“Char, c’mon in girl. We were wondering why you were late, but seeing as you brought a friend I think I can piece together why.” A middle-aged man teases from behind the bar. He has full blonde hair with a speck of an accent I can’t quite put my finger on. He’s drying off glasses with a cloth towel while Charlotte tugs me over to the far end of the bar.
“Bring me over two of my usual, Erich.”
I turn my head back to see if he caught what she’s said and see him flipping her the bird, causing me to giggle lightly. “Let me guess, the bastard is flipping me off again. Or, no. He’s making a funny face.”
“The bird,” I confirm.
“Ah, whatever. He’ll taunt me in whatever way he can.”
I take the barstool closest to the wall while Charlotte sits beside me, hangs her purse on the hook under the bar and I do the same. “Seems like you come to this place quite a bit,” I comment.
Charlotte laughs, “Only every Friday and Saturday for the last three years.”
I can’t help but raise my brows, “You’ve never missed a weekend?”
“A couple of times when I decided to go out for awful dates. I haven’t made that mistake in a long time though. I think I learned men are dogs.”
“That they are,” I agree, seeing Erich come over with two orange, frothy drinks.
“Only the men you go out with, sweetie. I’ve given you plenty of opportunities to trade them in for a great one, but you’ve shot me down every time like the spicy shelia you are.” Ah, Erich must be Australian.
“I could never date you, Erich. We’ve had this discussion numerous times. I’d chew you up and spit you out like a Great White. Then, you’d never want to speak to me ever again. Plus, even worse than that, I could never come to the safe place of my Diego’s ever again.”
Erich doesn’t look butthurt, but instead he looks like he’s up for a challenge. “One of these days, sweetheart. I’m gonna catch you off guard.”
“Whatever you say. Now give me and my friend the whiskey sours and run off to pretend being busy like you always do.” Charlotte motions with her hand for him to scurry away like a stray animal.
Erich chuckles, setting the glasses down on small napkins in front of us. “I’m Erich by the way, and you are?”
I extend a hand, “Elizabeth, but all my friends call me Izzy.”
“I didn’t know that!” Charlotte exclaims, causing Erich to bust out into laughter.
“You’re obviously not her friend, Char.” He teases before dashing off to one of his other customers on the other end of the bar.
“I’m glad we got here early. This entire place is packed after six.” Charlotte tells me. I take a sip of the drink she ordered me and cough. This isn’t like any other whiskey sour I’ve ever had before.
“What’s in this?”
“Oh, bourbon. I never get whiskey in these. It tastes odd at first but trust me. It’ll grow on you.” I don’t know if it will, but I sure hope so. It’s a bit much for me the way it is.
Charlotte and I get to know one another a bit more. I share facts about my family’s business, growing up in Montana and a few other things. She has a similar story, but with a bit more struggle. The only difference is she grew up in a remote part of Wyoming. After my third whiskey sour, or maybe I should call it a bourbon sour, I grow a pair and ask her a question. “Do the buzzard’s eyes ever stop digging into anyone new, or is it just me?”
Charlotte tilts her head and gives me a somber look. “It’ll stop when Leonardo hires the next new girl. You’re the fresh meat, so you’re interesting right now. Plus, everyone knows what Leonardo does to the fresh meat.”
Narrowing my brows, “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, please. Don’t act like you don’t know. I wasn’t always a producer you know. I used to be on the air, until Leonardo decided to puni—,” Charlotte grows quiet and then continues, “Sorry I shouldn’t continue.”
“No, it’s okay. You can trust me.” I state, grabbing ahold of her hand as it sits on the bar.
“Leonardo is a successful businessman, but he’s the slimiest dog in the industry. Everyone else simply chooses to ignore that fact.”
I believe I understand what Charlotte is saying, but I need her to give me more information. “Leonardo transferred me to the production department after I stopped sleeping with him. That’s why I became a producer, because only women who keep their legs open for that bastard can be on the air.”
“Why don’t you just leave, go to another network?” I ask.
