Page 5
Silver sat back and stared at her. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe a punishment is in order.”
He studied her sour expression for a moment, wondering if sex really wasn’t something she could handle. Something had changed her complacent mood. He glanced over at the bag she carried, spying the notebook. He wasn’t entirely sure if her life was the cause of her mood or if it was him. He stood and went to her bag, grabbing the notebook.
“What are you doing?”
She lifted her head in panic.
He opened the book and read the bills and the marks she’d made to pay them. Then he looked up at her. “Since you need an attitude adjustment before we fuck, I’m going to go have a beer.”
He pulled on some shorts and took her notebook with him, her protests echoing on deaf ears as he left. The clubhouse was full of people and he grabbed a cold beer from the bar before heading to chapel with Layla’s notebook. He sat in his seat and laid out her papers before him.
“What are you doing in here alone?”
One of the women, he couldn’t remember her name, peeked her head into the room. “Wow. That’s some bulge you’ve got. Need someone to take care of it for you?”
She took a step forward and stopped when he glared at her. “Out.”
Turning, she left without another word. Silver sat back in his chair and went over all her bills. She’d made notes in the notebook about how she’d pay them off. The paycheck for the restaurant went to the bill for Chrissy’s chemo. The paycheck from the gas station went toward groceries. The paycheck from the pet store went to rent. The paycheck from the bookstore went toward other medical bills. He looked at the paycheck’s sums and knew without adding it up that none of it was enough. Four jobs and she didn’t make enough to survive. He couldn’t imagine her throwing three other mouths to feed in there.
He reached for a cigarette and lit it. She had everything mapped out. When she got paid. How much she worked. How much was deducted from her check for taking off to take Chrissy to the doctor. She’d missed a few days with “jail”
written next to them. That gave him pause. Did she go visit Torque? Did he deny her money?
Silver sat back and sipped the beer. There was no way that Torque would deny Layla money. He fucked around a lot, but Layla was the only child he ever claimed. Silver thought it was largely because of her mother, but Torque never questioned it and took responsibility as much as he could. A wave of women started claiming they were pregnant with his child after that and he told them all to fuck off. Layla was his pride and joy. Silver knew Torque would help her in any possible way he could. So why did she come to him?
“Hey.”
Joker came in the room.
He closed the notebook. Silver rubbed his eyes and puffed his smoke. “You come to give me shit about fucking Layla?”
Joker swiped a hand over his face. “What you do is your fucking business. But Torque is not going to like it.”
“Fuck Torque.”
Silver leaned back with his beer in one hand and the cigarette in the other. “She came to me because she needed money. I thought he would have helped her when she went to see him, but he didn’t.”
Joker frowned. “What? Why wouldn’t he help her? He worships the fucking ground that girl walks on.”
“I don’t fucking know.”
He shook his head, puffing his cigarette. “She works four jobs. She inherited her three sisters. One sister has cancer. She’s trying too fucking hard to keep herself afloat. Hell, Joker, she lived in a roach infested apartment and was about to get evicted when I went to see her. Why the fuck would he not help her?”
Joker pulled a seat out at the table. “So she called you?”
“Yeah.”
He tapped his cigarette in the nearly full ashtray. “Offered to become club property.”
Joker’s eyes widened. “Oh, I know Torque wouldn’t like that.”
Silver sat his beer in front of him. “I gave her the money.”
“For sex?”
“That’s the arrangement, but you know goddamn well that it’s more than that.”
Silver didn’t know what the fuck it was about her that had him tangled in knots. One moment she was sweetly submissive and the next moment she was sassy and pushing back. All of it turned him on and had for longer than he wanted to admit.
“Yeah, you’ve been worshiping that girl since she hit puberty.”
Joker lit up his cigarette. “Torque will cut off your balls too if he ever finds out you’re fucking her in exchange for money.”
He’d deal with one shit storm at a time. “Since you’re the secretary, can you handle this shit?”
He pushed the notebook toward him. Joker had a degree in Accounting. Worked some time as a CPA. He understood all the numbers and the figures better than anyone else. It was the main reason why Torque made him secretary of the Charming Bastards MC.
Joker glanced up from Layla’s notebook. “Yeah. I’m assuming this cash she’s designated is your money.”
“Yeah.”
After taking one last drag, he stamped out his cigarette and sipped his beer. “She needs more. Make sure it’s all taken care of.”
“Why are you helping her?”
Joker sat back, drawing from his smoke. “I mean I get being obsessed with pussy, but you never spend money on women. You’ve been saving for the fucking house for how long? You have well over enough to buy a decent place without the mortgage. Why would you suddenly give her this kind of cash without demanding something in return? ’Cause I know you’re not demanding her to fuck you. Torque would cut your fucking heart out with a dull blade if you harmed her in any way.”
Silver felt fatigue wearing on him. “I don’t know. She’s Layla. Everyone loves her. There really isn’t a specific reason as to why.”
Joker chuckled. “Fucking whipped. Damn it.”
He closed the notebook. “I’ll take care of it first thing in the morning. She won’t have to worry about any of it.”
Silver stood. He grabbed his beer and slapped Joker on the back as he headed out of the chapel. A new member and a blonde were fucking in the hallway. Silver bypassed them on the way to his room.
Inside, Layla lay naked on the bed, her arms still cuffed to the headboard. The sight of her had his half-hard dick full staff. He closed the door and locked it, before tipping his beer to his lips.
“Where’s my notebook?”
“Joker’s taking care of it.”
He walked toward her and sat the beer on the nightstand. He pulled a condom from the drawer for good measure and tossed it to the bed. He undid the cuffs and tossed them to the side.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you went to visit your father?”
“Because I didn’t.”
“In your notebook you had ‘jail’ written on two days. You didn’t get paid for those days. Who did you go see if it wasn’t your father?”
She didn’t say anything.
“Layla, who did you go see? Where you trying to work out a deal with another convict?”
She let out a breath. “No. I was the one in jail.”
His full attention stayed on her. “What the hell, Layla?”
She blinked a few times.
“What did you get thrown in jail for?”
His voice was borderline yelling. He didn’t care.
“Natalie stole some food from the supermarket because she was hungry and I didn’t have any money to pay for it. The manager pressed charges and I was arrested. It’s the reason my aunt has the kids right now. But she can’t afford everything either. I told her that I would help pay for Chrissy’s bills. If I can’t be there, the least I can do is make sure Chrissy has the treatment she needs. She’s got another visit scheduled for next week.”
He stared at her. Tears had gathered in her eyes and he felt an overwhelming need to pull her close. Instead he stood, distancing himself from her.
“Why the fuck didn’t you call sooner?”
She narrowed her stare. “Because I wasn’t ready to give up my dignity for money.”
Silver shook his head, turning away from her.
What the hell had he been thinking? He didn’t.
His dick did the thinking for him and look where it landed him.
She hated him.
He could see it in her eyes, her expression.
He hated that he took advantage of her vulnerability. That he wanted to use her and everything she’d proposed for his own twisted purposes. If Torque did find out, he’d kill him.
He left the room, closing the door behind him. He needed some release and it didn’t need to be with Layla.