One of Them

20

We all piled into Gage's car on the drive over; even Wolf decided to forgo his motorcycle and ride with us. Ryna and I took up the backseat while Gage and Wolf sat up front. We connected my phone to the speaker and blasted our mix on the way, Ryna and I belting the lyrics to our favorite songs to get in the mood for tonight. Wolf stayed quiet most of the way but every now and then I caught his stare on me in the rearview mirror. Gage on the other hand knew a surprising number of the songs we played and happily sung along horribly with us. Maybe we should all get together for karaoke some time? 

Before long Gage's car is pulling up in front of the entrance to The Tunnel; the familiar neon glow illuminating the inside of the car and I stare out at the towering building. I still can't believe that just a few days ago was the first time I came here with Ryna and Dex and now here we are pulling up to the valet with The Griffin and the president of New York's most infamous MC... who both just happen to be two of the most good looking guys I've ever seen. I might not have started out lucky in life but thank God for my luck now!

Gage exits the car, handing his keys off to the expectant valet waiting on the curb, then turning to pull open my door. I grabbed onto his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull me into his side as he helped me out. Wolf met us on my other side and Ryna, the ever impatient girl that she is skips off happily in front as we all step up to the bouncer at the door.

Gage's voice picks up from my side. "Gage Manne, Valen should've put down that I had four guests. One will be meeting us here," Gage's gaze turned down to me and I quickly turned from him to the waiting bouncer. "His name is Dexter Thompson." The bouncer nods to Gage and ushers us through the blacked out doors, mumbling a greeting to Gage only as we all enter the building.

I'm about to detach myself from where Gage and Wolf have enclosed me in and head toward the bar but both of the guys grab ahold of me before I'm even able to get a foot away, yanking me back to them. "Okaaay.... What's with the circle of confinement?" Gage and Wolf share a look before focusing their eyes back on me. Gage is the first to speak up. "Sorry Angel... With what happened at the party the other night we don't think wondering off would be the best idea for now. We still have no idea where your ex is or why he's even here in the first place..."

Frowning I can't help but chew on my bottom lip. Wolf picks up where Gage trails off. "We'd both just feel better if you stayed by one of our side's tonight. At least until we can find Gage's friend and all get to the private booth. Promise you won't run off tonight beautiful?"

I push aside the nagging feeling I have and reluctantly nod, accepting that this is probably the safest thing for me. Their words were true; we hadn't been able to find out where Travis was yet or why he had come to see me in the first place although I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to that second one. Neither Gage nor Wolf need to know that though; it has no importance to helping them locate the guy and would only cause more questions from them about my old life...

Smiling, I shake the thought from my head and look up at my two escorts. Gripping onto Gage's arm I beam up at the guy. Ryna comes bouncing back to us, a cocktail already in her hand. "Alright then, shall we go find that friend of yours then? I wanna get this party started!" 

It took a good bit to locate the mysterious owner of this club, we finally find him mingling with a group of guys all dressed how I often see Ryna's parents dressed; prim and proper suits, expensive dresses, and brand name everything. When Gage calls out to get the man's attention I'm expecting one of the suits to turn and come over but instead the man that comes to greet him is not what I had pictured at all. When I thought of New York nightclub owner I was expecting more of GTA: Vice City esque attire maybe? Receding hairline, maybe a colorful suit, definitely sunglasses that blocked out my view of his eyes.

