I fold my arms around my chest. “I didn’t expect you to roll out the banners and throw a party, but being civil would have been nice, Dad. It hasn’t been easy for her, you know. Wynter has nightmares about those men, and what they might do to her, she even jumps now and again at certain noises. She doesn’t deserve to be afraid of her own shadow.”
Red nods his head in thought. “You’re right; she doesn’t. Wynter has no idea at all what those men want from her?” I shake my head. “And she can’t think of any reason they’d be looking for her?”
“No,” I shake my head.
“So she doesn’t actually know they mean to harm her?”
I stare at my father for a second. I hadn’t thought about that. Wynter never sticks around long enough to find out what those men want. It’s not entirely crazy to think they’re not out to hurt her. I can’t for the life of me think what else they could want, but I can’t rule anything out.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out. I’m gonna have to draw them out.”
“What we do is speak with Jett. If he thinks it’s a good idea, then we’ll find a way to sort this, I promise.” He clasps my shoulder in his big hand. “Do you honestly love this girl, Havoc?”
“I wouldn’t have married her if I didn’t. Did I realize how much until she walked away from me? No. When I found out where she was, I knew I had to bring her home. Wynter is everything to me, Dad, and I have to keep her safe.”
“You’re sure that she loves you?”
I sigh. “I don’t doubt that Wynter loves me, Dad. No one will ever understand what she and I have. Maybe you do because I believe you have it with Mom.” I watch a smirk creep across his face. Red knows exactly what I’m saying.
My dad looks at me for a moment, just looking at me. “Just be careful with your heart, Havoc. I’d hate to see her break it again.”
I nod at my dad and let him hug me. He’s not completely happy about this, but he doesn’t have to be. I’m happy, and I’m going to make Wynter so happy she’ll never want to leave me again.
After making my way back inside, I stand watching my girl as she talks to BlackJack and Taylor. All three of them are laughing. Seeing Wynter smiling the way she is, right now, warms my heart. I helped put that smile on her face, and it makes me damn proud.
Wynter notices me watching her, and she winks seductively in my direction. I’m going to ravage that girl before the night is out. She’s in trouble, and she doesn’t even know it.
Chapter Seven
Wynter
“What made you want to be a biker?” I ask Phoenix while placing my wine glass on the table in front of me.
Phoenix asked me to join her for a drink while Havoc talks with Jett and the others. For someone of her age, Phoenix is very headstrong - not in a naïve way, but a tremendously grown-up way. I’ve never met an eighteen-year-old, so sure about themselves in my life. I sure as hell know I wasn’t like that at eighteen.
Phoenix sure as shit doesn’t let these men treat her like a damsel in distress. She’s not a patched-in member yet, but Phoenix told me that it wouldn’t be much longer before Jett tells her that it’s time.
“I was born into this life, Wynter. It’s all I know. My Dad is my hero,” She smiles. “Not to mention Wrench. I love Hawk and Stryker, don’t get me wrong, but Wrench and I have a different bond. I knew by the age of two that I wanted to be just like Daddy and Wrench.” Phoenix laughs, and I laugh with her.
It must be nice to have a father you love so much he’d be your hero. I can only imagine how amazing Jack is for Phoenix to think of him that way.
I still wonder how Jack turned out so differently from John. I didn’t even know two siblings could be so different.
My sister and I weren’t different at all. Okay, we had the odd differences, but we believed the same things, had the same emotions. I guess we were just like our mother, and I thank God, neither of us turned out like John Anderson.
“When I was three, I begged my mother for a leather jacket. She surprised me with one, but I was gutted.”
“Why?” I smile.
“Because in my innocent mind, I thought Mom would have realized that I wanted a jacket with the clubs emblem stitched on the back. Not only that, but my road name and rank stitched on the front. Dad said, with a laugh, ‘You don’t get patches stitched on a jacket, Dana. Patches are for cuts.’ Naturally, I wasn’t impressed with what he said. I slammed my hands onto my hips and narrowed my eyes. I told him, ‘I am going to be the first female member of Snakes Henchmen. I won’t wear a stupid cut because that’s for sweaty men. I’m going to wear a leather jacket because I am one of a kind! Got it?’ My Dad laughed so loudly and promised that he’d have the emblem stitched into the back of the jacket for me.”
