by Mackenzy Fox
“How far are you along?” Summer asks.
“Not far, just past the six-week mark but I couldn’t wait to tell you girls, Rubble’s freaking out but he’ll be alright, just as long as it’s not a girl.”
We all laugh.
“Not sure he gets a say in that,” I reply with a smirk.
Kirsty orders more of the same from a passing waiter, these really are nice and I have no idea what’s in it. “That’s such great news, sweetheart, you’ve waited so long for this, I’m so happy for you.”
Lucy’s eyes well up with tears.
“Our first official club baby in what, twenty years?” She laughs.
We all hoot and clink drinks.
“Wait, does that mean Rubble’s going to be without sex while your preggos?” Deanna asks.
Lucy looks at her strangely. “Why would it mean that?”
“Don’t guys go off you when you’re like up the duff?” she goes on. “Like I’ve heard some guys get weird about it, don’t want to touch you.”
“He better not,” Lucy replies very matter-of-factly, “it’ll be his funeral if he does.”
“Hutch didn’t,” Kirsty says with a sigh. I have to say, for a fifty-something-year-old woman, she’s one hot mama. “In fact, he couldn’t get enough of me.”
“Eww, Mom,” Deanna grumbles. “Shut the hell up, that’s disgusting.”
“What, sweetheart? Your father is one very hands-on, very sexual man… what can I say.”
Deanna makes puking noises behind her as we all laugh. “That’s just wrong,” she moans, trying to block her ears but it’s too late. “Stop talking please before I have to bleach my brain.”
Kirsty laughs with the rest of us and shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Have you got any names picked out?” Angel asks. “I have a cool kids’ name book I can lend you, I got it given when Rawlings was born, it really helped, though everyone ribs me about her name every frickin’ day.”
“Thanks, Angel, haven’t got anything picked out yet but I like tons of girls’ names, nothing for a boy yet,” Lucy says excitedly.
“Are you going to find out the sex?” Summer asks.
Lucy shrugs. “Rubs wants to, I don’t know, I don’t care what it is, I just want to get through this one with a healthy baby at the end.”
The table falls quiet.
Deanna pats her arm. “It’s going to be okay, we’re all on board to help whichever way we can.”
Everyone murmurs and nods and looks at Lucy hopefully. She hasn’t gone into details with me as I hardly know her, but I can see how much she wants this.
“You won’t be needing this then,” Deanna laughs, dragging the cocktail from under Lucy’s nose, she hasn’t had a sip of it, and Deanna asks the waiter for a double shot of lemonade for the pregnant lady.
We fall into easy conversation and nibbles arrive for the center of the table, I guess a little bit of food should be consumed so we don’t get too merry.
It’s nice inside, quite classy, there’s jazz music playing but not too loudly, though nobody is making half as much noise as our table. It’s a pretty upmarket bar; the clientele are dressed in suits and business attire, like they’ve left work for the day, all except Gunner. He’s unmistakable. He breezes through the door and grins as he sees us, if not a little bashfully, he wanders over to our table now he’s been spotted. I wonder what he’s doing here, it isn’t exactly your typical biker hangout bar.
He’s dressed in his usual cut and has a long-sleeved black tight top on underneath, his hair is slicked back off his face like he’s made an effort. Heads turn his way; he’s got the whole bad-boy biker look down pat, and the swagger to go with it. Lily’s right, he is too pretty to be a biker. He stops at the end of the table next to Kirsty.
“Hi, ladies,” he grins, “Jesus, I’ve never seen so many beautiful women at one table, have I died and gone to heaven?”
He leans and kisses Kirsty on the cheek. “Hey, mama.”
She laughs as the girls say hi and offer him a cocktail.
“Hi yourself, are you lost?”
“No, but I’m flattered,” he says, holding his hand to his chest, “that you’d let me join your little girls only soiree.”
“It is girls only, get it?” Summer pipes up, accentuating the girls part with exasperation. “Meaning, no boys allowed, it’s cocktail night, don’t you have somewhere to be?”
