Wraith’s eyes become slits, and then he bursts out laughing. “Don’t know how you do it, Viper, you’re always coming up with fuckin’ good handles!”
The man previously known as Spindle frowns and shakes his head, but it’s clear he hasn’t a chance as Wraith yells to the crowd, “Meet our new prospects, Jekyll and Hyde!” Releasing the two men he slaps Viper on the back. “Good one, Brother.” Then he spares a nod for me and Jayden. “You two girls settling in okay?”
With a dry mouth, all I can do is nod.
The VP’s face softens. “You’re quite safe here, Ella. Everyone knows what you did for the club, and how fuckin’ much we owe you.”
I still can’t speak, so I rely on my expression to convey my thanks. Jayden’s looking surprised, and I know I’ll have more explaining to do. As I’m thinking what details I can share about the favour I did for the Satan’s Devils, Slick’s hand tightens around mine.
“Let’s get you to my place.” He jerks his chin at Wraith and then takes us through the crowded room, the men simply parting as we make our way past. It’s only when we’re outside I find I’ve been holding my breath, and I greedily indulge in huge breaths of air not tainted with leather and smoke.
Slick’s suite I remember, Wraith’s is much the same. A large bedroom with a bathroom off to one side. My sister and I will be sharing a bed, but as it’s king-sized that will do fine. The wardrobe’s already full of a selection of clothes, and opening drawers I find even underwear hasn’t been forgotten. Jayden explores the bathroom and is excited to find women’s toiletries and everything else that we’ll need, including a selection of sanitary goods. I make a mental note to thank Carmen, Sophie and Sandy. They seem to have thought of everything.
“Have you got everything you need?”
I hadn’t noticed Sam had followed us up. Gesturing around I tell her, “Looks that way. Thank you so much for organising it.”
Slick’s standing behind me, his hands running up and down my arms, and I’ve only just noticed. Bending forward, he says quietly into my ear, “Get settled in. I’m guessing you don’t want to go to the party, so I’ll come back and see you later. I won’t be staying long. I’ll get some food sent up to you both.”
“Slick, you just go and do what you got to do.” As I give him his freedom, it hurts to think I could be pushing him into the arms of the likes of Jill.
Another one of his intense looks as he says, “I told you, El, I don’t want no other woman. I’m waiting on you. Waiting as long as you want. I won’t be fuckin’ no whores, at tonight’s party or any other. Okay?”
The pleasure his reassurance gives surprises me. Much as I doubt I’ll ever be ready to give him what he wants, rather selfishly I find I still want this man all to myself.
Chapter Nineteen
Slick…
Returning to the clubhouse, my mind’s full of the women I’d left, no, just one woman—Jayden’s only a young girl, little more than a child. You’d have to be a real sick fuck to want a piece of that. We might have tortured Diego, but the shots to the head were too kind for the rest of them last night. As the thought of all that young kid’s been through comes to my mind, I realise I’d like to be able to dig them up and kill them all over again.
The party’s in full swing by the time I get back, but so far, as they should, the sweet butts are staying away. Going inside, I push my way through my brothers and grab myself some food and, pulling Road aside, ask him to make up some plates and take them up to my girls. I neither know nor trust the new prospects yet, so won’t be asking or letting them anywhere near Ella or Jayden until I know what they’re made of. That’s why we get them to do shit for us for at least a year before getting the patch. At the end of that time, they’ll have to have convinced every fucking one of us we can rely on them. Just one negative vote and they won’t become a member.
I go to the bar, noting it seems wrong not to have Marsh—Paladin—waiting to serve me. Jekyll’s standing bemused as brothers just stare at him. First thing prospects need to do is learn the drinks the brothers prefer. We won’t be making it easy. My mouth quirks.
I rap on the wood. Jekyll comes over. “Yes?”
“Drink,” I snarl.
“Er…”
“A fuckin’ beer, what d’ya fuckin’ think I want?”
He jumps back as I bite his head off. Passing, Dart gives me a wink.
