by Brogan Riley
Rose cries so much I can’t stand it.
I hit the road.
Rose
Three years later.
I open the book and brush the dried white rose with my fingertips. Seke’s never bought me a red rose even though he promised to do so.
He was drinking a lot for a while. He’d chopped his hair. He’d been on the road.
Nikusha and Samantha are Lucas and my legal guardians, but I don’t want to live under one roof with them. They’re busy raising their two young children. Not to mention that Samantha is allergic to cats and I can’t imagine my life without Panther and Cheetah. Tara gave me the kittens for my twelfth birthday.
Tara moved into our house just after my mother’s funeral. I teetered between Nick’s house and hers for a few months until I decided to stay with her.
She’s been like an older sister to me. We’re best friends. She’s teaching me how to manage the hotel and how to cook.
My brother moved out as soon as she moved in. I don’t know why. Everyone made their choices, I guess. Nikusha and his wife have been there for Lucas and me since the accident, and my brother stays either with them or at the clubhouse, occupying Tara’s old bedroom. He prefers the clubhouse. Seke takes us on a short vacation once a year and pays for our private school.
Seke avoids me like the plague, but my brother and he are best friends. Club brothers. My brother is a prospect and he’s working hard to earn his patch.
We’re going to Majorca this year—Nikusha, his family, Lucas, me and Seke. I wanted to stay with Tara, but Seke didn’t allow me to. He’s President. He makes all the decisions here.
“Ready?” a male husky voice tears me out of my bubble of thoughts.
I close the book with my dried treasure tucked between the pages. My eyes meet Seke’s.
“I’m not well,” I say. My cheeks seize with fire as my hands shake. “Maybe—“
“It’s a family vacation, Rose.”
Like hell. For you it’s gonna be a blur in the fountains of vodka and with the addition of various female companions.
Seke continues with his monologue, “Sam and Nick can’t wait to show you Majorca. You’d offend them if you didn’t go.”
I nod. “I know.” My lips barely make a sound.
They’ve saved the money for a year—it’s a gift for me and my brother. A thank you gift to Seke. They have a good life here and are very grateful.
I don’t want to be around Seke in all honesty. He makes me behave like an idiot. I have a social phobia and it gets worse in his presence.
I flop from my bed and put the book on the desk. With my hand reaching down for my bag, I slip into my ballerina pumps. I straighten as my eyes scan my t-shirt and long flowery skirt.
This is going to be like a nightmare. A lot of people around me. A lot of women around Seke. They’ll flirt with him and giggle like idiots and throw themselves at him.
Seke tears the bag away from my hand. “Get in the car.”
My eyes sweep over his t-shirt and cut. “I—“
“You?”
“My…”
“Your?” He sounds amused.
“My cats.”
God, I am an idiot.
He hasn’t aged at all. He looks better than he did when I met him for the first time.
“Tara will take care of them,” he says. “Let’s go.”
I nod and then exit the bedroom. Lucas and I tumble into his SUV as Nikusha’s family settles themselves in his Audi. The drive to the airport takes us three hours. Lucas and Seke are talking about the animals and bikes; I’m pretending to be asleep.
The nightmare starts as soon as we get off the car. I want to kill all the women of the world. They blush and twitter and purr at the sight of Seke. They try to rub their bodies up his. They’re brainless.
The flight takes us three hours.
The hotel is beautiful—a white four-storey building with pillars, marble floors, and high palm trees. Dates layer the lawns, their sticky forms exuding a sweet intoxicating smell.
I have my own room and it’s the best thing about this vacation. I’m reading, sleeping, and dreaming. Samantha and I go sightseeing every morning.
I’m far from Seke until I pass him one evening. He’s sitting at the bar, a white tent spread over the tables and chairs. A woman is clinging to him. She has long blonde hair and big boobs.
I stop, my eyes glued to them.
A massive arm wraps around me from behind. The stench of sweat and alcohol hits my nostrils as a tall male form envelops my back. I wriggle but the arm is crushing me, holding me in place.
