by Ryan Michele
By the time he got back in the kitchen, my hands were clenching from the pain.
“Doesn’t look like much, but fuck, it hurts.” There was only a small strip of red, and while I was thankful it wasn’t any worse, it hurt like a mother.
Wrong Way took out a glob of aloe and rubbed it on my flesh. Audibly I sighed in relief, the burn taken down a couple of notches.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he put a little bit more on me.
“No more cookin’ naked for you.”
“Damn,” I replied playfully.
“Serious. We’re gonna get you an apron.”
A laugh escaped. “Oh, now that sounds kinky.”
“It is. How does it feel?” He screwed the cap back on the aloe and set it on the countertop.
“It stings, but nothing like before. It’ll take a while to heal, but I’ll be fine.”
His hand grabbed my hip pulled me to him, but he didn’t crush my breasts between us for which I was grateful.
“Care to tell me how you got stabbed?”
I let out a heavy breath. “Let’s eat, and we’ll talk.”
He nodded, and I turned around to get the plates. His hand came to my arm, halting my movements. “Sit and let me do this,” he said, and I swear this man was making my damn teeth hurt he was so sweet.
“You sweet like this for everyone?”
He grabbed the plate and started dishing up the lasagna. His head jerked, telling me to sit at the table. “Been called a lot of things, but sweet ain’t one of them.” He set the plate down in front of me. Then he left the room only to come back with his t-shirt and boxers.
“Arms up,” he ordered and slipped the shirt over my body. It smelled just like him.
He put on his boxers, made his plate, and sat next to me at the table. “Talk,” he ordered, taking a bite.
Mine was piping hot and two burns in one day, no thank you. I set it to the side to cool off.
I figured I should just go straight. “You researched me, right?”
Without skipping a beat, he replied, “Yeah.”
This made me smile. True, I didn’t like people in my business, but many years of my life were in court documents that anyone could pull up with the Freedom of Information Act. Luckily, I was smarter than all of them and spent years burring my past, but not all of it was gone.
But this was Wrong Way, and even though I was scared of opening up this much, I went on.
“Left my house when I was thirteen. Couldn’t stay there anymore and had to get out. So I ran away.” I felt my heart beating just a bit faster.
“Why?” Wasn’t that the million-dollar question. Time for the heavy. The heavy I hadn’t talked about in years. There was never a need to, and keeping it locked up in the past had worked well for me over the years.
“You know how you watch TV and see those families all happy, taking their kids to soccer practice and eating dinner at the table together every night?”
He nodded, waiting for me to continue.
“Well, that wasn’t mine. Not by a long shot.” That thought was actually laughable.
“Babe, that’s not many families these days.”
Giving a chuckle and knowing he was right to a point, I continued. “Right. My father hated me. More like detested me, and he made his feelings known every second he was in my presence. If his words didn’t cut deep, his fists and feet made up for it. My mother stood there and let him because it meant he wasn’t taking it out on her.” I could feel the verbal vomit continuing. “To the outside world, our family was a typical stereotypic one. My parents would act like doting parents if anyone was around. It was when the doors closed—that was my greatest fear. There was a point; I couldn’t take it anymore, and I had to get out.” My entire childhood was dark, and living out on the streets, as hard as it was, was my light. Actually, talking about it with Wrong Way wasn’t bad. He didn’t judge me and was a great listener. It made me want to tell him more.
“Hell, Hayden. They let you go?” he asked, blowing on his dinner before taking a bite.
I shrugged, letting him in further than I’d ever let another man besides Rocco, but with him we weren’t sleeping together. “The first time, no. They found me, wanting their perfect family to be intact. The second time, it took them longer to find me. I was still gaining the skills to be unseen. But they found me and brought me back. The third time, they never came lookin’ for me.” It shouldn’t hurt to be thrown away by assholes, but somehow it did. I was nothing to them. Would never be anything to them. Now that I was older, none of that mattered. But to that scared kid who just wanted someone to love her, it did. It made me wonder what they told their friends about where I went, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.
“Where’d you go?” His eyes were so intense, and I found extreme comfort in them.
“Anywhere away from them. Away from the cops or any type of authority.” It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be after I learned a few things. It was everyone else I had to be wary of. “Under bridges or in the small cave by the lake. Friends’ houses, I crashed there a few times, but then parents got involved and that was a no-go.”
“How the hell did you survive?”
Picking up my fork, I pulled out a noodle, blowing on it then put it in my mouth. Damn, it was good. After chewing and swallowing, I answered, “When you have nothing, even finding the smallest things is a joy. A leftover pizza tossed out or day-old baked goods the stores couldn’t sell. It wasn’t easy, but it was doable.”
His brows creased like he was deep in thought. What I wouldn’t give to be inside his brain and know his thoughts. This part of my life wasn’t talked about. This was a huge thing for me, what I was giving him.
“Doable? How long were you out there?” he asked, digging back into his food, yet taking in every word I said.
