by Sam Crescent
“I pay you well.”
“Not enough. The bar doesn’t make enough, and I like shit.” Ryan started to sob. “Creed said he’d protect me, but the moment he made the decision to go after that fat fucking slut, he cut me loose. Then Santigo picked me up, and the rest is history.” Ryan let out a cough.
Smokey stared at him, sickened. “All of this is about money?”
“Money is everything.”
“Money’s not everything.”
“Says the man who has it all. Live in my shoes for a couple of hours, and you’d see why.” Ryan shrugged. “You didn’t pay me enough.”
“The bar is mine now. We’ll see how much we can get that bar to make.”
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” Ryan asked, already pissing himself as he said it.
Smokey stood up. He pulled the blade from Ryan’s thigh and without warning, stuck it in the man’s neck.
He watched as the last rays of life left Ryan’s eyes. The man’s head slumped forward.
Hunter was on the stairs.
“Clean this shit up.”
He went out of the clubhouse and toward his bike. Straddling the bike, he turned over his ignition and then gunned out of the main grounds, taking to the open road. Killing Ryan didn’t fill him with regret. It didn’t do anything for him. There was no victory here. He felt nothing.
Money.
Greed.
It was all the same kind of shit.
He was done with people.
Ava. He wanted his woman. He’d failed her.
There had to be a way of getting her back. He didn’t know what he could do. There was no fucking hope right now. She wouldn’t accept money from him, nor his help, or his time. He was failing at everything.
Smokey didn’t know where he was going until he saw the sign confirming he was in Creek Springs. Twisted Bastards territory.
He didn’t give a fuck about the danger surrounding him. Driving straight to the main bar, titled No Name Bar. Original. He parked up his bike.
Without a glance at anyone, he walked directly to the main bar and slammed his hand down on the counter. A blonde with a huge pair of fake tits walked toward him.
“What can I get you, baby?” she asked.
“A whiskey. Make it the good stuff.”
Whispers followed his entrance.
Within seconds, Creed would be well aware of who entered his territory, and that was exactly what he was hoping for.
The blonde put the drink down. “I haven’t seen you around before.”
Smokey noted the ink around her wrist marking her as one of the Twisted Bastards MC sluts. He knew how the club marked their women. All of them had to have a mark. One around the wrist claimed them as club property. The women had to have something across their back, or somewhere more personal. The sluts had barbed wire around their wrists, while the owned women had intricate roses mixed with thorns. This woman had the barbed wire. Any Twisted Bastard could fuck with her.
“You know I’m not from around here, darling.”
“I know who you are, and you’re not welcome here.” The blonde wrapped her fingers around her wrist.
“I wonder if he would come running if I put a bullet in your face.” He pulled out his gun and saw the flash of fear in her eyes.
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Everyone has done something, babe. There’s no question about it. You’re not an innocent. Now tell me where your owner is,” Smokey said.
She licked her lips and shook her head. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Smokey tilted his head. “Does he fuck you? Are you his little bitch?” He thought about Ava, and when the woman started to walk away, he grabbed her arm, pulled her across the counter, and held her neck tight. The woman screamed.
“Tell me.”
“I’m right here, Smokey. I suggest you let the woman go.”
He smiled and turned to face Creed. “Long time no see, asshole.”
Chapter Twelve
Ava took another spoonful of intense chocolate ice cream. The flavor exploded on her already cold tongue, but it didn’t do anything to appease the hunger deep in her soul. Her hand still hurt, but she hadn’t touched much in the way of painkillers. She didn’t want to get addicted to drugs and the pain helped her to remember. Not that she needed reminding. In the past few days, every time she slept, she was back in that nightmare. Every single night, she woke up covered in sweat, fear lodged in her throat, pain breaking out through her whole body. She couldn’t make it stop.
No matter how much ice cream she ate, or chocolate, nothing seemed to be helping her mood.
She hurt everywhere, not just physically but emotionally.
There was no one to offer her comfort. No one to talk to. She was all alone.
After her parents died, she’d felt lost and alone. This was the same feeling. Alone. The bakery remained closed. Her hand was useless in her attempts to bake. The machines were only good for so much.
The sound of the doorbell ringing made her pause with the spoon close to her mouth. She opted to ignore the sound, only it came again.
On the third ring, she pushed the spoon into the tub of ice cream and got to her feet. She checked through the peephole to discover Abriana standing there.
What was she doing here?
“Ava, I know you’re in there. Please, open the door.”
She kept the bolt across the door but opened the other locks. With Smokey refusing to hand in her key, she’d called an out-of-town locksmith to come and change all the locks and to add in a few others for safety measure. She didn’t feel safe. If someone wanted to get into her house, they’d find a way to do it.
“What’s the matter?” Ava asked, looking at Abriana through the small space she’d made.
“I wanted to come and see you,” Abriana said.
“You’ve seen me.” She didn’t want to get too close to Abriana. She was married to one of the club, and Ugly Beast hadn’t exactly been her biggest fan.
“Ava, please, don’t … don’t do this. It’s only me here. Ugly Beast will go as soon as you let me in.”
