by K. T Fisher
I try to calm myself before answering. “He hasn’t said anything to me. Do you want me to ask him?”
Maggie shakes her head vehemently. “No. I can see how just mentioning his name has upset you. Ignore me. I must have misheard. That’ll teach me to eavesdrop.” She tries to laugh it off, but it doesn’t quite work. There’s still that look in her eyes that she can’t mask. “Any chance I can get a tour of this gorgeous home of yours?”
I love showing my home off, so decide to let it go. After all the hard work Gabe put in fixing up the place, I’m really proud of our home. I show her into the kitchen where Diane and Sue are whipping up yet more snacks for everyone.
“I told you two to leave it for now.” I laugh. They’re never happier than when they’re feeding the guys though, so I leave them to it. I’m just heading over to the lounge when Diane catches my attention.
“Hey Eve.” She’s smirking at me, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I took the recycling out for you. Wanna tell us about your fetish for chocolate sauce then?”
Oh shit. I can tell from the look on Diane’s face she knows exactly why there are so many empty chocolate sauce bottles out there. From the grin on Maggie and Diane’s faces they can guess as well.
“I… ah… I’m.” I can’t get any words out.
“You cheeky bugger.” Sue laughs. “You didn’t mention that on our night out.”
Diane joins in. “I think that’s probably what inspired her, am I right?” She asks. I blush even more, confirming Diane’s suspicions. I suddenly remember that Maggie is standing at the side of me.
“Don’t fret yourself, Eve.” She giggles. “Your secret’s safe with me, although personally I prefer toffee sauce.”
We’re all giggling when Gabe walks in.
“Hey babe, is it time for dessert yet?” He looks around us in confusion.
That does it; all four of us women break out in hysterical laughter. Gabe holds his hand up in surrender and starts to back out of the room. “I don’t know what the fuck I just walked in on, but I think now would be a good time to leave. Crazy ass chicks.” He mutters.
Gabe heads out of the back door as Diane and Sue approach me, a look of intent in their eyes. They pull Maggie and me further into the lounge where we all sit down. Sue passes out the bottles of beer she brought with her.
“Come on then Eve. Spill.” Taking a large swig of my drink for courage I try and work out how little I can get away with telling them.
Over the next hour or so we swap stories, the guys leaving us alone. I suspect the sound of the cackling laughter we’re all coming out with has scared them off. Thanks to Maggie’s input I now have a couple of new things I want to try with Gabe. And with Elizabeth sleeping over at Sue’s tonight, I might just get chance to put them into practice.
Chapter Fourteen
Justice
I’m sitting outside, topping up my tan when Ice strolls up to me wearing a shit-eating grin.
“What are you looking so happy about?”
He stands above me, shrugging his shoulders. “Just in a good mood.”
Something about the way Ice is behaving is unnerving. I don’t like it. “And why is that?”
“I think you have a visitor.” He smirks.
My first thought is that Danni is here, or maybe Emma but I can’t see her risking turning up again. I slowly sit up, pulling my white tee over my head before donning my Severed MC cut. I’m bored of Ice’s teasing.
My phone starts to ring for the umpteenth time today, I’m pretty sure I know who it is. I look down at the screen to see I’m right. It’s my baby sister Holly calling, again!
Groaning, I cancel the call and put my phone back in my back pocket. I know I should talk to her, but I can’t face her right now. I’m pretty sure she knows what I did to Ted and wants to bitch about it. Holly loves to bitch at me about shit, it’s her favorite fucking sport.
Ice smiles at me once again. “Who was that?”
“Holly, why?” Ice is getting on my fucking nerves.
He nods his head, as though he knew it was going to be Holly calling, and laughs a little. “Maybe you shouldn’t have done that.”
Confused and angry, I’m about to tell Ice to fuck the hell off, when Angel calls from clubhouse. “Justice, you got a visitor.”
I look at Ice, forgetting that he he’d just told me the same thing only minutes ago. I can’t be bothered with him anymore so go inside to find out who it is. I hope it’s nothing too important; I just I can’t be bothered with shit today.
As I step inside, I head straight for the bar. I spot Cowboy who gives me a tight smile when he notices me. The poor guy is still trying to get over all the shit that happened recently. I sit on one of the bar stools and wait for my so-called visitor. That’s when my day really turns to shit.
“Well, well, well. I guess you are alive after all.”
My body tenses. I slowly turn to see her standing there, hand on her hips and glaring at me. Man she looks pissed. Prez, who’s standing close beside her, doesn’t look very happy with me either.
“Holly.” I greet her nervously.
This is when the high pitch screeching starts. My ears haven’t missed this noise at all.
“Don’t fucking Holly me. How dare you?” I look behind her and Prez to find most of the brothers watching us, enjoyment plainly written on their faces. I cringe as she carries on, not caring who hears. “Why have you been ignoring me? You don’t answer your phone. What the fuck?”
