Pepper
We ride the rest of the way in silence. It feels like we're heading to a ghost town. This small two-lane road is even more desolate than the one I was on before I drove into Newbern—no buildings, homes, signs; no civilization for miles. Twenty-five minutes later, we turn from the highway onto an off road. It's hidden very well between overgrown weeds and bushes. The SUV rides rough on the rocky terrain of the backroad. We pull up to a gate with high chain length fence and barbed wire at the top. The gate is opened by a guy who also has a vest on with a patch that reads Prospect. We drive up to an old warehouse that stands three stories.
“This is the clubhouse, and you'll be safe here,” the guy driving tells me.
Wolf climbs out, then opens the back door and escorts Tanya and me from the backseat. We follow closely as he enters the clubhouse. The main room reminds me of a smoky bar, complete with several tables, chairs, couches, and pool tables. A long bar stretches down the far wall with people scattered all around. Wolf marches over to it and straddles a barstool.
“Pepper, this is Cherry, Roxie, and Fox,” Wolf says, pointing out each person as he says their name.
Cherry waves from behind the bar as she’s pouring some concoction into a rock tumbler. It’s obvious she works here. “Hi, nice to meet you,” she warmly offers.
She's very cute girl, maybe nineteen or twenty years old, with a headful of beautiful golden blond hair and big, brown doe eyes.
Roxie glares at me with one brow cocked high into her hairline. Not sure why, nor do I care. She’s about thirty years old with short black hair and eyes so blue, they pierce right through you.
Fox wears a scowl on his face that says ‘don't speak to me’. He makes me think of one of the men from the movie, Grumpy Old Men. Everyone probably gets on his nerves.
Roxie casts her attention to Wolf as she strides toward him and wraps her arm around his neck, trying to pull him in a hug or a kiss—I’m not sure which. He places his hands on her shoulders and sets her back at arm’s length. “Not now. I need to get my girls secure.” His tone is cold with a rough edge that could cut through you.
I’m sure Wolf doesn't realize he just called us his. Roxie noticed what he said, and anyone can tell she doesn’t like it, either. She whips her head around and shoots daggers at me with icy eyes. If looks could kill, I would be dead.
She sneers. “What do you mean, your girls?”
“Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but Tanya is my niece.”
“I know that. I'm talking about her,” she says, while jabbing her finger at me. “Who in the hell is she, and where did she come from? She doesn’t belong here!”
“Pepper is also none of your fucking business,” Wolf snarls, not at all liking how Roxie is getting hostile.
“Fuck you, Wolf! What do mean, not my business? I don't like it,” she loudly shouts her opinion.
“No, it’s fuck you. This is how shit is and I’ve told you before—you have no say here, and you never will.” His jaw clenches tightly. He looks mad as hell, but Roxie keeps on moving her mouth.
“What kind of name is Pepper anyway? How did her parents’ come up with that name? I guess they just looked over at the table and decided to name their kid Salt or Pepper?”
I look between Roxie and Wolf. “I’m standing right here,” I declare.
They’re still ignoring me. I hope they realize there are little ears that can hear them. Guess people around here don't care who hears them. Where I come from, people watch what's being said in front of young children. It doesn’t even seem to bother Cherry or Fox.
Tanya flinches as their voices echo around us. I’m sure she’s still frightened from the attempted kidnapping, and their shouting isn’t helping that fear to digest. I don’t know what to do with this little girl who still tightly clutches me like I’m her lifeline. She feels like dead weight in my arms, so I make my way across the room to the nearest couch and sit down.
The driver of the Tahoe walks into the room just as the disagreement between Wolf and Roxie escalates. His brows scrunch together and he seems frustrated as he stomps toward me. He leans down close enough to whisper through their shouting, “Hey, baby girl. My name is Bear. I believe we need to get out of the bar area. Follow me to Wolf’s office. It’s just down the hall.”
I nod in agreement, then get up and follow him down the hall. Walking into an office, I look around at the messy room. Papers litter the massive desk, and the walls are covered with pictures of motorcycles and half naked women. Typical biker men, I guess.
