by Lila Rose
“Then Alvin’s actions aren’t anything against you. They’re just his actions, his mistakes, and his lies.”
Charlie’s brows raised. “What you mean lies?”
Bad fucking move on my part.
“Nothin’, Charlie.”
“Fang.”
“Just let this one fly, yeah?”
“Can’t. Must have been a good lie for it to bring you here in the first place.”
“Charlie—”
“Fang, seriously. Not sure where we went wrong with him, but I know what he’s like, and it fuckin’ kills me he’s the way he is. But I need to know what he did.”
“Fuck,” I clipped, running a hand through my hair. Sighing, because I knew he wouldn’t leave it alone, I said, “He called some Hawks faggots. Said the reason why Poppy wasn’t around was because…. Christ, Charlie. He said you were doing shit with her and he’d be sharing her with you soon.”
His body locked. His jaw ticked.
“My head wasn’t right when he said it, and I saw red. I took a few shots at him before I left to come here. He’s with the Hawks brothers at the compound, but knowin’ them, he’ll be in hospital soon. He was high, Charlie. Know that ain’t an excuse but—”
His nostril flared. “You believed him?”
“For one second, before I laid a hand on him, then I knew he was talkin’ outta his arse because I know you and Poppy. So I had to teach him a lesson for talkin’ crap.”
“He’s dead to me.”
I understood why, but Charlie had a big heart, and I didn’t want him to make any rash decisions. “Charlie, he wasn’t—”
His hand came up, his eyes clouding with anger. “Don’t even fuckin’ try, Fang. He knows what we’re goin’ through with his momma, yet he can lay a nasty lie like that out there for people to hear? He’s goddamn dead to me. You pass that along. You get it to your brothers and make sure he knows if I see his face again, he’ll regret it. You hear me, son?”
“Got you, Charlie.”
“Good. Now what in the hell are you gonna do about my girl?”
“Win her over,” I admitted.
“It’ll take time.”
“Got time.”
“Good. Son, like to ask you to stick around, but I’m fuckin’ furious still and the only way to calm me the hell down is to see my woman.” He stood and mumbled to himself as pain flashed over his face. “Just hope to everythin’ she knows who I am this time.”
Fuck. I hated what Poppy and Charlie were goin’ through.
He walked me towards the front door, calling out to Poppy he’d be back later. I didn’t catch what she replied with, but Charlie must have because he kept going on out the front, locking the house behind him. He saw me watching and smirked, then sent a chin lift to my waiting brothers and got in his car, taking off.
“What’s goin’ on?” Pick asked when I arrived at their sides.
“He wants a message to get to Alvin.”
“Done.” Muff nodded. “What is it and I’ll go there now.”
“Alvin’s dead to Charlie. Doesn’t want to see his face again, and if he does, Alvin will regret it.”
“So it was all bullshit?” Vicious asked. Wasn’t sure why the fucker was there. I thought he still hated me, so it was a surprise he followed through with Dodge’s order to have my back.
“Knew it was before I hit him, but I had a feelin’ something else was goin’ down.” I glanced back to the house, grinding my teeth together. “Mary, the mum, she’s been taken into care, got dementia.”
Curses sounded all around from my brethren.
“What’s the next move then?” Muff asked.
“You get to wherever Alvin is, replay the message, that’s all I know for now.”
“And you?” Vicious asked, and I was sure I saw a lip twitch before he went back to frowning.
“You guys can go,” I stated with a glare.
Muff grumbled, “Shit. You guys have all the fuckin’ luck. If you don’t—” I sliced my eyes to him, his hands came up. “Got it, off limits.”
After they’d disappeared, I made my way back towards the house, only that time I diverted off to the side and opened the gate there. Poppy’s room was the same one it’d been all those years ago. Christ, walking to it brought back the memory of when I’d first snuck in.
Past
I stood at the back of the room wishing I was anywhere but here. My fuckin’ father had dragged me along. We were at the new member’s house for dinner. We didn’t really do dinners, but apparently, his woman had wanted to meet the prez of the club, aka, my dick of a father. With dinner over, the older men sat talking in the living room, while I stood at the back getting bored. There was Charlie, the new guy, Dad, and Blackie, the VP.
