by Lake, Rae B.
She looks at my hand and then at the utensil. When she grabs it and doesn’t stab me in the eye, I take that as a win.
* * *
“No! No! Stop!” A hair-raising scream wakes me from a dead sleep.
My eyes pop open, and I jump up from the floor, immediately looking for the threat. I don’t know how anyone could have gotten in the room. I’ve been asleep on the floor by the bed, so I know no one has opened the door.
My heart beats like a racehorse in my chest, and I search the room quickly for the intruder. I see nothing, but when I hear Siren scream again, I finally realize what’s happening. She’s having a fucking nightmare, and from the intensity of her kicks and screams, it must be horrible.
The door to my room bursts open, and Devin has his gun raised and ready to shoot. “What the fuck? What’s happening!” His room is right next to mine. He must have heard her screaming through the wall.
Another gut-wrenching cry leaves her mouth, but this time the door is open, and within seconds I can hear fast footsteps coming in my direction. The last thing I need is for her to wake up from a nightmare with the entire club in her face. I quickly push Devin out of the way and get to the hallway.
Clean, Ripper, and Alex are all hauling ass toward me. I put my hands out, so they stop and see I’m not injured. “It’s okay. She’s steep and having a nightmare.”
“Sleep?” Clean asks, making sure that he understood my misspoken word.
I nod, and as if on cue, Siren belts another scream.
Alex cringes, “Well, you going to wake her or what?”
“Slowly.” I know I have to wake her, but I’ve seen how fast this woman can move. She’ll kill me before she even gets the sleep out of her eyes fully.
“Good luck with that brother.” Clean chuckles and turns away.
“You want back up?” Ripper asks.
I shake my head, and he goes back downstairs toward his room. When I look over the railing, I can see Wire looking up to me. His weapon is out, but he doesn’t make a move to come up.
I turn and go back to my room, closing the door behind me. Siren whimpers and mutters something again. Her face crumples like she’s crying, yet no actual tears leave her eyes.
“Siren,” I call her name gently. I figure I can wake her up this way, and if she does jump up swinging, I’ll be far enough away. “Siren, wake up,” I say a little louder.
“Siren!” I raise my voice. It’s enough to wake her, and as I thought, she jumps up onto the bed, her body coiled and ready to jump at the first sign of danger.
Even though she’s on the other side of the room, I take a few steps back and raise my hands so she can see them. “It’s me. Mack. I’m not going to hurt you. Just Mack.” I lower my voice until I see her focus on me. When her body relaxes, and she sits back down on the bed, I move closer. I grab the small towel off the side table and give it to her. She stares at it for a second before she dabs at her forehead and neck. I grab my bottle of water and offer it to her. “I don’t have cooties. I progress.” The joke falls flat due to my verbal fuck up.
I look away as she grabs the bottle from me, takes a swig, and then hands it back. I place it back on the table and lay back down on the floor. After a few seconds, I hear the springs on the mattress squeak as she settles back into bed.
I turn to my stomach and wait for sleep to come back for me.
“Thank you, Mack.”
I lift my head to make sure I’m not dreaming, but she doesn’t say another word. I know what I heard. Talk about making progress.
“Welcome,” I reply and lay back down, feeling a little better about myself and my goal.
I wake up to a pair of breathtakingly beautiful maple brown eyes staring down at me. Siren is awake, for how long I don’t know, but from the way she is studying me, it doesn’t seem like she just rolled out of bed.
“Do I snore?” I ask.
“Why are you helping me?”
My jaw almost unhinges; it drops so fast. She’s speaking.
“Why nut?” I roll my eyes.
“Why does that happen?” She comes back with another question.
“What?” I know what she is talking about, but it’s too early in the morning to have to fight with the words that need to come out to explain it to her.
“Why do you say the wrong words sometimes?”
Great, she goes from not saying a word to not shutting the fuck up. I don’t know which one is worse. I let out a breath and slowly tap my temple. I guess it’s a game of charades for breakfast.
“Crazy?”
I shake my head.
“Stupid?”
Another head shake.
“Hurt?”
I nod.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit, you never get something for nothing. What do you want from me?”
“Nothing. You deserve a chase.” I grit my teeth.
“Chances are only for those who can afford them.”
I stand up and grab my t-shirt from the chair, quickly pulling it over my head. “I think you’ve overpaid your dues.”
She raises one eyebrow and sits back down on the bed. She’s still in the same clothes she wore yesterday and the day before. Fuck, Siren hasn’t changed her clothes since she got here. Though they don’t look as dirty as they should be, she must be hand washing them.
“You trust…”
Her arms cross over her midsection the second I say that.
“Ok, not trust. You belly that I won’t hurt you?” I close my eyes and wait for her to question what I said.
“Yes, I believe you won’t hurt me.”
“Good, come with me?” I put my hand out, and she doesn’t hesitate much before she takes it.
She walks close behind me. Her hand is loose in mine, and her eyes constantly sweeping the area around her. Always on the lookout for someone or something to jump out and hurt her.
Downstairs, there are a few people already milling about, and I’m hoping I find one ex-club bunny among them
“Cherry?”
