by Sophia Gray
TJ shrugged. “Been thinking about Saturday,” he said darkly. “You sure we can pull this off?”
“Of course,” I said confidently. “Why? Is there a problem?”
Nick and TJ exchanged glances. “Not really,” Nick said. “It’s just…” He trailed off, clearing his throat and downing a shot of whiskey that Minnie had artfully placed in front of us. “Well, some of the guys are freaking out about Kyle.”
I snorted. “Kyle is a fucking pussy who deserves to be punished,” I shot back. “That’s why I had to make sure it was him who went. Plus, I need you guys around. You two are my best guys, and I trust you the most in a fight. Kyle, on the other hand…” I trailed off, rolling my eyes towards the smoky wooden ceiling. “Kyle hasn’t done a lot for this club that I could really call solidarity, you know?”
Nick and TJ looked at each other again. “Boss, we believe you,” Nick said. He was actually fidgeting. I wanted to slap him; real men didn’t fidget. “But the rest of the guys, well, they’re up in arms about the whole damn situation.”
“Yeah,” TJ added. “Some of them are even calling for a new prez, or a new vote at least. Some of them don’t think you should be allowed to lead us since you turned in one of your own.”
I burst out laughing. “This is fucking ridiculous,” I said, taking my own shot of whiskey and tossing it down my throat. As I lifted my hands to my face, Stephanie’s scent washed over me and I felt my cock twitch in my jeans. Even though I was sated, part of me had a mind to walk back upstairs and fuck her wild again. “I care about you guys, you guys are my fucking family. But I had to let someone go with the Russians, and Kyle was the best option. He needed to be punished, and this is a good measure for him. He’ll be back; things will be fine, you got that?”
“It’s not us that thinks this way,” Nick said quickly. He held his hands up in front of him like a surrender. “But some of the other guys, well, they don’t quite understand.”
I scoffed. “Then they need to take it up with me,” I said sharply, reaching across the bar for a glass of beer and pouring some of the drink down my throat. “It ain’t your fucking problem if the men are too puss to talk to their own leader about it.”
TJ’s eyes flashed with anger and I wondered what I’d said to piss him off. This whole thing was fucking strange. It was exactly like what I’d told Stephanie: the guys were out to break down the rules of a club, which defeated the whole fucking point of having a club in the first place.
“Listen, I get that,” TJ said. “We’re just telling you to watch your back, okay?”
I laughed. “I’m not afraid of my own men,” I snapped. “And you shouldn’t be either. Both of you should be fucking rushing to my defense. And tell any of the guys who have a problem with me that they need to take it up with me, not y’all.”
TJ nodded. “Got it,” he mumbled. “Thanks, boss.” He didn’t look like he got it, though. He looked like he was angrier at me than ever before.
“There’s one more thing,” Nick said. His voice was cautious and I spun around on the bar stool, feeling the alcohol slosh through my system like a gallon of water. “And that’s those Succubi. Those bitches are gonna be on the lookout for you,” he said, raising a glass to his lips. “You know one of them is hooked up with Kyle, right? Well, she’s hella pissed,” Nick added. He glanced at me. “I don’t know what they’re gonna try, but I wouldn’t trust those bitches as far as I could throw them.”
“Yeah,” TJ added. Some of his energy seemed to come back before my eyes and he perked up on his stool. “Especially that big black dyke one, Val.”
Nick squinted. “Bitch has a name too much like mine,” he said solemnly. “She needs to go.”
I burst out laughing and they both stared at me, their faces a blend of irritation and anger. “What?” I asked. “This is fucking hysterical. You guys are worried about your brothers, worried about women, and now you’re fucking telling me that her name is too similar to yours? This isn’t fucking grade school, man,” I said, sliding off the bar stool and picking my mug of beer off the counter. It was almost empty, and on second thought I downed the rest of it in one swallow. Can always get another one for Stephanie, I thought. A mild drunkenness was coming over my senses but it felt good, like salve on a wound. I just wanted to drink myself into a stupor, collapse on top of Stephanie and fuck all of my problems away. I hated this drama, it was more dangerous than a fucking plague.
Nick looked at me. He was so angry he was shaking. A small tremor of fear went through my body when I realized that I’d never seen him so angry before. “You don’t take us fucking seriously,” Nick hissed. “And this reflects poorly on the club, to have a leader who doesn’t give a shit what happens to his men. I don’t give a fuck if Kyle needed to be punished; turning him over to the Russians ain’t gonna fix shit.”
“It’s temporary!” I said, still laughing. “He’ll be back Saturday! Everything’s going to be fucking fine!”
TJ shook his head. “You have some issues, man,” he said. “You don’t care about your own. You only care about yourself and the two of us, which makes you one hell of a bad leader. You ever think about it that way?”
His words stung. “That’s not true,” I shot back hotly. “I care about my men like you guys are my fucking brothers. You’re my family!” I yelled. “I’ve done everything for this club! Everything! And that still isn’t enough for you?”
