by Emma Creed
I walk back through the foyer towards the lounge, a hand stops me before I can enter, curling around my bicep with a gentle squeeze, for a split second my heart leaps back to life.
Hayley.
Then it dies all over again when I turn around and see Carly.
“She talk?” she asks sounding hopeful.
“Yep. It ain’t great, but I’m gonna talk to Prez, she could be of use,” I say. I’m grateful for all Carly has done, it was her idea to use a different interrogation technique with Maddy. She had seen how on edge I’d been after I had damn nearly forced myself on the only girl, beside Hayley, that I’ve ever bothered to care about.
“I’ll take her something up to eat and drink. Do your best, Jessie. He’s bound to be hurting, we all are,” she says, her eyes glassy with tears.
“No one's gonna hurt her,” I promise Carly, meaning every fucking word. I never thought I’d ever consider going against my Prez, but that was before I got a taste of Maddy Summers sweet little mouth, among other things… Now that I have, hell as my judge I would protect her from anything, even my own club. Though I really hope I’m not gonna have to.
I find Prez sitting in darkness, the small bar room so full of smoke it even has me choking.
“She rat?” his voice croaks. I step closer, and he holds up the nearly empty bottle of Jack. “Grab another, son,” he says tipping it up and drinking the dregs. Then he smashes it to pieces when he hurtles it against the wall. I lean over the small but well-stocked bar, and grab him a fresh one because he’s gonna need it.
“She’s been the one helping them. Fucking up our deals,” I cut to the chase. There’s no easy way of saying it, and Prez looks back at me like I’m making some kind of joke. “She’s clever Prez, can’t only track cells but she can fuckin’ intercept them too. They saw all our messages to the Russians, knew what we were offering, that’s how they guaranteed they went in with better.” Prez doesn’t react, just stares and waits to hear more.
“She traced regular cell phone signals to find out where our warehouse was. Took money from big corporate business accounts, and fed it straight into the Bastards’ funds so they could sell for less and take us out of the industry.” Prez roars with laughter, and I’m confused at what he finds so funny, guess it must be the effects of the alcohol.
“So what you’re telling me, is that sweet lookin’ little bitch could have been the end of this club?” He snatches the bottle out of my hand, screws off the lid and pours it straight into his mouth.
“That’s what I’m tellin’ ya,” I confirm.
“Well, at least now we know what the problem is, we can eliminate it… Kill her,” he tells me, without a single shred of emotion, and I’m pretty sure it would be less painful if he sliced open my back and ripped out my spine.
“She didn’t know who she was working for. Clunk was blackmailing her, told her he was gonna kill her mom if she didn’t do what he asked.” I know how ashamed Maddy had been when she told me this next part.
“Her mom works for Clunk, Maddy’s pretty sheltered she doesn’t know exactly what it is she does for him, but I’m sure you can figure it out. My guess is her mom had been bragging around the club about how proud she was of her daughter, boasting about the things she could do with a computer and the Bastards saw an opportunity. Maddy said Clunk had called in on her one day when her mom was out, he told her he’d hurt them both if she didn't do everything he asked her to,” I retell what Maddy just told me.
“You know, Jessie, that’s a real touching story. Maybe you could tell it at the bitch’s funeral,” Prez slurs knocking back another mouthful of Jack. He’s boiling my blood hotter by the second, but I have to stay cool if I want to get him on board.
“She didn’t know it was us she was screwing, she was just given cell numbers to trace. She only figured something was off when she recognized Chop. She was the one who got all his old warrants reissued,” I explain, still shocked myself at all she’s been capable of.
“Which is making me wonder why you ain't already slit her pretty little throat yet Jessie.” Prez stares at me blankly and I’m starting to lose my patience.
“And you think that’s what Hayley would want?” I ask. My blood burning now, spreading like wildfire beneath my skin and disturbing all the nerves that settle in the pit of my stomach.
