He nods his head as he digests my story. “What do ya think we can do for you?”
There’s the golden question. “I’m not sure. I didn’t go there with the intention of you finding me. I was so tired. I couldn’t run anymore.” Tears stream down my face as I gnaw on my lip. “I have nowhere to go. If they find me they will turn me over to my uncle and I know without a doubt that he will kill me.”
“So you’re looking for protection?” His eyebrow arches at me. I look down ashamed that I am so incapable of helping myself. When I nod, I hear him sigh. “The club would need to vote on this. Since this could cause us a shitload of trouble, we’ll be voting on your fate. If we keep you, our protection comes with a price. You’ll be working off your room and board. You will be ours, we protect what is ours, but you fuck up and you’re out.”
What does he mean ‘work it off’? What would they expect of me? A part of me worries that I might have walked into a situation as bad as the one I escaped from. I know nothing about these people. I look at the man sitting in front of me and as hard as his face is I can see softness in his eyes as he looks me over. I don’t know why but something is telling me that I will be safe here. “I understand.” A small glimmer of hope sparks inside of me.
“I’m bringing the brothers in, you’re gonna tell ‘em your story, then get out. The Prospect will keep an eye on you.” I look up at him. He wants me to tell his men what happened to me. What will happen if they don’t want to help me? I’m scared, nervous, but I have to survive and this is my only option. “Rule number one, girl, no lies, no secrets.” He stands up and shouts for all brothers to come into the room. He motions for me to stand next to him.
“This here is Lucy. She’s in a bit of a situation. She’s gonna share and we’re gonna vote. It’s all or nothing.” They all nod at him and then their eyes land on me. As I look at the men sitting around the table their faces are all unreadable, stoic. I notice the one man from earlier but he shows no favoritism toward me. I cradle my throbbing wrist and train my eyes on the floor. I can’t look at them as I once again recount my weakness. I have no way to take care of myself, I need these men.
Throughout the telling of my story, I hear murmuring and sounds of disgust. “Ok girl, go wait with the Prospect while we vote”
I nod, but before turning to leave, I lift my eyes to look at them. Stone cold faces stare back at me and there is no way I can read what is on their minds. I walk out of the room and see four guys standing around talking. The one who helped me earlier hands me a bottle of water.
“Thought you might need this. You can have a seat if you want.”
I thank him before moving over to sit on one of the leather couches. Uncertainty runs through me as I digest where I am and what could become of my life. While this place holds unknown, leaving here holds nothing for me. My family will find me in no time, and once they do, I’m as good as dead.
Please let them vote yes.
It feels like an eternity as I sit and wait to hear my fate. When the door opens, my eyes shoot up. The men start to exit the room, their faces still unreadable. I’m called back in by their president and on shaky legs I move into the room once more.
“The club voted yes. You can stay.” My face breaks out in a wide smile. “It ain’t gonna be easy on you though. Until you are eighteen, you are not allowed to leave this clubhouse without permission from me, is that understood? I can’t chance someone seein’ ya and your disappearance gettin’ pinned on us.” I nod. “You will have a room here and will be expected to clean and cook for the brothers. I ain’t gonna lie to you. Things get wild here, you’ll have to get used to that. I told the brothers no one has to feel as if they need to act any different with you here. I will assign you a prospect and he will be watching you. Those are all the important points. Do you agree to everything?”
“Yes.” I can’t help myself and I thrust myself toward him wrapping my arms around his neck. Quickly pulling back and wincing from the sharp pain in my wrist. “Thank you so much. Mr. uh-President.”
He peels my arms off him and I catch a glimpse of a smile before it disappears. “Name’s Shooter. One tip for ya, most of us ain’t huggers.” He winks at me before calling for someone, “Tracie!”
A woman walks in, she must be in her twenties. Her hair is long and blonde and she is gorgeous. She has on a t-shirt with the symbol on everyone else’s jackets. “What’s up, Pres? I just got here and Twisted told me to come see you.”
“This here is Lucy. She is under club protection. I need you to get a room set up for her.” He turns away from her and starts to sort through papers on the table behind him. “Oh and Tracie? Call Doc, she needs to be seen.”
She nods and I follow her out of the door.
We walk down a long hallway and stop at the very last room. Tracie turns to me popping her gum. “This is the farthest room away from the crazy. Lookin’ at ya I figure you might need an escape. Welcome home, Mary.”
She turns to leave. “Thanks, my name is actually Lucy.” I smile at her.
“I know that, there’s some clothes in that closet. Bathroom is across the hall. Get cleaned up and dressed. I’ll call the Doc, Mary.” She winks at me and smiles before walking away and closing the door.
Why is she calling me Mary? The only Mary I know is—oh.
Virgin Mary, nice.
“Jordan!” Shooter shouts from inside the club office. I walk in half expecting him to chew me out. “Club voted to honor the girl’s request for protection.” He fills me in on Lucy’s story that she told the brothers. “She’s your responsibility now.”
I am about to react but decide to bite my tongue. He must see my resistance.