TJ stood up and walked off. If it had been any other night, I would have chased after him and tackled him to the ground. But admittedly, Stephanie was still the first thing on my mind. Shaking my head, I walked back through the crowd and up the stairs, beers in my hand. I couldn’t believe TJ and Nick; the fucking nerve of them to accuse me of not caring about my own men! It was like something out of a goddamn Shakespeare play.
I shivered. Letting myself back in the room, I saw that it was dark. There was a Stephanie-shaped lump under the covers and when I poked her with my fingers, she didn't move. After a few seconds, I heard Stephanie's soft, rhythmic snoring.
The conversation from downstairs was still troubling me. I set the glasses of beer down on the floor and let myself out of the room as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and gazed at the screen. I’d never done anything like this before, but all of a sudden I was worried about what the guys would try to do. If they ousted me before Saturday, before the meet up with the Russians, I was fucked.
I dialed Sergey and held the phone up to my ear. It rang four times before he answered, and his voice was deep and low.
"What do you want?" Sergey sounded amused. "You have called to make a trade?"
“No,” I snapped. “I’ve called because I want to know how Kyle’s doing.”
Sergey laughed, a soft, dangerous sound. “He is fine,” he said in his heavily accented English. “Do not call again unless you have money for me.”
“You’re bringing him on Saturday, right? Because somehow,” I said, sighing, “somehow, my guys are thinking that you’re out to fuck all of us. And I can’t let that happen, Sergey. That would be one hell of a bad thing to do to my MC. You got that?”
Sergey laughed again. “I do what I want,” he said slowly. “You don’t get to order me around, not when you owe me somewhere in the neighborhood of five hundred thousand dollars.”
I shook my head. “Fuck,” I muttered. Was it possible? Had TJ and Nick been right? Was this whole thing a fucking setup? “Look,” I said sharply. “I’m dealing with the heat of two MCs right now and I need you to promise me that Kyle’s going to come out of this alive. If he doesn’t, I’m fucked and you won’t be getting your money. Deal?”
Sergey was silent and for a moment, I thought he’d hung up the phone. “It doesn’t work like that,” he said softly. “You don’t get to bargain with me when I already have so much power over you. Don’t you realize that?”
My mouth and throat went dry. Suddenly, I knew that Nick and TJ hadn’t been full of shit after all. They’d been tryi
ng to look out for me, trying to look out for their own goddamn skin. “Fine,” I snapped. “We’ll be there with six hundred thousand. See you on Saturday. Don’t forget to bring Kyle, or I’ll make this known to all the other motorcycle clubs around here,” I added, hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. While my threat wasn’t exactly empty, I knew I’d have bigger problems to deal with if Kyle got hurt.
"I don't think the other clubs would listen to a former, disgraced president," Sergey said slowly. "You don't get to order me around, Isaac. I know everything about you, and I can ruin you in a second."
Rage filled my body and my hand clenched tightly around the phone until my knuckles were aching. Sergey’s poisonous voice was putting some horrible thoughts in my head and if I didn’t calm down, I knew that I was in danger of riding out tonight and finding that motherfucker before strangling him with my bare hands.
“Saturday,” I said in a hard, unforgiving voice. “Saturday.” And then we’re never dealing with you fuckers ever again, I added in my head.
Sergey hung up before I could say anything else. With a hard sigh, I let myself back into the bedroom. To my surprise, Stephanie was sitting up in bed. The soft light from the bedside table softened her features and made her look almost angelic, aside from that awful dyed black hair. Her blue eyes were cornflower in the low light and her skin looked like porcelain. My eyes strayed further down to the sweet curve of her tits under the sheet, and even further down to her perfect pussy. My mouth went dry.
“You okay?” Stephanie’s voice was a little ragged with sleep. She reached over and picked up one of the glasses of beer, tilting it back and taking a long, delicate swallow. “I heard you on the phone out there.”
I flopped down on the bed and stared straight up at the pockmarked ceiling. The bed smelled like sex and Stephanie; I closed my eyes, inhaling the smell. Stephanie lay next to me without moving. After a few seconds, I reached over and pulled her onto my chest. It had been years since I’d cuddled with a girl, but there was something about her warmth that comforted me. And right now, I fucking needed some comfort.
“Everything will be fine,” Stephanie said in a drowsy voice. “You’ll get it worked out. Your men respect you, and you know that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know shit right now,” I said angrily, unable to keep the heat out of my voice. “Nick and TJ sounded like they were about to walk. And I did it to protect both of them!” My voice had risen above normal tone but I didn’t even care. “And if you even knew that shit, Kyle, you’d completely understand why I did what I did,” I continued. “I don’t know what your girl Alexa sees in him, but he’s a fucking scoundrel, and as soon as we get him back, I’m kicking him out of the club and cutting off his patches.”
