by Harley Wylde
I sent a quick text to Pepper before checking on Katya. Your shit is inside the front door. Come get it.
My woman was still passed out, sleeping peacefully. I tugged the covers over her, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and let her get some rest. While she’d wanted to speak with Bykov and find out if he truly was her father, I could tell the thought of meeting him in person was freaking her out. I didn’t know if she was worried he’d try to make her leave with him, or if it was more than that.
I hadn’t wanted to put any more strain on her, but the men she’d claimed were with Voronin hadn’t been found. One of the Prospects had noticed a black Lincoln drive by with blacked-out windows, more than once, but no one had approached the gates. If he really had brought men with him, then they knew this was the last place he’d said he was going. The fact they weren’t asking questions made me think they already knew he hadn’t walked out of here. Sooner or later, they’d make their move.
I thought about how much each Reaper loved their woman and kids. We all had blood on our hands, had walked on the wrong side of the law, but when it came down to it, we’d give our lives for our families. The Bratva didn’t seem to give a shit about any of their women. Part of me hoped that Konstantin wasn’t like the others. If he came here, thinking he’d use Katya in some way, then I’d quickly dissuade him. Even if it meant burying his ass six feet deep.
For Katya’s sake, I hoped he was on her side and wanted what was best for her. She needed someone in her corner, someone other than me. I knew the Reapers would stand beside her as well, but I couldn’t help feeling it was important to her to be accepted by her own people. If Konstantin Bykov could give that to her, then I’d welcome him with open arms. Hell, he could come to Thanksgiving dinner every fucking year.
Don’t let her down, asshole, or I’ll make you bleed.
Chapter Eleven
Katya
I’d woken to a note on the bed saying Sarge had gone to Church. I’d thought he meant the religious kind, but Pepper had stopped by and laughed until she’d cried when I was upset he hadn’t taken me with him. She’d explained what Church meant to the Dixie Reapers, and then I’d understood why he’d left me home. Well, maybe a little. It bothered me they were possibly discussing me or the trouble I’d brought and I wasn’t part of the conversation.
“You really going to sit here all meek and shit?” Pepper asked.
“You said women aren’t allowed,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “I did. Doesn’t mean you have to listen. Technically, my dad hasn’t told you shit about how all this works. This is your one chance to go in there, guns blazing, and get away with it by claiming ignorance.”
She had a point. A flimsy one at best, but I could make it work. And she was right, sitting here worrying wasn’t really my style. I was all about facing things head-on, or trying to find a solution to my own problems. While I loved that Sarge wanted to protect me, I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines, not knowing what the hell was going on. I glanced down at my clothes. “Maybe I should change first.”
I’d just slipped on some shorts and a shirt, thinking I’d tackle the kitchen. Then Pepper had shown up. While the outfit was fine, it didn’t really scream that I belonged to a biker.
Pepper snorted. “You do look a bit like a cheerleader right now, with your hair up and that outfit. Then again, if you bent over, I bet your ass would stick out of those shorts. Might be an advantage. You could use it as a distraction.”
I rolled my eyes and went to at least put on some jeans and a shirt that didn’t have a cartoon character on it. When I got back to the kitchen, I had on my skinny jeans, Doc Martens, and a plain black shirt. Pepper gave me a thumbs-up, so I grabbed the keys to the SUV and left. When I got to the clubhouse, I saw the line of bikes and parked at the end. There were also a few cars that seemed out of place.
I got out and headed up the steps, my Docs thumping on the wood. Pushing open the clubhouse door, I blinked at the dim lighting and then cringed. There were a few mostly naked women running around. I remembered the woman from last night and Sarge calling her a club whore. This must have been what he meant. But he’d said they were here at night. I didn’t see Sarge, or the others, but the guy I’d punched in the ribs was sprawled in a chair, one of the women sucking him off.
He leered at me. “You want to join in?”
