by Nikki Landis
“Promise?” It was dangerous to hope and scary as hell to take that leap, but I believed him.
“I never go back on my word, pretty girl.”
Pretty girl. No one in my life had ever called me that. Was I ugly? No. But was I beautiful? I didn’t think so. Average, most likely.
Still, Patriot’s words sank into my heart and gave a funny little tug.
Pretty girl. I’d like to be that to someone special. Just once. Even if I wasn’t sure if I was worth the effort.
He seemed to know that hidden wish because his next words surrounded me in a warmth I hadn’t felt since I was a child.
“You’re worth it, pretty girl. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Grim banged the gavel down and sat back in his chair, lighting up a smoke. Once he inhaled a couple of times, he got down to business. “We’ve got a lot of shit to go over. Trixie, er Naomi, is first. Patriot, fill us all in.”
Glancing down at my watch I tried not to be irritated that it was nearly 1300 and church was supposed to start at 12:30. Rael was never fucking on time and I wanted to punch him in the throat for making me wait. Nothing pissed me off more than sitting here with my coffee ready to go while a few of the members showed up when they felt like it. Mammoth at least gave them dirty looks too. VP knew my frustration.
SAA should be on fucking time, dammit.
Glaring Rael’s way, I sat back and stared around the table at my brothers, taking in their solemn expressions.
The trafficking issue was a problem and combined with the missing girls in Nevada and finding Mimi messed up in the back of Alexi’s vehicle, we were all on edge. None of that was helped by the fact that the Bloody Scorpions and Russians had worked out a plan. We were almost certain girls were lured to the BSMC clubhouse with promises of booze and wild parties and that’s how the Russians were trafficking so many through the Great Basin.
It was time I sat down with Mimi and find out what she knew but I didn’t want to reopen fresh wounds and end up traumatizing her again just when she was starting to make progress.
“There was a hit on Naomi while she was in the hospital. I tracked the fucker down and reaped his wretched soul.”
Fists pounded the table as my brothers showed their support.
“Didn’t get a chance to find out anything before he tried to take his own life but the idiot waiting for him turned out to be a prospect for the Scorpions. That’s who I’ve been interrogating downstairs with Rael and Ex.”
A few of my brothers nodded.
Exorcist cracked his knuckles before firing up a joint, inhaling a long hit and holding it in briefly before he ticked his head in my direction. “Got everything out of him we could before he was sent to meet Lucifer down below. Found out some interesting Intel. Appears that Resnikov is the head honcho. Prefers to inspect his shipments in person and try out the merchandise to be sure everything is running smoothly. Girls are trafficked up through Alaska which we already know thanks to our brothers Rain and BP.”
“Most important is the fact that we know who is running shit for Resnikov. He has an American business partner. One of Alexi Voltoy’s most trusted men. Name is Sean Jones. Fucker is taking care of the supply and shipments until Resnikov arrives. Our Intel up to this point has been a little shaky but I believe this kid. He wasn’t lying.”
“He was telling the truth,” Rael agreed, “My Reaper would have known if he wasn’t.”
“And that means we know the rest is true too,” Exorcist pointed out. “Razr is controlling shit on the outside via his VP. Goes by the road name Rattler. Prospect said we’d know him by the tattoo of a rattlesnake covering his right side from shoulder with the tail all the way up his neck to his temple where the fangs sit on his cheek.”
“That’s a hell of a description,” Grim muttered. “Never heard of this Rattler. Where did this guy come from? He’s new to the BSMC. Has to be. Fucker popped up out of nowhere. I want to know everything about him, Xenon.”
“You got it, pres.”
“Real name, family connections, what beer he drinks, who he likes to fuck. The sooner the better.”
“I’ll start diggin’ right away.”
Xenon flipped open his laptop and started clicking away, ignoring the rest of us as he did his thing.
“What else did we find out about Razr?” Grim asked, looking highly agitated. “Got enough shit to deal with right now and don’t need more stress. Trish is fucking sick all the damn time and the doctor said to let her rest as much as possible. I can’t be running all over the damn state of Nevada to find these fuckers and deal with this mess.”
