I was thinking we both should have stayed home and far away from this place. I was happy he agreed with me for once, that was a nice change.
I grabbed his arm and shook it a little. He finally looked away from the stage and over to me.
"Let's go over there with the guys," I suggested. "King and Rover, I could handle a ribbing from, but Batey will run back to Cap and cry like a bitch."
"Don't say that in front of him," he told me seriously.
Yeah, I wasn't stupid enough to do that. It would go badly for me.
We shoved our way through the crowd, moving towards the far-right side on the edge, where the guys were. We had just made it when a sharp, shrill scream ripped through the air, coming from the girl up on display.
"No," she screamed again.
I looked to the stage in time to see her kick out at the hooded figure, nailing the person with a solid one on the shin. The hooded figure held on tight to her bare arm, so tight her arm was starting to turn an angry shade of red. They were hurting her for real. I didn't know if this was part of their plan all along or what, but it was not cool either way.
"Yo," Batey surprised me by shouting. "You're hurting her, man. Get your hands the fuck off her."
My mouth dropped open and my head whipped around to look at Batey. What the hell was he doing? This was out of character for him.
"Shut up, man," King snarled at him as his eyes roamed around the crowd. Some of them had their heads turned our way and were eyeballing all of us. I was right there in agreement with King. If this crowd of rowdy assholes turned on us, things would get ugly really fucking fast. We'd be outnumbered and the only way out was either through the woods behind us or the mob of people in front of us.
"Fuck off, King." Batey snapped without looking at him, and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. It wasn't smart to talk that way to King and everybody knew it. Was he drunk or high? Probably the latter.
One of the assholes in front of us who'd turned around at hearing Batey's shout called out, "Relax, brother. I was here last weekend, and it's the same girl that was up there then. She's not really going to hurt her, she'll like it. It's all part of the act."
"I'm not your fuckin' brother," Batey spat out at him.
"Fuck," Hash groaned, and I was right there with him. It seemed Batey was looking for a fight and didn't care who he dragged down with him.
King grabbed Batey by the back of his neck and pulled him back into his body. Once he had him there he let go of his neck and wrapped his arms around Batey's chest. His mouth was moving but I couldn't hear him over Batey's cries of outrage at having been restrained and the crowd’s sudden cheering. King moved back with a struggling Batey in his arms. He lifted him clear off of his feet. He walked around the edge of the crowd, making his way back towards the trail. Rover followed obediently behind them.
The crowd roared with cheers, and I was finally able to tear my eyes away from my brothers and looked back towards the platform. The noose had been placed around the woman's neck, and the crowd thought it was fantastic. I thought I was going to be sick but somehow managed to swallow it back down. I couldn't afford to throw up here in this crowd of people, it wouldn't go over well for me.
The hooded figure moved forward, raised their hands and tossed back the hood. A beautiful blonde woman was unmasked to the joy of the crowd. Her hands moved down to the front of her robe where it was belted shut. She untied it slowly while she talked.
As soon as she started speaking the crowd immediately quieted down. King must have dragged Batey far enough down the trail that his angry snarls couldn't be heard. Maybe he choked him out to shut him up. I hoped so because he kind of deserved it for acting like a major fool and trying to get all of our asses kicked.
"This woman standing before you," the blonde called out in a clear voice that rang out through the now silent graveyard. "This redheaded she devil has been accused of witchcraft and devil worship."
The robe fell open, and she shrugged it off her shoulders. It fell down to the floor, and the crowd went absolutely wild.
This one had clothes on. Barely. She had on a white push up bra, matching lacy panties and knee-high black boots.
"She's been a very, very naughty girl." She called out. "Now, we can hang the witch for her crimes or we could find some other way to punish her. What's it going to be? Death or punishment?"
The crowd exploded with people calling out for punishment and even a few crazy suckers who yelled for death.
"This is the best night of my life," that freak Hash shouted to be heard over the crowd.
"You are one crazy son of a bitch." I laughed at him.
A loud crack sounded, and I looked back at the platform in time to see the blonde vixen lower a wooden paddle she'd just used to whack the redhead on the ass with.
"Is that what you want?" Blondie yelled before cracking the redhead on the ass again with her paddle.
The crowd screamed for more, even the other women in the crowd were jazzed up and yelling out for more. She gave it to them, delivering blow after blow on the redhead's ass. Red jerked with each blow, crying out, and it just egged the crowd on more.
I was thinking it was a good thing the billboard hadn't advertised this place as being family friendly, because they would have been way off the mark on that one.
"I think this is the weirdest night in my entire fucking life," I shouted back at Hash. He laughed and, before I knew it, he was standing right in front of me blocking my view of the platform and Red's ass whooping.
Hash grinned at me. "That may be so," he said, "but it was also the start of something big. Monumental even."
"Oh yeah," I asked curiously. "And what's it the start of?"
"You and me," he said right before he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me into him. His mouth came to mine, and he did what he told me earlier that he wasn't going to do again while we were here, and he kissed me.
