“Tanya. That’s not the reason we’re over. You know what those reasons are.”
I couldn’t listen to his voice one second longer and hung up on him. I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, Sam was looking at me, and I realized she’d heard all of it.
Sam tilted her head. Ratchet came up and stood behind her, placing his big hands on her shoulders. “Don’t let him bring you down, Tanya,” Sam said. “He doesn’t deserve someone like you.”
I shoved the phone back in my pocket, looking down at my car keys. “I wish I could believe that.”
“Sam is right. He’s a low-life. He’s not worth one more minute of your time.” Ratchet grumbled. He didn’t say much, but when he did, it meant something, and I appreciated it.
I wiped the last tear I was going to shed for Matthew “Okay. I need a beer. And I need to get one for Honey, my boss. She’s over there getting verbally seduced by Magnet.” I pointed in their direction. Honey was now batting her eyes at Magnet, standing close.
* * *
Three beers later, and I was a little buzzed and exhausted. Magnet promised he would give Honey a ride home on his bike and she was ecstatic. I left the clubhouse alone and drove the back roads home since I drank three beers and worried I would blow past the legal limit if I got pulled over. My little crappy Ford Escort was acting like a grumpy bitch lately. I needed to get her checked out soon; she’d stalled on me a few times lately. I figured it had to be a bad fuel pump.
And she decided to do it to me again only five miles from my apartment. I kept pressing on the gas, but she sputtered. I pulled off the two-lane road. It was dark out, and I was surrounded by trees that blocked out the moonlight. I turned the ignition off.
“Dammit! Why now?” I yelled and leaned my head back, shutting my eyes.
It was hot and steamy out. The air was so thick with humidity that your clothes stuck to you. I felt it the moment I shut the damn car off. I popped the hood under the dashboard, and when I climbed out of the vehicle, that sticky air hit me. I broke out in a sweat instantly. I pulled the hood up, not knowing what the hell I was going to be checking for anyway. I knew nothing about cars.
I heard the pipes and saw the one headlight of a motorcycle just fifty yards away, coming toward me on the dark road. I froze. I was alone. My phone was on the passenger seat in my car. The bike pulled up behind my car, the headlight aimed at me. I couldn’t make out who the rider was, and I didn’t recognize the sound of the pipes. They didn’t sound like any of the Chaos brothers.
This was bad. I snapped out of it and moved toward my car door to get my phone. But the biker was there before me. It was a Hell Hound. He was tall with long reddish hair tied back underneath a black lid with stickers all over it. He had a long beard, messy and wind-blown.
“Let’s talk, Chaos cunt!” He was quick, grabbing a fistful of my hair. He slammed me against my car door. The air was knocked out of me as I braced my arms in front of me to cushion the impact.
It hurt, and I was frightened for my life. I was in shock and couldn’t move. He wrapped his hands around my waist and flipped me around. This time, he slammed my back against the door. He reached up with one hand and wrenched both my wrists above me. His other hand was on the outside of my blouse and grabbed my breast.
“Where is that gimp motherfucker hiding out, cunt?” It was Rusty. The Hell Hound who hurt Sam. He was looking for Skully. His breath smelled like cigarettes and liquor.
“Get the fuck off me, you piece of shit!” I screamed at him. I spit in his face. His head snapped back when it landed between his eyes, on the bridge of his nose.
“I like it when you bitches fight back…” The hand on my breast dove down in the front of my jeans. I kicked and screamed.
“No one is gonna hear you out here. What’s so special about your pussy? That gimp Skully seems to like it.”
White lightning pain shot through me as he thrust two fingers roughly up inside me. I screamed. I kicked him. Then he was wrenched out of me and out of my jeans. I heard a man’s roar, and I felt the humid air against me again.
It was Skully. He had Rusty by the shoulders as he pulled him off me. He swung him around and threw him to the asphalt in the middle of the road. Rusty landed hard on his back. Skully was on top of him, punching him over and over. Blood spewed from Rusty’s nose, his mouth.
Skully stopped. He leaned back, breathing hard and fast. He looked back down at Rusty’s bloody face.