“Yeah?” She answers from the back room. Mikki comes out with her, and she takes a step back when she sees Siren with me.
“Are you busy?” I ask Cherry, making sure to talk slowly.
“At the moment, no.” Cherry looks briefly at the disheveled woman behind me
“This is Siren,” I say and try to move the woman from behind me. She glares at me for a second before she takes one step out from where she is standing.
“Hey, I’m Cherry, and this is Mikki. Nice to meet you.”
Siren remains silent.
Cherry doesn’t miss a beat. She focuses her attention back on me. I wasn’t around long when she was a club bunny, but I’m sure she’s seen more than her share of fucked up people to be thrown by Siren.
“Cherry, I think I need a little help. Carving.”
“Carving?”
“Fuck, no.” I try to breathe through my frustration.
“Clothing,” Siren says from behind me.
Cherry looks at her, and a look of dismay crosses her features.
“Is this all you have?”
Siren nods once.
“Are you going to play nice?” Cherry takes another step closer to her, but Siren takes a step back.
I turn now and look at her, “You believe me?” I ask, looking into her feral eyes.
She nods her head.
“They won’t hurt you. You’re not an animal. You shouldn’t fucking dress like one.”
“I agree, you’re free now. We won’t do anything you don’t want us to do.” Mikki says from where she is standing next to Cherry.
“Your choice. Or you can continue to live how they forked you to live.”
“My whole life has been forced.” Siren replies. Her voice is low, but her pain spears me with every syllable.
“Come with me. We can work with this.” Cherry puts her hand out, and though Siren doesn’t ta
ke it, she does walk off with the ladies.
Another win in the books.
* * *
A squeal of laughter pulls me out of my thoughts. I look over the railing as Lily and June run through the compound away from July. Lorelai and LJ try to keep up being so young they have a hard time, but they are having fun. There are no parties today. It’s just family time.
A family.
That is exactly what the Wings of Diablo club has always been. A big fucking family. Children and wives, running around. Parties, movie nights, barbecues, everything I thought I didn’t want. Now that I have it, I can tell it’s all about to crumble. No one sees it, or no one wants to admit that they do.
I watch as LJ runs by Ripper, who is sitting at one of the couches playing with his gun. Not even caring that it may go off and hurt one of the kids. The bunnies they let into the house now are more druggies than strippers. How can they not see?
I make my way downstairs, trying to shake off this fucked up feeling. Maybe a drink will help.
One of the side doors open, and Clean storms out with a plate of uneaten food in his hands. He slams it down in front of me. “What the hell is wrong with your sister? Why she such a bitch all the time?”
I’ve become so numb to anyone calling my sister a bitch that it doesn’t even register anymore. A small smirk crosses my face, and I shrug my shoulders before I point to the plate.
“It’s wrong, apparently. I’m a jerk and am purposefully doing shit to piss her off because the tartar sauce was hot.” He opens the lid on the sandwich to show me the inside, “It’s a motherfucking fried chicken sandwich! Hot! What did she think was going to happen to the topping? Who the fuck puts tartar sauce on fried chicken anyway?” I laugh as he vents and pat him on the back when he sucks his teeth in annoyance.
I know how bad Maven is and how bad she will get; I was there the last time. My sister is a wonderful mother, but pregnancy turns her into a raving lunatic. “You knocked her up.”
He cut his eyes at me, and he lets out a long breath as a giddy little smile crosses his face. “Yeah, I did that. Let me get this fucking sandwich before she cuts my damn dick off or something. He rushes into the kitchen and makes the sandwich the way she wants. Carefully making sure not to miss anything. My sister is only five months pregnant right now and barely showing, but her cravings are fully formed. Tartar sauce, Tartar sauce on everything. I watch as he opens the bottle and goes to pour some on the sandwich.
“I wounded.” I look away, trying not to let my annoyance get to me. Clean usually can decipher what I’m saying, but so he doesn’t have to, I reach out and grab the bottle before he can pour any on the hot sandwich.
“She’ll kill me if I go in there without that fucking tartar sauce.” Clean looks genuinely scared as I pull the bottle away.
“Wait, colder if you put it on when you’re there,” I explain. If he puts it on now, it will warm up by the time Maven takes her first bite, then he will be back here making another sandwich bitching about how horrible my sister is.
“Good idea.” He snatches the bottle back from me and runs back to the room. Smart man.
“Ooo, pretty lady.” I hear July say, even at his young age, he’s already hitting on the women. I had to stop him from coming out many times when the club bunnies were here for parties. He always wants to look at the girls. That’s my nephew.
I turn to see who he is talking to, and for the second time since I’ve known her, Siren makes my jaw drop.
“Holy shit, is that what was under there?” Ripper asks.
The girls did a good job, but it’s clear they already had a masterpiece to work with from what I'm looking at.
