by Bella Jewel
Not ever.
“Theresa,” I say carefully, reaching in and grabbing her shoulder. “Theresa, are you okay?”
She turns and looks at me, looking a little dazed. “Do I know you?”
She doesn’t remember me? That’s probably a good thing.
“I’m Mason’s maid, I heard the crash. I’m going to call an ambulance, are you hurt?”
She nods. “Yes. I … yes, my neck …”
I stand up straight and turn, glancing at a man rushing over. “Can you call an ambulance?”
“Already done. Is she okay? She was just driving along and swerved, but there was nothing in her way …”
I look back to Theresa.
“I got a pain, in my chest,” she whispers.
Great. She’s going to have a heart attack on me.
Just what I need.
“I’m going to stay right here with you, okay, the ambulance is on its way. Do you want me to call someone? Mason? Do you have a husband?”
“No, no,” she murmurs. “No, I don’t want you to call anyone. I don’t … I don’t have anyone.”
Well, that kind of sucks.
“Okay, it’ll be okay.”
An ambulance arrives about ten minutes later and, carefully, they get Theresa out of the car and put her on a stretcher. “Has she any family who will be riding with her to the hospital?”
She glances at me, and I swear, she looks desperate. God dammit. I’d be a monster to send her off on her own. At least if I make sure she gets to the hospital safely and call someone, probably Mason, much to his dismay, then I’ll know I’ve done the right thing.
“I’ll come with her,” I say, raising a hand.
The paramedic nods, and we climb into the ambulance.
As we head toward the hospital, they do a few tests, ask Theresa a few questions, and then everything falls silent.
“You didn’t have to ride with me,” she says, and I glance at her.
“I’m not cruel enough to leave you on your own; you just had a car accident. Someone needs to be with you until you have help at the hospital.”
She bites her bottom lip, and then nods before saying, “Please, don’t call Mason.”
I shrug. “Then you’re going to have to give me someone else to call.”
“Okay.”
I stare down at my hands and realize I don’t have anything on me anyway. I don’t have my phone, or my purse. Then I realize I left Mason’s house wide open when I ran out. I wasn’t thinking, I just heard the crash and hightailed it out the door. Dammit. As soon as I get to the hospital, I’m going to have to call Mason and tell him his house is open, but Theresa really doesn’t want me to call.
I’m between a rock and a hard place.
We arrive at the hospital and they take her right in to get checked out. I wait, and wait, and wait. I can’t catch anyone for long enough to borrow a phone. After about two hours, Theresa finally hobbles out, looking stiff, but not in a really bad way. I walk over, stopping in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m all clear, they said I can go.”
“I don’t have a phone or I would have called someone for you.”
“It’s okay,” she says, “I’ve called a friend to come and collect me. Do you need the phone to get a lift home?”
I nod. “That would be great, thank you.”
I call Chantelle, who agrees to come and get me in a few moments. After all that, I didn’t call Mason. I’ll tell him what happened tonight, but I don’t want to risk him upsetting Theresa. The relationship between the two of them is strained and, honestly, none of my business. So, I’ll respect her wishes for now.
“Thank you,” Theresa says, and I glance at her.
“Oh, you’re welcome.”
“I know you probably don’t like me a great deal, but I appreciate you helping me the way you did.”
I nod and give her a weak smile. “No problem.”
Chantelle arrives fifteen minutes later, and the second we step out of the hospital, she asks, “Was that Mason’s sister? The one you told me about? She looks exactly like him.”
“It was, and it’s a long story. When we get home, I’ll tell you.”
“You’re going to have to tell me on the way. I’m heading to work, so it’ll be a drop and run.”
So, I get in her car.
And I tell her.
Then, I try and figure out what I’m going to tell Mason.
~18~
MASON
My hands shake.
They fucking shake.
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can’t do anything but stare at the monitor in front of me, not believing for a single fucking second what I’m seeing.
There is no way.
No fucking way.
She wouldn’t do that to me. She wouldn’t, not after every fucking thing we’ve been through. There is no way what we’ve got is fake, but if what I’m seeing in front of me is even close to being real, then everything she’s let me believe, is a fucking lie.
I watch on the security camera installed in my bedroom, the one I check daily, and see Saskia walk straight over to my safe. She fiddles with it for a moment before it pops open. I have never told her the combination for my safe, which, stupidly, is my mother’s birthdate. But, I have told her all about my mother, and that there is expensive jewelry in that safe.
Because I fucking trusted her.
I trusted her.
But I can see her, clear as day, same hair, same eyes, same fucking beautiful body, sticking her hands in my safe and pulling out the jewelry my mother left me, jewelry that is worth fucking thousands, possibly even hundreds of thousands. There are rare diamonds and pieces in there, passed down from generation to generation. Some of it is over a hundred years old. The money that could be made from that is high.
And she’s taking it.
She took it.
It’s gone, I checked.
And she’s gone.
Fucking gone. Not at the house.
My brain twists, and I start panting.
She would steal from me? For her boyfriend? For that piece of shit in jail? She’d honestly take from me, knowing how much it means. All to save his ass? That thought is almost so unbelievable, it makes it hard for me to believe what’s on the screen in front of me, but there is no denying it’s her. I pull out my phone with trembling fingers and call Malakai.
