Chapter Three
Harlow
Since I live in Stockton, we have to catch the ferry boat over to Newcastle. Otherwise, we would have to take two cars. Plus, it’s only a five-minute trip across the water compared to a half hour trip all the way in the car. It can be a pain in the ass, but sometimes I prefer it to driving. There’s something about the way the small waves crash against the side of the boat which is calming.
“Thank fuck it’s one of the rare nights in Autumn when it’s actually warm, otherwise we’d be freezing our tits off right now.” Tilly speaks as another wave hits the side of the boat and I feel the light spray of cool water coat my skin.
“Couldn’t agree more.” Callie grips the safety rail on the side of the boat, hanging on for dear life.
“Do you want to go inside?” Ava murmurs to her.
“Nah, I’m good.” Callie tries for a reassuring smile, but she can’t fool us, we know she’s scared to death.
“Seriously guys, I’m fine. We’re about to dock anyway.” She nods towards the lit-up dock just ahead of us.
“Do we have a game plan?” Holly asks, changing the subject and looking at everyone before her eyes connect with mine.
“Not really,” I murmur.
I run everything through my head one more time. Remembering what I know about the month leading up to Julie’s murder.
“Run through everything that we know again.” Alexis knows exactly what I’m thinking.
Even though they’re as aware of everything as I am, they know it helps me process and put everything in line in my head.
“About a month before she died, she got the job of keeping track of the books at Club Ivy. I thought it was weird, considering the Deadly Sins MC would have had someone to do that.” I shake my head, I’m still confused by it all. Instead of dwelling on it, I move onto my next point. “She met a guy who also worked there, Elliot, and she was really excited when he asked her out. I know I need to find this guy, he may hold the answers we need because if you ask me, he sounded shady as fuck.” I grumble the last part to myself, but with Tilly standing so close she hears me and nods her head. She knows exactly what I mean.
“Every time we planned to get together so I could meet him, he always had some bloody excuse as to why he couldn’t make it.”
“Have you met anyone named Elliot?” Ava asks.
I shake my head. “No, but I’ve only been there a month and haven’t met everyone yet.”
“So, let’s find this Elliot guy and hopefully he can tell us what we need.” Callie takes a few shaky steps towards me and links her arm with mine as the boat docks. I know it’s more for her safety since she had to let go of the safety rail.
Making our way onto the platform, Callie lets out a relieved breath. Resting my hand on top of her arm, I give it a light squeeze. She gives me a smile in return and we begin the fifteen-minute walk to the club.
***
Getting to the front door of Club Ivy was no easy feat considering the line of people trying to push their way in. Pulling the invitations from Peyton’s clutch purse, I flash them at the two burly bouncers standing by the door. They’re wearing cuts with patches which state they’re Prospects. Nodding, they let us pass. Tonight, isn’t invitation only but if you have managed to get your hands on one, you’re granted exclusive access over those walking in off the street. Thank fuck I had the common sense to grab seven so we didn’t have to wait in the bloody line. Deep down I knew the girls wouldn’t let me do this on my own. Smiling as brightly as I can at the bouncers, the girls and I rush into the small alcove where there’s a coat check. Two girls stand in front of double frosted glass doors which lead into the main part of the club, handing out wristbands and checking IDs.
“Hey, Chloe.” I head towards one of the girls who usually works behind the bar with me.
“Harlow. Oh, my god, look how hot you look!” She gives me a gorgeous smile, making her blue eyes sparkle as blonde curls bounce on her shoulders.
I give her a genuine smile before giving her a quick hug.
“Thanks, these are my friends.” I make the quick introductions as the beat behind the doors gets louder.
She hands us all a wristband and we each drop $20 into her hand for our entry fee before making our way towards the heavy glass doors which lead into the main area of the club.
