"A bunch of the guys will drive," she said dismissively. "They know it's pretty much a guaranteed way for them to end up getting laid tonight when they taxi everyone home anyway and if they do end up too wasted to drive, we can all just stumble off and catch a bus."
We made it to the gates which fronted the trailer park and found a group of around fifteen people waiting to head out. I recognised a few of them, but most were new faces to me.
"Holy shit, is that you Rogue?" a vaguely familiar voice called out and I turned, finding a guy leaning against the hood of a slightly beat up looking green Chevvy as his eyes ran over me. He was a pretty big dude with thick arms crossed over his broad chest, his muscular frame straining against the fabric of his grey shirt.
"Jake?" I asked in surprise, suddenly recognising the guy from my old group home and moving over to him with a grin.
"You still owe me a pack of jelly beans," he said accusingly, a smile playing around his lips. "The night you and Clive ran off you promised to bring me some."
My gut lurched at the mention of Clive's name. I knew exactly what had happened to that motherfucker but I guessed it made sense that the other kids in the group home assumed we'd run off together seeing as we'd disappeared around the same time, but I'd hated that creep and they all knew it. Either way, after all this time, it didn't make much sense to correct him and I let him drag me into a bear hug which almost drowned me in his cheap cologne.
I fought a cough as I stepped back and he grinned. "You wanna ride over to the club with me?" he offered.
"Sure," I hedged, taking note of the way he was looking at me and wondering if I had any interest in getting to know him with a whole lot less clothes involved. Maybe he could be the perfect remedy to my Harlequin habit.
I made a move to get into his car just as a girl with a pile of bleached blonde hair piled up on her head and about four inches of makeup caked on her skin moved into my way and dropped into the seat I'd been about to claim.
"Well look what the cat dragged back," she said, her eyes scraping over me in a totally judgemental way.
"Do I know you?" I asked coolly, refusing to rise to her bitch bait. Cat fights were seriously overrated and I didn't waste my time putting basic assholes like this one on their asses unless I had to.
"Err, I'm your foster sister," she said with a flinch of anger at the fact that I hadn't recognised her. "But I guess I'm not surprised the great Rogue Easton doesn't remember anyone aside from the Harlequin boys. I bet it stung to hear about me and Chase."
"Rosie?" I asked in surprised, squinting through the layers of foundation smothering her skin and finally recognising the girl I'd once shared a room with back in the home. She was the only bitch who had ever tried to say we were all foster brothers and sisters and it looked like she hadn't stopped being an annoying little fuck. "And what are you talking about, you and Chase?"
"Oh please. I know he would have told you all about me the moment you came crawling back to town, begging to suck their cocks again. But guess what? He chose me, not you, so go slobber over another guy because my big Chasey isn't interested in your sloppy pussy."
My lips popped open as I processed that. Chase and Rosie? Rosie?? The little troll who used to sleep beneath my bed and rat me out to Mary Beth at every give opportunity? Ew. Fuck no. How could he-
I stopped myself short as a stab of pain hit me somewhere deep in my gut and I knew she wasn't lying. Of course he'd fucked the girl I used to hate. Those boys had delighted in my fucking destruction so why not just drive the knife in a little deeper after taking everything from me and casting me out to be forgotten?
"You're welcome to Chase, Rosie," I said coldly. "I'm not to his taste anyway. I heard he has a preference for girls who base their make up on clowns and who like being fucked up the ass in exchange for smokes, so you're clearly his type. I wish you every happiness.”
I turned and walked away from her outraged expression, spotting Di and Lyla climbing into the back of a blue Ford and waving me over to join them.
I forced a smile as my heart raced with the hurt of that little nugget of shit and climbed in with them, finding Bella already inside so the four of us were crammed into the back.
Two dudes were sitting in the front of the car, but I didn't pay them much attention as I focused on squishing my ass into a comfortable position while the girls giggled and passed about a bottle of vodka.
