Page 2 of Liberator (Serpent Sinners MC #2)

Chapter 2

I proposed a toast to Sweet and Jemma. I wanted more than anything for them to be happy and for Jemma to feel safe with us.

She and her son, Jackson, had been through too much because of her idiot ex-husband. Thankfully, he was dead, and good riddance to him. But the cartel would always pose some sort of threat to her and to the Sinners, especially now that we’d hit them hard by blowing up their warehouse and releasing the women they were trafficking.

I was on high alert even as we celebrated the marriage.

My gaze shifted as I drank to the loving couple. Vikki stood in a corner. Her hands held a long-stemmed glass of champagne, but she wasn’t drinking.

She looked hollow eyed, thin, and nervous. The borrowed dress hung loosely on her body. She needed to eat more to heal properly, Doc said. It didn’t look like she’d been complying.

I’d asked her to stay at the wedding so that some of the happiness could wear off on her, yet I may have made a mistake. So far, it didn’t seem to be working. If anything, she appeared sad and uncomfortable.

I’ve always heard that if you save someone, you become responsible for them forever. I figured that’s why I felt it was my job to make sure she got better.

Since the moment I’d lifted her writhing body from the nastiness of the shipping container, and she’d clung so tightly to me, I’d been protective of her. It didn’t make sense then, nor did it now. I didn’t know her at all.

Once the baby came and we reached a hospital, she had been removed from my life. I guess catching her baby as it slid out of the most intimate place on her anatomy gave us an unbreakable bond. It was weird.

I’d seen more of what laid between her legs than I had her face.

I started over to her to see if there was something I could do for her, but Liz, her constant companion, beat me to it. She took Vikki by the hand and led her to the front of the crowd to watch as Sweet and Jemma cut the cake. Her delicate face finally lit with a genuine smile when Jemma smashed a slice of cake in Sweet’s astonished face, and he began to chase her around the table to retaliate. I thought Vikki may even have giggled when Jackson blocked his mother to allow Sweet to smear creamy icing onto Jemma’s lips and kiss it off.

After eating my share of cake, I was ready for the dancing to begin. Sitting still and waiting wasn’t my kind of thing. I was far more used to moving around. I spent most of my time on my ride going from place to place to get the goods our clients wanted.

I spent more time on the road back and forth to Mexico than anywhere else.

Looking over my shoulder for trouble was a way of life for me. There were prying eyes everywhere.

Since I already knew Vikki wanted to leave, I decided to give her a break. She was still here because I’d made her promise to give me a dance. I figured if I made the first one hers, then she was free to go ahead and get gone. I worried that I’d made a mistake in asking her to stay in the first place.

Though, she smiled at the appropriate times it was obvious she wasn’t actually happy.

I approached her with caution. The last time I’d touched her was to carry her out of her filthy prison and deliver her baby. She’d been too preoccupied with the pain to give a damn who did what to her. But now I’d be asking her to allow me to hold her in my arms for a few minutes without that preoccupation between us. I wasn’t sure how she felt about that. All of us, the Sinners, were sort of a scary group to someone like her.

She jumped slightly when I came up behind her and said, “Would you like to dance now?”

Her eyes flitted from side to side as if she was searching for someone to get her out of her promise. I watched as she set her shoulders back and drew courage from within herself. It was admirable, and I understood it. I’d been there a time or two myself.

“Sure, why not,” she finally answered.

She was stiff as I put a hand on her waist and connected our other hands. Her steps were rigid as we began to move.

“You don’t seem too sure about this at all,” I mentioned. “We can stop if you want to. I didn’t mean to force you into anything. I think you’ve had enough of being forced to do things already.”

My words brought her eyes up to mine. She replied, “That’s true. But because you understand that I can do this with you. You’re hold on me is loose which gives me freedom to escape if I need to. That says you won’t harm me or force me in any manner. I just need to relax and let myself enjoy the music, but it’s so hard.”

“Seeing others have a good time when your heart is heavy can be suffocating. It can make you tense all over. I’m sorry for all you’re enduring, especially letting the baby go. I can’t imagine just how tough that is,” I admitted.

She stumbled and I steadied her. “Does everyone know about that? Are they all judging me for it?” she demanded.

“No, Vikki. That’s not what I meant at all. Yes, a few of us know what choice you made, but no one is judging you for it. We’ve all made hard choices and sacrifices before. We get it, even those who might have chosen differently. We’re all doing our best with bad situations. Your choice has to be the right one for you to live with.”

“No, it has to be the right one for my baby. My choices have nothing to do with me,” Vikki responded a bit testily.

I shook my head as I led her around the floor lightly.

“I suppose that makes sense. Most sacrifices don’t make the one doing them happy. It’s usually about someone else. I didn’t think of it that way. I should have, considering I’ve made a few in my lifetime, and I’m still suffering the consequences. You’re pretty smart for being so young,” I answered.

“You think of me as little more than a kid, don’t you?” she asked.

“Absolutely not. After what I saw the night we found you there’s no fucking way I’d think of you as a kid. All that shit made you an instant adult.”

“Thank you for that. I needed to hear it tonight. It’s good to have someone I can talk to without censoring myself. Other than Liz, I’ve never had that luxury before. And thanks for the dance, too. It feels good to be normal for a few minutes,” she replied as the song ended, going seamlessly into another.

She walked away and out of the room. I let her go. What else was I supposed to do?

She had a hard road ahead of her, so maybe I could be a friend. I felt like we’d made a connection, an understanding of one another, and that made the foundation of a good friendship.

Vikki definitely needed a friend.

Sure, she had Liz, but Liz was more like a mother figure and would be raising her child. She was going away and leaving Vikki behind. There was no guarantee they’d ever see each other again. Maybe I was the one who’d stand in for Liz when necessary.

