Trying to calm Tanner’s down and get the majority of customers out of the doors within an hour proved to be much harder than they originally anticipated. Jill and Star worked as hard as they could at snubbing conversations, as well as making sure no one was taken care of when it came to serving drinks or having dances. But still, the crowd seemed to remain.
“If we don’t do as Bull asked we’re going to be in trouble,” Star said. “You’ll be fine because of Ax, but I’m sure he’ll come down on me like a ton of bricks.”
Jill laughed and shook her head. “Ax would no doubt enjoy telling me off too.” Jill’s boyfriend Ax was another one of The Forsaken Riders, and who would no doubt be returning to the club that night for whatever they had planned.
“Why don’t we just shut down the bar and head back to the changing rooms?” Star suggested.
“Because then we really are shutting up shop and it’s bound to affect business in the long run.” Jill sighed as she rubbed her forehead. Star could tell that being given this job was stressing her out. “If we shut up shop completely, Bull will think we’ve taken the easy option. Plus, he said half capacity.”
Star nodded and looked around the room. Renee had vacated the stage at least forty-five minutes before, but there were still several groups of eagle-eyed and optimistic truckers waiting for more.
“You head out back,” Jill said. “If they aren’t any girls out here, then surely they’ll all lose interest.”
Star gave her a mock salute before she began to weave her way back through the crowd and towards the swing doors that led down to the changing rooms, which led to the back entrance of the club.
Renee was standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette, looking out over the back of the carpark.
“I’m glad Bull called time on tonight,” she said as she exhaled a plume of smoke up into the night air.
“Yeah,” Star said with a shrug. “I know you weren’t feeling it.”
Renee nodded her head in agreement before she threw the smoking butt down onto the ground and twisted the sole of her high, stiletto over it.
“Any ideas what this emergency meeting is about?” Star asked.
Renee shrugged. “The new blood maybe?” She half laughed.
“No, surely not,” Star shook her head. “Why would they have an emergency meeting to talk about a new girl?”
“Maybe Jill got it wrong,” Renee said wisely. “Maybe it isn’t a new girl.”
She let her statement hang between them and Star churned it over in her mind. She ran her long fingernails through her hair like a comb and bit her bottom lip.
“A new biker?” she asked, almost in a whisper.
Renee and her locked eyes and they could both sense the excitement in one another.
“It would make sense,” Renee said with a grin. “New blood… an emergency meeting. Maybe it isn’t a meeting at all.”
“Maybe it’s an initiation!” Star said with wide eyes and Renee nodded.
“Suddenly I don’t want to go home,” Star said with a small laugh. “I’m going to make a coffee. Want one?”
Renee shook her head. “No thanks sweetie, this old girl definitely wants to get herself to bed.”
“Old girl. Are you serious? You’re twenty-seven!” Star laughed.
“Precisely.” Renee yawned. “I’m practically ancient by stripper standards. I should be curled up in bed with a good book and a mug of hot coco.”
“You’re insane.” Star rolled her eyes as she blew Renee a kiss and slipped back down the corridor towards the side room which housed a small sink and refrigerator.
She started to boil some water and leaned against the counter as she waited. It wasn’t even midnight, and already the night had suddenly taken a new and exciting turn. She knew she wasn’t expected to work the stage or the customers for the rest of her shift, but she did wonder if Bull and the other Forsaken Riders would want her to stick around to help Jill serve drinks.
She chewed her bottom lip as she mulled it all over and started to make herself a strong, instant coffee. If she was sticking around, then she was going to have to perk herself up.
She sipped it as she walked back down the hallway and went toward the changing room. Out back where Renee had been smoking, she could see that the door was still swinging open and there were headlights in the parking lot.
She tried to see who was out there and when she saw a swoop of motorcycle headlights, she felt a tightness of excitement in her belly.
“Here they come,” she whispered to herself as she stopped by the doorway, drinking her coffee.
It was always a big tell when the bikers all started to filter in at the back of the building. If there were only a few of them, they would usually come in the front doors like Bull had done around an hour before. But when they all parked their bikes around the back and started to come in quietly at the exit nearest to the changing room, Star usually took this to mean that there was going to be a lot of them, and they wanted to be as invisible as possible.
She swept her long hair over one shoulder and tried to see out into the night. Big, tall figures were dismounting bikes in the dark and were slapping each other on the backs and embracing each other in hugs. Star’s heart had started to beat a little harder and faster, just like it always did when there was so much power and testosterone in the air around her, and she tried not to grin.
The Forsaken Riders were dangerous and bad to the bone, but they were all easy on the eye. She didn’t mind having a good look every now and again, even if she would never get with one of them in a million years.
“Hey,” Diesel nodded as he ducked through the doorway and smiled at her.
