She was sleeping in my arms now and I held her close. I couldn’t remember another time I’d been in bed with a girl like this. And for some reason, this didn’t feel strange at all.
18
Harley
Harley
When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in the room. Dash was nowhere in sight and I sat up straight, worried that something had happened. In the past eight years, if there was one thing I’d learnt—it was to always stay alert. My mind went straight to the worst possible situation. That Dash had abandoned me.
I tried to stay calm, to even my breathing and jumped out of bed, looking for my clothes. I found my dress lying on the floor and I put it on quickly. Then I rushed to Amanda’s room, still worried.
But she was sleeping soundly, turned on the side and sucking her thumb. I breathed a sigh of relief. I still wasn’t sure where Dash was, but at least my daughter was safe.
I went up to her and knelt down beside her bed. I stroked her forehead and she moved a little. She had a long day yesterday and she looked so comfortable. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up right now. First, I needed to figure out where Dash was.
I went back to our room, searching for clues. I saw that his clothes and shoes were missing. Now that I looked around, I saw that all trace of him had simply disappeared. I was afraid suddenly. Was it all a dream? Had I just imagined everything?
What was I doing here? How did Amanda and I get here? How was I supposed to pay for this suite? I barely had any money to afford our next meal. A sound like a cry rose up in my throat. I was panicking.
Why had I trusted him? He was nothing more than a stranger. Why did I allow my desire for him to overpower my mind?
I helped him escape. I came here to this hotel with him. If the Hell’s Drifters found me now, which I knew they would—they would never forgive me. I shuddered at the thought of what Caesar would do to me…to us.
I sat down at the edge of the bed, about to shatter into a million pieces. I felt stupid and naive. I’d spent the past eight years trying to avoid this situation. Doing everything I could to keep Caesar happy…and now one look from a handsome man and everything was ruined. My daughter and I were never going to be safe again.
Then the door to the suite started to open and I jumped again. I was convinced it was Caesar. I was about to scream for help, but it was Dash who walked in.
He had two big bags in his hands and he shut the door behind him.
“Mornin’ sleepy head,” he said, smiling wide.
“I…I…”
I couldn’t get the words out. He saw the expression on my face and dropped the bags.
“You thought I was gone?”
I didn’t have to respond. He knew the answer to that question already and he came rushing towards me. Before I could speak, Dash had pulled me into his arms.
“Harley, you said you were going to trust me,” he said, stroking my hair. I looked up at him with my lips quivering. “I’m not going anywhere without you and Amanda. I promised I was going to take care of you.”
I nodded, trying to blink the tears away from my eyes.
“Where did you go?” I asked and he was smiling again.
“I went shopping.”
That confused me.
“My club arranged for the hotel reception to have some cash in hand for me. I used it to go buy some clothes and other things I thought you might need,” he said.
Dash went back to the two bags and dumped them out on the bed. He wasn’t lying. It looked like he’d gone on a massive shopping spree.
“I wasn’t sure of your size…but I made a wild guess,” he added, as he started taking things out one by one. He’d thought of everything.
There were a few cute dresses, a handful of t-shirts and some skirts. And there were five sets of matching lace lingerie.
“If these don’t fit you, we can go and exchange them,” he said. A smile was spreading on my face. How did he think of all this? Dash didn’t fail to surprise me!
“And there’s some stuff for Amanda too,” he added.
There were some dresses and clothes for her, and some glittery hairbands and chocolates she would like. Suddenly Dash had turned into a proud and excited daddy. It warmed my heart to see him like this. I wouldn’t have expected a man like him, someone who was in an MC, to be this thoughtful.
“I know this isn’t perfect. Most of this probably won’t even fit you guys, but I figured it would be a temporary fix. Just until we can figure this situation out.”
I rushed to him and threw my arms around his neck.
“They’re perfect!” I exclaimed.
I kissed him tenderly and he kissed me back. He was holding me by my waist, and when he kissed me, I felt beautiful.
“Good. I bought myself some clothes too, something was mysteriously wrong with my old stuff,” he remarked, which made me smile.
When I pulled away from him, he continued to stare at me.
“I’m going to shower and then put on one of your selections,” I told him. Dash arched his eyebrows playfully and I laughed.
“No peeking until then!”
I went into the shower and stripped off my old clothes and stood under the warm steady stream.
Why was I worried? What was I even afraid of? Other than Amanda, Dash was the best thing that had happened to me and he was right, I needed to begin trusting him whole-heartedly.
I smiled as I showered, still thinking about him. No matter what happened now, at least we would have last night. I was satisfied with that.
When I came out of the shower, my cellphone was ringing. Dash was sitting on the bed, putting on his new clothes and he saw me stare at the screen with crossed brows. It was an unknown number. I was afraid it was Caesar or someone from the Hell’s Drifters calling.
Dash came over to look.
“It’s for me, don’t worry,” he said and touched my cheek lightly.