Then the front door burst open, and I was shocked to hell when the new girl from school barged in, clutching a backpack to the front of her. She gripped it like her life depended on it. It was when she froze, after turning around from closing the door, that I saw she’d been crying.
“Poppy?” Charlie said, standing.
She wiped her face, straightened, and then cleared her throat. “Sorry, um, I thought you were out tonight, Dad.”
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
“Nothing, ah….” She glanced at the other two men—she hadn’t seen me leaning against the wall—and then back to her dad. I didn’t miss the way my cunt of a father ran his eyes over her, and I wanted to gut him for it. I knew he liked younger women, but she was only fuckin’ fourteen. She cleared her throat again. “It’s nothing, just, ah, girl stuff.” She nodded to herself.
Her dad blanched. I could tell it was a lie though from the trembling of her bottom lip and the way she looked everywhere but at them. Hell yes, she’d just fibbed. And for some goddamn reason, I wanted to know the real reason why she’d been crying.
“Yeah, uh, okay.” Charlie nodded. “Before you disappear or talk to your mum, meet the president of the Venom Motorcycle Club, Switch. The vice president, Blackie, and Switch’s son, Jerimiah.”
I thinned my lips instead of laughing my arse off when I saw her reaction at hearing my name. Her eyes popped wide, her mouth dropped, and her body tensed. Then slowly, so slow in a way I wanted to bust a gut laughing, she turned to me, and then I heard her suck in a sharp breath.
I nodded to her. “Poppy.” My lips twitched since I was still refraining from chuckling. Her face flushed. I had a feeling she’d be embarrassed about mentioning girl problems in front of me. Strange part was how she hadn’t been concerned about it in front of the older men.
“Room. Bedroom,” she blurted. Was that an invitation? Nope. Her eyes widened even more. “I’m, um…” She blinked slowly at me, then shifted back to face her father. “Nice to meet you all. I’m going to my bedroom now for the rest of the night.” She bolted out of there like she was on fire.
It killed me not to follow her, but I knew if I showed an interest in Poppy, the girl with the wild red hair and bangin’ body, my father would do something to mess with me. So I waited for a while and then told him I had to get outta there for a date. I was sixteen after all. He dismissed me with a grunt, while Blackie gave me a chin lift, and Charlie sent me a wave with a smile.
Out the front, I silently went through the side gate and down the house until I saw the light on at the end. It was either where Mary, Charlie’s woman was, or Poppy’s room.
Poppy. I hadn’t known her name the day I’d helped her when Nicky tripped her up. I wanted to know it. Seeing her stunning-as-hell eyes when she’d eventually looked up did something to me, but she was young. Too young. Still didn’t mean I had to be a dick. If someone was messing with her, I wanted to know and help her deal with it. After all, her family was a part of the club and we helped each other out.
I snuck a peak around the corner of the
window and found Poppy pacing her room. She stopped abruptly, fisted her hands, stomped, and hissed something up at the roof.
Shit. It was cute.
Again, she started pacing away from the window. I stepped into view, and when she turned back, I heard her scream. Her hands went to her chest, and her mouth snapped closed while I smirked at her. Then her finger came up, which told me to wait. She went to her door opened it slightly and said something with a smile. Closing the door, she turned back to me and came to the window. It took her a couple of attempts to open it since her hands were shaking. Her mouth moved over words I didn’t understand.
As soon as she had it open a little, I reached in and helped her push it up further.
She stepped back. “W-what are you doing?” she whispered.
Smirking, I placed my hands on the window ledge and pulled myself in.
“What are you doing?” she hurled in shock, her eyes rounded again.
“Comin’ in,” I replied with a chuckle.
She rolled her eyes at me. Biting her plump bottom lip, a frown tugged the edges down. “Jerimiah?” she whispered.
Planting my feet on the floor inside her bedroom, I stood. “So you do remember.”
