by Tia Lewis
“What about the other guys? I mean, are they all like that?”
“What do you mean, do they all fuck around? Eh, mostly. Some more than others.” Darcy shrugged, folding Drake’s laundry. I couldn’t believe she’d washed it, let alone that she was folding it.
“Some of them screw around and don’t give a shit about you,” Violet muttered. “Some aren’t assholes, but some of them are.”
“Violet, I told you. You fuck Drake Collins, you get what you deserve. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”
That got my attention since I was still struggling to control the physical response I had every time I so much as thought of him. “What do you mean, Tamara? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Tamara shrugged as she pulled her long, blonde hair into a high ponytail. She had a curvy body which she showed off in tight jeans and an equally tight tank top. “I mean you have to know what you’re getting into. If you’re gonna be naïve about it and think it means something when he sticks his dick in you, you’re in for a rude awakening. He doesn’t care. He’s not a bad guy, he just doesn’t care. I warned you, didn’t I?”
I glanced at Violet, who looked miserable. “Can we change the subject?”
“No, because you don’t listen, and then you act like an emotional bitch when he’s done using you as a cum rag.”
“Wow, Tamara. That’s kind of harsh.” Darcy replied.
“She needs to hear this. You went into it with feelings, didn’t you?” I tried to pretend I didn’t care, toying with the cap on my water bottle, but I couldn’t help paying close attention. So she liked him, maybe more than liked him. I wondered if she was the girl he’d just had sex with, the one who messed up his bed. I felt sorry for her. She looked like she might cry at the drop of a hat.
“I get it. I won’t make that mistake again.” Violet took a long sip of diet soda, her hands shaking around the glass.
“I can’t blame you,” I said, offering what little support I could. “I mean, doesn’t every girl want that? Don’t we all want to go into it with feelings? Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“The point is, it feels good and a lot of these guys are good at it.” Darcy giggled, and Tamara gave her a high-five. Violet looked thoughtful, however.
“So you don’t think it was wrong of me to be stupid like that?” I grinned at Violet’s choice of words. She was a real poet.
“Well, I don’t think you were stupid. Let’s put it this way. I believe you had hope and your hope … well, it didn’t go the way you thought it would go, and he crushed your hope. I think that’s what happened. It doesn’t make you wrong or a cum rag.”
Tamara gawked at me.
“It makes him wrong, then.” She stared into my eyes, trying to make sense of what I was saying. I shrugged, trying my best to be diplomatic.
“Yes and no. I mean, you knew what you were getting into. Hey, Drake strikes me as being rude, nasty, arrogant—just full of himself.”
“You pretty much nailed him,” Darcy piped up, folding a pair of shorts. I made it a point to keep my eyes away from her so she couldn’t see how disgusted I was by the fact that she was his personal servant.
“But he doesn’t have to be an asshole. He could try to have a heart. So I can’t blame you, believe me. Don’t we all get into trouble like that?” I patted her hand, trying to reassure her. She looked slightly less suicidal.
“Oh, Bree, don’t get me started on the trouble I’ve gotten into. I’ve been behind this bar for ten years. I could tell you stories that would turn your hair white.”
“Ten years?” I couldn’t believe anybody would want a job like that for a decade.
She nodded sagely. “Yep. The things I’ve seen. The things I’ve done.” She shook her head. “I was very young and incredibly naïve. I thought at least three of the guys loved me at one time or another. I was wrong about all three of ‘em.” Her eyes fell on the wall outside the office, where three pictures hung. “One of ‘em died not long ago.”
“Wow. I’m so sorry.” I had wondered about those pictures. I remembered my father telling me in his last days that there had been a few murders around the Club. I guessed they were the guys he was referring to. I felt a chill, placing faces with names.
“Austin,” she breathed. “I loved that man. I really did. Years ago, of course—it wore off when I came to my senses. But he was special. I don’t know why or what made him that way, but he was.”