"Hey, Rogue," the guy in the passenger seat said as we rolled out onto the street and I looked up at his seriously bruised face, taking note of the nose straps, black eyes and curly blonde hair before I even recognised him.
"Holy shit, Carter, what the fuck happened to your face?" I asked because I had no tack and I seriously needed to hear that story.
"It's nothing," he said with a shrug.
"Girl, don't you know who did that to him?" Bella asked with a cackle of laughter which made me realise she was clearly on something stronger than vodka again. "Fox Harlequin fucked. Him. Uuuuuuuuup."
Di slapped a hand over her face to hide her laugher as Carter scowled at the redhead and Lyla reached forward to pat his shoulder sympathetically.
"Why?" I asked, wondering what he'd done to enrage the Badger.
"Errr, he seemed to think I'd been looking at you too much, so..."
"What?" I balked. "When?"
"The other day when you were surfing. I just saw you catch a sick wave, that's all. But he said that you were his girl and I was overstepping by looking at you, and he just wanted to drive the message home I guess. It's fine, looks worse than it is." Carter shrugged as his friend who was driving muttered something about the Harlequins being psychopaths and not wanting to die for letting me ride in his car.
"I am not, never have been and never will be Fox Harlequin's fucking girl," I said loudly, making Bella cackle again. "Just to make that clear. And I'm gonna be having words with that asshole for laying his hands on you, mark my fucking words."
I stewed over the king of the cocks as we drove the rest of the way to the club, taking my turn at swigs of vodka while I worked to forget about the asshole in question and focus on having a good night tonight. No doubt I'd be having a row with him when I saw him again anyway after I'd blocked his tracking attempts on me for the night, but fuck him for thinking it was okay to be monitoring my whereabouts at all fucking times.
We made it to the north side of the city, speeding through The Divide without any incidents. But a prickle ran down my spine as we crossed through that area of fought over turf like there were eyes on the car for every second that we spent occupying it. I even spotted the lighthouse between the buildings as we passed it by, still cordoned off with yellow police tape. I’d seen the stories on the news about the massacre that had taken place there and the boys had been laying low while the heat blew over, sticking to mostly legal pastimes for a while. I had to wonder if they really all believed the place was worth the fight and bloodshed or if it was just a dick measuring contest at this point.
The club was away from the beach and when we pulled up on a side street, I looked around in confusion as I was left wondering about where the hell it could be. The buildings all around us were quiet, just some shops which were closed up for the night and a general quiet in the air which said nothing at all was going on here.
"Move your ass bitch or we'll miss the band," Di teased, giving me a shove so that I opened the door and we could all spill out onto the curb.
The cars with the rest of our group of rejects were all parking up too and we were soon walking down the street giggling in anticipation and grouping together as we headed for the club.
I made an effort to ignore Rosie's existence and found it easy enough in a group this size. The way she was clinging to Jake was making me think that Chase's wasn't the only dick she'd been sucking, but if she seriously thought I was going to be running after her sloppy seconds then she had another thing coming. Stupid twat. I bet she still had that teddy bear I was always threatening to dec
apitate. Maybe I'd sneak into her trailer and do it one of these days.
Di nudged me as we came up to an inconspicuous looking door which was set into a white wall sprayed with countless graffiti. I noticed the name The Dungeon amongst it a bunch of times as well as spotting The Damned Men tags more than once and my skin prickled as I looked them over.
Was I freaking idiot for coming here? Maybe. But it was too late now and at least I knew Fox and his cronies couldn't rock up here and drag me back to his cave. The Damned Men’s turf was off limits to him and his little pals.
Carter banged his fist against the door and a slot opened up in it as someone peered out. "How much sausage and how much bun?"
"What?" I asked with a laugh and Di grinned at me.
"Half and half," Carter replied, and the guy inside glanced at our group before shutting the hatch again and opening the door.