I danced with the bride and drank with the groom for a couple of hours. The wedding gave us all a break from the pressure we were under from both the cartel and the mafia. The cartel was most certainly going to retaliate in some way, and we owed the mafia for all they’d done to help us.

In a few nights I’d be starting the extra runs to Mexico to pay them back, and I wouldn’t have much time to do any partying, so I was making the best of it.

I was getting hot from all the champagne and dancing, so I stepped outside for some air. What I saw brought my mind back around to Vikki. Liz was getting into a sedan with an older couple. The couple was being very attentive to her, so I figured they were her parents. They’d come to take her home. I was happy for her.

Then, I noticed she carried a bundle in her arms. It had to be Vikki’s baby. My heart gave a lurch as I watched it disappear into the car.

For a brief moment I’d held that tiny life in my hands and I felt bonded with it. If it was hurting me that much to see it go, then what must it have done to Vikki?

Without considering the consequences of my actions, I raced up the stairs to the room Vikki had been assigned. The door was open, and I saw her tossing the few belongings we’d collected for her into a beat-up old bag I recognized as one of Flame’s.

Her shoulders drooped in a way that spoke of internal pain and sadness. It came close to breaking my heart.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded in quick defense of my feelings.

“Exactly what you think I’m doing,” she answered. “It should be plain to see. If I’m not supposed to take this stuff just say so.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that shit! It’s all yours. We don’t give gifts then take them back. I want to know why you’re packing. It’s late, and it’s not safe for you to go,” I replied.

“Liz left. Did you try to stop her?”

“I saw her go, but that’s different. She was with what I assume are her parents. She’s safe in their car not wandering the streets in the dark. She’ll be in a whole other state soon. You can’t go out there alone. The cartel may be watching us and just waiting to grab you again,” I explained.

She turned her pretty face toward me, and I saw the red-rimmed eyes and the puffy cheeks. She’d been crying.

“What difference does it make? If they take me again, then it’s what I deserve. I gave my child away. I have no home to go to. I’m nothing, just a waste of space like all the foster parents told me. Go back to the party. I’ll see myself out,” she replied.

I gently grabbed her wrist to end the packing. I was surprised she wasn’t trying to hide her pain. “They lied. Too many foster parents are in it for the money. They don’t have a clue what the kids need, and most of them don’t give a damn. They lash out with lies to belittle the kids, so they’ll behave. Sit down and get calm. Think before you make a mistake.”

“Don’t you mean before I make ANOTHER mistake?” she sarcastically asked.

“Not at all. I just think you’ll be safer here than out there,” I said.

“I can’t stay here forever. I don’t belong. I’ve never belonged anywhere,” she stated.

I rubbed a hand over my face in frustration. She was so down on herself that I didn’t know how to fix it. I wasn’t a psychiatrist, but I had to try. No one else was around.

“Tell me your story,” I commanded.

“What? Why? Do you want some kind of entertainment from my sob story? Will it make you feel like a hero to know you saved the poor, pitiful girl who nobody loves?”

“Vikki, stop it! I thought we understood each other better than that. Have I ever put you down, or said I thought less of you due to your situation? Have any of us? I’m just trying to help you the best way I know how. If you talk about what your past was like then it can ease the burden. At least, that’s what I’ve learned. You could have easily given in and died in that nasty trailer, but you didn’t. You’re alive because you’re strong. You’re not poor or pitiful,” I argued.

Vikki abruptly sat down on the bed. She held her head in her hands as she answered, “I’m sorry. I lashed out at you because I’m scared. The last time I went out on my own, I screwed up by trusting the wrong person. That’s how I ended up in this mess.”

“Why were you alone?” I urged her on.

“I have no one. I don’t even know who my parents are. I’ve spent my whole life in foster care, passed around from place to place. I never bonded with any family. When I turned eighteen, I was tossed out of the system with just some clothes and a teddy bear I’d stolen. I did a lousy job of fending for myself on the streets, so when a handsome rich man offered me something special, I jumped on it. He locked me up and raped me. After using me repeatedly, he sold me. That’s how I ended up with the traffickers. He’s the baby’s father. There’s nothing else to tell,” she said in a kind of daze.

Shit. “That’s awful, even worse than I’d imagined, but it’s not your fault. Nobody taught you how to care for yourself even though the government paid them to do better. It’s a damn shame the system sucks. But I have to ask, do you have reason to believe you can take care of yourself now? Do you have skills to get a job?” I asked.

“You don’t learn skills when you’re locked up in a room that has nothing but a mattress on the floor and a bucket to go to the bathroom. I’ve heard that you don’t need too many skills to work in a fast-food place or to bag groceries. I can do that or I can do what I started out as. I was used for sex. Maybe next time I can get paid for it,” she replied, sounding defeated.

“Don’t even mention that route. It’s not what you’re meant to do. You were simply a victim of circumstance. Stay here. Don’t do this to yourself. I might be able to get you a job in the bar,” I answered too quickly.

Vikki patted my hand and said, “It’s not your job to take care of me. I’ve got to learn to do that for myself. You all gave me sanctuary when I needed it. Now that time is over. Don’t worry about me.”

“Wait!”

Why the hell was I so insistent about this? I just couldn’t stand the idea of seeing her go.

It had to be because I rescued her and didn’t want that to go to waste…right?

“I have a crazy idea. Ask Prime if you can become a prospect. You’ll be able to stay here where you’re safe from the cartel. You’ll get food and housing while you learn. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. You’ll need to toughen up some more and build some muscle, but you’re capable of it,” I stated in desperation.

Prime was going to flip shit. I’d just asked this sick and battered girl to join the MC. But it was better than the alternative.

I’ll take a hit so she won’t have to ever again.