Next to the bed Kid groaned. “Fuck, baby girl, you were a ballet dancer?”
Pain lanced through my chest but I had learned to ignore it and smiled at him. “Yes, I was but I was in an accident and it ended my career.”
The bedroom door suddenly opened and the guy who had been with Kid the night before walked into the room. He held a handful of printed papers in his hand and gave me a smile as he closed the door behind him.
“Sorry I’m late Prez. I was busy printing this out for you and got side-tracked.” He shrugged as he handed Hawk the papers then he came and sat on the side of my bed and patted my foot on my bad leg softly.
“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling today? Do you need your pain meds?”
“Morning, and I’m sorry but I don’t remember your name. Everything is kind of fuzzy after taking those pills.” He laughed softly and shook his head.
“I’m Ziggy, babe.”
“Oh, yes, now I remember. You brought me water to take those pills, and I’m not taking them again. They knocked me out so completely I almost peed in my pants.”
Laughter rang out and I smiled at Ziggy then looked at Kid who shook with laughter.
“I got her to the bathroom just in time, brother.” He teased.
While we were talking and joking Hawk paged through the papers, reading and glancing up at me every now and then. It had to be about me, who I was and what had happened to me almost two years ago.
“According to this you are a world acclaimed ballet dancer.” Hawk waved the pages in the air as he spoke.
I shook my head. “I used to be, but I’m not anymore. My leg isn’t strong enough to do what it needs to do to dance at that level. If I’m lucky, and I hope I am, I will still be able to dance. I want to teach children to dance, to love ballet as much as what I do.”
“It says you started dancing at the age of three. How is that possible? We have some brothers around whose little girls are that age and they aren’t in ballet classes or any of that shit.”
I shook my head with a smile. “My mother and some of her friends took us kids to watch The Nutcracker and I sat on my knees peering over the balcony rail at the dancers, totally enthralled. I knew then I was going to be a dancer. She enrolled me in my first class the very next week and that was it for me. Dancing is all I’ve ever wanted to do.” I waved my hand around the room. “Just like you’ve known all your life that this is what you want, so did I. My mother tied on my first little ballet slippers and I was home.”
“I can understand that.” Hawk agreed with a nod. “You lost friends in the accident. Is that why you didn’t stay in New York afterwards?”
God, the sadness I kept at bay descended and I had to blink and swallow hard.
“With my career gone there was nothing left for me there. I needed to come home. I left New York after the specialists declared me fit and I have been back in South Africa for four months now. But I quickly became bored with training every morning and then having nothing to do for the rest of the day. That’s when I came up with the idea of a dancing school for children who can’t afford the high fees at the dancing academies. And you know what happened when I went to see Dominick. Now I’m here and praying all the work done by the specialists hasn’t been undone.”
Sitting back in his chair Hawk kept his eyes on me, staring at me with those hawk-eyes of his. Then he nodded as he came to a decision.
“Only my officers and one of the prospects know you are up here. We are going to keep it that way for the time being. Of course Aunt Beryl knows you’re here because she has to feed you and I’ll let DC know you are here. She’ll be pissed if I don’t.”
There was soft laughter from the men. “Yes, and we don’t want DC pissed if we can help it.” The pretty blonde in the chair at the bottom of my bed teased.
I smiled with them because DC’s short temper wasn’t a secret.
“Who are you?” I asked curiously.
“Ah, shit. Forgive Kid his bad manners, sweetheart. Let me introduce you to all of us.” The pretty blonde winked and smiled. Such a charmer.
“I’m Spider and the surly bastard next to me is my brother, Ice. You know Hawk, Kid and Ziggy. Those two over there are Sin and Jagger and the guy at the end is Kahn. The guy guarding the door is Sam, our prospect. The only officer missing today is Beast, but he’s got some personal business to take care of so you’ll only meet him sometime next week or so.”
Oh Jesus! Thank you for small mercies.
I nodded to cover my relief, glancing around I met all their eyes before looking away.
He wasn’t here. I didn’t have to stress about him walking into the room and finding me in his territory. He had been very clear about never wanting to see me again. I was never to darken the doorways of any of their clubhouses. If I did I would regret ever meeting him. He had promised to break me before he threw my body out the gate.
Years ago those threats had broken my heart and had me running for the airport. I left the country and never returned, until four months ago.
And now here I was, in the very clubhouse where, apparently, he was one of the officers. No longer just a patched member, but an officer. That had to mean something, I just didn’t know what.
Steeling myself I shoved him out of my head and concentrated on something good.
“Do you think DC could visit with me today?”
Hawk nodded. “My old lady is at her house doing some shit but I will let her know you are here. I’m sure the minute I tell her what happened she’ll come home.” Hawk pointed a warning finger at me. “She’s very good at getting what she wants, don’t give it to her.”
Frowning in confusion I shook my head. “What?”
“She’s going to question you until you give her the whole story and then she’ll be on the warpath. The ones who did this to you, if they’re still alive she’ll find them and take care of them and then we’ll have eyes on us that we do not want.”
