“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Sierra growled as she stormed past Colt. Despite her win, she already had enough of the DVMC. All she wanted was a chance, a chance to fit in and perhaps contribute to something, but they couldn’t even give her that.
“Collect her winnings and put it in the vault,” he said to Gunner and Harrison as he walked past. He’d bet almost her entire stake, covering all bets, and she’d won eighteen thousand dollars.
“You okay?” he asked as he followed her outside.
“Yeah, but I hate this fucking place.”
“I know. It’s not right what happened in there. You aren’t even a prospect yet and you are already being challenged.”
“It had to be done. You told me any old lady you brought in would have a target on her back.”
“Yeah, but you’re not my old lady.”
“They think I am.”
“I know. I knew it was going to be rough, but not like this. Most members come in under the radar for a while. They are not worth fucking with until they start trying to climb the ladder. But not you.” He snorted. “Of course that little show just netted you another eighteen grand.”
“Eighteen?”
“Yeah. Once Monica started mouthing off everyone else got on board that you were nothing but a pretender. They keep underestimating you. This time it cost them. Monica most of all. I doubt she had much more than the five grand she bet against you.”
Sierra smiled. “I remember her, the whore with the big plastic tits, right? Serves her right.”
“That’s her.”
“I hope she comes at me sometime. I would like to stomp her ass into a greasy spot.”
“You need to watch out for her. She’s a nasty piece of work. She loves to fight, and fights dirty.”
“Then I guess we have more work to do, don’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I want you to spar with me some more. Show me some new moves. If every bitch in this place is going to come at me, I want to be ready. Besides, I need to hit something.”
“So long as it’s not my face.”
Sierra giggled. “Then keep your left up.”
Colt barked out a laugh. “Touché. Still, before we work on more punching, you need to work on grappling and takedowns. Almost all fights end up on the ground eventually. You want to win a fight? You ground and pound.”
“Ground and pound?”
“Yeah. You slam their ass to the ground then you pound the shit out of them.”
Sierra smiled slyly. “I rather liked being pounded on the ground last night.”
Colt chuckled. “Yeah, so did I. That’s the best kind of ground and pound, but, unfortunately, that won’t help you win a fight.”
She sighed. “Okay. I guess you better show me, but I want you to pound me later, okay?”
“Goddamn, Sierra. I fucked the shit out of you last night, you finger-fuck yourself to orgasm not ten minutes ago, and you want to go again already? Are you trying to kill me?”
Sierra smiled, rather liking the idea of figuratively fucking him to death. “Maybe.”
He shook his head in mock exasperation. “Okay. If you work hard, we can do some of the fun ground and pound later.”
“Deal,” she said immediately.
He glanced at his watch. “Come on, lunch will be up soon. I think you’ve earned a spot at the grownup table.”
“You need to watch out for Monica and Skye,” a female voice whispered into her ear as a plate was placed in front of her.
She twisted around to look at the woman behind her that was passing out plates of sandwiches. “Why?”
“They see you as a threat and they’re going to be coming for you.”
“And you?”
The woman smiled. “I think you are just what this club needs. A tough bitch to come in kick some ass. Chains and I support Colt, and I think his plan to take the club legit is a good idea.” The woman glanced up and turned slightly pale. Sierra turned to where she was looking and saw Skye staring daggers at her, or the woman behind her, or both.
Sierra smiled at Skye and turned, offering her hand to the other woman. “Sierra Mora, nice to meet you.”
The woman nodded and then sat another plate in front of Colt before taking her hand. “Vicki. Vicki Stalen. I’m Chains’ old lady.”
“Chains?”
“Well, Charles Stalen actually, but everyone calls him Chains.” Vicki nodded toward a man sitting and laughing at another table with large, thick, chains inked down both his massive arms. “That’s him over there.”
“I see why they call him that.”
“Yeah. He looks like a real bad ass, but its mostly just looks. He’s a pretty good guy. We’re ready to settle down and start a family, but the club…no place for a family like this.” Vicki looked around again and then began to move off to deliver the other two plates still in her hands. “Just watch your back, okay?”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“What was that all about?” Colt asked as Vicki moved off.
“Just a friendly warning. You have some support in the club.”
“Some,” he agreed. “But not enough to do anything.”
“I suspect there is more than you think. Vicki, she’s afraid of Skye, probably Monica, too.”
