by Sam Crescent
There was nothing to it. O’Brian wasn’t the first man she hated just because he was a sexist pig. There had been a lot during her time in the corporate world. This was just another element.
“How was work for you today?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“You do not want to know about my shit. It’s all numbers, and shit. Very boring, you know that.”
“You’ve always been good with numbers. You’re so clever.”
“Two plus two equals … four. Did I make you hot?”
“Totally.” She laughed, then jumped as someone placed down a large glass on the counter.
“Wow, I’m going to need some points from you,” the woman said.
Temperance recognized her from the visits she used to go to Richard. Ever since he’d started seeing her, this woman hadn’t made an appearance not once. From the looks of fire coming her way, Temperance knew that the other woman was totally pissed.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Yeah, do you have a pussy of gold? Is that what keeps them coming back to you?”
“Tina, don’t cause trouble,” another woman said, approaching the table.
“Back off, Luna. You may get off fucking these men and being nothing but a whore, but I don’t.”
“I’m not a damn whore,” Luna said. “These men, they’re my family, and you’re the one making more of it. This is what we agreed to. This is all I want.”
“Is it being fat? Is that it?”
“Hey,” Jay said. “You better back off.”
“Oh, so now you have two men. Well, he’s not a club brother, but he’s someone that is way above your league. On the scale of one to ten, you’re like a four, if that.”
Temperance sighed. “What makes you think you’re a ten?”
“I’m really sorry,” Luna said.
She liked Luna. Temperance had learned that Luna had a young girl of five who suffered with asthma. She wasn’t looking for love, and the club gave her enough money to live a lifestyle that was more than comfortable, but also meant she could afford the necessary medical care for her baby girl.
“You better leave.”
“I’m a ten because I’m beautiful, hot, and I know how to suck cock.”
Temperance chuckled. “Is that it? Is that all you think guys want?”
“That’s all they need.”
Jay smirked. “Wow, you’ve totally got it wrong. We need a hell of a lot more than a good little cock sucker.”
“You’re fat, and Richard should walk away.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Richard asked, storming out.
Temperance cringed. Richard had a temper, and especially when people were not treating her right.
Tina went from super bitch to syrup within a second. It even made Temperance want to gag. She had never seen a woman change so fast. She was like one of those creatures in the desert that changed its color when a predator was about.
“I did try to warn her,” Luna said, stepping away. Her hands were up in the air in surrender. “I don’t want any trouble. I love the club.”
Temperance had no doubt, but Tina, she had crossed a line. Still, she wasn’t going to force a woman out of the club just because she didn’t like her.
Getting to her feet, she climbed out of the booth, having to straddle Jay as she did. Her breasts ended up thrust in his face, and she stumbled on the hard floor. She wore a pair of tights, and her shoes were on the floor. “Are you done for the night?”
“No, I’m not done.” Richard looked past her shoulder. “Do you think you can get away with calling my woman names?”
“She was all up in his space. They were pretty much fucking.”
Temperance turned around to look at the other woman. “You’re kidding right? You’re going to tell a bunch of lies to get what you want.”
“Who are you going to believe?” Tina asked.
“First, I wouldn’t believe you even if I had seen it with my own two eyes. Second, Temperance belongs to me and Jay. If she wants to fuck him in front of the club, then she can. She’s ours. Third, that was your final strike for me. I want you out of the club for good.”
Richard looked pissed, and when she caught sight of the other club members, she knew that Tina had pissed them all off one too many times.
“I suggest you leave the club until we come to a decision,” Russ said.
“But—”
“No buts. Get the fuck out,” Jackson said.
Temperance watched as Tina glared at all of them. That woman was not going to back down without a fight.
****
Later that night, Jay sat back, stroking Temperance’s hair. Her feet were in Richard’s lap. It was that time of the months so fun and games were out of the question. They were snuggled on a large sofa. They were in their pajamas, and Temperance wore a large nightshirt with a kitten on it. The pajama pants had cows.
She cuddled a hot water bottle against her stomach, and had fallen asleep.
“What will happen to that woman at the club?” Jay asked.
Once they had sent Tina off, they had left the club.
“We’re going to get our club lawyer to handle it. We’ll pay her off, but she’ll be bound by an agreement that states she is to keep the running of the club a secret. If anything gets leaked, we have the means of making sure her life is ruined.”
“Wow, don’t you think that is a bit harsh?”
“Besides the fact she called Tempe fat, there is more at stake than just some rumors. Look what is happening to innocent women. I will not allow a spiteful woman to risk others. I don’t care about myself. She can talk about the club all day long to everyone, but we’re not just any club. We’ve made ourselves targets, and that is on us. I regret it, but there’s nothing we can do.”
“More women have been taken?”
Richard sighed. “Sadly, yes. More have been taken, and we can’t know for certain who it is.”