Before he could continue I said quietly. “They’re dead.”
“Thank fuck.” Kid muttered next to me.
I frowned and shook my head at him then winced as pain lanced through my head. “Ouch! My head is starting to ache with all this talking. And I’m not taking two of those pills again. I think half a pill will do the trick.”
Kid immediately shook out one of the pain pills and broke it in half, handing the half to me with the bottle of water that was on the bedside table. I swallowed it down gratefully and smiled as Kid rearranged my pillows to make me comfortable.
“Thanks, Kid, you’re a great nurse.” I teased.
He snorted. “Stop yakking, baby girl, and rest. Once that pill kicks in you’ll feel better.”
I smiled but it didn’t last long. My eyelids felt heavy and I blinked my eyes as everything around me slowly started fading.
“Damn, these pills...are...the...shit.” I mumbled as I fell asleep.
Hawk
Looking at the tiny battered woman in the bed Hawk had the feeling that shit was going to hit the fan in the near future. Something about her screamed trouble. He just didn’t know if it was the shit following her from Cape Town or if it was the way Kid was acting around her or something else.
His brother hadn’t been this interested in a woman in a very long time.
“Let’s get out of here and let her sleep. Everyone in my office right now.” He spoke quietly as he picked his chair up and placed it against the wall before walking out the door Sam was holding open for him. “You stay with her, Sam. Call me when she wakes up again.”
“Okay, Prez.”
Frowning at down at his phone Hawk unlocked his office and closed the door behind him before he answered.
“Dom, she’s settled in and she’s fine. We’ll take care of her safety. You don’t have to keep checking in.” Hawk growled as he sank into his chair.
“Not calling about Victoria. I’ve never seen a scarier or more beautiful tattoo. Just thought to let you know. I’ll c
all again.”
Hawk sat and stared down at his silent phone and a tiny evil grin curled around his lips. His old lady had scared the big bad crime boss. Good to know.
Quietly sitting at his desk Hawk watched as his men filed in and sat down. There was a heavy silence in the room until the door closed.
“That woman up there has gone through hell for the last almost two years. Her dance partner died in the bus accident that ended her career. They were famous, so famous in fact that his death and the end of her career made world news in cultural circles. And apparently on our local news stations as well. Ziggy downloaded some of the articles from the newspapers and magazines about her. None of us would have taken any notice because it meant nothing at the time. I don’t even know if DC knows what happened. She has never mentioned Victoria Keating or Ilya Ivanov or that she had a friend who was a world famous ballet dancer.”
Hawk stroked his beard as he continued explaining.
“Now the fucking Maingarde bitch is after her blood and it’s not going to happen on our watch. We keep her hidden and safe no matter what. Not because Dominick asked us to do so but because it’s the right thing to do.”
Turning to Kid he asked the one question that had been churning in his gut. “Did they rape her?”
Kid sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think so. I checked for bruising on the inside of her thighs, on her hips and back when I helped her into bed last night and didn’t see any that was consistent with being raped. I think she escaped before they could get that far. Her abdomen and chest is covered in nasty fucking bruises and there’s bruising on her lower back and thighs where they kicked her. And we all saw the mess they made of her face. She’s fucking tough to have survived that beating.”
His brothers’ curses filled the silent room after Kid’s explanation.
“Fuck. Okay, I’ll get hold of DC but she’s the only one besides Aunt Beryl who’s going to know we’ve got someone we are protecting upstairs. Only officers and their old ladies will be allowed on that floor. If you need to fuck some bitch take her to a back room. We need to keep curious eyes away from our business.”
Turning to Ziggy he started on the next problem that needed solving. Beast.
“Have you got the paperwork and evidence ready to go for Beast to get his kids away from that whore?”
Ziggy nodded. “Yes, Ice gave it to me this morning and we are ready. I’m just waiting on Beast to give me the go ahead to deliver it to his lawyer and the Advocate that’s handling his case. We have more than enough evidence of child endangerment and neglect to get those babies out of her dirty claws.”
Jagger shook his head. “I’ll never understand why the fuck he married that slut instead of suing for custody of his kid.”
Sin was the one who spoke after a short silence. “He wasn’t in a good space when that shit happened and I think he thought it was the right thing to do. He wanted to be a father to that little girl. It’s what the fucking bitch did to him the second time around that has my blood boiling. She needs killing, not lawyers and shit.”
Hawk gave a devious smile. “If she fights his application we’ll have this talk again, but with our brother present. She’s the mother of his children, however fucked up that is. We can’t make life changing decisions without his input.”
Sin laughed. “Fuck, Hawk, he’ll be first in line to cut her fucking throat. He hates her fucking guts.”
“Yes, and if she dies under suspicious circumstances his ass will be the first the pigs will pull in for questioning. We need to wait.” Ice said quietly. “We need to be patient. Let’s try and sort it out through the courts. Once he has full custody and shit settles down we talk again. Unfortunately it might be a long process. It all depends on the judge. One thing in his favour is the harsher stance the government has started to take against child abusers. We loaded the application with proof of the abuse and neglect those little girls have suffered at her hands and that of her fucker of a boyfriend and his fucked up little club.”
