by Nicola Jane
“What the fuck’s going on?” yells Riggs, marching towards us.
“She hit me!” yells Maisy. “She isn’t even part of this club!”
“Maisy, get inside,” he orders. Once she’s gone, he turns to me. “What the hell was that about?”
“She’s messing around with Lake,” I snap.
“Jesus. I have to keep everyone safe in my club, including the club girls. You have a problem with one of them, you talk to me or Lake. I don’t want any drama,” he says firmly, and I nod. “Stay outta Maisy’s way till Lake gets back.” I roll my eyes and stomp off. I was right when I told Lake this was his family and they only tolerate me because of him.
I spend the day at the hospital. The nurse tried to take Leo off his feeding tube yesterday, but he wasn’t a big fan of the bottle. We try him again, and although he takes some milk from the rubber teat, it’s not enough for him to be off the tube. We even give breastfeeding a go, but again, he’s not a fan.
When I get back to the club, I sit in the bar on Lake’s laptop and look for jobs. It’s too soon with Leo being in hospital, but there’s no harm in looking. When Mum said I relied on my dad just like her, I hated that. I can’t rely on Lake like that.
I spot Lake’s bike pull up outside and I move to the back of the bar, waiting to see whether Maisy really is meeting him. I sit in a booth, hidden from his view.
He steps inside the bar and looks around just as Maisy enters. She smiles and practically bounds over to him like a little puppy. She reaches up and kisses him on the cheek.
I wait until they’re seated and deep in conversation before I move from the booth, strolling past them without a glance. “Sara,” says Lake, but I ignore him. It’s clear Maisy wasn’t lying when she said he was meeting her. What else is she telling the truth about?
Seb is playing outside my bedroom with a small red ball. I sit on the landing floor, and he gently rolls the ball to me. “Where’s Malia?” I ask.
“Playing with a doll,” he says angrily.
“You don’t wanna play with dolls?”
He scowls at me. “No!”
“You like to play ball?”
“Yes. She doesn’t like ball.”
“I’m sure she’ll play with you later,” I say.
“I like being near her,” he mutters, his scowl deepening. “She’s in there.” He nods towards a closed bedroom door, and I smile. Maybe dominance and obsessive behaviour are bred into these bikers from an early age.
“How old are you, Seb?” I ask.
“Seven,” he says. “Almost eight.”
“What was all that about?” comes Lake’s voice. I roll my eyes, and Seb catches me and smirks. “I shouted your name, and you ignored me.”
“I must not have heard,” I lie, pushing up from the floor and going into the bedroom.
“You’re mad about Maisy?” he says as he follows me.
“I’m mad you managed to tell her what time you’d be back and not me. I’m mad you arranged to meet her.”
“She’s driving me mad, following me around. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t interested.”
“So, you arranged a date to do that?”
He laughs. “It wasn’t a date. Are you seriously angry about this?” he asks. “She said you slapped her.”
“She was pissing me off,” I snap, and he smirks.
“I can’t stop her from liking me,” he says.
“Stop giving her false hope.”
“And you warned the nurse off me too,” he accuses, arching his eyebrow. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to get jealous.”
“Leia said you’re on the market until you claim a woman,” I say, and he nods. “Maisy made it clear she’s gonna keep coming on to you until you get an ol’ lady.”
“Is that right?” he asks.
“She wants you to take her to the opening night of Six,” I continue.
“I know, she already asked me.”
“Over my dead body!” I yell, and he grins, grabbing my hand and tugging me against him.
“Baby, I’m not interested in her.”
“That’s not what she thinks,” I state.
“She knows now. I told her. She won’t be an issue anymore.”
