by Rose Briner
I hang up and watch as Thunder runs his hands through his hair with his eyes closed as he pulls it back up into a ponytail killing my fantasy about running my fingers through it and pulls on his converse. I love his shoes, I have several pairs of converse, but I could only take two pairs with me when I left, one of which is my favorite, it has skulls on them, which I keep tucked away in the bottom of my backpack.
“Here you go,” I whisper as I set the phone down next to him on the bed.
He slowly picks it up and drops it into his pocket before he opens the door and steps outside. I think he says something, but I don’t hear whatever he’s saying over the fear that runs through my veins as I realize that the guys are about to see all my wounds, officially, for the first time.
The door shuts, and I hear more talking, but I ignore it as I remove my pants, so I’m wearing the shorts I put on underneath. I had this feeling this moment was going to come, so I was ready for it. I leave the sunglasses on as I hide my legs under the table and wait.
When there’s a soft knock at the door I know the moment has come, “Nat, it’s Drag we’re coming in now okay?” He opens the door, and the other two file in after him before the door clicks shut.
“We’re going to clean you up, okay?” smiles Fig encouragingly. “All three of us have plenty of experience cleaning and dressing wounds. We see plenty of these things in the club.”
I don’t dare ask what he means as Fig sets his bag down and starts to take out his supplies.
“Before we begin, p-please don’t think any l-less of me when you see,” I stutter as I stand for the first time and remove my jacket, shirt, and sunglasses.
I bit my lip and put my head down as Drag turns his head away and braces his hands against the dresser.
“Lie down, sweetie. Don’t worry about Drag, he’s just distraught right now and doesn’t want to scare you,” he smiles at me as he gestures towards the bed.
I look up at him when I sit down on the bed, “You mean he’s not disgusted with me for letting this happen to myself?” I ask softly as tears once again well in my eyes. I feel like a big giant baby every time I start to cry. I’m sure they think I’m five and not twenty-one.
“God no,” Drag states as he turns to face me. He comes over and drops to his knees before me as he takes my hands in his, “Sweetie, I love you like you were my daughter. I’m upset because I didn’t save you sooner, that is eating me alive, plus I want to kill that fucker for making you feel anything less than the beautiful woman that you are, Nat. I want you to be happy, you deserve it, and I’ll die to make sure you end up with your happy ending. Even if it kills me, sweetheart.”
Without thinking, I lunge forward and wrap my arms around him. I’ve never had anyone show me they care the way Drag has, and I wince when my abdomen hits his hard abs. Shit that hurt. He gently pushes me away and points to the bed. I imagine that’s the way a dad would treat his kid.
“We all love you, Natalie,” states Satch and Fig quickly nods in agreement. Drag steps away as he wipes his eyes, I guess he does love me as much as I love him.
Any sentiment I was feeling for them quickly dies as they proceed to patch me up for over an hour. They give me a pillow to bite after I scream for the first minute straight. They don’t chastise me for screaming. Instead, Drag holds me close as Satch and Fig do their best to patch me up and give me something for my pain. I don’t know what Satch gave me, but I feel all lightheaded by the time they are done.
“You are going to pass out soon, and we’ll be outside, Nat. But I want you to think about something before you pass out. I need you to consider telling Thunder what happened to you. He’s fighting hard not to yell at you. Not because he hates you or would think any less of you, but because he wants to understand what we are all dealing with. You know he’d die for you as well, right?” Drag leans in and gives me a soft kiss on the forehead.
“But, why?” I ask in confusion. “He doesn’t even know me.”
