Broken

by Alexis Noelle

  His eyes widen and a fire blazes in them. He complies, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back against the booth. I scoop a bite with the spoon, then grab it between my fingers. Before he can peek I smash the cake onto his face. “That is for smashing popcorn in my hair,” I say in between giggles.

  His eyes open slowly and he glares over at me. “Oh, that’s how you want to play it?”

  He quickly grabs my face in his hands and wipes his cake covered face all over me. I try to push him off, but it’s no use. When he pulls back a sense of pride graces his face, then it transforms into something else. One hand grabs my neck, slowly pulling me close to him. His mouth moves toward mine, then I feel his tongue lick a piece of cake from the corner of my mouth. A hum of appreciation sounds as he does the same thing on the other side.

  “I swear I didn’t think you could taste sweeter than you already do.”

  He kisses me, but it doesn’t start out slow like before. There is a hunger behind it. A sense of need and want that overwhelms me. My hands fist his shirt so tight. When he pulls away I can’t help but laugh at his cake filled face.

  “I think we need to go clean up,” I say, shaking my head at how the two of us might look.

  Agreeing, he stands, and I slide out of the seat.

  After washing off the cake and icing we drive back to the motel. I don’t want to go back.

  I want to stay in this little bubble we created today.

  A bubble where nothing can hurt me.

  Past or present.

  Chapter Eight

  Izzy

  Max said that I have to go to the clubhouse. Apparently, the leaders want to talk to me again, not that I have anything more to say other than, ‘I don’t know.’

  His hand holds mine in the car. “Things will be fine. I’ll be there the whole time.”

  I squeeze his hand, but can’t shake the nerves that are filling me. These men want answers I don’t have.

  “They aren’t gonna hurt you, babe.”

  I look over at him because it’s the first time he’s called me something like that. I like it. It makes me feel like I might mean something to him.

  The truck comes to a stop and my heart lurches. I try to take a calming breath, but all it does is make me a bit lightheaded.

  I can do this.

  My door opens and Max is standing there. He stands back instead of pulling me to him like he did at lunch. This whole thing sucks. I jump down, stumbling a bit but his hand steadies me.

  “Thanks.” I look over at him.

  He looks so different now that we’re here. His face is a bit harder, his expression like a statue. He has a mask on, and I really don’t like it.

  I walk toward the clubhouse and each step fills my body with more anxiety than the one before. When we walk in the entire room hushes. Every set of eyes is focused on me as Max walks in front of me. I follow him, trying to not look up at the people observing me like an animal in the zoo.

  Max leads me back to a small room where The President and VP wait for me. I stop in the doorway to the room, while all three men stare at me. There is a chair sitting in front of the oval wooden table they’re sitting at. The walls of the room are lined with wooden panels that look like they aren’t too old, and the floors look about the same. There are no decorations in the dark room. The only furniture is the large table and the small chairs surrounding it.

  “Get out, Lady.” The President’s voice is hard and his tone is clipped.

  I can see a flash of anger in Max’s eyes at the nickname, but it quickly disappears. He looks at me for a minute before walking through the door and closing it behind him.

  Now that it’s just me and the two of them everything in me is screaming to run. My heart is pounding so hard I swear it’s hurting my chest. My fingers grip the seat of the chair in fear of what might be about to happen.

  “We have questions, and we need answers to them,” Twisted growls out. “I’m not in a patient mood.” He stands up, leaning against the table. “Who. Are. You?” Each word enunciated in a lethal tone.

  I wish I had the answer to his question. It scares me that I don’t.

  “I asked you a question, girl.”

  My head drops. “I don’t know.”

  “How can you not know?” he shouts, and I jump. “Where did you get that picture?”

  I remember the picture. It was of a couple that looked to be in their late twenties. If I knew them I have no idea how. “It was in my hand.”

  “Yea, we figured that out. How did you get it? Where did it come from?” the VP speaks up, and I look over at him. His face is kinder than the President’s.

