Redemption

A Skulls Renegade Novel

Book #2

Available Now From

Elizabeth Knox

Reign
(Skulls Renegade #1)

Promised
(The Clans #1)

Coming Soon From

Elizabeth Knox

Tough as Steele
(Steele Bros. #1)

Blackjack
(Reapers MC #1)

Scarred
(Demons of Hell MC #1)

Revenge
(Skulls Renegade #3)

The Trade
(The Clans #2)

Corrupted Love
(The Mackenzies #1)

Redemption

This work is a book of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

Redemption. Copyright © 2017 by Elizabeth Knox. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews.  with the exceptions of quotes used in reviews. For information contact E. Knox.

http://www.elizabethknoxbooks.com

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products have been referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication and/or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Cover Design By CT Cover Creations

Editing & Formatting By Cordially Chris Author Services, www.christinesterlingbooks.com

Table of Contents

CHRISTINE – I say this time and time again, and each time I truly mean it from the bottom of my heart. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t even be where I am today. I am so thankful to have you, the best mentor and second mom in my life. Thank you for all your encouragement and love.

KRISTA – I think you’re going to die when you read this, probably as bad as many of my readers. I look forward to your crazy feedback on Daisy’s story, and don’t worry! Jenna’s is up next!

CHELSEA – This is the smuttiest book I’ve written so far, I hope you’re ready for this joyride!

KAIT – I can’t wait for the texts I know I’m gonna be getting soon. I’m preparing myself for bouts of laughter.

BECCA – You’ve been shipping Daisy’s story since day one and I’m so happy I can finally show it to you.

MY AMAZING ARC & BETA READERS – There are literally so many of you that I’d be writing an entire three pages worth of acknowledgements for just y’all. You guys help me make my work the best thing that it can possibly be and have no idea how much I appreciate all your support. Thank you so much!

MY DOPE PA, JENNA – What would I do without you? Seriously. What the hell would I do without you?! You make my life SO much easier. I don’t know how I did it without you! I was on the verge of having a mental breakdown – kidding. But I might have, seriously. You came at just the right time and I’m so happy to have an amazing friend! #Twinning

ALL MY AMAZING BLOGGERS – Jenna, Shannon, Chasidy, Angie, Heather, Lizzie, Jessica. God, I know there are so many more of you. Thank you all so much for taking a chance on me and my new indie author butt. I appreciate everything that y’all do for me from cover reveals to sharing sales and blasting Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media outlet there is out there. Thank you SO much for helping me reach a few more readers. I love y’all so much!

THE MAGICAL CREATURE I CALL MY COVER DESIGNER, CLARISE – How are we here again? You literally blow my mind with each cover, or bring me into full on waterfall mode. Sometimes it’s both! I love everything we work on together and I just can’t wait to continue our amazing business relationship and friendship.

DEDICATED TO BECCA

You have stood by me since day one when I had this crazy freaking idea to start writing. I looked at you and said “I’m gonna be an author” and instead of telling me I was batshit crazy – which we both know I still am, you supported my dreams. You are the best friend a girl could have. I am so thankful to have my soul sista in my life.

Warning

This content contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations.

Losing Grip | Avril Lavigne

Uncover | Zara Larsson

Strip That Down | Liam Payne & Quavo

I Have Questions | Camilla Cabello

Irresistible | Fall Out Boy Ft. Demi Lovato

Issues | Julia Michaels

Say You Won’t Let Go | James Arthur

Red Lipstick | Rihanna

Still Falling for You | Ellie Goulding

Seamus
2 years ago…

“We sure this is the place?” I asked, wanting to be sure that we had the right joint. Those fuckers had tricked us before and I’d be damned if we got our hopes up again to find an empty warehouse. It had been three months since they took Daisy; three fucking months of running around, gathering intel, pulling every damn favor that we possibly could to get her back – and it still wasn’t enough.

The loan sharks wanted money, which Reed gave them. Three weeks ago, a meet was arranged, and they requested two million in untraceable cash to be dropped off in exchange for Daisy. Reed dropped the cash, only, we never got our girl back. Three fucking weeks I’d been pacing the fucking halls, thinking of every way I could get her back until I remembered Lucien.

He was a fucking whiz and the only reason we were even in the van on our way to get her. Lucien was one of the best hackers in the world. He could do anything – including finding a needle in the haystack, and in this case, our needle was Daisy. I thanked God every day that I grew up with the Steele brothers who always brought bratty little Lucien around. His dorky ass turned into something alright.

“Relax, brother, we’ve got her this time. She’ll be here.” Enzo was trying to be encouraging, but until I saw her brunette hair and pale green eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.

“We better fucking have her,” I growled out. I checked my phone; our ETA was any minute now. Lucien tracked the loan shark’s money; he hit them where it hurt the most going into their computers and found every property that they’d purchased over the last two years. He found everything within 100 miles and gave us the highest probability of where they would keep her. They knew if we were willing to pay two million to get her back that she meant something to us. They were smart in that aspect, but God, I hoped those fuckers were there when we busted in.

I was going to destroy every single one of them for hurting her.

Every. Fucking. One.

Reed pulled the van off to the side of the road, and we all shuffled out, careful to quietly shut the doors as I surveyed our surroundings. We weren’t in the middle of nowhere, but it was hardly the city. There was a white rundown warehouse a few hundred meters away. It looked like something out of a horror movie. Right then, I was praying to God she wasn’t there. I didn’t want her to be in a place like that. If she was in there, I could only imagine what she had to endure during her capture.

“You all know the drill, we split up, search the warehouse. Text if you see anything suspicious or if anyone has Dais. Meet back here ASAP.” Reed ordered out. We all went separate ways, each taking a different entrance into the warehouse. I went east, going in through a ragged old door that the hinges were busted off. Every time I took a step further into the warehouse, I had an eerie feeling that something wasn’t right. I don’t have spidey senses or any shit like that but you know what I’m saying. It didn’t help that the place looked like if the wind blew in the wrong direction, it would just collapse.

I searched room to room and found nothing. The place looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, and maybe it hadn’t. Still, I kept looking, pushing every door I could open and if it didn’t budge, I sure as hell made it budge.

I walked further into the building; the last room in the section that I was to clear. Lucien had downloaded blueprints of the joint before we drove out there, a rough two-hour drive from Gainesville. Shit, I was glad he found the blueprints. This place would have been a maze without it. I approached the door, putting my hand on the rusted-out doorknob, turning it. Nothing happened. I grabbed on tightly, jolting the handle until I heard it click. Damn, the place was a piece of shit. Opening the door slowly, I trained my gun ahead of me, prepared for anything – anything except what was before my eyes.

I quickly holstered my gun, walking swiftly over to her. Her head was hanging against her chest.

“Dammit, she better be alive” I muttered to myself.

She was wrapped with rope tightly to a wooden chair. I could see her skin red and inflamed from where the binds were and as I looked over her I noticed the blue and purple marking her skin. She didn’t look like the Daisy that was taken just a few short months ago – she’d aged a decade in less than 100 days.

Dammit to hell, she was gonna be alright. She had to be.

“Babygirl,” I spoke softly, afraid I’d startle the daylights out of her.

“Baby, Daisy, baby, c’mon, wake up.” She moved her neck a little, groaning as she did it. That hurt, seeing her in pain because of her fuckin’ Ol’ man, Kyle.

He’s Reed’s brother, the Prez of the Skulls Renegade MC until Daisy disappeared. Then he gave his cut over to his brother and told him he didn’t want any part of it anymore and fuckin’ left. No one knew where he went – not even Reed. It would have been different if any of us had a clue, but we didn’t. We were fucking clueless and while Kyle was out riding around on his Harley doing God knows what his woman had gone through hell. It irked me beyond any belief.

I was in church with him when Pain came in; the prospect who went to the store with Dais’ to tell us that she was gone, that he couldn’t find her. Then, he confessed what he did – he left Dais’ alone while he went to attend with private, personal matters.

Pain was fuckin’ prospecting with the club, him and his real-life brother, who we’d given the road name, Chaos. One thing about Chaos is he didn’t fuck up like Pain. Pain would be a prospect for the rest of his fucking life if I had a say about it but I’m not the Prez, so I don’t get to say shit.

How could a man leave the woman he was going to marry, the woman who had his brand tattooed on her skin, committing herself to him? That took a special type of man to just abandon his woman when she needed him. It was all Kyle’s fault she was in this situation. That was the only thing I could think of while staring at her face. If he didn’t gamble away all his cash, she wouldn’t have been taken, and let me tell ya, it’s a damn good thing that Jenna was managing the club’s cash for all these years. Kyle woulda blown through the lot of it; leaving the club barely holding on.

“No….you can’t be r-real, you’re n-not real.” Her voice was a croak, a dry, raspy thing that I didn’t recognize.

“Babygirl, it’s me. I’m here, and I’m takin’ you home. We’re getting you the fuck outta this hellhole” I assured her. She looked up into my eyes, those pale green emeralds staring deep down into mine. I took a step closer to her, bent down and brushed the bottom of my thumb against her cheek.

“You are going to be alright,” I told her, staring into those glassy eyes. I wasn’t sure what else to do. I didn’t know what she’d been through, what she had to endure with those bastards.

Dais broke down, her defeated poker face fell and the tears slid down her eyes like a rush of water. She directed her eyes away from me, towards the door I came in for a split second and then met mine again. After she took in a deep breath, she stared into my eyes and spoke “Where is he?”

I didn’t say shit to her. How the fuck was I supposed to tell her that the day Pain told us all she was taken – er, gone – that Kyle just abandoned her perfect ass. I wasn’t going to tell her, not now when I just got her. I stayed silent, yanked my phone out from the back of my jeans and texted Reed and Enzo.

To: Reed & Enzo

I’ve got Dais. Meet u at the van in 5

When I shot the text off to them, I pulled out my switchblade, going to her side and tried to cut the rope that bound her wrists as easily as possible.

“You didn’t answer me,” she pointed out, her voice a soft whisper. She was a relentless woman. I should’ve known she wouldn’t give up that easily.

“Sweetie, you’ve been through a lot. Let me focus on getting you the fuck outta here and we’ll talk about all that other shit later.” I hoped and prayed that she’d let up. Shoulda known she wouldn’t. This is Daisy we’re talking about after all.

“Tell me where the hell Kyle is!” she snapped it out. Her voice sounded like it’d gone through the blender one too many times.

I lifted the blade up and it cut right through the rope. Dais groaned. I hated hearing the agony that passed her lips. She grabbed onto the edge of the chair, her knuckles turning white from how hard she was holding onto it. I went around to her other side, sliding the blade under the rope, then looked up at her. Big wet tears were coming out of the corners of her eyes as she looked at me.

“Babygirl, don’t worry, it’ll all stop hurting soon. Once we get the doc in to see ya, you’ll be as good as new”

“I’m not fuckin’ crying because this shit hurts, you big idiot,” she sobbed.

She turned her head in the other direction. I could hear her soft hiccups through her crying, and in that moment, I lifted the blade up, cutting through the last bit of rope on her wrist, then attended to the ropes binding her legs together. At least on her legs, she’d been wearing jeans, so she didn’t have the burn marks on her skin.

I peeled the rope away from her wrists as she continued to sob. She jolted as I pulled the foreign object from her skin. It looked bad – I wasn’t a doctor or anything, but this shit was bad. The ropes were so tight for so long that they started to mark her skin. The rope had an indentation, it was red and puffy and it some parts was wet. I only thought one thing; infection. I didn’t even realize Dais’ was talking until I saw her mouth moving.

“What’s that?” I asked, surveying her wrists for more damage. She was clothed, I expected her to be a lot worse under those clothes.

“I said, I’m cryin’ because he……he’s…not here. I thought he’d find me, out of everyone I – I thought that Kyle, my fi-ance, would….save me.” I looked up to her, rubbed her knee softly and nodded. I didn’t expect to be the one rescuing the princess from the dragon either but here we fuckin’ were. Dais’ was right though, this shoulda been Kyle. He shoulda been the one coming to get her.

I didn’t say anything to her. There was not a damn thing I could say to make her feel better. I could only be here for her when she needed me. There’s no how to guide on how to help a girl whose man left her after she was kidnapped.

I rose from my crouching position, slid my arms under her and lifted her up against my chest. She groaned, grabbing my cut and clenching her wrist into a balling fist.

“Ollie.”

“Yeah, babygirl?”

“Thank you for saving me.” I looked down at her as she uttered those words. I looked deep into her eyes, down into the depths of her soul, finally seeing how broken they made her there. I don’t know what these fuckers did to our girl. I could just tell it was bad. It was gonna take a long time to help her. I’d be damned if I was gonna let this strong, witty woman be broken down into that shell ever again. It was the end. I was going to protect her at all costs.

I would never let anything hurt her, ever again.

Daisy

“Life is too damned short, babe, and I want you with me every crazy ass minute of it. So, I want to know if you’ll marry me, and make me the luckiest fuckin’ man in the world.”

I stare at Elena’s face so intently, waiting for her answer. Truth be told, we are all waiting. I want to laugh at her reaction; she didn’t see it coming at all. Reed told me this morning he was going to do it and swore me to secrecy. I, of course obliged and didn’t say a damn thing to Elena. She deserves this. She deserves all the happiness that Reed is going to give her. And let me tell you something, I ain’t ever seen Reed so damn happy either.

They are a perfect fit for each other.

“Well, what’s it gonna be, Siren?” Reed chuckled nervously. I can’t help but giggle at her mouth hanging wide open.

“…..yes?” Elena never sounded nervous in anything she’d ever said, but right now she looks just about as bad as she sounds. Like a nervous fucking chihuahua shaking at the vet’s office. “I mean yes, yes, yes, yes!” Elena wraps her arms around Reed’s shoulders, and he grabs her ass and pulls her to him, kissing and touching each other like they just can’t get enough. Watching them makes me think of a time when I couldn’t get enough of someone, someone from my past – and then there’s what I think about the man that I can’t get enough of right now.

Here’s the funny thing, they are both in this damn bar with me.

They call each other brothers; they share a bond. Hell, they are even friends, and Kyle has no idea that I have been sleeping with Ollie. Sleeping...if that’s what I should even call it. It’s more than sleeping, it’s so much fuckin’ more than that.

Reed pulls away from Elena, turning to us all in the room “We’re getting married in 30 days, put it on the calendar, people!”

“There is no way in hell I am marrying you in 30 days,” Elena snaps back, glaring at him. It always makes me laugh how much they’re alike. They both have this distinctive fire in their eyes and in my opinion Elena’s shines a lot brighter than Reed’s.

“The fuck you aren’t woman. It’s 30 days, or tonight,” he challenges her, and Elena starts turning red, almost as red as her hair.

“You two are criminally insane,” I laugh at them. A few of the brothers start laughing with me.

Elena rolls her eyes “I am not insane, but this guy definitely is. 30 days? Who gets married in 30 days? It takes months to plan a wedding, months!”

“Elena Michaels, you are marrying me in 30 days and that’s the end of this discussion. You have 30 days to rein in all your wedding mumbo jumbo shit, whatever you want, you shall have. It’s about you baby. Whatever you want, wherever you want, hell, you can put the girls in puke green dresses for all I care.”

“They will not be wearing puke green,” Elena informs him. I agree. Definitely not puke green. I am sure I am gonna to be a bridesmaid, ain’t no way in hell I am wearing puke green. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elena has us in some sorta green though; it is her favorite color. “And we’re not married yet; why are you even calling me Michaels?”

“We’ve got 30 days, baby. Better get used to that shit now Mrs. Michaels.” The banter between them is adorable and I am not one to eat that shit up. But with Elena and Reed I can’t help it. I just hope that they work out. I’m not pessimistic, but I am a realist – I know that shit happens. Life is ugly and throws us curveballs that we never expect.

Reed turns to look at me Jenna and Michelle; he even looks at Maria, the latest addition to our posse who is also the girl who they purchased from the Cartel a few weeks back. “You four better help make this wedding happen in 30 days. I need all your assistance, whatever she needs, you all help her. If you work at the bar and Elena needs something, Elena gets top priority. I can put the whores in the bar for the night.” Reed is talking about the few whores who have been hanging around the club since the cartel shooting. Apparently, it won us points with the community and the women just keep coming and coming, figuratively and literally.

“Uh boss. I’m not tryna burst your bubble or anything but do you really want those girls serving drinks and booze? You wanna know where their hands have been?” I ask, staring right at him.

Elena bursts out into laughter, and she pats him on the chest and giggles as she walks away from him. “Dais’ has a point. babe.”

“Fine, I’ll put the prospects behind the bar.”

“I don’t wanna know where their hands have been either….” I mumble while Elena continues laughing. Jenna and Michelle even join in. I look over to my left, and Seamus is shaking his head while a small smirk drags across his face. Reed, good ol’ Reed is glaring at me, full throttle.

“That ring is on your finger in 30 days. I’m serious. You won’t be weaseling your way out of this one, Elena.” Reed growls out, diverting his attention back to her.

“You’ve only said it like 5 times. I’ve got it. Comprende?” she says back, a little sass in her voice.

“Keep it up, Siren, I know just what I’ll do with all that attitude later.” As Reed and Elena keep bantering back and forth, throwing in flirts. I walk behind the bar, my domain, my home away from home so to speak.

Looking out from behind the counter, I become thoughtful, damn right reminiscent. So much has happened in this bar; I was proposed to in this bar. Only, my story didn’t end up with a happy ending like Elena and Reed’s will. I think about all the memories here, everything with Kyle, the bug that keeps buzzing back around me.

He destroyed me. He ripped my heart out and abandoned me when I was at my weakest most vulnerable moment. I needed him, and he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t come back for almost two years and he just shows up a few weeks ago and thinks that we can just press play and resume where we left off? No, that’s not happening. It didn’t matter how scared I had been to see him hurt or how much my broken heart remembered what it was like to care about him. My body also remembers the torture I went through because of him and his abandonment.

I made the mistake of looking over at Kyle, sitting over in a booth with Enzo, Chaos, and Butch. I could see him laughing from there. Like old times, his gaze found mine, our eyes just staring for a moment. It was always weird how he could do that, like he knew exactly when I was looking for him. He’d always find me, and he did. Well, until the time he didn’t.

Kyle stopped finding me, and Sea began.

Everything was perfect once upon a time, with Kyle, with me. I never could have ever anticipated what would eventually come to happen. Even in my most horrible nightmare, I still wouldn’t have imagined that. It crippled me. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I can see everything happen in slow motion. Bad memories were funny like that.

***

“Dais, shit, I don’t mean to do this to you. Fuck, fuck. I gotta go, it’s- it’…s” Pain didn’t have to tell me anything. I knew exactly what it was. It was his sister. I could bet a thousand bucks that she called him sounding groggy, probably high off whatever botched drug she got from the streets.

“Go. I got it. I’ll be fine” I told him. He looked at me anxiously but he didn’t need to be here. I was going to be fine.

“GO.” I smacked his arm, urging him, and he did, only, he stopped a few steps out.

“Daisy, don’t you go anywhere. You stay in this damn grocery store until I get back. Okay?”

“Okay, okay. I’ve got it. I won’t be done shopping for a bit anyway.” He nodded at my response and darted out the door.

Only, I didn’t stay in the store. I ended up finishing buying groceries for that club barbeque in about an hour. I filled up the cart, looked at my phone, and saw no messages. Instead of calling one of the guys to come get me at the store and possibly get Pain in trouble I marched up to the register, paid for everything and walked outside to my car alone. I always thought that the safety procedures that the club had put into effect for the women were a bit overboard. After that day, I’d never say that ever again.

I’d walked up to my car, popped the trunk, and started loading the groceries into the back when I heard footsteps. I knew in that moment something was terribly wrong, and what did I do? I continued to load groceries like there wasn’t an evilness surrounding me. When I finally finished loading the car the men came closer to me. I should’ve done something, like maybe dropped all my shit and got in the car. I might’ve been shot. I could’ve been beaten. There were so many possibilities to what would’ve happened that day.

“Ah, so you are Daisy. Kyle’s beautiful little girl.” I heard one of them speak up as I turned. He was only about a foot away from me. I didn’t speak, I stared at him, remembering Kyle’s lessons of staying quiet. ‘Staying quiet keeps you alive. Don’t say shit. And button, don’t you ever piss them off with that mouth of yours’.

“She’s a lot prettier than the photos. I think we’ll have a lot of fun with you,” I heard from a voice behind me. I didn’t dare look. I kept staring at the frontrunner in the eyes. His eyes were dark, maybe even as dark as his soul. In that exact moment, I knew I wasn’t going home. I knew that my future was uncertain, but most importantly, I knew about everything horrible that I was going to endure.

“You know why we’re here?” the frontrunner asked me. I didn’t know. It wasn’t important to know. I was a target because of my association with the club, because I was a full patched member, because I was a woman and because I was the Prez’s Ol’Lady. That’s why, or at least, that’s why I thought I was targeted.

“Your man owes us a lot of money, and you’re collateral for that little one. We’ll give you back eventually, after he’s paid up, and after we’ve all had our fun with you.” That’s the last thing I remembered before waking up in the dingiest, smelliest, metal box on the planet.

***

I don’t blame Pain, never blamed him for the reason I was taken. In fact, I really believe that if he was with me, he would’ve been killed. I’d rather he be gone, the way it happened. He was safe, and I….I went through what I did, but I survived it. It is in the past, and none of that shit matters anymore. It’s been a little over two years since I was taken and a year before that, Pain and his brother, Chaos, started prospecting for the club. Chaos was voted in last year and Pain still isn’t. I think that Reed is doing it on purpose as punishment for what happened when I was taken, but it isn’t fair. I’m going to end up talking to him about that. Pain deserves to be a full patched member of the club. He doesn’t need to be a fucking prospect anymore.

Elena comes behind the bar as I am wiping some glasses, taking off those yucky finger spots I hate. I may be a bartender at a biker bar, but I have pet peeves. My worst is finger spots. I’ll wipe the glass down until it is beautiful and pristine.

Elena plops her butt up on the bar and stares at me. “So, are you going to tell me who this man is that ‘isn’t so serious’?”

I told Elena a few weeks back I was seeing someone and that it wasn’t serious. I’m so full of shit. It is so beyond serious with him. It is amazing and perfect, and downplaying what we have makes me angry at myself.

“I dunno yet. I’ll let ya know when I figure it out.” I tell her, grabbing another glass and cleaning the fingerprints off.

“I have a feeling that this not being serious is bullshit. You’re a straight shooter Dais’. It’s why we love you so much, and you avoiding this, is telling me that whoever you’re with is important to you. I’m not here to bug you or annoy you about it, but I am here to tell you that I support you in whatever you do and whoever you are with, even if you are hiding his identity from us all.” Elena says. I look over to her, and she smiles, and I laugh.

“Who’s hiding an identity?” Jenna pipes over and asks. Michelle is close behind her.

“Daisy is seeing someone in the club. She says it’s not serious, but it’s serious,” Elena fills them both in.

“Butch!” Michelle guesses, looking over to him.

“Ew, no!” That answer was enough to gag a maggot, ew. Never Butch, ew! He isn’t ugly. In fact, he’s very handsome, just not my kind of handsome. The man has a swimmer’s physique, a blonde beard, with light blue eyes. For some women, he’s the jackpot they’ve been waiting their whole lives for but for me, he is the opposite of what I like.

“Hm. Dmitri?” Jenna asks, quietly.

“No, it’s not Dmitri. We all know you want to fuck him, anyway. We’re steering clear of that mysterious man.” Jenna busts out laughing at my comment.

“I don’t want to fuck him.” Jenna argues, unconvincingly.

“You do, don’t lie about it. You’re tall, tattooed, and mysterious. He’s tall, tattooed, and mysterious. You two are two peas in a pod, and you need to act on it.”

“He’s not even interested in me” Jenna protests.

“And how do you know that? Don’t you actually, I dunno, have to communicate to figure that out?”

“Oh, shut it! We communicate,” she says angrily.

“When?” Michelle, Elena, and I ask her. The three of us stare at her, waiting. We aren’t letting her off that easy. Besides, I like the way the conversation has turned from me. I don’t know when I will be ready to tell everyone. I had been so certain until Kyle and his puppy dog eyes had snaked their way back into my life. It would hurt him, and who knows what the revelation would actually do to this great thing Ollie and I had.

“He told me I was beautiful last week before I left to do my Sunday stuff.” I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. I have been there for a few years. I think I am coming up on five years of being with the Skulls. Jenna? She’s been here for a long time, since she was nineteen. It must be around a decade that she’s been with them and not once have I ever heard about her being in a relationship before I came around, or have I ever seen her with someone.

“Dais! I need a refill.” I am pulled back into work mode. The night goes by a lot faster than I thought it was going to. Between the guys from the MC and the normal folk coming into the bar, we are packed. Maria was supposed to get off at 11 but she ended up staying late and closing with me until 1. Butch stayed at the bar, waiting until we were ready to leave, and he escorted us back to the clubhouse, following us on his Harley the entire time.

“Have a good night, Mar,” I tell her. She turns over to me and smiles.

“You too Margarita, noche.”

I watch and wait as I see Maria slip into her room. I am not going to mine, and I never go into his unless I know that no one will spot me. I don’t need anyone in the club discovering that we are in a relationship before I’m ready, especially since Kyle is back. That’s only gonna add fuel to the fire.

I walk through the clubhouse, back down the hallway until I pass my room. I pass Maria’s, Dmitri’s, Jenna’s, Kyle’s, Reed and Elena’s, until finally, I’m at his room. I don’t bother knocking. Instead I slip in, shutting and locking the door behind me. My eyes land on him right away. He is in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, his chest with small bubbles of water still on him. He must’ve just gotten out of the shower, lucky me.

As I stare at him, I am reminded of what I told myself after I was found by Sea. I told myself that love was too hard, that love would only get me hurt again. I thought I’d never be able to fall for anyone ever again. Little did I know that I’d fall for the man who scooped me up in his arms and took me out of that horrible place that day. He was the one who got me through it all. I didn’t leave my room at all – well, besides going to the Docs. He’d come in my room and just watch a movie with me. He wouldn’t leave if I couldn’t sleep, which happened a lot. My nightmares are still an issue, even to this day. some days I think I’ll never move past them. I hope I do, but…your memories haunt you, and I’m counting on that to still happen.

I kick off my heels next to his bedroom door, for as messy as the man is, he hates it when I do that. I giggle, knowing he’s going to get aggravated that my heels are right by the door. One night, he didn’t turn the light on and stepped on the bottom of my heel. He wasn’t very amused, it made me giggle though.

I pull off my jacket slowly, my back hurting from the long day at the bar. Sea’s arms wrap around me, and I gasp at the sudden touch. I didn’t even hear a whisper, not any indication that he was behind me. He encases me in his arms, wrapping me up like a precious present. I can feel his cool minty breath against the back of my neck, his lips so soft and warm pressed against me.

He doesn’t say a word as his hands rub my stomach, slowly going lower until they’re are on my thighs, squeezing, rubbing. It’s nothing, but it’s everything. His touch is a volt of electricity, it soothes me in a way that no other has.

This is what I crave.

He is what I crave.

He grabs the top of my leather jacket, pulling it off my right arm first and then going to my left, yanking it off me. He sucks my skin between his lips, biting softly with his teeth. I moan softly, loving the way he takes charge. Oliver “Seamus” Virts is not a man who asks; he takes and deals with the consequences later. Sea grabs my chiffon top, it’s not so fancy but it’s a little classy and gives me some good tips at the bar. It does show a bit of the girls though.

“Red, good.” He rubs the material between his fingers, his lips grazing over my neck.

“Yep, Caveman,” I tell him, pulling his hands from my shirt down to my jeggings. I hook his thumbs under the waistband, urging him to become the caveman I need him to be right now. “Woman yours, fuck woman now,” I say, grinding my ass against his crotch.

He hooks his hand around my throat, applying a little pressure. His lips move against my jawline as he speaks, “You a little eager, Babygirl?”

“What does it look like, Caveman?” I growl out, and he brushes his thumb against my throat. It’s one of the favorite things that he does to me. I really love it when he’s pounding into me from behind, holding onto my throat, squeezing slightly. It makes me dripping wet, and he does enough of that without having his hand wrapped around my throat. I love it rough, and I won’t apologize for it. I love the way he manhandles me, how he makes me feel like I’m weaker than him because I am, and where I am weak he holds strength. Feminist bitches would hate me for saying that, but that’s how we work, it’s how we fit together. He’s my rock, and I’ll lean on him as much as I can.

Sea grabs my jeggings, tugging them down in one swift movement, then, he grabs my ankles practically tearing them off me. He puts a hand on my ass, another on my torso and flips me around towards him. I stare into his heated eyes, he’s scanning over my body, he keeps looking at my shirt, puts his hands to the material, rubbing it between his fingers again. “You show too much skin in this shirt, all of the men at the bar get to look at what’s mine. I don’t like it.” Before I can respond, he has my shirt ripped in half. I yell at him, smack his chest and grab his chin.

“That was my favorite shirt!”

“I’ll buy you another one where you aren’t showing so much”

“I don’t want you to buy me another fuckin’ shirt!” I yell, not watching my voice. I realize how loud I’ve been, how someone may have heard. He picks me up, slams my back against the wall, grinding his cock against me. “You want them to hear us, Babygirl? Want them to hear me fucking your brains out? You want every fucking person in this club to know it’s me who’s had their cock inside you this entire time. Shit, and I thought you wanted to keep us a secret. Especially since Kyle’s back.”

