The room was bustling with activity of all sorts. It looked more like a gathering at a community center than a biker's clubhouse. While the older children and teenagers were sitting around doing their own thing on their phones and tablets, the younger ones were once again on the floor in front of the TV, watching cartoons. Most of the women were gathered around in little clusters while their men were off doing their own thing. Several were playing pool, and the stools around the bar were full.
Cherry, Goldie, Mitzi, and Lulu were there, too, keeping their distance from the wives and their men. They were overdressed for club girls, but still looked a world apart from the other women. Lulu shot me a finger wave from where she sat on Razor's lap. She was such a sweetheart. I often wondered why she’d settled for being one of the club's sluts when she deserved so much more. She'd been the first one to welcome me and make me feel comfortable when Sax had brought me here. She'd taught me a lot about club life.
My smile must have seemed like an invite to her, because she jumped from Loco's lap and rushed toward me. There was a joyful gleam in her eyes as they shot back and forth from me to Ava.
"God, she's so cute!" As soon as she was close enough she reached for my daughter's little hand. Ava giggled, her expression revealing her trust of Lulu. "Can I have her?"
I laughed. "You can borrow her," I countered. "But she'll want to eat soon."
Ava went willingly to her. "I can feed her," Lulu insisted. "Is there a bottle in the fridge?"
I nodded. "She'll also get a little cereal with applesauce mixed into it."
"I think we can handle that. Can't we, baby?" She kissed Ava on the cheek and turned to head to the kitchen.
I watched for a minute, smiling, before I noticed the looks of disgust on some of the wives’ faces who had witnessed the exchange. They obviously didn't know Lulu, but they knew what she was, and it was clear that they disagreed with my decision to let a club girl handle my daughter. Kathy was sitting with them, a look of regret on her face. Did she feel the same way? The smile she offered me said that she didn't. I walked over to the table, not knowing what I was going to say until I opened my mouth and the words poured out.
"I can see by some of your expressions that you think it's a bad idea to let Lulu take Ava, but let me tell you something—Lulu is the sweetest, most caring and loving person in this whole clubhouse. She'd do anything for any one of you, and she’d do it with a smile on her face. I trust her with my daughter." I purposely kept my tone calm and friendly. "She may be here for the unmarried men, but you should get to know her before passing judgment."
One of them, an older woman, scoffed. "We know why those sluts are here, and apparently it doesn't matter if the men are married or not." She nodded over my shoulder.
I followed the direction of her gaze and saw Goldie sitting on the lap of one of the brothers that I didn't know. Even from where I was I could see the gold band on his finger. I looked back at the woman. "That's not Lulu, and it takes two to tango."
Kathy burst out with laughter, getting a shocked look from the women. "What? She's right, Aggie. You should look at what's right in front of your eyes. And you know that Kramer is a no good cheat, and has been for years. Why you put up with it is anyone's guess, but that woman isn't forcing him to let her sit on his lap."
Aggie pressed her lips and remained silent, but her eyes told a different story. Inside she was fuming. There was something else there, too, and I recognized it for what it was—pain. When I glanced back at Goldie and Kramer, it became clear to me where that pain was coming from. Holy shit! Was Kramer Aggie's husband? I met Kathy's eyes, and she confirmed my silent question with a subtle nod. I instantly felt sorry for Aggie. Why would any woman put up with a cheating husband?
I was really beginning to dislike Goldie.
"Holly!”
The sound of my name drew my eyes to the bar. Bobbie and Raven were there with Cole and Demon, along with Sax. I hesitated only briefly before making my way there, a forced smile on my face. Sax had his back to me, and the minute I let my presence be known he twirled on his stool, got up, and left. Both women stared after him with slight surprise.
I tried to make light of it. "Must be something I said."
Demon snorted. "More like something you did, sweetheart."
My smile vanished. Sax hadn't wasted any time in telling his brothers what I'd done. It was difficult meeting the coldness in Demon's eyes. The same disapproval was in Cole's hard glare.
