by Erin Osborne
Walking into the kitchen, I see there’s no food left over from breakfast. That’s okay. Tech told me I can help myself with whatever I want in the kitchen, unless it’s marked with someone’s name. Then it’s off-limits to everyone else. I’ve got more than enough respect for everyone here to leave their things alone. I’m not here to try and piss anyone off.
Grabbing a box of cereal with no one’s name on it, I pour a bowl before putting it back so I can grab the milk from the fridge. After I take care of the milk, I grab my bowl and head to the common area. I’d eat in the kitchen, but some of the club whores have come in here. They’re all glaring at me for whatever reason. I haven’t even met these women. I only know about them from the ol’ ladies of the club. They talked about them in detail when I met them. I listened, even though I never thought I’d have the need to.
Out in the common area, I see a young man behind the bar. He’s wiping down bottles, putting up bottles of alcohol, and making sure it’s stocked for tonight. There’s another man bringing in bags of groceries. I watch as he makes almost ten trips with his arms loaded down to the point I’m not sure how he’s not crippled and in immense amounts of pain yet.
After I’m done eating, I take my bowl into the kitchen, rinse it out, and place it in the dishwasher. Since the load is full, I find the detergent so I can fill the small bin and turn it on.
“You better be in here to put those dishes away,” one of the women sneers at me.
She’s a bottle blonde based on her dark roots showing through. Barely any clothes cover her body, showing off her boob job and the bones almost sticking through her skin she’s so skinny. Stripper heels cover her feet. When I say stripper heels, I mean the kind that are see through on top with a large, skinny heel. They even light up when she takes a step.
“Listen, I don’t know what your problem is with me. The dishwasher was full, so I started it. If that’s wrong, I’m sorry,” I tell her, hating how weak my voice sounds as everyone stops what they’re doing.
“Bitch, you come in here thinking you’re all that when you’re not. You are lower than us because soon you’ll be gone. We’re here for the men, including Tech, and we’ll still be here once you’re out on your ass. There’s no way in hell a frigid bitch like you can keep him satisfied for long at all. Hell, he’s already been sniffing around us again. You’ll be out on your ass quicker than shit,” she growls out, stepping into my face.
“Honey, if you think I’m intimidated by you, you’ve got another thing coming. I lived with the devil himself and lived to tell the story, so far. You’re nothing more than an unconfident woman who could do so much better than spreading her legs for any man willing to fuck her. Not to mention, jealousy isn’t a good look on anyone when they’re desperate for a man’s attention. They see that and will be gone quicker than shit,” I state, my voice not much stronger than it was before.
“You skank!” she yells out, rearing back to hit me.
“That’s enough,” a man yells out.
Turning my head I see Gage standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His arms folded across his chest with a glare on his face in the direction of the woman who was about to hit me. She looks at me and I can see the wheels turning in her head. This bitch is going to find a way to play the victim and blame me for this. With all her friends in here, it won’t be hard for her to have enough witnesses to back up her story.
“Cara, I want to know what you think you’re doin’,” Gage bellows, walking further in the room.
“We were in here cleaning when she came in. I asked her if she was going to unload the dishwasher and she flipped her shit on me. Calling me desperate and jealous. Honestly, we were only doing our normal job,” she pleads with him, even shedding a few tears.
“Yeah, I’m not buyin’ that shit. You’re time here is up. Not only are you lyin’ to a member, you’re lyin’ to me. The fuckin’ president of this club. If you’re gonna lie to me, you have no respect or loyalty. Why do you honestly think I came in here?” he questions her.
When she doesn’t answer him, he says one word. “Cameras.”
Now she’s pissed as hell. She begins to swear, scream, and look around the room for someone to help her or something. I’m not honestly sure what she’s doing. Not until I see her grab a sharp knife from the butcher block and turn toward me. Cara rushes me with the knife held out in front of her. There’s no time for me to run from her as she pounces on me.
