Page 43 of Mimic

Tiffany grabbed my hand and dragged me from my seat. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

“Downstairs?”

Johnny laughed as Tiffany pulled me along with her. My eyes bulged out of my head as I silently begged him to help me.

“Jade, let’s go!”

Jade jumped up and followed behind us. “Okay, but go easy on me. I was with Ben last night, and I’m a little sore. That man is a beast.”

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Brandy called out.

“Bitch.” Crystal’s muttered curse made me smile. Like I said,triednot to be a judgmental bitch. I never said I was good at it.

Tiffany and Jade followed me into my room while I changed into something I could move around in. I expected them to say something about the fact I hadn’t unpacked, but they sat on the bed and whispered about techniques, ignoring me until I was ready.

I followed the two women downstairs. I hadn’t seen much of the clubhouse. After the fiasco in church, Brandy showed me to a room, and I’d locked myself in there, not wanting to see or talk to anyone.

The basement of the clubhouse was massive. It spanned the entire length of the building. Jade pointed out the medical wing as we passed, and then Tiffany opened the door to the gym.

“Through there is a ring the guys use.”

“A ring?”

“Yeah, like a boxing ring. It’s where they beat the shit out of each other.”

“Why?”

Tiffany shrugged. “Sometimes they need more than a sexual release. Testosterone builds up quickly when you have this many men living together. They have to burn it off somehow. Either fucking or fighting. Also, King uses it for discipline, but we aren’t supposed to know that.”

“Discipline?” I asked, my eyes locked on the door across the room.

“Sometimes the guys do things they aren’t supposed to. Disobeying a direct order is one of them. I’m surprised he hasn’t had Mimic down here yet. But then, with Sam going into labor, I guess their minds are elsewhere.”

“Wait, what order did Mimic disobey?” I asked, grabbing Jade’s arm. She looked at Tiffany and bit her lip.

“You may as well tell her; she’s bound to find out,” Tiffany said, her hands on her hips as she grinned at Jade’s discomfort.

“King ordered Mimic to stay away from you.”

“Why?” I looked between the two women. “How do you know that?”

“We know a lot of things. The guys don’t always notice us. We hear things, and we know more than we should. But we’re loyal.”

“Well, most of us are,” Jade scoffed.

Somehow, I knew she meant Crystal. “Why did King tell him to stay away from me?”

Jade smirked at Tiffany. “Your turn.”

Tiffany dropped her chin to her chest. “Me and my big mouth.” She sighed out a heavy exhale and then looked at me. “The old ladies here, they come with... let’s just say, difficulties.” Jade scoffed again, and Tiffany scowled at her. “King had a feeling that Mimic might want to claim you.”

“Claim me? We barely know each other.”

Both women shrugged as if that didn’t matter.Claim me?He couldn’t claim me. I wasn’t old lady material. Not with my past. I was broken, tarnished.

“Hey, let’s not think about that now. You wanted to learn Krav Maga, right?”

“Right,” I agreed, my mind still thinking about the implications of Mimic wanting to claim me.