I can feel the entire room’s eyes drift my way in shock. I stiffen myself like a statue, my face unmoving and blank. My entire mind shuts off, as the girl with the shots comes back around, skipping over me when I don’t move for a drink. The men around me slowly raise their glasses with a huge hesitation. They mumble an off-sync, “To Martin…” before whispering to their neighbors and pointing in my direction.
And in seconds, it’s over. My big moment is gone. Aya’s warm, soft body isn’t even near me anymore; she’s already across the bar talking happily with one of the other men. The only one who dares to stand next to me in the center of the room as I stare at the spot where Jonah Barber just betrayed me is my man, Thad.
He leans across to me, as he whispers into my ear, “That was your role, Captain.”
I grit my teeth, as I reply back, “I know. I know.”
“Go get some air, brother. You look like you’re about to lose it.” He gestures upstairs, as he places a hand at the small of my back and guides me up the crowd all lined up at the bar for more drinks and the men gathered around the Barber boys. I can’t help but look back at Jonah Barber, as he smiles heartily and pats his son’s wide, chunky shoulders. That was supposed to be me.
By the time we’ve made it outside to the patio area, I’m incensed. All the anger I thought I’d be able to push down and ignore has bubbled to the surface. My mind goes red, as I spot a small glass bistro table just to the side of me. Before I know it, my curled fist shatters through the glass, the noise catching me first, and then the blood.
I’m in shock, totally out there and away. It’s only when I pull my hand away that I notice the actual damage: the shards of glass clinging to my tattooed hands, the red streaks trickling down my wrist and onto the cement, the stunned looks of the smokers and partiers lingering near me.
I don’t look up though. I keep my eyes on my hand unsure of what I should do next. It’s a small voice, a soft voice that brings me back. “Oh my gosh. What did you do?” Two small hands grab around my shoulders. She can barely reach up towards me, but she still manages to hold on to me and pull me out past the crowd to a darker spot near the side of the house.
“I need you to sit, but keep your arm out. I’ve got a tweezer in my purse here to pull out the glass.” I watch, as two golden-brown curls fall out from under the black hood she’s wearing and down towards her eyes. She puffs loudly, blowing them to the side. After a few seconds of hunting through a large handbag, she pulls out a pair of silver tweezers.
The girl holds them up proudly and then trips over backwards as she exclaims, “Here they are! I found them!”
I watch her, as she tries to pull herself up to kneeling in front of me. Her hands grab onto the legs of my jeans, her hands moving up and down the fabric. She looks up at me with large doe eyes. “I’m sorry. I…I…I don’t drink that often…or ever.”
“Should you be doing this then? I can get it myself.” I try to yank the tweezers out of her hand, but she sloppily pulls the tweezers away before I can get to them.
“I can do this. I do it to dogs all the time!” She pulls my cut-up hand towards her, as I let out a yelp. “Sorry. I’ll be gentler. I promise.”
Her tweezers start pulling at the little bits of glass. She works quickly, moving from side to side to ensure she gets every bit. As she pulls it further into the fluorescent light above us, I ask curiously, “Dogs?”
“Yeah, I’m training to be a vet. At least this is giving me practice.” She sits up a bit taller, giving me an opportunity to study my vet doctor. Her black jeans show off her curvy, full figure and her apple-shaped ass. She’s got a thicker waist, but it’s still that hourglass shape you have to love in women. And while she is wearing a bulky jacket, I can tell her tits are just as nice as the rest of her.
“I haven’t seen you around here. How did you get in?”
“Oh,” she stumbles suspiciously, “I came with a friend. I haven’t been to a party here before.”
I look at her face as it hits the light. Her thick lips and large eyes remind me of someone, but I can’t place it, “Are you sure I don’t know you?”
“No, you don’t.” She slurs, as she says, “I would have remembered if I’d met you. I’m Vanessa.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Vanessa. I’m Gavin.” I wink at her, as I lean down over my knees. My free hand pushes down her hood, revealing her wavy mess of hair and the plump, pink skin of her cheeks.
“You can flirt with me all you want, but it’s not going to make this any better for you” She looks out towards the crowd, which has all but ignored us in our private corner. “Hey! Alice! Can you grab me some moonshine and someone’s handkerchief?”
She goes back to her purse, pulling out a little travel-sized sewing kit, and it hits me what she’s about to do. With her tongue slightly sticking out, she holds up a small needle to the light and threads a pink thread through the loop after a few misses. I notice I’m starting to sweat. “Are you sure you should be doing this? I mean, I don’t doubt your abilities with dogs, but aren’t you usually sober?”
Alice Dugger appears behind her, holding a clear bottle of moonshine and someone’s dank bandana. “It’s all I can find.” She kneels down and whispers to her friend, “Vanessa, I think we need to get going though. Your brother’s looking for you.”
“Shhh.” She waves a finger towards Alice’s face. “I got a patient, and Gavin needs me. Right?”