I brace for the impact of her hitting me, stabbing me with the knife. Nothing comes. Opening my eyes, I see her being held by the young man who was carrying bags in. Gage is in her face. I’m so shocked, it doesn’t register what he’s yelling at her. It’s bad enough for the other women in the room to be cowering away from him, though. Finally, I hear the last of his words.
“Cara, you’re done. There will be no packin’ your shit or anythin’. You’re out bad. No one from the Wild Kings, Phantom Bastards, or Satan’s Anarchy will take you in. Ever. Get her the fuck outta my sight,” he orders the man who’s still holding a screaming and kicking Cara.
She glares at me on her way out as if this is my fault. I don’t give a shit what anyone here thinks of me. I’m on my way out of here. Now is my chance to talk to Gage while Tech is still busy doing whatever he has to do during the day when he’s not at the clubhouse or in his room, since I’m not sure where he’s at right now.
“Gage, can I talk to you in private for a minute?” I ask, only looking at him for a second before turning my head away from him.
“Yeah, darlin’,” he responds. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Thank you for stepping in with her,” I tell him as he leads me to his office.
“No thanks needed,” he assures me as we walk in and he shuts the door behind us. “So, what’s goin’ on?”
“Well, with my father coming here, I need to leave. I’m not going to bring trouble to your club when you’ve all been so nice to me and let me stay here while I’ve been healing. You guys don’t know him like I do. No matter how much Tech and his friend dig up on him, you’ll never understand the monster he truly is. Especially when it comes to getting what he wants. You have ol’ ladies, kids, and the rest of you here,” I tell him, knowing that’s going to get to him more than anything else.
Gage looks at me for a few minutes. I avert my gaze when I realize he’s staring at me. I don’t do good when I’m being stared at. Not when I feel as if I’m in the hot seat because of what I’ve just said to him. It may be different if Gage was a man I could read. I can’t. I’m sure the guys in the club can read his looks, along with his wife. I’m not one of those people, though.
“Tech hasn’t filled you in on what’s goin’ on, has he?” Gage questions me.
“Just that my father is into some shady shit. I don’t even know what all it is,” I answer him.
“It’s way worse than that, darlin’. He’s tryin’ to sell your virginity to the highest bidder. The last total I heard was over two million. You want to be out there, alone, with that hangin’ over your head? Here, we can protect you. Plus, I know Tech really wants you to stay,” he responds. “Trust me when I tell you, not a single one of us has ever seen him like this with any woman. He’s the King of fuck and dump. Never with a woman more than one night. He also doesn’t ever fuck around with the sweet butts.”
That’s a lot of information to digest in a minute. Not only about my father, but about Tech, too. I know he and Fury have both told me he never pays attention to women longer than it takes to get off. For me, it seems to hit me completely different when a man like Gage says the same thing to me. I know he’s not Tech’s best friend like Fury is. He’s not going to simply tell me what he thinks I want to hear about Tech.
“He’s seriously trying to sell my virginity? I’m not a virgin any longer,” I state, shoving everything about Tech to the back of my mind momentarily.
“Yeah. He was informed of that while he was here. Tech made sure to let him know he was
claimin’ you. Do you understand what that means?” he questions me.
“No, I don’t. I’m thinking one of the women tried to fill me in, but I was a little tipsy, so I’m not sure if I heard anything at all about it,” I respond.
“In our world, it’s extremely important. It’s the same as a marriage to couples outside of the club,” he informs me. “Think very carefully about what you want when it comes to Tech. He’s a man who knows what he wants and has no problem goin’ after it. However, if he feels you pullin’ away, he will too. I’m not sure how many chances you’ll get with him. So, about the leavin’ here? I have to honestly say the only thing you can do is stay here until we get it resolved.”
“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. You’re all Tech’s family and he’s a special, amazing guy,” I tell him. “For now, I’ll stay here. But, I will be out of here the first second I think he’s ramping up and someone will be hurt because of him. That way the attention will be on me and away from you guys.”