I glare at him, staring straight into his eyes. I love Ollie, but he’s a royal dick sometimes. “Tell. Me.” He snaps it out. He doesn’t put up with my bullshit; one of the many reasons I love him. He takes the towel from around his waist and drops it to the floor, I feel his cock against my lips. He moves back and forth, rubbing my clit with every stroke.

“Answer,” he demands, eyes still trained on mine.

“Mmmm, no,” I moan, and he slides his hands under my ass, lifting me up and slides into me with one stroke. I gasp and moan at the sudden intrusion. He’s never taken me that hard, so swiftly before. “Don’t fucking – Ohhhh…. say that shit to me a-again,” I growl out, moaning against his chest.

“I will say whatever the fuck I want to you. I will buy you whatever I want, whenever I want, and you will graciously accept my gifts. Do you understand me?” he growls out, slamming his cock into me over and over again.

“Y-yessss,” I moan again. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, digging my nails into his skin. “Oh god, yessss,”

“That’s my baby girl,” he chuckles against my ear before he takes his hand from my ass and it comes down fast and strong, slapping my ass, the stinging sensation hurting but feeling so good. It just makes me wetter for him.

He brings his hand up again, slapping my ass hard. I jolt at that slap. “Fuck, squeeze my cock like that again, baby.” Sea slides his hand in a circular motion around my ass, soothing where he’s spanked me.

He lifts his hand away again, bringing it down hard and fast as he fucks me against the wall. I didn’t think I’d ever see stars, but I did with that orgasm.

Daisy

It’s been one hell of a week, that’s for damn sure. Between Elena and Reed getting engaged, and things have going batshit crazy at the bar… we’ve had countless bar fights over the stupidest shit. I’ve worked at Bubba’s for a few years now, and I’ve seen a lot, but what never ceases to amaze me is the stupidity of men.

Allison, or Alli, as everyone else calls her, is one of the newest club whores. I never call her Alli. She will always be Allison to me because she will never be my friend. She’s the type of bitch to weasel her way in between a couple so she can be claimed and from what I saw last night it just proves that she’s exactly that kinda girl.

Allison’s two favorites came in last night, looking for her. Bones, who is about twice her age and has an Ol’Lady since Allison was probably in diapers, is one of them. Then, there’s Trigger, he’s a nice lookin’ Nomad who loves to come into Bubba’s whenever he’s in town. When I say nice lookin’, I really mean that he looks like he walked straight out of an Inked Magazine cover. He is NICE lookin’. Here’s the problem; Allison told both Bones and Trigger that she’s completely faithful to both of them. I’ll tell ya, she isn’t. She fucks any dick that points in her direction.

I know what she’s doing. She’s telling both she is, and she’s just waiting for one of them to claim her. Bones and Trig may not be the smartest tools in the shed, but they aren’t total idiots. They’re not claiming her crabby clam anytime soon.

“Oy, Margarita, why do those two keep staring at you?” I turn to look at Maria. She speaks so fast sometimes that I can’t even keep up with her. It’s gotten a lot better since she first came with us, but damn me to hell if I still don’t understand everything she says.

“Why do you call her Margarita?” Butch asks, trying to imitate Mar’s Spanish accent, which only gets him an eye roll in response. I think he’s trying to get with her and a lot of the boys have here. Maria just simply won’t have it. She tosses them to the curb like trash. It doesn’t mean that she isn’t getting any action, I’ve seen her with one of our regulars at the bar, Tommy. Maria likes to go on long breaks every Tuesday and Thursday. I can’t blame her, Tommy is comparable to Trig.

“It means flower in Spanish,” Pain answers for her. I don’t miss the small smirk that comes across her lips at his answer or the stare they both share that should cross into the awkward stage but doesn’t.

“You know them? They stare, keep staring. Need me to tell them to stop? I will. I’ll tell them to take a picture,” Maria rambles it out so fast, I’ve already forgotten that there’s someone here staring at me. I turn to look over at the corner booth that Maria is talking about and bust out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Seamus huffs. He looks over. He doesn’t know who they are, but I sure as hell do. Before I can respond, the big lug of a man slides out of the booth and walks over with a shit eating grin on his face. I know that grin; I inherited it from him. I just saw him last month when I went home to Baltimore for my baby sister’s graduation, but my God, every time I see my Dad, he looks different. He was almost bald last month, and now he looks like he was lighting it up with Bob Marley back in the day; dreads down past his shoulders. The man still has never shared his infamous hair secrets with me.

“There’s my little wildflower,” he chuckles, and I slide over the bar and run straight into my dad’s arms. He lifts me up and spins me around like I’m five again.

“Oh gosh, put my ass down, now,” I tell him, patting his chest. He listens, surprisingly, and sets me down on the ground, kissing the top of my forehead.

“Um, Daisy?” Seamus says. I look back to him, forgetting he’s never seen my father.

“Oh! Dad, this is Seamus, Sea, this is my Daddio.” I smile, getting all giddy. I have no problem admitting I’m a daddy’s girl. I am, completely. Maybe that’s why I enjoy being spoiled so much. Sea doesn’t say a thing, but he keeps looking back from me and my father. We don’t look alike, and there’s a reason for that.

“This is your father?” he questions, his eyes still staring.

“Sure as hell am,” my father growls out. I laugh. I laugh way harder than I mean to, but this is hysterical because when I really think hard about it, Seamus and my father are weirdly similar. They’re both beefy, muscular men with hot headed tendencies. I guess that saying’s always true; girls always look for men like their father.

Ew.

That’s fuckin’ gross.

“I’m adopted,” I point out, and I notice how Maria and Butch are both paying close attention to our conversation. “I was adopted when I was five,” I add, waiting for some sort of question from anyone, only, there wasn’t any. I can imagine it’s hard to figure out how a short, brunette, green eyed, white girl’s dad can be as black as coal.

“I never knew that,” Seamus says. It’s true. I never told him. The only person that knew was Kyle because I’d taken him home to Baltimore a few times. It wasn’t too hard to figure out. Come to think about it, I don’t even think he asked me if I was adopted. I know I never told him the story. I would’ve remembered that. I could hardly ever think about what happened to my birth parents without breaking out into a complete crying fit.

I was four when they were killed, and I remember everything. They may have brought it on themselves, crossed the wrong people, and in a sense made created their fate but they were still my parents. I was in foster care for a year, in a few homes, until I met my parents, my last foster family, who adopted me.

“You never knew that? What’s this Wildflower? You ashamed of your ghetto ass family?” My dad snaps at me. I roll my eyes just like my mom would. I glance around and spot her, immediately, and I smile until I see who she’s sitting with – Kyle.

“Dad, how about we don’t turn this into a fight? We both know I’ll lay you out anyway,” I counter, patting him on the arm.

“Wildflower,” he growls

“Daaaaaaad,” I say, cocking my head at him. “Who do you think I inherited my sassy ass attitude from?”

“Your mother, it’s fuckin’ obvious.”

“ERRRRRRRRR.” I try to sound like a buzzer for a wrong answer on a gameshow, but it doesn’t sound that way.

“What the fuck was that?” Seamus laughs.

“A buzzer. My dad is wrong, as usual. I get my snarky ass attitude from you, genius.” I poke him right on the chest.

“Seriously?” He cocks his eyebrows at me, staring at me like he used to when I was in trouble as a teenager.

“Seriously,” I say, a voice echoing me. I know that voice. Glancing around the bar, I see her a few feet back, chatting with Maria. “Isha,” I giggle, running up to my baby sister and pulling her into a big ass bear hug. I rub the top of her head like I did whenever she was a kid, and she shoves me back “I will slaughter your whole family if you mess up this weave. This ain’t cheap shit.”

“Start with Dad, will you?”

“I heard that!” he growled. Isha and I both busted out into laughter.

We spent the next hour catching up. She told me she’s finally decided to go to Coastal Carolina University for a degree in Engineering. It’s funny, seeing my baby sister going after everything she wants to. She has big dreams, and she’s gonna get there. I know that for sure. I never had an ounce of the fearlessness that she has. I envy her for that. For having the courage and determination for going after whatever she wants to in life. At eighteen, all I wanted to do was run, and I did, somehow ending up here with my new family; my biker family.

“What does it take for a girl to get a drink around here?” Isha mutters. I roll my eyes and go behind the bar, making her a tequila sunrise. I set it down in front of her as she takes a sip. “Mmm, delicious. You’re pretty good at this.”

“It’s only my job,” I retort, smirking as I speak.

“Didn’t Aisha just graduate high school?” Reed grumbles, coming around the bar.

“No, college. Coastal Carolina,” I bullshit him completely, hoping he’ll buy my shit.

“Daisy.” He didn’t buy it, not at all.

“Reed, what’s one drink? She’s graduated with honors, on full scholarship to Coastal Carolina. She deserves to celebrate a little.”

“Celebrate somewhere, anywhere, but not in my fuckin’ bar. I do a lot of fucked up shit Dais’, but we don’t serve minors,” Reed snaps. I don’t know what I did, but somehow, I hit a nerve with him.

“Oh, please, we were drinking vodka straight from the bottle when we were 14,” Aisha laughs. Reed starts turning blood red. At least I know when not to push him anymore. Isha doesn’t know that you don’t question him. I grab her drink and pour it down the sink so fast. She shoots me a glare, and I look back over to Reed. “Happy now?”

“Not in the least,” he says as he walks away.

“That wasn’t very smart,” Sea mutters. “He’s pissed.”

“I’m not a very smart bitch; there’s a reason I skipped out my senior year, didn’t get my GED, and came here to Gainesville to jumpstart my bartending career,” I snap. I know Reed wasn’t happy. I don’t need Sea rubbing it in, or making me feel worse about it.

For the next two hours, I do my job. I serve every single customer walking through that door. I take away a couple guys car keys, and they aren’t too happy about it, tough shit. If you can’t walk to the bathroom without falling over, I’m not letting you drive home.

I wipe down the bar one last time, realizing I haven’t spoken to my mom at all. My dad and Isha have been playing pool with Chaos and Pain. I’m wondering who’s winning right about now.

“You ever gonna come over and see me honey?” My mom asks. I look up to her and smile.

“Yeah, I was on my way. Just had to finish cleaning up. It’s been a busy night, and it’s bound to get busier with the Nomads in town,” I tell her, even though she has no idea what it means. “Sorry I didn’t come over sooner, how’s everything goin?”

“Everything is perfect, honey. I’m wondering how you are, though?” I rolled my eyes; I couldn’t help it. My mom is shrinking me right now. The Shrink, it’s her signature move.

“I’m perfectly fine,” I tell her, grabbing a glass, trying to get her to back off. I was going to take a break to talk to her for a bit, but now I’m going to distract myself and hope she finds something to do with herself.

“Daisy, be honest with me. How are you?”

“I’m fine, until you ask me how I’m doing. I’m perfectly, absolutely, fuckin’ fine. Whenever you ask me how I’m doing there’s something behind it, something you want, maybe something you’re trying to influence me to do. So, spit it out, what is it?” I love my mom, she’s amazing, but she’s also a therapist who tries to shrink me and my sister all the time.

She stays silent for a minute. “I’m just trying to understand how Kyle is back and how you two aren’t a couple, still. I knew you two had an ugly breakup, I know that it hurt you – “

“No. You don’t know anything,” I snap. I don’t mean to do it, but I just can’t help the feelings that are still deep inside me about our ‘break up’ as my mother calls it. I didn’t tell her, my father, or my sister what happened. They know nothing about me being kidnapped, taken, whatever the fuck you want to call it. They don’t know that Kyle was a coward who abandoned me, after he promised to love and protect me forever when he gave me that fuckin’ ring.

“You two just need to kiss and make up. I’m sure you two can work this out. You were so happy with him, I remember. I’d never seen you so happy in my entire life, honey. You were ready to get married, to start a family. He’s your future.”

“I have to agree with Mom.” I shut my eyes tightly, hearing Kyle speak. He is not in my family, and he doesn’t get to call my mother his mom. He doesn’t get to agree.

“We are never kissing and making up. We will never work this fucking shit out. I was happy, yeah, but that was years ago. People disappoint you, they rip your heart out of your damn chest and leave you alone to deal with all those feelings. You may have been my future once Kyle, but all you are now is a piece of gum I can’t get off the bottom of my fucking shoes.” I stare him right in the eyes as I say every word. I want him to know I’m serious; to finally understand I’m not fucking around. I just want him to leave me alone and move on.

I won’t lie, seeing him get shot in the shootout a few weeks back killed me. I thought, Jesus, my heart was breaking all over again. I love him, I’ll always love him. I’m just not in love with him anymore, and I never will be. Seeing him in that ambulance, bleeding out in front of me, clinging to life, brought back a lot of emotions, so many emotions that I buried deep down inside me, that I worked so hard to never come back up.

Kyle comes right back behind the bar, right next to me and turns me to him. “I’m not a little bitch. I’m not gonna give up on you, or us.”

“I cannot believe the words that just came out of your mouth. You’re not gonna give up on me? You already did, or did you fucking forget?!” I screamed it at him. I didn’t care who was listening. I wasn’t doing this. I refused to listen to his false promises, his determination to make us whole again. You can’t fix what’s been thrown into the fire. It was burned, destroyed, there is no coming back from that.

“Just kiss and make up, honey,” my mom begs. I have to take a moment to myself as I shut my eyes and take a deep breath in. Tears are threatening to fall, but I’ll be damned if I let them. I wasted too many tears crying over Kyle Michaels.

I’ll never, ever, cry over him again.

“The only man I will be kissing, mother, is my boyfriend, who is in this damn bar,” I hiss out through clenched teeth.

“Who. The. Fuck. Are. You. Seeing,” Kyle growls. I don’t even look at him. I’m doing my best to ignore him.

“I have to get back to work, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Daisy. Who the fuck are you seeing?!” Kyle yells it at me, and I don’t respond. I go to the end of the bar and start filling up patrons’ drinks, waiting until the moment that the piece of gum finally gets off the bottom of my heel.

“Wildflower, we’ll be in town for a couple days. I think we’re gonna stay about a week. Your mom and I both need a vacation. Wanna grab lunch tomorrow, or the day after?” I nod at my father’s question.

“Yeah, I’d like that. I’ll text you, and we’ll set something up,” I tell him quietly, though all I want to do right now is get through my shift and crawl into bed.

“Dais’, need a refill,” I hear Seamus call over to me. Walking over to his end of the bar, I grab his glass and refill his beer.

“Boyfriend, huh?” He winks at me, and I can’t help but have a small smile drag across my face. We’ve never labeled what we have, but he’s totally my boyfriend.

He has been for a long damn time.

Seamus

We all got called outta bed real fuckin’ early this morning. Reed texted us all, telling us to get our asses in church and to stay put until he and Elena came in. I may physically be here, but my mind is stuck on Daisy. I had to sit there and watch all that fuckin’ shit happen last night. After her shift, she jumped in the shower and crawled into bed with me. She didn’t say a damn thing, besides her normal late night ‘I love you’. Dais doesn’t keep quiet, she rambles when she should be keeping her mouth shut, so I know shit isn’t good.

“Any idea why Reed texted us this fuckin’ early?” I ask Dmitri as he sits next to me at the table.

“Nope”

Well, I thought I’d get more out of him, apparently not. He’s not a man of many words, but he is a good man. I don’t like many people, I can just tell that he’s one of us, even if he is a fuckin’ Viper. He wears their cut in church, in our fucking church. I still don’t know how Reed allows that shit. I don’t fuckin’ get it. To me, it’s disrespectful, but we are aligned with the Vipers. Elena is their Prez, which means that we have a truce of sorts.

“Huh. Should find out soon enough. How’s everything goin?”

“Good,” Dmitri mutters, staring at the door.

“What’s with you, Russian, day dreaming about Jenna writhing under you?”

“The fuck?” he snaps. I chuckle at his response. I don’t have a doubt that he has a thing for her. I find his eyes lingering on her a little longer than he should. Jenna’s not anyone’s woman, she’s a full patched member like Dais’ is but he’s gotta know Enzo has a thing for her. He’d be blind not to see it.

“You know what I said. Stop dreaming about it and make it a reality, brother. She may not be a free woman for too much longer; she’s a fuckin’ catch, and you sitting here all silent and broody isn’t going to make her want you. I bet, one fuck, and she won’t want anyone else.”

“I’ll handle Jenna,” Dmitri growls.

“I’m sure you will, I’m sure you will.” Can’t help it, I enjoy stirring the pot. I don’t know what it is. Jenna and Dmitri seem like a good fit. They’re both quiet, have this dark and damaged energy about them. If I knew him better, I’d ask him about his darkness. I’ve known Jenna long enough, and she doesn’t talk about hers either.

Reed and Elena walk in through the door, and behind them is that girl. The one at the bar that day, Katie? I think she’s friends with Elena.

“So, I’m sure you’re all interested to find out why Kristie is in church with us, but first we’ve gotta handle some business,” Reed says. I don’t speak but observe as some of the brothers have a problem with it. The way jaws are being clenched, eyes locked on the woman. Someone’s gonna speak up soon, I can feel it.

“Why the fuck is some business bitch up in here?” Bones growls, staring at Kristie.

Kristie yanks something out of her jacket, tossing it over to Bones. “I prefer Agent Chandler over ‘business bitch’. We’ll talk about me later; your Prez has business to attend to.”  I hide a soft chuckle, the woman knows how to handle herself, that’s for damn sure.

“You done?” Reed asks him. Bones nods, and Reed starts to speak. “Max here,” he slams his hand over Max’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze “has decided to go Nomad. This will be his last day as acting VP of the Skulls. Our first order of business will be voting in his replacement as VP then we will talk about Kristie and why she’s here.”

All of us look to Max. None of us saw this shit coming. “No hard feelings brothers, I just need to feel the wind on my face ridin’ through the States, tasting all the different flavors of pussy. You get me?”

“You’re only leaving to taste pussy” Enzo laughs, the rest of us chuckle in agreement.

“It’s my duty to nominate another brother as my replacement, and since Kyle’s back, I can think of no other who deserves the position. I officially nominate Kyle Michaels as VP of the Skulls Renegade MC. Do you accept my nomination?”

“Aye,” is called out throughout the room, even Elena agrees.

“I accept the nomination of my blood brother, Kyle, as VP. Now let’s vote.” Reed looks to every brother in the room, every single person agrees, ultimately Kyle is VP effective tomorrow. Max ripped off his VP Patch and handed it over to Kyle. “You deserve it brother, you deserve everything that’s coming to ya.”

“Let’s get down to business. I’m sure you’re all wondering why the fuck Kristie is in here with us- “

“Sure, as fuck am,” Bones snaps, tossing her badge back over to her.

“Interrupt me again, and your ass will be guarding the gate for the next year,” Reed threatens. Bones doesn’t say shit. He shuts the hell up – knowing Reed’s making a promise. I’d shut the fuck up at that promise too; that’s prospect shit and for him to be saying that to Bones, one of the longest members of the club, this shit must be important.

“Reed’s trying to tell you all that I work for the FBI,” Elena says, and every single person in the room looks to her, then to Reed, and lastly, over to Agent Chandler. “I was sent here to –“

“You don’t have to tell them everything, Siren,” Reed tells her.

“I do.” She looks to all of us seated at the table. “You all know about my history with my father, and if you don’t, I’ll tell you, it was ugly. Yeah, I’m the daughter of an MC Prez, I was born and raised within the Vipers in Texas. I inherited that MC, but I ran from who I was. When I found the opportunity, I ran straight to Quantico. After tirelessly working, I became a field agent for the FBI. I came here a few short months ago on assignment. I was working to help bring the MC down. To turn you all in for purchasing the girls. Only, the files didn’t tell me what Reed was really up to – giving them better lives.

The FBI believed that the girls were being purchased and resold; it was the only way they could understand that all the girls weren’t staying with the club. Truth be told, they didn’t know any of the girls were staying with the club. When I discovered that nothing shady was going on within the club, I arranged for an immunity agreement for everyone within the club. Every single one of us is protected.”

“We aren’t protected from shit!” Enzo snaps, rising from his chair. “You knew she was FBI, you were fuckin’ sleeping with the enemy?! She could’ve destroyed us all; our whole club!”

“Rein in your shit. Now,” Reed orders, and he waits until Enzo is seated back in his chair. “I knew she was FBI. I had no doubt in my mind that she was on our side, though. She’s always been on our side, and it’s best you know that.”

“Our agreement with the cartel was a front to rescue more girls. I gave the FBI as much information as I could about the trafficking. In the end, we’ve collected enough evidence to tie it to the cartel.”

“I feel a but coming,” I blurt out, looking to Elena.

“But, since their lead ringer is dead and Rafael is keeping the lowest profile ever, we can’t do anything. We need to stop the trafficking, if it’s not from the cartel, then it is coming from somewhere else. Rafael Ramirez isn’t the only man who sells women in the US. We know of another big fish we’re trying to fry. Sergei Kolosov. He’s a Russian arms dealer, and he also loves to sell women.”

“Sergei,” Dmitri grumbles. No one pays attention to Dmitri’s comment. Instead, Reed starts to speak. “We’ll be purchasing women from Sergei Kolosov. Our first shipment will be happening shortly, but Sergei operates differently. We aren’t just buying a few girls from him, we’re buying twenty.”

“And how do you know Ramirez won’t tell Sergei everything?” Butch asks, and no one knows where to look. Eventually, my eyes land back on Reed.

“Ramirez and Sergei aren’t on the best of terms. In fact, they loathe each other. Sergei has told me that Ramirez reached out, telling him that we’re government snakes. I told Sergei that Ramirez is trying to ruin our business arrangement by filling it with lies. Luckily, Sergei bought all of it. There is no doubt in his mind that we’re clean.”

“Why did Ramirez reach out if they hate each other?” Butch asks.

“I’m not sure, nothing’s definite, but I think he’s trying to repair their relationship. For what reason? I’m not sure.”

“I know why,” Agent Chandler pipes up. All eyes turn to her; we’re waiting for her to speak. “Sergei Kolosov is a vile man, he’s actually the most despicable thing on this planet. He slaughters his wives, kills villages, and sells weapons to those who would destroy us all given the opportunity. What many don’t know is that Sergei has a daughter. Her name is Natasha, Natasha Kolosov. She’s not only the daughter of Sergei, but she’s also the only heir to Clan Constantin.”

“The Romanians?” Reed interjects.

“Yes. Her uncle is Jan Constantin. His older sister was Natasha’s mother. Rafael has an angle, he’s trying to work it, but he won’t succeed. My theory is he wants to smooth things over with Sergei to get Natasha. Think about it, Mexican Cartel, plus the Romanian Mob in Rafael’s pocket, and an endless supply of arms. He’d be unstoppable.”

“We’d better keep that relationship on the rocks,” Dmitri comments, and I can’t help but agree. Ramirez making any advances is never good. We’ll do whatever we can to keep him at his current status. Hell, you’d think being the head of the Mexican Cartel was enough. It’s not. Greedy bastard.

“I couldn’t agree more, Oliver. What I’m suggesting is that we keep our relationship mutually beneficial. I’m Elena’s handler, which means I’m your handler. It’s my job to keep you all safe, and it’s your job to report to me regarding anything with Sergei Kolosov. If you hear he’s going to New York for a weekend trip, I want to know about it. You’re my eyes and ears. Now, let’s keep saving these girls. Keep up the good work.” Kristie walks out of the doors that hold church, shutting them behind her.

“Hell of a secret, Irish,” Kyle comments; Elena rolls her eyes at him.

“I did what I had to do,” Elena grumbles. Reed tugs her down onto his lap, brushing her thigh with his hand. I know this move all too well, he’s challenging him to speak up, to say anything.

“Hell of a fucking secret,” Kyle hisses.

“Leave my woman alone, brother,” Reed snaps, the tension in the room intensified about a thousand times.

“I’ll leave yours alone when she leaves mine alone. Stop interfering in our shit, Elena,” Kyle roars. No way in hell am I letting him call Dais’ his.

“Daisy Brown does not belong to you Kyle; she hasn’t for a long fuckin’ time,” I point out.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Daisy is mine, has been mine, and will always be mine. I don’t know which one of you is keeping her bed warm at night, just know you’re a fill in. She’ll be right back in my arms soon, right where she belongs.”

“Unbelievable. You’re insane. You expect her to drop down on her knees and suck you off today too?” Enzo growls out. I know for a fact Enzo only sees Daisy as a little sister. He’s one of the only brothers here who has never, ever made a move on her. He was here a lot for her after we rescued her as well. When I couldn’t be there, he was. I owe him an eternity of gratitude for that.

“It’s you, isn’t it, Enzo? You’re the one who’s been fucking my woman. MINE.” Kyle gets up from the table, roaring.

“Enzo isn’t fucking her, and you know it. He’s too busy staring at Jenna’s ass to even look in Daisy’s direction. Is that the way you thank one of the men who rescued her, by accusing him of fucking her?” I say, wanting a response.

“Jenna’s never going to fuck you, you know that right? You’ve always been too weak for her. Why do you think she’s kept you in the friendzone?” Kyle tells Enzo.

I’ve always known Enzo wouldn’t get anywhere with Jen, but I’d never flat out say that shit to Enzo. The fuckers in love with her, plain as day.

I don’t know what the fuck is gonna happen since Kyle is back for good, but I know it’s not good.

Shit’s getting stirred up.

Daisy

I waited a day before I texted my dad, telling him I’d meet up for lunch. We decided it was best to meet at a restaurant in the next town over. I needed to be away from all the guys at the MC. I just needed some normal family time.

I arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes before everyone else did. In the meantime. I looked at my phone, seeing a text from Sea.

From: WWE

Have a good time Babygirl. Love you.

I have him listed as WWE in my phone because there’s a wrestler named Seamus, who looks an awful lot like my man. I’ve always made jokes that he was named after the wrestler and he argues with me every time that it isn’t the case. He said that he’s named because of a story his mother told him, about Seamus, the most beautiful man alive.

Apparently, the brothers overheard his mother’s story and the name stuck, now my man is the most beautiful man in the world – and they aren’t wrong.

To: WWE

Love you. See you later.

I shot off the text right as my parents and Isha were sliding into the booth. This wasn’t a fancy place, or America’s dinkiest diner, but it would do. Today was about catching up, after all, and that’s what we did, for about an hour, we caught up. I found out more about Isha and her determination to go to school, about her dreams and ambitions. I found out that Dad’s trying to retire next year. He’s a mechanic on the west side of Baltimore, and Mom’s just trying to do what she can for people. The peace didn’t last long though. My mother had to ruin it all and bring up Kyle.

“He seems to be doing very well. How long has he been back? I’m surprised that I didn’t see you with him today, it was a little odd.”

“There’s nothing odd about it. I’m not with Kyle. We aren’t dating. We aren’t engaged. He’s my past, and I’m not lookin’ to backtrack into that shit show,” I tell her, taking a sip of the water in front of me. I should’ve ordered a drink, why the fuck didn’t I?

I didn’t tell them anything – I told them absolutely nothing about the circumstances regarding the reason that Kyle and I broke up. In my mom’s mind, she’s probably thinking I made the biggest mistake of my life in letting Kyle go, but it’s the opposite. It’s the best decision I ever made, because I’ve never felt as loved as I do with Sea.

“You two were in such love once, I’m just trying to understand what happened – how that beautiful relationship turned into this toxic hatred that you have for him.”

“We were, once upon a time. We aren’t now, we won’t ever be again. It’s over. It’s done. He is nothing to me.”

“Sweetheart, that’s a load of bologna if I’ve ever heard one. Kyle is your true love, we’d never seen you so happy besides when you were with him. I don’t want you to lose that happiness. I want that for you.”

I take in a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears that are welling behind my eyes. I don’t know if they are angry tears, frustrated tears, or maybe just sad tears. “You really wanna know what happened, what fucked up my relationship with the perfect Kyle Michaels?” I hiss out, staring right into her eyes. She nods, so I take a deep breath and tell them everything. I don’t leave out a detail surrounding my disappearance, except for one big one – one that only one person knows about. “So, you see, I can’t be in love with the man that abandoned me and left me to the sharks. I needed him, and he wasn’t there for me. I had to do everything myself. I had to be strong, and persevere. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my entire life.”

I close my eyes to keep myself from crying, I can’t bear to do it. I’ve cried so much over what I went through, over Kyle leaving me. I won’t waste any more tears on it, I vow not to.

"There has to be a reason that he—" I stop my mother before she can finish that sentence. I don’t need her defending him, trying to give me some sort of false hope on why he left. I need her to be my mother, to support my decision, to be there for me. “Just stop. Please.”

“Sweetheart, I can’t – “

“No. Just fuckin’ stop. Just, for the love of God stop trying to fix everything. You can’t keep trying to fix everything. There is no fixing what happened to me. There is no fixing me. I had to do that myself, and you know what, I rose from the damn ashes and came back stronger than ever. I’m not this little weakling, I’m Daisy fucking Brown, and I’m strong. I’m okay…. I’m…. okay,” I told her, trying to convince myself that I really am okay.

It’s all a crock of shit, I’m not okay, and I haven’t been for a while.

“You aren’t okay. You are absolutely not fine, you went through hell and didn’t have anyone to lean on. You needed support, and you received none of that. I think you need—"

“Mom, all due respect, I don’t need you to shrink me right now. I went through fuckin’ hell. I’m the first one who will tell you that. I was taken because of my fiancés awful gambling habits, and in the end, when he found out I’d been taken, he ran like the weasel he is. Emotionally, it was a fuckin’ shit show. I’m still not over it, maybe I never will be. And for the record, I wasn’t alone. My boyfriend was there with me the whole time, he was my rock, he got me through the hardest days, even when I…” I shake my head at the memory. One day, it was months after I was back. I experienced a loss so great that I didn’t know how to survive. I didn’t want to live. I wanted death, and I almost got it. I would’ve if Sea didn’t find me in time.

