by Nicola Jane
“Well there’s no debt when the person is…” I trail off and her eyes fix to mine. “I’ll transfer the money.” I leave before she can ask me about Kenny.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lucy
Saturday rolls around quickly. I’m excited as I drive into the parking lot of the Rebellion’s MC. There are bikes parked up all along one side, and I spot Ace standing outside having a cigarette. He smiles wide as I approach and embraces me, “I’m so pleased you’ve come back, I was worried we’d scared you off.”
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all again,” I confess.
“But mainly me,” grins Scar, stepping outside to join us.
“Of course,” I laugh. Scar is definitely the joker of the bunch.
“I had a call earlier, from your friend,” says Ace, dropping his cigarette and crushing it under his heavy boot. “Tag.”
“You did?” I ask, trying not to sound too interested. “but he’s not my friend.”
“He was checking to see if you’d been in touch.”
“What did you tell him?” I ask.
“I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t know him well enough yet.”
“Yet?” I ask.
“Well if he’s a friend of yours…” he trails off and nods his head towards the gates as they open. “Speak of the devil.”
I whip my head around, watching in horror as Tag’s car parks and he steps out. He places his shades over his eyes and then strolls towards us. He looks hot in his denim jeans and black T-shirt. “Again, he’s not my friend,” I hiss at Ace. He doesn’t have time to react because Tag is next to me smiling. He shakes hands with Ace first and then Scar. “Thanks so much for the invite,” he says.
“No problem. Thanks for putting this one in touch with me.”
Tag smiles at me, “I thought you needed to know what a wonderful daughter you have.” I roll my eyes, he’s too smooth.
“Scar will show you inside, get yourself a drink and we’ll be in shortly,” says Ace. He waits until Scar and Tag are inside before turning back to me, “What do you mean he isn’t your friend?”
“It’s complicated,” I mutter, “We were friends but things happened and now we don’t really see eye to eye. In fact, I don’t know why he came today.”
“Darling, if the President of the Rebellions invites you to a cook out, you show up,” says Ace, confidentiality.
“Did he know I’d be here?”
“No,” he says, “I told you, he called to ask for a meet, he needs something from me, I think he was waiting to see if I’d mention you, which I didn’t. I wanted to see him face to face. Besides, he can’t be so bad, what he did was a nice thing.”
“Well he owed me after tricking me into bed,” I huff.
Ace covers his ears and makes a loud la la noise. It makes me laugh. “I may have only just met you but I don’t want to hear that shit,” he says, “Do I need to kick his ass?”
I laugh, “No, I can handle Tag.” It feels nice to hear those words though, it’s not often I’ve had someone in my corner.
We go inside where I find the large room empty. “They’ll all be out back,” says Ace, leading me out another door into a large field. There are far more people around than when I came the other night. Kids are running around laughing and playing, adults are sitting on blankets, some enjoying the rare sunshine and others chatting happily to one another. “Go and mingle,” Ace encourages.
I head straight for Piper and her friends, they made me feel so welcome and as I approach, they stand and embrace me. “We’re so happy you came back,” says Piper.
“That’s what Ace said,” I laugh, “He was worried I’d been scared off.”
“We’re a lively bunch, it takes a while to get used to us.”
“Well I couldn’t wait to come back.”
“We were just wondering if the hot boxer was with you?” asks Nora. I glance over my shoulder to see Tag chatting to a few of the bikers.
“Not really. Ace invited him thinking we were friends.”
“And you’re not?” questions Piper.
I shrug, lowering myself onto their blanket. “We were. He used me.”
“I’d let him use me,” sighs Mae dreamily and I laugh.
“He’s getting married. I was part of a bet to get his fiancé.”
“What an ass,” hisses Piper and I nod in agreement. “Does Ace know this?”
“No, not really. I’m so over the whole thing. I’m just gonna ignore him.”
A female comes running across the field from the club house yelling and screaming. We all turn to stare, “Oh god, that’s Foxy,” whispers Piper, “She’s crazy when it comes to Trucker.”