“What?” she asked, her hands clasping in front of her. She shifted from one foot to another. She was nervous to have me in her room. Ignoring her worry and trying to put her at ease, I dragged my gaze from her and glanced around in her room. With a name like Poppy, I expected her to be a girly-girl. But her room told me she was a mixture of that, and not. The bedspread was grey, her walls white, and she had posters ranging from Matchbox Twenty, to Transformers to…
Turning, I rose a brow. “The Little Mermaid?”
Her cheeks heated. “So?” she squeaked, which made her blush deepen. She focused on the floor, took a deep breath and then looked back up, glaring.
Cute.
“W-what did you mean? I do remember?”
“Me from school,” I stated. After walking to the bed, I sat at the end, resting my hands behind me and watched her chest rise and fall rapidly. “Tell me why you were upset when you came in.”
She spun away from my gaze and went to her desk. Pulling out a chair, she then stood for a moment more, fiddling with things on the desk. If she’d been any other girl, they’d have picked to sit next to me, hell, they’d have been thrilled to have me in their room, yet Poppy wasn’t any other girl. I knew I was an okay-looking guy. I got enough attention from the opposite sex, so seeing Poppy act shy, pissed and annoyed with me being there, was nice.
She cleared her throat. “Like I’d said before, girl problems.”
Rolling my eyes, I stated, “And that was a lie.”
She huffed. “Okay then. It’s none of your business.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at me like she wanted my head to explode.
Feisty. That was cute too.
Christ, I wished she hadn’t crossed her arms though, because my eyes zoned in on her boobs, and they were pretty big for her age. I cringed and glanced around the room again. I shouldn’t be looking at her tits. Fourteen, man. Fourteen.
“Right.” I nodded.
She straightened, her brows dipping in confusion. “Right what?”
“Just decided we’re going to be the fuckin’ best of friends.”
“No,” she clipped, and when her face paled, it had me thinking whatever went down that night had something to do with Nicki. Bloody hell, I had to set that girl straight. She’d claimed me, but I was just havin’ fun.
“Yes.” I smiled. Least then, since we were friends, I could keep a better eye on her, and since she was Venom, it was my duty to make sure she stayed safe.
That was what I told myself anyway.
I stood and stalked towards her, got in her face, and smiled brighter. “See you at school, bestie.”
“Jerimiah—”
Shaking my head, I flicked her nose. “Nope, no getting’ outta it now.” I turned and went over to the window.
“Jerimiah,” she called. Facing her, I watched her shift from one foot to another, and then added, “Um, we can, be like… friends, but no one can know about it at school.”
Holy shit.
Any other girl would be ecstatic. Except Poppy.
With a wink, I said, “We’ll see,” and then slipped out the window.
Chapter Four
Poppy
Present
The murmured voices from the living room stopped so I knew Jerimiah had left. Standing from the floor, where I’d earlier slid after closing my door, I dressed quickly in jeans and a tee.
I knew I was being childish, with continuing my hate for Jerimiah, but he crushed my heart so many years ago, and seeing him rehashed the night I’d heard him talking about me.
God, I needed to get over it. I’d thought I hated him, which helped me move away so easily, as well as the fact I did it to protect him.
Though, hate was such a strong word.
Honestly, I could never hate him when he’d been so important to me for so many years.
I was hurt. And I felt sick and guilty for never telling him the truth.
My hurt shone the brightest though. Hurt he never liked me more than a friend. Hurt my feelings had been nothing to him. So I kept telling myself I hated him, when in fact, I didn’t. But still, I rode the hurt train even though I shouldn’t.
Also, it was hard to face him when guilt threatened to consume me for never telling him everything.
Shopping, I deduced. It always put my mind at ease, and since I had a new waitressing job at a strip club, where the tips were amazing, I could afford to help Dad out and splurge on a few items. Turning to my desk, which was still decked out in my high school memorabilia, I reached to grab my bag. A shadow at the window caught my attention. Slowly, I moved my gaze there and tensed even more.
Fang.
My heart clenched behind my ribs.