What I was met with as the two men pulled away from each other was no doubt another manifestation of my incredible streak of luck. As Gage's arm rested on the new man's shoulders he introduced us to Valen Morgan, the 29 year old owner of The Tunnel. Valen was tall, almost meeting Gage's height but shorter than Wolf was. His dirty blonde locks were pulled back into a sloppy bun on his head and his chiseled chin was coated in a thin layer of scruff with a reddish tint to it. His attire was more laid back than that of his collogues; plain jeans with a tucked in white dress shirt was all he had on; the sleeves of the shirt were rolled up revealing the thick muscle of his forearms. As soon as he and Gage had ended their reunion embrace his eyes had drifted over our group and were now solely focused on where I was standing by Wolf. His smile was welcoming as he let Gage introduce him to the three of us, the peak of a dimple shown on his cheek as he stayed fixated on me standing there and I could feel my cheeks heating at the sudden attention of this stranger. His intense grey eyes were scorching, his demeanor was friendly but the more I stared into the storm brewing in his gaze the more I was aware of the promise that lay beyond his friendly smile. His eyes promised something deeper as we stood locked in place.

I felt entranced by Valen, wanted to reach out and touch the man to know he was truly standing before me and wouldn't just disappear in the mist of smoke his eyes held. His voice was laced thick with what seemed to be an Irish accent, the red tint to his beard letting me know I was probably right about that. He spoke to the group of us but his eyes never strayed from mine. "It's nice to meet you; Ryna, Wolf,..Skylar.... I'm glad you all could come tonight, I was surprised when Gage said he'd be bringing some friends by. I think this is the first time he's actually took me up on my offer of a private booth. I look forward to getting to know you all better." As he said the words I felt something more stir behind those misty eyes of his making me blush harder. Before any of us could reply, Wolf's body moved in closer to me. His arm reached out as he laid it across my waist and gripped my exposed thigh making me inhale suddenly not expecting the touch. My eyes shot to Wolf's as his hard stare was trained on the man across from us, a harsh smile molded his lips. My eyes trailed back over to peak at Valen's and Gage's expressions. I still wasn't sure where Gage and I stood in terms of what we were and I didn't want to drive him away but the expression on his face looked more like one of amusement than anger and I let out a sigh of relief, thankful he wasn't upset over whatever Wolf was doing. As my eyes turned to look at Valen however I sucked in my bottom lip, biting down hard. The friendly smile was still in place, having fallen a bit now however and his gaze was no longer locked on my eyes. His eyes were focused on where Wolf's hand rested on my hip. Although his face remained calm and inviting his eyes were showing anything but, fury swirled in the stormy mist and the site made me lean into Wolf more. Wrong move. Valen followed the movement, his eyes shooting to mine as a million questions ran through the space between us. Before he got the chance to ask any that I knew were coming, Wolf spoke up.

"Well, we're certainly thankful for your offer. If you wouldn't mind, we're actually eager to get to the booth to start our private get together. Isn't that right, Beautiful?" Wolf's eyes fell to me and I turned to meet his gaze, choking a bit at the stare he gave. Clearing my throat I turned back towards Valen and smiled at the man, deciding I would cooperate with Wolf tonight since I still owed him for his help. "Thank you so much, Valen right? We really appreciate you loaning us one of your VIP booths tonight. Ryna and I were here not too long ago actually, it took us a while to get in but we had a lot of fun. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we really appreciate you letting us borrow the room for the night." Valen's eyes widen slightly, his smile finally meeting his eyes again as he listens to my words.

"You're very welcome, Skylar. You and your friends are welcome to use the booth whenever you'd like, I'll add your name to the VIP list so you won't have trouble getting in again. Just let me know you're coming and I'd be happy to accomodate you." Turning his gaze from me to Wolf his smile shifts, taking on a more smug feel. Valen adds. "I'm happy to have one of my men escort you all to the booth right away. As it is my dear friend who has requested the booth this evening, I will be joining you all later once I have finished up a few club errands." His eyes meet mine again briefly before he's turning on his heel and heading back to his group. Wolf's arm never leaves it's place on me. Gage speaks up as we all stand in awkward silence, his face clearly amused by the whole encounter. "Well, Angel, you just continue to surprise me." Gage turns and follows after the club hand that Valen had sent to escort us; our group making it's way to the elevator on the far wall, the same one Ryna and I had taken our first time here. This time instead of heading underground we watched as the man pressed the button to the second floor suite, putting in his pin before the doors closed and carried us up.