by K. J. Dahlen
She then went on, “So this Mario guy was a fucking creep. I could tell by looking at him.”
I nodded. I knew of him and there had been rumors he was like some kinky, dominant fuck. Some had said he’d actually killed some females when he had them. No way was she going to be with that bastard. Married to him? He may not kill her but torture would be her life from then on. “So you ran?”
She bit at her lip. “Well, yes… after.”
I cocked my head at her. With her, there’d been too many surprises. “After what?
“You aren’t going to like it.”
“Dammit, Bella. Every time you say that, all hell busts loose. You didn’t kill him did you?”
She shook her head.
I sighed with a bit of relief. At least there was that much. “Go on…After?”
She raised her chin. “He got me to his place. What a mausoleum it was too. But anyways, he went at me. He bruised me up good. I was spitting blood. My breasts were purple the next day. He told me he was going to have me tied up and brand his name on my ass! That I would be his slave, have his babies and never leave the house after I married him.”
I remained steady on the outside but I was livid on the inside.
“Then I acted like I was going along with it. Like, I acted submissive and scared. He dug on that.”
I shook my head. I already knew this woman was resourceful, but she hadn’t ceased to amaze me either.
“So, when he thought he had me, I hit him on the head with a lamp.”
Well, that wasn’t so awful, if he’d lived I supposed. “Then you left?”
Bella shook her head.
My gut clenched. This could be very bad after all. “What did you do?”
She bit at her lip and looked away. “Dino, he made me feel like trash, he did things to me t-that…”
“What did you do to him, Bella?” I repeated.
“I um…I castrated him.”
My eyes rounded. “What?”
She nodded. “You gotta understand. My mind was fucked as he’d drugged me up too. It must have been in the wine, then he slapped me around and treated my…” Her words halted. “…my body parts like they were…” She turned away from me. “It was all kind of hazy, but I shook with rage as I did it while crying so hard I couldn’t even see anything half way through it. My hands were covered in blood. I wasn’t in my right mind. I mean—I’m not a monster.”
I was holding my breath. I couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through. God, could life had kicked her in the teeth any more than all of this? “So, you castrated one of the vilest, ruthless, most cut throat mafia heads in the country?”
She nodded.
“FUCK!” I shouted.
She jumped a little at my shout then she continued, “So they were there to take me back to him. Some family uh? They didn’t care that he was a monster. They knew. I would be tortured for a long time before he finally killed me.” Her green eyes were like glittering emeralds as she stilled. “I will die before I go back. I would want to.”
My chest tightened again. I refused to believe one human being could live through so much and still be standing and be halfway decent. Was all this made up? It had to be. If not, then why did she even want to have sex with me at all? Maybe this woman was more of a manipulator than I’d previously thought. I didn’t know what I wished for more. For her to be outright lying or telling the truth.
“So what do you think Bruno will do?” she asked as a sudden fear came into her eyes.
I’d never seen fear there in the couple of days I’d been with her. “I don’t know.”
Her eyes were luminous.
If she were telling the truth this woman might end herself if she thought… “Look, Bella. Bruno is a tough man and you being his blood, he would never—”
“Bullshit!” she cut me off. “Men like him. I’ve met men like him. My dad was a man like him!” Her voice rose to hysterics.
I grabbed her up and looked into her eyes. “I won’t let him do it, okay? Not that I think he will. He will come up with something. He has before.”
She shook her head. Not convinced. “You aren’t in charge here, Thunder. Him and that friend of yours are.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It does!” She fought me.
I held her to me. “Listen. You will stay with me okay?”
She laid her head on my shoulder and let out a sigh. “I will try.”
Try? Yes, she definitely had a fight or flight life. If all she said was true. I hoped most of it wasn’t. But if it wasn’t, she wasn’t the woman for me either, as lies were one thing I’d never tolerated before. I held her close. I would ask Marco if he knew of some of this. He had looked into her background. My gut clenched. I didn’t want to know the truth either way though. God, what a fucking mess!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Bella
Thunder wanted me to trust him. I wanted to. I really did but no one had ever earned it. He had done things that made me feel like I could. But the facts of my life remained the same. I could only trust myself.
He’d gone to get me clothes from somewhere. Hell, these MC places always had female clothes on the premises. They had sweetbutts here right? I paused. Though all I’d seen were men. How strange. Maybe on lockdown, they made the women go home.
It didn’t matter because I needed to find a way out of here. Trust Bruno? No damn way. It seemed like I went from one hell to the next with each new barbarian I met up with. I paused. Except for Thunder. God, he was getting under my skin. That was something more dangerous than most of the things I’d been up against.
I sat on the bed in my tee-shirt and bra. I had no panties and had a towel wrapped around my waist.
A knock sounded on the door and I literally jumped off the bed. “Who is it?” I called. I wouldn’t let a guy in here if here said he was Jesus himself.
“It’s Chloe!”
Oh, the chick I met earlier today. I was okay with that. I tucked my towel around me and went to the door. I slid the lock back.
She raised some clothing up as she smiled.
I smiled and stepped back to let her in, then I locked the door again.