  “I really don’t remember.” The defeat in my voice is evident.

  “Then tell us what you do remember.” His soft voice coaxes me.

  “I woke up and everything hurt. The stars were above me and I was lying on the ground in a field. My clothes were ripped and when I first tried to stand I fell because I was dizzy. It hurt to walk, but I just kept going. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I shouldn’t stay where I was. The picture was in my hand, but I couldn’t remember who the people in it were. That’s when I knew something was really wrong.” A few tears trail down my face. “I couldn’t remember anything. My name, if I had a family, who I was. Everything was gone. I was so scared. That’s when a truck passed me. There were a couple of girls who got out and they said they wanted to help me. Then I was brought here. I have no idea who I was before that night.”

  I start to rock back and forth, the rhythmic motion helping me from completely losing my shit. My mind has been obsessed with the what-ifs. I think the most frustrating part is that I don’t know if I belong somewhere. I see these girls with their men, I’ve even seen a few kids running around, and I have no idea if somewhere I belong to something like that.

  “One of our guys is trying to figure out who you are, but it isn’t easy. There aren’t any missing person reports. We even checked the surrounding states. You don’t have any noticeable marks except for the tattoo on your wrist. It’s like you appeared out of thin air. We need something from you because right now we’ve hit a wall.” The VP stands up next to the President. “You gotta give us somethin’.”

  I think about the red bike from my dreams. I want to tell them, but my mouth won’t open. Something about it feels important, but I can’t bring myself to mention it.

  “I had a dream. I was lying on the floor and I could feel myself being hit. They kicked me and hit me until I felt myself slip away.” My tongue wets my dry lips. Hopefully, that will help some, even though I know it gives them nothing they can use.

  The two men look at each other, and I swear it’s like they’re talking to each other.

  “How are things goin’ with the prospect?” The VP looks back at me.

  “Things are fine, I guess.” How am I supposed to answer? Thank God Max told me about the rule that he wasn’t supposed to be with me.

  “Our girls seem to like you, and Tracie said you did good at the club. We stand by sayin’ we’ll take care of you till we figure out who you are. You better not be holding out on us, though.” Twisted takes a couple steps toward me. “I don’t take well to liars.”

  I nod, not trusting my mouth to work anymore.

  “All right, go on out to the common room. Prospect should be waiting for you. I know Tracie said she wanted to talk to you about when you could work before you leave.” He nods to the door, and I jump up out of my seat.

  I practically run out of the room and I instantly feel better. I see Tracie at the bar and sit down next to her. “Hi.”

  She turns to me and smiles. “Hey, lost girl. So you did pretty good at the club the other night. You want me to put you on the schedule?”

  My mind drifts off to being with Max at the club and I can feel a heat creeping up my ears. “Um, sure, that sounds good.” My stomach growls and Tracie laughs.

  “Before you turn into a cannibal why don’t you grab some food
from the kitchen? It’s right around that corner.” She points to the doorway next to us.

  “Thanks.” I stand up and walk into the kitchen.

  Being here in this place. It feels wrong. Everything in me is screaming to run.

  I know nothing about places like this, but I have this underlying fear.

  The crazy thing is I have no idea why.

  Chapter Nine

  Max

  I walk up to the bar just as Izzy is walking away.

  “Just missed her, Lady.” Tracie winks at me.

  I can’t believe I got saddled with that shit name.

  Hopefully, once I patch in I can try to lobby for a different name. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I see that it’s my mom. I am so not in the mood for that shit right now.

  “Prospect!” I stand up and turn to see Pres standing in the doorway. I walk toward him just to have him turn the other way and disappear. I find him and the VP in one of the smaller rooms.

  “We can’t find anything on her.” Whip starts, “I just got off the phone with our contact at the sheriff’s office. He’s gonna come here and take her prints, then run them through the system.”

  I nod at them, not thinking that I should be responding yet.

