Stephanie

 

After leaving Isaac and the Jungle’s Thorns bar behind, I could barely focus on what I had to do next. Somehow, I was going to have to stop Val from calling the cops on Isaac and his guys. I had to make her see that Isaac wasn’t responsible.

 

Jessica! I thought suddenly. Jessica’s smart. She doesn’t want revenge unless it’s really against her attacker. She won’t let Val do this if she knows the guys are innocent.

 

I was amazed to find the scene calm and relatively undisturbed when I arrived. Jessica and Tara were playing cards, Alexa was standing behind the bar and gazing down at her phone. The other girls were lounging around and drinking, but I didn’t see Val anywhere. The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach grew even worse as I stepped closer, wiping my sweaty palms off on my jeans.

 

“Stephy,” Alexa said with a grin. “Do you have any news? Did you talk to them? Is Kyle okay?”

 

“I need to talk to you,” I said sharply. “Come on. Come with me, right now,” I added when Alexa kept staring at me. “Hurry!” I barked when she still didn’t move. “This is fucking important!”

 

Jessica and Tara stared. “Stephy, can I get you anything?” Jessica stood up with her hands clasped in front of her. I stared at her; I couldn’t help myself, every time I saw her, she looked even more virginal and innocent than she had before.

 

“No,” I said sharply. “Actually, yeah,” I added. “Two beers. Bring them to the back room. Now. Then, the rest of you need to get out. Go look for Val and call me once you’ve found her. Don’t let her go anywhere,” I added sharply. “We have business we need to discuss before she does anything.”

 

“Right,” Jessica said softly. She quickly ran over to the bar and grabbed the beer bottles, shoving them at me and then darting out of the clubhouse. I smiled. Even in the face of crisis, I loved that she was one of the strongest members of the club. She may not have had tons of ink like Tara, or a wise-ass mouth like Val, but Jessica was turning out to be one of the most valuable members of the Succubi.

 

Alexa gave me a sulky look once we were alone together. She stared at me as I passed her a bottle of beer after cracking my own open and taking a long swig.

 

“You’re drinking a lot lately,” Alexa said cautiously. “Are you sure that’s smart? In the face of all this?”

 

“Shut up,” I snapped at her. “You’re the reason why we’re in so much trouble right now. Did you ever think about that?”

 

“What?” Alexa narrowed her eyes and crossed her skinny arms over her torso. “What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

 

I glared at her and took another long drink of beer. “Yes, you did,” I said calmly. Pointing to a chair, I ordered Alexa, “Sit!”

 

Alexa lowered herself down into the chair, looking up at me with big, reproachful eyes. “I didn’t do anything,” she insisted loudly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Bullshit,” I scoffed, sitting down across the table. Alexa’s eyes were darting around nervously and I could tell that she was shaking. “You fucked up,” I said solemnly. “I’m gonna give you one more chance to tell me the truth, or I’m kicking you out of the Succubi.”

 

Alexa held up her hands. Her eyes looked fearful. “I swear, Stephy, I didn’t do anything. I swear I’d never do anything to hurt the club.”

 

I laughed. “You should have thought about that before you started fucking a Jungle’s Thorns,” I said, shaking my head in disdain. “And before you lied to me about it, too.”

 

Alexa colored. “I lied because I knew you’d be mad,” she said softly. “Doesn’t that count for anything?”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Alexa, that logic only applies when you steal the last beer or take my food,” I said. “This was something that endangered the club. And you know what it is, and you’ve known it since it happened. Why don’t you tell me?”

 

Alexa licked her lips. She blinked her eyes again and gave a tight little shake of the head. “Stephy, honestly, I don’t—”

 

“Shut up,” I said loudly. Alexa jumped but she closed her lips. “Remember the night of the party?” I asked in a soft, dangerous voice. “Remember how Val said she saw a Jungle’s Thorns sneaking off the premises after Jessica was attacked?”

 

Alexa nodded. I could tell she wanted to speak but she kept her lips clamped tightly together.

 

“Well, Alexa, why do you think she would have done that?” I asked softly. “Surely not because she saw Kyle sneaking away, am I right?”

 

Alexa’s eyes widened and her shoulders slumped. I could practically read the look on her face. “Shit,” she mumbled. “You…um, you weren’t supposed to find out about that.”

 

I laughed. The balls these girls had on them! Alexa looked alarmed at my laughter, then almost relaxed when she saw the grin on my face. Stupid girl.

 

"You bitch," I said softly. "And here's the thing: you know that it wasn't Kyle because Kyle was never sneaking away! He spent the whole goddamn night with you in the clubhouse, am I right?"

