by Emma Creed
Jessie must sense I’m upset because his voice turns softer.
“Look, your dad loves you. I know he can be a little overprotective, but after what happened to…” His jaw clenches, we never talk about Mama or what happened that night. “…Well you can’t exactly blame him, especially since we nearly lost you too.” A tense silence settles between us and I smile when I realize he’d used the word we. Jessie has missed my point entirely though. Yeah, the fact my daddy never lets me do standard teenage stuff bugs me, but not as much as the fact that he never spends any time with me.
“Come on, eat up and I’ll give you a ride to school,” Jessie breaks the silence first, finishing up his coffee while I quickly eat the rest of my breakfast.
We head down the hill and past the club, continuing down the dirt track that leads to the main road, and I notice a cop car pull off the road heading towards us. Jessie shifts the truck over to let it pass then rolls down his window and tips his head.
“Beautiful day ain't it, chief?” He smiles at the officer. “What brings you out here?”
“Mornin’ Jessie, heard there was some trouble over in a bar near Pueblo yesterday, wondered if any of you knew about it?” he asks, his eyebrows raised suspiciously. Jessie smirks, his head shaking slowly.
“You’re gonna have to speak to Prez about that.” Jessie winks. “Head on up, he fell asleep in one of the rooms upstairs last night, you’ll find him at the clubhouse. Maybe Jill might cook you something up for breakfast.” The officer rubs his lips together greedily, then with a small salute of his fingers pulls off and continues on the track up towards the club.
I recognize him, he’s the only law person that’s ever brave enough to come on the compound, and he seems friendly with the guys too. If I’ve managed to figure out that what goes on around here is far from legal, I’m sure he has too.
“Was that trouble something to do with you?” I ask Jessie.
“What do you think, darlin’?” He glances at me out the corner of his eye.
“I saw Troj yesterday afternoon. I was trying to find you when I got back from Maddy’s, he looked like he’d been in trouble.”
“You don’t need to worry, pretty girl.” Jessie’s face turns a little more serious as he shakes me off.
“Yeah but that cop must know stuff, he’s always sniffing around the club.” I’m not gonna give up that easy. Jessie should know that by now.
“Roswell’s kinda on our side.” Jessie shocks me almost silent.
“What?” my voice comes out a squeal, and he laughs at my reaction.
“Your dad’s a clever man, Hay. We’ve always kept our trouble out of town, and if we hear about anyone else bringing any in, we eliminate the problem. And more effectively than the local PD would be able to.”
“So, you guys kind of run town?” I’ve always known that people fear the club, I never realized how much power they actually had.
“Sure do, pretty girl.” Jessie treats me to that boyish smile that never fails to make me melt, and he lets me take control of the music while he drives me to college. Now feels like a good time to bring up Maddy.
“You can tell Daddy I won’t need a ride home until later tonight, I’m going to Maddy’s after school.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” he questions, stopping at the lights.
“Yeah, how else am I meant to find out about her for you?” I ask, watching his eyes roll.
“So what you got so far?” he gives in to curiosity.
“Okay.” I twist my body to face his, wanting to see his reactions “So, her mom’s single, no Dad in the picture. Mom clearly works hard, I’m guessing to pay Maddy’s college fees. No siblings. Maddy is totally single and apparently doesn’t do the whole boy thing. Oh, and she has shit taste in music,” I reel off all I know just as he parks up on the curb outside campus.
“I’ll get someone to pick you up from hers at seven.”
“I’ll call you when I’m ready,” I tell him, and wait for the irritated smirk to make its way on to his face.
“Do you always have to be so damn awkward?” He lets out a long breath.
“Would you love me if I wasn’t?” I tease, stepping out of the truck on to the sidewalk.
“Probably not.”
I slam the door and rush off to join the group of girls that hover at the entrance. They all stare at Jessie as if he’s some kind of god before he pulls away, and where I can’t exactly blame them for looking, it still pisses me off.
