by Erin Osborne
“You can go to sleep in a little bit, baby,” Crash tells me, stretching his hands out to help me out of bed.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, feeling sated and sore in all the right places.
“You need to get cleaned up and soak in a warm bath. Tomorrow you’re goin’ to be feelin’ really sore and we want to make it a little better for you,” he tells me, walking me into the bathroom.
Trojan is sitting in the tub already and Crash helps me slowly sink into his waiting embrace and the hot water still filling the tub. They have the water just on the warmer side of what I normally have, and it feels amazing. Crash leaves the bathroom and I can hear muffled movements coming from the bedroom. Before I can think about it a second longer, Trojan is rubbing a loofah up my arms and dripping the water down my body. At the same time, he’s placing gentle kisses across the back of my neck. I wonder if he knows what he’s truly doing to me right now.
After about a half hour in the tub, and the water cooling down, Trojan and Crash help me out and dry me off. They walk me back into the bedroom and help me get comfortable back in bed. The first thing I notice is that the sheets and blankets have been changed. Must be what I heard earlier. All I want to do is crawl under the blankets and sleep for a few hours.
“Darcy, let’s get some sleep and then we’ll get our day goin’,” Trojan tells me, climbing in bed beside me.
“What are we doing today?” I ask, thoroughly confused.
“We’re goin’ to move our things into this room and make it official. Then we need to head to the clubhouse,” Crash answers, climbing in on the other side of me and pulling the blankets up.
“Night guys,” I tell them over a yawn.
Each man kisses me before I burrow down under the blankets as much as I can. It doesn’t take me very long before I feel my eyelids getting heavy and sleep pulling me under. This is where I’m meant to be, safe in the arms of these two men.
Trojan
Waking up with Darcy snuggled in our arms is one of the best feelings in the world. My main concern is how she’s feeling right now. I don’t want her sore to the point that she has a hard time doing anything today. The salon is closed, it usually is on Sunday’s unless someone schedules an appointment with her. Or Riley now. Today, she is ours for the day and we’re going to spend the entire day worshipping her and putting our room together. Other than an hour or so when we have church.
Since I’m the first one up, I go in and make breakfast for the three of us. We never let Darcy cook breakfast. She works hard and helps us make every other meal here with us. So, if we can make it a little bit easy on her in the morning, we do it. Plus, it gives her a little bit of extra time in the morning to get ready. Now, I’m sure we’ll find ways to fill her extra time while she’s in the shower. We have a lot of things to show her when it comes to all the places and ways we can have fun with her.
After breakfast, it didn’t take us very long to get our stuff moved into the room we’ve been sharing with Darcy. We need to plan another shopping trip, so we can get her some more clothes and things that she’s going to need here. Maybe we can do that in a few days and bring Riley and Gage with us too. It can be a day for the girls while we suck it up and let them have some fun. Plus, Riley will get to get out and see more of Dander Falls. I’ll mention it after church and see what they think of the idea.
I think it’s time for lunch. Why don’t we go out today?” Crash asks, sitting down at the island and downing a glass of water. We’ve been going nonstop since after breakfast.
“That’s a good idea,” Darcy responds, filling her own glass of water and pulling up a seat next to my brother.
“You sure you’re up for that after everythin’ we’ve done today?” I ask, concern lacing my voice.
“Yeah. It’s been helping to keep moving,” she tells us, stretching her arms above her head and moaning at the release of her muscles.
Darcy finishes her water in one swallow and sets her glass down before standing and walking to the bathroom. She tells us she’s going to freshen up a little bit before we head out. Crash and I walk in the room after her and change our shirts. I’m just putting my cut back on when she walks out of the bathroom. She’s changed her clothes and thrown her hair up in a messy bun. As usual, there’s barely any makeup covering her face and she looks so pure and innocent.
“I’m ready when you are,” she tells us, leaving the room and us to follow behind her.
We head out to the truck and I know that we need to approach the topic of her riding the bikes more. She’ll have to when we go to the clubhouse in a little bit. It’s just a matter of who she’s going to be riding with this time. We’ll take turns with her, but I know I want to feel her arms wrapped around me while we’re on my girl.
Taking the truck, we head to the diner the club owns. We know there we can control who enter and that we’re going to have backup if whoever is after Darcy shows up. Since we don’t have a clue who we’re looking for, it’s hard to take her out in public right now. Usually, there’s at least a few brothers there eating at any given time.
Walking in, we choose a table in the back. Crash and I sit with our backs to the wall behind us. Darcy faces us and grabs the menu placed in front of her by Sarah. The waitresses here know better than to flirt with us or try to get in our beds, so we don’t have to worry about that happening and pissing our girl off.
“You know what you want?” I ask her, after giving her a few minutes to look over the menu.
“Yep. I want a BLT with fries and a chocolate milkshake,” she answers, setting her menu in front of her on the table to indicate she’s ready to order.
