“You two would look good together,” he says with a suggestive raise of his brows. His words cut like a fucking razor blade at my heart. She may be a ten, but she ain’t Tara.
“She’s fucking hot,” I reply with as much fake enthusiasm as I can muster.
“I knew you’d like her.” He nods. “I’ll call the others off if you are going to make a serious play for her, but I have them chomping at the bit to have a taste of her.”
“First refusal.” I play along. “Nice. I appreciate it, Dad.”
“Just looking out for you, boy. I think having some pussy here will get you to focus that goddamn mind of yours. Always was wandering.” He laughs, tapping my shoulder lightly. “Let’s introduce you to Ozzie.” He guides us back into the room, Emily makes her way toward us, drinks in hand.
“Here you go,” she says with a cute smile, and I can’t help but fight the smile that spreads. Grabbing the bottle from her hand, I tip my head back, letting the cold, refreshing liquid pour into my mouth.
“Fuck, that’s good,” I inform her as she stands in front of me like a little puppy dog, waiting for her next instruction. “Got some things to take care of, but thanks for this,” I say, holding up the bottle and nodding a little.
“Sure, I’ll be waiting for you over there.” She points over to where Jenny is standing. I give her a nod, stepping closer to the bar and resting my elbow on the countertop. I lean against it, facing the newest recruit.
“So, you’re the prez’s son, right?” Ozzie asks, offering me his hand. I reach forward, taking it and shaking. A handshake always tells you a lot about the person, and straightaway I know he’s a try hard. He shakes my hand a little harder than necessary as if trying to prove a point.
“Welcome to the club,” I say, dropping his hand and holding up my beer. He tips his toward mine and the glass connects clinking against his.
“Thanks, man. I know your old man is taking a chance on me, but I really appreciate it.”
“What about the girl?” I ask, trying to get a feel for what’s going on with this guy, my eyes flashing over to where she’s standing, talking to the other girls.
“I picked her up at the gas station. She’s a runaway in need of some attention.”
“Well, she’s getting plenty of that here,” I say, looking around at all the eyes that are fixed on her.
“Call it a little present from me to you guys.” He lifts his eyebrows suggestively and laughs as he grabs his beer, emptying the remainder of the contents in his mouth. I can’t help but feel sorry for the girl. She seems so innocent and unknowing of what she’s letting herself in for. I shake my head as I realize how stupid my own thoughts are. I can’t save every whore that tries to join the club. And right now, I need to focus. Focus on working out a way to make sure I don’t lose Tara. I can’t lose her. It’s about the only thing I’m certain of.
The sound of giggling interrupts my thoughts. I lift my head a little, giving a sideways glance to the girls standing beside me.
“You guys need another drink?” Emily asks in a sweet voice. Her head is down but her eyes are firmly on me. She grabs a few loose strands that have fallen beside her face, twirling them in her finger, her tongue swiping across her lips. Before Tara, I wouldn’t have thought twice about taking her upstairs and fucking her until she was begging for me to stop. But now, somehow, it’s different. Different in a way I can’t even begin to understand. I look at her standing in front of me, desire in her eyes. But I ache. Ache so bad for Tara.
“I’ll get another,” Ozzie replies cheerfully, his hand reaching down and slapping her ass. Hard. She leaps forward a little and I instantly hold out my hands to catch her. Falling against my chest, I feel her rapid breaths against me.
“Steady,” I say, gently pushing her away from me and back onto her feet.
“Shit,” she exhales sharply, “I’m so damn clumsy.” She swipes her hair away from her face, adjusting herself.
“So, do you want another beer?” Her head tilts to the side as she stares at me waiting for my answer.
“Sure,” I reply with a dip of my head. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my cigarettes and lighter. Snapping open the packet, I flick my wrist, tipping out two cigarettes. I open my mouth, grabbing the tip of one between my teeth.
“Smoke?” I offer Ozzie, holding the packet out to him. Grabbing the other cigarette, he hastily pulls out his lighter, flicking his finger over the wheel, lighting it and offering it to me first.
