“Erm, that he wants to skin Oz alive. In fairness, don't most people that meet him?” I ask.
“Old lady?” Oz questions, not smiling anymore.
“Yeah, did I forget to mention that part? Oops?”
“They kidnapped you,” Zig points out.
“More like borrowed. Plus it’s a biker thing. Isn’t that what Orion, Gage, and Halo did to Luna?”
“Luna can handle herself,” Oz grates out.
“So can I,” I tell them softly. I know they have seen me at my worst and are super protective of me but, Lord above, they are not my parents.
“Hey, perv,” Luna greets Zero.
I look behind me and watch him greet her with a smile, not the least bit bothered by the title.
“Watch anyone in the shower lately?” she asks.
“Only Megan,” he answers casually.
“Wait, you watch me shower?” I ask.
“Babe, I watch you everywhere,” he admits unapologetically.
“That's both creepy and hot,” I mumble, forgetting the audience we have.
“You like my eyes on you,” he answers me with conviction.
“Stop turning me on, Zero, we have things to do dammit.” I turn back around and watch Oz gagging as Luna smiles at me. She walks forward and links her arm through mine, looking at me as she herds us towards the club.
“He’s a mechanic, right? Hmm… they do like to get their hands dirty.”
I laugh, giving her a squeeze. “Damn, I missed you.”
“Back at ya, Megan. Now tell me what you need.”
I’ve gathered all the girls that work here together. They are sitting at one of the large tables in the middle. All the guys are across the room watching but giving me enough space to talk to them without them feeling intimidated.
Luna stands beside me and, after having been filled in, she’s as pissed off as me.
“Okay, ladies as you know, Euphoria is now closed for business.” I look at the girls in jeans and T-shirts, yoga pants and hoodies, and see what the guys who come to watch them shake their tails don't. The real them.
“How many of you are here willingly?” I ask softly. Nobody answers but a few shuffle in their seats.
“Hey, you will get no judgment from me. We all do what we have to do to survive,” I reassure them when a pretty redhead snaps at me.
“What do you know about survival?”
“My mother was forced to become a club whore to keep me safe. It didn't stop them though. It never does. I was attacked when I was sixteen. I lost my hearing, my family, my home. I ended up on the streets for a couple of years.” I feel Luna jolt beside me at this, but she doesn't say anything. “Trust me when I say I understand what it's like. I’m asking you this so I can figure out what to do with you all. I’m going to turn this place into a bar/restaurant that will cater to the local MCs but act as neutral ground. If you ladies have seen enough bikers to last you a lifetime, I will happily let you leave and help you find somewhere else to work. For those who might want to stay, it will be in a waitress/bar staff only capacity with a little bar dancing where the clothes stay on. Think Coyote Ugly, but biker style.”
A young girl in the back with hair as dark as mine raises her hand. “Will we have to have sex with them?” she asks, her voice shaking.
I walk over towards her, my heart in my throat when I realize just how young she is. I squat down in front of the chair she is sitting on and don't take my eyes away from hers.
“Never. If a girl decides she wants a hot night with a biker, she does it on her own time. You ladies will be paid to wait tables and that's it. I will have the best security available and if someone attempts to touch you, I will have their fingers broken. Understand?” She nods, a tear slipping free, her relief palpable.
“What’s your name?” I question her.
“Jenna.”
“How old are you, Jenna?” I ask but I already have a suspicion she is young.
“Sixteen.” She jumps and looks over to the corner, frightened. I look and see that Zero has punched a hole in the wall.
I turn back to her and hold her hand.
“He isn't mad at you, sweetheart. He’s mad at the people who put you here.” I turn back to Zero and yell, “Hey, Zero, stop messing up my goddamn club.” He plops down in his chair and the girls laugh a little at the big badass biker getting told off by little old me.
I look down at Jenna again and squeeze her hand.
“You can't work here, sweetheart, you are too young.” She squeezes my hand so tightly, I wonder if she’ll break a finger. Her face goes white as she tries to get her words out.
“Are you going to sell me now?”
“Nobody is getting sold, ever again. You see those guys in the corner? The hot geeky one is a genius on the computer. With the help of you ladies, he’s going to try and locate the girls that got sold. The blond giants next to him are going to bring home the ones we find.” I look her up and down and notice that her clothes are clean but threadbare.
“Where do you live?”
She chews on her lip. I don't think she is going to answer me but eventually, she opens her mouth and forces out her words. “Peter lets me sleep in the storage room if I—” She shuts up, but I know exactly what Peter took in return.
“Do you have a family?” She starts shaking violently.
“No, don't send me back please, please don't send me back.” I try to calm her down when Luna crouches beside me with a small knife in her hand. She holds it out to Jenna, the handle facing towards her. Jenna looks at the knife, then to Luna, then to me in question.
“Take it. Anyone comes near you again who makes you feel uncomfortable, you stab them with this. They’ll think twice about coming near you again.” I roll my eyes at my psychotic friend but she’s not wrong.
“I’m not sending you home, but sweetheart, you are far too young to work here. I have a better place for you. Let me just text my friend and I will get everything sorted out, okay?” She looks unsure and why wouldn't she? She knows it's usually a mistake to trust anyone.
