The Princess of Chaos

by Candice M. Wright

  “He had been sleeping with this chick, Wanda, for years. She was a stripper over at our club, Elusive, but she was also someone else’s old lady. Had two boys—Stokey and Crogan—with him and everything, but when John left Carnage and started Chaos, Wanda’s old man miraculously had a bike accident and died. Wanda became John’s old lady a day later.”

  Zero waves his hand to get my attention.

  “We were told that Wanda was partly the reason that Melinda went into a fit of rage. When John wouldn’t leave Wanda and make Melly his old lady in her place, she lost it, shooting Crogan and John in retaliation. When she realized what she had done, she turned the gun on herself,” he tells me.

  I look up at Rock in shock. I fight back the unbridled sadness that even in death, my mother is still cast as the villain. Rock squeezes my knee and picks up where he left off.

  “As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Melly— sorry, Melinda—wasn’t here by choice. John took her as a fuck you to his former club and friends. He kept Melly locked up and only pulled her out when he wanted to play. When she fell pregnant with Megan, she was given some more freedom under the threat of harm coming to Megan if she tried to leave.

  “So, she stayed. To keep her little girl safe, she played her role of club whore, but when Crogan attacked Megan and all John gave him was a slap on the wrist, something inside her snapped. She took out Crogan and John, and I got Megan the hell away from here.”

  “He attacked you?” Viper asks. Even though I can't hear him, I know he’s livid by the red flush on his face and his angry frown.

  I hold my tears at bay and swallow around the lump in my throat before nodding. I resist the urge to turn away from them, feeling uncomfortable with all eyes on me. Zero’s glare shows he is pissed as Viper and Grim looks sick.

  “You thought I was Crogan,” Grim states when my eyes fall on him. I nod. I know he’s dead but it doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid of ghosts.

  “He raped you?” he asks me with a gulp. I scribble down what I need to say, conscious of Viper now pacing in agitation.

  Twisting around, I hand the note to Grim.

  “He never managed to get that far, but it came pretty close. I screamed my head off while he punched me over and over to shut me up. When I woke up, everything was different. I had no family, no club, and no hearing. I finally had my freedom, but it came at a price.” Grim tosses the notepad beside me and stands up, making me sink into myself again. He pulls his gun from behind him so I close my eyes and try to make peace with myself that this is it. I jump when I feel a hand on my leg and snap my eyes open, only to find Grim’s green ones staring into mine. He tugs my hand and places his gun into it, closing my fingers tightly around the cool metal.

  “Keep this until the next time I see you. Someone tries to hurt you, shoot them.” I swallow hard, strangely comforted by his gesture. He inclines his head at me and again I feel this odd sense of familiarity.

  I keep hold of the gun but reach over and grab the notebook and pen before writing my question.

  “Where do I know you from?” Rock reads my words out loud.

  “I’m going to make some coffee,” Grim tells me before turning, but I grip his arm as his words tug at a memory. He bends back down to face me and I see the look of uncertainty wash over his face.

  I mouth one word – “Kibble.”

  He grimaces, but nods. I write fast, feeling angry and confused before tossing it to him.

  “You were at my store that day with Luna. You brought me coffee. Do the Kings of Carnage know you’re a traitor?”

  He looks at me warily before answering. “I know you have no reason to believe me but I have my reasons for what I did. I’m not a bad guy, Megan, despite all the evidence that’s suggesting otherwise. As for Carnage knowing,” he shrugs, “Luna knows, so I imagine every Carnage chapter has a most wanted poster of me hanging up behind their bar.”

  My lips twitch a little in response to that, even if it’s inappropriate. Luna is a force to be reckoned with and I’m sure he’s not far off the mark. I point for him to hand me back my notepad and write quickly.

  “Do I call you Grim or Kibble?” He frowns at the pad when I flip it around for him to see.

  “Grim. I fucking hated Kibble.” He stares at me for a moment before continuing.

  “I really am sorry, Megan,” he says, looking right at me without flinching and despite what I know about him and everything he stands for, I find myself believing him.

