SIXTEEN
Stewing
Seven
Ninety percent of the people in Neptune’s either came for the drinks or were looking to get laid. The other ten percent were people like me, looking for an escape so that they could think and sort out all the fuck-ups that were happening in their pathetic little lives. As I sat at the bar, nursing the drink that Hanna had poured for me, my mind went back to the other night.
I shouldn’t have let Trey take me home. The buzz of alcohol had faded and regret was the only thing I felt in my gut now. I knew I should’ve stopped him when his mouth hit mine, desperately seeking the desire I didn’t have for him. But I hadn’t and that was a grave mistake.
The hollow feeling remained even as he filled my body. Truth be told, it wasn’t much different than how it was with the other faceless men I had been with. Despite the fact that Trey and I were friends before this, the chemistry hadn’t translated into passion. Why? Were we just not compatible or was it because my mind was preoccupied with someone else?
In my wilder days, I learned early on that sex could mean different things to different people. A lot of the time, it was just about a physical release, no less important than eating and breathing. Most unattached men were looking for this. Then there were the others who were interested in the emotional side of sex. Of feeling things that their own hand couldn’t do. In those rare, precious moments, however, it was about expressing your love. Sex with Trey had been none of the above.
I hadn’t been strong enough to tell him that when he took me home in the morning. Or when he told me he’d see me at work and kissed me goodbye before leaving. Why was I such a coward?
Maybe there was a little bit of truth behind that talk about liquid courage. Because here I was, sitting at the bar in Neptune’s, sucking back the shots in order to figure out how to tell Trey about how I felt about him. Or rather, what I didn’t feel.
Behind the bar, Hanna double-fisted two bottles of alcohol, flipping them upside down with a flick of the wrist as she poured shots. The phone rang and I watched as she set the bottles down to answer it.
Indy emerged from the back, still in the process of tying an apron around her waist when she shot me a smile. “Wow, hitting it hard, huh?”
I stared down at my drink. Yeah, well, if she had done what I had, she’d be drinking herself into a stupor, too.
Just then, Hanna’s voice boomed over the music and chatter in the dive bar. “What?” Her tone had gone hard, her expression morphing into panic and disbelief. Brows knitted, I shot a worried look at Indy. “All right, I’ll kick everyone out,” she said before hanging up.
“Hanna, you all right?” When she turned around, I encountered wide eyes, thinned lips and an overall pale cast to her tanned complexion. “What happened?”
“We need to get everyone out. Now. I’ll explain later.” In a voice booming with authority, she yelled, “Everybody out! This place is closed for the weekend! Sorry for the inconvenience but everybody needs to haul ass and get the fuck out. Right now!” Naturally, there was a lot of confusion from the crowd. “You heard me! Everybody out!” Some early drunks expressed their displeasure loudly but there was no time to waste. Between Hanna, Indy and me, we managed to get all the customers and staff out within the next few minutes. When it was only the three of us, I turned to Hanna and asked what the hell was going on. It wasn’t that often that Neptune’s had to be shut down completely. It was bad for business.
“Glory MC’s riding in fast,” she explained. “I don’t know the whole extent of it. Knuckle refused to tell me over the phone, but he sounded frantic.” She shot Indy a wide-eyed look and her voice lowered into a panicked whisper. “It can’t be good.”
That admission put my best friend into an immediate state of worry for her boyfriend. If anyone knew just how bad and how quickly it could all go to shit, Indy knew and her eyes revealed her uneasiness. It caused my own anxiety to multiply.
In the distance, I could hear a roaring thunder spread across the sky. “Come on,” Hanna said. “Prop the doors open and get out the medical kits. We need to be prepared for anything.”
I swirled around to face her. “Medical kits?” Did she really think someone was injured?
It made me think of the last time Neptune’s was shut down. It was when a bomb had gone off in the parking lot. Then before that, Neptune’s was made into a makeshift hospital for the wounded after some attacks. My heart began a pounding rhythm as the thought of harm coming to Lucky formed in my mind.
Well, it wasn’t just Lucky in particular. The thought of anyone in Glory MC being hurt caused a bolt of ice to lance through me.
The rumbling got louder until I could make out the small figures dressed in black, approaching at a brutal pace in the sun-drenched streets. Like a menace, Glory MC rode in fast, careless to the rocky road before them. Knuckle led the pack, eyes covered with black shades and a grim look. Hanna approached him as he parked in front of Neptune’s. “Are you okay?” she asked, concern marring her features.
