by Brair Lake
“There are rumors flying around, Mia. Are they true?”
“News travels fast in small places.”
The gleam in his eyes is bright. His fingers tap on this coffee mug, then he flashes his teeth as he smiles. “Who set me up, Mia? You or Alex.”
I blink. There’s no anger in his voice, just an underlined amusement. “Alex.”
“Did you use me to get at him?”
“No.” I take a sip of my coffee. “Alex and I had a thing several years ago.” A thing is overstating it. We had a one-night stand, but Cole doesn’t need to know the details. “He was still raw from his wife’s death and it didn’t go anywhere.” It’s a half lie I can live with.
“A thing. And now you’re picking up where you left off.”
“I should have told you.”
Cole frowns. The dark bushes above his eyes meeting in a deep v. “Baton Rouge. Were you with him then?”
There was no point in lying. “Yes.”
Cole shakes his head and chuckles. “That card game was to get you away from me.”
“I didn’t know he was going to that. We had an agreement.”
“An agreement. Fuck, Mia. It would have been nice to have been in the loop.” Cole brushes his hand through his hair. There’s a raw magmatism about him and if I wasn’t hooked on Alex, I think I would have been on him. “I’m supposed to be a journalist.” Cole stares at me; his right eyebrow rises as he snorts. “You know what the means. I’m supposed to have my finger on the pulse. Know what’s going on around me. Shit, I knew about Dale.”
I gulp my coffee and choke on it as it goes down the wrong way. “Dale.”
“Yeah, Dale. I read your blogs, Mia.”
“Ah, Dale.”
“Is that all you’ve got to say for yourself?”
I squirm in my seat. There are more truths to be revealed, and I bite my lip to suppress my laughter. “Dale’s not real.”
Cole’s belly laugh fills the diner causing several heads to turn in our direction and I recognize one of the bikers from The River Demons. Shit, it’ll not take long for Alex to know about this. “Mia.”
I glance at Cole. “Yeah.”
He shakes his head. His eyes gleam and I bite my lip. “You look sane. But I’ve a deep feeling you are anything but.”
“Life was simple until you and Alex came along. I was a normal woman until then.”
Cole shakes his head, “what normal woman invents herself a boyfriend.”
I shrug, “there was a reason behind that.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No.” My lips quiver as I hold my smile at bay. “I’m about to end it with Dale.”
Cole reaches over, raises my hand to his lips and kisses the wrist. “What about me?”
“I’m sleeping with Alex.”
Cole leans back in his chair. “Why call it sleeping when you mean fucking.”
I hold his gaze. The barb hits, but I don’t blink as I keep my composure. “I’ve moved on to Demon’s Lair into his cabin. We are sleeping together.”
“And fucking.”
“Why aren’t you angry.”
“Did you think I would be?”
“My ego would like you to be.”
“This agreement you had with Alex. What was it?”
I lick my lips then take a sip of my coffee. “I spend his days off with him and the days he works, I spend with you.”
“We could keep to the arrangement.”
I trace an undescriptive pattern on the table. Then with a shake of my head, I look at Cole. “No. It wouldn’t be fair to any of us.”
“You never had the urge to fuck me?”
“No.”
“But with Alex, you did, and you have?”
“Yes.”
Cole nods and withdraws his wallet from his jacket pocket. As he rises, he drops some bills onto the table. “We were never lovers, Mia. Can we stay friends?”
“You never wanted to fuck me either. Did you, Cole?”
Cole sits on the corner of the table as he plays with a tendril of my hair. “I wouldn’t have said no If you had offered.” He leans over, brushing his lips against mine. “If this thing with you and Alex doesn’t work out. Give me a call.”
I watch Cole leave the diner and as I turn my head, my gaze clashes with the biker who I dismiss as I open my laptop. I’ve another man to dump publicly.
After dumping Dale via my blog, I send a quick text to Alex.
Me:Just met with Cole. He’s in the picture.
As I step out of the diner, my cellphone vibrates.
Alex:Make sure you return to Demon’s Lair before we sail.