“We’ll revisit the subject later on,” he says, not saying another word.
Feeling dismissed, I head back to Tech’s room and knock on the door. I hear him call out before he opens the door for me. Standing in front of me, Tech is in nothing but a towel, it’s wrapped around his waist while water still drips down his muscled, chiseled body. I lick my lips as I take in his body. Seeing the look on my face, he pulls me in, slams the door shut, and pulls me into his body. Somewhere along the way, his towel has dropped, and I wrap my hand around his hard length as he kisses me, deep, and controlling. The way only he can kiss me.
For the rest of the night, Tech and I explore one another’s bodies. He lets me take my time kissing, touching, licking, and biting his before returning the favor. Tech shows me parts of my body I never knew would love someone touching. This is my perfect night with the perfect man.
Chapter Twelve
Tech
TODAY IS THE day Siren and I put the finishing touches on destroying Ashtyn’s dad. We’ve drained all his bank accounts, leaving just enough money in there to ensure he’ll go down for hiding money from the government. Ashtyn is going to be one rich woman. She’s got well over a million and a half in the account I set up for her.
She has no clue about it. I’m not sure when I’ll tell her. Probably after her father gets locked up. I’ve been in touch with my FBI contact. He’s got a good plan worked out with Ramon from the local cop shop. When Banks goes there again, and we know he will, they’ll come with him. My FBI contact will already be here with a warrant for his arrest and all the information in hand. Siren is actually meeting him with everything we found within the hour.
We’ve been putting this plan together for a few days now. Ashtyn is mainly in the dark about it all. I’ve been assuring her we’re going to make sure her dad is behind bars for a long ass time. Thankfully, the FBI have already been looking into him. One of their informants have already been giving up the senator’s dirty details for a while now. They were just waiting to gather enough information on the fucker before arresting him.
With what they already have on Banks, along with what Siren is handing over, they have more than enough to capture his henchmen and him. I want it done here, so Ash can see her father taken away in handcuffs. It’s the only way she’ll believe it because seeing the same thing on a news channel just isn’t the same. This is the way to give her closure and let her break free from the invisible chains, which have been holding her hostage her entire life.
“Tiny, you awake?” I question her, climbing in bed and placing a soft kiss on her exposed neck. “We have a big day today.”
Doc has assured us it’s been enough time for Ashtyn to possibly get her cast removed. We’ll be meeting him in the basement in less than an hour so she can have another x-ray done before he makes his final decision. I’m hoping her ball buster is removed so I don’t have to feel as if I need to wear a cup to bed every single night.
“I’m awake,” she responds, her voice still filled with sleep.
“You hop in the shower while I grab coffee and breakfast. That sound good?” I question her.
“Yeah. Any word on what’s going on with my father yet?”
“Not yet. Siren will let me know once she gets the information she needs. There’s already a warrant out for him. Our contact got it this mornin’. For now, let’s just focus on you gettin’ that cast off,” I tell her, giving her one more kiss before helping her out of bed.
I wait for Ash to head in the bathroom before leaving our room. Yes, it is our room. I’ve already claimed her. I’m just waiting for this mess to be over with so I can properly claim her in the eyes of the club. She’s not ready for it while her head is filled with thoughts of her dad. I want her head to be full of me and us when I claim her. This is a first for each of us and I don’t want to fuck it up. I want this to be the first of many perfect moments in our lives. No, I’m not saying either one of us are perfect, just that we’ll have moments together we’ll believe are perfect. Everyone should have those kinds of moments in their lives and until Ash, I didn’t believe in that.
She’s opening my eyes to so many things. Not every woman out there is like my mother. Yeah, I’ve seen my brothers settle down and become happy with their own women. Women who are faithful, loving, and loyal to their men and the club family. They’re not out looking for the next best thing. Ash has also taught me I do want to love someone and have one woman for the rest of my life. It won’t be anyone but her, though. Plus, she’s shown me there are women who are full of light and goodness. They deserve nothing but the best in their lives. Ash is one of those women, and I vow to give her everything she wants and needs for the rest of her life.
