“I heard you were flirting with one of the Jackal’s anyway,” Amara lets out a soft laugh, and I can’t tell if it bothers her or not.
I don’t know why, but I’m so concerned about her feel-ings. It’s probably because we were together for a while, but I’ve always viewed her more as a friend than anything. “Is that alright?”
She offers me a soft smile, “Widow, you don’t have to ask me for permission to fuck, date or marry anyone. You and I know it was never gonna work. That eventually this would happen. To be honest, it’s easier for me to handle that you wanna fuck some brand new chick versus the one that ran away.”
“One that got away,” I correct her.
She raises a brow, “No, I meant what I said. It’s fitting to the situation at hand.”
“Alright. I just don’t wanna hurt you. I’ve hurt enough people over the years I think.”
Amara takes a step towards me and wraps her arms around my body. I pull her into a soft hug, “We’ve both hurt people, Widow. We’re human after all, and we sure as fuck aren’t perfect by any means.”
Amara takes a step back as the sudden sound of a bike pulls our attention to the driveway as we see someone gunning it towards us. Sand flies up behind the wheels, leaving a trail in the wind. “Who the fuck is that?”
“Ah, that must be Mouser, the new prospect. We’ve been waiting on him for quite a while. Looks like the bastard took his time getting here. Get ready, Widow. He’s not like any of the other prospects we’ve ever dealt with before. He’s Reapers royalty, and his family are bounty hunters.”
Well shit, this should be interesting.
Chapter 18
THINGS END, PEOPLE CHANGE AND YOU KNOW WHAT? LIFE
GOES ON.
-THELOVEBITE
Rebel
After my lovely meeting with Widow I went straight into work, but before that happened, Nikolai and I had an in depth conversation. I think it was much needed, especially consid-ering that he referred to himself as my boyfriend. Something that neither of us had discussed.
For so long, I thought it was just sex with Nikolai but now I find myself not knowing what it was at all. He wanted me to fuck him. That’s obvious by the amount of times he requested dates with me. Bu t… I was naïve to think that’s all he wanted. At least, I feel that way now.
Deep down I think that I have a lot of issues. In all reality, I’d probably be a therapist’s wet dream with how many people have abandoned me throughout my life, and then you add in the fact that I’ve been betrayed time and time again. If I over analyze myself, because let’s be real, I’m doing it right now, I think I wanted to believe I was just a quick fuck for Nikolai. If I was just a quick fuck, I knew my place and couldn’t be hurt by anything he said or did.
It turns out, the man always wanted something more and he vocalized that today. First, he stuck up for me and called himself my boyfriend and when he was dropping me off at work he solidified what he wants between us.
Now, I have to have a conversation with Gia about my job. One that I don’t think she’ll mind … but one that is risqué. I don’t think I’m the first girl who’s ever decided to date a Crave client, and I doubt I’ll be the last … but it’s still frowned upon.
I’m not just a Crave girl though. I’d only taken part in the girlfriend experience to get some extra cash. My main job is OneEye and that’s what I’m constantly doing, taking photos and videos and then uploading them on this platform. I checked this morning and my followers grew by a hundred thousand last night alone. I post minimal things on my own social media, and leave it on OneEye instead. Personally, I think it’s much more secure because we know who is subscribing to see this exclusive content.
I make my way into the skyscraper and walk through the grand lobby, heading for the elevators. As I wait, I pull the keycard that I have out of my purse and have it ready for when I enter. To get to certain floors, you need to have a pass. Everyone that works for Crave, and each member has a keycard to gain entry to the top four floors.
The door opens and I walk in, insert my keycard and select the floor I want to go to. I pull out my keycard and place it back inside my purse. The floor I chose is the one where I know Gia will be, and she is the head bitch in charge that I need to speak to.
