by Sam Crescent
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s a little worse than that.”
“Erm, I wanted to get some condoms, and an anal kit,” Melissa said.
“Don’t, Mel.”
“Please, could you get them for me?” Melissa took the mirror and started to work more foundation across her eye.
Sarah went and got the condoms, followed by the kit that she needed. Ringing it up, she watched as Melissa covered up her black eye. The whole time, Sarah was itching to grab the phone, and call Saint to get his ass over here.
“Thank you for this, Sarah, I really appreciate it.” Melissa’s eye was covered up completely so there was no sign of a bruise.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll see you around, Sarah.”
The moment she left, Sarah grabbed her cell. She still had Saint’s number, and she dialed him.
“Hello,” Saint said.
“Did you know Melissa has a black eye?” Sarah asked.
“What?”
“Melissa, Pea’s wife and old lady, she has a black eye, and she wouldn’t tell me who gave it to her.”
Saint cursed.
“You won’t see it unless she’s had a bath. She’s covered it up. I asked her if it was Pea, and she said it wasn’t. Who would give her a black eye?” Sarah was worried for the other woman. Melissa, she was filled with confidence, and she was such a nice woman. Yes, she had manipulated Penny in the beginning, but she was still a good sister.
“Shit, I’ll handle it.”
“Saint?” He had already hung up, and she growled, pissed off with that fact she was being left in the dark. She liked Melissa. Whoever was hitting her was going to feel her wrath just as much as the whole club was going to. If Pea didn’t do it, then there had to be someone else. She didn’t get the whole wife beater vibe from Pea. Sarah had no doubt that if he did hit Melissa, the whole of the club would find out why.
For the next hour she dealt with the odd customer while also dealing with more stock. In the year she had been away, nothing much had changed in the overall running of the shop. When Elena walked in after ten, Sarah bombarded her with questions.
“Wait, what? Melissa has a black eye?”
“Don’t you know anything?”
“I’m not an old lady of the club, nor am I a biker for them. I’m only Saint’s sister. I hope Mel’s okay.”
“I hope so as well. Call Saint, try to find out what happened?” Sarah watched and waited for Elena to put the call through to her brother.
“It’s going straight to answer phone.”
“Then call Pipe. See what he can find.”
“I can’t manipulate my husband.”
“Excuse me but what else are husbands for, unless they’re screwing your brains out?”
“That’s not fair.”
“You kept me waiting for over an hour so you could orgasm. Seriously, I’m being fair.”
Elena rolled her eyes and made the call to Pipe.
She stared at her friend as she spoke to Pipe. Seconds later, she ended the call. “He doesn’t know anything, and he reminded me he’s still the Prez of the Hell’s Wolves. Saints and Sinners are a different club.”
“You should tell him to suck his own cock from now on.”
“Sarah!”
“What? Do you know I had to spend a lot of time listening to you two fuck?”
“Pipe gave you headphones to listen to music.”
“He made me feel like a child.” Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know how Bluebell can handle it.”
“We’re good parents.”
“I know, honey,” Sarah said. “I was only teasing.”
Elena nodded. “We’ll know something when they do.”
Sarah blew out a breath and got stuck into her work. The time passed, and it was only at lunch time that she saw any sign of one of the MC members. Ralf walked into the door carrying two wrapped foil trays.
“Hey, baby,” he said, and he was whistling. It was creepy.
She shook her head. “What’s going on?”
“I figured you’d want something to eat. You’ve not been to the diner and you usually are, so I got your favorite.”
“Have you heard something about Melissa?” Sarah asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, Pea is handling it.”
Elena came toward them. “He’s going to take care of the person who hit her?”
“Yes, of course. He’s going to handle the guy that did. I tell you, you do not want to be him.” Ralf shook his head.
Sarah slumped. “Thank God, I was so scared for her.”
“Melissa will be taken care of. Now, lunch. I didn’t get you any lunch,” he said.
“That’s okay. I’m going to go and meet Pipe for lunch. I’m going to head out. Are you okay?” Elena asked.
“Yeah. I’m good.” Sarah rounded the counter to put some distance between her and Ralf. Taking a seat, she stared at Ralf, and listened as the doorbell went signaling Elena’s departure. “You’re here with food.”
“Your favorite.” He handed a wrapped foil packet, and she took it from him.
Opening it up, she saw that he had bought her a burger, and she sighed. It wasn’t her favorite. The special at the diner was spaghetti alfredo, and she loved it. Burgers were what she had when they had nothing else.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s fine.” She did her best to smile at him. Lifting the burger, she took a bite. She was hungry, and she didn’t want to appear ungrateful. “You didn’t have to do this. I could have got my own food.”
“I want to take care of you. I’ll always take care of you.”
“It’s not your problem, Ralf. I’m my own person.” This was not going to happen. Ralf was a little scary. He’d never hurt her, but still, this was not the guy she had dated before. She couldn’t help but wonder about Elena’s warning. His eyes were red, bloodshot, and there was just something off about him. Maybe it was the crazy smile.
Ralf grabbed a chair and sat opposite her. “I want a chance with you, Sarah.”