She couldn’t see much of the road or anything of the street behind Abriana, so she had no choice but to release the lock.
Opening the door wide, she saw Ugly Beast sat in the car. No one else was around.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Abriana winced. “I know we haven’t been close. We haven’t had the time to get to know one another. Raven told me what happened.”
At the sound of her name, Ava flinched.
“Shoot, I know it must hurt you for me to say her name.”
“I’m fine.” She had to get over it.
“You’re not fine. I wanted to come and hang out. Maybe we could talk.”
“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I want nothing to do with the club.”
“I know. Er, I’m … I’m club, but I’m not. I’m Ugly’s wife and I have his child. He’s the love of my life, but I’m not club.”
Ava rubbed at her temple. Her eye was still covered. The swelling had reduced significantly but hadn’t completely disappeared.
“I’m not in the best place to receive guests. It’s nothing personal. I just want to be left alone.” She wore a pair of old sweatpants and a large shirt that had a couple of holes in the front. The clothes were ugly but comfortable. All she wanted right now was a bit of comfort.
“Please, let me be your friend.”
“Abriana, you’re club. You might not wear the patch or be there for meetings or whatnot, but you’re club. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Abriana took her hand. “You need a friend. I know you want to push everything that reminds you of him and the club away, but I’m me.”
Before she knew what was happening, Abriana had stepped into her home and closed the door.
“Now, Ugly Beast will drive off and he won’t be worried. I had your back. Ugly Be
ast told me what was happening, I told him there was no chance.”
Ava was hit with a wave of exhaustion. If Abriana wanted to stick around, then fine, but she didn’t have to sit and listen. She went back to the sitting room, picked up her melting tub of ice cream, sat down, and tried to ignore the woman who entered the living room.
Even though her life was in tatters, her house was still very clean. She couldn’t stand living in filth. She liked neatness and order. Those were the two most important things.
Love and friendship were too hard. She’d tried to experience both and they’d failed her.
Abriana took the seat opposite her.
“How is Bella?” she asked. So much for ignoring the other woman. She didn’t want to be too rude.
Abriana smiled. “Growing so fast. I don’t think it’s fair that they get to be babies for such a short time. You don’t have any children, do you?”
“I’m thirty years old. Even if I had a kid at eighteen, it would still be living with me.”
“Right, of course.”
“How old did you think I was?”
“No, I was making conversation. You were married before.”
“Yep, to an asshole that with everything that happened, Smokey makes look like a saint. Who would have thought it?” Ava laughed, even though amusement was the furthest thing from her mind.
She wasn’t happy. Sadness overwhelmed her.
“I’m so sorry for what they did. I know Rav— I mean, she is really upset about what happened.”
“I get that the two of you are best friends, but I don’t want to hear about her.” She had some more ice cream, but she suddenly started to feel sick.
“I know. This is so awful.”
Ava got to her feet. She didn’t need to hear how awful it all was. She’d lived it. Every hit and bad word that came her way.
Even what Smokey had said to her. “You were only ever a decent fuck and you weren’t any good at that. You were easy, but I’ve had better.”
Ava reached up and touched her hair. Raven had cut it all off.
She had yet to go to the hairdresser’s to try to repair the damage. She’d loved her hair. The natural blonde locks had been a joy to brush at night. What remained of her hair, she currently had pinned to the base of her head. She stopped in the kitchen and stared around at the clean counters. Everything was in order.
“Ava?”
“They cut my hair off,” she said. “Did you know that?”
She reached for the clips and let what little hair she had fall out. There was no straightness to it. The hair had been hacked off.
Abriana went to her, and she stared at the other woman, tensing as she wrapped her arms around her, holding her.
Ava stayed perfectly still.
She wasn’t used to such physical contact. The sweetness that was Abriana brought tears to her eyes.
“I’m here for you, Ava,” Abriana said.
“I think I want to go and get my hair done.”
Between the hospital visit and the bakery, she’d put so much of her life on hold.
“Do you want me to call Ugly Beast to come and take us?”
Ava shook her head. “No. I want to call a cab.” She wasn’t going to drive just yet. Anytime she put any pressure on her hand, the pain was too much.
Abriana nodded. “I will have to tell Ugly Beast what we’re doing.”
“You do that. You don’t have to come with me. I can go to the salon myself.”
“No.” Abriana took her hand. “We’ll do this together. I want to be there for you.”
“Okay.”
She called for a cab as she made her way upstairs to change her shirt. She kept the sweatpants on but she couldn’t go to a salon with holes in her shirt. She had some standards. At least, she hoped so.
With a fresh shirt in place, she made her way downstairs, stopping when she heard Abriana.
“They cut her hair! No, Ugly, this isn’t funny. I had no idea. Have you seen what they did to her? Raven was lying to me. I don’t want her near me for a long time. I’m so mad at her. I don’t care what you have to say to defend yourselves. It’s wrong. Ava had never given any of you any cause to doubt her.”
She shook her head and watched as she hung up.
