“Oh, hold on a minute.” I pulled my hand out of his and routed through my wash bag that was by the sink. When I found a hair clip, I gathered my hair together and twisted it up into the clip. “I don’t want to get my hair too wet,” I explained at his puzzled expression.
The hot water was amazing, beating down onto my skin. Drake was always great at distracting me, I just hoped that one day we could have a normal, stress free, drama free relationship.
Drake
WE HAD a new car delivered to the B&B at five in the morning as promised and the old car was taken away. We were now left with a red Mazda MX-5. I wasn’t convinced it would be very good protection if we got shot at but it would be good to whiz in and out of traffic in.
“How long til we get there?” Ashlyn asked through a yawn.
“Tired, darlin’?” I grinned.
“Hmm mmm, someone wore me out last night.” She closed her eyes and leant her head back against the head rest.
“Complaining?”
“No, I want as much of you as I can get. While I still have you,” she mumbled the last bit as her eyes closed and she fell asleep. What the hell did she mean by ‘While I still have you’? I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard the rumble of bikes. I looked through all my mirrors and saw a group of three bikes heading behind us in the outside lane. I quickly shot into the inside lane, noticing there was a turn off coming soon, if the bikes were on our tail then I’d have an escape. I was surprised when the bikes shot past, a sigh of relief left my lips when I saw Leicestershire Crusaders patches. They must have been on a run or something and were heading back, I wouldn’t be far behind them when we pull into their compound. I slipped back out to the outside lane and pushed my foot on the accelerator.
TWO HOURS later I pulled in through the gates to the Leicestershire Crusaders, Ashlyn was still fast asleep and I didn’t want to wake her, it was only seven thirty in the morning. I was greeted by Rooster, the VP of the club.
“Drake, good to see you again.” Rooster shook my hand and then his gaze landed on the car. “Ashlyn?”
“Sleeping. I’m going to get her inside, same room as before?” He nodded as he fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up.
“She ok?” he asked.
“Yeah, freaked out more than anything. I’m going to put her to bed.”
I started walking past when Rooster called out, “Church, ten minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
I walked down the dark hallway looking for the room we stayed in before, I kicked the door open and it pretty much looked the same, except for different sheets and duvet. I placed Ashlyn on the bed and sat beside her, stroking her hair out of her face. I hated leaving her here while she slept. I figured out pretty quickly that if she went to sleep with me she didn’t get night terrors, if she fell asleep alone then she did. So I always made a point to be with her when she was sleepy. I just hoped that leaving her here to sleep wasn’t a bad decision. I climbed to my feet, leant over her and kissed her gently on the lips before leaving the room. I closed the door quietly behind me and as I turned around I saw Denise, the Prez’s Old Lady rushing towards me.
“How is she?” She looked towards the door with a worried look on her face.
“She’s sleeping. She’s strong, a fighter. She’ll be ok.”
“There was another girl left outside last week.” I rose my eyebrow in question. “She didn’t make it. It breaks my heart.”
“He’s a sick fuck, when I get my hands on him…”
“Church!” Prez shouted as he stood outside of the room, all the guys started heading that way so I joined them.
As usual we had to stash our weapons away before we sat down. Once we were all ready the Prez slammed the gavel to get the meeting started.
“As you all have probably seen, Drake is back, with Ashlyn. They need our protection once more. We now have reason to believe that this son of a bitch that wants Ashlyn is behind the attacks on the girls that have been dumped here. In a note he made a reference to Amber. Henry and Monkey I want you two to go and check on her, for all we know this Switch guy probably thinks she’s dead, if he realises she isn’t, he may want her to be. If she’s noticed anything unusual around, don’t hesitate in bringing her back. Drake, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you and Ashlyn to leave the compound, I’m calling a lockdown on just you two, if we get more trouble I may have to call a complete lockdown. Everyone stay focused. Wiz get in touch with some of your contacts and let’s see if we can get this motherfucker before he gets to us.”
“Boss.”
Prez slammed his gavel down and I leant back in my chair and rubbed my hands up and down my face. Before I knew it the room was empty except for me and Prez.
“Prospect.”
“Prez.” I nodded.
“I’m not stupid and I’m not blind. I know how much you care for that woman, does she feel the same for you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s a big rule that you’re breaking. I don’t know how your Prez will feel about it. You’re a good prospect, you have a lot of potential to do good. If you are made to choose and you can’t leave that girl in there, and I know if it came down to it, I wouldn’t be able to leave my Old Lady. Then there is a patch here waiting for you.”
“Oh, wow. Thanks, Prez, I really appreciate that.” I stood up, causing my chair to squeak on the floor. I leant over the table and shook his hand. “It means a lot.”
Mason
“CAM?” I kissed the back of her neck as I tried to wake her up. “I need to get to Church. Harley is awake, he needs feeding, sweetheart.”
“I’m awake,” she mumbled, not opening her eyes. I chuckled behind her, one thing she loved was her sleep. I tried to help with Harley in any way that I could, but she had the one asset he needed, milk. I climbed off the bed and picked him up out of his moses basket as he began to fuss.
“What time is it?” she asked as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, making herself comfy and freeing her breast.