Seke rises to his feet in one threatening motion. He flings himself towards me. I’m torn away from the reeking form. Seke sweeps his arm and knocks out the young drunken guy with one punch.
“What the fuck did I tell you, Rose?” Seke growls as he kicks the man in the abdomen.
I shriek out something unintelligible.
“Go back to your room,” Seke says in a cold voice.
Tears blind me and I pull forward. I see Samantha step out of the restaurant, and I fall into her arms.
“What’s happened?” Samantha asks.
“I… Seke… that drunken man…” I squeak. “The police will put Seke to jail, I’m sure.”
“Don’t worry. Seke’s gonna be fine.” She cups my face, her grey eyes framed by thick dark eyebrows locking onto mine. “You okay?”
“Yes, but—“
“Everything’s fine, Rose,” she soothes. “Seke knows what to do.”
So, two police officers arrive at the hotel half an hour later and they take the drunken guy to jail.
Two days later, the nightmare vacation ends.
Seke
Two years later.
Her wet plump lips brush against my shoulder. “Good morning,” she murmurs as her naked chest moulds to my back.
I always pay for the whole night. I like this bordello and this skilled whore. Fay is an intelligent chick and she knows how to accommodate my needs. Her sweet mouth can take my whole stiff length. Her father was a gipsy traveller; her mother was a pub singer and a slut. Fay has beautiful dark brown hair and mysterious grey eyes. Her tits are large and natural. A classy woman.
“Good morning,” I say as I sit up.
“Coffee?” Her slim arms wrap around me from behind.
“No, thanks, I’m going to clear off.”
A cold breeze ruffles the red curtains and blows out the candle on the Japanese side table. The smell of seaweed muffles the smell of our sex.
“You’re more and more in a hurry each time,” she says. “Something’s troubling you. Has been for some time.”
“Nah, I’m fine.”
“Rose and Lucas okay?”
“Yeah. They’re very intelligent. Very well behaved. Nick and Sam have no problems with them.”
“But?”
“No buts. Everything’s fine.”
She sits on her heels opposite me. “Give me your hand.”
“I don’t believe in that witchy stuff.”
“I charge fifty bucks per reading. For you it’s free.” She tilts her head as she winks at me.
“What a bargain. Well, I can’t resist the offer.” I hold a hand out and she takes my wrist. Her eyes flick over the lines on my palm as her thumb follows. I chuckle. “You see anything, you gypsy witch?”
“Come on, more respect, biker boy.” Her eyes rise to mine, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. “You’ll find your peace one day.”
“Wedged between your perfect thighs?”
“No, in the core of the fierce flame.”
“You see? Bullshit.”
She plants a kiss on my thumb. “Go home, biker boy.”
“We’re not gonna marry then?”
“No, I’ll be a very rich business woman one day and that’s not your dream, believe me.”
“I have no dreams.”
I have no life, no future, just those hot moments of forgetfuln
ess with Fay. A bottle of vodka is my wife most of the time.
“You dream about true love, biker boy.”
“True love doesn’t exist.”
Fay flops from the bed, shaking her lush ass. “Go home, biker boy.”
She’s right. I should go home.
The club needs me.
I slip into my jeans, grab my cut, and brush my lips against Fay’s. She helps me put my boots on, and I exit the room. The wooden floor screeches under my feet. Two crystal chandeliers cast rainbows onto the wide boards, creating a dreamy reality. An Asian girl passes me like a fairy, her lips curling into a flirty smile. I wink at her and walk down the stairs. The owner, Elise Lepor, greets me with a warm ‘good morning’ in the hall. Dark green pieces of fabric decorate the walls as two antique mirrors and three silver candelabra give it an elegant appearance.
“See you soon,” she says as her amber eyes gleam.
A beautiful mature woman, a very talented business person.
“Maybe, maybe not,” I say.
She flashes me a mysterious smile as I exit the bordello.
I jump on my bike, start the engine, and shoot towards the clubhouse. The ride takes me four hours.