I wait in what feels like the longest elevator ride possible, thinking about what it is that I’m going to say to her. I’m just hoping that she won’t be pissed and that she’ll understand I want to explore things with him. Gia doesn’t know me in a close manner, but she knows enough to understand I’m the type of woman that keeps to myself, especially when it regards men. She’s never seen me with a boyfriend because well, I’ve never had one since I’ve been working for her. “Hey there,” Gia says to me the second I walk off the elevator. She’s in a skin tight, blood red dress and looks fabu-lous as always. I don’t know how on earth this woman is still single. It just blows my fucking mind. “I was just looking for you. You show up at the best of times!” Gia giggles to herself, looping her arm with mine as she hauls us towards her office.
“I actually need to talk to you about something,” I don’t let my tone give anything away, but I take note of the way Gia looks at me. While she still seems to be upbeat, she’s coming off nervous to me as well.
“Alright. You can go first,” Gia tells me as we enter through her iron double doors. I’ve seen a lot of offices through my years, but hers is something else entirely. It’s black with gold accents everywhere, reminding me of some-thing classical from the past with a modern flare. Her furni-ture is a mixture of vintage and new age, but somehow she makes it work.
I walk towards her matte black velvet couch and take a seat, “I’m not quitting, so don’t worry.” I say, joking around with her.
Gia’s face remains stoic and I continue on. “I made the decision that I am pulling myself from the girlfriend experi-ence roster. It was never my full time gig to begin with, and OneEye should be my main focus.”
She furrows her brows together as I tell her, betting that she’s trying to understand the reasoning behind my decision. “I agree with you, however I’m curious about where this sudden change of heart came from. When I talked to you previously, you liked the girlfriend experience because of the money. You also mentioned how you really were taking to one of your clients, Nikolai if I’m not mistaken.” She’s abso-lutely right. I had a conversation with her when I first started doing this and told her that I was getting along well with him. I had gone out on a few other dates and we just didn’t mesh well, but the money was good so I took it. Obviously, I didn’t fuck them. The only one I’ve fucked has been Nikolai.
I take in a deep breath and tell her the God’s honest truth. “Nikolai and I have grown closer over these past couple of weeks.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t have any clue you two were interested in one another like that.”
“I thought we were just fucking.” I admit, letting out a small laugh at the end. “But he’s shown me a different side to himself, and I want to explore the possibility of what we could end up being. You don’t know a lot about my past, Gia, but I’ve been the girl who’s royally been fucked by men. It takes a lot for me to be open to trusting another one, and here I want to trust Nikolai. I’m just hoping he won’t do what others have.”
“We’ve all been there, sweetheart. I want you to be happy, but you know how this looks.” Here we go, the boss lady is coming out. “I need to have a conversation with Emma, Briar and Diem.” Those are the other three women who own Crave, LLC alongside Gia. “We have a stipulation in our contracts that state no one can date clients of the company. And if so, you know what happens …” We lose our job, that’s what happens.
“Yes, and while I understand that, I signed a contract for OneEye, not to be on the roster. That should be taken into consideration.” I pull my phone out from my purse and bring up the contract, showing it to her.”
She takes my phone and reads over the contract for a minute, “The sam
e stipulation isn’t in your contract for OneEye.”
“Because it’s a different area of Crave,” I state. I won’t lose my job, not when it fits perfectly. I can go to club appearances and promote, plus post exclusive content and gain more subscribers and cash. It’s a win-win.
“Looks like you’re in the clear, but I’ll have to talk to Diem about it to make sure. She is our legal guru.”
“This isn’t sexual harassment, Gia. Nikolai pursued me.” “I understand that, but you know I’m a business owner
and we have to double check everything.”
“Yeah, I sure do.” I try not to be frustrated with her, but I can’t help it. I’m human, and seeing that there’s this small possibility that I could lose my job because of this doesn’t make me happy. It’s extremely frustrating. If they come for me though, I will fight them tooth and nail. “Let me know, either way.” I comment, rising from the couch I head for the door.