She handed the outfit to me.
I looked at the tee-shirt. “Black Devils MC, Uh?”
She nodded. “Not my favorite color but they are all black with red letters it seems.”
I nodded and walked over dropping the towel. I sat on the bed and tugged the jeans on.
She looked away while I dressed. “Thunder gave them to me.”
I stood up and zipped the jeans. “Well, they fit.”
She nodded. “Yes, Dino said they would. Apparently, he knows your size.” Her eyes twinkled a little.
I tore the dirty tee shirt off and donned the black one.
“I got one too. All my clothes are…” Her voice faded away.
I now took a good look at this Chloe. “So are you like… um…A sweetbutt?”
Her eyes rounded. “A what?”
I laughed. “Apparently not. I didn’t think so. You don’t have the look.”
She tilted her head. “Um, no. I’m engaged to Jaxson.”
My head rose up. “Engaged?”
She nodded and held her hand out. It was a nice diamond, very pretty and very pricey.
“Nice.” I looked at her. “But how did you ever get here in the MC if you aren’t like one of those biker bunnies, you know?”
She laughed. “Oh. No. I’d never been here in this compound before last night.”
“Okay, now I am confused.”
She moved over to the chair. “Okay I’ll share. If you do?”
“Share?”
Nodding, she grinned. “I just have to know.”
“Know what?” I felt suspicious now.
“If…um… Well, about you and Thunder.”
“What about it?”
She laughed. “Like I’ve known him for six months now.” She shrugged. “I never…I mean
. Well, shit. I’ve never seen him look at a woman like he does you.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Like I never saw him with a girl ever.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m sure he isn’t gay!”
She stared at me unblinking. “Hell no. I mean…” She sighed and got up. “Never mind. I’m being nosey and personal. God, I’m sorry.” She turned away to leave.
“Wait.” I didn’t want her to leave if she’d known him all these months maybe I could get something on him that would explain the way he’d acted. Like why he was so conflicting. One moment I thought he was like all the other bikers then the next he wasn’t. “Come and sit.” I motioned back to the chair.
She looked a little surprised by the change in my attitude but she came back and sat.
“If you will tell me of…well, your impression of him. Like what you know about him. Then yeah, I will share, K?”
She studied me. “Okay. Well, when I first met him, he was…um what would you call it, babysitting me?”
“What?” I chuckled.
“Yes. See… I was in some trouble. Jaxson had me protected when he wasn’t there and he brought Dino…um, Thunder to watch over me. The man is loyal. He never looked at me sideways like he would hit on me or nothing. He protected me and…” Chloe laughed. “I put him through hell too. Like I made him drive me to places while threatening to just run off if he didn’t. Even though I knew Jaxson would be pissed at him for doing it.” She paused. “Actually, I’m not too proud of that now that I think about it.”
“Did he ever like get so angry that he hit you?”
Chloe’s eyes rounded like saucers “Fuck no! Dino would never hit a woman. Y-you mean h-he hit you?”
“No! No, never.”
“Then why would you think such a thing?” She looked thoroughly shocked.
I lowered my head. “The men in my life…well, they were all pieces of shit.”
Chloe fell silent.
I raised my gaze to her.
“Well, not Thunder.” Her expression looked fierce. “The man is the best thing in Jaxson’s life. He’s the only one who really cares about him, like he would give his life for him. He also has honor. He’s funny too.” She laughed. “He can eat like a monster! He loves huge, greazy sloppy burgers.” She laughed again. Then she looked serious. “But an abuser, drinker, druggie. No, never.”
I let out a sigh. Dammit. I didn’t know what I would feel to hear he was decent like he appeared to be. Both apprehension and glee.
“So, what is like, going on between you?” She glanced over at my ruined jeans in the small garbage can.
I followed her gaze and got what she meant. “Oh, that. Um… I’d hoped that…” How could I explain this craziness to her, without sounding crazy? “That I could push him into… well, you know?”
She looked confused for a minute then it dawned on her. “And he won’t?” Her mouth popped open. “But damn. Look at you! God, you’re gorgeous and he never?”
“We almost…” I paused and felt like some teen girl in high school. “He confuses me. I have like offered myself up and he hasn’t.” I lowered my head. “I even thought maybe it was because I…”
Chloe kept her eyes right on me. “Because you…?”
“I was over at Border Patrol MC for a month or so. I mean I was like tending bar and you know…”
Chloe placed her hand on mine. “You’re wrong about this if you think that man thinks less of you or that he doesn’t want you bad.”
I looked up into her eyes. “Really?”
She nodded. “It’s why I’m being so nosey. I mean I never seen him look like this. He looks upset but like he can barely contain…I don’t know. I mean he can’t seem to keep his eyes off of you.”
I pulled my head back and wondered at her impression of this situation. I didn’t see it like she did. “Well, months back, he arranged for me to meet him. So I knew he wanted me. But not like wanted me, you know. Just sex is what I thought at the time?”