She sighed. “We had our chance, and that time has passed.”
“It’s not over.”
“Yes, it is.” She thought about Knife and the night they had shared. Even though he’d been busy with the club, he’d still found time to call her. She loved their long talks and their time. The past year had been made a little easier when she knew Knife was going to call her.
“Sarah, we had a good thing going.”
“Ralf, I care about you, okay. Yes, there was a time when I was in love with you, but feelings change.”
“I love you, Sarah.”
She dropped her shoulders, bored with the fact he wasn’t listening to her. “Will you stop? You don’t love me, okay?”
“Sarah—”
“I’m seeing someone.”
Ralf froze, and she stared at him, waiting for him to think about what she had said.
“You’re seeing someone?”
“Yes, I’m seeing someone.” She had made her decision long before her night spent with Knife. Sarah had moved on. She’d always care about Ralf, but their time as a couple was gone.
****
Knife looked over the schedule with Shawl and Pipe for the fights. There were several fights with the Saints and Sinners MC. Knife no longer took part in the fights as he had to deal with the drug runs for the club.
“Do you still have that crazy deal in place with the Saints and Sinners?” Shawl asked.
“Fifty percent, you know it,” Pipe said.
“I still can’t believe you made it just to get on Saint’s good side,” Shawl said, shaking his head.
“There’s all kinds of crazy shit we’ll do as family. You of all people should know that.”
“Sarah’s my old lady,” Knife said, putting it out there.
The two men turned toward him. “You’re going to claim her?” Shawl asked.
“I have claimed her. Friday
night, I was with her, and we’re together.”
Shawl and Pipe shared a look.
“What?” Knife asked.
“You’re claiming Ralf’s old lady. You know that could get messy?”
“I don’t care what it takes. Sarah and Ralf have been over. She’s mine.”
“This is going to get messed up,” Shawl said. “You’ll be back in there fighting in no time.”
“I’m not breaking any rules. We’re not poaching from their territory.”
“We know, brother,” Pipe said. “I just want you to be ready for that. As a club, we’ve all got your back. Sarah is yours, and we’ll protect her for you. We’re brothers for life.”
Knife nodded. “I wanted to let you both know so that when I tell everyone at the next church, you’re not surprised.”
They finished organizing the last of the schedule, and he followed Pipe outside to their bikes.
“You’re not going to talk me out of being with Sarah?” Knife asked.
“You didn’t talk me out of being with Elena. You could have done so as well. I’m the Prez, and I was prepared to start an all out war to get the woman I wanted.”
“This thing with me and Sarah, it hasn’t been an overnight thing, okay.”
“I know, Knife. You don’t have to justify yourself to me.” Pipe slapped him on the back. “I’m going to go and pick Bluebell up from Penny. She agreed to have her so I could do some work, and then I’m going to go have lunch with Elena.”
“You’re the perfect little family man now, aren’t you?”
“Fuck off. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.” Pipe hit out, smirking. “Wait until you have a wife, and a kid. It gives you something to want to go home to. It’s the way Elena makes me feel.”
“You want to go home to your wife?”
“Yeah, I do, and I’m not ashamed of that.” Pipe straddled his bike. “Will you be stopping by the cabin tonight?”
“I’m going apartment hunting with Sarah.” He checked the time and saw it was lunch time. “I’m going to stop by, see if she wants some lunch.”
“Good luck. Remember, don’t kill anyone without my permission.”
Knife smirked, watching as his Prez left. Straddling his own bike, he peeled out of the parking lot for the abandoned warehouse. The club paid for the cops to look the other way. Their fights earned a great deal of money. He did a lot of jobs for the Hell’s Wolves, but his main job was organizing the transportation of drugs through their territory.
Riding toward Sinners’ Corner, the trip only took a half an hour, and he was parking up outside of Dirty Deeds.
Looking into the shop, Knife gritted his teeth. He spotted Sarah behind the counter but he also saw Ralf.
The fucker was persistent. He didn’t want Ralf around her. They had been a couple, and he’d seen how cut up she had gotten over their breakup. She’d even run away to the city.
It was your arms she was coming apart in.
You were the one she was screaming in pleasure at.
Climbing off his bike, he made his way into the shop.
“Who are you seeing?” Ralf asked.
“Me,” Knife said.
They had already turned toward him. Knife glanced at Sarah to see her smiling at him.
“Knife,” she said.
Turning his gaze to Ralf, he saw the other man was pissed. “You’re dating this fucker?” Ralf asked.
“Ralf!”
“Don’t talk to her that way,” Knife said.
“So you think you can come into our town and take our women from us? Pipe may be screwing Saint’s sister, but that doesn’t mean you can take from us.”
“That is out of line,” Sarah said.
“Sarah doesn’t belong to you, and she hasn’t belonged to you for a long time. You left her alone. What did you expect? Did you expect her to wait for you?”
“We were not through.”
“Ugh, are you being this stupid on purpose?” Sarah said, drawing both of their attentions to her. “You left me, Ralf. You walked away and behaved like I was the one who made you be different.”