“Hey,” Star replied as he walked on past her.
One by one, they all began to arrive. She said hello to King and Hunter, to Decker and Stick. All of them, even some of the bikers she barely recognized and who never came across to the club were arriving, and she watched them all with anticipation, waiting for one of them to tell her what was happening.
She had finished her coffee by the time Bull emerged from the furthest end of the hallway and he nodded at Star to get her attention.
“Thanks for helping Jill clear out,” he said.
“She did most of it,” Star said, not wanting to take credit where it wasn’t due. “We thought I should stay out of the way until it was quieter, give the customers less to bank on or look at.”
Bull smirked and nodded in agreement.
“So, what’s going on?” she asked tentatively, not wanting to overstep any boundaries.
“Why don’t you come and help Jill tend bar and find out?” he asked cockily.
Star had to tried to hide her grin which was rapidly spreading from ear to ear and she turned on her heel and slipped back into the dressing room so she could get changed.
She closed the door behind her and reached for her cut off shorts and a t-shirt she could put on over her bikini and tie at the waist to keep it tight. She let her eyes flash up to the clock on the wall and it told her it was nearing midnight.
“The witching hour,” she said, smiling to herself. “If I know these men at all, you can be sure that whatever they have planned will happen when the clock strikes twelve.”
She combed out her hair slightly to make it smoother, and then reapplied a little bit of lipstick before she smiled at her reflection, then headed out the door.
She had no idea what she was going to walk in on, but what she did know was she couldn’t wait to see what await.
As she pushed the doors open and went into the main body of the club, Star could instantly see the difference. Where there had been bodies jampacked into the enormous space only an hour before, there was now much more room to breathe, and only a few small tables of truckers remained.
The rest of the bodies filling up the club were all bikers. She could see immediately that they were both a mix of The Forsaken Riders, and their old rivals, the Iron Riders. Over the past few months, the Iron Riders had been appearing more and more, and Star found herself feeling a little nervous about it all. She had heard stories about the feud that had lasted generations and it almost seemed inconceivable that after all this time, suddenly the two clubs could be working side by side.
She smiled at them as she passed and felt their eyes on her. The bikers were always a lot less hungry than the truckers, but it still didn’t stop them from gawking, especially The Iron Riders. The Forsaken gave her a lot of respect, as they employed her, but the Iron Riders were a different breed altogether, and they definitely let their lust-filled eyes undress her with each move she made.
“Hell,” Jill whispered as Star slid behind the bar next to her. “I didn’t think it would be both clubs.”
“Me neither.” Star crinkled her nose. “What do you think is going on?”
Jill gave Star a knowing look. “Ax told me earlier that this threat they’ve been working together to overcome has gone quiet.”
Star raised her eyebrows. She had heard a little of the gossip that had worked its way around town and around the hallways of Tanner’s. Apparently, there was a very good reason why The Forsaken Riders and The Iron Riders had buried their bad blood, and it was because there was another gang in the mix that was trying to cause trouble for them both.
“So, is that a good thing?” Star asked.
Jill gave a non-committal slight nod. “Ax thinks it’s a ploy, but some of the other’s think they’ve finally driven the Russians out of town for good.”
The Russians. Whenever there was gossip, those two words were never far behind.
Star had worked in Tanner’s for almost nine months and she had heard a lot of things, but had never known exactly what was true and what was false. Although, the rapidly rising stories about a gang of power and money hungry Russians had been something of a constant.
Star had done her best not to know too much, but sometimes, people did talk in front of her. And after a while all the bikers, and even Jill, seemed to think she knew all about it. Star had just never had the heart or the nerve to correct them.
She reached down for a bottle of beer and broke the cap off before taking a swig.
“Never a dull moment in here.” She laughed as she winked at Jill.
“Nope.” Jill grinned.
“Babe,” Ax interrupted as he slid up next to the bar and kissed Jill on the lips, “come on, we’re waiting on drinks over here.”
Jill rolled her eyes teasingly.
“I’ve told you before, no special treatment, wait your turn,” she said playfully and winked.
Ax grunted and looked down at her ass before he pulled her close to him.
Star felt herself blushing slightly and forced herself to look away. Jill and Ax always seemed so hot for each other it was kind of intimidating, but it was also hellishly fun to watch. Even if it did make Star a little jealous and for a split second, crave a man of her own.
She helped Jill with the trays of drinks while Ax waited around them, and suddenly the memory of the last couple she had encountered came flooding back to her.
The memory of the fighting. Of the lack of sleep. Of the desperation of needing to get out and find somewhere else to live.
“My apartment,” she said aloud as he looked across at Ax.
“What’s up with it?” he asked her as he lit a smoke.
“I hate it,” Star grumbled. “Know of anywhere closer to this side of town, or on Main Street that’s available?”