Sarah doesn’t waste time coming back over to take our order. Darcy orders hers and we tell her that we’ll have the usual. The time it takes to prepare our food is spent laughing and talking. We’re keeping Darcy’s mind off of all the bullshit that she has going on around her. She’s asking us questions about random things and it’s relaxing. Too bad we didn’t know there was a shitstorm about to hit and shatter our girl even more.
Chapter Six
Darcy
AFTER AN AMAZING LUNCH OUT, WE went back to the house to pick the bikes up, so the guys could get to the clubhouse for church. I’m sure they were worried about whether or not I’d want to ride with one of them, but I love to ride. Before my dad passed away, he had a bike and would take me on long rides when my mom got too out of control. She had a slight problem with drinking and drugs. He would keep me out of harm’s way when she was on a tear. I loved him more and more each time he came to my rescue.
My mom wasn’t a bad person. She just wanted me to look a certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way. When she was sober, she would be the best mom around. It was only when she was drinking that she would rip my already fragile confidence to shreds and beat me down. I’ve always been a bit on the curvy side. So, growing up, if I wasn’t getting picked on at school, I was getting picked on by the one person that should’ve always loved me and had my back no matter what I looked like. Hell, when one of the guys at school played a prank on me and acted like he wanted to be my boyfriend, she laughed when she found out what happened. It was my dad that consoled and comforted me. When my dad wasn’t around to protect me, she would beat me when I wouldn’t do what she wanted as fast as she wanted it done.
Dad would still be here if it wasn’t for my mom. She left the house one night drunk off her ass. My dad loved her with his entire heart and couldn’t let her hurt herself or worse, someone else. We both knew she wouldn’t survive it if she hurt someone because she chose to drive drunk. The night was storming, and the roads were almost to the point of flooding in certain parts. While my mom managed to survive the minor wreck she was in, my dad couldn’t survive his. He lost control of the car and was sent spinning into trees before flying over a slight incline. The cops told me he didn’t feel a thing, and everything happened quick.
Shortly after that, my mom lost custody of m
e and I went to live with one of my dad’s sisters, Connie. She wasn’t able to have children of her own, causing her husband to leave her. I became the little girl she always wanted as her own. Connie never requested that I call her mom, she was still my aunt. However, she did become my confident, my source of protection, and our relationship blossomed. It didn’t take much to convince my mom to sign over rights to her, so she could legally adopt me. We celebrated for days when that happened.
My attention is drawn back to the men in front of me when Trojan puts a helmet on my head. He does the strap, so he knows it’s tight and won’t move around on my head. Looking between the two men, Trojan makes my decision for me by grabbing my hand and leading me over to his bike. I take a minute to fully appreciate the machine before climbing on behind him.
“Been on a bike before?” he asks me, turning around to look at me.
“I used to ride all the time with my dad when I was little,” I reply, wrapping my arms around his middle and appreciating his rock-hard body.
I’ve only been on the bikes with these two once before and I was in no shape to appreciate the ride or show them that I knew how to ride with someone. Hell, I barely remember anything that happened that night after witnessing my sanctuary after it was destroyed. Now, they’ll know that I know how to ride and that I absolutely love it. I just figured they thought it was safer to put me in the truck when we left the house. Now, I think a little bit of it has to do with them being unsure if I would want to be on the bikes. Honestly, I might love it more than them.
It doesn’t take us long to make our way to the clubhouse. My nerves are ratcheting up and I am feeling out of place. The only women that are usually here are the club girls and I don’t want to tangle with them right now. They are very territorial when it comes to the men of the club. I’ve seen more than one old lady get into it with the club girls from Clifton Falls. Some of them are downright vicious when they realize that a man is off the market. And I’ve taken two of them, so I know that I’m going to be getting my fair share of attitude, dirty looks, and whatever else they decide to throw my way.
Walking into the clubhouse, I visibly relax when I see Riley sitting at the bar next to Gage. I wasn’t expecting her to be here, but I’m glad that I’ll have someone to talk to while the men are doing their thing. Practically running towards her, I let out a squeal to show how happy I am right now. Riley and Gage both turn around to see what’s going on. She gets off the stool as I wrap my arms around her. Crash and Trojan aren’t far behind me, and they take in the scene before looking at one another. I wonder if they had something to do with this?
“What are you doing here?” I ask, finally taking a seat at the bar with her.
“Gage and I were going to go to lunch and he has to have his meeting before we can go. How are you doing?” she asks, turning her full attention towards me.
“I’m doing good. We moved all our stuff into one bedroom today. I really don’t have that much, but the guys do. Then we went to lunch. I’ve enjoyed this day off,” I tell her, trying to convey that I have more to tell her than what I’m currently saying.
“You want a drink baby?” Trojan asks me, grabbing his beer off the bar top and looking at me.
“Yeah. I don’t know that you have what I usually drink though,” I say, beginning to think of something else I can drink here.
“Shadow, grab our girl one of the wine coolers,” Crash tells the man behind the bar, coming up to stand behind me.
“You got them for me?” I ask, shocked that they would pay that much attention to what I drink and have it here waiting for me.
