by Geri Glenn
My jaw tightens as she speaks. Saying that Laurie hurt me is putting it mildly. That bitch ruined me. She ruined her mother.
I met Sharon Welland for the first time when I was sixteen years old, when Laurie had brought me over for dinner. I’d been so fucking nervous, never being at anyone’s house for a meal before, and I really liked Laurie. I wanted her folks to like me, but I wasn’t sure how to act. The whole evening had been a nightmare. I’d spilled pasta sauce down the front of my only clean shirt, and knocked over one of her mother’s vases, shattering it into pieces. Then, to top it all off, her father had walked in on me kissing Laurie in the living room. It had been an innocent kiss, but we’d jumped apart like we’d been caught screwing right there on the couch.
Just as I was about to leave, Sharon had pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “Next Saturday will be better. Dinner’s at six.”
And just like that, I was accepted. Over the next few years, I was a regular at the Welland’s house for Saturday dinner. Sharon and her husband, Jack, became family. I had my own family, of course, even if it was a dysfunctional one, but the Welland’s were different. They chose to take me in. They loved me like a son, and I don’t know where I would have ended up if it hadn’t been for them.
How Laurie turned out the way she did is a mystery to me, but I hate that she’s doing this to her mother. “I’ll take care of it.”
Sharon’s eyes meet mine. “You don’t have to do that, Lucas. Laurie stopped being your responsibility many years ago.”
“She may not be my responsibility anymore, but you are. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of, but you need to stop giving her money. I’ll see what I can do to help her so you don’t have to do it anymore.”
My words are kind, but it’s out of respect that I’m not voicing what I really want to say. That bitch is about to learn a lesson about taking advantage of the people I care about.
Anna
“At the Pig’s Ear?” A tiny furrow forms between Charlotte’s brows. “Anna, do you really think that’s a good place to go back to? You just got back to town. You say you want a new start, so why go back to working in a bar?”
“Char, I’ve been here over a month now, and I can’t find any other job that I’m qualified to do. Slinging drinks is something I’m actually good at.” I sigh and flop down onto the couch. “I can’t stay here forever. I see the strain me being here is putting on you and Ryker. He hates me, I know he does.” Charlotte’s eyes widen and she shakes her head, but I keep going, “He does. I’m not stupid, and it’s okay. He loves you, and he’s afraid I’ll do something else to hurt you. I get it. I’ll make good tips at the Piggy and be out of your hair in a couple weeks.”
“Ryker doesn’t hate you, Anna. He doesn’t know you.”
She believes it, too. Bless her. Ryker can’t stand me, and I don’t blame him one bit. I kind of can’t stand myself if I think too much about it. After all the shit I caused, I deserve every ounce of his hatred. Charlotte should hate me too, but she’s too kind for that. She’s always been a forgiving person, and I’m not sure I could ever do anything bad enough for her to actually stop loving me. But what I did was really bad.
A few years back, I’d gotten involved with a motorcycle club, and not just any motorcycle club. It was a club that was known for being violent and dangerous. I wasn’t in a good place at the time, so the danger didn’t even register. All I cared about was getting what I needed—none of it good—and though I made sure to keep my private life separate from all that, Charlotte still ended up on their radar.
The men in that club were all bad news, but there was one that was more savage than the rest. Krueger. A man named for his love of knives and his tendency to use them on anyone that crossed him. He took one look at my sister and became obsessed. He wanted her, and was willing to do anything to get his hands on her, and I do mean anything. I owed Krueger a lot of money, and he used my sister as leverage, forcing me to agree to hand her over in exchange for what I owed him if I couldn’t pay up. In the end, I couldn’t come up with the money, so Charlotte and I ran.
I never dreamed it would get that far. I was convinced in some foolish way that I could pay him back, save myself and my sister, but that’s not the way it turned out. Instead, it became the reason we had to flee for our lives.
We had to give up everything when we came here. We were only hours away from the other club, and it wasn’t enough. But, by then, she’d met Ryker, and thank God for that because Kruger had found her. He kidnapped her. If Ryker hadn’t have shown up, who knows what he would have done to her. Ryker and his club sent me away for my own protection, and were left to clean up my mess, including taking care of Charlotte.
No, Ryker definitely hates me. I hate myself, so I know exactly what that looks like. I hate what I did, who I became, and the memories that drove me to become that terrible person. The funny part is, I’m glad Ryker feels that way. I mean, I wish things were different and we could be friends, but his dislike of me stems from his love for her, and that’s all I ever wanted for Charlotte. Someone who would love her and protect her from harm, even if that meant they had to protect her from me.
I shake my head. “It’s okay, Char. He has reason to, but that’s not the point. The point is that I can’t just stay here forever. I have to take the steps I promised myself I’d take to get my life back on track, and if that means working at the bar for a while, I have to do it.”
Charlotte sighs and plops down beside me. “I just worry about you. I don’t want to see you get into trouble again.”
I let out a slow, shaky breath and sink further into the couch as tears prick my eyes. You’d never know that I’m the older sister in this relationship. Charlotte has always been the one to look out for me, even though I’m three years older than her. I’ve been a terrible sister, and that’s just one more thing I need to add to my list of things to make up for. And I will make up for it.
Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her close. “Char, you don’t need to worry about me anymore. You just worry about yourself and that beautiful niece of mine that you have growing in there.”
Her head rests on my shoulder as she lets out a teary chuckle. “It could be a boy, you know.”
I shrug and rest my head on hers. “It could be, and if it is, I’ll love him to pieces. But I have a feeling that baby in there is a girl. Call it Auntie’s intuition.”
I feel Charlotte smile against my shoulder, and we sit silently for a few minutes. I know I have a lot to prove to her, to show her that I’m going to be okay. I owe her that piece of mind. I just hope I can prove it to Ryker too.
Reaper
“So nothin’ else to report then?” Ryker glances around the table, but nobody speaks up. “Good.” He lifts the gavel and brings it down on the table, officially calling an end to our weekly church meeting. “Now get the fuck outta here.”
One by one, the room empties. I keep my seat, watching as they push and shove, and laugh at their own jokes, acting like a bunch of happy teenagers on their way to a party. It’s a welcome sight. For too long, this club has been under fire from enemy clubs and gangs, and we’ve lost a lot in the process. Losing our president, Gunner, a couple months ago had been the final straw for all of us.
The stresses of this club have been overwhelming, and it’s nice to see everyone finally relaxed and enjoying their lives. Since Ryker got rid of the drug running our club had once relied on for income, we have officially become a club with legit and legal means of bringing in a steady flow of cash. We still have our share of questionable dealings, of course, but things have been better now that we’re on the up-and-up.
I thought everything would settle down, but after talking to Sharon yesterday, I realize things aren’t quite over for me. I now have a pile of personal shit to deal with, in the form of my ex-wife from hell. I can’t believe that bitch has been bleeding her elderly mother for money all these years. Since our divorce, I’ve been busting my ass to take ca
re of a mother-in-law, who wasn’t even technically my mother-in-law anymore, and this whole time, Laurie’s been milking her for her life savings.
“Everything okay?”
The voice tears me from my thoughts, and I look up to see Tease standing at the door, his eyes on me. The room is empty now, and I can hear the boys gearing up for a party in the other room. Standing, I walk over to the almost empty basket we dump our cell phones in at the beginning of each meeting and grab mine.
“Yeah, man. Just need to talk to Ryk about a couple things.”
Tease and I walk out together and into the bar area of the clubhouse. “He left already,” he says, taking a stool at the bar and accepting a beer from the prospect behind it. “Said something about Anna finally being out of the house for the night and wanting to be alone with Charlotte.”
My body tenses at the name of yet another woman that has rained hell down on my life, and not just my life, but the lives of everyone I care about. “Anna? What the fuck is Anna still doing at their house?”
Tease shrugs. “She’s been staying with them since Gunner’s funeral. Said she’s trying to rebuild her life, whatever the hell that means. She got her old job back at the bar. Ryk said her first shift back is tonight.”
With every word he says, my entire body tightens to the point that I can’t move. Blood pounds through my body, the sound of it thrumming in my ears as I try to comprehend what he’s telling me. After the whole shitshow with Anna and the club she’d gotten involved with, Gunner had arranged for her to stay with anotherChapter of the Kings in Montreal, a couple of hours away. From what I’d heard, she was doing well there, and I’d assumed she’d stay with them, allowing the rest of us to get on with our lives. I’d seen her at Gunner’s funeral, but had no idea she was still here.
“She hasn’t fucking left?” My voice is gruff, my words clipped and filled with disbelief.
Tease doesn’t take his eyes off me as he takes a swig of his beer. “She’s not planning to.”
Fuck. As if dealing with Laurie and her shit isn’t enough, now Anna is back and ready to wreak havoc on the club once again. Laurie and Anna are one and the same, both of them selfish liars, willing to take out anyone to get what they want with no regard for the disasters they leave in their wake.
Not if I have anything to say about it, though. Laurie is my problem, and I’ll find a way to deal with her, but Anna is another story. She’s a problem for the Kings of Korruption, and I won’t let her destroy this club like she’d almost done the last time she was around. I won’t let her destroy Ryker and his wife. She needs to go.
Without a word, I turn from the bar and stalk toward the door. I’m almost outside when a hand clamps down on my arm. “Where’re you goin’, man?”
I turn and glance back at Tease over my shoulder. “That bitch and I are going to have a little heart-to-heart.”
Tease releases my arm and sighs. “Not a good idea. Reap, this is Ryk’s problem, not yours. Let it go.”
I narrow my eyes and glare at him. “The last time this bitch gave Ryk a problem, his wife was kidnapped and people died. She’s a problem for all of us.”
I don’t wait around for his reply. Slamming my hands into the door, I whip it open and head straight for my bike.
Anna
It’s been almost a year, and not a damn thing has changed at the Pig’s Ear Tavern: same menu, same rustic tables, same patrons. Even most of the staff are the same, with the only addition being Darla, a plucky redhead with bright green eyes and a sharp tongue. I like her instantly, and within an hour of my shift starting, we’re working like a well-oiled team; me tending bar, her waiting tables.
