Phoenix asked, “Like what?”
I cleared my throat, “I’m not sure what, but I think it is illegal and I think that the people who work there aren’t working there by choice.”
“You think they are being forced to work there?” he asked.
“Yes. I overheard them talking about how someone had been there for 10 years and would be there for 10 more to work off the debt they accrued,” I explained. I hoped I wasn’t making a big mistake by telling him all this information.
Phoenix had the strangest look on his face. I thought he was going to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, he just closed it again. Finally, he gently asked, “So, if it isn’t really an orphanage, why were you there?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said dejectedly.
“Okay, can you tell me why you need help leaving?” he asked softly.
I tried desperately to keep the tears at bay, “I overheard Octavius talking to his men in one of their council meetings. He said that it wouldn’t be as profitable for me to work on the dairy farm once I turned 18, so he had ‘put the word out.’ Then, he said that I had been selected and would be picked up on my 18th birthday.” Phoenix sucked in a sharp breath. “I think, I think he was trying to sell me.” I managed to get that last part out before I burst into sobs.
Phoenix stood and rounded his desk. He knelt in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay. I won’t let that happen to you.”
I continued to sob, “I’m really scared. I don’t want to be sold. I don’t even know what that means!”
Phoenix wrapped me in his big arms and rocked me back and forth while holding me tightly to his chest. “No one is selling you. You’re safe here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He held me until I calmed down. I don’t believe I had ever felt so safe and secure. I pulled back and wiped my face. “I’m so sorry. Contrary to what you’ve seen of me thus far, I don’t usually cry this much.”
“It’s okay. I can’t imagine the past few days have been easy for you. You’ve held yourself together better than most would have.” He walked back around to his desk and redirected the conversation, “I’m sure I’ll need to ask you more questions about all this, but for now, I just have two more questions. Where did you get all that cash and why were you so heavily armed?”
I smiled sheepishly at him, “I knew that I would need money to get away, but we were never allowed to have our own money, so I stole it.”
Phoenix blinked at me, “You stole over $100,000?”
I grinned, a little proud of myself, “Yes, but not all at once. I found the combinations to several of the safes when I was cleaning one of the offices. I took a little money from different safes over the course of several months and gave it to Reese to keep for me. No one ever noticed.”
Phoenix nodded, “And the guns?”
I shrugged, “All the kids at the orphanage were taught how to shoot at a young age. I’ve had a gun in the drawer beside my bed since I was 10 years old. There are guns and knives all over the place out there. They always stressed that it was important to know how to defend ‘our place’ if we ever needed to. We also spent a lot of time practicing hand-to-hand combat. Honestly, I thought all that was pretty cool so I didn’t question it.”
Phoenix rubbed his chin, “How many kids were there in the orphanage?”
“Usually, around 20 or so, I think. They kept us separated for the most part, different age groups on different floors, boys on one side and girls on the other, and we all had our own rooms.”
Phoenix shook his head, “That sounds, lonely.”
I agreed, “It was at times, but I was pretty good at finding ways to entertain myself. I wouldn’t say it was terrible growing up there, but I wouldn’t say it was great either. I mean, I was fed, clothed, sent to school, and I was never abused or anything…”
Phoenix finished that sentence for me, “but you weren’t loved either.”
Sadly, he was correct. “No, I wasn’t.”
Phoenix stood, “I think that’s probably enough for now. Patch will be by after lunch to get the samples for the paternity test. We should have the results in three to five days. He’s going to run it under a false name, so you don’t have to worry about anybody finding out that you’re still around Croftridge. For now, don’t go outside of the clubhouse without one of the brothers with you. Same goes for Reese. There’s a little lake toward the back of the property and some walking trails through the woods. Get Dash to take you down there if you want to see it sometime.”
I rose to my feet, “That sounds nice. I’ll ask him. Thank you, for everything.” As I walked back to my room, I wondered why he specifically suggested Dash.
***
Four days had passed since I arrived at the Blackwings MC clubhouse and I was in desperate need of clothes and toiletries. I knew Reese was in the same boat because she had been wearing my clothes since she didn’t bring anything with her when Carbon told her to come to the clubhouse. I found Phoenix in his office and asked if someone could take us shopping.
“Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem. Are you ready to go now?”
I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll send someone to your room to get you.”
“Thanks!” I couldn’t help but hope that it would be Dash who would take us shopping. To my surprise, Carbon and Dash showed up at our door half an hour later.
“Ember, Dash is going to take you to a few stores in town. Reese, I’ll take you home to get some of your shit and bring you back,” Carbon announced. Reese and her brother were two of the most mercurial people I had ever encountered.
I grabbed my bag and followed Dash out the door, trying to hide my smile.
CHAPTER 8
Dash
I took her to the only shopping mall in Croftridge. It wasn’t very big, but she should be able to get what she needed there. I stayed close by, but I tried to give her space to get what she wanted without making her feel uncomfortable. I’m sure she didn’t want to pick out underwear with me standing beside her, though I wouldn’t have minded providing my input.
