19

Krissi hobbled out into the main room of the club house, the public area as it were. This was where the men hung out, where the club whores picked up whoever they were sleeping with tonight, where the men drank, played pool and watched the club ass dance for their entertainment. There would be times when the stripping was kept to a minimum and wives and kids might be around, that all happened here, in this room. This morning though, it looked much like her dad’s club house had on the few times she'd stopped by before noon. There was a guy passed out on an old sofa in the corner, a nearly naked woman sprawled on the floor beside the him. She assumed the woman hadn't started the night on the floor but she may one never knew. The tables were scattered with empty beer bottles and dirty beer steins, with a few coffee mugs mixed in. Sadist led her to a comparatively clean table. He gathered the glasses and bottles setting them on a nearby table and pulling up a chair for her to use.

Rather than sit back down right away she paced the room, weaving among the tables as she walked. The more she moved, the less her leg ached and her hip throbbed. Sadist stood and watched her make a couple passes through the room.

“Would you rather go in the kitchen and see what we've got on hand?”

Krissi glanced up at him. She hadn't been expecting him to actually feed her. Feeding her had been an excuse to get her out of the room so they could talk to Ruger about her, and probably about her father as well. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her again that she hadn't eaten in a day. “Sure, why not?” Krissi wasn't holding her breath that they'd have much but she might as well look.

Sadist led her into the kitchen and she discovered it wasn't anything like she'd expected. A huge six burner, industrial stove like the diner had sat on one wall, though there was no six-foot-long griddle next to it. There were two large stainless steel boxes on another wall, the digital read outs over the door told her one was a refrigerator, the other a freezer. A multi basin sink sat on the third wall, next to an industrial dishwasher like she'd seen in the diner. She'd never had to run it, but she'd seen it. There was a long island in the middle of the room with a sink on one end. She knew that sink was for washing food and food prep, not dishes. She was shocked to see that the whole room sparkled. As if they didn't even let dust settle. She'd expected a small dingy kitchen, with a standard household stove and fridge, maybe a freezer. Not this. She stopped in the middle of the room and spun, slowly taking in the entire room. Sadist stood to one side and watched her but didn’t say a word. After a moment, she went to the fridge and pulled the door open. She blinked, shocked to find it fully stocked.

“So what floats your boat?” Sadist asked from behind her, making her jump. She'd forgotten he was there. After she told him what she wanted, he made her stay out of the way while he cooked. He'd suggested that she sit on the stool he'd brought in for her but hadn't pushed when she ignored it and kept walking back and forth over the length of the room. By the time he'd finished cooking her steak and egg burrito, she could walk without limping.

“You want to eat in here or out there?” Sadist held her plate in one hand and a spatula in the other.

“In here is fine.” Krissi didn't have any desire to be out there with the drunk and his slut and no one else. Better to stay in here with someone she'd at least met before. Someone she knew Ruger trusted.

He set the plate on the island in the middle of the room and she finally sat down. She watched him clean up while she ate, when she was done, Sadist took her plate and put it in the sink with the rest of the dishes.

“A prospect will take care of those later.” He waved one hand toward the sink. She was surprised he wiped down the counters and when he was done, except for the dishes in the sink, the kitchen was just as they'd found it. 

“Krissi?” Ruger's voice was muffled as it came through the closed door.

“We're in here,” Sadist called back. The doorway swung open and Ruger burst through.

“There you are.” Ruger looked relieved to see her. “Did you get enough to eat?” He dropped a light kiss on her head.

“I did. Sadist made me a burrito that I wasn't sure I could eat all of.” She reached down and took his hand in hers. “But I did.” She used her free hand to rub her stomach. Krissi looked up at him and wanted to make a smart remark but a yawn surprised her. Once it passed, she looked at him and knew her eyes had gone wide.

“Good.” Ruger glanced at Sadist then looked back to her. :”Now that you've got a full belly, you've been cleared of having any major injuries, and made your report to Tuck, how about we go upstairs and get some sleep?” He paused, “I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. I haven't slept since we woke up in your bed yesterday. I'm not sure if you know it or not, but I don't sleep all that well in your tiny bed.” He bent low and spoke softly in her ear. “You probably didn’t notice earlier, but my bed upstairs is almost as comfortable as the one I have at home.” She smiled and yawned again before she could answer. Sleep sounded amazing but as bad as she hurt after sitting for a while, she didn’t look forward to waking up.

“That sounds great, though I'm not sure what it's going to take to find a way to lay that doesn't hurt.”

“We'll figure something out.” Ruger looked up at Sadist. “Can you bring the pillows from all the empty rooms to mine?”

“No problem, I can play housekeeper for you and your girl.” Sadist’s words might have been harsh, but his tone was playful.

Krissi slid off the stool and found that her hip had stiffened even in the short time she'd been there, but not as badly as before. She walked with only a slight limp as she headed upstairs.

#

“Do you want some help up the stairs?” Ruger asked watching how Krissi walked. She was moving much better now and only had a slight limp. “It’s not that I don’t think you can climb the stairs on your own, but you don't have to. Just say the word.” He knew her enough to know not to push too hard. Krissi had an independent streak that ran deep. He stood at the bottom of the steps and watched as she made her way up, one riser at a time. Step, together, step, together, but she didn't ask for help. He wanted to stay right beside her but knew hovering would only piss her off.