I have mixed emotions about that day.

I wanted death so badly, I craved it. Death would grant me one thing that I couldn’t find here on earth. Peace.

I swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills, drank a bottle of vodka, and fell asleep. I remember feeling so peaceful, but it was the coward’s way to go. Seamus found me thirty minutes after I passed out, rushed me to the local ER and I had my stomach pumped. No one knew about it, it’s one of the many secrets of mine that he carries.

“You haven’t even told us who your boyfriend is. Why is that, huh?” My mother asked, giving me the sassiness that I inherited from her.

“My boyfriend is Seamus, the giant red headed Ox,” I growl out. I shuffle out of the booth. “While this has been a lovely fucking family dinner, I need to go home. I just need a damn break,” I confess. I don’t give them a moment to come out of the restaurant after me. I slide into the driver’s side door and peel out of the parking lot.

***

The drive back to the clubhouse goes by quickly. The entire time, I keep thinking about what happened at dinner, how my mother just couldn’t understand or grasp that Kyle and I were over. I keep going down memory lane, and it feels like I am almost reliving everything, and that isn’t something that I want to do.

I’d do anything to not have to go through all that shit – anything.

Honestly, everything was fuckin’ fine until Kyle rolled back into Bubba’s actin’ like he didn’t just leave, like he’d been there for an eternity. I was happy, Sea and I were finally having a sense of normalcy to our relationship. Hell, we’d even discussed coming out about our relationship to the club. We were going to do it, and then Kyle just came back and fucked all that up. He threw a wrench in our plans, but I’ll be damned if I let him delay it any longer. I’m gonna tell everyone soon. I’ve just gotta talk to Sea about it, see what he thinks.

Before Kyle came back, I really felt like I was doin’ pretty good. Now, I feel every single emotion bubbling back up inside me. I feel the heartbreak, fear, anger, sadness, loss, I feel it all and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I can forgive him for what he did, and I did forgive him. That is, until he came back. It’s one thing, forgiving someone that you don’t see every day; it’s somethin’ else entirely when they’re right in front of your face. When your subject to seeing them on a day to day basis. I did a lot to bury down every emotion, to hide it deep within me so that I could move forward with my life – move forward with Ollie, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let Kyle be the reason I’m back in that emotional state.

I drive my car back through the gates. I am surprised by the fact that there isn’t a prospect manning it, but the clubhouse is packed and I can tell that. By the looks of it, we’re having a pretty crazy party goin’ on right now. It’s funny, I thought I woulda been summoned sooner for my bartender techniques, but if Jen and Maria are here then they’re pretty set. Meech is pretty damn good too, but she just doesn’t compare to Jen, Mar, and I.

As I park my car and slide out of the door, I notice that some of the men hanging around the front of the clubhouse have Vipers MC cuts on. They’re Elena’s members; not too long ago her father died – well, I should say met his timely end by Elena’s hand. He was a nasty, sick fuck, and from what I’ve learned about Elena and her time with him, he deserved everything that he got. In my opinion, he deserved a worse fate than what was given to him.

After she murdered her father, she inherited his club. It’s not a big club, but it has a chapter out in Texas. Elena’s marrying Reed, so, obviously, both of the clubs are workin’ together. I’ve never heard of two MC Prez’s gettin’ married, though, so I have no idea how this shit’s gonna work. Time will tell.

“Hey there, Daisy girl!” I look over to the left and see Slasher, one of the members from Texas, greeting me. The first time I met him, I wanted to laugh at his road name. I almost did until they told me how he got his name. I definitely won’t be pissin’ him off.

“Hey, bud,” I comment back. “How’s the party goin’?”

“Better now that you’re here, baby.” He gave me his signature wink. I don’t know how the hell he wasn’t taken by now. He’s damn hot too. What’s with all these guys being so damn hot?

I take a few steps towards the doorway when callused arms wrap around my waist. I giggle at the contact, knowing very well who was touching me. “You just can’t keep your hands off me, can ya?”

I don’t hear a word, instead, Sea’ makes this sudden growl at me. He knows very well that shit turns me on, what he doesn’t know is we’re heading back to the bedroom right this second. I’ve had a long day, nothing a good romp won’t fix.

His arms entrap me, and suddenly, he turns me around, and his lips crush down onto mine. I know that second that this isn’t Sea, the lips are too thin, there’s no scruff rubbing against me. I glare up at Kyle who has his hands on me. In one swift movement, my hand is against his cheek, the heat of the slap radiating through my hand.

“How dare you kiss me!” I snap out. “How fucking dare you!” I pull my hand back and slap him across the face again, he doesn’t do anything to stop me, instead, he lets it happen.

“You have absolutely no fuckin’ right to be touchin’ me or kissin’ me like that,” I tell him. I know he’s been trying to weasel his way back to me, but it’s not gonna happen. He can’t go back and undo everything that he did to me.

“I don’t have a right? Did you forget who you’re talking to, sweetheart? I’m your Ol’Man. I’ve got every single right to be touching you in any way that I want. You’re mine, and you’d best not forget that.” I dropped my purse from my shoulder, smacking him in the chest with it.

“You have no fuckin’ right! Nothing!” I screamed at him, “I’m not your woman. I’m not your girlfriend. I’m not your damn fiancé. Or even your fuckin’ Ol’Lady, or your friend! Kyle, you’ve lost every single right to be calling me that. You don’t just leave your woman high and dry when she needs you. An Ol’Man doesn’t just abandon her when she needs him the most, when she’s going through literal hell and wants to die every day. He doesn’t just disappear, run off doing God knows what, and leaves her in a warehouse to be tortured and raped. You don’t just…do…that…,” I tell him, and my voice starts to crack as the emotion rolls through me.

Kyle and I have never really discussed what happened to me, not since he’s been back, and I never wanted to talk to him about it. The past is the past; there’s no changing that shit now.

I look up at him, staring into those eyes that once stole my heart “Did you even care? Was there a moment where you even thought about what I was going through? About the hell that I had to endure because of you, because you couldn’t stop fuckin’ gambling!” I scream, tears flooding down my face.

“Baby, you okay?” I hear Slasher call over to me. I look in his direction and simply nod at him. I watch as he takes a step back closer to the clubhouse and chats with a few of the boys surrounding him.

“You didn’t care. Your actions showed me that,” I whispered, tears continuing down my cheeks. I bet my makeup makes me look like a drowned raccoon by now.

“Shut up for a damn second, would ya? I didn’t just fuckin’ leave, woman. I went after every mother fucker who hurt you. I hunted them all down, one by one. I made all of them pay with their lives for hurting you. I got you vengeance, baby, that’s what I was doin.” He says it like it helps; it doesn’t. I didn’t need him out looking for my vengeance.

“I didn’t need vengeance. I needed you, and you weren’t there.” I run my fingers through my hair and stare at him. He reaches out his hand to try and console me, but I don’t need it, nor do I want it.

I take two steps away from him. “Don’t. Just, don’t.”

I don’t turn back as I walk straight into the clubhouse. I was right, it’s a full-fledged party up here. The entire place is packed, almost body to body. I look around for Sea, finding him on the couch with Reed and Elena. His eyes lock with mine as I find him. I watch as his eyes drift behind me, noticing the way his face is turning blood red. Sea doesn’t let that happen often, but I know it is only when he is furious.

“What the fuck are you doing getting her upset again?!” Seamus roars at Kyle. Every person in the club stops what they are doing and looks at the three of us. It is one thing for our chapter to know about my shit with Kyle, but for strangers, hang arounds, and sluts to know? That is mortifying.

“So, help me God, Kyle, I told you to leave Daisy alone!” Elena chimes in. I shut my eyes tightly and walk straight back, past the living area, past the kitchen, down the hallway, until I reach Sea’s bedroom.

I strip out of my clothes, walking over to Sea’s dresser and grabbing one of his shirts, still hearing the lot of them yelling back and forth at each other. I slide under the covers on Sea’s side of the bed, inhaling the scent of his Old Spice – I love how it calms me, how it makes me feel like I am home.

The door to his room flies open. I glance over and see Sea. He shuts the door and locks it behind him, walking up to me. “You’re on my side.”

“How observant you are,” I retort back.

“You doin’ that thing where you smell my pillow again?” He cocks an eyebrow and smirks at me.

“No,” I lied, hugging the pillow closer to me. He chuckles as he shreds off his clothes until he is just in boxers and slides into the bed. “You don’t need the pillow, Babygirl, you’ve got the real deal.” I released the pillow at his words and found comfort in his arms.

“You okay?” He muttered against my cheek, his scuffle scrapping softly against my skin.

“Eh. Not really,” I confess, snuggling closer into his arms.

“What do you need from me, Babygirl?”

“You. Just, you.” He slides his hand under my jaw, tipping my face up to his reach and plants a soft, passionate kiss. A kiss that would make the room go “Aww”, the type of kiss that would be in a Nicholas Sparks movie. That’s the thing, with Oliver, he knew exactly what I needed – when I needed dirty, rough fucking, or slow and passionate.

“You know I’ve got you, Babygirl, right?” he whispers against my lips. I nod in understanding while tears slide from my eyes.

“I’m always gonna be here for you, rain or shine. All of this could go to shit and I’d still have your back. I’m not just gonna disappear, I’m never going to abandon you like he did. I will never give you up.” He knew everything about me, all my deep dark secrets. He knew the good and the bad, and most importantly, he knew my fears.

With him, I wasn’t afraid anymore.

“I’m gonna cherish you the way you deserve, I’ll slay dragons and do all that knight in shining armor shit for you, Babygirl,” he mutters against my neck, as his lips travel down, pressing soft kisses against my skin.

“I know.” And I do know. I trust Seamus with so much; there isn’t anything that I don’t trust him with. He literally knows every dark thing about my past. He’s seen me at my worst – shaking in fear, hysterically crying, and on that day where I tried to make it all end. Even when I couldn’t fight for myself, he picked up the slack and fought for me.

His hands slide around my body, caressing me with soft strokes. He doesn’t waste a moment when his hands go to my legs, slowly sliding up until he pulls my legs apart. None of his movements are hard and fast. He is slow and sensual. He wants me to feel the anticipation of what is coming.

Ollie trails kisses from my knee, up my inner thigh, until he is at my center. He inhales, using his hands to tug me closer to his mouth. I feel so good as soon as his mouth is on my pussy. He sticks his tongue out and circles my clit, playing with the little nub until I am writhing under him.

“Ollie, please” I beg, grabbing the sheets on both sides of me. He says nothing, sliding two fingers inside me and finding my hot spot. He keeps rubbing and rubbing, the warmth spreads across my entire body. It is pure heaven, and I haven’t even come yet.

He circles his tongue back out around my clit, until my legs are shaking, showing us, both my orgasm was coming soon.

“Fuck me, Ollie,” I demand, holding onto the sheets so tightly. I am on the verge, and I want his cock inside me.

“Oh, no, darlin’, this isn’t about me. This is all about you,” he answers back quickly before rolling my clit with his tongue again. Before I can argue, he has me coming around him; my orgasm is long, rolling through me like waves on a beach. Sea picks up the pace with his fingers, fucking me hard as my orgasm starts to end. He brings me right back to another one. I never knew how he did it, I told him before it was pure fuckin’ magic, and it was.

He laps at my pussy like a kitten at milk. I am damn sure he is going to make me come again, and while I normally wouldn’t argue, I am exhausted.

I grab what I can of his hair, which isn’t much, and pull up. He makes a face up at me, removing my hand swiftly from his hair. “I fuckin’ hate it when you do that. Don’t know how you love hair pullin’ so much.”

“It’s hot,” I tell him with a flashy smile. He laughs and pulls me on top of him. I lay flat on his chest, and he brushes my hair back with his hand. “Go to sleep, babygirl/” and I do; I fall fast asleep against the man that I no doubt, love.

Seamus

“We’ve gotta get this shit fixed as soon as possible,” Reed grumbles at the group of us. We’re all in his office, listening to what’s going on with the next shipment of girls that are coming in. So far, we don’t know too much.

“What’s the problem? We’ve got enough space for them. What do we have Jen, ‘bout 15 beds?” I look over to Jenna who nods, “that’s more than double what we usually get,” I tell Reed.

“The problem is, we’re 5 beds short, at least. Sergei does business differently than Rafael did. He sends, at the minimum, twenty girls, and puts a few extra in, just in case some of the others don’t survive the trip.” That shit makes my stomach roll. I want to know exactly how these girls were coming to us, from the sounds of it – it doesn’t look good. Traffickers always have interesting ways of getting the girls across the border.

Rafael is a weasel; he owns most of the police in Texas and has a few on border patrol on his payroll. Shit, it wouldn’t surprise me if he has a few FBI or DEA agents too. If he has anyone in the FBI, though, I’m sure he would’ve figured out about Elena a hell of a lot sooner.

“Twenty girls? What the fuck!?” Enzo adds, staring right at Reed and then looking to Elena. “I get we’re trying to save these girls and all, but twenty of them? We’re gonna get caught, our shit is gonna blow up so fuckin quickly. At least with Rafael we were being discreet. No way in hell is twenty girls being discreet.”

“How are we going to somehow build all this in time? We should’ve been working on this weeks ago,” I tell Reed, a hint of annoyance in my voice. I’m not annoyed, I’m fuckin’ pissed. We’re supposed to know shit like this. Dmitri, Reed, Enzo, and I are usually the guys who go to the pickups, and Jenna, Maria and Elena handle a lot with the girls after they come to the club and get ‘em all settled.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jenna says. She looks around the room. “We’ll figure it the fuck out. We hafta, there isn’t another option. We’re not cancelling that shipment, those girls need us, and I’ll be damned if we don’t get them away from that fuckin’ leech of a man. Who knows what they’d have to go through if they didn’t come to us.”

She shakes her head at the last bit. I can tell something about her working with them is getting to her. Jen’s always been quiet. Don’t get me wrong, she’s loud as fuck and is the life of the party, but I’d be lying if I said I know anything about her personal life. She doesn’t talk about her family, she doesn’t reminisce about the good ol’ days like the boys and I do. She gets up and leaves, makes an excuse about tending to the bar or shit like that. We’ve all got secrets, and Jen’s got a lot.

Enzo doesn’t agree with her. “We don’t have the resources to be taking on all those women; there’s no way we can do it. We’re gonna have to let some of them go, we’re gonna – “

“You’re gonna what, Enzo?!” Jenna yells. “You’re just gonna pick a few of them and tell the others ‘oh sorry, we don’t have any place for you’. No, we aren’t fucking doing that. You have no idea what they’ve had to go through, we’re not just going to abandon them like that.”

“We could send some up to the Reapers in Billings, yeah?” Enzo looks up to Reed who just stares at him. The Reapers are another MC; they run Montana and are great allies to the club. Fist, their Prez, has known Reed since he was in diapers. I’ve met the man on a few occasions; he’s good people, and we need more of that.

“We’re not involving the Reapers in our dealings,” Reed tells us all. “There will be a time and a place to involve Fist; today is not that day. He’s got his own shit going on up there with the Bears. I’ve already told him if he needs help handling any of it to let us know. Some of us may be takin’ a long ride onea these days.” The Bears are the only other prominent MC in Montana. They’ve been trying to go after Fist’s territory for years, and none of ‘em have been successful. Fist knows how to run his shit, and those fuckin’ Grizzlies don’t.

“So that’s settled, we’ll take care of the chica’s when they come,” Maria says. I hand it to her, she’s come a long way since she’s come to the club. I hate it when we’re at any sort of risk, and buying those girls was a risk – a fuckin’ big one. The good thing to come out of that was the girls we saved, Kimberly, who we took back to her parents, Mar, who decided to stay here and Cecil who decided to stay in the club life but transferred down to where the Vipers are.

“We don’t have enough beds, that’s a big issue. The work that’s being done at the bar won’t be finished, not completely anyway. We’re almost done but…I dunno, we need another two or three weeks, and we don’t have that much time before the girls come,” Elena says. We put our thinking caps on, none of us saying anything.

“Bunk up,” Dmitri says.

“Bunk up?” Jenna asks.

“Yeah, bunk up. Have the girls bunk with some of the guys in their rooms.”

“No, that’s a horrible idea Dmitri,” Elena says. “We’re not trying to traumatize them more!”

“Did I say for the new girls to be the ones bunking up?” he retorts back, crossing his arms over his chest. “What I’m suggesting is for Jenna to bunk with one of the guys, Daisy bunk with one of the guys, Michelle and Mar bunk with one of the guys. Then, we’ll have enough room to hold the new girls over until the cabins are complete at Bubba’s.” It wasn’t a bad idea. For every bed that the girls stay in, two of the girls from Russia can be sleeping, that makes up for eight girls to have some place to sleep.

“Uh, I don’t like that idea, just so that’s out there,” Jenna mumbles.

“Noted Jen, but it’s a good one. Figure out who’s sleeping where, it’s only temporary until they get their spaces built.”

“Mar, you and Pain get along, yeah?” Elena says. I hold back a chuckle, knowing exactly where this is going.

“Si, why?” Maria slants her eyes, staring at Elena, before she even says it, I’m laughing.

“You’re gonna bunk with Pain!” Elena giggles like we’re making sleeping arrangements for the summer at band camp.

“Dios Mio, he doesn’t smell like Enzo, so I can’t complain.”

“What the fuck Mar?!” Enzo snaps, I keep laughing.

“You do, you smell like you come from the club de campo, golf club, smell like the polo marc!”

“You’re complaining because I use cologne? I could smell like cigarettes and beer.”

“Better smell than that polo,” Maria chastises him, and all of us bust out laughing in the room.

“We gonna figure out the other arrangements now, or do the ladies have some say in it?” I ask Elena, she squishes her nose and responds. “I think we need to do it now, either way, no one is going to like it. We’ve just gotta rip the band-aid off.”

“Jenna, pick, Slasher, Trigger, Chaos, Dmitri, or Bones,” Elena says.

“Ew, why would you even put Bones in that lineup! There’s no way I’m sleeping with Trig or Slash, do you know how many women they fuck? They’re worse than Enzo!” I laugh at her comment again. Enzo, the certifiable manwhore of Skulls Renegade MC. “Dmitri, do you care if I…?”

Shit. I wasn’t expecting that.

Dmitri just nods at Jenna, “The dogs come with me you know, right?”

“Da, da, I know,” he growls out.

“Daisy will go with  - “

“Me. Daisy will go with me,” I tell Elena. She stares at me for a moment and nods in agreement. I don’t need anyone asking questions about my relationship with Dais’, I just need them to know she’s going to be with me.

“That leaves Michelle, where are we gonna put her?”

“Let her pick between the last few left,” I suggest, and Elena nods.

“Let’s get to our other business. Jen, Mar, I want you both to formally run the day to day operations over the women that are coming in. You’ve both been handling it for a while now, and you’re doing a pretty good job at it. The women trust you, you’re both approachable, I need them to have someone to trust in here. It’s important work that you’re both doing, and I need you to keep doing it. You’ll both still work at the bar on occasion but you’re needed with the girls.” Jenna and Mar both agree to what Reed is asking of them.

***

“Ugghhhhhhhh,” I hear coming from the doorway, I roll over and turn the light on, seeing my Babygirl. She pulls her hands up over her eyes, shielding herself from the light.

“Light. Off. Now!” she growls out. I chuckle and comply to her request.

“Hey. Baby.”

“Hi.” I can’t see her, but I can hear her footsteps coming closer towards me. I stick my hand out, and she grabs it, sliding onto my lap. My hands go to her feet, I slide those torture devices she calls heels off her and rub. “Ugh, thank you.”

“Have a good night at the bar?”

Daisy giggles “Good, it was great! I made a little over 500 in tips tonight.”

“You twistin’ their drinks up again?” I try to sound chastising, but in reality, it’s hysterical. She liquors ‘em up early and slowly waters down their drinks. They forget they’ve already tipped her, and so every time she gives em’ a drink, they tip her again.

“Yes, and I completely deserve a spa day. I’m thinking about going tomorrow, letting all my stresses float away, get rubbed down by some hot macho man, get a facial…”

“I can give you a facial, Babygirl. I can rub you down…” I grab her pussy and rub over her erect little nub. “Like this.”

“Mmmhmmm,” she moans, her body squirming in my arms.

“But you’re not goin’ tomorrow. I was gonna ask you if you’d come to a family barbeque with me. We’d have to drive a bit, but my ma is really hassling me about showin’ up to this one, and I want you to come, Babygirl.”

“Ohhh, I’m gonna comeeee,” she grabs my hand, taking my thumb and sticking it in her mouth. She sucks hard; I could come in my pants right now. Damn this woman, and the nasty little tricks she has up her sleeve. I toss her onto the bed, ripping her mini skirt and panties down her legs. She makes her way down to me, wraps her little hand around my cock, and strokes, her thumb rubs the tip where precum is pooling for her. Jesus Christ, I was ready to blow a load when her lips were wrapped around my thumb. She’s a minx, and she knows it.

“Daisy, up,” I tell her, and she complies, rising to her knees. I look her silhouette over in the dark, thinking of my lovely girl. My hand travels to her ass, cupping, squeezing it firmly. “Leg.” She knows exactly what to do. She lifts her right leg, I grab it with my arm and move right against her. My cock is brushing against her soaking wet lips.

I hold onto her tightly, bringing my hand up and swinging it down until I hear the slap of my hand on her ass. She groans. You’d think she doesn’t like it, but she does.

I rub my shaft against her needy, little clit and slide further against her lips. She’s even wetter than she was before.

“Ollie,” she whines, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I position myself up against her entrance and make one long thrust inside her. Fuck, she’s tight. I place my palm against her clit and rub as I make hard strokes inside her I want her to come; to come really fuckin’ hard.

“OH MY goddd,” she groans, digging her nails into my back.

“That’s it, Babygirl, take it.” I ram into her tight little heat even harder, and her mouth goes to my shoulder, biting down hard. The combination of the bite and her cunt tightening up makes me lose it. I rub her clit hard and fast until she’s unraveling underneath me, feeling her juices sliding underneath us.

When we are between the sheets, we connect on such a level that I feel she is my redemption; my way to Heaven. But I can't help but wonder if her connection to the asshole that put her life in danger was too strong to ever break. Though, I know better than to say that to her face and stir anything up again. Kyle being back is enough trouble for her.

We both take a moment to catch our breaths. She’s beautiful, she’s always fuckin’ beautiful but like this, sated after a rough fuck, she’s breathtaking. Her chocolate brown hair in loose waves surrounding her face, those praline-infused, perky lips that I love to kiss. She gives me all of her, even after everything that happened she gives me everything.

I’m in love with her.

“You’ll come with me tomorrow?” I ask her, wanting to be sure that she’d go with me on this one. I haven’t seen my parents in a while, and going home is just stressing me out beyond belief.

“Yeah, Ollie, I’ll go with you,” she whispers, curling straight into my arms. I wrap an arm around her torso and kiss her cheek softly.

“Get some sleep, Babygirl, we’re leaving in a few hours.”

“Fuck you,” she huffs, and I can’t help but chuckle at her. That’s her; that’s the woman I love.

Daisy

Ollie wasn’t kidding, we left a little after five in the morning. Five in the fucking morning. I told him point blank the only way I was going with him was if he lifted me up princess style and carried me out to his bike, and he did. But he didn’t tell me we weren’t taking the bike. He’d just bought a brand-new Dodge RAM, and it was loaded with the latest and greatest of everything. He opened the passenger side door, slid me in and went onto his side. “You’re just lucky no one saw me doin’ that with you.”

“Oh please, I’d just tell them ya were too scaredy-cat to face your momma,” I told him, and it was true. He’s too scared to go back alone. Here’s the thing though, Ollie’s never really told me about his family life.

I can tell there’s a shitload of tension, though; I’d have to be blind not to notice that. I know a few things, and most of them are silly except for knowing that he lived outside of Atlanta. Otherwise, he’s a complete mystery.

It’s funny, the man knows everything about me, and yet I only know a few things about him.

“What did you tell everyone anyway?” I ask him. We still haven’t told anyone that we’re together. It’s both aggravating and frustrating. I want to tell everyone because Kyle’s back and it’s going to happen sooner or later; I just want it off our chests. We’ve been doing this for so long, and there’s really no point to keep it a secret anymore.

“I told ‘em you were coming to my family shit with me to distract my mother.” He laughs at the last bit. I can’t help but roll my eyes and laugh with him. The man cracks me up. Really, he does.

The thing he doesn’t tell me, is how long it will take us to drive from Gainesville to Atlanta. Sure, the GPS says one thing, but the traffic around Atlanta is no joke. We pull off the main road, travel another twenty minutes, and the next thing I know, we are pulling down a tree lined driveway.

I can’t stop looking at the view that surrounded me. On both sides of the driveway are horses – and I’m not talkin’ ugly horses. These are thoroughbreds. He drives further up the driveway until I am lookin’ at the most beautiful house I’d ever seen.

“That’s it. We’re on Southern Charm right now. Is Shep your brother? Please tell me he is!”

“Shepherd Rose is not my fuckin’ brother. Plus, wrong city, sweetheart. That’s Charleston, this is A-T-L.”

“And you told me you never watch that ‘stupid fuckin’ shit’” I giggle, quoting his exact words.

“You only have it on all the damn time Dais’, ‘course I’m gonna know who’s who,” he grumbles. I laugh and look at everything again. I’m amazed and shocked.

The house is beautiful. It’s a classical Georgian Plantation house with ivy vines traveling up it beautifully. If I look to both sides of the home, I see more fencing and more horses. I don’t know a lick about Ollie’s upbringing, but to a girl from the west side of Baltimore – which is the ghetto, this looks damn good.

“You never told me you were some white-collar boy,” I muttered.

“Did it ever matter?” he asks. No, it didn’t. He takes a deep breath in, and I can tell as he’s parking the truck that something’s wrong.

“Ollie, what is it?”

“You’ll see, Babygirl. You’ll see.” I roll my eyes at him. We’re partners there’s no “you’ll see” bullshit.

“Tell me now, you big red-headed ox!”

“Starting the couples banter already, Ma will love that.”

“Damn, Oliver, what the hell, just tell me what’s got a stick up your damn ass,” I snap. He runs his hands over his buzzed hair. After a moment, he turns to the right and looks at me. “It’s nothing, just a bit of good ol’ family tension.”

“It’s not nothing, mister. I’m not stupid. You haven’t been home in a while, and by a while, I mean over a year. You came home right after….” I shake my head at the memory. It was my weakest that day. I screamed and yelled at him, telling him I didn’t need him. I said things that he knew I didn’t mean. The day he came back to the club I apologized over and over – he knew that loss had crippled me, it still does. “Well, you know. What’s got you so worked up about being here?”

“My father. Not gonna get into that right now baby. Ma’s just spotted us, and she’s bringin’ the welcoming committee.” I glance up to see a short red-haired woman darting out the front door, clapping her hands together. Behind her was two girls; they had to be teenagers still.

“Game face, baby, you’ll need it” He grumbles as he jumped out of his side of the truck. Instead of opening my side, he pulls me to him and takes me out of the truck. He grabs the duffel bag with both of our stuff. We didn’t have to pack much since we were just staying here for one night.

“Oliver! Oliver! Oh, my big boy, how much you’ve grown!” The woman comes around the front of the truck and hugs Ollie. She only comes up to right above his navel. How that woman bore this ox, I have no idea.

She smiles wide, and the next thing I know, she grabs Ollie’s cheek and tugs, bringing his face down to hers. “Why on God’s green Earth did you not tell me you were bringing a woman!?”

I laugh. I can’t help it. I’m looking at six foot six Seamus being taken down by someone who must be a direct relative to a leprechaun.

“Jesus, Ma! Stop it would ya?” he snaps out, but she tugs harder.

“I will not stop it. It’s not every day my Oliver brings a lady home, and I want to know exactly who she is.”

I smile at the spitfire that is Ollie’s mom, instantly knowing that I will love her. “Hi, Mrs. Virts. I’m Daisy, Daisy Brown.” I stick out a hand to greet her, and she slaps it away, letting go of Ollie and gives me a full-force hug. “Hand shaking? No, honey, I hug family!”

Over the next hour I find out a bit about Ollie, or Oliver, as everyone calls him here. He has two younger sisters, Brianna and Amber, who are eighteen and fifteen. Brianna’s on her way to college, and the funny thing is that she’s going to Coastal Carolina. I immediately tell her about my sister, Isha. I go far enough to give her Isha’s cell phone number in the hopes that they’ll end up being close friends. We’ll see, but it never hurts to try.

Even though everything is going well with me and Ollie’s family, especially his sisters and mom – I can tell that nothing is going well for him. He’s good at hiding when he’s uncomfortable, but I can read him, and he’s stressing the hell out. He said that there was some sort of family tension, but I’m wondering what it is, because there’s no way his father can be horrible. I’m staring right at his mom and sisters, and they’re amazing.

“Well, the party’s gonna start in a bit. You two ought’ to go upstairs and freshen up,” Alice tells us. I nod and follow Ollie as he walks up the stairwell. I still can’t believe a man like him grew up in a place like this. I’m just remembering the countless times I’ve had to help him get up after a drunken night with the boys, hell, I remember when he wasn’t with me and how much of a slob he was. He still is, but there’s a big difference now: he used to have condoms and empty bottles of Jack hangin’ around.

