STELLA

I could feel the sweat dripping down my back as I got out of my car. This was the last place I wanted to be, but Lucy said she couldn’t have me at her house anymore. It hurt when my supposed best friend told me she was in love with my stepbrother Michael, and hiding me at her place was no longer an option. Her loyalty had to be with him now. She knew how bad it was for me, and she used to be sympathetic, but once she started seeing Michael, she listened to me less, questioned my bruises, and accused me of lying to her.

She had given my belongings back to Michael, thinking he would bring them home here because that was what he had told her. Of course, he didn’t. He threw them in a dumpster and took great delight in telling me, too. So there I was at the house of hell. I needed to get into my old room and grab the few remaining clothes of mine. And any personal knick-knacks they hadn’t ruined. I needed something nice to wear to Dundee’s funeral tomorrow. Vegas got me at a weak moment and talked me into singing at the service. T-shirts and jeans weren’t appropriate for this occasion. But I didn’t want anyone seeing any of the bruises on my arms or the red finger marks. Michael’s favourite thing to do was to give me hard, painful Chinese burns. Sometimes, the marks could stay for weeks.

Just as I reached the front door, it was wrenched opened, and standing there was my other stepbrother Bradley. He was the identical twin of Michael, and they belonged to my stepfather, Gary, the arsehole my mother married and lost herself to.

“Well, if it isn’t Cinderella. Hello, bitch face. You owe me some money,” he spat at me, an ugly snarl on his face.

“Bradley, I haven’t been paid yet,” I told him instantly. Maybe this time, he would believe me. Though I didn’t know why I thought that. They never believed anything I said. Just like the police never did when I told them that one of their own officers hit me. My stepfather was a police officer, and his colleagues thought the sun shone out of his arse. I had thought about taking it to Deck’s brother, Jason, but I knew if I did, the club would no doubt hear from him. So I didn’t bother anymore. No one could help.

Bradley gave me no warning before pulling me into the house by the scruff of my neck. It happened so fast that the next thing I knew, he had me pinned up against the closed door.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, cunt,” he screamed in my face. Little bits of spittle hit me. The first punch hurt. It always did. As I doubled over from the blow to my stomach, he pushed me back up against the door, and Bradley quickly gave two more punches to my ribs. I could feel the tears flowing down my cheeks, but my only thought was about the funeral tomorrow. I hope I can still sing. With each punch to my middle, I tried not to cry out in pain. I had learnt that they liked that, and if I didn’t cry or beg them to stop, they tended to lose interest. But, God, I wanted to scream out and beg for mercy.

“Fucking dumb bitch,” Bradley screamed in my face as his forehead came down and hit me in the mouth.

A small groan escaped my lips. That always hurt. Bradley had a hard head, and the impact caught me right on my bottom lip. Bugger it. I could taste blood, and as the metallic taste hit my tongue, I could feel bile rise in my throat. I tried to swallow hard. Taking a deep breath was nearly impossible because my ribs were burning from the impact of the hits. Oh, God, it was going to happen. I couldn’t stop it. Without any warning, I vomited all over myself. The smell was horrible. I couldn’t even raise my hands to wipe my mouth. The small amount of food I’d eaten that day was gone.

“You are a disgusting, pathetic cow. Get the fuck out of here, and I don’t want to see you again unless you have our money. And remember, whore, one word to anyone and that idiotic club you love so much gets a visit from the cop. Raiding their businesses won’t look too good to the customers and clients.” Bradley’s threat rang in my ears. He then reached around me, opened the door, and literally kicked me out of my own house. Falling to the path, the hard bricks made my knees crack with pain.

I could hear his laughter from behind the closed door. Oh, Lord, I just wanted to curl up on the cold bricks and never move. I felt pain all over my body. No a part of me didn’t throb with pain, but if I had to pick one, I would go with my ribs. The car accident had made them sore enough and the five blows to them just now… Jesus, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or more were broken.

“You got to get up, Stella,” I urged myself. If I was still here when one of the other two got home, I was in for more punishment. I took a deep breath and hauled myself to my feet, ignoring the searing, white-hot, pain radiating from inside me. As I brushed off the vomit from my top the best I could, I felt nothing but disgust about myself as I limped my way back to my car.

