by Erin Osborne
Walking up to the door, I can hear female voices talking and laughing. I’m not sure what Steel is trying to accomplish in this moment, last I knew he wasn’t even here. My thoughts turn to the old ladies and the thought of why they’re here takes over. I take a deep breath and push the door open to reveal some of the old ladies sitting in the living room. There’s still a seat left for me, and I wonder what the hell is going on. I’ve never interacted with these girls and I don’t know what anyone is trying to prove by them being here now. What the fuck is going on?
“Well, Harley, we’re here to talk to you,” Keegan says, motioning for me to sit down with them. “We’re all a little out of our element here. The guys have always kept us away from the strip clubs and the strippers. You’re more than just some random stripper though, aren’t you?”
“Not really. I may be fucking Steel and staying here right now, but it’s not long term. I’m just finishing working out the details of what I need to do,” I answer, sitting down and pulling my bottled water out of my bag. “So, this intervention or whatever you want to call it isn’t necessary and you can all go back to your lives.”
“Not gonna happen,” Darcy says, sitting up straighter as if she’s stretching her body out. “I’ve left my babies home with their dads, Riley has left her baby with them, and the other two have driven all the way here to talk to you. Now, you’re going to listen to what we have to say and then you can make your own decisions about what to do.”
Keegan begins to tell me a sordid tale of what she went through trying to outrun a man named Sam. He wanted to possess her and do whatever he wanted to her, abuse her, rape her, and everything sadistic you could think of. Riley was pulled into it when he discovered their friendship and used her to try to get to Keegan. She had her baby stolen from her and they just got her back along with the ability to live a normal life with her family. On top of that, the man that wanted Keegan as his, kidnapped Riley and one of the men from Clifton Falls. He tortured both of them as a way to get Keegan to show up. Whitney had a similar experience with a man named Carl. Her parents sold her to this man and he wanted to do the same things as Sam did. They were in some sort of club of men that liked to own little girls and dispose of them when they were of no use to them anymore. Whitney escaped with her daughter after a while and began to live her life when she met the group from the Wild Kings in Clifton Falls. It absolutely amazes me to know that these two men travelled in the same circle and yet none of these women really heard about what the plans were for one another.
Darcy has a different story to tell, but it’s none the less as horrific. She suffered abuse and had horrible things done to her, including pictures being plastered all over town and her house being blown up. Yeah, they all tried to deal with it and handle it on their own, keeping their secrets for as long as they could. The stark reality of the situation is that the men that captured their hearts stepped in to help them and make their problem go away. I don’t want Steel and the club to help me out only to have them all disappear in the end. The only thing that will accomplish is feeling indebted to the club. I’ll never feel that way again!
Not only did Riley suffer trauma at the hands of the man after Keegan, she suffered further abuse afterward. A woman that thought she was in love with Sam kidnapped her, and her daughter, twice. She was planning on killing Riley and then keeping the baby for herself. I can’t believe the stories that I’m hearing right now. It doesn’t mean that anyone has suffered any less than one another. They’ve just suffered differently.
“You want to hear a story?” I ask, letting the venom, fear, pain, and hurt fill my voice. “I’ve got one to tell you. It will be all over this club soon anyway. Here it is in a nutshell; my brother killed my parents when I was fifteen, all so he could control me and get their insurance money. From there I’ve witnessed him use every drug he could get his hands on, take every penny I’ve ever made from the few jobs I’ve had so far in life. He’s beat me when I didn’t do what he wanted, give him my money, try to hide it from him, didn’t clean the way he wanted me to, or was simply blitzed out of his mind. The only thing he hasn’t done to me is pimp me out for money. Yet. Now he’s threatening to start hurting the girls I work with if I don’t go back to him. Alan has gone from the caring, protective brother to a drug addict that just wants to use and beat me. Everyone in my life has disappeared so I don’t let anyone in and I don’t form relationships with anyone. Including Steel,” I say, letting my torment out before rushing to the bathroom to get sick. The day’s events have taken a toll on me and I don’t want to talk to anyone anymore.