“What is it?”
“She. Fuckin’. Stole. From. Me.”
“What? Bro, explain yourself. What happened?”
“Saskia took my mother’s very fuckin’ expensive jewelry. She doesn’t know I know, but I have a fuckin’ camera in my room, and I’m standin’ here, watchin’ it with my very own eyes.”
“You’re kiddin’?” he breathes, sounding as shocked as me. “She there? She comin’ back?”
“I’m guessin’ yeah, she’ll come back. She doesn’t know I know, hell, she doesn’t know about the cameras. So, she’ll probably assume I won’t notice. Her shit is still here. She’ll come for it. Probably plannin’ on gettin' out while I’m gone tomorrow.”
“Not on our watch. Fuck, man, I’m disappointed and, to be honest, fuckin’ shocked.”
“You and me both.”
Rage floods my veins, and I just want to grab her and fucking strangle her. The worst part, though, is that it’s mixed with hurt. Bitter fucking hurt that I feel right to my bones. I never thought, not for a million fucking years, that she’d betray me. She has always been so real, so fucking real with me. And now … fuck.
Fuck.
“You want us around there for when she comes home?”
I go to say no, but the fact of the matter is, she’s betraying me and my club by stealing to get money to free a boyfriend who has threatened her. I wanted to deal on my own, but it’s high time she learns what happens when you steal from me.
“Yeah, get around here.”
“Know what you wanna do? Your call?”
&
nbsp; “She betrayed me, stole somethin’ very fuckin’ valuable. She ain’t leavin’ until I get it back, and then … I don’t fuckin’ know.”
“Your call, brother. We’re on our way.”
I hang up the phone and, with trembling fingers, grip my leather jacket, trying to get control of myself. Then I look back up at the camera and watch as she closes the safe, locks it, stuffs the jewels in a purse and leaves. That’s the last I see of her, because the camera is only in my room, purely because of the safe I have in there.
I stare at the blank screen.
And I let all my emotions slide from my body.
No empathy. No kindness.
She’s going to wish she never crossed me.
Saskia is going to get the shock of her life when she comes home.
And she won’t like it, not one single bit.
~*~*~*~
SASKIA
After I arrived home, I did a quick check of the house to make sure nothing had been stolen or touched before continuing on with my day. It was only two in the afternoon when I arrived, so I decided to go and get some groceries before finishing the day. By the time I arrive back home, Mason’s bike and a bunch of others are at the house. They must have finished up early today.
I grab all the groceries and walk inside the house, kicking the front door closed with my foot. I stop when I see them all, standing, arms crossed, staring at me. Why the hell are they staring at me like that? They look pissed. Super pissed. Mason especially. He’s looking at me, and I could swear, it’s utter betrayal. God damn, did he find out about Theresa? Shit. I was going to tell him just as soon as I saw him.
The rest of them, though, no idea why they’re all glaring at me like they want to rip my head off.
Have I missed something?
“Uh, you guys all look like I’ve done something really really wrong and you’re about to commit murder and hide my body,” I say, placing down the bags.
“So, you haven’t done anything wrong?” Mason says, his voice gravelly and filled with … hate?
Jesus, I know he doesn’t like his sister, but I was only helping out.
“Uh, well, I guess.”
“Care to tell us, before I lose my shit?”
I exhale. Gosh, if I knew he was going to be so angry over something so ridiculous, I would have called him straight away. I mean, honestly, I thought he couldn’t care less about his sister. Maybe he thinks I was scheming with her? Or talking to her about things I shouldn’t have? I guess I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
He might actually have been concerned, in which case, maybe I should have called.
“I should have called,” I say, putting my hands up. “I get that now, okay? But I didn’t honestly think you’d care, or you’d want to hear it, and she was in trouble so I had to help her.”
He stares at me, blankly.
I stare back at him. “Your sister …”
“What about my fuckin’ sister?”
Wait. If this isn’t about his sister, then what in the ever-loving hell is it about?
“She crashed out front of your house today, in her car. I went out there, took her to the hospital. She’s perfectly fine, not injured, but she asked me not to call you. So, I didn’t, but I was going to come right home and tell you.”
He shakes his head a little. Looking slightly, exasperated.
“Don’t give a fuck about my sister, that isn’t what this is about, and you know it …”
I blink.
I do?
“Pardon me?”
He steps forward, reaching out and curling his fingers around my shoulder, a little too harshly for my liking. I swallow because, suddenly, it seems like the situation is very serious, and whatever it is they think I’ve done, they’re not happy about it. At all. I stare up at him, horrified. “Get your hand off me, now,” I whisper hiss.
I’m a lot of things, I’ll take a lot of things, but I will not be manhandled by anyone, especially not a biker trying to intimidate me, for what reason, I still do not know.
“You’re goin’ to tell me the truth, and you’re goin’ to fuckin’ do it now,” he growls.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I spit. “I literally have no idea!”
“Bullshit,” he roars so loudly I flinch and jerk my shoulder out of his grips.
