RAW: THE ULTIMATE MC COLLECTION

by Palomino, Honey

  The tears were streaming down my face before I could stop them. I nodded, unable to speak. Grace’s words penetrated deeply, into my brain, into my heart, and I let them take up residence there. I wanted to remember them. I wanted to feel them. I wanted all of that to be true, as much as everything I had learned about myself wanted to argue against it. I wanted to believe her.

  “Everything’s going to be alright, Lacey,” Riot said, his huge, warm hand softly stroking my back, as he whispered in my ear.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Riot

  It took all my strength not to storm out of the room. It was so hard to sit and listen to Lacey’s story and not be overwhelmed with rage. Rage for everything women had to go through, just because they were perceived as the weaker sex, the more attractive sex, the sex that had to endure the horrors of what a man could dish out. They weren’t weak at all, not in my eyes.

  Nobody deserved to go through that shit, and listening to her story made me want to go and kill everyone who had ever hurt her.

  When we first started Solid Ground, I hadn’t realized I would be so effected by the stories I heard. But each one was worse than the one before, and Lacey’s was absolutely horrific. She never had a fucking chance. It just wasn’t fair.

  Life wasn’t fair, though. I had learned that a long time ago. The hard way.

  “This is going to be a very high profile case,” Ryder said. We were sitting around the table in the war room, filling Lacey in on what would happen next, after she had finally stopped crying. She was tough, that much was clear. But she was so obviously overwhelmed with the situation she was in now, that she was having trouble keeping her shit together.

  I could relate. There was something about killing someone for the first time that unraveled you. Especially if you never expected to be that person. I shook off my own fucked-up past, and listened as Ryder continued talking.

  “Every cop in Oregon and Washington are going to be looking for you. We’ll keep you hidden here until things die down just a little. We’ll get you a new name, a new identity, change your appearance as much as possible, and set you up in a new city with a new life. It’s drastic, but this is a drastic situation. The main thing we need to focus on right now is keeping you safe.”

  “And we can do that,” Grace said, picking up when Ryder paused. “All you have to do is lay low and do exactly as we say, Lacey, and even though it might take some time, everything will be okay. In the meantime, you’re safe here.”

  “How do you know?” Lacey asked, looking up at me with such worry in her eyes that my heart swelled with protectiveness.

  “Because nobody in their right mind would come snooping around here,” I answered. I wanted to throw my arms around her, and carry her off to the safety of my room and lock her away from the fucked up world she had been living in. Unfortunately, cavemen weren’t too popular these days, so I restrained myself.

  “Okay,” she replied, taking a deep breath and jutting her chin out in that way that had quickly become adorable to me. “I’ve got no choice but to trust you guys. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am to each of you.”

  God, she was breaking my fucking heart.

  “Trust us, darlin’,” Slade said, winking at her across the table. “It’s our pleasure, and you really couldn’t be in a safer place.”

  If Slade didn’t stop winking at her, I was going to knock his face off. The last thing this poor woman needed was a little fucker like him sniffing around her. I made a mental note to set him straight once I got him alone. The glaring looks I had been giving him all day obviously weren’t getting through.

  “So, what now?” Lacey asked, turning her attention away from Slade and looking at Grace.

  “Now, you relax. We’ll take care of everything behind the scenes. There’s not much for you to do at all, except enjoy the tranquility of the Tillamook woods and start the slow process of recovering. Make yourself at home here. I’ll show you to your room, and you can set your own pace, take it easy. The clubhouse can get a little rowdy at night, but everyone is friendly, and if you need something, just ask. The kitchen is stocked, feel free to help yourself. We all have a big group dinner together every night. I’ll keep you posted as we go along, okay? You’ll probably be here a week or two.”

  “Oh. That long. Okay, thank you,” Lacey replied, looking like a sad, lost kitten that was trying to act tough. I wished like hell there was something I could do to ease her pain. She was so fucking beautiful, with such a sweet demeanor, I couldn’t help but feel tender towards her.

  My eyes trailed down her body, pausing at the soft swell of her breasts, and I felt my cock begin to twitch in my pants.

  No, I thought. Stop it. My confused cock had nothing to do with this. I shifted in my seat, and was thankful when Grace stood up and led Lacey away to show her to her room.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Lacey

  “This used to be Ryder’s room,” Grace said, throwing open the door at the end of the hallway. “After I moved in, we built a little cabin in a meadow just through the woods to the South of here. We can hear you if you holler, we are that close.”

  Grace was so sweet. It was hard to imagine her as a cop. It was also hard to imagine someone had gone through as much as she had and was still so kind and open-hearted. I had closed my heart down a long time ago. If it had ever even been open in the first place.

  Barricades and brick walls. Those were things I imagined every time the pain tried to creep in. Nothing could get through, as long as I stacked the bricks high enough around my heart. My mom, Monty, all those other men, they could do whatever they wanted to my body, but they were locked out of my heart. After awhile, I found I had locked myself out, too.

  Grace wasn’t like me. She still had access to her heart.

  “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask, okay? The bathroom is stocked, feel free to use anything you find.” She peered closer to my face, wincing as she saw the bruising. “He got you pretty good there.”

