by Marie James
“Thank you,” I respond.
“Do you need an advance?” He reaches into his back pocket again, pulling his wallet out. “You actually get a monthly uniform stipend.”
“No.” I wave him off. “Thank you though.”
“So, say tomorrow? Nine in the morning?”
“Sounds great.” He stands, holding his hand out to me once again.
I place my palm in his, and suddenly, even after the recent conversation, the goodbye doesn’t seem even remotely professional.
I shouldn’t test my luck. Beginning a job where I know ahead of time that my boss is interested in more than my bedside manner while dealing with people and pets in the community is just asking for trouble, but I spent the last fifteen minutes talking with Owen, and it wasn’t until he walked out of the café that I even remember that Briar exists.
Chapter 6
Briar
“This isn’t at all what I expected,” I grunt at Lynch as I lift my beer bottle to my lips.
“This isn’t much different from home,” Lynch clarifies.
We watch as dozens of women walk around completely naked. Each one of them wears a thick leather collar that doesn’t seem to be designed for comfort as they offer themselves to the men.
“They’re willing to make your wildest fantasies come true,” Luis explains as he sits on the sofa across from us.
My cock jumps in my jeans at just the mention of feeding my sinister needs, but the strength I’ve drawn from for the last decade calms me almost instantly. Giving into that desire isn’t possible, and thinking of satisfying it with the only girl who gets me fully hard will never be an option. I’d die first before even putting myself in a situation where it could come to fruition.
“President’s pick.” Luis sweeps his arm, encompassing every woman in the vast room.
“No thanks.”
Lynch’s response is to the point, and in our world would never be met with argument. However, we aren’t in our world any longer. We’re in the middle of a mansion that took twenty minute’s worth of security to even enter. We’re weaponless and being eyed by the twenty or so cartel members scattered throughout the room.
Life in an MC can be brutal. The last ten years under Cowboy’s rule back in Sutton proved that. We aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty, but I don’t have to worry about my mother’s safety if I get into an argument with my president.
In the land of all things cartel, I can honestly say I’m a little worried with every breath I take. These guys are relentless. They don’t give a shit about anything but loyalty and money, and not always in that order. The brutality they’re known for is enough to get anyone to toe the line. They don’t speak softly and back it up with firepower when they need to. These guys come in guns blazing, no matter what innocent person could be cut down from their attack.
“Is my pussy not good enough for you?” Luis doesn’t lean in closer in order to intimidate. He doesn’t even look over at Lynch when he speaks, opting to keep his eyes and hands on the woman he’s summoned over to pull his dick out.
“The stewardess sucked me off on the flight in,” Lynch claims.
“Atta boy,” Luis says just before his head rolls on the back of the sofa as the girl at his feet begins sucking his dick.
“Why would you say something like that?” I hiss in Lynch’s ear while our host is distracted.
We flew commercial, and Lynch never left his damn seat.
“Zoe,” he mutters.
She was the reason I was offended in the first place, but him mentioning her name gives me all I need to understand. It isn’t above Luis to use any person as a pawn to get what he wants. Staying in the dark about Lynch’s undying love for Molly’s best friend is best for everyone involved.
“We really need to discuss this,” I mumble, keeping my eyes off of the woman Luis is trying to choke with his cock.
“Doing that under his roof isn’t an option,” Lynch replies.
“She’s got the perfect mouth,” Luis praises after grunting his release. With a rough hand on her cheek, he turns her head in my direction. “He’s next, puta.”
The woman doesn’t raise her eyes to mine, she merely shuffles on her knees in my direction. “No thanks.”
Luis's eyebrow raises, but at least the woman stops between us, waiting for direction like a trained puppy.
“The bitch on the plane suck you off, too?”
“My VP is celibate,” Lynch answers for me as if he had noticed the tension that’s rolling off of me. Coming here was a bad fucking idea. We’re sitting fucking ducks in this goddamn compound. I feel like a puppet on a string, just waiting for the rabid animals circulating around the room to attack. One guy in the corner with crazy eyes looks like he’d have more fun ripping me apart than I’ve ever seen in TJ’s eyes, and that guy lives for blood and gore.
“No pussy?” Luis grins. “We have a couple guys downstairs willing to lift their asses in the air if that’s what you prefer. We don’t bring them up here because my men want to pretend that they don’t exist.”
Luis winks in our direction as if he’s sharing a secret among good friends.
“Celibate,” I grunt. “Not gay.”
I do my best to get a bead on each of our guys in the massive room. TJ is pouting on the other side of the room with his head bent over his phone. Smalls and Hornet are entertaining a woman each on the far side. Everyone is accounted for and safe so far.
Luis shrugs, seemingly not affronted by my second rejection. “I mean, at the end of the day a hole is a hole, right?”
“Exactly,” Lynch says with a wicked grin on his lips. Anyone who doesn’t know him would think he’s as fucked up as our host, but I know better.
“Toro over there—” He points in the direction of the squirrely-eyed guy. “He’s fond of cutting people and sticking his dick in the wounds.”
“Jesus,” I mutter. We don’t have shit on these guys, and I’ve always assumed our group was the most fucked up people around.