I paused mid-step and only turned my head his way. I stared. Hard. I might not know a lot about how things worked around here, but after Sarge threatening to kill any man who tried to fuck me, I was pretty certain what he’d just said made him the dumbest guy on the planet.
I walked closer, and planted my hands on my hips. “What did you say to me?”
“I asked if you want to join in. Plenty of this to go around,” he said, waving a hand down his torso.
I gave a sharp bark of laughter that made it clear what I thought about his this. I made sure to look long and hard at his cock, then smiled. “Doesn’t look like enough to me.”
“You bitch!” He shot up off the chair, knocking the woman over. She cried out as she fell backward. The asshole clenched his fists, but before he could make a move, I brought my knee up and nailed him right in the ribs with my Doc-shod foot. Same spot I’d punched him. He howled, then snarled at me.
I laughed as I danced out of reach, then kicked him again. He shifted and my foot glanced off his hip, but I’d take any hits I could get. The fact his dick was flopping around was almost too perfect. I aimed my fist right for it, but he moved again, and I caught him in the thigh.
“See, it’s so small I couldn’t even hit it,” I taunted.
He launched himself at me, knocking me down. The air left my lungs in a whoosh and I gasped for breath, momentarily stunned as my head smacked the floor. I saw his hand go back, his fist aiming straight for my face, then I heard the bellow of rage that came from somewhere else.
“You’re fucking dead!”
I smiled up at him. “You fucked up again.”
Sarge yanked him off me and started in, hammering at him with his fists. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance. Blood poured from his nose and mouth. When he fell to his knees, his face was already swelling and discolored. One eye was nearly shut, and I’d be willing to bet he had some broken ribs the way he was cradling them.
Torch came into my line of sight and stopped next to Sarge. “Wilson Peters, you’re a disgrace to this club and to yourself.”
Someone else approached and yanked the cut off his back. Two more came from behind me and grabbed him on either side, hauling him away. I didn’t know what would happen to him, and I didn’t much care right then. He was a dickhead who treated women like shit. The Bratva would have loved him.
A man knelt next to me, turning my chin one way, then the other. “You all right, solnyshka?”
I opened and shut my mouth twice.
He arched an eyebrow and seemed amused. His cut said Grimm. But what he said next was a complete surprise.
“He’ll be handled. You’re safe here,” he said in Russian.
“Quit flirting with my woman, Grimm.” Sarge shoved him aside and fell to his knees beside me. He yanked me into his arms and held me tight. “What the hell were you doing here? And what happened?”
“Pepper said that Church was held at the clubhouse. I came to find you. Then he asked if I wanted to join him and the woman sucking him off.” I buried my face against him. “I might have said he had a small dick and there wasn’t enough to share.”
Sarge’s body shook, and then he let out a loud guffaw. The other men surrounding us laughed as well. Something cool touched my arm and I turned my head to see Torch handing me a cut. I took it, not really understanding, until I read it. Property of Sarge.
“Wait. Property?” I pulled back. “Property? Are you kidding me right now?”
“Easy,” Grimm said. “It’s not like the Bratva. It only means you belong to Sarge, that you’re his to protect, and therefore ours to protect as well. I
t shows you have a position of respect in this club.”
“Unlike them,” Torch said, nodding toward the barely dressed women.
“Oh.” I clutched it to my chest. “Then that’s okay.”
Sarge laughed again, then kissed me. “I’m sorry I didn’t explain things better, and I should have told you that Church is just for patched members and officers. Did you need something? Everything okay at home?”
I burrowed into him. “I felt left out.”
He hugged me to his chest. “My fierce little kitten. You did a good job kicking that Prospect’s ass. I’m only sorry it came down to that. The moment he tried to hit you when you showed up at the gates, I should have asked the club to take a vote and thrown his ass out.”
Torch held up a hand. “Wait. He tried to hit her before? You’d said she punched him, but you left out why she’d hit him. I figured he’d just said some stupid shit. Why am I just now hearing about this?”