As I take a swig of my draft, I turn my back to the bar, scanning the room, seeing who’s here and who’s not. The position puts me in sight of the door, which is opening. When I see who it is, I stand straight. Who the fuck let her in? I tap Drummer on the back and point in the direction of the woman who’s entered. It’s Crystal’s mom. If anything, she looks worse than the last time I saw her.
I hadn’t noticed Amy before now, but the little girl’s in the middle of the room. She’s hopping and dancing to an AC/DC tune, but as the voices go quiet, she notices who’s entered. She stills and looks like she’s shaking. Bullet’s closest to her and scoops her up into his arms. As the prez steps forward, our treasurer takes Amy away and heads out to the back. As he passes me, he’s muttering, “Fuckin’ Hyde’s on the gate. Shouldn’t have let that bitch in.”
The woman’s eyes follow her grandchild as she’s taken away. She turns to Drummer. “I’ve come for the kid.”
Drawing himself up to his full height, towering over her, Drummer looks about as threatening as I’ve ever seen him to be. “You shouldn’t be here,” he tells her, his voice a low menacing growl. Someone’s turned off the music, and the room is completely silent as we watch the altercation.
“And you shouldn’t be keeping my grandkid from me.” She scratches at her arms. I reckon if she wasn’t wearing long sleeves, track marks would be seen.
“While her father’s alive, she’s fuckin’ staying with us. Heart can tell us what he wants to do when he comes round.” Drummer’s eyes narrow. “I’ve told you that before. I don’t know why you’ve bothered to come here.” Then his gaze turns to the doorway, and his expression blackens further. “We don’t take fuckin’ kindly to uninvited guests in our club.”
His words draw my attention to the man who’d obviously accompanied her. I hadn’t noticed him before and take a second to examine him. If anything, he looks more strung out than her.
“Now are you leaving on your own, or should we help you out?”
“Come, Susie. Fuckin’ leave it for now. These fucker’s ain’t gonna give you the brat.”
Ah. Her name’s Susie. I didn’t know that. Susie is either fucking brave or fucking mental as she tries to stare the prez down. Just as it looks like she’s going to say something else, two more people come in through the door. Fuck! That prospect, Hyde, isn’t going to last a day at this rate. Strangers are never allowed unaccompanied onto the compound. Is he even guarding the gate or just opening it like a fucking doorman wearing a top hat?
The newcomers are much worse than Crystal’s mom. All around me, men freeze as Detectives Archer and Hannah march straight in as if they fucking own the place.
Moving his attention from the woman to the police, Drum jerks his chin. “Detectives.” To anyone who knows him the word is not spoken in welcome.
“Detectives?” This makes the woman turn around. “Perhaps you can talk some sense into these thugs. I’m here for my grandchild. They’re stopping me from taking her. That’s against the fuckin’ law, ain’t it?”
Hannah looks suspicious, Archer looks eager. “Yes, ma’am,” he starts, “if that really is the case. Care to tell me what’s going on?”
I see Drummer’s fists clenching.
“I’m Crystal Norman’s mother. When Crystal died,” she pauses to wipe an imaginary tear from her eye, her action marred by the involuntary twitching—she’s overdue for her next fix—“she’d have wanted me to look after her daughter. Not be left with these bikers.” She spits out the last word.
At that moment Sam appears. She’s carrying Amy, who’
s clinging to her, Carmen’s close behind, followed by Sandy and Sophie. A show of strength by our old ladies. “What’s up, can I help?”
“That there’s my grandkid and she should be with me.”
I don’t know how much Amy understands, but as her grandma speaks, she buries her head tighter against Sam’s shoulder. I notice Detective Hannah’s not missing a thing.
With a tight face, Drum speaks, “The last request from Crystal and Heart was that we should take care of Amy. In her home, where she’s been raised. Until Heart is able to give us further instruction, I’m honouring the arrangement that was made.”
He looks at the detectives and addresses them directly. “I’m the executor of both of their wills, their personal representative. No mention was made of who would look after their daughter in the event something happened to them. And certainly, no mention in Mrs Norman’s will of her mother at all. Amy stays here.”
Archer sneers. “Would be interesting what a judge would have to say about that. Any criminal record would count against you.”
Drum shrugs. “Ain’t got no criminal record.”
