Starla (The Ladies of Karnage Novella Series)

by Culbreth, Jennifer

  “I can always transfer. You know there’s a college here. I could study abroad and come home in a few years,” I proclaimed. I’d already readied myself for this argument.

  “I can’t believe you,” tears of frustration were now running down her face, “We came here to have a good time before we went off to college. Now you’re just gonna forget all about those plans and stay here with some white trash biker, who may or may not be faithful to you.”

  “Don’t you dare judge Jameson. You don’t know him!” I shouted.

  “You don’t either!” She jumped from her bed and took off out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

  We hadn’t talked for two days following that argument; and she did have a point, I didn’t really know Jameson. But I had that feeling in my gut that the right decision was to stay here. After all, I could always buy a plane ticket home if it didn’t work out. Later that afternoon I’d called my parents, and for an hour they took turns shouting and yelling over the phone before they finally calmed down enough to have a regular conversation. My mom cried as I explained to her that I felt that the right thing for me to do was to stay in Ireland. Of course I didn’t go into specifics about Jameson, or the MC, but I told her that I felt a calling and she eventually caved. My dad though, I don’t think he’d ever really be ok with idea, but I was his baby girl and he wanted to give me the world.

  I hugged Joni tight as we both shook from the tears that we couldn’t hold back. We’d been strong the entire ride over, both laughing about the fun we’d had in Ireland. But now that it was actually sinking in that she was leaving, and I was staying, we were both a mess. Jameson wasn’t far behind us, leaning against the wall and waiting to take me back to what would now be my future. I got the sense that he still felt that I could change my mind at any time and run off toward the plane with Joni.

  “Ok, I gotta go or I’m gonna miss my flight,” she said, wiping the tears that kept falling down her cheeks, “Remember, if anything happens and you want to come home just call. No questions asked, we will get you on the first flight back to Tennessee.”

  “I promise, I will. I love you, Joni.” I handed her the duffle bag I had hanging on my shoulder.

  “Love you too, Doll.” She smiled and headed down the corridor, turning at the last minute and throwing me a smile and a wink.

  As she disappeared into the crowd of people a new wave of tears came flooding over me and I felt Jameson suddenly at my side. His arm snaked around my waist as he pulled me close to him and kissed me gently on the temple. “Not too late if you wanna head home, babe.”

  “Nope,” I sniffled back the tears and looked up at him, “You’re stuck with me now.”

  He smiled down at me, reaching up and wiping the tears from my face and planting a soft kiss on my lips. “Good.”

  We made the drive back to the hotel and collected my belongings and then made the drive over to Cork, Ireland. Jameson was a part of the Cork chapter of the Kings of Karnage MC. Where Dublin was a more tourist driven community, Cork was an industrial community packed full of large building and shipping ports. Knox’s father, William, owned a large distribution company and exported construction goods all around the world. However, I would soon find out that it was all just a front for what they were really into.

  We pulled up to a large brick building, similar to the clubhouse back in Dublin, but this one was larger and in much better shape. Jameson and I pulled into the wooden gate and Butcher pulled in behind us in an old beat up truck. There was a large concrete yard outside, no one around except a few guys off in the corner working on their bikes, the same kind of fire barrels that I’d seen back in Dublin, and a large barbeque smoker up against the wall. I followed Jameson up the stairs as Butcher helped bring up my luggage.

  We made it into the upper story and into a large kitchen. I looked around at the tables, cluttered with empty beer bottles, and cringed, I felt the urge to immediately grab a trash bag and clean. “Gonna stay here for a few days, babe, but if you want we can head over to the cottage.”

  “Ok,” I said sheepishly as we passed through a large open room with couches to my left, a pool table, and a large bar taking up the majority of the right wall. We made it into a small bedroom that was quaint, nothing much in there except a bed and a worn down dresser, but as soon as I made it in the door I could smell the faint scent of Jameson’s cologne and it calmed my nerves.