“Because sweetie, you are my family now, which makes us all your family. Even if you decide not to stay with us and venture out of your own once we take you home with us, we’ll always protect you. Every single last one of us. That’s just the way we are, Nat. Because I love and care for you, so will Thunder. He’s lived a rough life as well, so hopefully, in sharing your story, he will share his and who knows, you two might end up hitting it off. But I’m going to give you the same warning I gave him. Thunder is my VP; he’s the son I’ve always wanted, and he’s my right-hand man. I’d die to protect him and keep him from those that wish him harm. Don’t hurt him, because I will protect that man even if it kills me in the process. I won’t kill you, but you’ll wish you were dead by the time I’m done with you,” he chuckles and tucks my hair behind my ears before he stands from the bed. He laughs as he says it, but I have no doubt that he’s dead serious.
“Drag?”
“Yeah sweetie,” he says coming back over to me.
“Thank you. Good night,” I lazily reply as my eyes droop shut.
“Sweet dream, sweetie,” he replies as I hear the door click shut.
I don’t realize until later what he said.
Chapter Eight
Parker
“How is she?” I practically pounce on the guys when they walk out the door and slowly click it shut behind them.
“Slow your role, Casanova,” laughs Drag as he gently pushes me away from the door. “She’s sleeping. Stand here and guard the door until she calls for one of us. If she does not call your fucking name, do not open it. She’s very vulnerable right now, and I’m not quite sure if she’s ready for you to see her like that. She’s scared of what you’ll say when you see her, she cares about your opinion, surprisingly more than she cares about what the rest of us think. You open that fucking door, even to peek at her, and I’ll cut your dick off.”
I scratch my head as I watch them walk away from the door. “Okay understood, but one question before you go.”
They all stop and Drag asks, “And what’s that, brother?”
“Who the fuck is Casanova?”
All three chuckle as they make their way to the room two doors down that they are sharing. “Google it, motherfucker; that’s what you have a fucking phone for,” Drag says, before slamming their door.
I stand there and notice they left the window open so I can hear her calling out if she needs any of us, so I lean back next to the open window and do a quick scan of the area before I open Google on my phone. I look in the direction that the guys went to make sure they aren’t standing there still laughing at me before I look back down at my phone. I know the guys are watching the area, I just look out of habit. They are watching and not standing here next to me no doubt because they think Natalie is going to call out for me and not one of them.
So much to my chagrin, I Google Casanova.
“Hardy har har, guys. Smooth-talking charmer. I bet I can’t get her to care about me as more than a man she can talk to,” I shake my head as I put my phone away and let my mind wander.
I don’t know how long I stand there, but it seems like moments later when I hear my name. That has to be one of the guys playing a trick on me because I hear her calling my name.
I listen again, “Thunder,” that’s Natalie’s voice.
I turn slowly and knock on the door and call her name as I inch the door open and wait.
“Help me, please Thunder,” she calls softly. I open the door to find her reaching her hand out in the darkness of the room for my hand as she tries to sit up.
I let the door fall shut behind me, allowing the darkness to envelop us as I go and reach for her arm so I can help her sit up.
“Thank you,” I hear her whisper as she reaches for something in the darkness, and I hear her gulping down some water. I turn and go back to the door when she slams the drink down next to her, and for the first time, I hear her voice crystal clear, and I almost fall to my knees they shake so much. “Where the hell do you think y
ou’re going? You want answers; this is your only chance to get them before I lose my nerve and don’t want to tell you.” God damn that voice alone is enough to make a man fall to his knees and beg for her attention. I’ve never heard anything so damn beautiful in my entire life. I didn’t even know a woman could sound like that.
“All right,” I say as I put my hands up in the air and step away from the door. I know she can’t see me, but I do it anyways as I slowly inch away from the door and in her direction.
“Shut the window,” her voice cracks as she speaks. “Please, I’m cold.” I do as she asks.
She added that please as an afterthought. I’ve dealt with abused women before, and I know that anywhere. She’s afraid of me as much as she wants to let me in. She’s so fucking brave. So much braver than I’ll ever be.
I make my way over to the bed and stand at the edge as I wait for her to say something. The air grows thick around us as I wait for her say something –anything. The suspense is killing me; I’m in agony. The hurt in her voice when she said please makes me want to pull her close and shoot anyone that comes within ten feet of her and wants to hurt her. I realize then I’d fucking die to protect this girl just like the others would. I’m fucked, might as well enjoy the ride, right?
