Page 3

Lacey

T onight I was sitting across the table from Zoe and her younger sister, Alison. This would be the first Saturday we’d met up in years. Sipping a cold margarita, I was thoroughly enjoying getting caught up on everything that had been going on since I left town. Zoe was the older sister figure that I always looked up to growing up. If I was being honest, I’d admit to idolizing her a bit. Hearing how she hunted down stories about corruption in our town, I realized she was part news reporter, part blogger, and part detective.

“Your parents must be so proud of your success,” I said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, they are,” Zoe confirmed. “My vlog, News Not to Miss , has half a million subscribers now. Obviously, not all my viewers are from Griffinsford. Folks tune in from all over the world. I guess some people just like a glimpse into small town corruption.”

Alison spoke up, smiling and happy. Her cheeks were red, maybe from drinking a little too much, “We’re so proud of Zoe. She’s even been interviewed on one of the national morning shows as an example of the difference between individuals in small towns being vigilant as opposed to vigilantes.”

Zoe smiled ruefully over her margarita, “If they only knew the real story about small town vigilantes their heads would explode.”

I glanced around the Dark Slayers clubhouse, wondering if she could be referring to the men roaming around in leather cuts with the club emblem emblazoned across the back. “I never saw you hooking up with a biker in my crystal ball.” Before she could get defensive, I added, “Even if this isn’t a one percent club and all the members are law abiding former war heroes, my stupid brain keeps saying bikers equal bad news.”

Zoe and Alison laughed, but it was Zoe who addressed my comment. “I think you’re getting bad and badass confused. My Storm is a total badass, but he doesn’t go looking for trouble.”

Alison agreed with her sister. “Same with Grit. He was never in the military though. My old man isn’t one for starting fights, but he’ll sure as hell finish one in a heartbeat, especially if anyone messes with me.”

Something uncomfortable squirmed in the pit of my stomach. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll get hurt finishing fights? I mean anytime there’s physical contact, there is a risk that someone might get injured.”

Alison had already had three drinks and snort laughed at my comment. “I forgot, you haven’t met Grit.”

Suddenly, a huge muscle-bound biker started moving through the bar towards us. He was like nothing I’d ever seen in real life. This dude had muscles stacked on top of muscles. “Did I hear someone mention my name?”

“My old friend, Lacey, is afraid you’re gonna get hurt if you end up in a fight.”

Her gigantic husband’s stern expression morphed into one of amusement and he pressed his lips together as if to keep from laughing. After a few seconds he said proudly, “I ain’t never met the man yet that could beat my ass. And that’s saying a lot because I used to fight in underground bare-knuckle boxing tournaments for fun.”

My mouth dropped open because my childhood friend married herself a brute. I gave him the once-over and decided that he could probably hold his own in fight with a gorilla. Lifting my glass to Alison, I told her, “Forget what I said a minute ago. Your husband is what all the creepy things in the dark should be afraid of, not vice versa.”

Everyone laughed, including Grit. Alison tried to take a drink of her margarita but spilled it all over the table. Zoe and I scrambled to wipe it up with napkins. Grit grabbed her glass and set it aside. “I think you’ve had enough to drink for one night. You want to come downstairs with me for some fun, or should we head home to the kids?”

“No going home. We’ve got a babysitter for the whole night, and I plan to take advantage of it.”

Grit grinned like her words were music to his ears. “You got it, sweetness. We’ll head downstairs.” He tugged her up out of her chair and she followed him. Halfway across the room he whispered something in her ear that made her break out in gales of laughter.

I shoved the wet napkins aside and asked, “So, is your husband like Grit?”

Zoe tossed me a mischievous grin. “Hell no. Storm came from money, rejected his family because they were all assholes, and founded this club because too many men were coming out of the military with PTSD and not finding the support they needed. In fact this club sprang from a support group he originally ran. They would meet up regularly, and discovered they had a shared love for biking and brotherhood. That’s how the Dark Slayers MC started.”

“Yeah, but why pick a name like the Dark Slayers? That sounds kind of wicked.”

The amusement fell off Zoe’s face and she became serious. “The Dark Slayers is the perfect name for a club of men who are all trying to slay their inner demons. Storm has told me a little about what it was like serving in Afghanistan, and from what I could tell it was brutal.”

“That actually makes sense,” I told her. “But Alison said Grit was never in the military.”

“Grit was Storm’s best friend growing up. They were also tight with Storm’s cousin, Celt. So, it was only natural that they would want to support Storm in this venture even though they weren’t veterans. I’d say about eighty percent of the brothers in this club are ex-military. The rest are just looking to do some good with their lives and hang out with like-minded men who love riding the open road.”