Knife watched as Ralf’s shoulders dropped. “It wasn’t over between us.”
“It was over a long time ago, Ralf.”
Ralf shook his head. “So you’re shacking up with this bastard.”
“You can call me all the names you want, but don’t even think of trying to insult her.”
“She’s mine.”
“No. You were an idiot, and idiots always lose because they don’t realize a good thing until it’s gone.”
“Did you cheat on me?” Ralf asked.
“I’d never do that,” Sarah said.
“You know what, it’s time you left,” Knife said.
“Don’t even think of putting a hand on me.” Ralf held his hand up in warning. “I mean it, stay the fuck away from me.”
Knife held his hand up. He didn’t want to cause a fight. The clubs were getting along, and he wasn’t going to let a little disagreement spoil that. Ralf walked out of the shop, slamming the door closed as he did. The glass shattered, and Sarah cursed.
“Great, just great.” She grabbed her cell phone and started calling someone.
Moving up to the counter, he waited for her to finish.
“Hello, Saint, I know you’re probably super busy, but Ralf has just broken the glass in the door. We now need a new door. Get back in touch. Bye.” She hung up the phone, and sighed. “Hi.”
“Are you mad?”
“No. I’m not mad at you. He came with some lunch, and I didn’t know what to do, and he was being a little persistent. We were an item at one point, but he doesn’t seem to grasp that it’s over. Hopefully, he’ll see that we are so over. How are you?”
“I’m doing great. I see you’re already eating lunch.” He took a seat at the counter and took her hand.
“Yeah.”
“A burger? Don’t they have that special you like?”
“They do. Ralf got me lunch.” She shrugged. “I guess a few years of dating wasn’t enough to let him know what I liked or not. I’m a little offended. We were dating a long time, and he doesn’t even know what I like.”
Knife shrugged. “I guess he wasn’t paying attention.”
“You like that, don’t you?”
“His loss is my gain.” He tugged on her hand, and she leaned across. “I’m not going to be stupid enough to lose you.”
She cupped his cheek, and he claimed her lips. Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he moaned as she met him halfway.
Sarah sighed. “You know exactly what to say and do to make me feel so happy.”
“Now, eat. I know it’s not what you want, but there’s no need to put good food to waste.”
“While I eat, you look,” she said, passing him a newspaper.
He opened it up and looked at a couple of apartments. “Is this all you could find?”
“They’re within my budget. I’m not made of money.”
“How do you feel about us moving in together?” he asked, watching as she paused.
“Moving in together?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you think that is a little soon?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s too soon. It’s just the right time, unless you’re not ready.”
“It’s not that. It’s just, erm, we’re new.”
“We’ve been getting to know each other a long time.”
“I get that, but there is no coming back from moving in together. That is a long term thing. I’m not exactly well known for it.” She winced, and he laughed, running his thumb across her bottom lip.
“You’re gorgeous when you’re nervous. How about we give ourselves a tester?”
“A tester?”
“When we find an apartment, I stay with you one day a week for a month, and then we increase it.”
“We can’t do that?”
“We can. I’ve got a place to stay at the cl
ubhouse. What do you have?” he asked.
“I’m staying at the cabin with Elena and Pipe.”
“Exactly. You’ve not got a place to stay. I’ve not even bothered looking for a place to stay because I’ve got a warm bed at night.”
She nodded. “Okay, one day a week, and then we keep on increasing that?”
“Until you’re ready for us to go full time living together.”
Sarah nodded. “I like that.” She took a deep breath, and he saw the blush rushing into her cheeks.
“How long does Elena have for lunch?”
“She has another half hour.”
“Do you have an office?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like me to show you what I can give you with only half an hour of my time?”
She sighed. “Hell yes.”
Chapter Seven
Saint frowned as he disconnected the call and left his office. Sarah rarely called him, yet when she did, it was always for a good reason.
Leaving his office within the clubhouse, he walked out to the main part of the club. Rage, Willy, and Shorty were going over some paperwork.
“Where’s Pea?” he asked.
“In his room. He’s not been down since the party last night,” Rage said.
Leaving the main club, he made his way up toward Pea’s room.
“What is it?” Rage asked.
He didn’t say anything as he charged into Pea’s room. The man was curled up with two of the club whores naked, and sprawled over him.
Kicking the bed, Saint stood back. “Wake up, Pea.”
“Saint? What the fuck?” Pea ran a hand down his face and then started to push the women off him. “What’s going on?”
“Mel, she’s just gone into Dirty Deeds sporting a black eye. Do you know anything about that?”
Pea frowned. “Wait? What the fuck?” he said, again.
Saint repeated the words as Pea moved out of bed, standing up. He was butt ass naked, but Saint was used to seeing his men in nothing.
“I just got a call from Sarah. Mel just went into the shop and she has a black eye. Do you know who is responsible for that?” Saint did his best to stay out of his boys’ love lives, but he didn’t accept women getting abused. He drew the line at physical and sexual violence. The club whores, they were protected, but they knew nothing else was expected of them. They were there to fuck, and in return they were looked after. None of them were hurt in the process.