told him to do and stupid me (after Pug walked away), I accepted another offer for a drink. Pug showed up again and that man walked away as well.

Damn Mack and his interfering. "Call him off, Pug," I snapped.

"Not gonna happen," Pug said, and gave me a smug smile.

"You're such a dick, you know that?"

"Yep." He crossed his arms. "Come on, I'll get you a cab."

"I'm going to hit the little girls' room first."

"Knock yourself out."

I scowled at him and headed to the bathroom, pissed that my night had been totally ruined. As I dried my hands, my phone buzzed, and I sighed. It was Knight, so I answered his call. "Hey."

"Hey, sugar. You okay?"

I put on a fake smile and said, "Yep. What's up?"

"Just checkin' in."

"Really? Did Mack call you?"

"Pleadin' the fifth, sug."

"Well, I'm leaving, so y'all can relax."

"We're keepin' you safe, Kimmie, you get that right?"

I bit back frustrated tears. I don't know why I expected him to be different than the others, but I wished he'd have a little more faith in my ability to keep myself safe. "Whatever."

"Want me to swing by and pick you up? We can go get a bite."

"No, I'm going to grab a cab and head home."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, honey." My voice was sweet, but I was secretly flipping him off in my mind. "Bye."

I hung up and slipped out of the bathroom. Pug was talking with a cute girl who obviously wanted free drinks, so I used the distraction to head outside. I was quite capable of calling for a cab without him breathing down my neck. As I stepped onto the sidewalk, I heard my name and followed the sound.

"Kim! Hey!"

I frowned when I didn't recognize the guy waving at me.

He caught up to me and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi," I said. Now that he was closer, he seemed faintly familiar, but I couldn't place him. He was about an inch shorter than me, blond hair and hazel eyes, nothing really to write home about, but cute.

"Brian Combes," he provided. "I worked for your father four years ago."

My father owned the largest (and most prestigious) law firm in Portland. All of Oregon, truth be told. He was a fifth-generation attorney and had expected me to follow in his footsteps, but after I found out about his multiple affairs, I decided I was going to do whatever the hell I wanted and he could go screw himself.

I was so disgusted, and wasn't entirely sure who I was angrier at... him because he was a pig, or my mother who turned a blind eye to his roaming. Unfortunately, I was not so brave to completely cut them out of my life. They had a way of making my life a living hell, so I played the game when it was necessary... like parties and such.

Recognition dawned. "Right, weren't you a junior associate? I met you at a holiday party the year you got hired."

"Good memory." He smiled. "I can't believe I saw you on the side of the street. Small world."

"Indeed."