“You ever fuckin’ touch her again, you’re dead.” He inhaled mucus from his throat and spit it in Rusty’s face.
He leaped off him, but Rusty didn’t move. I reached out to him, collided into his chest, and held him tight as I started sobbing.
His arms wrapped around me. He smelled of sweat and blood. He was so warm, breathing fast.
“I’m here, Tanya. I got you.” He held me, letting me scream and sob into his chest.
* * *
I grabbed my purse and helmet from the backseat of the car and locked it up. I always had a lid with me in the car, just in case.
I held on to Skully tight as he drove me back on his bike to the clubhouse at way above the speed limit. I was okay with that. I was still in shock and wanted to get far away from Rusty, whom we left there in the road, bleeding.
We pulled into the gravel lot of the clubhouse. Most of Chaos was still there, music blaring from inside and filtering outside. Skully stopped and planted his feet down on the gravel, yards away from the other parked bikes. The only thing the club members could see was his headlight. He turned his head toward me.
“You okay to go to them by yourself? Don’t think they’d like it too much if they see me with you.”
“Rusty was looking for you. All of them are after you. You’re not safe alone. Pull into the lot. I got this,” I said low against his ear.
“If you say so, Sweet Cheeks.” I wasn’t so mad this time to hear him call me that.
We walked together from the lot into the clubhouse, all members staring with daggers in their eyes at Skully. We weren’t surprised, of course. Ratchet and Magnet headed right for him as we entered the clubhouse. Honey followed behind Magnet. I put both my hands up to them. “I want him here with me. He just saved me from being raped by that nasty disgusting Hell Hound, Rusty.”
Sam had been standing behind Ratchet, but when she’d heard what I’d said, she quickly maneuvered around him to stand in front of me and grasp both my arms. “Are you okay, Tanya? Did he hurt you?”
“Oh my god, Tanya! Are you okay?” Honey was right there next to Sam, wide-eyed and shocked.
“I’m okay. He hurt me a little. But it could have been worse if Skully wasn’t there…” I turned my head to see him standing right behind me. Close. The cut on his lip was scabbed over, and he tilted his chin up, his lips in a straight line, eyes on Ratchet before falling on Magnet.
Ratchet stared back at him. “Where’s your car, Tanya?”
“It stalled on me again… On Leeland Road.”
“Again?” Magnet’s eyes left Skully to focus on me.
“Yeah. I think it’s something with my fuel pump. Filter? Something like that.”
Ratchet rubbed his face with both hands and grumbled. “I’ll get it towed in the morning for you. And get it fixed. If you can’t afford it, the brothers will help. Don’t go driving the car again if you think it’s running funny.”
“Okay…Thanks, Ratchet. I learned my lesson. Now, I need to be alone for a moment—and Skully is staying. He’s not leaving. The Hounds are after him. He’s not safe alone.” I walked into one of the bedrooms down the hall.
Skully followed and shut the door behind him. “I’m sorry, Tanya. If I’d only been there a minute sooner, he wouldn’t have gotten to you.”
“Not your fault. Glad you were there.” My voice was shaky.
My body started to shake, and for the second time that night, I cried as Skully wrapped his arms around me.
“Shh…I got you…You’re okay now. You’re safe
.” He whispered down into my hair as I sobbed. I gripped the front of his hoodie jacket with both hands. He was tall. The top of my head touched his chin, sprouting a week-old dark growth of a beard.
I pressed my cheek against his chest. His heart pounded hard and fast. I hiccupped and sobbed. His deep voice rumbled in his chest against my ear, and it soothed me. I went silent, just to listen to that heartbeat.
“Your hair smells good. You use expensive shampoo, don’t you?” he mumbled in my hair. I started to giggle.
“Well, duh. I am a salon specialist, Skully.” I looked up at him until our eyes met. We both stood there frozen.
He could have kissed me at that very moment. I wanted to know what his sensual mouth would feel like against my lips. But he lifted his eyes from me and looked up at the ceiling. He stepped back but kept his hands braced on my arms.
“You going to be okay? I better scoot on out. Your Chaos brothers don’t like me one bit.”