I slip the cellphone back into my purse without answering. The riverboat isn’t due to sail until late evening, and I’m in no rush to return. I find a bench to sit on. I could visit Poppy’s, but if I do, I’ll be tortured with a thousand and one questions. From my purse, I pull out one of the beers I swiped from the bar at Demon’s Lair. Sitting on the bench, drinking alcohol from a brown paper bag in the middle of Noir Valley is the most dangerous thing I have done in four days. That and that I have no panties on. As the cool liquid slides down my throat, I wonder how Cole would have acted if he had known I was naked under my dress. As I walked towards him at the diner, the sun was behind me and his gaze had lingered on my legs. As I sip my beer, I wonder if he noticed I was pantyless.
The hum of bikes catches my attention, drawing me out of my dreams, and I glance down the street. Heading towards me are several bikers and I scan the street for Hank or one of his deputies, but no-one about. Even the biker from the diner is gone. The bikers stop in front of me and I watch Jono remove his helmet. Rickety-Lee and Sharpie are with him, and I nod to them.
“Jono.”
Jono remains on his bike. His hazel gaze hard as he studies me. Years ago, one look from him or Hank would have had me running. Now as I watch my brother, I take a large drink of the beer.
“I hear you’re fucking Alex. What happened to the journalist?”
I refuse to be daunted by Jono and keep my gaze on him. “We’re still friends.”
“If you want a bad boy between your legs. Rickety-Lee will be happy to oblige.”
“I’m happy with the one I’ve got.”
Jono’s lips pinch, “he’s bad news with baggage, Mia. Leave him while it’s still safe to do so.”
“I know about his baggage. I can handle him.”
Jono shrugs. “You being a biker bitch isn’t any skin of my nose. But once they start passing you around.” Jono stares at me and I force myself to remain still. “And they will, Mia. To them you’re the sister of a traitor and the sister of a cop. They’ll love nothing more than to turn you into a whore tuning nickel tricks. Day might like to give the impression the clubs changed. That they’ve cleaned their act. But once a river rat, always a river rat. Give me a call. You might as well as be a whore at a better club than a washed-up club like the River Demons.”
With one last slug of my beer, I empty the bottle, stand, scan the area, find a trashcan, and drop the bottle in it. Then I walk over to Jono. “If I’m to be a whore, I’d rather be a whore where men wash at least once a week.” My gaze flashes at Rickety-Lee. “Than with someone who doesn’t know what water looks like.” Jono’s sneering snigger follows me as I return to my car. As I pull out of the driving lot, Rickety-Lee parks his bike in front of the bonnet, and Jono rides alongside the car, tapping on the window when he comes to a stop.
“Give a message to Lover Boy. The River Demon’s and their reign over Noir Valley is numbered.” He slams the roof of the car. “Oh, and tell him, Delaney sends his best.” then he and the others turn and ride down the street.
*****
“You’re cutting it fine.”
I watch as another car pulls into the parking lot of Demon’s Lair. Like most nights, the compound is packed. Then I glance at the punters in front of me as they walk up the gangplank. When they reach the top and turn towards
the casino, I turn my gaze to Copper and smile. “There’s another hour before you sail”
Copper scratches his nose, “That might be true. But we close the gates in ten minutes.”
“I’ll remember that the next time.”
Copper nods. His brown eyes piercing. “Talk to Alex about the rules of the riverboat.”
My smile to Copper is tight as I climb the gangplank. The inside of my head pounds. Everyone is using me as a message board for Alex. When I reach the top, I turn to the deck where Alex’s cabin is. The chatter coming from the casino sounds inviting and I’m tempted to change and join the crowd, but I’m not in the mood to face Alex just yet. I need a shower to help clear my head of Jono’s jibes. The cabin is just as I left it with my clothes scattered everywhere. It’s not as though I’ve brought a lot with me. It’s simply the cabin is small with only one wardrobe. Okay, the wardrobe is practically empty with three pairs of jeans hanging inside it. The three-drawer chest of drawers only has one free drawer and I fill it with my underwear, then move Alex’s tee-shirts into the same draw as his socks and fill this drawer with my tops. Four pairs of jeans and three dresses later, I have the wardrobe full. A quick glance around the cabin brings a smile to my lips, at least the bed is cleared.
