Sting

by Cassie Wild

“Oh, hey…hey, there, Veda.” Sully smiled as a slim woman bumped into us, her short, red-brown hair framing a face that was dominated by big blue eyes. She glanced from him to me, her face softening in a smile that was entirely too sweet for a place like Devil’s Firstborn.

  She nodded at Sully and turned her eyes on me, her tongue sliding out to wet her lips. “Sully. Um, Lane.”

  Sully nudged her toward me. “You know what…the two of you should dance.” He leaned in closer to me as he said it, then added in a voice only for me. “Melina’s on her way back. I’ll take this one for the team but go look busy.”

  Veda watched as Sully moved away, then looked up at me. “Did you…do you want to dance?”

  I looked at her heart-shaped face and big blue eyes. Then I shook my head. “No.” Lowering my head, I kissed her.

  She tasted sweet, kind of like a cherry Jolly Rancher, and I remembered that she had a fondness for some of the more girly kind of drinks, the ones Dallas hated to make. I knew he did it because it made the ladies happy, and personally, I liked it when the ladies were happy, so I appreciated him going through the effort.

  Her tongue slid across my lower lip, and she arched up closer, leaning into me. She was small, slightly built, but I felt the firm press of her breasts against my chest, and when she slid her hand behind my neck, she tugged me closer.

  She made a humming sound in her throat as I slid my tongue into her mouth, closing her lips around me and sucking.

  My dick stood up and took notice.

  Tugging away, I straightened over her and rubbed my finger across her lower lip, wiping away a smear of lipstick. Her eyes were a little cloudy, a little dazed, and she was smiling.

  “How about we go back to my place?” I asked her.

  A sweet smile bowed her lips upward.

  On our way out the door, I caught sight of Melina from the corner of my eye. I deliberately ignored the icy way she glared at me. But I had a harder time ignoring the way her gaze locked in on Veda.

  It was yet another reason I didn’t much like the idea of getting involved with Melina or any of the other women who hung around the club members. There was too much of a power play in everything that happened, even among the women each of us decided to take home for the night.

  It was almost enough to make me tell Veda to go back into the club.

  Almost.

  Instead, I led her over to my bike and climbed on, waiting for her to climb on behind me.

  She did, and soon, we were speeding down the road toward my apartment.

  Maybe if I had another drink, maybe if I fucked her hard enough, I could bury this restlessness for a little while longer.

  Three

  Trice

  Gabriel had gone and locked me in my room – like I was some prisoner or a wayward child.

  I’d come home yesterday after my run and found one of the younger men from the clan in the hallway, putting a padlock on the door. A quick glance at the window confirmed my suspicions there. Bars.

  Shit.

  “What’s this?” I’d demanded, although the answer was perfectly clear.

  Gabriel had given me a cool look. “You left without telling anybody where you were going. I’m just being careful.”

  “I went for a run like I always do.”

  But he’d brushed it off.

  I hadn’t been able to go for my run today, and it was leaving me even more itchy and restless than I already was. Knowing there was a lock on the door made it so much worse.

  I was trapped.

  Mama let me out to shower, and I could knock when I needed to use the restroom, but that was it. I couldn’t even leave to eat – Mama brought me my food on a tray.

  There was only so much I could do inside my room, and I had no concentration for any of it.

  I needed to get out of there.

  I needed to call Suria.

  I had no idea if she had the same number or if she’d dumped her cell phone. Would she have thought to do that? I didn’t know.

  Facebook. I’d contact her via Facebook and let her know I needed help. She’d come…

  But first I had to get a hold of her.

  Why didn’t I have my computer in my room?

  It was a pitiful old laptop, slower than dirt and the connection to the neighbor’s WIFI dropped half the time, but that meant it also worked half the time.

  If I had my laptop, I could reach out to Suria. Let her know I was in trouble.

  If.

  I mouthed the word as I lay on the bed, feeling futile. If. What a useless word.

  I shot a look at the clock and saw that it was edging up on noon. She’d bring me lunch soon. An internal war waged inside me every time she opened the door. As long as it was only Mama, I could always get around her. I was taller than she was, younger, faster. I could get around her, get out of the house, run.

  I didn’t have much money, but if I could get to a phone…?

  It was a lousy, half-ass plan, and the thought of actually shoving my mother out of the way, leaving her to face Gabriel’s wrath on her own was the only reason I was still there.

  But I couldn’t keep waiting.

  I had to make a decision.

  Soon.

  I’d drifted into a restless slumber and didn’t hear the heavy clank of the lock disengaging, but when the door squeaked open, I started awake and sat up, looking around groggily.

  My belly rumbled, and as I pushed my hair out of my face, my gaze landed on the clock just as Mama came in. I blinked, a little confused because it was after two.

  I looked over, expecting to see a tray of food, but Mama stood there empty-handed. Her eyes were wide, almost shocked. “Something’s happened,” she said, her voice shaking.

  I rose from the bed, the dread inside me exploding to massive proportions. “What?”

  “Gabriel’s been arrested.”

