Striker: No Prisoners MC Book 1 (17 page)

“That’s true. You’ve spread through the club faster than a virus.”

Brandi took a seat on the barstool next to Lila and ignored Marcie. “Striker, huh?” She gave a dramatic shiver. “
Goood
man. In fact I still have some beard burn on my thighs from him.”

The urge to slap the smug grin off this girl’s caked on face was overwhelming, and Lila now understood why Marcie had warned her not to engage. She turned toward Marcie with a raised eyebrow, and Marcie shrugged at her as if to say, “Told you she was a huge bitch.”

Before she could fire back, Brandi continued. “You don’t really look like you hang out in biker bars too often, Lila. You should probably run along, and I can tell Striker you had somewhere to be when I see him later tonight.”

Marcie smacked the glass she was drying on the bar with a loud clank, and let out a harsh laugh. “Oh man, did you just make a huge mistake. I did tell you she was with Striker right? As in
with
. As in you are trying to run off the VP’s woman.”

Warmth rushed to Lila’s cheeks. She was grateful Marcie hadn’t said ol’ lady, because that would have been too much of a stretch, though she was sure Brandi noticed the word choice as well. She felt stupid just sitting there not saying anything, while these two woman exchanged words around her, but she was out of her element. This kind of interaction was not familiar to her, and she truly had no idea what Striker thought of their relationship, or what his relationship was with Brandi. It caused her to hesitate in defending herself.

Sounds from the back of the room caught their attention, and all three ladies turned as the meeting room doors were flung open. Striker was first to emerge, looking fierce. They must have come up with a plan to eliminate the threat from the Grimm Brothers. His eyes lit for a second when they landed on her, then narrowed in displeasure when he shifted them to the woman sitting next to her. Brandi’s huge smile faltered a bit under his dissatisfied glare, and Lila knew her own uncomfortable look had registered with him.

She assumed they were working up to an unpleasant scene, when Marcie gasped and ran around the bar. “Hook! Oh my God, what happened? Someone help me with him.”

All heads turned toward the entrance in time to see Hook stumble into the clubhouse. He was hunched over and his face was bleeding. It looked like he’d suffered a serious beating. Without hesitation, Lila sprang into action, and dashed toward him.

When Striker stepped out of church, his blood was pumping and his muscles were primed for action. After witnessing the bruises on Lila’s breasts, he was more than eager to shed a little Grimm blood. He could almost feel the satisfaction of his fists pummeling the man who had placed his hands on Lila. This was a payback he was eager to dish out.

He’d hoped to sneak her up to his room where he could burn off pent up energy. He smiled when he spotted her at the bar, but the tense look on her face alerted him to the fact that she was not pleased about something. Striker shifted his gaze to the adjacent barstool. Fuck. Brandi sat next to Lila, her greedy gaze on him like he was some kind of prize she won at the fair.

That damn girl was trouble plain and simple.

“Stupid bitch,” Jester muttered under his breath. “This is what happens when you let them take their mouths off your dicks. They start causing trouble with them.”

Striker ran a frustrated hand through his hair and started toward the bar. Marcie suddenly cried out in shock and ran toward the door. He twisted in her direction, and saw a bloodied Hook nearly collapse on the floor. He dashed over and wrapped his arm around Hook, who grimaced at the contact. Marcie was on his other side, and helped support him as well.

Lila reached them seconds later, and barked orders like a seasoned drill sergeant. “Take him somewhere he can lie down so I can see what we’re dealing with.”

Striker nodded and pointed to a hallway. “There’s a room down the hall for guests, it has a few beds. That work?”

“That’s perfect. Can someone grab the supply kit I stashed in your room? I’m going to need it.”

“Marce, hand him off to Jester so we can help him to the room. He’s too heavy for you,” Striker instructed, shouldering as much of Hook’s virtually limp weight as possible to take the load off Marcie.

Tears streamed down Marcie’s face, but to her credit, she didn’t freak out. She whispered in Hook’s ear, telling him he’d be okay, before she gently transferred his arm from her shoulders to Jester’s. She winced along with Hook when Striker shifted some of his weight to Jester. Hook tried to smile at her, but it turned into a grimace when the muscles in his bruised face contracted.