With the cabin in some sort of order, I head for the club’s private room and like the night before, there are several bikers and several club whores partying. A quick scan of the room shows no sign of Firebird or Eve and I head over to the bar, settling on one of the stools. Through the bar’s over large mirror on the wall, I can watch the room, especially the main door.
“A beer.” Candy said.
I glance up at the blond and nod. She was working the bar the night before. “Thanks, Candy.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Used to what.” I take a long sip of my beer. Relishing in the cool liquid as it slides down my throat.
“The abandonment. Left to your own devices while they work the casino.”
“Don’t you work it.”
Candy chuckles as she pours herself a beer. “Before Firebird, the women worked most nights. Now we work a shift pattern. And if this new enterprise TJ’s working on takes off. It’ll be all change again.”
“You were with the River Demon’s before the casino.”
Candy nods. “Started off as a house mouse. Shit. That was about fifteen years ago. I was fourteen and new to Noir Valley. Life was shit at home and Cherry took me in. Stayed with her until she died. Hooked up with Smokey, her old man, for a few months after she died. Then I drifted into the life.”
“You ever thought of getting out.”
Candy shakes her head. “Now, Firebird’s running the women, I’ve about another ten working life years left. Then I’ll find myself an old man to settle down with.”
I frown as I scourer my memory for some information. “Wasn’t Smokey Kit’s Pa.”
“Yeah.”
“You ever fuck Kit.”
“Sure have. Did the old man and son at the same time a couple of times.”
I splutter as the beer I’m sipping slips into my lungs and my eyes waters. “Father and son together.”
“Yep.”
I glance around the room and find Kit; he’s sat at the back of the saloon and a couple of the whores are dancing for him. Kit is quiet and, as the club’s Chaplin, doesn’t spend much time in Noir Valley, traveling from one charter to the next. Visiting the prisons to offer comfort and advice for those who need it. “You think you know it all. And you learn something new.” I push my empty bottle towards Candy, and she passes me a new one.
“You know I’ve fucked Alex.”
I take a sip of my beer and nod. “Apart from Firebird and Eve, who hasn’t he fucked.”
Candy chuckles. “The men.” One of the biker’s shouts Candy over and she places another beer in front of me, then strolls over to him. Her smile in place as she sashays her hips at him. This isn’t my first time on Demon’s Lair or in the saloon, and like last night, I’m spending it on my own. The other couple of times I was here, I had Poppy for company, and we had explored the riverboat as the saloon and the casino were out of bounds to us. I continue to watch the room through the mirror. It’s early, and the party is only just starting. In a couple of hours, it’ll be more of a sex fest. I stayed last night. Watched as several bikers had taken turns to fuck one of the women. Then watched one of the bikers pulled out a tattoo gun and ink the woman across her lower abdomen. Then he’d escorted her around the room, flashing the tat to everyone. ‘Property of the River Demons.’
Candy returns, drinking from a water bottle.
“Is the room soundproof,” I ask.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well it got rowdy last night. And I guess tonight will go the same way.”
“The partying in here never disturbs the casino.”
The under life of River Demons going on as normal as Day and the bikers, work the casino act as though they’ve cleaned up their act. “I’ll have another beer.”
Candy looks at me. Her gaze steady as she watches me, then with a slight nod, she passes me another beer. My head is buzzing. I’m tipsy but not drunk. The party has turned up a notch. A couple of the women have decided to use the tables as a dancefloor as several bikers sit around them, egging them to strip. I’m too frustrated to stay behind tonight and watch and slip off my stool. “Night, Candy.”
The dip of the mattress has me rolling over and I blink as Alex slips off his tee-shirt, and a smile plays at the corners of my lips. The brothers run a lucrative gambling business and they still on wearing their uniform of black tee-shirts and cuts at the casino. “We need to talk.”
Alex leans into me. Damp earth and whisky tease me as his lips touch mine. “We’ll talk later.”
