“Do you know who just came in with Rebel?” Sakura asks, with a sly smirk.
I shrug my shoulders, “Not sure. I haven’t seen her before.”
“You’re shitting me, right?” Sakura giggles lightly.
“Huh?”
“For the first time ever, I know someone and you don’t. It feels kinda good. I haven’t formally been introduced to her yet, but I’ve seen Rebel around town with her on occasion.” She smirks and I throw my arm around her, half tempted to give her a wet willy. And yes, I’m talking about the stuff we all did as kids.
I’ve been here for a few years now, but Sakura’s been here for a couple. I think it’s pure luck she even became part of the club. Her godfather had some issues with her parents and while I can’t remember all of it, I do remember the club was tasked with keeping her safe for a while. That’s how she and Mouser fell hard. He was the one who was supposed to be with her twenty-four-seven. Only, everyone could figure out really quick what those two were doing.
We didn’t have a doctor or any sort of medical professional until she came along. Now we do and we’re damn lucky. Hell, she helped stitch up Zoe last summer when she split her knee open after a rollerblading accident and that’s only one of the times she’s helped the club.
“Guys, Damon wants us all in church.” Widow speaks up the second he comes back into view. Rebel and her friend go over to one of the other sofas and have a seat. My gut is telling me this has something to do with these two.
I pull my arm from around Sakura and head off to where we hold church, filing in with the rest of my brothers. Damon is already at the head of the table, and for the first time ever I think we’ve all made a record in getting here so quickly. Sometimes it can take up to thirty minutes for all the brothers to be here. “Everything alright?” I question while I take my seat and Booger shuts the door to the room so no one can hear us.
For a split second I wonder if Damon is going to bring up the position in Mexico, announcing it in front of the rest of the club. “Yeah, everything is solid with the club, but we have something else to talk about. It might seem miniscule to some, but this will affect all of you if we move forward.” Damon states, making sure to meet every brother’s eyes at least once.
“I still can’t believe we’re seriously holding church over this.” Widow shakes his head, obviously displeased. It further confirms my assumptions. This is because of the girl Rebel brought into the clubhouse.
“Well, get the fuck over it. I said we’re having church, so we’re having fucking church.” Damon snaps in his direction, getting a chuckle from Cobra and myself.
Damon rolls his eyes at our immaturity before continuing to address the room. “I’m not sure if you saw Rebel’s friend here. Her name is Crina and she works for the same company Rebel does. However, I’ve been told Crave, LLC now has a publishing company under their massive umbrella.”
“How does a publishing company have anything to do with us?” Mouser asks.
“If you’d shut your trap long enough for me to answer, I’d finish telling you.” Well, Damon must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed. He seems really cranky today. “Crina has been told she needs to write a book about bikers and have it to her boss in two months. She doesn’t know anything about us, or what we do, so Rebel wanted to bring her here and see if we’d be willing to help her fill in some blanks.”
“Uh . . . like a non-fiction book, or fiction?” Booger questions, drawing his brows together.
Damon immediately looks over to Widow. “How the hell am I supposed to know that shit? I don’t even know the difference.”
“Non-fiction is factual, fiction is like Harry Potter and stuff like that.” I tell the room.
Damon narrows his eyes in on me, “Who all here is open to helping this lady out with her job? I’ve been told she’ll be homeless if we don’t help her.”
“See if we can get some extra protection for the club, but I don’t see why it’d be a bad idea.” Booger is the first to speak.
“I mean, keeping a woman off the streets is important in my eyes so.” Mouser adds.
“Do whatever the hell you want. It’s not like my opinion matters.” Widow says.
“Stop being such a fuckin’ drama queen.” Damon snaps at Widow.
“I don’t care if she sticks around. She’s a nice lady. Raven and I met her once before.” Hawk mutters.
He goes down the line and sure enough, more of the brothers are in favor of helping her, instead of opposed to the general idea.
“Great. Chaz, since you’re the resident smartass you can take lead on this. Anything Crina needs, she’ll come to you.” Damon smirks, sending a silent signal my way.