I swear Archer says not yet under his breath, but I might be wrong. The detectives look at each other. Archer opens his mouth, but Hannah gets in first, “You’re looking after her?” As she speaks, she’s looking at Sam who, as you’d expect, is looking clean, tidy, and respectable. Then she flicks her eyes with a look of disgust toward Crystal’s mom, who’s looking anything but. When Sam nods, she continues, addressing her suggestion to Amy’s grandmother, “If you want your grandchild, I suggest you apply for an emergency custody order.”
“We can help you with that,” Archer drops in far too quickly. Hannah throws him a sharp look of surprise. He shrugs.
Drum shakes his head. “You’re certainly not takin’ her tonight. So, I suggest you get out of here.”
Before you’re escorted, and none too gently, I think to myself. Though no one’s foolish enough to say that in front of the heat.
The woman huffs, and without looking at Amy, joins her companion at the door.
“Viper! Check they go straight to the gate. And have a word with the fuckin’ prospect while you’re there.”
Next, Drum turns to the detectives. “We haven’t invited you in. I presume you’ve not got a warrant?”
Ignoring the question about the official documentation, which confirms they haven’t got any, otherwise he would be waving it in the air, Archer addresses Drum, “We wanted to ask you some questions to help investigate Mr and Mrs Norman’s accident.”
“Well you can make a fuckin’ appointment.” Drummer’s not letting them get away with simply walking in as they please.
Hannah’s looking uncomfortable, but I get the opinion it’s not down to us bikers. Something tells me it was her partner who might have wanted to come here. She certainly did not.
I’m not the only one to have a bad feeling. Archer’s not hiding his interest in looking around. My brothers move together, shoulder to shoulder, effectively limiting what he can see. Not that there’s anything here. Thank fuck, Jayden, who’s probably listed as a missing person by now, is nowhere in sight. Suddenly I realise the extent of Hyde’s crime. He’s a dead fucker if he pulls anything like this again. In fact, I’m wondering if we shouldn’t part ways right now. Maybe permanently with a bullet to his brain.
Drum’s staring them down. Hannah steps in front of her partner, and they seem to have a silent conversation. With a huff, Archer turns around and at last walks to the door. Before she follows him, Hannah looks at Drum and gives a little shake of her head. Crystal’s mom grabs hold of her companion and pushes him out into the night air. At last they are all gone. Without being told, Beef and Dart accompany Viper to follow them out.
Tilting my head on one side, I raise an eyebrow at Drum, asking him what that was all about. He shrugs and lets out an audible sigh of relief. The music starts up, and we’re partying again.
Wraith marches across, grabs a beer and turns to Drummer. He looks furious. “What do you want to do about Hyde?”
Pushing away from the bar, I join them. “That was close, Prez. What if Jayden had been here? Even if they didn’t recognise her, they could see her picture in a briefing. Wouldn’t take much for them to put two and fuckin’ two together. Even them dumb fucks.”
“I hear you, Slick. Loud and fuckin’ clear.” After acknowledging me, he nods at the VP. “Speak to Hyde, Wraith, and the brother who told him to man the gate. I’ll go with what you think after you’ve had a chat. But one more cock-up, he’s out, and I’ll need some convincing not to let him go now.”
“Got ya, Prez.” Wraith’s taut mouth and his glaring eyes make me pleased I’m not the prospect he’s going to be facing, even if I can’t summon up any sympathy for Hyde.
For my part, I want the prospect gone now. It chills me how close it had come to all our plans going wrong. Everything hinges on no one finding out about Jayden. If she’d been here… The thought of how close we’d come to her being discovered makes my desire to party vanish. I stay for one more beer to be sociable, then leave and head on up to my girls.
As it’s still relatively early, I hope I’ll find Ella awake. Rapping gently on their door with my knuckles, not wanting to disturb her if she’s already gone to bed, I stand, waiting patiently for an answer, pleased when I hear movement inside. Ella steps out, her index finger going to her lips, and pushes it closed behind her.
“Jayden’s asleep,” she starts quietly. “She’s taken some of the painkillers Doc left. Her hangover’s taken it out of her. Poor kid had one hell of a headache when she got up here.”
