by Nicole Fox
Vrooommmm!
We zipped past them! I could see this stupid look on one of the cop’s faces as he tried to avoid spilling coffee all over himself.
“Whooooop!” Joey dhouted, throwing his hands into the air. I heard Princess’s cackle in delight from behind me and felt her arms clenched tightly around my waist. I smiled, the coolair whipping past my face and drying us off as we rode. As a precaution, I flipped the latch that would hide my plates and noticed Joey doing the same, just in case the cops bothered coming after us. I doubted they would. There wereno lazier cops than the ones who sat outside casinos. All the dirty work always went to the unscrupulous security guards in the casino’s employ.
We took to the highway, revved our engines up to ninety, and rode our way home in glory.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Farrah
It took about twenty minutes after we successfully escaped the casino for the adrenaline to wear off. Throughout that time, I felt fucking fantastic. I felt clever. I felt brave. I felt sexy. Obviously, everyone in the room had been looking at me. But once the adrenaline high dissipated, I began to feel something else:
I was very, very scared.
The Minghellis were still looking for me. And what was worse, that brute Calvin had been able to recognize me. I looked nothing like Honi. Either they were suspicious of Honi’s claims and were trying to look for the real Farrah Michaels, or Calvin simply hadn’t been informed. I prayed it was the latter. If the Minghellis knew that Honi had lied, then it was only a matter of time before the Devil’s Wings found out as well. And what would they do then? I was sure President Montengo wouldn’t be pleased when he found out he’d been screwing a cheap whore when he thought he’d been screwing a princess.
Irony. Yup.
Connor and Joey had heard Calvin call me Farrah. Had they noticed? And if so, would they make anything of it? Connor was smart. He was sure to suspect something by now.
That waswhen it occurred to me just how strange Connor’s behavior really was. If he really did just think me a useless whore, why was he risking his life and doing all these crazy things to keep me safe? It wasn’t because he cared. I’d be stupid to even think so. And as much as he talked about valuing Devil’s Wing property, there was no way a useless whore was worth all the effort he was putting in.
Obviously, he knew something was going on. Why else would he have bothered to protect me? He had shown quite clearly, when he fucked me after the raid on the Minghelli estate, that his own needs were his top priority.
It made me angry. It would be so easy to allow myself to think he cared. To think of all those nice things he had done for me, and the times he had protected me with his own fists and wit. It would be so easy to slip into the assumption that he was doing it for me—this person he knew as Princess but who was really Farrah Michaels. Even now, on the back of his bike, wearing his a helmet, with the masculine scent of his leather outfit and aftershave wafting over me, it would have been the simplest thing in the world to bask in it and fall a little bit in love.
No, Farrah, I told myself. You need to be strong. To him, you are nothing but property. Either you are a useless whore, or you are Farrah Michaels, a ticket to money scams. Just because he fucks you good and makes you feel sexy doesn’t mean you can give in to him.
I made a promise to myself, right on the back of that bike, not to let Connor have any more emotional control over me. I would be Princess, the useless whore. No more of this confusing in-between.
As part of this promise, I released my grip around his waist and held on only with my fingertips, with as little of me as possible touching him. It was probably dangerous to ride this way, but I didn’t care. The last thing I needed was to wrap my body around him. I wondered if he noticed this change in position, and then was annoyed with myself for caring what he thought it all.
Be strong, Farrah. Be strong.
# # #
I expected Connor to take us back to the compound, but that apparently wasn’t the plan. Instead, he and Joey rode to Connor's apartment. Their spirits were apparently still up, because as we parked in his driveway and dismounted, both of them were laughing and joking around.
“Did you see Calvin’s face when he thought he had walked in on a stripper and her client?” Joey guffawed as he put his helmet away.
“Wasn’t as great as the lookd on all those people’s faces when we poured out of the fucking waterfall,” chuckled Connor, unlocking the door letting us inside. “You know, I’ve always wanted to do something like that. Jump in a fountain. Break that shit. You know?”
Joey apparently agreed, and told us all about it as Connor led us into the living room and told Joey and me to sit down. Then he went to his refrigerator and grabbed three beers. He tossed one to Joey, who grinned and opened it in a flash, and then made to hand one to me.
I just looked at him. He shrugged and put it down on the coffee table, where it remained unopened. Then he sat down beside me and opened his own.
“That was pretty exciting, huh, Princess?” he asked.
“Yes,” was all I said back. Hard. Blunt. Completely uninviting.
He scowled and tried again. “Making that jump was pretty brave of you. I know a lot of girls who would have been scared.”
“Uh-huh,” was my response. I looked and felt like a surly teenager, sitting low on the couch with my arms crossed, grunting my answers. The men apparently noticed, for he and Joey glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.
