by Zoey Parker
I got out of bed and called Slash’s phone, but he didn’t pick up. Not surprising—if he was in the hospital, he probably didn’t have it nearby, or he might have been sleeping. It was still early in the morning. I started pulling clothes together.
“What is it?” Michelle was sitting up in bed, watching me.
“One of my guys is in the hospital,” I said, zipping up my jeans. “There was a big fight last night or something. I have to go see him.”
“I’m sorry. Are you two close?”
“He’s my best friend,” I said, and again I wondered why it seemed natural to blurt out something like that. Why did I have verbal diarrhea whenever she was around?
“Do you need somebody to go with you?”
I turned to her, and I was ready to tell her off, but I saw how serious she was when I got a look at her face. She really cared. I softened a little bit.
“No, thanks. You stay here. I might have to make another stop after I see him.” I didn’t stop to say anything else. I was in too much of a hurry to get to the hospital. From what I heard in the voicemail, it didn’t sound good.
“Damn it!” I growled as I rode. I was so stupid to let Michelle get in the way like that. What was wrong with me? The club was what mattered, not some girl who wouldn’t let me touch her if I fucking begged. Shit, I was paying for it, and she still wouldn’t let me. I had to be crazy.
The ride to the hospital was only ten minutes, but it might as well have been an hour. It felt that way. All sorts of shit went through my head as I rode. What if Slash died? What if he was already gone and I was never there for him? What would the rest of the club think? I tore myself apart with thoughts like that before I pulled into the parking lot, then I ran inside and asked where I could find him. They gave me a room number, which was a good sign—if he were dead, they wouldn’t send me to a room, I thought. I took the elevator to the fourth floor and practically ran down the hall.
Spike and a few of the other guys were sitting in the hall. “It ain’t visiting hours yet, but we wouldn’t leave. We can’t go in to see him for another half hour.”
“What the hell happened?”
Spike looked at the others, then at me. “It was Gareth and his crew.”
My blood boiled. “I should have fucking known.”
“Slash wasn’t the only one who got hurt, but he was the only one who had to stay.”
“How bad is he?”
“He had a concussion, broken ribs, a broken leg. They thought he had a serious brain injury at first, but the scans said no. Thank God. He was cut up pretty bad, too, but that’s all, whaddya call it, superficial.”
“Thank God for that, too,” I muttered. I couldn’t believe I missed it. What sort of president was I? I should have been sitting there all night, not Spike. I was sleeping with a woman who didn’t want me to touch her. I was such a stupid ass.
“Sit down,” Spike said. “Take a few deep breaths. You look like you’re ready to have a stroke.”
“You’re in the right place if you are,” one of the others said, and I had to laugh a little. Spike was right. I needed to calm down before I blew a fuse.
“Was he awake last night?”
“Not much, but the doc said he’ll probably be awake today. You can talk to him when we’re allowed to go in. Come on,” he said, patting me on the back. “Let’s get some coffee in the cafeteria. You eat yet?”
I shook my head, so Spike pulled me to my feet and led me to the elevator. The other guys waited for us to get back.
When we were alone, Spike said what was really on his mind. “Where were you last night? Everybody was worried as shit about you. Slash gets ambushed, and we can’t reach you, what do you think we’re gonna imagine?”
“I was at home. You could have found me at home.”
“Your phone not working all of a sudden? No, I know that’s not it, because you got the message this morning. So it has to be working okay. Why didn’t you answer any of our calls?”
“I didn’t feel good last night. I went to bed early.”
“My ass, you went to bed early. I know what you did last night.”
I looked at him. I didn’t know whether he was bluffing. “What did I do, then?”
“You went sniffing around that auction. You don’t think I hear things? I knew what you and Slash were talking about yesterday. Please don’t tell me you bought one of them.”
I looked away.
“Damn it. What are you thinking?”
“That’s my business,” I said.
“You’re right, it is,” he admitted. “You do what you want with your money. But you just got out of prison a few months ago, and now you bought a girl. The DA could just as easily call that prostitution as anything else. You’re on parole. You have to play it safe.”
“When do any of us ever play it safe?” We got to the cafeteria and bought ourselves coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We didn’t start talking again until we sat with our food.
“Don’t be cute with me,” he warned. I went quiet. I knew him well enough to know when he wasn’t fucking around.
“What do you want me to say? I went there to see what Gareth was doing.”
“You know what Gareth was doing? He was planning to attack your men, that’s what. Your place was with them, not at some fucking virgin auction. You have to be smart with this guy, or he’ll get you into serious trouble. You won’t even see it coming.”