“No one can do a good deed anymore without it becoming an issue.”
“You’ve got that right.” Richard rubbed at his temples.
“Did you always want to be a biker?”
“No. The only thing I ever wanted was to help people. That’s it. I wanted to help people.”
“You are helping people,” Jay said.
“Am I? Right now it seems I’m killing more than I’m helping.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what is going on. You’re doing a good thing, and I bet you’ve saved hundreds of women.”
“Now women are being killed, and I can’t help but fear what will come next.”
Jay looked over at his friend. He never for a second thought he would be loving Temperance with another man. Richard was a good man.
“We’ll handle it together. We’re a team, right? We’ve got each other, which at times is more than others have.”
Richard touched her leg. “I can’t lose her.”
“We won’t. We have this, together.” Jay smiled. “I had lunch today with my bodyguard. His name is Curtis, and he’s ever so nice.”
Richard started to laugh. “You shouldn’t have noticed him.”
“It was kind of hard not to. At first I thought I had an admirer, and then I saw he was packing. I went out, shook his hand, and we had lunch. He’s a good guy. He’s got three kids, and a wife who worries about him.”
“Curtis is a good man. He’ll keep you safe.”
“I also know you’ve got two guards on Temperance.”
“I don’t think she knows about them,” Richard said. “I prefer that. I don’t want her aware of the danger that I may have caused her.”
“You’re not going to lose her. She loves you too damn much to lose you.”
Richard sighed. “I love her with my whole heart. I never thought I’d love a woman as much as I love her. She’s my life.”
“I agree.”
“I want this to be forever,” Richard said. “Can you handle that?”
“Sharing her?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been handling it just fine. I happen to like you, Richard. No, I’ll never want your dick, but I can see us sharing her.”
“I’ll marry her.”
“You’re the one with all the money,” Jay said.
“It’s not about the money. I want her to be protected, and I know she’d protect you as well if anything was to happen to me.”
“Are you proposing to me?” Temperance asked, sounding sleepy.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I was. I’m not asleep anymore.” She rolled over. “Are you proposing?”
Richard chuckled. “Yeah, I’m proposing.”
Temperance smiled. She looked up at him. “What do you think, Jay? Should I make him ask again?”
“I think you should put the guy out of his misery.”
Temperance laughed. “Yes, Richard, I’ll marry you.”
Chapter Ten
Three days later, Richard was back at the clubhouse. Jay and Temperance had stayed at home to make dinner, and he was going to miss it if the meeting ran over.
“I’m sorry it has taken me so long, but I finally found the one person that was present within a specific time frame,” Lewis said.
“What?” Russ asked.
“Each woman was killed, and from the autopsy report, the suspect is male. The damage to the woman’s bodies was consistent with that of a blunt force trauma, which anyone can do, but it takes strengths. These women, they were taken, tortured, and killed, dumped. Other women would not be able to work alone for this. They don’t have the physical strength to carry this out.” Lewis spoke without any emotion. “There was no rape, which is why the cops are coming to us now no longer as potential suspects. It’s something that doesn’t add up.”
“What do you mean?” Richard asked.
“Murder, there’s a reason for it. There is a relationship between most victims and the murderer, and I’m not talking like father-daughter relations. This can be something like each woman insulted the murderer, which is why he killed them. This doesn’t add up. Each murder is completely related by one thing, us.”
“So because it’s not rape, they’re saying it’s a problem, and we’re the only connection?” Richard asked.
“There have to be at least two different killers out there. The women that were found before were raped, so it was done by someone else. Each serial killer, murderer, criminal, they have what is known as a calling card. These three women do not match the women that were found raped before. None of these women had anything in common, they don’t look the same, share the same lifestyle. We are what connect them, which leads us to this man.” Lewis clicked on a remote, and three images came on screen, each at different angles, but what had Richard sitting up was he recognized the guy.
“What about this man?” Richard asked.
“This is the person that has been present near the women. It’s not a coincidence. He was at Blake’s club, and was seen leaving a few minutes after Darlene. They had been dancing together. He was also a visitor at your building, Russ. Tania was the one who showed him around.” Lewis pointed to the next image. The man was driving a van, and he watched as Sarah climbed inside on the small video of the footage Lewis had taken.
“What’s his name?” Richard asked.
“For the last two, he used a different name. I don’t know what name he was using for the first one with Darlene,” Lewis said.
“He’s part of O’Brian’s entourage,” Richard said.
Richard had seen him, and he used his cell to start contacting O’Brian.
Putting his cell to his ear, he waited for O’Brian to answer.
His heart was racing as he stared at the image on the main screen. Fuck! He’d not even given it a thought to check out O’Brian’s entourage. His club life had never entered his working life unless he had a club whore visit him to take care of his problem.
“Richard, what do I owe the honor?” O’Brian asked.
