“There she is!” He throws his arm around my shoulders as he leads me through the clubhouse. “My favourite lady! The hero of the hour!”
“I wouldn’t go that far. What superhero do you know that takes one of the team and lands themselves in jail?”
“A real one, not all that caped crusader crap. You saved our skin today. You were awesome.”
“How are you so sure they weren’t mine?”
“’Cause you told Collins you stashed them here a few days ago. Up until this morning you’d not once set foot through that door, that’s how. So thanks. I owe you.”
“We all do,” Myles chimes in, coming to a stop beside his brother. “What you did today? Protecting us? It won’t be forgotten. You need anything, anything at all, you know where we are.”
I smile, my chest warming. “Thanks, Myles.”
“Oh my gosh!” Fi exclaims, slamming into me as her arms go around me. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?”
“C-Can’t breathe, Fi,” I say, trying to tap out of the hug.
She releases me. “I can’t believe you went to jail. That’s kinda awesome.”
“Fuck man, you should’ve seen it! She bitch slapped Collins round the face so fucking hard,” Jett gushes.
“You hit Collins?” Killian asks.
I shrug. “He deserved it.”
Jett howls in laughter. “Never seen anything like it. It was epic!”
Jett and Myles both excuse themselves leaving me alone with Killian.
“Damn, seems like I missed quite the show earlier.”
Killian studies me, looking at me curiously like I’ve surprised him.
“Come on, come sit with us!” Fi grabs my hand and drags me through the clubhouse. I look over my shoulder to find Killian’s gaze still fixed on me.
“Hey, Kaia!” Shelley smiles as we reach their group on one of the long black leather couches against the far wall.
Jade, who’s sitting next to her gives me a wave as I squeeze into the space on the end of the couch besides a woman I’ve seen around the bar a few times but never had the chance to meet properly. She’s stunning. The ends of her jet-black hair brush her shoulders, her red dress hugging her figure perfectly. If I didn’t already have an idea of who this woman is, the engagement ring on her finger confirms it.
Allie.
“You’re Mayor Watson’s daughter, right?” she asks.
My mouth twists. “Not sure I should own up to that, I know he’s not particularly popular around here.”
“About as popular as the clap in a whore house, but we canall see you’re nothing like your father. I’m Allie by the way, I’m sorry we haven’t had the chance to meet until now.”
“Kaia. It’s nice to meet you too. Congratulations on your engagement, Myles is a lucky guy.”
“Oh, I think I’m the one who struck it lucky,” she says, gazing across the room to where Myles and Killian are deep in conversation.
Killian leans casually up against the wall, a beer bottle dangling between his fingers. As if sensing me watching him, Killian’s eyes find mine. He shoots me a wink.
“You’re good for him,” Allie says.
“Excuse me?” I rip my eyes away from Killian to find Allie looking at me.
“Killian. He rarely knows what’s good for him, he’s reckless, living on the edge of life and death like he doesn’t care if he lives or dies, but the fact he’s found you tells me there’s a shred of self-preservation left in there somewhere. He hasn’t had it easy, I don’t know a lot about his past, in fact I know nothing. Nobody does. He keeps his cards close to his chest but I think for you, he’d let you see them.”
