"I always used to love coming out here," Leah started, her voice soft as she leaned her back against the brick of the building. "When your dad first brought us to the clubhouse, I came outside and thought...this was the biggest piece of land I had ever seen. It felt like it had gone on for miles and miles. And I thought...someone owns all this land. It was just- I don't know, crazy to me that this whole area, totally private, could belong to someone. I mean, I knew it was the club's but..." She laughed, almost sheepish. "I thought this was all Crow's in the beginning."
Content to just listen to her ramble on for ages, I'd been studying Leah's face, just watching as her dark gaze took in the expanse of land we had between the walls of fences around our property. She seemed so at ease, just happy to just be out here.
"I guess growing up here I've kind of taken it all for granted," I finally said, my voice low and quiet, as if there were others outside that would overhear a secret conversation between the two of us. "Never really looked at it that way. I should probably appreciate it more."
Turning to look at me, Leah smile, tilting her head slightly. "You've got a lot of things to worry about. I don't expect you to stand out here and admire the landscape every day."
I looked into her eyes, and for a moment I allowed myself to get lost in her gaze. Just staring into her caramel brown eyes, taking in this rare moment I let myself have. "Sometimes you gotta force yourself to take a moment and admire what's around you."
Her throat constricted slightly as she swallowed, and even in the dark, I could see her pupils dilate ever so slightly.
"You don't do that a lot, though, do you."
My chest tightened. It was a statement rather than a question, but I knew what she was thinking. The thing was, she didn’t know how wrong she was. I may not have allowed myself to indulge in the good things around me, but that didn’t mean that I missed them. And I certainly didn’t ignore them. Mainly, that being Leah. I knew what was right in front of me; the difference was, I wouldn’t allow myself to have it.
I sighed, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jeans. I didn’t answer her, which she seemed to take as agreement. Turning her body to face mine completely, Leah stepped so close to me I could feel the heat coming off of her skin.
"That was more of a rhetorical question. You know I know you, Ward. You refuse to let yourself have a life outside of what you think are your responsibilities. I don't get it. Sometimes I wonder if you even realize what is right in front of you."
Fuck. She wasn't even trying to play around. Went straight for the jugular. My jaw clenched slightly, and I tried to pull my gaze from hers but I just couldn't.
"I realize more than you know," I said, seriously, maybe even a little sterner than I intended. "I'm just realistic. I know what life I've chosen, and I know what I can and cannot have."
There was a flash of something in Leah's gaze, and I knew I ruined the moment. There was anger, but also a little bit of hurt. I had seen that look far too many times, and it killed me to put it there again.
"That's a pretty stupid excuse."
Now it was my turn to get angry. "It's not an excuse, Leah, it's the truth."
"It's bullshit and you know it."
If I wasn't so frustrated already I would find that fire in her attractive. Which I did, undoubtedly, but it wasn't the time or place to get caught up in that. "It's not. Do we have to fight about this every time we get a moment alone together?"
Leah, all fire now and no longer looking relaxed as she had been just moments before, stepped back from me, her expression hard. "We wouldn't have to if you'd just get your head out of your ass, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon." Waving one perfectly manicured hand in my face, she stalked past me towards the door.
Without thinking, I reached out one hand and wrapped my fingers around her forearm to stop her from leaving. "Leah."
She yanked her arm out of my grip without hesitation. "No, Ward." Those deep brown eyes glared at me. "Have a great night."
With a pull of the door, the red ball of fury was storming back into the clubhouse, and then she was gone.
"Fuck!" I swore, ranking my fingers angrily through my wild curls.
She really was going to be the death of me.
CHAPTER 5
LEAH
HELLO, DARLING WAS MY pride and joy. It was a concept that Lana and I had come up with seven years ago during a trip to Vegas. Since we were little girls we had been dancing; it was the one thing that our mother, no matter how much she was working or how little money we had, would make sure that we were able to continue doing. Dancing was something we had always loved, we were good at, but it wasn't in the cards for us to try and pursue professionally. Where we were at in life, the closest thing we could do to make money while dancing was to strip - and there was no way Crow or any of the Aces were going to let us do that.
Then we came across a burlesque show at a theater in Vegas and were immediately taken by it all. The performance itself was incredible, and I could see Lana's mind racing as we sat there taking it all in. To me, it was the entire package. The costumes, the props, the wigs, the makeup. The potential of how much we could do with everything had our blood pumping, and finally, the wheels turning. It was something we had to do.
Once we had gotten home from that trip, the two of us wouldn't let the idea go. Luckily for us, the MC had a habit of investing in new businesses as long as they believed it would work. The idea of the club was unique; there definitely wasn't anything like it around, but they ended up backing it because of Crow. They agreed to be a silent partner, to offer money and security as well as advisement as we built the business. From there we took off running, and to this day were still going.
Located on pretty prime real estate downtown, only a few blocks from the other two nightlife spots the Aces owned - The Velvet room and Rita's Saloon - Darlings was inside an old, renovated theater that we had been lucky enough to get for a steal five and a half years ago. Together we created this unique place, with a little bit of all of us in it, but the moment our vision had come to be, we had fallen in love with the place.