She had just picked up a black lacy bra, making my cock twitch, when I was hit with an unmistakable feeling. We were being watched. I carefully scanned the area. I didn’t want whoever was watching to know that I was on to them. Shit! I couldn’t spot them, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. If I couldn’t spot them, they were watching from a distance, like with a high-powered scope. The feeling of being in the crosshairs was not a welcome feeling. I had to get us out of here and lose whoever was watching us.
“Are you about done here? I need to get back to the clubhouse to finish up a few things before dark and we still need to stop by and get your shampoo and shit,” I asked, harsher than I intended.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you had to get back. I’ll just pay for this stuff and we can go.” I wanted to sag in relief when she agreed to leave without putting up an argument, but I couldn’t just yet. Not until I knew we weren’t being watched anymore.
As soon as she paid for her things, I rushed her to the car. If I could have gotten away with it, I would have tossed her over my shoulder and sprinted the whole way. “If you’re in that big of a hurry, I can get Carbon to take me to get my toiletries later,” she suggested.
Fuck. I just wanted to get her out of here, not alert her to something being wrong and I damn sure wasn’t letting anyone else leave the clubhouse with her. “Oh, no, it’s fine. We still have time to stop.” I tried to slow down, but I was too anxious to get back to the car.
I threw Ember’s bags in the back seat unceremoniously and sped out of the parking lot. “Slow down, Dash! Really, I can get the other stuff later.”
I flashed a fake grin at her, “It’s all good.” I drove all over the place, taking shortcuts, back roads, and any other route I could think of to make sure we weren’t being followed. I was utterly grateful that Ember wasn’t familia
r with the layout of Croftridge. She had no idea I was taking the most convoluted path to the drug store.
I pulled into a parking space close to the front door and she immediately hopped out. “I won’t be long. I promise.” She rushed into the store before I could say anything.
I didn’t want to let her go in by herself, but since there was only one way in and out and I was standing right beside it, I relented. She might need to buy tampons or something and I’m sure she didn’t want me looking over her shoulder while she did that. Girls were so funny about that stuff. Same thing with taking a shit. We know you have periods and we know you shit. And yes, it does stink. Not a big deal.
It couldn’t have been more than five minutes when she came jogging out of the store. “All done. Let’s go.” Was she serious? No woman could get in and out of a store that fast, though judging by the three bags she was carrying, I guess I was wrong.
When we got back to the clubhouse, I helped her carry her bags to her room. “Thanks for taking me shopping today. I hope I didn’t keep you too long.”
“You didn’t. I’ve got plenty of time to finish up things.”
She was fidgeting, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Did you need something else?”
“Uh, yeah, Phoenix mentioned some walking trails out back and a lake. He said I could go check them out if I took someone with me. He suggested I ask you.”
I smiled. Oh, he did, did he? “No problem. How about after dinner?”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
After dinner, I showed Ember the walking trails and then accompanied her to the lake. I wouldn’t call it a lake, but it certainly wasn’t a pond either. It was big enough that you couldn’t easily swim to the other side.
Phoenix’s grandparents had a few benches placed around the lake so they could easily watch sunrises, sunsets, or just enjoy the lake with some shade in the middle of the day. I gestured to one of the benches, “Have a seat.” I wanted to laugh, but managed to hold it in. Ember sat down as far away from me as she could possibly get. “I don’t bite, sweetheart, unless you want me to.” I winked.
She rolled her eyes, but remained silent. “So, do you know what you are going to do when you leave here?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure now. Phoenix said he wanted to get the paternity test results back before helping me make any further plans.”
“Do you think he is your father?”
“It sounds like it is possible. We kind of look alike, but I don’t know what my mother looked like, so it’s hard to say.” The sadness in her voice was almost palpable.
“Talk to Phoenix. He probably has pictures of Annabelle around somewhere. Even if he isn’t your dad, she is your mother. I’m sure he would let you see them.”
Her eyes widened and she could barely contain her excitement. “Really? I’ve never seen a picture of her. All I’ve ever known about her was her first name and that she died giving birth to me.”
I smiled, “Come on. Let’s head back and see if Phoenix is around.”
When we got back to the clubhouse, Badger told me Phoenix had gone home for the night. He rarely stayed at his house, but I guess with everything going on, he needed some time to himself. I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.
Dash: Do you have any pictures of Annabelle you could show Ember? She has never seen her and has no idea what she looks like.
Phoenix: Yeah, I have some here at the house. I’ll bring them tomorrow.
Dash: Thanks, man.
I gently steered her toward her room. “Phoenix said he will bring some pictures tomorrow.”
“That’s great! Thanks for asking him.”
As we got closer to her room, I noticed that she seemed to be walking slower and slower. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s just that Reese was in a mood when her and Carbon got back earlier and I was trying to give her some time to herself.”
“Ah, well, we can watch a movie in my room if you want.”
