by Gemma Weir
“What’s going on?” I ask, settling myself back into my chair.
“Nothing yet. I had Puck take a look at Jefferies finances and like Dove said he’s cash poor. He’s been living it up, trying to play with the big boys and get himself elected as Governor, but he ran out of money and that’s how he ended up getting mixed up with Carduccio. The house is mortgaged up to the hilt, and he’s got no assets to sell or barter with,” Prez says.
“So, is Angel still on the table? I thought you said Carduccio had lost interest,” I ask.
“According to our sources, Carduccio has no interest in Dove. But that doesn’t mean that her father hasn’t been throwing around her photo to anyone who might have an interest in the girl trade.”
My breathing starts to labor. Anger builds in my chest and my fingers clench into fists. “That fucking bastard has a death wish. What the hell is wrong with him? She’s his daughter, his kin.”
“Calm down,” Anders orders. “No-one’s interested in a teenager whose face has been splashed over every TV network in the state. He’s fucked, and he knows it, but that makes him stupid and reckless.”
“This idiot is starting to piss me off. Dove’s a sweet girl, although I don’t know how the fuck she’s ended up that way with that asshat for a father. We need to get rid of him,” Blade says, his voice low and menacing.
I swing my head to Blade and smile. Since Angel turned up he’s been surprisingly quiet and I was starting to think he was pissed that her arrival had dragged us into her dad’s mess.
Anders glares at Blade. “We’re not murderers. That might have been the way they handled things back in the desert, but we don’t run things like that here.”
“I can make an exception. I’ll even throw my Nevada cut on that day if that’ll put your mind at ease, Prez,” Blade says condescendingly.
“You came here to get away from all that,” Prez snaps.
Blade sits up straighter in his seat. “Yeah, well that was until an eighteen-year-old girl ended up on our doorstep covered in bruises and running from her daddy. Some people don’t deserve to walk God’s good earth and men who try to sell their daughters are at the top of that list.”
Prez sighs, drops his head and rubs at the skin between his eyebrows. “I know.”
My head flits between the prez and vice prez like I’m watching a tennis match. They’re talking about killing Angel’s dad. I’ll admit I’ve wished him dead a few times in the last four days, but to actually do it, to take a life, that’s some serious shit. The Sinners aren’t walking the straight and narrow in terms of the law but growing weed and a bit of distribution is a hell of a long way from cold-blooded murder.
At this moment I feel like a fish out of water. I already knew that other Sinners chapters were into heavier shit than we are. Hell, Prez only told me a few days ago about the whorehouses his old chapter ran, but Blade, my V.P., talking about coming out of retirement to kill Jefferies is still a fucking shocker.
I don’t want to look like a fucking pansy, so I keep my mouth shut and watch as Anders and Blade work through their silent standoff.
“It’ll be a last resort,” Anders finally says.
Blade nods. “Fair enough.”
My breathing gets shallow and my heart races. I wait for the punchline, for them to tell me they’re joking. but they don’t. Instead an intensity descends over the room as they lock eyes and nod.
“What the fuck is going on?” I rasp out. “Did you just agree to kill him?”
Blade turns hard eyes on me. “She’s your woman, Daisy. Do you want to spend the next however many years thinking that he’s trying to pimp her out to cover his debts? Do you want to always wonder if he’s planning to try to take her back? He sees her as property, and when she ran she cost him a hundred grand. Men like that don’t move on from that shit. Is it fair to her to be cooped up in the compound because she’ll never be one hundred percent safe? She’s eighteen and she’s been a virtual prisoner for the last five years. She’s already coming out of her shell; she’s smiling and speaking and yeah she still flinches, but that haunted, dead look is starting to fade from her eyes. Are you prepared to lock her up until he dies of old age just to keep her safe?”
Staring at him, I let his words sink in. I don’t want her to live like that, she deserves to be happy. “No,” I say firmly.
