by Rye Hart
“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” I sobbed, collapsing on the ground, allowing my body to go limp as a defense mechanism.
Gage yanked me right back up and I started to scream again, but he silenced me with a hard slap to the face. It was hard enough to make my ears ring and bust my nose open. Blood spurted from my nostrils and ran down my lips and chin. The warm, thick liquid hit my tongue and I immediately spit it out, shocked by the sudden violence. I realized now that this was Gage’s role. He was supposed to beat me until the other gang came out and saved me. I also realized very quickly that he was using this as a way of getting back at me for rejecting him.
Another slap sent me to the ground and it was at about that time that I heard doors slam open. Gage looked up and cursed, delivering one swift kick to my ribs before taking off. The blow forced all the air from my chest, but luckily he didn’t break any of my ribs. He ran off, grabbing his bike and sped away, chased by bullets. None of them hit the man, but they sent their message. If he came back, he’d be dead.
A whole group of people came running from the community; most of them had guns pulled. Blood was dripping onto the asphalt as I pushed myself into a sitting position. The first person to break from the crowd and run towards me was a tall man with long, blonde hair and eyes the color of rich honey. His skin was tanned from what I assumed to be years of sun exposure, but somehow looked as smooth as a baby’s bottom. His hands and thick, muscular arms were decorated with intricate tattoos and as he scooped me up into his arms, I became lost in his kind eyes, barely hearing the words that came from his mouth.
“Are you alright?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the sudden fear and blows to my face had been too much. I’d become over-excited, and as I tried to answer his question, I turned my head and threw up before passing out in the arms of this handsome stranger.
Great first impression.
Chapter Five
I’m not sure how long I was out for, but when I woke up there was someone pressing a cold compress to my cheek and lip. I didn’t open my eyes for a moment, sighing contentedly and secretly hoping it was the handsome Adonis who’s scooped me up off the ground. When I finally allowed my eyes to flutter open, I saw a lovely woman leaning over me, her long blonde hair pulled into a bun on top of her head.
“Well, well. Looks like Sleeping Beauty has finally awakened,” she said with a smile.
She had no malice in her voice and seemed genuinely concerned about me. I groaned and turned away from the compress as pain started to radiate through my entire face.
“Christ, I feel like I was hit with a Mac truck,” I moaned.
“You might as well have been,” the woman said as she dabbed my forehead with a wet cloth.
I stared at her intently for a long moment before sighing. “Who are you?”
“My name is Chloe. My husband is the leader of this club,” she said softly.
“Chloe, um, where is the man who saved me?”
“Ryder? The one that you got sick on?” she asked with a little smirk.
I groaned and rolled over hiding my face in the pillow. “I’d almost forgotten about that.”
Chloe laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t hold it against you. He’s had much worse things happen to him,” she assured.
That didn’t really make me feel any better. “Ryder? His name is actually Ryder?”
“Yeah. Birth name too, not an alias. Kind of funny, isn’t it?”
“I was thinking more ironic.”
“Well, he was born into the life, so I suppose that makes it a little less coincidental,” Chloe said, rolling her neck a little with a sigh.
“Born into it? He was born into this gang?”
“Heavens no! He was born into the Hell’s Angel’s. It’s kind of impressive, really,” she mused, nodding a little as she stood up.
I forced myself to sit up and looked around. “So, am I going to be sent on my way?”
My mind was still racing. For a moment I’d almost forgotten why I was here in the first place. I had a mission. If I failed my mission I’d have a whole lot more than a beating coming my way.
Chloe looked at me as if I’d just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. She smiled softly and shook her head. “Of course not. Why would we help you and then send you right back to that asshole? Who was he anyway?”
I cast my eyes downward, frowning deeply. “He was my boyfriend,” I lied, trying not to gag as I said it.
“Your boyfriend? He’s much older than you,” she didn’t sound surprised, though. She’d probably seen situations like this before.
I chewed on my bottom lip and looked up at her, taking a deep breath. “Can I possibly use the restroom?”
“Of course.”
Chloe helped me out of bed and took me down the hall of her fairly large house. It was strange to see bikers living so well. Their community was so beautiful and so well kept and they all seemed sober. It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. There were no needles lying around and I could hear the laughter of a child. It caught me off guard and I turned toward the sound, eyes wide.
“You have a baby?”
“Yes. Her name is Mariana. Would you like to meet her?” Chloe asked, her eyes lighting up at the mention of her daughter.
“Yes I’d love to. I should probably use the restroom first though.”
“Of course.”
She showed me to the bathroom and when I closed the door and locked it, I took a deep breath. I was happy to see that it wasn’t a half bath and that, if I wanted to, I could take a shower. I chewed on my lip and slowly stepped forward, glancing at myself in the mirror and wincing.
My eyes were turning a deep, almost angry purple and my lip was split open, though it wasn’t bleeding anymore. My tongue darted out and brushed at the wound, causing me to wince and pull away. Jesus that hurt. I shook my head and turned on the water, wondering if it was rude to shower without asking my host. I wasn’t really sure of the rules when it came to visiting people’s houses, as it wasn’t something I’d ever done before outside of the club.