“Hayley just died Jimmer,” I remind him. “She died fuckin’ saving that girl’s life, and now you want me to put all that to waste and end her anyway?” I shock myself at the tone I speak to him in, and his hard face doesn’t falter as he stares back at me.
“Come on, Prez, she’s scared as fuck right now, she got the two biggest MC’s in the state as her enemy. She ain’t gonna rat on us. Hayley trusted her and… I trust her too.” I watch anxiously for his reaction and he takes a while to think, too long.
“Fine, offer her life in return for her silence, but you let her know that if she ever fucks with us again, or thinks about going to the cops, we will find her, and the Bastards will be the least of her worries.” I nod coolly, hoping he doesn’t pick up on how relieved I am.
“Get her the fuck out of here, Jessie, before I change my mind,” he orders, his voice bitter as he flicks me away with his hands.
“They’ll kill her and her mom the minute she steps off this compound, you know that. I’m gonna need to offer her a little more than that?”
“We don’t gotta offer her fuck all,” Prez fires up again. Looking at me as if I just grew an extra head.
“Hayley wanted her to live so badly that she threw herself in front of a bullet for her, we need to do this for Hayley. Come on, Prez.” It’s selfish of me to use the fact Hayley laid her life down, but it’s all I have to keep Maddy safe. Tears reform in Prez’s eyes and as much as it hurts to see, I take his weakness as a good sign.
“We need to help this girl, Hayley would have wanted us to,” I add.
“How?” he asks, his voice low and defeated.
“Protection, Prez, club protection. She could be as useful to us as she was to them. Would be a shame to waste a talent like that,” I suggest, clutching at just about anything I have that might keep her safe.
“You want this club to protect the person who's responsible for my daughter’s death? Someone who has been feeding the Bastards our information for months?” He folds his arms over his chest. Okay, hearing it back makes it sound unlikely, but I’m not about to let Maddy leave here a walking target.
“I want this club to consider keeping safe the person whose life your daughter valued above her own.” My tone is harsher than it’s ever been when talking to my Prez, he’s a man I’ve respected my entire life. “Girl had no clue what she was dealing with, you only have to look at her to know that.”
Jimmer scratches his beard the way he always does when he’s deep in thought, and I feel myself aging while I wait for his answer.
“And you think she’s really as good as she says she is?” He narrows his swollen eyes.
“Well, she's been fucking things up pretty well for us over the past six months,” I remind him.
“Fine,” he utters, and I finally breathe. “She stays. Bunk her in with one of the girls over down at the sanctuary.” He’s in a rush to get me out of here. I can sense he wants to be alone.
“Prez she ain't that kinda girl, she was Hayley’s best friend. Despite what she's capable of she’s innocent to a place like this.” Prez pauses for longer than I can handle. I’m not about to push him though, not while he’s trying to find a shred of decency for the girl who’s here in place of the daughter he’s strived to protect since the day she was born.
“Okay, but she’s your problem, Jessie. Your responsibility. And she better start showing her value, or she’s fuckin’ out, you got that?” he warns, and I nod while relief floods my body.
“And her mom? She’s in danger too.” I push for a little more, for all I know Maddy's mom is already worm food, but if she isn’t we need to make her safe too.
>
“Sure, why the hell not. Bring her in too.” Prez throws his arms up, the sarcasm all over his face masking his heartbreak for just a second.
“Soon as she’s settled, I’ll get Maddy straight onto burying Chop’s warrant again,” I assure him. “And Prez…” I step closer and take his hand in mine. Our club signet rings touch, only 12 of them exist. They were made for the original Dirty Dozen, the founders of the club. The one I wear had been my pa’s, Prez gave it to me when I turned eighteen. It always reminded me that this club had been built for our future.
“We’re gonna get through this. Losing Hayley is breaking me, same as it’s breaking you. I loved that girl like a sister,” I tell him, squeezing his hand beneath mine. “She’d want us to be there for each other, and I want you to know that I’m right here,” my voice cracks as I speak. Prez stands up and stumbles towards me, gripping my cut to pull me in for a hug. His palm slapping hard at the leather on my back.