“Be good. Be bad. Pick your flavour,” Chloe calls out seductively from behind us as I push the door open. I wave back at her, she wouldn’t hear me over the music if I spoke anyway. Looking around, I observe the faux walls they have put up to create separate rooms for each sin around the main dance floor. I must admit everything is pretty over the top, but it looks really good. I weave through the crowd of sweaty dancing bodies as Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield blasts from the speakers. I glance over my shoulder at the girls to make sure they’re following me as I make a beeline for the bar.
“Fuck me standing and fucking sideways, you have got to be fucking kidding me!” Holly grits out.
If we weren’t so close, I wouldn’t have heard her or even noticed that she’d stopped dead in her tracks. She’s staring into the crowd of people on the dance floor. Bobbing my head from left to right, I try to see what has got her so pissed off. That’s when I spot the guy Holly has been seeing for the past couple of months grinding up against some bitch. Before I can stop her, she’s shoulder barging her way through the crowd. Grabbing Richard by the arm, she swings him around and stands toe to toe with him.
“Fuck!” Peyton shouts as we race to Holly’s side.
We’re not sure what she’ll do and considering we’re in a club that has bikers in it, this shit could get ugly real fast. Reaching her side first, I grab her arm but she shakes me off angrily. The air around us becomes thick with tension and I feel all eyes are on us. I glance around frantically and see a huge guy wearing a cut coming down the wooden stairs which lead up to office. He’s staring straight at us.
“This isn’t good,” Tilly murmurs as we watch the guy part the crowd like it’s the fucking Red Sea. He’s heading directly for us.
“Fuck!” I grit.
“You’re a dick-less wonder, you know that Richard?” Holly shouts over the music.
I watch as Richard tries to reach out to touch her. Before he can make contact, she pulls her arm back and punches him square in the face. He stumbles and hits the ground hard, blood pours from his nose. It was that good of a hit, I feel like cheering, until I remember where we are.
“You bitch,” he wheezes while holding his nose and groaning in pain.
“Don’t you ever come near me again, you dick-less prick!” Holly spits out just as the huge ass biker reaches us.
Looking him up and down, I swallow hard. He’s covered in tatts, has short dark hair and he’s bloody huge! Not just in width, he’s at least six feet two inches. The seven of us are like dwarfs at between five feet and five feet five inches. We’re so fucking screwed.
“Problem here, woman?” His gruff voice spits out while looking Holly up and down.
Without missing a beat, and not giving a fuck who she’s talking to, she bites out, “This dick-less wonder needs a fucking pink skirt!” She’s still glaring at so called dick-less as he tries to get to his feet. “Fucken pussy!” Holly spits out before kicking him in the stomach.
“Shit, Holly,” I squeak out, not sure of what I should do.
Looking back at the biker, I watch as a smirk twitches at the corner of his lips before he bends down and with one hand, lifts Richard until his feet are dangling off the ground, lifting him like he weighs nothing more than a newspaper.
“Time to leave,” he spits into Richards face. “Enjoy your evening, ladies.” He nods as he steps past us, still holding an outraged Richard in the air.
My head is absolutely spinning, how the hell did we not get thrown out?
“I need a drink.” Holly spins around and heads for the bar.
“How the hell did we manage to not kicked out?” Tilly asks.
I shrug my shoulders, not having a bloody clue.
Leaning against the bar, I study Holly standing next to me as she orders eight shots of Tequila. I must give her a funny look at the number she’s ordered and she leans over and whispers into my ear, “I need two after that.”
“Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
The shots are lined up in front of us and I smile at the guy who served us as Peyton hands over the cash. He must be new, I’ve never met him before. Either that or we just haven’t been on shift together. “Thanks,” I yell over the music while grabbing my staff card so we can get a discount.
“No worries.” He smiles as his eyes travel down to my tits. I roll my eyes, seriously, every guy is the bloody same.
Turning our backs to the bar, each of us girls brings our shot up. After we all do tops and bottoms with the glasses, we throw the shots back. I hum at the bite in my throat while Ava and Callie wince at the taste, making me laugh.
