Corrupting Cinderella

by Autumn Jones Lake

  Fuck. Trinity and Cherry have a very recent beef, and I’m sure I’m making things worse for Trin right now, but I gotta know. “Anyone else?”

  “Ginger,” she spits out. Guilt punches me in the gut. Ginger’s been causing trouble for years. Her round, rosy ass shoulda been booted from the MC a long time ago.

  “They’re the toxic twat trio,” Trinity tells me with a completely straight face.

  “I don’t even—”

  Trinity shakes her head. “I didn’t come up with it.”

  I hate stirring up bad shit for her, but I have to ask my next question. “Don’t get mad, but you know which brothers they’re tight with right now?”

  Her jaw tightens. “Definitely Stash and Ravage. Probably the prospects. Anyone else you have to ask yourself.”

  I give her a wry smile and pat her leg. “Thanks, honey. Listen, I told you a long time ago, if we needed to get rid of girls, I’d back you. I don’t want you taking shit from any of these bitches. We clear?”

  “If we ran off every bitch who gave me lip, there’d be no one left to fuck the guys, Rock,” she deadpans.

  “Dammit, Trin, I’m serious.” But I can’t help chuckling a little.

  All week long stuff came up that kept us apart. I’m able to take Hope out to lunch twice and we talk every night on the phone, but nothing more than that. She’s put up a bit of a wall and talks her way out of spending any nights together. It’s killing me, but I’m working hard at trying to give her the space she seems to need.

  Besides the sex, I miss waking up next to her, holding her at night, and talking to her in the morning over breakfast. I’m a complete sap and don’t give a shit. All I want to do is fix this distance between us because it unnerves me. But I am also trying to tread the line between attentive boyfriend and overbearing asshole. She doesn’t bring up the club girl issue again, and neither do I. But it’s still hanging in the air every time we talk. Since I haven’t had an opportunity to take care of it yet, I don’t want to mention it either.

  When I ask her what time she wants me to pick her up Friday night—like I have every Friday for the past few weeks—she hesitates.

  “I’m going out with a few friends, so I’ll drive myself up after.”

  I don’t like this answer at all.

  “Will you be drinking?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Hope, I don’t want you drinking and driving. You need a ride, call me.”

  Nothing but dead air. Fuck, I wish I could see her face.

  “I will—promise.”

  “Love you, baby doll.”

  “Me too.”

  Not good enough. My fist itches to connect with something. If I don’t fix this, I’m going to lose her. I can feel it.

  The sensible thing to do is call a meeting this week before the rowdiness starts up. This is long overdue. Z gets the word out, and pretty much everyone who has anything to do with the club shows up early tonight.

  Hangarounds, club girls, prospects, and patch-holders are seated or standing in the dining room. Trinity and the prospects have taken care of drinks. I notice with a bit of annoyance how none of the other girls, except Swan, have lifted a finger to help Trinity out. That shit ends tonight.

  Wrath goes over some new security issues. Nothing top secret, of course, but still important. When he’s done, I step up.

  I re-iterate a few of the things Wrath touched on before delving into what I really want to talk about.

  “I don’t think it’s a secret that I’ve taken an ol’ lady. Most of you have met Hope.” Some of the guys whistle and clap, making my mouth twist up in a grin. “This shouldn’t need to be said, but since we’ve got a few new faces, I’m going to say it anyway. Everyone associated with this club treats her with respect. If you don’t, you are directly disrespecting me.” I let those words hang in the air so they sink in to a few of the thick skulls I see in the room. “She’s a little shy, so I expect all of you to make her feel welcomed in my clubhouse.”

  Roxy actually has the nerve to raise her hand. My eyes skip to her, and she takes it as permission to open her mouth. “Why ain’t she here for this? Ya know, if she’s gonna be part of the club.”

  Some of the guys grumble and shake their heads. “I’ll give her the details later,” I answer with a hard stare that shuts her the fuck up.