“You coming? Or are you gonna daydream in LaLa Land forever?” he growls, I follow him into the door that he opens. It seems like today will be full of surprises. His entire room is flooded with football shit. He’s got trophies, jersey’s, etc., etc.

“You know, you could be a little nicer to me. I know you’re stressing out, but I’m here, we’ll be fine, and what’re you even stressin’ for? Your family is great.”

“You haven’t met my father, sweetheart.” He takes off his shirt and pants, grabbing a nice pair of Khaki’s and a polo shirt. I laugh hard at him. Never, once, would I imagine him in that.

“Laugh while ya can, I won’t be in this shit again until we come to the next one.” I giggle at his comment, walking straight into his arms and standing up on my tippy toes, trying to reach his lips. He meets me, kissing me softly.

“I don’t know what happened between you and your Pops, but it’s gonna be okay, I’m here with you. Don’t you stress about any of it, okay?” I mumble.

He nods, pressing a kiss to my forehead before he goes to our bag and rummages through it. The man laughs, and I mean laughs hard as he pulls the three dress options I had picked for today’s barbeque, and let me be honest, I had no idea how prim and proper this was until I pulled into the driveway. They aren’t so slutty, but they aren’t khaki wearing, barbeque-y attire either.

“You seriously thought these were okay to wear to a barbeque?” His voice isn’t filled with comedic relief like I thought it’d be. I mean, I find the situation hysterical, but then again, this is his fault.

“This isn’t the club, and it sure as hell isn’t the west side of Baltimore” He is being a dick, a total, complete, dick. “Everyone here would think you were a slut wearing these rags.” He huffs, tossing them at me.

“They’d be thinking right then, I’m just a fucking whore, so really why’re we gonna cover up what I really am, huh?!” I snap, tossing the dresses back at him. I look at the three dresses, and while they aren’t prim and proper, they also aren’t slut central, either. I have a red dress with a deep V in the front, a white with a tad of see through mesh through the midsection, and lastly, a mint green that was backless.

“Shit. Fuck,” he mutters, rubbing his hand across his face. I still don’t understand what the hell is going on with him, but I don’t like it one bit.

He darts out of his room and leaves me standing there. I hear him yell Brianna’s name, and then he comes back a few minutes, later holding a black dress. I don’t say one word to him as I slide it on and zip it up

.

Daisy

“Honey, you look like you’re dressed for a funeral.” Alice giggles as she comes up to me, wrapping her arm around my waist.

“I am, and it happens to be your son’s,” I grumble. Alice breaks out into intense laughter, and for a second, I laugh with her. “I’m sorry. He just has a way of pissing me off.”

Alice giggles yet again. “Oh, honey, he gets that from his father. I’ll tell you, it doesn’t get better. My husband has driven me insane for the last thirty-five years, and when Oliver was born, I had two of them. Two men who drove me crazy!” I can imagine exactly how she felt, how much that boy had driven her crazy over the years.

“Have you met Oliver’s father?” I shake my head, and the next thing I know, I am face to face with his Pops, and there was no denying this is his father. It is like staring into an older carbon copy version of Ollie with jet black hair. He’s sitting in a luxurious lawn chair, not even standing to greet me. Alice introduces us, and truthfully, I don’t think that he is very happy I am here.

“Funny, I see his bimbo before I see him,” the man comments, and my mouth drops open in shock.

Alice smacks him on the chest, “You’d better apologize right now to Daisy. How dare you!”

His eyes meet with mine, and he says nothing. Instead, he takes a sip of his beer and maintains eye contact. “What are you, a club whore? Isn’t that what they call them, those girls who go around sucking all their cocks in the hopes to land one of the main boys?”

Alice is chastising her husband, and I just stand there with a smile on my face. If he thinks that calling me a bimbo, or comparing me to a club whore, would do anything to phase me, it won’t.

“Never could understand how he’d give up all this to become what he is; only makes sense that he’s with a ratty little slut that the club provided for him.” He hands me his beer. “I need a refill darling, you can do that for me, can’t you?”

He doesn’t give me an empty beer; he gives me a half empty beer, or half full, if you look at it that way. I make up my mind. I smile as I pour it over his head. Alice doesn’t do a thing. I notice how others stare from around us.

“You don’t know me, Mr. Virts. I’m not a bimbo, a club whore, or a ratty little slut. My name is Daisy, and I’m dating your son. I deserve respect, the same respect I’m giving you.”

I walk away from Mr. Virts with a beer in hand, tossing it in the trash bin as soon as I see it. Ollie is talking to a man. I decide to strut on up and do, wrapping my arm around his waist.

“That was a fun night.” The man laughs, and his eyes fall directly to me. I watch as his gaze goes up and down my body. “Please tell me this isn’t Daisy, cuz damn, I wanna take this little Georgia Peach back to my penthouse.”

“You know, normally, men buy me a drink before telling me they want to fuck me,” I tell the man, and he breaks out into laughter.

Ollie shoves at the man, then looks back over to me, “This is my girl alright.” he plants a soft kiss on my lips, one that I melt straight into.

“Baby, this is Logan Steele. You might have seen him around the club a couple times.” I look over Logan again, trying to recall when I may have seen him, and I had. He’s the hot gunrunner; he’s the guy, the one where the club gets all our weapons from.

“You’re Hottie!” I tell him. “The girls at the club loooove when you come around. You’re the spanker and into bondage, right?” Logan cracks up laughing, and Ollie joins in with him.

“I love it how you just openly bring up bondage and spankings at a barbeque. But no, that’s my twin brother Jordan, and from what I know, my brother Christian is into that shit too. I’ll send him up on the next run.”

“There’s no filtering what comes outta this mouth,” I tell them both.

They both laugh with me, and then Ollie goes into the story of Logan and how they know each other. “Logan and I have known each other since we were kids. My dad’s the company lawyer for his business. We go way back.” I listen and listen as Ollie tells me everything there is to know about this Logan Steele. As I listen to him, I can’t help but think how this man doesn’t breathe an inch of gun runner. He’s the kinda guy that you bring home to your momma and she immediately wants you to marry him. He can’t look more cut and clean than he already does, and I’m guessin’ that’s why he hasn’t gotten caught yet.

“You need to stop this, now!” The three of us turn to see Alice yelling at Sea’s dad. He sees Sea and comes charging right up to us. I don’t know what prompts me to grab Sea’s hand the way I do, but I do, rubbing his palm as soothingly as I can. Maybe I can somehow sense the bad energy that is coming straight for us.

“You have some nerve showing up after all this time, after all you put your mother through. Then, you walk around this place and don’t even say hello to me? I see your little “girlfriend” first, who seems to be nothing but a little club whore that you brought up here for what? And you’re over here talking to Logan, ignoring your family. You’re here for one damn night, and you can’t even spend it with your mother and sisters. I thought you’d grown out of whatever phase you’re in, it seems not. You’re just going to keep disappointing me, aren’t you Oliver?”

I feel the ferociousness coming from his father’s voice. This isn’t just family tension, this is something deeper than that.

“Don’t you dare talk about my Daisy like that” Seamus huffs, taking a step towards his father. They are both around the same height. Sea’ has a few pounds of muscle on his father, and by a few, I mean a helluva lot. He is a few feet away from us, taking slow steps towards us. I tighten my grip around Sea’s hand. I am scared shitless, and I don’t know what would be happening, but it isn’t good, it isn’t good at all.

When he turns his gaze back to me, his glare can burn right through me. “Ollie.” My voice comes out soft, but he ignores my silent beg and turns back to his father.

“That woman right there is the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, you won’t get off calling her a bitch or a damn club whore. She’s more of a man than half the people here at this fuckin’ party! Apologize to her, now!”

“I’m not apologizing to some club whore. You think I don’t know what she is? I do.” His father glares at me, he looked at me like I am a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe. Normally, I wouldn’t be so quiet, but this is Ollie’s home, and his father. If this was some asshole at Bubba’s I woulda already laid it into him by now, but this is different, so much different.

Before I can realize what is happening, Ollie has his fist slamming against his father’s face. The hit knocks him back straight onto the ground. As he sits up I can see the blood oozing from the busted lip his son just gave him. “You don’t talk about my girl like that.”

“I’ll talk to her however the hell I want to. You brought some slut into our home, not a lady,” his father snaps. “How many boys passed her around before she got to you, anyways?”

I gasp at his words. I have never met someone so rude in my entire life, and to not even know me? That pisses me off.

“I’m gonna leave, cuz I swear to God, I’ll kill you.” Ollie turns to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and ushering me away from his father.

“You always were good at running away when the truth was slammed in your face.”

Ollie stops. He stops dead in his tracks, turns back towards his father and charges up to him. I don’t know what to expect. Ollie did just punch his father, it could happen again for all I know.

He yanks his father up off of the ground by the collar of his dress shirt, clenching his teeth. I can’t hear the words that are said. Whatever it is, I know it is tense. His father’s expression changes from angry to shocked, and that’s when Ollie lets go of his father’s collar and comes back over to me, grabbing my hand and ushering me away to the truck.

We don’t stay over that night. We leave everything in his old bedroom and drive home, back to Tennessee.

Seamus

It’s been a few days since we came back from Atlanta. That was a fucking shit show. I go home to see my ma’ and my sisters, I knew my father would be there, but I won’t say that it wasn’t shocking to realize he still had harbored ill feelings towards me. My whole life I did things to please him, everything I could, really. Sometimes, you just can’t please people. I tried and tried, and eventually, I didn’t care anymore. Fuck him. The way he acted towards me and especially towards Daisy was ridiculous. I’ll never be taking her around him ever again, and that I can promise her.

My father and I didn’t have a rough relationship, not until I was about seventeen and voiced what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps and work at the firm, become the youngest partner in history because, well, I’m his son. If I had done that, I would never be able to feel like I earned my position.

I would feel like it was given to me because of my blood – because of who I was, and I’m not okay with that. I wanted to make a way for myself, I wanted to explore and see where life took me, and at the end of the day, I ended up right where I was supposed to be. But that was never good for him. I’m affiliated with an ‘illegal biker club’ as he’s told me many times.

At eighteen, I enrolled in the United States Army and completed two tours in Iraq. You think he’d be proud that his only son served his country. He wasn’t. He’s acted like I was the biggest disappointment on the face of the earth. My father didn’t know the lengths that I went to please him. I told him at the barbeque right before I left with my Daisy, and he looked damn surprised.

“What’s the deal with the shipments?” I didn’t even notice Reed walk into the clubhouse main area. He walked around the bar grabbing a beer out of the fridge and handed me one. I was too busy stuck in my own thoughts.

“What’re we talkin’ about, the girls, or the guns?” I’m assuming he means the guns. He’s the one who tells me about the girls, and so far, I haven’t heard anything about that.

“Guns, what the fucks up with you? I’m the one who tells you when the girls are coming. Did I do that and not tell you shit?” Reed grumbles. It seems like he’s having a rough day too.

“I spoke with Logan briefly a few days ago, he said that the shipment would be hand delivered by him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan was the one who actually shows up though.” Logan and Jordan loved playing tricks on everyone when we were kids. My favorite memory was when Jordan was enrolled in after school tutoring for math. Logan already knew math like it was the back of his damn hand, so Logan went to tutoring for Jordan until their dad thought that Jordan didn’t need tutoring anymore. Logan would switch places with Jordan whenever a math test would come up. Eventually, their dad found out what they were doing.

“Did he say anything about the extra AK’s I asked him for?” I think hard for a second at Reed’s question. Logan and I didn’t really go into it.

“No, we didn’t have a second. Dais’ walked up after we were chatting for a couple minutes. I didn’t discuss anything like that with her around.”

Daisy’s not stupid, she knows exactly who Logan is and what he does, but I don’t discuss business matters around her, especially when it doesn’t concern her at all. It’s better that she doesn’t know our business. If it were up to me, none of the women would know. It’s a risk, and if something were to happen, the women would be targeted first; they’re viewed as the weaker ones. They’d be the first to be interrogated if our enemies couldn’t get to us. It’s a big risk. This lifestyle isn’t for the weak, and Dais’ is living proof of that. She was taken once under completely different circumstances, but I’ll be damned if she ever gets taken again. I’m the Enforcer, it’s my job to protect the club at all costs, but it’s also my job to protect her too, and that means keeping her in the dark about some matters.

“Good, she doesn’t need to know about that shit,” Reed says, and I can’t agree more. “Reach out to him and ask him about the AK’s. We need those guns.”

“Will do. I’ll call him in a bit.”

“Good. Since you already asked, the next shipment of girls is coming in a couple of weeks. We’ve still got a bit to do to be ready for them. I’ll give you the details of the drop off and meet when I know.” I nod at Reed. We’re taking in a lot of girls this time; a lot more than we ever have before.

“Where the FUCK is he?!” I hear Kyle’s voice roaring into the clubhouse. I turn my barstool around, take a sip of my beer, and face him. He looks fuckin’ furious. I don’t even have to guess who he’s lookin’ for.

It’s me. I know it, and he knows it.

He comes straight up towards me, standing a foot away from where I’m sitting. Enzo and Dmitri are on both sides of me, sitting on their own barstools, and Reed is still behind the bar sipping at his beer.

“I saw her slither out of your room this morning. How long have you been fuckin’ my Ol’lady Seamus? I should’ve guessed it was you with her, especially when she went to Atlanta with you, but no, I gave you the benefit of the doubt because out of all the brothers. I least expected you not to be the one who was with my girl. I want to know how you could do that to me. How?!”

I take a sip of my beer, waiting for more. When it doesn’t come, I finally speak. “I will tell you this again, Kyle, Daisy is not your woman. She hasn’t been your girl since you left her to be toyed with by those fuckin’ loan sharks. So, don’t come at me, asking how I could do that to you when I wasn’t the one that abandoned her. She’s the only thing I’ve been concerned about since the day she was taken. You didn’t even give a damn, you just fuckin’ left her there to be tortured and raped.”

“You’ve been fuckin’ Dais?” Reed asks.

I don’t even bother answering. If he thinks I can’t tell that he’s judging me, I fucking can, but none of them have the right to judge me. Kyle left her, we got her back. I waited a damn year before I even made a move on her, and here we are now, over two years later, and suddenly Kyle decides to show back up and act like nothing ever changed. He’s fucking delusional.

“Of course, he has! He’s not even denying it. I hope you liked fucking her Seamus, cuz’ you won’t be for long. I’m back, and she’s gonna be back in my bed sooner or later.”

“The hell, she will. You think she’s just gonna forgive you for everything you put her through? She’s right where she belongs, brother.” I am fuckin’ furious. He has some nerve thinking that Daisy still belongs to him. She doesn’t. She hasn’t for a fucking while, and she won’t ever again.

“Boys, back the hell up,” Elena grumbles in her authoritative voice. I didn’t even see her walk in here. Kyle takes a step back from the bar, and I get up and walk a few steps towards the couch, just to give space between Kyle and me. This is volcanic, and it’s going to erupt soon.

“Irish, you need to mind your damn business,” Kyle snaps out, both Reed and I flash him glares. He doesn’t get to disrespect Elena, she’s Reed’s fiancé, she’s the fuckin’ Prez of the Vipers MC.

“I will not be minding my damn business when it concerns Dais. The fuck I am! You came back after leaving her in the shittiest way ever, and I may not know everything, but I know that a grown ass man doesn’t just up and leave his girl. You’ve been gone for two years, so what if she’s with Seamus now? You left. You don’t get to be a dick to him for taking care of her, and you sure as hell don’t get to guilt her from moving on after you left!” Elena snaps, frustration and annoyance laced through her voice. She’s not team Seamus, and she’s sure as hell not team Kyle, but she’s team Daisy, and that’s all that matters. She’s a damn good friend to my girl.

“Wrong. She’s my girl. She has my brand on her body, she still has that fuckin’ engagement ring. She is MY girl!” Kyle roars at the room. I’m shaking my head at this point. He won’t ever fucking get it.

“She’s not your girl. She’s mine,” I tell him. He charges at me, and Elena stupidly jumps in front of me like it will stop him. I grab her waist, turn around so Kyle doesn’t get ahold of her instead of me, and let her go.

Before I can ever get turned around, I fuckin' feel his big ass fist, hitting me square in the back. If I was a little smaller, it could have taken me down, but Dais calls me an ox for a reason. I can just add this cocky asshole to the list of men I punch this week, and punching me when my back is turned, makes this even sweeter.

I give him a shit eating grin as I duck out of the way of another punch thrown. Kyle is a good fighter. It will be a good matchup between us. The only problem for him is that he is desperate and unfocused in his rage and possession over my girl. So, I use that to my advantage, blocking my face with fists while undercutting his legs with mine. I swoop across the floor, making him lose his balance for a moment. He is starting to regain, but I kick out and get his knee in it as well, hearing a nice pop. I don’t know if I broke it, but it definitely hurt. His grunt satisfies me as he grits his teeth and gets back in it. I’ll give Kyle this – he ain’t a pussy.

I keep defending myself as Kyle attempts to save face, eventually getting me in the jaw. He cuts the corner, bruising it and knocking my teeth together. Nothing I can't get over.

I lunge for Kyle, hoping to get him down onto the ground. Once I am on top of him, there will be no way he can win. Either he will cry uncle and leave shit well alone, or Reed will have no choice but to step in. But Kyle glides out of the way like a fuckin' ice skater or somethin'. 

I am surprised that Reed isn't stepping in. All I can think or hope is that he believes Kyle deserves it now, maybe for no other reason than he kept comin' even with Elena in the way. Or maybe he thinks this will be the end of it; settling it like men. At least there are only club members around to see and hear.

It is becoming a dance between Kyle and I, and we are waiting for the wrong move from the other, so we can clobber the weaker man. I am certain in these circumstances, Kyle will prove to be the weaker man. Thank God Dais isn’t out here to see this and distract us.

Daisy

I get out of the shower and immediately hear yellin’ and I’m not talkin’ the good kind. I hear Kyle’s voice clear as day, and then I wait and listen…. “She’s not your girl, she’s mine.”

I can barely breathe. I knew the cat would be outta the bag sooner or later, but not like this. I didn’t want it to happen like this.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuckkkkk!

I grab my black silk kimono, throw it over my dripping wet body, and dart out of my room into the clubhouse. When I get there, I find Kyle and Ollie goin’ at it.

I don’t even think, I dart straight towards them. Suddenly, my arm is yanked backwards, and I’m pulled against Reed’s chest. “Get your hands off me!” I snap at him. I don’t need to be held back by Reed. I can handle myself, and what I need to be doin’ right now is getting those two idiots away from each other.

“Can’t let you go, Dais” he grumbles. I look right in his eyes and can tell he’s pissed. Why is he fuckin’ pissed?

“So, help me God, Reed Michaels, you will let me go” I challenge him, glaring right into his eyes. If he thinks I’m not gonna fight him on this, he’s poorly mistaken.

“Let her go,” Elena tells him. I glance over at her and give her a look of thanks. Reed releases me as Elena told him to, but when I walk towards Kyle and Ollie, I’m lifted into the air and turned around. I smack Enzo’s back as hard as I can to get him to put me down. “Put me down!”

“There’s no way in hell I’m lettin’ you walk into that fuckin’ cock fight, Dais’.”

I watch as Kyle and Ollie are throwing punches at each other, each time I think it’s getting better, they just throw another punch. I watch as their faces are turning red from where they’ve been hit, looking at their hands that are turning a pinkish color from the firm hold. I can’t do this. I can’t just be this fuckin’ damsel and let them kill each other.

“Ollie!” I yell. He looks right over to me, like he hasn’t seen me in the damn room at all. I’m terrified, and furious, the second our eyes lock Kyle slams his fist into Ollie’s face. When Kyle’s hand moves out of the way, I can see the blood gushing from his nose, and lookin’ at it from this far away, I can tell it is broken. I don’t think, I just smack Enzo as hard as I can in the face, and he drops me. I don’t even feel bad, should I though? He shouldn’t have lifted me up anyways.

I run right over to Ollie and look at his nose. It is bad. Really bad.

I go to the bar and grab a clean dish towel, walk back over to Ollie, and press it against his nose. He grunts, but of course he would, it had to hurt.

I keep a hand on the towel, putting pressure against his nose as best as I can. “Sit down, you’re too tall,” I tell Ollie, and he complies and sits on the couch. I slide my knees to both sides of his hips, straddling him as I press the towel against his nose further.

“Fuck, Dais.”

“I cannot fuckin’ believe you!” I seethe as I turn to look at Kyle. He is leaning against the bar, acting like I didn’t just see him do this to Ollie.

“I cannot FUCKIN’ believe you!” I scream at him “I’m so, so sorry.” I look back to Ollie, feeling the tears streaming down my face. This is all my fault, all my damn fault. If we had just told everyone about us sooner, none of this would be happening.

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ charge at anyone if Elena is in the way. You hear me?” Reed snaps at Kyle. I don’t know what happened, but Ollie must’ve gotten her out of the way somehow. I turn back to look at Elena who seems to be doin’ pretty damn good. She looks pissed more than anything.

Out of nowhere, Dmitri slams his fist into Kyle’s face. I watch Reed’s expression change, it’s like he’s thinking, and then I see him do the exact same thing to Kyle. “You ever come near her in a state of anger like that again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do, got me?” Kyle nods at his brother, and I turn back to Seamus. I lift the towel up and see he’s still bleeding. I put more pressure, crying a little more as he grunts.

“Hey there, don’t you go getting’ all soft on me now, Babygirl. I’ll be fine. Kyle throws a lousy punch anyway.” He gives me a soft smile, which makes me feel a little bit better, but not really.

“His lousy punch broke your pretty nose,” I mumble, his nose already starting to swell.

“El, can you get me some ice?” I yell over to Elena. A minute later, and she’s handing me a bag of ice in a Ziploc baggie.

“We need to go to the doc and get your nose set or whatever. I’m not a professional, but this isn’t good,” I whisper to him, placing the ice gently against his swelling nose.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re so damn stubborn,” I huff. Ollie looks into my eyes, and he slides his hand up my thigh and doesn’t say a word. I think maybe we both feel a little bit relieved that everyone knows now, and if every single person doesn’t know in the MC – they will soon. We’d been doing this for so damn long, it feels good to not have to hide. He woulda never touched my leg like this before, giving me a good squeeze.

“You wearing anything under there?” His eyes go from mine to my cleavage. Anyone with two eyes can tell I’m not wearin’ a damn bra. I shake my head, and the big oaf growls. He pulls his shirt off over his head, and before I know, it I have his shirt on me.

Ollie presses his lips against mine, leaving them there for a second, quietly saying, “Stop your crying, I’m fine.” He wraps his arms around my body and pulls me close to him, rubbing my back in a soothing way.

“Jesus Christ, get the fuck off my woman!” Kyle roars. I can hear his steps closer towards us. I don’t do anything; I just stay limp against my boyfriend. I can’t help but think, I wish that Kyle woulda fought for me back then as much as he’s fighting now, but the past is the past, and we can’t change it now.

It infuriates me to tell ya the truth. How dare he come back and claim me like nothing’s happened, like I wasn’t tortured and raped, like I don’t have nightmares that haunt my dreams, like I haven’t experienced the worst type of loss in the entire world.

He doesn’t even know the half of it.

“Show me your fuckin’ thigh,” Kyle snaps at me. Ollie starts to speak, but I cover his mouth with my hand, slowly sliding off of him to face Kyle. I know what he wants to see, and he won’t be pleased. I waited a year before I had it covered up. I gave him a year to come back to me, and he didn’t. So, it was simple, I moved on.

I lift Ollie’s shirt and the silk kimono, exposing my upper thigh. He’s looking for the ‘Property Of’ brand that I had tattooed on my thigh. It was beautiful once upon a time. It was a detailed tattoo of the Skulls Renegade MC emblem, at the top read “Property Of” and at the bottom it read “Kyle”. It was much more than a tattoo, it was symbolic, kind of like an engagement ring. Every single person knew I was his, they could see the tat sticking out from the bottom of the shorts.

I had it covered up with a gun, roses surrounding it with pearls. Now that, was symbolic. The roses represent new beginnings, the pearls represent many things, yet I resonate more with loyalty. The gun? I suppose that doesn’t represent shit. It’s for me, to remind myself that I am strong enough to withstand anything – that I can fight, that I have survived the unimaginable, and that I’m tough cookie.

I’m a member of Skulls Renegade MC. I’m not some little pussy.

“Doesn’t matter, you’ll just get it put somewhere else,” Kyle threatens, his eyes locked with mine. I can see the rage and the hurt lying behind them. Here’s the thing -  I don’t care.

He doesn’t get to be hurt, or even pissed at me for what he did. He made his decision, and after a year of him being gone, I made mine.

Before I can even speak, Ollie is roaring at him. “The fuck she is. If she’s gettin’ anyone’s brand is sure as fuck is not gonna be yours. She’s my girl. She’s gettin’ my fuckin’ tat.”

“It’s about damn time,” Jenna laughs. I don’t know when she popped in here. She’s always been good at that, standing in the shadows, observing. “How did none of you see that?” She points to Ollie and me. “It was so fuckin’ obvious, it wasn’t even funny. He ogles over her, and she’s always within ten feet of the man. Damn, you’re a bunch of idiots.” She chuckles, giving me a wink. I shake my head at her, causing me to smile a little bit. Everyone here thinks I’m a riot – Jenna’s the real deal.

The door to the clubhouse opens, in it pours a bunch of members. Butch, Pain, and Chaos are leading the pack, there are even a few Nomads still hangin’ around. Ollie turns to them, “Since you all have missed the fuckin’ show, let me just fill you in. Daisy is my girl, she’s my woman, she’s my fuckin’ Ol’Lady, and none of ya better be coming near her. I’m puttin’ my foot down and layin’ claim.” Ollie goes on and on as he’s telling the guys what’s happened since they left.

I’m in a trance. He just called me his ‘Ol’Lady’ – he’s never done that, ever. Being called his girl, his woman? That’s not so serious, or at least to me it isn’t. But one of these men lay claim, announce to the club and call you their Ol’Lady?

That’s a

Big.

Fuckin’.

Deal.

“I can’t fuckin’ believe you did this to me.” I can’t tell if Kyle is talking to me or Ollie. Either way, I don’t like it.

“This is a twisted, fucked up joke, right?” I grumble. I don’t even realize that I’m cursing at Kyle until Ollie tells me to ‘shut the fuck up’. He’s never talked to me that way, or in that tone. But I listen.

Ollie gets up, takes a couple steps towards me, and walks until he’s a foot away from Kyle if that. “Daisy was the epitome of a loyal woman. She grieved the loss of your relationship for a year before she moved on. She waited, and waited, until she was tired of waiting – tired of being disappointed by you.”

“You were never a true brother, you jumped into Daisy’s bed the first damn minute you could!” Kyle growls, looking at Ollie.

Ollie ignores his previous statement “I was the best brother you could’ve ever asked for. Where were you when she needed a shoulder to cry on, someone to hold her hand? Where were you when she woke up from nightmares screaming, waking the whole club up? Where were you when she was barely holding it together? Oh. That’s right, you fuckin’ left her. I was there. I was the one holdin’ her hand, making sure she was okay. I was the one who stayed in that damn room with her for months, keeping her company. I was the one who rushed to her every time she broke down. I was the one helpin’ hold her together. It wasn’t you, so don’t tell me about how I wasn’t loyal when you just left. I took care of your girl when it should’ve been you. It wasn’t supposed to be me. It was supposed to be you. But you left. I helped her pick up the pieces, and your girl became mine.”

“You were doing more than holding her damn hand!”

“Stop being disrespectful to her!” Ollie roars, and almost everyone in the room jumps from the lethality in his voice. “You don’t even know what kinds of things she had to go through. You think it was easy for her? The things she went through, the type of loss she felt? I never fuckin’ asked to be the one there for her, that decision was made for me when you left! She needed someone.”

I grab onto Ollie’s arm, making him look down at me. I love him. I love him so damn much that it terrifies me. I don’t know what I’d do without the giant Ox. If anything, ever happened, I’d be ruined. My heart would be destroyed. That’s how strong my love is for him. The kind of strength that terrifies the living hell out of you.

“It didn’t have to be you,” Kyle says, staring at Ollie. Kyle and Ollie were very close once upon a time. They were practically best friends. “Where was your loyalty? You took my girl!”

“I didn’t take her; she wasn’t yours. She was broken, Kyle. The girl you knew before she was taken, that girl is gone. She’s dead. You need to drop the fuckin’ attitude cause I’m sick of it. You weren’t here, I was. You didn’t help her get through everything she went through, that was me. I was the one supporting her when she was at her worst. I was the one holding her hand when she lost your daughter. That was me, so don’t bring up loyalty to me. I was loyal, to her.” Ollie snaps.

I don’t hear what is happening. I feel like it is on replay in my head a good couple times before it really sinks in what is happening, and just like that, I am back at that day.

***

“Ollie….” It happened suddenly, I felt sharp pain shooting down my side. It felt like someone had hit me with a truck. I looked around the room for Ollie, and he wasn’t there. Dammit, where was he?

Then, I remembered, he went on a run with the boys.

My greatest fear consumed me, losing her. I couldn’t remember how many scenarios enveloped my mind, because it all went black, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital with Ollie staring at me. He told me that he came into my room and found me there late that night, how it was a miracle that I didn’t die. I remember the look on his face, how it was stale, but somehow full of…thanks? I didn’t realize it then but, now I think he was in love with me that long ago. He was thankful I didn’t die; I can see that now.

“Harley,” I said her name, noticing the way his expression froze over when I spoke it out loud.

“Dais….”

“Tell me,” I instructed him, knowing in my heart what happened.