“You do what you have to, Wrong Way.” I paused, this a little more difficult to talk about. “Years, but the city opened a shelter for runaway kids. That was where I met Ms. Janey.”
“Ravage donated money to open up that shelter back when Crow’s dad was president.”
This warmed my heart. “Then thank you. It changed my life.”
He reached out and put his hand over mine, giving it a squeeze. “Never thought anything about it. Glad it helped you.”
“Rocco too.”
He nodded. “What’s the story with him? Is he a guy from your past love life or what? I’m gonna be honest here babe … I don’t compete for pussy.”
This made me burst out laughing. I was just happy I hadn’t taken a drink from the glass of water in my hand or it would have been a huge mess.
His brow raised, waiting for me. He obviously didn’t see my hilarity in the situation. “He’s my best friend. My brother. The thought of having sex with him seriously grosses me out.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have any brothers,” he replied as my laughter calmed.
“Family doesn’t need to be blood.” I eyed him, gauging his reaction.
“Not one bit. Ravage is family. Not blood but family all the same. This what Rocco is to you?” He reached over, taking my hand resting on the table.
I nodded.
“As long as he doesn’t touch ya, we’re good.”
The chuckle came out once again. “If he touched me, his balls would be chopped off.”
“I like the way you think. How did the shelter help?”
He took me in from top to toe. This was Wrong Way, observe and ask just enough to open the doors. It was part of his intelligence, street smarts and books.
“I met Ms. Janey there. She’s a social worker and wouldn’t give up on me no matter how much I pushed away. And boy did I give her hell. We became tight, and she took me in when I was eighteen and gave me a home. A real one. She set me on a path to who I became today. I owe her everything.”
“You still see her?”
This time my face beamed. “Yeah. Tomorrow for dinner,
actually. Every couple of weeks we get together and catch up.”
“I’m happy for ya, Hayden. You deserve that.”
He was right. I did deserve to be happy. For once in this life, I needed to take life by the horns and take what I wanted. Even if taking Wrong Way might just be the wrong thing. At least I’d know.
If I didn’t try, I’d never know, and that was worse than it failing.
16
Hayden
“How many times do I have to tell you, Ms. Janey? You don’t have to buy me groceries.” On a deep sigh I took my seat at the four-person table, the other two chairs with paper bags filled with food. While I loved it that she thought of me, I didn’t want her wasting her money on me.
“Get over it,” she said flat out with a smile. “So how’s my girl been?”
A Diet Coke sat in front of me, and I took a drink. She always knew what I wanted and more than likely had already ordered for both of us. She told me she didn’t want to waste any time she had with me.
Sad thing was, she was the busy one all the time. It was hard to pin her down instead of me.
“Good. Things are real good.” I could still feel Wrong Way’s touch on my skin. Waking up with him was fast becoming my favorite thing.
“You know good doesn’t cut it. Details,” she ordered. I loved this about her. Straight and to the point just like Ms. M. They would get along great.
“Work is steady.”
She shook her head at that. “You’d better not get in trouble.”
“Never.” That was more for her reassurance, because there was always a chance I could get caught up in one of my jobs or my mission. Since I did everything possible to keep myself safe, it was the truth in a way.
I’d semi-explained my job to her, saying I worked on computers and giving her a little bit more, but she didn’t really know. That kept her safe.
She held her index finger and spun it around. It was the universal sign to keep going.
“Luna’s great. Spoiled rotten.”
“I love that dog,” she mused, knowing exactly when I found Luna at a shelter. She was with me. One look and Luna had me hooked.
“Me too.”
The waiter brought our food. Two cheeseburgers. One with bacon, one with pickles and ketchup. And a heap of fries smothered in yellow cheese. None of it was healthy, but it was so damn good.
Conversation flowed as we ate. She told me about some of her kids at the shelter and how they kept her busy.
“You should come to the shelter,” she said as I chewed my fries then swallowed.
This was a difficult subject for me. Since I bottled up my past and kept it in a specific place in my head, I didn’t think about it all the time. Therefore, going to the shelter would only open those old wounds again.
But this time I felt different. I didn’t know if it was talking to Wrong Way about my past or if I was just different, but I answered, “Sure. I can come by.”
Judging from the shock and surprise on Ms. Janey’s face, she was not expecting it. At all. “Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what I’ll say to ‘em, but I can come.”
“We’ll pick a day and time.” The excitement beaming off of her made me warm inside. I had no idea where all of these gushy feelings were coming from. Was it because of Wrong Way, or was I just getting to that point in my life.
Hell, I had no idea, but it was spinning me around in circles.
“Sounds good.”
“Now. Is there someone special in your life, young lady?” She pushed away her food and intertwined her fingers, staring at me with intent.
Telling her about Wrong Way would make her get excited. She always wanted me to find someone special, and I wasn’t sure Wrong Way was that … yet. But I also couldn’t not tell her.
“Yeah. I’ve been seein’ a guy, but it’s new, and I’m not banking on anything. So don’t go gettin’ your hopes up.”
Her hands clapped together, and a brightness tinged her eyes. “Really! Tell me all about him.”