“Hey girlie,” Lurch called across the big, quiet room. Krissi turned to look at him and Ruger followed suit. The other man held a backpack that looked like hers a loft. “This yours?”

“Looks like it.” The faint tremor in her voice made Ruger turn back to her. She looked down at him, something in her face he couldn't identify.

“I'll get and bring it to you. You go on ahead to the room.” Krissi nodded and looked grateful before she went back to climbing the stairs while he met the other man half way across the room.

“I like that chick of yours. I think she'll fit in around here just fine,” Lurch dropped his voice low enough that only Ruger heard him.

“Thanks, man.” Ruger took the bag, swung it over his shoulder, spun on one heel and went back for Krissi. She'd made it to the top of the stairs and was making her way down the hall. Glad she'd made it without needing help, he took the stairs two at a time and caught up with her as she reached the room they would be sharing for the next couple days.

Krissi pushed the door open, went inside and sat on the bed, one leg curled in front of her. A big yawn split her face and she covered it with a closed fist. He swung the bag down and sat it in front of her on the bed.

“Want to make sure it's yours? That nothing is missing?” Ruger sat in the chair against the wall at the foot of the bed and watched her open the bag and dig through it. After a couple of minutes, she pulled her phone from the bag then closed the bag and set it aside, her phone still in her hand. She messed with the phone for a moment then dropped it on the bed in front of her.

“Crap. It's dead.”

“What kind is it?” Ruger leaned forward and picked it up, then turned it over and looked at the power jack. “It won't fit my charger but I think we can find one that will fit it around here.” He looked at her a moment. “How about I get you a t-shirt you can change into. You can get ready for bed and I'll take this down stairs, see if I can find a charger that fits. Does that sound okay?” Krissi looked at him for a few seconds, blinked then nodded.

“Sounds good.”

Ruger pulled a shirt from a drawer, put it on the bed next to her, then kissed her on the forehead and stepped out, closing the door behind him, her phone in his hand. Instead of going downstairs, he moved away from the stairs until he was almost to the end of the hall, then knocked on another door. He waited several seconds and knocked again, then tried the knob. It twisted easily and Ruger pushed it open and stepped inside. He flipped on the light and looked around.

“Hey, Gizmo.” The other man was sitting up in the bed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“What the hell, man? I've only been in bed for an hour and a half.”

“Sorry,” Ruger said, “I didn't think about that. We're getting ready to crash but when I gave Krissi her bag she found that her phone's dead. I told her I'd see if I could find a charger to fit. It occurred to me that you might be my best bet. I didn't think about the time.”

Gizmo scowled a moment then held out a hand. “Let me see it.” Ruger handed over the device.

“Oh, yeah. This is an iPhone. Hang on a second.” Gizmo rolled across the bed and got out on the far side.

“Whoa, bro. Put on some clothes. I don't need to see your bare ass.”

“Bite me.” Gizmo dug through a drawer a moment then pulled out a cord. He plugged it into the phone then pulled out a USB outlet. He turned around and handed the pair along with the phone. “These should work for you. Can I go back to bed now?”

“Please, anything to cover yourself.”

Gizmo crawled back into the bed, flipping Ruger the bird as he went. “Turn out the light on your way out.”

Ruger chuckled, flipped the switch and closed the door on the way out. Back in the bedroom, he found Krissi already in bed, trying to arrange a mountain of pillows so she could lay and sleep without hurting too much.

“Gizmo had a cord,” Ruger said as he went to the outlet near the dresser and plugged in the phone. He made sure it was charging before turning back to face her. “I see Sadist was here.” He watched her for a second, one brow lifted as he thought about offering to help, but this was much more entertaining. “Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah, mostly,” she said.

“If you're all right for a couple minutes I'm going to grab a quick shower.” Krissi waived him away, he stepped into the bathroom and peeled out of clothes. Turned on the water and stepped into the hot spray, after quickly rinsing off, he stepped out again he toweled off and then it went back in the bedroom to find Chrissy had already shifted again. “Are you having trouble finding a position that doesn't hurt?”

“A little,” she said.

“Let's see if I can help that.” He tossed the towel across the chair then crawled up the foot of the bed to crawl in beside her. “You want me on my back or my side,” he asked. She was quiet for a moment and then looked at him with a tilted head.

“On your back, I think.” Krissi curled against his side and pillowed her head against his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her back. He was careful not to hold her too tightly and hurt her ribs. Ruger stayed like that, listening to the slow even sound of her breathing indicating she falling asleep then pushed the events of the day from his mind and focused on the woman in his arms

#

Ruger woke disoriented, uncertain how long he'd been asleep or where he was. The only thing he was sure of was Krissi was in bed beside him. Careful not to wake the woman in his arms, he glanced around for a clock and spotted his phone on the nightstand and from the rest of the room, he remembered where they were. He twisted enough to pick it up and touch the screen to make it light up. Noon. They'd been asleep for three and a half hours.

He had things he needed to get done. He eased carefully out from under Krissi, quietly grabbed some clothes from the closet and slipped into the attached bathroom. He dressed in everything but his boots and took them with him as he left the room quietly, careful not to wake her. She had been through a lot, and needed sleep to heal. Downstairs he found the room looking nothing like it had just a few hours before. It was mostly clean. The dirty mugs and empty beer bottles were now gone. The brother passed out on the couch with his whore had disappeared. Ruger sat down on the couch and slipped on his boots and wondering where everyone had disappeared to. Someone else had to be awake but where were they?