  Butcher dropped my bags at the door and made his way back out of the room, leaving Jameson and I staring each other in silence. I swallowed at the lump in my throat, and the storm that was churning in my stomach. When I had made the decision to stay I thought that I’d know what to do next, but as I stood here in front of Jameson, staring at the future that I wanted so badly, I felt lost. I didn’t have a clue what to do next. Was I supposed to get a job, if so how was I going to get back and forth to work? I didn’t have a car. How would I get money or would Jameson just pay for everything? How was I going to become a citizen? I looked over at Jameson and he could see the panic in my eyes.

  “You ok?” he asked, reaching out for my hand. I took his and he led me to the bed, sitting down and pulling me down into his arms. I wrapped myself into his strong arms and closed my eyes, praying silently that I’d made the right decision.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t really know what to do with myself.” I let out a deep breath to quell the tears that were threatening once more.

  “I’m happy with whatever makes you happy, love.” His voice was reassuring as he pulled me on top of him. “Just wanna have you with me. So if you wanna stay here at the club, we can stay here. If you wanna stay out at the house, we can go there.” His hand reached up toward my face, gently brushing the loose strands of hair away and tucking them behind my ear. “You just let me know whatever is going on in that pretty brain of yours and I’ll do my best to make it happen.” I looked down at him, his emerald eyes were crystal clear and shining as he smiled up at me. His reddish blonde hair was splayed out across the pillow and all I could think of was how beautiful he was.

  I smiled down at him and leaned into his hand, “Ok, but right now my brain is thinking about you bending me over the edge of this bed.” I leaned down, planting my lips against his neck and brushing them softly up to his ear. His hands ran up my thighs and toward the button of my pants, I could feel him fondling to free them and then the zipper. Our mouths were crashing together, our tongues intertwining as I took the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head and tossed it onto the floor. His hands skimmed up my torso and cupped my breast, his thumb slipped into the cup and rubbed against my hard nipple igniting the flames that were burning down to my core.

  I wanted him so badly it made my body ache and we because a fury of hands and flying clothes. Jameson rolled on top of me, pressing me into the bed with his weight and thrust into me. He took my legs and wrapped them around his waist as his hips seated his cock deep inside of me. I let out a gasp as his length pressed into me, gripping the bed as I stared up at him. His long hair and beard covered most of his face, but his muscular body was free to explore and I took advantage with my hands. He reached down and scooped me up into his arms, and I rode up and down on him as his hands traveled up and down my body, rubbing and kneading, kissing and licking. We found our release together, a groan of satisfaction escaping his lips as I whimpered out against his neck and we both fell back onto the bed sated and spent.

  A week later, Jameson left for a run out of town. I nervously walked around the clubhouse the entire time, trying to figure out what to do with myself while he was gone. I met more members of the club, some patched and some prospects. I was introduced to Doc, a round man with peppered gray hair, who was the local doctor and also a member of the club. He often found himself here after hours patching up a member after a street fight, or in the later years, after they’d been shot. Riley and Odessa were the newest prospects, both of them were a year or so older than I was and loved to ride. They’d m
et William at the port and he’d introduced them to the club life. They were both bachelors and loved the abundance of pussy at the club. Odessa was a little more trigger happy than Riley, but they both became dedicated members to the club.

  I’d met Rage and Knox in Dublin at the party I’d gone to with McGee, but overtime I got to know them both a lot better. I was amazed how they all took me in like family, never thinking twice about it. When I made the decision to become Jameson’s old lady, I also became a part of the club family as well. I didn’t just get him, I got them all. Rage was a hot head, a slut, and had a horrible temper, but mess with any of his family and he’d tear you to shreds. Knox was soft spoken, like his father, and strictly business. He didn’t get caught up much in the parties and pussy, but every once in a while he would cut loose. One member I met, and grew to love like a brother, was Charon.

  Charon was a beast of a man, surpassing six foot and was still growing. His arms were huge, his chest was huge, and I imagined every other part of him was just as big. He was protective, always keeping an eye on us girls if the guys were out doing business at the port. He was quiet, but get a few drinks in him and he’d have you rolling on the ground in laughter with all of his jokes.

