“The prospects are here to make sure I’m safe. In fact, they have kept me safe all night. I like these guys,” she tells me with a big smile on her face, completely calm standing there virtually topless with a splatter of blood across her toned stomach. I growl when they all look at her with a smile, except for Kaz who looks like he wants to strangle her too.
I’m so fucking pissed off that this went down in my club, I lash out without thinking. “Put some clothes on, for fuck’s sake. Maybe if you covered up a little more people would be able to keep their fucking hands to themselves,” I scream at her.
The smile slips from her face and in its place is a look that burns itself into my brain. A look of betrayal, disappointment, anger, and so much fucking pain.
I reach for her, but she steps back.
“If you touch me, I’ll make what I did to Boner look like we had a pillow fight.”
“Leave!” I bark at everyone. “Take those three to the basement.”
“No, stay.” Everyone freezes, not wanting to disrespect their president’s orders, but not sure if they should ignore my old lady either.
She stares me down as she speaks. “I have something they all need to hear and if you make them leave, I’ll leave too. Only, it won't be this room, it will be this compound and your lives for good,” she vows, her chest heaving with the force of her words.
“You can threaten me all you want, Megan, but I won't let you go,” I warn her.
“Maybe so, but I will never stop trying. Every single day you turn your back, I will try to escape until my hands are bloody and my legs won't hold me up. I will never stop,” she says calmly, looking at me with sheer determination and fuck if it doesn’t make me hard. Worse though, I know she’s telling the truth.
“You have five minutes,” I grit out as the guys turn back to her, guns still trained on each of the assholes who will die later. But Megan's anger isn’t directed at them like it should be, it’s all aimed at me.
She gives the three prospects a sad smile. “Sorry about this, boys,” she apologizes to them a moment before she reaches around and unclips her bra and her magnificent breasts fall free.
“Megan,” I snap, stepping forward, but she steps back again. I’m about to charge her but a hand on my arm stops me. I glance back and see Zero looking down at me, anger visible in the clenched jaw and the unreadable stare he throws my way.
“Let her speak.” I can tell by his voice that he’s barely hanging on to his own temper.
“You like what you see?” she asks Kaz, who doesn't answer her. She looks down at his dick, which even I can see from here is hardening through his jeans. Looks like I’m going to have to kill him too.
“Of course you do, I can tell. It’s okay though because you might really like what you see but you won't touch me, will you?” she asks him, her voice flat and listless.
“Never,” Kaz agrees adamantly.
Okay, fine, maybe he can live for a little while longer.
“And why is that, Kaz? I’m standing here showing an awful lot of skin. Why won't you touch me?” Anyone else and I would think her words were an invitation, but I can see the slight tremble of her hands at her side.
“Because you're not mine to touch,” he answers. Simple as that and I guess it is. With that comes the realization of what I said to her.
“Megan—”
She cuts me off, her eyes flashing with anger. “And what about you, Viper? In the eyes of the club, I’m your old lady. If I crawled into bed naked beside you and said not tonight, dear, I have a headache, would you pin me down and take what you wanted anyway?” she asks.
“Fuck no, of course not,” I answer angrily. She should fucking know that already.
“Why is that?” she asks in that calm, almost robotic tone.
I don’t answer her, done with this fucking night. Done with her standing here showing half the club what's mine.
“Why is that?” she repeats, this time letting her anger bleed into her words.
I still don't answer, staring at her, knowing I’ve fucked up, but I have no idea how to fix it.
Legs brushes her hand against Megan’s leg to get her attention. “Because no should always mean no,” Legs says in a soft voice.
Megan nods before facing us again. “Ding, ding. We have a winner. Isn’t it funny how it took a woman to answer that question?” she asks in a tone suggesting that it is anything but funny.
“Look, I get it—”
She steps forward, growling, looking like a Valkyrie, every inch of Megan replaced by Raven.
“You get it? You know nothing. Not a fucking thing. We are taught from an early age to either hide our bodies to avoid unwanted attention or to play up our assets in the hope of finding a husband. Thanks to Crogan and this club’s misogynistic point of view, I grew up trying to hide my body under dark baggy clothes and trying to blend into the shadows. And what did that get me? A reputation for being an elusive freak and an easy target.
“Crogan didn’t fucking care what I wore and neither do they because the problem isn’t how much skin I show, but how their fucked-up brains are wired. You said it yourselves. You guys wouldn't force me to do anything even as I stand here half-naked because that is a normal response. It’s how it should be. So why should I be reprimanded for something that is their problem, not mine?
“This is my body. It is my right to do with it what I want, which includes how I cover it. And it is absolutely my right to say no. Until you guys understand that, I hope to fuck you never have daughters.” Her words cut me deeply and one look at the others tells me she scored a direct hit.
I nod to the prospects so they can get these pieces of shit out of here. They do as I ask without a backward glance.
“Erm… I’ll just—”
I look at Legs and she shuts up and folds in on herself. I’m not sure what her role in all this was but I’m going to find out just as soon as I fix what I broke.
I step forward and when Megan doesn’t step back, I take another step and another until my chest is against her heaving one.