I watch in astonishment as she dives towards Trucker. She hits him hard across the face, yelling about another woman. The way he towers over her scares the crap out of me but Foxy doesn’t back down. “Wow, she isn’t even a bit scared,” I whisper back, “He terrifies me.”
“These guys might look the part but they’d rather die than hurt a woman. Trucker loves the bones of the crazy bitch.”
I watch as he grips her arms and holds them by her side, he places a light kiss on her mouth and she stops yelling. “I love you,” he says firmly and she almost melts against him. He picks her up in his arms and carries her back towards the club house. “Where’s he taking her?” I ask.
“To fuck her brains out probably,” says Mae. “That’s their thing, they fight and fuck, it’s a vicious circle.”
“Wow. Are all the guys like that?”
“Some,” mutters Nora, “Most of the guys are mad about their women. There’s a few single brothers that haven’t found that yet, like your brother.”
“I can see why, he’s scary too.”
Piper laughs, “You just have to know how to handle him.”
“And you know all the ways in which to handle him,” grins Mae. Piper blushes and throws a handful of grass over her.
“You and Hulk?” I ask, surprised.
“No, he won’t commit to her,” says Nora, “He should be snapping her up, he won’t find anyone better.”
“Be quiet,” sighs Piper.
“Oh, he’s coming over,” hisses Mae and we all glance up to see Hulk heading out way. Piper blushes a deeper red and I want to laugh.
“You came,” he grates out and I nod. “And you brought mafia into our home?”
“No,” I snap, “Ace invited him, I didn’t know he was coming.”
“Piper come,” he snaps.
“No,” she says coldly and he glowers at her. “I’m with my friends.”
“We need to talk.”
“You could have come and talked to me any time, instead, I find you doing a whole lot more than talking with Kat.” My eyes dart back and forth between the two. It’s hard to see if they have something special because Piper is clearly upset with him.
“I’m not asking you Pip, I’m telling you, get the fuck up and come with me!” His voice gets higher with each word but Piper stays put. “You’re defying an order from the VP?” he adds.
“Seems that way,” she shrugs.
“I’m gonna throw you over my shoulder,” he warns.
“And I’ll call for Queenie!” This seems to halt him from taking Piper against her will. He turns to see where Queenie is, she isn’t far and he lets out a growl.
“Please baby, just come and talk to me.” The change in his tone seems to get around Pipers stubbornness and she sighs before pushing to her feet.
“If I’m not back in five minutes, send Queenie in to find me,” she throws over her shoulder before pushing past Hulk and heading inside. I love how sassy these women seem to be, not letting these huge men push them around. I could learn a lot here.
Tag
I finally pluck up the courage to approach Lucy. I’ve never been scared of anything in my life but right now I feel scared about how she will react to me. We seem to keep being pushed together. When I called Ace I was trying to figu
re out if Lucy had contacted him but he was closed off, guarded. I didn’t want to mention her in case she’d decided not to bother. He also might be the answer to my other little problem. I check my watch again; I have a few hours before I have to end my father.
Seeing Lucy here today was a surprise, but I’m happy for her. Ace is a good man and I know he’ll take care of her. “You’re marrying Conner Martinez’s daughter?” asks Scar, adding an uncertain laugh.
“Yeah, in a few weeks.” I check my watch again, my nerves kicking in.
“She’s hot but she has a rep,” he says and my ears prick up.
“A rep?” I repeat.
“Yeah, surely you know, everyone does.”
I feel my defenses coming up and my stance changes, he picks up on it and backs off. “Man, I didn’t mean any harm, you ask anyone, she has a bad rep. I assumed you knew.” He pulls out his cell phone and spends a second flicking through it, “Look.” He holds it to me and I blink to make sure I’m seeing right. There’s a photograph of Ella in a sexy pose, her legs spread wide and a scrap of material covering just enough to hide her pussy. Her hands cover her naked breasts.
“Where did you get this?” I growl.
