Baby Bitch (Bitches and Queens)

by Rachael James

  The building was a greasy mess. She didn’t see any actual motorcycles anywhere, only random parts scattered across the cracked, concrete floor. It reeked with a strange scent that permeated air. It smelled like some sort of herbal concoction that she assumed was marijuana or something else more insidious.

  One of the bikers finally noticed her. He ambled over slowly as he wiped his hands down the front of his jeans. Was this Trevor’s uncle? If so, the only resemblance they shared was in their mutual appreciation of ink. Although Trevor’s had appeared more crafted, as if a real artist had marked his skin. The middle-aged man with long, gray-streaked hair that was balding on top and pulled back in ponytail had several tattoos that looked decidedly homemade. As he approached, McKenna noticed the teardrop inked below his eye. Wasn’t that supposed to mean something? Was it sign he had been to prison or that he had murdered someone? Either way, who wants to announce something like that?

  “If you need to use the restroom, it’s out of service,” he said gruffly.

  “I don’t,” McKenna answered. “Actually, I was looking for Trevor Dean.”

  “Haven’t seen him,” he shrugged and started to turn away.

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Like I said, haven’t seen him,” he answered, slightly more impatiently.

  “If you do see Trevor, could you please tell him McKenna Mallory is looking for him?”

  Chapter 9

  At the end of the day, McKenna left the school building feeling dejected. Guardian angels shouldn’t be that hard to find. Dejected but determined nonetheless—if she didn’t find him by Friday, she would have to go back to the bar and grill the staff again.

  She had caught up with Kenyon, who was walking out to the parking lot with a group of his friends, when she saw it. There, lined up amongst the BMWs, Mercedes, and Jaguars was a solitary Harley-Davidson. The glint from the sun bouncing off the chrome wheels had caught her eye. Inwardly, she was jumping up and down for joy and maybe just because, she threw in a couple of back handsprings. Outwardly, she kept her cool.

  “Kenyon, I forgot I have to stay after for prom committee,” she called out evenly.

  Before he could protest about not wanting to wait around for her, she added, “I’ll have someone give me a ride home.”

  “Does Mom know?” he asked. He didn’t differentiate between their two mothers the same way she did, but McKenna knew which one he was referring to. The all-knowing, all-seeing keeper of the schedule.

  “I’ll call her,” she promised as she made a show of digging through her clutch for her phone. Kenyon stood by and waited. “Seriously,” McKenna growled. “Are you going to stand there and watch me?”

  “I’m not going to catch hell about not getting you home on time,” he answered.

  McKenna stuck out her tongue as she dialed her mother’s number.

  “Mommy, I’m not going to be home until four o’clock,” she explained into the line.

  “Why?” Hannah asked.

  “You know Kyler has been after me for weeks about joining the prom committee. I just thought that I could use the distraction with everything that has happened,” McKenna said.

  “All right,” Hannah slowly answered. “But I want you home at four o’clock and not a minute later.”

  “I promise.”

  As soon as she hung up, Hannah dialed Willow, who was working at her downtown office. “McKenna just lied to me,” she said succinctly.

  “What?” Willow questioned in shock.

  “She just called and asked to stay after school to work with the prom committee,” Hannah explained.

  “Maybe she wasn’t lying?”

  “She was,” Hannah answered flatly.

  “Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

  “That rule has nothing on mother’s instinct. I don’t like this.”

  “Hannah,” Willow purred coaxingly. “She’s been through so much. I just think she needs a little space. McKenna’s a good girl. We both know she isn’t going to do anything too wild or crazy.”

  “We’ll talk about this later when you get home. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  “There! Are you satisfied?” McKenna groaned at Kenyon as she whirled around on her heels and started back towards the building.

  She waited until the parking lot was nearly empty before venturing back outside. The last thing she wanted was someone telling their parents that they had seen her talking to a biker in the parking lot. The gossips were rampant around these parts, and Hannah would call the police before the conversation got interesting.

