by Lila Rose
“No,” he bit out.
“No?”
His eyes heated. “No dating, Poppy.”
“Why do you get a life and I don’t?”
“It’s different. I’m older. Shit. I’m not discussing this with you.” He straightened, took my arm and led me to his car.
On the drive back to my place, I was fuming. Jerkface Jerimiah had double standards. Hell, he was dating when he’d just turned fifteen, he’d told me so one night, and I was nearly sixteen goddamn it.
A new thought dawned on me. After Jerimiah’s display of protectiveness in the alley, and at the party… “No guy will be brave enough to date me again. I’m going to be a virgin for the rest of my life.”
Beside me, Jerimiah coughed, growled, and then snapped, “Do not talk about being a virgin, sex, or guys in front of me at all. Ever.”
Pulling into my drive, he got out, came around to my side and tugged me from the car. Moping, since my love life was doomed, and there was no way I would get over Jerimiah if I didn’t find someone else, we made our way to the door. When Jerimiah didn’t enter right away—instead he knocked—I knew he was going to be a pain in my arse.
The door opened and in it stood Dad. “Fang? What’s—”
At the time, I’d been hiding off to the side of the door, until Jerimiah pulled me into view.
Shock ran over Dad’s face. “Poppy? I thought you were at Manda’s.”
“Um, about that,” I said with a nervous laugh.
Dad crossed his arms and glared. “What did you do?”
Jerimiah cleared his throat. “She wasn’t at Manda’s, Charlie. She decided to go on a date with a dickwad of a guy. Things could have gone bad if I hadn’t shown—”
I snorted. “I had it under control before you showed up like a gym junkie on ’roids, or better yet, a rabid Rottweiler.” I glanced at Dad, and I was sure I saw his lips twitching before he thinned them. I explained, “The guy kissed me. I didn’t like it, so my knee made out with his balls.”
Dad choked. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something, but Jerimiah got in there first. “She’s too young to date—”
“You did not just say that,” I screeched, turning to him.
He faced me and glared. “I did. Get over it. You’re fifteen. You shouldn’t be thinking about dating. If I hear about you sneaking out of this house”—I opened my mouth, but his hand came up and covered it—“or Manda’s, I will find you, sit down with you and your date, and make sure he does piss himself in front of you. That should put you off dating for a while.”
Groaning, I grabbed his hand from my mouth and then shoved him in the chest. The jerk didn’t move. I fumed. “You have got to be kidding me? You double-standard prick.” I threw my hands up in the air before stomping inside. Thankfully, Dad moved out of the way. Turning back, I gripped the door, and said, “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about anyway, Jerimiah. No guy would want to date me because they’re too scared of you.” I wanted to slap the smug look off his face.
“I’ll lift the ban when you’re eighteen,” he stated, like he was doing me a favour.
A bubble of laughter came from my father. I glared at him, then at Jerimiah. “Do. Not. Talk. To. Me. For… at least a week. I don’t want to see your face, you’ve pissed me off that much.”
“Poppy,” he said softly.
“No!” I yelled, and then slammed the door in his face. Sighing, I rubbed my temples because I had a huge headache. I asked Dad, “Am I in trouble?”
His hand came to my back and he ran it up and down in a soothing motion. “Nah. Besides, I reckon I don’t have anything to worry about with you and dating. Fang has it covered.”
Grumbling under my breath, I stormed off to my room. Opening my door, I wasn’t at all surprised to find Jerimiah sitting on the end of my bed.
As I closed the door and locked it, I felt Jerimiah stand. Ignoring him, I went to my bed grabbed my nightwear and started taking off my clothes to put them on. Glancing at Jerimiah, I saw I had his back, like every time I did this. I pulled back my cover and got into bed, leaving the light on for Jerimiah to turn off before he left. If he thought he could stay, he had to rethink it.
“Poppy,” he sighed out my name.
“Go away, Jerimiah.”