Classes seem to go so slowly, and I have to admit to being ever so slightly looking forward to hanging out with Maddy. We arranged to meet outside the entrance, and I get there before her. To pass some waiting time, I take out my phone and do my usual scroll through social media. I don’t take much notice of what’s going on around me, but I do catch a glimpse of the guy who’d hit on Maddy Saturday night when he passes with some of the football team. I try not to stare too hard, but when I see the state of his face, my jaw goes slack.
One of his eyes is forced shut due to swelling, his bottom lip split, and his right arm is cradled by a sling. Whoever got to him had done a good job, and I don’t have to think too hard or for too long about who it might have been. Blondie who had talked to me at the party notices me looking over, and when my eyes meet his, he quickly avoids them.
“Hey,” I hear Maddy’s voice call from behind me, and I turn to see her prancing down the steps. Her ponytail bobbing on top of her head and eyes full of enthusiasm to see me.
“God, today has dragged… Come on let’s get out of here,” she says, wrapping her arm into mine and leading us off campus. And I pretend to myself that I didn’t notice not having to fake the smile I give her back.
We walk the short distance to her house, talking about mindless stuff, the sort of shit that isn’t gonna help my plan but will build the pretense of friendship. She asks me about the club and for some reason I don’t lie to her like I do to everyone else. I tell her how I get left out of everything and how I don’t get to go down to the club unless there’s a family event, which was rare. She still seems impressed.
“So what are they like? The bikers, are they really as bad as everyone says?” she asks as we get closer to her house
“Honestly? They’re probably the most dangerous, vile men you’d ever have the displeasure of meeting, but to me, they’re just my daddy’s friends.” I shrug. It’s boring, but it was the truth. I’ve spent the last four years living among them, but I still don’t know anything about them. Other than Jessie, Skid is about the only one that speaks to me, and that’s only because Carly invites me over to their cabin for dinner sometimes.
I hear music as we step onto Maddy’s street, and I’m surprised when I realize the music is coming from her place. We follow the noise through the front door and into the kitchen where we’re greeted by a tall, thin woman, who pulls a large pot out of the oven. Her red curly hair is piled high on top of her head, and I’m taken back by how she’s dressed. The skirt she wears is far too short, her huge tits are crammed so tight into her vest top that they spill over, and she wears so many bangles on her wrist that she jangles when she moves.
“Oh hey, girls.” She smiles wide. “I gotta go to work. Made you a little something for dinner later… You must be Hayley.” She looks me over as she places the pot on the counter, then pulling off her oven mitts, grabs me for an unexpected hug.
“I’m Marilyn, Maddy’s mom. I’ve heard so much about you.” I glance over her shoulder to Maddy, whose face is glowing redder by the second.
“Pleased to meet you too, Mrs. Summers,” I manage, her hug crushing me so tight I can hardly breathe.
“Oh, Marilyn, please. Mrs. Summers makes me sound old.” She stretches out her arms, holding me in place so she can examine me. “You’re beautiful…” she declares before letting me go again.
Grabbing her bag, she roots around inside it, eventually pulling out a pocket mirror and a lipstick. “Look I really have to go.” She qu
ickly draws the lipstick across her lips then snaps the mirror shut. “You girls help yourself, and be good,” she warns, popping her lips together before slinging the bag over her shoulder and bursting out of the door like a mini tornado.
I look from the door and then back to Maddy, who is awkwardly chewing her thumbnail.
“Your mom’s really cool," I tell her, unable to disguise the shock in my voice. Maddy turns down the sound system before responding with a half-smile and a shrug.
“Yeah, she’s fun I guess.”
“Where does she work?” I ask Maddy as she leads us up the stairs to her room.
“She’s in sales.” Her voice is almost snappy, and the uncharacteristic sharpness tells me that she’s keeping something from me. Something that I know I’ll get out of her eventually, just like I would everything else.
We spend the rest of the afternoon gossiping and listening to more of Maddy’s shitty music. When I finally manage to get us onto the subject of boys, the atmosphere shifts to borderline uncomfortable, but I push past it.
