by Joanna Blake
It might be just a diner but she'd miss it when she left town. Mae was always kind to her and had given her a job even without ID or experience. Charlie, the line cook was a sweet older guy. And Kaylie was a real friend.
Oh God, Kaylie!
With all that was happening with Donnie she'd forgotten all about her friend. At least she'd be in this afternoon so Sally could find out what was going on with her. Maybe she'd made a decision about Devlin and his impromptu proposal.
It would be good to talk to a friend. She kept feeling her eye straying to the clock, waiting for Kaylie to start her shift.
She hoped her friend was alright.
Chapter 19
Donahue
"Throw it!"
"Donnie…"
"Come on man! Throw the little bastard."
"Alright…"
Mike the prospect wound up his arm and threw a full beer can. Straight at Donnie's head. Donnie held his fist up and punched the can out of the air, spraying his whole body with beer.
He laughed.
"Do another one!"
"Donnie, man I got to get inside and run the bar. It's starting to get busy in there."
Donnie had a moment where he debated pulling rank. Or just beating the shit out of the prospect.
"Okay, Whisky Beard. But when I come in, I expect chilled tequila in a glass."
"Chill the tequila? Or the glass?"
"Both man! Jesus."
Mike shook his head and walked inside. Donnie looked around for something else to break. He'd been drinking and breaking things for days now. He was almost starting to enjoy himself.
Almost.
After she'd kicked him out he'd come to the clubhouse. That was five days ago. He hadn't been home since.
The guys were all giving him a wide berth. Nice Donnie was gone. Mean Donnie was in full effect.
Mean and pent up. Frustrated as hell. Sally had primed the pump and sent him packing.
The worst part was, she was the only one he wanted.
He hadn't taken any of the sweetbutts up on their constant offers to lay or blow him. He hadn’t even been tempted but maybe he should try and make her jealous. Maybe all she needed was some competition to get her to appreciate him.
But he didn’t want chicken mcnuggets when he could be having steak and sweet homemade apple pie.
He frowned. She probably wouldn't care if he was with someone else but if she did… well, he didn't want to make her feel bad. Or ruin his chance with her. He didn't want to roll around with one of those skanks anyway. Not after he'd had her sweet perfection in his arms.
Donnie never lost his head over a woman. Not once. Not even for a second.
Not until now.
He scowled again. Actually this was worse than losing his head. He didn't think he'd ever wanted more from a woman than a quick lay or some head.
Oh God… he shouldn’t have thought about that.
Sally's soft lips would feel incredible on his shaft. He started getting hard at the thought of Sally kneeling in front of him, taking him into her sweet mouth… Christ!
He wouldn't let her do that right away though. Not until he'd made her explode in his mouth.
Hmmm… he just knew she'd taste delicious…
He leaned against the concrete wall and moaned. Jesus Christ, he was whipped and he'd never even gotten a taste!
Well, maybe he had gotten a little bit of a taste… of her lips anyway. But that only made him hungrier for her.
Even worse than all this unfulfilled lust was the fact that she wouldn't let him protect her.
She couldn't stop him from driving by her house in his rare moments of near sobriety though. He'd driven by every morning after the bar had closed down around six and again every evening before he got too shit faced.
Dev had the guys making regular runs around the neighborhood, but Donnie had to see for himself. Not that he could tell much with all her curtains drawn.
But maybe, just maybe he'd have a chance to see that she was okay.
Maybe he'd catch that bastard Carl.
He'd been fantasizing about what he would do to that asshole for days. BOOM. He kicked through a piece of scrap wood. That was Carl's femur. SNAP. He took a bat to an old oil barrel. That was the cowardly shit heel's head he was busting.
But always the best part, the part that he saved imagining until right before he slipped into the alcohol fueled unconsciousness that passed for sleep, was when Sally thanked him. She'd throw herself into his arms. She'd cover him with kisses. She'd lead him to her bedroom where they'd make screechy, rusty music on the mattress springs until dawn.
And she wouldn't be afraid anymore.
He kicked his boot heel through a piece of plywood that was leaning against the brick wall.
He had to snap out of this.
She didn't want him, no matter how she'd responded to his kisses. She'd told him to go away. He wanted to believe that she hadn't meant it. Deep in his gut a little voice said that she didn't really want him to stay away forever.
But maybe she did.
Or maybe, she just needed someone to prove to her that they could be trusted. That he would never hurt her. That he’d never let anyone else hurt her again.
He couldn’t give up. He couldn’t.
Chapter 20
Kaylie
“Hi Kaylie.”
Kaylie gave Sally a weary smile as she stowed her backpack under the counter. She looked at her friend and realized that Sally looked worse than she did.
Kaylie was at least sleeping a few hours a night. Especially now that she'd decided to talk to Dev again.
She just hadn't told him yet.
"Hey Sally. Busy today?"
Sally shrugged. The girl looked bone tired. But it was more than that.
She looked tired and something else. She looked heartbroken.