I heard him talking in all seriousness on the phone while I changed into one of the dresses he bought me. I wasn’t surprised that it was a perfect fit. Dash seemed to know my body to an inch.
He hung up the phone and turned to me.
“We should head out to my MC’s Clubhouse. They’re waiting for us there,” he explained.
I gulped, beginning to feel nervous again. Being around another motorcycle club, especially one I had no knowledge of—made me uncomfortable. I never had any luck with anybody from an MC, till I met Dash. So what guarantee was there that they would be any different from the Hell’s Drifters?
Dash saw the nervous gleam in my eyes and he came up to me again. He hooked a finger under my chin and tilted my face up to look at him.
“Harley, I know you’re afraid, but I promise you things are going to be different. The Marked Skulls aren’t anything like the guys you know. We don’t mistreat our women. We live by a strong moral code. Nobody is going to harm you or Amanda. I promise.”
I stared into his eyes and nodded. I trusted him. I knew he wasn’t going to let anything happen to us.
I smiled and stepped back, twirling so he could see the pink floral dress twirl along with me.
“What do you think?” I asked. Dash was smiling too; his eyes were glowing as he watched me. No man had looked at me with that much admiration and respect as Dash did.
“You look beautiful. Not as beautiful as you do with no clothes on, but this is a close second,” he joked.
I fell on him, wrapping my arms tightly around him and he kissed me. He lifted me up in the air and I squealed, throwing my legs around his waist as he started carrying me to the other room.
“We should wake up Amanda and get her ready,” he said, dropping me down in front of her door. We kissed again and then I went in.
My daughter moved and blinked, she was beginning to wake up.
“Good morning, sweetie pie,” I cooed, rushing to her bedside, still blushing from how Dash made me feel.
Amanda smiled when she opened her eyes.<
br />
“Is Dash still here? Are we going on our adventure?” she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It seemed like she’d been dreaming about it.
“Of course. He’s not going anywhere,” I said, stroking her hair. “Now, we have to get out of bed so we can start, don’t we?”
Amanda jumped up. This was the easiest it had ever been to get her out of bed.
19
Dash
Dash
Harley was carrying Amanda in her arms and I held her hand when we walked into T-Bone. Even though Harley was trying to be as brave as she could, I could sense a certain discomfort in her. It wasn’t her fault. Eight years of being mistreated by a bunch of rowdy thugs would do that to you.
But I wanted her to see we were not like that.
They were all waiting for us when we stepped through the door and a huge roar broke out. There were claps and cheers all around us. Everyone wanted to hug me and thump my back, congratulate me for getting out of there alive and without any help.
Oz, Abe, Girth and Rodeo surrounded us, leading the way up to Lewis who was waiting for us on his high chair. He had a wide smile on his face too.
“Good to have you back, Dash!” he said, extending his hand to me and we shook. Then he looked at Harley and Amanda.
“Couldn’t have done it without her,” I said and Harley blushed and looked down at her feet.
“And for that, you and your daughter will have the full protection of the club,” Lewis announced. I looked at Harley and she was smiling now too, while Amanda looked about her with amazement. She was a brave little girl. Even though all this must have looked very new and different to her, she was taking it in her stride. She was curious, and not afraid at all.
Abe and Oz stepped up to shake Harley’s hand, just as there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned to see it was Kaya.
“Dash! You’re okay!” she exclaimed and we hugged.
“How is…” I looked down at her belly.
“I am fine, I went to the doctor and everything is fine. Melody is doing okay too. She’s made a full recovery.”
I was so relieved to hear that. She was my responsibility, and all this time I felt like I hadn’t been able to do it.
Behind Kaya, the other women were there too. Lila, Jordan and Alexis were beaming at Harley. They had sensed the vibe between us clearly—that she was the newest addition to the group.
“You have to tell us everything!” Jordan squealed with excitement, grabbing Harley’s hand. She looked at me and had a twinkle in her eye. She was sure now that she and Amanda were safe. I wasn’t lying when I said things were different at our MC. Nothing was going to happen to her.
“We’re going to whisk her away for a bit while you men talk,” Lila said, placing a hand on Harley’s shoulder.
“Hello cutie! You look like you could do with some candy for breakfast?” Alexis said to Amanda who was even more excited now.
I winked at Harley as she and Amanda walked away with the other women. She wasn’t frightened anymore and it made me glad.
We sat around the bar as we always did for Church. After some time of congratulating and guzzling celebratory beer down my throat, the guys had finally started to calm down.
Now it was time to get serious. We weren’t exactly in a position to celebrate for very long.
“Where were they holding you?” Lewis asked.
“In their clubhouse,” I told him and some of them exchanged looks.
“Was it just the Hell’s Drifters there?” Girth asked and I shook my head.
“The remaining assholes from the Dark Legion were there too. Waiting to get patched in.”
“Into the Hell’s Drifters?” Abe asked and I nodded.
“Not all of them have been patched in yet, but it’s going to happen soon. They are on a mission to prove themselves to the Hell’s Drifters first,” I replied.
