by Laura Avery
Fire's fists were clenched at his sides. You could tell he wanted to throw the first punch, to turn this into a full on brawl but Cutter already had a gun out. And, more importantly, walking into a bar in Red Sin territory and going after their vice president was sure to start an all-out war between the two clubs.
Fire wasn't that important to the Misfits.
He was sure to get punished severely for a move like that.
Fire glanced at me, the evilness from his eyes was gone, now they just looked empty. "Look…"
But before he could get a word out Cutter cocked the gun back and fired off a shot, hitting Skull right in the middle of his leg. It wasn't intended to be a kill shot, just to send a message.
I gasped and looked away. I had never seen so much blood in my life.
Skull dropped to the ground, clutching his leg and crying out.
Fire reached for the side of his coat and Cutter jiggled his gun in midair. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Fire paused then, thinking better of it, and pulled his hand back up.
"What the fuck," Skull cried from the ground. "My leg!"
"Just a little reminder," Cutter called out. "That the next time a woman is screaming like that, she isn't having any fucking fun." He looked back up at Fire. "Now get the fuck out of here, you're lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd take you out in a plastic bag."
The third guy grabbed Snake by the arm and started to help him wobble out. Fire waited until they were at the door before he slowly followed. He didn't say a word the entire time, didn't even look at Cutter again until he reached the door.
He stopped and looked back, shaking his head. "Jesus, Cutter, she must be giving it to you really dirty. I've never seen anyone get so worked up over a whore before."
The screen swung shut and Cutter charged after him.
"No," I called out, desperate. "Let him go!" I grabbed Cutter by the arm, wrapping my hand around his muscular arm. Even through his jacket, you could tell how ripped he was. "He's not worth it."
Cutter's eyes locked on me and rage overcame him. "Have you lost your mind?" He pulled out of my grasp and kept moving toward the door before disappearing out onto the street.
"Cutter! Wait!" I ran after him but by the time I reached the doorway of the bar he was already half way down the street. Fire had been running but it didn't matter, Cutter had caught up to him effortlessly and now he had him by the collar of his jacket.
I wanted to chase after them, to do something. But I felt powerless; this was beyond anything I was allowed to be involved in. I wasn't worried about Fire, I could care less if he got the crap beat out of him but the war that Cutter would be starting… did he even realize how bloody things would get?
And all for what? Me? I was hardly worth it.
They were right. I was just a whore in their world.
"Cutter…" I called out, helpless. Tears stung my eyes as Cutter punched Fire in the face over and over again. Even from halfway down the block, I could see the blood and hear the screams.
Cutter was in a fit of rage, completely checked out of his own body. He was totally unaware of anything going on around him, too consumed by his thirst for blood and pain. Each time his fists sprung up then back down on Fire his eyes grew darker.
A crowd had started to form around them now. Sounds of approval echoed in and out of the streets around us. This was Red Sin territory, which meant the brothers were all too happy to find one of the most powerful members of their clan beating the shit out of a rival MC member.
After a while someone pulled Cutter off the barely alive body, shoving him backward through the crowd and standing him up straight. It looked like Blaze, a fellow committee member, who was trying to calm Cutter down.
He mumbled something to him and tried to push him back toward the bar but Cutter just shook his head, the message clear. He wanted to stay until the end, he wanted to watch Fire die.
The group of brothers that were watching the show closed in on Fire now, taking turns stomping his head into the pavement while he cried out, begging for his life with the little amount of energy he had left.
But it was of no use.
The brother's didn't let up and a few minutes later Fire let out one final yelp, like an animal that was being slain horrifically. A few more stomps and then the brother's backed away, leaving his twisted and bloody body laying in the middle of the sidewalk.
He was dead.
And the brotherhood was overjoyed.
Chapter Four
CUTTER
The piece of shit looked like a bloody pretzel, twisted into a knot in the middle of the sidewalk. He was dead, dead as a fucking doornail. I couldn’t believe I’d even considered letting him walk out of there in the first place. I had wanted to spare a bloody encounter in front of the girl, which made no sense at all.
I didn’t even know her.
I swung around and glanced back toward the bar. She stood in the doorway, a horrified look on her face. Great, I hope I wouldn’t have to worry about her opening her damn mouth to the cops. This shouldn’t be so shocking to her, she chose to hang around with us. What the hell kind of shit did she think we were into?
I shook my head. I should have stopped that whole arrangement a long time ago. The only reason I hadn’t was because most of the time it worked in our favor.
But I knew having a girl involved with any of the brothers as more than just a fuck buddy would blow up in my face eventually. And eventually had come early.
If they were going to pay her they might as well get sex from her like the rest of the whore's they brought around.
Hell, for all I knew Grace was fucking them.
Wouldn't be the first time a whore was shared among the brothers.
What was the point?
That was why I never planned on settling down.
I sure as hell didn’t plan on paying for no pussy, either.
I never got why the brothers paid for what they could get free.
