by Jenika Snow
Lucien didn’t respond right away. He took a step back and gave Kink a hard look. “You can bullshit the guys, even bullshit yourself, but don’t lie to my fuckin’ face.”
Kink didn’t know how to respond, because yeah, he was lying to Lucien, himself, and everyone else around him.
“Just get your shit together, yah?”
Kink slowly nodded, feeling his anger build once more. He loved Lucien like a brother, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be talked to like a child.
Lucien turned to leave, but stopped right before he opened the door. He looked over his shoulder at Kink and said, “And quit acting like Cookie isn’t anything to you, because no Brother nearly beats a prospect’s ass because he was talking to a woman.” Lucien didn’t move, didn’t change his blank expression. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t said those words with enough conviction and truth that Kink felt it all the way to his bones. “And don’t start crap in the club again unless you are ready to claim Cookie as an old lady. Only then can you beat someone’s ass over talking to her, you know that.” There was a moment of silence that passed between them. “Because if you start this again and keep denying what you want, you and me will be throwing it down, got it?”
Kink didn’t respond, just gritted his teeth and nodded. He knew he needed to get his act together, get his head straight, and he hoped his life could go back to the way it had been—without female drama that fucked with him. But Lucien was right.
Lucien left him alone in the office, and Kink sat back down on the chair. He breathed out and braced his elbows on his thighs, and stared at the rusted and dented file cabinet across from him. What he wanted to do was take Callie away from Sarah. Hell, he’d had enough talks with his daughter to know that Sarah ignored Callie, spent most of her time with her douche-bag boyfriend, and bitched at her for everything. He would have gotten full custody of his kid years ago, but his life was not healthy for a child. But then again look at what Callie had to put up with. As much as he wanted to just go over there, beat the boyfriend’s fucking face in, and take Callie away from Sarah, he was going to play this one by the books. He didn’t want his kid in an even harder situation, and he certainly didn’t want to go to jail because of what he did.
He closed his eyes, feeling a lot older than his forty years. And then his thoughts turned to Cookie, and what Lucien had said. He wasn’t ready for an old lady, and certainly not one that probably didn’t trust men given her background. But he also couldn’t lie and say that he didn’t want Cookie, and that just the thought of another man even talking to her pissed him the hell off.
“Get your head together. Acting like this is dangerous for everyone.”
And now he was talking to himself. He had seriously lost it, and he knew if he wasn’t careful he’d leave a destructive path in his wake.
Chapter Three
Callie tossed back the third shot of the night, and hissed out from the burn. The alcohol was nasty as hell, but she didn’t care. She was looking forward to the oblivion that the liquor would give her. She wanted to forget about Sarah, and how she was a shitty mother, and about Sarah’s loser boyfriend. She didn’t want to think about her mom trying to take her to California only because Dale got some shitty job with his buddies out there, and her mom was too much of a wimp to stand up to them. Callie’s life was here in Colorado, and she didn’t want to leave. She’d miss her dad, miss the mountains, and hell, she might even miss Robbie.
She glanced over at her boyfriend, saw him smoking a joint with some of his buddies, and curled her lip. Nah, she wouldn’t miss him. He was a fun time for sure, well, when he wasn’t being an inconsiderate asshole, but he allowed her the freedom and excitement she needed right now in her life. But he wasn’t good enough that she was even going to think about giving it up to him, which he seemed to want her to do with increasing frequency lately, even trying to tell her that they should “seal the deal” before she moved.
She turned and grabbed a beer from the cooler on the ground beside her, and shook her head. God, to think she was wasting her time on him, on any of this. But it was a hell of a lot better than being in the same house with her mom. And then there was her dad, this badass biker that loved her unconditionally, but couldn’t even take her away because his life wasn’t “fit for a child”. Well, he should have thought about that before he had knocked up a woman he had taken home from the bar. She saw Robbie stand and make his way over to her. He had a joint hanging between his lips and this cocky ass smile on his face.
“Hey girl, you want to get fucked up?” he said and pulled the joint from between his lips. He held it out to her.
“I’m already getting fucked up on my own. I don’t need any pot to help that along.”
His grin widened, and he brought the joint back to his mouth. He inhaled deeply and held her gaze with his own cold, black one.
That was the thing about Robbie: he thought he was God’s gift to women, had this freaky wild side, and just didn’t give a shit. Maybe that was why she had wanted him right away, because he could give her something aside from being bitched at by her mom on a daily basis, and living this dull existence. One would think having a biker father would have been an exciting lifestyle, but it was the opposite. Her dad kept her away from anything MC related. Although she knew the guys in The Brothers of Menace club, and even had a crush on one of them since she was a little girl, she never got to hang around the club members much even though she saw them like a second family. It sucked a lot, but she just hoped her dad was able to work something out so she didn’t have to leave. Even if she couldn’t live with him, she’d be eighteen next month, and no way in hell was she staying with Sarah after that. She’d move back to Colorado, and find a way to support herself.
Robbie moved closer to her until his chest pressed against hers, grabbed her behind the head, and leaned in low to press his lips against hers. She didn’t know what he was doing at first, but when he blew the marijuana smoke from his mouth into hers, she pushed him back.