“There’s always gonna be someone though—the nurse, Maisy, other club girls. You’re gonna be running Six, all those women and—”
He slams me against the wall, knocking the breath outta me. “It’s just you,” he growls. “Just you, Sara.” I lower my eyes, and he places a finger under my chin, raising it until he’s staring into my eyes again. “Baby, it’s just you. I don’t want anyone else. It’s taken us too long to get here for me to fuck it all up. I. Just. Want. You,” he says clearly. He kisses me gently at first, and when I kiss him back, he becomes more forceful, claiming my mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lake
I lower Sara carefully onto the bed, taking my time to taste her as I move my kisses down her body. Knowing how jealous she is over me makes me love her even more than I already did. She’ll never understand how obsessed I am with her. Kathleen was a complete bitch when I turned up to see Leo earlier, and when I got to the bottom of it, she didn’t appreciate me grinning at the news that Sara made it clear I was off the market. Then to find out she’d slapped Maisy . . . I grin to myself before running my tongue along her opening, causing her to jerk against my mouth.
My next plan is to get her back into Six. The opening night is coming up, and I want her by my side.
I worship her the way she deserves, taking my time and making love to her. It’s the first time I’ve ever taken my time to enjoy a woman. It’s no secret I like to fuck, and I fuck hard and fast. Right now, I don’t wanna rush this. I could stay buried inside her all night.
When morning arrives, I’m so tired, I barely open my eyes when she kisses me on the cheek and whispers, “Good morning.”
We eat breakfast downstairs with everyone else. I love this time of day at the club. Everyone is sober and lively. I like the banter that flies across the table and the way the kids run around. It reminds me of growing up in care, not all of it was bad. “After we see Leo, I want to take you somewhere,” I say to Sara, and she side-eyes me. “You’ll like it,” I add, and she smiles.
Maisy joins the already busy table, taking a seat opposite me. She smiles, but I feel Sara watching and I don’t wanna upset her today, not when I have plans for us. “I never thought I’d see the day,” says Maisy, shaking her head like she’s disappointed. “Conal Murphy, under the thumb, scared to look at the woman he’s been fucking for months.”
“Excuse me,” snaps Anna. “Kids are present.”
Maisy rolls her eyes, snatching up a bread roll. “I thought you’d be the last person to let a woman rule you,” she continues, glaring at me. I take a sip of my coffee, choosing to ignore her. “Nothing to say?”
“I said all I needed to yesterday,” I say firmly, glaring right back at her.
“Maisy, you’re a club girl. You’re here for the men when they need you. Let it go,” says Leia.
“He told all the other brothers to stay away from me,” snaps Maisy. “He said I was his!”
“Most of the guys do that shit,” snaps Raven. “You’re nothing special, Maisy.”
“Is that your problem?” asks Sara. “That he told the other brothers to stay away?” Sara turns to me. “So, tell them she’s back on the table.” Everyone’s attention is on me. “Unless that’s not what you want,” she adds when it’s clear I’m not gonna say anything.
I stand. “Jesus, all this drama first thing is giving me a headache,” I snap, grabbing my coffee.
“Told you,” says Maisy, smugly. She’s ruining my plan and it’s pissing me off.
“Lake, I swear, if you don’t put an end to this right now, I’m walking,” Sara snaps, causing me to freeze mid-step. “I mean it,” she warns.
“Christ, I’ve told Maisy we’re finished. She’s free to fuck anyone she wants,
brothers or whoever wants her,” I snap. “Riggs, I need a word,” I add, marching out the kitchen.
Riggs follows and we head into his office. “What the hell was all that about?” he asks.
“I wanted to tell you about this last night, but you weren’t around. Look, when I spoke to Maisy last night to break things off, she was telling me some shit about Sara, just trash talking to get one over, but some of the shit she said were things she couldn’t know . . . or shouldn’t.”
“Like?” he asks.
“Things about Sara’s life,” I explain, and Riggs frowns. “I know it makes no sense. She told me Sara’s mum was sleeping with Alaric.” Riggs raises his eyebrows in surprise. “I know, it’s crazy, Sara caught them together. But my point is, how does Maisy know that? She asked me if Leo was off his feeding tube. Did you know Leo was coming off that?” Riggs shakes his head. “Exactly. No one knows cos I haven’t told people about that.”
