Fallon looked perplexed, "And what would be their reasoning?"
"They don't want it in the press babe. The whole idea of biker culture is very American and the authorities want to keep it that way. If they admit that there are MC's and rivalry within those clubs then the general public become scared, if nothing is documented or commented on then no one knows and everyone can continue as normal."
"Surely not!"
"It's true babe, it's easier for them to just let us fight and kill each other rather than worry about what's going on. Don't get me wrong they know exactly what's going on, you only have to look at O'Neil back home to know that some pigs just can't let things go but on the whole they will leave us to our own devices."
"Well I never thought about it like that."
"Yeah but the pigs I know are all bent anyway," Recon stated chuckling. "Everyone has a price."
"And that's true also, we have a few coppers in our pockets but it works and we all have an understanding."
"The world's gone mad." Fallon's life was very fluffy in comparison to ours and we liked to keep it that way.
"Ain't that the truth," I placed my hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze.
"So what about the finer details regarding picking off certain individuals?" Finn asked leaning on the table.
"You don't need to worry about that. All you need to know is that Recon has Hustler covered and Onyx is all mine."
The door to the cabin opened and we turned to see the foreman step into the room a little out of breath. "It's them, they've come to see you," he stated addressing me.
I slowly nodded and stood grabbing the bag from the table in the process. "Okay its show time." I gave a quick wink to the group and slowly made my way from the cabin and across the yard to the main gate where three motorcycles were parked. As I neared I smelt the tell tale sign that Onyx was in the vicinity and had to take deep breaths in order to keep my cool.
"You got the money?"
"Well hello boys I hope you're all okay," I said sarcastically.
"Fuck the pleasantries." Hustler stepped closer to the gate and I smirked at his audacity. I wanted to rip his head from his shoulders and I was so doing my best to keep my temper under control. I was pissed that I was allowing Recon to have fun with him as I would've enjoyed watching him squeal like a pig.
"Sorry I need to speak to the organ grinder and not the monkey," I winked at Hustler trying to wind him up further and loving every minute as it was so easy. Onyx held his arm out to his side to stop Hustler coming after me and I was a little disappointed as it would've given me the perfect excuse to smash him in the mouth.
"So what do you want to speak to me about?" Onyx took a drag on his cigar and blew it in my direction.
"I won't go into detail but I had a very pleasant evening."
"Worth the £5,000?" he asked in a monotone voice.
"Very much so but that's what I want to talk to you about."
"You have my attention, go on!"
"Well I'm here until Friday, I've got another £3,000 and I was wondering if I could have Charity stay with me until then."
Onyx took another drag on his cigar contemplating what I'd just said. "What the fuck, that's two nights surely that's gotta be £10,000."
Onyx held up his hand indicating for Slick to be quiet and I saw the frustration on his face which only made me happier. Onyx rubbed his chin slowly assessing my reaction to his scrutiny but I wasn't letting him think he intimidated me, I relished such pressure and couldn't wait until the shoe was on the other foot.
"So you'll be gone on Friday."
"Yeah, me and a couple of the guys have been moved to another site down in Kent. We leave on Friday morning."
"Well okay then she's yours but only for the nights. Someone will drop her off and then collect her in the morning so she can go about her chores during the day while you're at work."
"No I want her full time," I said louder than intended. If I allowed her to stay, there was no guarantee of her safety. "Drop her off tonight and you can have her back Friday morning for another £3,000, I think that's more than fair."
Onyx smiled, "Deal." I heard both Hustler and Slick disapprove in the background and I was pleased that I was annoying them.
I slid the metal bolt back to unfasten the gate and pulled it open just enough to squeeze the bag through. "It's all there, £8,000."
"I trust you but if it's not I know where you are."
"Indeed, well I don't mean to be rude but I need to get back to work," I pointed towards the yard behind me.
"Knock yourself out, I'll bring her round to you at 8.00pm."