“I envy you,” I whisper, wistfully. I hadn’t meant to, but it just came out.
“Why?” Phoenix asks around a swig of her bottled beer. I chuckle and shake my head. The girl is eighteen and shouldn’t be drinking alcohol, but she doesn’t seem to care what anyone says.
“Because you have a wonderful, loving father who would do anything for you and your siblings.”
“And you got landed with the rotten apple?” I nod while trying not to laugh. Phoenix is so outspoken, and she has no filter at all, but I don’t mind one bit. “I get that life can’t have been easy with that man. What he did to your Mom when she was a child doesn’t bear thinking about. But didn’t something good come out of it all?”
I narrow my eyes and shake my head.
Phoenix rolls her eyes and laughs. “You, you cockhead!” She reaches over and slaps my arm. I have to bite my tongue so as not to yell how that slap hurt. God, she’s got strong hands. “But seriously, you’re a good person, Wynter.”
“If she likes you, you must be.”
I look up at the man now standing beside our table. He’s a prospect. I remember Havoc pointing them all four of them out when we arrived. I can’t recall his name, though I know my husband isn’t too keen on the man.
“Fuck off, Tex.” Phoenix snarls at him.
Tex raises an eyebrow and smirks. “What’s got your panties in a twist?”
“None of your damn business!” Phoenix snaps, venomously.
Tex looks at me and smirks again. “Ignore her; she’s always this moody. Tell me, what’s a woman like you,” He shamelessly looks me up and down. “Doing with a man like Havoc?”
“Are you for real?” I narrow my eyes and shake my head.
Tex can’t be more than nineteen, but I can see just what a cocky bastard he is. That might turn most women on, but it won’t work on me. Not when it comes to this kid, at least.
I’m about to say something but startle when Phoenix jumps out of her seat and punches Tex so hard in the mouth; he falls to the floor. I’m shocked, and so is Tex from the way he’s looking at Phoenix.
Casually, she crouches down in front of him, resting her arms on her thighs, and entwining her fingers. The power this eighteen-year-old woman emits is something I’ve never known before.
Phoenix moves her head to the side, a smirk on her face as she stares Tex down. The room is now full of men, all staring at Phoenix, not one of them attempting to stop her from what she’s doing.
My eyes lock with Havoc’s, his narrow, and I swallow hard. I want to go and tell him what the hell just happened. I want to ask who fetched them all out of their meeting. Maybe they’d finished and just walked in on this. However, I can’t seem to move, and my eyes have strayed back to my cousin.
“Now, tell me, why would you say such a thing to my cousin?”
“I didn’t say nothin’ bad. Jesus, you didn’t have to hit me!” Tex wipes the blood from his lip, and I’m here wondering how the hell Phoenix didn’t break her hand or his jaw. She hit him so hard his damn head span!
“The next time you so much as look at Wynter for more than three seconds, I’ll do more than hit you. Don’t push me, Tex. You should know better than that.”
Who the hell is this woman?
Don’t get me wrong, I think Phoenix is fantastic, but she’s crazy. I’ve never met anyone like her before, and I have to admit that she scares me a little.
“Apologize to my cousin.” Tex looks at me as Phoenix gets to her feet. He doesn’t say anything right away, and Phoenix snaps her boot into his crown jewels. Tex howls in pain, and Phoenix stares down at him. “Now, Tex,”
“I’m sorry!” He yells like a child. Phoenix grinds her boot into him once more before letting him go. Tex rolls on the floor for a moment. God, that must have hurt!
I look up at the laughter coming from people in the room. I’m stumped that they let this happen. Okay, it’s great that Phoenix is so strong, and that she’s not scared of anyone or anything. But surely these men don’t think what she just did was right? Yes, Tex was a little arrogant, but I wouldn’t have said he needed punching out then humiliating.
