Freedom looked at the two strong men and realized what she already knew; they were becoming important to her. She wanted to erase all of the bad things in their lives. But it was what made them. They talked to her about their military career and the guys they obviously respected and cared about. Creed and Fork were their leaders, and she heard in their voices when they talked about them, they would do anything for these men. They were truly their family.
This is what she wanted, she admitted to herself as they took her out of the bathtub and dried her off. Then they took her back to bed and the three of them lay until the early hours of the morning talking about their pasts. She understood Easy was so quiet and hard, because he had to be. In his family, if he spoke up he was noticed, then beat. Poke had a great sense of humor because he hid his feelings behind it. His mother was called a whore so much that he either had to laugh, or beat the hell out of everyone. He chose to hide the hurt with laugher.
She told them about her father and mother. She had cried when talking about her mother, both men wrapped their arms around her. Then when she talked about her father she had been angry, and they had listened and let her vent. By the end of the night, she had decided that everything had been backwards with these men, but it was okay. She wasn’t going to get a date, and a declaration of love. She was trusted to listen to their pasts and not judge them. It was something she would cherish, and protect.
Chapter Sixteen
Three days and nothing, Freedom thought throwing a ball against the wall of the game room on the first floor. She was going to fucking go postal pretty soon. Every morning the guys woke up, kissed her briefly, and left. She was left to do nothing but wander the clubhouse, because God knows she was a fucking invalid. Then slowly the people in the house would wake up, and she would have people to talk to as they got ready for their various shifts. She had learned about all the businesses. She had been especially curious about the tattoo parlor.
Kink was one of the artists and she had been asking him about it for the last few mornings. Shady had one for the club, it was on her hip, and when she asked her friend, Shady said that Creed had to give her the okay to get it.
“So you have one design for the Bitches?” she said to the man who was eating his breakfast the previous day.
“Yep, had it copyrighted and everything. Damn tattoo is only allowed on the Bitches from the club. Creed calls a vote, and you are given permission,” Kink said and stood up.
She nodded and looked around the room. Yesterday had gone the same as the day before, she watched them gather in the main clubroom, and then together they left, surrounding the girls who had the early shift, and then they came back and switched out later in the afternoon.
She was sick of sitting around and Easy and Poke were refusing to talk to her about working. When they finally came home after their work shifts, they avoided the subject. Instead they crawled into bed with her, made love to her, talked with her softly about everything under the sun, like her first boyfriend, and they told her about the first time they shared a woman, then they fell asleep before starting all over again. While she was growing closer to them each day, she was getting frustrated about not doing anything during the day.
Standing, she walked up the stairs and began preparing breakfast. Today she was prepared for Creed; she waited as he got out of bed. She knew they had been working long hours, doing something for the club and for her. Because the security had increased, and the guys were all a little on edge. But this was getting fucking stupid, she wasn’t ready to just sit and do nothing anymore, she had to move on.
Freedom prepared breakfast like she had the last two mornings because she had been the first one up since she was no longer working late nights like they all were. Of course having a cast hampered her at first, but she was getting used to the clunky thing.
“Hey, Creed,” she said, sliding his plate of pancakes in front of him. She was a better cook than all of them apparently because when it was her turn, no one missed a meal. Easy had gone as far as to beg her to take his shift, so they would have something edible.
“Yeah, Free, how you doing?” he grumbled and then snorted when she put the cup of coffee in front of him.
“I was wondering about a few things.” Freedom smiled at him. “Do you have a minute?”
Creed lifted his head and his narrowed gaze looked over her. She was already dress for the day, and had even put on some make-up this morning. She was trying to show that she was ready to move on.
“Sure,” the leader said and pushed out a chair with his foot for her to sit in.
Freedom smiled and sat down and then looked at him expectantly. She also heard the rest of the men and Shady moving slower and knew she only had a few more minutes of privacy with him.
“First off, when can I get my tattoo?” she said with a grin.
Creed’s head snapped up in surprise and he stared at her intently. He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, chewing slowly. When he finally spoke, he said, “Why do you want one?”
“Because it means I belong,” Freedom said simply to the leader.
“What makes you think I control that?” Creed asked slowly.
She looked confused and said, “Because you are the leader. Kink said…”
“Kink is a brother, and usually that is how it works, but we have never had a woman come into the club like this before. Certain concessions were asked for,” Creed said.
“What the hell does that mean?” she asked.
Creed shifted, then sighed, took a drink of coffee, and then looked at her again. “Ink is permanent.”
“And you don’t think my willingness to join you is?” Freedom said.
“Free…” he said and then she heard Easy from the archway to her room.
“No, I don’t,” Easy said and she turned and gasped.
“What?” she whispered.
“I don’t, you can’t just decide to change your life this drastically. You need to think about it,” Easy said grimly.
“What the fuck?” she yelled and stood. “Is this why I have been sitting on my ass for the last three days, because you have decided you know my mind better than me?”