Blaze walked with me back toward the bar his father owned. “You alright, man?” He patted me on the shoulder. “Just breathe, man, you’re so worked up you’re shaking.”
I’d known Blaze since we were kids. He could be just as heartless as me but he had a soft spot with me that he had with no one else. I think because he considered me blood even before the Red Sin.
I could hear the brother’s behind me, singing our anthem while they carried Fire’s body over their heads and back toward the bar. They wanted to have a roast in my honor.
“I’m good,” I told him, brushing it off.
“What the hell happened?”
I shrugged. “I came downstairs and they were raping some girl in the middle of our bar.” I looked toward the door again but Grace was gone. “It was that girl some of the lower members always hang around with.”
Blaze looked confused. “You killed him over some girl?”
“No,” I snapped. “I killed him because he was disrespecting me and our entire brotherhood. They aren’t going to come into your father’s bar and rape one of our girls and get away with it.”
Blaze held his hands up. “Whoa, I’m not giving you a hard time.”
A pack of our brothers flew by us and into the bar, the body held high over their heads. A few of them patted me on the shoulder as they passed, congratulating me. Normally I would have been right there with them but my mind was still on the girl. “I hope she’s still not in there.”
“You just left her?” Blaze sounded surprised.
“He was running away, I couldn’t exactly stop to walk her the fuck home, now could I?” Blaze swung the door open and I followed him inside, my eyes looking for her right away.
“There,” Blaze said and I followed his gaze to the other side of the room.
“Shit.” Grace sat there; looking stunned and scared out of her mind. She looked over at me like she was mentally aware of my presence. I looked away. I really wasn’t in the mood to babysit the girl I had just saved. She hadn’t e
ven seemed thankful. What the hell was that about?
“You gonna talk to her?”
I looked at my brothers. They had thrown the body in the middle of the bar and were cheering and laughing as they smashed beer bottles on it and drenched it with spit and urine.
Grace looked on in horror.
Shouldn’t she be leaving soon?
“Nope.” I threw my hand over his shoulder. “I’m going to enjoy my brothers.”
Blaze grinned then paused. “You think she’ll call the cops?”
I shook my head. “No way, she’s too scared.”
Blaze pulled me closer to the bar. “CUTTER TORE THIS MISFIT THE FUCK UP!”
Cheers erupted and everyone started chanting my name.
I laughed, downing the drinks that were shoved in my hands and enjoying the praise I was getting for putting one of our enemies in the ground. I’m not sure how much time passed before I looked up again and realized that she was still there.
Could have been ten minutes or forty but either way when I did I felt furious. She wasn’t alone. Ace Mitchell was leaning down next to her, his hands on her shoulder while they talked in low voices.
What the fuck was this?
I had been the one who busted in and saved her. I had been the one who took on three heavily armed men all by myself so they wouldn’t tear her body to shreds and how did she repay me? By flirting with Ace in front of my entire crew?
What the fuck did she think she was going to do? Go and suck his dick now? Was that it? It was all business as usual to her? I shoved the bar stool next to me out of the way and pushed a few of the probation guys out of my way.
I grabbed Ace by the back of the shirt and hurled him upright. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Ace turned around to face me, a startled expression on his face.
“I’m talking to Grace,” Ace said slowly.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, get lost,” I growled.
Ace looked from Grace to me, not sure what the heck was happening but he had only been an official member for a few years and he knew better than to question me so he turned around and shuffled off.
“Are you trying to disrespect me?” I demanded.
Grace shook her head. “What? No… I… we were just talking.”
I took a sip out of my beer and shrugged. “Didn’t look like just talking to me. Not that I care, but this is a celebration, and you guys sitting over her all sad and mopey kind of kills the vibe for me, you know?”
She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, well, I’m so sorry that I’m interrupting your celebration. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of how happy you are about just killing a man.”
“I don’t accept your apology at all.” I threw the empty beer bottle on the floor and it smashed into a bunch of pieces. “And may I remind you, that man was beating the shit out of you moments before and trying to fuck you on the back of our bar… or have you already forgotten?”
“Of course, I haven’t forgotten!”
“Well, then a thank you would be polite.”
She looked at me like I was nuts. “You didn’t even come to check on me when you got back here, Ace was the only one who even acted like I existed!” She moved her hands and I forced my eyes to not drift down to her heavy boobs.
“Why should I come and check on you? I don’t even know you. You aren’t my girl,” I told her, pointing out the obvious. “I don’t owe you shit, it’s enough that I saved your damn life. I could have just kept walking, minded my own business.”
“Then why should I owe you a thank you?”
“Because it’s polite.”
“It’s polite to check on someone who was just smacked around, too.” She shook her head. “If you were a gentleman at all you would have, like the way Ace did. And he didn’t even witness it.”
“Jesus, will you shut the fuck up about Ace? Why don’t you go suck his damn dick if you’re so obsessed with him? He’s not married, he’s fair game, I’m sure you two would be very happy together.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she whispered.
I’m not sure why the thought of her and Ace suddenly pissed me off so much but it did. If she should be desperate to go home with anyone tonight, it should be me. I was the one who had killed a man over her.
