by K. J. Dahlen
I’d never be a party to anything like that and I doubted Top would’ve either, but there were some Veins that wouldn’t bat an eye at killing a few kids. It was disgusting but there were a few guys like that scumbag Lorenzo or the national president’s sadistic son, Rio, who might even get off on it.
Top raised a brow at him. “Now how bout you do me, Lily and yourself a favor and get the fuck out of my sight.”
Before Top finished his sentence, Wyatt Earp there was already retreating backwards to his truck. He barely had his door shut before he pulled out of the parking lot.
Jeffries knew he’d just escaped with his life.
Served him right, pulling that shit after our brother was just killed. He’d just gotten extremely lucky. As amped up and pissed off as we all were all right now, our MC would’ve ripped his whole department to shreds.
Wouldn’t be the first time we’d had to kill a few cops.
“Remy, gas station girl will be dealt with by the time we leave here tomorrow morning. You hear me?” Top wasn’t bluffing with Jeffries, and he was not bluffing with me. For all his many faults, Top wasn’t a liar. If I didn’t kill her, he would.
I nodded gravely.
One more night. That’s all the time I had to figure out what the fuck I was going to do. I’d have to get real creative real fast if I wanted Star to see another sunrise.
“Good,” Top said, rubbing soreness from his neck and patting me on the back. “Deadeye and Rio are on their way up with the full club to pay their respects. We’re hosting them tonight. Let the boys know. We got a lot of work to do to clean up after last night’s shit show.”
The full club was on their way?
That was bad for Star. Really fucking bad.
Muse would send some of her girls to assist, but the majority of cleaning up after the fight last night would be on us. Muse was practically going to gift-wrap Star for Top. She didn’t want any lose ends hanging around either. It was bad for business.
I’d have to talk with her personally.
For as much as I’d have loved to find Star and finish what we started, I couldn’t shirk my responsibilities to the club. We all had our jobs to do. Everyone in…Everyone out. All Steel Veins patches were equal. After letting the boys know to pack in the guns and to start getting shit sorted for the event tonight, I left to go pay Muse a visit.
“It’s Remy.” I rapped on Muse’s office door.
“Come in, handsome.” Muse’s voice sounded relaxed, but not overly pleased.
The small office room looked tidy and sparse, save for a computer desk, filing cabinet and a small cappuccino maker above a mini fridge. The curtains were drawn, but the overhead lights were on. Muse reclined behind her desk wearing a tight, black blouse and grey skirt that had been hiked up to the point you could only call it a belt. Her panties were carefully folded on the desk in front of her and the face of one of her employees was busily buried in her pussy.
“A bad time?” I couldn’t help, but smile at the casualness of it all. I took a chair opposite them and watched as the curvy, fair featured European girl in the maid’s outfit energetically went to town kissing and licking Muse’s inner thighs.
“Nonsense, Remy-dear. It’s just some on the job training.” Muse smiled at me, lighting up a cigarette. She motioned me to come in. “However may I be of help?”
“We need to talk about your newest employee.”
“Our little caged bird, the beautiful shining Star. Stephanie told me you stopped her and offered to relay my message to Top yourself. Being that you’re here and not him, I’m guessing the news of that girl’s escape attempt never made it to his ears, hmm?” Muse dug her nails into the girl’s scalp and moved her head to where she wanted.
“I’m handling it,” I said, crossing my legs.
“I seem to hearing that a lot from the Daniels brothers lately.” Muse’s dark, cherry lips spread into a knowing smile. “You’re—Pardon me, sugar.” Muse looked down at her apparently unimpressive employee and sighed. “Sophia. Read my body language. You feel my hips? What are they saying to you? ‘Work the hood then my clit.’ I want the alphabet in French, honey. Not German.”
“It’s always inspiring to watch you work.” I pulled out my wallet and put three hundred dollars on her desk.
“Oh, sweetie.” Muse chuckled wafting smoke from her nostrils. “That’s not nearly enough for the bar’s repairs.”
“Top will be around later to give you money for that.”
“And this is?” Muse was too cleaver not to already know, but she wanted me to say it out loud.
“Discretion.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Remy. Top has been awfully good to us over the years. I couldn’t possibly betray his confidence,” she cooed to me. Then, she slapped the top of the girl’s head and scolded her in French. “What did I just say? Fais-le bien!”
I knew the money wasn’t going to be enough.
It never was for a woman like Muse who dealt in power. I’d have to improvise. I could threaten her, but I doubted that would work on her. I’d have to try a radically different approach.
I stood up and walked toward her.
At first, she was intrigued and curious, then quickly, she became concerned when I didn’t stop.
I grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair and pulled her face from Muse’s thighs. “Lock the door behind you,” I told the maid in no uncertain tones to fuck off. I had work to do.
The girl hesitated, then snatched a baggy of coke off Muse’s desk and ran off, closing the door behind her.
“Remy?” Muse started closing her legs.
I caught them, and pried them back open. I then lowered my head, all the while never wavering in eye contact.