“I need you to make me a promise before you turn the light on, I’m going to tell you part of my story, and then I will let you turn the light on so you can see what he did to me. Please sit on the other bed; I don’t think I can handle it if you hate me after this,” the heartbreak in her voice guts me. I want to tell her that I could never hate her, but she wouldn’t believe me. Actions speak louder than words. That’s something my mother taught me. She instilled it in me and drilled it into my head long before Roman started teaching it to me.
I hear her clear her throat as I settle myself on the other bed.
“When I was a baby, both my parents overdosed on cocaine. I couldn’t have been more than a year old when they died. The neighbors found me when my parents didn’t come out to get their next fix. CPS told me when I got older that I was severely neglected when they found me. After that, I went to live with my grandma. That’s the house you guys found me at yesterday. She knew that I was neglected and she did nothing about it. She told the state she wanted to keep me, but she abused me until she died when I was twelve. I had no one to watch over me, so I did whatever the fuck I wanted. I’ve been to juvie at least half a dozen times, and the only friends I’ve ever had were in the jail with me. After I had cleaned up my act, I discovered guys. I’ve dated them all; losers, users, abusers, drug addicts, alcoholics, and I’ve been beaten more times than I can count. They dubbed me the town slut in Port Angeles, did you know that?” She laughs out loud when she says that, I wonder if she believes that’s true about herself.
“No, I didn’t know that,” I interrupt when she laughs.
She decides to ignore me and continue, so I quiet, so I don’t miss anything she says.
“I dropped out of high school and had no money, so when I turned eighteen, I went to the only person I knew would hire me, Jimbo Jones. He owns one of the only garages in town. He hired me, no questions asked. He cared about me or so I thought. Within two months he had me convinced I was in love with him and moved into my home. He would take me everywhere; he even took me to a rally two years ago in Maple Valley. I thought I was the luckiest girl on the planet when all the other girls looked at him and flirted with him, but he continued to only pay attention to me.
“At one point he left me alone, and that’s when I met Roman, Satch, and Fig. Roman asked me how long I’d been with Jimbo and he told me if I needed anything to contact him. About three months later was the first time I contacted Roman via email. He didn’t give me a number to call him for some reason,” I think she’s just now starting to wonder why, but I know why. Drag is very cautious about who he gives his number to, especially if he’s unsure about the person. I bet he wanted to trust her but wasn’t sure; he’s been burned before.
As I sit there and wait for her to continue, I suddenly realize I’ve met Natalie before. No wonder I thought she looked familiar. Roman and the others were eyeing her in concern when they saw her with a large man. I heard them talking about the jerk, but I was too wrapped up in Daisy at the time to pay attention. Fuck, that was what she looked like before he beat the life out of her. I remember how she smiled; she was beautiful. I would do anything to see that smile again. Shit, I’m so dumb, I could’ve saved her then, but I thought she was just some stupid whore looking to get laid by a biker. God, if only I had known.
“About two months after we came back to Port Angeles, he started beating me. It was right after I got my only tattoo; I wanted so much to be like the other girls. I don’t regret getting the tattoo I love it, but he didn’t. Everyone else is allowed to have them but me. He hit me if anything was out of place, and one month we didn’t have enough money to pay the bills at the garage, so he-”, I listen to her voice crack as she croaks out the last part, “he made me work as a prostitute for a week straight.”
That motherfucker pimped out his girlfriend. What kind of monster does that?
“I remember begging the other girls to take my place, but I think they knew what would happen to them if they did, so no one ever volunteered. They all wanted to be me, but no one wanted to take my place. When he beat me the other day, it was because his dinner wasn’t on the table when he got there, and his cup didn’t have enough juice in it. So he took the bowl and threw it over his head and then tossed me after it, he almost killed me; I have a large mark on the back of my head to prove it. Satch fixed me up, but I’ll always have that scar. I’ll spare you what else happened, but after that night that’s when I finally asked Roman to help me, and here we are,” she stops talking, and I can hear the tears in her voice.