“I’m fine, baby,” Knuckle reassured. “But remember that girl I told you about before? The one Brennan tried to sell off to me in a deal?” As Hanna nodded, her expression told me that she’d reached the same conclusion as I did. They had found her! Relief and disbelief oscillated within me.
Now knowing what to look out for, I watched as the rest of Glory MC slowed to a stop, engines cutting off one by one. A lone vehicle pulled up into the packed parking lot.
Beck quickly emerged from the driver’s side, moving swiftly to the back where he opened the door. I peered in, wanting to get a look at the woman who was brutally abused and offer some assistance. I’ll admit, a bit of curiosity powered my actions, too. “Seven,” Beck said in a firm, but still friendly voice. “Give us some space, please. She’s been through a hell of a lot.”
“Oh.” I stepped back. “Of course. I only wanted to help.”
Beck smiled thinly. “I know, but we’re gonna carry her in and I don’t want to accidentally smack you in the face with one of her limbs.”
I nodded before stepping back further to give him more space. Kitt came out of the vehicle next, canting his head towards me in greeting. He put his arms back into the vehicle and wrapped them around the figure inside. My eyes flew wide when I saw her. “Oh my God.”
The girl shielded herself from the sun as if it were acid to her skin. She looked so frail that I was afraid she might shatter under Beck and Kitt’s handling. But surprisingly, both sergeant at arms hefted her up gently, careful not to jostle her more than necessary as they moved towards the open doors of Neptune’s.
The last to arrive was the white motorcycle—Lucky. As he came to a stop, cut off the engine, and removed his helmet, I was hit by an unusual sense of relief at seeing him unharmed. Some strange part of me wanted to run over to him and hug him. Where the hell did that come from? “You look like shit,” I told him instead.
“I feel like shit,” he agreed with a quick smile. Rings of fatigue circled his light eyes. His movements were slower, weighed down by the last few days’ events. I could tell what he had experienced had altered him already.
“Where did you find her?” Ward Three was filled with Bronson’s men. How could she have gone unnoticed for so long?
“She was held in a cell in an abandoned train station platform, surrounded by other prisoners.”
My eyes widened. “There are more?”
“They’re dead,” he replied tightly.
My mind conjured the images of a grimy old train platform, imagining how the heat would make the stench all the more unbearable. I knew without a doubt that I’d be traumatized if forced to endure that. Just how long did the girl have to stay there? No wonder her eyes were so devoid of life. She was amongst the dead already. “What did they want with her?”
“We figure she was used in a trade. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that she’s been sexually abused. Some men make objects of women.”
My gut rolled in a violent heave. That was why Beck had kindly asked me to back off. Traumatic experiences often took a while to recover from. Some never did. How could people do such a thing? Treat someone with such carelessness for humanity?
Lucky and I walked into Neptune’s side by side. As I took in the activity, Lucky was pulling off his fingerless gloves. Much like before, Neptune’s was brimming with bikers, some indulging in strong, well-deserved drinks and others, like Kitt and Beck, worked in the back room with the girl. Indy came over to embrace her boyfriend. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
“A little roughed up,” Hastie admitted. “But it’s nothing that a little time won’t heal. Besides, we have other things we need to worry about.” His eyes traveled across the dive bar to settle on the doors where the girl was.
I still didn’t know her name, but I was going to make it a priority to ask. She’d been stripped of everything else in her life. Her name would be the only thing she still owned.
Knuckle was seated at a table where Hanna was wrapping some dressing over a minor wound on his forearm. Indy went back to dishing out the alcohol to thirsty bikers while Hastie went to change his bandages. The defeated and exhausted looks on everyone’s faces chipped at my heart. Everyone needed first aid, food, and some sleep. “You hungry?” I asked Lucky.
“Fucking starved.”
“Wait here.” I headed to the kitchen to inspect the stock. Without the cook in the house, I doubted there was anything that could be pulled from the freezer and reheated quickly. Hmm. Maybe I could whip up a hearty stew and fresh bread to fill everyone’s bellies.
Within minutes, I had the oven on full blast, the vegetables diced, and the dough already on its way to becoming bread. I was in such a rhythm that I failed to hear Lucky enter the room. “Everything all right in here?”
“We don’t have any carrots, but I still think it will turn out all right.”
He came up beside me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making stew. The bread is already in the oven.” When he simply stared at me, I said, “You said you were hungry.”
“I didn’t mean for you to cook something.”
I laid the knife down and turned to face him, wiping my hands on a towel. “Everyone out there is just as tired as you are. With the cook gone, I figured I could make myself useful. Indy’s got the bar handled, and I don’t know jack shit about first aid.” I grabbed the knife again and started cutting. “I’m better off back here. Blood makes me faint anyway.”
