Page 16

16

AINSLEY

S tepping into the great room, I’m immediately slapped with loud music, voices, and laughter. I stop dead in my tracks, causing Mercy to slam into my back and grab my hips to keep me upright. He grunts and nudges me forward toward the chaos. Looking up at him, I cock an eyebrow in question.

“Let’s get a drink. Then I’ll introduce you to people,” he says. His voice causing a calming effect, which I will not acknowledge at this moment.

“You lead the way. I don’t have a damn clue where I’m going.”

He points out in front of us. “Straight across. You see where Charlie is standing?” I give him a nod. “Head straight to her.”

I pick my way across the room and keep my head held high. I may not be a part of this life and hell, I’m flat out lying to them, which can and probably will get me killed. What I won’t do is cower from them. When we make it close to the bar, I spot an empty stool between what looks to be a bottle blondie and a very unhappy man who can’t seem to keep his eyes off Charlie’s every move.

Sliding onto the stool, I make sure not to touch either of the people. Mercy settles a hand on my lower back as he speaks to the man on my right. Charlie spots us from the other end and smiles, waving at us. When she does this, the man that can’t keep his eyes off her looks over and gives me a glare.

“Blitz, brother, if you want to keep those eyes you’ll cut the fucking glaring,” Mercy says so casually that you would assume this is an everyday conversation.

“This is a bad fucking idea,” Blitz barks before turning back to his beer and watching Charlie.

Charlie finally makes it over to us just as the blondie on my right notices me, and then Mercy. Her smile turns sultry—well, her idea of sultry—and her eyes burn with jealousy, but she dismisses me as a threat. I say nothing and decide I have enough shit to deal without getting into a battle of wills with a bitch.

“Hey girly, what’s your poison of choice?” Charlie’s smile is genuine, which pulls one from me.

“What’re my options?” I ask her.

“The basics. We keep some frilly stuff for the bunnies, but basically liquor or beer.” She smirks at the blond when she says frilly.

The blonde’s eyes narrow at Charlie before she cuts them back to me and Mercy. She takes in the fact Mercy has turned and is talking to someone else, yet has never removed his hand from my back. The tips of his fingers are just inside the top of my jeans. I look back at him and sit up, which catches his attention. His eyes slide to me with an eyebrow raised in question. I motion to Charlie, who is patiently waiting for our order. He looks up at her and gives her a nod before going back to his conversation with the guys he was talking to.

I turn to Charlie and lean forward onto the bar. “I’m guessing you know what that means?”

She nods her head, chuckling. “Scotch and a beer. What can I get you?”

“I’ll just have a Jack and Coke,” I order.

While Charlie fixes our drinks, I gaze out over the crowd. Among all the men are half-dressed and not dressed women who are dancing, chatting, or taking part in X-rated displays of PDA. I shift in my seat as heat rises through my body. Mercy notes my shift in body language and he leans into me with one hand on the bar.

“You okay, Little Lamb?” he murmurs close to my ear.

I nod, unable to take my eyes off the trio across the room. Mercy looks aways from me, following my gaze across the room. The hand on my back slides further into my pants, and my eyes snap to his. Mercy smirks at me before glancing back up at the trio. He starts to say something when two things happen.

Charlie sets our drinks on the table and Bottle Blonde dumps her drink in my lap. I gasp as I push away from her right into Mercy’s chest, who wraps his arm around my middle.

“What the fuck?” I snap, glaring at the bitch.

Her fake look of shock just drives my need to defend myself. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I got bumped into.”

“Roxy, you’re such a fucking cunt. Go find someone else to harass instead of Mercy’s guest,” Charlie says and glares at the woman, then hands me a towel from behind the bar.

“Word on the street is she isn’t a guest, but a lying bitch. Mercy’s only doing what he needs to do to get answers.” She turns, eyeing Charlie. “Isn’t that why Pres gave you the instructions to get close to her?”

I don’t know if her words are true or not, but they do exactly what they’re meant to do. I feel stupid, crazy, and like a complete fucking moron for forgetting I am nothing more than someone these men believe has answers for the death of one of their own. The satisfied look on Blonde’s face tells me she knows she’s hit her mark. This flips the switch between my brain and the filter is gone.

