“I told you I don’t need your help.”
He ignores my comment and continues on. “We like our privacy around here. Trust is a big deal. I don’t want anything getting outside our circle.”
“I never asked to be here.”
“Yeah. Whatever. As I was saying, you don’t have my trust yet, so if you earn it by being straight up, we can talk about your phone.”
Staying calm won’t be easy with this man. “Well, I don’t trust you either. Who made you my guardian? I never said I needed your help. Now give me my cell so I can call a cab. I’ll be out of your hair in a snap. That way, no one’s privacy will be in jeopardy because of me.” I slip in front of him as he strides through the raucous crowd toward what looks like the front door to the clubhouse.
“It’s not that simple.” He snatches my hand again before I can protest, and tugs me into the dim, smoky foyer of his man cave.
“Seriously—” The door slams shut on my ass, but the small gasp I let out in response doesn’t compare to the reaction of everyone else in the open concept bar-slash-dancefloor-slash-games-room as they turn to look at us. Outright glares and intense stares come from more than a couple dozen strangers. “No, not that simple at all.”
Chapter 6
Silas
I look over at Sabrina from the corner of my eye, catching her deer in the headlights reaction. Sure, my family is mostly comprised of my closest friends, who can be rough around the edges, but once she gets to know them—
Mother. Fucker.
What the hell do I mean by ‘get to know them’?
I must be thinking crazy. She won’t be sticking around indefinitely. It’s not an option. I’ll make sure she’s safe over the next few hours, no more than a couple of days at most. When the coast is clear, I’ll deliver her back to a friend or someone she trusts. No harm, no foul. What I did for her was a courtesy. I couldn’t just ignore a woman who was nearly poisoned and shuttled off by thugs that were ready to fuck me up too. But she’s fine now. Just to be safe, I’ll ask Tate to look into who she is. That won’t take much time. After that, she’ll be out of our hair, and I’ll have a lighter conscience.
It’s a win-win.
Everyone in the clubhouse stares at her, eyes brimming over with suspicion. She doesn’t belong here, but she’s my guest. They’ll get over it. Well, everyone except for my mother, who I see walking towards us through the crowd. The members part for her as if she’s their queen. In a way, that’s what she’s been since the day I took over as president of the Satan’s Saints MC after my old man died. As the widow of the past President and my mother, Cindy Corrigan is MC royalty.
“Who’s the broad?” My mother motions over at Sabrina and puts her hands on her hips. She purses her lips for emphasis and adds, “I don’t remember approving an expansion of our sack demons ranks.”
No. This won’t be too easy.
I widen my stance and crack my neck, ready to put my foot down. “She’s a friend who needs help. I’m letting her stay here for a while. Maybe a couple of days. Any objections?” My gaze lifts from my mother and sweeps across the room, to remind everyone who’s boss around here. As expected, they’re all silent. “I didn’t think so.”
To be sure that the murmur from my mother isn’t outright disagreement, I step towards her. “Ma?” I lock eyes with her blue-green stare, waiting for her answer.
“You know exactly how I feel about it.”
Her lips tip up in a fake smile, shut tight and hiding all her teeth. She’s not on board. Still, she isn’t screaming at the top of her lungs to object. Thank fuck this unplanned visit by an outsider won’t last too long. Sabrina moves a few steps, centering herself behind me. Smart girl, keeping her distance from a potential shit storm. What happens in the next couple of minutes are crucial as hell.
My mother looks up at me and her eyes narrow. “Can I have a second of your precious time, Einstein?”
Without waiting for my answer, she stalks toward the clubhouse meeting room. I follow her inside and ignore the force she uses as she shuts the door behind with a decisive slam. I know exactly what she’s about to say, but it’s my club. She’ll have to accept whatever I decide. Still, it’s better to have this showdown now than to find Sabrina beat up and slumped over in some dark corner of the clubhouse later.