“No.” My body bounced as he landed on the bed to lay next to me. “I’m sorry, okay. I may have gone a little crazy.”
I snorted. “A little?”
“A lot then. But when Nicky said she set that dick up to date you, and… I lost it. I hated the thought of anything happening to you.”
Exhaling through my nose, I rolled to my back and looked up at him. My bottom lip suddenly trembled.
“Poppy.” He groaned like he was in pain.
“Don’t you realise what it all meant in the end? No one will date me if someone hasn’t set them up in the first place. I’m the unlikeable… undesirable.”
He grabbed my hand. “Bullshit.” With his other hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and when his fingers brushed my cheek, the butterflies woke. Now you want to wake up. Go the hell back to sleep. Jerimiah caught my chin between his fingers. “You’re liked, desired. Shit, I’ve lost count of the times my friends have asked me if they could take you on a date.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Rolling his eyes, he nodded. “But I don’t want you to rush into anything. You’re my girl, you deserve the best, and the idiots I know aren’t that.”
My heart stopped.
His eyes, his beautiful eyes shifted, and they’d shifted down to my lips and then back up to my eyes. My heart thumped hard. Then it took off in a leap. The goddamn butterflies fluttered around inside me like they were on Red Bull.
“Just… fuck, wait for a bit longer, ’kay?”
All I could do was nod, because it was then, right then, in that moment I admitted to myself I was one hundred percent in love with my best friend.
“Let’s get some sleep.” He got off the bed, turned off the light, and I knew he’d be losing his tee to the floor, sometimes even his jeans, which left him in his boxers. At the thought of his godlike body, I got a funny feeling down below, as in, below.
He climbed into bed, pulled me close and ordered, “Go to sleep.”
And because I didn’t want to ruin us, even when I found myself fighting with my emotions to want to jump him and kiss him, I didn’t. Instead, I said, “You go to sleep.”
He chuckled. “Poppy.”
“Jerimiah.”
“Jesus.”
I smiled into the night. I wasn’t sure who won the fight, but I felt great. I felt so great because I had my best friend beside me. A friend I loved with everything I had. As I lay there in the dark room, I promised myself that one day, I would have the courage to see if there was ever a chance Jerimiah and I could be more.
Chapter Nine
Fang
Present
“Come to the bar with me. The brothers are having a welcome back thing for Dallas’s woman and her friend,” I said into the phone a few weeks later to Poppy. She’d managed to dodge me every chance she got. I was sure some of the reasons for it was because she was freaked about my declaration, but I had a feeling there was something else holding her back from seeing me in person, maybe the other reason she’d left me in the first place. Didn’t stop us from calling and texting though, and that was the only thing keeping me from losing it.
Nearly a month without sight of her was fucking eating at me.
I’d tried. Fuck had I tried. Randomly I’d show at her house to see if she was there. She hadn’t been. Charlie thought the runaround was hilarious, especially when he saw how frustrated I got. It was good to see him happier those times I popped in. Mary was a little healthier since she wasn’t refusing to eat anymore. What also helped
Charlie, I reckon, was knowing Alvin had been set up in a place out of town, a rehab to get clean, and I told him if that didn’t help, we’d figure something else out. The family was going through enough. No way would I let a drugged-out son and sibling darken their steps again. Unless he got his act together, but I doubted it.
“Jerimiah, I can’t. I have work.” I heard a knock on her door in the background. She muttered a curse before saying, “I have to go. Someone’s at the door.”
“I’ll wait.”
“Jerimiah—”
“I’ll wait, Poppy.”
She sighed, and I smiled. I heard her shuffling, the door being opened, and then Muff’s voice. “Yo, towel lady.” A pause, then, “Wait, don’t I know you from somewhere?” Another pause, before Muff added, “Can’t remember. Anyway, just droppin’ this off for my brother.” I’d paid Muff to drop off a burger from her favourite joint along with flowers and some chocolates. If I wanted to win her, I knew she’d love that shit.
