Page 20 of Liberator (Serpent Sinners MC #2)

Chapter 20

Every piece of me ached. My muscles burned. My heart hurt, and my poor brain was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I felt as if I’d taken a beating inside and out. There was so much to process in my mind that it was better not to think at all. The confessions Rage had made were more than I could handle when I tried to reconcile the facts with who I’d thought Rage was.

I suppose I’d just believed that all the Serpent Sinners had just been the same all their lives. I saw them the same way I saw the gangs in the larger cities, born bad and ready to fight. I had never let myself imagine they had stories to tell, backgrounds that made them who they were.

Rage didn’t want pity, and though I felt the child he’d once been deserved some I realized the adult didn’t. He’d picked himself up and become strong and independent. He’d found another family that had his back, and he was loyal to them. That wasn’t anything to pity. It was something to admire and doubled my desire to do the same for myself.

My muscles were stiff as I climbed the stairs toward the solitude of my room. Flame stood at the railing looking as tired as I felt, yet her words differed from her demeanor.

“Hey chica! Let’s blow this joint. Neither of us are scheduled to work, so let’s go have some laughs,” she said too cheerily for me.

“Are you crazy? I can barely move. All I want is a hot shower and to sleep like the dead,” I replied.

“Not on my watch. That shit will just make you as tired and burned out in the morning as you are now. What you need is some cerveza and some fun. I insist. Let’s go where these assholes won’t follow. We can pretend to be regular women for one night. We’ll check out how the other side lives,” she joked with a laugh.

“I’m being watched and protected from the cartel. I’m not supposed to leave without guards,” I reminded her.

“To hell with that! What they don’t know won’t hurt them. We’ll fucking sneak out, and where we’re going no self-respecting cartel asshole will show his damn face. Besides, we’re badass these days. We’ll protect each other.”

I considered how much I hurt and wanted rest against how good the freedom would feel. The freedom to do as I pleased without Rage or anyone else watching my every move was too tempting to resist.

“Sure. Why the hell not? What should I wear?” I asked.

“Leave it to me. I’ll bring something to your room. And I’m doing your hair and face. You won’t be blending in tonight. You’re going to show off the new you,” Flame vowed.

I stepped from the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and didn’t even bother looking in the mirror before I went in search of whatever Flame had left me to wear. I knew it would be nothing like the clothes I wore every day, and it definitely wouldn’t come close to the rags I’d lived in as a trafficked woman.

On my bed laid a red sparkling tube. It was a narrow strip of cloth that would mold itself to my newly well fed and toned body. Excitement rose in me. My breath hitched as I ran my fingers over its silkiness. I hurriedly dropped the towel and slithered into it without bothering to add panties. This dress was too formfitting even for a thong, which I didn’t own anyway.

No matter how much I tugged at the hem, the dress barely covered my ass. If I moved wrong I’d be showing everything I had to anyone who cared to look. Somehow that danger made me adore the dress even more. It gave me a power that I’d only ever imagined, one I’d seen in movies. I felt strong and dangerous. It was an excellent feeling.

“Well, look at you!” Flame announced as she entered without knocking. “You’re a knockout.”

“Where did you get these?” I asked, referring to my dress and the blue one her breasts were currently spilling out of.

She shrugged and replied, “I like to shop. The computer had become my best friend.”

“You spent a lot of your money on this dress. I promise to be careful about spilling anything on it,” I said.

“It’s my gift to you, chica. I’m too curvy for it. Sit so I can fix your face,” she commanded with a flick of her hand to prevent me from thanking her.

By the time she’d finished with my face and hair the woman in the mirror was unrecognizable. I felt and looked like a little girl playing dress-up.

“This isn’t me,” I complained.

“It’s the new you. You just don’t know it yet. You’re not the abused, frightened girl anymore. We’ve changed you. You’re tougher, meaner, and a full-fledged woman. You’re badass, though not nearly as much as me. Let yourself feel it and believe it. Once you walk the walk you’ll understand. Give me some attitude!” Flame demanded.

“I’ll try that once I learn to walk in these damn heels without breaking my neck, and after we’ve made it out of here without being detected,” I answered.

“Have a little faith,” she told me.

She took my hand, glanced out the door to be certain no one was near, and guided me down the hall to a back staircase I’d never noticed because it was hidden behind a door that looked the same as all the rest.

“It was once a secret escape route for if we were ever attacked, but it was decided it was too easy to find. These days it’s rarely used unless someone wants to leave without being seen, like a married woman who stayed too long with one of the club members,” Flame explained. “I use it as an escape hatch because I don’t care for everyone always knowing my business.”

She shushed me at the bottom of the stairs. “We’re leaving through the kitchen. It should be empty, but you never know for sure.”