“I … think I better go,” Joey sighed, chugging the last of his beer and standing up. “Thanks for the drink, man. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Right,” said Connor, rising and walking him to the door. Even though I wasn’t looking at either of them, I could tell they were having a silent conversation. “What’s up with her?” I could practically hear Joey ask. Connor was still shaking his head in confusion as he returned.
“If you’re not gonna drink that, I will,” he said, downing his beer and then reaching for mine. I didn’t move or even look up, leaving him to sip at it a moment in silence. Outside, I heard Joey turn on his engine and ride away.
“So … what do you want to do tonight?” Connor asked tentatively.
“Whatever you want,” I replied, mechanically as a robot.
Connor sighed. “Princess,” he said at last. “Are you mad at me?”
Yes, was the real answer, but of course I didn’t say that.
“No,” I grunted, sinking lower into the couch.
“Are you sure? It seems like something’s wrong.”
“So?”
“So, I want to know if something’s bothering you. It matters what you think.”
This, at least, made me turn to look at him. I put all the disdain I could muster into my disbelieving stare.
“Really?” I said. “You know, I don’t think it’s typical for a biker to care what his whore thinks.”
Connor’s expression darkened.
“Is that at all you are, Princess? A whore?” There was a milky venom in his voice, and I sensed danger.
I also didn’t care.
“Well, would you expect me to be? I am your whore. And after the other night, you definitely treat me like one.”
He stood, anger surging through him. I wondered if he would get mad enough to hit me. It would probably make things easier. Easier to disconnect myself from him.
“Of course I treat you like one, because that’s what you fucking are. What the fuck else do you expect?”
“I expect things to make sense! All of these things you’re doing—fucking me like a whore, then taking me out with you—it doesn’t make any sense! You don’t make sense, you fucking Devil’s Wing!”
That’s it, I thought, Make him mad. Make him so mad he won’t be able to control himself, and then he’ll show me how he really feels. If he flips out and hurts me, or makes me have sex with him, then I’m just his whore. But if he does something else …
He stared at me in silen
ce, dangerous as a hot coal buried beneath ash. I was just waiting for the fire to catch.
Perhaps it needed a little push.
I leaned forward, looked right into his eyes, and hissed, “Fuck you.”
Connor blinked. His expression was unreadable. Was he about to snap? Treat me like the whore I was?
He raised his hand. I winced, expecting to be struck. But instead he reached down and gathered the two beer bottles.
“Aw, fuck you, too, Princess,” he muttered, and then left the room. I heard the door to his bedroom open and slam shut.
Alone, I collapsed on the couch and broke out into sobs. They surprised me, because I wasn’t exactly sad. I was scared, of course. And exhausted. But mostly, I was so confused. I did not know what to do.
Curling up into a ball and pulling a blanket over my body, I cried myself to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Connor
I waited for Princess to fall asleep before I left the house. It didn’t take long. She was obviously scared and confused and acting crazy as fuck because of it. Normally, this would have been the point when I checked out. As soon as a bitch started acting crazy, I figured, fuck that. But after everything we’d been through, I was getting to know Princess better. I knew she was only acting that way because of everything that had been going on. Obviously, she was hiding something, and her endurance was wearing out. Eventually, I would learn the truth, or she would snap.
When she was asleep, I tiptoed past the couch, grabbed my keys, and left. A quick text told me that Joey was at the bar, and I wanted to meet with him. Maybe he could help me figure out how to deal with Princess.
As soon as I sat down, Joey ordered me a drink. A whiskey. This was no time for soft liquor.
“So, did you figure out what the hell is going on with Princess?” he asked, lighting a cigarette. We weren’t supposed to smoke in here, but the barkeep knew better than to give us a hard time. Especially when I was in this mood.
“She’s a fucking mystery, man,” I replied, downing my whiskey in one shot and ordering another. “But she’s definitely hiding something.”
“True dat,” Joey muttered. “Did you hear Calvin call her Farrah?”
I nodded. “I just wish I knew why she won’t confide in me! I mean, I’ve saved her life enough times. You’d think she’d fucking trust me.”
Joey clapped me on the back. “I don’t know, man. She was sold to you as a whore, and you’ve definitely been fucking her.”
“Yes, but she was into it, too— ”
“Hey, hey, no worries, man, I know. I’m just saying that being sold to the Devil’s Wings puts her in a dangerous position. She had every reason not to trust you, at least at the start. And now, I get the vibe that she’s in so deep that she can’t tell the truth. I think there’s more at stake here than here just trusting you.”
“You got that right,” I sighed. “Then there’s the other crazy bitch, too. The one who calls herself Farrah.”