“She handled herself well that day. Impressed the hell out of me,” Sarge said. “I made him scrub the toilets as punishment, and reminded him that women were to be protected.”
“That worked well,” Torch muttered.
I looked at the men closest to him. One had a cut that said Venom and the other said Preacher. I wondered how long it would take to learn all their names, and remember them. As I gazed around the room, I realized there were a lot of men in here. Just how big was the club?
“Tank has him,” Venom said. “He’ll be lucky if he’s not pissing blood when he leaves.”
“I think you mean if he leaves,” another man said. I focused on his cut. Rocky. “He attacked Sarge’s woman. You think Tank is going to let that slide?”
“Nope,” said Preacher. “Kid fucked up. There’s no coming back from what he did. I don’t even want to imagine what he’d have done if we hadn’t come out to investigate all the noise.”
Flicker came over, arms folded across his chest. “So, Pepper told you where Church was held. She knows damn well there’s no women allowed, which means she either told you that and you decided to come here anyway, or she left out that little tidbit, which is definitely going to earn her a spanking.”
Sarge glared at him. “There are some things I don’t need to hear, asshole.”
“Yeah, because no one walking past your house in the last day or two has heard the two of you going at it. Pepper is scarred for life after going to your house last night for shit she hid over there. And yes, I knew she was hoarding stuff at your house, but we ran out of space,” Flicker said.
“Which is why both of you are packing up your homes and moving to the new ones,” Venom said. “I’ll have my family ready to go by tonight. Prospects will be on furniture moving duty.”
“Darian and I will be ready by tomorrow,” said another guy.
We were moving? But they just painted Theo’s room. Why did we have to go to a different house? Was there something wrong with ours? I looked at Sarge and wanted to ask, but he winked at me and I just cuddled against him again. I’d ask after we left the clubhouse.
Sarge stood and pulled me to my feet, then put his arm around my waist. “I’m taking her home. I’ll come back for my bike later.”
I let him lead me outside, then he helped me into the SUV. He was quiet on the drive home. Even as we pulled into the driveway, he didn’t say a word. Except when he saw his daughter. Then he had plenty to say, and I hoped he didn’t regret it later.
“Proud of yourself, Pepper?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He cracked his neck. “Sure you don’t. You knew damn well she wouldn’t be allowed into Church. Even worse, one of the Prospects decided to put his hands on her. If you hadn’t sent her to the clubhouse, she wouldn’t have been attacked.”
Pepper gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “What? Which Prospect?”
“Wilson. He’s gone. Tank is handling the situation.” Sarge shook his head. “I’m sorely disappointed in you right now, and I don’t think Flicker is too happy either. Where exactly were my son and grandson while you were visiting my house this morning?”
“They were fine,” Pepper said.
“Uh-huh. Be sure to tell Flicker that when he gets here. I’m sure he’ll be relieved his kid was fine while you left him alone.” Sarge took my hand and tugged me behind him. I shot Pepper a look, but she was staring at the ground, looking more than a little worried. Her husband wouldn’t hurt her, would he? Were they even married?
In the house, Sarge led me into the living room, then sat on the couch, pulling me down next to him. He must have thought better of it because he picked me up and settled me on his lap. Sarge kissed my temple.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “You got to me before he could hurt me. I’m sorry I didn’t stay here. I honestly didn’t think anything bad would happen.”
“We’ll have to go over the rules for living here, but not right now. We need to pack up as much as we can in the next few hours. I’ll have the furniture moved over, and all of Theo’s new things, which are probably still in the washer or waiting to be cleaned. The stuff in my room will have to wait. I’ll come back and pack stuff a little at a time. No one will need this house right away.”
“I don’t understand why we’re moving,” I said. “Is it because of me? Did I do something?”