"See you then." I gave him a nod before I turned and stomped in the direction of the cabin, I needed to make it look like I actually fucking worked here. I heard the rumble of motorcycles as I entered the cabin and felt relieved that they'd fucked off, I didn't want them hanging around otherwise I may have to do some actual work.
"What's up?" Recon asked standing up as soon as I entered the room.
"Nothing just my stupid sense of humour."
"Did you sort everything?" Fallon asked eagerly.
"Yea I fucking did, another puzzle piece is in place and there ain't many more to go."
Charity
Since I'd been home, there had been a barrage of questions from Poppy. She wanted to know the ins and outs of the evening and I tried to be as brief as possible through fear of slipping up but this made her push further.
She was currently having a soak in the bath which was great as it gave me an hour of peace and quiet.
She'd demanded a roast dinner this evening and had taken me out to the supermarket earlier to buy all that was needed. She wanted to celebrate the fact that I wasn't a virgin anymore and I couldn't understand why apart from the fact that she was a sick fucked up individual. The fact that I was still a virgin amused me as I was able to have one up on them without them even realising.
I continued to peel the potatoes as I grooved to my tunes pumping loudly from my earphones, unaware of anyone entering the house.
He wrapped his arms around my waist quickly taking me by surprise and pulling me against his cold leathers. I wasn't sure whether I'd let out a scream or not as the music was still playing loudly in my ears but if I did Poppy would've been sure to have heard it.
He held me close and my heart rate increased at the close proximity and dread filled my body. I was worried that this may happen now that he thought I wasn't an innocent and I stood motionless becoming rigid under his touch.
Onyx moved his head closer to my neck and I instantly felt his breath on my skin. I closed my eyes and listened to the music playing in my ears as Onyx laid a small tender kiss in the crease of my neck. I couldn't believe this was going to happen, I'd been here just over a year and apart from the odd grope and cheeky slap of the arse I'd been kept pretty safe.
Onyx pulled my hair jutting my head to the side to give him easy access to my neck, this was like a green light for him to sink his teeth into me. My eyes flung open and my hands went directly to his head as I clawed as best I could at his face. I managed to grab his ear and I pulled and twisted the floppy skin hoping to cause him enough pain to let go. One of my earphones fell out and it was only then that I heard the noises I was making as the pain ripped through my body.
"What the fucking hell is going on?" Onyx released his tight grip around my waist and I fell forward and held onto the sink to steady myself before placing my hand on my neck. The pain was intense, I knew he hadn't removed any flesh but even so he'd pierced the skin as it was pissing out blood everywhere.
"Really Onyx, what the fuck?" Poppy screamed walking further into the room.
"This doesn't concern you so shut your fucking mouth," he ordered.
"When you're biting the hired help it does fucking concern me. Who's the cunt that has to look at her mopey face around here all day hmmm? Well it ain't fucking you that's for sure and now I have to look at it but it includes a dirty fucking bite mark
that my boyfriend decided to leave on her neck." She flapped her arms around in annoyance, as if I was an inconvenience to have around the house although thanks to me she didn't have to lift a finger to cook or clean.
The pain was excruciating and I wanted to cry, god did I want to cry but I wasn't giving him the satisfaction. I knew that he'd get what was coming to him and only hoped that CJ would make it as painful as possible. I turned the cold tap on and left it running as I grabbed the tea towel from the worktop. Moving back over to the sink, I placed the material under the water until it was soden and turned the tap off before ringing the material. "Shit!" I placed the tea towel onto the wound and flinched at the pain but I knew I needed to apply some pressure to try to relieve some of the pain.
I could hear the two of them screaming at each other in the background but it wasn't making any sense as I was thinking about my neck and needed to take a look in the mirror to see what possible treatment I'd need.
I pushed from the worktop and slowly made my way through the open plan living area in the opposite direction to the screaming match taking place behind me and knew that it would soon get violent.
"Where the fuck are you going?"
