Chapter Four
Amber
The next morning Amber woke up feeling like she’d been hit by a truck. Her body hurt and she had a horrible headache. Rolling away from the sun glaring through the window, she groaned out loud.
“There’s a glass of water and Tylenol on the nightstand,” Devin told her.
Amber rolled over, to see her brother lying on a bedroll on the floor. “Why are you sleeping on the floor? You could have slept in your bed,” she told him. Not like it wasn’t big enough. It was a king size bed and she was tiny.
“I haven’t been sleeping and I didn’t want to disrupt you. Not a big deal. But Amber, we need to talk,” Sledge said, standing up and climb into the bed to sit beside his sister.
“What about Dev?” she asked. The look on his face was making her nervous. Whatever he was going to say, Amber knew she wasn’t going to like it.
“I went digging last night, pulled favors from a few contacts,” he started. Sighing, he continued, “Why didn’t you tell me Joe was a drug dealer?” he asked so nonchalant.
Amber’s head whipped around. “What do you mean he’s a drug dealer? Devin, no he’s not. He sells real estate,” she replied, thinking her brother really needed different contacts because they were completely wrong!
“Oh, he does that too, but it’s only a front for the illegal operation he is trying to hide,” Devin explained. But Amber just continued to shake her head.
“Amber, Joe Stephens goes by the street name Ratchet. He is the founder and leader of the Velvet Blood. They are the biggest drug organization in the south - and not just drugs. They’re also involved in guns, prostitution, you name it. He also runs all of the illegal operations for the Mexican Cartel that cross the Texas border,” Sledge said, placing a file on her lap.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Open it,” Devin demanded.
Amber sat there flipping through the pages. Image after image. Drug deals. Police Reports. FBI. ATF. There were also surveillance photos of her in the file. Her at home. Her at work. Her and Joe eating dinner at their favorite restaurant. Amber felt sick to her stomach.
“How did I not know?” she wondered out loud.
“How did I not know?” she yelled, panic settling in her chest. “This isn’t the guy I know. You have to believe me Devin! He seemed so normal. Treated me like a queen,” she said tapering to a whisper.
Amber sat on the bed, next to her brother thinking about how it used to be before everything went wrong. Thinking of how she honestly thought she knew Joe and as it turns out, it was all a lie. A total fuckin’ lie! How could she have been such a fool? She felt her heart clench, her stomach threatened to empty itself.
“Amber, he didn’t treat you well - he beat the shit out of you!” Devin yelled before getting off the bed to pace the room.
“He wasn’t always-,” she started to say, but Devin interrupted her.
“Don’t!” he commanded. “Don’t you dare defend him! If he treated you so well, why did I have to come get you? Why did I find you with a busted lip and bruised face?” Sledge demanded.
Amber knew he was getting upset. But there was no way she was going to let him speak to her like that. She didn’t give a shit if he was some biker group President. No man would talk down to her.
“Devin! Stop!” she yelled back. “One, don’t you dare fucking talk to me like that! I will dislocate your damn balls! Two, it wasn’t always like this. Before yesterday, Joe never hurt me. Never put his hands on me in a violent manner,” Amber said, feeling the blood in her body boil.
“I’m sorry, Amber.” Devin blew out a frustrated breath. “You’re right, I should have never spoken to you like that.”
“Apology accepted,” she told him, “But don’t let it happen again.”
“What exactly happened yesterday?” Devin questioned.
“Before, he used to spoil me. But yesterday, I don’t know. Yesterday, he came to my apartment and everything was different. He was different. He was so angry. He just lost it. I don’t know why. I was in the middle of cooking dinner. One minute everything was good. The next, it seemed like all hell broke loose. I honestly don’t know what could have happened,” Amber confessed. “Fuck! I don’t even know who he really is apparently,” Amber said.
“You do now,” Devin said tapping the file that had slide off her lap during their heated exchange. Hundreds of pictures laid across the mattress, taunting her.
Amber felt like a complete idiot. She had been lied to, beaten, and abused by a man she thought she knew. Someone she thought she could trust. This was the story of her damn life. First her father, then her step-father, then Paul, and now Joe.
“Fuck me,” she grumbled.
Sledge stood up from the bed and reached out his hand to her. “Come on little sister, we have a meeting to attend. We aren’t going to get answers sitting in this room. Plus, all the boys should be there by now waiting for us. We have to come up with a plan. I have a feeling Ratchet will come looking for you and I need to prepare my guys,” he said.
She knew that no matter what, her brother would always keep her safe, he would always protect her. But honestly, she was tired of always relying on him. Amber grabbed Sledge’s hand and let him pull her off the bed.
“Do you think I could go see Lo later? Maybe taking one of her self-defense classes would be a good idea,” she asked.
“I think that can be arranged,” Devin replied. “But you know how to fight. Any particular reason you want a self-defense class?”
“Yeah, because I can beat the crap out of K and he can’t do anything about it,” she admitted with a grin.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Devin laughed.
“Okay cool! Give me a minute to get ready?” she asked, and Devin nodded his head.
Walking into the bathroom, Amber’s mind kept spinning. This was all a huge cluster fuck. In a matter of thirty minutes, she learned everything she knew about her life for the last ten months, was a lie. What a damn mess, she thought, as she changed clothes, brushed her teeth and hair, and headed out to meet her brother.
“Let’s get this show started!” she said in an exciting voice that even her brother knew was fake. He just chuckled and rolled his eyes at her. Throwing his arm over her shoulder, they walked out the door and to the meeting room.