She felt herself blushing, and she sipped on the beer to try and disguise it.
“So,” he began, “you gonna tell me what your friend was talking about?” He nodded over his shoulder in Tammy’s direction and stared at Lexi deep in the eyes.
She shuffled on the spot for a moment, unsure of whether she should be telling a stranger her personal problems, but he seemed determined to know, and maybe he would be able to help her in some way…
“I was fired by my jackass of a boss last night,” she exhaled. “He threw me out onto the street by my hair and told me never to come back.”
His eyes widened and his face hardened.
“He threw you out?” he scowled. “Well that’s no way to treat a lady.” His grip on the bottle tightened and he curled his lip.
“He’s a prick,” Lexi continued. “I never liked working for him, but like I said to my friend, work is work…”
“Where were you fired from?” He took another swig.
Lexi felt herself blushing again. She had never been ashamed of her job as a dancing girl, but there with King, she suddenly found herself not wanting to admit that she had stripped for cash.
“Red X,” she whispered, waiting for his reaction.
“The strip club?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
Lexi nodded.
“Can’t say I’m surprised,” he smiled. “Gorgeous little thing like you…” He winked at her, and she felt herself relax.
“Well, I certainly don’t work there anymore,” she said. “So basically, I’m screwed. There’s nothing around here for someone like me. I can’t work in a diner… It would drive me nuts. I like action! I like to feel empowered, and Slate Springs doesn’t exactly have much to offer in that department. Even if it’s built on a world of crime.” The second she said it, she slapped her hand across her mouth and her eyes almost popped out of her head. She had momentarily forgotten who she was talking to and her heart nearly hit the floor.
King smiled with amusement and shook his head.
“Well, maybe that’s what you need,” he grinned. “To get involved with some of that. I reckon it would keep you on your toes…”
“Oh yeah?” she challenged.
King nodded and drained the last of his beer from the bottle.
“Come around our bar tonight,” he said as he got to his feet. “We sure could use a girl like you, and I know I’d like to see more of you.” He winked at her before he turned on his heel and made towards the door.
Lexi wanted to call after him, to ask him to wait. She wanted to keep talking with him and to get to know more about him. After just a brief conversation, she was hooked and it felt like it was all over too soon.
“I’ll be there at nine,” he said before he pushed open the door and made his way back out into the burning sun.
Lexi watched him with bated breath as he climbed onto his bike and started the engine. He was so raw and powerful, and just watching him pull away and out onto the highway made her skin prickle with desire.
He disappeared into the distance and Lexi didn’t pull herself away until he was completely out of sight.
“Who was that?” Tammy said as she rushed over and slid into the booth opposite Lexi.
“King,” she grinned. “He’s one of the bikers…”
“One of the Forsaken Riders?” she asked excitedly.
“I assume so…” Lexi twirled the beer bottle in her hands.
“He was hot as hell,” Tammy grinned. “But they’re all such bad boys… Be careful, okay?”
“He just overheard our conversation,” Lexi said. “Think they must need someone to work in their bar… He wants me to go over there tonight.”
Tammy’s eyes widened with excitement. “Oh my God, are you going to go?
Lexi shrugged and started blushing again.
“I don’t have many other options do I?” she asked. “No job… desperate to get out of my mom’s house… How else am I going to get a place of my own if I don’t have an income?”
“But aren’t they like…” Tammy hushed her voice, “criminals?”
“What, and Marv isn’t?” Lexi snorted. “You wanna know why he fired me? Because I wouldn’t hook up with him, Tammy. The guy’s a perverted asshole. At least King seemed to be genuinely nice!”
Tammy shook her head and stroked Lexi’s arm.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” she said sadly. “Marv is a complete jerk. You’re better off out of that place.”
“I know,” Lexi sighed. “It just feels so shitty to have been humiliated like that…” She felt the tears welling up behind her eyes again and breathed out deeply.
“Well,” Tammy said, “the Forsaken Riders have been in this town for decades, and they’ve never really given anyone I know any trouble… Who cares what they do behind closed doors or what deals they’ve got going on? If there’s a job there and you want it, then go for it.” She smiled with encouragement.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “You’re right… I’ve always tried my best to stay away from all of that stuff, but what other options do I have?”
Tammy shrugged.
“I’m going to go,” she said as she got to her feet. “I better get myself ready.”
She slapped some cash down on the table top and Tammy got to her feet to give her a hug.
“You’re going to be great,” Tammy smiled. “Let me know how it goes tonight, okay?”
“Of course,” Lexi beamed. “You’ll be the first one to hear all about it.”
“I wonder what it’s like in there,” Tammy said excitedly. “I’ve heard so many stories from various people who end up in here late at night, but I’ve never been in myself.”
“Me neither,” Lexi said as she picked up her purse. “Only one way to found out, I guess.”
“Sure is,” Tammy smiled. “And hey, you never know, your hot new biker friend might even kick Marv’s ass for you.” She laughed and winked.
“Ha, if only!” Lexi grinned.