“So what’s the furthest you’ve ever got?” I flop front first on to her bed and grab one of her fluffy pink cushions.
She’s sat across from me with her legs crossed looking embarrassed.
“I haven’t,” she answers, looking down to where her fingers twiddle the laces of her converse.
“What not even a kiss?” I ask, surprised. Sure, Maddy isn’t exactly popular, but as much as it kills me to say, she is gorgeous. Even I know that it’s criminal for her to have never been kissed. I decide not to share that the furthest I’ve ever got myself is watching Jessie get his cock noshed by one of the club sluts. Maddy will assume, like everyone else, that I am beyond experienced in that department and I, of course, will let her.
“Not even a kiss,” she confirms. “I always figured it would happen when the right guy came along, and that hasn’t happened yet. I want it to be special… No offense,” she quickly adds. Assuming.
“None taken,” I shrug it off. “Is that why you didn’t kiss the guy at the party?”
“I didn’t kiss the guy at the party because he was a jerk…” she tells me flatly, and we both giggle.
“I guess I don’t see the point in kissing someone just for the sake of it. I want it to be with the right guy. Everyone remembers their first kiss, right?” She moves off the bed changing the subject before I can press for more.
“So, what should I wear to Katie’s party Saturday? Figured now that I’m hanging out with you I’m sure to get an invite.” Her eyes roll, and I laugh again, but only half-heartedly. Her words from before are still stinging. The only guy I’ve ever imagined kissing is Jessie. He’s the only guy I’ve ever wanted to. It’s looking more and more unlikely that I ever will. I try to shake off the constricting feeling crushing at my chest, brought on by the thought of only ever watching. It might never be me.
I smile at Maddy, containing the tears that threaten my eyes as I watch the girl in front of me. Wiggling her ass to crappy music, comfortable, carefree, and completely unaware that she holds the potential to have everything I ever wanted. Then I piss myself off by thinking that the more time I’m spending with her, the harder it’s becoming to hate her for it.
Everything went to plan last night when we raided the Bastards’ storage container. We cleared the lot, taking back what was ours, and a whole lot that wasn’t.
We did leave them with something though. The mangled body of their rat, propped against the wall of the now empty storage container. It was a clear enough message that trying to fuck us over was a real bad idea.
Despite the success of our evening, I can’t shake off the feeling that something isn’t right. They still have a source of information, and I know this is far from over.
Roswell is still at the compound when I get back from dropping off Hayley. We all know how important keeping him onside is, not having the law constantly on our backs is critical to keeping things running smoothly around here. It helps keep ATF off our backs too. Now that the Bastards’ shit is popping up in Manitou Springs, Roswell is getting curious about what we plan to do about it.
“We’re workin’ on it,” Prez tells him, sipping at his expresso and rubbing his temples. We all celebrated a little too hard last night when we got back to the compound, turns out what the Mexicans supply to the Bastards was pretty good.
“We just had a few problems of our own to take care of.”
“I get that Jimmer, but I have people to answer to, and those people are starting to climb down my neck. Manitou Springs has always managed to keep drugs out of town, and all of a sudden we’re getting more and more reports. Teresa Monroe’s boy had to have his stomach pumped two nights ago. So now she’s on a one-woman mission to resolve the drug problem in town herself. You guys don’t need me to spell it out to you where everyone’s gonna assume that shit’s coming from.”
“I hear ya, and be assured my boys are onto it.” Prez reaches behind the bar and slams down one of the blocks we took from the Bastards’ lock up last night.
“As you can see, we’ve already worked on shortening the supply.”
Roswell smirks. “You know I should really take that in for evidence.”
“Nah-ah,” Prez shakes his head. “Finders keepers.” He returns the block to where it came from, and Roswell shrugs his shoulders.
He gives us some details of the incidents that have been reported, and we promise to take care of it. When he stands up to leave, I walk with him to the door. I like Roswell, despite the fact he’s a cop. When the last chief retired five years ago, the club worried we’d lose our relationship. But Roswell proved he was a sensible guy and decided to follow in his, very successful, predecessor’s footsteps. It made his job a hella lot easier to work with us, rather than against us.