“Yeah, I know. All the women are afraid of those two. Well, all but Perri, Bobbi and McKenzie because they have each other’s backs. Dom and Rocks, Monica and Skye’s swinging dicks, are nasty pieces of work, too. Those four, along with Paul, are the biggest problem with the club. They intimidate or beat the shit out of anyone who crosses them.”
“Yeah. You and Perri told me about Gunner’s old lady.”
Colt pursed his lips as he picked up his sandwich. “Yeah. Monica fucked her up good. Scratched the shit out of her face and broke her nose. Her face is probably going to be scarred the rest of her life.”
Sierra met Skye’s glare until the other woman looked away. “I’m not afraid of them.”
“You should be. They don’t always play by the rules, so you need to watch your back.”
“After lunch, show me how to ground and pound.”
“Okay, but don’t get cocky. There’s more to fighting than being able to throw a punch. You have to learn to read your opponent, adjust your technique, and be able to predict what they are going to do next. That takes experience, and that’s something you don’t have and I can’t teach you.”
Colt’s words cooled her anger a bit. He was right, and she knew he was right, but it felt good to have someone admire her and offer support. She smiled at her plate then picked up her sandwich and began to eat.
“Colt, can I ask you something?” Sierra asked as they stepped outside the clubhouse and walked along its edge to get in the shade of the building. As hot as it was inside, it was hotter still outside, even in the shade.
“Sure, what?”
They turned the corner and stopped, the shade instantly dropping the temperature ten degrees or more. “You said I had to watch my back, but that Perri, McKenzie and Bobbi had each other’s back. Does that mean I will never be part of your group?”
Colt smiled. He hadn’t thought about it, but he could see how she might be worried that she was going to be on her own. “You’re new. Give them some time to learn to trust you. I’m pretty sure they won’t let anyone gang up on you, but they aren’t going to be eager to scrap on your behalf either. You haven’t earned that respect yet.” He paused as he thought about how to explain it. “Think of it as a sister versus a friend. Wouldn’t you be more willing to fight for your sister than someone you just met? They’re no different. While your sense of fair play might make you jump in to help someone that was being attacked by three or four people, you probably aren’t going to want to wade into a fight otherwise.”
Sierra nodded in understanding. “I guess I can understand that. I’m not going to have to deal with Bobbi am I?”
Colt chuckled. “You better hope not. She’ll kick your ass not matter what I teach you. Don’t put the moves on Harrison and you’ll be okay. Most of the women are afraid of Monica and Skye but everyone is afraid of Bobbi, even me.”
His slight smirk gave away that he was stretching the truth a little, but she could hear the respect in his voice. Note to self. Don’t piss off Bobbi! she thought as she grinned in return. “Got it. Now, ground and pound?” she asked, determined to earn that respect for herself.
“To start with, there is no real technique to this. This is when a fight turns into a brawl, and you do what you have to in order to win. Fuck the Marquess of Queensberry rules! Once you get them on the ground, you get on them and you pound the fuck out of them until they are unconscious or they give up. I showed you how to get out of a chokehold. What I want to show you now is how you can throw someone to the ground. You grab them up high somewhere, like this,” he explained as he took her around the shoulders and pulled her into his side, “then you twist like this, rolling them over your hip.” She could feel her balance leaving her as he twisted in slow motion, using his hip as a fulcrum. “It doesn’t matter how big they are, if you can get them bent over, and you are up high, like I’m holding you now, they are going down. Now you try,” he said as he released her.
Sierra walked back into the clubhouse with a noticeable limp. She and Colt had spent the last three hours punching, blocking, throwing, and wrestling. She was dusty, hot, thirsty, sore as hell, but felt great! Though she knew she was just getting started, she felt like after almost four hours of work that she’d made some real progress. She knew she was hitting harder, even though her arms felt like noodles, because the smacks of her fists into Colt’s upraised hands were popping louder now than when she started and she wasn’t working as hard.
She also had mastered the art of the take down. Colt was a real challenge. Getting the hold on him in order to throw him was the hard part, but when he would let her, she could put his ass on the ground. Every time he thumped to the ground with a grunt, she felt more invincible…until he got up and body slammed her ass without any trouble just to keep her humble.