Blade looks proudly at me. “Exactly. I did this kind of shit for years. I walked away from that life because my soul had gotten so black I couldn’t do it anymore. But Dove is a bright light and I’ll happily do this for her, for you.”
I hold out my hand and Blade takes it. We shake and in that moment, I know I’ll owe him a debt for the rest of my life. “Thank you,” I say, my voice thick.
“You got yourself a good woman, brother,” Blade offers quietly.
“This is a last resort,” Prez says loudly, and we all nod, silently wondering what else could happen to resolve this peacefully.
After the revelations and agreements are done with, I make my way back to Angel and lose myself in her soft curves and her tight pussy. We don’t talk about her father. I think we’ve somehow come to a silent agreement that here in our bubble he doesn’t exist, so we don’t acknowledge him.
That night we venture into the bar and sit with my brothers, drinking and chatting like we’re a normal couple and this is a normal night. We crawl into bed well after midnight and I pull her into my arms, holding her body close against mine. “I love you, baby,” I whisper into her neck.
Three days pass and my father doesn’t come to the clubhouse again. Daisy and I exist in our little bubble, pretending the threat has gone and I’m safe now. Only neither of us truly believes that I am.
I’m starting to feel like I exchanged one prison for another. It’s been eight days since I fled from my parents’ home and ended up here at the Doomsday Sinners clubhouse. In eight days I’ve only been outside once, on the day my father came to try to retrieve me.
I’m not unhappy, quite the contrary. I love Daisy and I love being with him, but I want to be free to come and go as I please. I watch with envy as Grits and Daisy leave the compound while I stay here, hiding, protected in a gilded cage.
I hear the shower switch off and sit up in bed holding the sheet around my chest to cover my naked breasts. Daisy emerges from the bathroom with a towel hanging low around his hips, his skin flushed and glistening with water. Gulping, my eyes roam his body and even though we only had sex a few hours ago I start to feel the stirrings of want again.
Daisy’s eyes land on me and instantly darken with lust. He pauses at the end of the bed and heatedly looks me over. Only his eyes are taking me in, but I feel caressed and my skin tingles. His knee hits the bed and I know unless I say something I’ll be beneath him and coming in a couple of minutes. “I want to go out today,” I blurt.
He stills, then pushes back upright until he’s standing by the side of the mattress. “What?”
“I want to go out. It’s been eight days, Daisy. I can’t stay hidden in here forever.”
Shaking his head, he starts to speak, but I interrupt him. “I just want to go out with Grits for lunch, just for an hour, and then we’ll come straight back.”
“We don’t know if your dad paid Carduccio, baby. It’s not safe.”
“I don’t want to live like a prisoner,” I say, my tone pleading.
He flinches, and I instantly wish I could take the words back. Rolling onto my knees I take the sheet with me, wrapping it around me until I’m knelt on the bed in front of him. “I love you,” I say. “You make me the happiest I’ve ever been, but I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to start living this new, wonderful life you’ve given me and the first step to doing that is leaving the compound.”
I watch Daisy consider my words. “I just want you to be safe. We don’t know what your asshole of a dad is planning; he isn’t gonna just accept you being here and move on. I’d lose my mind if anything happened to you, baby.”
/> Shuffling forward to the edge of the bed I reach out and grab his wrist, pulling him closer to me. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. Someone can drop us off and pick us up if that will set your mind at ease. I just need to get out and start living again.”
Daisy’s hands reach out to cup my face. “I’ll take you. We can have a nice lunch and then you can see Grits later.”
Smiling, I roll my eyes at him. “I haven’t had a friend in a really long time, Daisy. I’ve never been invited out on a lunch date with a girlfriend ever. I would love for you to take me on a date, but not today, okay? You need to work, and I want to act like a normal person, at least for an hour or so.”
His arms wrap around me and he pulls me into his chest, his lips dipping to reach mine. Kissing me thoroughly he pulls back. “Okay. You take a cell phone with you. One of the guys drops you off at the restaurant and picks you up an hour later. Neither you nor Grits leaves the building until someone comes to get you. No risks. You get your girl time and I get to keep my damn mind.”