“You heard me, boy. You are to watch over her. Teach her what she needs to know about the club. Make sure she stays in line. Keep her safe. When she makes it to eighteen, you get your cut.” Eighteen? That’s a long fucking time to be stuck as a prospect. “You’re lucky I don’t boot you the fuck out of here. You left our warehouse unlocked last night, you irresponsible shit!” He’s got me there. If it weren’t for me, she would have never got in. “Also keep your fucking hands to yourself. I told the brothers same as I’m telling you. That girl ain’t to have one hand laid on her until she’s legal. You touch her, I’ll chop your shit right the fuck off. You got me?”
I nod, completely pissed off that I got stuck with babysitting duty.
“I had Tracie find her a room but she needs to go take care of the girls. Doc is coming to see her.” He hands me a paper. “This is the shit she needs to know and abide by. Your job is to make sure she stays in line.”
I take the paper from him not wanting to verbally respond ‘cause I have a shitty ass attitude right now. I pause for a beat to make sure he is done then walk out of the room.
Twisted slaps me on the back. “You’re welcome, brother.”
“You suggested me for this bullshit assignment didn’t you?” I glare at him wishing I could tell him what a dick he is.
“What can I say? You seemed to have a soft spot for her.” He winks before laughing and joining the other brothers.
Fucker.
I see Tracie standing by the bar talking to a few of the brothers. “Tracie?” She turns toward me. “Where is her room?”
“I made sure I put Mary as far away from the action as I could.” I cock my head to the side in confusion. “Yes, fucker, I know her name is Lucy. I just think Mary is more fitting. I mean come on the girl couldn’t fit the virginal role any better.”
“You know you’re a bitch, right?” Tracie is like the den mother. She keeps all the club whores in line, making sure they are regularly tested. She also runs the strip club the MC owns.
“You know you’ve wanted this pussy since you walked through those doors.” She puckers her lips at me before flipping me the finger and leaving.
I hear the door open again and Doc walks in. “You’re all lucky I didn’t have a full schedule today.”
“Yeah, c
ome on, old man.” Doc has been helping the MC for years, anytime one of us gets hurt he is called. We can never go to the hospital because they always ask too many damn questions. I lead him down the hallway and knock on the very last door.
“Come in.” I turn the doorknob to see Lucy sitting there. She is dressed in tight black stretch pants and a low cut top that shows a slice of skin above her stomach. I freeze when I see her. She’s showered and looks much different from the girl I found dirty and bloody in the warehouse. As I look her over, she covers herself with an arm, I snap out of it.
She is fourteen, you sick fuck.
Doc walks past me and begins to talk to and assess her. I’m still frozen in the doorway. Something about this girl is calling to me. Which is just fucking great because I just got assigned to be her shadow and if I touch her Shooter will cut off my damn hand. Not only that, but the fact that I am even thinking of touching her when she is fourteen, proves that I’m losing my damn mind. I can’t explain it but I feel the overwhelming need to protect her. My eyes travel down her arm and when I see the different bruises marring her skin my blood boils. I want to find whoever hurt her and make them pay.
“Her wrist is most likely broken.” Doc’s voice makes me snap out of it. “I can’t be sure without an x-ray, which I obviously can’t take her to the hospital to do. I’m fairly certain that’s what it is though so I’m going to cast it just to be safe. I don’t have the supplies with me so I’ll be back later. I gave her some medicine for the pain.” He walks past me leaving us alone.
“So, you want the grand tour?” I run my hand through my hair.
She smiles at me, her round eyes innocently looking up at me. “Sure.”
She walks toward the door but I put my arm against the frame stopping her path. “I’m Jordan, Shooter assigned me to watch you. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” Her hand wraps around my waist and my entire body stiffens. Her head rests on my chest and I wrap my free arm around her. I know she is looking for reassurance, and comfort.
You touch her I’ll chop your shit right the fuck off.
Pres’s warning on top of the fact that she is basically a damn kid should mean I want nothing to do with her. If only that was the fucking case. It’s gonna be a damn long four years.
I walk her into the main part of the clubhouse. Most of the brothers left after the vote but there are still some lingering. I sit at the bar and one of the other prospects slides me a beer, and Lucy a bottle of water. “You know anything about MC’s?” She shakes her head. “Easy enough rules, kid. Don’t ask questions, don’t talk about what you see or hear, most the chicks here are club whores, they keep the boys happy and we keep them taken care of.”
I look over to see our regulars are already here. She follows my eyesight. “That right there is Lips.”
She looks at me in confusion. “Her lips don’t look that big to me.”
“Not the lips you can see, Sweets.” Her face instantly reddens. Damn this girl is innocent. “Next to her is Cheeks.”
She waits a beat before shaking her head. “I’m gonna guess it’s not ‘cause of the cheeks on her face?”
“Bingo. The one sitting on Twisted, that’s Boa.” I nod over to the recliner.
“Like the feather thing girls wear?” Her blue eyes are staring at me.