“No, kitten. This house is just going to be too small for us. It was fine while it was just me, and occasionally my grandson, but now I have you, Theo, and Reed will still want to come over. And there’s the part where I plan on knocking you up, if I haven’t already. We need more space, more bedrooms. We’ll still be next door to Flicker and Pepper, and Venom is going to move into a house that’s right there too, as well as Bull and his woman, Darian. You’ll have three women to hang out with, and Theo will have kids to play with.” He brushed my hair back. “There’s also a bunker near those homes. A place where you, Theo, and the other women and kids can go if trouble comes here.”
I sighed. “So we’re moving right now because my father is coming, my real father this time, and you’re worried he might pose a threat to me.”
He nodded. “That’s part of it. We really do need more space. I also think you’ll settle in better with Darian and Ridley right there. Especially Ridley. She was the first woman here. She’s Bull’s daughter. Came looking for him when she got into a tough spot, and ended up with Venom.”
“She’s the one who was here with Pepper last night?” I asked.
“That’s the one. She’s a bit of a firecracker, but I think you’ll like her. She’s fiercely loyal to her man and this club. Once we’re settled, I’ll talk to the others about getting all the ladies together so you can meet everyone and hopefully make some friends.” He kissed my cheek. “I want you to feel like this place is your home, like you can go to anyone here if you need something.”
“I guess we’d better get started. There’s more stuff here than you probably realize. I don’t see how the two of us can pack it all. Not fast enough to move by tonight.”
There was a knock at the door and Sarge went to answer it. He came back a moment later with a woman at his heels. It only took me a second to realize it was the same woman who had been with the Prospect at the clubhouse, the one he’d knocked over when he charged me. She twisted her hands in front of her and seemed uncertain as she looked at me through her lashes.
“Katya, this is Candy. Against my better judgment, I agreed with her request to speak with you.” Sarge glared at her. “You mind your manners or I’ll personally toss you out on your ass.”
She gave a jerky nod and waited for Sarge to leave before she approached me. Hesitantly, she held out her hand. I shook it, not really sure where this was going, or why she was here. She glanced around the space before returning her gaze to mine.
“You probably don’t think very much of me,” she said. “No one here does.”
So she knew the guys looked down on her, possibly the other
women too, and yet she still came to the compound. I didn’t understand the motivation behind doing such a thing, but I wasn’t going to judge her for it. She didn’t say anything else for a few minutes, as if she were gathering her thoughts, or maybe her courage. I didn’t think I was all that intimidating, but perhaps to her I was.
“It was pretty awesome the way you stood up for yourself against Wilson. He’s pretty nasty to most of us, but we have to take it.” She pulled her lower lip into her mouth, then released it with a pop. “I just wanted to say that I’ve never been with Sarge, and I know he’s yours now so I won’t try anything. And I wanted to thank you. Because of what you did, they threw Wilson out and he’s not allowed to come back.”
I moved closer to her. “Why do you care so much about him being gone if everyone here treats you like crap? What’s different about him?”
She turned around and moved her hair to the side. I gasped when I saw the darkened bruises. It was clearly from a man gripping the back of her neck. She let her hair fall again. I wondered if she left it down specifically to hide the marks, and if she hadn’t hidden them, would someone have stopped that jerk from hurting people long before now?
“I’m not the only one who will be grateful that he’s gone,” Candy said. “He’s hurt Tessie and Anya before too. He got off on degrading us, forcing us to do stuff whether we wanted to or not. We were just too scared to say anything. They trusted him enough to let him prospect for the club, and we’re just… pussy.”
I reached out and took her hand. “You’re more than that and don’t let anyone tell you different, including my husband. If he was hurting you, why did you keep coming by? Why have the others? Don’t you want to be around people who respect you? Or at the very least don’t try to force your submission?”
“The three of us share an apartment in the not-so-great part of town. Honestly, it’s a one-room hovel, but it beats being on the streets. When we’re here, the guys tend to give us drinks and food. At least we come here by choice. On the streets near our place, the girls aren’t given the option.”