“Razr still has at least a year before they’ll consider parole. Rattler is gonna be in charge for a long while. We need to be at the meeting when Resnikov shows up in Tonopah. According to the prospect it’s supposed to happen in three weeks.”
“And what about this Sean Jones?”
“Prospect didn’t overhear much about him but did say he met him once. Big bald guy that’s hard to miss. Kid said Jones reminded him of that wrestler the Rock. He pointed at Mammoth and said Jones could be his twin.”
“I ain’t bald,” Mammoth complained, running his hand over his head.
My lips twitched but I didn’t say anything. V.P. was receding bad and kept his hair short on purpose.
Grim blew out a breath and then leaned forward, slapping his hand down on the table. “If Resnikov is coming in three weeks we can bet that Jones is here already. He wouldn’t want any loose ends. Everything nice and tidy for his boss.”
Fuck. Swallowing hard, I had to fight against the urge to let my Reaper take over and hunt this asshole down. “Mimi is a loose end.”
The room silenced as Wraith clapped a hand on my shoulder. “She’s under our protection. As long as she remains at the Crossroads, she’s safe.”
Rushing to my feet, I snarled his way. “Anyone else forget we were attacked here? Fucking Solonik invaded our turf and I was shot trying to save both Nylah and Naomi!” Chest heaving, I dared any of my brothers to argue that point.
Grim met my gaze and held it. “We’re gonna handle this shit, Patriot. I swear to fuck. My ol’ lady is in just as much danger. She lost her cousin to the Black Market Railroad. We aren’t letting this slide. They will meet the Reaper and retribution will be ours.”
Fists started pounding on the table until the noise rose from a low boom to a loud roar. I sank down into my seat, fighting for every breath that passed through my lungs. Shit was about to go down and we needed to have everyone ready by the time Resnikov arrived in Nevada.
Grim was watching me and he lifted his chin, giving me full support.
If it came down to it, I would take Jones and Resnikov out on my own. This was too important. They couldn’t be allowed to live.
Nothing else needed to be said.
“Xenon, want you looking into Jones along with Resnikov, the Black Market Railroad, and this Rattler. Too many unknowns and I don’t like it.”
Xenon gave a chin lift while tapping on his keyboard.
“How are the renovations coming along?” Grim turned his attention to Hannibal and Mammoth.
“The fencing has been reinforced with new steel and barbed wire. The mechanism is the newest tech out there as well as all the surveillance equipment and the alarm system. We’ve got better advance warning in case of attack and a chance to get our women to safety before shit goes down.”
“I can vouch for that,” Xenon added, still clicking away on his keyboard.
Grim nodded, piercing Mammoth with a hard look. “What about the interior?”
“The Crossroads is under construction starting tomorrow. All of our supplies were delivered this afternoon. Try not to break all your necks while we’re reinforcing the walls and replacing the glass. New mirror behind the bar is bullet-resistant and has the Royal Bastards patch etched into the surface. It’s fucking beautiful.”
Several brothers laughed as Grim flashed him a grin. “Fine job, VP. Don
’t fuck it up.”
“He might,” a deep voice growled, pushing through the doors of the chapel.
Papa crossed the room and shoved his nephew in the shoulder, knocking him out of his chair as Mammoth’s big ass nearly fell to the hardwood floors. A loud chuckle left his lips as he pulled a chair over and sat down.
“Your old ass is gettin’ slow. We started this meeting half an hour ago.”
“I’m fashionably fucking late,” Papa contradicted.
Laughter erupted around the room as Grim shook his head. “Better not see anyone show up late again or I’ll have you working with the prospects. Church is dismissed, you fuckers. Everyone stay sharp.”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU doing?”
Not an hour after church, I ran into Rael sitting on a stool in the middle of the common room. He wasn’t alone. Wraith flashed me a grin of gold teeth before taking the razor in his hand and scraping it across Rael’s head. It wasn’t the fact that Wraith was shaving another brother’s head that was weird –– it was the goddamn strip of duct tape going down the center from Rael’s forehead up and over the slope of his thick dome and then down the back of his neck nearly to his shoulders.