As she made her way back out into the afternoon sun and began her slow walk home, she suddenly couldn’t believe how random the past twenty-four hours had been. Maybe she was making a mistake in taking King up on his offer. She could be walking into a situation worse than what she was in at Red X… But she had to find out.
The bikers’ presence in Slate Springs had unnerved her when she was younger, but as she had grown up and become a woman, she had a mind of her own and knew she couldn’t listen to her mother forever. It was time for her to form her own opinions and not just live rules set for her by a mom who didn’t respect her judgment. She had hated Dereck, the boyfriend, since the moment she had met him and expressed her concerns to her mom on many occasions, only to be met with a wall of silence or excuses. When her mom had moved him in, it had broken Lexi’s heart and she felt as if part of their bond had been torn. Now they were all stuck under one roof, and maybe The Forsaken Riders could offer her a way out. She had managed to save some cash from her work at Red X… and maybe King would be able to help her to get Marv to pay up the rest if she impressed him enough that night.
As she walked along the side of the highway, her mind was quickly made up. She was doing the right thing. She was going to go over there and she was going to give it her all. She was her own person, and she was in charge of her own destiny. And she had the feeling that she was heading in the right direction.
5.
As she walked in the front door, she could immediately hear and smell Dereck. The stench of stale booze and sweat hit her the second she entered the hallway, and she rolled her eyes. She always tried her very best to avoid him, but their paths crossed at least once a day since he had moved in, and she couldn’t stand it.
“That you, Lex?” her mom called from the kitchen.
She debated just running straight upstairs and ignoring them both, but she knew she couldn’t keep it up forever. What if she didn’t get the job at the biker bar? She would be stuck under the same roof with
them for a whole lot longer.
She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Dereck and her mom were sitting at the table drinking gin, and Lexi eyed them cautiously as she made her way to the refrigerator.
“It’s four in the afternoon,” she said. “Do you really need to be drinking that?”
“Coming from the stripper?” Dereck snorted.
“Dereck,” her mom slapped him on the shoulder, but laughed along with him. “You alright, sweetheart?” she asked. “You didn’t seem yourself this morning.”
“I’m fine,” she answered.
She wasn’t going to tell her mom about where she was heading that night. She knew it would only cause an argument, and she had enough on her mind without having to deal with even more shit at home.
She pulled a large bottle of water from the top shelf, smiled at them both out of courtesy and then left the kitchen. She went straight upstairs and into her room, where she closed her door and pushed her desk chair up against it. Even though it wouldn’t keep anyone from coming in, she liked the feeling of being just that little more shut off. She liked feeling cocooned and safe.
She unscrewed the cap on the water bottle and swigged greedily from it. The day had been so hot and after the booze she had put away the night before along with all of the walking she had done in the day’s heat, she was feeling so dehydrated she was dizzy.
She lay back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. The dull thrum of an argument filtered up from the kitchen below, and she rolled her eyes. She always wondered what it would have been like if her father hadn’t died before she was born and they had been a happy family, if Dereck had never existed to them and they were a solid unit of love and trust. How she wished she could just escape and get the hell out of there. They always seemed to argue when they’d been drinking, and it was becoming more frequent. Lexi couldn’t remember a day or an evening when she had come home and they both weren’t glued to a bottle. She knew it was only a matter of time before he started using his fists, and she didn’t want to be around to see it happen. Her mom wouldn’t listen to her, and she had even offered to pay most of the mortgage every month so it wasn’t as if Dereck was there out of necessity. But the facts were simple, her mother loved him and was always going to put him first, and that was that.
The clock ticked on her bedside table, and she knew she had several hours before she had to make her way over to the bar. She rolled over and closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze from the window blow around her as her mind raced with thoughts of King and what it would be like seeing him again. Her body ached with exhaustion, and within moments she was falling soundly asleep.
She awoke with a start, surrounded by darkness. She rolled over and squinted up at the clock on her bedside table. Her stomach dropped as she realized it said 9:23.
“Shit!” she shouted as she jumped up from the bed and turned on her table light. She looked in the mirror and her make-up was half smudged on one eye and she was hot and sticky.
“I can’t go looking like this!” she said as she ran through into the bathroom and yanked on the shower.
She could hear the sound of the TV downstairs accompanied by the grunting of Dereck’s snoring. She knew they would have both polished off the bottle of gin and fallen asleep on the couch.
Don’t ever let me end up like them, she thought.
After she had showered and spritzed herself with perfume, she slipped into her tightest pair of low-cut jeans and a little black tank top that enhanced her best assets. She plumped up her lips with red lipstick and outlined her eyes heavily with kohl before she stepped into a pair of black stilettos and grabbed her purse. It was just after 10:00 pm and she was late, but she hoped King would still be there.
As she left the house and ran out into the night, her heart was racing with anticipation. It was time for her to go to the other side of town to a place she had never been, which was shrouded in mystery and intrigue…The Bleeding Bullet. She was actually about to walk in there and hopefully get herself a job. She smiled as she kept walking. She felt strong and determined. She was going to take control of her life and ensure she never had to put up with Marv or her mom and Dereck’s shit ever again.