“What were you thinking, bringing a strange, unvetted woman here? You crossed the line this time. Have you lost your goddamned mind? Have you totally forgotten how things have been over the past two weeks? This isn’t a good time to follow your cock into ever hot piece of ass you find on the street.”
“That’s enough, Ma—”
“We’ve been up to our ears in problems, Si. Did you think about what we’re facing with Los Diablos MC since we pulled out of that deal? You know they’ve been getting tight with the Mongols. How do you think that’s going to go down for us when we’re walking targets? Now you have the bright idea to bring this plaything in a Dior gown into the mix? Why? To liven things up a bit? Where the hell did you find her anyway?”
I wait for her to get everything off her chest. This won’t end anytime soon, so I take a seat and let her continue.
“Answer me, Si.”
“I was wrapping up some business tonight, and she needed help. So I helped. That’s as far as it goes, okay?”
“What’s her name?”
“Sabrina Temple. We’ll keep her here for a while until I can release her and her designer dress back into her natural habitat. No biggie.”
“Sure, if she doesn’t end up getting snatched by the Los Diablos or the Mongols just for being connected with you. Or maybe she’s working with them. Who knows?”
I don’t agree. She’s just another pretty, rich broad. With a sweet ass. And that mouth.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Silas.” My mother throws up her hands and looks at me intently. “Please don’t tell me you’re into her.” She turns again and studies my face more closely. “Christ. She’s not one of us. God knows what that rich girl will tell people about us after her visit.”
“Stop. She won’t. There’s nothing to tell.” I pluck Sabrina’s phone from my pocket and wave the tech around so my mother can see it. That’s all she’s getting, so I ignore the other crap she suggested. “Anyway, I have her phone.”
“And what about later? You do plan to take her back, right?”
“She’s not my prisoner. You’re being paranoid. She’ll spend a few hours here in the clubhouse, not standing in the middle of our weapons storage unit.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
Shoving the phone into my jeans pocket, I get up. “She’s staying. End of story,” I tell her and leave the meeting room.
“We’re not done here, Si!” she calls out after me.
Nope, that would be too fucking easy. Without looking back, I head over toward Axe, who’s chalking his cue at the pool table.
“Do me a favor.” I nod my head toward Sabrina. She’s standing exactly where I left her while everyone else goes about their usual business as if she isn’t there.
“What do you need, bro?”
“Keep an eye on her. Cindy’s on the warpath. I don’t want her in the crossfire.”
“I can do a lot more than watch that piece of ass in my bed tonight, no problem.”
“Don’t fucking bring that shit up,” I warn him, a little surprised by the threatening tone in my own voice. “Don’t even say a word in her fucking direction.”
“Sure, whatever. Sorry, man.” Axe puts his hands up with the pool cue still between his fingers.
“Cool. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Roger that.”
“And don’t let anyone touch her.”
“I’ll make sure they leave her alone.”
“Thanks.”
It takes me less than five minutes to go upstairs to my room and grab the first t-shirt and sweatpants I find in my dresser drawer, yet I return downstairs to find that Axe is focused on his game
of pool as Cindy gets in Sabrina’s face.
Chapter 7
Sabrina
I might be backed into a corner, but I’m ready to fight for my life. My fingers close around the picture frame hanging low near my back on the wall behind me. After the woman introduces herself as Mrs. Cindy Corrigan, that was the end of the pleasantries. It’s pretty much a given that Silas’s mother is not the welcoming committee. That’s for damn sure, so an impromptu weapon is a good thing for me to have on standby, given the circumstances. Trying to keep my movements smooth, I blink and nod as the middle-aged lady continues her intense line of questioning.
“Hey…” Mrs. Corrigan snaps her fingers inches from my face while her other hand is on her left hip. “Rich-Bitch, are you listening?”