“Hell, you and Montengo should get together. Compare notes. Maybe that way you too can actually figure this shit out.”
As soon as he said that, I felt an idea light up in my head. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea.”
Joey gasped. “What? I was kidding! You shouldn’t go to Montengo with this! Not without more proof. Or even knowing what the fuck you are going to say.”
“No, not Montengo—Honi! Or Farrah! Or whatever the fuck her name is. Princess obviously is invested in her. I bet that if we threaten Honi, we can force her to come clean.”
Joey hesitated. “Are you sure that’s the way you want to do this? By forcing her? Remember, half the reasons she doesn’t trust you is that she was sold to you as a whore.”
I thought about that. It was a good point. Did I really want to shape whatever Princess and I had by blackmailing information out of her? Of course I didn’t want that. I wanted her to trust me. But that wasn’t what was at stake here.
“She’s in danger,” I said at last. “The Minghellis are after her. Not to mention the fact that I’m sure Montengo won’t be happy if he finds out something that embarrasses him. Devil’s Wings aren’t ones to take shit from a woman. I don’t want to do it this way, but I don’t think we have a choice. The Minghelli threat needs to be ended, and I think Princess’s secret has something to do with it.”
Joey nodded and sipped his drink. “So what are you going to do?” he asked. “Hold a gun to Honi’s head until Princess confesses?”
I frowned. That certainly wouldn’t be a stylish way to do it, though I knew it would work. I also knew that it would make Princess hate me, perhaps forever. I didn’t want that.
“No,” I said after a moment, “I think I have a better idea. I’ve got to call Montengo. By tomorrow, everything will be set.”
Joey rolled his eyes, then raised his glass for toast. “To another crazy fucking scheme?”
“Another crazy fucking scheme.”
Clink.
# # #
I returned to my house a couple hours later and was not surprised to see Princess still asleep on the couch. Another biker might have been afraid that she would rob me or try to escape, but I knew better. Princess was wrapped into this somehow. I didn’t think she would leave until things were straightened out.
Or at least until she didn’t need me to protect her from the Minghellis’ fucking gun.
I thought about waking her up to fuck her, but then decided it was better for me to save my energy for tomorrow. I was going to need it. Still, I went over, brushed her lovely hair out of her face, and gave her tit a squeeze before marching off to bed.
The next day I awoke Princess bright and early. It was important that I talk to Montengo while his wits were still about him. The later in the day it got, the more likely he was to be drunk or stoned or in the arms of a hooker.
Princess was quiet throughout breakfast and the ride to the compound. I imagined she had a lot of her mind. I wondered if she regretted acting like such a bitch the day before, but knew better than to ask.
We pulled in at about the same time Joey did. I saw him across the parking lot, and we nodded to each other.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Ready,” he said.
We went inside.
President Montengo was sitting in the meeting room, where I had asked him to meet us during our brief phone call the night before. He seemed annoyed at having to get out of bed so early, but at least he had showed up. He had been so drunk when we spoke, I had been worried he’d forget. Unsurprisingly, Honi/Farrah was seated beside him, looking smug in an expensive designer outfit I assumed Montengo had just bought for her.
We sat down on the opposite sides of the table. I noticed that Princess was making sure not to look at anybody, especially Honi.
“All right,” Montengo growled. “What is it you want, boys? Getting me out of bed this damn early.”
The day before, Joey and I had agreed to get straight to the point. I spoke first.
“Sir,” I said. “It’s important that you know that the Minghellis attacked us last night.”
“What?” he roared, suddenly emphatic. “Why wasn’t I told? You should have informed me immediately!”
“Darling,” Honi purred, sliding over onto his lap. “I’m sure they just didn’t want to disturb us. You can’t expect all your underlings to think clearly.”
I blinked. Her simpering, playful tone did not conceal her obvious disdain for me and Joey, and this baffled me. Why the hell should she have a problem with us? We’d spoken maybe twice, including the time we rescued her from the Minghellis!
Then I saw her throw a derisive, gloating look at Princess, and I understood. She knew that Princess and I were fucking, and by insulting me, she was really insulting Princess.
Suddenly, I felt a whole lot better about our plan.
“Thank you, pumpkin,” sighed Montengo, kissing Honi before depositing her back on her chair like one would a housecat. “But Co
nnor’s not an idiot. He should have known better.”
He turned back to us.
“This feud with the Minghellis has to end immediately,” he barked. “They can’t keep showing us this much disrespect without repercussions! I saw we form a brute squad and go bursting in there and teach them a Devil’s Wings lesson!”
“Actually, sir,” Joey interrupted quietly. “We think we have a better idea.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s why we didn’t tell you immediately. We wanted to make sure that we had everything sorted out before we came forward.”