“You asshole.” She coughed from the smoke, not because she wasn’t used to it, but because he had taken her so off guard.
He grinned and went back to puffing on his joint. “Hey, I want you loose, baby.” He moved toward her again and leaned in close so his mouth was by her ear this time. “Come on, Callie, how about you give me that cherry tonight?”
“God, you fucking pig.” She pushed him away again. “Is that all you think about? And then trying to get me drunk, and what, take advantage of me?”
This hard look crossed his face. “You’re one uptight cock-tease, and you’re acting like a cunt right now.”
She curled her hands into fists. “Fuck you, Robbie.” The shots were really hitting her hard now, and with the smoke he had made her inhale, she was feeling pretty funky. She pushed past him and went to sit on the couch. But given the fact Robbie looked pissed as hell he didn’t come over and apologize for being a dick. Instead he moved over to Laura Carlton, a slut from high school that gave it up to anyone that would buy her dinner. Callie narrowed her eyes when Robbie stopped right in front of Laura, leaned in low, and whispered something probably filthy in her ear.
That fucking asshole.
Laura smiled, looked at Robbie, and nodded. Yeah, the bitch was totally going to give it up to him tonight. Well fuck them both. Robbie looked over at her, smiled widely, but Callie gave him the middle finger and stood. Right before she turned her back on him she saw Robbie’s grin fall. Good, she hoped the asshole realized she was the type of girl that would knee him in the balls if the time called for it. She snagged the bottle of cheap tequila off the counter and made her way outside. The backyard was small, with a bunch of junk lying in one corner. She didn’t even really know the person throwing the party. It was more of a friend of a friend kind of thing. She took a seat on one of the busted up lawn chairs and took a swig of the foul tasting alcohol. The majority of the people here weren’t even in high school anymore, and aside from Robbie, L
aura, and a couple of other people that she really didn’t hang out with, she was the odd man out at this party. She glanced at the bottle in her hand and grimaced. Her stomach roiled, and she set the bottle down. She was already drunk, and now high thanks to Robbie, and really just wanted to go home. She headed back inside, looked around for Robbie, and when she couldn’t find him she headed over to one of his deadbeat friend playing cards in the corner.
“You seen Robbie?” Her voice slurred, and she cleared her throat and braced a hand on the table. God, the alcohol was really starting to come on strong now. A few of the guys glanced at each other, and although they hadn’t said anything yet, she knew damn well what they were thinking. “What fucking bedroom is he in?”
One of the guys looked a little apprehensive, but he did point toward the back hallway. She looked over her shoulder, knowing what she was going to find, but not about to let it roll off her shoulders. She had never been the type of girl that just sat back and let people walk all over her, and maybe that was why she didn’t have any friends that were girls. Hell, she hardly had any guy friends either, but she got along with them better than the bitches she had gone to school with. She turned and headed toward the lone bedroom in this piece of shit apartment, stopped at the closed door, and heard the moaning coming from the other side. Maybe she was sick for even contemplating seeing what was on the other side, or maybe she was a stupid ass for caring that Robbie was clearly fucking some slut. It wasn’t like they had been going out for very long, a month really, but she had known deep down that he was not the right guy for her.
She twisted the handle and pushed the door open, and the sight in front of her really didn’t shock Callie. Laura on her back, her legs spread as wide as they could go, and Robbie rutting around between them like he was an animal having a seizure. She didn’t feel hurt, didn’t feel jealousy, and in fact felt slightly sick at the sight. But what she did feel was hatred for Robbie, Laura, and most of all herself.
“I hope you liked nasty snatch, Robbie, because that’s all you’ll ever get.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, but before he could say anything she slammed the door and turned back to walk down the hallway. Everyone was staring at her, but she didn’t care. “Get a good look, assholes,” she muttered under her breath and stormed out of the apartment. Callie went down the cracked and chipped stone steps and started making her way down the street. She grabbed her phone, the numbers blurry, and cursed herself. She was so damn drunk, and no way was she going to call her dad or mom. She tried to call one of her guy friends, but all she got was the voicemail.
“Goddammit.” She cursed aloud and saw a shifty looking bench sitting under a streetlamp. This neighborhood really wasn’t really the best, but she needed to sit down because she was going to be sick otherwise. Once on the bench she looked at her phone again. It was already after midnight, and although her mom might still be up, the amount of bitching she would hear because she was drunk, and because Callie had woken her up, was not drama she wanted to deal with right now. Her father … yeah, not going to happen. He may be a hard ass, and frighten a lot of people—her included sometimes with his coarse attitude—but he had been more of a parent figure than anyone in her life. He wouldn’t yell at her, wouldn’t ground her or slap her around. What he would say was that he was disappointed in her, and that would hurt a lot worse than her mother striking her.
She stared at her phone and the numbers that ran together, and before she knew what she was doing or who she was calling from her contact list the phone was ringing and she was bringing it to her ear. God, she was getting drunker by the minute, or at least it felt like that. She leaned back on the bench, thinking she might have called Ian, another one of the guys she considered a friend. She needed to him to be up, because she needed a place to crash, and at least Ian’s parents were usually passed out drunk, so they wouldn’t have an issue with a girl spending the night. But no way in hell was she going home like this, and thank God she had told her mom she was saying over at the party.