  “I swear to you, what happened last night will never happen again.” He turns a little, listening as someone else speaks, drawing my attention over his shoulder to Viper just in time to see his lips move.

  “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Megan will be spending the rest of her nights here lying between Zero and me. At least that way we can keep the little hell-raiser out of trouble.”

  I glare at him and mouth, “Not a fucking chance.”

  “Oh, it's happening, Megan, even if I have to handcuff you to the bedframe myself,” Viper tells me, wearing a no bullshit expression on his face.

  Well. Fuck.

  My protests fall on deaf ears. Yes, I’ve got jokes. Even after a shower and redressing in the same clothes—minus panties—I’m still feeling like a regular little ball of homicidal sunshine right now as we pull up to the Chaos clubhouse.

  Bathed in the early morning sunshine, the differences between the Carnage and Chaos clubhouses are obvious. Instead of one huge building housing everything and everyone, Chaos took over what used to be a motel. Sure, it had been built on and adapted over the years to suit the wants and needs of the MC, but its bones are still the same. The most noticeable difference would be the eight-foot barbed wire-topped gate and fence that encompasses the club, keeping nosy civilians out and in some cases, captives within. Two prospects are manning the gate, swinging it wide when we approach in a cloud of dust and debris that coats the dirt road leading up to it. We pull through slowly. I grip Zero’s cut with clammy hands as a sense of foreboding washes over me. I’m returning to the hell I once crawled out of with no way of knowing for sure if this time I’ll make it back out alive.

  It looks the same as before, maybe a little more dated, but then time stands still for no man.

  We pull up and park in front of the diner that sits in the center of everything and is fully functioning as it was in its former life. It’s a place where most of the MC comes to eat throughout various times of the day and night.

  The colossal building behind it was where the offices and bar were and the other two sides that face each other are all the rooms that used to be paid for by the hour. Now they house the many bikers that call Chaos home.

  I climb down from behind Zero and pull the borrowed helmet from my head, shaking my hair free and allowing it to tumble down over my shoulders, offering a curtain that separates me from the world.

  Viper snags my hand after climbing off his own bike and tugs me behind him. He pulls the door to the diner open and ushers us through. Like a car crash on the highway, everyone turns to stare. I pull my shoulders back and lift my chin defiantly, refusing to let these assholes intimidate me. Viper walks to the back of the room, never loosening his grip, ushering us into the last booth in the far corner. He slides himself across the cracked red faux leather seat and tugs me in beside him. Zero follows suit, sandwiching me between the two of them. Any normal person would have sat opposite us but then, I forgot, I'm not dealing with normal people anymore. MC members don’t believe in fucking boundaries unless it suits them. I guess I should be grateful that Grim and Rock had other business to deal with or this would have been one hell of a squeeze.

  Viper slings his arm across the back of the seat as Zero signals for one of the waitresses to head our way. He reaches up to play with my hair, making me scowl at him again, but he just grins and tugs harder.

  “Hey, boys, what can I get you?” the easily pushing forty redheaded waitress asks—and I use the term waitress loosely. In
the outfit she’s wearing, I’m guessing she is on the menu as an extra. I mean, sure, it technically could be called a uniform, but her chest looks like it’s one sneeze away from making its escape and the hem of her pink shift dress is so short that if she bends over I’ll be able to see if she waxes or shaves.

  “Coffee for me, Betty,” Viper answers.

  She waits for Zero’s reply but I don’t turn to see what he says, choosing instead to watch Betty.

  Her pouty smile morphs into a sneer when she looks at me, waiting for me to give her my order. I hold my hand out for her pad and pen and wait.

  “I realize you might not be the brightest bulb but I’m the one who takes the orders,” she tells me. I know she knows who I am from the way she slows her words and exaggerates them like a dumbass. I wasn’t deaf when I was here, no, that was my parting gift, but everyone heard my story, or at least some kind of version of it, afterward.