“She posted it on her social media,” he says, pressing another button and bringing up Ella’s profile. Her name is Sexy Mafia Princess. I take his cell and begin to scroll through. Photo after photo is her practically naked.
“So, these are just a bunch of photographs, what did you mean about her bad rep?”
“Well, apparently she likes it rough, she comes around the biker bars a lot.”
“That’s impossible, she’s never without her minder.”
“The gay one?” asks Scar, “Yeah he’s always there.”
I curl my fists in anger, “So you’re telling me she sleeps around?”
Scar nods, “Yeah. That’s why I was so surprised when you said you were marrying her, a man of your stature, rumor has it that you’re stepping into your father’s shoes.”
I pull out my cell and find Ella on my Instagram. I screen shot some of her pictures and forward them onto Anton. He’ll hit the roof and so will Conner. My cell instantly buzzes to life and I answer. “What the fuck are you sending me those for?” yells Anton.
“What the fuck is your sister doing putting those on social media?”
“What?”
“There’s a whole bunch of them under the name Sexy Mafia Princess. I’m hearing all kinds of shit about her Anton, find her, I’ll be over soon.”
“She’s out with her minder, I’ll call him and get him to bring her to the house.”
“Actually, don’t. I know where she might be, I’ll bring her.”
I disconnect the call and smile at Scar. “You fancy taking me around some bars?”
“Yeah sure, I’ll clear it with the Pres.” He goes off to discuss it with Ace and I go over to where Lucy sits. She looks happy and relaxed, sipping on a glass of Gin.
“Are you ignoring me?” I ask.
“Nope, you’re blocking my sun.”
“You haven’t been over to speak to me yet.”
“We’ve been over this Tag, stop turning up where I am.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here. But while we’re on the subject, I am the reason you’re here so...”
“You owed me after your disgusting behavior.”
The other two girls she’s with smirk, she’s showing off and it annoys me. “Whatever Lucy, fuck you.” I turn and head back towards Scar. I have other shit to deal with right now.
We spend the next hour driving around different biker bars that Scar points me in the direction of. So far Ella hasn’t been in any of them. “Let’s try this last one. If she isn’t in here then she must not be out tonight.”
Inside, it’s dull and half empty. A woman is smoking a cigarette behind the bar and as we enter, she smiles, “What can I get you boys?”
I hold up my cell phone with a picture of Ella showing. “Seen her?”
“Yeah she’s out back. Please take her home, she’s wasted, it’s bad for business.”
The door from the toilets opens and Ella’s minder almost drops to the floor in shock. “Don’t fucking move,” I growl. He stands still as I move past him to the back door. “Make sure he stays there,” I say to Scar.
The door opens into an alley way. It’s getting dark and I can just about make out the industrial sized dumpsters. I move past them and spot Ella. She has her back against the wall and her hands tangled in the hair of a guy who has his face buried between her legs. I lean back against the opposite wall. I can’t deny that I’m pissed and hurt. She was supposed to be saving herself for marriage. I almost laugh to myself. All those times I’ve restrained myself.
Ella begins to quiver, her legs shaking. The guy stands and positions himself between her legs. I wince as he lunges forwards, causing Ella to scream out. It’s all the proof I needed to tell me she isn’t a virgin like she was pretending to be.
I step out of the shadows; Ella’s eyes are closed in pleasure and they don’t spring open until I have the knife against the guys throat. She screams when her eyes connect to mine. I feel wild, the thirst for blood edging me on as I pull the blade across the guys skin. He gurgles, coughing and spluttering before his hand reaches to his throat, trying to cover the spurting wound. Ella is splashed in his blood, it coats her bare breasts and soaks into the top she has pulled down around her waist.
“The weddings off,” I say coldly. The guy drops to the floor and I grab Ella by the arm. Tugging her towards me, she trips over his body, falling against me.