 

Alexa nodded fiercely. “Oh god, Stephy,” she babbled quickly. “Kyle would never do anything to hurt anyone! He’d never have done anything to Jessica! I swear!”

 

“I bet,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “But he spent the night here with you, and Val found out about it, and then I’m guessing you begged her to keep quiet.” I folded my hands in front of my chest and let them rest in my lap. “And then, when Val said something the next day about seeing a Jungle’s Thorns sneak away, you knew that you had to keep silent or else we’d blame Kyle. Is that right?”

 

Alexa swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded miserably. “That’s right,” she said, glancing down. “That’s exactly what happened?”

 

I shook my head in disbelief. “I was really hoping that I’d be wrong about that,” I admitted. “This hurts, Alexa. Knowing that my own girls want to betray me really hurts.” I stared at her. “Do you know what that feels like?”

 

"Oh god, Stephy, I feel so guilty," Alexa cried loudly. She put her face in her hands and began to cry. "I feel so horrible! I couldn't believe that Val would lie about that, but I couldn't say anything because she threatened me! She told me that she had her reasons for doing this and that if I didn't go along with her, she'd kill me!"

 

I stared at her. This was bad. This was much worse than I’d thought when Isaac and I figured out what happened. I wasn’t sure what exactly I’d thought about Val then, but now I was starting to realize just how dangerous my former best friend was turning out to be.

 

“What?” I asked softly. “Alexa, you need to tell me exactly how she threatened you.”

 

Alexa swallowed again. “She just…” Her voice cracked and she wiped at her red, wet face with the back of her hand. “She told me that if I said anything about Kyle being there, well, that she’d ruin me. She told me that she’d tell Kyle I was fucking around on him, and the whole Jungle’s Thorns MC would want me dead.” Alexa was shaking, and for the first time, I realized that her fear was genuine instead of a mere act for my sympathy. “She told me that bad, indescribable things would happen to me,” Alexa added, lowering her eyes. “And she told me that the Russians would kill Kyle before Isaac and the other guys could save him. She told me that he’d die and it would all be my fault.”

 

“Because she wanted to get the cops involved before Isaac even met up with the Russians,” I said, feeling a chill in my stomach. “Did you know about this before that night? Or did she spring the whole thing on you then?”

 

Alexa looked around and I saw that she was nervous once again. “It wasn’t like that,” she said softly. “Val came to me, and, um, well, she told me to invite Kyle and some of the other guys. She said that you wanted some kind of peace treaty with Jungle’s Thorns and that they should all come to the party."

 

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Jesus Christ,” I mumbled. “This is fucking awful. She told you that you could bring Kyle and then she blackmailed you about it later?”

 

“Yeah,” Alexa said. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink shade. “She told me that if I said anything, she’d kill me. When I asked why she changed her mind, she acted like we’d never even had the conversation about inviting the guys to the party.”

 

I nodded. My anger towards Alexa was fleeing my body but I still didn’t feel very good about the whole situation. Val was the most dangerous villain I’d ever faced, and I hadn’t even figured out her end game!

 

“Did you tell anyone else about this?” I leaned in close and stared at Alexa’s trembling face. “Did you even breathe a word of it?”

 

Alexa shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “I didn’t. Val was the only person who knew I was dating Kyle.”

 

“What about Jessica?” I frowned. “Did she notice anything?” I knew it was wrong, but part of me was worried that this shit would traumatize Jessica. After all, she was the baby of the club, she was the one who needed protecting. I couldn’t let this get her down, not in light of her recent brutal assault.

 

“No,” Alexa said. “She doesn’t seem to notice much, actually.”

 

I frowned again. I was sick of all of my girls treating Jessica like a moron just because she was young and pretty. “Fine,” I said. I got to my feet and finished the last of my beer. Instead of feeling relaxed, I just felt keyed up and faintly nauseous from the alcohol. “Don’t speak a word about this,” I told Alexa in a low voice. “Don’t tell anyone. And don’t tell Val anything else. I’ll have to deal with her as soon as the others track her down.”

 

There was a knock on the door. “Boss!” Tara yelled. “Val’s back!”

 

My stomach flipped in my body as Alexa glanced up to meet my eyes. A look passed between us—a silent look of recognition, as hot as a brand—but she didn’t say anything. I watched as she slipped between me and Tara, darting down the hall and into the main part of the clubhouse.

 

“Great,” I muttered under my breath. “Thanks, Tara.”

 

Val was standing in the center of the room, taking her jacket off and tossing on a table when I walked up to her. When she turned to face me, she had a big grin on her dark face. “Stephy, my girl, today’s almost the day!” Val said loudly, reaching out for a hug.