  I don’t drop my hand and just raise my eyebrow, waiting. When she still doesn’t speak, I turn to face Viper who is looking at me with his jaw clenched tight. What the heck is his problem now?

  “Just get her a coffee, Betty,” Viper orders. Before I can tell her I need some freaking food, she walks off, putting so much sway in her hips I’m surprised she doesn’t dislocate them. If I wasn’t so pissed I might have found it comical.

  I turn my head and glare at the side of Viper’s face. A face that is taking in the other diners and completely ignoring me. The asshat. Fuck this shit. I slip down between the seats and crawl under the table and pop up the other side, enjoying the incredulous looks on their faces. I turn and stomp over to Betty, who is leaning over the counter talking to another MC member and yep, I was right in my guess, she definitely shaves. Gross. I spot her pad and pen sitting on the counter beside her so I snatch them up while she is distracted and write.

  I’m deaf, not stupid. Do you know sign language? No? Then how the fuck do you expect to understand me when I speak? I asked for the pad so I could write it down for you, I didn’t realize I broke some waitress’ rule. My Bad. I’ll take a stack of pancakes and bacon as well as the coffee, thank you.

  I rip off the page before tapping her on the shoulder and when she turns to face me, I slap the piece of paper against her perky boobs before she can even protest.

  Turning on my heel, I stomp back to the booth, this time sliding into the empty seat across from them and with Betty’s pad and pen in my hand.

  “You might want to rein the attitude in a little, princess. You won’t make any friends here like that,” Viper oh so sagely advises.

  I scribble the pen across the paper, writing fast, pushing the pen so hard, I’m surprised the nib doesn’t snap off. Once I’m finished, I rip the paper from the pad before scrawling five words on a clean sheet and ripping that off too. I toss the short note to Viper and slide the other one over to Zero, who is watching me with an infuriating smirk on his lips.

  Viper reads his first, scowling down at the words You, sir, are a dick. Zero reads the words over his shoulder and snorts.

  “Well, can’t say she’s lying, can we, Pres?” he teases and picks up his own note from the top of the table before reading it aloud.

  Refusing to let me go back for my pen and notebook was a dick move. This place took my hearing, I refuse to let you take my voice too.

  Viper interrupts him before he carries on.

  “Getting a little dramatic there, aren’t we, Megan? I realize I never thought through not going back for it but it was an honest mistake and we managed to order coffee just fine without you having to write it down for me. I’m a big boy, I’ve been ordering coffee for a long time.”

  I’m writing as soon as he stops speaking. I don’t need to hear his voice to know he’s being a condescending prick, I can pick up on all that from the smug look he threw me. I throw the pad at him when I’m done, wishing it was a fucking brick.

  I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours. Food would be good or am I getting punished like I used to?

  I see his jaw clench so I know I struck a nerve. He doesn’t apologize, which isn’t really a surprise, but he backs down and lets Zero finish reading.

  “You brought me here. Trust me when I say I would rather peel my skin off and roll myself in salt than be stuck here. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am. Even still, there is no need to be assholes about it. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid because it will be you who looks like an idiot in the end.”

  He doesn’t say anything else as Betty places a coffee in front of both the guys before disappearing for a second and returning with a stack of pancakes and coffee for me. She places them down in front of me with far less finesse then she used for Viper and Zero, letting her petty agitation show for a few minutes before smirking down at me.

  “Enjoy your food, little bird.” I see the words her lips make and even though I can’t hear the inflection behind them, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the disdain she so obviously used to coat her words.

  I watch as she looks at the food, trying to hide a small vindictive smile for me. Bitch.

  I slide the food over to Viper and indicate for him to take a bite. He shakes his head and sips his coffee but I nudge his hand with the edge of the plate.

  “Not hungry, Megan,” he tells me, but I nod pointedly at the food, then up at a nervous-looking Betty. Following my train of thought, he finally looks at the food, then at Betty before picking up the fork and cutting a wedge of the pancakes with it.