"I'm sorrier than you know, because my selfish mistake cost me the love of my life, but I'm not sorry that I have Ava. I'll understand if you want me to leave."
Demon made a sound between impatience and a growl. "Hell, don't want you to leave, Holly, you and Ava are family. Just fucking disappointed in you, that's all."
I nodded, accepting Demon's words.
"Glad you told him the truth about why you left," Cole added. "Now he can stop beating himself up thinking that it was something he did."
Sax had been blaming himself?
"Drink, Holly?"
"No thanks, Spider."
"Not everyone knows."
I looked at Demon, waiting for an explanation.
"Says this is between you and him, and he doesn't want his brothers treating you different. Not that they would. Fuck, we all make mistakes. But he's still protecting you, girl."
"Maybe if he finds out that Ava's his, shit will be different." Cole gave me a wink.
I doubted that, but forced a small smile for his benefit.
"Are you going to help out in the kitchen, honey?"
I breathed a sigh of relief when Raven changed the subject. "Yeah. That's my intention."
"Then let's go so we can feed these men and get these kids off to bed." Bobbie jumped off her stool and Raven followed, and the three of us walked to the kitchen.
As we stepped into the kitchen, Raven and Bobbie walked to the fridge and began pulling food out, but I came to an abrupt stop, my eyes transfixed on Lulu and Sax. They had their heads tilted together and seemed to be talking as Lulu fed Ava in her highchair. Sax watched Ava closely as she eagerly opened her little mouth every time Lulu got close with the spoon. My heart skipped a beat when he picked up the cloth on the highchair and wiped it gently across her cherub mouth. Then something Lulu said caused them both to laugh.
The sexy smile on his rugged features warmed my heart and made me realize how much I'd missed that smile, especially when it was directed at me. I wondered what Lulu had said to bring it out, but it didn't last long.
Lulu finished up with Ava, removing the food-stained bib and pulling the tray back to lift Ava from the seat. She and Sax both turned to leave, and that's when they realized that I was in the room.
"There's mommy," Lulu gushed when they got closer to me.
Sax's stony expression was closed off, but he couldn't hide from his hard eyes the painful truth that I’d hurt him. I wanted to ask what they'd been laughing about, but knew that it wasn't any of my business.
I reached for Ava's outstretched hand and brought it to my lips. "Do you want me to take her now?" I slathered kisses all over her palm until she began to squeal, which then caused me to giggle. I'd noticed she'd been drooling more lately, and suspected that she was going to be teething soon. "Mommy loves you, baby girl!" I pretended to nibble on her fingers.
"No!" Lulu shook her head vigorously. "I still want to give her a bottle." She held the one up in her hand that I hadn't noticed before. "We're good."
My eyes darted briefly to Sax, and then back to her. "I'm going to help get dinner ready then."
As they continued out of the room it struck me how much they looked just like a happy little family. I ignored the pang in my heart and joined Raven and Bobbie at the counter. There was a ton of vegetables in front of them. They both looked up when I joined them, a look in their eyes that said that they knew what I was feeling. "So it looks like we're having veggies for dinner?"
"We're making a humongous sa
lad," Bobbie explained. "To go with the spaghetti."
I looked around and saw several crock pots on the opposite counter.
Raven saw where I was looking. "Annie and Lulu made the sauce earlier."
"Do you gals need any help in here?" All three of us turned to see Kathy come into the kitchen.
"If you want to get the garlic bread ready, that would be great."
"Anything to get off my ass," Kathy laughed as she headed toward the loaves of French bread that were laid out on the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Lockdown sucks."
We all mumbled our agreement.
"I'll start the pasta." I went to the stove area and pulled three huge pots out of the bottom cupboard. "What kind of sauce did they make?" I asked as I filled the pots with water.
"There's meatballs, sausage, and a vegetarian one." Raven made a yummy sound. "Lulu makes her own meatballs, and they're to die for."
"I think we all know that," Kathy laughed as she sliced the bread down the middle. "Everything Lulu makes is yummy."