She was no match for Colt, maybe not for any man, but she still felt like something had changed. She felt empowered and emboldened in a way she’d never felt before. She would keep working with Colt and learn how to take care of herself so if even it didn’t work out with the DVMC, she wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. She was Sierra fucking Mora, and she wasn’t going to take shit from anyone anymore.
“How’s your knee?” Colt asked as they eased to a stop at the bar. Sierra had tweaked her knee as she tried to take him down the last time. If he let her get a good grip on him, she’d mastered the twisting throw and was putting him on his ass ever time, whether he wanted to be there or not.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt as much as my back and ass.”
Colt rubbed his on butt. “I know the feeling. You did good today. Much better than I thought you would.”
“Good as Bobbi?”
Colt barked out a loud laugh. “Not even close, but keep working and one day you may get there. You have that same fearless attitude she does.”
She smiled, liking the way that sounded. “Yeah, I do don’t I?”
Colt chuckled and slid a beer to her. “And now that you have modesty, you have everything.”
They spent the next several hours relaxing. Colt mingled with the rest of the club members, rebuilding relationships, but she kept to herself. Even Perri seemed to be avoiding her. As dinner preparation began, Sierra got up and helped in the kitchen with some of the lower ranked members, mostly to keep moving because she could feel herself stiffening up, but also to show she wasn’t above helping. Vicki welcomed her and soon everyone else had loosened up around her, as well. She put her restaurant experience to good use and did cleanup while the other women prepared, a task they were delighted to give her.
She still sat at the table with Colt and the rest of the leaders of the club, but she noticed that both the upper ranks and lower ranks had warmed to her, leaving only those in the middle ranks still surly or sullen.
The thumping music, drugs and booze flowed after dinner, but she was too tired and too stiff to want to dance, so she sat and watched, making note of who was pairing off with who. Vicki and Chains stopped by and chatted with her briefly, but they, too, soon disappeared into the barracks area.
“You ready for bed?” Colt asked, jolting her awake.
“Yeah,” she said with a yawn as she stood. The ibuprofen she’d taken at dinner was working and she felt like she would be up for a little ground and pound action tonight after all.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Where’s she going?” Monica asked, stepping in front of Colt. “She sleeps in the barracks.”
“Get out of the way, Monica, before I move you out of the way,” Colt muttered.
“Monica’s right,” Skye chimed in, joining Monica. “What is this shit? Sierra comes in here then goes right to the top? Eating at the leader table, going on jobs, not sleeping in the barracks. You know the rules, Colt.”
“What rules? I’m taking her back to my trailer and we’re going to fuck. I’ve done the same to you.”
“Yeah, but I paid my dues. She hasn’t.”
“This is bullshit,” Colt said, moving to step around Monica and Skye.
“So you bring in an outsider, and just like that, she’s your old lady?” Monica said, stepping in front of him again.
“She doesn’t have to be my old lady for me to fuck her!”
“Then she should sleep in the barracks like the rest of us!” Monica yelled, her color beginning to rise. “She can’t come in here and jump right to the top! That’s total bullshit and you know it!”
“Think what you want,” Colt said shoving past. “I’m not fucking her in the barracks.”
“Monica’s right,” Paul said, his voice ringing out. “You’re taking a lot of liberties with her, Colt. She stood for a challenge, but she’s still not a prospect. I think unless you intend to make her your old lady, Monica’s right, she needs to sleep in the barracks.”
“This is bullshit, Paul! Nobody else has to make someone their old lady just to fuck them!” Colt snarled in frustration.
“Yeah, but nobody has brought in someone and then put them right at the top and that’s what you’re trying to do. That’s why this entire system is in place, to prevent someone from putting together a clique. Everyone has the same rights, the same privileges, if they are willing to fight for them. You’re trying to do an end-around on that. She goes into the barracks tonight. We’ll vote on making her a prospect in the morning. After that, she can start working her way up, just like everyone else.”
Colt glared a Paul. This bastard has to go, and soon! He looked at Harrison, Gunner, Nic and Fletcher. He could see sympathy, and support, but they weren’t going to back him publicly on this. He was trying to game the system, but the system needed to go! “Fine! Have it your way, but she is protected. She has already stood for one challenge today.”
“She has,” Paul agreed. “She won’t have to answer another challenge until tomorrow.”
Colt glared at her, then turned and stomped away without a backward glance.
“Come on, Sierra,” Bobbi said stepping up. “I’ll help you get settled.”