“Whoa. Me? What the fuck did I do?”
“You haven’t done a damn thing, but you’re one of the only men with enough experience who isn’t locked down with an ol’ lady. No way in hell am I gonna pair her up with someone who’s in a relationship. I haven’t made it this far by being an idiot. Now, get your ass out there and introduce yourself to that nice lady.” Damon says, slamming the gavel down.
“Are we gonna place bets on how long it takes for Chaz to fuck her?” Dixon snickers, getting everyone else in the room to do the same.
“Fuck you,” I snap, rising from my seat I head to the door.
“I’d give it a week.” Cobra adds as I open the door and walk through.
Fuck. What does it even matter? Damon’s right. It’s not like I’m locked down in a relationship. I was probably the only feasible option without sticking her with some prospect who doesn’t know jack shit about the club yet.
Chapter Ten
“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”
~ Charles Addams
Crina
I breathe in and out slowly, wanting to tap the bottom of my foot out of nervousness. It’s ironic how my father deals with dangerous men, and yet I’m in a biker club, feeling more fear then I ever have while meeting my father’s associates. How odd indeed.
“Relax, Crina. I don’t know why you’re so nervous.” Rebel huffs in annoyance.
“I’m not nervous,” I tell her, but she knows me well enough to know when I’m pulling a fast one. Fuck, when I think about it, I’ve been nervous for eons. Whether if it’s to deal with my dysfunctional family, working for the woman I thought I was going to marry, or sitting here on this couch.
“Yeah, okay. I can see through your bullshit, Crina, and you know it.” I turn to look at Rebel and she’s pushing her mouth off to the side. I know she doesn’t want me to feel scared about being here, but maybe it isn’t even about being here at all.
“I don’t want to fail at this and end up needing my father to come save me.” I admit. It angers me so much how he’d only speak to me when it was convenient for him. As a young girl, I never understood the way he was so wishy washy with me . . . but after a while I began to watch it as it unfolded, slowly getting worse. I was like any girl at that age, only wanting to be loved by the man who was supposed to love her the most. To know he only cared about me when it came to his work, or status . . . well, it crippled me.
“You won’t. You might hate the fact his blood runs through your veins, but if there’s anything I know about your family, it’s how no one fails at anything. You’re the cream of the crop when it comes to stubbornness and being bull-headed, and that my friend will get you exactly where you want to be. Plus, if you honestly think you’re going to fail at this I’m going to wonder if you’re the one who actually has a bachelor’s in English.” Rebel giggles lightly at the end, causing a smile to pull at my lips.
“Thanks. I sure needed that.” I nudge her side, and Rebel smiles even bigger.
“It’s no problem at all. I’m glad I could’ve helped you.”
“Yeah . . . is it weird being here, when, she was here?” I’ve changed subjects on Rebel, needing for us to not talk about me for a bit.
Rebel was pregnant with Zo
e when she moved down here to Las Vegas. I don’t know all the details, but I do know enough. Essentially, she caught her best friend and boyfriend in bed together so she ran. A few years later their lives all came crashing together again and Rebel had to learn how to co-parent with Widow. I think the other girl’s name was Amara, and Rebel told me how she apologized . . . but I think that was a wound that cut so deep that Rebel will never really heal from it. If the roles were reversed, I’d be super fucked up too.
Rebel shakes her head, causing her bright magenta hair to fall forward. “No, but I thought it would be odd at first. I only really started coming around when she was missing . . . which sounds awful, but, I couldn’t be around the club if she was here. Seeing her face would be too much. And I know how that sounds, but at the end of the day, I loved her like she was my sister. I know we’re all human and people make mistakes, but damn . . . my heart was torn out of my chest. Then when she went missing . . . I lost it. I never told anyone that, but Nikolai had to keep me together. Amara had hurt me so badly one would think I could never give a damn about her ever again, but I loved her, Crina. It . . . it was horrible. It also made me realize I’d forgiven her long ago.”