“I’m sorry, Babygirl, I’m so fuckin’ sorry.” He took my hand in his, bringing the back of my hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss before the tears started to fall. I’d never, ever seen him cry except for that day.

He didn’t tell me everything then. Slow, soft tears slid from his eyes. His heart was breaking as badly as mine was. He told me that he found me on the floor in my bedroom when he got back from the run. How I had to have two blood transfusions, how no one could’ve expected this. How the doctor told him it didn’t happen this often – how I couldn’t have known, couldn’t have done anything differently.

I thought I was robotic after I was rescued by the boys. I was a robot after I lost my daughter. I was her mother. I was supposed to protect her, and even then, I couldn’t do it.

I had five months of keeping her safe inside of me. Losing my daughter is worse than anything I’ve ever experienced, even worse than being in that hell hole.

***

I don’t know what comes over me. It’s like I am having an out of body experience as my hand flies against Ollie’s cheek. I hardly feel the sting radiating through my hand as I look at him with such disappointment. He promised to never tell anyone about that day, about her. I’d lost so much in such a short amount of time, but losing my daughter was the worst thing that ever happened to me in my entire life.

In a sense, I wanted to forget that it happened. But how could you forget the loss of something that was created from such love? That’s right, Harley was Kyle’s. When the doc told me the potential date of conception, I cried. I cried because I thought that she was conceived through one of the many times that I was raped in that hellhole. I was relieved, relieved because she was Kyle’s, relieved because she somehow survived – but how in the hell did my baby survive all that torture?

Damn, sometimes I don’t know how I survived the things that they did to me.

It shouldn’t have been shocking. It really shouldn’t have. I knew that my body was put under so much stress, the thing I should have expected was to lose her. But instead, I was happy, I was so damned happy. I didn’t have Kyle, so I felt lost in a way, but I had my lil’ girl, so I knew I was going to be okay.

I concealed my pregnancy from everyone except Ollie. He was the one person that I trusted, but now, was it wrong of me to trust him with that? Whenever I walked around the clubhouse after I came back, I had on baggy hoodies three sizes too big for me. When I think back at it now, I looked like a damn bum. I could’ve passed for a homeless person if I was honest.

Remembering her, tears me apart in ways that I would’ve never imagined. I know one thing, and that is that I will never put myself in that type of position ever again. I will never make myself vulnerable enough to get pregnant. I’m taking her loss as a sign, that I wasn’t supposed to be a mother.

I glance at Ollie one last time before I start walking back down the hallway to my room. He knows he fucked up, and he fucked up really fucking bad.

Daisy

I slam the door so hard that I swear I can feel the walls shake. I can’t believe him. Ya think that Kyle would’ve outdone it on the shock factor, but nope, that was all Ollie tonight. He promised me that he’d never tell anyone about that, and he just practically yelled it to forty plus people in the damn club.

“Dais?” I hear a knock at my door. I recognize the voice as Jenna’s and walk on over, opening it so I can look at her. I see Elena, Michelle, and Maria all tucked in behind her, solemn looks all over their faces.

“Well, c’mon in, didn’t know we had a therapy session scheduled,” I try to joke. Elena gives me a half smirk, and the others follow her in, shutting the door securely behind them.

“He’s a dumb culo,” Maria fires out. I don’t know what the hell she just said. It must be something in Spanish. She spits it out so much, and none of us speak Spanish at all, or at least I don’t think any of us do.

She’s come a long way since she’s been here. Don’t get me wrong, she still has a shit ton of attitude, but I think that’s just her fiery Latina spirit, it’ll never go away. Now, she’s one of the girls. We’d never let her get around the club sluts, club whores, sugar butts, whatever the hell you wanna call ‘em. They have many names, but the term is simple: whores. The type of girls that would steal your man with absolutely no care in the damn world. We weren’t gonna let our little broken bird get mixed in with those bitches.

Fuck, I can’t believe I just called Maria a broken bird…. the worst damn comparison ever. She’s more like a psychotic rattlesnake.

“Dumb culo, ugh!” She turns to me, her dark, raven locks flowing as she makes her movement “Are you okay, Margarita? We are familia, it is important to me that you are okay.” Mar has been calling me Margarita for ages, apparently it translates to flower in Spanish. I don’t know if I believe her. All I seem to think about is that amazing damn drink.

“I’m fine,” I tell her, lying straight through my teeth.

The first thing I planned on doing after coming back into my bedroom was to cry my damn eyes out, and I can’t even do that because the emotional stability committee is standing here, staring at me. They want me to say I’m A-OK, well newsflash ladies, I’m not. I’m the farthest possible thing from being okay right now because my boyfriend just went back on his word, and I feel betrayed.

"Look, Dais," Jenna says, her and Elena both coming to it on the bed with me like some high school pow-wow. "You don’t have to talk about all that shit if you don’t want to. We can find something else to focus on, I am sure. But we are here to talk about it if you do want to."

I look around at my girls, and I realize something, something I didn't know during those dark days. Yes, Sea had picked me up off the damn floor, literally and figuratively, but these MC girls, especially the ones we had now, could build me back up. I am not alone anymore, not if I don’t want to be.

I don’t know if blabbing my whole sob story is going to do anything for me at all, but if they are eager to hear it, I am eager to try. "I don't know if I want to, but now that it's all put in the open, maybe I need to," I tell them all, looking down at the bed sheet that is all wrinkled because Sea is such a slob. I let him still be one sometimes, like with not making this stupid bed.

"We're here, we're listening," Elena says softly, making me look up at her. Sure, Michelle and Jenna are awesome, but Elena is connected to me at the core. If anyone can take my secrets, it is her.

I nod, trying to think of where to start. "It was the worst thing, the worst feeling, after I endured the worst a group of men could do to an honest woman, having someone that wasn't Kyle carry me out of there. Sea carried me out and tried to hide what I could already tell even in that horrible state I was in; that Kyle was fuckin' gone. Some days, I wanted to be gone too. As the days dragged on, my worst fears about that time I spent away came to fruition. I was bent over, worshipping the porcelain God, praying that I wasn’t carrying the devil's spawn inside of me. I had Sea take me to the doc to get checked out, and when I heard the due date, I was stunned and relieved. Kyle was gone, but I still had a part of him with me. I had his daughter growing inside me; Harley. That’s what I decided to call her. I think we had mentioned it a few times, when we were shitting around about the future, naming her after the damn motorcycle." I shake my head and scoff, not sure if laughter or tears are more appropriate.

Elena's hand touches my shoulder, and I wipe at my eyes. I don’t think these girls will think any less of me in this situation for bawling like a fuckin' baby, but it just isn’t what I want to do anymore. "I am so sorry," Elena whispers, almost inaudibly. If she wasn’t sitting right next to me, I would not know what the hell she said.

I realize, this is as far as I can go. Sea has told everyone else enough. They know it was a girl. They know I lost her. They don’t need to know how it happened. I don’t need pity. I don’t find any comfort in relaying the damn events that led up to the worst fuckin tragedy of my life, but it does help knowing that my friends are here right when I need them. That’s worth more than any damn piece of gold in the fuckin’ world. I don’t care who you are.

There is a silence, a sad one, that overtakes the room for a moment. The girls get the idea quick, though, that I am done talking, at least about this. I just need their presence. That’s all.

Jenna turns to Michelle, who has been admiring her nails and possibly hiding a tear or two. "How do you feel now that Max is gone?" Jenna asks, moving onto another piece of drama yet to be touched on. Max was the VP of Skulls Renegade MC until Kyle replaced him a few days ago. He just up and left, going Nomad on us. Michelle and he had a thing, and it can’t be easy, knowing he had announced he was leaving to taste all the pussies he could, basically. Michelle seems to be holding up well, though.

Michelle shrugs. "I am used to people leaving me." The statement is simple, but all of us look at each other. I feel eerie at that. Michelle is another one I don’t think I know it all about. Who else had left her in her life?

I can see that the conversation and gossip are running out, so I know where to take it to. I know how to keep the conversation off me and be in a room that feels more energized to help me through this pain I am feeling; the pain of reliving that loss along with the pain of Ollie’s fuckin' mouth, letting everyone know that pain.

"Elena, aren’t we supposed to be making your dream wedding come true?" I ask, knowing that it is going to catch everyone’s interest.

"Yeah, Elena, have you picked a place or a dress or anything yet?" Michelle pipes up, clearly wanting the conversation off her and Max as well. She can come back to it when she’s ready.

Elena shakes her head, looking both annoyed and a bit excited. I am no fool. That woman is head over fuckin' heels for Reed Michaels, and getting married to him in a little under a month has to be exciting, even if it is also insane. "I don’t know how I am supposed to think about planning a wedding with these new women coming in, and from a new, more ruthless client, no less," Elena admits. I bet she hasn’t done anything. I know she looks bad ass on the outside and that she killed her MC Prez of a shitbag father, but I know enough about her to know she is still going to want that perfect day.

"That is why we are here to help you, chica, with the damas, and the wedding," Maria says, piping up from her corner of the room.

I laugh, remembering how Reed had all but threatened us, telling us it was our job to make the wedding happen. "We are going to take some time in the next couple of days to get this wedding thrown together, and it is going to be fuckin' magic. No arguments," I tell Elena, knowing I owe her for always being a buffer between me and Kyle. I can't believe she stepped in front of Ollie knowing Kyle was about to go at him. I don’t know whether I will have to kill her for that later or thank her.

"Fine, but I really don't see how this wedding is going to work out with 20 plus girls coming in, needing our help," Elena chimes, a little less conviction in her voice than before. We are wearing her down. This is how I get cheered the fuck up.

"Are you ready for that, Maria?" Elena asks as an afterthought. Damn, I haven’t even thought too hard about it, but Jenna and Maria are going to be the mother hens for these girls, setting 'em up with the MC or sending them off to college, or wherever they need to go for a new and better life. Maria was one of those girls once. That makes her an excellent choice as mentor, but also fragile in the situation.

Maria nods, stoically. "I can handle it. I know they will be better here than where they are now. It is a happy time," Maria says, making us all smile.

Seamus

“I had….no fucking idea,” Kyle mutters quietly. Of course, he didn’t have any fucking clue. He’d have to physically be here to know his girlfriend was pregnant and had a damn miscarriage.

I can’t stop staring angrily at Kyle. I’m still angry with him, even after all this time. He was a coward, a coward who left her when she needed him the most. I will promise and swear to her every day for the rest of my life that I will never abandon her, that I will always be the man who will be here for her through rain and shine. And I mean that shit. I know I’m in deep because of what I just aired out to the club, but fuck. I’m pissed. He doesn’t have any clue of what we really went through together, and therefore, he has no fuckin’ right to be judging either of us for being together.

“Fuck. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” Reed growls at me. I glare, and I can’t help it. All my pent-up anger comes barreling through my bloodstream.

“Wasn’t my fuckin’ right to be tellin’ you jack shit. She wanted to keep it private, so we kept it fuckin’ private. She went through enough. She didn’t need anyone staring at her any differently. They were already giving her enough attention. You think she wanted people coming up to her sayin’ “Hey girl, sorry you got kidnapped, raped, tortured, AND had a miscarriage”? No, fuck, no. She didn’t need to deal with that shit on top of everything else.” I stand firm in my decision to support her choice to keep her miscarriage private. I’d do anything to make life easier for my Babygirl, so that’s what I did.

“You two were the only ones who knew?” Reed asks, his anger flushes out of his voice, replaced with something a lot more human.

All I can do is nod. I’m not repeating myself all damn night about what happened. I fucked up, mentioning it in the first place. The brothers are all looking at me with respect, or what I believe is respect. I’ve been riding with them for years, since the day I came back from being overseas. They know I’d never undercut another man’s girl for myself, but dammit if it didn’t look like I did.

“I never planned on falling for her, you know. She had just been through somethin’ that people couldn’t even muster up in their deepest, darkest nightmares, and she was alone. Sure, she had everyone here at the club in her corner, but given what she’d just been through, I understood why she wanted to distance herself from everyone. She wanted to feel normal again, but normal wasn’t something she felt for a long, long time. I made sure she knew that she wasn’t alone. Even when she didn’t want me there, I showed up. I made certain that she knew she had someone.”

I watch Kyle’s reaction as I speak, and he doesn’t argue with me now. Instead, he listens “I couldn’t let her hurt alone. Her physical wounds healed in no time, but her emotional ones are what scarred her. She’s not a weak woman, we all know this.” I look around to the brothers who all nod in agreement with me. “But being there, going through what she did, broke a piece of her. It tore her to shreds. She still has nightmares about what happened, and it’s over two years later. What I’m saying is, I never planned on this. I planned to be there as a friend, for when she finally realized that she needed someone to talk to, to cry with, to scream or hit or kick or do whatever it was that she needed to do. I wanted to be there for her, because you couldn’t be. And I’ll be fuckin’ real Kyle, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for not being there for her. I hate you because of what you did, but at the same time if you didn’t just leave I wouldn’t have her. I don’t know whether to slam my fist into your face until blood is gushing out, or if I should thank you for hurting her so I could help her heal. What I’m saying is that I’m in love with Daisy, she is the most precious thing in my life, and I think I just fucked it all up because my anger got the best of me. I’d better go deal with that shit.”

I leave the main area and walk slowly back down the hallway, trying to figure out what I’m going to say to her. There’s nothing that I can possibly say that would rectify this entire situation. Absolutely. Nothing.

I tap lightly on the wooden door, waiting….and waiting.

“Babygirl, please open up,” I beg her. I could punch myself for how weak I sound right now.

“Go away,” Daisy mutters on the other side. I can hear the emotion in her voice; she’s been crying.

“Baby, Daisy, please…”

The door opens wide and I’m met with my woman, my short, sassy woman. Her hair is now dry in loose waves around her face, her eyes filled with intense heat, “Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. Me. Oliver,” she says calmly before she slams the door and locks it in my face.

She’s never used my full name before.

I’ve completely fucked this up.

Daisy

I don’t know what in the hell I was thinkin’ this morning when Jenna suggested we go for a run. I thought it would be good, maybe I’d run out all my stress or negative energy, or whatever the happy people say.

I’m not very happy.

I woke up at 4 in the fucking morning to go on a “run” with Jenna, Elena, and Jenna’s two oversized German Shepherds that look more like direwolves from Game of Thrones.

I thump my feet against the turf that the local high school just put down this past fall. Jenna loops around me yet again, making me look like all I do is sit on my ass and eat Twinkies in front of the TV. “C’mon Dais! Stop being a damned slow poke.” She sticks her tongue out at me before she backpedals, flips around, and sprints to the other end of the football field.

“God dammit,” I huff, my voice exasperated. I don’t even know how many times we’ve run the length of this field, but my lungs are burning. I start to slow down, allowing my heart rate to gradually come down, instead of stopping all at once. When I reach the end of the field, I slide right down to my ass and lay down, staring up at the still dark sky.

“Never pegged you as a quitter,” Elena laughs, dropping down next to me. “I had to do this at Quantico. We ran and ran, and then were told to run more. I hate running.” She laughs at the last bit, mimicking the same position I’m in. I glance up to see Jenna and her two dogs, Spartacus and Maximus, running on the turf. She’s about ten feet in front of them, and they follow closely behind. Always within a short distance of their mom.

“Have you talked to Seamus?” Elena asks out of the blue.

I haven’t, it’s been almost a week, and I haven’t uttered a single word to him. I’ve been staying in my room, trying to avoid him at all costs. I’ve even had Maria and Jenna cover my shifts at the bar so he can’t just pop on over while I’m working. It’s stupid, I’m gonna talk to him eventually. It’s just – I’m not ready to yet.

I love that man with all my damn heart, but he hurt me tremendously. He aired out something that was supposed to be kept private between the two of us. Yeah, it was in frustration and to get Kyle off his back – but he still shouldn’t have done it.

“Nope.”

“Nope. That’s all your gonna say?”

I look over to her and nod. There’s not much else to say, is there?

“You have to talk to him eventually,” Elena tells me, and in the back of my mind, I agree with her. Eventually isn’t today.

“She has to talk to who?” Jenna asks, plopping down across from us. Both of her dogs lay down in between us. Max scoots closer to me, and I scratch him behind his ears.

“Sea. She hasn’t talked to him since last week,” Elena fills her in. I already feel Jenna’s gaze on me.

“I don’t blame you at all for not talking to him, not one bit. But you need to, talk to him, I mean. You two didn’t go through all of that together to end up where you both are now. Avoiding and not speaking to one another. I get it, you know, I understand why you don’t want to talk to him. He literally gave a PSA out to the club about the secret baby we didn’t know you had and then miscarried. I’d be pissed too, hell, I’d be more than pissed.” No one speaks. I don’t really have anything to say. this is deep for 4AM, and I’m not a morning person.

“I can’t imagine what you went through, really. Being there for that long, we never really talked about it, you know. We were always friends but you never really…. vented about anything to me. I didn’t understand that, not for a long time. One day I was in the kitchen eating at the island, you were making brownies, or something for the guys. It was right after you finally started wearing normal clothes again and somehow you fucked the recipe up. Seamus was there, pointed out your error, and you smacked him. It was something so small, so miniscule but I saw the glimmer in both of your eyes after you did that, you just smiled and he shook his head. You two were in love, and that’s when I knew that you had someone – that you were venting to someone. I was worried for a really long time, Dais. I know how much not telling anyone can tear you up inside.”

“I went through something…. traumatic at when I was young. Something similar, yet so different to what you went through. It doesn’t even compare, but both events were…. horrible acts…. I’m just glad you didn’t keep it all bottled up.”

Jenna gives me a small half smirk at the end of her chat. It all hits me at once, while I may have known Jenna for years, I don’t know that much about her. She’s been with the club for around ten years, but she’s never been in a relationship with any of the guys from the club.

Honestly, she’s a club whore.

She wears hella provocative clothing, she has giant fake tits that would make any man drool, she loves to put on that uber sexual deep red lipstick, and boy does it contrast with her jet-black hair. She’s even got tattoos all around her body. She’s the total biker babe. If I was a dude, I’d probably want to fuck her too.

She’d fit right in with the club whores, but I’d never call her that. She meets every requirement that we’d have for a club whore. She just feels like one of the Ol’ladies, even though she’s not tied down at all. I guess Michelle feels like an Ol’Lady too, and even Maria, now. That’s our group, Me, Elena, Jenna, Michelle and Mar.

They’re the closest friends I have here. The club is family, and so are the women who are in it.

“Did Kyle ever tell you why he left?” Elena asks me. I look over to her and nod.

“Yeah. He said he was goin’ after all the men that hurt me. Said he killed ‘em all. It’s not like it makes anything better. He shouldn’t have even been doin’ that, he should’ve been here with me.”

“Well, damn,” Jenna says, and that about sums it up.

***

We ran a total of one more mile before Jenna would let us pack in her car and roll back to the clubhouse. It felt like the longest mile of my damn life, but boy was I happy to sit my ass in those plush leather seats that she has. Jenna and Elena headed straight towards their bedrooms, and I would too, but first, I wanted some grub. My stomach started growling when I first woke up; they’re both lucky I didn’t get hangry.

I walk into the kitchen and flip the light switch to my right. When I glance back up, I jump about four feet high and shrieked, my heartrate was pumping through my body, and I could hear it in my head. “Why the hell are you eating in the dark!” I snap at Ollie, breathing in deep breaths, trying to calm myself. He doesn’t say a word, he just busts out laughing.

“If I had a gun, I would’ve shot you!” I yell angrily, not realizing how my statement will turn our chat from lighthearted to serious in one second.

“I don’t blame you. I deserve it.” I want to argue with him. He deserves a lot, but being shot isn’t one of them. “I’m sorry, Babygirl, I fucked up pretty big, and I know that. I never meant to tell anyone about Harley, and I hope you believe that. I let my anger get the best of me in that moment and I, … shit, I broke my damn promise to you.” He rubs his hand back through his red hair, staring at me as he does it.

“I’m very aware of how you get when you’re angry,” I tell him, walking a few steps closer to where he’s seated at the island. He gives me a smile. The giant oaf knows how he gets when he’s angry too.

“I’m still mad at you,” I whisper, staring into his blue orbs. If I don’t whisper, I’ll start crying, and I really don’t wanna do that shit right now. I am so fuckin’ sick of crying. I cave, though, and walk into his arms. He envelopes me, and I feel more at ease than I have in the past week. I’m back where I’m supposed to be, back home in his arms. Ollie holds me tight against him, pressing soft kisses against my temple, cheeks, neck, and finally, my lips.

This kiss isn’t like anything we’ve ever shared before. He’s apologizing with his mouth over mine, the way his tongue tenderly searches for mine, how he holds me against his body, how we fit like two puzzle pieces. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” I mumble against his lips. I look up and find him staring intently into mine. He pulls away from our kiss, still staring into my eyes. “I don’t care how mad you are. You’ll be in our fucking bed tonight.”

I want to smack him, call him an asshole and scream at him until my face turns blue. Then, there’s a part of me that wants him to fuck me into oblivion, cuz he knows how to take control, and I love that.

"The girls aren't here yet. I would like to see you try to get me in your bed before I am ready," I say back, not sure if I am sassing him or daring him.

"Don't test me, Dais'," he warns, and I can see that hint of a smile as I back up from him. I don’t know what he is going to do, but he has that devilish sparkle in his eye. I know something is coming.

The big ox stands up, towering over me like he does, and picks me up over his shoulder before I can move a single, sore muscle of mine. Stomach growling, kicking, and beating his back, a very smug Seamus carries me over his damn shoulder to his bedroom, throwing me down in the bed like a sack of potatoes before shutting and locking the door behind us. It isn’t night time, but he wins, having me in his bed already. I can't say anymore that I don’t want to be in there. It just feels like home.

Ollie stands at the door like he is hesitant about something, but the way he is looking at me is as if he is devouring me with his eyes. I can't help but feel something in my body as he does it. I have no problem admitting I am a girl who likes to be jumped and dominated and hung out to dry before being fucked again. Ollie knows just how to do it the way I like too. The fact that I love him, just makes it all the sweeter.

"So, now that you have me in here, what are you going to do to me?" I ask, challenging him as my eyes meet his again. Those blue orbs are going to swallow me whole one day.

He walks forward to me, jamming his thumbs into my pants; the ones clinging to me from the sweat of the ridiculous run I went on this morning. I just know he's going to yank them down and take me right here, which I am totally fine with. "I am going to show you what you've been missing," he growls quietly, making my heat quiver with the thought of what he is going to do to me. 

With that, there are no more words. We don’t need any words. This is our true apology. This is how we make up. I hope I spend a hundred years making up with Ollie like this.

He yanks my pants down, along with my panties. He is going to be rough with me, the way I like. I need it, and so does he.

He strips himself bare, and I can see he is already standing at attention for me. I pull off my shirt, wanting to feel all of my skin against his when I got the chance. His warmth is the most comforting thing in my world, and I would be lying if I said my world hadn’t been a little cold and empty without it.

I reach for him, my hands sliding over his thick member as he grunts, closing his eyes in response. I know it won’t be long that he will let me have any control, so I make a point to tease him with my hands, working them as expertly as I know how.

Just as I thought, Ollie takes my body as if I am nothing more than a lightweight doll and flips me over on my stomach. I feel his body lay down over mine, pressing me into his unmade bed. His cock slides up against my thighs as he licks and sucks at my earlobe. I am transported into another place as I feel his cock knocking at the door of my aching center. I need him to scratch that itch I’d had for a week, even in my sadness.

His hands slide down my back, scratching with the little bit of nails he has. I arch my back in response, moaning as he reaches my ass, getting up on his knees behind me. I know what’s coming next. His hand raises in the air, I can see it form my peripheral, and it comes down, slamming into my right ass cheek. The sting is almost like an orgasm by itself. He does is one more time before getting back on top of me, his cock sliding into me without any hint of gentleness. He raises my ass up, plunging deeper as I am rendered speechless. This is my heaven and my only solace. I can't believe I went a week without it.

Seamus

“Anyone heard from the girls?” Reed asks us all, and in unison, we all yank out our cellphones from wherever the hell we’re keeping them. I look at my cell and see nothing, glancing up to the rest of the brothers, I see them shake their heads with firm no’s.

“Well, where the hell were they going?!” Reed grumbles. It’s funny how grumpy he gets when Elena doesn’t text him. He makes me think of a teenage girl who hasn’t gotten a text from her boyfriend in a while, but he’s just fucking possessive over his woman.

“The girls went to the bar. Dais’ muttered something about making custom drinks for the wedding and picking songs for the DJ to play,” I tell him. He looks shocked that I even know any of this. He may not care about whatever Elena wants for their wedding, and he sure as hell isn’t paying attention to the details, but I am. I need to know everything about what Dais’ is doing. I don’t know who’s more possessive; me or Reed.

“Hmm. El didn’t tell me about that.”

“Irish knows you’d pick shit music,” Kyle laughs, and the rest of us join in. Reed doesn’t have the best music taste; his idea of good music is half of Weird Al Yankovic’s songs.

“The fuck you all yapping at? Let’s get going,” Reed grumbles out, and he straddles his bike and peels straight out of the club’s parking lot. We all follow behind him, driving well over the speed limit until we reach Bubba’s. You’d think the place is on fire with how fast Reed has us driving.

Reed’s already barreling through the doors to Bubba’s when we’re pulling in. After all of us are on our bikes, we walk in to find all the girls on the bar singing along to Rihanna’s Red Lipstick. 

“Shoooooooooooots!” Michelle screams, weaving back and forth to the beat behind the bar. Rihanna’s beat thumps through the bar, echoing, and the girls sway their hips. Daisy and Jenna both have empty bottles of liquor and are singing along; they’re not too bad.

“Can’t find the feeling, C-can’t find the feeling, ahhh,” they sing along, swaying.

I haven’t seen her this relaxed in ages. “Ollliverrrrr!” she squeals at me. I cringe from the loudness in her voice.

Reed goes behind the bar and cuts off the stereo system that we installed just after the shootout. It’s one of the many upgrades that we’ve added. Elena whips her head around so fast to where Reed is standing. I see the daggers she is shooting out of her eyes.

“Whoa! Where’d the m-music go?” Jenna asks, taking a step towards the edge of the bar. Her foot goes down, her body toppling over. Dmitri catches her “F-fuck!” she giggles, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“You know, you’re really hot,” she tells him. I’m watching from a few feet away, shaking my head. Those two are practically perfect for each other. If they get together, I’m fuckin’ calling it.

“Baby, c’mon,” I coax Dais to walk towards me. When she gets close enough, I wrap my arms around her waist, lift her up, and set her gently on the ground, my arm holding her close to me so she doesn’t fall.

I glance around to see Dmitri escorting Jenna over to a booth with a glass of water in one hand, and he slides in next to her and looks to be chatting with her. Kyle has Michelle sitting on a barstool, also with water in hand, and Reed, good ol’ fuckin’ Reed, is taking Elena upstairs. There’s only one thing they’ll be doing up in that bedroom. Fucking. And a lot of it.

I walk my Babygirl over to the other side of the bar and slide her into one of the back booths, holding her close against me while she sips at water.

In the meantime, I’ve called Maria and have gotten one of our prospects, Pain to come work the bar tonight. Jenna and Daisy were supposed to be working – but there’s no way in hell they’re going to be able to now.

"Damn it, Ollie, I wanna fuckin' move," Dais whines, wriggling around against me in frustration. Shit, if these girls partied like this while planning the wedding, what is it going to be like at the reception?

"As cute as all that wigglin' is, Babygirl, I am not letting you move until you finish another glass of water." I signal for someone to come refill her cup, and it happens quickly. I hope she drinks it just as quickly because this wiggling she is doing, is a bit of a turn on. She is so relaxed, having been with her girls, and her tits are jiggling in my face, begging for me to nibble at them. But I am not one for public displays beyond kissing, especially with my drunk girlfriend. That is something I save for the bedroom.

"Fine," she huffs in that cute little voice of hers. She smells surprisingly sweet, I notice, as she guzzles down that glass of water as if her life depends on it. She doesn't smell so much like the alcohol they were clearly consuming before us men showed up to bust them.

Instead of getting up, like I thought she wanted to, Dais’ slides on top of my lap, straddling me and wrapping her arms around my neck. My Babygirl gets a little frisky when she drinks sometimes; I know this, especially tequila. I lift my head for any sign that these girls have been on a date with Cuervo, and spot the bottle just as her hands tangle in my hair. It feels great, but she has never been so touchy feely in public. I know we are just around the club and finally able to be out in the open, but it seems a bit much for my taste.

I chuckle at her. "Maybe we should take this back to our room, Babygirl," I suggest. I know it won’t do much good to piss her off, so I try to be gentle about it. What she probably needs is to sleep it off, but I am not facing her wrath if I suggest that. She just now started talking to me again. Besides, if she wants a good fuck before passing out, I am not denying her that.

"No," she says, but it is muddled, and her lips immediately smack into mine. The kiss is ferocious, and I can’t help but get caught up in the moment. My hand slides around her waist, and I pull her up against my body with that kiss. I don’t think anyone is looking, but if they do glance over, they are going to see how a real man should kiss his woman.

Daisy slides all the way down. My eyes follow her, unsure of what is going on. Did she need some more water? That’s when my pants unzip, and she unfurls my cock, right there under the booth. I try not to turn red, or make a scene, but this is both titillating and fuckin' uncomfortable.

Fuck, she wraps her moth around my shaft. She is covered by the table, but that doesn't mean no one can tell what is happening to me, especially now that Dais has all but disappeared, and I am enjoying the way her mouth suctions onto my member.