I drew my brows, what a fucking stupid question to ask as he'd just bit my neck. "To fucking sort this out," I screamed back at him as I pointed to my neck although it was still covered with the cloth.
"Well get a bag packed for the next couple of nights, you're going back to the hotel."
I must've looked even more confused or even like I'd caught flies but I didn't understand what he was trying to say, why was I going back?
I chose not to respond and slowly made my way into my bedroom. It wasn't much but it was my own space which I was grateful for as there were so many less fortunate than I. As I entered the room, I quickly shut the door behind me and lay my back against the door as I assessed the recent events. Why the hell would Onyx bite me? It wasn't as if he was acting in the heat of the moment, he'd purposely bit me but with the intention of doing what? Possibly brand me in his own sick way! He was a psycho in every sense of the word and I was hoping that CJ was able to release me as I knew things would only start to get worse. I took a deep sigh and pushed from the door in search of my holdall. I'd need something slightly bigger if I were staying for a couple of days and knew that I wouldn't have to pack anything too fancy but would in case they ransacked my room while I wasn't here. I got down on my knees, swiped my hand under the bed and was pleased when I made contact with my holdall. I pulled the strap to retrieve it and rubbed my hand over the top of the material to remove some of the dust, I hadn't used this in a while in fact I hadn't used it since I came to stay here over a year ago. I leaned on the bed which helped me to get up off the floor and threw the holdall onto the bed, before glancing around the room to see what I may need for my stay.
"Hurry up Charity I wanna leave in five," Onyx's words rumbled down the corridor towards my bedroom. I knew he wasn't in any mood to piss off further so I needed to get my arse in gear before he kicked off again. I hurried over to my chest of drawers and rummaged around trying to find appropriate underwear for my stay. Grabbing a couple of sets, I closed the drawer and opened the second, and pulled out two t-shirts that I could wear over the coming days.
"Charity!"
I stepped back and turned quickly to stuff the items inside the holdall before making my way to my basket containing my ironing pile. I didn't have time to sort this out but I had a pair of jeans that I could quite easily wear as they weren't too creased.
I turned to the sound of the door being yanked open, "Speed it up I wanna go."
"Okay, I'm nearly done Onyx. I won't keep you waiting for much longer." I smiled sweetly then continued to pack my bag by throwing toiletries and other items that I'd need for my stay.
"I'll wait outside for you," he turned on his heels and I let out a sigh I hadn't realised I'd been holding as he walked further down the corridor.
I walked over to my desk and sat on the stool, I immediately moved my hair to see the damage he'd left. The wound was bleeding still and I hadn't realised at first but the blood had trickled down my chest and had soaked into my t-shirt. Grabbing a handful of cotton wool pads, I lightly sprayed them with an antiseptic solution and pressed them onto my skin. It stung at first contact but I knew I needed to do this to stop the wound from getting infected. There was no way that I could go to the doctors as they'd find out who I was and report me. I just needed to treat it the best I could but I had limited supplies. Once I was satisfied that the wounds had stopped bleeding I used a length of sellotape to hold a fresh cotton wool pad over the bite mark. I felt better that it was covered although it didn't hide much if I were honest. I stood and took a deep breath before turning and grabbing my holdall from on top of the mattress as I left the room. I hadn't realised but I was actually looking forward to seeing CJ again, he had an almost protective demeanour about him and I was grateful for what he'd done. I knew that he didn't have to and this showed a lot about his character. I held the bag firmly as I made my way up the corridor and as I turned the corner to enter the kitchen I looked up and my eyes met Poppy's.
"How's your neck?"
I was surprised by her concern but kept my cool as I continued on my way to leave the house.
"I said how's your neck?" she asked again but this time a bit more forceful.
I stopped in my tracks and thought about what she'd just asked. "Why you asking?" I turned so I could face her and my mannerisms obviously surprised her.