“Of course we did. We know that’s what you usually drink when you don’t want to get wasted and we want you sober for later,” Trojan tells me, leaning in for a breathtaking kiss.
Crash gives me the same treatment before they turn to follow Gage through a set of doors. Right before they enter, Gage lets out a whistle to gain everyone else’s attention and slowly all the men grab their drinks before following the other three into their meeting. I’m not sure what exactly they do behind closed doors, but I suppose if it were my business, I’d be told. So, I put them out of my mind for a few minutes and turn my attention to Riley.
“Now, what did you want to tell me that you couldn’t with them out here?” she immediately asks, grabbing her drink and taking a sip.
“Well,” I begin, my face turning beet red.
“You finally gave it up to them?” she asks, excitement taking her over.
“I did. But I don’t think you realize exactly just what I gave up,” I tell her, pulling her in closer to me so no one else can overhear our conversation. “I was a virgin until last night.”
Riley has no clue what to say right now. I’m sure that was the last thing that she expected me to say. Recovering quickly, she pulls me in for a hug and asks me how I’m doing. I’m actually doing wonderful. I know that if I had given it up to anyone other than my two men, it wouldn’t have been as good for me. Hell, it wouldn’t have meant anything to the person that I gave it up to. With Crash and Trojan, I know that it means something major to them. And they’ve done nothing but take care of me since it happened.
Now that my secret is out to Riley, we sit back and laugh and talk. I really want to ask her what’s going on with Gage, but I don’t. When she’s ready to talk to me about it, she will. If he hurts her, he’ll have to deal with me and Wilma though. Speaking of which, I know she’s coming in tomorrow. It started out when I moved into my house. Wilma is one of my neighbors and the first to come welcome me to town.
We’re just getting another drink when a few of the club girls show their faces in the common room. They strut right up to us and act like we’re new meat in the house. One of them steps up and asks us what the hell we’re doing at the bar and not cleaning anything.
“Excuse me!” I say, turning my full attention to this bitch. “You must not know who I am and who she’s here with.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you think you’re with. Club girls are here to clean and take care of the men’s needs. Since they’re in church, I suggest you start cleaning,” she tells me, putting her hands on her hips and attempting a look that she must think is intimidating.
“Why don’t you get your fat, lazy asses to cleaning,” I begin. “And you can ask Crash and Trojan who I am when they get done. I’m sure they’ll set you straight.”
“You honestly expect me to believe that you’re with the two of them?” she asks, looking me up and down like I’m a piece of garbage on the bottom of her stripper heal.
“I am with them. And she’s here with Gage,” I tell them, finally turning my attention away from the little squad of bitchy club girls.
Before she can utter another word, Crash and Trojan run out of the room and head straight for me. They practically knock this head bitch out of their way as they try to get to me. I’m not sure what’s going on now, but it can’t be good. What the fuck else am I going to have to deal with now?
Crash
We’re sitting in church going over all of the business from the last week. Nothing has really changed other than our business with Darcy. She’s now officially ours and all of the guys know it. Yeah, she agreed a while ago, but we gave her the chance to back out before we announced it in church. Now, it’s been announced and we’re not giving her a chance to back out on us. Hell, she lost that right when she gave up the one thing that meant more to her than most anything else in the world.
I tune back in when I hear Gage bring her name up. He’s asking Tech if anything has been happening in the last week at her house. Trojan and I know that nothing has set any alarms off since Tech linked our phones to the security system. Just as he goes to let us know one way or another, we both get alerts on our phone. Tech pulls the computer up to the big screen and we watch in stunned silence as Darcy’s house goes up in flames. This isn’t just from a fire, there was just an explosion at her house.
“What the fuck!” I yell out
, standing up and sending my chair flying backwards.
Tech is already on the phone and from his end of the conversation, I’m guessing that it’s with the fire department. Gage is also on the phone as are a few of the other brothers. I’m not sure who the hell they’re all on the phone with at this point in time. Trojan and I don’t wait for anyone else, we run out of the room and make our way to Darcy. If anyone is going to tell her what just happened, it’s going to be us.
Running out to Darcy, I don’t even pay attention to the fact that the club girls have surrounded her and Riley. I make a mental note to ask her about it later when we don’t have devastating news to share with her. Trojan and I each stand by her side and wrap our arms around her. She can tell that there’s something going on and she looks afraid to ask us what it is. This is going to be hard as fuck!
“Baby, we got somethin’ to tell you,” I begin, not wanting to share this news with her.
“What now?” I ask, despair already lacing my voice. My imagination is running wild with all the possibilities of what’s happened now.
“I think we should sit down somewhere quiet and talk,” Trojan tells her, trying to lead her over to a table in the corner that’s quiet and away from the rest of the room.
“No. Just tell me please,” she says, standing up straighter and bracing herself against whatever bad news we’re about to give her.
“When we were in church, Tech pulled up the feed for your house. Before it was fully up we got an alert on our phones. Darcy, someone blew your house up. I’m pretty sure that it’s whoever has been doin’ everythin’ else,” I tell her, both of us catching her as she starts to fall to the ground.