“He already got me into trouble, or don’t you remember?” I glared at Spike. Sometimes I thought he forgot what I did for him. I knew all about how dangerous Gareth could be.
Spike held up his hands and nodded. “You’re right, you’re right. Just don’t forget, okay? Don’t lose sight of what’s important.”
“Where did the fight happen? Not at the clubhouse, I guess, right? They wouldn’t be that stupid.”
“No, Slash and all them went to another bar, just outside of town. A strip club, actually. They were having a good time until Gareth’s guys showed up. Even then, Slash was ready to let it go. He didn’t wanna start a fight. He decided to leave, and told the other guys to pull out. But Gareth’s crew caught up to them in the parking lot. They didn’t even talk, they just started hitting. They planned it out in advance. They went in there knowing there was gonna be a fight.”
“What the fuck is wrong with that guy?” I asked. “Why is he deliberately coming at me like this? Is he really that crazy?”
“Crazy and obsessed,” Spike muttered. “He always wanted to be part of the Lightning Bolts, and he didn’t make the cut. So he joined the Reign of Chaos instead. Those sad sons of bitches were never particular about who joined their club.”
“Yeah, I know all about them.” I stared into my coffee cup. “I don’t know, it feels personal against me.”
“He’s pissed that you’re better than him, that’s all. That’s all he needs. He’s a sick fucker.”
“Obviously.” I clenched my fists as another wave of anger hit me. “I want him dead. I want to kill him.”
“Cool off. That’s what he wants you to feel. You think it was an accident that he went after your best friend? Come on. Think about it. He’s ready for you to come at him.”
He was right about that, too. I sighed and sat back in my chair. “Maybe I don’t have what it takes to be president,” I said. “You have all the answers, and I don’t have any.”
“I wasn’t born knowing the answers.” He smiled under his white mustache. “So don’t sweat it. I’m just glad I can be here for you, to help you figure things out. I didn’t have that luxury. My prez got himself blown the hell up. I didn’t have anybody to ask advice.”
“What do you think the next move should be?”
He shook his head. “That, I can’t tell you—not because I don’t want to, but because I honestly don’t know. We have to lay low, though. That much I do know. And we can’t get him with fists or weapons, because he’s got more of both. And his men are fucking insane. They w
on’t stop until the guy they’re fighting is dead. They wouldn’t have let up on Slash if somebody didn’t call the police in time for them to break it up.”
“Shit.” I thought about them killing Slash, or trying to, and it didn’t do much for my temper. I wanted to tear Gareth apart, slowly, bit by bit. I wanted him to hurt a lot before he died. And I wanted him to know I was the one doing it to him.
“So we have to be smarter than him,” I said, thinking. “There has to be a way to get something on him, something big. I mean, he’s not a secretive guy. He has to make mistakes somehow. We just have to find it.”
“What about the auction? Did you find anything?”
I shook my head. “On the surface, it all looks totally legit. He even decked out the warehouse he uses—I guess it belongs to the club or something. It’s nicer than I thought it would be. He wasn’t there. His old lady was. She made sure to get her ten percent before I left.”
“What about the money for the girl?”
“That’s up to the man and woman, the payment terms. It’s shitty all the way around. He doesn’t care that the girls get their money, only that he does.”
“Sounds like him,” Spike said with disgust in his voice. “Did you give your girl her money?”
“It’s complicated.” I left it at that. “But I plan to. I wonder how many girls lost their virginity last night and have nothing to show for it today.”
“He’s a sick son of a bitch,” Spike said.
“That’s being nice.”
“So you plan to?” Spike grinned.
“I said it’s complicated. I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll leave your twisted sex life alone.” He grinned again.
My twisted sex life. Yeah, that was pretty much the long and short of it. I was fucked up more than ever over Michelle. Talk about twisted. Being away from her and thinking it over, I realized how stupid it was to keep her with me. I owed her the money. It wasn’t fair for me to dangle it like a carrot in front of her.
But then she would leave me. I didn’t want that. Now that I knew how it felt to be with her, to have her in my house and be around somebody I actually wanted to spend time with, I couldn’t imagine being without her. It was like I never lived before that, stupid as it sounded even as I thought it. it was unfair, showing me the way life could have been, then taking it away.
“Why don’t you have an old lady?” I asked.
“But I’m not allowed to ask you why you didn’t pay your girl yet.”
“I mean it. I always wondered why you never stayed hooked up to any woman.”