This is the first day of the rest of my life, she thought. And even though she knew it was a cheesy cliché, she also knew it was true.
Her heels clicked along the dusty roadside and the cool breeze that came along with the night was welcoming. She breathed in the fresh air and walked quickly. She didn’t want to keep King waiting much longer.
As she passed through to the other side of town, her heart began to race. Her palms started to sweat as she suddenly questioned her own decision. With each step she took, the more the roads seemed to quiet, and there was a different feel around the place. Nothing was the same as it was just half a mile in the other direction, and she felt as if there were eyes on her every move.
She could hear the music thumping through the streets and cars began to fly past her with people hanging out the windows and cat-calling into the night. Bikes seemed to be on every street corner and the bikers on them eyed her with intrigue as she passed. Some of them wolf-whistled and some of them grinned maniacally. She kept her head down and walked quickly. As she rounded another corner, The Bleeding Bullet stood out in the darkness. Red lights illuminated it from the ground and out front were rows upon rows of bikes and men drinking and smoking. Girls hung around them wearing fishnets and miniskirts, and she couldn’t help but think they wouldn’t have looked out of place at Red X. Truckers were entering the bar with their square caps and handlebar moustaches and cars full of college kids from the city seemed to be flocking there out of curiosity. It was so alive and buzzing, Lexi couldn’t believe she had never been there. Out in the middle of nowhere, in a small desert town, it seemed to be the place to be, and it excited her more than she ever thought possible.
She strode forward confidently and walked through the swarm of bikers clad in leather and silver. She climbed the three steps to the main door and pushed it open. The noise coming from inside was intense, and she could tell the place was full to bursting. When she stepped inside, nothing could have quite prepared her for how awesome the atmosphere was, but she instantly had a grin plastered across her entire face. It was dark, with low red lights, and rock music thumped through the crowds as men and women danced together, grinding on one and other and entwining themselves in passionate embraces. Girls danced up high on the bar and knocked back shots while they poured whisky into men’s mouths straight from the bottle. Lexi watched them all from her vantage point and couldn’t believe she had been wasting her whole entire life out of fear. This was exactly her kind of place and she knew if she started working there, she would love every second.
She looked around, still in awe of everything she was seeing, when a rough but gentle hand hooked around the waist.
“You’re late,” King breathed into her neck.
When Lexi spun around, she was face to face with him. The heat between their bodies was already on fire, and she felt a tingle of desire between her legs.
“I’m sorry,” she smiled and bit her bottom lip.
“Now, how do you expect me to give you a job if you can’t even show up on time?” He raised his eyebrow in jest.
“I didn’t realize I had to be here right at nine,” she said playfully. “I thought I could come down any time.” It was only half true, but she hoped he would buy it.
“I guess,” he winked. He slid an arm around her shoulder and led her over to the bar. The further they got into the crowd, the louder and busier it became. King held onto her tightly, and the crowd seemed to part to let them through.
At the front of the bar, he pulled out a stool for Lexi and lifted her up onto it. She smiled and had to catch her breath when she realized how strong he was and how easily he lifted her, as if she were as light as a feather. He leaned into her and over to one of the serving girls to ask for two vodkas. The girl eyed Lexi with suspicion but
smiled and poured the drink over ice before giving them to King. He passed it straight to Lexi and took a sip of his own.
“So,” he spoke into her ear because of the noise, “I’m glad you came.”
“So am I,” Lexi giggled. “I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. It’s great!”
“Yeah, we try,” he said.
“Is this place yours?” she asked curiously.
“It’s the club’s,” he said vaguely. “I hope I cheered you up a bit today, anyway,” he continued, clearly wanting to change the subject, “You looked miserable when you were talking with your friend in the diner.”
“It was a pretty rough morning,” Lexi admitted.
King smiled and moved closer to her still.
“There aren’t many girls that catch my eye in this town,” he whispered, “but there’s something about you, Lexi…”
She swallowed hard and looked up into his eyes. They were so warm and inviting, and even though she knew he could easily be trouble, she also had the overwhelming urge to throw all of her common sense out the window and just go for it for once. It had been such a long time since she’d been with a man. After she started working at Red X, she had found it impossible to even consider a relationship, but there was something about King that was different. It was like he understood her and could see into her soul.
She took a sip of her drink and looked up at him nervously. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled himself in closer. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, and she could smell his cologne. He swept her hair over her shoulder and then leaned in towards her and kissed her.
It was the most sensuous kiss Lexi had ever experienced. His tongue parted her lips and massaged against hers. She wrapped an arm around him too, and they were locked together with so much passion, it felt like they would never be able to break away.
When their first kiss did end and she looked back into his eyes, she saw something that she had been missing her entire life. King was a piece that had always been absent, and even at this early stage she could sense that he was about to change her life forever.
What the Outlaw Keeps Page 6