I take a deep breath and think about my words carefully. If I say the wrong thing she’ll go apeshit. “I couldn’t talk to you.”
They’re the only words I can think of. A look of confusion crosses her face. I look around me at all the nosey fuckers watching us, before looking back at Holly’s face. She appears hurt, as she looks me over. I hate the disappointment I see flash on her face. Fuck! I’ve disappointed her. I was only trying to protect her, but all I’ve done is put that fucking look on her face.
“Justice!” I shift my look from Holly to Prez when I hear his shout. “Go and talk with your sister.” He inclines his head towards the bedrooms, but I don’t move. I don’t want to hear what Holly has to say. I’m concerned about her opinion of me, because of what I did to her idiot ex. He fucking deserved it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about what my baby sister thinks of me. I don’t want to be someone she hates or fears; I want to be the brother she can run to.
“Now!” Prez roars. I see Holly flinch, and most of the onlookers disappear. This isn’t club business happening between us, this is family shit.
Sighing heavily, I walk towards them. I nod my head at Holly for her to follow me, but Prez holds out his arm, blocking my path. “Listen boy, I’m talking as your uncle here, not your Prez. Your sister wants to talk to you, and you will give her what she needs to hear, she deserves that. You hearing me?”
“I’m hearing ya.” I reply out of respect.
He lets me go and I turn to Holly. “Come on then.”
We don’t talk during the short walk, but as soon as the door shuts behind us, giving us privacy inside my room, Holly starts.
“How could you do that, Jack?” She has tears in her eyes.
“I had to.” I hold my hands out. “I did it for you Hol.”
She scrunches her nose in confusion, which also confuses me.
“What are you talking about? How is ignoring me for me?”
I drop my hands, taking a step closer to her. “I couldn’t talk to you, because I didn’t want to hear what you’d say.”
I see the anger fade from her face as she understands what I’m making a hash of trying to explain.
“Why are you so worried about what I’ll say?”
My eyes widen. “Are you joking? After what I did?”
“Jack, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
I cut her off, not wanting to hear it. “I don’t want to hear you bitching about what I did for you. He fucking deserved it
Holly, and you gotta believe that!”
She smiles at me, I’m so surprised by this I stop my ranting. “Why the fuck are you smiling?”
“Because, you stupid idiot, I’m happy.”
“What?”
She laughs and it scares the crap out of me. “Jack, if you’d answered the phone you’d have known I’m not mad at you, in fact it’s the opposite.”
I’m stunned into silence. I’m also annoyed that she keeps using my birth name instead of my club name. I haven’t used that name in so fucking long. Holly’s the only person who ever calls me Jack.
“You’re an idiot you know that?” She laughs. “That man treated me like shit. He made a fool out of me, sleeping around on me like I meant nothing to him. And there was stupid little me waiting at home for him.” She closes the distance between us. “He deserved everything you did to him. I actually think you could have tortured him more, but I’m not fussy. He got what was coming, and that makes me happy.” Holy shit, she’s surprising the fuck out of me. She takes hold of my face, looking me right in the eye. “Thank you, Jack.”
She grabs me in a hug. I wrap my arms around her, breathing her in. She smells like home. When she lets me go, I see her eyes are shiny. “Why are you being quiet?” She nervously asks.
I run my hands through my hair and stare at Holly. “Honestly Hol, I’m fucking shocked.”
“Why?” She tilts her head to the side. It reminds me of the tiny little girl that always looked up to me. The little girl I watched out for, to make sure she never heard our parents fight. Never caught our deadbeat dad cheating on our mum whilst she was out working her ass off to put food on our table.
“Because as much as that fucker deserved it, I was scared about what you’d say.” I confess.
“You thought I’d freak?” I nod my head. “Jack! As soon as I found out what had happened to him, I knew it was you. Honestly, the first emotion I felt was pride. Knowing my brother was looking out for me like that, it made me proud to have you as my brother.”
A tear falls down her cheek, and I pull her in for another hug. “Fuck. I thought you were gonna have my balls.”
“Naw, maybe I should find Ted and finish the job.” She laughs, and I join her.
When she’s finished laughing we move to sit on the edge of my bed, but she cringes. “Ew, maybe I should stand.”
I shove her. “Shut the fuck up and sit down.”
“So,” she begins, still laughing quietly. “Tell me all about it.”
“You really wanna know?”
“Spill it Jack, give me everything you’ve got.”
I frown at her. “Holly, what have I told you before? Don’t call me Jack, my name’s Justice.”
She rolls her eyes. “You really think I’m going to call you Justice?” She scoffs. “Yeah right. I don’t even call Uncle Bill by his club name. What makes you think you’re so special?”
“At least don’t use my name in front of the club.”