  “She say anything to you? Do anything suspicious?” Pres questions me.

  “No, nothing at all. She’s had a couple bad dreams but that’s it.” I shrug.

  “Well, he’ll be here in a few minutes. Go on and grab her and we’ll have him run the test. I’m done with this game and I need to know what the fuck is going on.” Without waiting for a response he walks out of the room.

  “You need to watch yourself,” Whip says and my head snaps up. “I saw you lookin’ at her when we came out to get ya. I was also at the club last night. You aren’t patched in yet. Make sure you follow the rules you’re given.” It’s all he says before leaving the room.

  Shit.

  I turn around before I dig myself into shit that I can’t get out of. I head over to where Izzy is. She is talking to the prospect who is running the bar.

  Officer Murray walks in the door, and I see Izzy watching him.

  She turns to me. “Who’s that?”

  “He works at the sheriff’s office but also has an agreement to help us out when we need stuff.”

  “Is someone hurt or something?” Her eyebrows pull together in concern.

  The way she cares about people she doesn’t even know reinforces all the reasons I want her. She’s good. She isn’t like the other girls that hang around here. Some of the club girls are cool but most are just looking for a way to snake their way into your bed and get you to give them a patch. Izzy is genuine.

  “No one’s hurt. Twisted just needed some help from him.” I see Torch nod to me, letting me know I can walk Izzy back. I take her hand, and she looks around the room. I know she’s thinking that I’ve forgotten the rule. I haven’t, but I know this would be an acceptable time to touch her. “Come with me.”

  I lead her to the back room.

  “Hi there, dear.” Murray smiles at her. “If you’ll just sit down this will be quick.”

  Her eyes meet mine. She’s nervous. It looks almost like she’s asking me for permission. Twisted looks over at me, his eyes pinning me to the floor.

  Just keep cool.

  He has no idea that you were mauling her earlier.

  Or that you want to fuck the shit out of her.

  “Um, okay.” Her voice is low. I want to walk over and comfort her, but his eyes still study me. I can’t let him know that I disobeyed his orders.

  Murray pulls out an ink pad and rolls her fingers over it before, transferring her print onto a card.

  Once he is done Murray turns to Twisted. “I’ll have the results for you once I go in for my shift tomorrow.” He shakes his hand before walking out of the room.

  “Guess tomorrow we will figure out if you’re a friend or an enemy,” Pres says as he looks down at her.

  Izzy turns to me, her eyes full of fear.

  Chapter Ten

  Izzy

  A fingerprint test?

  Who do they think I am?

  Could I be some crazy criminal?

  There is so much I want to ask, but when I look at Twisted the stern look on his face stops me. He scares me. There are times when he seems like a nice guy, but most times I feel like he’s a monster. Since the night I came he has looked at me like he hates me, even more now. Tonight he looks at me like I am everything evil in the world, like I drown puppies in my spare time. I have no idea why.

  I look back at Max and try to read him, but he won’t make eye contact with me. I feel like I am missing something huge.

  “Go wait in the common room. Prospect will be out there soon,” Twisted barks out.

  I don’t even look at him. I just get up and do what I was told.

  When I walk into the room it is still buzzing with people. Most of the girls look at me like they hate me and I have no idea why.

  “Hey.” Lucy walks up to me. “Don’t mind them. They’re just jealous.” She rolls her eyes.

  “Jealous? Of me?”

  “Yep. They’re club girls. They see you hanging around with us and the guys and it pisses them off. They want a brother to claim them and give them their patch. We don’t hang around with them because most of them I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. The fact that you walked in and you’re getting our and the officers’ attention is biting their asses.” Lucy smiles at them and gives an exaggerated fake wave.

  “Club girls? What do they do here?”

  Lucy laughs although I’m not sure what I said that was so funny. “They do the brothers. It’s what they’re here for.”