“Well Blondie, if you were good at your job, I wouldn’t be entertaining him. As it is, I’m the one that wore his shirt and slept in his bed last night.” Leaning closer, I act as if I’m telling her some big secret. “You might want to get some more training or look into one of those, umm …” Tilting my head as if in thought, I snap my fingers when I pretend to remember what I was trying to say. “That’s it! Vaginal rejuvenation treatments to tighten up your nasty snatch.”

Blondie gasps at the same time as every person within earshot bursts out laughing. She raises her hand as if she’s going to slap me when Mercy’s hand shoots out and grabs her wrist.

“I would think very, very carefully about your next set of actions, Roxy.” he sneers, glaring at the woman.

The malice and anger the radiates off her gives Mercy a run for his money. “One day, Pres is going to put you and that brother of yours down like the rabid dogs that you are. I’m going to dance on your grave when he does.”

“That’s big talk for someone who holds no weight. Unless you want to tell us who is spewing club business to a club bunny?” a very large grizzly of a man says while sliding up behind her.

Blondie spins around, “Well Rhino, seeing as I don’t spend any time in your bed, it’s none of your goddamn business.”

The man she just called Rhino starts to say something when he’s cut off by Relic and the Pres walking down the hall and calling for church. I look around as all the men with cuts that have job titles stand and get themselves together before moving down the hallway. Mercy tilts my chin up so that I’m focused on him.

“You stay with Charlie, or you stay in my room. Do not talk to or go anywhere without her,” he drops his voice to be sure I’m the only one to hear him. “I would not suggest that you push me on this. Do you understand?”

I nod my head because if I open my mouth, I’m afraid the loss of my filter would cause me more trouble. Mercy studies me before nodding and releasing me. He levels a glare at the woman still sitting beside me.

“Stay the fuck away from her, Roxy. You do not want to test me on this.” If looks could kill, she would be dead.

“Well, that was fun,” Charlie huffs, then wipes the bar down.

With emotions still rolling through me, I decide my best bet is to grab my drink and make my way back to Mercy’s room to finish it and my book. I grab the glass and turn to slide off the stool when a small hand lands on my arm that is still on the bar.

“Paisley.” I cringe at the use of my fake name. “Stay. If you go I’ll be stuck with the club bunnies as my only source of conversation.”

Looking up, I eye her. “Listen, I appreciate it, but I’m just going to go. Maybe we can talk later.”

Charlie’s face falls before she gives me a bright smile. “Well, when you’re ready, I’ll be here. Us non-club bunnies have to stick together.”

“Sure,” I toss over my shoulder as I make my way across the room.

I make it as far as the pool tables before fucking Roxy steps in my path. She towers over me in her ankle-breaker heels. Taking a deep breathe I breathe it out slowly as I look up at her.

“Can I help you with something?” I take a drink of the rum and Coke in my hand before continuing. “I can assure you I do not possess the appendages you’re looking for.”

Roxy’s beady eyes squint at me. “He never keeps a woman. That man would prefer to kill you as sleep with you.”

I throw my head back and laugh because this bitch really believes she’s telling me something that I don’t know. “Listen … Roxy, was it?” She nods and crosses her arms over her chest. “Not two hours ago, that man you're trying to warn me away from so you can try to keep him had me pinned to the wall, choking the fucking life out of me. So, do not believe in that little brain of yours that I want anything from him but to make it out of this place alive. They believe I’m keeping secrets about shit that I know nothing about.” I step even closer to her. “If and when they get the information they think I have, the odds of me walking out are nearly zero. This little show you're doing is fucking childish, and I don’t have enough fucks left to play it with you.”

Her eyes widen the more I talk, and for a second I think I’ve gotten through to her, only to realize she’s just fucking stupid.

“You do not fucking belong here,” she bites out.

“You are not wrong,” I agree before pouring the last of my drink down the front of her body.

I finish and set my glass on the edge of the pool table before stepping around her, then I make my way down the hallway to Mercy’s room. I am done with all the bullshit. My body tenses when I realize I have a shadow. I look over my shoulder to find the same guy that’s been around every time Mercy has had something to take care of.