  Trevor sat tall on his bike with his arms crossed lazily over his chest. She was a little disappointed that he had worn sunglasses because she couldn’t see his eyes. The rest of his features remained still and cold as stone. It was impossible to know what he was thinking, but McKenna had never felt more alive—as if electricity poured through her veins, making her hyperaware and sensitive to him.

  “What did Jimmy tell you?” Trevor asked flatly.

  “Who’s Jimmy?”

  “Jimmy is the bartender at Ray’s Place.”

  McKenna looked shyly towards the ground before answering, “He said you were a bad man.”

  “And?” Trevor demanded.

  “And that you ran with the Devils Kin.”

  “And?”

  “And that you were staying at your uncle’s motorcycle shop.”

  “And none of those things made you stop and think, Maybe this isn’t someone I should look for?” Trevor questioned angrily.

  McKenna dared to look up at him. “You said I had to find you,” she whispered. Her initial thrill at seeing him in the parking lot was now being coupled with a strange sensation of guilt. She never expected this reaction from him.

  “Jesus fucking Christ! You’re still in high school,” he gritted accusatorily.

  “I’m eighteen years old,” McKenna cried.

  “You’re still a baby.”

  “I am old enough to know what I want,” McKenna declared.

  “And stupid enough to go looking for it,” Trevor muttered as he shook his head with disgust. “Just promise me you won’t go back there again. It’s dangerous and a girl like you could get in all sorts of trouble in a place like that.”

  He paused long enough to pull off his sunglasses. McKenna spotted a mischievous glimmer in his summer blue eyes and realized he wasn’t nearly as angry as he pretended to be.

  “Do you want to go for a ride or what?” he smirked.

  “So you aren’t angry with me?” McKenna questioned, just to be certain.

  “Hell yeah, I’m pissed off. It was a damn stupid thing to do,” Trevor growled and then a small grin curled his lips. “But now that you have plucked the apple, you might as well take a bite,” he purred seductively.

  “All right,” McKenna yelped and took a step forward, but then came to a sudden halt. “I have to be home by four o’clock,” she cautioned.

  “What happens at four o’clock? Will your fairy godmother turn your designer jeans into rags?” Trevor teased.

  McKenna laughed nervously. “Something like that.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll have you home safe and sound,” Trevor said reassuringly, holding out his hand to help her climb on his bike.

  Straddled on top of the chrome machine, she felt a little awkward at first and wasn’t sure where her hands and feet should go. Trevor reached down and positioned her feet and then placed her hands low against his hard-as-stone, washboard abs. McKenna felt her insides turn to jelly and prayed he didn’t notice the slight tremble in her thighs, which had nothing to do with being nervous about riding a motorcycle for the first time in her life, and everything to do with him. When he started the engine, the low, rumbling motor vibrated against her bottom. And to think, Hannah had always referred to motorcycles as death machines. She never mentioned anything about the sweet sensation they caused.

  Trevor wisely avoided the mai
n roads and instead drifted along the side streets on his way out of town. Once outside the city limits, he opted for a wide-open country lane. For a second, McKenna questioned the wisdom of jumping on the back of a motorcycle with a stranger. It was by far the craziest thing she had ever done in her life, but her hesitation was blown away in the wind.

  Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle wasn’t exactly conducive for great conversation. Then again, neither was sitting in a movie theater, and as far as first dates went, this blew the other option out of the ballpark. Trevor must have been thinking the same thing because he veered off the road, drove straight through a grassy field, and then pulled to a stop beside a sorry excuse for a tree.

  He cut the engine and then turned around. “So… what did you think?”

  “I loved it,” McKenna said gleefully and then grew self-conscious of her enthusiasm, trying to reign in her wide smile.

  Trevor grinned. “Don’t stop smiling on my account.”