“Maybe the girls have been talking. You know what the women are like for gossiping.”
“No, Sara didn’t tell anyone about her mum apart from me, Tillie, and Jacob. I already asked Tills, and she said she’s told no one.”
“What are you trying to say, brother?” he asks, sighing.
“I’m worried she’s gonna do something stupid. If she knows all this stuff, she might have dirt on me, or the club. What if she uses it against us now I’ve scorned her?”
Riggs smirks. “You’re worried now you’ve made things official, she’ll scratch your eyes out?”
“I think she’s a quiet one who sits in the corner listening in on everything so she can use it later on when she needs to.”
Riggs thinks for a few minutes, then nods. “Right, I’ll keep an eye on her. We can keep a prospect on her if it makes you feel better.”
I sit in the hospital chair as Sara carefully lays Leo against my chest. We’re skin to skin and it feels fucking amazing. Sara snaps a picture on her phone. “You know how hot you look right now?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Hot enough for you to come and check out what we’ve done to the new club?” I ask.
“Why are you so keen to get me to Six?” she asks. “I let you do the same shit in the bedroom you do there anyway.”
“Cos, it means a lot to me, babe. I’ve always wanted to own a club and now I do, well, part own. I want you to see it, to be by my side.”
She smiles. “When you put it like that.”
The nurse comes in and I’m relieved when I see it isn’t Kathleen. She’s holding a bottle up. “Are you going to have a go at feeding?” she asks.
I glance at Sara, who nods at me with encouragement. I take the bottle, and Sara places a cloth over Leo’s tiny chest. I put the teat to his little mouth, and his tongue pokes out. He sucks it into his mouth and guzzles the milk, making me smile. “Looks like he’s finally got it,” says the nurse.
SARA
We get off the bike and stand, looking at the new sign. I smile. “Kings, I like it,” I say.
“Vinn wasn’t keen, but we won him over in the end,” Lake says.
He takes my hand and unlocks the door, leading me inside. It’s strange being here when it’s empty like this. Even in the day, it had some customers.
The decor is fresh and bright. The red velvet and dark wood are gone, replaced with white marble and crystal chandeliers. “Vinn had an interior designer come in,” explains Lake.
“It looks amazing,” I say. The main stage has been extended to come out into the seating area and there’s a pole in the centre.
“The rooms are gone,” he says, leading me towards the stairs. “Well, sort of. You can’t rent a room like before. We felt it was a rich person privilege,” he adds, smirking at me. “You can book for the night, but both or all people staying need to present ID. We’ll have a record of who enters the rooms, which should keep everyone safe.” I blush, knowing he put that in place because of my previous mistake. “All clients have a police check,” he continues, opening the door to the first bedroom we come across. Again, it’s bright and homely. “We have a guy on the inside who help set that up for us. We got around it by listing the club as an exclusive establishment.”
I run my hand along the sturdy bed frame. “All equipment can be hired and toys purchased.” Lake picks up a telephone and waves it at me. “You dial one on this phone and it goes straight to reception. They’ll transfer you to the hire room and all toys will be brought to you. Everything is new and things that aren’t new, like spreader bars, are deep cleaned by a specialist we’ve employed.”
“It all sounds amazing,” I say.
“Lots of thought went into it,” he says proudly. “We’ve even planned the evening entertainment down to the hour,” he adds. He pulls a menu style card from the bedside drawer and hands it to me. Listed are the stage shows.
“You really have thought of everything,” I say, smiling. “Usually in hotel drawers you’d find a bible,” I add with a smirk.
Lake takes me by the wrist and pulls me towards him. “God can’t help you once you’re in this place,” he whispers, kissing me gently. “Tell me you’ll be here with me on opening night.”
“It’s important to you, of course, I’ll be here,” I agree.
I get Lake to drop me back at the hospital. He’s got some things to sort for his opening night, and spending time with Leo is my favourite thing to do. It’s the nurses’ shift change when I arrive, so I take a seat beside his incubator and pull up a story on my Kindle. I don’t know if Leo is too young for stories, but the nurses seem to think my voice calms him, and there’s only so much news I can share with him in a day.