It took me more than a few minutes to drop into the driver’s seat and close the door behind me. My only goal was to get out of there and find a place to clean up. I needed to regroup, get clean clothes, and dammit, I needed to get back to the club and cook dinner for the men. Resting my head on the steering wheel, I groaned. There was no way I could show myself back there tonight. I had been able to hide most of my injuries, or at least explain them away, but tonight, it was going be impossible.

I grabbed my phone from the console and swiped my shaking finger across the screen to wake it up. I navigated my way through the contact list until I found the one person who could help me.

It only rang three times before I heard the voice I needed to hear.

“Charlotte, I need help,” I whispered into the phone, then burst into tears.

***

“Oh, my God.” Charlotte gasped as she entered the women’s restroom at the Wounded Souls strip club, Body and Souls. I got in by the back door—it was something I had done once or twice before. When Lucy couldn’t let me stay at her place, I discovered Rainn would let me in the back door, and I would stay in one of the dressing rooms for a few hours. Just to get out of the weather. Rainn would also bring me some of the leftover nibbles from the bar. Not much, just peanuts and water. She never asked questions, and I never offered to share. I knew her relationship with Mannix was kind of weird, but she was also loyal to the club. So I figured she couldn’t tell what she didn’t know. Turning a blind eye to me stashing myself away for a few hours… Well, I was grateful.

So when I called Charlotte for some help with clean clothes and some medical supplies, I suggested she meet me here, but I made her promise not to let Deck know. They simply couldn’t find out. I refused to bring trouble to the club.

“It’s okay, Charlotte. It looks worse than it feels.” I was lying through my teeth, but she saw right through it and called me on it.

“Oh, poo! Don’t pull that doo-doo with me, missy. You are in pain. I can see it on your face.” She scolded me in typical Charlotte fashion. Seriously, the lady refuses to curse.

I smiled, forgetting about my split lip. “Ouch. Don’t be funny. It hurts to smile and laugh.” I panted. My ribs were not just screaming anymore—they were roaring at me.

“Oh, Stella. You need to tell Vincent what is going on,” Charlotte begged as her hand reached out as she lightly touched my swollen cheek.

“No!” I said more forcefully than I meant to, grabbing hold of my side. Dammit. “They can’t be brought into this. My stepfather is a cop. He will bring so much trouble to the club. I can’t be the reason for that. Booth will always protect the club first, his family. He doesn’t need this shit. Not now after everything that went down with Dundee and us. He is stretched thin, Charlotte. I see it in his face. This isn’t what he needs.” I implored her not just with my words but also with my eyes, but a voice from behind me startled us.

“Stella’s right.” Rainn was standing at the door. She entered quickly, looking at my face. Her first reaction was total shock, but she covered it well. She walked straight over to the sink, put the plug in, and filled it with hot water.

“What? How can you say that, Rainn? Don’t you see what those animals are doing to her?” Charlotte cried, tears filling her eyes.

Taking a washcloth from the bag Charlotte brought with her, Rainn started to get it wet.

“I see, darlin’, and I understand, but the club is stretched thin like Stella said. I don’t know what is going on—you know more than any of us—but I see the change in Mannix. He is wound tighter than a coil spring, looking over his shoulder every night, walking all the girls to their cars at night after closing up.” Rainn took the wet cloth, gently wiping away the blood from my mouth and nose. I hissed with pain as she touched the cut on my lip. Her face was soft with concern and worry and something else—empathy? Understanding?

Suddenly, a thought came to me. “Charlotte, does Deck know where you are?” The club’s sergeant-at-arms hadn’t let her or Shiloh out of his sight since the accident and finding out she was carrying his child. Thinking of their happiness at having a baby together, I ignored the longing pang. Nope, not going there.

Rainn looked up at Charlotte with wide eyes, but before she could ask anything, Charlotte’s phone sounded in her handbag. The music from Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy filled the bathroom, echoing off the tiled walls. Looking at her screen, her eyes darted straight back to Rainn and me, then she held it up for us to see the name Soldier Man and a picture of his handsome face. Oh, boy. We were in trouble.

“Charlotte? Does he know you left the compound?” Rainn asked, looking at the phone as if Deck himself were going to jump right out of it. The ringing stopped only to start up again immediately.