“Babe,” Easy started and Poke stepped behind him with his arms closed across his chest. He agreed with him, she thought as she looked at the two men she had convinced herself she cared for.
Last night after they had made love, she felt Easy running his hand over her back, he caressed her until she fell asleep. She felt their connection, and she also admitted to herself that she was falling in love with them. She decided she was going to need to be stronger so they would realize she belonged here. She just never realized what an uphill battle she was going to have. They had no faith in her whatsoever.
“Yeah,” Freedom said and turned to the leader who was staring at his plate calmly. “Creed, you either have accepted me or you haven’t. I am sick of this shit, I said I wanted in, it is on you now. I am walking downstairs and preparing myself to be trained today for the accounting. Then I am making an appointment for my new tat. If you don’t want me here, then bring down my stuff and I will leave. But from here on out, I make my own decisions about my body. Who I fuck, and what I put on it. As of right now, I am fucking done with Easy and Poke. No talking and no questions.”
“Free,” Poke said and Easy held up his hand, and his friend fell silent as they watched.
Freedom looked at the men standing there in their doorways, she had obviously drawn some attention. She was missing something, something they weren’t telling her but she didn’t care. This was fucking bullshit and she wasn’t going to have any of it.
Holding her head up high, she turned and walked to the stairs, then went to the first floor and stood waiting. It wouldn’t take long and she was sure they were finally getting the picture. She wasn’t messing around anymore.
*****
“She has to go,” Easy said, shifting on his feet. The men stood in the living area. Shady was still asleep
and they didn’t want to wake her because she would argue with them but they had already decided after yesterday’s meeting that keeping Freedom here wasn’t going to work.
“Yep,” Poke nodded and looked at the men.
“I can handle it.” Creed sighed.
“Nah, needs to come from us. This way she won’t be tempted to come back. She needs to be out of here today,” Easy said and nodded to his friend.
They turned and went to her room, packed her bags quickly and then spoke softly to each other.
*****
She heard them coming and she turned and smiled. Several of the members were already awake and milling around. She smiled at Treat and Trick when they walked in to grab a cup of coffee. Today was going to be a turning point; she was going to take control of her life.
Freedom saw Easy first and her eyes widened at the sight of him carrying one of her bags. Poke followed with the other one and her purse and she froze as the rest of the men, including Creed, entered the room. The leaders folded their arms and waited while Easy and Poke walked up to where she was standing.
“Here is your stuff, Pill and Meat will be here in a few minutes, they are taking you to California. You can stay at the clubhouse until we get this sorted and then you are free to go. While there, you are going to be their club cleaning lady. You will have a room on the premises but you are not allowed to participate in parties or any club gathering. Should only be a week or so and you will be free to get on with your life,” Easy said and sat down her luggage, she looked at him with her mouth wide open and then looked at Poke.
“You said I was voted in,” she whispered.
“Yeah, well…the guys did us a favor, we wanted to fuck you, so they voted to help us out. We are done, and none of us think you are going to work out here. It not the place for you,” Easy said stonily.
“So just like that,” Freedom whispered and looked around the room at the people who were watching them and listening. Treat looked sad and Trick was grinning like she had been given a present.
“Just like that,” Easy shrugged and she looked at Poke. For a brief moment, she wondered if she had really seen sadness in his eyes, but then it was gone, and she questioned what she had seen, maybe it was relief.
“It was fun, Free, but you were never made for this life.” Poke laughed. “I mean look around, we are all from different places, but our stories are all the same. You grew up in the suburbs and until recently, you didn’t have a clue about this shit. You are too soft, and to be honest, too clingy. Coming back here every night, and knowing you were just waiting for us, well, babe, that is a turn off. We miss coming back, having a drink, and fucking whatever flavor we want. You are high maintenance, baby girl.”
Freedom looked at the two men and straightened up. She wasn’t going to let them treat her like this, embarrassing her in front of all these people, humiliate her so she would leave, because all they had to do was ask.
“Fuck you,” she said calmly and picked up her bags as Creed stepped forward.
“Guys are pulling up, Freedom,” the leader said and she nodded and looked at the two men she had foolishly thought cared for her. She would fall apart later.
“Tell Shady bye,” Freedom said and walked out the front door. Minutes passed as everyone stood in frozen, staring at the closed door. None of them noticed one of the members pull out their cell phone.
Chapter Seventeen
Not going to cry, Freedom thought as she dragged her bags out the front door. Fucking bastards thought they were going to break her. Ha! she thought and then slumped a little. Her heart was breaking but she was not going to fucking give them the satisfaction of seeing it. She would wait, hold it in until she was alone and by herself.
Freedom heard the roar of a motorcycle coming around the house. She stood stiffly as Pill pulled in on his bike and Meat in a truck. The men looked at her sadly and didn’t say a word. Meat grabbed her bags and threw them in the cab of the truck, and Pill motioned with his head for Freedom to come over to him.
“Meat is making a stop before we leave, you ride with me for now, we can switch when we meet up later,” Pill said softly and handed her a helmet.