“One thing you should know about me, Wynter,” I look at Phoenix. “Is that I have no tolerance for male stupidity.” She leans over and kisses my cheek before walking away.
Havoc winks at me, then walks away, following the men back into the room he just existed. Great, now I’m all alone in a room full of people I barely know.
I feel a bit shaky. I’m not sure why, but maybe seeing Phoenix act the way she just did, shook me up a little.
I sink into my seat and stare at my hands. I’m not used to people like these bikers. I know I’ll get used to them and their ways, it’s just going to take a while.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
I look up at Taylor as she takes a seat in front of me, and I smile while nodding my head. “Fine, just a little shook up. Is she always like that?” I nod my head towards Phoenix. She’s at the bar with Ava, laughing about something.
“Phoenix? Yeah, she’s always like that. Phoenix might come off harsh, but she’s a good girl. She means well, Wynter. Phoenix was looking out for you. You mean a lot to my daughter already, and that is something special where Phoenix is concerned.”
I smile at that. I love my cousin, and it makes me proud that she loves me in return. “She won’t get in trouble, will she?”
Taylor rolls her eyes with a smile on her face. “No, darlin’, Phoenix won’t be in trouble. Even if she were, she’d talk her way right out of it again.”
Taylor and I talk for a while. We talk about how I met Havoc and how she met and fell in love with Jack. It makes my heart burst with love for my uncle. Knowing how he fought to love this beautiful woman makes me love him so much more.
When I’m talking with my aunt, I forget the bad things in life. Taylor has such a sunny outlook on life, and it would be criminal to wonder about the bad.
“Aunt Taylor?” I smile at the gorgeous young woman addressing Taylor. “I’m so sorry to interrupt,” She smiles at me. “I’m Ember.”
She holds her hand out to me, and I take it, shaking it graciously. “Wynter,” I tell her.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Is there something you wanted, sweetheart?” Taylor asks.
“Yes. I just wondered if you’d had time to order the banners for Eagle’s birthday. I know it’s not for a couple months yet, but I want to get ahead of things.”
Taylor chuckles. “Ember is Eagle’s big sister,” She tells me, and I smile because that’s why the girl looks so familiar. “He’s turning twenty-one soon, and Ember is throwing him a surprise party.”
“He’ll hit the roof if he finds out, but you’re only twenty-one once.” Ember laughs. She doesn’t have to say anything else for me to know that her brother means everything to her.
“I’ve put the order in, sweetheart. They should be with us by the end of next week.”
“Thank you!” Ember hugs Taylor tightly. “So,” She says as she takes a seat beside Taylor. “What do you do for a living?”
That’s the first time anyone has asked me that question. “Well, at the moment nothing. I used to work as a waitress wherever I could get a job. Though I always had a dream about being a therapist of some sort. Helping battered women or the homeless to find shelter, work, etc.”
I know what it’s like to be hungry, not to have a roof over my head, and to wish someone out there would help. Cassie and I lived on the streets for a while. We’d been kicked out of our care home for bad behavior. Those in charge didn’t give a damn what happened to us. They didn’t care just as long as we were out of their hair.
While we were on the streets, it was terrifying. Cassie wasn’t as strong as me, and I took care of her as best I could, though she cried that first night, all night long as I held her to keep her warm.
Cassie and I were fifteen, and we were scared that we’d be attacked. I told Cassie that I wouldn’t let that happen, I’d protect us, and she believed me to a degree. However, I knew should we be attacked, I wouldn’t be able to stop it, but I’d take everything to protect Cassie.
I realized how badly people look down on those less fortunate early on. Begging for food would have people sneering at us. The odd person would drop a dollar here and there, but no one ever conversed with us. We were shit on their shoes, and no one wanted to help us.
There were days where I didn’t eat because I couldn’t find enough food for two, or I didn’t earn enough money begging that day to buy what we needed. But I always made sure Cassie ate something, even if it was a half-eaten sandwich from the trash. The thought of that makes me shiver. It makes me shiver even more to think of what I had to do to keep Cassie healthy.