  “Next thing I want to talk about…” I curl my finger at Trinity and motion her forward. “Lot of you know Trinity. She’s been running the clubhouse and taking care of things for LOKI for a long time.” Trinity blushes and ducks her head. A couple of the guys clap and heckle her a little. She giggles, so I let it slide. “Anyone needs supplies for the clubhouse, kitchen stuff, beer—”

  One of the guys yells out, “Condoms?”

  I shake my head. “Yeah, that too.”

  “Snugger fit, right, Rav?” Trinity jokes back.

  Ravage, is a good sport and laughs along with everyone else.

  “Can we get back on track?”

  After everyone settles down, I’m able to continue. “Just for clarification, Trinity answers to me. She is in charge of the household stuff. Whether you’re a hang-around, prospect, or club girl, if you’re spending time in our clubhouse drinking our beer, smoking our weed, enjoying the benefits of the MC, you best pitch the fuck in and help Trin out. Show her respect. She does a lot for the club, and I want to start seeing some fucking gratitude.”

  Trinity’s face flushes bright pink as the guys yell, “Thank you, Trinny!” at her.

  I’ve probably confused things a little by stating that Trinity answers to me. But I have my reasons for phrasing things the way I did, and I don’t need to explain myself to anyone.

  Clapping my hands, I grab everyone’s attention again. “Lecture part’s over. Sparky’s got some new shit he wants some opinions on—he’ll be setting up in the champagne room in a little bit. Pay him a visit if you wanna be his guinea pig.”

  The volume in the room instantly jumps to ten. Trinity turns to me. “What was that all about?”

  “Just what I said. I shouldn’t be letting you fend for yourself with these bitches. It’s better if it comes from me. And I do appreciate everything you do around here.”

  Her eyes well up.

  “Don’t you dare fucking cry on me, Trin,” I warn her.

  “I’m not,” she sniffles. “You’ve always taken good care of me, Rock. I got no complaints.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ll do a better job looking out for Hope, promise.”

  Couple of the girls swarm around Trinity to ask her what she needs help with, and she takes them into the kitchen with her. The toxic trio watches her leave but stays put.

  “What’s goin’ on, prez?” Wrath asks.

  “Nothing. Stay close tonight.” I nod my head at the three girls. “Keep an eye on them. Their days here are numbered.”

  Suddenly Wrath’s all business. His face locks down into his hard, Enforcer expression. “Rock, if it’s a security issue, you gotta tell me.”

  “Nothing like that.”

  “They hassling Trin?” he asks with an edge to his voice.

  “Possibly.”

  “Hope?”

  I shrug. “Can’t get either of them to give me details.”

  “Rox is trouble, no doubt. You thinking of banning her?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Christ, you’re a cryptic fuck tonight.”

  “We got any brothers coming in from downstate?”

  “A few.”

  “Good. Maybe we can send the toxic trio back with them.”

  Wrath snorts. “Fine by me.”

  Girls’ night out is what I need. Rock has consumed my life since the night we got together, and I’ve been neglecting the few friends I have. Sophie, Mara, and I meet up at Hamilton’s. Of course, the only thing I can think about is the first night I came in here after Clay’s death. Meeting up with Rock.

  Crap. Now I miss him terribly.

&n
bsp; Sophie is looking to stir up trouble tonight. She’s wearing a black, sparkly crop top and red leather skater skirt that reaches mid-thigh. I’m pretty sure if she twirls around, it will flare up and flash us her underwear. Hopefully she’s actually wearing underwear. Her long, curly brown hair is loose, falling halfway down her back.

  Mara is married to one of the scariest City Court judges I’ve ever appeared in front of. I’m surprised he let her out of the house. She is dressed much more conservatively in jeans and a peach-colored, lacy peplum top.

  “Who’s watching Cora?” I ask when she pulls out her phone for the tenth time. She gives me a strange look.

  “Damon.”

  I melt a little thinking of big, scary Judge Oak home alone with his baby daughter.

  “He’s picking me up at ten, so let’s make those drinks count!”

  Sophie orders a pitcher of margaritas, which arrives at the same time Lilly does.

  “Seriously, we have got to start meeting half way or something,” she grouses as she drops into the chair next to me. “Who’s DD?”