Mostly, I’m wondering why the woman has so many questions about her own son. It makes no sense, but I nod anyway hoping not to bump her in the head, since she is in my personal space. I’ve easily bluffed my way out of way more intimidating situations. “Ma’am, I’m sure this is a huge inconvenience for you. I apologize for that, but if you’d just instruct your son to give me back my phone or give me some change to use the payphone outside, I promise I’ll be gone from here within half an hour, and you’ll never hear from me again.”
I lift my lips into a polite smile to help my case.
It’s not working.
Mrs. Corrigan arches a brow. “You think it’s that easy, huh?” Her skepticism is thick in her high-pitched voice, and her aquamarine eyes take on a mix of calm and excitement all at the same time.
“I don’t see why it has to be difficult, Ma’am. Your son helped me, and now I’m fine. I don’t need any more assistance, so if I could just have my phone back, I’ll be gone. No one ever has to know I was here. In fact, I don’t know where here is. I’m great at forgetting.”
“I see.” The older woman bobs her head in a considerate nod, and the brief moment of silence becomes exceedingly more awkward with her death stare. “We have a problem, young lady. Mainly, my son doesn’t see things the way we do, and he can be a spoiled bastard when he gets his mind on certain things.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It looks like we’re at an impasse. As much as I’d love for you to leave, he’s determined for you to stay. Maybe you should have thought twice about giving him a taste of your wondersnatch on the way over here.”
I take a big step backward. “Excuse me?”
“What? Too much of a snobby priss for my language, princess?”
Is this woman joking right now? I clutch the picture frame until my palm hurt, pushing down my impulse to ram it down her throat, followed by my clutch purse. I see where Silas gets his arrogance. It runs in the family.
Taking a deep breath, I try a little brush with reason again. “Ma’am, I really don’t want any trouble. I’m not here for anything you’re worried about, and you don’t have to get involved in my personal business either. You don’t have to help me, but if you would please let me leave, I’ll figure out getting back to Vegas on my own—”
A more suspicious Mrs. Corrigan gets up in my face. We’re within spitting distance but I stand my ground. “What’s your angle? Are you working for the Los Diablos? Did they hire you to do this? You’re a high-class escort playing damsel in distress, aren’t you? Answer me, you bitch.”
This is not the time to crouch in fear, so I take a step forward. I’m in her face. We’re almost nose to nose. “I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but I keep telling you I don’t want a damn thing from your club,” I say through clenched teeth. “I don’t know anyone from Los Diablos. I’m not an escort, or a damsel in distress. And I don’t have an angle. If someone around here would just listen to me and let me go, maybe you won’t have a problem at all.”
The woman’s lips quirk up in a half-smile. God, that look makes me want to lash out and fight. The suspicious, screw you gleam in the woman’s eyes can push me over the edge if I let it. Mrs. Corrigan isn’t phased in the slightest, but I make an educated guess that being the matriarch of such a notorious motorcycle club takes strength, courage, and the ability to be ruthless when needed. Even so, the woman isn’t the worst I’ve come up against. If I have to, I’ll take her on, but dammit, my Christian Dior one-of-a-kind will probably be ripped to shreds.
If only I can find someone around here who believes me when I say I don’t want to be here at all, and let me go.
That’s plan A. Plan B is to sneak out of here on foot in the middle of the night. If that doesn’t work, plan C is to cause a distraction and steal off with someone’s car keys, and plan D, well I hope I won’t have to burn the place down to get the hell away from here.
“Ma, lay off her, okay? You can continue the interrogation after she’s had time to ease into things.” Silas physically wedges himself in between us. His hand reaches back and circles around my closest hand.
God, that man’s touch does it for me every time, causing a tingle to run up my arm and through my entire body. Why am I having such a hard time stopping myself? I want to press forward into his almost irresistible heat. I shake my head, unable to move away from him with this wall against my back.
“She says she wants to leave.”
“She’s not going anywhere, Ma.”
“Why are you both talking like I’m not standing right here?” I shout. “Look, if you’re going to hold me against my will, can someone maybe let me get a beer out of the deal? I’m thirsty, and I’ve had a long damn day.”