  “Betty wouldn’t do anything to your food, Megan. She’s not that petty. She sure as hell wouldn’t let her president eat them if she had. She wouldn’t like the consequences.” He lifts the fork to his mouth.

  I watch as Betty drops her head before calling out, “Wait.”

  “Yes?” he questions with the food hovering precariously at the end of the fork.

  “Let me get you something fresh.” She tries to snag the plate but Viper pulls it away from her. Zero stands and without the smirk on his face, he looks as pissed as Viper. I’d feel sorry for her if she hadn’t brought it on herself. He pushes her into his seat beside Viper before moving over to sit beside me. I slide across, putting some space between us, but of course, that means nothing to Zero. He follows me, effectively pinning me in the corner, his thick thigh pressed firmly against mine. I frown up at him but he ignores me, snagging a strand of my hair and twisting it between his fingers

  “Take a load off, Betty, help yourself.” Zero indicates the plate of pancakes in front of her.

  “N-no. That’s okay, I should really get back.” She tries to stand but Viper wraps his hand around her bicep, stopping her.

  “I insist. Eat,” he barks out. She shakes her head, her eyes wide.

  “Got something to tell me?” Viper asks her.

  “It’s got—” She drops her head so I don’t catch the rest of her words but whatever she says turns Zero to stone beside me.

  Viper looks ready to explode, which seems a little extreme over a little spit in my food, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the fact that these guys are pissed off on my behalf. Pushing Betty out of the booth none too gently, he follows her out and then drags her over to where I assume the kitchen is.

  I turn my head to look up at Zero and find him watching me with a fierce look on his face. I don’t know what he’s thinking but all that intensity focused solely on me does strange things to my libido, stirring up a need within me.

  You have got to be fucking shitting me! These guys are basically using me to suit their needs and yet I’ve got the strangest urge to rub myself against his leg like a cat in heat. I must have lost my ever-loving mind. I mean, I like sex as much as the next person, but getting involved with these goons, no matter how ridiculously hot they are, is just asking for trouble. Even knowing that, it doesn’t stop my eyes from watching his mouth as he bites his lower lip.

  Whatever look he sees on my face has his eyes going molten. He slides his hand into
my hair, gripping it tightly before speaking.

  “Trust me?” he questions. I’m horny, not dumb, so I tell him the truth, shaking my head to let him know not a chance.

  “Good girl.” He smiles before his lips are on mine. I’m so surprised that for a minute, I’m completely frozen but his persistence has me melting into his touch. I open for him unconsciously, giving myself over to the sensations he evokes in me and savoring the feel of his tongue dueling against mine.

  I don’t know how long we kiss. As cliché as it sounds, the room disappears and in this moment nothing else matters beyond him and me.

  When he pulls away, I sit with my eyes closed for a moment in a daze. When I open them and see Viper standing at the end of the booth looking down at me with lust across his face, reality comes rushing back in. I feel my face flush with embarrassment and tears prick my eyes as I try to fight off my humiliation. Was this some kind of set up? It sure as fuck wouldn’t be the first time I’d fallen for something like this.

  A hand on my chin tips my head up. Viper is leaning over the table with his eyes roving over my face. I don’t know what he’s looking for but whatever it is, he must find it. He indicates for Zero to slide out of the booth, which he does.

  Expecting Viper to slide in beside me, I’m caught off guard when he pulls me gently, making me follow Zero out. As soon as I get to my feet, Viper is right there, crowding me until I look up at him with a scowl. I see his lips move, forming the words “fuck it” seconds before his hands are on my ass, hoisting me up into the air. My legs wrap around his waist, seemingly with a mind of their own, as my heart threatens to beat out of my chest for perhaps the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours.

  Then he’s kissing me, hard, rough, and unyielding. Kissing lips that have, minutes before, been ravaged by Zero. Somehow I manage to find the strength of mind to pull away, my blissed-out brain filling with confusion. What the fuckity fuck are they playing at?

  I try to drop my legs but Viper just tightens his grip on me even as I feel Zero press up against my back and place a soft kiss against the side of my neck, making me shiver.