by Lauren Hunt
I didn't want to scare Winona but I couldn't walk all the way home. I reluctantly took out my cellphone and dialed her number.
It took Winona over an hour to finally find me which I was thankful for because it gave me time to gather myself. I was always the strong and collected sister. I didn't want her to see me all broken down.
The first half of the drive was all silence. She knew my date had gone horribly wrong but she was too polite to ask about it.
“I'm sorry you had to drive all the way out here,” I said, finally breaking the emptiness.
“You kidding me? Gone with the Wind is a super long movie and I was on my fourth viewing. There's only so many times a girl can hear Rhett Butler say he doesn't give a damn. I needed the distraction.”
I blankly looked out the window at the passing streetlights. “I thought he was good for me, Winona.”
She reached over and took my hand, concentrating on the road. “I'm sorry, Natalie. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
I didn't want to relive the experience so soon afterwards but I'd have to tell her eventually. “First he took me to the dirtiest dive bar I'd ever been to. The bathroom was co-ed and there was literally shit everywhere. I could only stand to be in there for a minute or two. This black dress was definitely the wrong attire.”
“But at least you look fucking incredible in it,” Winona interrupted.
I gave her the best smile I could considering the circumstances. “When I got back to Breaker, his ex-girlfriend was all over him, kissing him and whispering in his ear.”
Winona's grip on the steering wheel tightened. “That motherfucker. I'm going to kill him.” Winona got so cute when she was deadly.
“I just ran out after that.”
Winona gasped. “And Breaker didn't even try to chase you down?”
“Well he did, but his excuse was that she meant nothing to him.”
“Typical male.”
“I feel a lot better already from talking to you about it.”
Winona patted my thigh. “I'm your sister. I'll always be there for you.”
I leaned over and put my head on her shoulder as she drove. Winona turned into a Walmart parking lot. “Where are we going.”
Winona grinned. “This type of situation calls for two things: a big bucket of ice cream and a romantic movie to cry our eyes over.”
“That sounds perfect,” I replied.
“But can we forget the romantic movie. I think I've overloaded on those.”
I laughed so hard snot came out my nose. “Let's just do something else then. How about Wizard of OZ?
Winona nodded and grabbed my arm as we skipped to Walmart. “We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of OZ!”
Chapter Thirteen
Breaker
My head was pounding and no amount of sheets over my head could protect my eyes from the blinding sun. I clumsily reached over to my nightstand and grabbed my watch. It was already two in the afternoon but it felt like I barely got any sleep. Time to finally get up.
I sat up in bed and the room began to spin. It took every ounce of power in my body to keep from hurling all over the comforter. After two deep breaths the intense headache calmed down. I realized that I wasn't at home but at the MC clubhouse in the spare room. What happened last night?
“Good morning, sunshine,” a voice said next to me. I didn't remember sleeping with anybody.
I glanced over hoping it to be Natalie, but the curly brunette hair gave it away instantly—Skylar. Fuck. The sheets barely covered the tattoo that bore my name and a used condom wrapper lay on the nightstand next to her. How could I be so stupid?
Skylar leaned over and kissed me on the shoulder. “Last night was absolutely amazing. I'd forgotten what you tasted like.”
I suddenly remembered the beginning of the night with Natalie on the motorcycle and the date at the bar. If only Skylar wasn't around to fuck everything up. After Natalie left me, I made Hunter give me a whole bottle of whiskey. I'd never drank that fast before. It was all a blur after that. Skylar probably didn't even have to try to get into my pants.
I got out of bed and threw my wife-beater over my head. “I need you to leave, Skylar.”
Her jaw dropped along with the sheets that were wrapped around her chest. “What the fuck are you talking about, Breaker?” Her large tits looked perfect and I had to turn away from her to hide my growing erection.
“Just get out of here now. Last night was a mistake.”
Skylar smiled and crawled across the bed towards me. “That's not what you told me last night. Those words I've been waiting to hear came out of that hard mouth of yours. You told me that I was yours and that you loved me.”
Fuck. Damn. Shit. Alcohol can really screw a man over. I needed to go apologize to Natalie. See if I could fix the mess I made last night. First things first—get rid of the Skylar.
“Skylar, I didn't mean a word of that last night. I was drunk and stupid.” I grouped up her bra and panties from the floor and tossed them at her face. “You better be gone in ten minutes.”
I grabbed my jeans and went to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it. Skylar screamed and cursed at me for a full five minutes. I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering how I got to this specific moment in my life. Did I always make the wrong decision? Did I even deserve someone like Natalie.
Finally Skylar left and I was able to escape from the bathroom. I went downstairs to find Slade sitting at the bar nursing a beer.