I push Alex away as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. “No. I want to talk now.”
“Shit, Mia. My body is hungry for yours. It’s four days since I last tasted your flesh. Four days since your body trembled beneath me. Four days since I heard your moans as you climaxed around my cock.”
“And another hour or so, isn’t going to make much of a difference.”
Alex leans back on the bed and runs his hand through his hair. “What gives?”
“What gives?” I stand and pull on my jeans and top and leave the cabin. I need to breathe. Shit. My body is clamoring for Alex’s. He’s not the only one unsated. But I’m not a fuck machine to be used for one thing only. A door slams behind me and I watch Alex stroll towards me and the pulse in my pussy comes to life. A reminder of how much I want the man. I turn from him and walk to the stern of the riverboat. It’s dark and as I glance towards the parking lot; I watch the last of the cars leave. Alex is close. I can smell him and if I turn around, I’ll be in his arms. Begging him to kiss me.
“You want to talk,” said Alex.
I nod, “I ran into Jono today.”
Alex’s breath warms the back of my neck and I move to the side and watch as he leans against the railings. His ankles are crossed, and his head is turned to me. “What did he want?”
“What went wrong, Alex? Where does the bitterness come from?”
“You know. I chose Day over Jono. And he’s never forgiven me.”
“Who’s Delaney.”
Alex’s body stills, and he turns his gaze to the water. Then he’s looking at me. “What do you know about Delaney?”
“Nothing. That’s why I’m asking you. Jono mentioned him.”
“What did he say?”
“He just said to tell you The River Demons days are numbered, and Delaney sends his best.”
“Fuck.” Alex glances to the parking lot. Apart from my Corolla, the club’s SUV, which I’ve heard the guys refer to as the cage and the collection of bikes, the yard is empty. “You don’t leave Demon’s Lair unless I or one of the brothers are with you.”
“I’m a grown woman. Alex. I can come and go as I please. Shit, are these the rules Cop
per was on about?” I glance at the gangplank. At the bottom, sitting on the bench, are two bikers. “I’ve seen the women come and go. Firebird and Eve never have an escort and I’m not Poppy.”
“We need to talk.”
I raise my eyebrow. “Isn’t that what I said.” I’m talking to Alex’s back. He has his cell to his ear as he strolls towards the club’s saloon.
“Alex.”
Chapter 19
Alex: Demon’s Lair Noir Valley
“Alex. What the hell is going on?”
I glance at Mia as she storms into the saloon. Her cheeks flushed red and her eyes blazing. I pass her a beer and after unscrewing the lid off my own bottle, I take a large swallow. As I lower the bottle, Day walks in followed by Kit.
“There had better be a good reason why you’ve called a meeting Alex. I’ve a nice piece of pussy in my cabin waiting for me,” Day said.
“Have a beer. Leon and Bastian will he here shortly. I’m not repeating myself.” I take another swallow of my beer. I need to think. My head is spinning. My stomach is churning, and bile sticks to the back of my throat. I finish the beer and reach for another bottle.
Oyster and TJ walk in. TJ glances around the room as he strolls to the bar and helps himself to a beer. “This is a piss poor party, Alex. Where’s the music and women.”
I glare at the biker. My head is pressing in against my brain. Memories I have fought with for years scramble to the surface. Years of drinking myself into oblivion wasted as images of Jo-Leigh implode on me. The hum of bike engines echo in the early morning air. A sound which normally would go unnoticed. I shake my empty bottle and as I reach for another beer, I change my mind and grab a whisky.
“Shit, Alex. I’ve one very angry lady at home. We are trying for a baby. You do remember that.” Bastian grabs a couple of beers, passing one to Leon as he settles in a vacant chair.
My gaze skims the room. Seven sets of eyes stare at me and not one face is wearing a smile. Only Kit knows the full story of what I am about to tell. I take a large swig of the whisky. The burn of the amber liquid as it slides down the back of my throat has me wincing. “Jono’s made his move.” I glance over to Mia. Her body is still as she watches me like a hawk about to pounce on a prairie dog.