by Joy Blood
“The hell are you doing?” Sage comes in and takes the glass from my hand, sloshing the liquid over the brim.
“What the hell are you doing?” I snap, reaching for my stolen glass.
“You ain’t twenty-one yet,” he growls.
“You are such an asshole. Give it back! I deserve a drink!”
He shakes his head and starts drinking down the clear liquid, so I grab the bottle, uncap it, and start chugging while glaring at him. The liquor burns going down, and my chest heats, but I keep going—until he reaches out to grab me and the bottle is tossed to the floor with a thunk. If it weren’t for being plastic, there would be an even bigger mess in the kitchen besides spilled vodka. Not that it matters since Sage hauls me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing before he deposits me onto the couch with a grunt.
“You little fucking shit,” Sage growls over top of me. Leaning in on his arms, he puts his face in mine, so close, our breaths mingle together. “Why do you always have to back talk?” He grits his teeth, clearly pissed at me, but I can see the heat—the fire—in his eyes as he stares me down. I know I shouldn’t push him, but I want to, just to see how far he’ll go when it comes to punishing me.
“You know you like it,” I find myself saying, and immediately, he backs away. Only it isn’t to leave me. It’s to pull the belt from his loops on his jeans.
“You think I like it?” He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he shoves the coffee table out of the way and lifts me up, only to drop me on my knees to the floor, pushing my face into the couch. “You will count every fucking one,” he demands, right before the first crack of the leather comes down on my still covered ass.
Thirteen
Sage
Crack! The first slap of the leather crosses her creamy skin just below her pitiful excuse for shorts, leaving bright red in its wake. I don’t put my whole strength behind the blow, but still, I make them sting. “Count them,” I growl when she doesn’t start, not knowing why I instructed such a thing. I wait for her to shout out, “One!” before slamming the second down. It lands in the same place as the last, and she does as instructed.
“Two!” Her voice is already wavering.
“Your shit little attitude is going to get you into trouble.” Smack!
“Three…” She’s quieter this time. I deliver the next one, and the next, stopping when she calls out, “Five!” Her heart rate has picked up, much like mine, but for different reasons…I think—until she starts to rub her legs together and I smell how aroused she is.
I couldn’t get this hard the other night with Bex, but now, with the twenty-year-old daughter of my best friend who’s in a coma—my dick is rivaling steel. Brook shifts just enough to glance back at me. Her face is flushed and she doesn’t have tears in her eyes like I expected. Instead, she’s staring back at me with a fire I stupidly ignited by whipping her tight little ass with my belt.
“More.” Her voice is a small, needy whisper, and it makes my cock surge. I’m still. Can’t fucking move while she looks up at me with those pleading eyes. Fuck me hard and spank me even harder, they say. “Please, Sage. Spank me.” My hand, of its own volition, raises again, still clutching the belt in my grip. Before I come down, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. Instantly, I’m up and away from her.
I check it quick to see it’s Rock, then step outside to answer. “Pres.”
“No easy way to say this, brother. We lost Gin five minutes ago.”
“The fuck?” A cold fist punches me directly in the gut, and I damn near can’t hear the words Rock says next from the pulse pounding in my ears.
“He went into cardiac arrest just minutes ago and they couldn’t resuscitate. He’s gone, Sage.” He pauses for a moment. “I need to get Ellie down here to tend to Grace. She’s going ballistic. You good, brother?” I nod, then realize he’s going to need words.
“Yeah. I’ll let Brook know.” With that, the call ends, and I’m left standing on the deck in the cooling night air. I never once thought about the possibility of Gin not pulling through this. He is the toughest out of all of us—the only Rider who survived the shootout. They charred off part of his face for fuck’s sake. Now, he’s fucking gone, all while I was getting off on beating his daughter’s ass. Goddamn, I’m going to hell. I wouldn’t be surprised if his first stop would be to haunt my ass.