“Wow, Zoe. You should be the spokesperson for the Dark Slayers MC. After listening to your impassioned speech, I want to join up myself.”

She relaxed back into her seat. “The Dark Slayers doesn’t need a spokesperson or any extra PR. There are men fighting to get into this club. Storm turns down applications all the time.”

I glanced around the room again, getting a good vibe from the brothers and their guests. “Well, I can see why. Even a numbskull like me can see how special this club is.”

Zoe picked up her glass and took another sip. It was such a long sip that she drained her glass dry. She raised her hand and motioned to the bartender for another drink.

“You want a refill as well?” she asked.

“I’d better not. If I drink any more, I’m not going to be safe to drive home later.”

“You can stay here at the clubhouse. That’s what I’m doing tonight. I’ll have the prospects make up a room for you.”

Zoe saw my hesitation and added, “Just so you know, it’s perfectly safe here. All the bedroom doors lock from the inside and Storm would strip any man of his cut for acting inappropriately with a guest, particularly a guest of mine.”

Since I’ve always trusted Zoe, I took her at her word. “Alright, I’d love to have one more. The next round is on me.”

Zoe laughed and held up two fingers to the handsome bartender. “Nobody pays for their food or drinks here. It’s a private club. The brothers pay their dues, and the club runs several businesses that bring in more than enough to cover operations.”

“Now that you mention it, I thought it was weird that there wasn’t a cash register on the counter.”

“That would be why,” she responded merrily.

“You are in such a good mood tonight. I wish I had your energy.”

“Storm’s been gone to a meetup of allied clubs for the last three days. He’s coming back anytime now, and we made a date for a little basement time.”

“What’s this fascination you and Alison have with this club’s basement? I don’t get it.”

About that time, the handsome bartender thunked our margaritas on the table and answered my question before Zoe could get to it. “We have a discreet sex club in the basement. If you want to check it out, my shift ends in an hour. It would be my pleasure to show you around.”

I’d just taken a mouthful of my drink and promptly spat it out.

Zoe waggled her eyebrows. “Girl, you lived in LA for years. You can’t tell me you were never even curious about sex clubs.”

I didn’t see any reason to lie, to I told it to her straight, “Sure, I’ve been curious. I just never had enough nerve to go because I didn’t know anyone there. It seemed risky, you know?”

The handsome bartender was somehow still standing at our table. He responded, “Yes ma’am, I sure do know. The thing is, our club is safe for nice women like you. All you have to do is say the word no, and if whoever you’re with doesn’t stop, every man his club will jump up and make him stop. When you’re in the Dark Slayer’s clubhouse, you’re always safe.”

I glanced at Zoe, and she nodded. I turned back to look the hot biker up and down. Unless I missed my guess, he stood a little taller and flexed his arm muscles slightly. I quickly realized he was preening for me, hoping I’d take him up on his generous offer. It had been months since I’d been with a guy, and there was no doubt he was hot. But while I might have been curious about sex clubs, the thought of doing all kinds of stuff out in the open in a biker clubhouse wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.

He added quietly, “No one here will think bad of you, and I specialize in one night stands because I’m apparently too incompetent to have long term relationships.”

The tone of his voice led me to believe he might be telling the truth, so I told him, “I’m loving all the honesty, mister.”

“Benny. My name’s Benny. You can call me Benny.”

I squinted my eyes at him. “Did you just repeat your name three times to I would remember it?”

He flinched slightly. “That obvious?”

“Yeah, but look, why don’t you let me think it over. I’ll let you know, Brad,” I joked.

He shot me a disparaging look. “You’ve got a cruel sense of humor, woman.”

Someone called his name, so he rushed back to the bar. It was only then that I saw his vest said ‘Prospect’ on the back. I made me wonder if that’s why he didn’t have a kooky name like the others.

Zoe had her chin resting on her fist and was lazily sipping her margarita through the straw. “That prospect is right. Having a one-off with one of the brothers in the basement doesn’t turn you into a club girl.”

“Life’s been pretty rough lately and I haven’t had sex in months. That handsome prospect is all kinds of tempting, but I’m not being judgmental, I don’t think faceless sex in a basement is what I need right now.”

“Yeah, I get that, though Benny’s a great guy. And by the way, what did you mean when you said your life had been pretty rough lately?”

I waved her away. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear all my problems.”

“What if I do?” she responded lazily. I could tell she’d drunk enough to be feeling good without being drunk. “I’m interested in what my friend has been through. So, spit it out. I told you all about my life. Now, it’s your turn to tell me what’s been going on with yours.”