“Okay ladies, where should we start?” I yell over the music.
“Why don’t we check each of the rooms out first?” Peyton eyes the Greed room and what looks like a mini casino set up inside. Eyeing each of the rooms, I can’t see a lot so, I nod that I’m keen. I keep my eyes peeled for my boss, Trevor. If anybody can lead me to this Elliot guy, it’s him.
***
After about two hours of checking everything out, we leave Tilly and a laughing Peyton, in the throws of kicking everyone's ass at Blackjack. We again make our way around the club to see if I can find Trevor, it looks like luck isn’t on my side tonight.
“They’re playing a good mix tonight and damn these bloody bikers are smoking.” Callie giggles as the first bars to Beautiful Trauma by Pink begins to play.
“Do you wanna dance?” Holly bounces on the balls of her feet like a little kid going into a toy shop for the first time.
Without waiting for an answer, she grabs Callie’s and Ava’s hands and drags them through the crowd to the dance floor.
“Should we join them?” I ask Alexis.
“Let’s go to the ladies’ room first.”
“Sounds good.” I nod and turn before heading in the direction of the front doors where the bathrooms are. Waiting in line, I start to wonder if I will ever get the answers I need. Maybe coming here tonight wasn’t the best way to gather information after all. Feeling a little defeated, I lean against the row of sinks.
“What are you thinking so hard on 99?” Alexis breaks through my thoughts and I try not to laugh at her Get Smart reference.
“Just wondering if tonight was worth it.” I chew on my bottom lip.
“Well I’m not sure, but I do know this….” She pushes her glasses back up her nose. “….between work and everything else we have going on, we haven’t had a night out together for way too long.” She pauses for a moment and something crosses her face. I wonder if I’m missing something. “What I mean is - we’re all here together so we may as well make the most of it.”
“Your right.” I shrug. “But, what am I missing here, what do you mean with everything else going on?”
“Nothing, just life in general.” She answers way too quickly before dashing into the cubicle that just became free.
There’s more than what she’s letting on, I feel it deep in my bones.
I head into the next empty cubicle.
After doing our business, we wash our hands and head back to the main area. Pushing the door open, we have barely gone a few feet when Alexis stops in her tracks.
“Holy hotness, Batman,” Alexis breathes under her breath, but as one song morphs into another at the same time, I manage to hear what she’s said.
I laugh. I love my nerdy friend and only she would reference a hot guy in that way.
“What? Who? Where?” I fire out while looking around, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the side away from the bathroom door.
“If you shut up for a second, I’ll tell you and this isn’t one of those times to make it bloody obvious we’re looking. Okay?” She flicks her eyes towards me and gives me a pleading look.
Nodding, I make the sign of the cross over my heart and pretend to zip my lips, making her smirk.
“Over by the main doors,” she murmurs into my ear while looking over my shoulder.
Swinging around, I get up on my tippy toes and crane my neck to look over a few people who are standing near us and making it hard for me to see. Shooting me a funny look, they walk off and I have the perfect side view of the guy Alexis is talking about.
“For shit’s sake, Harlow, could you be any more obvious? Have you even heard the word, subtle?”
Ignoring her grousing at me, I take in the bear of a man because bloody hell, there is no other way to describe him. He kind of looks like Seth Rogen, but with tatts and a scowl. He’s tall and stocky with a beard. I notice he’s wearing a cut. What is it with all us girls tonight, only zeroing in and crushing on the bikers? Turning back to Alexis, I watch as her eyes take the man in. I bite my lip to stop myself from saying something stupid. I don’t want to upset her, I know it took a lot for her to come here tonight, especially wearing what she’s wearing. It’s not that she’s shy, but she is very self-conscious about her body. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
“Why don’t you go and say, hello,” I encourage her.