"They like there to be an even number of guys and girls in the club," she breathed in explanation. "Though they usually let girls in whatever."
"Come on then," he said, his gaze roaming over us as he ushered us inside and I followed the others down a short stone corridor before we reached a wide staircase that led down into the dark, lit with purple lights.
The girls were all tittering and giggling together and the buzz of the vodka had me grinning along with them, walking between Di and Bella as we descended into the club and the sound of the band called up to us from below.
As we reached another door at the base of the stairs, two more bouncers opened it for us and the music washed over us. The sound of a deep beat and the rough voice of the singer on stage embraced me as I realised this place had been built in an underground parking lot which had been totally converted to create this club. They didn't ID us which I was going to assume was because this place clearly wasn't legal and not because I didn't look young enough to warrant it anymore. Because I looked young as fuck. Although I guessed all the shit I'd suffered through might have worn on my features a bit. Crap, maybe I should have been worrying about getting crow’s feet.
I forgot about checking my face for premature wrinkles as we stepped through into the club and my lips popped open as I took in the full scope of the place. It was huge and absolutely teeming with people.
A large bar built out of cinderblocks ran around the right side of the room, topped with a wooden counter and under lit with a strip of more purple lights. The wall and concrete pillars had been painted black but the floor still held the white boxes intended to mark out spaces for cars to park. Despite the fact that this place was literally some abandoned parking lot, it was somehow stupidly cool - like it had been re-claimed for a rave. Or maybe a modern day speakeasy was more accurate.
To the left of the space, a stage had been erected where the band was playing and my gaze moved to them, drinking in the raw energy with which they embraced the stage. The lead singer had a deep, throaty voice like all the best country and western singers and the music was all grit and energy.
Most of the people packed into the place were dancing and I was more than happy to follow as Di caught my hand and dragged me into the throng.
We started dancing with Bella and Lyla, the four of us moving to the music and letting it sweep us away into the beat as we were submerged in the crowd.
Time slipped past as we danced and drank and laughed and I bathed in song after song while the music filled my soul and made me feel lighter than I had since before I'd come back here. Not that I'd often felt light while I was running with The Dead Dogs and Shawn Mackenzie either.
Fucking Shawn.
My skin got all hot and prickly just thinking about that motherfucker and I cursed beneath my breath, deciding that another drink was probably the best solution I could come up with to that particular shit fest of a line of thoughts.
But before I could turn away to the bar, a large hand traced a line right down the centre of my spine and I fell still as my skin prickled with heat for a much better reason than rage at Shawn.
The mystery man slid his arm around my hips and I looked down, finding tattooed skin covering him from his fingers to his hand and up his forearm where a charcoal grey sleeve had been rolled back to his elbow.
The guy's grip tightened, drawing me back against a hard, broad body and I fell into the movements of my dance again as I let him move me.
The scent of wood and leather surrounded me as we moved together, his other hand moving to brush his fingers against my thigh just beneath the hem of my dress and a breathy moan escaped me as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to lean against his shoulder.
This was what I needed. An outlet for the tension in my body to help me look at the Harlequins without any unwanted lust clouding my vision. Someone to touch and caress me and wash away the feeling of Shawn's hands on my skin.
I didn't want flowers and kisses. I wanted a man who saw what he wanted and took it. I wanted to use him and be used by him and feel the most perfect kind of dirty in the morning. Because dirty suited me best. I was a fucked up, imperfect creature and I liked to act the part so that I never forgot it. Never again.
The guy I was dancing with moved his hand up my thigh, his thumb lifting the material of my skirt and making my breath hitch as he drew a line of blazing fire right the way up to my panty line with that single digit before allowing the material to fall down again.
I hadn't even seen his face yet and I knew he was the type who could destroy me. This one ate virgin souls for breakfast and feasted on a diet of sex and danger and I wanted to feast with him the next time he dined.
