Page 31 of Jezebel’s Liberation (Hellfire Hackers #1)

“ I can honestly say I’ve never been to a biker bar.”

Bela slides onto the stool next to me in the VIP section at Purgatory. It’ll be a tight fit with almost all the club and their old ladies in attendance. My hackers have been working diligently to find Stewart Crane. We’ve got a couple of leads, but nothing concrete yet.

That’s part of the reason why Demon and I want to use ourselves as bait. Demon doesn’t think that Stewart will be able to resist getting his hands on him, and if he knows Demon is happy and in a committed relationship, we’re sure the sadistic bastard will stop at nothing to try and destroy it.

“Have you ever been to a bar at all, Bela?” Jinx quips.

Everyone’s eyes shift to Bela, anxiously awaiting her answer.

Bella is what I would call a classic beauty.

Her mocha skin, almond-shaped eyes, and soft voice draw you into a false sense of security.

She might be one to go with the flow, but I don’t doubt for one second that if push came to shove, she could do some significant damage to someone.

There’s an underlying current in her eyes that, if you look carefully, would make anyone wary.

Bela huffs and crosses her arms. “I’ve been to bars. I can’t help it if I get thrown out of most of them.”

“I knew it!” Loki hollers. “She’s not as sweet as she pretends to be.”

Bela bats her lashes. “I’m sweet until I’m forced to be a bitch.”

Jinx pats her arm. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

Diabla turns to Cece and changes the subject. “What’s it like to be married to the president of an MC?”

Cece grins. “It’s the best.”

“I don’t think I could deal with his arrogant ass,” Diabla admits.

I draw in a sharp breath. I know my team isn’t used to an MC.

Hell, even I get frustrated with the infrastructure of it all, too.

But the one thing you don’t do as an outsider is insult the president, especially in front of his wife.

Unfortunately, Diabla has had a chip on her shoulder since she found out my secret and has never been good at biting her tongue.

I have a feeling something else is going on with her, though.

She always comes off as a bitch, but nothing this blatantly disrespectful.

I open my mouth to admonish her when Mel starts gabbing.

“Neither can Cece half the time,” Mel says with a smirk. “But all Soul has to do is give her a good dicking, and she’s putty in his hands.”

“You’re one to talk, Princess,” Cece taunts.

“I recall Abyss wanting to discontinue your birth control shots, and you threatening to cut off his balls. How’d that work out again?

Oh yeah, me walking into the medical wing for some Tylenol for Harper only to find you bent over an examination table getting pounded, which by the way, I never need to see again. ”

“I can’t help that he has the power to tame me with his giant cock,” Mel replies.

“Did you ever get your shot?” Loki asks.

Mel frowns as she tries to recall the memory. “That fucker!” she shouts when realization dawns. “He fucked me into a sex coma. I totally forgot that’s what we were fighting about.”

Everyone howls with laughter, and the tension in the air immediately dissipates. Skye sashays over with two of the other bartenders in tow, each of whom are carrying trays of booze.

After drinks are passed out, Delaney raises her glass. “To new friends.” She salutes toward my team and then faces Mel. “And to the future baby Abyss,” she tacks on as Mel downs her shot of tequila.

The liquor shoots out of Mel’s mouth, and Ivory screams in disgust. “Damn it, Carmella!”

Heather hands Ivory a couple of napkins to clean up while Ivory glares at Mel.

Mel shoots off her stool and marches over to Delaney. “You take that back!”

“Now, now, Mel,” Apple soothes. “All that stress isn’t good for the baby.”

“Yeah, Mel,” Skye agrees. “Should you even be drinking?”

Mel raises her finger in the air and marches toward Abyss. Something tells me this is going to get bloody or end with him fucking her against a wall in a dark corner.

“That was mean,” Violet says with an angelic smile. “Serves her right, though. All those comments about me and Grim, and our sex life. The woman knows no boundaries.”

“See, it's always the quiet ones,” Jinx points out.

The ladies have gotten to know each other quite a bit over the past few days.

We’ve had some time to come out for air from our cave at the clubhouse, and everyone welcomed my hackers with open arms. I had no doubt that they would, but it’s still nice to see the camaraderie between my family and my team.

Apple salutes the table before hopping to her feet. “Duty calls, ladies.”

I grin at Loki’s wide eyes as she watches Apple walk to the stage and laugh when I recall the moment she found out that Apple was the Apple Caldwell , Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter .

“Holy shit! You’re Apple… Apple Caldwell ,” Loki says before glaring at me. “How come you never told us you knew her?”

I shrug. “It’s not like we open up about our lives. We do a job together, and we do it well.”

“Think we might need to change how we operate, boss,” Jinx says.

“Obviously,” Diabla adds. “Look how well that’s gone.”

“Fine.” I wave my hand in their direction. “Who wants to spill their guts right now?”

They all shift uncomfortably beneath my gaze, and no one makes a move to volunteer.