Before I can finish emptying the meager contents of my stomach, I feel someone pulling my hair away from me and placing a cool washcloth on my neck. They’re rubbing my back and I know that these girls will also be able to break down my walls after hearing their stories. They’re trying to get in and help me, but I can’t let it happen. They’ll leave me once they realize how damaged and fucked-up I am. It’s best to put any ideas out of their heads now.
“I’m good. You guys can all leave now,” I say, wiping my mouth and heading to the sink to brush my teeth.
“We’re not going anywhere. You need to learn that we’re all family and you’re included in that,” Whitney says, standing next to me and watching me. Her eyes are filled with compassion and respect, not the pity that I thought I’d see. I don’t believe it, but I’ll let them in enough to see that I don’t need anyone in my life.
“Well, let’s see what you all have to say before you leave then,” I respond, leaving the bathroom and making my way back to the living room. Once I’m settled in the recliner that Steel prefers to sit in, I begin to talk to them again. “Listen, I know that the club helped sort everything for you all. Giving you a place to live, making sure the threats against you were gone, and then making sure you were loved and protected. You all got your happy ever after. That’s not in the cards for me and I don’t expect it to be. What I have with Steel is sex and his need to protect anyone he sees in trouble. It doesn’t matter if it was one of you, an old lady, a young kid, or anyone that he meets on the street. So, I’m sure Gage called you and you’ve done what he wanted, but I don’t need a pep talk. I’m good with what I have to do and know that it’s the best decision for everyone involved. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m tired and I’m going to bed. You can show yourselves out.”
I might be a bitch, but I get up and make my way into the bedroom to show that I’m done with this intervention. My only problem is that more people know my business than I ever wanted to. So, now I have to find the right time to ensure that I can make a clean getaway before things go horribly wrong and Alan hurts someone else that’s innocent in his quest for self-destruction. As I climb into bed, I listen to the sounds of the girls making their way out of Steel’s place and climb into bed. The one time that these girls reach out to me, I blow them off and treat them like shit because I know that sooner or later they’re going to run as far away from me as they can. I feel more alone right now than I have in a long time. They are the reminder of what I’ll never have.
Steel
I’ve been at the clubhouse, drowning my thoughts in beer and whiskey for hours now. I should be there for Harley, but she makes it so damn hard. She won’t let me in and I know that I haven’t let her in either. It’s different for me to let people in though. Most of the guys that are my brothers have had shitty childhoods, but it doesn’t mean we have to share that information with the world. In the back of my mind, I know that I’m being a hypocrite wanting Harley to share her story when I won’t share my own with her. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and let her in. It could be what pushes her over the edge to start sharing with me.
“Steel, you know where Harley is?” Gage asks, walking in the clubhouse dripping in sweat still from the gym. The short ride on his bike doing nothing to dry the sweat from his skin or out of his hair.
“Nope. Figured when she grabbed her bag that she was goin’ t
o the gym again. What’s up?” I ask sitting up straighter and feeling a touch of the buzz I’ve been working on fade away.
“Had a chat with her while she was there. I don’t know how much you know, exactly, but Alan was there to meet her today. Guess he threatened her about goin’ back to him. How invested in her are you?” he asks me, slipping into the seat next to me and turning to give me his full attention. “She’s gonna pull a runner. I can see it in her eyes, she’s just waitin’ for the right time. I’ve got a few of the girls over there with her now. Riley, Darcy, Keegan, and Whitney are all at your place. Give them a little time with her before you head over there.”