“Rough night?” he asked, his head swaying back and forth. He was still drunk from last night and still going.
“You could say that,” I replied, sitting down next to him.
Slade cracked open a beer and slid it over. “Kill that hangover.”
The thought of more alcohol made me want to empty my stomach all over the bar. But Slade was right, this would get rid of my hangover. I shut my eyes and took a few sips, suppressing the urge to throw up.
“Feel better?” Slade ran his fingers through his long dark hair. Why he never got it cut was beyond me. But the girls go crazy over it.
I set the beer down and wiped my mouth. “A little. Do you remember what I did last night?”
Slade laughed. “You mean you don't remember?”
“I remember being with Natalie and drinking a ton after she left.”
Slade laughed harder, choking on some beer. “Let's just say that you went a little crazy. Tried to pick a fight with anyone who walked by. Eventually Hunter had to kick you out. Took five of us to drag you out of there. Your ex-girlfriend followed you home like a lost puppy.”
Embarrassment flooded my cheeks. “Hunter is going to kill me.”
“Don't worry about it, we left him a big tip. At least you didn't get stabbed again.”
“Cheers to that.” We clinked our beer cans and continued drinking.
Dagger came over and draped his arms across both of us. “Pain said we have a meeting in an hour.”
“Better not be one of those boring financial meetings with Isaac. We don't need to know all that shit,” Slade said.
I downed the rest of my beer in seconds, hoping it would erase the memory of Natalie. It didn't.
—
Pain slammed the gavel into the wood table. “I know everyone's busy but we need to talk about the Sacks County Annual Picnic.”
A collective groan echoed through the meeting room. Every year Mayor Jackson put on a big picnic to get Sacks county together. And every year, the Devil's Hellions MC donated a sizable contribution. It was the one time of the year that we could really make our presence known. To show the community that we were a force of good and not evil.
Pain turned to Isaac. “How are the coffers doing?”
Isaac licked the tip of his finger and flipped through pages. “We're down a lot from last year.”
Slade leaned over to me. “Told you it was going to be a financial meeting.”
Isaac sneered at Slade and continued,
“We can only donate about half of what we gave last year.”
Pain nodded. “Well it's better than nothing. Hopefully some of the richer members in the community can make up the difference. Dagger, try Jonathan who owns the strip club and see if he wants to help out this year.”
Dagger nodded and took some notes.
One of the prospects knocked on the door and opened it up slightly. He must have been new because I didn't recognize him. We went through prospects pretty quickly around here. They tended to have a short lifespan.
“What is it?” Pain asked annoyed.
“Mrs. Thatcher is still here waiting.”
Pain rubbed his eyes. “I totally forgot. Tell her we'll have a decision in a moment.”
The prospect retracted his head and closed the door.
Pain folded his hands and began, “Mrs. Thatcher came to me this morning with a problem.”
“Mrs. Thatcher?” Isaac asked.
“She's the one that owns the coffee place on Main,” Pain replied. Isaac nodded. “Her husband has been a little rough with her lately. Her two black eyes and bruises confirm the story.”
“Why did she come to us and not the police?” I said.
“She doesn't want him arrested. Mr. Thatcher runs half of the coffee shop and she can't do it without him.”
“So what does she want us to do about it?” Big Mike asked.
“Just give him a little scare. Make sure he doesn't do it again. Normally I'd turn this over to the police but Mrs. Thatcher is willing to pay us for it.”
Isaac shook his head. “Even though we need the money, this doesn't feel right. We barely know Mrs. Thatcher and we've never even met Mr. Thatcher. I don't think we should start lending our services out like mercenaries.”
“You're overreacting,” Pain said, his fingers resting on the gavel. “She's a member of the community and needs our help.” Pain picked up the gavel. “Everyone in favor of helping Mrs. Thatcher?”
The Devil's Hellions MC raised their hands in unison except for Isaac. It was good for him to be cautious but I'd never turn away from a damsel in distress—especially one that is being beaten by man.
Pain pounded the gavel into the table. “Now that we have that settled. Mrs. Thatcher says her husband likes to hang out in the back of the coffee shop after it closes. Sometimes he has his buddies with him so we need to show up in force. Now I want it known that we are not to use lethal force. Got it?”
Everyone nodded. Slade cracked his knuckles and grinned. That man was a boxer in another life.
Pain smiled. “Good. We meet back here at nine.”
“I'll meet you there. I have some things I need to do first,” I said.
Pain hammered the gavel. “Dismissed!”