With it being Friday afternoon, the place was buzzing with everyone getting ready for tonight's show. While it was a burlesque club, that wasn't all we offered; in fact, we limited our shows to every Friday and Saturday, with special performances randomly throughout the year, including holidays. Sunday and Monday, we were closed, with Tuesday hosting live bands and open mic nights, Wednesday having karaoke, and Thursday opening for a regular drinking night. This idea had come from our third partner, Camilla, who was a genius when it came to marketing and ideas for the club.
"Alright, Lana wants to see Aliyah, Brooke, and Dani’s number run through, with music and lights this time," I called from my spot on the floor. The hours before the club opened were used as a dress rehearsal, though it was typically easy for us just talk it all over and have it go off without a hitch. This week we had a few new girls and new numbers to go over, so my sister, the choreographer and mastermind when it came to the performances, insisted on seeing it all.
"Got it!" Alani, our DJ, saluted me and bounced her way towards the booth where her equipment was. The five-foot Hawaiian beauty had been with us since the beginning, and we honestly couldn't ask for a better person to work the music for us. She had such a mind for mixes and rhythm and tempo, so we often found ourselves consulting with her when we came up with sets. She was even responsible for coming up with some of our best numbers and introducing us to stuff we didn't even know existed.
I turned then, looking at the small gaggle of girls across the room. When my eyes fell on one in full costume, my gaze immediately narrowed. "Jesus Christ," I muttered as I walked across the room. "Layla!" The blonde looked up and arched a brow. This one had too much sass for her own good. "What is this?" I asked, motioning to her top. "That hasn't been approved, and it doesn't fit correctly."
It wasn't my goal to embarrass the girls, but I didn't have tim
e to pull them all into the back when I gave instructions, and this particular employee has been a problem when it came to making her own costumes.
"What?" she asked incredulously, looking down at the can-barely-be-considered-a-top corset she had on. "It's the same as what everyone else is wearing!"
"Uh, no, it's two sizes too small and I can promise you would not have been approved by anyone. You're literally about to bust out of it just standing here, let alone dancing in it." I shook my head. The girls knew the rules. This was exhausting. "No. Wardrobe. Malfunctions. Especially intended ones."
Layla gasped as if I had just slapped her. "Excuse me?"
"Save it!" I said, holding my hand up. "This isn't the first time you've pulled this. Find a new top that will stay together and hold you in or you're out of the show."
If looks could kill I'd have been dead where I stood, but I didn't care. The other woman just huffed, turned on her heels and stormed off as she left me to roll my eyes. While I was there, I took that opportunity to look over the girls she had been standing with, and I smiled warmly. "You guys look awesome."
The run-through went well, as did the check with the lighting and music cues, and luckily for all involved, Layla ended up miraculously finding an outfit of hers that had already been approved. Now all that was left was to finish getting ready and into costume.
"Should be a good one tonight. Very few hiccups and the girls look great."
I was seated at my vanity in the office-slash-dressing-room that Lana, Camilla, and I shared. My curlers were still in as I did my makeup, chatting with the other two as they finished up their looks for the night.
"Yeah, I'm really happy with the routines," Lana replied as she was posed, hovering over her makeup table, her eyes comically wide as she applied mascara to her fake lashes. "So much better than last week."
Camilla snorted. "Anything is better than last week. Actually, I have half a mind to charge into the dressing room and catch someone with a shot glass in hand. I mean -- common fucking sense, who gets wasted before a show where you need to rely on your body and brain to make it work?"
With all of her New York sass, I'd be terrified to be on the receiving end of one of Camilla's tirades.
"And I've got half a mind to buy a breathalyzer and make them all blow into it before they step on stage."
I snickered. "That's honestly not a bad idea."
"How was the party last night?" Camilla asked, after a few moments of silence as we finished putting our faces on.
"Pretty good. Same as always," was all I answered with.
If I had been looking at her I would have seen the smirk appear on my twin's face. "Same as always is right. Saw you snuck off with Ward again, ticklepuss."
Cutting a glare at her - and what the hell, ticklepuss? - I didn't miss the look of excitement on Camilla's face. "Oooooh, did you guys bang?!"
Rolling my eyes, I flipped them both off. "No, we didn't bang. We were outside talking for like five minutes, and then I went inside."
"Yeah. Talking."
My glare was directed back at Lana. "No. Talking. And then not talking. Because I was inside, drinking."
I let the two washwomen snicker behind me as I turned back to my mirror to remove the pins and curlers holding up my red hair. Last night was another check mark in the crap sandwich column that represented my love life. Or my relationship with Ward, which was pretty much one and the same.
Truth was, Ward Gibson had held my heart for the better part of the last decade. I may have dated other guys, or had occasional hookups, but I never seemed to get over him. What kept me holding on was the fact that there seemed to be a magnetic pull working on both sides. We hadn’t stayed away from each other completely. It had only happened a few times during moments of weakness, but I had gotten in. I had slipped past his walls, and that was how I knew what existed beyond them.
He felt something for me. Something deep, but that wasn’t enough. I needed more from him.