  A few months after I’d moved to Ireland the shit started to get deep. The IRA, who were a group of radicals set out to create as much anarchy against the Irish government as possible, began recruiting new members in Cork. These guys weren’t the kind of people you fucked around with. William, who was the founding member of the Kings of Karnage MC, tried to overlook it as much as he could. But when the IRA began recruiting young kids and retaliating against families of anyone who tried to stand up to them, the Kings had to step in and because of that the tension throughout the club grew.

  I was sitting on the counter of the kitchen one afternoon, chatting with Johanna about the weekend’s upcoming barbeque, when I got my first taste of what the MC life was really like. It was just another day, overcast and rainy and the thunder echoed throughout the empty clubhouse, as we spouted off various ingredients to get from the local market, when we heard a boom that stood out against the sounds of the storm. I hopped down from the counter and made my way over to the door, pulling back the curtains and peering down into the yard below. At first I only saw the puddles spreading over the concrete as the rain became coming down harder, but as I looked out past the stairs I noticed the ground turning red.

  My heart dropped into my stomach as I saw Sag lying on the ground, the puddle surrounding him turning red from the blood seeping out from his shoulder. I didn’t think, I only reacted as I took off down the stairs toward him, leaving Johanna behind me shouting and screaming to get back inside. I heard another crack go off and the brick wall next to me burst out and came sprinkling down over me. On the other side of the fence was a black range rover and out of the back window was the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle, pointed directly at me. The shooter didn’t care who he took down, he was just searching for targets. As the shots rang out I tripped and tumbled down the stairs, taking shelter behind the wall at the end of the stairs. As the noise grew louder the guys who’d been out in the garage came flooding into the yard, I screamed as loud as I could for them to take cover but they couldn’t hear me, and the shots started to ring out from their pistols as they shot back toward the Range Rover.

  I looked over at Mulligan who was waving at me to go back upstairs, but I was frozen in place. The fear was coursing through my veins as shots came flying into the walls above and across from me. I curled myself as tightly as I could into a ball and plugged my ears, hoping that it would all end soon. I sat there dazed and confused, my head spinning a hundred miles an hour, when a hand came down against my shoulder and I screamed and tried to scramble away.

  “Darlin’ you hurt?” Mulligan was standing next to me, blood dripping down the front of his shirt. “Look at me, Starla.”

  I blinked up at him in shock, before it registered in my head that he was hurt. “I’m fine.” I jumped from where I had been sitting and reached for his arm, moving the collar of his shirt to see the large gash in his neck. “Oh my God, Mulligan. You got shot!”

  “Eh, it’s just a flesh wound. Nothing a bitch sticker can’t fix. Are you ok though?” He looked me over from head to toe, physically relaxing when he saw that I’d made it through the fire fight unscathed.

  “Who was that, Mulligan?” I asked as he took my hand and pulled me back up the stairs, shielding me with his body protectively.

  That night Jameson filled me in on everything that the MC was into. I swallowed down the fear as he told me about the guns, drugs, and the IRA. The natural reaction was to be scared, but deep inside I knew that I needed to be strong for Jameson and for the club. I wasn’t a weak person and I would be damned if I ran now. I took a deep breath as Jameson reassured me that he’d do everything he could to protect me and keep me safe, and as I exhaled I let out all of the fear inside of me. I knew I’d always have Jameson and no matter what, we would weather through it together. But nothing could have prepared us for what happened next.

  Chapter Seven

  I woke one night, my stomach was churning and my back was killing me. I made my way out of the bed as quietly as I could, as to not wake Jameson, and down toward the bathroom. It would figure with that with the club leaving on a run this coming weekend that I would get sick. I flipped on the light to the bathroom and looked up in the mirror, my face was ashen and pale as I stared back at myself. My stomach kept churning, and I knew if I didn’t make it to the toilet quickly that I was going to get sick right here in the sink. I dashed across the bathroom and made it just in time to get the lid to the commode up.