“Me too, son, me too.” He releases me, and we nod to each other before I leave him alone. Carly and Skid are propped against the wall waiting outside, and both of them straighten up when I step out the door.
“So?” Carly speaks first, desperate to know what Prez said.
“She can stay, she’s got club protection,” I tell her on a sigh of relief that gives me away too much.
“That’s great.” Carly sounds almost as relieved as I am. “I’ll make her up a guest cabin, best not send her down to the sanctuary,” she adds awkwardly.
“She’s staying with me,”
I choose to ignore the shock on both their faces as I move past them. I need to find Troj and tell him we’re getting a house guest.
Troj is in the gym, no surprises there. It’s late, and the club isn’t lively like it usually is. Everyone is dealing with their shock in their own way, this is how Troj deals.
He’s doing chin ups on the pull bar using hardly any effort, and when he sees me he drops off and thunders straight towards me, grabbing at my shoulder and pulling me in.
“You look like shit,” he says, trying to reign in his emotions.
“I feel like it.”
“Anything I can do, brother, it's done,” he assures me.
“Thanks.” I loosen myself from his grip.
“You get the girl to talk?” I nod back. “So, what's the deal?”
“She was working for them, tracking phones, hacking shit. She’s the reason things have been fucking up around here lately.”
“Shit. That pretty little thang causing all that trouble. Don't know if I wanna throttle it or fuck it.” Troj rubs his hands together disturbing the gym chalk in his palms. “Wouldn’t mind having a go at both.” He winks then slaps me on the back. I try not to scowl at him, and the temptation to pick up a kettlebell and smash the fucker in the face with it takes all my energy to hold off. “Hell, I wouldn’t wanna be her right now,” he adds.
“She’s got club protection,” I tell him, and the reaction that follows is exactly what I expect. His mouth drops open, and his eyes search for sense.
“What the fuck? She’s been screwin’ us over. Hayley’s dead because of her and now we’re protecting her?”
“Yeah well, she had no idea who she was fuckin’ with.”
“Damn straight,” he nods.
“No, I mean she had no idea it was us. Our texts are cryptic as fuck. She only had cell numbers to go on and only ever saw figures. She recognized Chop from a file she’d pulled and then she got scared, started avoiding their calls. That’s why they picked her up.”
“And you believe that?” he asks, one of his eyebrows lifting up higher than the other.
“Yeah, I do. Hayley saved her life. It’s all got to mean something,” I explain as best I can why I feel the instinct to trust Maddy, leaving out the part that I really want to. Troj raises his shoulders seeming to accept my answer. Troj is trusting of those he’s loyal to. If it’s good enough for you, then it’s good enough for him not to question it.
“That’s why I’m here,” I continue. “I need to pick up the girl’s Mom, she’s involved with the Bastards somehow, they used her to keep Maddy doing what she did for them. I need someone to ride out with me to get her, bring her back here so we can find out how she’s involved and protect her too.”
“Gotcha.” He’s already grabbing his cut off the bench and pulling it over his shoulders, no questions asked.
“And there's another thing,” I add. “I’m gonna need to keep an eye on Maddy, Prez ain't gonna trust her a hundred percent, he wants eyes on her 24-7. I thought maybe she could stay with us, just until all this shit blows over. You cool with that?”
“Ain’t got no problem with her staying at ours, brother, but playing house with two bitches… Far too much drama for what I can handle. I’ll move into one of the spare cabins while they’re here. I’m sure Prez won't mind. It’ll give you guys more space, her and her mom can share my room.”
“Thanks man.” I pull him back in. Troj is my most solid brother in this club, not once has he let me down when I need him.
“Let's go pick up this chick’s mom and get back so we can get some sleep. I wanna write this fucking day off,” he says, leading me out of the gym.