Walking into the kitchen, I see Gage, Riley, Darcy, and Fury sitting at a table. They’re talking and laughing until I walk in.
“How’s Ash doin’?” Fury asks me.
“Okay. She’s gettin’ cleaned up right now so we can meet Doc downstairs. You guys all set?”
“We’re ready. Siren get with you yet?” Gage responds, setting his coffee cup down.
“Not yet. I’ve got my phone glued to me. Shouldn’t be that much longer.”
“You’re sure they’re comin’ back here today?” Crash asks, walking in the room with his eyes on Darcy.
“Yeah. They’ve been textin’ back and forth for hours. He’s headin’ to Roman’s department to get backup this time before headin’ out here. Roman is already there and knows to be on the lookout for him. They’ll arrive here and our other man will already be on clubhouse grounds,” I inform them, knowing we have an almost airtight plan.
I say almost airtight because you never know what’s going to happen around here. Hopefully, nothing happens today, and we can get this shit taken care of quickly. I don’t want anyone hurt while giving Ashtyn a sense of peace and freedom. That’s my ultimate goal. Her piece of mind is more important than anything else to me right now. Making sure her father is tossed in prison to rot, whatever is left of his life, away is just the icing on the cake.
“What do you want us to do while all of this is going on?” Riley asks, turning to her husband.
“You guys will stay in here. As long as everythin’ goes accordin’ to plan, we’ll be celebratin’ in a few short hours. Make a list of what you guys need for a kickass cookout. Just this club, I’m not invitin’ anyone else for this one,” he informs her, looking between her and Darcy. “Plus, we’re not sure how Tech’s woman is gonna react to this, so let’s all make sure we’re here for her. It’s one thing to know your parent is goin’ to prison. To actually see him in cuffs is a completely different situation. She may need to lean on all of us.”
“I’m headin’ back to her now. Thank you everyone for goin’ through this with us,” I say, my emotions making my voice rough.
“Man, you’ve been here for each and every one of us. There’s no way in hell we’re not gonna have your back now,” Fury states, standing up and taking care of his dishes
. “Now, let’s go see if Tiny can get her cast off today or not. Should we start callin’ her ball buster?”
Everyone in the kitchen laughs as I cringe. Shaking my head, I leave the room carrying two plates while Fury brings our coffee cups with him. Opening the door, I make sure Ash is decent before letting Fury in our room. Seeing her sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to brush her hair, I set the plates down so I can finish it up for her. After today, she won’t have as much of an issue doing this herself. Not that I mind helping her one bit.
“What’s up, ball buster?” Fury asks her, handing over her cup of coffee.
“Nothing. I just want today to be over with already. Once he’s behind bars with his men, I won’t have to worry. I can live my life the way I want, with who I want, and where I want,” she states, looking at my friend.
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna leave us?” he questions, his face crumpling at the same time my heart stutters in my chest.
“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do just yet. I refuse to make any plans until I know for sure he’s gone. My father has way too many schemes up his sleeve and won’t hesitate to bring in anyone who he thinks can help him the most,” she tells us, looking at me as I hand her the brush since I’m done with her hair.
Ashtyn got the cast off her arm. For the next two weeks, she’s going to be in a splint just to make sure she has a little more mobility but doesn’t do any further damage. The smile on her face was huge, bright, and contagious as Doc cut the fucker off her. He asked me if I wanted to keep it as a reminder of her busting my ass more than once. Fury, Ash, and Doc all busted a gut even as her face turned red as hell. I shook my head realizing I’m never going to live this down. For once, I don’t even give a shit if I’m the brunt of the joke with the guys and ol’ ladies of the club. As long as Ashtyn is in my life, I don’t care what happens.