"Take a load off, I can handle the tables for a bit."
Sally smiled gratefully and Kaylie got busy, making sure to bring Sally a cup of chamomile tea with lemon.
"Can't drink coffee all day. Unless your stomach is made of iron."
Sally sipped the tea gratefully.
"Thanks Kaylie. My stomach has been a little sour."
Kaylie put her hands on the counter and gave Sally a look.
"So, Janet told me something happened with Donnie."
Sally's eyes got real wide. Guess she didn't realize that bikers gossip too. A lot actually. The clubhouse was like a hive, constantly buzzing about this guy or that old lady. Kaylie hid a smile.
"What did she say? Is he okay?"
"He's been drunk for a week according to Jan. Moping around."
She leaned in and winked.
"Ignoring all the sweetbutts."
Sally blinked at her.
"You know what that means right?"
Sally shook her head.
"It means Donnie, who is a legendary ladies' man by the way, is turning down all offers from easy women."
"Oh."
"Sounds like love to me."
Sally shook her head vehemently.
"No. He doesn’t want me.”
“Right, that’s why he drives past your house to make sure you are okay.”
“He does?”
“Yes. He does.”
“Why would he care? Nothing even happened really. That's the problem."
"That's not what I heard…"
Kaylie picked up the coffee pot and started making the rounds. She knew Sally would be busting a gut by the time she got back to the counter.
"Kaylie! What are you talking about?"
She hid a smile at the worried look on her friend’s pretty face.
"So you do like him. I knew it!"
Sally slumped onto the counter with her head on her hands.
"I don't want to!"
Kaylie patted her shoulder gently.
"That's always the way. You should have seen Janet! She was cranky as hell until she and Jack stopped dancing aroun
d each other."
"Jack dancing?"
"Well, you know what I mean. Now, do you want to hear my news?"
"Oh my God! Yes, please tell me!"
"I'm getting engaged."
Sally stared at her blankly.
"But I thought-"
Kaylie smiled mischievously.
"As soon as Devlin asks me properly. Talked it over with Mama and we decided it was kind of sweet, him getting ahead of himself that way. Besides, it's not like it's not inevitable."
Sally came around the counter and hugged her quickly.
"That's wonderful, Kaylie! Congratulations! Devlin must be ecstatic."
Kaylie winked at her as the dinner crowd started to shuffle in.
"He will be."
"Will?"
"He just doesn't know yet!"
"Kaylie, what?!?"
"Don't worry, Sally. I think I have the solution to both of our problems.”
“You do? I wish I knew what to do.”
Kaylie took her hand and squeezed.
“We are going to out-sweet the sweetbutts."
Chapter 21
Sally
Sally opened her door to see Kaylie and Janet standing outside. Janet held a fancy makeup kit and Kaylie had a hanging wardrobe bag over her arm.
"Hi guys. What's all this?"
"Ammunition!"
"We are going out tonight and we are taking no prisoners!"
She stepped aside to let the other girls in. They glanced around at her sparse decor. She knew it the instant they saw the bat and the locks but thankfully they didn't say anything.
"I have a shift tonight."
"No, you don't. Mae's covering for you with her niece, Becky.”
"Oh… why?"
Kaylie and Janet exchanged a glance and smiled conspiratorially.
"Because tonight, we are getting our men back!"
“Well, Janet never lost Jack, but still, she’s going to drive him wild with lust tonight too.”
Janet giggled and waggled her eyebrows at me. I wanted to laugh but I was petrified.
Oh dear.
"You mean get dressed up and-"
"Make their tongues hang out of their heads!"
They laughed but Sally felt sick with nerves at the thought.
"I don't think I can do that, Kaylie…"
Janet grabbed her arm and led her into the kitchen.
"Of course you can. I brought everything you need. You are stunning already, we just need to add a little bit of sparkle."
"Oh, I've got plenty of sparkle. I'm just not sure I want to use it."
Janet and Kaylie stared at her expectantly. Sally sighed. It was now or never. She knew she could trust them.
And she was tired of being afraid.
"Come on, I'll show you."
She pulled down the folding staircase to the attic and led them up the narrow flight of stairs. Sally inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She pulled the light cord, bathing the room in stark light.
`There, in the center of the room, was a huge sparkly pink wardrobe trunk. It stood upright and was covered in the stickers from different venues she'd played over the years. Some pretty big venues too, like BB Kings.
She walked over and flipped open the brass locks.
The girls crowded in behind her and she swung the wardrobe open. A rainbow of outfits came spilling out. Most of them were embellished with fringe or rhinestones. Or both.
"Oh my God, Sally! You weren't kidding!"
Janet pulled out a slinky red dress.
"I bet Donnie would keel over if he saw you in this!"
Sally grabbed the dress and put it back in the trunk.
"Maybe. But he won't ever get the chance to. I'm never wearing any of this stuff again."
She closed the trunk. Janet opened it again.