  I look over amazed that these women are okay sleeping with all of these guys. The two girls who were staring at us grit their teeth and then turn to a couple guys sitting on the couch.

  “You can’t let them get to you because they’ll take advantage of you. When I first came here they hated me. Venus, the busty blonde falling out of her top, used to make fun of me when I was in the same room with her. Never let them see you sweat.”

  “Her name is Venus?” I cock my head to the side, thinking that it doesn’t fit her at all.

  “Yea, but most of these girls go by names that the brothers assigned to them. Venus got her name because they compared her to that plant the Venus fly trap. They will both eat anything you put in front of their mouth.”

  I laugh loudly and a couple people look at me.

  “Does she know that’s what her name stands for?” I scrunch my face.

  “Yea, in fact, they take pride in their dirty names. I don’t know if you’re ready for the rest.” She winks at me.

  “Well, now you have to tell me.” I sit down at the table, and she joins me.

  “Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you. The brunette with the red tips, that’s Squirts.”

  I unintentionally make a gag noise, and Lucy laughs.

  “Told you. Want me to keep going?”

  I hesitantly nod.

  “Okay, you asked for it. The one with the purple streaks in all leather, that’s Straps. Let’s just say she likes to have more than one partner at a time and her name might come from her favorite toy.”

  I look at her, completely not understanding what she’s hinting at.

  “Oh right, no memory. That probably means you aren’t familiar with the filthy. She likes to use strap-ons. It’s like a belt with a big dick attached to it.”

  My mouth drops open and I can feel the color drain from my face. “The guys let her do that?”

  She laughs. “Hell no. It’s usually her, a brother, and another girl.”

  Tracie walks up to the table. “What’s wrong with Tramp? Looks like she’s gonna pass out.” She sits down next to me, her hand on my back.

  “She asked about the girls’ names. I told her she wasn’t ready.”

  “Oh, yea?” Tracie smiles at me. “Who did you get through?”
r />   “Venus, Squirts, and Straps. I don’t think she can take much more, though.” Lucy shakes her head, half laughing still.

  “Shit, you didn’t even get to Dumps?”

  “Dumps?” I say, almost not wanting to ask.

  “You’re already halfway there. I might as well finish off the list for you.” Tracie looks over at the girls. “Cheeks is spread out on the pool table, and the name is in reference to her ass, not her face. Lips is grinding on Brick in the corner, also not the lips on her face. And last, my favorite girl, Dumps. Out of all of them, she is the most tolerable, but you might want to sanitize yourself after contact with her.”

  I look at her, waiting for more, knowing whatever it is will probably scar me for life.

  “Let’s just say she has no issue with where the guys finish.”

  I take in what she’s saying, but the dots still aren’t connecting. Lucy and Tracie are looking at me as if I have three heads.

  Lucy’s hand lays over mine. “Sorry to blow your mind with this one. She’s a human dumpster.”

  “Ew. Fuck.” My face twists in disgust.

  They both erupt in laughter.

  Thank God at that moment Max walks up to the table. He looks at me, his brows furrowed. “You okay? You look sick.”

  I stand up, looking at the two girls still hunched over in hysterics. “I’m fine. I just need a shower.”

  They laugh louder as I walk away. “What was all that about?” Max whispers in my ear.

  I just shake my head, not willing to relive that conversation again. If there were a way to unhear something, I desperately needed to figure it out.

  We get into the truck and take the short drive to the motel. The whole time I can feel Max’s eyes on me.

  Has he been with those girls?

  My mind can’t stop picturing him with them. It makes my stomach turn because I don’t want to think about him with anyone else. I climb out of the truck before he gets to my side. I wasn’t kidding about feeling like I needed a shower. While I was waiting in the common room I couldn’t help but watch all of them. There were girls having sex with whatever guy pulled them to the side. Lucy told me that they can be with a few different guys a night. I don’t understand how you could do that. The idea of sleeping with multiple guys just seems so wrong to me.