by KT Fisher
“Scrap.” Warns Grim, approaching us both.
“Leave us VP!” Scrappy shouts back and Grim’s eyebrows shoot up. The VP does not like being yelled at, even if Scrappy is his cousin. “Bomber and I have some private business.” He scowls at me.
“Don’t make me hurt ya Scrappy.” I threaten and this does nothing to his anger and I probably already knew that but when a man has his hands wrapped around your throat, threats get thrown around.
Scrappy laughs in my face. “Is that right brother,” he says brother in a sarcastic way and we all know why. He doesn’t see me that way anymore. Growing up we used to be close, Grim, Scrappy and I. Even Devlin and Baby but none of them have given me hassle like Scrappy is, and we were the closest out of everyone.
“Step away Scrappy.” I warn again.
“Then leave my sister alone.” He replies, anger dripping from every word.
“I can’t do that.” I admit and Scrappy’s hands tighten on my neck and I push out, landing my hands on his chest and pushing back towards the opposite wall. Scrappy’s eyes widen from the shock, and he snaps, clenching his fists and charging toward me, but our VP blocks his way.
“Move Grim!” He shouts.
“No, you need to calm the fuck down.” Grim breathes calmly, blocking his raging cousin.
Scrappy looks at me over Grim’s shoulder. “Stay the fuck away from Elise, she’s not being with Devil scum.”
“I’m a Kings member.” I grind out, sick to death of all this Devil member bullshit.
“Like fuck, you are!” He shouts.
“That’s enough!” Grim shouts, this time he’s the one pushing Scrappy up against the wall. His hands holding him up as he glares down at him. Scrappy is at least being smart and doesn’t fight the VP. “Our fathers sent him, and his father on an undercover mission to the Devils. You hearing me?”
Scrappy begrudgingly nods, still glancing at me.
“It’s not his fault, he had to go along with it. Now he’s back, and before you start throwing some more Devil scum shit around again, think about this.” Our VP leans into Scrappy’s ear. “It was Bomber who got in touch and told us where Elise was, he was the one who saved your sister from countless rapes and beatings. He protected her when Lauren and Tasha couldn’t. Thank him before you start spitting your bullshit next time!”
Scrappy gets another shove to the chest from his older cousin, before Grim storms away gracing me a slight head nod as he passes. I look over to Scrappy, who is frowning over at me but he stays silent. I didn’t expect him to say anything, so I begin to walk away.
“Is it true?” He asks to my back.
I don’t look back. “Yeah.”
And then, because I know he doesn’t want to admit I’m a good guy after all, I walk off. Leaving him to his thoughts. Besides, we have a job to do tomorrow.
Chapter Four
Elise
I sit at the table, not paying much attention to the toast I am eating. My mother is singing along to the radio, wiggling her bottom to the rhythm and my father watches with interest.
“Dad.” I whisper, but he doesn’t hear me. “Dad!”
I’m trying to be quiet so my mum doesn’t hear me, but my Dad is too interested perving on my mother. So I do what I have to, and gently kick him under the table. He jumps, causing his coffee to spill all over his own breakfast and groans out loud. Looking to me with wide eyes and I shake my head, holding a finger to mouth to let him know to be quiet.
“What happened?” My mother turns from her dancing, casting her eyes over the mess on the table.
“Dad dropped his coffee.” I answer for him and she frowns. “I think your dancing was the cause.”
“Couldn’t make me another could you Princess?” He holds out his cup with his most handsome smile, father’s signature dimples on show and I literally see my mother’s knees weaken.
“Of course baby.” She kisses him on the cheek, flashing me a smile before turning back around.
“Did you do it?” I whisper across the table once my mother continues to sing.
Sighing, my father nods. “I did everything you asked.”
“Did you get her a present?” I ask and his eyes widen. “You’ve forgotten!”
“You’ve had me so busy.” He shoots his accusation across the table. “I’ve been running around like a headless chicken.”