“Got it, Jack.” She salutes. “Okay, Justice.” She mocks me.
***
Danni
As soon as I step into the clubhouse I can tell something’s different. There’s almost a party atmosphere in the place. I wonder if someone’s come back from a long road trip or someone’s visiting from another Chapter. That’s what it feels like anyway.
I step into the bar area and see Justice standing in the corner in the middle of a group. He’s laughing, it looks like he’s having a great time. I love it when he’s in this mood; the sex is great too.
As I walk closer Cowboy steps aside, and that’s when I see her. I stop in my tracks as I look at my ex best friend. Holly is here. When did she arrive?
The atmosphere in the clubhouse makes sense now. It’s because Holly is here. Not only is she the niece of the president, but the little sister of one of the toughest members they have.
Justice notices me, and smiles. When he does, Holly whips her head around to see what he’s looking at, her eyes widening as she takes me in. My choice in clothes has changed a little since I came to Severed, and my hair is different. Not in a club whore sort of way, I’ve just got a more sophisticated look than I used to have. I’ve matured a lot since I left the small town I grew up in.
Holly breaks away from the group, and walks over to me. My body freezes, preparing for the onslaught of attitude from her. Holly has a short tongue. The last time we saw each other wasn’t under the best of circumstances, so I’m at a loss to know what’s going to happen here. I’ve missed her. She looks beautiful, as always. Growing up I was always jealous of Holly. Not only did she have a hot as hell older brother to look out for her, she was also beautiful. As she got older she grew even more attractive. She always had the boys’ attention and was invited on dates and to the prom. I wasn’t so lucky. I lived in her shadow, but I was comfortable there. That’s why, when she found Justice and me together, it was such a huge shock for her. Hell, when he started showing an interest in me, I was shocked!
She steps in front of me, moving her long, chocolate brown hair out of her face. “Hey.” She greets me.
“Hi.” I answer with a timid smile.
“Can we talk?” I nod, taking her outside where we sit on one of the benches. Almost everyone seems to be inside. I pick the furthest bench to give us some privacy.
As soon as we sit she smiles across at me. “You look great, Dan.”
I laugh nervously. “Thanks, so do you.”
She rolls her eyes. “Stop lying, no I don’t. I’ve been travelling all day to knock some sense into Jack.” She holds her hands up. “Whoops, I mean Justice.” She rolls her eyes again, a huge smile plastered on her face. It makes me relax and I laugh.
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to.”
She cocks her head to the side, really looking at me. “So how’ve you been?”
“I’m great, I love living here. I work at a bar in town.”
Her eyes light up. “Oh a bar? Is it good?”
“Yeah.” I smile. “I love working there.”
“Any hot men?”
I laugh; this feels amazing, talking to her again. “Lots.”
We both laugh. “We should have a drink there some time, you can show me around?”
“You’re staying?”
“For a little while, maybe.”
We just look at each other for a few moments, memories invading my thoughts.
“I’m sorry.” I blurt out, and Holly’s eyes soften.
“Look, I should be the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
“No way Hol.” I correct her. “I was sleeping with your brother behind your back for nearly a year.“ I shout, then cringe as the few people out in the yard turn around to look at me. I can feel my face burning, and hide under my hands.
Holly laughs, pulling my hands away from my face. “Danni girl, how can I be mad at you? You’re my best friend. I’ve missed you. Everything I said, I take back. I’m here to make it up to you, and knock some sense into Justice.” The way she mocks his name makes me giggle. “How are you two anyway?” This question makes me feel a little awkward.
“We’re okay.” She gives me a look that tells me she wants more. “We’re still doing what we do, you know. We’re not exclusive or anything. I’m okay with that.” Her expression tells me that she doesn’t believe me. I need to change the subject. “Are you still mad?”
Holly gives me a warm smile. “How can I stay mad at my Danni girl?”
I love hearing her nickname for me. When we were little we made up silly nicknames that stuck. I’m her Danni girl, and she’s my Holly honey. It’s silly, but it was a big part of our friendship. Justice even calls me his Danni girl from time to time, when he’s in one of his good moods.
“I’m glad you’re back, Holly honey.” She smiles, and just like that, we’re back to normal.
She stands suddenly, making her way to my side of the bench. “Move over sister, we’ve got some catching up to do
.” She swings her legs around to face me. “So, tell me about some of these hot men.”
Her eyes sparkle at her question. I’m so glad to have her back.
Chapter Fifteen
Rachel
I didn’t think anything of it when I heard the car pull up outside, it’s a busy street after all. I’m startled though when there’s a loud knock at my front door. No one ever visits me, and I sure as fuck don’t work from home. This place is my sanctuary. I try and peek through the curtain but I can only see a shadow at the door. I go to open it reluctantly, keeping the chain on.