“I always liked him,” Darcy said, sighing. “Lance, too. And Pete. They were all good guys.” The girls fell silent, and I was left wondering how they could call them “good guys” when they had to know the sort of things the men did for a living. They robbed, ran guns and drugs. They collected money from cold-blooded monsters and didn’t think twice about it. It was the money that had furnished their beautiful clubhouse, reminding me something out of that old show Silver Spoons. I expected somebody to come riding in on a life-sized toy train.
They weren’t good guys. My father was one of the good guys. Tommy and the rest of the detectives in his squad were the good guys. Not the Blood Riders, not the Cobras, none of them.
That got me to thinking. “So, I’ve been hearing a lot of those Cobras. What’s going on with that? What’s this war the guys speak of? Like, how long has it been going on?”
The girls exchanged worried looks. “What? Too many questions? You can tell me. If I’m gonna be around here, I think I deserve to know. You know, if anything should happen so I know what’s going on, right?”
Tamara spoke first. “We don’t like to talk about it very much,” she explained. “It’s not a good idea to talk about it in front of the guys, either. They get really riled up.”
“Especially since Hawk and his crew wiped out three of ours,” Darcy mumbled.
“But we got a bunch more of theirs. Fuck them!” Violet added. I heard the pride in her voice.
“Okay, but what’s the story? How do things like this get started in the first place?”
Darcy looked around to be sure nobody heard us before sitting beside me, Drake’s laundry was forgotten for the moment. “Drug money. The Cobras want Blood Rider’s connections. They want a piece of the pie.”
“Ooh—but they’re in the Bronx, right? Why not just stick to their territory?”
“Greed,” Tamara whispered. “They bust up shipments; try to rob our guys at gunpoint. It’s real messy shit. That’s how they got those three. They were overseeing a shipment at a warehouse by the river, and a bunch of the Cobras must have been waiting for them.”
“Wow. I see.” An ambush.
“The cops have been all over the Club for years, too, and I think that’s part of why the Cobras keep trying to put heat on us. So there’s more for the cops to pay attention to.”
“What do you mean?” The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I heard Tamara’s theory. Be careful here.
“Oh, there was this group of detectives always trying to pin shit on the club so they could get an arrest. Only nothing ever stuck, because Jack and Drake were too smart for them.” Tamara snorted while I dug my nails into my palm.
“Yeah, but then one of them ended up dead not long ago, too. Too bad.” Darcy giggled, and the other two girls joined her. “That’s what you get for thinking you can mess with the Club.”
They bursted out laughing while looking around again to be sure nobody heard what we talked about. I, on the other hand, felt dizzy. My father, I wanted to say. He was my fucking father, not just some detective. He was a good, kind, and smart man, and he cared about the city he worked for. He wanted to rid it of the so-called “good guys” you sleep around with. He knew better than to trust them. It was torture, not being able to let it all out and tell them what I was really there for.
“What about him?” I asked, biting the inside of my cheek.
“Him? I didn’t say it was a ‘him,'” Tamara said, washing glasses.
“I assumed. Aren’t most detectives men?”
&
nbsp; “Not on Law and Order SVU,” Violet chuckled.
“Yeah, good point.” I didn’t think Tamara would pick up on that, or else I wouldn’t have said it.
“Anyway, they believe he uncovered something. I don’t know, it’s all too confusing, and the guys never let us hear stuff like that. We’re just supposed to be around when they need something. Like a drink.”
“Their laundry,” Darcy said, going back to the pile in the basket.
“A quick screw,” Violet muttered.
“They don’t want us to know about anything that really matters,” Tamara surmised. “And maybe it’s safer for us that way. I don’t know. Maybe the less we are aware, the better.”
“I can’t believe that,” I protested. “Isn’t it better that you know, so you know what to be on the lookout for?”
“Bree, they protect us,” Violet said. She sounded like a zombie. I wondered if she knew she drank the Kool-Aid. The poor thing. I felt sorry for all of them, not having a single clue what went on and thinking their so-called men protected them. They didn’t need to be part of any of it. They had a choice. It wasn’t like the men, who I knew were in the Club for life once they joined. There was no leaving for them. But a woman could leave.