“I want a mohawk,” he replied defensively.
Blinking, all I could do was snicker.
“What?” Rael barked, defensive. “I can’t ever get it right on my own.”
“And the duct tape?”
Wraith’s lips twitched. “He wants the lines perfect.”
Again, duct tape? That was the best option?
“Nylah is gonna kick your ass,” I taunted.
“She’ll love it. Besides, I’ll be too busy giving her what she craves that she won’t care.” He grabbed his dick to prove the point.
“If you touch your cock again while I’m shaving your head, I’ll fucking slit your throat,” Wraith threatened.
By now, I could hardly keep from laughing.
Rael pursed his lips but quickly moved his hand to his knee. “Grumpy fucker.”
Wraith slid the blade along his skull and didn’t bother to reply.
“If that’s true,” I began, stroking the light growth of beard on my chin, “then why are you doing this when Nylah isn’t here?”
Wraith smirked like he already asked the same damn thing.
“I want to surprise her,” Rael blurted defensively.
“Bullshit.” I called it like it was while Wraith let out a loud guffaw, muttering under his breath. “Pussy.”
Rael jumped to his feet, shoving Wraith back. “Fuck you both.”
“Aw, come on, don’t get your panties twisted.” This was too much fun. I couldn’t resist fucking with him. Rael made it so easy.
Wraith lifted both hands in the air, grinning as he held the razor and jiggled it. “Don’t you want to look pretty?”
That was all Rael could handle. He flipped us both off before stalking down the hall toward his room, mumbling obscenities under his breath. Half his head was shaved bald as a newborn baby’s ass while the other was covered in shaving cream. Looked funny as fuck with the duct tape going down the center.
“I guess that means you’re off the hook,” I announced to Wraith when I was done laughing.
“Thank fuck. I couldn’t handle much more.” He tossed the razor onto a nearby table as Snooki entered the room. “Hey, honey,” he called out, sauntering her way.
Shaking my head, I stepped outside, pulling my smokes from my cut. Once the cancer stick was between my lips, I lit the bastard and inhaled deeply as I leaned against the edge of a picnic table.
Ever since Grim learned he was gonna have a kid he kept spending money on shit for the outside of the clubhouse. We had a covered picnic area, new grills, and a fucking playground that was supposed to be delivered by Friday. Some kind of bouncy turf was installed yesterday in preparation.
It wasn’t completely ridiculous. Bodie and Sasha’s son Mavy was due in September. Sasha’s best friend Gina brought her kids Rev and Olivia around often. Cindi was going to have a girl with Lucky. The club was growing and we had more ol’ ladies than anyone could remember in the Tonopah chapter in a long time.
I couldn’t imagine having a kid and bringing one into this fucked-up world. I’d seen some bad shit overseas and that wasn’t the worst of it. My Reaper had taken souls so dark and evil that I was certain it wasn’t safe to become a father. Besides, I’d murder a motherfucker in cold blood if he did something to my kid and bury the bones out in the Nevada desert where no one would ever find them.
My Reaper was already far too protective over Mimi. Wasn’t a good idea to add anyone else into the mix. The life I led wasn’t the right place for kids or family. Didn’t judge my brothers but that shit wasn’t happening for me.
No way.
An arm was slung around my waist as I awakened, briefly disoriented as I stayed completely still. Steady, even breathing could be heard as the man beside me slept soundly. Warm breath kept tickling the back of my neck and I moved slowly, pulling away as I let his arm slip to the mattress. My feet landed on the floor without a sound as I turned and watched Patriot, his expression relaxed in a way I never saw in the light of day.
It was strange to be so near to a man and not be servicing his needs. A part of me would probably always struggle with that, my body poised to run from the room and as far and fast as I could. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my waist and tried to slow the frantic beats of my heart. There was no danger here and sometimes it was still so hard to remember that I didn’t exist for only a man’s pleasure.