“You have three days to go.” I point at him. “Get her something amazing.”
“Here you go.” My mother dancers over to the table, placing my father’s new cup of coffee in front of him.
“Thank you gorgeous.” He smiles up at her, grabbing my mother around the waist and I remove my eyes before they burn, one thing a child does not want to see is the way her father’s eyes drink in their mother. Look at them with adoration, sure but not lust. Ew.
My mothers shoes alert me to her walking across the kitchen floor, meaning it’s safe to look back over. “The spa is all booked, Auntie Laura and the girls are all coming too.”
“She will love it.” My father grins towards me, but then winces as my mother shouts Scrappy downstairs. She looks sweet, but my mother has a loud set of pipes on her.
“Have you found any potentials yet love?” My mother asks, returning to the kitchen and taking the seat between me and my dad.
“I’m not sure.” I think. “There’s a few that’s cute but I don’t think I’m sure.”
My mother shakes her head. “If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.”
“Listen to your mother.” Dad points to her, nodding in agreement.
I still feel bad for failing my degree, but after I was kidnapped, I had missed a lot. My mother had asked if I wanted to redo it, but the thought of it depressed me. My dreams of owning my own boutique were still very much alive and I began straight away. I wasn’t going to let my failing stop me from reaching my dreams. I searched for styles with a little twist, a hint of gothic but not too much to scare a girl away. That is my image of course. I discovered that social media was the way forward to get myself started and I created a page called Lissy Loves, and I’m shocked at how fast it has all gone. Within a month I had 5000 likes on my Facebook page and had suppliers emailing me, wanting their clothes and accessories on my website. Two months later, I have more than tripled my numbers and have even been approached about my own Lissy Loves collection! I never even dreamed that would happen.
Designs were quickly approved and figures worked out and this time next month, my very own designs will be available on my own website, but I want more. I want my very own boutique, a cute little store that will be all mine. Granted, my parents are helping but still, it will be mine. However, I can’t seem to find anything that appeals to me just yet.
“We’re so proud of you.” My mother gushes.
“Thank you.” I blush.
“I don’t know where you get it from.” Dad laughs with a slap on the arm from my mother.
“I have a good sense of clothes.” Mum holds her head high.
“Of course you do.” I agree, even though her tight leather trousers and Harley shirt are not my kind of style. Everyone has their own tastes, I should know that.
I hear footsteps from upstairs and my body tenses as I listen to my brother make his way to the kitchen. As soon as Scrappy steps in, wearing his jeans, white shirt and club vest my mother jumps up and sorts him his breakfast. He smiles at me, but I match him with a glare. Does he really think I’m going to be friendly towards him?
“What’s up with your arse this morning?” He frowns down at me when he sees I’m not returning his smile.
“I heard what you said to Bomber.” I grind out slowly, watching his reaction. He sighs, not really looking as guilty as I had hoped, but then again, this is Scrappy we’re talking about.
“Look, I had my reasons.” He runs his hand through his hair, keeping his eyes firmly on me.
“I don’t give a shit about your reasons.” I snap, just as our mum places his bacon sandw
ich in front of him.
Her eyes widen as she straightens her back. “Lissy!”
I look up to her, she never likes me cursing but I stand my ground. “He went to Bomber and warned him away from me mum!” I point towards my brother, just in case she doesn’t know who I’m talking about. “He called Bomber Devil scum!”
My mum finally diverts her eyes from me and towards the golden boy, Scrappy. “Ethan!” She gasps, and Scrappy groans, closing his eyes. Mum knows the greatest respect she can give to her son is calling him by his MC name, but when she’s pissed she doesn’t care about all the biker politics. It’s just mother and son.
“But I’m right.” He replies, looking at all of us. “He’s not good for the club, never mind Elise!”
“No you’re not.” I snap right back, slamming my hands down on the table. “You don’t get to control everything.”