Muse took excellent care of herself and had the body of a woman in her late twenties. I first, started in on her dark thighs. Teasing, I licked her taut muscles, then massaged the shaved area above her pussy with my palm, pushing into her, letting her feel the pressure. I exhaled hot breath over her clit, but didn’t move closer.
After a few minutes, her hips shifted slightly, opening more and more.
My tongue briefly kissed the top of her hood before pulling back altogether. I grabbed her legs and pulled them apart. I looked up at her with such indifference that I could’ve been reading the newspaper.
This wasn’t about sex.
This was dominance.
She moved in closer, but I held my distance, letting the open air nip at her tender flesh. I waited until her pussy yearned for my lips, then waited longer. All the while, my hands squeezed and dragged over her thighs, behind her knees, up to her hips.
Her cigarette burned, ignored in her hand as her almond eyes narrowed with lust and defiance.
I traced her labia then stopped, keeping my pace inconsistent. Soft, soft, harder, fast, soft, slow, stopped, slow. I licked iambic pentameter into her pussy as my tongue recited excerpts of my favorite literature. All the while, neither of us broke the stare. Her eyes began to gloss, but she still remained strong.
Could I make her come?
This was the twisted game.
With one arm, I pushed her lower stomach in while simultaneously cupping her ass and jerking it forward. Her pussy flowered for me like chocolate, strawberry roses. My tongue wore long, deep groves through her clit in time with the subtle gyrations of her hips. When I cut against that rhythm and pulled away, I felt her spasms. She was getting close, but Muse was a woman who was always in control—of herself and, especially of others.
Again, I brought her to the precipice just to pull back, not completely. I wanted her to still know I was there, ready to finish her off at the time I wanted. I didn’t know if this was true yet, but that’s what I wanted her to think.
Her hand found the back of my head, but was slapped away roughly. No. I was doing this, not her. I wasn’t her vibrator; she was subject to my whims.
I made it clear that I set the terms of her orgasm.
; Now both sets of lips quivered at my touch, but still I wouldn’t take her all the way.
“Ow Shit!” The cigarette she’d been holding had smoldered down to the filter and singed her fingers. She flicked it away in a panic.
I stood up, wiped my chin and smirked at her. Muse just lost the game.
I didn’t make her come, but I could’ve.
“Fuck! Alright! Fucking let me finish!” Flustered and breathing heavily she snapped a hand over her cunt and pushed hard.
“Finish yourself off.” I’d already won. I wasn’t going to do it for her now.
“You are a cruel and horrible man.”
“You don’t know the half of it. News of the girl stays between us.”
“Fine.” Muse slipped two fingers between her lower lips and started curling them as she glared at me. “Now get out.”
On my way out, I grabbed the three hundred dollars I placed on her desk earlier. “To the victor…”
She softly growled, but said nothing.
I let the door swing wide on my way out of her office and left it like that.
She screamed for me to close it, but I didn’t bother turning back.
Muse frantically covered up as a customer approached the front desk which had a clear view into her office. The distraction meant she might not get the orgasm she’d been chasing for the better part of an hour.
Good. I smirked at the sound of her trying to explain herself to an incredibly surprised young couple. That’s what you get for serving Star up like an entrée at a banquet.
Even a fire-handler like Muse could occasionally be burned.
More importantly, that’s what you get when you fuck with me.
5
Star
Hours later and I was still shaken up from Remy’s visit.
Gloria saw how he left me and rattled off a long string of what I can only assume were curses. He was a man of extreme highs and lows, and I didn’t know how much longer I could bear it. I’d never seen anyone so diffused outwardly, yet with such boiling passion a hair’s breadth beneath the surface. Everything about him seemed like barely contained violence. Even when he was gentle, the electricity in his touch and in his intentions was unmistakable.
With him, at any moment there could be an explosion followed by writhing bodies on the floor. Either ours—Remy and mine—or Remy’s enemies.
Gloria had brought me to a window where I watched the events with the police unfold. She had this forlorn look about her the whole time. Like she knew how this would end before it ever even started.
I saw Remy and that monster—Top—talking with the police. I couldn’t hear anything, of course, but I didn’t need to. The way the officers were standing with their hands ready on their guns spoke volumes.
The worst part was seeing just how easily the police were dealt with. It was so utterly unreal. At first, I wanted to run out there and jump in the back of a cruiser, but when the fat guy in the cowboy hat showed up and waved off the other cops, I realized the rules I had always been taught didn’t apply in this place.
My last security blanket was torn away.
Once they were gone, Gloria took my hand and moved me back into the room we were working on. With everything that had been happening, I half expected Gloria to betray me somehow, as well. I didn’t want to be that person. Always on edge. Skeptical of everyone.
What a terrible way to live...
There was no hidden knife waiting to attack me when we got back to that room, but a part of me wondered how I might take her down if there had been. I shook that admittedly growing distrust from my mind. I wasn’t like them.
I was more than a rabid dog in a leather vest.
I took Gloria’s hand and thanked her sincerely. I wasn’t sure for what, exactly, but I guess it was just for being a decent person.
She blushed a little, smiled, and waved the whole notion away. Before long, she had the radio on and continued dancing through the room again.