 

I stopped where I was, just a few feet shy of Val. “No,” I said sharply. “Not right now. Val,” I added. “We need to talk.”

 

Val crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine,” she snapped. She sat down and cracked her gum, grinning at me sarcastically. “Let’s talk, Stephanie.” She pulled out a chair and held it up to me, batting her eyelashes. Anger and disdain were radiating off Val’s frame in waves and I shuddered as I sat down and glared at her black eyes.

 

“This is serious, Val,” I said sharply. “We need to call off the operation. We can’t call the cops right now.”

 

“Girl,” Val said dramatically. She rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth loudly. “What the fuck are you talking about? We have to call the cops, honey. That was the plan.” She emphasized the last word, leaning down and glaring at me until I felt like shrinking away from her evil, awful gaze. “You agreed, Stephanie. You knew this was all going down today.”

 

I shook my head. Yeah, that was before I found out that you’re a fucking liar, I thought bitterly. “Val, call it off,” I said sharply. “We ain’t dealing with this today. We gotta figure out how to do it on our own, not delegating to the police.”

 

Val laughed loudly. “And just what on earth makes you think I’m going to listen to you?” She laughed again and shook her head. “Don’t be an idiot. You forget you're leading a group of girls here. Don't fucking forget your responsibilities, Stephanie."

 

“You are a group of women,” I hissed. “And we should all be smarter about what we have to do, and you know that, Val. It doesn’t matter what you think. I’m the president, and I say we’re done with this today.”

 

Val glared at me. I studied her features, painfully aware that this woman used to be my best friend. Now I couldn’t even stand looking at her without wanting to scream about what a fake and a liar she was. She’d been trying to ruin the club since day one, and I wasn’t about to let her.

 

“Val, I got things wrong,” I said sharply. “It was my fault. I fucked up here, okay? I know that. But we can’t call the cops on them right now. We have to make sure Kyle gets out of this okay, and then we can talk about how we’re going to handle Jungle’s Thorns in the future.”

 

Val shook her head. “What do you bitches think?” she asked loudly, standing up from her chair and spinning around the room. She glared at Alexa, at Tara, even at Jessica. “You girls,” she said, looking around in disgust. “You’re all up Stephanie’s ass.”

 

“That’s not true,” Alexa said loudly. My heart sank—for a moment, I thought she was actually going to betray me and go back to Val’s side. But instead, she walked over and stood close to me until our shoulders were touching. “If Stephanie says that she got it wrong, then she got it wrong,” she said. She squared her body and took a deep breath, rising up to her full height. "I believe her, and I stand with her because she's our president and she knows what she's doing." Alexa glared at the other women in the room as if threatening them to challenge her. "I trust Stephanie," Alexa repeated. "Don't you all? Don't you remember times when she stuck up for us?"

 

“Val’s always been there for us, too,” Jessica said softly. She stood up and gazed around. “She cares about us just as much as Stephanie does. And just because Stephanie thinks something is going to bring heat on the club doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision.” Jessica glared at me and I felt a spike of anger rush through my body. “I think she’s afraid of what’s going to happen if we take revenge like we want.”

 

I shook my head and squared my shoulders towards Jessica and Val. Val walked over to Jessica and wrapped a protective, muscular arm around her fragile frame.

 

“Come on,” I said loudly. “Don’t do this, Val. You know it’s gonna be bad for the club. You know it’s gonna be bad for both of us.”

 

Val sneered at me. “You’re just worried about something happening to your precious Isaac,” she said loudly. I blushed before I could even think about what she’d said. “It doesn’t matter that one of your own girls got raped, not when you’re just interested in fucking the leader of Jungle’s Thorns!”

 

I glared at her. “That’s not fucking true,” I snapped. “I’m interested in getting revenge, but I think we got this all wrong. We don’t even know for a fact that Jungle’s Thorns was involved!”

 

Alexa shot me a warning look. “Stephanie,” she said in a low tone. “Don’t start with that, you know it’s not gonna go well.”

 

“What’s she talking about?” Val demanded. Jessica frowned and walked over.

 

“Stephanie, I can’t believe you,” she said softly. “I can’t believe you’d really choose a man over the safety of this club.” She took off her vest and threw it on the floor. “I don’t know that I can stay here anymore.”

 

“Fine,” Val snapped. “Stephanie, you win,” she added in a sulky, disgusted voice. “I won’t call the fucking cops. Happy?”

 

I swallowed hard. Victory didn’t feel as good as I’d thought it would. The look Jessica was giving me put a bad taste in my mouth and between her and Val, I was starting to feel sick.