“That works. I get to pick the movie!”
CHAPTER 9
Ember
I woke to the sound of wood splintering and men yelling. Wait, why were men in my room and why was it so hot?
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Phoenix roared.
I pushed myself up quickly to a sitting position. It was at this moment I realized two things; one, I wasn’t in my room and two, my hand was on Dash’s bare abdomen. Oh crap, did I drool on him while I was sleeping? I started moving my hand around to feel for wetness.
Dash caught my wrist in an iron grasp, halting all movement. When he spoke, he didn’t seem rattled in the slightest, “Nothing, Prez. We came in here to watch a movie last night and I guess we fell asleep. Look at us. We’re both fully clothed with the exception of my shirt. Hell, I still have my boots on.” He pointed toward the end of the bed where anyone could plainly see that we were both still wearing our shoes.
Phoenix just glared at Dash.
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I’ll just go on to my room now.” I hopped out of the bed and quickly exited the room, making a beeline for mine. Of course, Reese was hot on my tail.
We entered the room and Reese immediately started grilling me about what happened with Dash.
“Like he said. Nothing. We watched a movie, or started to, and I fell asleep before it was finished.”
“Uh-huh, you two looked pretty cozy all curled up together.”
I turned away from Reese to hide my face. It was cozy being curled up with him and I wanted to do it again sometime. “Well, well, well, I think little Miss Ember just might have a thing for Dash.”
I whirled around quickly, “I most certainly do not have a ‘thing’ for him. I don’t even know what a thing for him is, so I can’t possibly have one.”
“Oh don’t pull that innocent crap on me. You know exactly what I mean. You like him. I for one think it is great. Maybe they didn’t completely screw you up at that crazy ass place you grew up. Besides, Dash is smoking hot. You could do worse.”
“Are you insane? I don’t like Dash. Yeah, he’s attractive, but forming a relationship, of any kind, is not even remotely on my radar right now. My future is basically sitting on the end of a cotton swab in a lab somewhere. What’s going to happen if Phoenix is my father? What’s going to happen if he isn’t? I thought I would be well on my way to starting my new life far away from this town by now, but I’m still here, just waiting.”
Reese sat down on my bed, “Do you think you will want to stay in Croftridge if Phoenix is your father?” She sounded hopeful.
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying not to think about it too much. I don’t want to get my hopes up one way or the other, but it’s so hard not to think about it. And even if he is my biological father, that doesn’t mean he would want me to stay.”
“Ember, you saw how he reacted when he figured out there was a possibility that you’re his daughter. You know he would want you to stay, and I bet Dash would want you to stay, too.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore right now. Let’s go get breakfast and find something to do for the day.”
“It’s supposed to be pretty hot with clear skies today. Maybe we could go swimming,” she suggested.
“I am not swimming in that nasty water! It’s brown and who knows what kind of creatures are living in it.”
Reese laughed, “I meant the pool.”
“They have a pool?” I asked, surprised.
“Yep. Go down the left hallway and through the door at the end. It takes you out to a large patio with an in-ground pool. They also have a hot tub out there, but I’m not sure how sanitary it would be to get in that.”
“Um, I don’t have a swimsuit,” I confessed.
Reese smiled brightly, a little too brightly, “Good thing for you I have an extra.”
“Of course you do.” I could tell just by the grin on
her face that she was up to something.
After breakfast, we returned to the room to change and I found out just what she was up to. “Reese!” I shrieked. “I’m not going out there in this!”
“Of course you’re not. You’re going out there wearing this.” She held up a sheer summer dress type thing. “But you’re going swimming in what you have on.” I was already shaking my head in refusal. “Ember, I know it is far different than anything you’ve ever worn before, but I promise you, you look fantastic. Just give it a go. If you hate it or are completely uncomfortable once we are out there, we’ll come back to the room and find something else to do.”
I reluctantly agreed and crossed my fingers that we wouldn’t run into anyone on our trek to the pool. There was a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I wasn’t quite sure which side this one fell on.
To my surprise, we made it out to the pool without running into anyone. Reese pulled off her cover-up without any hesitation and jumped into the pool. I stood there feeling awkward and uncomfortable. I had never shown this much skin outside of my bedroom. Ever. I started rubbing my hands together and glancing all around.
“Just take it off and get in. No one is out here.” She dove under the water and popped back up, “If you want your life to change, you have to start changing things, doing things differently. Now, take a deep breath, tell yourself you’re beautiful, take that thing off, and get in the damn pool.” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at me.
She had a point. I was trying to start a new life, and to do that, I couldn’t continue to do things the same way I always had. I just wished the swimsuit had a little more material and a little less shine to it. As it was, my breasts were barely contained in the two shiny gold triangles that made up the top and it felt like half of my rear end was on display with the small amount of material that made up the bottoms. My underwear covered more than this! Great, now I’m talking myself out of doing this instead of talking myself into it.
Okay, deep breath. Check.
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