Seeing him standing outside my window with a smirk was all too familiar. Like the time he’d first showed. I’d come home from the movies with Manda and unfortunately, I’d had a run in with Nicki. I shouldn’t have let her cruel words get to me, but I’d been fourteen, and she’d been a huge bitch that night. Telling me all my faults in front of everyone, she’d laughed the loudest. I’d ran, fighting tears. Back then, I’d thought my life would never get better, until I’d seen a pair of dark brown eyes and a smiling mouth outside my window. It had been that night when Fang, who I’d called Jerimiah back then, promised me we were going to be friends from then on. We had. Only, as I requested, it was behind everyone’s backs. At least for a while.
Stomping to the window, I unlocked it and pulled it up. “What?” I asked. My tone held a fraction of bite to it.
Ignoring me, he got close and lifted himself in through the window. Quickly, I moved back, which caused him to smirk. “We need to talk,” he stated.
With a sigh, I ran a hand along the back of my neck and then dropped it, shaking my head. “We really don’t. Besides, I was on my way out.”
He straightened. God, he was so much taller than I was. Taller and hotter. Turning away, I went back to my desk and shifted a few things around to occupy myself and hoped if I ignored him enough, he would just leave. Jesus, I realised it was exactly what I’d done that first time.
“Poppy.” His voice was low. “Why did you leave?” He already knew a part of it, yet he was pushing at me to confess it all.
Shaking my head, I licked my dry lips and scoffed. “I guess, after talking to Dad, you know why I’m back.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry to hear, darlin’.”
I nodded once. “Can we just leave the past where it is?”
“No.”
Grinding my teeth together, I faced him. “Just because you know what’s going on with my mum doesn’t mean I need you aro
und. We’re not friends, Fang—”
“Jerimiah,” he bit out.
“What?”
“You’ve always called me Jerimiah. I was never Fang to you.”
I glanced at the floor and shrugged. “Things change.” When he stepped closer, I flicked my gaze up and scowled.
His voice lowered. “I didn’t know you were there that night.”
“It doesn’t matter.” We hadn’t been anything back then but friends, and my emotions had been crushed after hearing him talk crap about me because I’d let myself fall for him. Yet, I was suddenly feeling foolish for the childhood actions.
Actions that led me to behave like a bitch when I wasn’t one.
God, I was pathetic. I wanted to hold onto my hurt, the pain, so I could distance myself from Jerimiah longer. I was worried that if we went back to the friendship we’d once had, my feelings would grow, and I wouldn’t, couldn’t hold back the other truth about why I left.
“D-do you speak with your father?” I found myself asking, and regretted it right away.
His face scrunched up in disgust. “No, and if I ever saw him, I would…. Fuck, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty.”
Suddenly, I felt drained. Memories flashed through my mind.
Past
Jerimiah’s grin as he opened the door to me at his house was bright. It had been over a year since we’d become friends. He’d stuck to my rules, of being friends without anyone knowing, until today. I’d been sitting in the cafeteria with Manda, when Lennon, a guy from our class, came to our table and pulled out the chair next to me.
Glancing at Manda, I rolled my eyes, causing her to snort. She knew he was there to start something. He got off on picking on the less popular people.
“Tell me something, butch. Do the curtains match the drapes?”
Shifting, I leaned one arm on the table and the other over the back of my chair, and then eyed his crotch before slowly looking up. “Tell me something, idiot. Does the brain match the balls?” I wasn’t even sure it made sense, and it had sounded way cooler in my head. Still, from the dirty look Lennon sent me, he hadn’t liked it, so it worked. Usually, I would sit back and say nothing since he’d been pretty mild in his taunts. However, earlier Manda told me how he’d tripped a grade seven girl over then pretended to lay over her and hump her, yelling about how much she enjoyed it. Of course, no teachers had been around, and when no one waded in to help her, Manda did, and she’d caught his attention from it, getting in her face and calling her everything he could think of at the time. Thankfully, Manda was a nut and didn’t give a crap what he said. She barked back some things and got the girl away from him.