“You are absolutely right. I fucked up. I was angry and lashed out without thinking. I’m sorry,” I tell her and mean it. I never apologize but Megan has earned the right to one.
Her eyes well with tears as she stares into mine, searching for the truth, and I hate that I put that doubt there.
I pull her tightly to me, wrap my arms around her, and hold her while she cries quietly into my T-shirt before pulling back.
Wiping her cheeks, I kiss her forehead and turn her towards Grim and Zero, who I know are itching to get their hands on her too.
Grim has slipped his T-shirt off before putting his cut back on. He walks over and slips the shirt over Megan's head. She lets him before stepping into his arms. He holds her tight, staring at me with anger of his own in his eyes. Some I’m sure is aimed at me but I’m guessing this stirs up a lot of shit regarding his sister too.
Zero gets impatient and pulls Megan free from a reluctant Grim so he can hold her for a moment. It's almost like we need to actually touch her to verify she’s here, safe and sound.
I turn to Legs, who is watching us warily.
“What’s your involvement in all this?” I ask her, my voice still angry, my patience running thin.
“Boner wanted me to slip her something to make her more compliant,” she tells me. I watch Megan pull free from Zero and walk back over to us.
“And did you?” I wonder if that might explain Megan’s behavior tonight.
“I was going to,” she admits softly.
White noise stops me from hearing anything else as my anger takes over. I reach to grab her by the neck but Megan steps in front of her, blocking my way.
“Move!” I growl. “This is club business.” I try to move her, but she twists out of my hold.
Grim reaches over to grab Legs but Megan backs her up until she's in the corner and takes a protective stance in front of her like a tigress protecting her
cubs.
“You won't touch her!” she grits out, willing to take me on if necessary.
The stupid girl can’t win but she knows I won’t risk hurting her.
“She told Boner no. She told him you would kill him. She said no. Can you guess what happened next, boss man?“ Her sarcasm grates on me but I know she has more to spew.
“He told her he had a buyer all lined up to sell her. She said no, so he took her choice away from her. Sound familiar?” She turns her back on me, knowing at the very least I won't hurt her, and crouches down to a now crying Legs, who is sobbing with her face buried in her knees.
I look at Zero and Grim and see them watching the scene play out.
“This is so fucked up,” Zero points out and he isn’t fucking wrong.
“Legs, can you talk to me? I swear to you nobody is going to hurt you. I’m guessing you don't have a lot of faith in the male species and that's okay, neither do I, but can you try to have a little faith in me? I won't let anything happen to you, I promise.” She lifts her tear-stained face to Megan and takes a shuddering breath. She looks past Megan to me.
“What will you do with them?” she asks me.
“That’s club business, Legs, you know that.”
Megan turns to look at me with questions in her eyes.
“Can you keep her safe?” Something stirs within me at her words. After everything that happened here tonight, she still trusts me. I nod at her.
“They won't touch her again.” I don't tell her they’ll be dead but she’s a smart girl. I can see in her eyes she knows exactly what kind of retribution will be dealt out.
“And Peter?” Legs asks me, making me frown.
“Peter? The manager of Elusive? What does he have to do with this?” I just spoke to the guy. He was the one who called and said the garage was on fire. He was waiting with the fire department when we got there.
“If he finds out I had a hand in this, he’ll kill me.”
“He won’t touch you,” I promise her.
She sighs but eventually starts talking. “Boner wanted me to slip a D in Megan’s drink to make her horny, then he and his friends were going to run a train on her. He said you wouldn't want her then and even if you were pissed at him, he could take you, which was bullshit. Then when we got here, he said he was going to frame me as an accomplice and make it look like Carnage had raped Megan in some kind of payback. I don’t know, it sounded to me like the worst fucking idea on the planet and I told him so but he just couldn’t see the stupidity in it.” She snorts, but I’m stick stuck on this D.
“A D? Do you mean an E?” I ask her, wondering how much she has had to drink tonight or if it’s a case of the lights are on but nobody's home.
She looks at me, bewildered. “No, a D. Why do you look so confused?” she asks, making my head spin. It's like going around in fucking circles.
“Because there isn’t a drug called D,” Grim answers before I can.
“Sure, there is. You guys are the ones who make it.” She reaches into her pocket and grabs a tiny pink pill, which I’m guessing is the one she was meant to spike Megan’s drink with. Sure enough, there is a D printed on it.
“D for demons,” I guess, handing the pill over to Zero. I’m so fucking pissed off, it’s a surprise my head hasn’t exploded.
“D because the guys think it’s funny to slip a girl a D before slipping her the D,” Legs says sarcastically and I don’t doubt for a second she has heard that more than once.
“Legs, Chaos has only been dealing in weed since I took over.” Megan looks surprised by my words. I guess I forgot to tell her that.
“Well, Pres, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think the whole of your club is in agreement.”
“These could be from an old batch,” I tell her but she shakes her head.
“Boner likes to brag about how fucking smart he is and how dumb you are—his words, not mine—for pulling the wool over your eyes. He thinks he can take over and flood the streets with the stuff.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I grip my hair in my hands, feeling another headache coming on.