A gentle knock on the door disturbs me from a sleep I hadn’t realized I’d fallen in to. I’m startled when I open my eyes and don’t recognize my surroundings. It’s a small room, dark and dingy but still better than the basement where I’d been kept before.
The basement.
The knife.
The kiss.
Jessie.
Hayley’s dead!
When it all floods back to me I suddenly wish I was back asleep, where none of those things had happened. Except for the kiss. That part had been amazing.
The door knocks again reminding me what woke me in the first place, and I call out for whoever it is to come inside. The door opens slowly, and the friendly woman from earlier pokes her head around the door.
“Hey, you mind if I come in?” Carly asks with a half-smile on her face.
“Sure.” I shift on the mattress to prop myself up.
“Here, this is for you,” she holds out a neatly folded pile of clothes. “They might be a bit big, but I figured you’d want something a little more…” Her eyes look me over pitifully. “…Comfortable.”
“Yes. Thank you so much.” I take the items of clothing from her, and she turns her back while I change into the jeans and vest top, then throw the baggy hoodie over my head.
“Jessie and Troj have gone to get your mom. They’ll bring her back here. Prez has promised you club protection, so you’re safe,” she tells me with a warm smile, a surge of relief that I’m not expecting seems to make my whole body relax.
“Jessie asked me to take you back to his and settle you in. You don’t wanna be sleeping in here tonight.” Her eyes wander around the room, and my head nods back in absolute agreement.
“What time is it?” I yawn.
“Just past eleven. You hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Come with me, we can raid Jessie and Troj’s cupboards, see if I can fix you something up.” She reaches out offering me her hand, and I take it. She leads me out of the room, down the stairs, and into the foyer where Skid is waiting for us. He tips his chin at me, and I manage a smile in response.
“What's gonna happen to my mom?” I ask them both as we walk outside to the yard. I don’t like the way the two of them look at each other.
“Jessie will bring her back here. Talk with her about her involvement with the Bastards, then you can see her in the morning,” Skid assures me, climbing on to his bike and kissing Carly before she carries on moving us towards a white Mercedes.
“Jump in,” she calls over the roof, opening her door and ducking inside.
“I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Carly, Skid’s old lady.” She sounds so full of pride as she introduces herself as Skid’s.
“Old lady?” I almost laugh, C
arly is far from old. Late twenties at most. Small and petit, her cute pixie-like features are complimented by a neat bob of black hair. She’s a complete contradiction to Skid who is built like a three-story building.
“I figured. Hayley told me about you.” I feel it again, that awful pain in my chest that comes whenever I speak her name. Carly places her hand on top of mine and squeezes, before she slides it away and uses it to shift in to drive. Pulling away from the yard, she drives us up a dirt track, with Skid following close behind on his bike.
“Few things you should know now you’re gonna be sticking around,” she starts. I’m gripping the handle of the door, because for someone so small and sweet looking, the woman drives like she belongs in the wacky races.
“First off, keep out of anything that involves the club. The likelihood is you’re not gonna want to know. Second, avoid the clubhouse after dark, the girls that hang around there at night make themselves available, if you know what I mean.” I don’t, but I nod back at her all the same. “The last thing you want is the guys getting the wrong idea about why you’re here.” She gives me an awkward smile. “Thirdly, and most important, stay away from Squealer, he’s merciless.” She chuckles to herself.
“Squealer? I think I’ve met him before. The night of the party.” Who could forget him? Solid body covered in tattoos, cheeky grin, and eyes full of mischief. I remember thinking he was kinda hot, but by then it was too late, Jessie had already ruined any other guy for me.
“Yeah, you’d have met him.” She rolls her eyes, continuing to drive the track. Eventually she veers right into a clearing, and I see the cabins in front of us as we approach them. Most of them have bikes parked outside, some have cars or trucks too. She pulls up beside two bikes outside a cabin that has no lights on.