“Seven.”
“What? He only fed half an hour ago,” she covered herself back up and held out her arms for him.
“You get some sleep, I’ll take him with me.” I told her as I placed him on my shoulder.
“You sure?”
“Yes.” I sat on the edge of the bed so I could give her a kiss and she kissed Harley on the head before we left the room.
I strolled down the hallway and pushed the door open for church, I was the last one. I took my usual seat besides the Prez.
“We got a new member?” Prez chuckled.
“Yep, one day. Cam was tired.”
“Been there brother.” Prez said squeezing my shoulder, he was the only other member that had kids. “So, agenda one. Drake and Ashlyn have received another note from Switch, it seems he has been involved in some other girls going missing and then turning up dead at one of our charters, that’s where they are now. Pipe has a good team there and I believe it’s the best place for them to be. Toes any news on tracking this shitbag yet?”
“Nothing Prez, it’s like he’s dead. Nothing and no one connects to him.”
“Shit, do the usual rounds, sort it out amongst yourselves, make sure there is always protection here. Any other business?”
“Prez,” Hitch lifted his chin and Prez waved his hand to tell him we were all listening. “I’d like to make another proposal to get my VP patch back.” The whole room groaned, he was constantly on about this.
“Am I not doing a good enough job?” I barked at Hitch.
“Well, clearly you’ve got other priorities now,” he said pointing at Harley.
“If anything this will mean I will work harder to protect my club, woman and kid.”
“Hitch, I’ve spoken to Dredd at the Hampshire Crusaders, he’s looking for a new VP. I’ve put in a good word, he wants you there.”
“Really? That would be great. Daisy too?”
“Yeah, you
can take your Old Lady too.”
“Sweet, when?”
“Once all this mess with Ashlyn is sorted and we patch Drake in.” Prez slammed the gavel down and everyone left the room, including Hitch with a big ass smile on his face.
“Prez?” I asked, he gave me that look to say he wanted me to stay so we could talk.
“Ashlyn, should we send some of our guys there? To help protect her?”
“You don’t trust Drake and the LC?”
“Yeah, I do. I just got a bad feeling.”
“You want me to go and check it out, Prez?” He rubbed at the stubble on his chin.
“No, Cammie needs you here. Harley needs you here. I’ll leave it for the minute, I just hope I’m not making the wrong decision.”
I stood up and squeezed his shoulder. “Let me know if you change your mind, I can be up and back in a day if needs be.”
“Thanks VP.”
I left the room and headed back to Cammie, no doubt she was still fast asleep. I pushed the door open quietly, when I looked over to the bed it was empty and the bathroom door was pushed closed. Harley had fallen back to sleep so I placed him in his moses basket and went in search of my wife. I pushed the bathroom door open to find Cammie standing naked and looking in the mirror.
“What you doing, sexy?” I laughed.
“My body is different,” she complained as she examined her reflection.
“Of course it is, you grew our boy in there.” I sauntered towards her and placed my hands on her hips from behind.
“After Noah, I shrank back to my normal size really quickly.”
“But you were grieving, sweetheart. You probably didn’t look after yourself properly.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You look sexy as fuck to me and I want to fuck you so bad.”
“You know you can’t, not yet. It’s too soon and I need to start on the pill or something.”
“Na, let’s just have more babies,” I winked at her through the mirror.
“Let’s enjoy Harley for a couple of years first, yeah?”
“We’ll see. You getting in the shower?” she nodded her head and I gave her a gentle slap on the bum. “Hurry up, then we’ll all get some breakfast together.”
Ashlyn
I WOKE with a fright when I heard laughter, I gazed around the room not sure of where I was until I noticed our bags in the corner of the room. I sighed in relief when I realised we were at the Leicestershire Crusaders clubhouse. I jumped out of bed, ran my fingers through my hair, yanked open the bedroom door and headed towards the bar. Once I rounded the corner I stopped, the bar was full of members, Old Ladies and club bunnies.
“Hey, darlin’.” Drake smiled as he held his arm out for me as he spoke to Rooster and his Old Lady, Violet. I ambled towards him and as I stepped into his side, his arm came around pulling me in tighter.
“Ashlyn, it’s lovely to see you again.” Violet beamed. I smiled at her, it was nice to see everyone again but not under the circumstances.
“We’ll leave you to it.” Rooster grabbed Violet and they headed out of the room. Drake turned his body towards mine until I was pressed against his chest, I looked up at him.
“Where’s Amber?” I looked around for her but couldn’t see her anywhere.
“She’s not here, darlin’.”
“Why isn’t she? What about Switch? He was the one who hurt her, have there been other girls?”
“Hey, calm down,” he placed his hand on the side of my face. “A couple of the guys are going to check on her, if she is in any danger they are bringing her back here.”
“I think she needs to come back anyway, so we can protect her.” I looked into his mesmerising eyes and all of a sudden I had the need to kiss him. I stretched up onto my toes and gave him a lingering kiss. He deepened the kiss and both of his hands gripped my sides and I felt his thumbs graze just under my breasts.
We broke apart when someone cleared their throat, I tried to take a step back but Drake kept his grip on me.