  I throw my hand up. “I’ll do it. I have to drive up to Rock’s after anyway.”

  The later I get there, the better. Hopefully the muffler bunnies will be busy sucking tailpipes and leave me alone.

  “How is that going, Hope?” Mara asks.

  “Okay.”

  The corners of Sophie’s mouth turn down. “You don’t sound so sure. You guys looked pretty tight last week at Jonny’s show.”

  Lilly bristles at the mention of last weekend. Damn, by not being up at the clubhouse all week, I missed out on all the gossip. I wonder what ended up happening with Z.

  “I don’t know. Some of the same issues kinda came up. That overbearing caveman thing is starting to get on my nerves. Then, two of those bitches from his club showed up there.”

  “Oh, fuck no, they didn’t, babe. Why didn’t you point them out to me?” Sophie asks. “I woulda had Jonny kick them out.”

  “You were preoccupied at the time,” I tell her with a pointed look.

  She giggles. “Which ones?”

  “Uh, Foxy and Cherry.”

  Mara frowns. “What kind of names are those?”

  “Whore names,” Lilly declares with a completely straight face, then she turns to me. “Do you mean Roxy?”

  “Maybe?” I shrug.

  “Definite whore.”

  Mara taps my shoulder. “Go back to the overbearing caveman thing. That sounded hot.”

  I half smile. “It is most of the time. Except, you know, where he punches some guy out for grabbing my butt.”

  Sophie shakes her head at me. “Are you kidding? I was glad Jonny and Rock took care of those two assholes.”

  “Well, he made a big deal out of chasing me down when I went to a client appointment too.”

  “Why?” Mara asks.

  “Bad neighborhood.”

  “You went by yourself?”

  “Yeah.”

  Everyone is staring at me now.

  “Honey, that man loves you and wants to keep you safe. That’s okay. That means he’s a keeper,” Mara informs me in a very stern tone of voice.

  “Mara’s a sucker for the strong, dominant type,” Sophie says with a giggle.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Lilly shouts. “You let that sexy hunk of man meat tie you up and spank you and shit?”

  “Jesus Christ, Lilly—inform the whole bar, why don’t you,” Mara scolds back.

  Now we’re all staring at Mara, who is bright pink from chest to cheeks.

  “We’re not hardcore or anything.”

  “You have a dungeon in your basement,” Sophie says with more laughter.

  If it’s possible, Mara blushes even harder. “Playroom, not dungeon,” she corrects.

  “I will never look at Judge Oak the same,” I mutter to the ceiling.

  Mara stares at me in alarm. “You can’t say anything. It could really mess up his career if certain people found out.”

  “Mara, I barely have a clue what’s going on, so, we’re good there.”

  Poor Mara is still red in the face as she stands up. “I’m going up to the bar to talk to Brian. Ross wanted me to feel him out while I was here.”

  “I’ll go feel him up,” Lilly snickers.

  Mara ignores her and heads to the bar.

  Sophie’s watching me intently. “What else happened after you left the show?”

  I sigh, because I’ve felt bad about this all week. Maybe it will do me good to get it off my chest. “I kind of went off on Rock about the bimbos who keep hassling me at the club.”

  “Wow. What did he say?”

  “I don’t know. He seemed surprised, which just pissed me off more, you know? I drive through a bad neighborhood or some guy looks at me funny, and he jumps all over it. But where I feel the most uncomfortable and unsafe, his own clubhouse, he has no clue?”

  Sophie reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “Honey, he’s not a mind reader. You told me yourself, those bitches are sneaky.”

  “I know. That’s why I feel bad. I don’t know what to say…"

  Sophie raises an eyebrow, encouraging me to continue.

  “We haven’t spent the night together since, kind of at my request.”

  Lilly and Sophie both looked stunned of course.

  "I need a little space. Frankly, I'm shocked he's actually letting me have it. But it also freaks me out."

  Sophie chuckles at my inconsistency. "Yeah, must be killing him."