“The man who has been your guard, the one who stands in the back.” Richard gave a brief description of the man.
“Yes, I know who you mean. I don’t have his details. I use a security firm who sends out different men for me.”
That man had been with him while he’d been with Temperance. Hanging up his cell phone, he made his way out of the meeting, rushing downstairs as he started to call Temperance’s cell. It went to voicemail. Next he called Jay.
Nothing.
Then he called his apartment, and once again, nothing. He didn’t even explain to any of his club brothers. Climbing onto his bike, he shot out of the private parking area, not caring about his own safety. Something had gone wrong. He knew it.
He’d been so fucking stupid not to have seen it or check out what the fuck was going on, but he’d been distracted.
Richard would never make that mistake again.
****
Temperance’s head was pounding, and when she tried to touch her face, she was stopped.
“Wait … what?” Her foggy brain was struggling to catch up with everything that was going on, and it only served to make her more confused.
“Ah, she’s waking up.”
Frowning, she opened her eyes and turned her head. Nothing was in focus, so she blinked her eyes to try to clear her mind.
“There she is.”
She remembered being in the kitchen with Jay, and having fun. As she glanced around the warehouse, it looked abandoned, and she couldn’t see any sign of Jay. Someone had broken into Richard’s apartment, and Jay had been shot. God, he’d been shot, and now he was bleeding.
Tears filled her eyes and started to fall. Jay could be dead, and no one knew.
“You’re starting to remember.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Opening her eyes, she forced herself to look at the man who was taunting her. She recognized him but didn’t know how she did. They had never talked before. There was nothing that stuck out about him.
“What am I doing? Let’s see, I’m trying to gain the attention of the billionaires affecting my business. Now, they make think they’re smart, but they haven’t got anything on the corporation as a whole.”
Temperance stayed silent as the man kept talking.
“Don’t you think it’s a little lame? A bunch of billionaires thinking they can save the world.”
“They’re not trying to save the world. Just the women and children you hurt.”
The man threw his head back, laughing. “They don’t need to be saved. They’re there to be used. If I don’t use them, someone else will.”
This man sickened her. “You will be stopped.”
“I doubt it. Where there are women, there will be men who can order them like cattle. Sometimes, we get a picture of the woman they want.”
“Why do you have me?” she asked.
“I needed to teach the little lame bikers a lesson. They seem to think they have their billions so they can do what they want.”
“You have nothing, and think the same thing.”
“I’m providing a service.”
“You’re a monster.”
“That I am. I won’t lie about who I am.”
Temperance looked around, and saw that she was sitting on a chair with her arms stretched out. She didn’t even want to think about what this man had in store for her. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m thinking it’s time I made a call.”
The man turned away and left her.
Tears were pouring down her cheeks, and she was struggling to keep herself together. She was petrified, and she was trapped.
Stay calm, Temperance.
She kept repeating the same words over and over in the hope that she would eventually believe her own words.
****
Richard slammed into his apartment and found Jay lying on t
he floor in a pool of his own blood.
Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed for an ambulance, checking Jay’s vital signs.
“My friend has been shot. I need an ambulance. His pulse is faint.” Richard told them the address, and rolled Jay over.
In the distance he heard his friends rushing into his apartment. Dropping his cell phone, he removed his jacket, pressing it to the wound.
Jay finally moaned. “Fuck me, please tell me I’m dreaming and I’m going to wake up to Temperance about to ride my face.”
“Now is not the time for jokes.”
“I’m not joking. Fuck me, that hurts.” Jay opened his eyes and started leaning against the kitchen sink.
“Colorful language for an accountant,” Lewis said.
“I’ve been shot, and I bet it’s your fault. Pissed off any employees lately?”
“None, but it is our fault.”
“Where’s Tempe?” Jay asked.
“She’s not here.”
“What do you mean she’s not here?” Jay stared at him, sweating. “Fuck, I can’t—did they take her?”
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” Richard said.
“Do you have security cameras around the whole of the building?” Lewis asked.
“Everything is controlled with computers now.” Richard pressed the jacket while trying to think, and not panic. It was fucking hard to do.
Temperance was gone. Jay was shot, and it looked bleak.
“I fucked up,” Jay said.
“What?”
“I didn’t protect her. Someone has Tempe, and I fucked up.”
“Shut up, Jay. We’ll deal with this, and we’ll find her, and we’ll make the bastards pay.”
“At what cost, man? They hurt her, and we’re not going to get the same woman back.”
Richard couldn’t think about that shit right now.
“Got it,” Lewis said.
“Help me up,” Jay said.
“You need to rest.”
“I’m not dead yet, and I have a right to see this shit.”
He had no choice, so with Jackson’s help, he got Jay to his feet. They moved toward the main television where Lewis had hooked up the security footage. He was rewinding it back to the point where the apartment was first broken into.