My hands went to his hips, and I held on to him while our tongues danced together. It was natural, and we moved together like this wasn't our second kiss but like we'd been doing it for years, practicing to make perfect.
And it was perfect.
Until it wasn't.
Then it was over.
CHAPTER FIVE
Our first official date
A hand landed on my shoulder right before Hash and I were roughly pulled apart. My hands fell away from his hips, and I turned to snarl at whoever had interrupted us and dared to put their hands on us. My hand moved around my back, reaching for my gun. Probably not my smartest move in such a crowded space, but fuck it.
My heart skipped a beat and my hand stopped moving when I came face to face with a pissed off King.
"Just what in the fuck do you two think you're doing?" He snarled at us, and his eyes flashed dangerously. He pointed a clenched fist back towards the trail and continued to snarl like an enraged beast. "Both of you, start marching right the fuck now, and I don't want to hear lip out of either of you. No bullshit. Move. Now."
I didn't hesitate turning and doing exactly what he'd told me to do. When King commanded, I followed orders. He wasn't like that lazy fuck Batey. He wouldn't go running off to my big brother to tell on me. No, not King. He'd kick my ass then apologize to my brother later for having done it.
I respected King.
He also terrified the piss out of me.
I felt them both moving behind me, which meant that Hash had followed orders just like I had. But he wasn't terrified, and I would know this when the crazy fucker spoke up as we cleared the crowd and approached the trail.
"You have no room to judge us," Hash bravely, and admittedly stupidly, spat out. I didn't think it was wise to poke that sleeping bear, but I remembered him saying earlier that he didn't think King would kick either of our asses given the chance. I thought he was wrong. Dead wrong. And now his back talk was likely going to cost the both of us big time.
"It's none of your business," I said because I figured
if Hash was going to open his mouth, then I needed to take his back. If we went down, then we'd do it together.
"You're right, boys." King growled. "On both counts. I have no room to judge, which I wasn't fucking doin', and it's none of my business. You're fuckin' right. But, what I'd like to know, right this second, is why you think I have no room to judge."
Hash moved up beside me, and I side eyed him. He gave me big eyes back, and I quickly shook my head.
I sighed. I'd bite this bullet too. At least we were in front of him and had a good, clear shot at out running him if we needed to.
"Look, King," I said but got no more out when Hash spoke over me.
"You are family," he rushed out quietly. "And we love you. But you keep yourself closed off from the rest of us. How come you think we owe you any kind of explanation when you keep yourself to yourself, and you would never explain shit to either of us. We all know that. You want to keep yourself to yourself and closed off from your family, you go right ahead and do it. But don't expect me to cut you any slack and give you what you would refuse to give to me."
"Hash," I hissed.
What in the actual fuck was he doing? We were both going to die. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled out his gun and shot us both in the back.
"Maybe we should run now," Hash muttered to me under his breath. Even though I thought this the best idea he'd had all night, I didn't follow through with it and kept walking at my normal pace.
"He's right," King said from behind me.
I looked back at him over my shoulder and asked, "About running?"
He chuckled darkly, and my body relaxed at hearing it. I turned back around as we came out of the woods. Batey and Rover were standing next to a barrel full of fire, arguing. I knew it wasn't because of Rover, Batey was trying to get him to fight with him too, and I didn't fucking get it. Rover was still green and no fucking way could he afford to be fighting with a patched member, and certainly not our VP.
"About being closed off," King muttered. "I'll work on it, and I'll earn that love you boys got for me. Mark my words, boys, I'll earn it. Just know I already give it back to you because you're my family too, both of you. But be smart, yeah? Don't go looking for trouble. Now let’s go drag that asshole out of here and get his ass home before he royally fucks this night up for the rest of us. I don't know about you boys, but I don't want to end up behind bars tonight for brawling with a bunch of drunk motherfuckers all jazzed up after that show those girls are putting on back there for them.”
"Pity," Hash said sullenly, and I wanted to smack him, again I had that urge. "It was just getting good. I could have hung out back there for longer, I was having the time of my life."
King chuckled again, this time louder, and it notified the other two of our presence because they both turned and looked our way. Batey looked pissed, and Rover looked annoyed. I was willing to bet that the look on my face was closer to the one on Rover's.
"You boys want, I can hook you up with some strippers to reenact that show for you," King kindly offered.
"Hell yeah," Hash didn't even hesitate to take him up on the offer.
"You're gonna be the one buyin', though, kid," King shared. "I'm not paying for your pussy."
"Stephan's buying," Hash told King. "He has more money than I do. It'll be like our first official date."
Fuck me, I groaned. He did not just say that shit out loud.
King flat out laughed this time, and my worst nightmares were confirmed. He had indeed said that shit out loud. Why was I surprised?
"I like the way you roll, kid," King informed Hash, and I groaned again. That was just the kind of encouragement that he didn't need to get from anyone.
"You shouldn't encourage him, he'll turn into a monster." I advised, and they both laughed at me.
"We're outta here," King told the guys. I was glad he didn't bring up what he'd seen. He was willing to let it go, and I thought it was really cool of him. Maybe there was a beating heart inside of him after all. Who knew?