“Can I turn the light on now?” I ask her hesitantly. I can almost feel her body shaking from here, and I want so much to hold her close and tell her I’ll never let him or anyone else ever hurt her again.
I hear her faintly whisper her consent, so I reach between us and flick the light on. It takes my eyes a while to adjust, and when they do, I find her under the covers huddled away from me.
I very slowly inch towards her and gently place my hand on the blanket and encourage her to turn towards me.
“Let me see, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you,” I tell her as my voice aches from the pain I know she feels deep inside her heart. This girl has been hurt by everyone who was supposed to love her. Roman is the first person who showed her love; I’ll be the second even if it’s the last thing I ever do. I’ll care for her in a way Roman can’t. I’ve been searching for a long time for someone to allow me to take care of them. For someone to accept me for being me. This might be my chance. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
She turns slowly to face me, and I am forced to get up from the bed, go to the dresser, and turn away from her.
“I knew you couldn’t handle it,” she says, and I can hear her heart breaking like it’s in my hands and I’ve just crushed it into a million pieces. She wants me to accept her; she doesn’t understand. I hear her behind me, and I fight not to hit the mirror in front of me. Darkness threatens to engulf me as I look up at the mirror.
“Fight against it, Thunder,” I whisper softly to myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her get out of the bed and start to head in the direction of the bathroom.
“Stop,” I announce menacingly, and she stops right there in her tracks. She looks up at me through the mirror, and I allow her to feel the fire that’s burning deep in my eyes. Her fucking left eye is swollen shut, and her right cheek is almost double the size of the left side. I allow myself to turn and take in the rest of her fucking body. There are bruises and cuts on every surface of her body.
“Turn around,” I order. When she doesn’t do it, I twirl my finger around for her to obey me. I’m not playing I’ll force her to do it, I need to see every fucking thing that he did to her. I need
something to focus on besides the thoughts trying to take over my mind.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I curse when I see her back. He beat her to the point that the skin on her back is completely raw. No wonder she didn’t want to take off that fucking jacket she had on. I love the Dragon Skulls, but I fucking knew she was hiding something.
“S-see what I m-mean you can’t handle it,” she sways back and forth, and I leap forward to catch her just as she’s about to collapse onto the floor.
She’s sobbing uncontrollably, so I set her gingerly down on the bed before me. “Come here, my sweet girl,” I tell her as I pull her as close as I can without hurting her. “That motherfucker will never hurt you again; you understand me.”
I push her back by her shoulders, “Fucking look at me, Nat,” she slowly looks up into my eyes, and for the first time, I mean it, “That fucker will never touch you again, no man ever will. I’ll kill any fucker that lays a single finger on you. I mean that, Nat. No one, ever.” I growl at her and pull her into my arms and pull her down to the bed to lie down next to me as I stroke her hair. “Sleep Nat, you’re safe here with me, I’ll never leave your side.”
“Thunder,” she looks up at me, and I look down back at her, “thank you,” she whispers before she snuggles into my side.
I wait until I’m sure she’s asleep before I move her hair and look at the back of her head. Jimbo cracked her head open. That’s what Roman was looking at before we left, he almost killed her, a little harder and I wouldn’t be holding this angel in my arms right now.
“Never again,” I whisper down to her as I watch her sleep.
I pull out my phone slowly, so I don’t rock her and dial Drag.
“Yo,” he responds. I can hear him quickly getting to his feet.
“Make him pay Drag, but don’t kill that motherfucker. I’m going to be the one to fucking do it, and mark my words, no motherfucker will ever lay another hand on Nat, ever again.”
I don’t wait for his response as I disconnect.