  It took a moment for those words to really penetrate, and when they did, I almost sagged back onto the bed as relief crashed through me. “What? When? Why?” I whispered as I tried to sort through all the possibilities.

  “He’s been arrested. He’s in jail in Monterey,” she said again, the words practically crashing together as she rushed to get them out.

  My heart leaped. Did this mean I didn’t have to marry–

  “Now, it’s absolutely imperative that you marry Ephraim,” she said as she started to pace, her mouth drawing into a tight line. “How are we going to support ourselves, Trice? We were barely making it with my brother’s help, but if he’s in jail…”

  The reality of what she was saying hit me hard, like a leaded weight straight in my gut. I sucked in my breath and fought back the burn of tears in my eyes. It wasn’t just my uncle willing to sell me off into marriage. My mother was ready to do the same.

  I shoved away the hurt.

  I didn’t have time for it.

  I only had time to do what was necessary – to survive this, to get out of there, whatever it took.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked calmly.

  I must have surprised her because her head whipped around, and she stared at me. Her face softened the smallest bit, and she nodded. “You understand then.”

  I lifted a shoulder, keeping my face carefully blank. “You don’t make much at your job. I haven’t been able to work. What choice do we have?”

  “You must marry Ephraim,” Mom said simply. “With his influence, surely he can do something.”

  I knew that Ephraim and others in the clan had connections to the local police, but if Gabriel was in Monterey? “What do you think he can do with Gabriel so far away?”

  “I don’t know.” She twisted her hands and shook her head. As she came to a stop, she looked out my barred window and bit her lip, clearly scared.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that she was willing to sell me out to a man who’d beaten his last wife, maybe I would have felt a little more pity for her. But in the past few moments, something inside me had grown hard an
d crystallized. Later, I knew, I’d hurt more. I’d have to deal with that hurt. But for now, I was more focused on figuring a way out.

  I heard the sound of footsteps in the hall. Yes, I would figure it out, but not now. Not with the guards. I wouldn’t make it past the door.

  Pasting a reassuring smile on my face, I said, “We’ll figure this out, Mama.”

  “Of course we will.” She turned back to me, a shaky smile settling on her face.

  My confidence restored her. It didn’t matter that a few minutes ago, I’d been locked in here, or that, even now, she planned to give me away to a forty-two-year-old man who’d treat me little better than a slave.

  All that mattered to her was that she didn’t feel like she had to handle any of this alone.

  She finally stopped locking me inside.

  I didn’t know if she was trusting the act I’d put on or if she was just tired, but Sunday night, instead of bringing me food, she knocked on the door and opened it, her eyes seeking me out in the dimness.

  Once she found me, she visibly relaxed. “How about you make us some soup, Trice?”

  It was the first meal I’d eaten outside that room in days. Just being in a different space lifted my spirits, and when I went back to my room after cleaning up after dinner, the lock didn’t go back on.

  I had no idea if she was testing me or what her motives were, but I did nothing that night.

  I was biding my time, because I knew I might only get one chance.

  Doing something while Mama was there was just plain stupid, anyway.

  If I waited, I’d have my chance.

  And I did.

  It happened Monday evening.

  The phone rang not long after nine, and I was in the kitchen, still cleaning up the mess from dinner. As I did the chore, I understood better why Mama had let me out of my room. She cleaned up after people all day at the restaurant where she worked. If she could avoid doing it at home, she was going to.

  Not that I was complaining. Being out of the room would give me a chance to get free of the hell she had planned for me. I’d clean up after an army if that was what it took.

  As she answered the phone, I finished wiping out the sink, then rinsed out the rag.

  She heaved out a heavy sigh just as I turned to leave the kitchen. Instead of stepping through the door, I dutifully asked, “What’s wrong, Mama?”

  “I just got called into work. One of the other girls is sick, and I guess they just can’t find anybody else.” She smoothed a hand back over her graying hair and looked around, almost as if she was hoping some magic excuse would appear that would keep her from returning to the job she loathed. “I just worked three doubles last week. I’m too old for this. I don’t think I can wash another stranger’s dish.”

  “You’re not old, Mama.”

  She didn’t smile like she normally did.

  “I told the manager I needed a few days off, but they don’t listen to me.” Her light brown eyes moved to meet mine, and she cocked her head. “Will you be a good girl while I’m gone or should I call one of the clan elders?”

  I lifted a hand to encompass the whole house. “What else am I to do, Mama? We’ve already talked about this.”

  “You’re a good girl, Trice.” She nodded and turned, heading toward her room at the back of the house.

  I hoped that meant she wasn’t going to call one of the elders.

  If she did, he didn’t come into the house.

  Nearly an hour after she left, I dared to let myself look out the windows though, and I deflated when I saw a white car parked across the street in the driveway where Suria and Joelle once lived. Gabriel’s house.

  His now-empty house, because Gabriel himself was still in jail.

  The car itself wasn’t empty, though. Although it was dark, I could make out a shadow. Somebody sat inside, and the car was parked pointing outward so that whoever sat inside had a full-frontal view of the little home I shared with Mama.

  Watching me.