I’m only half listening, my eyes are feasting on her. Ella’s dressed in jeans and a baggy t-shirt, and has a clean, recently washed face devoid of any artificial enhancement. The girls I’d passed on my way out of the clubhouse were coming in, in clothes that barely covered the bits that they should, and heavy makeup adorning their faces. They didn’t make my cock stir. At all.
Ella, though. Ella could make it stand up and beg if she was dressed in a sack. I have an overwhelming desire to take her in my arms, kiss her senseless then sink my dick into her and fuck her until she can’t remember her own name. That’s what I want. And that’s exactly what I can’t have. Not yet.
“Hey, how you doing?” I keep my voice low, any indication of my craving off my face, and widen my stance so my swelling dick isn’t so obvious.
She leans against the wall. “I wish I didn’t have to be here, Slick. Oh, up here in the suite is better than in the clubhouse, but we’re still on the compound. You’ll say it’s an irrational fear, but it’s one I can’t shake. Yet, underlying my anxiety, I know it’s the safest place for Jayden to be.” She glances down at her hands. “I didn’t thank you, did I? For rescuing her yesterday?”
“You don’t need to thank me. Or any of us. Fuck, El. It sickened everyone to find a young girl being abused. I’m just sorry it’s forced you to come to the club before you were ready. I know this is the last place you want to be, but darlin’, nothing’s gonna happen to you here.” I’m going to keep telling her that until she believes it. She looks so lost standing there. I might not be able to give into my baser desires, but right now, holding her will suffice. “Come into my room for a moment, you can leave the door open in case Jayden needs you.”
She looks back up, her eyes searching my face. Does she trust me enough? Just when I think she’s going to refuse, she takes a step forward, and I move aside, letting her pass. Inside, she hovers as though uncertain what to do.
“Come here.” I stand, non-threatening, waiting for her to move closer. When she does, I put my arms out and enfold her close. With my hands gently rubbing up and down her back, she relaxes into me and I hear and feel her held-in breath leave her. I’m giving her comfort and taking some for myself. It’s a fucked-up world we’re living in, I think to myself. I should be able to make love to my woman. If it wasn’t for the fucking Rock Demons that’s ex
actly what I would be doing. Would have already been doing for months. I rest my chin on her head.
My lips find her hair, and she turns her face up. I feel so nervous, not wanting to fuck this up, knowing how slow I’ll have to be if I want to push this along, but unable to resist embarking on this first step. As her tongue comes out and licks her lips, I take it as an invitation, lowering my mouth until it brushes against hers. She tenses slightly. I don’t take advantage, don’t press inside, just extend the touch for a few seconds before pulling away.
As my lips leave hers, she relaxes immediately.
Oh Ella, how am I going to get through to you?
Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. There has to be some way to give her back confidence in herself and in a man all over again. Knowing my very male and automatic reaction will scare her, I turn slightly, unable to hold my body up flush against her, hiding the hard evidence of my attraction. Like trying to tame a wild animal, I must make no sudden moves.
It’s going to be a long fucking road we’ve got to travel down.
She’s worth it.
Chapter Twenty
Ella…
Slick’s being so gentle with me. The touch of his mouth to mine was so sweet and brought back no memories of the Rock Demons. But that’s not surprising, they didn’t bother to kiss. No, they used my mouth for more unsavoury things.
He’s pulled away. What I should do now? Go back to Jayden? There’s no reason. If she awakes, I’ll be able to hear her from here. Stay? But by staying would I be giving him the wrong impression? Would he kiss me again, and this time not hold back? I’m not ready.
Slick gestures to the chairs out on the balcony. “Come sit with me?” he suggests.
An innocent proposition, the seats far enough apart we wouldn’t even touch. As I bob my head in agreement, he slides open the doors. Immediately, the heat of the evening comes in, a warm but not uncomfortable breeze carrying the perfume of desert flowers along with the loud chirping of the last of the summer’s cicadas. As I sit, I notice the sun setting over the Tucson Mountains on the opposite side of the Tucson Basin. After the worry of the last few days, the peaceful setting allows me a moment to simply sit and breathe. I hadn’t realised how tightly wound I’d become.
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