She’s in a simple pair of stonewash jeans and a light blue t-shirt, but I don’t think she could be any more fucking gorgeous if she tried. Her legs are long and muscular, probably from all the years of fighting. Her ass pops out nicely and is big enough for me to get a good grip. Her breasts sit up high but aren’t too big. I usually prefer a woman with bigger tits, but it appears my preferences have changed. I greedily trail my eyes over her body, and when my eyes make their way up to her face, I see the apprehension there. Siren’s eyes are a liquid brown, reminding me of thick maple syrup, and her skin is pale from all her time inside. But her lips and hair might be my two favorite attributes of hers. Long, dark hair, the ends easily touching her lower back, and thick, plump lips like two fluffy pillows. I wonder what her hair would look like splayed across my pillow.
I shake the thoughts from my head as I approach her. I smile at her to let her know she looks good, but her expression doesn’t change.
“Pay up.” Cherry puts her hand out before she drops a bag of clothing at my feet.
“You went out?” I didn’t know they had left the compound, or I would’ve sent someone to watch over Siren. That could’ve been dangerous.
“It’s amazing what you can buy on the internet these days. With the pickup and drop-off options, we can buy a whole wardrobe and never have to leave. Which is what we did, so hand over the cash.” She wiggles her fingers, and I put my hand in my pocket and peel off a stack of fifty dollar bills. Money isn’t an issue.
Mikki turns to Siren, making sure to keep her distance, “If you ever want to talk or decompress, you can come to see us. You don’t have to stay with Mack all the time. You have nothing to be afraid of anymore. No one here will hurt you.”
Siren still doesn’t say a word, but she does nod her head once, acknowledging Mikki’s offer. She walks by me and up to my room, not even waiting for me to lead her.
I look to Cherry and Mikki, “Thank you.”
“She’s so alone, Mack. I don’t know what you plan on getting out of this project, but she’ll never be fixed completely. You understand that, don’t you?”
I nod, but I don’t understand. Why do they think she’s just a project?
When I enter my room, Siren is standing in front of the small mirror I have on the wall. Instead of looking impressed or happy, she looks pissed off.
“Is this better for you?”
“What?” For the first time in the longest time, it’s me who fucking confused.
“Is this better? Will you get a higher dollar when you sell me? Or maybe you just want to rent me out? You keeping me for yourself? What? What do you want from me?” She’s yelling now.
“Nothing,” I respond.
“Bull! You want something. Just stop with the fucking mind games and do it already.” Her body trembles. She’s still waiting for me to hurt her. Even after everything I’ve told her, she still thinks I’m going to abuse her.
“Fucking hell, Siren. I’m not going to hurt you. Stat trying to force me into being the bad gull. If you want to fucking leaf, leaf. I won’t stop you. I don’t have tide for this shit anyway.”
Her hand runs through her hair, and I turn away. It’s better if I don’t argue. When I get upset, my words become even more jumbled. “I don’t want to go. I feel…” She stops midsentence and drops her hands from around her stomach, “I feel safe, and I know I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
For the first time since she’s been here, she laughs. “How can you say it’s safe when you run around with the devil. You are the company you keep, Mack. I’ve seen your allies.”
I should put her the fuck out. Speaking against my patch is enough. The only thing keeping me from dragging her out of the clubhouse is the fact that she’s telling the truth.
“Mack, you going to ride out, or do you have to stay and babysit?” Ripper pokes fun as he shoves his feet into his shitkickers. We’re dropping some of the girls we have in the trailers over to Jeb and Marcus. They come from West Virginia and give jobs to the girls who come to us for refuge. You’d be surprised how many women just wander around or are on the run. We met Jeb and his brother through Rooster and the Spawns. He saw how overwhelmed we were. It’s a new connection, but so far, it’s been lucrative.
“Coming.”
“Liste
n up, boys, I need to handle other business with Vexx, so we need to split for this run.” Wire explains as he slips his arms into his kutte. “Clean, Ripper, Mack, and Devin. You guys handle the package coming from Rooster. It’s only a few guns but be careful. The last thing we need is for the pigs to pull you over with a box of Glock's in the trunk.”
“You got it, brother.” Clean makes his way out of the clubhouse, not asking any questions.
Ripper and Devin start talking about whatever game they saw last night, and like always, I bring up the rear. Silent but observant. I feel someone looking at me, and when I raise my eyes toward my room, I see Siren leaning over the railing, looking down at me. Those expressive eyes are telling me all I need to know.
* * *
Devin and I take our bikes while Clean and Ripper ride in the truck. Wire and Clean have been best friends since I’ve been here, but Ripper is a close second when it comes to a bromance with Clean.
There are extra bikes parked in the back of the secret entrance of the Spawns of Chaos clubhouse. From the outside, you would think that the entire area is nothing but rundown, abandoned warehouses, but their clubhouse is underground and completely secure. Being an allied club to the Spawns allows us access. The four of us navigate the empty warehouse and enter the elevator. I wasn’t expecting a full-on rager when those doors open.
Rock music blared through speakers, and there are friends and Spawns everywhere.
“What the fuck is this?” Devin asks as we try to push our way through the people.
I suck in a breath when I see what’s happening to draw such a crowd.
“Oh, my brothers! Get in on this!” Topper yells as he rushes back over to a woman who’s chained over a chair. She’s crying and pulling away, but they don’t let her go.
“Shut the fuck up bitch! You have made the dick god angry now. Take all this pipe!” Tex barrels out from behind us with a makeshift toga on.