Stephanie was silent as she lay next to me. The heat from her soft body radiated through my clothes, as relaxing as slipping into a warm bath. Her black hair was soft and fell on my shoulders and neck as she wrapped an arm around my chest and pulled me close. It was odd: we fit together perfectly. The curve of her body nestled against the side of mine, like we were imitating those Russian nesting dolls. Stephanie sighed and rolled onto her back, pulling away and leaving me cold. Her fingers found mine and squeezed. I hesitated, but after a moment I squeezed back.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“For what?” Stephanie’s voice was drowsy. She sounded content, happy. For a moment, I was reminded of what life could have been like if I hadn’t taken up with the Jungle’s Thorns. Maybe this would be an every night thing. Maybe I’d snuggle with my wife after sex while our children dozed in the next room. Maybe I’d stay up all night, worrying about work and she’d calm me down with an amazing blowjob. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
“Just for being here,” I said. “I know that sounds stupid, but it means a lot to me.”
The tension between us came back as Stephanie sighed. “I had to talk to you,” she mumbled. “I mean; I couldn’t stay away. The sex was just an accident.”
I rolled onto my side and stared at her. On her back with her eyes closed, she almost looked like a sculpture of a dead saint. “What the fuck does that mean, an accident?”
Stephanie shrugged. “I don’t mean anything bad by it,” she said softly. She opened her blue eyes but didn’t turn to face me. “But I know it wasn’t planned. It’s not like you brought me up here to seduce me or anything. We just collided.”
I swallowed hard. We just collided. I thought about her words in my mind for a few minutes, turning them over in the deep recesses of my brain. “It was more than that,” I insisted. “Come on. You know it was.”
Stephanie sighed and rolled over onto her side. I was hypnotized by the curve of her hips and waist under the sheet. Lust came over me again and I reached over, stroking her lean body.
“Come here,” I said softly. “Come here and fuck me again. Then I’ll believe you.”
Stephanie didn’t budge, but she let out a little gasp of pleasure as I slipped my hand under the sheet. The cotton fell away from her back, exposing a birthmark.
My hand dropped to the bed and I let out a strangled cry. The birthmark—a round spot of skin, so smooth that it looked like a scar—was something I’d seen before.
It didn’t belong to Stephanie.
It belonged to Candace.
Chapter Nineteen
Stephanie
Isaac’s hand fell away from my body and he let out a gasp. I frowned, rolling onto my back. “What is it?” I asked in the dimly lit air. “What’s wrong?”
When I looked into Isaac’s face, I saw a mask of shock and horror. His features were twisted and his eyes were still black. But instead of being darkened with lust and passion, I saw they were angry. He glared at me before getting out of bed and pulling his pants on.
“What the fuck is that?” Isaac snarled as he pointed to my shoulder. “Who the fuck are you?”
"I'm Stephanie," I said in a shaky voice. "What the fuck is going on, Isaac? Why are you freaking out like this?" Panic and anxiety were running through my body, like electric wires crackling and snapping. I pulled the sheet over myself to cover my nakedness but it didn't make me feel any less exposed than I had a few seconds ago. As Isaac paced around the room, I watched him crack his knuckles before balling his hands into fists and shoving them in his pockets. I know it sounds stupid, but part of me hadn't even thought that I'd be discovered. Part of me had stupidly thought that Isaac would go on thinking Candace was dead and gone and that Stephanie, while she reminded him of his lost girlfriend, was only a facsimile at best.
Isaac stepped closer and stared into my eyes. I shivered. Every time he’d looked at me, I’d imagined this moment happening. Despite my mistrust of him and his MC, we’d always had some kind of intimacy between us whenever we stared at each other. But before I’d felt safe and protected because even if he had a weird feeling about me, he knew me only as Stephanie.
That safety was completely gone. Now, I felt naked and exposed under Isaac’s gaze. I felt like he could read my mind, I felt like he could see all of my secrets.
“Why did you lie?” Isaac hissed. Anger was plain on his face and veins were popping out of his forehead, making him look crazed. “Why did you fucking lie to me, Stephanie?” He put his face in his hands and moaned. “I knew there was something about you,” he said in a low, muffled voice. “I just knew there was something about you that reminded me of, well, you,” he added, looking at me with a mix of panic and sorrow on his face. “Why the fuck did you have to do that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and steady even though I was shaking. I didn’t want to talk about this, not now. I didn’t want to go into the past, didn’t want to reveal why I’d disappeared. This was the absolute worst possible time for Isaac to have discovered my identity.
I wasn’t really sure why I was so cocky. I should never have come here, I lamented silently as I stared at the ceiling and tried to take deep breaths. I should
have stayed and let one of the other girls do it. A pang of jealousy flared through me when I realized that if another one of the girls had come, they would likely be in bed with Isaac. I didn’t want to think about that either!
Making a fist, I slammed it down onto the bed. Isaac turned to me with a weird expression on his face. He was biting his lip and as he reached up to wipe at his eyes, I realized that he’d been crying.
“Stephanie,” Isaac said in a low voice. “Why? Why did you do this to me? How?” His voice broke and began to quiver and all of the pain, all of the guilt from years ago came rushing back tenfold.
I wanted to bury my head in the sand and forget all about Isaac Miller. I should have gone far away from here, I thought grimly. I should have left LA and planned to never return.
“It’s not like that,” I said. “I mean, I didn’t lie to you.”
“Yes, you did!” Isaac shot back. Anger blazed in his eyes and all the traces of sadness disappeared. “You fucking disappeared and then you lied! For all of this time! How long have you been back?”