My life held little worth for the last few years. I wanted to find meaning again and a place where I belonged. There was a desperate longing to be loved and accepted that probably had everything to do with the fact that I had been torn down to the basest level of survival and now that I no longer fought for every breath or clawed my way through each and every single day, I needed to feel safety, security, and love so fiercely that I thought my chest would burst with the emotion.
No one should ever be forced to endure what I did.
Maybe that was why this entire situation was so tragic. I’d had the best chance for success and still messed it all up.
My childhood had been a good one. Proud parents, a sweet sister, decent upbringing. But the drugs changed it all. Addiction didn’t care who you were, where you came from, or what life you had. Just sank their greedy little claws under your skin and burrowed deep. It was nearly impossible to pull those barbs free.
Trust me, I’d tried on many occasions. It wasn’t like I was clueless to the destruction in my life or how it affected my family. I lost count of the years and broken promises, of the regret and lies. I’d fallen so deep into the abyss that I’d never be free.
Alexi knew this. He took advantage, pushed the drugs and booze, the parties, and the sex until I wasn’t sober long enough to figure out his plans. I’d been caught in his trap. Before long, I was passed around and shoved into any open bedroom, forced to endure humiliating and degrading acts until they became the norm and I didn’t fight them anymore. I ceased to be surprised or horrified. Nothing more than a performer, a money maker with gold between her silken thighs. He used me. Abused me. Broke me down until I was nothing left.
Nylah tried to reach out to me but I kept her at a distance on purpose. They would have taken her too. I couldn’t allow that. My soul was bargained to save my sister and other girls from the same fate. Not that it mattered. The trafficking only got worse.
No one understood that loss of control or the reasons why the drugs became my savior, preventing the total loss of my sanity. I separated reality from fiction the only way I could. Addiction was my only escape. Even now, I was still going through withdrawals. I craved a cigarette and a shot of strong liquor but I wouldn’t give in. Not now. I’d come too far and sacrificed too much.
Naomi Peters would never be that addicted, unhealthy, traumatized girl again. I’d do anything to keep her safe. Anything to prevent falling that
low ever again.
I was a survivor now. I’d been rescued by a biker in a patriotic bandana in the middle of the night at my lowest point. That had to count for something.
Patriot made me want to believe in something more, that I wasn’t just lost in the past and broken beyond repair. He told me so not long ago . . .
MY ENTIRE REALITY HAD shifted. I was helpless to control a single aspect of it. Terrified and haunted, I rocked back and forth on the floor of the shower, crouching down on the tile as my tears mixed with the swirling water. I was trembling, my mind trying to grasp the fact that my reality no longer consisted of fear, intimidation, and humiliation almost every minute of the day. A sob escaped my throat and I couldn’t hold back as my shoulders shook with the force of my cries.
“Sunshine?”
Patriot’s concerned voice could be heard on the other side of the door.
Unable to answer, I stayed where I was, broken and lost.
He opened the opposite door and switched off the water, closing it again quickly. A few seconds later he opened the far side, a huge towel in his arms. Reaching in, he lifted me carefully and surrounded my body with the towel, ensuring every single inch was covered from chest to calf. Taking another, he wrapped up my hair with a tenderness I hadn’t known in so long I forgot it existed.
Patriot’s eyes never once dipped down. They didn’t linger on my body or lewdly appraise my assets. He didn’t sneer or grab me or shove his hand between my legs.
Only a steady, protective gaze that remained as he scooped me up in his arms and headed back into his room. He sank into the leather recliner next to his bed and cradled my body close as I snuggled into his embrace.
We didn’t move or say a word for so long that I began to wonder what he was thinking. Tilting my head up, I gazed into those dark blue eyes that seemed as haunted as my own.
“Why?”
“It’s an easy answer, sunshine.” He lifted his hand and almost touched my face but dropped it instead. “You need protection and rest. You need to know that you’re not alone. Sure, your sister is here for you and that’s important, but fuck, Naomi,” he paused as my eyes widened at the use of my real name. “You need to know that not all men are monsters. Some of us can be trusted. We aren’t all assholes looking to steal something from you.”