I am not one for public sex, but as her mouth wrapped around me under the table, I was gone. Damn it, this crazy, beautiful woman is going to be the death of me.

I look down at her, under the table, as she sucks me off, and I see her eyes staring into mine. That look in her eyes like she is pleasuring a god or something is enough to make me wanna blow my load right there.

I look up, though, and see trouble, as Enzo comes up to the booth, clearly not noticing what is happening to me underneath the table.

"So, we got some AK47's comin' in tomorrow from the Steele’s, right?" Enzo asks, starting a conversation about the wrong thing at the fuckin' wrong time.

I feel myself getting closer, ready to explode into her mouth. It takes everything I have not to moan right fuckin' there in Enzo's face. "Fuck off, Enzo, we can talk about this shit later," I say, knowing it’s probably going to piss him off, but shit, I can’t let him keep standing over us when Dais' is working my cock like a professional.

Enzo gives a nasty look to me before backing up a few feet away from the booth. The laughter that follows tells me he can probably see now what the fuck is going on under this booth; that my tipsy, beautiful woman is pleasuring me right there in the bar with other members around. He walks away, and I fuckin' lose my shit, eyes rolling up in my head as her pace picks up just in time for me to come right in her mouth. I feel her drink it all down, not spilling a single drop anywhere. Damn, my baby girl knew what to do, and she was full of me now. I can’t say it isn’t sexy as hell, but I am still a little shaken from the experience as she slides back up my body, tucking my member right back where it belongs.

Dais's lips land on mine again before she leans over to my ear. "You better get me home so I can fuck you," she says, wasting no time.

I laugh at that and smack her ass, playfully, knowing I am going to oblige. "Let’s go then, my little minx."

Daisy

I can’t help but cringe at the way I acted a few nights ago. I was the equivalent of a horny little slut.

Okay, so I was a horny little slut.

Can you really blame me though? I mean, my man is a glorious piece of ass. Whew. Lemme just fan myself over here a bit. I walk outside, into the cool air to catch my breath. I don't know what it is about Ollie and me since we made up, but we have been makin’ up over and over, and I can’t stop myself. He is so special and so sexy. I have a hard time gettin’ out of that bed every morning and getting dressed because I just want him to touch me all damn day.

I watch as some of the guys, the prospects and Butch, are workin’ on an old muscle car they want to fix up. They think it will get them brownie points in the club and woman. It is a fuckin’ sexy piece of metal; a 60’s Pontiac of some kind with blue and white paint that just needs a little TLC. I smile at the looks on their faces as they try to make it run again. Men are so funny and easy to please like that; cars and women.

I look out at the sky and see that it is a little dreary. It might rain later, but I think the sky is sometimes most beautiful when the clouds are rolling in, and it isn’t black yet. There is a calm in it, but also a promise.

I hear the unmistakable sound of a jolt of electricity coming from the direction of the car. I look back over, meaning to go inside right after I make sure these idiots aren’t killing themselves, and catch a view of the jumper cables. I should not have looked. I need to get away, but I can’t move a damn muscle. A flash of light before me turns into a memory, but it’s like I am living inside of it. Some of the loan sharks, the ones that captured and tortured me because of my fuckin’, gambling boyfriend at the time, are in front of me. I am chained up and tied up while they douse me in water. It is tepid, and that is bad enough, but the worst part is what the water is for. It was used to shock me, right on my wrists, leaving terrible marks the whole time I was there.

I come out of the memory, but I look down at my wrists and, swear to God, I can see those damn marks again, even though they were invisible only moments ago. I am losing it, and I begin to shake all over, unable to move. It’s like I am frozen to the spot.

I see Kyle appear out of the corner of my eye. I’m doin’ everything that I possibly can to act normal, for him to not pay any lick of attention to me. I don’t need this attention. I need him to leave me alone so I can breathe through this and be fine, even though I know I’m not going to just be fine.

I can’t move, no matter what I do, it’s like I’m back in that warehouse. My memories flashback and replay over and over in my mind, like a record on repeat. It won’t stop, but I just want it to stop. It’s like I can feel exactly what they did to me all over again.

I remember the exact way that they poured ice cold water over my bound wrists, strapped tightly to one of the many dingy chairs they’d have me sit on. The first time it happened, I thought they were just pouring ice cold water on me. I didn’t know what was actually going on until I saw the jumper cables, saw them rubbing the positive and negative together, creating a small spark. I was naïve, or maybe, I hoped for the best. I shoulda known, I shoulda expected the worst, but I didn’t – I had hope. What a fuckin’ joke hope was in that place. I didn't even believe it was real when Ollie told me they were there to get me out.

The feeling that sparked through my body when those two points touched my wet skin was awful. I’d never been tazed before, but it was probably close to that. I had marks on my wrists for days afterwards, it’s like I can still see the blue bruising that turned to black, which eventually faded.

It’s gone.

I’m not back there anymore.

“What’s goin’ on with you?” Kyle asks, his eyes full of both concern and curiosity.

“Nothin’,” I mutter, looking away from him, hoping that acting like he’s bothering me will make him leave. It doesn’t get me very far. I shoulda known better than that. Kyle never butts out of my business anymore.

“That’s bullshit, you’re shaking like a dog in a thunder storm,” he comments. I can feel his gaze on me. And I know I’m shaking, I can feel myself fuckin’ shaking. Thanks, Captain Obvious.

“Why don’t you just leave? You’re so damn good at it anyhow,” I growl, wanting to rub my arm to soothe myself, but my body just won’t allow me to do so.

“Dais, I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you. I come around the corner and you’re over here doing this.” He imitates my frozen state, shaking like a rattlesnake about to strike “I’m just concerned.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” I hiss out, hating that I’m even experiencing this right now. PTSD is a bitch, a bitch that I want nothing to do with. Seems I have problems getting rid of things like that lately.

“Yeah, I know I do,” he snaps back out at me. “I’ll be back with Seamus”

Shit. That is not what I thought would come out of his mouth.

I don’t get anything out of my mouth before he’s turned around the corner of the clubhouse and I’m left outside, practically alone with the guys fuckin’ around in the garage a few hundred meters away from me. The whole reason I’m even in this situation; fuckin’ jumper cables.

I’m mad at myself more than anyone. I was never like this before, and yeah, a lot of shit happened to make me this woman who is frozen over with fear whenever I go near a garage and hear cable’s sparking, or even when I hear the leather of a belt being unloosed from a man’s waist – but that’s an entirely different story. The point is, I went through a lot of shit that made me like this. I wasn’t this weak little girl before. I never wanted to be her. That didn’t matter though, I became her. Or maybe she became me.

“Babygirl?” I’m torn away from my own thoughts at the sound of Ollie’s voice. It’s soft, concerned, but knowing. I glance up at him, watching as he’s assessing my surroundings and what, no doubt, put me in my state. Everyone jokes about how he’s as dumb as a doornail, but he isn’t – he’s the most intelligent one here because he acts as dumb as a doornail. His job is to protect the club. He’s the enforcer, it’s his most important job. He’s the muscle, he’s the tough guy, but the big muscle head has a lot of brains behind his tactics; tactics that have saved the club numerous times.

“Hmm?” I mumble, not really looking at him. He knows I get embarrassed whenever this happens. He’s even talked to the guys about not working with the garage door open if I’m home because of this exact reason. I’m sure he’s goin’ to be chewin’ their asses out as soon as he gets me settled. There’s only one way that this passes and that’s just pure, old-fashioned time.

“BUTCH!” Ollie yells, anger beaming out of him. He’s turning bright red again. This is like the third time this month that he’s lost his shit.

I see Butch run out of the garage, coated with oil and other dirty car things. I’ve never been too much into cars. As long as they’re running, I’m fine, and if they aren’t – well, I just grab one that belongs to the boys. I only know when one looks pretty for the road.

“Yeah?” He looks to Ollie and then spots me. I don’t hear him say shit, but I can read his lips. I know he didn’t do this on purpose, but that doesn’t matter to Ollie.

“I thought I fuckin’ told you to shut that goddamned garage door if Dais’ is here. Can you not fuckin’ listen?”

“Uh – I can, I mean … I didn’t know Dais was here. She was supposed to be working today.”

“I switched with Maria,” I tell Ollie. “We didn’t really feel the need to inform the entire club about our shift change.”

“Just shut the damn door,” Ollie growls over to Butch, who nods and walks back over to the garage, grabbing the remote to the door and shutting it.

“Why didn’t you go into work today baby?” Ollie asks, wrapping his arms around me. He soothingly brushes his hand against my hair, every time calming me a little more and more.

“I just wasn’t feeling too well this morning. I slept in and ate a little, wanted to go on a walk to see if it would make me feel a little better,” I admitted.

“Oh Babygirl. I wish you woulda told me. I could have stayed with you, took care of you.” He presses a soft kiss to my temple, showing me exactly how much he is the man for me. I’ve never doubted him once, though, I’ve doubted myself – numerous times. Ollie is perfect. He’s caring. loving. raw. firm. He’s so much more than anything I ever could’ve expected.

I don’t know what comes over me. I’m hit with the sudden urge to cry, and the tears roll down over my cheeks in a heavy flow. What the hell is my problem today?

“Hey, hey. You aren’t back in that fuckin’ metal tin Babygirl, you’re here with me.” He tries to console me, unknowingly to him that isn’t what I’m crying about right now. I simply nod and sink further into his chest, allowing him to console me in the way that I need to be. I’m not crying because of freezing with fear at the sounds of those jumpers. I’m crying because until today, I never really think I knew how much I loved Ollie.

I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

***

Ollie held me until I could finally move around again. It was perfect timing because he was called off to do something with the club, and I had to go into the bar to work the night shift that I switched with Jenna. She told me she’d pull a double, but I’m really starting to feel okay. I’m a little bit queasy and lightheaded, but it’s nothing worse than a shitty hangover. I’ll be fine.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Michelle, otherwise known as Meech, giggles.

“I actually wasn’t feelin’ well,” I tell her, flipping her the bird while I’m at it, cause why not?

“You were feeling something alright, girly, and I’m betting it was long, hard, and makes you scream over and over again.” She winks at me, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“She wasn’t feeling well, Meech,” Jenna tells her, walking over to me and giving me a small hug. Jenna pulls me over to the side and fills me in on everything that’s happened in the bar tonight – which really isn’t much. There’s almost no point.

I can tell it’s going to be a slow night here at the bar, which means I need to work my shit to get those big tips. It is a good thing I am not wearing a bra. In the right light, my nipples will stick out for the boys....and girls… who like to look, and they'll bounce when I pace back and forth behind the bar. That, and my signature move of getting them drunk early always wins me that cash; cash I can take home at the end of the night and show my Ollie. In between clients, though, I would need to find something to do. I glance over and see that Elena and Maria are hanging around, chatting it up. I know we are supposed to still be planning her wedding, and I think Jenna tucked a wedding catalog under the bar. It sounds like a good plan to me when the place gets dead. Elena is gonna flip out, though, when I pull that shit out in front of her. She is still resisting this whole 30 days thing even though I know Reed is serious. Somewhere deep down, she must know too.

The night goes even slower than I expected, with just a few lurkers, wanting to find a good fuck, and a couple of drunks. They all tip well, though, and that’s what matters. It is an hour until I need to close up, and the place is empty other than one man who looks like he might be about to pass out. I call a cab for him before going to the bar, pulling out the catalog and gathering with the girls at the left edge of the bar where they sit in bar stools or lean.

"I have something special here for the bride to be!" I announced in a sing-song voice, slapping that catalog down on the counter. The girls cheer, and Elena covers her face.

"We are really going to pick my shit out of a catalog?" she asks with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Less than 20 days ‘til you say I do. What choice you got?" I ask her, opening it up. "Besides, these are some beautiful gowns, and there’s even a couple tuxes and lingerie in the back. It’s a one stop shop."

Elena seems mortified, but as we flip through the dresses, I can see her light up. She starts folding pages over to mark the ones she likes. I get a little sentimental, watching her, wondering if I will ever see myself doing this very thing. I can't imagine wanting something so formal as she might have, but to be beautiful and the center of attention for a day while I marry the man I love, that doesn’t sound so damn bad. It isn’t something I talk about with Sea yet, nor do I expect to. We love each other, but we just now came out to the club, and I had those plans with Kyle for years. But, it does make me smile to imagine it someday.

Elena narrows it down to two dresses and agrees to sleep on it and easily picks a simple black tux that will look awesome on Reed, even with all his bad assery. She has an eye for style.

But, that’s when the fun starts. "Hold on, lemme close this baby down," I say, running to get all the bar shut down and the drunk into his cab. Us ladies needed some alone time to look over the lingerie offerings in this catalog.

I make my way back to where I was as the girls squeal like we're all teenagers, talking about boys and sex for the first time. "Is this really necessary?" Elena asks as Jenna turns onto the first page of lingerie. Everything comes in red, white, and black, and I point that out to her. I think she might feel more comfortable in something dark instead of all that white shit.

"Yes," all the girls chime in before a collective giggle. Some of them are pure slut and others look like a nun might wear them under her gown at church. That’s when I spot it as the girls are flipping the pages too fast. I slap my hand down like we’re playing that damn card game where you have to get your hand in the card before someone else, forcing the girls to stop and pay attention. “Elena, what about that one?” I ask, and she leans over to look at it, possibly imagining it on her.

It is a complete set, and the picture is actually in black. It looks fuckin' gorgeous on the model whose hair is dark like mine. It includes a corset with a mesh center so that part of the abdomen in showing, and the panties are tiny lace boy shorts. The whole thing connects with garters to some thigh highs. It’s classy and sexy, and she will really look like the siren Reed calls her in that.

"I think that’s the one," she says, smiling up at me in thanks.

***

I slide into Ollie’s bedroom. He’s sitting at his computer, typing away. He doesn’t even say anything as I venture closer to our closet. Ours – I’m not even saying his anymore. I’m practically living in this room anyways, but I still have the option to go to my bedroom if I want to for now.

“How was work, baby?” I glance over to him, his eyes are locked on me, watching me as I kick off my black heels, slip off my short black mini skirt, and take off my deep red tank top. “Shit, you weren’t wearing a bra tonight?” His voice is shocked, and his eyes are dark like he’s furious with me.

I know this look.

He isn’t furious; he’s something else entirely.

“Nah, but lookie here,” I giggle, bending over to let him see the perfect view of my pert ass. I yank the wad of cash out of the pocket in my skirt and start counting it out in front of him. “Looks like I made about 593.00 tonight, sweetheart” I add in a wink for effect and the oaf just smiles.

“It’s a damn good thing I wasn’t there tonight, Babygirl, cuz’ I woulda scared all those men away.”

“Mhm,” I agree, going to the wardrobe and pulling out a dark purple tank top. Ollie’s right up next to me, tearing it out of my hand and holding out one of his Skulls Renegade T-shirts. He opens the head, pulls it over mine, and I place my arms through the holes.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and when he does speak, I’m not shocked. “I take it you knew what I had the boys doin’ with the garage all this time?”

“Yep. You’re not exactly a rocket scientist. I put two and two together, ya know.”

“I did that for you. I don’t think you’re weak, not at all Babygirl. You’re so fuckin’ strong, sometimes, hell – I don’t even know how you got through what you did. At the same time, I’m not gonna be adding to your remembrance of all that fucked up shit you went to, so if tellin’ those idiots to keep that damn door shut kept you from having a flashback or two, I was gonna do it.”

He thought that I’d be mad at him for that? Never. If anything, I admired him for doing it for me. I’ve known for a while, but never once have I been mad at Ollie for doing anything to protect me. And that’s exactly what he was doin’; protectin’ me.

He takes my hands in his, rubbing my wrists softly. He doesn’t look at me – he stares at my hands, so intently, like he has something troubling his mind.

“You didn’t tell me everything. Even after all we’ve been through, I know that. I know that there were things so horrible, that even you couldn’t share them with me. I never once took any offense to that. I understood why you needed your secrets, why you kept some things locked up. Hell, I’d have probably done the same thing if I was in your shoes.” He stays silent for a moment, then his eyes meet mine. “I didn’t have to ask you about the things they did Dais. I can put two and two together.”

I nod, I didn’t tell him everything that happened to me. If I’m honest, I couldn’t bring myself to voice those things – to admit that they happened. Living it was enough, and talking about it was horrible. I went to therapy for months after my kidnapping, even after Harley, I still went. It did a little bit of good, but you didn’t see me talkin’ to anyone who wasn’t my therapist either.

I’d always wondered how he knew certain things. He was reading between the lines this entire time. “Electricity. Chains. Belts. Water.” He fires them out of his mouth so fast, like he wasn’t going to say anything if he didn’t just blurt it out like that.

“Uh, what?” I say, knowing well what he’s getting at.

“Electricity, when we were in the garage and Butch was working on that old Camaro, he asked you to help him with the jumper cables, and you looked like you saw a damn ghost. Belts, after you were back and I was changing in the room cuz you didn’t want me to leave you. I saw the look in your eyes when I took off my belt; you looked at me like I was the devil reincarnate. Water. You still refuse to get into a pool, something you did every damn day in the summer. You avoid it like all hell. And Chains. Slash was commenting about what he did that to that girl, ya know, the one who’s into BDSM shit. You looked at him with the same look the day that I slid my belt off. Like he was the devil. I can add things up baby, you didn’t have to tell me a damn thing because I already knew the worst of it.”

“Oh.” It is all I can say.

“All of us here love you. Every single person, every brother, every Ol’Lady, every Nomad, and even some of the sugar butts and club whores love you.” He gives me a smirk, and I bust out into laughter. The sugar butts and club whores in no way love me. They hate me because I’m a nasty fuckin’ bitch when I see them hangin’ around the girls who have men. “My point is, we’ll do anything that we can to make it easier on you. No one wants to remind you of anything that you went through because in the end it was our fault that you were there.”

“No way in hell was it the club’s fault I was there. It was Kyle’s and his selfish need to gamble.” I grumble, glaring at Ollie. I won’t accept him blaming the entire club for Kyle’s mistake. I won’t have him blaming my family for Kyle’s mistake. I may seem like a bitch for putting all the blame on Kyle, but that’s just the way it is.

Have I forgiven him? In an odd way, I have. That doesn’t mean blame doesn’t lie with him.

I will never forget what happened to me because of his choices, not ever.

“We sent fuckin’ Pain with you and – “

I cut off Ollie before he even finishes that sentence. “I swear to fuckin’ God, Ollie, you’d better not finish that damn sentence.”

“He fucked up, he’s the reason you were taken.” He finishes it, much to my dismay, and all I see is red.

I’ve had it with Ollie, and I’ve fuckin’ had it with Reed and his ridiculous punishments for Pain. That man deserved to be patched in centuries ago, and they won’t fuckin’ do it. He didn’t make a mistake that day he left me in the grocery store, he went to go save his sister’s life and he did – his sister is alive because of his choice, and if keeping me safe in that store that day meant that she woulda died, I could never have lived with myself.

“You can’t keep blaming him for what happened that day. It wasn’t his fault,” I argue, ready to dig my heels into the carpet and go to war for Pain.

“The FUCK it wasn’t!” Ollie roars. He screams so loud that I visibly shake. “It was our damn fault you were there. He FUCKED up, he is the reason you were in that fucking hell hole.”

The door to our bedroom comes flying open. I first see Reed, then Dmitri, Jenna pummels in next with a baseball bat. Why the fuck did she bring a baseball bat?

“Plan on playin’ some ball, Jen?” Reed chuckles. She shoots him a glare before he turns his attention back to Ollie and me.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Reed asks, he’s annoyed, I’d be dumb not to see that.

“We’re just having a slight disagreement on who to blame for my kidnapping. Ollie here thinks it’s Pain’s fault, and I, on the other hand, think that’s complete fuckin’ bullshit. Did either of you think what would’ve happened if he stayed with me? If he didn’t go get his sister when she called him? She would’ve died! Not only her, but his parents would’ve lost two children that day. The second that they saw him, they would’ve killed him, and you both know it. You’re so okay with him staying and being killed? Well, I’m not. I’m not fuckin’ okay with that. He left, saved himself and his sister in the process. That’s what I wanted, do you think I wanted two people’s blood on my hands? And now, all these years later, and he’s still not patched in because you’re punishing him!”

“It’s not about what you wanted, Dais. He didn’t do his damn job, and he left you unprotected. That’s why he doesn’t have his patch, because we can’t trust him. We cannot rely on him. Until he proves himself, his loyalty, there is no way in hell I will be giving him a patch. Pain can prospect until the day he dies for all I care,” Reed states, firm in his decision.

My mouth gapes open, but not because of what Reed just said, but because of who’s standing in the hallway.

“You good Dais?” Pain asks me, I look right into his dark eyes and nod. Reed doesn’t even bother to turn around, to acknowledge him, nothing. He acts like he’s a bug under his shoe, and he’s acted like this for ages. I’m so done with Reed treating him like this.

“You’re an asshole,” I tell Reed, and Ollie shoots me a glare. I glare right back. “And don’t you say a word, you’re in big shit.”

“Dais.” I look over to Pain, he offers me a half smile as he continues to speak “It’s alright. I deserve it. I fucked up that day, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it right. Do me a favor and drop it. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. I can handle myself.” Before I can argue, Pain is already in the hallway, going back to wherever he’s sleeping.

“You all are such fuckin’ assholes,” I growl before heading into my bedroom. 

Seamus

It’s been three days since Dais’ has really been talking to me. I can’t say I blame her, but I stand firm in my decision to blame Pain for her disappearance, it is his fault entirely, and one day, I’m confident that she’ll understand why I feel the way I do.

“Fist said that Rafael tried to strike a deal with him to blow up the entire fuckin’ club,” Reed comments. Fist is the Prez of the Reapers MC up in Montana. He’s one of our closest allies, and together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. Our clubs are strong alone, but together, we’re practically unstoppable. “He said Rafael promised him our club if he went along with it. He’d get Tennessee and Texas.”

“Well, shit.”

“Rafael is desperate, he wants revenge for the shit we pulled. He’s trying to do anything that he can to do it. What he doesn’t realize is that between the Skulls and the Vipers, we have a lot of allies.”

“We have a lot of allies, the Vipers don’t really have shit,” I tell Elena, and she isn’t shocked by my statement. Her Pops had the club beforehand, and he really ran it into the ground. There are good clubs like the Skulls, and then there were the Vipers who ran any drug they could, were well into the sex trade, hell, half of their members got off on beating their women and kids. That’s not shit we tolerate, not one fuckin’ bit.

“These allies aren’t the ones my father had been in cahoots with. These are all people I’ve established relationships with. We’ve got the Raiders MC in L.A. who have chapters all over the west, we’ve got the Demons of Hell MC in my home state of Texas who’ve just expanded to Mississippi, Georgia, and are as far north as Indiana now. I’ve been chatting with the Italians…”

“The fuckin’ mob?!” I snap, glaring at Reed. He dismisses me with his hand.

“Yes, Seamus. The important thing is that we’ve got friends everywhere, we have allies. It only cost me one small price, but it was a price I was willing to pay to ensure the safety of the club.” Dmitri settles into his seat next to Elena. I finally sit in mine, and she continues “I gave up the Vipers territory. I had to do that to get the Demons of Hell to step on board. They’ve been having issues with the Brotherhood MC and need the club to help resolve their minor problem. We have a month to get everyone up here to Tennessee before they take over the old clubhouse.”

I’m shocked. Fuckin’ shocked that Elena gave that up. It was her birthright, she didn’t want any of it – but it doesn’t matter. She’s going from being the Prez of the biggest MC in Texas to what exactly?

“That’s not all though,” she continues, “I’m destroying the Vipers MC. We’re merging with the Skulls. If they’re loyal, they’ll follow, and the club will expand. If they don’t want to move, I can’t blame them, and I’ll find some way in the bi-laws to release them without eighty-sixing them. Dmitri?” Elena looks to Dmitri, who stares directly at her.

“Da?” He grew up in Texas from what I understand, yet speaks Russian a lot of the time. We’ve learned to pick up on a few words.

“Are you with me, or?” Before Elena can finish, Dmitri rises out of his seat and wraps his arms around her.

“Of course, I am with you, da. You are my family, I would not be anywhere else.” Dmitri and Elena aren’t related. He’s a few years older than her, but they have a special bond. All I know is that Dmitri was six or seven when he came into Jimmy’s life. I don’t know how or why, but I know that Elena grew up with Dmitri. From her youngest age, he was her defender.

“I’ll need you to go to Texas as my VP, tell them all what’s happening. We’re merging with the Skulls, per Reed’s approval. They will transfer in at whatever standing they have now. If they’re prospecting, they will prospect up here, if they’re full patch, they’re full patch, etc., etc. I want as many up here as soon as they possibly can, especially those with construction skills. We’ve got the shipment of girls coming in shortly and now we’ve got a whole club moving up here too.”

“We’ve got a lot of shit to do,” I say, and Elena nods in agreement.

“Yeah, and you’d better tell Butch to stop fuckin’ around with those hot rods and get to doin’ some actual work,” Reed grumbles. I can’t agree more myself. He’s good at fixin’ shit.

“We fixin’ up the old cabins out back in the woods?”

“What’s he talking about?” Elena questions Reed, who fills her in on how we’ve got about thirty old cabins just sitting back out a few miles into the woods behind the clubhouse.

Her mouth gapes open, “Are you kidding me? Why haven’t we been working on these instead of building new shit by Bubba’s?”

“Uh, well, I dunno, babe. I would think you’d like the girls close together and not spread out a few hundred meters away from each other. Safety in numbers and all. Plus, you don’t wanna spook em’.”

“We’ll get the old cabins ready for the Vipers, then. I’m expecting at least forty to fifty to make the move up here.” We can make it work.

“The merger wasn’t the only reason we brought you two in here today,” Reed says. Both Dmitri and I look at him. Elena has a concerned look on her face and starts to pace in the room. “We’ve gotten a request from Rafael.”

“What kind of request?” I ask

“Rafael seems to think that somehow in his fucked-up mind, Maria belongs to him.”

“How on earth would she belong to that fucker?”

“Oh, they’re engaged. Didn’t you know?” Reed seethes sarcasm; he tosses the letter on the table.

“She was never engaged to him. He’s doing this as a ploy, he wants her back, but he’ll have to kill me first. I’m not letting that poor girl get sucked back into that hell. I guess he’s moved on from Natasha Kolosov and is now interested in Mar…” Elena growls, sounding like a mother protecting her child.

“I know she wasn’t, baby, we all know that he’s desperate and is trying to use Maria to his advantage.”

“Maria doesn’t belong to Rafael. She’s one of us, she’s a Skull, now and she’s under our protection,” I tell everyone in the room, and they nod in agreement.

“Are we telling the girl?” Dmitri asks, making eye contact with everyone in the room.

“No. She doesn’t hear a word of this. It will only stress her out and make things worse for her. She’s finally started to feel like this is home. I don’t need her looking over her shoulder in the slight possibility that Rafael is going to be an idiot and send someone after her. And if he does, we’ll kill them before she even knows she was in danger.”

“Have you heard anything about Valentina?” Elena asks Reed. Valentina is Maria’s younger sister. They were separated the day that Rafael came into their home and tore them apart. She hasn’t seen her sister in years, but we’ve been trying to find her for ages. We won’t stop, and Reed sure as hell won’t stop. We’ll find the girl.

“No, not yet. I have Fist checking with his contacts, they’re using an out of date photo, the girl could’ve changed so much since Maria last saw her, but we’re looking. We’ll find her.”

“I’ll have Kristie do some digging too,” Elena adds.

***

We left our small meeting, grabbed Enzo and went to go meet with Logan to retrieve our shipment of guns. Elena and Reed stayed back at the clubhouse, it was always best that they did on these types of runs. There was always that element of surprise, anything could happen out here – even if I did trust Logan with my life.

We pull up to the drop off location. It’s quiet and deserted, just the way we like it. A quick way to get caught when you’re doing illegal shit is to do it at night. We avoid that completely by meeting at one of the many properties that Reed owns off the beaten path. I highly doubt that even if we did get caught that we’d go to jail. The FBI needs us anyways.

“Well shit, look at your fat ass,” Logan chuckles, rounding the blacked-out van we’ll use to haul the weapons back to the club.

“You always were the nasty one,” I retort, slapping him hard on the back.

“No, Jordan’s the nasty one. Christian’s the dick, and I’m the smart one.”

“Smart my ass.”

We stand there, chuckling, throwing retorts back to one another for a good twenty minutes while the guns are taken from his van and put into ours. Dmitri rolls up in the second van, ready to take the rest to the club. You may wonder why we use vans instead of tractor trailers, the key in our business is to blend it. The more you blend in, the less conspicuous you are. So, Butch created compartments within the vans to hide all this lovely ammunition that Logan is supplying the club with.

“What’s new with you? Jordan told me you’ve got a girl,” I tell Logan, he shakes his head and smirks, not denying me at all.

“I’ve got a feisty little blonde”. He flashes that playboy smile, the one that dubs him the most eligible bachelor in Atlanta.

“Feisty little blonde, huh?”

“Oh yeah, she’s fucking fantastic. I’ve only known her a couple of weeks, and damn, coming up here to do business is killing me.”

“Fuck, you’re in deep water, brother,” I chuckle, remembering when I realized I was in deep with Daisy.

“I’ll drown for her,” Logan mutters, seriousness evident in his tone. “She’s nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced. She’s unique, self-made, driven. She doesn’t take no for an answer and goes after whatever she wants. She’s fearless, resilient, beautiful.”

“Fuck, you sound like you’re in love with her.”

“I might be.”

“How’d you meet her?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Logan laughs before he speaks. “I officially met her at a bar.”