I let the water cascade over the small cuts on my hands, closing my eyes as the stinging sensation turned into a numbing one. It was easy to ignore the pain. It felt good to clean up and when I stepped out and started to dry off, I started to feel human again.
A loud buzzing sound made me jump and I stared at my jacket with wide eyes. I’d almost forgotten about my phone entirely. I unzipped the pocket I kept the phone in and cursed when I saw that the screen was cracked, probably from the impact of being thrown to the ground. I sighed softly and opened the text message on the screen, trying to ignore the way my heart dropped when I read it.
Don’t forget why you’re there.
Chapter Six
When I came out of the bathroom, Chloe was holding a toddler on her hip. The little girl had wispy blonde hair and it made something inside of me ache. This was what a normal life looked like. Kids and a house, and a loving family, even if they weren’t your blood. This was what happiness looked like, and God I wanted it so badly.
I just stared at the child for a long moment and Chloe smiled. “Do you want to hold her?”
“Please?”
Gently, Chloe handed the baby over to me and I smiled at the little girl. “Hi there, Mariana. My name is Brittney.”
“Brittney is your name?”
I nodded and looked at Chloe, chewing my lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I was a bit distracted,” I tried to joke.
“Don’t apologize. I understand completely. It was far more important that we knew you were alright.”
I glanced over at her again. “And you really aren’t going to send me away?” I asked softly.
“Of course not. We’re going to find a place for you to live.”
“I won’t be staying here?”
“Unfortunately not,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Damien’s sister lives with us. You were sleeping in
her room, actually. We just don’t have enough space.”
It was a little bit of a letdown, but I nodded. I needed to seem thankful and in a way, I was. I nodded and smiled weakly. “Of course. I understand.”
“But, before we hash all of that out, why don’t you come with me?” she said, heading downstairs.
A young cute woman with hair almost as dark as mine sat on a large leather couch, munching on popcorn and watching a sitcom. Chloe leaned over the couch and dropped Mariana onto the woman’s stomach, causing her to groan.
“You mind watching Mari for a bit, Kisha? I’m going to take our new friend to the bar.”
Kisha waved her hand idly and shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. Go enjoy yourself. I’ll be on diaper duty.”
Chloe pressed a kiss to Kisha’s lips. “Thanks, sis!”
Kisha rolled her eyes but balanced Mari on her belly, making kissing faces at the child. “You going to sit still and let aunty watch her show?”
“No!” the baby squealed.
I couldn’t help but smile as Chloe led me through the front door, almost wishing that I was staying with the baby and Kisha. I was a little surprised that Chloe was taking me to a bar, but I didn’t argue. I knew that a dive bar was a biker gang’s best friend, but seeing how put together everyone appeared to be, I was kind of shocked they drank at all.
We walked to an older looking building on the edge of the community and when she pushed the door open, the sound of Southern Gothic music floated through the air. It was like outlaw bluegrass. I actually liked the sound and sighed softly as I followed her inside.
I could see a few pool tables, regular tables, a well-stocked bar, and a dart board. Chloe led me to the bar and we both took a seat. She smiled and offered me a beer, but I shook my head.
“Got Coke?” I asked.
“Sure do,” she said, waving the short, stocky bartender down. The woman slid a Coke across the slick bar top and I caught it with ease.
“You don’t drink?” Chloe asked me.
“I’m underage and I never really had a taste for it,” I explained.
Chloe chuckled. “I was underage when I started drinking, but I respect your decision.”
I smiled thankfully and sucked down the Coke, sighing at the burn that coated my throat. It felt good. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until I took that first sip
“So, can I ask why you brought me here?”
Chloe shrugged. “I thought it would be nice for you to get to know everyone.”
“This is everyone?” I asked, looking around.
There were a lot of people in the bar, but it was far more relaxed than what I was used to. The bar that Chaos frequented was always rowdy and there always seemed to be fights. Because of the activity the bar always seemed much more crowded than it actually was. There were people here drinking, but none of them were acting like asses. It was refreshing to say the least.
Chloe walked away for a while and I knew I should have been walking around mingling, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I felt insecure and even a little scared. I’d been thrown into this situation without so much as a warning. I was still trying to ground myself and figure out what I was supposed to be doing.
A hand on my hip suddenly brought me out of my trance. I spun around, hand raised and ready to slap whoever was touching me out of pure instinct. As I turned, my eyes settled on the face of the man who I’d gotten sick on only a few hours prior. I gasped, quickly dropping my hand.
“Ryder?”
He offered me a charming smiled and I could have melted. “Who told you my name?”
“I asked Chloe and she told me,” I whispered, almost breathless.
He chuckled and nodded. “I’m flattered you had enough interest to ask. I’m sorry if I startled you just now.,” he hummed.
I suddenly felt weak in the knees and I couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that was bubbling up from my throat. This man made me feel like a babbling high school girl. I didn’t stand a chance against him. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
“You play pool?” he asked.
A grin came across my face and suddenly I felt confident again. This was my element. "I've been playing pool since I was old enough to see over the table," I said with a smirk.