Biting her lip, she looks at me and back to the man before peering at the ground. Running her hands down the nightie she’s wearing, she shakes her head.
“You’re gorgeous, Babe,” I say reassuringly.
She looks over at the man again and I can see she is building herself up to go over there, but then something crosses her face.
“I just need a minute,” she mumbles before turning and dashing back into the ladies’ room.
What the hell was that about? I look back to the man, but this time he isn’t alone. A beautiful woman is with him, but as she raises an arm to put around him, he grabs it, shakes his head and eyeballs another man. That’s when I see Trevor standing in front of him, but before I can approach them, the burly biker grabs him by the shirt, lifts him off his feet, brings him to eye level and sneers into his face. Holy shit, what did my boss do to piss off a biker? Without realising what I’m doing, I start towards them. By the time I push past people who are blocking my way and get to where they were, they’re long gone. Shit, where the fuck did they go? I scan the area, but they’re nowhere to be seen. Shit, that could have been my only chance. Damn it! Grumbling to myself, I make my way back to the bathrooms and lean against the wall to wait for Alexis.
“This is for all the lover’s out there tonight,” the DJ announces over the microphone before the first bars of H.O.L.Y. by Florida Georgia Line starts to play. I tap my foot to the beat as my eyes search the dance floor for the girls. People start leaving the floor to go to the bar and I notice the girls swinging each other around and laughing. Something about that moment sends warmth radiating through me - knowing no matter what, these girls have my back. No matter the situation. I know I can’t bring these girls into this mess and I will do everything in my power to protect them. With that thought settled in my mind, I push from the wall as Alexis appears from the bathroom.
“Let’s dance with the girls.” I nod towards them and a bright smile graces Alexis lips before she nods.
“Let’s do it.” She grabs my hand and we make our way over at the same time Peyton and Tilly walk onto the dance floor.
As the lyrics ring out - I’m high on loving you, me and the girls do our best to keep up with the song. We fail miserably and crack up laughing when a guy walks over, grabs Holly around the waist and starts to dance with her. Turning, she shakes her head, saying she doesn’t want to dance. The guy doesn’t take the hint and tries to pull her back into his arms. Before she can push him away again, he hits the floor hard. It’s like everything moves in slow motion. The rest of us stop and when we look to Holly’s left, we see the burly biker from earlier. The one who tossed Richard out on his ass. He’s standing over the guy and looks pissed. I study his cut and notice the numerous patches, but the one that says Enforcer stands out over everything else.
“You causing more trouble, Woman?” he gruffs out over the music.
When he looks at Holly, I notice the hard edge to his eyes softens a little. Another guy wearing a similar cut picks the guy up off the floor and I realise it’s the one Alexis was eyeing. His patch reads Sgt. At Arms and below it, Razor.
“What if I am, Pyro?” Holly cocks her hip, raising her chin in challenge.
I swear to God she has absolutely lost her damn mind.
“I may have to keep an eye you.” He folds his arms over his hard chest and stares down at her.
Holy friggin shit, is it just me or did the air in here just get even hotter?
“Don’t pretend like you haven’t been already, big boy,” she purrs out.
“Holly.” I grab her arm at the same time the guy drops his arms.
After a few moments where it seems they just stare at each other, a deep rumbling laugh spills from him, causing Holly and the rest of us to crack up.
“You’re going to be a handful and I can’t wait,” he growls before turning and walking away.
I notice the other guy staring hard at Alexis, but she has her head down staring at the floor. “Oi!” I nudge her but she shakes her head. When I look back to the guy, a smirk kisses his lips before he turns and drags the guy who tried to grope Holly towards the front doors.
“I think I need a drink after that!” Peyton shouts and I nod.
Turning, we all make our way to the bar. After grabbing another drink, we head back to the dance floor. After a few songs, we need a break and head towards a high-top table which is vacant. Now is as good a time as any to try and escape without them getting suss.
“I think I’m gonna head home, girls.”