“Maybe she needs to run then. I’m more than a little invested in her, I want her for my own. Fuck, you all know she’s been the only one ridin’ my cock for over a year now. She’s not ready and I don’t know that she ever will be. I can’t open up to her about my past, but I push her to open up about hers. It’s not right or fair. We’re in a fucked-up situation and I keep pushin’ her farther and farther away. I don’t want her to run, but if she’s goin’ to, then she does,” I say, shrugging into my shot glass as if to show that his words don’t have any effect on me. Inside, I’m ready to run out the door and make sure that she doesn’t leave my apartment. I can’t lose her now, not when I finally got her under my roof and away from her fuckwad of a brother.
“Keep tellin’ yourself that man,” Gage says, slapping me on the back and grabbing his beer while getting ready to leave the bar.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, letting the confusion from his statement take over.
“We all see how you look at her. How she looks at you. Neither one of you are willin’ to let the other one in so, you both know nothin’ more will come to the fuckin’ you been doin’. Let me ask you this, you wrappin’ your shit up? Makin’ sure nothin’ comes from this fuckin’ you been doin’?” he asks, causing the wheels to turn in my head. “That’s what I thought. I know they’re all supposed to be on birth control, but it’s not a hundred percent and things have a way of happenin’.”
Now, I’m itching to get home and have a talk with Harley. We need to figure things out and I want to make sure that there’s no way that she’s pregnant. Especially if she decides to pull a runner like Gage thinks she will. Thinking of everything that Gage put in my head, along with some other thoughts thrown in for good measure, I’m pissed that she didn’t call me when her brother showed up. She’s told me about everything up to this point as far as him calling or messaging her, so why not call me or message me and let me know about the latest threat? It makes no sense, but then again, nothing with Harley makes much sense to me.
Then, I’m going to go have a chat with her brother. He’s going to know that she’s not going to come back, she’s not going to be his pawn in whatever schemes he’s got going on, and I’m going to have her back no matter what. Alan will be dealt with one way or another tonight. It’s up to him whether he ends up in the ground or in a rehab. I’m not giving him the choice anymore. Maybe if he gets sober, he’ll see how fucked he’s been treating his own fucking sister. My blood is boiling with the thoughts of what I know. The way Gage was talking, I don’t know everything and that’s going to change very soon.
Calling for Mike, one of our prospects, I tell him to grab the keys to a truck or something, so I can head to the apartment. I’m not sure how I’m going to get to Alan’s from there, but I’ll figure it out. Hell, I might just have Mike wait out in the parking lot to take me there once I’ve had it out with Harley. This is not something that I’m looking forward to, but enough is enough and this shit has to come to an end.
It doesn’t take long to get to the complex I live in. I take everything in and know that soon I’m going to have to spend some money and buy a house. I’m getting to the point I want a family, and I want that with Harley. We’re going to have our work cut out for us to make it work, but in the end I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. Even when I was working so hard to get away from my family and out of the horrible time I had growing up, I didn’t want it more than wanting Harley in my life. We’re not ready to take it to the next step or even talk about love and getting married, but since getting to know Harley, the little bit that she’s shared with me, I know that there’s never going to be anyone that gets me the way she does. There’s not going to be someone that challenges me and knows when to push and when to back off the way that she does.
“You wait here. We got somewhere else to go after I get done with Harley. Got me Mike?” I ask, letting the venom I’m feeling toward Alan come out.
“Gotcha,” he says, pulling his phone out and messaging someone or playing a game. Who knows, or cares, what he’s doing right now.
I let myself into the apartment to find it dark, so I walk back toward the bedroom. Opening the door, I see Harley fast asleep in the middle of the bed, her long dark hair fanned out around her head on the pillows. If there was any light shining on her right now, it would look like she had a halo surrounding her head with the lighter shades in her hair. One of my tee shirts covers her upper body as it rides up in her sleep while the sheet has been kicked off of her. She’s holding my pillow in her arms and I can see the track of tears left behind on her pale face. Usually she’s hugging the edge of the bed unless she wants to have sex. Tonight, with me gone, she’s taken up the whole bed and I know that she’s as relaxed as she’s ever been. Her nightmares haven’t begun to plague her sleeping mind. There’s no way that I can wake her up. Harley needs to sleep and I’m going to let her. There’s more than enough time to have words with her about everything in the morning. Maybe being sober will be an added bonus.
