My father didn’t let me finish. He lost his shit.
“I’ve had enough of your wilfulness. Either you continue your legal studies or we’re withdrawing all support” He said coldly.
“I don’t want to be a lawyer, Father. I want to do something different with my life.” I tried to explain but he wasn’t listening.
“We have spent time and money to ensure you are adequately prepared for your future. A future you should be grateful we are giving you. I’m no longer wasting time and money on you. You’re cut off, get out of our house.” There wasn’t a single emotion on his face or in his eyes. He looked cold and remote. “Isaiah can take over from here, we are done with you.”
I didn’t get a chance to explain that I had switched to a B.Com degree and after what my father said about Isaiah taking over I wasn’t hanging around. I got out of there and drove back to my residence on the university campus.
On my way back to rez (residence) I had stopped at an ATM and withdrew the maximum allowed from the account my father had set up for me. Once back in my room I transferred what was left in the account into my personal bank account. I didn’t feel any guilt about taking their money, not after what they had planned for me. I was so very thankful I had opened a personal account at a different bank because without it I would have been left nearly penniless. I had six thousand rand in my bank and two thousand in cash and it would have to last until I found a job and a place to live.
When I woke up the next morning my car was gone. It had been my twenty first birthday present and I had always felt it was too flashy. I didn’t report it as missing because I knew my father had had it towed to their house.
Fortunately I had a roof over my head until the end of the semester. Unfortunately not for long, I had two weeks before rez closed for the holidays. I knew that my father would have cancelled my accommodation and applied for refunds. My exams were done and I had two weeks to look for a place to stay. And find a job. Any damned job, I wasn’t picky. I knew with no real experience I had no chance of getting any of the better paying jobs I had been looking at. I was going to have to try waitressing and it would have to be somewhere the tips would be really good, like a pub, or heaven help me, a strip club.
I was desperate and alone. So alone.
And that’s when I met Grietjie.
We were waiting in line at a coffee shop when she overheard me on my phone talking to my sister. I was desperate and had called Jasper, unfortunately Caroline answered his phone. She was cold and nasty, telling me that if I knew what was good for me I would return home and fix the mess I had made. I tried to explain about Isaiah but she laughed and said I would learn to like it. I abruptly ended the call and was trying hard not to burst into tears when the beautiful girl in front of me turned around and patted my arm soothingly.
“Don’t let them break you down, poplap (doll). Stick to your guns. No one should have to take an abusive man just because her daddy wants her to.” She tipped her head to the side as she looked me up and down. “I know of somewhere you’ll be safe, have a place to live, earn a bit of money and be able to continue with your studies if you want. I’ll be sitting at a table on the deck, come and have a chat once you have your coffee. My name is Grietjie by the way.”
I was desperate and after paying for my coffee found her, we chatted, and the rest is history.
After talking to Hawk I became a club girl. Someone who was available to the men of the Iron Dogz MC whenever they wanted and however they wanted. I wasn’t expected to have sex with anyone the moment I moved in, I was given time to settle in. After my first week at the club one of the men started chatting to me and I liked him. It was Dizzy. I became his regular girl. He must have warned the others to stay away from me because no one else approached me for sex.
We talked, a lot. And became friends, really good friends. I was there for him when he had been taken advantage of by the bitches at the club. He was a good man and I stood by him and took him to my bed when it all became too much for him and he needed to be held. He became one of my best friends. We went from friends with benefits to just friends. No more sex between the two of us. Just friendship.
He tried to warn me to be careful with my heart around the men. I should have listened to his warning. Unfortunately I didn’t and it led to a very embarrassing period in my life. I fell for one of the brothers, Beast. But he never fell for me. He used me and when it became apparent that I wanted more he dropped me like a hot potato.
It flippen hurt and I made some stupid mistakes that cost me the respect of the brothers and their old ladies. I worked hard to fix my mistakes and earn back their respect. It worked with some of the brothers but not all of them. A few of them still treated me like I was a slut and somehow less than them. I tried to ignore it and not let it affect the way I did my job.
Thank fully I wasn’t working as a club girl anymore. I no longer had to have sex with a man I didn’t want to have sex with. Wait, no, that isn’t right, we didn’t have to have sex with them. The girls had the right to say no, no matter who came to her. It was a rule I had been very grateful for a time or six.
When my time as a club girl came to an end I had only been with three of the club brothers, Dizzy, Army and Beast. Which compared to the other girls was the exception, not the norm. Plus no one knew about Army, we had a late night hook up after a club party. We both had too much to drink and afterwards agreed to pretend it never happened. With his death he took our night together to the grave with him. As would I.
Ice gave me the bartending job at the club when he cleaned out the nasty sluts after what had happened to Dizzy. I became an employee who earned a salary, a very good salary. I earned enough that I could start paying for my studies through Unisa (University of South Africa). Because of my duties at the club I could no longer attend classes regularly and had to change to a distance learning institution.
After seeing how my studies were opening a different path for me and after the horrors the club had gone through Grietjie decided she wanted more from her life as well. She was studying to become a nurse because she had realised she liked taking care of people who were sick or hurt.