When they reached the room, Striker and Jester turned sideways to maneuver Hook through the door without jarring him. The room was large, though pretty sparse, with half a dozen bunks and a few chairs. They were used when brothers from other chapters were visiting, or if someone needed a place to crash, usually with a chick. No one was utilizing the room currently, so they carried Hook to the nearest bunk. After they set him on the edge of the mattress, Striker helped lower his shoulders to the pillow while Jester hefted his feet onto the bed as gently as possible.

When he stepped back, Striker got a good view of Hook for the first time. The left side of his face was grossly swollen and bruised in a gruesome display of colors. Blood trailed from his nose and mouth, and had run down to soak the white fabric of the T-shirt Hook wore under his cut. Striker also noticed some long, horizontal tears in his shirt, and wondered if they’d slashed him with a knife. It seemed to be their weapon of choice. Christ, Hook could really be in a bad way. Thank God Lila was here to see to him right away.

As he thought of her, Lila slipped in next to him, and whispered in his ear. “I’ll do what I can, but I obviously can’t X-ray here and I’m not a surgeon, so he still may need a hospital.”

He nodded, and peeked at Marcie who sat perched on the edge of the bed whispering to Hook while she stroked a hand over his hair.

“I’m also going to need to know what happened. I get you don’t want me to know club business, but I’m going to need details about what they did to him so I can get a better feel for his injuries. Not sure if you want Marcie to hear all that.”

Striker spared a second to admire how level headed Lila was, particularly during a crisis. He gave her a swift kiss on the mouth, smiled at her usual embarrassed blush, and turned to Marcie. “Hey, Marce—” he began.

Hook, who must have guessed where this was going, spoke to his wife at the same time. “Baby, I’m all right. I need you to wait outside for a bit while I talk to the guys, okay?”

Marcie, tears still tracking down her pretty face, looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded and turned to Lila. “Take good care of him, please.”

Lila gave her a quick hug. “Of course I will.”

Marcie turned back to Hook with a stern voice. “Don’t be a hero, tell her when it hurts.”

Hook chuckled then clutched his side as though the movement was too much. “Ow, oh fuck, you know me too well, gorgeous.”

Jester threw an arm across Marcie’s shoulders, and propelled her out into the hallway, while Lila got right to work. She dug around in the massive first aid kit until she found some gloves and a pair of scissors.

“Okay, Hook, sorry we had to meet this way but I’m Lila, MC doctor extraordinaire.” She winked at him as she sat on the edge of the bed. The effortless way she connected with her patients and put them at ease never failed to impress Striker. “I’m guessing it would be quite painful for us to try and take your shirt off over your head, so I’m going to cut it down the middle to get a better look at you. While I’m doing that I want you to tell me what happened.”

Striker met Hook’s gaze, and gave him a quick nod to let him know it was okay to speak openly in front of Lila.

Hook spoke while she cut down the front of his shirt. “I finished up business early, and I got back into town about an hour and a half ago. Hadn’t said anything to Marce yet. I was going to surprise her. Anyway, I stopped at—oh shit that hurts, Doc.” He grimaced when Lila prodded around his ribs.

“Sorry, I’ll try to be more gentle. Keep talking, it will help distract you.”

“I went into that biker gear store at the edge of town to grab something for Marce. Got jumped on the way out. There were three of them, Grimms for sure. Beat the fucking hell out of me.”

Lila scooted up toward the head of the bed to examine Hook’s face. Striker observed, taking it all in and thinking of what this meant for their plans.

“What did they hit you with?” Lila asked Hook as she felt around his skull. “Hold on, as you talk I’m just going to move your arms and legs around, let me know if anything hurts.”

“Everything hurts, Doc,” he said with a groan as she shifted on the edge of the bed. “They hit me with fists mostly until one of them knocked me down, then they kicked me with their boots. One of them did pistol whip me which is probably why my face looks so good.”

Striker pushed away from his spot by the wall. He walked over, and crouched down by the bed. “What made them stop?”

“Group of guys walking by started shouting about calling the cops. They split pretty quick after that. Somehow, I managed to ride back here without wrecking.”