Knowing that it’s time to take care of Alan, I walk back outside and directly to the waiting truck Mike’s in. He puts his phone away as I fling the door open, letting my rage simmer just below the surface as I tell him directions to our next destination. Mike gets me there as quick as he possibly can while I tell him to once again wait in the car. He’ll need to let the club know if I get arrested. Not that I’m really planning on a bunch of drug addicts calling the cops because they’re not going to want to end up in a jail cell themselves. Personally, I don’t have a problem sitting there and spending time if it’s protecting Harley. My only concern is making sure that she’s protected, and I won’t be able to do that from a jail cell.
I can hear music blaring through the door as I make my way up the few steps. There’s no lights on in any other windows so either the other apartments are empty, sleeping, or they’re out for the night. It doesn’t matter either way to me. Instead of knocking on the door, I force my way through and the sight that greets me absolutely turns my stomach. Some of our parties get out of hand at the clubhouse, but this is nothing like that.
There’s naked and strung out bodies littering every surface. Dishes haven’t been done since Harley left here, take out containers and pizza boxes take up every available surface. Clothes are strewn about, and it looks like the garbage can spewed its contents throughout the remaining empty spots of the living room and kitchen. I can see a few couples fucking here and there, which wouldn’t be a problem if drugs weren’t all over. I don’t honestly want to take a step in here, but I know that this has to happen.
The smell that assaults me as I continue to take in the scene before me makes my gag reflex kick in. Between the body odor, the smell of certain drugs, and looking at the mess that Harley would have to be picking up if she were still here kills me. I’ve seen this scene before, more times than I can count actually, and it’s never any easier as it pulls me back into my memories. Thoughts and images flood my mind and try to pull me into a past that I’ve tried to forget so many days of my life.
“Where the fuck is Alan?” I bellow out to be heard over the music and other sounds emanating from the apartment.
“Who wants to know?” a skinny guy asks, standing up and pushing the girl that was sucking his cock to the ground.
“Looks like you
’re the winner. I’m here to tell you to leave your sister the fuck alone. If I see you near her, messaging her, calling her, or anythin’ else, you won’t like me. You’re lucky that I’m not rippin’ you apart limb from limb as it is,” I tell him, stepping into the filth and getting into his face.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t do? Last I checked the bitch was my sister and I’ll do what I fucking please when it comes to her,” he responds, weaving on his feet as the foul stench of his body and breath hit me full force.
“Don’t make me lose my shit, I’m warnin’ you right now,” I say, trying to keep a tight lid on my anger and rage. This isn’t going to end good for him if he keeps pushing me.
“You can’t do shit to me. I own her and soon, I’ll own your fucking club you piece of shit,” Alan continues to spew his shit talk while I stand here and listen to him run his mouth. My rage is to the point of boiling over and I won’t be held accountable for my actions.
“I’m tellin’ you that you’re goin’ to leave Harley alone. You won’t ever step foot near the Kitty Kat, and your goin’ to leave my club alone. You don’t think I’ve been doin’ my own diggin’ into you and findin’ out every single dirty and nasty detail about your life? I know it all and I’ll have everyone in my club, all other chapters, and any clubs we’re friends with make your life a livin’ hell. You want to keep buyin’ the shit you put in your body? Don’t fuck with me!” I yell, letting the beast inside out to play for a little bit.
Alan is standing there trying to come up with a comeback when I land my first blow. I don’t know how long I stand there landing blow after blow to the sniveling coward standing in front of me, but it takes four of his ‘friends’ to pull me off. Looking at the damage I caused, I feel a twisted sense of satisfaction knowing that I could end his life with my bare hands. It’s no less than what he’s essentially done to his own sister. Instead, I give him one last chance to get the help he desperately needs.