Once the curlers were out of my hair, I fluffed it up, adding a metric ton of hairspray so it could stay in place and stood from my seat. "If you two are done busting my balls, I'm gonna get out there and make sure our dancers are in line.
Jesus. For some reason, now I was on edge, and all I wanted to do was get lost in my performance.
CHAPTER 6
WARD
"HEY, BOSS. WE GOT A PROBLEM."
That’s not exactly what you want to hear from one of your men. Groaning, I slid a tattooed hand down my face, rubbing my beard as I turned towards the door. "What's up?" I asked as Jekyll and Hyde walked through the door.
"The three apps are all here, but one...ain’t exactly what we expected." Jekyll looked a little sheepish as he delivered the news. We were currently inside the small office space of the building where we ran our security company. It was close enough to the clubhouse that we could get to it easily, but far enough that our guys that weren't members of the club could be without invading on our territory. We employed citizens as well as our own members, so it was easier that way.
"Yeah, he's a fuckin' Nazi," Hyde chimed in.
That made my eyebrows rise. "Excuse me?"
Jekyll was shaking his head. "The guy's background came back fine, but when he showed up for the interview, we got some weird vibes. Then we saw the guy got some fresh ink, and it's the symbol those fucks, The Forgotten. Called in a favor from my buddy who's got an in and turns out, our boy is a new member."
Fuck. Goddamn violent hate groups. We had no desire to work with anyone that had anything to do with them, on any side. Sure, we didn't exactly keep the line of the law, but racial hate crimes? No fucking thank you.
"Son of a bitch. And there were no signs pointing to this before you approved him?"
The two of them took the accusation in stride, both of their heads shaking. "Nah, Pres. Not a fucking clue."
Sighing, I rubbed the side of my beard again. "Alright. Send him on his way. How are the other two?"
"Great, their stuff checks out and they seem legit."
I nodded. "Okay. Bring them in, I'll do the last check and then figure out where they'll fit."
As they walked out of the office, I headed around the desk to take a seat. I didn't spend too much time with the outside security because I trusted Jekyll, Hyde, and Joker to run it, but I made sure that anyone hired on went through me before getting on our payroll. We kept this business as legitimate as we could because we were hired by clients that weren't just from the businesses that we ran or protected. It was important to me that this was taken seriously - our way of making sure that public opinion leaned more in our favor than any of the other MCs nearby or in the area.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, and in walked in two men I recognized from the photographs on their applications. Standing, I reached my hand out. "Ward, Aces President. How's it going?"
The first man introduced himself as Craig Brighton, an incredibly tall, broad man around my age that towered over me and could barely rest his arms at his sides. I recognized him to be the former SEAL and he looked it, though now he sported a dark beard and dark hair a little longer than the Navy would have ever allowed it. The second was smaller but stocky. Alex Ortiz, a guy in his early twenties who looked with shortly buzzed hair and a seriously, slightly hardened face.
I was satisfied after questioning them both about their history, experience, and what they could bring to the table. Both men seemed capable and trustworthy. Originally I had thought to assign the new guys to the strip club after the burglary, but seeing as our places were only getting hit once, I wanted to protect ones that hadn't been visited yet, so I assigned them both to the burlesque club, figuring to be better safe than sorry with the girls there.
~
Around the middle of the afternoon I pulled my Harley up in front of my parents' house. Once I stopped and turned the engine off, I idled for a moment, looking to the house next door. Leah's car sat in the driveway, next to Lana's
bike, so I knew the girls were home. It was still weird to me, seeing what stood on the other half of my parent's land in place of the house that was once occupied by the Martinez family. The two homes had always stood side by side, looking almost identical, but after the night Manny and Christine were murdered it just didn't seem right to keep the house full of terrible memories standing. The kids had moved into our home immediately after, so there was no use for it. It was torn down, and eventually, a new home was built in its place.
Now the twins lived there with Camilla. I always thought it was a little weird that they could still live there, knowing that it was still the place of their worst nightmares, but it didn't seem to bother them. At least, they didn't show it - something both of the Martinez girls were experts at by now.
Taking my helmet off and securing it to my bike, I climbed off and headed up the drive. My mother didn't tolerate not hearing from me often, and it just made it easier for me to stop in and say hi, steal some food and make sure she was doing okay. Plus, now that my father was retired, he was at home far more often, and I figured I was doing my mom a favor to come by and distract him by talking about the club instead of leaving him to drive her insane.
Once I opened the door, I was hit with the sounds of the other reason I came by a lot. "UNCLE WARD!" Noah, my nephew, was a giant bundle of energy. At five, I didn't understand where he got it from. He was a skinny thing with shaggy dark hair - and fucking adorable - but I needed a few shots of espresso to be able to keep up with him.
"Hey, big man!" I laughed as I caught the kid, lifting him into the air and slinging him over my shoulder. I felt his little hands cling to my cut as he howled with laughter. Kicking the door shut behind me, I headed into the house, my boots thudding heavy against the linoleum floor. "Ma, your favorite child is here!"
Heart of a Rebel: Rebel Aces MC Part 1 Page 4