“Let me clean off the couch for you to sit down. Please excuse the fucking mess as we weren’t expecting company.” Bear throws everything on the floor and dusts the imaginary lint from the cushion with his huge hands. “Baby girl, sit down before you fall over. Did you say your name is Pepper?”
Distracted from taking in my surroundings, I completely ignore him, his voice being drowned out by the thoughts racing through my head.
“Hey there, sweet thing, I'm talking to you.” He gently touches my arm, and I startle from the contact.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I offered you a seat. You look like you’re about to collapse. Did I hear you say your name is Pepper? You’re not from here?” he questions.
I lay Tanya down on the cushion, then sit beside her, a sigh brushing past my lips from the relief of the strain on my back. “Thanks, she's getting a little heavy. To answer your questions, yes, my name is Pepper and no, I'm not from here. I'm from Charleston, South Carolina.”
He nods, his biceps flexing under the weight of his body as he grips the armchair and sits down. “Well, baby girl, will you tell me why you thought you could take on a biker?” His smirk is obvious as his eyes scan me from head to toe.
“I didn't think. All I saw was a little girl who needed help. I would do it all over again. What’s going on here? How could a little girl get kidnapped? Was nobody watching her? How were all of y’all able to get there so fast?”
While I’m firing off questions at Bear, Wolf walks in and jumps into the conversation. “I'd like to know those fucking answers, too. We'll get to the bottom of this soon. Bear, go question the daycare where Tanya goes. I want to know how Moose was able to get her. On your way out, tell Tank to find her daddy and see if we can get her granny here.”
“On it. What about your parents’?” Bear asks.
“I'll call them as soon as we know something. There's no need to upset them yet. Something bad must be going on.” Worry flashes through Wolf’s eyes at the mention of sharing the news with his family.
“No problem, I’ll go right now.”
“Thanks, brother,” Wolf says, and turns to me.
Bear makes his way out of the room but pauses in the doorway as Wolf speaks up.
“We were on our way to the barber. We have a brother from our Mississippi chapter who has cancer. We wanted to support him somehow for losing his hair because of the radiation treatments. So, we were there to shave our heads when we saw Moose with Tanya standing in the square near the barbershop and store. Everything went to shit.” He shakes his head.
Blinking back my tears that are about to fall, I commend him. “That's a wonderful thing to do.”
Wolf casts a look of wonder at Bear, then Bear tips his head in a nod and turns down the long hallway. Wolf picks Tanya up from the couch and she goes willingly, her little arms wrapped tight around his thick neck. He gestures toward the hall with his head and says, “Follow me up to my room.”
We start down a long hall with a staircase at the end. Now that I finally have time to think since all the drama, I try to process everything that has happened, replaying the events in slow motion in my mind. At this point, it dawns on me that the men all seem to have nicknames. I guess their parents could have named them with an animal name, but I doubt it. I've already met a Wolf, Bear, and Fox. The guy who kidnapped Tanya was called Moose. “Wolf, is there a meaning behind all of the animal names? Are they all nicknames?” I ask, being the curious writer.
“They’re what we call road names, like a nickname. Not all of them are animal names, though. My real name is Talan. Our road names mean different things. We're usually given one after some kind of event or something happening that is connected to us.”
I look at him inquisitively, trying to keep a straight face as I ask, “So, Wolf means you like to howl at the moon?”
He lets out a booming laugh as he leads us up the stairs.
I smile to myself. He has a beautiful laugh.
Still chuckling, he says, “Let’s get Tanya calmed down, then I can answer more questions later. My priority is the safety of my niece and you.”
“Okay.”
We reach the second floor landing, where an eerie chill snakes up my back as we’re encased in darkness. The lone sconce on the wall flickers in a dim yellow hue, and with the doors to the adjoining rooms shut, the space seems like it’s closing in around me. Wolf twists a doorknob at the end of the hall and flicks on a light as he steps into the space. “This is my room for when it’s necessary for me to stay at the compound. Lately, it seems like it happens often. I have a house that I'd like to stay at a lot more. Tanya and you should be fine here.”