I park in front of the clubhouse between Nick’s bike and Tank’s one, and enter the bar. It’s devoid of people. I go to the kitchen and grab something to eat. I sit down at the narrow table. Someone sneaks into the kitchen. No, not someone. It’s Rose.
“Why the fuck are you not at school?” It just pours out of me.
“It’s half-term,” she squeaks. “The third day. I’m helping Ally.” Her voice halts as her chin quivers. “When there’re no customers of course.” Every word is followed by a gasp.
I clear my throat. “Stay away from the customers and prospects.”
She bobs her head.
A sense of guilt surges through me as the wound on my heart reopens and burns. “Who picked you up from school?”
“Tank.”
I always drop her off and pick her up. I just forgot this time.
“Your school fine?” I question.
She bobs her head.
I don’t like the black cropped top and jean shorts she’s wearing. She shouldn’t wear such indecent clothes while helping here in the bar.
“Tell Tara to buy you some decent clothes,” I say. Tears glitter in her eyes and I feel my throat tighten. “I mean you’re too young, Rose.” She tilts her head and stares at me with those mesmerizing eyes of hers. Two tears flow down her cheeks. I feel like the lowest of the low. “I mean you just don’t wear such clothes when you’re here in the bar, okay?”
She nods, wiping the tears away from her face with her fingers. “You want a cup of coffee?” she murmurs.
“Yeah, coffee would do me good. You brew the best coffee in the world.”
A pale smile crosses her face and she puts the kettle on.
I feel edgy for some mysterious reason. Rose puts a cup on the table as the aroma of coffee drifts to my nostrils.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome.”
“We could… go fishing one day, you, me and Lucas.”
She looks at me like I have twisted her grandmother’s neck. “I’m not a fan.”
“Alright, maybe—“
The door of the kitchen swings open and Kika walks in. She’s been working here as a waitress for six months, a tiny, twenty-two-year-old chick with short black hair and big blue eyes. And with a very eager mouth.
“Seke!” Kika exclaims. “Missed you so much.” She spreads her arms as though she wants to hug me.
She wants to kiss me for sure.
Fucking hell. I want to twist her neck. I’d fucked Fay the whole night. I’m tired. My dick needs a good sleep.
“The storage room needs cleaning, Kika,” Rose says in a dry voice, and she exits the kitchen.
Strange emptiness envelops me as my hand jerks up like I want to catch someone, somebody.
Kika’s face tinges with a delicate pink as her arms collapse. “Tell that brat to treat me with respect. She thinks she’s better than me.”
“That brat can say whatever takes her fancy,” I say through gritted teeth, “and you’re here to respect her not the other way round.” I grab my coffee and rise from my seat. “If you look at her in the way that I don’t like, you’ll lose your job.”
The chick starts shaking, but I have no sense of guilt.
Nobody’s allowed to insult Rose.
“Jeez,” Kika shrieks. “You prefer that brat to a grown woman?”
I fix my eyes on hers. “Get. Out.”
I don’t have to repeat myself. Five hours later, Kika packs her stuff and becomes a blurry memory.
Two years later.
I knock on the front door, but nobody hurries to open it, so I pull the door handle, and step into the house. Tara’s raised voice drifts to my ears. Her words ‘Rose, fucking hell’ bounce off the walls. I enter the kitchen and see Rose sitting on the floor with her feet tucked under her bottom. There’s a bowl in front of her. Rose retches and throws up.
“How’s she?” I ask as I pull my hair together and tie it on the back of my neck. It’s as long as it was when I met Martha. “Drunk?”
“Drunk as hell,” Tara says with amusement.
I just smashed one of the prospects’ face. He bought beer for Rose. He admitted that when I took the gun out and held it trained on his temple. He didn’t touch her so I didn’t kill him. I excluded him though. If he crosses my path again, I’ll shoot him dead.
Tara grabs the bowl and goes to the bathroom to empty it. Rose scrambles to her feet and pours herself a glass of water. She sways by the kitchen sink.
“Rose, I told you not to talk to the prospects. I told you that, didn’t I?”