“Pfft, and go where, to Channel 3? Martin is just as bad. Don’t even talk to me about Channel 14 or 24 either. They have their own quirks.”
“No one should be taken off the air for a personal. . .” Everything clicks all at once, causing me to believe Leonardo has done this for years. “Leonardo told you to sleep with him or he wouldn’t honor your contract . . . didn’t he?”
“Bingo, Izzy. A big, fat, bingo. That’s why all the women are looking at you, whispering about you. Because most of them have been in the situation you’re in right now.”
Wait. Hold up a second. No, I’m not in this situation. “Leonardo said it was a one-time thing.”
Charlotte chuckles, downing the rest of her drink. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. Here’s my advice to you, Izzy. Always make sure someone is constantly around you. It’ll be hard for him to pressure you when someone is there to report him for sexual harassment. Catch my drift?”
I nod. While I understand it seems next to impossible. “What if he asks them to leave?”
“There are a few of us Leonardo knows not to fuck with. I’m one of them, but you can trust Naomi, Dior and Madelyn. Dior works in the makeup department. Naomi is an administrative assistant and Madelyn handles the backlog of the company’s social media platforms.”
Wait, now this doesn’t make sense. “I thought you said he targets women who are on the air.”
“No, I didn’t say that. You assumed. Leonardo has probably slept with everyone at the company. It wouldn’t fucking surprise me. The group of us are the only ones I know who’ve stood up to the asshole, though.” Charlotte explains.
“Ah, now things make more sense. We should get the girls together and chat. I have a plan.”
“Why do I have a feeling you’re going to attempt to shake things up at the company?”
“I don’t attempt anything, Charlotte. You’ll come to see that soon. I make things happen.” I smirk, finishing off my drink. If I’ve learned anything tonight it’s that I’m finding friends in the most peculiar of places.
12
Sooner or later, someone sits down on a Banquet of consequences
~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Cobra
As much as I hate to say it, the last few days haven’t given us one lead. Onyx isn’t giving us an inch when it comes to finding this innocent kid. Ivy on the other hand is trying to be the best mother she can be to Fate while still doing whatever she can to help us find Orion. Hell, she told us her hair stylist is the girlfriend of the police chief and explained what happened, telling her it’s too risky to put an actual amber alert out there considering her stepfather is more like a terrorist than anything else. If we put anything out publicly he could kill the baby, and that’s if he hasn’t already.
Surprisingly Damon didn’t tear into her for telling her friend club business. I think that’s only because of the circumstances, though. How could he rip into her for it when her child is the one who’s missing? He can’t, and if he did . . . lord help him ‘cause every ol’ lady in this joint would lose their shit on him.
“I’m pretty damn sick and tired of her being strung up from the rafters smiling down at us.” Amara curses, her words filled with rage.
Onyx does know something and she’s doin’ a damn good job at keepin’ it from us. Call it a gut feelin’ but this woman has the answers. Too bad she’s just a shit person and doesn’t care about the wellbeing of a child. Fuck
, as every day passes— scratch that— every day since I found out she was chatting with the Diaz brothers the veil was lifted from my eyes and I saw who I believed was a kind hearted, good woman was nothing but an opportunist. One who happens to change teams at any given moment depending on the circumstances.
“Yeah, well it’s not like she can talk.” I respond, pullin’ a glass from the bar I pick up a bottle of whiskey and pour it out allowin’ myself to have a heavy serving after the week we’ve had. Fuck, somethin’ needs to get a bit easier around here.
“Don’t need her to talk. She already told us what we need to know. As far as I’m concerned the bitch can die.” Amara comments.
I cock a brow thinkin’ I heard her wrong. “When did she do that?”
“Yesterday, she wrote it down on a piece of paper. She wrote down ‘bear’. So, we know Grizzly has Orion. She’s useless to us now ‘cause she’s not gonna tell us anything else.” Amara says, and while I understand her reasoning behind what she’s saying . . . I think it would be pretty fuckin’ stupid to kill Onyx when she may have something that could help us.