“So, what made you wanna be part of this?” I asked Tamara.
“The pay.” She shrugged. “They pay really well, actually. I was just out of high school, and I needed a job. I wasn’t even old enough to legally drink, but they let me tend bar. And here I am.” She was twenty-eight? Only a few years older than me? It didn’t seem possible. She looked at least thirty-five, thanks to the rough skin and wrinkles around her eyes. Was that what Violet and Darcy had to look forward to? Getting old before their time?
One of the club members came out with a smile on his face. I saw the small patch on his leather vest that his name was Ace. “Drake gave the okay to the party,” he said, looking like a kid who just discovered the candy shop. The girls cheered and clapped.
“Looks like I’d better get some of the inventory up here.” She eyed me up. “You wanna earn your keep, girl?”
“Who, me?” I pointed to myself.
She smiled. “Yeah, you. I have to bring some boxes of beer up from the cellar. Can you help me?”
“Oh, sure.” I’d been looking forward to going home and taking off those bloody boots, but it looked like I was in it for the long haul. It was what I wanted, for them to think I was a member of the club. I just wished I could be more comfortable when I did it.
Violet got on the phone. “I’ll call up more of the girls,” she offered.
“How many will you call?” I questioned.
“Oh, maybe ten, twelve. The rest will be old ladies. It’s gonna be a great time.” She smiled. “You’ll get a good look at what this club is really about. I know you’ll have fun.” I wished I could feel as confident as she seemed. All I felt was a weak sort of loose feeling in my gut like I might lose control of my bowels at any time. It was happening. I was in the belly of the beast.
“You’re lucky you get to see a party this soon,” Tamara grinned, leading the way down the stairs. I had a hard enough time walking in those boots on level surfaces, so tottering my way down creaky stairs was no bargain. I took my time.
“Lucky, huh?” I asked. I reached the floor and looked around. The cellar was carved from stone, not finished at all. Dirt floor, stone walls, the beams supporting the floors above over my head. Lightbulbs hung at random intervals. Even with my height, in heels, the ceiling was so far above my head I didn’t think I would be able to touch it if I stretched. And almost all of the space was filled with boxes and crates.
“Oh, sure. It’s always a good time. These guys know how to party. And you’re fresh meat, so you’ll get a lot of attention. Trust me.” She threw me a wink then led the way through a maze of crates. The way she winked put an ugly idea in my head.
“Hey, Tamara. Can I ask you something?” She stopped and turned to me.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“You don’t think Big Jack will expect me to … you know…?”
She grinned. “He’ll probably want to. You’re hot stuff plus you’re new.”
“Uh, thanks, but I don’t think I’m interested in that. Don’t I get a say in whether or not I want to?”
She leaned on a stack of crates, thoughtful. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a girl say something like that—not one of the Club girls, anyway.”
“Seriously?” It seemed impossible. Sure, he was a powerful man in his fashion, but he wasn’t anything worth looking at. He probably had a big dick, okay, but it was the rest of him I cared about.
“Yeah, seriously. You’re not like the rest of us. I guess I wonder why you really wanna be here in the first place. You told us earlier that you always wanted to be part of the club, that you thought the guys were sexy and dangerous, and you wanted protection. Right?”
“Right.” I’d given the girls the same story I gave to Drake, just to solidify my “past” and make it easier for them to accept me.
“But you don’t want the chance to sleep with the leader of the club. The most powerful guy around. Why?”
“Because…” I had to think of something, and I searched my mind wildly for any excuse that would work.
Tamara provided one for me, bless her heart. “Because you already have a crush on Drake. Don’t you?”
Bingo! “Oh my God. How could you tell?” I whispered, biting my lip to make it look like I was concerned at giving myself away.
“Please. The way you two looked at each other? The way you talked to each other? I thought I was gonna have to use the soda gun on you two.” She snickered, going back to getting bottles together.