Between the attack on Lila yesterday, and Hook’s assault today, Jackal had clearly lost all control over his club. He never would have authorized these sloppy attacks in broad daylight with witnesses. It was only a matter of time before Snake was in control, if he wasn’t already. The club needed more information so they could plan an intelligent move.

***

~ ~ ~ ~

Lila stood and removed her gloves, staring down at Hook. He really did look awful. It was as bad a beating as she’d ever treated, and she trained in a city ER. She looked over at Striker as she tossed her gloves in a nearby trashcan. His face was a closed mask, revealing no emotion, but he had to be infuriated. From what Marcie told her, he and Hook were close; this would hit him hard. She smiled at him, hoping to provide him some reassurance.

After he gifted her with a wink, she returned her attention to Hook. “I’m pretty sure you have a few broken ribs, and that slash on your side will need to be stitched up. You left out the part where they sliced you with a knife. Can you hold this gauze to your side? If you can’t hold it with enough pressure, Striker can do it.”

“Nah, I got it.” Hook placed his hand over the mound of gauze Lila pressed to the wound in his side.

“Luckily, I don’t think you have any facial fractures, but you could use a few stitches there too. I can handle all that here. What I can’t do is see inside to know if you have any internal bleeding or know with any certainty what is or isn’t broken.”

Hook had closed his eyes, but he nodded, indicating he heard her. Striker moved closer while she spoke, and now had his hand on her lower back where he rubbed in small circles. Lila wasn’t sure if it was for her or himself, but it comforted all the same. “I’m guessing I’m wasting my breath, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t recommend you go to the hospital for some tests.”

Hook didn’t bother to open his eyes. “Nah, I’m good, Doc. Just sew me up and give me enough whisky to knock me out. I’ll be fine.”

Her medical kit rested on the floor. Lila bent down and rummaged through the contents, searching for what she needed to numb, clean, and close his wounds. She pulled out a vile of lidocaine, new gloves, and syringe. With a quick and competent hand, she drew the medication into the syringe and turned back to Hook. One full syringe was plenty to deaden the skin around the lacerations on his face and side.

“That first part I can do,” she said after she injected him. Hook’s only reaction was a small flinch each time the needle pierced his skin. “No way I’m doing the second. This will take about five minutes to kick in, and then I’ll close you up. I want us all to stay here tonight so I can keep an eye on you. If something happens, and you start crashing, you’re going to the hospital if I have to drape you over the back of a bike and take you myself. Understood?”

The corner of Hook’s mouth that was still recognizable lifted, and the eye that wasn’t swollen shut popped opened to peer at Striker. “She’s feisty, brother.”

“A little too feisty I think. I may have to do something about that, find a way to keep her in line.” He took advantage of Lila’s preoccupation with her supply kit, reached over, and gave her a sharp crack on the ass.

“Ouch!” she yelped and jumped up at the same time Hook laughed then groaned.

“Oh, shit, man, don’t make me laugh. You might kill me.”

“Striker! I’m working here, you can’t do that now.” Lila huffed feeling her face flame. She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to his public displays, as she was always concerned with what others thought of her actions. Probably came from constantly having to be aware of the media and public eye while she was growing up.

“This ain’t work baby, it’s family drama. If I can’t discipline my woman in front of my family how are they gonna know I’m doing my job?” He crossed his strong arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her in what she guessed was supposed to be an intimidating posture, but the smirk on his face gave away the fact that he teased her.

She’d physically moved across the country to escape the shadow and watchful eyes of her family, now it was time to break some of the mental holds as well. Why shouldn’t she be playful and affectionate with him in public? Besides, it wasn’t really public; it was family, as Striker said. She was now part of this group of overtly sexual men who, even in a friendly way, always seemed to be touching the women they were around. Time to put on her metaphorical big girl panties and give it a try.

She turned her gaze on him, and lowered her eyes seductively. With two steps forward she pressed her soft body against his rock hard one. She wound her arms around his back, and trailed her fingertips down the soft leather of his cut until she reached his firm, denim encased backside. Then Lila slid her hands into the pockets of his jeans and enjoyed the feel of his firm ass in her hands. “And what exactly am I supposed to do to make sure you behave as I’d like?”