“Ronan,” Lynch snaps when another woman sits beside him. He doesn’t touch her, doesn’t pull her red tipped fingers from his thigh.
“Yeah, Prez?” Ronan stands a few feet away, making sure not to get too close. Upsetting Luis isn’t on the agenda this evening.
“She’s lonely.” Lynch angles his head in the woman’s direction. “Can you show her some attention?”
“At your service.” Ronan holds out his hand for the woman, and I know Lynch doesn’t breathe another breath until she’s away from him and being escorted up the wide staircase.
“Are we going to discuss what we came here for?” Agitation marks my boss’s voice as he pulls his eyes from the retreating couple and shoots a glare at Luis.
“Tomorrow.” Luis waves a hand in the direction of the festivities. “Enjoy this party. It is in your honor after all.”
“We have a ton of shit going on back home,” Lynch reminds him.
“Ah, yes.” Luis waves his hand and a woman places a drink in it in seconds. “I imagine taking over such a large enterprise after your father killed my wife is quite a task.”
He doesn’t even look in our direction when he says the words, nor does he bother to look upset at the death of his spouse.
“That’s what the party is for, also.”
“A celebration of life?” The question leaves my lips before I can catch it. He doesn’t seem too torn up about it.
Luis turns his head in my direction. “A celebration of death.”
He watches my face, looking for a reaction, but he won’t find one. I hold his gaze, not in challenge, but I also refuse to surrender to him. Thankfully, he looks away first.
He’s the same sick fucker who asked for Cowboy’s death for the murder of his wife. From the way Lynch described it, Luis pretty much sent her our way to be killed. Her death was always part of the equation to get his claws into the Ravens Ruin MC.
Our host nods at another woman as she makes her way tow
ard us. Lynch stiffens beside me once again as she closes in on us, but her eyes focus on me rather than my president.
“Stay cool,” Lynch hisses when my hand squeezes my beer bottle until my knuckles turn white.
“What are you playing at?” I spit in Luis’s direction as the woman closes in on me. “I won’t fuck some chick at your command, so you can stop trying to assert power over me. I’ll die for my club before I stick my dick in one of your whores.”
“That’s a lot bravado for a man sitting on my couch drinking my beer.”
“I’d offer the same courtesy to you in my own home,” I assure him. “But I wouldn’t try to force your hand. That holds a level of disrespect I’m not certain you’re ready to answer for.”
“Are all of your soldiers as aggressive as this one?”
Lynch huffs out a humorless chuckle. “Have you met my brother?”
The weight of the world lifts from my shoulders as Luis finally pulls his eyes from me, a hint of a smile playing on his thin lips.
We’ll be lucky if we make it out of this fucking compound alive.
“You’ll stay the night,” Luis orders. “Tomorrow we can discuss business. You’ll be back in Massachusetts before nightfall if you so wish.”
“Perfect,” Lynch agrees.
“Looks like those two are making up for your lack of interest.”
We look over at Chains and Professor. Each mouth, hand, and cock are busy bringing numerous women pleasure simultaneously. It’s actually an impressive feat, and they’ve taken to the challenge with fervor.
“They shouldn’t know that much pleasure,” Luis says absently as he watches one of his women come on Chains’s dick. “It ruins them.”
The warning in his voice is clear, but how he re-educates these girls is the least of my damn worries. Getting out of this fucking place without leaving my life or my blood on the floor is my main concern.
Chapter 7
Molly
“Dr. Andrews’s office. This is Molly, how may I help you?”
Rosie grins from beside me, giving me double thumbs up. She’s shown me at least ten times how to answer the phone, what I need to say, and how to address concerned pet owners. She’s watched me like a hawk since the moment I showed up. I’m unable to tell if she thinks I’m an idiot, or if she just takes so much pride in her job that she won’t let anyone make mistakes on her watch. I’m hoping for the latter.
“No, Ma’am,” I answer the customer. “We don’t require an appointment for rabies vaccinations.”
I go on to explain the same thing verbatim that Rosie told a customer only moments ago before disconnecting the call.
“Dr. Andrews will be in shortly. Think you can handle it on your own? We have a pretty tight surgery schedule today.”
“You don’t mind if I ask for help if I have trouble, do you?” I have no doubt I can answer a phone and plug appointments into the calendar. The damn thing is color coded to the nines, making it so easy a baby could do this job. The only reason I ask is because she seems the type who needs to be needed and the last thing I want to do is alienate others on my first day on the job.
“Of course not,” she beams. “There’s an intercom on the wall in the surgical suite. Follow me, and I’ll show you how to use it as well.”
Rolling my lips between my teeth, I follow Rosie, so she can show me how to press a button and speak into a box on the wall.
“Is she all lined out?”
Smiling sincerely for the first time since I got here, I turn in Owen’s direction.
“She knows to ask if she needs help,” Rosie says matter of factly before disappearing into the back room.
“She’s intense,” I huff when the door swings closed behind her.
“She’s been here longer than I have. When I took over for Dr. Prescott, she would actually give me pointers in surgery. The only thing she lacks to run this place by herself is the degree and licensing.” His smile spreads across his face. “You look great in scrubs. I knew you’d be a great fit.”