“That’s something else we need to take care of when this is done.” Hawk ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Okay, let’s get out of here and get on with the day. Keep your eyes open, and Jagger, send some feelers out to see if we have picked up extra watchers out there. We carry on as normal, but be vigilant, we know the old bitch has plans for us. Let’s not give her the opening that she needs.”
With that his men left his office and pulled the door closed behind them. He had a call to make. Picking up his phone he called his woman.
“Hey, baby, how’s your day going?” Her voice sounded like she was smiling.
“Not as good as yours I think. Little bird, do you know someone called Victoria Keating?”
Silence.
“Yes, I do. Why do you want to know?” Her voice was no longer smiling, instead it was pitched low and had turned cold and hard.
“I need you to get back here, baby. She needs you.” Hawk answered softly.
His woman didn’t disappoint. “I’m on my way.”
She didn’t say anything more. Just ended the call.
Hawk wished that just once things would stay peaceful without shit hitting the fan every fucking five seconds.
Without having to be told he knew the broken little red upstairs was going to be trouble. What kind of trouble he didn’t know, but she was going to be trouble, there was no doubt in his mind about that.
And with his old lady involved...
Fuck.
CHAPTER FOUR
Tori
I sat against my plumped up pillows, blissfully without pain and floating just a tiny little bit. Sam and I had broken my pain pills into quarters because I didn’t want to go to sleep every single time I took one or even half of those damned horse pills. The quarter was doing its job perfectly.
I was bored and when I asked for my phone I was gently told that I couldn’t have it. Ziggy had it and would give it back once he was sure no one could track it. It meant no kindle or tablet was allowed either. So that left Sam.
He sat in the chair next to my bed and explained all about the MC. Years ago, during my brief time with Beast, he had kept me far away from his club and friends, so everything Sam told me was brand new to me. Sam explained that Hawk was at the top, and then came his officers, then the lieutenants, followed by the patched members, and lastly the prospects. Old ladies and family members fell somewhere in between but they were never involved in club business. The hang-arounds and club girls were right at the bottom of the pile. I was intrigued and very curious about the so-called club girls.
“So they hang out here and have sex with any one of the patched members who wants them. Are they allowed to say no? Do they get paid or do they do it for free? Do the guys marry any of them?” My stunned astonishment must have been all over my face because Sam laughed.
“Yes, they can say no. They don’t get paid and they are protected by the club. Some of them have jobs outside of the club but quite a few of them work at the strip clubs or even at some of our other businesses. I think Beast is the only one of the brothers who married a club girl, but they’re divorced. He’s fighting her for custody of their little girls at the moment.”
Bile rose in my throat and it took everything in me not to vomit. He had children. Oh my God, he had done what he had always sworn he would never do. Have children. I swallowed the hurt and rage down and remembered Ilya’s reaction when I told him that I would love to have children one day. He immediately offered up his sperm. According to him we would make beautiful babies together. We had that conversation two days before he had died. He would have been an amazing father. Smiling I controlled my emotions and continued the conversation as if nothing earth shattering had happened.
“Wow. I thought those TV shows and romance books were making this shit up. I can’t imagine being a club girl, it just blows my mind. What about the old ladies? Don’t they get pissed off that their men have sex with these women? If it was me I would rip his
nuts off and shove them down his throat and then I’d shove a butcher knife up the bitch’s twat. I would make damn sure neither one of them would ever have sex again.”
Sam stared at me with wide shocked eyes.
“Jesus. That’s vicious. Don’t you think that’s taking it a bit far?”
“Cheating is never okay, Sam.” I said quietly.
Sam shook his head and I held a hand up to stop him from answering.
“Do you have a girl?” I smiled when he shook his head.
“Okay, so for now I suppose banging club girls is where it’s at for you. Unless you have your eye on someone connected to the club. If she’s connected to the club then she’ll know you’ve been banging club girls and it will take her a long damn time to forget about that. Especially with those women hanging out here at the club. Ooh boy, that means trouble, big trouble.”
Sam rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head while giving me wide eyes.
“Jeez, Tori! Stop with the sex lectures. I’m not banging club girls and I don’t plan on having a girlfriend for a while yet. I’m serving my time as a prospect and don’t have time for anything else. Once I become a patched member I will have a job with the club and will be busy as hell and anyway, I’m still young. I don’t want to settle down until I’m in my thirties at least. My brother is thirty four and he hasn’t settled down yet. I plan to do the same.”
Laughing softly I winked at Sam. “That’s good. I think guys need to be older before they settle down.”
“You are something else, Tori.” Sam chuckled.
Suddenly the chuckle cut off and the next minute he was up and at the door, carefully opening it after a soft knock.
“Hey, Prez. Hello, DC.” He stepped back and opened the door wider.
“You can take a break for a while, prospect. I will call when we leave.” Hawk growled and Sam nodded, pulling the door closed behind him as he left.
Black Heart And Red Redemption (Iron Dogz MC) Page 4