“You don’t have to do that for me,” Ava said, startling her.
Abriana whirled around. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“Kind of hard not to when you’re yelling.”
The sound of a car tooting its horn caught Ava’s attention. “That was fast.”
“Smokey’s made it so.”
Ava paused. “What?”
“He’s, er, he’s made sure everyone in town knows that you’re a priority. He wants everyone to be on their best behavior. What you want, they have to get.”
“I didn’t ask for that.”
“I think it’s one of the many ways he wants to attempt to make amends.” Abriana shrugged. “I’m sorry. I don’t know much. I tend to stay out of the whole club thing.”
Ava nodded. “You can be friends with her. It doesn’t bother me. I’m not going to be part of it. I’m not even thinking of sticking around for much longer.” She opened the door as Abriana caught her arm.
“What do you mean?”
She looked at the hand on her arm and waited for Abriana to let her go, which she did within a matter of seconds. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“I get it. I’m thinking of selling this place and the bakery. I haven’t replaced the furniture inside, and I have no fresh products waiting to be used. It’s an empty carcass.”
“But you love this town.”
“I thought I did, but feelings can be easily changed.”
“This is about Smokey again.”
Ava smiled at Abriana and pulled away slightly. “Please, don’t worry about it. I’ve got an appointment with a realtor in a week. It’s where I intend to talk to them. I’m looking for another place to live.”
“You’ll wait to make that decision.”
“There’s nothing keeping me here, Abriana. If I decide to make the move, I will. I’ve just got to find someplace where I can set down real roots.” She was checking towns extensively. She’d already made the decision not to live in the city. What she wanted to make sure of was that there were no towns with an MC club.
Fort Clover was the last town she ever wanted to be in. As she climbed into the back of the cab, Abriana joined her, and Ugly Beast tailed them as they made their way into town.
“Will you tell Smokey?” Abriana asked.
“No. I have no reason to tell Smokey anything. He’s not my boss, and I’m not indebted to him. I’m a free woman.” She rubbed at her chest, praying for the pain in her chest to go away.
Thinking of Smokey always made her hurt. She loved him. No doubt about it.
A part of her always would, but she wouldn’t fall for him, not again.
****
It had been a long time since Smokey had experienced a beatdown. His fists were bloody, his nose broken, again. One of his eyes was sealed shut, and his lip was cut. A tooth was missing, and he’d bitten a section of his tongue as well. Aching ribs and a hell of a lot of bruises, but he’d taken on Creed.
Of course, his boys had been alerted that he was in Twisted Bastards territory and the fight hadn’t lasted as long as he’d wanted.
He hadn’t gotten to kill Creed.
Instead, his aching ass was dragged right back home, to where he sat now, in the clubhouse, getting stitched up by the doc.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Hunter asked.
“That’s your first mistake,” he said, laughing.
“Does it look like I’m laughing?”
“Does it look like I give a fuck?” Smokey asked. “I did what I had to do.”
“You go into their turf, you can guarantee retaliation.”
“We’ll be ready for them.”
Hunter growled and looked ready to pu
nch him. Smokey was more than ready for another throwdown. Any of these bastards wanted to take a turn, he’d be right on them. As soon as the doc had stitched him up, he’d pop them right on open.
“Someone try to reason with him. I’m done trying. He’s not fucking listening to reason.” Hunter shook his head.
“I think it took balls,” Kinky said, who was nursing a bruised jaw.
“Thanks.”
“This because of what he made you do to your woman?” Doc asked.
“Be careful,” Smokey said. Ava wasn’t his woman and knowing that hurt.
He was struggling with not being able to hold her. He’d give anything to wake up with her in his arms. As it was, he just had to relive the memories of all the times he’d taken for granted.
He’d give anything to have Ava back in his arms. Anything.
Doc nodded and went back to finish stitching him up. The doc was leaving as Abriana and Ugly Beast came into the clubhouse.
Ugly Beast held his daughter against his chest, and it looked like little Bella had puked down the leather of his cut.
“Gross,” Smokey said.
Abriana stormed right up to him and glared. “You butchered her hair!”
Smokey looked past Abriana’s shoulder to Ugly Beast, who shrugged. “You asked for Abriana to go and see her. You were right. Out of all of us, she got into the door.”
“And we went to the salon. She hadn’t dealt with her hair, and it looked like a mess. My God, how could you do that to her?” Abriana looked toward the bar. “And you, I don’t like you at all right now.” Her words were directed at Raven.
“Join the club,” Raven said. “You can hate me all you want to, Abriana. It’s not going to change the fact that I already hate myself.”
“How is she?” Smokey asked.
Abriana laughed. “Well, she has less hair now. The stylist did some kind of short cut. It’s layered and comes around to beneath her neck.” She shook her head. “But she’s not in a good place. Her home is neat and tidy. It’s spotless. I don’t think she’s doing a lot all day. Her hand is bandaged up and she’s eating ice cream.”
“Tell him, Abriana,” Ugly Beast said.
Her shoulders slumped.
Alarm bells went off inside his head. “Tell me what?”