I look down at the salmon-colored clothes with a grin. “I kinda feel like a doctor.”
“You definitely look the part. Plus, you’re still young. Medical school is a possibility.”
“I’d have to graduate high school first.”
His smile immediately disappears.
“I’m eighteen,” I vow. “I just left school recently.”
“Education is very important, Molly.”
I’d tell him he sounds like my dad, but my father never saw a point to any type of formal education. He left those duties up to my brothers and Briar.
My jaw tenses just thinking about the club’s VP.
“I know,” I respond. “I plan on going back, but probably online. I’m not one for the classroom setting.”
He nods, but his eyes continue to assess me.
“You have a busy schedule today, Dr. Andrews. Better get to it.”
I leave him standing in the surgical suite when I hear the bell above the door chime. Rosie and I have already checked in several patients, but two on the schedule hadn’t shown up. Rosie was quite flustered over people who weren’t punctual. Since she showed me the process on how to get them checked in, I’m in my element when I return to the front.
I’m in the middle of getting the paperwork completed for an anxious pup that will be leaving today with a little less than he came in with when I feel eyes on my back.
I’m startled when I turn around and see a man standing in the back doorway. His eyes rake over me the way I expect men to look at me. Cold chills race up my arms.
“C-can I help you?”
“Oh,” he says with a crooked smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes as he steps forward with his hand extended in my direction. “I’m Lance. I do a lot of the heavy lifting around here.”
He drops his hand when he realizes I’m not going to touch him. That’s one thing about being raised in the club. Niceties and common courtesy aren’t a requirement, especially when we feel uncomfortable.
You own your body, Lynch told me a million times growing up. If you don’t want someone touching you, don’t let them.
That always came with a lesson on how to make someone bleed out with a quick stab and twist of a blade to the inside of the thigh, but with the way Lance backs off, I don’t imagine I’ll be needing that skill just yet.
“Rocco,” I tell him with a nod in the collie’s direction, “is ready for you.”
His eyes stay on me for a second longer than I’m comfortable with, but eventually, he strides past me and scoops up the puppy while I wrap up the paperwork with Mrs. Crumpton.
“Watch out for him, honey,” she warns before leaving the office.
I plaster a fake smile on my lips and wave the next person forward in line.
“Rosie is in surgery with Dr. Andrews,” I explain for the third time to the caller. “Tuesday next week is booked, but we do have an appointment for Wednesday morning.”
An annoyed huff rattles through the phone. “I think I need to speak with Rosie. She’d be able to get me in on Tuesday.”
My cell phone lights up beside the office phone, and I stab the ignore button as I try my best not to lose my shit on the snobby, insistent woman on the phone.
“Ms. Doyle, Rosie wouldn’t be able to schedule you on Tuesday either.”
I stab my vibrating phone again. I imagine Boston is going crazy right now, but I have a damn job to do, and answering to anyone in the club isn’t a priority.
“We do have an appointment the following Tuesday if that fits your schedule.” My tone is so fucking sweet, my own teeth begin to ache.
“Have Rosie call me,” the woman on the phone snaps before she hangs up.
I stab the ignore button once again before scribbling out the message to Rosie.
“Boyfriend trouble?”
I jolt in my chair at Owen’s voice right over my shoulder. I chastise myself internally for letting the woman on the phone g
et me flustered enough to not be aware of my surroundings.
“Not my boyfriend,” I assure him once my pulse starts to calm at the realization that I’m safe.
He cocks an eyebrow when my phone begins vibrating once again.
“Long distance relationships are hard,” he adds when Boston’s name flashes again.
“Not in a relationship,” I repeat as I power down my phone. I should’ve left the damn thing at home. With how many times he’s called today, I expect him any moment.
“I just wanted to ch—”
I hold up my finger when the office phone rings.
“Dr. Andrews’s office. This is—”
“Have you lost your fucking mind, Mo—”
I yank the phone from my ear and drop it back in place.
“Wrong number,” I assure Owen when he looks at me with confusion.
“Molly!”
“Fuck,” I hiss when the front door opens with force and Boston strides with determination in my direction.
“Let’s go,” the club treasurer snaps as he comes to a stop at the front counter.
“My shift isn’t over.”
“Don’t fuck with me.” Boston’s eyes narrow when Owen takes a step closer to me. “Your brother will lose his shit if he finds out you’ve been gone all day without telling anyone.”
“I think you’ll be in more trouble than me,” I challenge.
Boston’s face pales slightly. He knows he’s supposed to keep an eye on Zoe and me. He hates babysitting, but he does the job to the best of his ability.
“Molly?”
The concern in Owen’s voice pulls my eyes from the stubborn club member to my new boss.
“Is there a problem?”
Boston snorts, knowing a man like Owen wouldn’t be a challenge for him at all.
“Everything is fine,” I assure him before turning a glare in Boston’s direction. “I get off in two hours.”
Owen moves closer, his warmth and the intoxicating scent of his cologne seem to wrap all the way around me. Boston tenses so hard his knuckles pop on the counter.