“Drake, put her down,” Denise laughed. “You hungry, Ash?”
“Starving,” I admitted.
“Come and get some breakfast.” She nodded her head towards the kitchen and I looked back at Drake.
“Go and get some breakfast, I’ll be here if you need me.” He slumped down into the worn looking sofa and grabbed the remote control. I blew him a kiss and he winked at me before I hurried to catch up Denise.
I walked into the kitchen and Violet was sitting at the kitchen table eating some toast and flipping through a magazine.
“Do you want tea? Coffee?” Denise asked. “Have a seat.” She pointed to the table where Violet was sitting and I sat down opposite her.
“Tea would be great, thanks.”
“We wanted to talk to you.” Violet said as she closed her magazine and folded her hands on the table in front of her.
“Oh?” I asked.
“Yeah, we want to know what you know about this Switch guy and his men.”
“Violet,” Denise hissed at her as she set a cup of tea and a bowl of sugar in front of me. I grabbed the spoon and dished two heaped spoonfuls into my drink.
“What? We need info.” Violet shrugged her shoulders and then her eyes landed back onto me.
“Um… I’m not really sure what I can tell you. Aren’t the guys sorting all of this out?” I squirmed in my seat, feeling under pressure by Violet’s stare.
“We just wanted to see if they missed anything, that’s all.” Denise said in a calm voice, placing her hand on my shoulder.
“Ok…” I took a sip of my tea, trying not to spill it as my hands shook. I really didn’t want to re live anything about Switch, but if it helped I would. “He wasn’t the one to kidnap me, that was a guy called Preppy, he was well dressed, slicked back hair. He pressed something over my mouth until I passed out. I woke up in a cold, damp room. I had been stripped naked and had just a bed sheet to cover myself with.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and willed the tears to stay back. They both sat in silence waiting for me to continue. I tried to distract myself by looking at the features of the kitchen, it had a large stainless steel oven, matching kettle and toaster and funnily enough a fish tank in the corner of the room that I had never noticed before. “I heard them talking, saying they had the wrong girl. I was no use to them, no one was looking for me. They couldn’t use me as a bargaining chip against the club they wanted to take down. So they… they used me as a play thing. To rape, to slap around, to cut, to watch other men hurt and abuse me.” I angrily swiped away a tear that had leaked from my eye. I had shed enough tears over what had happened to me there.
“Oh god!” Violet sobbed as she covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Are we done here?” I asked, climbing to my feet. I knew no emotion covered my face, I could feel the darkness settling in. I had the need to hide away, I didn’t want to talk or see anyone. This was what my life was like now and just another reason why I couldn’t let my family see me this way, they would try and help me, but it would only make it worse. I needed to try and find a way to deal with this on my own.
“Yes, do you need anything?” Denise asked as she climbed to her feet too.
“To be left alone,” I muttered as I turned around and walked out of the kitchen, I dropped my head forward, letting my hair cover my face, if I didn’t look at anyone then they couldn’t engage me in conversation.
“Darlin’?” Drake called after me, I ignored him and hurried to our room.
* * *
Drake
I WAS CONFUSED when I saw Ashlyn hurrying from the kitchen with her head down, I jumped to my feet and followed after her. I pushed open our bedroom door to see her laying on the bed on her side with her knees tucked against her chest.
“Darlin’?” I asked as I rounded the bed and crouched down in front of her, she didn’t answer, she had a vacant look on her face as she stared past me over my shoulder. I ran my hand o
ver her head and down her side, no reaction at all.
“Ashlyn, please talk to me.” Still nothing. I stood up straight and her eyes never left the spot on the wall she was staring at. What the fuck has happened? Last I saw her she was headed into the kitchen with Denise.
“I’ll be back in a minute, darlin’.” I kissed the top of her head and stormed out of the room and marched into the kitchen. It was empty. I was like a bull in a china shop stomping through each and every room until I came to the Prez’s office. I banged on the door and tried to calm down, there was no use in letting my temper get the better of me and us being kicked out of here. That wouldn’t help Ashlyn in the slightest.
“Yeah,” Prez called out. I opened the door and stepped inside to see he was behind his desk, smoking and Denise was sitting on the small sofa to the left hand side of his desk. “Drake, what can I do for you?”
I wanted to demand that Denise told me whatever happened between her and Ashlyn but I knew I’d get in trouble speaking to an Old Lady that way when I was just a prospect from another charter.
“I wanted a word with your Old Lady,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Oh?” he asked, stubbing out his cigarette.
“Yeah, I wanna know what it was she said to Ashlyn.” I stood still, looking at her and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Denise? What did you say to Ashlyn, that would cause Drake to be in here like this?” He waved his hand at me, clearly seeing the frustration and anger that was coursing through my body.
“Nothing, we just asked her some questions,” she shrugged her shoulders.
“About what?” Prez asked. I was glad he was grilling her and not me.
“Switch.”
“Fuck!” I swore under my breath.
“Drake?” Prez asked, looking at me, eyebrows raised.
“She’s in our room, laying on the bed, not talking, blank and dazed. You’ve made her dig up a hurtful past.”
South Coast Brothers Part 1 Page 57