“Hello?” The deep, slightly gritty voice that came through the phone was most definitely not a teenage boy’s, but a grown ass man’s.
Her heart started beating faster, and she pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the screen.
“Hello? Who the hell is this calling me this fucking late?” the man said again.
She stared at the screen, blinked a few times, and then saw the number and name that was brightly lit on the screen.
Lucien Silver.
He palms started to sweat, and her heart raced even faster. She had called the President of the Brothers of Menace MC, a man that was frightening, lethal, and hurt men with his bare hands when they crossed him. She had heard the rumors when she had been listening in on around her father’s friends’ conversations, and even then, knowing he crushed his enemies as easily as if they were gnats, she wanted him. He was also the same man she had been crushing on since she was twelve years old.
Oh God, she didn’t know what to say even as she brought the phone back to her ear and stated to breathe heavier.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he gritted out, his anger clearly coming through the receiver.
She heard sheets rustling, and then heard a woman speaking on the other end. God, he had been screwing someone and she had interrupted. She could hang up and pretend like this never happened, but he’d find out who had called him, and then all hell would break loose.
“You better fucking answer me right now, because I can find out who this is easier than you think.”
Oh, she had no doubts about that. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” She closed her eyes when a wave of nausea settled inside of her. She did not want to pass out on this street corner, and maybe it was a blessing that she had gotten Lucien. He’d help her, maybe even not tell her father about this. “I’m sorry I called you. I didn’t mean to actually, but I need someone to come get me.” Had he understood anything she had just said? It sounded like a mumble of words to her?
“Christ, is this Callie?”
Her pulse skyrocketed at hearing him say her name. She had to be sick in the head to have any kind of sexual attraction for a man that was in his forties, but she couldn’t help it. “Yeah.” She licked her dry lips. “It’s me, and I swear to God I didn’t mean to call you.”
“Fucking hell, Callie, are you drunk?” He may have phrased it as a question, but she could tell in his voice that he knew she was. She was slurring her words for fuck’s sake, and couldn’t even see straight anymore.
“Can you come get me?” She heard him curse and then heard the sound of more rustling. “Please don’t tell my dad.”
“Fuck, Callie. Goddammit.” He was stringing out curses now. “Where are you?”
She rattled off the address of where the party was, and told him she would be a few blocks down from there on a bench. She hoped he could find her with those shitty directions.
“Don’t move, Callie. Do you understand me?”
“Yeah.” She leaned back on the bench and felt her stomach tighten again.
“I mean it, don’t you fucking move.” He breathed out roughly. “Is there anyone with you right now?”
“No.” God, her stomach felt like shit.
“Fucking hell, Callie. Okay, go somewhere that is discreet and wait for me, okay?”
She blinked back the dizziness, and nodded, but then realized he couldn’t see her. “There isn’t anyone around with me, Lucien, and this neighborhood is not good. I’m probably safest under this light, or if I try and walk back to the party.”
God, did he understand any of that, because she sure didn’t. The reality was even if he told her to go back to the party she didn’t know if she would make it without either passing out on her damn face, or getting mugged.
“Dammit.” He cursed again, and then once more, and then she heard a door open and close. The sound of a car starting came through the receiver, and she couldn’t help but feel this wa
ve of relief pass through her. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, and if someone tries to mess with you I want you to fucking kick their ass, and worry later. But I want to stay on the phone with you until then, okay?”
She nodded, but of course the sound of her phone beeping because the battery was dying came through. “Okay, but my battery is going to die.”
“Of course it fucking is.” He seemed to mumble under his breath. “Stay on the phone with me until it does, Callie.”
She only managed to stay on the phone for another five minutes before her phone died. She shoved the now worthless electronic in her skirt pocket, which was a hell of a lot harder than it sounded, and leaned back on the bench. She stared at the house across the street. It was rundown, debilitated, and reminded her sometimes of how she felt on the inside. She didn’t know how close Lucien was, but she hoped it was closer than the thirty minute hike her dad had to make. She just hoped Lucien didn’t tell Kink, because if her dad found this out, or found out she had called the President of his MC, he would go fucking ballistic.
Chapter Four
Lucien should have called Kink right away when he got off the phone with her, but dammit he hadn’t been thinking about anything else aside from getting to Callie and making sure she was okay. Kink was surely going to shit bricks when he found out his little girl was piss ass drunk and sitting alone at some fucking bus stop.
Lucien had just kicked the woman he had picked up at the club to fuck out of his house, thrown on a pair of jeans and a shirt, and gotten the hell out of there. Callie’s mom lived about half an hour from River Run, and the address Callie gave him wasn’t too far off from there. He turned onto the street where Callie should be seventeen minutes later. To say he had hauled ass to get to her was an understatement. When he scanned the sidewalks with his gaze and couldn’t see any sign of her. But then this heavy knot formed in his gut, and that dread intensified when he saw that there were two thug looking guys sitting beside her on the bench. Anger the likes of which rivaled his fieriest emotion came forth like a damn tank.