Stone (Knights Corruption MC Series Book 2) Read online

  Smacking him on the chest, I took a deep breath to calm myself. I hated being scared, the feeling instantly irritating me. His playful smirk did wonders for my mood, however.

  “I’ll come over when you’re done with work,” he declared, as if we didn’t just have a semi-argument before I was paged. “I’ll pick up some pizza since I know you’re not gonna want to cook after being on your feet all day.” Although the thought of some hot, cheesy goodness had my stomach instantly rumbling, I stuck with my former excuse.

  “Stone . . . I can’t.” I took a few steps back. As soon as I made the move, he frowned, advancing on me before I could disappear from the room.

  His warm breath hit my face, his lips so close all I wanted to do was taste them. Get it together, woman. “Why not? And don’t give me that lame-ass excuse that you have to cover for what’s her face.”

  “Carol,” I corrected.

  “Whoever,” he grated, placing his hands on the sides of my face. “I wanna see you later. I need to see you later.”

  I had no other choice but to retreat once more. I held up my hand in front of me, letting him know not to crowd my personal space again. For some reason, he took the hint that time. “I have to go. I have an appointment to get to, and then I’m finishing off the rest of my shift. Then going home to bed,” I finished, nodding with a small smile.

  He didn’t speak for a few seconds, and I foolishly thought he would let the subject go. But instead of continuing to be persistent about seeing me later that evening, he chose another topic altogether.

  “What appointment?”

  “What?” I asked, realizing exactly where our conversation was heading.

  “What appointment do you have to get to?”

  “Oh,” I stalled. “Umm . . . My annual appointment.”

  “For that?” he asked, pointing toward my lower region.

  “Yes, for that.” I smirked, trying my best to lighten the increasingly tense mood before it got out of hand. “They called and told me they had a cancellation and asked if I wanted it. I told them I did, so they’re expecting me in . . . ten minutes,” I affirmed, glancing at the clock on the wall behind Stone. I purposely said ‘they’ instead of ‘he.’ For good reason.

  “Is it with a man or a woman?” He had instantly changed the mood from slightly tense to borderline volatile. I could have lied, sure. But I wasn’t a liar, besides the fact I sucked at it. No, lying would only make it worse, as if I was hiding something.

  “Does it matter? It’s with a doctor,” I emphasized. I knew exactly what he was going to say and how he was going to react once he found out Dr. Weber was a man. He would go all Neanderthal. He might even start pounding his chest and pee on me to mark his territory, even though I wasn’t technically his to claim. But try explaining that to someone as irrational as Stone.

  My refusal to answer gave everything away. If jealousy had a look, Stone mastered it right away. His brows drew together in anger, his breathing accelerating while his fists clenched at his sides. A deep red color rose over his throat, spreading higher until his face was flushed with outrage. Moving toward me, he reached for my arms. Once he had a hold on me, he drew me closer. If I hadn’t known him, I would have thought he was about to hurt me in some way. But the man I knew would never lay a finger on me in anger. He simply wanted to touch me, even though he was angry about the situation. He’d told me on numerous occasions I soothed him, now being one of those times, I assumed. Even though I was the direct cause of his fury.

  Before he spoke, I knew I had to say something to calm him, bring his focus back around to what was really important. “Stone,” I warned, my tone soft but firm. “You need to calm down. You’re still healing from being shot, and even though you don’t feel it, the stress you’re exhibiting is surely causing all sorts of havoc, prohibiting you from making a quick recovery.”

  A few weeks prior, Marek’s wife Sully, my new dear friend, was kidnapped by her crazy ex-boyfriend. Stone had gone with him to rescue her and in the midst of everything, he’d been shot. Thankfully, there was no permanent damage, but he wasn’t one hundred percent healed, and stress of any kind always delayed the recovery process. I swore sometimes just because he couldn’t feel anything, the man thought he was invincible.

  He completely zoned out.

  Not one word about his recovery registered; instead, he kept focusing on the fact I was going to see a male for my exam.