My father stands and we all wait to hear what he has to say, but my eyes stay sharp on Scrappy. I pour all my hatred into my eyes just so he can see how angry I am. I know he can see it, I can see it in the way Scrappy tenses his jaw and slightly nods his head. Confirmation that he can see how much he’s hurt me, the sister he wants to protect but in the result of talking to Bomber the way he did, has hurt me anyway.
“Let’s leave them to it.” Dad guides our mother out the kitchen and she willingly goes, flashing me a comforting smile before disappearing. Dad leans down to Scrappy’s level as he’s sat on the chair, and speaks directly into his ear. “Do not upset your sister, you hearing me son?” Scrappy nods in reply. “I don’t wanna hear you talking badly towards her or Bomber.”
Scrappy frowns, finally giving Dad some eye contact. “But,”
Dad shakes his head. “I’ve heard what you said, and I also know what he said back and all of its true son, so you better start respecting him for the brother he is to you, otherwise there’s going to be problems, you hearing me? Bomber is a part of the Kings, like he always has been, as was his family before him.”
I love my father, growing up I’ve always looked at him as if he’s a big cuddly teddy bear. Often when I was a child I would run up to him and jump in his lap, loving his big, tattooed arms as they squeezed me. But right now, he’s not that loveable father comforting his daughter, he’s a frightening biker. The brother to the Kings Prez and head of security. I’m no fool, I’m not stupid to know what the head of security means, but I rarely see that side of my father. Right now though, he’s not messing around with Scrappy and I actually feel a little bad for my big brother.
“I hear ya.” Scrappy replies, the respect for his father and fellow MC Brother clear in his attitude.
Dad stands tall, nodding to me and waits for me to reply with my own before he follows mum out.
“Didn’t take long for you to find out.” Scrappy sulks.
“That’s not the problem here.” I fold my arms across my chest, giving him my best dirty look. My brows tightly furrowed and my eyes glaring. “But you know how gossip spreads around the club.”
Scrappy nods with his blue eyes wide. “Yeah, the men bitch worse than the women.” He grumbles and looks directly at me. “Look, I know you’re mad but you know how I feel about him.”
“And you should know I don’t give a shit about how you feel.” I quietly snap back so mum doesn’t hear me cuss again. “I’m not saying I’m going to get married to Bomber, I just want you to back off and leave me alone. I’m not a little girl anymore Scrap.”
“I think it’s best to stay away from him Lissy.” He advises. “I’ll be fine with anyone else honestly, but not Bomber.”
“And why is that?” I ask, wanting to hear his exact reasons. I already know what he’s roughly going to say, and that isn’t good enough for me.
“Look, I know why he went to the Devils and I heard how much he actually helped you,” his voice dips and hardens at the same time. “And I could never repay him for that, but I can’t ignore that he was there and he didn’t help you sooner.”
With tears in my eyes, I lean forward and reach out for Scrappy’s hand. The words I’m about to say might hurt him. “But you weren’t there, he couldn’t do it any quicker than he did but Bomber also did everything he could to get me and the girls out as soon as he could. I wouldn’t have wanted him to die saving me. He snuck us to the showers when we hadn’t had one for three days, he would sneak us food when we hadn’t eaten all day. It might not seem much to you, but back there Bomber did everything he could. He kept us sane.”
“I would have tried to get you out that hell sooner.” His jaw tenses as he looks at me, his emotion thick in his voice. Is this what it’s all about? He feels shit for not being there and helping me?
“I know but I wouldn’t have wanted you to Scrappy, he helped everyone safely get us out in a time that was perfect. If it was any sooner, any one of us could have died that night, including me.” I add to drive it into him. Scrappy’s eyes widen and he heavily sighs, thinking over my words and I squeeze his hand. “I can understand why you want me to stay away, but I don’t think I can do that.”
It’s true what I said to Scrappy. This doesn’t mean I’m going to run off and marry him, but it does mean I will be free to simply talk to him.
He sadly smiles. “I don’t want you to be miserable.”
“And I will be if you carry on the way you are.” I taunt. “I have to be able to live a little.”