  He kicked down the stand and then held out his hand to help her climb off. Once both of her feet were on the same side of the bike, he mirrored her position but remained seated. He crossed his arms over his chest. McKenna couldn’t help but notice his rippled biceps. Today, most of them were covered by a faded T-shirt. It was a shame really. There should be a law for men like Trevor Dean that stated they were only ever allowed to be seen out in public bare- chested and wearing a pair of low-rise jeans.

  So much for reigning in her enthusiasm. She had just eye-screwed him from the waist up. Good Lord, she didn’t even want to think about what was underneath his leather belt. All right, so she did think about it, but she refused to let her eyes drift down because she was certain it would only take a single glance and she wouldn’t ever be able to think about anything else ever again.

  “You know, not everything Jimmy said about me was true,” Trevor said, sounding a little bit uncertain.

  “Which part?” McKenna questioned.

  “I’m not a member of Devils Kin,” Trevor shrugged. “Not officially anyway.”

  “Are you an unofficial member?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “What about the part about you being a bad man?”

  Trevor started to smile and then chuckled. “I’m twenty-two years old, and I just picked up a girl in a high school parking lot. I’m old enough to know better. I guess you’ll have to decide the answer.”

  “That depends on what you plan on doing with her,” McKenna retorted breezily. Inwardly, she was dying. Her heart was pounding so fast that she felt winded, as if she just ran a five-mile sprint. It was only a miracle that kept her face from burning ten shades of red.

  “Considering it is quarter till four, I intend on taking her home.”

  “Oh,” McKenna gasped, unable to hide her disappointment. Where had the time gone? “Will I see you again?”

  “Do you want to see me again?”

  “Yes,” McKenna answered too quickly to be coy and then smiled shyly. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

  Trevor shook his head warily as he crossed his leg over the bike and then held out his hand to help her back on. “You were supposed to say no,” he said just before he started the motor.

  Chapter 10

  Every day for the rest of the week, Trevor was waiting for her after school. Thank goodness she had sat with Kyler at lunch so she could fill her in on all the prom planning because Hannah was worse than an interrogation squad. She knew McKenna was up to something, but she hadn’t demanded she stop staying after school or worse yet, shown up at school and offered her services. McKenna wouldn’t put either past her.

  Being alone with Trevor, even if it was only for a few hours, was worth the risk. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized that the attraction was less about her family and more about him. Attraction wasn’t a strong enough a word. McKenna had fallen hard and had fallen fast. It seemed impossible that she could feel this much for someone she had only known for a week, but Trevor was perfect. Maybe not exactly perfect, but perfect enough for her.

  Her only doubt was if her feelings were reciprocated. Was this just a crush? Did Trevor feel anything for her at all or was he just killing time? He remained polite, yet reserved. Despite ample opportunities, he had yet to kiss her.

  On Friday, he bypassed the scenic route and instead drove straight to their field. He parked the bike and actually climbed off it this time. They stood eye to eye, which was impressive considering McKenna was six feet tall herself and never wore anything less than three-inch heels. For a second, she thought he was really going to kiss her but he reached for her hand instead and led her to the tree to sit down beside him.

  “I just thought we could talk for a few minutes,” he explained with his deep, whiskey- gravel voice that sent shivers down her spine.

  “What did you want to talk about?”

  Trevor took off his sunglasses and grinned. “You,” he answered. “I want to know what a girl like you is doing wasting time with a guy like me?”

  “I don’t think it is a waste,” McKenna admitted softly.

  “Come on,” Trevor teased as he reached up and stroked her cheek. “With a face like that, the boys must be chasing after you something crazy.”

  “Boys,” McKenna mimicked disdainfully. “And none that I want to catch me.”

  Trevor’s hand fell away. He nodded and then stared off into the distance. After a moment, he looked back her way and questioned quietly, “Have any of those boys ever kissed you before?”

  “Oh, I’ve been kissed lots of times,” McKenna said nonchalantly.

  “Really?” Trevor questioned, sounding not at all pleased with her answer.

  “All right, maybe not a lot of times, but I have kissed a few boys,” McKenna admitted.