“And, unofficially?”

“I was at Christian’s club, saw the beautiful little creature dancing below us, and knew I had to have her. Reggie dug up some intel, and I found her in that bar.”

“Bullshit. You didn’t just ‘find’ her in that bar. You were hunting.”

“I was hunting, and I got my prize.” He flashes me an evil grin. This girl has no idea what she’s gotten herself into.

“Where does she think you are right now?” I ask, knowing that Logan hasn’t told her about his business. He didn’t tell his ex-wife, Tara, about his business until six months before they were divorced. And they didn’t get divorced because of his business; they divorced because she’s a sadistic bitch.

“China, on business.”

“Ni Hao” (Hello) I say in Traditional Chinese.

“You know, you aren’t as dumb as everyone thinks you are,” Logan laughs. I join in until it’s time for us both to leave and return to the women we both may or may not love.

Seamus

“Who’re we buying from again?” I ask Reed, wanting to hear him utter the name of the man who we should not be doing a lick of business with. He’s dangerous. It’s not like the people that we deal with aren’t dangerous, but this one – he has the resources to burn us all to the ground.

“Kolosov. Sergei Kolosov.” I lean against the van. Reed didn’t waste any time in the last two weeks getting everything prepped for the women. We’re having a lot of changes being made. The women arrive today, and the Vipers are starting to move up here next week.

“Sergei Kolosov,” I mutter slowly, wanting to slap Reed across the face for being so stupid. We’d be safer doing business with the Chinese, and even that’s a fucking joke.

Sergei Kolosov is the most notorious arms dealer in the world. We buy our arms from the Steeles, the largest gunrunners in North America – and now, Reed wants to establish a relationship with an arms dealer to only purchase women. He’s stupid. This isn’t going to end up well for any of us. One day, Sergei will demand that we start purchasing more from him, I can imagine it now, to further our “business relationship”.

“I don’t have to ask for your approval,” Reed states, his gaze catching onto mine.

“Never asked for it.”

“You didn’t have to,” Reed grumbles. We’re standing outside the van, waiting on our instructions to retrieve the women. We took Dmitri, Jenna, Enzo, and Maria with us all. Reed and I agreed that taking the girls would probably help soothe them, to help them understand that they weren’t in any danger – that they would be in a safe place. Dmitri is here simply because he is good with a gun, and he speaks Russian. It’s kinda funny, imagining a boy who was raised in Texas speaking perfect Russian, but I’ve seen it happen.

A black escalade pulls into the lot where our vehicles are parked. It slows and comes to a stop directly in front of Reed. I put my hand on my gun, having the anticipation to fire at whomever is behind that tinted black glass. When the window lowers, I’m prepared – but it’s not what I expect.

“Prez, da?” A woman with a thick accent speaks. She’s Russian, and she’s fucking gorgeous. She opens the door to the escalade, strutting out on four-inch heels, wearing a dark emerald green dress that hugs every curve of her body. Her hair flows in long black curls down to her ass, and the diamonds hanging from her neck could feed everyone in Africa for years.

“Yes. I’m assuming you’re the courier.” She nods at Reed’s assessment, sticks her manicured hand into her bra, and pulls out a note.

“Your instructions are here. You are to follow the instructions. If you do not follow the instructions, Sergei will be very displeased. He will watch and see, and if you do not listen to Master, he will ruin you. Understand, da?” Reed takes the note from her hand gently, opens it, and nods to the woman.

“Crystal clear.”

“Good, good. Enjoy your purchase. Master has given you a present, Prez. He hopes you approve.” She turns on her heels back to her car.

“What kind of present?” Reed asks, and she glances back to him.

“Ah, but what is the fun if I tell you?” She flashes a sinful smirk at Reed, licking her licks seductively. “Dumayu podarok dlya tebya, Dmitri.” I don’t know what the fuck she just said, but I sure as hell want to know. I understood one word.

Dmitri.

We all look to Dmitri who is staring intently at the girl before him. “ty menya ne uznayesh?”

She smiles, takes a few steps towards him, and stands firm. “Dmitri Petrov, sold as a child to the highest bidder, heir to the Petrov line. The only son of Viktor and Mikahla Petrov, sisters to Ksenia and Katya. I wonder, how does it feel to know after your protector died, that your mother was the one who sold you to your fate? The one who started the long chain of events which left you in the care of Jimmy, the abusive MC leader. She ripped you away from them, thought that by selling you, it would keep her safe. She was wrong. Very, very wrong. You have so much power, and yet don’t recognize it at all. You’re wasting away in this MC, you could be running Russia, taking back what is rightfully yours, and yet you are here, being an errand boy, buying women, for what I wonder…” She taps her chin, smirking at Dmitri.

“Ah. You don’t want the power. You want to escape from it. Well, let me bring you this reality check. You cannot escape being a Petrov. There is no running, only embracing it. One day, your past will catch up with you dear brat.”

“Maybe it already has.” She winks at him before turning on her heels back to the escalade. She steps up into the car and looks to Dmitri.

“Katya.” She smiles at his mention of what I assume, is her name.

“Brat. Take care of the weak little dove.” And just like that, she’s gone, peeling out of the parking lot so fast that I wonder if this was a figment of my imagination.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask, glaring at Dmitri. Reed’s glancing at the note, reading over the instructions.

“We’ve got to be there in two hours. In the cars, NOW!” Reed snaps. We all get into our cars and signal for Jenna and Maria to follow us in theirs.

I don’t know what the fuck just happened. I just know it isn’t good.

***

We had to race to make it to the docks in time. Reed didn’t disclose every instruction that Sergei had for him. This pick up was very different than what we had with the Cartel, and I should’ve anticipated this. I should’ve brought more men, more gunpower.

We met Katya in South Carolina and drove two hours east until we arrived in the heart of Charleston. Reed gave me directions, and I followed them diligently until we arrived at our location; the docks.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I did not expect them to be in a shipping container.

Reed exits the van while the girls and Dmitri park their cars and followed us further into the shipping yard. Reed glances at the paper and walks further down the lot until he comes to a dead stop. “They should be around here somewhere. Container E498.”

Jenna and Maria split up, going down the lines of containers until we hear a sharp whistle. It’s Jenna, and she’s not too far away from us.

“Open the damn door!” she yells, glaring at us like we’re standing around doing nothing.

Dmitri grabs a cinderblock from next to the container and busts the lock off, tearing it from the metal, and throwing it onto the ground. He opens the container doors wide, and what’s inside shocks all of us. Sergei didn’t just put these girls in a shipping container, he put them in a transformed shipping container. Inside of it are plush leather couches, a few queen-sized beds, what must be a small kitchenette and bathroom. The girls inside look at us with acceptance, not just fear.

It’s like they’ve understood their fates.

Enzo walks in the container and looks over the girls. “English?” he asks, a few of them shake their heads, and the rest just stare at him blankly. He walks further in until he makes a dead stop. “Fuck!”

He scoops a girl into his arms, her snow-white hair is falling from around her, her body so small and delicate. “What is she on?” he asks the girls around them, but none of them answer.

“otvet!” Dmitri shouts at them. I want to tell him to shut up, but it gets the job done, because one of the girls tells him what’s happened.

“The Master and Mistress drugged her. I do not know with what, it makes her sleepy, she gets very sleepy…” The girl is riddled with fear. Maria swoops in and wraps her arms around her, telling her it will be okay. The girl can’t be older than sixteen; how the fuck is Sergei getting these women?

“Take it out of her arm, now,” Reed orders. Dmitri goes over and takes the IV from her arm. She will be okay soon, I’m sure of it.

“She f-fights. She is not one of us. She is … different.” She’s terrified, and why, I’m not sure. No one can touch these girls now, but no one will know that, none of them will know that until they begin to trust us all.

“It’s alright, none of you will have to fight now,” Jenna tells them. She looks at every single one of them. “You are safe now. I promise.”

Daisy

I don't know what it is about this morning, but I know there is something I must do today as soon as we are done trying on these damn bridesmaid dresses. I have to talk to Kyle.

Michelle and I are the ones here, since Jenna will be with the girls all day, and we are to be the Guinea pigs, trying on basically everything Elena likes that comes from off the rack in all our sizes. I feel like a white trash model trying to fit in on a New York runway, and it ain't one bit funny, even though Michelle is cracking the fuck up about it.

I glare at her but say nothing since I am trying to keep the bridezilla calm, which she totally is not. She is under a lot of stress, with the women having come in, and combining the clubs. She is losing more members than she wanted to in her sacrifice, and it is tearing her up inside. I can tell it is. She has such a big heart, and that can be dangerous for a person, I should know.

“It's okay, Daisy, I know this isn’t working," Elena says, putting her head in her hands while cringing in her seat. Michelle stops laughing, and we both go over to her.

"I don’t know a lot about this weddin' stuff, but I know the crying is supposed to be reserved for certain moments. I don't think this is one of them," I tell her, sitting on the arm of the chair she is in and placing my hand on her back. "Look, I know what you are set on. Why don’t you give me just a few minutes, and I will go look again," I offer. Elena wants us in green dresses. Green is her favorite color, and I know the day won’t be complete without that. I need to find her something beautiful, though, and the couple of green dresses we have tried on have been the puke green like Reed's joke, or a dark hunter which just looks way too dark for a wedding.

Elena nods, but I see no confidence in her when she does. I am not letting a wedding feel like such a damn tragedy. Elena marrying Reed is supposed to be a happy time, and I am going to make sure it is.

I remember the picture I saw of the dress she showed me that her best friend has as the maid of honor, and I am looking for dresses on the rack that compare to the color, at least, regardless of the size. If I can find something close, then maybe I can convince Michelle to do some quick alterations on the dresses. I have seen her sew some things before; blankets and some designs on shirts, and a few patches even. Maybe she can do it.

Sure enough, I spot a light emerald number that comes down to the knee. It ties at the waist and had a beautiful sweetheart neckline. The size is right for me but a little big for Michelle and Jenna. I grab them anyway, running them over to the dressing room like a woman on a mission, yanking Michelle in with me.

I quickly strip out of the ugly blue poof ball I am wearing and slip on the green dress and watch how it hugs me. It is beautiful. "Michelle, do you think you can alter a dress?" I ask quietly, not wanting to get Elena’s attention just yet.

"I probably can, why?" Michelle asks. I shoot her a look like she needs a stupid sign on her forehead. This girl is irritating me today, and it doesn’t help that I am somehow becoming easier to irritate.

"These dresses are perfect but a little big for you and Jenna."

Michelle looks me over like she’s checking me out, and I can't help but giggle as she says, "You do look fuckin' hot, bet I will too. Yeah, I'll figure it out. Show her the dress." Michelle pushes me out into the open, and I pose like a chick in a magazine, making Elena smile.

"What about this?" I ask her, twirling around and making a big deal.

"It's great, but it’s not in all the right sizes.

Michelle pops out in her regular clothes already like she was Superman changing back into Clark Kent.

"I'll take care of it. Don’t you tell me you don’t like it," Michelle scolds.

Elena nods. "I love it."

***

I find Kyle outside, smokin' a ciggy with one hand and knocking back a bottle of Jack with the other. Normally, seeing him like this doesn’t bother me. It is almost his natural state, expect for the permanent frown that has now made its scar on his otherwise beautiful fuckin' face. Just because he isn't my ride or die anymore, doesn't mean I can’t appreciate the way he looks when he is happy. It hurts the most because it seems, despite what he may have had coming to him all these years, I have done this to him. I am hurting him every day I don’t choose to start things with him again, and I know that. I accept that. I need him to accept it too, accept it and give me hope that there will be a day he wakes up and won’t brood over seeing his good friend with his ex.

"Shouldn’t you be inside with Seamus, talking all about the shit you tried on today?" he quips as I approach. I take a stance right in front of him, with my hand on my hip.

"Don’t be a fuckin' ass. I came to talk to you, okay?" I say, not fuckin' around. I want to make this as right and clear as I can, but I can’t do that if he’s gonna to be the asshole, tough guy right now.

"What is it that you have to say to me you ain't already said in front of the whole fuckin' club, Dais?" he asks, finally looking directly at me. He looks tired and aged in a way I didn’t expect.

"You have a right to feel a loss and be hurting a little, Kyle, but you don’t have a right to be pissed at me. No matter your excuse for running off, you still did it. You did it for a long fuckin' time, and I changed, I healed without you. I am still healing without you, and I am sorry if that is hard to see and hear. But I need you to listen because I have something so damn important to say, and I don’t think I will have the courage to say it again."

I feel like I am giving him a lecture, but I guess, in a way, I am. I relax my stance as he nods. "Okay, Dais."

"I will always love you, Kyle. I know better than to deny that part of my heart, but I will never be able to trust you again. You need to let me go and let me be happy with Seamus. He makes me so happy, Kyle." I take a deep breath and blow it out, feeling like I got the world off my chest. I fight a tear that dares try to come out of my eye as I wait for the man that was once the love of my life to say something.

"Your happiness is all I have ever wanted for you," he says in a husky voice. That is enough for me.

"Thank you." I walk away before he can say anything else. I know he will probably spend the rest of the day drinking, and I want to spend the rest of the day doing something productive to get my mind off it all. I guess I can help with the Russian girls. It’s not my job, but knowing how they got here, they can use all the support they can get.

I knock on the door where I know Jenna will be with a few of the girls, including the one I was told was drugged to make it here and a girl named Galina who spoke better English than the rest.

Jenna opens the door, and I can see she has one of her dogs, Maximus, in there for the girls to pet. The one that had been drugged before, a girl known as Ksenia, even smiled as the dog came up to lick her and be petted.

"Girls, this is Daisy. She is a bartender," Jenna says slowly. Other than Galina, there is little knowledge of English, and we are kinda counting on Dmitri to help bridge that gap, though, there has been some strange whispers about him since the girls were picked up. I am not in the loop and unsure if I want to be. The men have a habit of keeping secrets form us women but for good reason, I’m sure.

I sit down on the floor, trying not to make any sudden movements when Galina reaches out to get the dog to come to her. As she does, I can see scars on her wrists, the exact kind that I had once upon a time. I don’t know whether to scream or cry for her.

"Galina, is it?" I say gently, and she looks up at me shyly. It is my understanding that it has been explained to them many times that they will be safe here, and the men will not touch them; that their lives are going to get better with no one running them, but many of them are still either traumatized or trying to serve every man they see. They know nothing else.

Galina nods but nothing more. "Your wrists," I say, holding out mine to be sure she knows what I mean, "are they burned, or electricity?" I wasn't sure how to communicate it to her. She spoke in an understandable way, but still knew little of the English language compared to even Maria.

Galina pushes her straight black locks out of her face. "Da, pain with shock. It was punishment sometimes. Did to Ksenia too, but she fights so much. They must do much more to her."

Ksenia seems to ignore the statement, preoccupied with the dog again. I am not sure if she just doesn’t understand or doesn’t care to talk about it right now. I look to Galina. "There were some men once who did that to me," I tell Galina, hoping she gets the gist. I want her to see that it will be okay one day. "It is okay now, see?" I scoot a little closer and show her my wrists so she can see that there is no scaring anymore. It has faded back into my skin tone. Most of my outside scars have.

Galina surprisingly takes my hands and looks them over, turning them every which way with shock and hope on her face. I think I am going to be able to make an impact here. Maybe it will help me too.

***

I go into our room after a long day, feeling satisfied at my good deeds for the day, but also exhausted. I find myself seeking out one of those big tees in his drawer, enjoying his smell as well as the comfort of the soft fabric on my skin. I lay down on my stomach, ready to relax, when the door opens, and I know who has come in. He is the only one that comes in without knocking unless someone hears us fighting, like the other night.

I can't stay pissed at him about Pain even though I want to. It’s something I will have to wear all the men down on as time goes on. Instead, I wait for him to slide into the bed next to me, to give him a tired grunt as he kisses my head and down my neck.

"Long day, Dais?" he asks in that familiar voice of his. I don’t know how I mistook it for Kyle's before, probably because I always expect it to be Sea behind me or beside me at all times. I don’t know what I will do if we don’t make the cut long term.

I nod into the pillow my face is now in as he starts to massage me with those big, capable hands of his, rubbing the kinks out of my neck and upper back so that I relax into a pile of mush. I roll over and smile groggily at him, looking into those eyes I love so damn much. "Thank you for that. Looking for the perfect bridesmaids’ dresses is no easy task, apparently," I say with a little giggle.

“Well, at least you get a little sneak peek of what it's like, you know, for future reference”. I sit straight up, almost knocking my head into his at that statement. He has never directly mentioned anything about our future beyond staying together and fucking me hard every night before. It wasn't like he said that he meant to be the groom in that situation, but it made me perk up real damn fast.

"Who says I am getting’ married ever?" I snap at him, trying to recover quickly form my shock. He is so close, I want to just kiss him and pull him down on my body, but I also don’t want to ruin whatever moment we might be having.

"It would be a damn shame to leave a woman like you free and single the rest of your life," Sea responds with a sparkle in his eye.

"Are you drunk?" I laugh at him being a little more sentimental than I expect.

"What, you can’t tell me doing all this stuff with Elena doesn’t make you think about it a little. Besides, weren’t you going to marry..." He trails off, knowing better than to finish that sentence for the sanity of both of us. I get the feeling that behind all his anger over the way Kyle has treated me is a worry that Kyle might be right about us ending up together eventually.

"To answer the one good question you asked," I begin, sliding up onto his lap. "Yes, I suppose it does make me think about weddings and marriage a little, but I can’t say I want to make such a big deal. I mean, I want it to be a big deal that my man is becoming my man, officially, but I don’t want a fancy dress or anything like that. I just want my vows, my family and friends, and a nice party." I slap his thigh as I finish like the period at the end of a sentence as I smile at him.

"I think I can handle that," Sea says, going for my lips.

I stop him, trying not to smirk as I tease. "I thought I told you it wasn’t clear that I was getting’ married ever. What makes you so sure if I did that it would be to you?"

Sea gets a mischievous look on his face, and I know I’ve damn done it, and I fuckin’ love it.

He pushes me off his lap and gets over me, a leg and arm on each side of me so I can barely move. "Because I am the only one who knows just how you want it and like it, Babygirl," he growls out sexily before diving into me, his lips traveling down my body, which is only covered in one of his shirts. I may have done it on purpose.

As he realizes this, pulling up the shirt to reach my navel and further down, he makes a sound like a starving animal who has just got a sniff of fresh meat. Nothing makes me wetter than how hot my ox gets for me.

His lips land against my groin, and my breathing picks up just before he makes it to that sweet spot in between my legs. Without hesitation, he spreads them apart, nuzzling into the area before his warm, wet tongue lands just where I want it to be. I arch my back at the contact, gasping for air as he flicks his tongue across my clit. It is the most torturous area for a man to mess with, especially one who knows exactly what the fuck he’s doin'. It can make me come so hard and fast and drive me to insanity waiting for it. I believe that to be true of a lot of women from what I know.

Sea laps me up, moving downwards to the true prize, letting his tongue slide inside of me. I sit up and fall back down onto the bed, grabbing the sheets in my fists. He knows this is torture. He knows what I want. If he wasn’t mouth deep in my pussy right about now, he would be laughing his ass off at what he knew he was doing to me. I want him now.

"Please," I begin to whine and beg like the horny little girl I become when Sea does things like this to me. It takes about ten minutes of that for him to crawl up my body and unzip his pants, showing me his rock-hard cock before plunging it into me. I call out, knowing full well someone is going to be able to hear. Most everyone is in their rooms at this point, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to hide how I love or lust after Seamus anymore. So, I call out his name as he fucks the tired out of me over and over again.

Seamus

I love laying here next to my woman, feeling her skin up against mine and her lips on mine. The problem is, I know for a fact the sun has been up for some time, and I have a lot on my mind; a lot that I cannot burden this lovely brunette with.

My head keeps taking me back to when we were there to get the girls and that woman who had the message for Reed was talking to, and about, Dmitri. She seemed to know him, and I wasn’t able to catch every word because some of it was in fuckin' Russian. I don’t like the idea that we are dealing with one of the worst, most brutal criminal ring leaders in the world and they know something about a member of our MC. Not only do they know something about him, but they know him. It means there is a link there, and Dmitri's knack for being mysterious as fuck did not help to ease my mind at all that there was something to worry about. I gotta talk with him and find out what to expect.

I turn on the light in the room and begin getting dressed. I hope that I don’t wake Daisy up, but I can see she is already stirring. The idea was too good to be true. Her eyes flutter open, and I can’t help but smile down at her. Not only did we have a good romp last night, but we kinda talked about our future. It is something I have thought about but have been scared to mention in the past. I felt like we would be a secret forever sometimes until we just fell apart. Now that we are out in the open, I feel like it might be time to think about it. What does she want from me? I certainly would not mind putting a brand back on her, having her as mine. But I would never do that to her unless she wanted it, knowing what she went through with the last person who tatted her and claimed her.

"Good morning," Dais says, stretching and looking up at me, kicking off the blanket so that I see her body in its full glory. Even as I get my pants on, knowing I must do this now before shit hits the fan, my cock stands at attention for her, looking up at me like that.

"Good morning, Babygirl," I say, pulling on my shirt and then my boots. I can't be convinced to stay, and the more I talk to her the more likely it is she will get me back in our bed.

"What’s the rush?" she asks in her sultry morning voice, her hair a hot mess behind her.

"I have some MC business, Babygirl. I am sorry, but I gotta get outta here. You have a shift at the bar today, don't you?"

"Mmhmm," she answers, and I walk over to her, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Hurry back!" she calls after me as I walk out and close the door behind me. My mind immediately gets off of her and onto Dmitri and the shit show that is dealing with the Russians. I never expected to find a bunch of young girls, ready to be our slaves, shipped in a damn box.

I go to Dmitri's door and knock, but I am greeted by a loud barking. Shit, I forgot that Jenna and her two dogs were in there with him. It is her that answers the door in her pj's, and I immediately go into an apology. "So sorry, I need to talk with Dmitri. Tell him to meet me outside in five." Jenna nods, not looking like she can’t do much more. These club women are not morning people, are they?

I make my way outside, pacing back and forth until Dmitri finally joins me. "Da?" he asks, and I have come to learn it means yes. He is asking me what I want.

"Look, I don’t want to start any trouble, but all of this shit with the Russians is bad enough. It can get us in some deep shit, you know? I know something was going on when we met that woman to pick the girls up. She knew you, and you must have known her. I know you don’t like to talk about your past, but I need to know, for the safety of this MC family, what the hell is going on, Dmitri?" I ask him, plain and direct. I stand my ground, only two feet away from him. If intimidation is what it takes, I am more than willing to dish it out.

"It had to do with my past, yes," Dmitri answers, his chin up in the air as if he is challenging me. "You know enough of my story to know I was dealt a raw hand as a child. But none of what was said or happened that day concerns you, Seamus. It is between me, myself, and I," he spits out.

Now that, is a sure way to piss me off. "You're denying me information that could be crucial to the safety of this damn club?" I ask him.

"This is not about the club, other than my part in it, or rather, my choice to be in it." Dmitri stood his ground as well, even advancing about six inches. My blood is fuckin' boiling.

I get in his face, my fists clenched at my side, and from the way his eyes dart downward, I know he knows he’s in deep shit right now. "If you have any sense of self-preservation right now, I would fuckin' spill everything you know about what the fuck is going on, Dmitri, or so help me, I will ram this goddam fist of mine into your teeth."

The door busts open, tearing my eyes away from what’s in front of me. I see Jenna, Reed, and Elena standing there, looking pissed. I know it’s time to back down, but I leave him with parting words. "This isn’t over."

Daisy

I run to the bathroom, leaving Maria alone to man the bar as a customer comes up. This is the third time I have puked my guts out in the last 24 hours, and it also comes to mind that I was throwing up the other day too. I am feeling like complete shit and can't seem to keep anything down that goes in my mouth.

A knock comes at the door, and a holler for whoever it is to come in. Honestly, anyone coming to my rescue right about now would be great. I swear, if I have caught the fuckin' flu I am going to kill whoever gave it to me. It is Elena who is knocking at the door, and she comes in looking concerned. If anyone is going to help me figure this shit out, it is her.

"Are you alright, Dais?" she asks, making a face at the smell I know is in there from my damn half-digested vomit.

I shake my head at her. "I feel like fuckin' death, Elena. I can’t keep shit down at all. I don’t know how I am going to finish my shift. I think I might have the flu or somethin'," I tell her before turning back to the toilet bowl all over again. Elena looks away while I do it, and I wonder if she’s got one of those sensitive stomachs where if she sees someone else throw up, she’s gonna do it too. If so, the prospects are gonna have a helluva mess to clean up.

"You're not finishing your shift," she tells me when I think my stomach is finally empty. I stand up and run the water, splashing it on my face and cleaning up the drips on the toilet from the acid spewed from my stomach. "I think we should go to the clinic in town and see what’s going on. I'll drive you if you want. I don’t want you having to pull over to puke," she offers.

I nod, accepting her help. "You think Mar will be alright out there?" I ask. Elena nods.

"It’s not really busy anyway, just a couple people. I'll text Michelle on the way out, though, just in case Maria has to get her help."

I turn the water off and follow her out into the lot, climbing in her car. I pull out my phone and text Seamus. It takes a while to get to and from the clinic in town, and I don’t want him to worry.

To: WWE

Elena's taking me to the doc. I feel like shit. See ya later. Love ya.

I roll down my window and lean against the door on the drive, letting myself rest and enjoy the fresh air streaming in. It’s the best I can do. I feel so damn green right now.

Elena books it, getting us there in about an hour. I suppose she doesn’t have to worry all too much about getting pulled over since she's FBI and all. She would flash her badge and get us off scot-free. I know it makes some of the other members pissed, but I think it’s cool as shit she can save us like that.

She takes me into the clinic and stands with me while I fill out all the dumb paperwork. I practically fall asleep and drool all over myself while waiting to be called back. Because it’s the closest clinic to a lot of these small towns just like Gainesville, it's a pretty busy place.

Finally, Elena kicks at my leg and wakes me up since they call my name. I shuffle up to the nurse. "Would you like me to come?" Elena asks. I turn to her, and for some reason, I just feel like she should be with me. I don’t really know why.

"Yes, please." Elena jumps up and comes with us, waiting outside the bathroom door as they have me pee in a cup; standard procedure, and then they weigh me and get my height. I feel like a little kid as they do all this.

Eventually, I am sitting on a small bed in a room, waiting for the doc to come talk to me. My mouth and nose have already been swabbed and sent into whatever lab they have on sight to see what terrible illness is inside of me. I am determined to kick its ass, whatever the fuck it is.

"So, I hear that you have been experiencing some unpleasant symptoms?" the doctor says as he comes in. He has glasses and looks to be around 40. He’s a little on the short side, making it look like his white coat is swallowing him whole. Though, I get the feeling with a woman’s touch he could be really good lookin'.

"Unpleasant is an understatement," I scoff. "I can’t stay away from the toilet or keep any food down," I explain.

"Well, this is typical of your condition. Did you know you were pregnant?" he asks, and my world stops, freezes in that moment of time. Did he just say what I think he did? No, he couldn’t have. I never wanted this again, couldn’t have guessed to be in this position again. Harley was it for me, and God or the Universe took her for a reason. I am not meant to be a momma. Why am I being given another child inside of me when it'll only be taken away?

I shake my head, not being able to say anything as my mouth goes acidic and dry. I turn to Elena, not knowing what to do, and I just start crying. the flood gates are open, and I can’t stop it. She comes to me and rubs my back like my momma did occasionally when I was real little.

"I would say with your symptoms, it still might be early enough to terminate. I can get an ultrasound to confirm, and then we could do that today, if you wish," the doctor offers in a softer voice. I appreciate his concern, but I know that’s not an option.

"No, I don't want to get rid of it. Just tell me how far along I am," I say in between sobs. He nods and leaves the room, probably to get set up with the ultrasound machine.

"Elena, help me. I just know I am going to lose it again. I can't lose another baby."

Elena shushes and soothes. "I know that. I know." She's right there with me, holding my hand as the doctor rolls a medical wand over my jellied up stomach and shows us the heartbeat of the baby that actually looks like a baby.

"I would say you are somewhere between 17 and 18 weeks along. I can't quite tell the gender yet, but we should be able to know very soon. Congratulations," the female tech says, cleaning up my stomach. What a loaded word that is. All I can think is that I am in the same time frame that I lost Harley, and I have to make it two or more to be certain this baby goes nowhere. Until then, it is my secret to bear.

Seamus

Dais has been acting a little strange lately. I don’t know what kind of flu or cold she had, but it has been like the apocalypse of illnesses. I have barely touched her this entire time. I am not sure if all of it is because of the illness, though. She has been curled up with me at night, cuddlin' but not much more.

She seems distant, and I wonder if being around these poor Russian girls is starting to get to her and make her think of when she was taken. I would hate to keep her away from helping them, though, because I know she enjoys it. She’s been bonding with Galina and Ksenia a little bit, and she deserves to have those bonds. But if I need to get her out of this to protect her, I will. I can’t stand to watch her go through that again.

Tonight, the bachelor and bachelorette parties are coming up. I am hoping the idea might just cheer her up. The girls seem to be better at it than I am, even though she has mentioned how my fucking her gets all the bad stuff out of her head. I can’t beat those girls of hers in some ways.

I can't believe I am going to be watching Reed of all people getting married in less than 24 hours, but he had found the perfect woman for him. He and Elena were the best match I’d seen, and I hope others look at Dais and I that way some day.