I breathed a sigh of relief once we were outside, and I saw the car she’d rented for us. It was a vintage Mustang in candy apple red with white interior.

“To a fabulous girls’ night out,” she said bumping her hip into mine. “Let’s raise some hell.”

She took us into the heart of the city, breaking every speed limit and with the radio blasting. Her carefree attitude mixed with the loud music emptied my mind of all that I’d learned about Rage and what I was beginning to imagine about the others. Tonight wasn’t for gloominess or past troubles. It was a celebration of life, the new one I’d been given yet never expected.

The club Flame took us to was nothing like a biker bar. It was sophisticated, new, and very possibly exclusive to the rich and famous. Yet, we didn’t have any trouble getting inside. In fact, the men at the door waved us forward the moment they set eyes on us. We drifted past the line like queens and through the door as nasty words from the crowd followed us.

“How did we do that?” I asked Flame.

“We don’t look like skanks and whores. The guards saw us as special, so they gave as a pass. Don’t second guess a fucking gift, Vikki. Hold your head high and act like you deserved it,” she commanded.

There were no men in leathers here, no biker gear, and no dart boards. The men wore suits made specifically for them, and watches that would have paid rent on a one-bedroom apartment for a year. The women looked down their noses at us, maybe because we didn’t have diamonds dripping from our ears and necks.

But we ignored all that and reveled in the stares the handsomest of the men gave us. We were instantly offered drinks by several men at the bar.

“A drink for a dance, no more,” Flame repeated as she freely flirted and took the offerings.

Dancing wasn’t something I’d done much of in my life. I’d only managed to sway to the music my foster families had listened to while I hid in a closet or did the chores I’d been assigned. So, swaying and shuffling my feet was the best I could do. It didn’t appear to matter much to my partners. Most of them were drunk or close to it. It seemed money didn’t always mean manners or self-control. These rich people weren’t so different from the rest of us, not even the Sinners.

Flame must have taken a shine to one of the men because she stole a kiss or two and let his hands roam over her curves a few times. She winked at me as we passed each other on the dance floor.

I had to admit we were having a good time. I briefly wondered how it would feel to be in Rage’s arms as he held me close while we remained clothed and had no intentions of screwing.

I had to close my eyes and think really hard to erase that picture from my mind. When I opened them again it was to see Flame twisting her partner’s ear until it was so bright red I worried she’d rip it from his head. She spoke in rapid Spanish. The words were foreign to me, but their meaning was obvious to everyone. She called him vile names and cursed him and any future children he might sire.

His friends laughed uproariously when he stumbled toward the bar and stole a shot of whiskey from one of them. Flame glared at him with daggers of death shooting from her eyes. She gave him the finger and spat at him before turning her back and giving me a brilliant smile.

“How is your night, chica? I’m having a most wonderful time,” she stated.

“Your friend is crazy,” my dance partner said.

“No, she simply doesn’t tolerate fools,” I replied. “Neither do I, so don’t think you’ll be getting more than a dance.”

“You wouldn’t try to rip off my ear, would you?” he asked with a grin that showcased his dimples, a grin that most likely was used to get women to fall at his feet asking to be taken to bed.

“Your ear? No. I’d go for a more tender area. I’d take you from a stallion to a gelding in a heartbeat,” I answered as charmingly as I knew how.

His eyes widened and I felt a tremor go through him. The space between our bodies widened minutely and the instant the song ended he left me. He too wandered to the bar, and I saw him whispering to the men who lingered there.

“I think we have frightened all the men away, Vikki. There is no more fun to be had here. I want to take a walk in the night air and lose the stench of this place. It doesn’t suit me as well as I thought it might. I prefer our bar and our patrons. They don’t pretend to be what they are not the way these bastards do,” Flame announced.

The night air was warm but held a small hint of fall. The sky was filled with stars, and we could hear the sound of live music. We followed the sound to a park where a band played. Couples and families sat on blankets having picnics and listening to the music. A few danced beside their spots and made their children giggle.

We remained at the back of the crowd, leaned against some trees, and let ourselves relax.

“Do you ever imagine a life like this?” I dared ask Flame.

“Not since I was a small girl. It was a dream that wasn’t meant for me. Things happen for a reason, and I believe I came to harm so that I didn’t end up in a life where I was either bored to death or made into my husband’s servant,” she answered.

“What happened to you?” I asked. She knew everything about my past and yet she’d never spoken of hers. I hoped she’d open up to me the way Rage had done.

“I may tell you when the time is right, but that isn’t now. Tonight is for fun. My past has no place in it. I am content to be in the open air with good music and a friend. I don’t wish to ruin it.”

I nodded. She was right. It was a pleasant atmosphere and one that was nothing like the one we’d chosen for ourselves. So, we simply listened and watched as the night dragged on.