He rolls his eyes. “That’s hurtful, if I let you girls in on a secret maybe, you’ll let me stay?”
He bats his eyelashes at us as Summer rolls her eyes.
“Oh, yeah, what secret’s that?” Lily pipes up smiling broadly, waiting for him to let the cat out of the bag.
He leans closer to the table. “I’m in touch with my feminine side.”
We burst out laughing; Kirsty slaps him on the chest.
“Honestly, Gunner.”
“You douche bag,” says Summer.
“What?” He pretends to be hurt. “I am, I’m totally down.”
“Next, you’re going to say you’re a woman trapped in a man’s body,” Angel says, flinging a pretzel at his head.
He dodges the flying cracker and grins some more. “Maybe I am, maybe I should check I’m still attached.” He goes to his belt buckle and pretends to unfasten it.
“Ewww,” Summer groans as Deanna grabs onto his arms to stop him. “Keep it in your pants, this isn’t Church, it’s a respectable establishment, you’ll get us kicked out.”
“I seriously doubt that.” He laughs, looking around. Sure enough, nobody cares.
“Gunner!” Kirsty laughs, pretending to put her hand over her eyes so she can’t see what he’s doing.
He bends down to her ear but we can all still hear. “You are fuckin’ smokin’ hot, Mrs. Hutchinson, why does your old man let you out lookin’ so damn fine?”
She cups his face and squeezes his cheeks like a mother would do to a son.
“You kiss your mama with that mouth?” She laughs, shaking her head. He kisses her cheek again and looks up at Lily. It’s then I notice her beam at him when he turns his attention on her. What’s this?
He gives her a wink as Summer addresses him again, quite impatiently. “What are you actually doing here, in case you didn’t realize, it’s also ladies night?”
“Ladies night, huh.” His eyebrows shoot up. “Just as well, I’ve got a date.”
I see Lily’s face fall but she recovers faster than the blink of any eye.
“What kind of date meets a biker in a wine bar?” Katy laughs.
“A classy one,” Gunner replies, waving the now empty cocktail glass around. “Hey, are there any more of these?”
“They’re girl’s drinks,” Summer complains again, he’s seriously cramping her style, “now get gone, this is a private gathering.”
He ignores her and swipes one from the middle of the table.
“Gotta go anyway, ladies, don’t drink too much, tonight’s a school night,” he gives us a wink and takes off with a cocktail in his hand.
“Urgh, he’s so annoying,” Summer whines as he disappears. No one seems to mind except her, in fact, most of us follow his very fine ass all the way across the room until he’s disappeared from view.
“Is he really going to be piercing ears at the salon?” Deanna asks, turning her head back to the table.
“You should see him with kids,” Lily just about swoons, “problem is, all the moms want a piece of the action and the high school girls, God, they are the worst, all batting their eyelashes and trying to talk to him. I hope I was never like that.”
“That’s only because he encourages it,” Summer interjects, “which he shouldn’t.”
“He’s always been an outrageous flirt,” Kirsty agrees, “but he means no harm, and the ladies love him, you’re gonna be busy, baby girl.”
I get up to go to the bathroom and Lily comes with me. I can’t help but notice her looking around, I wonder if she’s searching for Gunn
er.
“So, how long you had the hots for him?” I say with a smirk.
She glances at me sharply. “Who?”
I roll my eyes. “Gunner.”
She glances around. “What? Whatever makes you think that?”
I tap my nose. “A woman knows these things.”
She rolls her eyes. “Well, it doesn’t matter; he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”
I nudge her on the shoulder with mine. “Why’s that?”
She huffs loudly. “I’ve liked him since I was a little kid, but that’s all I am to him, a little kid, no more than a kid sister, so it’s nothing… it never will be.”
“How do you know though, you’re a beautiful girl, Lily, you could have anybody.”
She smiles kindly at me. “Thanks, Sienna, but with a brother like mine, I can’t date anybody, much less somebody from the club and a brother.”