Chapter Fourteen
Natalie
Working with rage at the hospital was not very good for the patients or the nurses. I yelled at the patients and was very short with the nurses. My date with Breaker last night had tapped a well of anger that I never knew existed in me. I was so stupid for agreeing to go out with him in the first place. Just because he was damn hot didn't mean I needed to drop my panties for him.
I hid in the locker room to get some peace and quiet. I was beginning to scare people. I never wanted see Breaker again. Never wanted to hear his voice. Never wanted to see those dark eyes. I'd be better off without him.
Nurse Fiona strolled in. “How was your date last night with Breaker?”
I bounced my head against the locker over and over.
“That bad, huh?”
I nodded. “He was like every other guy I'd dated. Why am I always attracted to the bad guys.”
Fiona rubbed my back. “It's because they live dangerously and don't give a shit about anyone or anything. You'll find Mr. Right soon enough.”
“That's just a dream, Fiona. Mr. Right doesn't exist. All we can do is find someone we can stand just enough to marry them.”
“Feel better, Dr. Holmes. I'll see you on the floor.” Fiona left and I pounded my head against the locker one more time. I deserved the pain.
I walked down the third floor hallway and passed Dr. Green. He didn't even make eye contact with me as he passed by. At least something was going right with my life. I looked in on one of my patients that had two broken legs from a hit-and-run.
Afterwards I roamed around the halls, trying to forget that last night ever happened. Then I saw him appear out of nowhere—Breaker with his deliciously shaved hair walking right towards me. I shook my head because it must've been a phantom. But he was still there.
“Can I talk to you, Natalie?”
My eyes were on fire with animosity. “What do we have to talk about?” I replied, my voice rising. I wanted to kick him right in the balls like I did with Dr. Green.
“Can we speak somewhere more private?” Breaker asked, looking around at the people watching us.
“I don't want to hear anything you have to say.” I had to stare at the floor and will myself not to cry. Not in front of him. Don't show him how weak you are!
“I need to apologize about last night.” Breaker inched his way over I backed away.
“There's nothing you can say that will make up for what you did. You are who you are, Breaker. That won't change. Not even for me.”
Breaker began to respond but I turned on my heels and walked away. My eyes began to water. I didn't want to look back. He couldn't know how much I cared. I ran to the nearest bathroom and locked myself in a stall, breaking down into a crying mess. The tears flowed down my cheek and stained my scrubs. Breaker was a bastard and didn't deserve me. He deserved a whore like that girl with her arms around him from the bar. I repeated that in my head a few times and wiped away my wet cheeks. I couldn't let this get to me. I needed to be strong and move on.
I went back to my locker and did my best to fix my puffy eyes with makeup. I didn't want everyone to constantly ask if I was okay. My earlier chant of never seeing Breaker again somehow summoned him to the hospital. This time I wouldn't say anything to myself and just forget that he ever existed.
Chapter Fifteen
Breaker
Natalie was so upset at me. My apology did nothing. She ran away and all I wanted to do was chase her down and hold her in my arms. But I didn't have time. I needed to get to the coffee shop. The MC needed me. Natalie needed to time to herself anyways. I could always try again tomorrow.
I rode my bike down Main Street watching all the stores turn off their lights and close down. I passed by Java Addicts and saw that the lights were already off. I hoped that the MC had waited for me. I turned the corner, going down the alley behind the coffee shop. A white van and a few bikes were already parked there. I noticed all the members crouched down, checking their weapons.
I quickly turned off my headlight and parked next to them. “Did I miss anything?” I asked, taking my helmet off.
“He's in there with three other guys,” Dagger replied.
I checked my Beretta 92FS and the clip was full. I nodded to Dagger that I was ready to go and stuffed the pistol in my waistband. The rest of the MC nodded in succession. The adrenaline in my veins was pumping. This is what I lived for.
Slade took the lead and rushed to the back door with a crowbar. He jammed it into padlock and after straining for a couple seconds, the padlock broke and fell to the ground.
Pain whispered, “Remember we're only here to scare him. Leave your safety on.”
I pulled out my gun, checked the safety, and patted Slade's back. He swung the door open and ran inside with me following right on his tail. We entered the back room and found four guys sitting around a square table playing poker and drinking beer.
“Hands up!” Slade yelled with his gun drawn.
One guy was in complete shock and kept his hands under the table. I went around and pulled the chair out from under him, knocking him to the floor. Big Mike dragged the guy away and put him in the corner.
“Take all the fucking money, it's yours,
” one man said.
Pain walked over. “You must be Mr. Thatcher.”
“How do you know me?” he asked, his hands shaking above his head.
“You're wife described you in detail. Even the crooked nose,” Pain replied, running his gun down the bridge of his nose.