“Well, you’re safer here with Chaos than alone. But I can’t stop you from leaving.”
“Stay close to them, Sweet Cheeks.” The side of his sensual mouth rose in a smirk, winking at me. And then he left.
The Chaos Kings let me be as I left their clubhouse. My blood boiled as I squeezed the throttle, and my pipes thundered wide open back to my shitty motel. Ever since that morning I left Tanya’s apartment, I kept a distance but kept watch over her. I was hiding out like a fucking coward. I knew Rusty and the Hounds would find some way to get to me. I’m sure they had tons of intel from that chick, Mandi. She knew most of the Chaos brothers, the women, and ole ladies. It was my fault Tanya got hurt. I came up on her car and Rusty’s bike. Then I heard her scream. When I saw Rusty touching her, I was enraged. It happened so fast, and I don’t remember the details; I just remember pulling him off her and pounding his face in.
I couldn’t get Tanya out of my mind. She was such a spitfire. A protective she-lion over Sam that night I got her out of the Steel Cage. I had my share of chicks. Some in high school and of course, I banged some of the Hell Hound club whores. Always made sure I kept my decent-sized cock wrapped every single time too. But there was something about Tanya. She had those high cheekbones and cute lips. I jacked off every night, thinking only of her.
I should have left town. I was done with being a fucking Hell Hound. I was done even before I helped Sam get away that night. I did my fair share of shit for the club—money, drugs, anything they needed. But now I had a reason to get out. And the moment Tanya cried in my arms, I knew. I also realized that night that Chaos was different from the Hounds. They weren’t a diamond club. But they didn’t beat and humiliate their women like the Hounds. I witnessed it time and time again and never did anything about it. What could I do? I knew what it felt like to be humiliated, beaten down. So, I wanted to change my tune. And I knew what I needed to do first before I could move on.
It was noon the next day and hot as fuck out. No clouds, only humidity. I walked into the darkness of the Steel Cage. It was cool inside. I bought a burner phone and called Knuck, the President of the Hell Hounds MC. Told him I’d come in, but that I wanted a meet—just the two of us. The heavy beat of the music was already pounding through the club as I walked in. Some of the girls were into their first round of dances either on the stage or the three cages set in each corner.
Some of the Hounds were there, sitting with Knuck at the same booth those Russians sat at the day they made a deal with Sid to buy Sam. I walked, showing as much confidence as I could, trying to improvise my slight limp so that it was in rhythm to my stride. I was scared shitless though. Knuck told the other Hounds to leave the fuckin’ table as I stepped into the light from the overhead ceiling lamps.
Knuck leaned back in the booth, exhaling a drag off a cigar. “You got balls, Skully.”
“I’m out, Knuck. Done. If that means you put a bullet in my head, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“And you’re a dumb shit for not leaving town, brother. You know I can’t let you hang around my town after that fucked up stunt you pulled getting that club whore out and fucking up Sid’s plans.”
“I was going to leave. But I just can’t.”
Knuck sucked in and blew another drag of his cigar. He tapped the ashes into the red glass ashtray. He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I gotta admit. You helped me out. I’d never make that kind of deal my dipshit son made with those Russians.” And he handed his son over to them.
“So, what do we do now?” I wasn’t backing down. I wasn’t leaving.
“You’ve been my best moneymaker, Skully. You don’t gotta leave. Sit down. Let’s talk.”
“Rusty got to her last night. I could have killed him. So, before I do sit, I need your word that Tanya is safe from this minute on.”
The next morning, Ratchet towed my car to a local mom and pop auto shop not too far from my apartment. I was right. It was the fuel pump, and it had to be replaced. My car would be in the shop for a few days. Honey gave me the day off after what had happened the night before. I was shaken up. Rusty violated me. I woke up with bruises on my wrists and one on my back from when he slammed me up against my car. I felt disgusting. I took a hot shower to wash off the filth I felt covered my body.
The next day, Honey picked me up for a full day of work at the salon. She had gone home with Magnet after the clubhouse party. I looked at her as she drove. She had an unmistakable glow to her face and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. “How you feeling, sweetie? I hope you got some rest yesterday.”