  “Yeah,” I replied. I imagined myself stacking my brick wall higher every time Monty’s face appeared in my head. “He got it worse.”

  “Indeed he did,” Grace nodded. “And he got what he deserved.” She looked into my eyes. “Lacey, I hope you don’t feel one ounce of remorse for what you did. Monty was a monster, what he did to you was unforgivable. You did the only thing you could to defend yourself. If I thought it would be good for you, I’d even encourage you to go to the police with your story. No jury in their right mind would convict you. But, you need more than that. If you had a family you cared about, maybe it would be a different story. But I honestly think the best thing for you is a whole new story, a new life, a new you. Away from the circus that this whole thing is going to stir up.”

  I nodded.

  “You’re so right. Thank you, Grace.” She hugged me, her warmth once again doing what nobody else seemed to be able to - seeping under the bricks and soothing my soul like a calming stream.

  “Just be patient, that’s the most important thing, sweetheart,” she whispered, as she held me in front of her. “And believe you deserve a new start, Lacey. Because you do.”

  I nodded, trying hard to let her words sink into the space behind those bricks, to let them touch my heart and heal it just a tiny little bit.

  “You must be exhausted.” She was right, I was. “There’s a plate of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers there, and the bed is freshly made up and ready for you to crawl in it. I’ll leave you alone now, you should rest. You need it, trust me. Make sure you eat just a little first, okay? Like I said, dinner is a big event around here, but if you don’t feel like joining us, or you want to keep sleeping, that’s completely fine. You just let us know. It’s all up to you.”

  It’s all up to me, I thought. Her words ran through my head over and over as I drifted off later, warm and safe under the thick quilts and soft sheets of the lumpiest bed I had ever slept in.

  I felt like a qu
een, and I slept like a baby.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Riot

  The Gods swarmed around Lacey like vultures. Slade, especially, was pissing me off. He wouldn’t quit. I watched from the sidelines as he waited hand and foot on her during dinner.

  Since Grace and Ryder had moved into their new cabin, they made it a point to make a big deal out of dinner every night, in an attempt to maintain the sense of family that we were all used to. It had worked. In fact, it had made it us all closer.

  But tonight, it was irritating the fuck out of me. I was afraid it might be too much for Lacey, but I had to admit, she was holding her own just fine. She didn’t seem to be buying into Slade’s bullshit, and I was glad to see it.

  Slade’s bed was a revolving door, and if he thought Lacey was going to be another notch in his belt, then he was sorely mistaken. I was going to have to take a personal interest in watching out for Lacey, I had already decided. She wasn’t going to get too far out of my sight, not if I could help it.

  I felt sorry for her, I did. But not in a pathetic way - in a way that made me want to keep her safe. She didn’t deserve any more pain. I was going to see to it that she didn’t get any. Hell, it was going to be hard as fuck for her to deal with the dirty hand she had already been dealt.

  She needed family. The fact that our mission was to send her out into the world as a whole new person with absolutely no family at all was not lost on me. I hated it. So far, I couldn’t see any other way. Her mother must have been a fucking monster.

  I watched with disgust as Slade touched her arm, towering over her while she tried to take in the scene around her. So far, she had met Cherry and Tiff, the two chicks that had stuck around the God’s clubhouse longer than any others. They had a knack for making themselves useful, and finding creative ways of making the various Gods happy. Those ways not excluding sexual favors and cleaning. They didn’t seem to mind, most days. Every now and then, Cherry’s jealous side reared its head, but she mostly kept it in check.

  Grace’s presence at the clubhouse had a way of settling everyone down, as much as that was possible for a bunch of misfit outlaws. She did her best to keep out of our club business, and we kept her and the women she rescued safe. It was an interesting arrangement for an ex-cop and a bunch of leather-clad criminals, but it worked.

  When I saw Slade slide his hand along the small of Lacey’s back, I knew the time had come for me to talk to him. It wasn’t that Slade was an asshole, not really. He just didn’t know when to keep it in his pants. He was like a dog. He would have fucked anything that moved and had two legs, as long as he liked the way it smelled.

  “Hey, brother, you got a minute to talk?” I said, sidling up to him. He was leaning over Lacey and whispering in her ear. He ignored me. I nudged him with my leather boot. He ignored me again. I kicked him in the shin.

  “Ow! What the fuck, dude?”

  “I said, you got a minute to talk, brother?” I glared at him.

  “Yeah, yeah, okay…” he mumbled, shuffling out the front door. I followed him, looking back at Lacey briefly. Her eyes trailed after us curiously.

  When we got outside, the darkness enveloped us.

  “What’s so important?” Slade asked, as he lit a cigarette, his eyes squinting at me.

  “Look, man, you gotta knock that shit off with Lacey,” I said, getting straight to the point.

  “What shit?” he asked. I groaned, having no patience for his act of innocence.

  “Brother, you know what I’m talking about. All that touching, waiting on her, flirting with her.”

  Slade took a deep draw off his cigarette before he replied. The smoke and his words escaped from his mouth at the same time, ribboning in the air between us.