As soon as I’m out and into the hallway, I take a few steps before I feel a stinging sensation on the back of my head. “Fuck!” I whip around and see Harlow with a glove on, sticking what looks to be my hair in a plastic bag. “What in the hell are you doing, woman!?”
“I’m just getting your DNA.” She says it like it’s some-thing she normally does.
I cock an eyebrow and put my hand on my hip, “Care to explain?”
“Carmen overnighted me a key to her penthouse here and she must’ve been there because she has a brush with blonde hair. So, I took some of the hair and I just took some of yours to see if you’re related.”
“Have you lost your damn mind?” I ask, seeing ten types of crazy come out of this girl.
“Nope, you two look alike and we both know I’m prob-ably right. I’ll let you know when the results are in.” Harlow flies past me and disappears from my sight.
Geeze, and I thought today couldn’t get any weirder.
Chapter 19
DON’T DEPEND TOO MUCH ON ANYONE, EVERYONE CHANGES WHEN THEY MEET NEW PEOPLE. -QUOTE SCOOP
Widow
“That’s Mouser?” I say aloud, looking at the man who just dismounted his bike. “He looks like a fuckin’ model. One of those who should be on those smutty romance novels. No way this dude is a biker. No fuckin’ way.”
Amara laughs, “You’re just jealous because he’s prettier than you.”
“You mean hotter?” I counter back.
She chuckles, “No, I mean prettier because he is pretty. You’re just … rugged and grumpy.”
“Shut it,” I grumble, knowing she’s right.
Things feel awkward between us and I doubt that will go away. She isn’t just anyone. She’s one of my longest friends who turned into something a little more, who then ended up aborting my child. I have so much anger built up inside my body, but I know that no good will come of it. I’m not the spiritual type, but I need to find peace with what she’s done … even if it keeps me up in the middle of the night.
I know that I have a right to be angry with her, to hate her even … but now I need to focus on the daughter I do have, Zoe.
“Nice of you to finally show up, prospect.” Damon greets as he walks out of the clubhouse doors. You could hear this hotshot driving up from a mile away.
“Heard you got into a bit of trouble and needed an extra shot,” Mouser shoots out, tone filled with attitude. Fist must’ve been keeping this kid in the loop on what’s been going on down here. Either way, fucker should know not to speak to his Prez like that. It doesn’t matter if he’s Reapers royalty or not.
Amara gives Damon a look that tells him she wants to fuck him up, but knowing Damon, he’ll get the message across in another way. “You can start by cleaning all of our bikes until there’s not a speck of dust on them. I expect them to all be spotless when I come back to check on you. Everyone else, follow me.”
As Damon orders we follow him, walking back into the club. He takes us into our meeting room where he’s previ-ously hosted church. “I had the honor of receiving a lovely call from my uncle this morning.” Damon starts off, and I shake my head as I take my seat. “He made it known that he knew who was behind the attack on the Vibora’s,”
“And?” Hawk speaks up, waiting for it. Shit, he’s waiting for it like we are.
I glance over and see Cobra crack his knuckles, sitting a little straighter in his seat. “More like what threat did that piece of shit throw at us?”
Amara cackles, making eye contact with every one of us. “Ah, but you don’t understand. My uncle would never threaten us. We are familia after all. No … instead he’d get someone else to threaten us. In fact, I’m sure that will be coming soon, which is why we’re meeting like this out of the blue. Obviously, if our dear uncle has made it a point to contact us, we’ve struck a nerve, which ultimately means we’ve done something right.”
Damon stands up and walks over to the other side of the room, rolling some sort of board out. He flips it over and it’s a map of the Las Vegas area. There are two red marks on it and one blue one. “The club is the blue mark right here, and these two are the compounds that we just blew up. Rumor has it that there’s only one more compound left, and a safehouse around here as well. We know that the few survivors have fled to the last place they could – the only remaining compound. I’m betting on the fact that they don’t have all their men over the border. After all, how would that help my uncle to not have extra men hanging around?”