I don’t look up when the door opens, since I don’t usually get an update until the nurses have handed over fully and there’s always someone changing a tube or cleaning something. I continue with the story and it’s only when I feel the nurse hovering right next to me that I glance up. Maisy is smiling down at me, and it takes me a few seconds to register she’s dressed in a nurse’s uniform. She glances at the door nervously, and when it opens again, she smiles with relief. Alaric enters in a shirt and tie, a stethoscope hanging round his neck and a paper folder in his hand, looking the part of a consultant. I frown at the pair. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Now, now, sweetness, don’t make a scene,” warns Alaric. He moves the folder up, revealing a gun in his waistband. “I need you to come with me.”
“Like hell—” I begin, cut off by Maisy moving her hand to the base of my hair and grabbing a handful.
“Get the fuck up and move,” she hisses.
I watch in horror as Alaric moves towards Leo’s incubator. He unhooks his oxygen tube and grabs a nearby portable tank, reconnecting the tube and placing the tank on the trolly where the incubator sits. “What are you doing?” I whisper.
“He’s coming along for the ride,” says Alaric.
“You can’t take him. He needs to be here.”
“I have the best care waiting for us, he’ll be fine. Unless you do something stupid, of course,” he pauses and shrugs, “then he might not be so fine. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to walk out of this hospital with us, and if you do anything stupid, I’ll put a bullet in your son. Don’t think for one second, I won’t do it.”
I slowly rise to my feet. Alaric unlocks the brakes on the incubator and wheels Leo in front, leading the way towards the lifts. I glance at the nurses’ station at the far end of the corridor, but no one is looking as he presses the call button for the lift. “You’ll never get us out of here,” I say. “There’s security, and they’re not gonna let you walk out of here with a baby in an incubator,” I snap as we get in the lift.
“We have it all under control,” Alaric says with a smile. He holds up a plastic card and it unlocks the lift, letting him take us to the ground floor.
As we pass security, Alaric holds up the paper folder and the plastic card. “We’re waiting on a private ambulance to transfer,” he
says confidently. The security man nods and points to the double doors. Outside is a private ambulance, and my heart sinks. He’s going to take us, and I have no way of stopping this.
We drive for ten minutes before pulling off the road and continuing up a dirt track. Leo seems unfazed by the bumping and jerking as the ambulance bounces along the track. When we finally stop and the back doors open, Maisy grabs my hair and drags me from the back. “You know Riggs will kill you for this,” I hiss, stumbling out and wincing as my knees hit the ground. We’re surrounded by woodland. I don’t know anywhere this close to London’s hospital that has woodland. There’s a small shack that Maisy practically drags me towards as the driver of the ambulance helps Alaric carry Leo’s incubator inside.
“Now what?” I snap, brushing my knees off as I glance around the place. It’s small, with a living area leading into an open plan kitchen. There’s two doors off the room, one leading to a bathroom and the other to a bedroom.
“Now we call your daddy and let him know we have you,” says Alaric with a grin.
“My dad?” I ask. “You took me as ransom?” I laugh until tears leak from the corners of my eyes. “You think he’ll pay up for me?”
“If he wants you back, yes,” answers Alaric.
“He won’t give a shit about me,” I snap. “You fucking moron. Didn’t you listen to anything I ever told you?”
The man who drove the ambulance is large and menacing. He looms in the corner like some grim reaper. I don’t recognise him, but his eyes keep darting to me like he’s trying to work me out. “And what did they offer you in all this?” I ask the man, glaring at him. “Money? Well, let me tell you, there isn’t any. My dad doesn’t give a fuck about me. My son is four weeks old, and he hasn’t been to see him yet. That tells you all you need to know.”
“He’ll pay. If he doesn’t, I’ll take it to the newspapers. He’d hate the bad press,” sneers Alaric.