  “You’re gonna let another man look at your pussy?!” he grated through clenched teeth. Before I could answer his ridiculous question, he cut me off, all his insecurities pouring out of him like a siphoned hose. “Absolutely not. No way in fuckin’ hell am I allowing another man, doctor or not, to look at what’s mine.” He raked his fingers through his hair in utter frustration. “No way,” he repeated, shaking his head with such vigor I thought he was going to make himself dizzy. Pointing toward the door, he demanded, “Go cancel. Tell him you want a woman instead.” A slight calm descended over him right then, probably because he thought I was going to obey. His posture became less rigid, but little did he know he was two seconds away from blowing a gasket.

  To redirect his focus, I could have chosen to tell him about some of the issues I was experiencing. The pain I was having from time to time, the irregular test results I’d received a month before which caused me to make another appointment so soon, but I wanted to safeguard that information until I knew for certain if there was a problem or not.

  Looking at the clock once more, I saw I had six minutes to get to Dr. Weber’s office, a feat which was going to be tricky since he was on the other side of the large hospital. I knew he would be okay with me arriving a few minutes late, but I hated keeping him waiting, especially since he went out of his way to contact me after the last-minute cancellation.

  Mustering all the strength I had left, I stepped forward and shoved my finger harshly into Stone’s muscled chest. “Dr. Weber has been my gynecologist for the past four years, and I’m not switching to someone else simply because you’re acting crazy. He is a professional, plain and simple. Now, stop acting like a complete ass and leave before we say something we’re gonna regret.” He didn’t budge, instead becoming irate all over again when he realized his asinine ways weren’t going to work. He might intimidate everyone else in his life, but not me.

  Before our encounter escalated further, I was the one who chose to quickly make my exit, leaving a stunned maniac standing in the middle of a still-empty waiting room.

  His little tirade wasn’t the first and certainly wasn’t going to be the last, not by any stretch of the imagination.

  Stone

  The woman was absolutely infuriating. She’d warned me to calm down because I was still recovering from being shot, but I didn’t care about that. She’d cautioned that, even though I couldn’t feel the effects of the bullet’s damage, stuff was still goin’ on inside me, and my temper wasn’t helping my recovery. It was times like this when I always threw caution to the wind, realizing I was pushing the limits of my own body, but I didn’t care. Not when there were bigger issues staring me in the face.

  It took all my reserve not to destroy the waiting room, knowing damn well security would have been called and I would have been banned from the premises. Not that I would have let that stop me.

  While I tried to compose myself, because I’d had no other choice, she was flitting off to bare herself for some fuckin’ guy, doctor or not. New mission—find out everything I can about Dr. Weber. If she wasn’t gonna listen to me, then I would make him back off.

  The open road helped to soothe my nerves, the ride back to the clubhouse allowing me the time I needed to try and focus on other things, although it was difficult.

  When I’d finally arrived, I parked and took off my helmet, placing it on the back of my bike. There were a few people milling around outside, men and women alike. It was a warm day and I could have sworn we were having a cookout, but based on the lack of bodies, maybe plans were c
hanged at the last minute.

  “Yo, Jagger,” I called out, striding toward one of the club’s prospects, “we havin’ a cookout or what?” Coming face to face with the young guy, I could see why a lot of the wannabees flocked toward him. He was a good-lookin’ kid. He was also the ticketed fighter of our group, signing up and winning every single battle he’d been in. Mostly, they were underground fights, nothing professional. I’d even taught him a thing or two when he needed someone to go toe to toe with. My line of fighting was more for self-defense, even though I’d used many of my martial arts skills to take down our enemies, when it was called for.

  “Hey, Stone,” he greeted, walking up and slapping me on the back. “Yeah, just delayed by like an hour. We’re still waiting on Hawke and Ryder to come back with the steaks.”

  The genuine smile on his face was contagious, my own lips kicking up in amusement. I liked the kid, but Marek didn’t. I tried to warn Jagger to stay on the prez’s good side, and he assured me he was trying. All it would take was one wrong move on the prospect’s part, and he’d be tossed from the club without a second thought. Probably worse, depending on what got him ousted.