“I’m feeling better. Thanks, Honey. So, was Magnet a gentleman the other night? You tell me if not. He’s like a brother to me, and I will kick his ass if he wasn’t.”
She turned to me, and her face went a shade deeper than before. “Yes. He was a total gentleman. And totally naughty too.”
I just rolled my eyes at her. “Oh, god. Don’t want to know. I’ve heard way too many stories of his naughty side.” I loved Magnet like a brother, but his sexual conquests were just not something I wanted to hear about.
Honey sighed. “Okay, sweetie. Enough about me. I was so afraid for you the other night. Are you going to report the assault to the police?”
I never thought of reporting it to the police. I was still shaken up inside. I kept thinking about Skully. How he held me and comforted me before he left. How badly I wanted him to kiss me. How I shouldn’t think about him at all.
* * *
After a long day, Honey dropped me off at my apartment. My car wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow. I went to my fridge and poured myself a glass of Moscato. Three knocks on my apartment door. I looked through the peephole. Matthew. Handsome as always, wearing a gray suit, his tie loose.
“What, Matthew?” I didn’t want to see him.
“Just stopping by to get the rest of those boxes of mine, Tanya.”
I opened the door. His eyes met mine. Matthew was tall and physically fit, due to his strong dedication to eating right and working out, and he had light brown hair and brown colored eyes to match.
He came in and walked past me, looking around at my small one-bedroom apartment. “Looks nice, Tanya.”
I walked past him into my bedroom to get the box I packed for him when I moved.
I carried it back and handed it to him. “Here you go. Your photos and other things.”
He took it from me. “Take care of yourself, Tanya.”
My blood pressure rose, and my voice came out a little too loud. “What the fuck, Matthew? Don’t say things you don’t mean!”
He leaned down and dropped the box. “Just trying to keep this civil. You’ve been hanging around your biker friends way too long to know how to be.”
“You really mean the biker trash I hang out with, Matthew. Sorry my tribe doesn’t meet the standards of your civilized, materialistic, shallow world!”
“Bye, Tanya. Good luck.” He picked up the box and left.
* * *
I was so angry. I needed to get out
and blow off some steam. It was Saturday night—perfect for a girl’s night and the best excuse to get totally trashed.
I finished my glass of wine and called Honey. She was game. I called some of my girls in our Chaos Coven to join me at the CrowBar. Honey picked me up, and once I got there, I planted myself at a table that sat six and Greaser served us both a round of cocktails and Buttery Nipple Shots.
Within half an hour, my coven began to show up: Madge, Rusty’s ol’ lady, and my brave girlfriend, Sam. She had some anxiety coming to the CrowBar, but Ratchet dropped her off on his bike and walked in with her. He gave Madge and me a hug, then gave Sam a steamy kiss and swatted her ass before he left. Sam’s co-worker friend, Kat, showed up too. She was nice, albeit a bit shy. My other coven wenches, Toni and Andrea, showed up. They were salon specialists who I worked with in the past, and they loved hanging out with my Chaos brothers.
As the night went on, more people showed up at the bar for Saturday night craziness and Sunday morning hangovers. My table kept Greaser and his waitress busy with the cocktails and shooters coming.
The girls clapped and whooped and hollered as I downed another shooter, slamming the shot glass back on the table and wiping my lips with my forearm. “Fuck being civilized! It’s all about being primitive!” Greaser came back to our table, placing another round of drinks on our table. I wasn’t even finished with the one I was currently attacking.
“Ladies, this round is from the dude at the bar.” I turned in the direction of Greaser’s nod. It was Skully. He looked right at me with a smirk and nodded. My stomach did a flip. He was alone at the bar, under a Tiffany lamp hanging from above him. He wore a black Harley Davidson T-shirt that hugged his biceps and his chest. The whole coven turned to look at him, too.
“That was nice of him, Tanya. Maybe you should go over and thank him?” Sam was the first to say something, as all the other girls’ mouths hung half-open.
BOX SET - CHAOS KINGS: Chaos Kings Motorcycle Club BOOKS 1-4 Page 14