She turns to face me. “I turned eighteen a week ago. You have no right to tell me anything, Ezra.”
She wants to piss me off. Nobody calls me my real name. “Like hell,” I say.
“I’m moving out first thing tomorrow morning. I’m going to rent a flat in the city.”
“We’re going on a vacation tomorrow.”
She shows me her middle finger. I guess, alcohol can make a brave warrior out of her. She’s always shy and tries to be invisible. She’s not invisible. She’s a grown woman.
She’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
I noticed that a year ago. The little fairy grew overnight and turned into a seductive nymph.
My prospects noticed that too. Their hungry eyes sliding over her while they’re around her make me turn into a bloodthirsty beast.
I can’t stand men’s eyes on Rose.
She is untouchable.
Tara returns to the kitchen as Rose sneaks out. A few seconds later, I can hear the buzzing sound of her electric toothbrush.
“I have a date,” Tara says.
“Sure. Go and I’ll stay with the kids.”
“They’re not kids anymore. Rose—“
“They are. Always will be.”
Tara rolls her eyes but says nothing.
Lucas walks into the kitchen and grins at me. I slap him on the back.
Lucas arrived at the clubhouse at 4 am and went straight to bed. He woke up at 3 pm and we came here, but Rose wasn’t here. She was drinking beer behind the clubhouse with that fucking prospect. I saw red. I wanted to kill.
“Never seen her drunk,” Lucas says.
“Neither have I,” I say.
Lucas is one of the best students in law school. I’m paying for his university and he’s helping me run my business. He’s just been patched in, but in the future, I’m going to make him my vice. He’s very smart. He’ll do perfect as my vice.
I’ve never had any problems with him. We’ve been best friends since I met him. Nikusha is like a father to him.
Rose?
Nobody knows what she thinks or what she wants in life. Tara doesn’t want to talk to me about Rose. My sister has been kind of harsh
on me these days.
Tara hugs Lucas. “Nice to see you back, sweet little boy.”
“I’m not a little boy anymore, sweetheart.” There’s a pinch of softness I’ve never heard in Lucas’s voice. “Soon, I’ll be a respectable lawyer. A very rich lawyer.”
I feel my lips curl into a smile. Maybe he has a crush on my sister?
Nah, she’s much older than him.
Tara rolls her eyes and tosses his hair back, which causes blazing fury to fill his cold gaze. I need to talk to my sister. She should show him more respect. He’s a grown man, a club member, and soon will be like my right hand. He’s old enough to claim a woman and start a family.
Lucas shoots her a dark glance, his fingers rolling into fists. Tara sighs, shrugs, and walks off.
“I’m going to the bar,” Lucas rasps.
His jaw muscles twitch and it seems like something is troubling him. I need to have a chat with him too.
“I’ll stay with Rose.” I slap him on the back. “Go have fun.”
He bows his head and walks off.
He never drinks much. He doesn’t fuck bar trash or hasn’t so far. He’s had two girlfriends. They were both pretty dolls from rich houses. He trashed them and wasn’t even unhappy about it. I’m not worried about him. He knows everything he should know about a man’s life.
I’m always worried about Rose. Worried about her future, about the lack of contact with her, about the eternal sadness in her mysterious eyes.
I’ve kept her at the catholic school so far despite Tara’s protests. I’m gonna pay for her med school. I’m gonna take care of her as I’ve done for all these years.
A thought hits me hard. She’s too pure to live in the compound.
Kostya Rozvenin demanded that we launder more money for him. Lucas knows how to make my papers look spotless, but that doesn’t change the fact that my club’s been more and more involved in illegal activities as time goes by. We cleaned up a man for Rozvenin a few months ago. We’ve helped him with arms trafficking twice. Those of us who are single enjoy his strippers on a regular basis.
Rozvenin is growing in power and needs allies. I’m not happy to help him, but I have no choice.
Rose creeps into the kitchen. Her hair is damp. The smell of shampoo wafts through the air.
“Better?” I ask.
“Better.” It comes out on a tired whisper.