Page 11 of Property of Thrasher (Kings of Anarchy MC: South Carolina #1)

MELODY

One Month Later

L yric became part of this new world easily.

She laughed easier, moved more freely. Her circle widened.

She started painting her nails, bought new clothes, and carried herself with a confidence I had never seen before.

She let Trinity curl her hair and teach her about lip plumping gloss.

Lyric immersed herself in a world we had never imagined.

I watched each day as she grew into someone else, while I stayed in place still holding my breath. I wanted to blend in as easily as she had, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Not because I wasn’t comfortable where we were.

In fact, I found myself far more relaxed in this environment than the one we came from. To some degree that bothered me the most. The problem was inside my head. No matter how many days passed, I couldn’t stop waiting for them to find us.

Punish us.

My gut, no my very soul, told me there was no way we got to escape our past. It was simply a matter of time before this new world would crash around us.

The bikers came and went. The customers too but I had to admit we were seeing more business each and every day it seemed.

One thing I learned about the men in leather—each man was distinctly different.

Some looked at me too long. An uncomfortable stare that made them smirk with pride for getting under my skin. Others didn’t look at all.

It was as if I was invisible.

That ate at me inside more. Which truly made me question my sanity.

But being invisible was something that happened to all the woman where we came from and I hated feeling like I didn’t matter.

Women had value, no matter what culture, religion, or demographic someone came from.

All people mattered and should have freedoms equal of one another.

A prospect they called “Three” approached taking me out of my random thoughts of change.

“Hey girl,” he greeted leaning over the counter towards me. “You always this cold or is it just me?” He looked to my chest.

The fitted polo we wore on desk duty showed my pert nipples through the shirt because it was a little chilly inside today since they did fix the air conditioning.

Another thing I had picked up on quickly was that bikers could be very brash, borderline crass in their conversations.

In the last weeks here, I had learned a lot about my body, sex, and the way everyone here openly expressed their wants.

I let out a huff, “nah, buddy, but your girl, she gets my nipples hard and my panties wet.” I wasn’t sure if that was too harsh or more of a turn on for the guy. Truthfully, I didn’t care. I just wanted him to take the hint I wasn’t interested in him.

The others with him laughed as his cheeks flushed. He backed away without replying.

A laugh came from behind me and I was mortified to find Faye standing there.

“You might be the only woman here who doesn’t hook up with a King.” She leaned against the wall. “You’re gonna be the mystery they all want to solve.”

“I don’t want to be solved,” I snapped. “I want to do my job and that is all.”

“You’re a hard worker, Melody. But honey, you need balance.

It’s okay to go out.” She shook her head, “I can’t believe I’m going to say this.

But even letting a brother take you out wouldn’t be bad.

Maybe not the prospect, but some of the guys are good dudes.

Look at my Sweeper. They don’t come more loyal than the way a biker is. ”

It was my turn to shake my head, and then I laid it out honestly.

“Faye, I have been educated on what most of the women here are. I’m not interested in being a club bunny.

I may have lived a sheltered life, but I have learned more about sex in the last two months here than I did in all of my adolescence.

I think I’m not cut out for their world. ”

“And that right there, sweetheart, is exactly why you would be the best for any one of them.”

“I don’t know that I’m the best for anyone. I’m still figuring out me.”

She smiled the soft way only Faye does. “Honey, you are a breath of fresh air. Been around a long time, this life, these women. You are strong in the quiet way. You are honest about yourself and where you are versus the fairytale of where you want to be.”

“I don’t think fairytales exist for me.”

She shook her head. “Oh honey, I don’t know what your past holds but I can tell you have this reservation to you about everyone. You’re safe here.”

“Didn’t live a life where the people around me were as up front as everyone here is.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Someone played games with you.”

It was a statement not a question, but nevertheless I still replied. “Everyone played games with everyone where I came from. Except Lyric and our grandparents. They were the only authentic people around me.”