I nod, acting like I can somewhat understand what she’s saying . . . but I know there won’t be any way for me to comprehend it. Though, I never want to feel the amount of pain either of those women had been through. All Rebel told me was that Amara was found after being held captive for over a year. Now, that is scary stuff. My father had always told me how daughters of the mafia were some of the most sought after by traffickers. It’s one of the only things I think he ever did for me, helping me get self-defense classes and teaching me how to shoot a gun. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to crime in the mafia world.
The sound of men’s joint laughter causes both Rebel and I to turn our heads in the direction the men had gone a short time ago. I spot a man walking out. He’s wearing one of those leather vests with patches sewn on it, has on dark wash jeans and offsets the entire look with dark combat boots.
“Chaz, everything okay?” Rebel asks.
He nods but doesn’t seem amused in the least bit. “Yeah, Damon’s asked me to give your girl here some pointers on the MC life.”
The way I’m positioned I can see the crazy amount of shock plastered across Rebel’s face. “Oh, really? I thought he’d have Ripper with her.”
Chaz cocks a brow. “The only thing she’d learn is what it’s like being in Rip’s bed.”
“Um, excuse me. I’m not that easy.” I defend my honor, or at least try to. Let’s be real. I doubt I even have much honor left these days.
His eyes shift to my body and I take note at the way he rakes up and down like I’m a fresh cooked steak. Hell, he’s probably salivating. “You could’ve fooled me. You do work for Crave after all, right? I mean, isn’t their entire embodiment being sluts?”
“Chaz!” Rebel snaps at her friend while I narrow my eyes in on this asshole.
“You know what, I think I’ll just figure this out somewhere else. Sure, I wanted to do some research . . . but no way in hell am I going to sit here and be spoken to like this.” I stand and walk over to the front door of the club, pull it open and go outside.
Man. I’ve been spoken to crassly before, but never anything like that. The screech of the door behind me causes me to turn and I see Rebel walking out, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. “I’ve never heard him talk to someone like that, ever.” Rebel mutters.
“Everything okay?” A woman’s voice questions.
She’s sitting on a picnic table on the left side of their porch. Rebel nods, “Yeah. Crina, this is Sakura, she’s the nurse practitioner for the club. Sakura, this is Crina. She’s one of my old friends, and she works with me at Crave now.”
“Oh, nice to meet you. A friend of Rebel’s is always a friend of the clubs.”
“Right back at you. So, you said that guy isn’t normally like that?” I ask, speaking to both of them.
Sakura looks curious, though doesn’t ask any questions. Instead, Rebel speaks up. “Chaz was being an asshole. Damon must’ve asked him to help Crina, and instead of being a sweetie like he normally is, he was a dickwad.”
Sakura’s expression falters. Obviously, she knows something we don’t. “Cheyenne left for Montana this morning. I’m sorry guys, he’s having a rough day. Give him a bit and I’m sure he’ll be right as rain.”
“Who’s Cheyenne?” I ask.
“Chaz is besties with Sakura here and Cheyenne. Zane is the national charter Prez and wanted Cheyenne to come up to Billings to be their appointed medic in case something shitty went down.” Rebel fills me in.
“Uh, how do you know all that?” Sakura questions her with a laugh.
“Widow.”
“Didn’t realize you two spoke like that.” Sakura mumbles.
“Yeah, well, Zoe likes it when we’re both on good terms. Plus, when Tania, Widow, Nikolai, and I can be together with her, she’s a different kid. She excels at school, she makes good friends. I finally decided to bury the hatchet and put everything behind us. And considering there’s another bun in the oven, it’s best we keep it buried. You know?” I smile, already knowing about Rebel’s big news.
“You, or Tania?” Sakura smiles, but I can see the pain crossing her face at the same time.
“Me!” Rebel shrieks, jumping up and down.