I shut up when both Silas and his mother look backward at me as if they actually did forget I was still here.
“I’ll get it for you.” Silas shoves crumpled clothes at me. “Give me a second. I’ll find you a place to change.”
I have to admit that it’s oddly thoughtful of him to anticipate I’d want to change out of my goddamned designer dress. Taking a look around at all the lace, fishnet, and leather-wearing women around me, I can see that their reaction to me has more to do with logic than anything else. With what I’m wearing tonight, I’m like a bright red human dartboard waiting to be someone’s target. No wonder his mother won’t leave me alone.
“Time to blend in…and plot,” I say under my breath as I watch Silas walk away with a firm hand on his mother’s upper arm. The discussion they continue on their way to the bar doesn’t sound like it’s going well. I notice a lot more hand gestures, wild eyes, baring of teeth, and furrowed brows as I stand in the same spot waiting for my drink.
Chapter 8
Sabrina
“Hey, you okay?” I look away from Silas and turn toward the woman who’s now offering me a bottle of beer. She has a surprisingly kind smile. “It sounds like you could use one of these.”
I accept it with some hesitation but am not ready to take a sip. I’ve just been darted less than two hours ago, for Christ’s sake. My trust is at an all-time low at the moment.
“I’m Jenny, Cole’s old lady.”
Her red hair is up in a high ponytail, light brown eyes winking under the somewhat harsh bulbs of the clubhouse. Maybe it’s the conservative way she dresses compared to the other women around, or perhaps the offer of free beer has something to do with it, or it could be the genuine-looking smile spread across her lips. Either way, I find myself warming up to the strange woman. In a place like this, a new friend isn’t just a distraction, it’s also a possible way out.
“Thanks. Sabrina.” I nod, tipping the bottle forward until our beers clink together. “Which man is yours?”
As I struggle to twist off the beer cap, my eyes follow Jenny’s finger. She points across the room toward a tough-as-nails, huge ox of a silver-haired man sitting in the corner near the pool table. He’s idly puffing on a cigar, watching the pool table and current round of players. The silver fox turns and my eyebrows shoot up. His hair’s all gray, but his face is young. He’s got to be in his early thirties at most. Maybe late twenties. Must be a premature graying hair condition. His eyes move through the
crowd and connects with ours as if he can hear his wife talking about him. Then he winks in our direction.
“He seems nice.”
“He’s VP around here. We’re newlyweds. Damn straight he’s nice. He’s everything to me.”
Sure, okay.
“Congrats,” I add, and we keep the conversation going for a while.
“See the tall one with the neck tattoo and the beard? That’s Axe. He’s Sergeant at Arms, and Silas’s best friend. You may have just missed Dean outside. He’s the top candidate for the vacant Road Captain position. Silas is still assessing him. Oh, and the guy at the end of the bar with his hand down the blonde’s top? That’s Tate. He’s Secretary and Treasurer. Just so you know, he’s a dick, so do yourself a favor and stay far away from that one.”
I smile, but not because of what Jenny just said about Tate. My escape plan will be a breeze with Mrs. Loose Lips filling me in on the group’s key people. I take a long swig of beer to look like I’m interested in this Tate fella.
“He’s a handful?” I take a second to focus on the well-built biker with a blue Mohawk. The man’s hands are going to town on the blonde’s cleavage, right there at the bar as if they’re in their own private lounge or something. The truth is, I don’t care one bit that the Tate guy is a caveman. I’m planning my escape routes. “Looks like a real winner.”
“He’s trouble…and an acquired taste. Unless you want to be screwed eight ways till Sunday and are into a lot of kinky shit. In which case, he’s your man. But if you want to pick a lock, find something online or crack a code, it’s another story. It’s why we keep him around. Plus, he’s honest with the books, and a half-decent maid.”
Outlaw (Satan's Saints MC) Page 4