"Maybe it is a little too much for the clubhouse. But I will find you a cute top to wear in here. Trust me."
Kaylie reached into the other side of the trunk and pulled out Sally's favorite performance guitar. It'd been custom designed, with rhinestones covering it from tip to tail. Then she pulled out a CD with Sally's face on it.
"Um, Sally? Is there something you want to tell us?"
She sighed and nodded. She felt something come loose inside her. It felt like such a relief to let go of the burden she'd been carrying for so long.
"Sally isn't my real name…"
Chapter 22
Jack
“Want a refill?”
Jack nodded, pushing his empty ginger ale across the bar to Donnie. Mike had been doing all the heavy lifting all week but Donnie still poured drinks for Dev and Jack.
And only them.
Any sweetbutts or club members who dared ask were told where to shove their cash. Donnie was too drunk to get creative.
He told them all to shove it up their ass.
Devlin was coming out of his funk a little, thank God. He was planning now, and not totally obliterated. He knew Kaylie’s work schedule and her class schedule.
And he was going to make use of it.
Dev was going to ambush her.
Jack felt his lips tugging up at the corners. He smiled a lot easier these days. But it was still an unfamiliar sensation.
Janet said he’d have to get used to it. Just like he’d gotten used to her stealing the covers. He didn’t mind a bit though.
His old lady could rob a bank and he’d think it was adorable. Hell, he’d help her.
He was so proud of her. It wasn’t just the incredible way it felt to have her in his arms. She had really turned things around, enrolling in class and helping him with the books at his shop. She’d even sketched some furniture that he was building for their place.
They were even thinking about selling some of it. He liked working with his hands. Almost as much as he liked having his hands on his woman.
He frowned.
Where was she tonight? She’d said something about going out with Kaylie and Sally. He had a bad feeling about that.
If those three were out on the town, it was sure to be trouble. But he trusted his woman. Besides, she’d promised to text him where to meet her later.
The whole situation with Kaylie and Dev was hard for everyone.
Jack wondered what she would say if he told her he wanted to get married too. He was already ring hunting. Plus, he was nearly done with the other gift he had for her.
The bike.
He had bought it a while ago, and started working on it again when he’d met Janet. Every time she’d driven him crazy he’d gone into the shop and put it into the bike. It was flashy and screaming to be painted black and red.
Red, like his woman.
That was the moment he’d known.
He was never, ever letting her go.
“Dev, we have news.”
Dev looked up and faced Bruce.
“Dani was at the ER. Looks like domestic situation.”
“That fucker put his hands on her?”
Bruce nodded.
“Look, Dani is a handful. I know she’s not welcome here. But I know you have beef with Grant.”
Dave shook his head.
“No, she’s not welcome. But she still deserves our protection.”
Bruce lowered his head in gratitude.
“We need more dirt on Grant. I don’t just want to hurt him. I want to destroy him. Wasn’t Whiskey Beard working on something?”
“BEARD!”
Donnie waved Mike over from the other side of the bar. People were waiting on their drinks. Didn’t matter. Dev was the Club President and he came first.
“Whiskey, is your cousin still on payroll?”
He nodded.
“She’s been watching his online accounts. He has no idea she’s even there.”
“You’re sure? We don’t want blowback.”
“No, man. She’s a genius. She’s like famous. In the hacking world anyway.”
“Good. Tell her it’s time. Drain his accou
nts. Make sure his bills are past due. All of them.”
Devlin smiled coldly and Jack felt a chill go down his back.
“And dump something nasty on his laptop. Something the NSA might want eyes on.”
“Tip them off?”
“Hell yes.”
Donnie grinned widely.
“Oh he’s going to love it at Guantanamo.”
Chapter 23
Sally
She told them everything. And then they begged her to play. Damn if it didn't feel like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.
Twenty minutes later the girls were sitting in the kitchen listening to Sally play her practice guitar. The one without the spangles. Their eyes were wide and weepy as she played them the song she'd written a few weeks ago.
The first night that Donnie kissed her.
She finished and rested the guitar on her knee. It felt good to let it sit there. It felt good to play for people again. Even if it was just two instead of two thousand. They were applauding and asking her to play again.
"Just one more, Sally!"
"Please? It's so beautiful. I could cry!"
Sally just smiled.
"We better get ready if we are going to this shin dig tonight."
Kaylie and Janet lit up like Christmas trees.
"So, you'll go? I wasn't sure after what you told us."
Janet shook her head.
"I'm not surprised you wanted to keep Donnie at arm's length. But he is a good guy. I bet he will surprise you if you let him."
"I know he's a good guy. Why else would he have stuck around with me acting so crazy?"
"You aren't crazy at all and even if you were, you are gorgeous! Lots of guys wouldn't even notice what was going on with you."
Kaylie giggled.
"They'd be too busy staring!"
"Donnie did."
She stood up and put her guitar into it's case. She was going to do it. She was going to go and get him. If he'd still have her.