I glance at the clock and know that Dais is going to be getting off her shift at the bar early and closing it up so us men can have the place for our party. I have no idea exactly what is in store for us tonight because Kyle has been the one planning it all, and I have been giving the guy his space to do so. I don’t know if our friendship is ever going to recover, but at least we are able to be civil.

I wait at a booth in the bar, knowing that she knows I am there even if she us still dealing with the customer who is probably her last. I watch her as she serves the woman a couple of shots in that little tight skirt of hers and a black tank that accentuates her breasts. I try to tone my jealousy down since the current customer is a woman, and just enjoy the look of my girl at work. She is glowing, and I think that maybe she is feeling more like herself today. I hope she can have a good time at this party the girls are throwing but that they don’t get so wild we have to come and rescue them.

I watch Daisy as she closes, ushering out the stragglers and locking the door before wiping down all the counters. I don’t know if I see the point in that, though, because I am certain we are going to make an even bigger mess that the girls would probably make us clean up.

Dais slides into the booth next to me, bumping me with her hip, playfully. She sounds tired when she talks, though, despite the glow about her. I bet being so sick has worn her out.

"You ready to party tonight?" she asks me with a grin on her face.

I nod. "You're not gonna get jealous if they have a stripper come, are you?" I ask her, tickling her side.

"Not if your hands stay off," she tells me, making me laugh.

"I wouldn’t dream of touching anyone but you." I kiss her, and she kisses back with passion. "You be good now. Don't let those girls pressure you into anything crazy."

It’s her turn to laugh. "I'll miss you tonight, you big ox," she says, slapping me and giving me one more kiss. Then, it is off on our separate ways.

I slap my hand on the table as the boys come in. Enzo, Butch, Kyle, Reed, and even Dmitri, who I will behave with just this one night so it'll be the best damn party Reed has ever seen. "Let’s get this fuckin' thing started.”

***

I fill up my mug again, clanking it together with Reed’s as it spills all around us. Then, I guzzle it back. I have entirely lost count of how much I have had to drink, and for a night like this, it’s prebaby best. The party has been going on for a couple of hours now, and I have only wondered a few times what the girls could be doing. We have played some idiotic games, including darts, billiards, and some dangerous things our women would never approve of.

I have yet to see any entertainment in the form of women showing up, but maybe that’s yet to come, or Kyle felt Reed wouldn’t be into it since he is so into his own girl. I could also say Elena would be pissed and kill the guy if she found out about something like that. I know from her background that she could certainly do it too.

That’s when I hear a woman’s voice coming over the speaker system we have. It doesn’t get used very often, but I want to say I know that voice. “Are you ready for tonight’s entertainment gentlemen?” the voice asks. The men all look at each other and start cheering and whooping. I guess we do get strippers. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

A woman comes out from the back, wearing fishnets and a tight little dress. I instantly recognize her, but I wonder how many others do. I know for a fact Kyle and Reed have both had more to drink than I have.

All the men gather around as the events unfold, and I get this sour feeling in my stomach that this is a bad sign. Now both Jenna and Michelle are out on the floor, dancing provocatively to an 80’s rock song, and I can’t help but think who else must be with them. The girls are crashing this damn party.

Chairs are set up from the bar and dragged up front and center by Michelle and Jenna. Four men are placed in the seats; Reed, Kyle, myself, and Enzo. I think it is a little cruel considering Enzo has a thing for Jenna, and she feels nothing for him, but maybe it’s just all in good fun tonight.

Two more ladies show up, dressed sexy as hell. One of them is my little wildflower. As the music changes to another song, she comes up to me in my seat, beginning to give me the best lap dance of my life. I know for a fact the red head with Reed is Elena. Either he hasn’t quite understood yet, or he is alright as long as the show involves them fully clothed, and she is only there for him.

But as the lap dances continue, the clothes begin to come off. I can see Reed go from smiling to turning red in the face as lace bras and panties appear in place of the clothes they were wearing.

He picks Elena up off him and puts his hands in the air. This shit can’t be made up. It’s fuckin hilarious, and I motion for Dais to sit on my lap. I don't exactly want anyone seeing any more of her either. “What the fuck is this shit? Everyone better close their damn eyes and stop ogling my drunk and sexy wife in her panties!” he yells ferociously. He reminds me of a fuckin’ lion sometimes. “Party’s over. Get these girls home.”

I watch and chuckle as he lifts Elena over his shoulder and carries her outta there hanging over his back while giggling. All the girls are giggling. I don't think they are even that drunk. I think they were just having fun messing with us men.

“Nice trick, Babygirl, but why don't you say we take this back to the room?” She nods, and I take her hand and lead her to our room and our bed, savoring the body that is only for me.

Daisy

I am looking around, and I cannot imagine anything more perfect as this wedding comes together. Bridesmaids are in the dressing room; cheap champagne being served to everyone besides me, as we get all gussied up for the special moment when we will all walk the aisle so we can watch Reed and Elena say I do to each other. Elena is taking the day well, sitting still while she gets pampered by some of the other women in club, doing her hair and makeup before we all help her get her dress on.

The dress is fuckin' gorgeous. Elena said she wanted to feel like a fairy princess surrounded by nature, and this is giving it to her by the boat loads. We are having this thing at the cabin in the mountains that Reed owns. The view is beautiful, and there are trees and chirping birds surrounding us in this cabin with a glass backside where you can feel like you are right in the middle of it all.

The reception is set up right there in front of that glass part of the house, and the wedding itself is outside in the middle of the trees where we have hung strings of flowers and lights. There are benches for us to sit in. It’s perfect.

Elena’s dress is covered in lace and hugs her curves, showing just enough cleavage to be sexy but not too damn sexy for a wedding, and the bottom fans out around her. The idea of a wedding is growing on me just watching her enjoy everything being just how she imagined.

The woman serving us the cheap champagne comes around again, and Michelle takes another while I turn it down.

"Dais, I haven’t seen you take a single sip of alcohol all day. What gives?" she asks, knocking back her glass like it’s beer instead. She did great with the dresses, though They fit perfectly, and I can’t tell they have been taken in at all.

My hand instinctively goes to my belly, and I know I am just past 20 weeks now. I have set an appointment already to go find out the gender. There is not really any reason to hide it anymore. "Alright fine," I say, looking around at my girls. "I’m pregnant."

"Shit, that’s why you've been so sick," Michelle says as her and Jenna come up too me for a big hug.

"Congratulations," Kristie says, looking over to me with her own glass in her hand, raising it up as if in a toast. She's a real nice woman for a big shot FBI lady. I can see what Elena sees in her.

Before I know it, it’s time for us all to come out, and I line up with the rest of the bridesmaids in front of Elena, who looks like she might start sweating bullets any minute. Her nerves are finally starting to show. "You look spectacular," I tell her with a wink before I hear the music start outside and they open the door so we can walk out. Down the aisle we go, and I can’t help but admire exactly how it all looks. The sun has just set, and the lights are twinkling on all the trees and even strung up above us, ivy and white flowers weaved around them and the benches that look as if they have just grown up out of the ground.

I catch a glance of Ollie as I take my place on the bride’s side of the altar where Dmitri, who has been ordained online, is waiting to marry the two love birds. Reed looks sharp and anxious, not able to stay still as everyone stands and turns to watch Elena in all her glory, saunter down the aisle. Damn these pregnant hormones, I am already fuckin' crying. At least I had the sense to put on waterproof mascara earlier.

Elena does look like a princess, and Reed looks to her as her prince, offering his hand to pull her up across for him as she makes it to him. They look at each other and no one else as the ceremony begins.

The two say their vows with so much emotion, I just keep up the waterworks, dabbing at my face with a tissue. I think even Jenna and Michelle are a little watery-eyed at this display of true love. They may not look like the couple you think of every day in some romance novel, but they are as real as it gets. It makes me think of what I have with Sea with each passing moment.

We all clap and cheer as Reed dips her down and gives her a kiss for the ages and then pumps his fist in the air in victory. He got his wedding in 30 days, and Elena got her dark, bad boy prince.

We all gather inside and follow behind them to the reception where there is a DJ and everything. Dancing is in order, even if I am not that great, or dressed for it. I am wearing FMs, the kind of heels that can break my ankle with one wrong move, but they look damn good, and I know it as I approach my good lookin' ox.

I smile at him; my stuffy, brute man wearing a suit. I want to laugh at him, but then I want to be all over him. He looks more like a super-hot, muscular bouncer than a wedding attendee, but it works for me.

A sweet song I love comes on, Ellie Goulding’s “Still Falling for You”, and I take his hand and pull him onto the dance floor.

"I don’t know how to dance, Dais," he admits, and I giggle.

"I don’t really know how either, but I know the trick is to sway." I reach up to slide my arms around his neck, which is easier in these heals but still a feat with his height.

Sea laughs at me. "Did you wear those fuck me heels just so I would dance with you?" he asks with an adorable smile on his face. I shake my head and laugh right back.

"No, I chose these heels so you’d fuck me," I say, right there on the dance floor as we sway around near the other couples dancing, including Elena and Reed.

"I love you so damn much, Daisy," Seamus says with a chuckle. I cannot think of a better time to share my special news before the girls get big mouths.

I kiss him. "I'm pregnant." I don’t see a need for a lengthy speech about it; just to tell him.

"Repeat it," he says, sounding breathless as the swaying stops.

"I'm-" I never get it out again as his lips crash against mine. I didn’t think he would have a problem with it, but I also don’t expect the level of happiness he has. I can just feel it in this kiss.

He pulls away with the biggest smile on his face I have ever seen, and I can't help but smile too. "You just made me the happiest fuckin' man in the world." Then, he turns to the crowd, celebrating Elena’s and Reed's wedding, and shouts it to them all, not waiting even a heartbeat. That’s my ox for sure.

"Everyone, Daisy is havin' my fuckin' baby!" he yells. I laugh as everyone hoots and hollers and looks to me with congratulations; all expect one.

I catch Kyle's face, and he is staring at me like he has lost it all.

Seamus

I open the car door for Dais, feeling like I am fuckin' high on life as I help her climb in. We have just come from the doc's office where she had an ultrasound. I still can't believe she is pregnant, and with my baby. I don’t think I could have imagined this kind of happiness in my whole life, and even though I know she is so worried she is going to lose this one, I feel good about it. I don't think anyone is going to stop this crazy roller coaster from reaching its destination; me as a pops.

I shut her door and go around to the driver’s seat. I insisted that we come in the car and not on the cycle. I don’t think she could handle that still feeling easily nauseous. She is over 20 weeks now, just hitting the 21 week mark, and she would not let me know the gender until then. She didn’t want to know out of pure fear. I know now, though, we both do, and despite the way she feels, I know she is happy. We are having a little boy.

I start the engine and drive the way back to Gainesville and church with the windows down, whipping my hair at this speed. "You know I'm gonna throw you in our bed and fuck you the moment we get back home. I am so fuckin' happy, and I need to celebrate," I tell her with a big grin on my face.

Daisy laughs. "No way, I feel like absolute crap Sea, and having that blue jelly shit on me just makes me feel worse; all sticky and stuff,” she says, making a face at me.

"You may feel like that, but I promise you that you're looking like a nice slice of cheesecake." Daisy busts out laughing, and I can't help but feel my heart swell at all of this. It’s like I am living in a dream. I, the bane of my rich father and MC oaf, have landed a beautiful princess, and now we're going to be a family. It doesn’t get better than this.

When we pull up to the club, I am hoping there are plenty of people to shout the news to, because I do not think I can hold it in that I am going to be the proud pops of a little boy, a little boy who is going to look like his hot, beautiful mother, Daisy.

I take her hand and walk inside to find at least the most important members in there together. They look kind of tense, but I ignore it, too high to be dragged down.

"It's a boy!" I yell and am greeted with pats on the back and congratulations. But Daisy isn’t so fooled by the sudden burst of happiness in the room. She is going to get to the bottom of the sour look on everyone’s faces.

Dais turns to Reed. "What’s going on. Ya'll look like somebody died," she asks. I hate that she is killing the mood, but as I look at Reed, I can tell something bad has happened while we were gone.

"Spit it out, Reed, what the fuck did we miss?" I ask, feeling damn concerned now. It isn’t him who answers, though. It’s his wife.

"Dais, Sea, I don’t want to burst the good vibe, but something has happened," she says. Dais looks at her, and I help her into a seat. I don’t want my Dais to get some bad news and faint or something. It’s my jib to make sure she’s taken care of as well as that baby inside her. "You know Kyle went to Vegas to blow off some steam, well, we found out that Kyle has been arrested."

"For what?" I ask, not sure what it could be that would be so bad she couldn’t get him off. She is fuckin' FBI after all.

"He woke up with a dead girl in his hotel room," she tells us, and my jaw almost hits the fuckin' floor. What the hell is going on? "He has been booked and charged with murder."

"What the fuck, Reed, do you really believe that shit? Kyle is a lot of things, but a murderer? He would never murder a girl in cold blood!" Daisy screams, standing up in a tizzy. I settle her back down, sitting next to her and pulling her into my arms. I do not like the way any of this shit sounds. I don’t think the ass would just kill some girl either.

Reed finally lifts his head to talk with us. "I agree, Dais. I don’t think he could do that either. But Elena has been on the phone this whole time, getting as much intel as she can. The evidence is damning," Reed says, looking drained and defeated like I have never seen my Prez before. Not only is Kyle his VP, but he is his blood brother. I can’t imagine what he is feeling right now.

"Elena, did he do it?" Daisy asks in a weak voice, beginning to cry. I hold her tighter to me.

"The evidence is on point, Dais, it’s perfect, I can’t lie about that," Elena admits, but I see something in her eyes as she paces the floor and taps her foot that tells me there is more to this shit story. "But I don’t think he did it either. I don’t like him, but I don’t see him as a murderer. Besides, evidence is rarely so cut and dry," she announces. I could see those wheels turning in her brain. If anyone could figure this out, it would be Elena. Then, Elena suddenly looks up at Reed. "Could the cartel be behind this, Reed?" she asks. My ears are fuckin' perked up at that theory. "Think about it," she explains, going back to pacing. "They came and shot up the bar but nothing else happened. It’s like they've been gone for months, and we thought they forgot about us or were trying more indirect strategies to get at us. But I don’t think it’s ever that simple..."

"And now Kyle’s paying the price," I say, as my Babygirl’s eyes go wide in horror.

"How are we gonna get him out of this?" she whimpers.

Elena shakes her head. "I don't know, Dais, but I am gonna keep trying."

REIGN

A Skulls Renegade Novel

Book #1

www.elizabethknoxbooks.com

Chapter 1

Elena

“Are you sure you want to do this? You haven’t been in the field in six years. I’m not just your handler; I’m your best friend. I’m worried about you.” Kristie was my best friend; we had met at Quantico and went through the same training program. It was a pleasant surprise when we both were assigned to the Cincinnati field office. Kristie loved being a handler, but I didn’t. I took the job when things with Rich got serious because he expressed how worried he was for me if I was on the field. So, I made that sacrifice, for our relationship; I stopped doing what I loved and became a desk jockey.

I loved being in the field, the rush, the thrill of it. The adrenaline pumping through my veins gave me the best feeling in the world. I felt invincible, and I was. I was until I got shot in the shoulder. The docs said I would never be able to return to field duty, but I never was one who liked to be told what was or wasn’t going to happen. So, what did I do? I proved all the docs wrong and came back stronger than ever.

“Kristie, I need this. I gave up so much of myself for Rich, and then that bastard lied and cheated, throwing everything I did for him in the trash. I need to go back to being Elena, the kick ass field agent. I need to take down some bad guys. I need to feel like myself again.” It was the absolute truth. I was beginning to realize that over the past five years I had felt like a robot. Like I had only been here to please Rich, not to do anything for myself, but everything for him.

“I can’t condone that your shitty love life is the reason for going back in the field. But as your handler, I know what type of asset you are to the bureau.”

Because I’m kick ass, she doesn’t have to say it, but we both know it.

I leaned back, slightly sinking into her couch, pulling her fluffy blanket closer to my chest. “So, what’s my assignment?” I grinned like a kid on Christmas morning. Ironically, it was Christmas Eve, but still. I was experiencing the same effect.

Kristie handed me a folder, and I opened it, skimming over the documentation and photographs. “Skulls Renegade MC, huh?” I flipped through the rest of the paperwork, looking at the photographs of the main members, plus some history on each of them. There wasn’t much intel, just birthdates, socials, where they were from. “They’ve kept quiet,” I muttered. Kristie took a sip of her bottle of wine.

“Yes, they have. But not quiet enough. We have an informant saying they’re doing some major drug trading and they’re in a prostitution ring. You’re going in to find out what’s really going on. Gather enough intel, issue warrants and get out. These are brutal criminals, El. Taking them down would blow up both of our careers.”

Like I needed to know what kind of men are in the MC lifestyle? I didn’t need a reminder. “I’ve got it covered.” Kristie handed me another folder.

“This is your cover story.”

I opened it up, looking at the profile they’d created for me. Kristie knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t use it, so what was the point in even showing me?  On every assignment I’d ever been on, I’d been given a profile to study: dates, times, life events, other crap.  I had to make my cover real. I understand the important of that, of course, but it had always been easier for me to alter my own profile. That way I didn’t slip up. The bureau never did like the way I operate, but they didn’t say a damn thing anymore because I always got the job done.

Kristie handed me a burner phone. “You’d better call me every Monday at ten in the morning with updates. I mean it.”

I smiled at her. “You got it, boss.”

***

I left the next morning; Christmas Day. There wasn’t a point in staying around now that there was nothing tying me down. Plus, I needed an outlet for my anger and pain, and quick. This was going to be my redemption job. My way to being the Elena I could recognize when I looked in the mirror.

I packed two duffel bags full of necessities; clothes, shampoo, and makeup. I hopped in my 2017 Ford Mustang and hit the road.

Destination: Tennessee

It took me six hours to get there; the MC was located right in the mountains in the small town of Gainesville. It was truly a small town. There’s a bank, a couple restaurants, a grocery store, law office, daycare, school, and not much else.

I found a half-way decent room at the only motel in town. From the looks of it, it probably had roaches. The sooner I could get into the club, the better. I wouldn’t be getting an ounce of sleep in that shit hole.

I took a quick shower, cringing because the white tile was yellow. They had a ‘cleaning service,' but I doubted it had been properly cleaned in years.

I dried my hair, applied some makeup, and dumped all my clothes out on the bed. My plan? Go to the biker bar, get a few drinks, and make my presence known. My tactic? Easy.

I was going to dress like an Ol’ Lady, not like some stupid little skank who comes to the bar just to suck their cocks. I learned from my mother how to dress the part. Ol’ Ladies aren’t there to service the men. I sure as hell would not be there to do that either. I was going to be walking in like I owned the place because I did.

These bikers were going bow on their knees when I walked in because I bet you no bitch had ever dressed as I was about to.

I grabbed a pair of black leather leggings and black heels; the heel so thin that stepping the wrong way could crack it. I found a thin, jersey type tank top and paired it with my emerald green leather jacket. I pulled my hair out over my jacket, the loose curls bouncing over my breasts. I went into the bathroom, applied a little more eyeliner and touched up my neutral matte lipstick. I slid on my metallic aviators and went for the front door.

I was good to go.

Promised

The Clans

Book #1

www.elizabethknoxbooks.com

Ion

I turned my green eyes towards the window of my penthouse apartment which overlooked the upper west side of Manhattan. I flicked my wrist to make the scotch in my glass slosh around impatiently as if I expected her to just show up on the street someday, looking up towards me as if she could see me. Yet, I spent eight years looking for both her and the bastards that took her, with no success. Most would not have waited so long, but I had my reasons. They were all selfish, and all valid.

The she in question was Mariana Vasile, the last remaining heir to the Romanian mob; a princess in her own right. She was the rightful next in line to run the clans, but she was a woman, and Romanians just did not see fit for a woman to be a leader. Maybe the Russians or the Irish did it, but the Romanians were all about tradition. So, the clans would pass on to her husband instead.

That would be where I come in.

She was promised to me when she was just days old.

Mariana was to be my queen, and I would be the king of the mob; the power of the infamous Vasile clan passing onto my shoulders as it had been planned since the day she was born. By now, I should have been married to her for at least six of the years she had been missing, but someone had seen fit to slaughter the Vasile line and take her, the last of the bloodline as the prize, probably believing that one day they would have the claim to the throne. The saddest part of it all is that she was she had only been 16 when they took her. I’d been working tirelessly, putting all of my resources into finding her. It had been years, and not one single trace of where she could be found had surfaced.

I’ll look, I’ll hunt, and one day I will bring my Ana home. She took my heart when she was just a child, at one of the few times we met. I knew from the time I was a small boy that she was mine, and that first meeting she took my heart with her.

Whoever it was who took her must not know me well. Ion Petran was the name I would shove down the throat of my enemy before I made him rue the day he tried to take that blood right from me. Nobody was going to take what was mine and get away with it – Ana – my promised throne, none of it. I didn’t care if my brown hair turned gray by the time I found her, I was going to get what I was promised and save her from whatever horrible fate she had been forced into all these years.

Just as it began to rain, water droplets pelting dramatically against the glass, I was pulled away by the incessant buzz of my cell phone. I was not in the mood to talk with anyone; obsessing over my next move to try and find the woman who was the key to everything I ever wanted, but I had to answer. The person on the other side could always have news of Mariana, and I was not going to miss that for the world.

"Buna," I said impatiently into the receiver, waiting to hear why one of my men had disturbed me.

"Domn, we have news that we thought you would like to hear," the thick voice of one of my associates came through the receiver. He was the leader of one of the several groups of men I had hired to hunt down those responsible for Mariana's disappearance and the murder of her parents. I’d spent millions on her search. It’s about time that they have something useful for me.

"Vorbi repede! Speak quickly! What do you know? What have you found?" I asked in a state of excitement. I waited with bated breath for the answer to my unworthy prayers over the last eight years, when I had shifted from a hopeful young man to an angry one with a vendetta.

"We believe we have a lead on the whereabouts of Miss Mariana Vasile." My heart skipped a beat at his words, and I wondered if I had misheard or maybe dreamed it. It had been years, and now they suddenly find a lead? What changed?

"Meet me at my office immediately. We have important matters to discuss," I ordered, recovering almost instantly. It was the best news I had heard in a long time, and I hung up, downing the rest of my scotch before I went to the closet. I pulled out my black Armani coat and pulled it over the button down I still had on from my investment meeting earlier. Even a man of the mob had to keep up appearances. The upper west side was full of men just like me, pretending to be something they weren’t while doing devious but lucrative things in the dark of night or the privacy of their lofts. So, as I climbed into the back of the black car with the tinted windows, I faded into the idea of the rich, mysterious, New York man, while I pondered on how much information my associates would be able to give me.

Eight years I had spent waiting for news of my Mariana, but her trail had gone dead far too soon. I had fallen into a routine of waiting; waiting for my life as head of the clans, beginning with, Mariana Valise by my side. No one could question me like the way they did now amidst the chaos that had become of the mob clans since the Valise king and queen had been brutally dethroned. If there was ever the perfect timing to find her, this was it.

I tried to relax in the back seat of the car, pouring myself a flute of champagne from the supply my driver kept well stocked for me, but not even the bubbles served to calm my nerves. Champagne is a custom, a common one for celebrations. Maybe today I will be celebrating the news I’ve been waiting years to hear. I was on some kind of high as I took the elevator up to the office space I rented out for the purpose of making it seem that I ran a legitimate business. Part of being a mob leader was mastering such deceptions. My father had taught me well.

As I sat on the only version of a throne I was afforded, for the time being, I looked expectantly at the man with the mustache and slicked back hair who was there representing his team of misfit investigators. They were the kind of men who were too dirty in their searching techniques for even the most crooked of police precincts.

The man’s gold-capped tooth glinted in the light as he smiled with a sinister gleam in his eye. “We know who has Mariana, domn,” the man offered happily.

I sat up in my seat, ready to leap into action at any moment. The name of my enemy was on the tip of this man’s tongue, and in knowing the name, I would have the power to bring my bride back to me. I could almost see her white blonde hair before me and smell her sweet scent that I remembered from when we were young children. She left that kind of impression on me, but maybe that was the powerful blood of hers and the smell of victory.

“Who was it?” I hissed impatiently.

“Jonas Masterson”

Tough as Steele

(Steele Bros. #1)

I'm Brooklyn Harper, a 24-year-old blonde, ambitious model who’s determined to find the big break that will get my beauty brand off the ground. I decided that some late-night drinking would help calm my nerves before the big interview with my potential investor. But...after waking up late, alone and naked in a stranger’s bed, how am I supposed to sell my brand to the guy whose name I'd been screaming only hours prior?

Corrupted Love

(The Mackenzies #1)

As the new face of a modeling agency, Greer Matthews traded the congested LA freeway for the jet-setting lifestyle of the rich and elite.

As she gets closer to the company's stakeholders, she realizes that this lifestyle comes with certain expectations. Ones that take her into a dark shadowy world filled with corruption, greed, and questions about Greer's past.

Assigned a protector, she realizes she is falling in love as the stakes get higher in a game of cat and mouse.

Aleks, the smoking hot legal advisor, is a dream come true for Greer, but Aleks holds secrets regarding her birth parents. Could the dangerous nature of Aleks’ true identity mark the end of their relationship before it even begins?

Blackjack

Ashley

With marriage, there are things you can and can’t live with.

Harry, my abusive husband, made that clear enough when he beat me like a dog, forced a miscarriage on me, and tried posing me as a hostage to my father’s notorious biker gang, The Reapers. I was lucky enough to get out of my marriage in one piece but it’s only a matter of time before he picks up my trail and hunts me down. Blackjack––swears he’ll kill him the second he steps foot in town. I know he means well but there’s something about his stare when he tells me I deserve better. A part of me wants to believe I deserve someone like him and yet my bruises are telling me never to trust another man again. But Blackjack isn’t like any other man. Is he?

Blackjack

When I enlisted into the army, I didn’t think I’d have anything or anyone to lose––except for her. Ashley Monroe, the blonde wild-child of Montana’s Reapers MC. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when I came back home years later to find out that she left town and ended up married. Life went on of course and I was fortunate enough to have Dex, a son of my own. Three years later, Ashley came back beaten and broken from her marriage. I’ve never wanted to kill a man so bad in my entire life. Just one look at her and I’m drowning with the urge to hold her in my arms and tell her that she’s safe with me, truly. Sometimes I wonder if there’s still enough strength in both of us for a second shot in life.

Revenge

(Skulls Renegade #3)

Every single person at Skulls Renegade MC knows me as Jenna; Jenna Lawrence to be exact. 

They think I’m some club whore because I’ve led them to believe that’s all I am. I’ve done a damn good job at being that girl. Here’s the thing, I’m not who they think I am. 

My real name is Tegan Hill

I’ve been here at Skulls Renegade’s Gainesville Chapter for nine long years, waiting for my golden opportunity that may never come. Skulls Renegade MC is responsible for my father’s death, or if I’m more specific, his killer Will Michaels is, Reed & Kyle’s father. 

I’ve watched everything that has happened in this club. I’ve seen Reed and Elena get married. I’m watching everyone around me starting to have their own happily-ever-afters. Only, I don’t get one. I won’t ever be able to, until I avenge my father.

I’ve devoted 9 years, 3168 days, and 76,032 hours to my cause. He’s bound to show up sometime and when he does I’ll finally get justice for what happened to me and my father.

I’ve expected a lot of things, but what I never expected, was to fall in love with a Skulls Renegade MC member.

Which will conquer? My love, or my hate?

The Trade

(The Clans #3)

Anton

When I was assigned the job to find out who exactly orchestrated the hit on Mariana Petran, I jumped at the opportunity. To attack the queen of the clans is an attack against us all. I was to find the man who ordered it – and I did. I also found myself a feisty redhead; something I considered a cherry on top of the sundae as I headed to her hometown to destroy the man responsible for it all. 

So, there I was, delivering a bloody and violent end to the scum that betrayed us when the door opens, and in walks my feisty redhead; Natasha.

Natasha

I came home from a wild night out with the girls and found my uncle bloodied and bruised, with a gun held to the back of his head. The man holding the gun – my boyfriend, Anton.

I never thought that I would be begging for his life – doing anything that I could to save him. But he’s my family. He’s the only link I have left to my mother. 

Anton didn’t tell me he was in the Romanian Mob – but I never confessed I was the niece of a head clan member, or anything about my father, but we’ll get to that later.

Anton named his price. I didn’t understand why, what he could possibly find valuable with taking the niece of Clan Constantin – especially when he already had me. 

I accepted the terms, the trade. I’d do anything to save my uncle, even if that meant sacrificing myself. Anton promised me that he wouldn’t kill my uncle, like a dumb girl I assumed that meant my uncle would live. 

Anton may not have pulled the trigger, but make no mistake – he killed my uncle.
The loving man I’d learned to care about over the past few weeks turned into something feral – I didn’t even know the man I was falling in love with.

I waited for my father, and prayed he would come for me.

They didn’t even know the girl they were taking.

They were clueless.

Scarred

(Demons of Hell MC #3)

I had it all, or at least I did according to everyone else.

I had the club, I had the most powerful husband, the Prez of the Demons of Hell MC.

I had a family.

He’d told me time and time again the club was my “family”.

My “family” let a lot of things happen to me that shouldn’t of.

My “family” did a great job of turning a blind eye.

My “family” was great at letting me be the punching bag for their mistakes. For all of his pent up anger and frustrations.

My “family” was the reason I almost died.

When Rage came into my life I saw nothing else.

His name was a warning and I didn’t listen.