Chloe shook her head. “As far as Jaxson has said, he has never gone after a girl. Like they go to him, then he never lingers. But to actually go after you? Then the first thing he did when he got out of prison was to go see you? Not his best friend, not the club? Come on. Not like him at all.”
I felt shocked at this. She was saying he really was interested like relationship interest. No way. It couldn’t be. I shook my head. “Um… About that. Prison.”
She raised her hands up. “He did NOT do that.” Her jaw was set firmly.
“Then why was he arrested in the first place?”
Chloe sighed. “Okay, he is accused of killing someone that well… Someone in my life did that. Killed that man to protect me. Thunder didn’t do it.”
I gasped. “Then why doesn’t he say that? Why not clear himself?”
Chloe looked straight at me. “Just like I said, loyalty and honor. He would sit in that prison for the rest of his life to protect the people close to him.”
I sucked in a breath. “No one, especially a biker, an MC member would do that of their own free will. Unless someone made them… like would off them if they talked?”
Chloe stood up and looked down at me. “Well, I suppose you don’t know him like we do. He is protecting me, Jaxson and someone else. That’s the truth too. I don’t lie. Because actually, I never learned how to in my life. If I were you, I would hang on tight to a man like Dino, if you are as interested in him as you seem to be. If he cares for you like I see he does, you are one lucky girl, and you don’t even seem to know it.” She went to the door then turned to me. “In my opinion, there are only two REAL men in this entire clubhouse. Jaxson and Thunder.” She slid the lock and let herself out.
Could it be true? He’d said several times. You want me. Not need. I raised my head up. My body shook. I had faced lots of things. Nasty bikers, thugs, criminals. So when a decent guy came along in the guise of a tough guy, a biker. I couldn’t see him as decent.
Fear, like I’d never known rose up in me. If he hurt me, set me up just to watch me fall for him, then walk away…It would be worse than anything any man had ever done to me physically.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Chloe
Gosh, I really shouldn’t have done that. Butting in like that. I hope Thunder gets his girl. I really did. Everything I just said to her was true. There were basically three men I trusted in my life. Jaxson, Thunder and my dad. I couldn’t tell her the details of the murder of Roy. Like how could I tell her Dagger had done it? Then I stopped to think about it. How were they going to get Dino out of this murder charge?
I wandered the hallways in the club as I realized I’d been more than selfish all these months. Dino had done 5 months in jail for something my father had done. And what did I do? I thought of myself, wanting a job, going around thinking of just me and Jaxson. It was odd to realize that before last night when those men tried to end us, I’d been a selfish person.
I needed to figure this thing out. But what could be done? I did not want my dad in jail. He’d been lost to me all these years. I stopped as I heard voices.
“They won’t back down on it, Thunder.”
It was Bruno’s voice, so I moved closer to the door.
“But they will hand her over to this Balemi,” Dino said. “He wants her some kind of bad if what she told me was true.”
“Marco, what did you find on this Mario?” Bruno spoke again.
There was silence.
“Yeah,” Marco spoke. “My friend in the south of town said that something bad had happened to Mario last year. He dropped out of the game due to some kind of injury. Then my men found this on the net.”
There was silence for a minute or two.
“Fuck!” Bruno yelled. “He has a million dollar bounty on her?”
“God dammit.” Thunder swore. “So she did do it.”
“What exactly did she do Thunder?” Bruno asked.
“Man, it wasn�
�t her fault. They gave her away to marry this guy. You all know the rumors about him. He’s a sadistic fuck. He mistreated her badly, all kinds of twisted shit. He drugged her then threatened to actually brand his name on her ass. When she got the chance, she hit him on the head with a lamp…”
Silence again.
I got closer to the door to listen better.
“Then what?” Marco asked.
“She castrated the fucker.”
I gasped. This Bella actually…I clasped my hands over my mouth.
Absolute silence.
“Well, fuck me… she is a DeLuca!” Bruno exclaimed with pride in his voice.
“Dammit, Bruno. The man will torture her a long time before he kills her. You cannot give her back!” Thunder yelled.
Silence.
I rolled my eyes, as I knew Bruno wasn’t going to take that from Dino.
“Listen Thunder. Remember who the fuck you’re talking to.”
I heard a noise down the hall and saw one of the men coming my way. Shit. What do I do? I scurried away and headed to the main room.
I was breathing hard. What can I do? I can’t take it to Jaxson. He wouldn’t be able to help her. Not if Bruno had made up his mind. I suddenly thought of Thunder. I knew he cared about this girl. He tried to hide it but I’d spent a lot of time with him over the time Jumper and Roy were after me. My gut told me he was in love with this girl but he just didn’t know it yet.
He’d already sacrificed his life pretty much to cover for me, Jaxson, my mom and dad by taking the heat for Roy’s murder without complaint and not even being pissed about it.
Selfless as compared to my selfishness.
I headed back to Thunder’s room. Knocking on the wood, I could barely wait for Bella’s response. “Let me in!”
The door unlocked and I ducked in quick.
She stared at me with huge eyes. “What is it?”
“I overheard Bruno, Thunder and Marco.”
She bit at her lip and she looked terrified. “They’re going to hand me over, aren’t they?”