Not that her training had helped when Leo had been kidnapped and hurt, she had only just started her studies. I knew once she completed her studies she would no longer be hanging around the clubhouse at all hours. Grietjie was at the top of her class and she was going to be snapped up by one of the private hospitals once she was done. I could only hope that it would be somewhere close to where ever I was going to end up. I didn’t want to lose her friendship.
I knew I wouldn’t always work for the Iron Dogz MC as their bartender and assistant to Aunt Beryl. I had dreams and goals I was working towards.
Closing my tired eyes I raised my arms and stretched my back with a soft groan. Lordy, it felt good.
When I opened my eyes someone was standing on the other side of the table and I jolted in shock, almost falling off my chair.
“Fuck. I didn’t mean to give you a scare.” The brother they called Scar glared at me as he leant on his walking stick across the table from me. Even looking all scowly the man was hot.
“No worries. I didn’t realise there was anyone else in here.” I babbled as I looked up at him but he avoided my eyes. He was frowning heavily as he looked down at my closed books.
“Jagger said I had to speak to you about the key to the pool gate. I need the key.” He bit out sharply, still not looking at me directly.
What the hell? I didn’t even know the man and he was being all snarly and rude. As usual.
“I’ve got a spare key behind the bar. I’ll get it for you.” I got up without giving him a chance to say another word and dashed behind the bar.
The spare key was right where I had left it. Taped to the bottom of the shelf that the most expensive bottles of booze were sitting on. It was out of sight and out of reach of the children. As far as I was concerned it was a very safe plac
e.
Not according to Mr Snarlface.
“Why the fuck do you keep it there? It’s not safe.”
I snorted with annoyance. “Did you think to look there? No. No one would think to look for the key to the pool here. Just like you wouldn’t find the keys for the booze stockroom in here either.”
I slapped the key down on the bar and he grabbed it, turned without a word and leaning hard on his stick limped out of the clubhouse. Rude bloody ass. Even though I was staring at that nice looking ass it didn’t excuse the rudeness.
The only time he ever spoke to me was to ask for a beer, water or a shot. Never a thank you, at least he said please now and again. Snarly rude bastard.
Unfortunately he had been sitting at the table when I lost my head over Beast. Plus he was one of Beast’s Lieutenants. And now I knew he was one of the men who held my mistakes against me. He lived in the same house as Beast and Tori and she had obviously become a friend which made me the flippen enemy.
I sighed as I sat down and picked up my phone to call Jagger.
“Hey sweetheart, what can I do for you?” The smile in his voice came across clearly and it made me feel slightly better.
“Hey, Jag. Uhm, Scar just picked up the spare key for the pool. Is it still okay if I use the pool every morning? I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”
There was a beat of silence before he swore. “He’s one of the assholes who are holding on to the shit that went down with you and Beast isn’t he?”
I didn’t say anything. Silence was also an answer.
“Babe?” He asked softly.
“I really don’t want to cause any more problems, Jagger.”
“Listen to me, babe. Beast was a fucking ass and not setting the record straight with the brothers is not cool. Not fucking cool at all. And that’s all I’m going to say about that shit. Now, about the pool. You were there first. You use it like you have always done and fuck him and his attitude. The damned thing is big enough for more than one person to use at a time. If you have any problems you come to me.” He was silent for a beat. “I know the eco-pool isn’t ideal for the kind of swimming you do, but fuck it. I’ll give you the combination for the gate when I come to the clubhouse later. Use it if he becomes too much of a pain in the ass. Okay?”
Jagger was such a nice guy. One day he was going to make some woman an amazing old man. The way he looked after Sam, or Crash as they now called him, was the first thing I had noticed about him. And then the way he was around the dogs. It made him vastly more attractive than just his rugged good looks. And believe me the man was a hottie.
“I’d love to swim in the eco-pool. It’s so peaceful and I promise I won’t disturb the plants or anything. I’d rather swim there because I don’t want to piss Beast or Scar off.”
Again a beat of silence.
“I thought you and Tori had sorted shit between you two? What’s going on?”
Ugh. I shouldn’t have said a word.
“Yes, I apologised and as far as I know we’re all good, but that doesn’t mean Beast is comfortable with me being around his old lady. I’ve been avoiding them as much as I can so as not to make waves. We all have to live here and we both know if he complains Hawk will kick me out. I really don’t want that to happen. Scar doesn’t like me being here either.”
I could hear the anger in Jagger’s voice but I knew there wasn’t much he could do for me.
“Babe, don’t let their shitty attitudes affect your life. You keep doing your thing and trust your friends to have your back. I’ll be up later and we can have a beer and a chat, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
He didn’t say goodbye. He was just gone. As normal.
Back at the table I gathered my books, slipped them into my backpack then walked down the passage to my room at the back of the clubhouse. I had a tiny room with only enough space for a double bed, a small side table, a chest of drawers and a built-in cupboard. I was lucky to have a small bathroom with a shower, basin and toilet so I didn’t have to use the communal bathrooms. There wasn’t space for a desk, which was why I studied at the table in the common room or at the kitchen table when no one was around. And that was usually late at night after the club had shut down for the night.