Clearly that meant nothing to her.
“I think it is what you meant.”
“Well, it’s not,” she snapped.
I was getting a little sick of her tone. I motioned toward the other side of the room, calling a few senior members to my aid. Grace rolled her eyes, not taking me seriously.
“Take her upstairs.”
Her dark eyes grew wide. “What? No, I…”
My brothers grabbed her, knowing better than to question what I wanted with her. She twisted in their grip, cursing me up and down with anger as they carried her away and toward the stairs.
“Don’t curse, it’s not ladylike,” I called out.
She flipped me off and shook her fist in the air.
I laughed loudly.
God, she was infuriating.
Chapter Five
GRACE
The jerk carrying me tossed me into the room roughly and slammed the door shut behind me. I tried to run after him and jiggle the handle but it was no use, he had locked it up tight.
“Fuck!” I glanced around the room, looking for a window or something. There were a few on either side of the room but we were up so damn high I was sure to break my leg if I tried to jump. Not to mention I’d land right in the lion's den of Red Sin members looking to celebrate their recent victory.
What the hell was Cutter’s problem? What had I done to deserve being locked up here like I was in prison? Because I didn’t thank him for saving me from those creeps, like he even gave me a chance. He came in with all his brothers and looked right past of me like I was a piece of garbage.
And excuse me if I was a little shaken up over the body getting pissed on right in front of me. I had never seen anything like that in my life. Yeah, I hung out with these guys but I’d never seen anything like that first hand before, I had only heard stories.
The door finally swung open a few minutes later and Cutter came striding in, all sexy and smoldering. His dark hair was sticking up in every direction and his deep blue eyes looked like tiny crystal icicles. I swallowed and looked away from him, I wasn’t sure how any woman managed to hate him for very long with eyes like that.
He took his leather jacket and tossed it onto his bed.
God, that chest… God, those arms; he definitely wasn’t lacking in the muscle department. I studied his sea of tattoos, trying to figure out the maze that was his arms.
Out of all the Red Sin members who called me, none of them came close to looking like Cutter Ford. I could only imagine how good he would look without his shirt on.
I didn’t have to imagine long.
He slammed the door shut behind him and tore his shirt over his head.
I gasped.
I had never seen a chest so defined in my life. His muscles and abs were perfect like he had just stepped out of a magazine. I felt my face start to turn a bright shade of red. I was surprisingly modest when it came to men of the opposite sex… like those clowns had pointed out earlier I never actually slept with the guys who hired me.
Sometimes we would do social stuff, yeah, but sometimes we wouldn’t.
Like Ace, he paid me to hang out with him every Saturday from 12-3. It just so happened that was the time of day when his corner got a huge shipment of drugs in. Now if he was with me every Saturday and the cops came poking around how could he possibly of had anything to do with that shipment?
I'd never even hooked up with a brother before.
Not that they hadn't tried.
People like Cutter didn’t know that, though. And they didn’t believe me.
To them, I was just a whore, hired pussy.
Hence, why he was taking his shirt off rig
ht now.
I forced my eyes away from his perfect body and tattooed chest. “What do you think this is, Cutter? You think I’m going to just drop down on my knees right here and now and do you? After what I just witnessed down there?” I shook my head. “You are out of your mind.”
Sexy as hell but still out of his mind.
Cutter huffed. “Don’t flatter yourself.” He walked past me and pulled a shirt off a long wooden dresser in the corner, throwing it over his head. “I don’t pay for sex.”
I looked away, humiliated by him once again. He had just wanted a clean shirt, of course, he had just beaten a guy to death and got his blood all over his shirt. “I don’t have sex for money.”
He cocked his head to the side, curious. “Oh, yeah? What do you call it?”
I pulled my skirt down further. Ugh, he made me so uncomfortable. “We don’t have sex. We do… other stuff.” I fiddled with the top of my shirt, suddenly all too aware of the fact that it was so low.
Cutter laughed loudly. “You’re kidding, right? Are you telling me that my brothers pay you a bunch of money and they don’t even fuck you? What the fuck do you guys do when you hang out? Paint your fucking nails?” He laughed louder, kicking his boots off his feet.
I glanced down at the blood stained leather.
"You've really never hooked up with any of us?"
I shook my head no.
He paused and a twinkle entered his eyes. "Interesting."
“What am I doing here, Cutter?”
He shrugged. “You’re here because you need to learn some respect.”
“So, I’m here because I pissed you off?”
“I don’t like being disrespected, Grace, and what you did down there.” He shook his head. “Being all over Ace like that after what I had just done for you, that was blatant disrespect.”
I was so confused, what was he talking about? He sounded almost jealous but that was crazy. There was no way Cutter Ford would ever be jealous of someone flirting with someone like me. I mean, he could have any girl he wanted.
“What do you want from me, Cutter? You want me to say sorry, is that it?” I walked further away from his hotness and toward the door. “I’m sorry, okay? Can I go now?”