“Jerimiah,” she whispered into the phone.
Grinning, I said, “Eat, relax before work, and we’ll talk real soon.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Poppy. Is Muff still there?”
“Yes.”
“Tell him to fuck off.”
Her laugh warmed my soul. “I will.”
Yeah, one way or another, I would have my Poppy in front of me, in my arms, and warming my bed.
Poppy
I knew my feet would be dragging at work that night. I was already so tired from being up half the night talking to Manda about everything going on. Of course she was Team Jerimiah, always had been, even after I told her what he’d said that night. She’d believed there was an excuse for it. At the time of my leaving, she hadn’t known about the other reason, until recently. She was upset I kept it from her, but had understood. Well, eventually.
Earlier, I’d texted her about the kind gesture Jerimiah had done.
Manda: OMG, jump him already.
Then my phone had rang.
“Hey.” I’d smiled.
“Hey, yourself. Girl, please tell me you’re on your way to see how well-hung Jerimiah is.”
Laughing, I’d shaken my head, and said, “No.”
“Damn. Okay, since you don’t have any good news, I have some for you.”
“What?”
“I just found out before…. I’m moving back to Caroline Springs. I got a job lined up already.”
My breath had caught as tears filled my eyes.
“Honey?” Manda had whispered.
“I’ll have you back,” I’d mumbled.
“Yeah, and I’ll have you back.”
My chest had swollen, my emotions too much. “I’m so excited, Manda,” I’d then yelled, before laughing.
She’d giggled along with me. “So am I, honey. So am I.”
My body jolted. Thoughts of the call trickled away when Dad asked, “You want me to come in?” He sat in the driver’s side of his car; mine had chosen to die just before work. Dad offered to give me a lift, which I’d had to accept. I hated him taking me, as every time he saw where I worked, it worried him.
“No, I’m good. Thanks for the lift. I’ll see you at midnight.”
His lips thinned. “You know you should tell Fang where you work.”
“Yes, Dad. I will soon.” Maybe. Leaning over, I kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry about me. You know there are bouncers everywhere inside. I’ll be fine.”
He grunted.
“Dad—”
“Let your old man worry, okay?”
Smiling sadly, I nodded. “All right. See you later,” I said, then climbed out of the car.
Jimmy, the bouncer at the front door, gave me a huge smile and let me through the gated-off front entrance. Dad had refused to take me around the back where I usually entered; he said it was too darkly lit. To ease his mind, I didn’t argue.
Quickly, I went out the back to store my bag and jacket, then slipped out the front and straight to the bar. William, one of the barmen, grinned. “Just making up table eleven’s order, Poppy.”
“Thanks, Will.” I winked.
“What. The. Fuck.” I heard behind me.
With my heart in my throat, I slowly turned to find Muff, Jerimiah’s brother who I’d just met officially that afternoon. Shit. Damn. Suck on some dirty balls. My mouth opened and closed again and again.
“Bloody knew I knew you from somewhere. You work here.”
“Muff—”
“Does my brother know?”
“Shh,” I muttered, and stepped closer to Muff, my gaze flicking around the busy room. “He doesn’t yet. But I plan on telling him.”
He whistled. “Babe, you are fucked. Can I be around when you tell him?”
“Everything okay here, Poppy?”
Glancing to the side, I nodded to Dale, another bouncer. “It’s fine.”
“Yeah, dickhead. It’s fine.”
“Muff!” I snapped.
He didn’t look at me; he kept his eyes on Dale. “What? He knows who I am, the club I belong to. So he knows I’m here for extra security since this is a Hawks MC business. He’s come up just to piss me off.”
Hawks MC business?
How did I not know Hawks owned this club?
I’d always guessed the manager, a man in his forties, who looked like a Greek god, had owned it.
But he didn’t.
It was Hawks.
Jesus. No wonder I’d seen members of Hawks in and out all the time. I’d just thought it was a club they frequented at, while I also prayed none of them took notice of me.