He whistled and walked over to the wall, pulling a cue down and handing it to me. "You want to go, then?"
I took the cue, the smile never falling from my lips. "Hell yeah!"
Ryder was a pretty good player. He handled the stick the way I imagined he handled his women. His movements were controlled and graceful, something I didn’t really expect from a biker. Everything he did had an air of sensuality to it, and it made me shiver. I kept my eyes on him, watching his every move. I never wanted to take my eyes off him.
Ryder definitely knew his way around a pool table, but as good as he was, I was better. I loved pool; it was how I'd earned my money as a child. I would take on all the gruff men who thought they were better than me, take then down a notch, and rob them blind at the same time.
I won the first two games and when the third came around he paused and sighed, looking at me and shaking his head.
"Alright. Let's make the last game interesting,” he offered mischievously.
I looked at him and cocked a brow, scoffing a little. "You want to make a bet? After you lost twice?" I asked, clicking my tongue. "Seems like a dumb move."
"Hear me out."
"I'm all ears,” I said.
"If you win, I'll cover your bar tab for a month."
I hummed and rubbed my chin. "Alright. You got me interested."
"But if I win, you let me take you out for a Coke.”
I cocked a brow and leaned on my stick, looking him up and down. A small crowd had gathered around us and were watching us intently, waiting for my answer. It felt like a rash thing to do, given that I was just rescued by Ryder after being beat up by someone I referred to as my boyfriend. But I suppose that it would be pretty obvious that I would no longer want anything to do with that guy anyway. Finally, I grinned and offered my hand.
"You're on!"
We shook on it and the crowd cheered. It was the first time that guilt worked its way into my chest and squeezed my heart. Without being asked, these people were welcoming me into their lives. They treated me like one of them, even though I'd been sent here to destroy everything they'd worked so hard to build.
I'm not sure if it was that thought that threw my focus, or the fact that I kind of wanted to lose. A date with this man sounded heavenly, but even though I wanted a date, I wasn’t going to let myself lose on purpose. Not a chance. I had way too much pride for that.
As the game went on, however, Ryder started to let his true colors shine. Either I was really distracted or he’d been holding back the first two games. When all of the balls were pocketed, I was left stunned and gaping at him. Had that really just happened? He leaned on the pool table and offered me a little grin.
“Looks like you owe me a date,” he said in a way that made my toes tingle.
Chapter Seven
As the next few days passed, I found myself wandering from the house of the kindly elderly woman who had taken me in. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful, but I found myself really drawn to Chloe. My stand-offish nature had made it hard for me to make friends growing up, but Chloe was such an easy person to talk to. Besides, she liked to talk, which made getting information from her easy.
For the sake of my mom and the few others I loved from back home, my plans to sabotage Damien’s group were still on. However, my attempts were halfhearted. I needed to continue to gather information. Fang was going to expect the something soon.
Chloe and I were walking through the Flea Market and I had my hands stuffed in my jeans as she picked up various animal skulls, and looked at coffee tables.
“What are we doing here?” I asked casually, looking around at all the knick knacks.
“Oh. They always sell vintage clothes and fabrics at
these things.”
“What in the world do you do with vintage clothes and fabrics?”
She laughed a little and just shook her head back and forth. “I’m a clothing designer. I sew for a few vintage lines and they’re going to be holding a fashion show in the next month or so,” she paused and glanced at me. “You know, you might be a good model. We’d just have to teach you how to walk.”
My cheeks turned bright red and I started to shake my head furiously. “Oh no. I don’t think so.”
Chloe laughed. “Well, think about it at any rate, okay? I think you’d do well.”
“I guess I can think about it,” I said with some hesitation.
Chloe smiled as she started to pick out bright fabrics and dresses. They were all beautiful and things that I could possibly see myself wearing. I’d never allowed myself to think about wearing things as pretty as what Chloe was pulling off the rack. She caught me looking and I had to turn my head quickly, blushing a little and chewing on my lip.
“So, you’re going on your date with Ryder this weekend. That’s only two days away. What were you planning on wearing?”
“Oh, um-” I looked down at the jersey t-shirt and jeans I was wearing. Chloe had been kind enough to take me out shopping and buy me a few outfits, but I hadn’t bought anything date-worthy. I hadn’t thought about it. “This, I suppose?”
“That won’t do,” she said, shaking her head. “I have something that will do just fine. I’ll give it to you when we go home.”
I nodded and while I was excited to see what she came up with, leaving my date outfit in the hands of someone else was also a bit nerve wracking. We ended up leaving a bit earlier than we’d originally planned and went straight back to the house.
“Come on,” she said, tugging me into her room.
She disappeared into the closet and I waited patiently until she returned holding a short, black dress with cut outs at the chest. It fell just above my knees, and hugged my body in all the right places. I really liked the way it fit and when Chloe brought me to the full length mirror, I was shocked.
My long hair curled just a little thanks to the humidity and my face was flushed from the embarrassment of having such a short dress on. It gave my cheeks a rosy glow and I was surprised that I really liked the way I looked.