“I own a little boutique in town. Anything girly you can think of, I sell it. I could use another set of hands to work there. I also have an apartment upstairs. I’m not using it at the moment, so you are welcome to stay there, but I don't want you staying alone. My friend Wyatt looks like a scary ass motherfucker, but he’s a teddy bear. He will keep you safe, sweetheart, I promise. He has kept me safe many times over.”
She looks at me, studying my face for any signs of deceit but when she doesn't find any she nods slowly. “Okay.”
I smile. “Good girl.”
I walk away and leave Luna chatting with her while I send a message to Wyatt explaining what I need and to meet me here.
I face the group of ladies who are now looking at me with a mix of gratitude and respect.
“This place will need to be closed for renovations for about a month. You will be getting paid while we are closed. It's the fucking least we can do. There will be a no drugs policy. A little bit of weed off the clock is fine but anything harder and you’ll be gone.” I watch as they all nod.
“Good, now the guys are going to come over and ask you some questions. Tell them everything you can think of no matter how insignificant it might seem to you. I’ll be just over here.”
When nobody objects, I head over to the table of guys.
“They’re ready for you but take it easy on them. It's a lot to take in.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Zig assures me, squeezing my shoulder as he, Oz, and Wizz make their way over to the girls.
“What a clusterfuck,” I grumble at Zero, collapsing into the chair beside him.
“I know, but Viper and Grim have managed to get some information from the traitors. Your girls over there were not the ones being traded. They genuinely did need people here to just dance, strip, and suck dick.” He holds his hands up at my glare.
“Not my words, Megan. Anyway
, these girls kept their mouths shut with the threat of being sold and yeah, some were sold anyway. For the most part, the girls that were trafficked were stolen to order. If someone wanted a short dark-haired girl-next-door type, then that was who they got. And some poor drunk co-ed stumbling home after a frat party would have her life irrevocably changed forever.
“The only girl from Elusive named on the list Viper got was Jenna. She was sold by her father to Peter. Peter sold her to someone else as she fits the requirements he wanted, but we shut shit down before he could collect her. She’ll need to be watched until we can track down the buyer and take that fucker out.”
“She will be,” I promise, maternal instincts flaring when I turn to look at her smiling softly at something Luna says to her.
“The construction crew will be here tomorrow. Once they’re done, you guys can set your security shit up.”
“I still think we should have our own guys working here.”
I shake my head. “Oz and Zig have handpicked a team. You know why I’m doing this. Those girls need to know their safety is a priority, even over club brothers. They have had enough of being treated as expendable. I want a team of men who don’t give a flying fuck about the MCs. Their sole job is to protect all female staff. Without exception. Plus, like I said to the girls, I want this spot to be neutral territory. A place where Chaos and Carnage can meet, for example, without the threat of death.”
He stares at me for a second before lifting me out of my chair and sitting me on his lap.
“How is it we keep throwing all these balls at you and you keep on hitting them out of the park?”
“I guess I just have amazing ball skills,” I snark, making him laugh.
“I shall require a demonstration.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged, Sir.”
Ooh, his nose flares at my use of the word “sir” before his eyes narrow with lust.
“I’m also looking at purchasing a new toothbrush. I was wondering if I could get a demonstration on how you use yours?” My eyes open impossibly wide at his words and I feel red creep over my face as I press my hand over his mouth.
“That asshole,” I grumble. “Mention it again and I’ll show you exactly what I can do with a toothbrush,” I warn him, making him laugh behind my hand.
His eyes leave mine for a second as something at the door catches his attention. He is on his feet with his gun trained at the beast walking through the door before I can even open my mouth.
One quick look shows that each of the guys has followed suit and all are now standing with their guns aimed at his head.
I stand up and smile, catching the beast’s eye. He spots me and heads straight over, not fazed in the slightest.
“Who the fuck are you?” Zero barks at him, all traces of the fun-loving guy from before gone in the blink of an eye.
The beast ignores him and runs his eyes over my body in an assessing way, but he’s not checking me out sexually, he’s making sure I’m in one piece and unharmed.
“Wyatt.” I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist and wait for him to reciprocate, which he does. Wyatt’s arms are huge, strong, and lethal when needed.
I met him on the streets when someone grabbed me from behind and tried to fuck me in a dirty alley. Wyatt had been asleep next to the dumpster. All I remember from those moments was one minute the abrasive brick wall was cutting into my face as I was pushed against it and then I was being held in these arms that felt like an impenetrable force field.
He pulled me out of the gutter that day and I returned the favor a year later when I got my inheritance. I may have blood brothers now but Wyatt is the brother of my heart.
Stepping back, I look up at him with a smile before I’m yanked backward, colliding with a hard chest and a familiar arm is wrapped tightly around me.
“Lord spare me from alpha males,” I mutter.
“Wyatt, the guy behind me with the gun is Zero. He’s a little protective.” I turn my head to face Zero, who is glaring at Wyatt.
“Zero, meet Wyatt, the guy you have to thank for me standing in your arms safe and sound.” Zero’s arms loosen at my words, but he doesn’t take his eyes away from him.