“You lot walk around here like you own the joint—”
Muff stepped closer to Dale. I grabbed his arm. “News flash, dickface. We do own the joint. What part of this place is a Hawks MC business did you not understand? Run along and do your job.”
“Dale” was called. Glancing to the left, Samuel, the manager of the club, stepped up to Muff and Dale’s side. “Get the fuck back to work.”
Dale shifted his hard gaze to Samuel, then stormed back to his spot beside the stage.
“Sorry about that,” Samuel offered.
“That guy needs to check his attitude to the club members. I ain’t the only one he’s tried to start shit with,” Muff said.
“I know. I’ve been watching him. He’s ex-cop, doesn’t understand how Hawks runs things differently to other clubs.”
Muff snorted. “Sammy, he’d better get the picture soon, or he’ll regret it and come up to the wrong brother.”
“I’ll have another word with him.” Samuel nodded.
“Poppy,” William called. He lifted the tray, and I nodded.
“I have to work,” I said to Muff.
“I’ll be keeping an eye, babe.”
“Is there something I should know?” Samuel asked.
“No!” I cried at the same time Muff replied, “Yes. She’s a brother’s woman.”
“I am not,” I demanded.
Muff snorted. Ignoring them, I huffed, glared, and then turned my back and got started on delivery drinks to my tables. I also ignored the pleasure that shot through me when Muff said I was Jerimiah’s woman.
It was nearing 11:00 p.m. I’d just placed some drinks on a table and moved away when I felt heat at my back. A steel arm folded around my chest while something pressed into my lower spine.
“Shut up” was snarled low into my ear. Python. “Didn’t like your job, but especially don’t like my bitch flaunting herself for Hawks motherfuckers. Saw you out there flirting with him. Been watchin’ him watch you. I don’t fuckin’ like it. If you make a sound, I’ll shoot everyone I can before they help you.”
I nodded. With trembling hands, I placed my tray on a nearby speak
er. There was no way I would cause a scene and risk other people’s lives.
“See I’m gonna need to teach my bitch a lesson, as well as Hawks. Now back the fuck up.”
Shit, shit, shit. He was leading me towards the back hall. If he got me down there and then out the back door, I wouldn’t last the night. Fear ate at me, tears threatened to spill over, and my hands shook even more as I reached them up to hold his arm around my chest to keep up with him.
Only his pace was too fast. I stumbled. His grip on me tightened, but not enough and I landed on my arse. He bent, backhanded me and I fell to the side. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for him. His hand fisted my hair. When I cried out, he backhanded me again.
Dizziness overtook me. My sight darkened until I blinked again and again. I couldn’t pass out.
“Hey” was shouted a few paces away.
“Fuck,” Python barked. He straightened and fired off a shot. I heard a curse and knew he’d hit someone. Scared, not only for myself but others, I kicked out over and over with both feet towards his legs. He tried to grab for me, to jump over my legs, but I connected a few times to make him trip. He stepped back again and again, as more male shouts sounded at the end of the hall before bullets were launched. Python ducked and weaved. He sneered down at me before he fired back and shifted out the back door.
Why hadn’t he trained that gun on me?
He had a chance. Why didn’t he shoot at me?
“Poppy!”
It didn’t make sense.
Did he really want me with him so much he wouldn’t kill me? Did he truly believe he’d claimed me? Confusion rolled around in my mind.
Someone shook my shoulders. I blinked up at Muff hovering over me. “Jesus, woman. You okay?”
I nodded, even though my head was throbbing. I placed my hands behind me and slowly, with Muff’s help, I sat, leaning against the wall. Blinking again, I noticed blood dripping down Muff’s arm.
I gasped, reaching for him. “You’re bleeding.”
Muff took my hands in his. “Relax, babe. It’s fine. I’m good.”
People crowded around us, some swearing, some on the phone, others talking, but all I could do was watch the blood drip down Muff’s arm.