I see him out to his patroller and watch him pull off just as Screwy and Squealer cross the yard from the garage. Squealer raises his arm to Roswell and Screwy tips his head in a recognition that could easily be missed.
“What he want?” Squealer follows him out the yard with his eyes, chewing on the toothpick between his teeth. Squealer holds suspicions of anyone with a badge, even the ones on our side.
“Just came to see what we’re doing ‘bout the drug situ in town,” I assure him. “Surprised to see you boys up so early, especially after last night.” When I’d left last night, they’d both still been balls deep. Screwy was hanging out the back of the slut with all the tattoos, while his twin tested out one of the new hangouts.
“We’re heading in to see Tac at the studio,” Squealer speaks for them both.
“You got any more fuckin’ space?” I look them both over, the pair of them are covered with ink. It’s the only way to tell them apart.
“I reckon I got a good eleven inches,” Squealer grabs his crotch and winks, I choke a laugh back at him. Screw’s face doesn’t change, but then I don’t expect it to.
The twins get on their bikes, and I head over in the direction they came from. I stop by the garage and check in with Chop. He looks busy, and just as I’m about to offer to get greasy, Skid pulls up with Carly on the back of his bike. She gets off and he tugs at her tiny waist then kisses her with a whole lotta feeling, same way he always does. She waves over to me and Chop, before heading into the clubhouse.
Anyone can see that Skid’s crazy about her, she’s the only bitch, aside from Hayley, who gets any respect around here. Skid would fuck up anyone who didn’t show it.
After bringing the boys up to date with Roswell's visit, I carry on up the dirt track and stop off at the gym. By gym, I mean the large outhouse that’s filled with weights and equipped with a full-sized fighting ring. It’s nothing fancy, but it has everything we need.
“Been a while since your ugly face showed up in here,” Troj shouts across at me. We’re alone, except for Tommy, who’s in the far corner, watching himself in the mirror, struggling to bicep curl a fuckin’ 20.
“Prospect, go down the club,
the sofas need a wipe down,” I call over at him, I drop my voice to Troj, but make sure Tommy can still hear me. “Squealer went hard at it last night, slut splodge everywhere.”
Tommy eyeballs me through the mirror. I’d be lying if I said I don’t get enjoyment out of degrading the nasty little shit. Here, we’re all assholes in our own right, but at least we’re upfront about it. Tommy’s slippery as snake shit, and I don’t trust him one bit. “Do I look like a fuckin’ cleaner?”
“You look like a fuckin’ twonk wearing a prospect cut who needs to learn some fuckin’ respect.” I cold stare him, until he slams the dumbbell back on to the bench, and storms out of the gym.
“So seriously, what’s got you here?” Troj asks, already starting to glove up.
“Figured you might want to get your ass kicked.” I gesture my head towards the ring and watch Troj beam.
“Jesus loves a trier Jess, why the fuck not?” Lifting up the top rope he ducks under. I can tell by the way he’s sweating that he’s already done a full workout this morning. If he’s tired, maybe I stand a chance.
I’m hoping that Troj might knock some sense into me. I know that while I’m fighting my mind won’t be on Maddy, and my head really needs a break from her.
Who am I kidding?
Twenty minutes later, and we’re both fucked. Of course, Troj gets the better of me, he gets the best of everyone. He’s too fuckin’ quick not too. I do manage to sneak a few good ones in, but it’s been a pointless exercise, not even getting my skull pounded by Troj’s thunder fists gets Maddy Summers out of my mind. I have to face facts, I’m jealous.
Hayley is spending time with her, and all I get is to hear about it. Even that fucking asshole at the party got more action than me. He touched her with his lips.
The fucker was lucky Maddy’s pretty eyes had convinced me to let him walk away, but she wasn’t there to save him after I dropped them both home and went back to the party. I wanted to drag him down to my cell in the basement, but instead, I gave him a warning. A broken arm, cracked rib, and smashed up face kinda warning.