“How did you get stuck as my shadow and guard?” I ask him, slowing my steps so he can catch up to me.

“I wouldn’t say watching over a pretty woman is being stuck.” He shrugs and gives me a boyish smile.

I make it to the door, eyeing it when I see it’s still hanging a little off and not closing all the way. Looking back up the hallway, I do not want to go back out there, so it looks like this is my only option. Stepping into the room, I sigh at being alone. Grabbing one of Mercy’s shirts, I wonder into the bathroom to get comfortable. When I flip on the light, I take in the very large tub and get an idea, knowing the only way I’m going to relax is if I’m behind a closed and locked door.

When I’m finished changing, I go back into the bedroom and strip the top sheet, comforter, throw blanket, and all the pillows off the bed, then take them back into the bathroom. Once I have them settled into the large tub, I go back out and grab my book and a bottle of water. Climbing into the tub, I settle in and get lost in a world that is so much like my own but drastically different. At some point, I must fall asleep because the next thing I hear is Mercy losing his shit.

“Where the fuck is she and where the fuck is all the shit from my bed?” he bellows.

“She went into the room and hasn’t come out. Did you check the bathroom?” my shadow murmurs.

There is a hard set of knocks on the bathroom door. “Little Lamb, you in there?”

Stretching out my aching muscles before I crawl from the tub seems to take too long for Mercy’s liking.

“Open the fucking door or I’ll kick it in,” he states flatly.

I pad across the bathroom and pull the door open. Eyes mirroring a raging storm meet mine. “Sorry, I passed out reading.”

I don’t know why I’m trying to soothe the monster, except my brain hasn’t fully come back online. Mercy’s eyes race up and down my body, heating when he sees I’m in his shirt. He looks in the bathroom and takes in the tub full of pillows and blankets.

“Why the fuck are you sleeping the bathtub?” he asks me, sounding confused.

“The door to the bedroom is broken. I felt safe in here and people couldn’t bother me,” I tell him honestly.

Mercy looks back at the door. “Get that door fixed now.”

The man nods, turning to leave and do exactly as he was told.

“Why does he do what you tell him, when you tell him, without question?” I inquire.

“He is a prospect. It’s his job to do anything a patched member tells him without question, no matter the job. That is, if he wants his patch in the future,” Mercy tells me, moving away from the bathroom door and over to the closet to pull out a bookbag.

“Are you leaving?”

He doesn’t say anything at first, just shoves shit into the bookbag. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I just watch him silently as he packs. He finally seems to finish the job and sits on the edge of the bed beside me with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He takes in a long breath before slowly letting it out.

“It’s not supposed to be like this,” he starts, seeming to talk to himself.

Opening my mouth to say something, I stop when he stands suddenly and begins pacing while he talks.

“You’re an assignment. It’s my job to get the answers and protect the club. To make sure all the rules and commands are followed,” he starts, running his hands up into his hair. “We all know you are hiding stuff from the club, but we can’t seem to find what it is. That makes this all so much worse. I need to be who I am—detached, emotionless, a goddamn monster with no fucks to give. Somehow with you, I cannot do that. I want to be near you to make sure you’re okay and safe.”

He stops the pacing and drops to his knees in front of me, shocking me. I pull my legs up, crossing them in front of me. Mercy lays his scarred and tattooed hands on my thighs. He looks at me and his gaze resembles that of a confused child trying to make sense of his thoughts.

“Mercy, you’re not making any sense right now,” I murmur and cup his cheek.

“I know. I have to go take care of a job. I’ll be gone for several days to a week. Pres, Hermes, and Pope will be staying behind to watch over things while we’re all gone,” he tells me and the storm that’s usually turning in his eyes returns.

“Does that mean I’ll be stuck in here the entire time you're gone?” I feel panic building at the thought of being locked in here and forgotten for a week.

Mercy shakes his head. “No, you can come and go from my room as you please. All I’m telling you is make sure a prospect is always with you, and only spend time with Charlie. She is decent people.”

I give him a stiff nod, not liking that he is leaving me here alone. Who would’ve ever thought that the monster in my story would become the one place I feel safe?