“Tag please, it wasn’t like that, I just…”
“I don’t give a shit, fucking some nobody in an alley way, I can’t marry you now!” I glare at her in disgust. Pulling out my cell I type out the address to Dan, using the code for clean-up. He’ll take care of it. I drag Ella through the bar, she tries to tug up her top. “I’ll take care of the mess out back,” I say to the bar owner. I chuck a roll of cash onto the bar and she snatches it up quick, nodding her head. She wouldn’t say a word to anyone, it wouldn’t be worth it because she’d end up the same way. “Don’t let anyone out there until my guys get here.”
Scar follows me to the car, dragging Ella’s minder along behind. I chuck the car keys to Scar and I get into the back with Ella. Her fake tears are pissing me off and I turn away from her. “I’m sorry Tag, I just get so sick of being the perfect daughter. Sometimes I need to let loose.”
“In every sense of the word,” I mutter.
“And I’d like it to be known that I have tried to talk sense into her,” says her minder.
“Tell it to Conner!” I snap.
“Tag you know what she’s like, I was under her orders.”
“You liar,” screeches Ella, “You’ve never tried to stop me!”
“Enough!” I yell. “You can both explain yourself to Conner. I’m simply delivering you.” Ella cries harder and I role my eyes in annoyance. She could win awards for her acting.
I direct Scar to Conner’s large home. Conner and Anton are waiting on the steps. As we come to a stop Anton rips open the car door and drags Ella from it. She lands on her knees and he pulls her to stand by her hair. I wince, I know they won’t be kind, she’s effectively shamed their family, but I still detest the violence.
Climbing out of the car, I open the passenger front door and indicate for her minder to also step out. He’s barely stood up when a loud bang rings out, I duck out of instinct and then step back as the minder’s body falls to the ground. There’s a perfect circle between his eyes where the bullet entered his head, and as he lays on the ground lifeless, his eyes open but unseeing, a pool of crimson fluid spreads over the white stones beneath him.
Ella’s screams ring out. Violence isn’t usually displayed in front of the women and this is the second time this evening that she’s witnessed it. Conner grips her upper arm and pulls her to stand, he marches her over to the body of her minder and fo
rces her to look down at him. “This is on you,” he seethes, “His blood is on your hands.”
“I’m sorry,” she cries desperately.
Conner holds his cell to her face, “Look at this shit. You look like a whore!” Her face flushes and she looks away. “You want other men looking at you?”
“No,” she whispers.
“Matteo doesn’t want you now, you repulse him. I’m sending you away to live with your grandmother in Scotland.” I watch as he drags her into the house, slamming the door closed behind them.
“Brother,” sighs Anton, slapping my shoulder.
“When did she get so rebellious Ant, and why didn’t we see it?”
“Maybe we were too busy playing games Tag, we lost sight of what was important to us.”
Scar steps from the car, he looks uncomfortable and I regret dragging him along on my domestic problem. “Wedding is off then? Man, I feel bad, I should never have opened my mouth.”
“You did us all a favor, we had no clue she was behaving that way. Conner will see it as the ultimate disrespect. She’ll have to move away now until she can prove that she’s learned her lesson,” I say.
We drive back to The Rebellion’s club house. My mind is full of questions, like why don’t I feel too hurt about Ella and instead I feel relieved.
“I have to say Tag, you don’t seem too cut up about Ella.”
“The thing is, when I was pursuing my dream to marry Ella, I fell for someone else.”
“Lucy?” he smirks, glancing over at me.
I smile, even her name brightens my day. “How’d yah guess?”
“She’s a stunner, the fact that you went to the trouble of finding Ace for her, says a lot.”
“Yeah, trouble is, she doesn’t understand my world. She’s an innocent.”
“And you’re scared of corrupting her?”
“I’m scarred that she’ll accept it too easily and it’ll change her in ways that might ruin her.”
“Funny you should say that, I had the exact same conversation with Ace after she’d turned up. But yah know what I said to him, it’s not up to you, or him, it’s Lucy’s choice. Be honest, so she goes in with her eyes wide open. She might surprise you with how tough she really is.”