“What the fuck is this shit?” Rodeo growled.
“They’re trying to broaden their forces of course,” Oz said and Lewis grunted angrily.
“We need to get to them before they grow in strength.”
“They’re definitely pissing bullets already—seeing that Dash has escaped.”
“And Harley,” I added. They turned to me and I ran a hand through my hair.
“They’ve treated Harley badly for the past eight years. She’s been abused and beaten up by them. Specifically, a guy called Caesar from the Hell’s Drifters. He is the kid’s father but he’s never taken responsibility for her,” I explained.
Lewis had his brows crossed. I could see the rage in his eyes.
“They abuse her?”
“They beat her up. Every day I saw her in there, she had a new bruise. They threaten her with hurting the kid so she’s been tied to them for seven years,” I continued.
There was a rumble in the bar now. This kind of shit never went down well at the Marked Skulls. Mistreating innocent women and children went strongly against our moral code.
“They need to be fucking destroyed!” Lewis growled.
“Caesar first. That asshole has made her life miserable. He’s no father,” I added and the others were nodding in agreement.
“What is the plan? How do we attack?” Abe asked.
“We attack the clubhouse,” Oz suggested.
“The Hell’s Drifters clubhouse? Nobody knows where that is. They’ve been very secretive about its location all these years,” Rodeo chimed in. Lewis looked at me.
“You were being held there. Do you think you’ll be able to find your way back there?” he asked.
“I might not,” I said and raised my bottle of beer to my lips. “But Harley will.”
Lewis was smiling now, Oz was grinning too.
I knew Harley was going to play a role in this. She was going to earn her retribution, and I was going to make sure I was there with her the whole time. This was where it ended. She and Amanda were going to be free of Caesar forever.
20
Harley
Harley
I had never had this before, or even if I did back in high school, I didn’t remember the feeling anymore. That comforting feeling of being surrounded by a group of women who respected and supported each other.
Lila, Jordan, Alexis and Kaya introduced themselves to me, each telling me about the men from the MC they were with. Amanda was kept busy with some candy and a sandwich while she watched cartoons on Lila’s cellphone.
We sat a little bit away. Alexis had made coffee for all of us and we were drinking it now and talking. I felt right at home with them, even though I’d never met them before. It was like a little sisterhood they’d formed and I could sense they looked out for each other.
I wasn’t sure if I belonged yet…technically, Dash and I hadn’t really spoken about what would happen to us long term. He’d promised to keep us safe and we had sex, but that could mean anything. It didn’t necessarily have to mean anything permanent.
I knew he was perfect for Amanda and me, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But these women were treating me like I was a part of their group already.
They sat with me, concerned and wanting to know what happened. I started at the start because they were interested to know everything. I told them how I met Caesar and how I got trapped.
“You were only seventeen, hun, you shouldn’t blame yourself for this. You didn’t know any better. We all do a lot of crazy things at that age. You just got really unlucky,” Alexis said, squeezing my hand gently.
I nodded and looked down embarrassedly at my cup of coffee.
“And he blamed you for trapping him with a child? You’re the one who got trapped!” Kaya commented.
“What did he do to you?” Alexis asked.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, hun,” Jordan reassured me and I shook my head.
“No, I do. I haven’t told anyone about it other than Dash. But I should have been. I should have told everyone I knew. I shouldn’t have been so a
fraid and kept it all to myself. Maybe then I could have got out sooner,” I said in a weak voice.
Lila gave me a warm hug.
“But you weren’t afraid when it really mattered. You were brave. You were able to get Dash out of there, you had the courage to walk out on the MC with your kid. You were able to break free,” she said.
I knew she had a point, all of these women were right—but I just couldn’t see myself as someone brave. I had been under someone’s boot for so long that I saw myself as nothing more than a weakling.
“You’re here now, Harley. You have nothing more to worry about,” Jordan added and she passed me a delicious looking iced cupcake which I devoured.
“I was too young and I’d dropped out of school and had no money. With a baby to support now, I had nobody else to turn to other than Caesar and the MC,” I said to them. It felt good talking to them, getting it out of my system.
“And what about your family?” Kaya asked in a low voice and I breathed in deeply.
“They’d washed their hands of me when I ran away to live with Caesar. I spent a long time hating them, but now that Amanda is growing up, I see their point of view and I know what I’ll do differently,” I said.
“Parents!” Lila exclaimed, rolling her eyes. I knew she was Lewis’ daughter and she was only joking. So, the rest of us smiled.
“And once I started relying on him for money and a job, things just got worse and worse. He didn’t care about his daughter, all he cared about was having a girl in their clubhouse who would slave for them. Clean and cook and run errands. And he is violent and has a temper,” I said, shifting in my seat.
They weren’t blind. They could see the cuts and bruises on me, most of them were healing or healed up but the faint marks were still there.
Marked Skulls MC Series: Books 1-5 Page 67