From the looks of it, all of us brothers are following his lead. Everything that Damon is saying makes complete and total sense. “I’m betting you already have a master plan thought up in that smartass brain of yours.” I chuckle, smiling like the smart-assed bastard I am.
“Touché, brother.” When Damon smiles the way he is right now, it means he’s got something nasty planned up his sleeve. Shit, I can’t wait to find out.
“We’re going to head over the border after we take care of the imminent problem here. With our uncle’s threat, we know that something else is coming. We just don’t know when.”
“So, there’s no way to figure out if it’s something that’s happening today, or a month from now?” Dixon speaks up.
Amara nods, “Exactly. We just have to be careful and keep an eye out. Either way, we’ll see it coming a mile away. Our uncle isn’t the smartest tool in the shed. He might believe he is, but he’s as dumb as a doornail.”
“Do we know where this last compound is?” Chaz asks, seeming eager for some bloodshed. I’ll tell ya, I think after he killed Rage, the high of the kill got to him bad.
“Yes. Onyx has been a huge help to the club. If I’m more specific, her girls have.” I always forget that chick is around. She’s like a creepy cat, always popping up to scare you, but hides back on the top of the closet or some shit. My point is, she’s always watching and even when you think she isn’t around – she is. I’ve seen her drive off a few times here and there, but she’s usually back within a few hours at the most. Her girls come and go as much as she does. I know some of the brothers like Hawk, Dixon, Chaz and Cobra have been enjoying the new girls being in the clubhouse.
“We know where it is, but we have to make sure that when we do act … her girls are okay. The others were able to split after the bombings because, well … it didn’t look suspi-cious at all. They just looked like dumb whores jumping ship before they got their hides cut. I witnessed the same sort of shit happen when I was with the Demons and no one ever thinks twice about a whore. That’s what’s been keeping them safe, while still giving us the information we need.” Damon picks up a green marker and draws a circle over a certain area. “This is where the last compound is. We won’t be able to act like we previously have because they know what to expect. We’re gonna have to handle shit a bit differently. I’m betting Cobra and Chaz will be able to come up with some sneaky way of getting in considering this is within the city limits.”
The two of them share a look, with a shit eating grin that matches whatever must be going
on in their heads. “You got it, Prez. We won’t let ya down.”
“Figured that. Just so everyone is aware, Vinny will be back in a few days. He’s gonna hook us up with some fake passports, drivers licenses and other shit for a rainy day.”
“Are the Jackal’s still gonna be hanging around?” I ask the question that no one else has dared to bring up.
“Yeah, they’ll be here until Ricardo is handled with at least. We’re lucky to have allies who will stand by us during this battle.”
Grunts of approval can be heard coming from the entire room, agreeing with what Damon has just said. I’m happy the Jackal’s aren’t leaving, but for an entirely different reason. This just means I get to be around Tania a bit more, and I’ll take her as much as I can get her.
“I’ll see y’all later. I’ve got a prospect to push around,” Damon comments as he flips around the board and leaves the room.
The brothers, Amara and I all leave church, going our separate ways. As I’m walking out into the main area I see Sphynx with her mask on, sitting on the couch. “Do you really need to keep your mask on when you’re here? We’re your allies, not your enemies.”
“You of all people should know that alliances change all the time. What’s to say that things don’t go south here, and you don’t try to find things out about me and kill the ones I care for?” I see her eyes through the slits in her mask, watching as they move up and down my body. “You’d be the type, with all of your pent-up anger.”
“Seriously? You don’t even know me, woman.”
“I know your type, and none of you are any different. You’re only good for a good romp in the sack if you ask me.” “Aw, sweetie. Just you wait. I’m gonna have you wrapped around my little finger in no time.” I make the promise to her and wait for a reaction, but I don’t get one. She simply stares at me and I’m left wondering if there is a smile hidden behind that mask of hers.
Havoc- Reapers MC Boxset Page 64