“You ever love someone who scared the hell out of you?” Her gaze shifted from me to the group of Kings over in the expanded lobby area that had tables for our new continental breakfast.

I frowned. “What do you mean scared me? Like afraid of being harmed?”

She smiled a slow, knowing grin. “No. Not scared of them as a person. But the kind of man where they walk into the room and the air changes recognizing the power in that man’s blood.

Like you know without a doubt if anyone or anything ever came for you, they’d cease to exist before they ever got close enough to hurt you.

The kind of scary that leaves you wrapped in the cocoon of a safety, security, and acceptance only that man can give.

The kind of consuming passion that leaves you hating to be apart for long. ”

I shifted uncomfortably. “I have never known anyone with a love like that, Faye.”

“Then, sweetheart, you have no idea what it is to love a biker.” She spoke in a teasing manner but not unkind.

“They don’t do halfway, Melody. It’s all or nothing and a give and take unlike anything you’ll ever experience with any other kind of man.

When a biker wants you, they claim you. And when they claim you, you belong to them.

Not in a fairytale way. No, a bone deep, etched in stone, beyond this life time kind of way.

And once you have it, don’t ever fuck it up.

To betray a biker is to build an un-collapsible wall that will forever keep that man away from your grasp from this lifetime to the next. ”

I knew my eyes were wide open in shock. “Faye, that sounds…, well for lack of a better word, intense.”

She laughed. “It is and it’s not for everyone.

Matter of fact, it’s not for most women.

You have to be strong enough to stand on your own, even knowing he’ll always be there to catch you.

At the same time, you can’t get lost in him because you’ll forget who you are.

A biker doesn’t fall easy and they don’t claim what they can find everywhere.

They love you more for staying true to your own fire. ”

“I don’t think I’ll ever make it on the radar of a King or any biker, but good to know how this works for all the others. They like independent, but they want to be possessive. Totally sounds great and not toxic in the least bit.”

Faye laughed. “Pretty much. Sounds absurd. But the thing is they respect strength. They need to know to the core you can handle this life. You aren’t gonna crumble when things get rough.

They need to know they are accepted exactly as they are, that you aren’t trying to change them.

More than anything you accept you can’t change the man he is, the club he swore an oath to, and you embrace the leather as much as the man. ”

“Do things get rough regularly?”

Her eyes softened. “Danger is part of the deal. If you can’t handle that, you walk away before it starts.

And just saying, that means you walk away from this job and you do it now.

Whether fuckin’ one of the brothers or not, you’re in the Kings world.

You have to accept things as they are, black and white.

You’re a gorgeous young woman with a quiet power, the men sense that.

One of them is going to make a play for you at some point.

And you need to know loving a biker ain’t for the weak.

It means knowing some nights he might not come home.

And when he does come back from things, he might carry different kinds of scars on the inside and the out.

You can’t flinch or walk away when you see the dark side to this life. ”

I didn’t know what to say. I sat there looking out to the men in front of us.

“You have to be able to accept the men in front of you can be brutal. They will kill for one another. More importantly, they will die for a brother or the family of a brother. The sacrifice and loyalty go hand in hand.”

I swallowed, my throat tightening. “I don’t know that I could do that.”

“Then as much as I appreciate the worker you are, you should leave. If you can’t figure it out, find a way to accept each man in that cut, then none of this is for you.

” She paused studying me, “but there is something about you, honey. Something that tells me you might be what we all need. Melody, being strong in this world doesn’t mean standing up for yourself.

It means standing beside the man and behind the patch no matter what storm hits.

It means knowing when to fight and when you keep your mouth shut because club business never involves you and it will always come before anything else. ”

“Faye, why are you telling me all of this?”

She reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze.

“Met a lot of young women over the years. You are one of the few to come through our little area and have respect for everyone. You put your head down and do what you need to do without hesitation or questions. That screams old lady material to me. If I can see that I know these guys do too.”