“Cheers, brother,” I say, placing the tip to the flame, taking my first drag. I lift my head, blowing a smoke ring above me.
“So Prez tells me we ride tomorrow?”
“Really? I wasn’t aware, but then I’ve been a little out of it.” I glance down at my legs, pulling them up just enough to show the mess they're in.
“Jesus fucking Christ, man.” He sucks in a huge breath.
“Accident with a gasoline tank,” I quickly add dropping the leg off my jeans as my father turns his attention back to the two of us.
“Guns. Real fucking good guns.” He smirks, his eyes crinkling as he does. “I have an agreement with the Deathseekers that I’ll take them off their hands.”
“You have got to be kidding me?” I reply. “The Deathseekers haven’t always had our backs. Remember the trouble we had with them over that motherfucker Lambert?”
“I want to work with them, Son. Show it’s all in the past.”
“But what if this is another one of his tricks and he’s trying to set us up?”
Rolling his eyes, he nods his head. “Believe it or not, I’ve weighed up the options. I don’t believe they knew about Lambert being FBI.”
“But what he knew about us… that all came from Toledo and his crew. We were lucky. Lucky that we got to him before he could report anything back about us.”
Leaning on to the bar, he tips his head toward Emily and lets out a piercing whistle. All of the girls dart their eyes toward us, all of their attention on my father. With a glint of excitement in his eyes, he waves her over. She looks between the girls she’s standing with as if unsure what to do. With a gentle shove on her back, they urge her to walk over to us. Looking at her, I can’t help but bite the corner of my lip, mentally willing her to come over. This girl needs to step it up and act the part or she will find herself in trouble, or worse, at the bottom of the ravine. Curious eyes of the crew flicker between us and the girl who slowly walks over, her hips swaying naturally as she does. Her eyes display the nervousness she feels, and I can’t help but resent Ozzie a little for bringing her here. So unsuspecting. So out of her depth. Shit, there’s a bunch of girls knocking on the door, desperate to be someone’s old lady. But Emily, she has no idea. Totally unaware of the lion’s den she just walked into.
Shuddering, she stops just inches from my father. His hand jerks toward her neck, and within a millisecond he has his hand around her throat, her feet leaving the floor. A squeal of panic escapes her and I have to stop myself from intervening.
“I whistle, and you hurry on my command,” he says pulling her closer to his face. The prez does not like to be kept waiting. Got it?”
Dropping his hand, she coughs loudly, her hands holding her neck as she tries to control her fit.
“Make yourself useful and get me a beer,” he demands, and she nods, hurrying to turn and make her way behind the bar. With a slap to her ass, she lets out another squeal, scurrying to get the drink my father just ordered from her.
“You know she ain’t a whore, right?”
“Not yet,” he says with a lift of his brow. “Soon will be.” Leaning forward on both elbows, I lean into my father. “How about cutting her some slack until she’s learned the ropes, huh?” I smile at my father, grabbing the bottle and resting the neck of the bottle against my lips. My eyes are on him, hard and waiting for his reaction. You never really know what reaction you might get from him. He’s such an unpredictable character. In fact, the more I observe my father as
a leader, I realize that it’s fear that drives this club. It isn’t his fantastic leadership skills, or his desire for the brotherhood. It’s his passion for violence and his love for crime that drives him and this club.
“Maybe you're right, Son,” he quips, leaning against the bar beside me, arm to arm. “You wanna call dibs on her? Like, is she old lady material for you?”
“Fuck, Dad.” I scowl at him jokingly. “I literally just met the girl. How can I possibly tell you if she’s old lady material?”
“Nate.” He sighs loudly. “I think having someone here, as part of the club will focus you. You’re not focused on the club right now, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.” Glancing over my shoulder, I can’t help but stare at the crew, wondering who has been adding fuel to my father’s fire. My eyes land on the vice president, Silver, and I can’t help but feel anger towards the asshole. He’s playing a dangerous game.