Kathy and I exchanged a quick look.
Once the pots were on the stove, I had nothing left to do but wait for the water to boil. I leaned against the counter and turned back towards the other women. "How about I make macaroni for the kids?"
Bobbie turned and gave me a thumbs-up. "Good idea. It will be less messy for them than spaghetti."
"Is there anything for dessert?" Raven smiled, rubbing her baby bump. "I'm just asking for the little one in here."
"I'm sure there's something." I hoped there was, because I felt like having something sweet, too.
"Demon sent us in here to help."
We all turned to see Mitzi, Cherry, and Goldie standing just inside the door. Cherry and Mitzi both had smiles on their faces and looked ready to go. They were used to doing multiple jobs at the clubhouse, and when we weren't on lockdown they usually did most of the cooking. Goldie, on the other hand, looked uninterested, as if all of this was beneath her. I didn't let her see my smirk as I turned to check on the water, adding a little salt to it. I’d let Bobbie or one of the other women deal with Goldie's ass.
"Since we have the food under control, why don't you three deal with setting up the plates, napkins, and silverware?"
I liked the assertive way that Bobbie directed the three women, leaving no doubt that she was not giving them a choice in the matter. "Oh, and the drinks."
"How come Lulu doesn't have to help?"
I kept my back to the room, adding a little oil to the pot that I was going to cook the macaroni in so that it wouldn't stick. "Lulu already did her part."
"What, fuck your ex-boyfriend?"
There were gasps in response to Goldie’s vindictive words.
"I saw them playing house out there with your little bas—"
"Don't fucking say it, bitch!" Bobbie snapped, spinning around to face her. She looked pissed. "Maybe the other girls didn't warn you about what happens when you disrespect one of us, but you'd better learn real fast."
They faced-off for a moment before Goldie wisely backed down. She'd have been a fool not to. She knew that Bobbie was Demon's old lady, and that her opinion carried a lot of weight in the club when it came to certain decisions. Goldie would have been stupid not to accept her warning. Once Bobbie was convinced that Goldie was cowed and was going to watch her mouth, she turned back to resume chopping the vegetables. Goldie shot me a glare before joining Mitzi and Cherry.
I added the pasta to the boiling water. Kathy slipped the garlic bread into the oven, and then went over to stir the three crock pots of spaghetti sauce. The kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant, and I began to feel hungry. Bobbie brought the huge salad bowl with tongs over and set it down on the island near the bowls. I was stirring the pasta, and on her way past me she shot me a wink.
God, I loved these women.
We had our own little sisterhood.
Chapter 21
Sax
The van was in place, the hood was up. All we had to do was stay out of sight and wait. Reid had done a good job banging it up. To the casual observer passing by, it would just look like an old vehicle broken down on the side of the road. Abandoned. Darkness would help. That was if anyone passed by.
Spider, Colton, and Oz were on their way to the Knights' titty bar. They wouldn't strike until they heard from us that we were on our way in. We wanted both hits to be made as close to the same time as possible.
The Knights wouldn't know what hit them.
"It's fucking hot in here," Chewy complained.
"Whining won't help," Demon snapped from the passenger seat next to me.
"Least you two fuckers have windows." The brother sounded like a five-year-old.
Cole snorted from his position by the side door, ready to slide it open when the time came. "Make sure you brothers have your silencers on."
"If we have to transfer any girls over I'll stay behind and protect them," Loco offered.
"Nice fucking try, Brother," I grinned.
Reid slapped the back of his head. "These women will be traumatized, stupid. They don't need your horny ass coming on to them."
About that time headlights appeared down the road in front of us. "Everyone down!" I shouted, just as the lights hit our windshield and illuminated the inside of the van. The windows were tinted, but I didn't want to take a chance that we'd be seen. I waited until the slight curve in the road caused the lights to shift away from us before popping my head up. "They're slowing down! Someone text Oz and tell them to move in."