I turn back to the door, but find myself not wanting to go in. I know she’ll be there looking at me with all kinds of questions and even more of her shitty attitude. I need to, though. This is why she’s here, isn’t it? For her dad. “Fuck.” I scrub at my chin before gripping my hand around the doorknob. I step in slowly to see her standing there staring at me, eyes already red-rimmed. Shit.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?”
I nod.
“I guess…” She sniffs and wipes away a stray tear. “How’s Grace?” she chokes out.
“Ellie is headed to the hospital to take care of her. She’s not good.”
She nods. “Good. That’s good.” I take a step closer, but she backs away, holding out her hand for me to stop as she shakes her head.
“Brook.” I try to sooth her, but her breathing starts to pick up.
“I didn’t—oh god…” Her breaths come faster and faster as she clutches a hand to her chest. I hurry over to her side as she drops to the sofa and push her head between her legs, trying to get her to calm herself. “He didn’t…”
“Shhh. Calm down, kid. Breathe,” I tell her, still holding her down until her breaths starts to even out. She’s still crying, but at least she can breathe without struggle.
“I shouldn’t have left!” she wails, tears streaming down her face. “He said if I left I wasn’t welcome back.” More tears.
“He was a hard ass, that’s for sure. I know he loved you, though, Brook. Even after you left.”
She lets out a hard, forced laugh. “Oh, yeah, I bet. I bet he was happy to see me leave.”
“Then tell me why the hell he would have Rico keep tabs on you and give him daily updates? How do you think it was so easy for me to find you? He knew right where you were.” She might be shocked, but doesn’t let on. “It took me, Jake, and Rico to hold him back when he found out where you were working. He was bound and determined to go down there and haul your ass home. Grace was the one who wouldn’t let him. Said you would come home when you were ready.”
“I wasn’t ready, and I took too long.” She shakes her head. “What fucking bullshit!” she yells, getting up from the couch and stomping to her bag where she pulls out a phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling a cab. I’m going back. I can’t stay here. He’s gone now, there’s no reason to…” I’m on her quick, taking her phone away and tossing it into the wall, not caring if it smashes into a million pieces. “What the hell!” Her anger now directed toward me, she comes my way full force, slapping my chest, and I let her. She’s grieving, and we all have our own way of doing so. My way will be drowning myself in a bottle of bourbon as soon as I leave this fucking guest house. “Why did you bring me here!” she yells, collapsing onto my chest, her tears soaking though my shirt under my cut. She grips the leather in her hands and pulls, breathing hard and fast. “Why?”
“‘Cause you needed to be here.”
Fourteen
Brook
“‘Cause you needed to be here.”
The hell I do. I don’t need to be anywhere near Cental, South Dakota. This place is hell. Only bad things happen here.
“I hate you for bringing me back. I hate you! You hear me, Sage!” I yell into his chest. His leather smells almost like how I remember Dad’s smelling, without the cigarettes. Gin always smoked, even when Grace told him he needed to quit. He cut back, but still stepped outside to have one every now and then. Mainly when I was causing trouble. Always because of me. I never should have come back. I allow Sage’s arms to remain tight around me as my tears soak his shirt. I don’t care, though. This is a
ll his fault.
When I’m spent, I push away from him, straighten, run my hands down my face to wipe away the leftover residue from my crying, then look up at him. “I will stay until the funeral is over, then I’m gone,” I declare, then turn around and walk through the bathroom door, promptly slamming it behind me. I flick on the faucet and run some cold water over my face. The sound of the door shutting catches my attention, and I let out a long breath knowing Sage left. Hopefully he won’t be back for a while.
“Because, princess, every girl needs a pony,” Dad says, lifting me over his shoulders. I’m so high in the air, I can see everything from up here.
“But I want a bike, just like yours,” I complain. He always tells me I need a pony, not a bike. “I want a pink one.”
“What about a pink pony?”