"Despite what's gone on, I don't want him doing that to you." She pointed to my neck and grimaced. Her face already held the marks from her most recent hiding and I'd also seen tell tale signs of months of abuse over her body so why was she concerned for my welfare.
I sniggered, "There's not much that surprises me these days Poppy but your statement has just blown me away."
Her face lit up, "I'm pleased, I now appreciate that you don't want Onyx like that and I'm prepared to let bygones be bygones."
I placed the holdall over my shoulder and stood in the middle of the living room with a grin on my face but the longer I stood there the bigger it got. "Do you know what Poppy that's very gracious of you."
She smiled obviously thinking that I was sincere but I couldn't be much further from the truth. I stepped closer and could see her smile drop slowly as she wasn't expecting this but neither was I, I couldn't believe just how brash I was being.
"But I also don't give a shit."
Her facial expression was a picture but I was past caring. I was working my arse off and had been whipped most days by her for not doing things correctly or in the way she wanted them but what it really came down to was that she was abusing her power. Being Onyx's old lady came with a certain amount of power that she felt that she could lord over everyone around her. At the end of the day she wasn't much older than me, at twenty-five, she had a few years but she certainly wasn't mature. She'd chosen this life for herself, the uncertainty, the beatings and even the infidelity of her old man were already a part of her sad existence and I didn't want to play a part. I smirked in her face looking her up and down as if she were a piece of shit before I turned on my heels to saunter from the room.
She suddenly regained her composure. "You'll regret that madam," she shouted after me but I didn't care. I raised my right hand and stuck up my middle finger as I left the room. Yeah she'd probably beat me on my return but for the first time in over a year, I may just have built the courage to fight back.
"What took you so fucking long?" Onyx shoved the helmet into my chest and the force made me step back.
"You obviously need a tighter chain on your bitch." His eyes widened at my remark and I cowed a little as he surged forward grabbing at my neck. I winced at the pain as he pressed tightly and caught the bite mark he'd left earlier.
"You need to remember your place and quickly, after Friday things are gonna change around here." Onyx placed a chaste kiss on my forehead a
nd immediately released me, I breathed heavily and placed my hand around my neck trying to massage it a little as I watched him step back and mount his motorcycle. What did he mean about things changing around here? His comment had confused me and I stood motionless on the pavement trying to figure out exactly what he meant.
"I ain't got all day Charity," he glanced in my direction with his dark eyes looking even more emotionless than normal.
I nodded franticly as I placed the helmet onto my head and secured the strap under my chin. I hated riding with Onyx, the close proximity made my stomach lurch and I'm sure he got more out of it. I placed my hands onto his shoulders as I swung my leg around to sit on the bitch pad behind him.
Placing my feet onto the foot pegs, I patted his shoulder indicating that I was comfortable and placed my hands onto the side of the seat rather than hold onto his shoulders or wrap my arms around his waist although he usually drove fast which made me change tact to feel safer.
We took a steady drive through the town and eventually pulled up outside the hotel that CJ was staying at. As the motorcycle became stationary, I quickly cocked my leg and got off faking that I had cramp but I couldn't bear to be in such close proximity. Onyx turned off the ignition and got off the motorcycle to join me on the pavement. "Keep the helmet, I'll pick you up sometime Friday."
I looked at him confused, "Won't Poppy want me back during the day so I can do my chores?"
He shook his head, "She'll be too busy packing."
"Packing? Why is she going away?"
He sniggered, "Yeah you could say that."
My train of thoughts were broken as someone joined us on the pavement outside the hotel, I glanced to my left and smiled as I saw CJ.
"Here, give me that." CJ held out his arm pointing to the holdall on my back.
I wriggled out of the straps and handed it to him, "Thank you."
"No worries," he took the bag from me and flung it over his shoulder before returning his attention to Onyx. CJ was huge in comparison to Onyx but give him his dues he didn't seem intimidated by his stature. "So what's the deal? When should I bring her back?"
CJ (Aces MC Series Book 6) Page 12