She looks longingly towards me for an answer. I swallow hard and nod my head “yes.” Alice glances at me with strained eyes before leaving us alone again.
“Can I have a drink of that?”
“Only if you let me have a swig first.” She doesn’t wait for my reply. The bottle hits her lip, and I watch in awe as she swallows the almost pure alcohol with no hesitation. And before I can grab it away, she pours the entire bottle on my hand. The alcohol stings at my flesh, as I try to pull it out of her grip.
“Jesus, girl! What the fuck?! Did you not hear me?”
And again, she doesn’t wait. As I’m screaming at her, she has managed to get the needle in my skin and her first stitch in. I grab the neck of my shirt and bite down, letting the pain flow through my teeth. She finishes quickly, admiring her handiwork by wrapping her fingers into mine and turning the hand over in the light. Her delicate skin feels warm in mine, as if she fits like a pillow.
“Not bad for a girl who’s had four shots and a quarter of a bottle.” With a devilish glance, she begins wrapping my hand in the bandana. To tie it, she lowers her head to my hand and uses her teeth to pull the last strand through the knot. I feel her creamy lips press against my skin as she finishes, and every part of my body becomes goosebumps.
Without another word, she stands and turns, walking back towards her friend who has been eyeing us from across the patio as if she is her keeper. When Vanessa makes it back to her, she pulls her hood up over her head again and turns her back towards the large, brown fence, her back facing the crowd.
A loud bang causes her to jump, as I hear the screen door slam. Everyone goes silent, as they look at one another, trying to figure out just whom Martin is screaming at. And inside, my heart sinks, as I watch him grab the girl who just bandaged my hand and push her up against the wall. His arm pins her in place, as her feet and arms flail.
As her hood falls to the side, I start to realize why exactly I thought she looked familiar. She is the spitting image of her brother, the Bloody Pagan’s new vice president and road captain.
CHAPTER 4
The scene spins and twists as I try to keep my focus on my brother and his grip around my neck. This is not what I had expected. Sure, I thought that I might get caught and kicked out, but I didn’t think it would go down like this…with my brother nearly taking my life as a crowd of strangers watch helplessly.
“Martin, please...” I plead, my voice barely squeaking out, as he presses harder down on my windpipe. “Please, let me explain.”
“T
here’s nothing to explain, Vanessa! Dad told you not to go this party, and you disobeyed him. I bet you want to be a skank just like your friend. Looking at how you’re dressed, you’re just asking for it, aren’t you?” Spit dribbles out of his mouth, as he growls like the vicious animal he is.
He’s always been this way, ever since he realized who he was—the Barber prince…groomed to be large and in charge, and it didn’t matter whom he had to take down or bully to get to what he wanted. And that included me. When he got to high school, it was as if I was just another one of his objects to boss around. Tonight was no different—though it felt like when he was around his minions, it only made his hate towards me grow worse.
“I’ll go. I’ll go. I promise. Just put me down, and I’ll go.” It’s the only thing I can offer him short of getting down on my knees and shaming myself.
“Like hell you will! I’m going back inside, but if I find you and your whore friend here when I get back in ten minutes, I’ll personally escort both of you out by your hair. And I don’t care who sees me do it either.” His hand grabs at the bunch of hair nearest my shoulder, and he pulls my head down so that I am bowing to him. He lets go of his grip just so that I fall into a heap on a pile of stones and gravel.
I can’t bear to look up. Instead, I quietly ask, “Are you going to tell dad about me?”
“Not unless you don’t go.”
I wait till his black combat boots pass me to stand. The booze hits me fast, as I stumble further into the rock pile. My skin scratches against the pavement. I’ve never been in such a strange state of pain, panic, and confusion. And the arm around my waist, slowly pulling me up isn’t helping either.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” It’s that guy again… Gavin. His long, tattooed arm is basically propping me up against the fence so that my head droops back against the post. I’m sturdy where I am, but he hasn’t let go just yet. And truth be told, I don’t want him to. I just want to stare into those topaz eyes and touch the wavy strand of amber hair that almost makes him glow in the moonlight. But I can’t. I heard Martin’s warning. I only have a few minutes to get the hell out of here before my problems get even worse.
“I…I didn’t think it mattered who the fuck I am,” I reply hastily, brushing his strong, meaty grip off of me. I take another step forward, as I reach my hand in the air to gesture and say, “Where is Alice? She’s my ride!”
I feel myself tumbling back down to the ground before my body actually moves. And then those two hands keeping me in my place come to my rescue. He’s good. Real good. It’s getting harder and harder to leave him.
“She ran off with Moses when your brother got here. They’re probably long gone.”
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I cry out, not caring about causing a scene anymore. It’s not as if I’m trying to keep my identity under wraps anymore. “How am I supposed to get home now? Is there a cab or something I can take from here?”