  I shake my head, because her words pile on the unease I'm already feeling in my gut over the whole situation. "His best friend there, Wrath, already hates my guts and thinks I don’t fit in, so I'm worried about causing trouble.”

  “Is Wrath the big, hot, hulking blond guy?” Lilly asks. Of course she remembers those details.

  “Yeah, he’s also mean and scary.”

  “My favorite kind,” Lilly giggles while rubbing her palms together.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” I warn her. “He and Z are really tight.”

  At that, Lilly shrugs and looks away.

  “You’re going up there tonight, right?” Sophie asks, steering the conversation back where she wants it.

  “Yeah.”

  “Talk it out with him. I bet you anything he’ll be watching out for you like a hawk now that he knows.”

  I’m not sure if I like that idea or if it makes me feel even more helpless.

  Mara returns, shaking her head. “I wish Ross would grow the fuck up and start dating guys in his own damn age range,” she grumbles.

  Sophie makes a wide-eyed, twisty mouthed face that makes me snort water out my nose.

  “So, about this dungeon,” Lilly prompts as soon as Mara reclaims her seat.

  “Oh, jeez,” Sophie mutters, rolling her eyes heavenward.

  “I need to come stay at your house,” Lilly whines.

  “We’re not swingers,” Mara hisses.

  Lilly slaps a hand to her chest as if she’s offended. “I’ll bring my own boy.”

  We go around and around like this for awhile. Even though I haven’t had any alcohol, I’m laughing just as hard as my three drunk friends. I’ve really missed this.

  Hope has ignored every call and every text I’ve sent her. At first, I figured she was ignoring me to prove a point. She’s having fun with her friends. Maybe we’ve been too fast, too soon and she needs a break. After a couple of hours go by and still no word from my girl, I start to worry.

  Of course, there’s also the announcement I made earlier. I made a big speech about people showing Hope respect, and now she’s not even here…

  …Something Roxy comments on as she straddles my lap. “Where’s your ol’ lady, prez?”

  Shoving her off my lap and onto the couch, I ignore her question.

  Roxy isn’t put off that easily. “Wanna go upstairs? I won’t tell goody-two-shoes,” she purrs.

  Christ. What the fuck did I ever see in this bitch? “R
oxy,” I warn. “Were you paying attention earlier? Do not talk about my ol’ lady that way.”

  She pushes her lips into a duck-like pout and stomps away.

  Trinity takes her place on the couch. “That looked awkward.”

  Running my fingers through my hair, I nod.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Haven’t heard from Hope all night. She went out with some of her friends, but she’s supposed to come up after.”

  “She probably can’t hear her phone if they’re out clubbing or something.”

  “Probably.”

  “You think she’s ignoring you? I’ll call her.” Trin pulls out her cell phone and dials Hope. I’m surprised. Didn’t realize they’d traded numbers.

  “Hey, first lady, it’s Trin. Just wondering if I’m gonna see you tonight. Call me back if you get a chance.”

  My head snapped up when she started talking, then fell back when I realized she was just leaving a message.

  “Sorry, Rock. Went straight to voicemail. Maybe she’s someplace where they have bad service.”

  “Yup.”

  “Do you know where they went?”

  “No,” I answer with a good amount of cranky asshole in my voice.

  Her brows lift, but there’s a softness to her expression. “That’s not like you.”

  I let out a sharp exhale. “She’s getting fed up with me being so overprotective and shit. I didn’t want to push her.”

  Trinity snickers.

  Wrath drops down next to us, ending our conversation.

  “How’s the training coming?” I ask him.

  “Good. You know I don’t sweat these fights. Live for that shit.”

  “Yeah, you just been putting a lot of effort into it lately,” I answer with a smirk.

  Wrath glares at me.

  “What are you so pissed off about?”

  He doesn’t answer, just keeps giving me the same hard stare, as if that will shut me up.

  “Well, boys, seems like you’ve got things to discuss,” Trinity says with a laugh. She pats both of us on the shoulder and hightails it away from the couch.

  “Dick,” Wrath grumbles at me.

  “Asshole,” I answer, making him chuckle.