He shrugged. “It never seemed worth it. Old ladies are a good thing to have—if you have the right old lady. The kind of woman who will stand by you and help you when shit hits the fan. A faithful woman. It’s not easy to find one of those, especially with the kinds of women we know. The sort of woman who hangs around a clubhouse isn’t always the sort of woman you trust to help you in life, if you know what I mean.”
“Some of the other guys have old ladies, though.”
“Yeah, and do you know how many of them run around behind their guy’s back? Or steal their money, or threaten to go to the cops with information? Believe it, it happens a lot more than you know.”
“So you gave up.”
“I wouldn’t say I ever tried. You have to try first, before you can give up.” One corner of his mouth curled up in a smile. “Why do you ask? Did you find true love last night in some virgin pussy?”
I smirked and shook my head. It was better to leave it alone, I decided. Too many more questions and everybody would hear about it and start making fun of me for being weak over a woman. I didn’t need that. There was too much going on aside from Michelle.
“Come on,” Spike said. “Visiting hours are starting.”
Chapter Fourteen
Michelle
I waited all of three minutes before I left Eric’s. He was insane if he thought I was going to sit around and wait for him. Why? He didn’t even have food.
I had to get out and see my mother. I had to give Mac a break. I figured I could be back by the time he returned, maybe with some food. None would be the wiser.
I called a cab, and minutes later I was on my way to my house. My mom’s house, really. I couldn’t imagine it ever not being her house, but the day would come. It would come soon, too. And then I would have to decide whether I wanted to live in it or sell it, along with a lot of other really uncomfortable things I didn’t want to think about.
I ran up the stairs the second I got through the door. It already felt like I had been away forever, though it had only been a day and a half. A very surprised Mac met me in the hall. “What are you doing here? I thought you were staying out all day. And where did you get that atrocious outfit?” She stepped back to take in the sight of my gray sweats.
“Sorry, they don’t exactly sell haute couture at Walmart.” I gave her a quick squeeze, then brushed past her to Mom’s room. Whether or not she thought I smothered her didn’t matter to me at the moment. What mattered was being with her.
She looked terrible. How was it possible that she appeared even thinner than she had the day before? But she did. She was a skeleton. She was also sleeping. I stared at her chest, willing it to rise and fall. Only when I saw it happen did I turn to Mac.
“How’s she been?” She waved me out of the room, and we went to my bedroom.
“Not in the spirits she was in last night, for sure,” Mac said, speaking slowly. She had to know the news would break my heart. “She’s even been a little…well…”
“Well, what? Don’t bother trying to break it gently.”
Mackenzie sat me down on the bed, then knelt in front of me. “She thought I was your Aunt Lorraine. That we were kids together, and we were going to go out and play.”
I closed my eyes, and Mac’s forehead touched mine. Lorraine was Mom’s sister, who died when they were very young. The doctors warned me that once she got to a certain point, she might start hallucinating or showing signs of dementia.
“It’s all happening so fast,” I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks.
“I know, sweetie. I’m so sorry.”
“Did she eat anything?”
“Barely.”
“I’m not surprised.” I wanted to hold onto her, to beg her to stay with me. What was I supposed to do without her? At the same time, I knew she was in excruciating pain. It would be better for her to be out of it. What was the sense in lingering on the way she was? Why was God so cruel?
“Are you staying home now?”
I shook my head, still crying.
“Why not?” Mac asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time.” She sat on the bed. “Talk. What happened last night?”
I took a deep, shaky breath and poured the whole story out for her. I told her about the auction, reminding her about the high price I fetched. She still couldn’t believe it.
“Neither can I, especially since I haven’t seen the money yet,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?” We were both on our backs by that time, side-by-side on the bed, looking up at the canopy above our heads.
“That’s why I need to go back. He doesn’t know I left.”
“Hang on.” Mac sat up, turning to me. “You mean you’re some sort of sex slave?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not like that. Well…maybe it is like that, sorta. But not really.” I did my best to explain it to her, the way he wanted me to stay until he was fully satisfied.
“But then he didn’t touch you all day yesterday or last night?”
“Right. That’s the weird part. I mean, we slept on opposite sides of the bed and everything. I even stood there, in front of him, dripping wet with a towel wrapped around me.” I frowned. “He made me feel really confident in that moment, let me tell you.”
“He’s being a jackass,” Mac summed up.
“He said I hurt his
feelings when I bolted from his place,” I muttered.
“You hurt his feelings? What is he, a toddler?”
“I know, it’s ridiculous. But he’s not such a bad person.”
“Not such a bad person? Michelle, I know you haven’t had a lot of experience with men, so let me clue you in. Nice guys don’t hold women hostage. They give them what they promised and let them move along.”