"I know you're high and all kinds of fucked up right now so I'm gonna let it go this one time," Batey said to King, surprising me. "But, I outrank your ass, and I'm not one of the boys who actually has to listen to a goddamn thing that you say to me. So, fuck off, King. I mean that."
King was high? Batey had made it sound like it wasn't just pot he was on. That didn't sound like King at all. He was a heavy drinker, but I'd never known him to use anything harder than pot before.
"Everything okay on your run?" I asked. I almost pulled out my phone and called my brother just to make sure he was safe. I worried about him constantly because what he did was dangerous and left a huge target on his back that was bigger than the one the rest of the brothers had on theirs.
"What the fuck did you just ask me?" Batey snapped as he turned his enraged eyes on me.
I wasn't afraid of him like how I'd been with King. Looking into his eyes, I thought that maybe I should have been afraid of him too but didn't respect him enough to be scared. I couldn't do it.
"Relax, Batey." Hash said as he stepped up to my side. "He wasn't asking for details, and he wasn't overstepping his place as a recruit. He worries about his brother. I worry about Cap too. You've clearly got something up your ass, and you're taking it out on the rest of us and being a huge fucking dick. Stop it so we can all get out of here in one piece and not do it wearing handcuffs. I'm a recruit, that means you're supposed to help keep me outta trouble, not drag my ass right into it. If I get arrested it might fuck with me getting my patch, and if you fuck me outta earning my patch, I swear to God, man, I'll kill you. Outside of my sisters, Mercy's the only good thing I've had in my life, and I still got years of wearing this recruit patch before I got my top rocker. I'll not lose it because you're in a bad mood and felt like taking it out on everyone around you."
Yeah. Fuck yeah, Hash was my ride or die. Stepping up to stand by my side as he faced down Batey's anger more than proved it.
"He's right," King grumbled. "If you want to be a dick you can stay here and do it by yourself. The rest of us are outta here, and we're going home."
It was funny, I had started my night out looking to escape home. Now, I couldn't wait to get back to it. How messed up was that?
We all left like good little boys because King told us to. And, despite what Batey had said about out ranking him and not having to listen to him, he left with the rest of us, and he didn't even argue about it.
I didn't laugh in his face. I would wait until Hash and I were alone later so that we could laugh about it together.
CHAPTER SIX
Her name is Carmine
The ride home had been quiet and, thankfully, uneventful.
Batey bailed and took off as soon as we hit the Compound. He didn't even come
inside the gates but escorted us home, waved his middle finger in our general
direction, then he got the fuck out of there.
"What's that about?" I asked as we walked into the Clubhouse. "He seemed more off than usual tonight."
Rover shrugged and shared, "I think he went to go find pussy. Stress reliever."
Yeah, that didn't explain what was wrong with him in the first place but whatever, I let it go because it really wasn't any of my business. Batey could be a moody fucker all he wanted, and I was just going to be glad he took his bad mood somewhere that wasn't my home and away from me and my brother.
King left us at the door and moved right to the bar. He reached around, pulled out a bottle of Jack, and immediately unscrewed the cap. He didn't bother with a cup or even a chaser. The bottle went right to his lips, and he started sucking back booze.
"Before you ask," Rover said, "I don't know what his problem is, either. But, he's been on the verge of something dark and ugly all day long. He hasn't been hiding it, and I have no idea why he even went with us tonight instead of coming straight back here. The only reason I can see is because Hash was going to be there, and he looks out for you two. The only
person he's really close to is Captain, but he always looks after you two."
Huh.
I had never really seen it like that before. Did King look after Hash and me? I didn't think so, but then I really hadn't been looking for it.
"He's not wrong," Hash murmured, and I looked at him to see his eyes on King and full of concern. Shit. I didn't like that look. It said he thought we needed to go over there and look after him this time.
"He can look after himself," I told Hash.
"I'm outta here," Rover cut in. "Long day, even longer ride. I'm hittin' the sack. Catch you both tomorrow."
"Night, man." I muttered.
"Night," Hash said.
Rover walked away without a backwards glance and headed towards the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. I didn't think he was living here, but there were always empty rooms available towards the way back for anyone to crash in. Some were set up more like living rooms with couches and tv's and all that shit. The other ones were set up like bedrooms but only had the bare essentials, and the bathrooms were always stocked with shampoo, soap and clean
towels. There were always easy women around who took to stocking these things
up and washing towels and sometimes even your laundry. I did my own laundry and
had been doing it since I was a boy. I had to if I wanted to wear clean clothes. My old man had told me when I was little not to get attached to the women who hung around the Club because they came by easy and they left just the
same. I took his words to heart and had since seen a lot of ladies come through those doors, and I'd since seen the backs of them as they were walking back out. This life was a hard one and not for everyone. You had to be strong to survive it, otherwise it would chew you up and spit you back out. Some of them turned tricks, some did drugs. None of them were for me. I picked up people elsewhere and brought them back with me. I also made sure I walked them out after I was done with them because I didn't want them to stick around and hang out. When I was done I was done.
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