“Well, it smells delicious.”
“Wait ’til I’m done. It’ll smell even better.”
A genuine smile appeared on his face. “Actually, do you mind if I hang out back here with you?”
“Why?”
His hand came up to scratch his neck, his eyes never quite meeting mine. “I wanted to apologize again for that dick comment I made before I left.” His eyes lifted, sparkling with sincerity. “I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you.” I’d forgiven him the moment I saw him come back unharmed.
“I’m also tired as fuck and slightly traumatized.” His embarrassed smile revealed dimples. “I don’t want the guys knowing I can’t handle my shit, so I’d rather hide here.”
I laughed. “You can stay but don’t just sit there. Make yourself useful. Pass me the chopped vegetables.”
Lucky did as I asked while wearing a smile. And because I couldn’t help it, I smiled back. After that, we fell into an easy rhythm. While Kitt was an excellent kitchen helper, Lucky was proving to be even better. “Do we have any onion soup mix?”
I scanned the shelves quickly. “Yeah. Why?”
“Throw that in there too. Trust me,” he said when I continued to stare at him.
“I wouldn’t have expected that of you.”
“Expect what? That I know how to cook?”
“Well, you haven’t before.” I grabbed the soup mix and tore the package open, pouring the contents inside the pot.
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Lucky drawled.
“Please, give me a little more credit. Living with you has made me learn a lot of things about you that I never, ever wanted to know.”
“Like what?”
“You wear size eleven boots,” I said, as I ticked them off my fingers. “You’re an early riser. Your favorite color is forest green. You always have an odd expression on your face when you look at yourself in the mirror as if you’re unsure if you like what you see. You also hate it when I roll your clean socks up in a ball, which is why I continue to do it.”
His large shoulders shook as he laughed. “I fucking hate it when you do that.”
I smiled brightly. “See?”
Lucky’s smile built to a full-on grin. “But my favorite color isn’t forest green.”
“It isn’t?”
“Nope. I prefer army green or khaki.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Yes. There is.”
“You like army green, but you don’t like to wear camo. How does that work?”
“I don’t like them paired together.”
“But you just said—”
He sighed heavily. “Seven, are we really going to get in a fight over this?”
A reluctant smile spread over my lips. Guess he had a point. Without realizing it, I found myself actually enjoying my time with Lucky. Usually we were arguing over pointless things. A little at the end there, we may have fallen into our typical way of conversing but for a while, I didn’t completely find Lucky annoying. He was actually quite nice when he wasn’t teasing me constantly.
Maybe Indy was right. Maybe it was worth asking Lucky about why he left Glory MC. I cleared my throat before speaking. “Where did you go when you left for two months? Glory MC couldn’t find you anywhere.”
My question clearly made him uncomfortable because the smile vanished from Lucky’s face and was replaced by a stern line that I couldn’t decipher. He didn’t immediately answer and we were left in that awkward moment where I wasn’t sure if he was going to answer at all.
“I went to see my sister,” he finally said.
“Your sister? I didn’t know you had a sister.”
The corner of his lip tipped up as he smirked. “Maybe you don’t know everything about me.”
“How old is she?”
“She’s sixteen.”
“Does she know you’re a member of a motorcycle club?”
“Yeah, she knows.”
I frowned. If she knew, then she must have been aware of his responsibility to the club. To be gone for so long from it was hard enough on the biker. What had happened that had made him take such a long leave of absence? “Is she okay?” I asked, realizing that must be the only other explanation to his prolonged absence. Lucky was fully devoted to the club. I doubted he would leave it for anything else. “Did something happen to her?”
The smirk Lucky had on his face steadily built to a grin as the questions spewed from my mouth. It was nosy of me but I couldn’t take them back now. “I bet you’ve been dying to ask me those questions since I came back.”
“I have, so stop avoiding the questions.”
His shoulders lifted as he shook his head. “I don’t know actually. She claims that she’s okay, but there’s really no way for me to tell if she really is. And that’s what really kills me about it all, knowing that I can’t help her.”
“What happened to her?”
“She OD’d on crack.”
I gasped. Jesus. I hadn’t expected that. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Lucky trundled on as if I hadn’t spoken. “It’s a battle for her. One I’m not a part of. But I can’t help it. I want to help her and be her protector. No matter how old she gets, she’s my baby sister.” The bleak look in his eyes told me that the hurt ran bone-deep. Lucky hopped up onto the countertop and tipped his head back. He leaned against the tiled wall behind him, exposing his true exhaustion. “I see her and I remember the little girl I used to take care of,” he mused absently. “But I don’t think that’s who she is anymore. And what she’s turning into? Fuck, I don’t think I like that either.”