“After the Alvrez shit went down and you and the crew brought back the money and our drugs, well, boy, I thought you’d stepped up.”
“I proved myself that day…”
“But it needs to be every day, Nate.” His voice deepens and his nose scrunches as I can tell his anger grows.
“And you then gave Silver VP status. I led that crew.” I stub my finger down on the bar. Sometimes I’m intimidated by him, but not now. Not here, in front of the rest of the crew.
“Oh, come on, Nate,” he says with a lazy drawl, accentuating my name. “He was voted in. You think the guys would’ve voted you in after one big win for us? You have a long way to go, and first and foremost, you need to prove yourself one hundred percent loyal to the club.”
“I’ve never given you a reason to doubt me.”
“You’re a boy, Nate. When you are a man, then we look at your status in this club. Until then, you show your worth, build a place for yourself here in this club.”
“My age has nothing to do with this. This club has been my life. You should never doubt my dedication.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a fucking second. But what I do doubt is your loyalty to me and the decisions I make.” He points his finger at his chest as we are face-to-face.
“Uh, here you go.” Emily interrupts us, pushing the bottle of beer in front of him. He snaps his hand out, grabbing the bottle while holding her hand there. Her eyes widen, flitting between me and my father. Her eyes glaze over with the unmistakable look of fear. She has the look of a lamb going to slaughter. Her lip trembles and my gut churns as I want to help the girl but feel like I can’t. Glancing at my father, his expression is hard and emotionless.
“What took you so damn long, darlin’?” He speaks through his gritted teeth, tightening his hold on her hand. She twists her wrist as if to loosen the hold he has on her.
“I, uh, I didn’t want to interrupt you two,” she offers with a smile.
Snatching the bottle out of her hand, she staggers back, holding her hand and trembling a little. “You okay?” I ask, not giving a shit about my asshole of a father.
“Of course she’s okay,” he cuts in, throwing his hand in the air, dismissing my concern. I tip my head to the side, indicating she should leave us be.
“Well wasn’t that sweet.” He reaches up, grabbing my cheek and tugging playfully. “Go enjoy her, Son, I can see you want to. I see the twinkle in your eye.”
I chuckle and pat him heavily on the back. “Thanks, man,” I say with a snicker. Grabbing my drink, I turn. Leaning my back against the bar, I cross one arm over my chest as my eyes roam the room, searching for the girl. I ain’t going to do jack shit with her, but if it gets my father off my back, I’m all for it. I let out a short, sharp whistle, causing her to spin on the spot, her eyes wide and waiting. Then I tip my head and she rushes over, stopping nervously in front of me, clutching her arms in front of her.
“Let me show you around the place,” I say in a hushed voice, offering my arm and she doesn’t hesitate, pulling in a deep breath. Dropping my head closer to her ear, I whisper, “I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s get out of here.” Her worried expression fades and is replaced by a wary smile.
Making our way out of the room, I quickly show her where everything is before we make our way upstairs.
“This is my father’s room, and this one here is mine.”
“You guys live here… at the club?” she gasps.
“Of course,” I reply with a shrug. “I even have my own tattoo studio. I converted the old garage into my own private studio.”
“Shit. That’s amazing. And what about the rest of the guys? They have their own homes?”
“Sure, but most of them practically live here anyway,” I reply, reaching into my pocket and grabbing my keys. Unlocking the door, I hold it open for her, waiting for her to enter.
“I’m not sure about this,” she says, crossing her arm and pressing a finger against her lip as if she’s nervous.
“I’m not going to touch you,” I assure her. “Just wanted to get you away from my father and the rest of the guy’s eye-fucking you down there.”
“Shit,” she says exhaling and her shoulders slump as she slowly walks inside, her eyes fixed on me. “I had this big idea about how it would be here. It’s something I always thought I wanted. See, I worked at the gas station,” she says, lowering herself onto the edge of the bed, her hands gripping the side of the mattress, while I lock the door behind us. “Bikers would come through all the time. So handsome, so charismatic, and I always thought, I want to have a piece of that. Driving on the open road as free as a bird and with the wind in my hair. The adrenaline buzzing through you when the engine roars beneath you.”