Ax looked thoughtful for a moment. “Leave it with me,” he said with a wink, then rose to his feet and disappeared back into the crowd.
“You want to move?” Jill asked her.
“Have you seen my neighborhood?” Star laughed. “I’m surprised I’ve lasted there this long.”
Jill smiled wryly and lifted a tray full of drinks onto her shoulder and took a deep breath. “I’m going in,” she half laughed. “Cover the bar for me, yeah?”
“Sure thing.” Star smiled as she looked around and at all of the eager eyes waiting to be served.
She was suddenly finding herself pulled in all directions and by different people shouting and clamoring for her attention. Star tried not to roll her eyes, instead plastering a welcoming and helpful smile on her lips. However, with each demand from each different biker or trucker she felt her feathers becoming more ruffled.
“And this is why I dance, not serve,” she whispered to herself. “Yes, sir… what can I get you?” She smiled at the trucker closest to her and began to do her duty.
By the time Jill returned to the bar, she was practically running towards Star with her eyes bright and alive and a grin as wide as a movie screen.
“Woah.” Star laughed. “What’s got into you?”
“Ax just told me what all of this is in aid of.” Jill beamed as she took hold of Star’s arm and pulled her closer so that she could whisper in her ear.
“I was wrong when I said to Renee I thought a new girl was starting tonight.” She paused and let the information sink in. “It’s not a new girl. It’s a new biker.”
Star felt her stomach flip a little and her skin tingle with excitement.
“A new biker?” she asked with a wicked grin.
“Yes.” Jill panted and then she trailed off and her eyes wandered to the front set of doors. “And by the looks of it, he’s here now.”
Star followed her gaze and let them rest on the small group that had just entered the building. She recognized some of the older Forsaken Riders, and then she saw him standing there in the middle of them.
He was dark and handsome, with piercing eyes and stubble that only enhanced the epic chisels of his cheekbones.
“Wow,” Jill whispered to Star. “Would you look at that.”
Star swallowed and tried not to stare, but it was practically impossible. This man, whoever her was, looked as if he had just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. He was so ripped and good looking it should have been a crime.
“Now, he does not look like a Forsaken Rider,” Jill said with a smirk. “Nowhere near as rough and ready as the rest of our boys, huh?”
Star heard her speak the words, but she didn’t respond. She was too busy trying to catch sneaky glimpses of the new guy, and trying to pick her jaw up from the floor.
“Err, Star?” Jill said with alaugh. “Earth to Star?”
“I know, I know, I’m serving,” she said instinctively as she waved her hand and Jill’s comment away.
Jill giggled to herself and Star lowered her head so that no one would be able to tell that she was blushing.
But he was incredibly handsome, and he was different than the other bikers.
She brushed her hair behind her ear and let her eyes look up towards the door again, even though she kept her head tilted down.
One by one, all The Forsaken were approaching him and they were shaking hands and pulling each other in for hugs and pats on the back. They embraced him and walked with him over to the corner of the room, where they set him down at a booth and they all began to crowd around and link their arms around each other’s shoulders, likened to an almost impenetrable wall. It was impossible to see what was happening on the other side of it.
“Oh, and Ax said he can help you with a new place.” Jill grinned.
“He did?” Star beamed as she looked up at Jill with a big smile.
“Yep.” She nodded. “I know you said you would never get with one of the bikers, but really, they do have their uses sometimes.”
“Very funny.” Star rolled her eyes, but then she reached out and hugged Jill. “Thank you so, so much!”
“He said he’ll get you some information over the next couple of days and give you a call.”
“Perfect.” Star clapped her hands excitedly together.
She looked back over to the corner of the room and to the group of both The Forsaken Riders and The Iron Riders, who were crowding over there.
New blood…
The phrase rolled around in her mind and she found herself feeling a little lightheaded.
She had gone into work that night just expecting it to be run of the mill, but so much had happened. It truly was a day that she would remember for a long time to come.
“Get yourself home anyway,” Jill said. “I can handle it from here.”
“You sure?” Star asked, not wanting to jump at the opportunity.
“I have to wait for Ax anyways,” Jill said with a shrug. “And there doesn’t need to be both of us, unless you want to stick around?”
Star looked longingly over her shoulder towards the bikers. She did want to know what was going on, but she was also starting to feel the effects of hardly any sleep over the past few days and stifled a yawn.
“I’ll get going, doll.” She smiled and hugged Jill, then waved over her shoulder as she headed back towards the changing room. “Catch you in a few days.”
“See ya, Star.” Jill called back to her.
Star headed back to collect her things before she went to start out on her long walk home.
“Interesting night,” she mused to herself as she stepped out into the darkness. “A very interesting night indeed.”