His left arm kept my back locked to his front so when I tried to turn to face him, I couldn't and my pulse hitched as he slid his right hand up the front of my body, his fingers carving a line over my flesh until he made it to my neck.
As his large hand slipped around my throat, I sucked in a gasp of fear, momentarily thrown back into that moment with Shawn as he tried to squeeze the life from my body and I found myself helpless to stop him.
I tried to jerk away but the guy's grip tightened on my throat, his fingers digging in hard enough to make my pulse spike as he tipped my chin up. His other arm tightened around my waist and he drew my ass back hard against his crotch and the solid swell of his cock.
He dipped his head over my shoulder, the rough scratch of stubble grazing my neck right beneath my ear.
"Hello, beautiful," he growled, his voice deep and dark and even more painful than I would have thought possible.
My lips popped open in surprise, my heart thrashing like mad and a soft whimper escaping me that I couldn't even interpret.
He squeezed my throat tighter, his mouth still pressed to the side of my neck just above his fingers and as he bit down on my skin, sucking hard, a moan of surprise slid from my lips and my thighs clenched involuntarily as my needy body reacted to his touch.
It shouldn't have turned me on, especially with his hand squeezing my throat like that, but before I could even really get started beating myself up or telling him to get the fuck off of me or allowing myself to investigate the suspicion I was feeling for his identity, he released me.
I stumbled forward a step in surprise and by the time I whirled around to demand - I didn't even know what - it didn't matter because he was already gone, the throng of dancing idiots around me covering his tracks completely.
I looked back and forth, but between the dark and the crowd, I couldn't see him and I cursed as I wondered if I was just imagining things. Surely that wasn't who I’d thought it was. But the way my heart was racing told me it had been. And if Maverick really was here then there was no way I was going to let him leave without speaking to me.
I'd been listening to their warnings about Maverick, but I'd also heard them loud and clear when they told me he was the only one of them who tried to find me.
Besides, dead girls didn't feel fear. Right?
I glanced back around to let the girls know where I was going but I couldn't see them amongst the crowd of danc
ers who had closed in tight around us and Maverick was getting away.
I cursed beneath my breath and pushed into the throng of bodies, taking a punt and heading for the bar instead of the seating area to the rear of the club. The Rick I'd known would always choose the party over sitting in a corner and if there was any part of that boy left in the ruthless murderer he’d apparently become then I knew he'd be getting a drink.
The crowd thinned as I moved away from the band and I looked back and forth, hunting the bodies around me for any sign of familiarity. I hadn't laid eyes on Maverick in ten long years and if the tattoos I'd caught sight of and the thick muscles I'd felt pressing against my body were any indication, then he had changed in more ways than one. Just like all of my boys had.
I hurried on, shoving and cursing and feeling like a fucking idiot as I chased a memory through the darkness of the club until I finally came up to the bar and found nothing in the place of the man I'd been hoping to find.
My brow pinched and I kicked the bar before remembering it was built from cinderblocks and cursing as my toes throbbed through my heels.
"Where's the Green Ranger when I need him?" I muttered to myself, drawing an odd look from the guy beside me who I promptly flipped off.
"What's the matter, beautiful? You lost something you were looking for?"
I whirled around with my lips parting as I found Rick standing over me, his almost deep brown eyes devouring and dark presence consuming.
"Shit," I breathed, having no real answer for him as I dragged my eyes over his body. Maverick had been tall when I'd last seen him but he towered over me now and the breadth of his muscular chest made me feel small in all the right ways.
He was wearing jeans and a shirt with the buttons spilling open around his throat to reveal just as much ink as on his forearms and I wondered how far they went beneath his clothes.
Dark hair was pushed back on top of his head with less care taken than he'd used to bother with but still something about it that said he liked it just so. The mouth I'd seen smile a thousand times was set into a hard slash across his face and the way his brows lowered over his dark gaze seemed far too natural to be out of the ordinary for him.
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