The room looks like a small apartment. Against the far wall sits a huge king-size bed with a matching dresser and nightstand, and then there's a cozy sitting area with a nice flat screen mounted on the wall. Also, the room has a small refrigerator and a dinner table for two. Right beside a huge window there's a desk that looks a lot cleaner than the one in the office downstairs.
Anyone could see the room as a whole is a comfortable place to stay. Wolf clears his throat, and I turn around to face him. “I can't believe she's fallen asleep. I guess the confrontation exhausted her. We can lay her down there.” He nods toward the bed.
“Okay, sounds good. Wait a second and I'll pull down the covers.” I hurry over to pull the covers back and watch him gently lay her down.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” He tucks the covers around her and presses a small kiss to her forehead. Stepping back, we stand silent as we both watch the sweet angel’s chest rising and falling. Finally, she seems to be resting peacefully.
Turning to Wolf, I break the silence with an angry whisper, “I can't believe that biker man thought it was okay to take this sweet little one.”
“I know, it was fucking crazy. Moose has been seeing her mama, Brenda. We haven't heard from her in over three months. My brother and she haven't been together in over two years. Tanya mostly stays with her dad, but Brenda’s mom helps with her a lot, too. Bear is sending a prospect to get her and bring her back here.”
I catch the scent of leather, the outdoors, and oil and realize just how close he is to me. My mind reels with dirty thoughts, wondering what he would be like in bed. He's huge all over—broad, strong shoulders, thick and corded hands … and I bet so is his cock, too. Heat rushes to my face at a dizzying pace, and I hope he doesn't notice how red my cheeks must be turning.
I clear my dry throat. “Did someone bring my SUV here? I was planning on staying at the B&B in town. I would like to go there before it gets too late.”
“Yes. One of the prospects drove it over, but I think it will be better if you stay here until we know for sure what’s happening. I don't know if you were seen. The Dwellers aren’t nice guys. You don't want to fuck around with them, Pepper.”
“What? No, I only planned to stay in town for a couple of days. I don’t need to be here at…” I look around, a curious glint in my eye, “…at the clubhouse. I don’t think any of that is necess—”
“Pepper, trust me. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire of whatever shit storm is brewing. You’re staying put, and that’s that.” He casts me a pointed look.
Sighing, I conclude he's probably right. I had really planned to spend these few days relaxing, perhaps reading and writing. I’m scheduled to meet with my publisher next week, and I’m sure things will blow over by then. “Well, okay then. I guess I can stay the night, but I'll need a few things from my SUV. My purse, phone, laptop, and my overnight bag. They can leave the big bag in the Escape."
“Not a problem. I'll have a prospect bring them up to you.”
“What’s a prospect?” I ask, having heard him talk about a prospect several times now.
“Sorry, I'm not used to someone not knowing what I'm talking about. The easiest description of a prospect is someone who wants to join our club. He must earn his membership by doing things for the members that show he's loyal to us. Usually, this takes over a year. Once all members agree, he’s voted in and asked to join. He will receive a cut, a vest with our club colors. He's then considered a patched member and one of our brothers,” he answers, giving me a lot of details.
“The cut, is it a vest like the one you’re wearing?"
“Yes, all members have a vest like this, except the patches might be different. I mean, I have a patch for president and one on the back for the Freedom Club.”
“Oh, that is really interesting,” I honestly tell him.
He grins wide, showing his perfectly straight teeth. “The prospect will bring up your stuff in a little while. His name is Travis.”
“Thanks. I like your room. It seems real comfortable. I might lay down with Tanya until prospect Travis brings my stuff. Then it would be great if I could get a shower.”
“Thanks, I fucking like it, too. I need to go talk to my men and see what the fuck is going on. The bathroom is right through the door over there. Help yourself. Are you hungry? I can have something sent up for you to eat.”
“Yes, that would be great. I'm a little hungry. Hopefully, Tanya will sleep for a little while. She'll probably want to see her dad when she wakes up,” I reply.
“I’m sure she will; I hope I can get a hold of him before then. He's on a run for us. Her granny should be here in the morning. I'll be back in a little while to check on you two,” he tells me as he walks to the door.