I let out a high-pitched giggle. “No, Daddy. Ponies don’t come in pink!”
“What? That’s crazy,” he declares, laughing at me. Mom’s walking our way, holding Jason in her arms, and I already know my time with my dad is about to come to an end. We don’t stay at the clubhouse for very long. She always wants to leave right after we eat. Sometimes I think the only reason we come here is so Mom doesn’t have to fix dinner for me and my brother.
“Time to go, Brook. Say goodbye to your dad,” Mom says, shifting Jason to her other hip.
“You don’t have to leave yet, Mindy. Let them play with the other kids for Christ’s sake.” I flinch when Dad starts talking to Mom like that. It always leads to them fighting. But this time, instead of a fight breaking out, my mom gives a small smile and nods her head.
“Okay. Maybe an hour more,” she says, and I let out a squeal of delight. Dad reaches up and tickles me a little before walking away from Mom. For the next few hours, I get my dad to myself, until Mom comes to take me and my brother home.
Fifteen
Sage
My ass hits the barstool hard and a bottle of Jim is placed down in front of me, the prospect already knowing what I need. “Brother.” Ringer nods to me, tipping his beer in my direction. The clubhouse is full tonight to mourn the loss of Gin. Even some of the brothers from the Rhino chapter showed up. “Hard to believe, ain’t it? I thought the man was made of steel.”
I finish my swig off. “He was. Fuck, it’s surreal. When Jake and I found him on the floor, half dead and burnt to shit, I thought he was dead. If not dead, he would want to be. How fucking wrong I was. The man took his time, bounced back, and found himself a hell of a woman. And now what? He gets gunned down in the street with his fucking kid for fuck’s sake.”
“I know, brother. Ain’t right. We’ll find the motherfucker. Tear him apart piece by piece,” Ringer declares, finishing off his beer before grabbing another.
“I just can’t even put my finger on who the fuck it could be. Not even that turncoat son of a bitch Brock is a suspect. Aggravatin’.”
“Hey, boys.” Bex’s purr floats through my ears as she comes right between me and Ringer, sliding her hands up our backs in a comforting gesture.
“Bex,” I greet, taking another pull straight from the bottle.
“I’m sorry about Gin. I know you two go way back,” she says to me. “If you need anything, let me know. I’ll be in my room.” She gives me and Ringer another sympathetic rub to our backs before pulling away to leave. Only I reach out to grip her wrist.
“Yeah, Bex. I could use something.”
Sixteen
Brook
I wake early as usual, my eyes swollen and crusted over from the tears I cried forever last night. Sage never came back—not that I expected him to. I can’t help but be a brat and be mad at the man for forcing me to come back to this place—even if I should be here for my brother, my stepsister, and Grace. But, in all honesty, what help am I going to be?
Shaking away that unwanted thought, I get up from the bed, reluctantly this time, and take a long hot shower before going out to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I leave my hair to air dry as I sit at the kitchen window and look out at the green field frosted over by the cold night. It won’t be long before the green turns to brown, then white. Bringing on another season, another change that nothing can stop. You can’t turn back time and hold onto the summer longer, no matter how much you might want to. You can’t turn back time and not storm out of the house while your dad is telling you not to leave. Telling you if you do you won’t be welcome back. Tears threaten my eyes again, but I force them back. I won’t let them fall anymore. I cried my last, last night. I don’t deserve to be crying over Gin—not when I left the way I did and refused to come back.
My phone is still on the floor where Sage threw it yesterday. Picking it up, I find the screen is cracked, but I’m able to put the battery back into place and snap the cover back on. It fires up, and the missed calls start to pop up. All from Jason. Probably to tell me about Gin. I call him back, but he doesn’t answer. Most likely still sleeping. While I’m an early riser, he doesn’t get out of bed until noon, and even then, it was like pulling teeth.