“Yeah, Steel is a little overbearing with that kind of thing.”
She shakes her head. “You have no idea.”
“Still,” I maintain, “you’re your own woman, you are strong and independent, maybe you have to take charge.”
I feel her look at me. “You mean, ask him? I’d rather die.”
I frown at her. “Well, it seems like a waste if you really like him.”
She turns to me as we push through the bathroom door. “You’ve got no idea what the guys can be like and me being the youngest, they’re all very protective, they’d not only kill me but they’d kill Gunner too, it’s just not done, he can’t make it with a club sister and live to tell the tale, it’s like some unspoken rule.”
I roll my eyes. “Whose rules are those?”
She snorts. “Bikers.”
“Well, that sounds really dumb to me. They may mean well but they can’t tell you who you can and can’t date, Steel included.”
She smiles in a bit of a wicked way. “You mean, I have an alibi?”
I smile back. “You think you need one?”
“Where my brother is concerned? Oh, hell yeah.”
I nudge her again. “You got it, babe.”
She laughs. “Spoken like a true biker babe.”
My head hurts a little as I wake from the sounds of my phone going off; it’s on silent but I hear the vibration on the side table. Ouch, those cocktails were good.
I glance up, Steel is wrapped around me and the dogs are both on the bottom of the bed. I smile watching them for a second.
I turn and glance at the phone; I’ve several missed calls from Cassidy, my cousin. My heart lurches, oh no, something must be wrong. We don’t speak all that much and she’s down in Miami, or at least that’s where she was last time we talked. I hope she isn’t in trouble again.
I peel myself out from under Steel’s arm and take my phone with me, tiptoeing out into the lounge.
I dial and wait for her to pick up, except she doesn’t pick up, somebody else does.
“Hello, gorgeous,” says a male voice.
I freeze from my pacing.
“Miss me, Sienna?”
I pull the phone away and stare at the number, it’s definitely Cassidy’s mobile.
“W-what… who is this?”
He sneers a laugh. “I think you know who, pretty girl.”
Oh, holy shit. It’s him; Ewan, my ex, but what’s he doing with my cousin’s phone? A sinking feeling shoots through my body like ice.
“Don’t hang up,” he warns, “just listen up good and nobody will get hurt.”
I sit on the end of the couch, dumbstruck.
“I’ve missed you, pumpkin,” he says in that voice I hate, “you know what you do to me, what you’ve always done to me.”
Bile rises in my throat.
“What are you doing with Cassidy’s phone?” I whisper.
“Well,” he snaps, “I couldn’t reach you any other way, so I had to pretend to be an old friend in order to get your number from her, then I realized that you’d never come back to me unless I had leverage.”
“Leverage as in what?” I stammer, my heart hammers in my chest. I know where this is going.
“Cassidy,” he says brightly like I’m dumb. “Oh, I’m sending a screenshot of her now, so don’t even think about alerting anyone about this like the cops.”
A lump forms in my throat and I feel like I can’t breathe.
My phone buzzes in my ear.
“Take a look,” he sneers.
I pull the phone away and a photo pops up from a text on the screen. My eyes widen as I see the picture before me. It’s Cassidy, she’s tied up to a chair, her clothes are torn and she’s all messed up with a gag around her mouth. I stare at it, shocked, this can’t be happening. This is not happening right now.
“You there, my darling?” I hear him as I bring the phone back to my ear.
“Yes,” I stammer again, I close my eyes trying to think, “why do you have Cassidy?”
“You’ve left me no choice, Sienna, you’ve brought me to this point, it’s the only way we can be together.”
Tears form in my eyes. “What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted,” he laughs without humor. “You.”
There’s a long, uncomfortable silence.
“You still there, Si Si?”
His voice makes me sick and I always hated that nickname.
“Yes.”
“So, we’re going to make a deal.”
“I’m listening. Just tell me where you are and I’ll come to you, you can let her go, she has nothing to do with this.”