“I agree,” Ivy states from behind us. Turning, I see her there with Fate in her arms, rocking her back and forth. “She’s a useless waste of space. With everything she did, she’s still alive? It’s blasphemy, that’s what it is. We all fucking know who took her tongue, anyway. It was so she couldn’t betray him and tell us where my son is. I don’t care about this bitch. She won’t give us anything useful and regardless we will find him. I want this parasite out of our home, off our property. God forbid she gets loose and steals Fate.”
“She doesn’t even know about Fate, Ivy.” Amara points out. Onyx only believed Ivy was pregnant with one child, not two. Had she known I bet she would’ve waited for Fate to be born to deliver her to Grizzly too.
Ivy rushes up to Amara glaring right at her. “You don’t know what that woman knows. She’s been at the clubhouse for days. Even though she’s in the shed doesn’t mean she hasn’t heard anyone talk. Before she finds a way to escape and runs back to Grizzly we need to handle the problem at hand. Should I remind us all Onyx is the only problem we can handle right now?”
Sakura rises from her seat on the couch and approaches us, “Ivy isn’t wrong. The longer Onyx is alive the more your allowing temptation to those closest to you who’re thinking of betraying you. She needs to be used as an example on why you shouldn’t screw with this club.” Sakura has been here since we moved her from the bunker and from the looks of it she’ll continue to stay here. She gave us an update yesterday when she spoke to her godfather and he instructed her to lay low for a bit more. I’m not too keen on outsiders stickin’ close to the club but Sakura has proven she’s both useful and loyal.
“Regardless I’m doing this. I don’t give a fuck if you try to stop me or not Amara. Until you have a child you won’t understand the pain Kade and I are going through right now. No one else should ever have to suffer at the hands of this woman and I’m going to end it. In fact, I’m going to end it right now. Sakura, can you please watch Fate while I handle what needs to be done?” Ivy turns and hands off her daughter to the woman who is closely becoming a good friend to her.
Sakura nods, holds onto Fate securely and exits the clubhouse before what I’m expecting is a huge blow up between these women. I’ve been assigned as one of a couple of men to stay back at the club and make sure shit doesn’t go bad. Now I wouldn’t call this goin’ bad, but I certainly wouldn’t call this goin’ good either. Hell, we’ve been so busy that Damon hasn’t even reamed Mouser’s ass for talkin’ about shit yet. If he didn’t flap his jaws none of us would be in this predicament in the first place.
Actually, I may be wrong. Onyx might’ve been planning this with Grizzly for ages. “Are you going to try and stop me, or have you accepted it?” Ivy asks Amara.
Amara turns around and goes for another drink, “Listen, it doesn’t really matter what I say because at the end of the day you’re going to do what your twisted, black heart desires. As a woman I understand the reasoning behind it, your need for vengeance and the reason you want to axe Onyx before she harms someone else like this. That’s the only reason I won’t stop your ass, even if I think she could be useful. If I doubted our abilities to find your son I’d say no, but I know we’re going to find him.”
Ivy doesn’t stick around for more than a second, rushing out the clubhouse doors. I contemplate letting her do this on her own but decide against it. Lord knows I’d be the one getting shit from Kade for letting her do it by herself.
By the time I’m out the clubhouse doors Ivy is almost at the shed and I gain on her quickly as she tears the doors open and walks inside. When I get there she flips the light on and turns back to me, “Didn’t wanna leave me with her?”
“Nah, you’re a psycho bitch. I just have a feelin’.”
“Damn straight, Kade doesn’t call me Killer Crazy Ivy for no reason. Seldom does it ever come out.” Ivy mutters, going over to the middle of the shed which is more like a barn. She slams her hand down on the lever and Onyx comes flying down ten feet and crashes into the ground.
She makes an awful cry, but no one here feels bad for her. Ivy grabs an old, rusty knife from the wood shelf and walks over to her, grabs her by the back of her hair and digs the knife against her face. Fuck, what on Earth is she doing?