I shook my head. “It’s new. We’re going slow?” It came out more like a question than a statement, but I wasn’t sure which it was. We’d been seeing each other for months, but really only got together, if that was what you called it, the last few nights.
It was all complicated and why I didn’t people. Peopling meant complications. No one liked complications.
“Child, I get that. What does he look like, and where does he work?” Prying eyes. I knew this would happen. I should’ve kept my damn mouth shut.
“He’s hot. Really hot. But that’s all you’re gettin’ until I figure out what this is.”
“I want to meet him,” she replied quickly. Damn she was on fire tonight.
“We’ll see how it goes. I’m not makin’ any promises.”
The thoughts of mixing Wrong Way up into the few people I held close both excited me and scared me. Could I really let him in? I still didn’t understand for myself what we were doing. While we talked it was never about the future. While Wrong Way struck me as the kind of man to plan, when he was around me, everything was in the moment.
Her smile was wide. “I’m happy for you.”
“What about you?”
It was her turn to blush. “Actually yes. Her name is Laura, and she’s wonderful. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
This made me happy. Ms. Janey, of all the people in the world, deserved her slice of happy. While her kids at the shelter were a priority, she needed her own personal happiness too.
“That’s great!” I leaned in, putting my elbows on the table and head on my hands, blinking at her. “Now, should I ask what she looks like? Is she hot? Where does she work? Full name and social security number.”
While a lot of that was a joke, it kind of wasn’t considering I would be looking into this Laura when I got back home. No one fucked with Ms. Janey. No one.
“Laura Keener and please don’t do your”—she waved her hands in the air—“thingy you do to find information. Leave her be.”
I loved Ms. Janey. Trusted her. But no way in hell would I follow this order. Not happening.
“You know I won’t. So let’s just pretend I’ll keep my fingers off the keys.”
She shook her head. “Alright. Best be goin’. It’s gettin’ late, and I need to get home. These bones are tired.”
“You’re only fifty-six. There’s no reason for your bones to be so tired.” She acted as if she was much younger as she kept up with the kids easily.
“Nonsense.”
After a few more barbs back and forth, we said our goodbyes. Every time I left Ms. Janey, I had this bit of sadness, trepidation. After everything I'd been through, she was the first adult I learned to trust and rely on. While I loved my home, independence, and day-to-day life, I did often miss seeing her every single day like when I was younger. I dropped the food off at my house and let Luna out.
Nerves hit me as I shut and locked my front door. I was supposed to meet Wrong Way tonight at the clubhouse. They were having a party, and he wanted me to be there with him. It was a bombshell he laid on me while heading out the door this morning.
Now in my chest those little nerves were sparking. This meant more peopling, and this was Wrong Way’s crowd. While we met each other at the bar, it wasn’t on their turf, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.
In my time on the streets, I didn’t meet up with many bikers. Which, in hindsight, was a good thing. I’d driven by the property, hell everyone in Rebellion had, and it was a bit daunting with its tall towers on each side of the entryway and a huge walkway of glass above it.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they liked to keep them and those they cared about safe. That small bit of information warmed me like nothing before. Safe. It had and always would be a priority for me.
Parking my car and getting out, the sounds of laughter echoed the area. It felt as if there were acres and acres of land around us. The large brick bui
lding was two stories tall. Doors were open, and music blared from the inside.
There was a huge fire going off to the right where men and women were scattered around, talking and laughing.
People. They were everywhere. Not doing ‘people’, I sucked up my big girl panties and made my way over to the crowd, looking for Wrong Way or hell even Rylynn. She was awesome at the bar.
She was someone who could be my people.
Men stood around with bottles and cans in their hands, laughing with each other while women tried getting their attention. It was strange, though, because there was a divide of women and it was so blatant.
There were two groups. The ones with clothes and the ones without. A small fraction of the women had on jeans, shirts, and leather on their backs. While the others, which there were many, had very short miniskirts or shorts on, with tops their tits were practically falling out of. Their hair was big, and they were the ones with the come hither eyes to the men.
There was no doubt in my mind that with one crook of a finger, they would be all over whichever man that did it.
It seemed strange to me at that moment how it was so obvious the chasm between them was.
But I didn’t know this world well, and it wasn’t much different than being at the bar. Some women were trying to get their itch scratched while others already knew they’d have it scratched and didn’t have to try.
Why this stood out to me, I had no clue. But I liked to know my surroundings and exit routes. Always exit routes. This was a new place, and I only knew a few of these people, but really I only knew Wrong Way.
Stop it. I chastised myself, walking around the outside of the large congregation of people, searching.
Appraising looks came from some of the men, while it was the same with the women, but theirs were more sneers. While the men appeared to be in appreciation. I knew I wasn’t all that, but I also knew I looked good.
I’d learned over the years how to work my body for my benefit. While I didn’t show it off like some of the women here did, the clothes I chose showed off my form, accentuating my ass and tits, but leaving a hell of a lot to the imagination.