Scrappy laughs. “And dad will have my balls if I don’t let you.”
“That too.” I agree, laughing a little more.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt again.” He frowns down at the floor.
“I won’t.” I promise, even though we both know I can’t control that. “But you can’t be following me and having your spies watch me. It’s not healthy.” Scrappy nods and I feel a little happier than I did thirty seconds ago. “But on a serious note, he did help me Scrap. Him and the girls protected me and I could never repay them for it.”
“It’s not gonna be easy to sit back and do nothing” He frowns.
“But you will.” I grin. “And if you ever speak to Bomber like that again, I will never speak to you.” I threaten.
He nods, accepting my terms. “I take it you still have your teenage crush then.”
My cheeks burn. “Don’t tell him that.”
He still doesn’t look to happy and I’m not surprised. My brother is a stubborn young man.
“But this isn’t just about Bomber, I’m not saying this for him. I’m telling you this because I feel trapped. You can’t be my guardian angel.” I point out and he laughs.
“It’s my job.” He answers and I want to nothing more than to cry and leap into his arms. My poor big brother, not able to handle having a little sister. He thinks he has to watch me every second of the day and that’s not good for either of us.
“You two used to be so close.” I remind him and he lets go of a long sigh.
“You weren’t the only one let down when he fucked off to America.” He stands. “The only difference is, only one of us were notified.”
With that he leaves me alone at the kitchen table and I’m left feeling a little bad for my brother. When I think back to that devastating day when Bomber knocked on my door and delivered the news that he was going away, I remember he seemed to be in a rush. Him and Scrappy were really close friends, I thought he might have told my brother that he was going away.
Did he have to learn of his best friend moving to America from someone else?
Bomber
It’s not that I volunteered for this run for the fun of it, but this fucking sucks!
“Not having fun?” Scrappy turns to me, a knowing smirk spread across his face.
I look around us to make sure he’s actually talking to me and raise my brows towards him. “Oh, you’re actually speaking to me?”
He rolls his eyes. “Sure, let’s stay silent then and listen to the excitement inside shall we?”
I can’t help but laugh. We’re o
n a security job, nothing major but you never know. Mick, the guy who has hired some Kings muscle, wants us to watch his back while he sells his strip club.
“Well fuck me, talk if you wanna talk Scrap.” I taunt, wondering what’s changed his tune.
Scrappy blows out a long sigh. “Look, I’m not asking you out on a fucking date man, but I wanna call peace.”
I can’t help how wide my eyes go. “Wow.”
“Shut the fuck up.” He snaps, and his phone begins to ring. I’m about to give him some shit about calls while on the job, but it’s his personal phone he gets out and I manage to sneak a peek at the photo of him and Elise that flashes up. He sighs, answering the call. “I’m on a job, what’s the matter?”
Scrappy’s eyes flash to me while he listens to what Elise has to say.
“Yes I’ve got her something, I’m not completely clueless.” He groans. “If you must know it’s that photo she loves of us two when we were kids.”
His face relaxes, like it usually does when it comes to his family.
He chuckles a little. “Like I said, I’m not clueless. Aren’t you supposed to be with mum anyway, at some spa?”
The thought of Elise in a spa does some mad shit to me. Don’t chicks undress at a spa? God the thought nearly causes me to grab my dick and punch one out, but I won’t. Not only would that be awkward in front of her brother, but I’m professional when I’m working.
“Alright.” He hangs up and there’s a minute silence until Scrappy huffs and turns to me. “You wanna drop this shit or not?”
“Course I do, but I wanna know why you were being a dick in the first place and why the sudden change of heart.”
“I wasn’t there.” He blurts.
“What?” I’m sure I misheard him.
“At first I was fucked off that you were with the Devils. Then you came back the fucking hero, after years not hearing anything and thinking you were dead, you turn up like you own the place.” He frowns, and I have to stop myself from smiling. He looks over at me and his face turn furious. “What the fuck you smiling at?”