“Shit, you make this sound like a fucking Disney film.” I can’t help but let out a little laughter as I sit beside her. “Babe, I can assure you it isn’t like that at all. I hate to tell you this.” I sigh, my head falling forward a little, my hair dropping over my face. “You are payment to Prez. A whore to do with what he wants.”
“No.” She catches the sob rising. “Ozzie told me it would be different.”
“Ozzie lied to you, Emily.”
“What do I do, Nate? How do I get out of here?”
Closing my eyes, I rub my fingers over them. “There ain’t no getting out, babe. You were a gift to the club from Ozzie. And you came willing.”
“I’ll run away. They’ll never find me if I go out of state.” I hear the panic in her voice and turn my head to see tears rolling across her cheeks and dripping from her chin.
“They’ll find you, Emily. I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
“God, I didn’t expect it to be like this. I didn’t expect to feel fear the way I feel it right now.” She gasps, her hand covering her mouth as she tries to contain any noise from her crying. I reach my arm around her, pulling her toward me.
“Shhh…” I say, soothing her and stroking my hand over her hair. “I have an idea,” I say quietly. She parts from me and her eyes land on me, waiting for me to say more.
“I’m all ears,” she says, wiping her hand across her cheeks, removing the moisture caused by her tears.
“I gotta be able to trust you.”
“Of course,” she replies, her voice taut.
“I’ll help you, but you gotta promise that this stays between us. You try to cross me, and I’ll have you killed.”
“In this together.” She offers me her hand. I take it, shaking it lightly.
Nate
“It’s a girl, right?” she asks with a cock of her head, eyes burning into me inquisitively.
I chuckle, holding my cigarette against my lip as I pause for a second.
“How…”
“Let’s call it women’s intuition, shall we?”
“I call it a good guess.” I take a drag of my cigarette, adjusting myself until I’m facing her on the bed. “Listen.” I look her dead in the eye. “I meant what I said earlier about you not telling anyone. What I’m about to tell you could cost me my lif
e if they found out.”
Swiping her head from side to side, she looks around the room, her eyebrows drawn in confusion.
“Who?” she whispers, leaning toward me a little.
“The brothers. The whole crew of Savages.”
“No,” she replies, shaking her head. “You’re the son of the prez. They wouldn’t dare.”
“It’s the president that wants my head. Listen, there’s a whole lot more to this story. This girl, I mean, my girl, well he says she belongs to him. Only, Tara and I have been together for over a year.”
“Shit,” she gasps. “What you gonna do? Is there any way you can win him over?”
“Do you think he looks like the kind of guy that can be won over?”
She gives me a nervous smile. “And you’re willing to risk your life for this girl? She’s really the one?” Her smile changes. It no longer holds the sadness it had just a second ago. No, it’s much different. A genuine, heart-warming smile. “Listen, I don’t know much about the club rules or what happens around here. But one thing I do know is this. True love doesn’t exist for everyone. If you’ve found someone that makes you happy, that makes your heart pound like never before, then that’s something worth fighting for. Because without love, what’s the point in living?”
“Emily, I’m going to be honest here. I’ve slept with hundreds of women. Whores brought into this club purely for our enjoyment. And I won't lie, I enjoyed it. Every goddamn second of it. But it wasn’t until Tara that I actually understood the meaning of ‘making love’ because that kind of sex has never featured in my life. Until her. I just can’t explain it. Being with her, holding her in my arms caused something to happen to me that I can’t even understand myself. A range of emotions I had yet to experience.”
“So fight for her, Nate. Because living without her will be like not living at all.”
“That’s where I’m thinking we can help each other.”
She tilts her head. “Oh really, how?”
The complete scars series: Books one-four Page 51