Looking around my room I bit my lips and tipped my head to the side as I thought about what I wanted to do.
I wanted to move. I wanted to move out of the clubhouse. That’s what I wanted to do.
Dropping my bag on my bed I turned around, locked my door and headed for Hawk’s office. No time like the present to talk to him.
His door was closed and I knocked. His harsh voice shouted ‘come the fuck in’ and I opened the door slowly and peeked around it.
He sat behind his desk and waved a hand to beckon me to come in as he closed the laptop in front of him. I stepped inside and softly closed the door behind me.
“What can I do for you, Chris?” Those piercing eyes of his felt as if they bored right through my head.
“I was wondering if…if I could maybe move into one of the cottages at Mr Bekker’s place. I heard Boots talking about it a few nights ago and it really sounded amazing. I’ll pay rent and everything and still work here and I won’t slack off at all.” I rushed it all out.
Hawk frowned. “You want to move out of the clubhouse?”
I nodded vigorously. “Yes. I’m no longer one of the club girls so I don’t need to live here. And when I’m not working at the bar or helping Aunt Beryl I have to study and it’s not easy because my room is so small I don’t have space for a desk. I have to use a table in the common room or work at the kitchen table and there are always interruptions.”
He sat forward and rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he stared at me. “So, let’s clarify. You are formally stepping away from being a club girl. You know it means we will no longer pick up the bill for your studies, right?”
I nodded. “I know and I have already changed my details with the university. I did that a while ago already. They no longer send invoices to the club, it comes directly to me. The salary Ice pays me to run the bar and help out with Aunt Beryl is enough to pay for my education and a place to stay. If the cottage isn’t an option I will look for a flat or cottage somewhere close to the compound because I can’t live here anymore. I need my space.”
Suddenly Hawk grinned and I blinked in confusion.
“DC warned me you were going to want to move out and I didn’t believe her, and here you are.” He kept looking right at me, the grin now gone. “Sweetheart, you work fucking hard, I know it and Aunt Beryl knows it and we don’t want to lose you. I’ll speak to Spider about your salary and adding you to the company medical aid and sorting out tax and all that shit. The cottage is yours and you won’t pay a single cent for it. You’re a valuable member of this club and we look after our people. I’ll call Jagger to let him know to allocate one of the cottages to you. He’s the one in charge of the renovations and making sure all the cottages are eco-friendly or some shit and he will know how soon you can move in.”
I couldn’t stop the huge smile even if I tried.
“Do you have any furniture, babe?”
I shook my head but grinned right through it. “No, I don’t, but I don’t care. I know of a place all the students use that sells raw wooden furniture at a reasonable price. I’ll get what I need from them and order a bed online once the cottage is ready. And there’s a huge Mr Price Home in Centurion, I’ll get dishes and the rest of the stuff I need there.”
Hawk laughed. “I can see you’ve given this some thought. Okay, girl, I’m happy if you’re happy. Come to me if you haven’t got enough money to buy what you need, understood? And don’t shake your head at me like that. You are one of my people and I look after my people. Do you think Rider and Beast had all the shit they needed when they moved to the house?”
I pulled my shoulders up and widened my eyes.
“No they didn’t. The club sorted that out for them. Yes, they contributed but we have a fund that we use for our members and family when they need it. And you are a part of our family, Chris. You will always be a part of our family.”
Tears were threatening to overflow but I smiled right through them. These guys, they were rough and rude and violent and dangerous but they were also fiercely loyal and protective of their family and the women in their lives. And I was now lucky enough to be considered one of theirs.
“Thank you, Hawk. You have no idea how much I appreciate being a part of the Iron Dogz family.”
He smiled, sat back in his chair and gave a short nod, an indication that he was done talking.
I pushed up out of the chair and speed walked out of the office. Closing the door behind me I was grinning wide as I rushed down to my room.
I had to budget and make lists of what I needed.
And tonight I would talk to Jagger.
The common room was packed and I was chatting to Dizzy and Ratel at one end of the bar when Scar and Beast walked in. I glanced over at Devon, the prospect who was helping out behind the bar tonight. When he set beers on the bar in front of them I went back to pouring shots for the guys at my end of the bar.
I felt the back of my neck prickle and knew eyes were on me and when I looked up I found Scar staring at me angrily. I immediately looked away. Not going to go there. At all.
While looking at him I had missed Jagger slipping into the empty chair in front of me.
“Hey, babe, can I have a beer please?” Jagger asked, smiling at me.
My smile was instant and I nodded as I pulled a beer out of one of the fridges behind me, opened it and set it down in front of him. Seeing that we were running low I called Devon over, gave him the key to the stockroom and asked him to start re-stocking the fridges.
“How was your day?” I asked. I always asked because Jagger was one of the hardest working brothers at the club. He was always busy with club business in one way or another. As far as I knew he had no personal life and no woman. And he was one of the brothers who never touched the club girls or hangarounds. I had no idea what he did outside the club but that wasn’t my business anyway.
Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5) Page 3