“So you see, then, why I’m not crazy about the idea of sleeping with Jack. He’s not who I want,” I said.
“I get it. But we don’t always get to decide these things.” She turned to me again, looking serious. “Jack’s gonna make a pass for you. It’s what he does. You can either piss him off by refusing, or you can make it so Drake claims you as his own right away. When he does, Jack won’t touch you, because that’s the code of honor these guys live by. They don’t shit where they’re not supposed to if you get what I mean.”
“Yeah, I get it.” What a lovely way to put it. I struggled not to wrinkle my nose in distaste.
We didn’t talk about it again as we worked, and I made two trips up and down the old stairs with boxes. “I guess we’ll have a full house tonight. Thirty club members, maybe thirty-five women in all.”
“Geez, that’s a lot of people,” I said, shaking my head.
“Yeah, well, we have a lot of whiskey, beer, and a lot of room,” Tamara smiled a very wise, knowing smile. “You’re in for a night you won’t soon forget, girl. You ready?”
And I would have to seduce Drake if I didn’t want Jack on me. Yeah, it would be quite a night, indeed.
9
Nicole
By ten o’clock that night, the place was packed.
I didn’t know what made me more uncomfortable—the various state of undress most of the women were in, the way the men drank like they wouldn’t live to see another day or my aching feet. I was dying to take off my boots since my toes were starting to go numb. I’d never dreamed I would end up being so successful right off the bat. I’d thought I’d be able to go home after eating, maybe meeting a few people. Instead, I’d been with the Club since noon-ish, and it didn’t look like I’d be leaving anytime soon. I would probably have to stay the night, an image that didn’t leave me with a smile on my face. Where would I sleep? With whom?
I kept Tamara’s warning in my head throughout the night, noticing the way Jack smiled at me, sizing me up with his sinister eyes. I wished for the first time all day that I was wearing something a little less revealing. The way he looked at me, it was like my entire body was on display. I didn’t like it one bit.
I found myself clinging to Richie, letting him corner me into conver
sation time and again. We had to shout to be heard over the roaring music, of course. It was loud, throbbing, pulsing music that I felt from my head to my feet as it vibrated in the floor. People danced—men with women, women with women, both inside and in a fenced-off courtyard outside.
I liked Richie as much as I could like any of the men in the Club, but he wouldn’t be enough to hold Jack back if he decided to make his move. I didn’t know much about the Club and the way the men interacted, but I knew Jack was the alpha. What he said was law. Nobody went against him.
Except for Drake, maybe. He was an alpha, too, and Jack’s hand-picked successor. He had the same strong personality, which I knew from experience. He could save me. To think, I counted on one outlaw to save me from another outlaw.
Richie stood with me at the bar, telling me all about how he planned to be patched into the Club within six months. “I’ve done a lot of good for these guys,” he explained. “I know it doesn’t look like it when Drake pushes me around, but he respects me.”
“Oh, he does?” I was hardly paying attention, searching the room for the very man Richie was talking about. Where was he? I needed him.
“Yeah. I mean, I protected his ass on the last run he took. I was his second. He actually trusted me that much. And I covered him when he went into the warehouse, even though we were sure there would be Cobras around. I mean, it would be a huge win for Hawk and his guys if they could take Drake out.”
“You don’t say.” I felt sorry for him, but it didn’t mean I felt like listening to his personal history. Besides, I was tired and sore and just wanted to soak in a hot tub. I didn’t need his life story, and frankly, I didn’t care right now.
“Yeah. If they could take out Drake, it would mean cutting Jack down at the knees. That would be it. Who else would he pick to take over for him?”
Somehow, Richie’s words got my attention. I looked at him in the light from the neon signs behind the bar. He was so wide-eyed and innocent, but not that innocent if he saw half the things he’d already bragged about. Shootings, beatings, interrogations which I was sure involved more beating. “You think they would go after him, then? Drake, I mean?”