  “I’m not flirting. I was just being hospitable, brother.”

  “Yeah, right. I know you, you horny bastard. Just don’t get any ideas. Lacey needs her space.”

  He nodded again, squinting his eyes again as he studied me.

  “Maybe you’ve got a hard on for her yourself, huh?”

  I bristled, a sudden surge of anger bubbling up through my chest.

  “Shut the fuck up, Slade! I’m just looking out for her, that’s all.”

  A knowing grin spread across his face. I wanted to knock it right off. I clenched my fists at my side, summoning the strength to control myself.

  “Lucky girl. She’s got both of us looking out for her,” he said slyly, winking at me.

  I shook my head, and walked back in the clubhouse before I laid him out right there.

  I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more. The fact that he wasn’t taking me seriously, or his accusations of my own intentions.

  I stopped in my tracks when my eyes fell on Lacey. She was in the corner of the kitchen, surrounded by Grace, Tiff and Cherry and she was laughing with them. Her eyes were lit up, and the smile across her face was breathtaking. She was so fucking beautiful it hurt. A lump formed in my throat as I watched her. She looked so youthful. I hadn’t really seen her smile before, and she appeared as if the worry was falling from her features, revealing the true beauty that was inside of her.

  I hadn’t realized that I had stopped, or that I was rudely staring at them, my mouth dropped open like an idiot, until all three of them stopped talking and turned my way. I jumped and turned away.

  Way to go, Romeo, I thought to myself.

  Maybe Slade was right.

  Fuck.

  “We need to dye your hair tonight, Lacey,” I heard Grace say as I walked past them and into the living room.

  “Let’s do it now,” Tiff said. “It’ll be fun!”

  “Oh. O-o-okay…I’ve never had anything but blonde hair,” Lacey replied.

  “Black. Definitely black,” Cherry said, as they all disappeared into Lacey’s room.

  I sat on the couch, trying to think of anything else except the fact that my cock was beginning to throb and come to life in my jeans. Once again, my body was betraying my good intentions.

  Hours later, I sat in front of the television, ignoring it, while I was still lost in thought, thinking of boxing, motorcycles, anything at all that could distract me from imagining what Lacey’s breasts looked like, when I felt a soft touch on my shoulder. I looked up and there were those beautiful green eyes, gently staring down at me.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “Can I sit here?”

  “Of course,” I replied, scooting over. She sat next to me, her body looking so tiny so close to mine.

  “Wow,” her hair was dyed jet black, blown dry, and hanging in soft, wispy curls around her beautiful face. She was even more stunning than before, if that was even possible. The darkness of her hair brought out her the brightness of her green eyes. “What a big difference!”

  “Do you like it?” she asked, her voice shy and quiet.

  “It looks great,” I said. “It really brings out your eyes, you look…,” I paused, my cock coming to life once again, pissing me off… “you look really beautiful.”

  Her eyes widened, and she smiled.

  “Thank you,” she replied, her fingers running through her curls.

  “Did you get some rest?” I asked.

  “Yes, I did. I guess I needed it,” she replied.

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  One beat. Two. Three. I hated awkward silences. I was terrible at making conversation. I was more of a show person than a tell person. Four beats. Five. Six.

  “You want to go for a walk?” The words fell out of my mouth before I could catch them. I suppressed a groan when she nodded and stood up silently.

  “Okay, cool,” I said, standing up and following her outside. I didn’t have to see them to know that every eye in the clubhouse followed us out that door.

  Lacey stood on the porch, staring off into the surrounding woods. It was dark, the only light being the moonlight and the light spilling outside from the clubhouse.

  “I’ve never seen so many stars before,” Lacey said, looking up at the cl
ear, black sky.

  “Yeah, the deeper you get into the woods, the more you can see. Come on, let’s go explore a little,” I said, grabbing a flash light from the porch railing.

  We walked side by side down the road, the dirt and gravel crunching under our feet, our footsteps echoing up into the towering pine trees overhead. A slight breeze in the air caused them to sway, the soft sound of leaves brushing together whooshing through the air.

  “This is so beautiful. You must love living out here.”

  “I do,” I nodded in the darkness.

  “I’m used to the city. Glass skyscrapers and sidewalks. I mean, Seattle’s beautiful, but I never really got a chance to hang out in the country, you know?”

  “Well, now you can. As much as you want. I spend hours in these woods every day, running, working out, just walking. Sometimes, you need a break from the chaos of the clubhouse.”

  She nodded, lost in thought.

  “It doesn’t seem so chaotic, to tell you the truth. Everyone was so nice at dinner.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re on their best behavior right now. Grace tries to keep every one in check as much as possible when a new girl arrives.”

  “Oh.” She looked upset.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t want to impose, or get in the way or anything…” her voice trailed off, her eyes darkening with worry.

  “Oh, no, don’t worry about that!” I replied, trying not to laugh. “I said Grace tries - I didn’t say she succeeded. It won’t last long, trust me. Before you know it, the beer bottles will be flying and the rock music will be blaring.”

  She smiled, and I watched the transformation with fascination. She was gorgeous, no doubt, but when she smiled, it was like someone turned a light on.