  I eased away from the window and made my way to Mama’s bedroom. From there, I peeked out the window, taking care to look only from the narrow slit where the blinds didn’t quite meet the window’s frame, not daring to actually peek through the blinds. I didn’t see anything from the angle I had on the left.

  But when I shifted to the right side…hell. There was another car parked in the alley behind our house.

  I was definitely being watched.

  The men were probably from Ephraim’s family. After what happened with Joelle, he wouldn’t want to take chances.

  If I tried to run, they’d follow and probably catch me. I needed to have some place to run to – some place safe.

  I needed to get in touch with Suria.

  She was smart. Surely the two of us together could come up with something.

  I went back into the living room and found my laptop in the old magazine rack where I kept it stashed when I wasn’t using it. I’d take it into my bedroom from here on out and wait for a response from Suria.

  Maybe I’d get lucky, and Mama would come home with a bottle of vodka after work. Sometimes she did that. She drank herself into oblivion and was out by midnight. I could hear her snoring throughout the entire house.

  Don’t go getting ahead of yourself.

  First, I had to get a hold of my cousin.

  I didn’t even have a phone and Mama had taken her cell phone with her – I’d already checked.

  But that didn’t mean I had no way of reaching my cousin.

  I’d get a hold of her.

  I sat down with my back to the door and my legs braced on the dresser in front of me for extra leverage. If somebody showed up, I’d at least have a chance to hide the computer under my dresser before they came in. I put a book down next to me for extra cover and opened the computer, waiting an interminably long time for it to boot up.

  Now, I just had to hope I could get a signal. Sometimes, the neighbor’s WIFI was iffy…

  Connected!

  I almost hooted but kept the noise to myself.

  Quickly, I navigated to my Gmail account and logged in. From there, I called Suria’s number. Never had I been so grateful for internet calling.

  I watched the bars, watched the call…dialing…connected…

  “Pick up, Suria,” I whispered. “Pick–”

  “H’lo?” a husky voice came on the line.

  “Suri!”

  “Trice?”

  I could immediately hear the alertness coming into her voice, could picture her sitting up in bed, wherever she was. Trying not to let my voice shake, I said softly, “Suri, I need you. I need your help…they’re going to make me marry Ephraim. Please, Suri. I can’t do this. You’ve got to help me.”

  “Oh, no,” Suria whispered.

  “Yes! And it’s soon. I don’t know when. They won’t tell me, but it’s been two days since Uncle Gabriel and Mama told me–”

  “My father’s locked up now. He can’t make you do anything,” Suria said, her voice passionate and hot.

  “But my mother is going to try. She’s even more determined now. She says we won’t make it without him.” I stared at the screen, wishing I could see her face, but my computer was too dated for Skype to work. I was surprised it had held the connection long enough for this call. “Please, Suria. I don’t know what to do.”

  “We’ll figure something out. I’ll be in contact. I better go.” She paused a moment, then said softly, “I love you, Trice.”

  “Use Facebook or email me. I can’t risk using the phone.”

  “I understand.” She sounded more alert with every word. “We’ll deal with this, Trice. Okay?”

  “Yes. Love you, cousin.” I exited the email page, cleared my cache, then bent over, hurriedly looking for the charging cord I’d already plugged in behind my dresser. Once I had the charger connected, I shoved my computer into the narrow gap between floorboard and dresser and leaned back against the door, breathing as if I’d just run a marat
hon.

  Now, I guessed the only thing left to do was…wait.

  Four

  Lane

  My phone rang, and the face on the screen made me smile. Immediately after, I felt a little bit of regret because her contact picture was almost five years old, and I hadn’t had much luck with the subtle hints I’d been giving her, asking for a newer picture to replace it.

  “Hey, Suzie Q,” I said to my sister. I had two of them, Suzie and Ellen. They didn’t call me all that often, and I couldn’t say I blamed them. Our family might have been happy enough growing up, but that was up until my brother, Trent, died.

  I’d been a kid when it happened, but not so young that I didn’t know why it happened.

  Long story short, the club killed him.

  Not the members themselves.

  But this lifestyle.

  And I was still in it. So was my mother. So was my father, although he was officially in prison…because of this lifestyle.

  No wonder my sisters wanted to stay as far away from us as possible.

  “Lane. Hi. How are you?” Her voice was soft, carefully modulated, which immediately put me on red alert.

  Although both of my sisters had moved away and made it clear they wanted nothing to do with the club, I knew they both loved me. If I was close to either of them, though, it was Suzie, and the warmth that normally made its way into her voice was conspicuously absent.

  “I’m doing okay, I guess, but it doesn’t sound like you are. What’s wrong?” I gripped the edge of the bar unconsciously, not even noticing until my knuckles started to hurt. Then I made myself let go, conscious to keep my voice low so nobody could keep up on who I might be talking to.

  “Ellen was in an accident last night.”

  I came up off the stool. “What–”

  “She’s going to be okay,” Suzie continued in that same careful voice, “but she was banged up pretty bad. She’s got a concussion, a couple of fractured ribs, and her left arm is broken.”

  “What happened?” I demanded. “Where is she?”