I already know the answer. The headquarters for the Bloody Pagans isn’t exactly located in the safest part of Garland, California. The warehouse was once an actual booming business when manufacturing was big nearly twenty years ago, but my father bought it after the recession, knowing that if his enemies came looking for him, they wouldn’t have guessed he’d be in the deserted button factory with a few busted out window and a large fenced-in parking lot. Plus, it’s located in a tiny industrial area where the only people coming here after dark are criminals, dealers, and the occasional ironworker from down the street. You couldn’t pay a taxi driver enough money to risk serving this part of the neighborhood.
“I’m going to take you home.” Gavin looks at me with that long jaw of his jutting out, as if it pains him to say it.
“Like hell you are. I am not going home with you tonight, buddy. That’s the last thing on my mind.” Well, that’s a lie. I will admit that since I spotted him and his broken-glass-infused hand, all I could imagine was him, tossing me onto a bed and doing me every which way I could think of. By the looks of the curves of his biceps and his long, lean legs, he could certainly take my virginity and then some.
“That’s not what I mean.” He looks back towards the open door leading into the warehouse. “You need to get out of here, and I need to go as well. Your ride is gone, and you’re way too drunk to trust anyone else. I’m your only option, princess.”
“Don’t call me that!” I ignore everything he just said and walk towards the makeshift bar in the corner of the patio. I grab a shot that’s waiting to be drunk and throw it back. The liquid causes my pulse to race and my face to blush. The verdict is in, and it says that I am a terrible drinker. Still, that isn’t going to stop me.
“Stop that!” A hand flies in my view before I can grab another. “Take this instead.” Gavin thrusts a glass of clear liquid in my face. I shrug, as I drink it down quickly.
My stomach turns, as I spit some of it back up. “Ugh! What was that?”
“Water. You need it.” He reaches down and opens one of the many large, red coolers. He pulls out a water bottle and places it in my hand. “Take this, too. I’m not going to have you barf all over my back as I ride. I’m not into that.”
“Well,” I try to make some kind of witty comeback, “I’m not into you! So la-di-da!”
He chuckles loudly, as his bright face goes from concerned to—at least—amused. I can’t help but smile back, too. The tension between us has to break.
“If I go with you,” I ask cautiously, “do you promise to not try anything? I’m not that kind of girl.”
He bows down at the waist so that his face is directly in front of mine, as he promises sincerely, “And, believe it or not, I’m not that kind of guy.”
“That’s yet to be seen… damn it!” In the corner of my eye, I see my brother walking towards the outside door. He’s flanked by several of his goonish friends as they chat him up. I hide behind Gavin’s massive frame as we both start to move towards the side of the building that leads up to the front parking lot.
Gavin’s bike is jet black. Black on black on black, to be exact. It looks like it’s straight out of an action movie. When I see it, I can’t help but ask, “Is that yours?”
“Yeah. It’s my show bike. My other one…” He slows his words, as he rubs a hand to the back of his neck nervously. I get the feeling that I am not going to get a straight answer from him. “The one I usually drive around is getting some repairs done.”
I purse my lips, as I head straight for the bucket seat. I hitch my leg over the side, instantly regretting the tight jeans. He stares at me with eyes that gloss and glare, as I pat the seat in front of me with the palm of my hand. “I like this one.” He pauses, taking me in. I can practically feel his eyes tracing me from the ankle, to the thigh, past my ass, and onto my tits.
I blush and turn away back towards where I hear my brother’s voice shout at someone unknown person. Gavin hears it as well and wastes no time jumping into the driver’s space. The engine roars violently before I feel the jolt of the wheels taking off from under me. It’s not till we’re out onto the main streets of town, far from the warehouse, that he turns his head slightly to ask, “Where’s home?”
“Nowhere,” I answer nonchalantly. I’m more focused on the road and streetlights spinning together in a haze. Riding drunk is not something I could ever get used to.
“Seriously. What’s your address?”
I know I should answer. I know that not going home is basically a death sentence. But I can’t do it. I can’t go back there. We pass the last turn to my home before I respond, “Take me somewhere, anywhere else. I can’t go home right now.”
He shouts back at me over the noise of his bike, “Vanessa, your dad and brother will kill me if I don’t take you home.”
“What do you think they’re going to do me when I do get home? Please, Gavin. I don’t care where we go. I just can’t go back there tonight.” The words come out before I can stop them. But they’re the truth. I’ve never broken a
rule like this before. I’ve never disobeyed. I have always managed to stay on the good side of my dad’s thin gray line. Now I’ve gone and crossed a point of no return.
I can feel the bike swerve slightly as he goes silent. We pass by a few stoplights and street signs that I don’t exactly recognize. It isn’t until we pull into a small apartment complex that I hear him say, “Fine. I’ll keep you here in my apartment tonight, but only because you’re drunk as hell.”
“What a gentleman,” I answer. “I owe you one.”
“You owe me a life when your daddy finds out.”
“I can’t promise you that.”
“Then you’ll just have to make up for it in other ways.” I can practically feel his chest heave against mine as he laughs to himself. Little does he know that I am not that kind of girl. No matter what he thought before, I was not giving him any part of me just because he did what I asked and kept me from facing my daddy.
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