“You’re in no position to bargain with me,” he snaps. “None at all.”
“She’s no use to you,” I plead, “I won’t make any trouble, I promise.”
I wait for what feels like an eternity for him to answer. He thinks I’m weak so I don’t doubt he’ll think I’m also a pushover.
“What are you doing in Bracken Ridge?”
Shit, he knows where I am. I wonder if he knows about Steel.
“I’m sorting out my dead father’s will.”
“Ahh,” he says, “well, we will get to that because you owe me, you fuckin’ little bitch, you owe me big time.”
“I’ll do whatever you say,” I whisper. My hand is shaking uncontrollably. He has my sweet, innocent cousin and I know he will hurt her, he’s a mad man.
“I’ll send you the details, meet me tonight, I’ll text you the address. Come alone, Sienna, you of all people know what happens when you double-cross me or try to lie to me, that won’t turn out good for you, or for your little cousin here, you know what I’m capable of.”
“Can I talk to Cassidy, how do I know she’s alright?”
“No, you can’t,” he barks.
“Please,” I beg. “I just need to know she’s alright… then I’ll do whatever you say, I’ll meet you.”
I hear him huff then there’s some shuffling; a muffled voice comes into the speaker.
“Sienna?” comes Cassidy’s haunted voice down the line, she’s crying and stammering my name, she can barely get the words out.
“Oh, Cass,” I say, closing my eyes.
“Please—” She gets cut off.
“She’s alive, for now, do as I say and it might stay that way, you bring anyone or alert the cops and she’s dead, you understand me?” he barks again. “Don’t be a stupid fuck, Sienna, don’t be a hero or she’ll pay for it.”
“Okay,” I whisper, but it doesn’t even seem like my own voice.
“I mean it, you stuck up little bitch, you owe me, I lost you once but I don’t intend on that happening again, you double-cross me and I’ll kill her, then I’ll do the same to you, only this time, I’ll do it very slowly.”
“I’ll be there,” I tell him. “Just don’t hurt her.”
The phone clicks off. I stare at it with unblinking eyes, I can’t cry, it’s like no tears will come out.
I dart down to the bathroom and lock myself in.
I have no clue what I am going to do, b
ut I can’t tell Steel, if he finds out, he’ll go in guns blazing and that could mean Ewan will follow through and kill Cassidy. He’s probably high on drugs so that makes things even more unpredictable.
Shit.
I sob into my arm and shake with terror; my nightmare has finally come true. He’s found me, he’s found my weakness, and now I’m going to pay for leaving him.
I knew it was too good to be true, this happy new life I am about to create for myself, I may as well wish it all away down the toilet because he has my cousin, and there isn’t anything I can do about it until she’s safe.
I can’t slip away without telling Steel, I mean, what am I supposed to say? That I’m going away for a few days, yeah, I could say that, but he’d never believe me. I could say my mom is sick and I need to go home, yeah, I could. But then he’d insist on coming with me.
Or I could leave, that way, he’ll never follow me. That way, I won’t put him in danger too.
My chest constricts; that means I have to hurt him. I can’t have him following me; I don’t want to put anyone else in danger, this is my mess.
A rational part of my brain tells me this is a matter for the police, that I should go to them right now, but he slipped away from them once, that’s what he does, he’ll do it again.
I wash my face, gather myself, and hope to God I can get out of here without hurting Steel too much.
I just don’t know how I’m going to do that and make him believe it.
21
Steel
I walk into my office and instantly know something’s up because Sienna is hurriedly packing shit up all over the place in a kind of frenzy. I lean against the door frame and watch her.
“What’s up?” I say, my brow furrowing. She’s been acting weird all morning, avoiding me. Maybe it’s that time of the month or something.
“I got a call from my mom,” she says, I realize she’s been crying, “I have to go back home urgently.”
“Shit, babe, is everything okay?”
She can’t look at me.
“Sienna?” I say, moving toward her, “what’s the matter?”