I slid closer towards him, sensing his troubled thoughts. I figured the load he carried on his shoulders was beginning to take a toll on him and the recent excursion to Ward Three had only added to it. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
His smile was forced and unattractive. “No, there isn’t. This is something that she needs to decide on her own.” I nodded, understanding his refusal. “I’m not trying to be a dick here,” he added hastily. “But I don’t like talking about it. I just—”
I smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with.” One conversation and a little bit of flirting wasn’t enough to entirely change a relationship, especially one so strained as ours. Although Lucky wasn’t ready to put words to his feelings, I felt that we had made some progress. Our conversation tonight proved that we could exist without wanting to strangle each other. If anything, we could become friends after this.
“The stew is done,” I told him, moving to pull out bowls that I could serve it in. Lucky hopped off the counter, demeanor shifting to his normal, easy-going self. I wondered if there was more to Lucky than what most people thought. He really was as charming and charismatic as his reputation entailed, but he also put on a good show. Whatever was bothering him was hidden away behind a curtain until he could open it up again and deal with it at a better time. Although Lucky may act like everything was okay, the truth of the matter was he was hurting, and I wanted to know why.
Lucky
Two things occurred to me too late. The first was that I should’ve told the others that I would gladly have the girl stay with me for however long it took her to heal and recover. No one had used Neptune’s as a dorm since it had undergone construction. And I also didn’t feel comfortable letting her stay at the dive bar alone, unguarded at night. I would have to remember to offer that when I saw Kitt or Beck again.
And two, I realized Seven wasn’t a complete bitch all the time.
Whatever it was that had happened in the kitchen between us took me by surprise. When she had run off without an explanation and didn’t return after a few minutes, I worried that something had happened to her. Following the path in which she went, I found her hard at work in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables like a pro.
For a moment, I simply watched her, admiring her skills with the knife and the quick way she multi-tasked, switching easily between the bread and the stew. I believed the earlier rumors about her then, of the fact that she had an opportunity to become a professional chef. Seven had a lot of talent and she was displaying it now, where no one could see it but me. Her position at Giovanni’s as manager was a wasted effort. This was clearly what Seven was born to do.
I hadn’t expected her to cook for all of us. The unexpected kindness was a shock to my system after having seen so much horror in the past few days. Coming from Seven, I don’t know why it surprised me so much. She was always quick to make friends and people always enjoyed her company. It was possible that I’d chosen to ignore that whenever I was with her because it was easier to hate her that way.
When Seven came out from the kitchen, serving the steaming hot bowls of soup to my brothers, it didn’t matter that it was hotter than a broiler outside. One would’ve thought that it was below freezing with how the men handled the bowls in their meaty hands and dipped the freshly baked bread into the soup, practically inhaling the entire thing in seconds.
Seven handed me a bowl and I accepted it graciously, careful not to burn my fingers on it. Like a mother hen, she watched over us as we ate, smiling as if seeing us fill our bellies with food she made gave her satisfaction. It was clear in her expression that she cared about Glory MC, possibly as much as I did.
“Where’d you get all that?” Hanna asked as she saw everyone chowing down.
“Seven made it,” Angel explained over a mouthful of food. “And it’s delicious!” He popped a soggy piece of bread, still steaming between his fingers, into his mouth.
Hanna’s surprise was cut short by Seven’s modesty. “It’s no big deal,” she said. “I just wanted to help. You all should get some sleep after this.”
There were several shouts of praise and thanks from the hungry crowd. Hastie called out, “Not until I get a second serving!” As everyone laughed, my eyes landed on Seven who started to blush under all the attention.
With her blonde hair tied back into a high ponytail, all her model features were on display. She looked absolutely stunning as she smiled down at the club chowing down on the dishes she had prepared. In the face of all the ugliness we’d seen the past few days, Seven’s kindness did more than just fill our hungry bellies; it welcomed us home.
In a nervous gesture, Seven tucked her blonde hair behind one ear and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked so innocent standing there amongst a sea of bikers. Yet she was one of us, wasn’t she? Seven had somehow won over the exclusive biker gang and found her niche in our little family. Now that I had caught a glimpse of it, it became everything I saw.
“You did good,” I said when many members of Glory MC had finished eating. Her eyes lifted to mine, crinkling as she smiled brilliantly. “But there is one thing that’s missing . . .”
She blinked. “What’s that?”
“You forgot dessert.”
The towel she held came flying at me and I ducked, laughing.