by Nicole Fox
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 silence, 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 Connor’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.”
Montengo stared. “A better idea?” he blurted. “What can be better than storming their fucking estate and shooting them all down?”
Joey and I looked at each other. Explaining our thinking to Montengo would be like explaining vacation plans to a toddler. The toddler didn’t care about the how and the when. All he wanted was to ride that fucking rollercoaster—now!
Joey took the hard part. He was such a likable guy, we thought Montengo would be less likely to blow up hearing the next bit coming from him
“Well, sir, to be frank,” he said, “We simply do not have the arms or the manpower to take on the Minghellis in a frontal assault. So if we can’t out-muscle them, we have to out-think them.”
Montengo scowled. He had probably never been asked to out-think anybody in his life.
“That’s where our plan comes in!” I said quickly, before his brain could get annoyed over being asked to work. “You see, even though Minghelli has more power, we have an ace up our sleeves.”
“Who?”
“Her,” Joey and I said together. “Farrah Michaels.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Farrah
I gasped. Connor’s words flew like arrows from his mouth, seeming to pin Honi in place.
“Excuse me?” she hissed.
“Yeah,” Montengo growled. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“We know that Minghelli wants her,” Connor continued. “He’s tried multiple times to hunt her down, with us caught in the middle. I suggest that we use that knowledge to our advantage. We can set Farrah up somewhere we prepare ahead of time, and then, when Tom Minghelli shows up to take her, we—”
“Take him instead!” Joey finished with a flourish.
Montengo placed his hand on a knee and leaned forward, glaring at us with wild animal eyes.
“So you want to use her as bait?” he said.
“No!” I burst out suddenly, unable to contain myself. “You can’t! It’s too dangerous! They’re hunting Farrah Michaels and will kill her on sight!”
Montengo looked at me in disgust. I knew I’d spoken out of turn, but I didn’t care. This plan would surely kill Honi—in my name!
I glanced at Connor and Joey, expecting them to look annoyed or disdainful, too. Instead, to my surprise, both of them were smiling. Smiling! Smiling and looking at me, as if they’d exactly predicted my outburst.
Connor put his hand on my knee. “You know, Princess,” he whispered, “both Joey and I agree that you have been keeping something from us. Something that involves Farrah here. Maybe, if you shared it with us, it could help save her life.”
I bit my lip, filled with understanding. It was incredible. I could see it all in my head. Joey and Connor didn’t actually want to use Honi as bait. I wondered if they had even thought the plan would work. No. What they really wanted to do was force me to tell my secret so I could save Honi. Connor knew I would. He’d seen much of what I’d done to keep Honi safe, and suspected even more.
Honi was standing now, her eyes wild while the three men before her contemplated using her as live bait. It really wasn’t that different from prostitution. They wanted to use her body for their own gain, and she knew it. Terror, shock, and rage all battled to show themselves in her face.
I stood. I had to confess. I had no choice.
“Actually, everyone,” I started, but then Honi cut me off.
“Actually,” she interrupted. “We have more than one ace up our sleeves. We have two.”
She nodded at me. “Princess over there? Yeah, Minghellis’ men are after her, too. Whether to kill her or fuck her, I don’t really know or care. All I know is that they are after her. You agree with me, right?”
She looked at Connor and Joey, who glanced at each other, suddenly uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure …” Joey murmured.
“Didn’t they go after you when Princess was with you? Not me?”
Connor shifted, annoyed that he was caught and he knew it.
“That’s true,” he admitted, little more than a whisper.
“Right!” Honi exclaimed. “So why don’t we use her as bait, rather than me? Who is worth more to you? Some useless whore, or Farrah Fucking Michaels?”
“She’s got a good point,” Montengo said
. I could tell he was very relieved. “Why waste the purebred if we can use the mutt? I agree with Farrah. Let’s use Princess, not her.”
“But, everyone—” I tried.
“Aw, shut up, you worthless whore,” Montengo cut over me. “You shouldn’t complain. There are far scarier things you could be doing in our service. Right, sweetcakes?”
“Right, darling,” Honi crooned, and kissed him.