“Zero, he’s my brother, maybe not by blood, but in every other sense of the word. You should know what that’s like.”
His jaw clenches but he finally nods and puts the gun away. I notice the others follow suit.
Luna strides over, full of grace and sass in her floor length floral print maxi dress and flip flops. I imagine her flip flops making a staccato slap, slap, slap sound against the wooden floor, echoing loudly around the room for everyone but me.
“Hey, Wyatt.” She offers him a genuine smile. He offers her a nod in return. She doesn't take offense. She has only met Wyatt once before when he dropped off supplies at my shop, but she knew then that he wasn't a talker.
I pull free from Zero and he begrudgingly lets go but follows behind me as I walk towards the girls and indicate for Wyatt to join me.
When we get there, Jenna stands up and twists her hands in front of her.
“Jenna, this is Wyatt. He is one of my favorite humans on the planet and if you give him a shot, I guarantee he will become one of yours too. I’m willing to share him with you on a joint custody kind of basis. What do you say?”
She looks away from me to Wyatt, tipping her head back so she can stare into his deep dark eyes before looking back at me, clarity showing behind her eyes and reminding me she might have the body of a sixteen-year-old, but her tortured soul has aged her beyond her years.
“There’s someone looking for me, isn't there?” I didn't mention anything before because I didn't know if she knew she had been sold, but if I have any chance of building a relationship with this girl, I can’t start lying to her now.
“Yes. You were sold, but we shut shit down before you could be collected. The Chaos Demons will not stop until we find him and wipe him from the face of the earth. Until we do, Wyatt will keep you safe.”
She looks up at Wyatt. “What happens if he finds me?” she asks him.
“Then I’ll rip out his heart and give it to you. Every time you see it, you’ll be reminded that I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you.” He holds his giant hand out to her. She looks down at it before looking back up to his face, searching. She takes a hesitant step forward and slides her small hand into his. A flash of déjà vu washes over me as he leads her away, everyone watching them go in silence.
Oz nudges my arm. “I like him,” he tells me, making me laugh.
“Me too, Oz, me too.”
Zero steps in front of me. “I thought you said you didn't like to be touched before you started—” he stumbles over his words for a second “—dating Jax.”
“And it was true of everyone but Wyatt and Viddy. I think maybe it was because they had both saved me at one time or another that I instinctively knew I could trust them.”
“Viddy?” Zero questions.
“Another street kid,” I answer him, not wanting to go into it with an audience.
“Wyatt, Viddy, Jax. It scares me, baby, how many times someone had to save you or that you were in danger to begin with.”
“What can I say? I’m a trouble magnet. How the fuck do you think I ended up with you, Viper, and Grim as my boyfriends?” I question, making him laugh.
“Besides, you're only seeing half the picture,” I remark, walking back to the table we sat at before.
“How so?” he asks, sitting in front of me.
“I wasn't the only one with issues. They might have saved me first, but I saved them right back. That's why we have an unbreakable bond between us now. We had nobody when we met but then in each other we found a family.”
“Where’s Viddy now?” he queries, making me smile. Viddy makes Luna look well adjusted. Actually, Viddy makes Ted Bundy look well adjusted.
“Busy causing trouble as per usual.” Which is really an understatement. Viddy has had shit go d
own that needs dealing with so barring the odd email, our contact has been lacking lately.
“How come they didn't flip their shit when they found out what happened to you?”
“What happened to me? Zero, honey, you are going to have to be far more specific than that.” I laugh but cut him some slack.
“I didn't tell them anything more than the basics. So instead of ‘hey guys, my shop got shot up and I got shoved in a cell at the Carnage clubhouse.’ I went with ‘hey guys, I found my long lost brothers so I’m spending a little quality time with them. Oh, and the shop is being fumigated so it will be closed for a few days.’”
“And they believed that?” he asks incredulously.
“Sure, I’ve never lied to them before.”
“So why start now?”
I look at him like he’s dumb which, honestly, at the moment, he kind of is.
“If they knew the truth, both clubhouses would have been blown to smithereens with everyone inside it. They have no loyalty to anyone but me.”
He looks at me to see if I’m joking, but I’m not. If anything, I’m downplaying what would happen.
“Wyatt is more than capable of holding his own, I could tell that straight away but even with him and this Viddy person, I doubt they would win up against MCs,” he points out, making me snort.
“Wyatt married his high school sweetheart when they both turned eighteen. They had a little girl a year later. His life was perfect until one day his wife was driving home and she was carjacked. She was shot in the face point blank at a green light. They tossed her in the road and drove off in the car that was a secondhand Honda and worth fuck all. What they didn't realize until later was that there was a kid in the back fast asleep. See, his daughter was born deaf, that's how he knows how to sign. Anyway, obviously, she didn't hear the gunshots. When they spotted her, they pulled over and tossed her from a bridge into the freezing water below.”
“Jesus fuck!”
I nod in agreement. My heart bleeds for Wyatt every time I think about everything he went through.
“He found out it was some kind of fucked up gang initiation thing so Wyatt returned the favor and killed those responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter.”
The Princess of Chaos Page 17