She nodded and took the helmet and put it on. Swinging her leg over the back of the bike, she looked back to the house, hoping that Easy and Poke were watching out the window at least, she wanted one more look at the men she loved before leaving for good. But they weren’t there, no one was, all of the shades were still drawn and the door shut. She never meant anything to them.
Holding on to Pill, she put her head on his back and held on as the bike rumbled between her thighs, this time it was almost painful to feel it. She felt the jerk of the movement and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see anything pass by, it was easier not to concentrate on the fact her heart was breaking into pieces she would never be able to put back together.
They had been riding for fifteen minutes when Freedom finally opened her eyes. They were moving through town, she glimpsed at the club and felt something else inside break. The people she had put all of her trust into had betrayed her. She felt the anger; they offered her something they never intended on giving—protection. Who cared if they were sending her to Cali to make it seem like they gave a shit, it was probably so she wouldn’t be in the same town as them. Bastards wanted to sweep her under the rug, and moving her to a different state was just a way to get rid of her.
She tightened her arms and she could feel Pill sigh. Asshole knew she was hurting too, and he didn’t care. She wanted nothing more than to get off the back of this bike and get away from this whole club. She felt their betrayal, but she needed time to make plans, for now, she would just go with it. Her mind a swirl of thoughts, she couldn’t even process what had happened.
She felt Pill roll to a stop at the stop light and she loosened her grip for a second, there was no way she would be able to ride as tense as she was. When they stopped, she was going to get in the truck. At least there she could ignore everyone and everything.
“Free,” she heard Pill yell at her and she closed her eyes and waited. But he said nothing, instead she heard the squeal of tires. She felt him stiffen beneath her hands, and he gripped the handlebars and began to move, but he didn’t move fast enough. She felt the impact behind her, and because she wasn’t hanging on tight enough, she was airborne as she heard the crunch of metal and Pill's screams.
Then nothing.
*****
Easy and Poke walked to the bar and grabbed the bottle of Jack that was already waiting for them. Filling up the line of glasses in front of him, Easy turned and looked at the guys who he called brothers and nodded. They heard Pill and Meat pull up, and they waited until they heard them leave again before they moved, now, they needed a fucking drink.
One by one, they grabbed the shot glass and Easy said, “Let’s end this shit.”
Creed nodded and they heard Shady behind them. “Fuckers,” she said quietly and Poke put his head down. Ignoring her for the moment, Easy poured another shot. The silence in the room was stifling.
For the last week, every morning Shady would rise from her bed, no matter who was in it and go to Freedom. They would huddle in the living room on one of the sectionals, under covers just talking quietly about chick shit. But their friendship had grown into more like a sisterhood, it was something Easy and the others could relate too.
That is the effect Freedom had on most of the women, they had gravitated to her sweetness, they had all noticed it. Creed had mentioned it more than once. The Bitches seemed to be pulling tighter together, all except for Trick, who had become more of a cunt. Shady was their leader, and Freedom was her second, none of the others were strong enough, Easy thought and put down his glass with a thump.
During one of their sermons, Creed had expressed his approval of the way Shady and Freedom had become so close. He said having strong women in the club would lead to having a stronger MC.
Easy turned around and saw Shady standing t
here with her hands on her hips glaring at the lot of them.
“Don’t know what you are talking about,” Easy said smoothly.
Shady snorted and looked at Creed. “You fucked this up. When it comes back to bite you in the ass, don’t fucking come to me crying. She was mine, and you didn’t fill me in, clean up your own fucking mess.”
Treat went to Shady and put her arms around the woman. Nike and Rain joined her and more slowly, Trick did. They all just stood there glaring at each other for a few minutes and then Shady walked to the bar and grabbed glasses and a bottle of Tequila, went to the other side of the room, and sat down. All of the women followed and they continued to drink in silence.
After a while, Creed snorted and said, “Whatever. Let’s get to work.”
They started to walk up the stairs when Creed’s phone rang. “Yeah.” They heard their leader bark. Easy stopped and turned to look at Creed and he felt his blood run cold at the look on his leader's face. He hung up the phone and everyone in the room held their breaths.
“Prospect on duty at the club guarding said Pill and Free rode by them. Stopped at the light down the street, and some fucking huge ass truck shot out of a parking lot and rammed them. He saw Free fly off the bike, and Pill was trapped under the bike. He ran, but by the time he got down the street, an asshole in a van grabbed Free, and then took off,” Creed said.
“Fuck,” Poke yelled and everyone moved quickly.
*****
Freedom moaned, she moved and gasped at the pain she felt. Shit, what the fuck happened?
“Look, bitch is waking up finally,” she heard an accented voice say.
“Good, we can get this shit underway,” she heard another man say.
Freedom struggled to open her eyes and when she did, she wanted to close them again. She had no clue where she was, and who the men were, but she remembered Pill and the accident.
Sharing Freedom Page 14