“Congratulations. That’s amazing,” Rebel goes over to hug Sakura, but when Sakura releases her, she looks over to me. “Try to come back tomorrow when he’s not all up in his feels. It’s been a rough day is all. I promise he’s not normally like this. He’s only hurting. I need to get going, but it was so lovely to meet you. If you have any questions when you come back, I live in that house over there,” Sakura points over to the one-story house with the wrap around porch.
“Awesome. Thank you so much.” I reply as she walks off.
“So, do you want to come back tomorrow?” Rebel asks.
“Yeah, might as well. I need a ride, though.”
“That works out. Zoe’s going to get picked up tomorrow to come back to our place. I can drop you off around seven, if that works?”
I nod, “Yeah, thank you for setting this up. I don’t know if I’ve said it, but I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
“Oh, don’t sweat it.” Rebel comments as she walks back to her SUV. I do the same and hop into the passenger side.
I might not have gotten a lot of information quite yet, but I have enough experience to get me started. I can’t wait to write about the asshole who bitches out a baby momma’s friend. Chaz, you’ve just inspired a character in my book and I’m going to name him Tiny. The name is dual representation— his tiny fuse, and tiny dick.
Chapter Eleven
“To know what a person has done, and to know who a person is, are different things.”
~ Hannah Kent
Chaz
“I heard you were quite the asshole to Rebel’s friend.” Sakura’s typically soothing voice is harsh and accusatory while she comes up to me. I’m leaning against the couch while most of the guys are outside, enjoying the cool weather. It’s nowhere near as cold as Montana, but we also don’t have to worry about being frostbit down here.
I nod, not bothering to deny it. “Do I really get called an ass for speaking the truth?” I cock a brow, awaiting her answer.
Sakura walks past the small coffee table and sits down on the worn, red-leather loveseat beside me. “I heard about it, how you essentially called her a slut.”
I roll my eyes. Leave it to women to be overly dramatic. It’s the best thing they’re fucking good at. “She works for Crave. If I see a dog, it’s a dog, not a kitten. You feel me?”
Sakura throws her hands in the air in frustration. “Why do you always have to be the blunt jerk? Jesus, Chaz. Not everyone who works for that company is part of their girlfriend or boyfriend program.” Here she comes to this stranger’s defense.
That’s just Sakura though, the best person to have on your side.
“Right, and the others take nude pictures of themselves and post it on that program they have. Fuck, Ripper has a membership and just showed me this girl ridin’ a dildo on it the other day. Keeps beggin’ Rebel to introduce him to her friend.” OneEye is a great, safe platform for women to use . . . sure, but why am I the jerk for speaking honestly?
“Crina’s working for the publishing company and needed help, and you were the one acting like a fucking dick. Take ownership for how you were treating her.” Sakura grumbles, glaring at me with her narrowing eyes.
I shrug, not really caring to say anything else. “I know Cheyenne just left this morning, but you don’t get to use that as your get out of jail free card. She’s gone, Chaz. Accept it. Otherwise, you’re going to destroy every good relationship you have here, and you know it.” Sakura starts off sounding pissed, yet slowly eases her tone with me. Ultimately, she ends up sliding her hand into mine and holds it tight, pulling me in a way that causes me to direct my eyes back at hers.
“I wish Zane never wanted to start that clinic up there. I fuckin’ wish she could’ve stayed down here, Sak’.” I shake my head, more pissed than I’ll ever let on. The fact of the matter is there’s nothing I can do now, not with what I know, not with the life changing position I’m about to be offered.
Sak’ leans her body against mine, trying to comfort me. “I know you love her, and it’s okay to be sad she’s gone . . . but the people here love you too. Promise me you won’t ruin everything you have here because you’re bitter that she left.”
Poison walks into our view. I assume she was in the kitchen preparing a meal. Usually she is around there this time of day. She continues to stare at us like she wants to say something, but she won’t. She never does. Always the silent observer. Shit, she reminds me of Dmitri from the Skulls Renegade MC out in Tennessee . . . always leaning back, observing. Fuckin’ freaky if you ask me.
Mayhem: A Reapers MC Boxset Page 61