“Oh, what, why?” Tilly slurs.
“I’m not feeling one hundred percent.” I lie, hoping the girls have had enough to drink to let me slip out alone. “I better try and get some sleep before I have night shift tomorrow night.” I glance at my watch, it reads 1am, “I mean tonight,” I laugh.
“Wait, we’ll come with you.” Holly grabs her drink and throws it back.
“How are you going to get home?” Ava asks.
“It’s fine, you girls stay and enjoy the rest of the night. I’m just gonna call a cab.” Grabbing my phone and keys from Peyton’s clutch, I don’t give them a chance to argue. I wave over my shoulder and try to blend into the crowd. When I hear them calling my name, I ignore it, feeling guilty as shit for lying. But, tonight I came here to get information and so far, I haven’t gotten a fucking thing. I need to see if I can find Trevor again.
***
Stepping from the club into the cool morning air, I rub my arms and make my way towards the cab pickup line. I feel absolutely defeated. I’ve spent the past half an hour since I left the girls searching for Trevor without any luck.
Needing a smoke, it hits me - I left them in Peyton’s clutch.
“Just fucking great,” I grumble to myself.
“Hey, you’re the new chick.” A guy’s voice sounds from beside me.
I turn to find it’s the sleazy bar tender from earlier. I nod in answer, not in the mood to be hit on.
“I’m L,” he introduces himself.
I take in the black shirt and pants the guys have to wear with the Ivy logo on the front, his pale face and red hair.
“Nice to meet, ya.”
I notice he’s smoking.
Fuck, I really didn’t want to talk to this guy, but I need a smoke.
“I’m Harlow, you wouldn’t happen to have one of those I can bum off you, would you?” I nod to the smoke in his hand and watch as his eyes light up.
“Sure do, beautiful.” He pulls the packet out of his pants pocket and hands me one.
Muttering, thanks, I step out of the line and head towards the carpark so I don’t annoy anyone when I light it up. Low and behold, L follows me.
“I’ve got something harder you can smoke.” He steps to my side and rubs his shoulder against mine.
“I’m good, thanks. I don’t do drugs,” I bite out.
I don’t mean to be rude but just the mention of drugs gets my back up.
“Oh beautiful, I didn’t mean drugs,” he says close to my ear.
His hot, rank breath puffs over my neck, sending disgust running through me.
“Not interested,” I manage to say before he yanks my arm hard.
He swings me around and my back hits a concrete wall, I hit my head hard and see stars.
“Fuck!”
“Not yet, beautiful, but soon.” He grips my hair hard while his hand slides under my dress.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” I scream. Bringing one hand up, I push against his chest. With my other hand, I try to stop his hand from wandering under my dress. For a small guy, he’s fucking strong. Looking into his pale eyes, I notice how blown they are. Fuck, he’s high.
“I said, get the fuck off me!” I bring my knee up into his nuts, making him scream out in pain. He drops to his knees but not before he lashes out and hits me straight across the face.
Fuck, that stung like a bitch. My eyes become watery and while sucking the pain down, I bring the heel of my boot down on his nuts again.
“Piece of shit,” I spit out before hearing the crunch of boots on the gravel road in front of me.
Snapping my eyes up, my breath leaves me in a whoosh when a pair of broad shoulders step into my view. I note the VP patch on his cut and the name, Mercy. I lick my suddenly dry lips when his piercing green eyes lock onto mine.
“Need a lift?” He nods to a sleek black Harley that’s sitting at the end of a row of bikes.
I suck down a deep breath in an attempt to control myself as his deep gravelly voice sends shivers down my spine. Without saying a word, I look to the bike and back to him. I’m not sure what the hell I’m thinking when I nod and head towards the bike. As I pass, I hear him hiss out a breath, sending delicious tingles directly to my clit.
Fuck what the hell am I doing? I ask myself as I throw one leg over the back of his bike.