I narrow my eyes and see Ivy appears to be shaving her eyebrows off with this rusted contraption. Only, instead of shaving like one normally would she’s also ripping her flesh off in the process. Blood starts to slowly descend over her cheeks and I try to figure out what Ivy is planning on but I can’t. This is some crazy shit.
Onyx keeps making animalistic noises and Ivy whips her hand back, crashing it against her face so hard the traitor falls down against the dirt floor. At some point anyone would think I’d feel sorry for her, but I don’t. Not now. Not after knowing everything I do about her. Or rather, the real her.
Ivy grasps at her eyes and yanks, causing Onyx to scream out. Ivy opens her right hand and drops eyelashes onto the back of her left hand, throwing it over her shoulder like the common myth goes. It’s an older nineteenth-century myth sorta folklore kinda thing. I watch as she does it to her other eye and repeats the process before she grabs the back of Onyx’s hair and forces her to look up at her.
“I’ve taken shit from people like you my entire life. Well, I’m not doing it anymore, bitch. It’s time you all know what I’m capable of.” Within a split-second Ivy shoves the rusted dagger into Onyx’s throat, blood pours from her open flesh wound and Ivy continues to look down at her, “I’m sure you’ve choked on some pretty big cocks in your life. Bet they’re a lot more pleasant than this.” Ivy snickers out her words before dropping her hold on Onyx, walking back over to me.
The two of us stand in the shed until her body stops convulsing. If karma was ever a woman, like an actual person, I’d be damn certain it’s Ivy Monroe.
“What’s the matter?” Ivy asks, turning as she looks at me.
“Oh, nothin’. If you were single I’d be makin’ sure you ended up in my bed tonight.”
Ivy laughs her ass off, “In your wildest dreams would I ever have been with you.”
13
Someone will ache for your soul. Wait for them
~ E. Russell
Izzy
What the hell am I thinking? It’s the one question I’m repeating in my mind as I stare into my reflection in the mirror. I’ve spent a bit longer getting ready than I typically do, even for work. I want everyone to see I’m putting in effort trying to fit in with this crowd, even if I don’t know what they look like or how to even fit in.
Last night I dyed my roots black since my natural color was coming through. I typically do this to make my purple pop. It’s washing out a little bit, giving it a pretty pastel color. Today I decided to go a bit bold on my makeup, making sure my eyebrows are strong and defined while my lips are a bold shade of red. I’ve kept my eye ma
keup dark too, deciding on a thick cat eye to make them call for attention.
In all my years I’ve always been the one woman who’s wanted to command the attention of a room. I’ve never accomplished that until now— when I changed my hair to fully represent who I am as a person. I tied my hair back in a braided ponytail, giving me a rough and rugged Viking look. Although, the one thing I struggled with more than anything is my wardrobe. Almost everything I own is for work. Business dresses, blazers and suits. But I did happen to find a pair of old black denim jean shorts that have little destructive aspects near the bottom of them, and found a loose fitting olive t-shirt. Since it’s going to be hotter than usual, I’m dressing comfortable. I paired the look with a black studded belt and managed to find a cute little silver and black cuff to adorn my wrist. Lastly, I’m pairing the look with a pair of red bottom heels.
Still, I can’t help but berate myself for doing this. I’m about to drive over to a freaking biker club. I’ve had some insane moments but this by far surpasses them all. Raven texted me the address earlier this morning and asked if I was still coming. She used to do that when we were kids as a way to give me an out, I think. One night when we were kids, she confessed she felt like she wasn’t worthy enough to be my friend because of her home life situation. While Raven did her best to hide it, I could see what she was going through. Her mom never deserved her, that’s for certain.
I take my hands off the bathroom counter and turn around, head for my bedroom door and walk out into the kitchen. I need to do this. It’s no secret Raven and I left on bad terms. While our conversation last week was good, we didn’t get to dive into what happened the last time we saw one another. It was heated, ugly, and made me feel a certain way about myself. Not only that, but the words she said hurt me more than anything else.
Cobra: Reapers MC Book 8 Page 7