“I guess this explains why the club is doing so well. It must be the draw of the drugs.”
“It’s the draw of the girls,” she tells me sadly.
“It’s a strip club, Legs, no offense, but strippers are a dime a dozen. The kind of money that place is making isn't because people are coming for a flash of gash.”
Megan sucks in a sharp breath, making me look at her thinking I’ve pissed her off again, but she isn't looking at me, she’s staring at Legs with a dawning look of horror on her face.
“What? What the fuck am I missing?” A tear runs down Legs’s cheek but she swipes it away angrily.
“They get to try out the new wonder drug on a girl of their choice. A try-it-before-you-buy-it kind of sample, if you like. Trust me, they do, they always buy.”
“Fuck!” Grim shouts. Zero looks like he’s going to be sick.
“Are you telling me girls are getting drugged and raped in my club?” My words are so vicious I’m surprised she isn't bleeding, but my anger isn't at her.
She nods.
“But that's not what I meant when I said it's the draw of the girls. Pres, these guys don’t just come to buy drugs, they come to buy girls who, thanks to D, are moldable into the perfect sex slave. Didn't you ever wonder why the club had such a high turnover?”
I never cared. Strippers come and go, it’s the nature of the beast. I just had no fucking clue my club was selling girls. I’m so ashamed I can hardly meet her eyes.
I pick up the thing closest to me, which just happens to be a lamp, and launch it at the wall before grabbing the vanity table and flipping it over. I’m acutely aware of screaming but I can't stop.
The rage is boiling me from the inside and if I don't get it out, I’m going to burn this place to the ground.
I’m oblivious to everyone else as I systematically destroy the room, shrugging off hands that try to restrain me until a pair of small, shaking palms press against my chest, freezing me in place. I look down and see big blue eyes brimming with tears looking up at me with sadness and a hint of fear.
“Come back to me, Viper,” she implores, pressing her head against my chest before wrapping her arms around me tightly.
I stand there with my chest heaving, looking around the room I just destroyed, and take in Zero and Grim who have taken a protective stance in front of Legs, who is cowering in the corner. Zero has a split lip and Grim has the beginnings of a bruise blooming under his eye.
I look down at Megan and wrap my arms around her, using her smell and touch to calm me.
She peers up at me and offers me a small smile.
“They’re trafficking girls.” I shake my head in disbelief. I look up at Grim and Zero again.
“Burn it to the fucking ground.”
Megan stops me. “Wait. You stopped dealing in hard drugs?”
“Yeah,” I grunt out. “I wanted to focus more on the legitimate businesses. We’ll never be squeaky clean but I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I’m getting too fucking old for this shit.
“Let me have it,” she suggests, surprising the fuck out of me.
“What the fuck do you want a strip club for?”
“I don’t want a strip club. I want to gut it and turn it into another legal business for you,” she offers with a shrug. “I know what I’m doing, I do run a pretty successful business of my own.”
“One small shop doesn't make you an entrepreneur,” I tell her with a smile.
“Remind me to show you my books sometime,” she quips back. I stare at her. She’s serious. I look at Grim and Zero, who are helping Legs to her feet.
“Two seconds ago you wanted it burned to the ground, so what have you got to lose?” Zero answers my unspoken question. Grim nods in agreement.
“Fine, it's yours,” I tell her.
“How far does your
trust in me run?” she asks out of the blue, making me suspicious for a moment but then I realize that I do trust her.
“My trust is absolute. Why, are you planning on abusing it?” I ask, only half-joking.
“Maybe just a little bit.” She pinches her fingers together in demonstration.
“I’m going to regret this, I know it. Tell me what you need.”
Chapter Seventeen
Megan
I stand next to Zero and a prospect called Wizz outside Euphoria, waiting for my guests to arrive.
“I can’t believe you talked Viper into this.” Zero shakes his head at me.
“Honestly, neither can I but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
A large truck pulls into the parking lot, making me smile. As soon as it stops, a tiny blonde angelic-looking woman climbs out sporting a cute little baby bump.
“Luna,” I breathe out before taking off in her direction and wrapping my arms around her.
She pulls away and signs to me, I have a truck full of guys on their way over. Who do you need me to kill?
Most people would laugh in her face but not me. I know exactly how deadly this woman can be.
“Nobody yet, but give it time. The day is still young.” Her eyes light up, partly from hearing my voice, which I never really used until recently over Skype, and partly from the thought of killing people.
A large arm drops on my shoulder, making me turn to the familiar scent of Zig.
“Hey, big guy.”
He looks down at me with a thousand questions swirling in his eyes but settles on “Hey, Megs.”
“Out of the way, fuck face.” Oz shoves him aside, picking me up and spinning me around before placing me back on my feet.
“I always knew you’d have a sexy voice. It makes me want to do very dirty things to you.”
I see Zero approach from behind him and wince.
“You wanna get your hands off my old lady before I peel your skin from your bones?” Oh shit. Abort. Abort.
I step up to Zero and stand in front of him protectively as Wizz steps up beside us.
“What did he say?” Zig asks, eyes flashing to mine.
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