“Should I answer?”

“If you don’t want ten angry, worried bikers going out on a Sweetness hunt, I suggest you do,” Rainn offered helpfully with a knowing grin. She knew the Wounded Soul men so well.

The phone stopped ringing only to start again.

I let out a huff as Charlotte swiped the screen and put it on speakerphone. “Hello, honey.” She greeted him cheerily like there was nothing wrong with the darling of the club taking off without any detail. Again.

“Sweetness, where the fuck are you?” Deck sounded out of his mind with worry. In my mind, I could see him pacing back and forth, his hand running through his short hair. And it almost made me want to smile. Almost, but my split lip had other ideas.

“Don’t swear at me, Deck Johnston. I am perfectly safe, thank you very much. Vegas is looking after Shiloh, so take a chill pill, soldier man.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the phone. It was comical how cute this woman was, seriously.

“Take a chill pill? Fuck me, woman. You are fucking pregnant for fuck’s sake. You left with no detail, a-fucking-gain. Now tell me where the fuck you are so I can come and get you and spank your arse.” He growled, but Charlotte turned beet red. Her eyes, no longer narrowed, had a faraway wistful look. Oh, God, please tell me she wasn’t thinking about being spanked. Ewww.

“Honey, that isn’t much of a threat because you know I like it when you—”

“Sweetness.” He growled again, and this time, Rainn let out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Charlotte glared at Rainn and poked her tongue out at the beautiful dancer.

“Deck, honey, I’m with Rainn at the club. She needed some advice on a few dance moves, and I wanted to go through it with her before my belly gets too big with our munchkin.” Thinking her response was brilliant, Charlotte nodded her head up and down vigorously.

Oh, Lord no. Obviously, Rainn saw it my way, too, and shook her head.

“You’re at the strip club?” Deck roared into the phone. In the background, we could hear Mannix speaking. Shaking her head again, Rainn added the hand motion across her throat to cut it. End the call, woman.

“Oh, no, did I say strip club? No, honey, no, I meant I’m at the doctor’s office. I felt a bit sick, and I was worried—”

Oh, my God. Yeah, this chick couldn’t lie. There was no way we were getting away with this now.

“Doctors!” Deck was really shouting now. We could hear the other men and the sound of motors starting up.

Oh, God, I needed to leave. Looking to Rainn for help, because Charlotte was obviously useless, I gave her panicked, pleading eyes. “Help me,” I mouthed to her.

“Deck, I have to go. Hanging up now. Love you, honey. Bye.”

We heard one last growl of Sweetness from Deck before the line went dead.

“Well, Charlotte, that was just horrible. Sweetie, you couldn’t lie straight in bed,” Rainn grumbled. Taking the bag of medical supplies from the counter, she held her hand out to me. “Keys.” I tucked my hand into my jeans pocket, then brought out my car keys and passed them to her.

“Charlotte, you head out to the front of the club. Go to the front door and wait out there for them to turn up. I’ll take Stella out the back entrance and take her car. I walked to work today. Mannix wanted to go out for something to eat, so I was going with him on his bike.” As she sprouted out orders, she hustled us out the door and into the long, narrow hallway. One way took you to the main part of the building while the other took you to the back entrance where I’d come in.

“Okay. What should I say?” Charlotte asked.

“Nothing,” both Rainn and I yelled at the same time, causing all three of us to dissolve into a fit of giggles. Each one hurt, but I didn’t care. This was too funny—not the getting punched part, but the rest totally was.

We looked both ways to make sure there were no club members or prospects on the lookout, and then Rainn carefully guided me down the hallway to the back entrance while Charlotte hurried the other way. Even from the back door, we could hear the motorcycles roaring into the front parking lot. My heart started pounding in my chest. I just knew without even seeing the bikes that Booth was with them. He was the quintessential leader. Always the first one there and the last one to leave. He cared about his men, and that was why I couldn’t bring this to his door.

“Ready, Stell?” Rainn said from the open door—it looked clear. If we were going to get away without anyone seeing us, then we needed to escape now. I needed to get cleaned up and pull myself together before tomorrow. I took a deep, cleansing breath.

Nodding my head, I put on my big girl panties. “Ready.”