  “Cool. All right, I’ll go see what everyone else is up to,” I said, leisurely striding past him.

  “Hey,” he called after me. “The ring is coming this week. Once we get it set up, you and me can start breakin’ it in.”

  “You got it.” He was excited we were finally gonna get in weekly workouts, honing his fighting skills enough to where he would be unstoppable. He was well on his way already, but a few improvements wouldn’t hurt.

  Now that Marek was taking the club completely legit, it was up to everyone to either be active in one of our legal endeavors or start up something for themselves, with the rule that a certain portion of whatever money they made came back into the club. The Knights Corruption was a main priority for all the men, so keeping it thriving was everyone’s first duty, and we did so willingly.

  Walking away, I heard a few of the girls who were hanging around giggle as Jagger approached them. With all the available pussy, I was surprised he never took advantage. He was always eager to hook up before, but something changed a couple months ago, and I wasn’t quite sure what it was, although I certainly had my suspicions.

  My phone rang, drawing me back from my speculations about Jagger. Pressing the button, I answered before identifying the caller. “Yeah?”

  “It’s Yanez. We’re coming to see you tomorrow. Pass along the news to Marek.” His choppy breaths came out strained, as if he’d run a marathon before he placed the call.

  “Who’s we?”

  “Who do you think? Me and Rafael. See you around noon.” He hung up before I could ask him anything else. Prick. I couldn’t wait until we were free from the cartel altogether. I hated dealing with Rico Yanez, even though our interactions had been minimal. But any time spent indulging that worthless jackass was too much in my opinion. I knew Marek shared the same sentiment, although he had a different opinion about Rafael Carrillo. He’d saved the leader of the Los Zappas cartel’s life, and because of it we were being rewarded with a few favors. One was that they were letting us walk away from our part in the drug smuggling business. And two, they were gonna cut off the Savage Reapers’ supply as well, basically crippling them into oblivion, definitely a win-win for us.

  I was inside the clubhouse for five minutes, chatting it up with Cutter and his son, Breck, when Ryder and Hawke strolled through the door, bags of food in each of their hands. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until right then. Food had been the last thing on my mind since my interaction with Adelaide. She frustrated me beyond belief, and it was a wonder I was able to interact with anyone else after she left me at the hospital.

  She sure was a spitfire, and although it annoyed me most times—that day being a prime example—her feistiness often turned me the fuck on.

  “It’s about time you two bastards got back,” Cutter joked, grabbing a few of the bags to inspect what they’d bought. “Where’s the beer?”

  “Right here, old man,” Hawke interjected, shoving a case of alcohol at him. Before Cutter uttered another word, Hawke said, “Don’t worry, there’s more in the van.”

  Laughing, Cutter and Breck headed outside to grab the rest of the night’s drink. While beer was high on the list, we also kept a stocked liquor bar. Every man had their poison, and while most of us could handle it, some could not—Ryder jumping to the top of that list. We made sure it was a rare occasion when he indulged, mainly because he became a mean drunk when he consumed the hard stuff. Beer flowed nicely through his system, but get some whiskey in the bastard and he was ready to take on every one of us.

  That man had some demons lurking inside, a part of him he kept secret from the rest of us. The most anyone knew about his private life was that he had been married once, but she up and left him, taking their daughter with her. He never divulged the reason why, even when we tried to get it out of him while he was drunk, volatile or not. He was another brother who hardly took advantage of the available pussy.

  Me, on the other hand, I dove right in, until I got mixed up with Adelaide a year back. Since her, I hadn’t so much as touched another woman. She was all I needed.

  But our relationship was complicated. Too many obstacles in the way of officially being together. Her uncle was number one. The club’s lifestyle was number two.

  The Knights were well on their way to becoming legit, the next day’s final meeting with the cartel proving so. Now, all I had to do was make sure Trigger wouldn’t shoot me, and then I could convince Adelaide to be with me once and for all.