I’m not sure what I’m most horrified about, the fact that Mason is treating me like this, or the fact that the other men are standing there, doing absolutely fucking nothing.
“Are you seriously going to stand there and let him grab me like that?” I say to Malakai, horrified.
“You did the wrong thing, Saskia. We don’t take kindly to that shit. Admit it. Do as he asks, and you can go without any consequences.”
“What in the ever-loving fuck are you talking about? I did nothing. I’ve done nothing!”
Mason makes a low, angry, growling sound. “I can’t fuckin’ believe that after every fuckin’ thing, you’re honestly standin’ here telling me you don’t know what I’m talkin’ about. You filthy, fuckin’ liar!”
I flinch and jerk backward. “What?” I whisper, horrified.
“Last chance, Saskia. Before I get really fuckin’ pissed.”
I blink and tears, unfamiliar tears, burn under my eyelids. “I have done nothing. Not a damned thing.”
“Fuck,” Mason roars. “Cuff her, we’re leavin’.”
I beg … Cuff me?
Hell. No.
I step backward, putting my hands up, when Koda and Boston step forward.
“Firstly, if you so much as take another step I will lose my fucking mind and secondly, I might be small but I sure as shit will not go down without a fight. I will kick every one of you in the damned balls, and that would be a damned shame for your girlfriends, and future biker children, but I’ll do it.”
“Sorry,” Malakai says. “Until we know who you’re workin’ for, and what you’re sharin’, and you tell the truth, then we can’t have you away from us. You’re goin’ to be kept at the club.”
“Wha—”
“And we’ll do what we fuckin’ have to, to get you to tell the damned truth,” Mason hisses.
I stare at him, and the moment I do, the two men step in and in a split second I’m spun around and cuffed. I screech and lash out, but it’s pointless. Koda comes in behind me, curling a big arm around my chest and crushing me against him.
“No point in fightin’, it’ll only make it worse.”
My bottom lip trembles.
This is serious.
And really, really bad.
“I didn’t do anything,” I whisper. “I did not do anything.”
“Bullshit,” Mason growls, stalking toward me and leaning down so we’re eye to eye. “We both know you did. All this fuckin’ time you’ve been lyin’ to me, usin’ me, so you could help your little boyfriend out. For all we fuckin’ know, you’re in on it all, workin’ the club over. It’s a fuckin’ genius plan, really.”
“What the hell are you on!” I spit. “What could I possibly give him from the club? What?”
“He’s heavy into drugs, I’ve got a lot of cash, the club has a lot of connections, it doesn’t take a genius. You do love the mother fucker, after all.”
That hurts, like a slap to the fucking face.
He knows how hard this has been on me.
And now he’s accusing me of working with Enzo, to what? Steal? Lie? Cheat? What? It makes absolutely no sense, and yet they’re all so convinced I’ve done something wrong. Something they’re so sure of.
Only I don’t know what that is.
I have literally no idea.
And it’s about to get me into a lot of trouble.
~19~
SASKIA
“Malakai!” Scarlett snaps. “You cannot be serious!”
I’m gagged. Literally gagged.
When they got me back to the club, they asked me once more if I was going to admit what I did, I told them to go and
get fucked, quite literally, and that got me gagged. I’m not going to confess to something I didn’t do, and I sure as shit didn’t do anything. I asked them to tell me what it was I apparently did, to which none of them would answer. Apparently, if I’m not going to admit it, they’re not going to tell me.
What. Ever.
“None of your fuckin’ concern, Scarlett,” he growls back.
I sit on the sofa, bound and gagged like some sort of prisoner, and watch as Scarlett takes on the president of the club, because she doesn’t agree with what he’s doing.
I’m super grateful someone is on my side, at the very least.
“It is my concern! She’s my friend! You’re not even giving her a chance. You’re not letting her talk. You’re treating her like some sort of prisoner!”
Yes. Thank you.
“She had her chance to talk, and she chose not to. We aren’t hurtin’ her, but it is important we know exactly what we’re dealin’ with.”
“It’s Saskia, that’s what you’re dealin’ with.”
“Who, we have proof, is a fuckin’ liar and a thief. She might be your fuckin’ friend, Scarlett, but she has lied to us all and until she gives back what she took, we’re not fuckin’ lettin’ her go.”
Malakai, in all the time I’ve known him, which isn’t long, has never raised his voice. But hearing him raise it, especially at Scarlett who is Amalie’s best friend, makes my skin prickle. He’s scary. Terrifying, actually. This is a side to them I’ve not seen, and now, now I see why people keep a wide berth.
The men I see, and the bikers, are two different parts of them.
“I can’t believe you just spoke to me like that,” Scarlett whispers, stepping back. “You’re not even giving her a chance. I’m horrified by you, Malakai. She’s a girl. Not some thug off the street.”
She turns and starts walking out just as Maverick steps in. His eyes swing to Malakai, and they’re wild. He heard. And he didn’t like how his woman just got spoken to. This whole club is unwinding before my very eyes.
All over me.
Because I’m a thief?
What in the hell did I steal? And how in the hell do they have proof of it?