“Like it or not,” I begin. “We’re all hackers for a reason. We love the solitary lifestyle and not having to answer to anyone.

“Besides you, you mean,” Diabla retorts.

“I’m your boss, yes,” I grit out. “However, besides our normal day-to-day work, I’ve never asked any of you about your personal life.”

“I think what Jinx is trying to say,” Bela inserts diplomatically. “Is that after this whole McCormick mess, we should be more open with each other about our extracurricular activities.”

“Yep,” Jinx and Loki say at the same time.

“Yeah, sure,” Diabla agrees begrudgingly.

I blink a couple of times and refocus on the stage, where Apple is now standing. She holds the microphone close and addresses the crowd. “Welcome to Purgatory! Who’s ready to get this party started?” she calls.

The crowd cheers loudly while Malice stands in front of the stage with Grim to make sure they don’t get too rowdy. Their menacing frames are practically daring anyone to try some stupid shit, so they have a reason to bust in some skulls.

“They’re pretty protective, huh?” Loki asks, pointing toward them.

“Oh, you better believe it,” Skye confirms. “The last person who tried to rush the stage and grab her ended up in the hospital with a broken arm. None of our men will allow anyone to put their hands on us.”

Jinx whistles. “Now, that’s a man.”

Diabla’s head snaps up. “Wait, you’re okay with a man acting like a complete Neanderthal and not let you handle your own shit?”

Jinx shakes her head. “I can handle my own shit, Diabla. But it would be nice to finally have someone in my corner, so I don’t have to.”

Diabla snaps her mouth shut because who can refute something like that. Sure, we’re all independent women who don’t need a man, or in my case, men , to solve our problems, but sometimes it’s nice to share the burden so you don’t feel like the weight of the world is solely on your shoulders.

Possum saunters up to the table with Thorn and Spike. In what can only be described as a synchronized move, they fist Ivory and Delaney’s hair, pulling their old ladies’ heads back and kissing them until all four of them are panting.

“See, Diabla.” Bela jerks her head in their direction. “That is something I could get behind.”

“What are you ladies talking about?” Possum inquires.

“Nothing that would interest you,” Diabla mumbles.

“Where’s Soul?” Cece asks, pulling Possum’s attention away from Diabla.

Possum hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “In the office, going over the books.”

“Motherfucker,” Skye fumes. “Why can’t he wait until close or before we open. We’re trying to have a party here.”

Skye rushes toward the hallway that leads to her office, and Cece downs the last of her drinks before following her.

“I can’t let her kill Soul,” she says with a wink. “I need his dick later.”

I groan. “Cece, I fucking told you I don’t want to hear that shit about my brother.”

“Oh, come on,” Mel teases. “Don’t be a prude… You’re shacking up with two bikers.” She wags her brows.

My face instantly heats. “I don’t go around saying I’m going to ride their dicks later though, do I?”

Bela giggles. “I’m sure you want to.”

“We don’t want to hear any of this shit,” Thorns says with a smile. “We came to dance with our women.”

“This next song goes out to all the closet romantics,” Apple announces, pulling everyone’s attention to her.

Thorn and Spike take Ivory and Delaney’s hands and escort them to the make-shift dance floor.

“Where are your men tonight, Jez?” Possums asks, looking around Purgatory.

“They’re at the clubhouse,” I say with a sigh. “They needed time alone .”

I shiver thinking about the haunting look on Phantom’s face when he came back from whatever task my brother had him execute.

Not that it takes much imagination to figure out what that task was.

Possum’s eyes light up with understanding. “Cool,” he says nonchalantly. “Everyone needs their alone time when they’re starting a new relationship.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. It feels good to know that the members of SPMC support us.

“You’re okay with it?” Diabla interrogates with an edge to her voice. “I don’t know many MCs that would be okay with a bisexual couple.”

I know she’s being protective of Phantom because we’re a close-knit group, but I’m glad that, despite my indiscretions, she still cares.

“‘Course not. They’re all consenting adults. I don’t care how or who they get their dicks wet with as long as my family is happy.” Possum holds out his palm to Diabla. “Wanna dance?” he asks, clearly moving past the topic of his brothers’ cocks.

Diabla raises her brow. “Do you know how?”

“Babe, you have no idea all the hidden talents I possess,” he teases.

“Alright,” she concedes. “Let’s see what you got.

Possum leads Diabla to where Thorn and Spike are already twirling their women around on the small dance floor.

Possum bows— actually bows —before he twists her around and yanks her back to his chest, his hips moving in time with the beat.

Diabla keeps pace with him, but Possum isn’t any slouch. The man has moves.

Jinx, Loki, and Bela eventually join everyone else, leaving me to my thoughts.

My mind wanders to Phantom and Demon as I watch the happy couples around me like they don’t have a care in the world.

I need to find Stewart Crane and make him pay for all the pain he caused Demon. Only then will we all be able to move forward.