The sound of gravel beneath tires indicated that they’d pulled off to the side of the road somewhere behind us, and then there was the tell-tale sound of someone opening a truck door. They'd left their vehicle running, which told me that someone was still inside the van with the girls. If it was the driver than we were fucked. He could take off at the first sign of trouble. I glanced over at Demon.
"Fuck," he said low. He looked out at his side mirror. "Someone is coming up on my side." He cast a glance back at Cole. "The driver's door is still closed."
"Shit!" Cole whisper yelled. "See anyone coming up your side, Sax?"
I checked my mirror. "No one."
"Let me know the second the fucker reaches your door, Prez. I'll sneak out and take care of the driver while you're taking care of him."
"Get ready," Demon said. "Now!"
Cole slid the door open and jumped from the van at a run, his gun in his hand. As I opened my door just as the others were jumping to the ground I heard the muted pop pop of Demon's gun, and then the same exact sound when Cole took out the driver. Then screaming erupted from the women inside the van. I slid the door open and saw two women huddled together, bruised and extremely terrified, their eyes swollen and faces streaked with tears.
I put my finger up to my mouth. "Sshh! Quiet. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help," I said, praying that their screams hadn't carried all the way to the trailer. "We're going to transfer you to our van—"
"Why?" one of them asked, sobbing.
"Don't have time to explain right now." Reid showed up next to me and the two of us helped the women out of the van. "It's only for a little while."
"Come with me," Reid said in a calm tone.
"We need to move out!" Cole stated. He grabbed the dead driver and hauled him from the van, tossing him off the road and into the dirt so he wouldn't be noticed.
We plowed into the van and took off down the road. The trailer turned out to be a lot more than the old tin box that I'd been expecting. It was a newer manufactured home, the kind you saw in retirement communities. Either Oz had been given incorrect info, or the Knights had done some upgrading. I wondered what other surprises we were going to find.
Cole pulled up to the side of the main building, out of sight of the entrance door. We didn't know how many Knights we'd be dealing with, or if there were guards. The plan was to storm the studio, but there was also another building on the property that we hadn't expected
. A hunch told me that it was probably where they held the girls. It wasn't as nice as the main building, and looked as if it was used mainly for storage.
"Chewy, Loco, you check out the other building!" Cole commanded in a harsh whisper the minute we were all outside the van. "The rest come with me."
Demon stayed close to Cole's backside, and Reid and I followed as we rushed around the building toward the door. Movement in the shadows drew our attention, and several of us fired off a shot, content that the threat was gone when we heard a grunt. Cole kicked in the door and we rushed inside with our weapons ready. The first two men we came across went down before they could even reach for their guns.
"Spread out!" Demon growled.
We hadn’t gotten far when three other fuckers came running into the room. I managed to nail the first one, while the other two shot in our direction, causing us to scramble for cover. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye as another Knight entered the room from a different direction. Our eyes met, but he didn't have time to line up his shot. Before I could get a shot off, he chopped the gun out of my hand, and we began fighting each other for control.
I pushed him down the tight hallway. I didn't trust his brothers not to shoot blindly, not caring of who they hit. We went at each other like two bulls, bouncing back and forth against the walls while our fists pounded against hard muscles and flesh. His fist glanced off my face, the ring he was wearing splitting my cheek open. With a snarl I brought my fist up and clipped him beneath the chin in a solid uppercut. Blood and spit went flying. His retaliation caught me square in the eye, and for a second I saw stars. My head flew back, hitting the wall before I gave it a shake and came back at him with several punches to his nose and mouth. Several punches to my torso took my breath away, but I knew that if I went down, I wouldn't get back up
As I dropped to my knees I slammed my fist directly into his balls. I knew it was a cheap shot, but we were fighting for life or death. He released a sound like an animal on the verge of dying as he reached for his balls and his body slowly started to crumble. Before he could recover I got to my feet and brought my knee up, hitting him in the throat. He went down. I looked around for my gun, picked it up, and fired one shot between his eyes.
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