  My entire body ached as I emptied the contents of my stomach. My body was hot and clammy as I tried to stand. I heard the door come open behind me and tried to flush the bile as quickly as I could, but as the thought of throwing up in a toilet that God only knows who uses in this house, I felt the bile rise once more. I couldn’t turn to see who was behind me, but I heard the sink turn on and then felt a cool rag against my neck.

  “Honey, something has done a number on you, aye?” I heard Johanna’s voice as she gently rubbed my back.

  “I think I’m dying,” my voice was shaky as I reached up and flushed the toilet once more. “I don’t know what came over me. I just woke up and knew I was going to be sick.”

  “Wonder if any of the guys are feeling it? Might have been something bad you ate.”

  I sat up and turned, leaning my back against the toilet as she pulled my hair up on my head and secured it into a messy bun. You know someone’s your friend when they hold your hair for you while you throw up. She handed me a cup of water and I took a small sip, testing to see if my stomach would turn sour once more. When it didn’t I took a large sip and the door to the bathroom came open once more, damn at this rate we’d all be partying in the bathroom. I looked up to see Jameson standing in the doorway, his face mixed with confusion and concern.

  “I’ll go get you something for your stomach, be right back,” Johanna said as she stood and gave Jameson and me some privacy.

  “Went to reach for you and you were gone. You ok, love?” He made his way over to me, his hair up in the same messy bun as mine and I giggled.

  “I think so. My stomach went sour and I got sick. Probably something I ate.” I smiled up at him, leaning into his knees as he took the seat on the edge of the tub that Johanna had just vacated.

  “You need me to get you anything?” He rubbed small circles on my back and up to my neck, making me relax at his touch.

  “No, I’m just gonna brush my teeth and then come back to bed.” He helped me from the floor and kissed my cheek before making his way back toward the bedroom. A few seconds later Johanna was back at the door with some medicine and a box. I didn’t pay much attention to it and began brushing the bad taste from my mouth. It wasn’t until I looked over and saw the words pregnancy test that I froze in place.

  I turned to
Johanna, panic in my eyes as I tried to think back to when my last period was. Jameson and I used condoms most of the time, but not as much as we should have. But getting pregnant wasn’t something that had ever really crossed my mind. Hell, I’d never even known a pregnant woman in my life, and I sure as hell never expected to be one myself. I took the tooth brush from my mouth and rinsed before looking back at Johanna.

  “You don’t think I could be…” my voice trailed off as I asked, still trying to mentally calculate if it was possible.

  “You two fuck like rabbits, and I know you aren’t on the pill. So yes. It’s possible. I had this spare test, been trying to get Doc to knock me up for weeks and it hasn’t happened yet.” She grabbed the box and tore open one end, pulling out a long plastic package and handing it to me. “Lock the door, I don’t think you want Jameson coming in for this one,” she chuckled. “It says to pee on it for seven seconds and then we wait two minutes. If it’s a plus you’re preggo, if it’s a negative you’re not,” she explained in a low voice.

  I made my way back to her slowly, eyeing the test stick in her hand as she held it out to me. I was afraid to touch it, like it would burn my hand if I did. I peeled back the plastic and examined the result window and the plastic cap covering the inch of cloth that I was supposed to pee on. Johanna stood and made her way to the door, “Don’t leave. I don’t think I can do this by myself,” I said to her and she stopped just short of the door.

  “You want me to hold it while you pee or something?” she joked.

  “No, but I want you to pick me up off the floor if I pass out.”

  She hopped up on the counter as I proceeded to follow the directions on the box. When I was pretty sure I had hit the target, I put the plastic cap back on and carefully set it onto the paper towel that Johanna had laid out on the counter. I cleaned myself and flushed the toilet for what felt like the fiftieth time tonight before making my way over to the test strip. “I don’t think it’s been long enough.” Johanna was now standing directly beside me as we hovered over to see what the results would be.