I’ve done a lot of soul-searching over the last year. My time with the Montreal Chapter of the Kings had been one of the best things that ever happened to me. I’d shown up there as a woman with an endless trail of past mistakes behind her, and no idea how to disentangle myself from the wreckage I’d made of my life. Knox had helped with that.
Before I even had a chance to get settled into my life there, he’d taken me under his wing. At one point, I even thought we loved each other, but it hadn’t been the right kind of love. Knox taught me that I needed to let go of my past and learn to love myself first. That’s still a major work in progress for me, but he’d managed to put a crack in the wall I’d built around myself, something that no one before him had even tried to do. When I’d finally realized it was time to make amends with my sister and start taking care of myself, he’d been the first to wish me luck with a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek.
After deciding to take this job back, I worried it would be a backslide into the world I needed to escape, but a quick phone call with Knox reminded me that I’m the one in control now. I’m the only one that can stop my own progress, and if working here at the bar is going to help me to be independent for the first time ever, I’m the only one that can backslide anywhere. I have the power to change my life.
“Two whisky sours and a Bud,” Darla calls from the other side of the counter.
I blink myself back to the here and now and get to work on her order. The bar is insanely busy, filled almost to capacity with the Friday night crowd. I used to hate it when it was busy like this, but now, the new me is finding that I quite like it. It keeps me occupied, taking my mind off my own thoughts for the first time in a long time.
I place the drinks on Darla’s tray and grin back at her as she turns and sashays through the throng of people. Moving down the line, I fill order after order, making change and tucking tips into the jar we keep behind the counter. That jar alone will help me get out of Ryker and Char’s house, if we have more nights like this.
Seeing a shadow to my left, I turn to take the person’s order and my heart stops.
“What the fuck are you still doin’ here, Anna?”
Reaper somehow manages to be one of the scariest sons of bitches I’ve ever laid eyes on, yet he’s also one of the most rugged, sexiest men I’ve ever seen. My body always has a contradictory response to being around him, but the growl in his voice and the hate in his eyes put an end to that with the fear I feel taking control.
“I’m staying with Charlotte until—”
His face twists in disbelief as he yells across the counter at me. “Are you shittin’ me?”
Okay, Anna. Breathe. He’s not going to hurt you. He’s angry, and you earned that anger. Taking a deep breath, I calmly try to explain myself again. “I’m staying with Charlotte until I get enough money to get my own place.”
He slams his hands down on the bar, causing the drinks nearby to shake and slosh over the edges. My body jerks as I stare back at him, wide-eyed.
“You stupid bitch,” he snarls. “You have some balls coming back here after you fucked over your sister like you did.”
Does he think I don’t know that? Does he think I’m not sorry for everything I’ve done? I straighten and stare him straight in the eyes. “Charlotte forgave me.” I don’t know if she really, truly has, but she seems accepting of my presence, and whenever I try to bring it up, she shushes me and tells me it’s in the past. To me, that’s forgiveness, and very Charlotte.
His eyes narrow. “Yeah, she forgave you. She forgave you too fuckin’ easy. Your sister has a soft heart.” I can feel the tears burning my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall, waiting for him to say his piece and go. He doesn’t disappoint. “I can’t believe Ryker agreed to let a whore like you stay in his home. If some piece of toxic pussy tried to sell my old lady off to pay off her credit card debts, I’d rip her fuckin’ spine out of her asshole and piss on what was left. You need to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and never come back.”
His words are like bullets to the paper-thin confidence I’ve managed to build up, ripping through it and bleeding me from the inside out. Trying again to sound firm, I square my shoulders and force myself to speak. “I’m not going anywhere, Reaper. Charlotte’s giving me a chance to make things right, and I’m not going t
o leave just because you want me to.” And I’m not. He can wound me with his sharp tongue all he wants, but I won’t run away from him. He’s scary, but I’ve dealt with scary more than he’ll ever know.
He jabs his finger in my direction, his voice getting lower, his eyes flaming. “I want to make something perfectly clear here, woman. Skanky bitches like you are like poison to an MC. Ryker won’t send you packin’ because he loves his woman, but I won’t stop until you’re gone. I refuse to let you fuck up what we have here. Charlotte and Ryker are happy. You do anything to change that, you better pray I never get my hands on your scrawny ass. We clear, bitch?”
Pain forms in the back of my throat as he spews out his hateful words, and a traitorous tear escapes my eye and trails down my cheek. “I’m trying to change,” I whisper, my words sounding strangled as I force them out.
“Whores never change,” he spits out before turning and stalking out of the bar.
Reaper
The night wind beats against my face as I ride back toward the compound. Laying it all out there for Anna had done nothing to calm me down. Hell, it wasn’t even Anna I was really pissed at. Laurie’s the one I actually wanted to lose my shit on, but since I don’t have the first fucking clue where that bitch is, Anna bore the brunt of my anger.
I didn’t say anything I didn’t mean, though. Anna’s no different than Laurie. Both of them only think about themselves, and bitches like that really are a poison. Not only to an MC, but to anyone who ever gave a shit about them. But still, Anna’s whispered words haunt me as I ride. I’m trying to change.