I loved the way she could just accept a situation for what it was and not let it darken her world. I had so much to learn from her. Much more than just that perfect blanket fold.
After a few more rooms, Gloria had me try some on my own. She’d pop in every once in a while to make sure I hadn’t set anything on fire. She’d look everything over, make a few changes, then leave with an exaggerated thumbs up. The woman was adorable.
Unfortunately, the time without Gloria’s wonderful distraction gave me more time alone with my thoughts than I would’ve liked.
Why was I still cleaning?
Why not? Escaping was off the table and I had no idea where I stood with Remy. He never came back after that moment in the room together. Did I want him to come back?
Part of me wondered if he was my only hope of getting out of here and another part worried that he was just playing with me like everyone else was.
I had no idea what, if anything, I could do next so I just kept cleaning until there were no rooms left.
Later, I saw Muse. No, I couldn’t think of her by her given name, not anymore. I thought I could trust her and she intended to give me back to Top, to let him know how I tried to escape.
There was nothing merciful about that woman.
Her perfectly groomed appearance seemed slightly off. It wasn’t so much in her clothes, hair or makeup, it was more in her mood and the way she moved. She wore a subtle air of being frazzled. It was off-putting because this wasn’t a state of being I’d ever expected to see her in.
Something or someone must have seriously rattled her.
When she noticed me, Muse’s eyes raked over my every feature in relentless detail as if she were searching for something. Finally, she offered me a strained smile, and went about her business.
The whole experience was uncomfortable and made me feel even more uneasy around her.
With dusk came more bikers. The low grumble of the engines was such an unmistakable sound, one I could now only associate with a sense of rising dread. I saw them from a hallway window approaching in a two-by-two line formation. The long, black, mechanical snakes slithered into the parking lot. There were more bikers showing up than were here already.
I wondered if it had anything to do with Bren being killed at my aunt and uncle’s station. What had happened to them sent pangs of guilt and remorse spiraling through me, but I forced it all away.
I needed to be sharp if I intended to survive tonight.
Occasionally, unintelligible words ricocheted up the halls over the din of rock music coming from the bar.
Gloria was running through the linens washing procedure with me. I recognized the room from last night, the closet I slept in was directly across the hall.
She had to be getting off shift soon, I could escape with her. I agonized to remember the Spanish word for escape, but I was drawing a blank.
The whirling noise and vibration of the two double-washers and dryers in the tiny room was enough to block out most of the sounds from the bar. The small cream-colored room had a few bins, the washers and dryers, a small sink, and a fold-down working table. Gloria had to wedge the door open with the cart because there really wasn’t enough room for two people to work. She had me sorting and loading the various articles, while she folded and stacked sheets.
I tried to finish every meager task she gave me as quickly as possible. This room was far closer to that shitty bar than I felt comfortable with. I think Gloria understood my anxiety because even she sped up her diligent yet leisurely pace.
“—enough with that fucking dog joke already. It wasn’t funny the first time.” Jubilation spilled out into the hall as that dreaded bar door swung open. Three coarse voices walked our way.
Gloria and I stopped working and started awkwardly shuffling around as quietly as possible.
“Fuck you, Rio. I’m jus’ tryin’ to lighten the mood. I fucking hate these things.”
“I’ll remember that when you get popped, shithead,” a nasally voice scorned the other
two.
“Nah, I know what he’s sayin’, Rio. I didn’t really know the kid either. I think I met him like twice? Bren was barely even a member, who gives a shit?”
We worked furiously to move all the fabric and close the folding table. I had stacked the bins, but the table was stuck and there wasn’t enough room to pull the cart in and shut the door with it open.
Fortunately, it sounded like the men stopped, then there was some scuffling like they were shoving each other.
“Get offa me, man!”
“Both of you dipshits, listen good. I know you’re still high off these fresh patches, so you get this through your heads right now. This club is everything. We’re family. I don’t give a fuck if you didn’t know or even like your brother, but when he gets laid down, you show some fucking respect for your fucking family! Next year, when I take over for Deadeye, I’d better see you both front and center at every single one of these,” the one they called Rio scolded, then there was the unmistakable sound of a switchblade extending.
The metal sliding across metal sound made me cringe. All my muscles tightened as I waited for an inevitable scream.
“Or I swear to God, I’ll fucking cut your balls off,” Rio finished.
“Shit, man! Fuck! OK! I’m sorry! Put that shit away. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
Come on, come on. Almost there... click. The table swung down.
Yes!
Gloria pulled the cart in and the door began to close itself. Once shut, it’d self-lock and we would wait it out with relative safety. The wide arc came to a close, but it didn’t shut. I tore through Gloria’s expertly folded laundry to see what the blockage was. I saw nothing.
Why was the door still open?
“What do we got here?” a voice asked.
No! How? I leaned back to get an angle at the floor.
A thick leather boot was firmly placed between the door and frame. Fingers folded around the edge, followed by the side of a scruffy, sweaty face.
“Peek a boo...” The door opened wide revealing three of them eagerly gawking inside the closet like they were pirates prying open a treasure chest.