I don’t want to be in this cabin any more, not with what happened with Sage right before he got the call about Gin. The memory of the fiery look in his eyes as he was about to throttle my backside even more than he already had causes my hand to instantly go to my butt. It’s still a little tender, but not too bad, and I find myself almost smirking at the memory. I shake it away, though. “I have to get out of here,” I mumble to myself. I’m packing my bag when my phone starts ringing. “Jason?”
“Hey. I was sleeping,” he rasps into my ear.
“Where are you?”
“Vin and Ellie’s. Grace and Tanya are here too.” He clears his throat to get the sleepy grog from his voice.
“Okay. I’ll have someone give me a ride over. Are you okay?” There’s a long pause until he answers.
“Yeah, sis. I’ll be okay. Just get on over here. Grace could use more support.” I nod even though he can’t see me and hang up, then take in a deep breath because I know I have to go to the clubhouse to find that ride.
Seventeen
Sage
The smell of sex surrounds me when I wake up. Pressed between two very naked women, I sit up with a groan, rubbing my face and temples to alleviate the throbbing headache. Glancing over to the bedside table, I see the culprit. The bottle of Jim I started at the bar is empty and tipped to the side—not even a drop left. Looking to both sides, I see Bex to my right and Jasmine to my left.
The girls don’t move an inch as I push myself from the bed and grab a pair of jeans from the floor to pull on. I shake my head at myself. Another night of mindless fucking. Not that I remember doing much fucking—more watching than anything. Before I take another step, a soft knock comes from my closed door. I don’t think twice and open the door.
Big mistake.
Her hands are clasped together, and her eyes dart past me to Jasmine and Bex. Used condom wrappers litter the floor, as well as the bottle I drank last night, but she doesn’t move or act like she takes notice. “I need a ride to Ellie’s and everyone else is still passed out,” she explains, her eyes looking everywhere but at me. Her blonde hair drops from her ear and falls forward as she looks down at the floor and runs the tip of her shoe along a slat of wood.
“Uh, yeah. Just let me get dressed. Meet me at my bike?” I wait for her slight nod before she starts back down the hallway, not giving my room a second glance before leaving. It brings a pit to my stomach that shouldn’t form. I shouldn’t feel guilty about her witnessing me at my finest. Two women passed out in my bed shouldn’t make me a complete fucking asshole, but the damn look that flashed across her face before she averted her eyes, the one that nearly pulled my heart from my chest…I’m a complete and total asshole.
With a heavy sigh, I close my door and rummage around for clothes to wear that don’t have the smell of sex on them. Quickly as I can, I strip off the jeans I had pulled on, take the fastest shower known to man, and yank some clean clothes on over my s
till damp skin. Why I even give a shit about her smelling the girls on me should set alarms bells off in my head, but I push it away, telling myself I just don’t want to be an even bigger ass about the whole situation. I shouldn’t care. But deep down, I do.
When I step outside, she’s her right where I told her to wait, and I find myself wanting to smile. She actually listened to me. “Got your helmet?” I ask before grabbing mine out of the saddlebag. I catch her nod before she pulls it on over her head, covering the mass of blonde hair I want so bad to lace my fingers through. Enough of that shit, Sage.
“Have a good time last night?” And the sass is back, full force, begging for my belt.
“Don’t,” I warn her, then move to straddle my bike.
“Don’t what?” she asks innocently as she follows me, placing herself right behind me on the seat.
“You know what I fucking mean, Brook. I got drunk and fucked a couple club girls last night. I don’t owe you or anyone else an explanation,” I snap, instantly regretting my words. I can’t see her face, but just by the way she grabs hold of my cut, I know it hurt her. Unlike the whole fucking ride to Cental, her hands are tense, not wanting to touch me if she can help it.
“Thank you for at least showering before taking me to Ellie’s.”
I don’t answer her, only fire up the bike and speed out of the club parking lot. I’m fucking ready to get this girl off my bike for good, even knowing damn well I want her to be on it forever.
Eighteen