I glanced away for a second to gather my thoughts. “My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago and my parents never told me. Now, it’s progressed to the point that he can’t work, and my mom needs to stay home with him. Unfortunately, the person they chose to run their business has been skimming money off the top, not responding to customer complaints, and letting the other employees get away with doing shoddy work. I moved back yesterday to take over the family business and spent all day digging through the paperwork and found things are much worse than my mom or I thought. Come Monday, I’ve got to fire two of my three electrical technicians and unless I can find a top-notch replacement, our family business is going to go bankrupt, and we’re not going to have enough money to take care of my father.”

Zoe just stared at me for a long hard moment before saying, “Damn! That was a lot.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty heavy stuff. Bet you’re sorry you asked, aren’t you?”

She made a little circle in the air in front of me. “No, I mean that was a lot of words. Girl if you can say all that and use good grammar, you aren’t drinking nearly enough.”

I couldn’t help but smile because it was becoming clear to me that Zoe probably had just as many drinks as her sister. She was just better at holding her liquor and she had me fooled there for a minute. As I sat there watching her slurp away on her margarita, one thing became very clear to me, I could not let my drunk friend lead me into doing something my sober friend might not have advised. That prospect sure was cute, but a one night stand wouldn’t solve my problems, and if anything it might make them worse.

I stopped drinking the nicely mixed free drink so I could drive myself home. I needed to be at home to get ready to go back to the office tomorrow. I only had one more day of no one around to go through the rest of the information, lock up the important stuff, and get the termination letters written for the two employees who had violated my father’s trust when he was medically compromised and at his lowest.

Zoe put her head down on her arm, which was draped across the table and closed her eyes like she didn’t have a care in the world. I didn’t know what to think of this situation. The bartender, Benny, walked back over and asked, “Is your drink okay? I’m only asking because I noticed you stopped drinking it. I can make you something else if you want?”

“It’s fine. I decided not to stay the night but thanks for the basement offer. I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now and can’t afford to get distracted by hot bikers and booze.”

“That’s too bad. Most women consider a tumble in the hay with a hot biker a stress reliever,” he said before giving me a panty melting wink.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s true. The problem is I need to get outta here but obviously I can’t leave Zoe asleep on the table in a crowded bar.” When he didn’t immediately respond, I asked, “Is she even safe here?”

A booming voice said, “She damn well better be safe among my club brothers. If they let anything happen to my old lady, I’ll gut the lot of them and burn down the place.”

“She was just asking, Storm. She didn’t mean to insinuate anything,” Benny told him quickly.

Storm knelt down and pushed a strand of hair out of Zoe’s face. “My beautiful wife does not normally conk out on tables. She’s exhausted from chasing after our kids.”

Benny murmured, “I guess the welcome home will have to wait.”

“You got that right Prospect.” Standing up, he carefully scooped Zoe up into his arms and turned towards the stairs. “I’m putting her to bed and I’m gonna catch some sleep myself. See that no one disturbs us unless it’s a matter of life or death.”

“Or something to do with your kids.”

“Damn straight, Prospect.”

“Roger that, Prez. Have a nice sleep. We’ll have hot coffee and breakfast on the grill waiting for you when you wake up in the morning.”

“Like always,” Storm muttered as he walked off with an armful of wife.

Glancing at Benny, I asked, “Do you think Storm hates me?”

“What?” he responded in a surprised tone.

“They say first impressions are hard to overcome, and I just made a bad one with one of my best friend’s husbands.”

“Look, I don’t know anything about women, but I do know a thing or two about men because I am one. We don’t typically hate on women for stupid shit like what just happened. Storm is a battle-hardened veteran who doesn’t take crap from anyone except Zoe and his kids. I wouldn’t count on him to remember you, much less harbor resentment over a misplaced question.”

I didn’t know what to say to all that, so I decided to channel some Zoe attitude. “That was a lot of words. You must not have drunk nearly enough tonight.”

Benny looked at me like I had two heads and pointed out politely, “Yeah, I’ve been working the bar. They don’t let us drunk pour here.”

Feeling all kinds of awkward now that Zoe was gone, I stuck out my hand for him to shake, “Well, it was really nice meeting you, Benny. I’m gonna take off now.”

He reached out and gave my hand a firm pump before jerking his chin off to the side and saying, “The door’s that way, ma’am.”

Can someone be polite and rude at the same time? If they could, then that’s exactly what this man was doing. Sure he was hot, but I’d clearly hurt his feelings by turning him down. I turned on my heels and fast-walked out the front door before getting into my vehicle. Rubbing my hand over face, I wondered why I even bothered to try socializing. I felt like a duck out of water in the Dark Slayer’s clubhouse. Regardless of how well Zoe and Alison fitted in, I sure as hell didn’t. I started my engine and headed home, noticing the time on my vehicle’s clock was nearing midnight. If I was lucky, I’d grab five hours of sleep before I had to be back in the office.