“Nah, like the snake that’ll squeeze you tight ‘til you burst.” Her hand shoots to her mouth in shock and I can’t help but laugh. “Last is Venus over there.” When Lucy looks over, Venus is in front of a brother on her knees, wiping her mouth after completing the task she does best.
I can tell by the look on her face that she’s trying to figure it out. “I give up.”
“Ever heard of a Venus fly trap? Damn things will eat anything ya put in front of ‘em.” She chokes on the sip of water she was drinking.
“Wow, so they just sleep with them?” She looks around the room at the different interactions.
“No, they fuck and suck. Ain’t no brother ever take a whore to his bed to sleep. Once you become a club whore that’s all you’ll be. Some of the brothers have wives or girls, those are the old lady’s. They don’t hang out at the club though.”
“So you guys only marry older women?” Her hand runs through her dark hair.
I laugh again at her innocence. “You really are sheltered. An old lady isn’t necessarily old. It’s just a title. It gets you respect around here. I think I’ll save the explanation of the brother’s names for a different time.” She nods at me but I can tell that she is trying to digest everything. “Pres says one of your jobs is gonna be cookin’. I wouldn’t do nothing ‘til Doc gets back though. You know you can’t leave the building right?” She nods. “I’ll get you a phone so you can call me if you need anything and I’m out. Any questions?”
“No, your life here is just so much different than what I’m used to.” She looks down at the floor.
“I heard about your story, but I don’t know much about the beliefs. Care to enlighten me?” I arch an eyebrow at her.
“They say it’s about religion.” She shrugs her shoulders. “We are taught that God wants us to multiply not divide our houses. They think it makes them like the men in the bible who had multiple wives. Everyone sees it as a thing that holds our community together. The only way you can do that as a woman is to be completely submissive. The older women train the young wives in the traditions so that they can please their husbands. Whenever a man feels as if God is calling him to expand his family, he can go to the prophet and request another wife. The leader of our community is called the Prophet. He claims God tells him who the women should marry. Many times it’s a member of your family, immediate or extended. They follow biblical standings which don’t follow the country laws so they don’t feel as if age is an issue like people in modern society.” She glances up at me, and her cheeks are red. She’s embarrassed. Her voice gets lower. “They don’t care if you’re happy, happiness doesn’t matter. You are only to worry if you will be making it into heaven, which you can only do with your submission.” Her eyes don’t meet mine when she finishes. I couldn’t imagine growing up like that.
They are basically brainwashing people. “I’m not judging you. Just tryin’ to understand. Guessin’ from the way you talk you didn’t believe any of that?”
Her head shakes. “I don’t feel like God would want me to be unhappy. I don’t think he would want my uncle and the other men to treat their wives the way they do.” She yawns and when I look at her, she looks like she could pass out at any minute.
The girl has been through the ringer and her life isn’t gonna be easy from this point on. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? I’ll send Doc down when he gets back.” She stands up and starts to walk away before coming back to stand in front of me.
“Jordan?” I raise my eyebrows at her in question. “Thanks for today.”
The way she is looking at me makes me want to wrap her in my arms. I want to take down anyone who has ever hurt her. “Anytime.” She walks out of the room and I take a long swig of my beer.
“You’re fucked, brother.” I look up to see Brick standing in front of me.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the way you were looking at her. Have fun for the next four years, hopefully your dick doesn’t fall off.” He laughs as he walks away.
Dickhead.
He isn’t lying though.
I’m attracted to her.
The way she looks at me as if I’m her hero.
It’s wrong.
She is so damn pure.
I’ll ruin her.
Corrupt her completely.
A knock jolts me from my sleep. As the door opens and Doc walks in, I sit up and move to the foot of the bed.
“Okay, dear. Let’s get you all set up.” He begins by setting my arm and then starts to make the cast. “Can I ask what happened?” I look up to him. “How old are you?”
Am I supposed to tell
him anything? Should I admit to being underage? I have no idea what to say.
“How’s everything coming?” I look up to see Jordan in the doorway. Thank God.
“Just fine although I’m not sure her voice works.” Doc winks at me. “I asked what happened to her.”
“You’ll be seeing her around, she’s under club protection.” Jordan responds for me and I release a sigh of relief. I need to ask him about stuff like this.
We all sit there in silence as Doc finishes with my arm. I can’t help but keep sneaking glances in Jordan’s direction. He has short brown hair and is built like the men I saw on the magazine covers I peeked at in the grocery store when we would go into town. The ones my mother would tell me the sinners and the sluts buy. If he wasn’t there this morning, I don’t know that the other guy would have helped me. Jordan has been so great to me. When he hugged me earlier I don’t think I have ever felt safe like that. Even with just his arm around me it felt like a shield of armor.
As Doc casts my arm, I bite my lip and hold in my screams.
“You know it’s okay to let it out.” I look up at Jordan who is now standing next to me. “Broken bones hurt like a bitch.”
I shake my head continuing to swallow my cries of pain.
My father’s fist strikes me. I scream out as I try to shield myself with my arms. His hand grips my face. “Scream again and I’ll hit you harder. Sinners deserve to be punished.” He strikes my face again and I swallow the agony trying to force its way out.
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