Dropping the sheet, I jump into his arms. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby,” he whispers.
Three hours later, Grits and I are seated at a beautiful table on the patio of Portofino’s, a gorgeous Italian restaurant that has a pretty outdoor seating area filled with scented flowers. Slow, the creepy guy who manhandled me when I first arrived at the Sinners and now the only remaining prospect since Daisy was made a full member, drove us into town with strict instructions from both Daisy and Anders to collect us in exactly one hour’s time.
Both men had looked nervous when Grits and I had waved them goodbye. Anders had pulled me in for a gentle hug and kissed me on the top of my head, before he passed me over to Daisy who handed me a brand new iPhone and kissed me senseless. A little dazed, Daisy had whispered in my ear. “Don’t go out, baby. I want to lick that pretty of pussy of yours until you’re shaking and screaming my name. I want you so bad, I want to feed my cock to your greedy cunt. I know you love it when I fill you up and fuck you nice and slow. Then I’ll put you on your stomach and fuck you hard from behind until you’ve come so many times you won’t ever want to leave our bed.”
His words had made me tremble, my nipples had hardened, and I’d been on the verge of letting him take my hand and guide me back to bed. Grits’ hand on my arm had shook me from my lust filled haze. “You ready, baby girl?”
Now sitting with her on the patio, drinking a cocktail Grits had ordered for me, I’m glad I hadn’t let Daisy persuade me to stay at the compound. The warm sun is beating down from overhead and even though the patio is quiet, a couple of patrons are seated on the opposite corner quietly eating.
“Cheers,” Grits says, holding up her glass for me to clink mine against.
“Cheers,” I say and take a quick sip of the drink. “Ummm, what is this?” I ask.
“It’s a Strawberry Daiquiri. Do you like it? I can order you something else…”
“It’s delicious,” I say taking another long sip.
Grits laughs. “So how did you convince that man of yours to let you out?”
“It was time. I can’t keep hiding in his room forever.”
Nodding, she sets down her drink and picks up the menu. “The food here is amazing, but I can never choose what to have. They do a taster platter with little plates of a selection of dishes, do you feel like sharing that?”
I glance at the huge menu and quickly agree. “Yes, that sounds great. My mama makes great pasta, but I’ve never even heard of most of the stuff on this menu.”
The waiter appears, and we give him our order and ask for another round of drinks. “Grits, you do know I’m not actually old enough to drink alcohol, right?”
She laughs. “I know, honey, but we’re celebrating.”
“Oh, okay. What exactly are we celebrating?”
“Our first girls lunch, your first time out of the compound, your daddy slinking away and leaving you alone. Lots of things, Dove, and the best way to celebrate is with a cocktail,” she says raising her glass to me again.
I think about her words for a minute and she’s right, I do have a lot to celebrate. “This is a pretty special occasion isn’t it?”
We clink glasses again just as the waiter arrives with our drinks and the food quickly follows. Several small dishes are placed in front of us, all filled with different pastas. A bowl full of olives and a plate of buttery garlic bread fills our table and I slowly start to spoon out a little of each onto my plate to try.
“So, you and Daisy…” Grits says a few minutes later.
“Huh?” I grunt, my mouth full of delicious creamy pasta.
“You all good? Have you talked about the future, how you’re gonna work once you don’t have to be on lockdown anymore?”
I finish chewing and place my fork onto my plate. “I love him, and he told me he loves me too. We’ve been so focused on all this stuff with my father that we haven’t really gotten any further than that. I know I want to be with him. He makes me happy, happier than I ever thought I’d be and he makes me hope that I can move on with my life. I don’t want to be scared anymore and Daisy makes me feel brave.”
Leaning forward she places her hand over mine and squeezes. “You are brave, honey, and I’m real happy for you and Daisy. You’re good for each other.”
She squeezes my hand again, then releases me to pick up her fork and carry on eating. We chat about this and that while we finish our lunch and then Grits insists that we need dessert when the waiter appears to clear our plates.