It had been eight days on the street, and Cassie began to get ill from the cold at night. I was terrified because I couldn’t help her feel better. I couldn’t take her to the hospital because I knew they’d call the authorities, and we’d be dumped back in a care home. God only knew how much trouble we would have been in for running away. Those in charge of the home we’d left wouldn’t have stuck up for us. They would have lied and said we’d run away. Why would they take the blame for kicking us out, and who’d believe us if we told the truth? That’s right, no one. In the eyes of those in charge, Cassie and I were unruly kids with big attitudes.
I did what I could for Cassie while she was ill. I’d managed to steal a blanket and a cushion from an old woman. She’d been setting up a picnic in her garden and had gone inside to get something. I saw my chance, and I took it, I had to for Cassie.
Once I’d lay cardboard boxes down on the ground, in the corner of the alley we’d been staying, I covered Cassie and went in search of medicine. I thought I could beg and get enough money to buy something that would help. When that didn’t work, I thought about stealing from the pharmacy. I made a plan inside my head and made myself believe I could pull it off. The only trouble was, I couldn’t pull it off because there were just too many CCTV cameras around. I knew I’d be caught and taken away. What would happen to Cassie then?
Instead, I met a man outside the pharmacy who offered me a way to help Cassie get everything she needed to make her better. I didn’t want to do it, but he made a good point. Could I risk one more night on the street with Cassie as sick as she was?
I explained that I was fifteen, and did he want to be known as a pervert? He told me that I looked older than fifteen, and he didn’t care that I wasn’t. As long as I did what he asked of me, he’d give me everything I needed.
I was so scared, yet I couldn’t turn down his offer, so I went with him, hoping he didn’t kill me, and that he’d help the way he promised. He took me to a motel, told me to shower the dirt from my body, and put on the sexy underwear he gave me. I’d never been with a man before that moment, but I felt I had no other choice.
Rob, so he told me, was his name, was kind to me, and he didn’t hurt me. By that, I mean, he didn’t beat me, and he wasn’t rough with my body. Rob was gentle, and he said that we’d made love because I was special. He treated me like a princess, though I felt sad after we’d had sex. I gave my virginity to a stranger to help
my friend. I did what I had to because Cassie was all I had, and she meant everything to me.
Rob told me to shower with him, he wouldn’t touch me again, but he wanted to look at me. I was uncomfortable, but I didn’t feel like I could say no after what we’d done.
Rob dried my body, gently before helping me dress in fresh underwear and a night slip. He lifted me into his strong arms and lay me down on the bed. I have to admit that Rob was handsome for a man of his age. I figured he was in his early forties, but it was evident that he took good care of himself. He had muscle, and his powerful chest was something I couldn’t help staring at in that moment.
Rob kissed my head, told me that he’d be right there to protect me while I slept, and not to worry about anything. I’d nodded my head and soon fell asleep. I did because I believed what he said.
There’s no excuse for a man sleeping with a child, even if they are kind to the girl. However, in my childish mind, Rob was a good man, and he just wanted to help me.
If I heard a young girl say such a thing today, I’d know better than to say it was okay. It’s never okay, but I was young and frightened, and Rob was the only person willing to help me when I needed help.
When I woke up that night, Cassie was sleeping beside me. I narrowed my eyes because she was freshly showered and wearing clean clothes. She was curled up in a ball, and she had a contented smile on her face. I was afraid, at first, that Rob had made her do the things he had me do.
My heart hammered as I sat up in bed. I prayed that it wasn’t true and that my best friend hadn’t had sex with the man who promised he wouldn’t touch her.
I gasped to see Rob sitting at the small dining table. He smiled and told me that a promise was a promise, and he hadn’t laid a finger on Cassie - not in the way I thought he might have. While I slept, he’d gone and picked Cassie up. He brought her here and had her shower and change. After that, he took her to a doctor friend of his who said Cassie had flu, but she’d be fine in a few days. Rob had even bought medication to help Cassie get better, faster. He’d fed her and then lay her down to sleep off the effect of her illness.
Havoc: Snakes Henchmen MC Page 7