  Adelaide

  After the day’s events, all I wanted to do was crawl into a hot bath and let the water soak away all my fears. Trying my best to calm myself until the results came back, my brain was suddenly consumed with one man.

  Stone Crosswell.

  I’d asked him one time how he’d got his road name and he told me that Marek had given it to him when they were kids. Said he was like a block of stone, never allowing anything to penetrate. No pain. Statuesque when any other normal human being would have crumbled under the agony of life’s afflictions. Stone had what was referred to as congenital insensitivity to pain, and while he thought it was a blessing, it was really a curse. Pain was the body’s alarm system, sounding off when something was wrong. Because of his condition, he was careless, flippant even when it came to keeping himself out of harm’s way. Something which drove me absolutely insane.

  His given name was Lincoln, but only a few people knew that. The only reason I knew his real name was because he let it slip one time when he was talking about his mother, and how she used to call him by his full name when she was upset with him. Lincoln DeLeon Crosswell. His revelation caught me so off guard I could do nothing but laugh. Only he could pull off a name like that, although Stone was quite fitting as well.

  The only time he tolerated me calling him Lincoln was when I was extremely upset with him. And it was during those times he knew enough from my tone and choice of name to back off and give me my space. Come to think of it, he hadn’t pissed me off quite to that level in some time.

  I shouldn’t jinx myself.

  Driving home, I couldn’t help but be grateful at the way some parts of my life turned out. I’d always done well in school. I wasn’t a genius by any means, but I certainly was book-smart. Since I was a young child, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. Actually, I wanted to be a doctor but we didn’t have the money for such an expensive education, so nursing was the next best option.

  My mother had been in and out of hospitals since I was in grade school, battling one illness after the other, all the while her spirits shining bright. She was the strongest woman in the world, and I was devastated when she’d been taken from me at the tender age of forty-six. I was only twenty-one, and I wasn’t ready to lose my best friend. Who was I going to talk to when I was having relationship issues? Who was going to help me plan my wedding
, if such a thing ever happened for me one day? Who was going to teach me how to be a mother, if my life was ever graced with little ones?

  My uncle Trigger was my mother’s younger brother, and since her passing, he had become even more protective over me, especially during the times when I was at the club. I couldn’t even count how many men he’d threatened when it came to me, or how many of them had met the end of his fist. Uncle Trig was just shy of fifty, much older than some of the men, but he had a mean right hook, so they knew enough not to piss him off. While I loved him dearly, sometimes my heart ached looking at him because of the resemblance he shared with my mother. It was quite uncanny. They had shared the same almond-shaped eyes and full cheeks, along with the same shade of brown hair, although his had been greying for quite some time.

  Turning the key in the lock, I opened the door, but before I stepped inside, my next-door neighbor stuck his head out of his apartment and unintentionally scared me.

  “Sorry, Adelaide. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Robby said, smiling quickly to relieve any fright he’d just caused me. Dropping the hand clutching my chest, I returned his smile.

  When I moved here two years ago, Robby was one of the first people I’d encountered and I couldn’t have been happier. He was six years younger than me, which put him right at the tender age of eighteen when I met him. For him to be living on his own was surprising, but when he explained he didn’t have any family to speak of, I understood. He’d bounced around the foster care system his entire youth, and the second he could escape, he did. Graduating high school—which was a feat in itself, because he told me how much he struggled with his studies—he secured a job as well as his own place. He’d been living in the building ever since.

  “That’s okay, Robby. How are you?” I asked, stifling a yawn I knew was coming.

  “Great,” he replied, smiling wider since I was engaging him in conversation. I think he had a little crush on me, which was a nice ego boost, seeing as how he was quite the handsome little devil. Dark curls adorned the top of his head, defined cheekbones and full lips setting him apart from a lot of young men his age. He’d been much too thin when I first met him, but since then he’d filled out rather nicely. I tried not to notice because he was so much younger than me, but I was only human. Making sure never to encourage him, I treated him like I would my kid brother’s friend, if I had a kid brother. “Hey, I tried out a new recipe. Wanna taste it?” His new thing was cooking, something I benefited from on numerous occasions.