We laugh and joke, and I smile so much I know my cheeks will be hurting later on. Grits is so warm and caring and I’m thoroughly enjoying this time together. I order a rich crème brûlée for dessert and I’m scraping the last dregs from the dish when I hear her.
“Angelique.”
I spin around to find my mama standing on the far side of the patio. “Mama?” I say, unsure that it’s actually her. I rake my eyes over her and take in her disheveled appearance: her hair is pulled back into a messy bun, she’s not wearing any makeup and the skin around her eyes is dark and haggard. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days. Her plain cotton skirt and blouse are wrinkled and seem to be hanging off her petite frame. She looks awful.
Standing, I start to move toward her, but Grits’ hand on my wrist stops me. “Dove, baby, I don’t think you should go over there.”
“It’s my mama,” I say my voice cracking.
“I know it is, honey, but you need to be smart about this. Your dad could be here too.”
I shake my head. “No, my mama helped me get away from him, she knew what he’d planned, and she helped me escape. She wouldn’t hurt me, she’s my mama.”
Grits nods briefly and releases me. She doesn’t look happy when I start to move away from our table and towards where Mama is standing. “Mama, are you okay?” I say once I’m in front of her.
Close up she looks even worse. The dark circles around her eyes are actually the fading bruises of two black eyes. “Oh my God,” I cry. “Oh, Mama, did he do that to you?”
She shakes her head. “No, sweetie. You know how clumsy I am. I took a fall down the stairs; it looks much worse than it is.”
I flinch at the lie that falls from her lips. If I didn’t know what an evil twisted person my father was, I might believe her story.
“Are you okay?” She asks.
“Yes, Mama, I’m fine. I’m more than okay, I’m real good and happy.”
Her eyes scan my face and I smile, trying to reassure her that I’m safe and content. Her fingers twist together in the fabric of her skirt and I’m struck by how nervous she looks. “What’s going on? Why are you here? How did you know where I was?”
She tries to smile but her lips barely move. “Could we, could we go somewhere and talk?”
Glancing over my shoulder, Grits is watching us intently, a phone held to her ear. “Why don’t we sit at a table and I’ll order us some drinks,” I say pointi
ng to a table a few feet from where we’re standing.
“No,” Mama snaps. “Not here. Can we go somewhere more private?”
Shaking my head, I fidget with the soft leather of the property cut Daisy insisted I wear. “I can’t, I’m sorry. Did my father tell you that I have a boyfriend now? His name’s Daisy, and he’s waiting on me. Why don’t you come with me, you could meet him? You’d like him, Mama, he’s real good to me. I’m happy. He’s from a real big family, that’s what the Sinners are, Mama, they’re a family and they all look out for each other. You could come with me and they’d look after you too. They protect me. They protected me from my father when he came for me. Did you know he came? He brought Senator Carduccio with him and father planned to sell me to him. I know he’s your husband and my father, but he’s not a good person. Come with me, we can go right now, and we can both be safe.”
Tears fill her eyes and she reaches out and grabs my wrist. “This was all a mistake, sweetie. I miss you. Your daddy’s real sorry, and he wants you to come home; we both just really want you to come home where you belong.”
Pulling at her, I try to free myself from her grip, but she holds me firmly. “Mama, let me go.” I say.
The restaurant’s patio overlooks a dirt road that all of the store owners use to access the backs of their properties. A low ornate metal fence and an archway covered in trailing vines and flowers divides the patio from the road. I hear the vehicle before I see it. Mama’s grip on my arm tightens as she walks backwards, pulling me along with her.
My father’s fancy SUV screeches to a halt right outside the exit to the patio and he throws open the door and runs in my direction. “Grits,” I cry, thrashing my arm around frantically, trying to release myself from my mama’s grip.
“Get her over here now,” my father shouts and Mama drags me toward him.
“Mama, what are you doing? Let go of me. I’m not going with him,” I shout.