  Trevor smiled shyly and then asked, “Did you like it?”

  McKenna looked down at the ground and twirled a piece of grass around her finger. “Not really,” she confessed with a whisper.

  “Maybe they just didn’t know how to do it,” Trevor answered.

  McKenna couldn’t look up. She felt him inch closer. His warm breath struck against her cheek. Biting her lip, she was confounded by this sudden bout of shyness. For once in her life, the answer didn’t come automatically. This was too important to chance ruining the moment. Then his lips, which were surprisingly soft and gentle, struck her cheek. McKenna started to turn towards him, but Trevor pulled back slightly.

  “Did you like that?” Trevor whispered.

  McKenna stared into his eyes and was lost in an endless sea of blue. “Yes,” she answered breathlessly.

  “Do you want me to do it again?”

  “Yes,” McKenna moaned.

  Trevor leaned forward until their lips were only separated by a few scant millimeters of empty space. Her eyes were starting to drift shut when he pulled away.

  “No,” he said with a devilish smile.

  “What? Why?” McKenna stammered.

  “Because girls like you shouldn’t be kissing guys like me out in the middle of nowhere.”

  So bereft of what could have been, McKenna felt close to tears but settled for an angry sulk instead. “Then you shouldn’t have brought me out here.”

  “You see, that’s the problem,” Trevor said gently as he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’ve discovered that guys like me can’t stay away from girls like you. We make for strange dance partners. Come on, I need to get you home.”

  “It’s Friday,” McKenna suddenly panicked. “I won’t be at school tomorrow. Do you have a phone? Can I call you?”

  “I do and you can’t,” Trevor answered very seriously.

  “Why not?” McKenna pouted. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  Trevor stood angrily. His easy-going smile was gone and replaced with a frown. “If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be here with you,” he declared sharply. “Look, your world is safer than mine. Best thing you could ever do is pretend you never saw it
.”

  “No,” McKenna denied vehemently. “I don’t want to pretend. I won’t pretend. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

  Trevor let out a harsh breath. “Don’t say that,” he gritted through his teeth. “You don’t know anything about me. If you did, you sure as fuck wouldn’t be here with me now.”

  “Then tell me,” McKenna cried. “Tell me what is so horrible that it would make me stay away from you.”

  He started to pace back and forth in agitation. “What do you know about the Devils Kin?”

  “Nothing,” McKenna confessed softly. “But they have nothing to do with us.”

  “Do you really believe that?” Trevor jeered. “My old man was a fucking snitch,” he suddenly roared, which caused McKenna to flinch. “He was given a choice—his life or his son’s. And he was always a selfish piece of shit. The Devils Kin owns me lock, stock, and barrel. There are only two ways out and one of them involves me being six-feet underground.”

  “What is the other way?” McKenna asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Trevor snapped.

  “It does to me. What is the other way out?” McKenna insisted.

  “I can buy my way out,” Trevor snorted with disgust. “One hundred grand for every year the President was in prison—a million-dollar ransom.”

  “If it’s money you need, I can get it for you.”

  “Is that who you fucking think I am?” Trevor shouted. “The kind of guy that steals money from babies?”

  “No,” McKenna stammered. Everything was spiraling downward so fast and she didn’t understand why. A million dollars was nothing to her parents or Sam, for that matter. She wouldn’t even need to involve them. She could pawn off a few pieces of jewelry that she had received as presents over the years. Her diamond tiara would easily get half of what he needed. If money was the only thing keeping them apart, she didn’t understand why he wouldn’t let her help him.

  Trevor shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

  “I do,” McKenna insisted.

  “No you don’t, and I’ve told you too much as it. I’m not asking for your money, McKenna. That isn’t the reason I told you. You need to understand, I do bad things and people get hurt. I don’t like doing it but I have to. It’s the only way. One day when I have enough blood money saved back, I’m going to buy my way out. I lied to you. I’m everything Jimmy said I was, and I have no business being anywhere near you.”