Page 69 of Renascence

There’s a group of five women, two of whom look young enough to be my daughters. Definitely nothing “old” about them. They’re all wearing cuts like the men, but with different words on the back. The ones I can see read “Property of Reaper,” “Property of Einstein,” “Property of Motor,” and “Property of Crow.”

“The Latina with the dark hair, that’s Raven, the prez’s old lady. You need anything, you talk to her. Ellen’s the one with the brown hair. She’s the VP’s woman and the prez’s sister. You can’t find me or Raven, you go to her.”

“Okay. What does that ‘property’ stuff mean?”

“The names are their old men.”

“So they’re property of their boyfriends?” I ask in shock.What century is this?

“They’re not bought and sold, Emily. It’s actually a sign of respect.”

Yeah… right. As we approach the women, I paste on a smile. They may be owned by men, but they look pretty happy. I watch them talking and laughing, longing hitting me in the gut. I don’t have that—female friends. Hell, I don’t have any kind of friends. Once I started my second job, all the women I used to hang out with faded away. I didn’t even miss that until now.

“Hey, ladies.”

“Venom!” the dark-haired girl, Raven, shouts happily.

I was right. This girl is young. It makes me wonder how old the president is, since she’s also heavily pregnant. Her stomach is bare, a bandeau the only thing under her cut.

“Emily, meet Raven, Ellen, Marlowe, Renae, and Chrissy. Everyone, this is Emily.”

We exchange pleasantries before they chase Venom off. I silently beg him not to leave, but he winks, takes my jacket, and disappears into the throng.

“So, Emily,” Raven says. “I don’t know if Venom told you, but I’m Gage’s old lady. Ellen is with Dr. E, Marlowe and Renae are with Crow and Motor, and Chrissy is with Charger.”

“Yeah, he mentioned that,” I reply, not wanting the other women to feel left out.

“How long have you been seeing Venom?” the caramel beauty asks. Chrissy, that’s her name.

“Not long. I’ve only been in town a couple weeks.”

“I knew I hadn’t seen you around here,” one of the older women says. I think she’s Marlowe.

“Well, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of you from now on.” Ellen winks.

I avert my gaze, cheeks no doubt turning red when I realize what she’s alluding to. “Oh, it’s not like that. We’re just hanging out.”

“Emily,mira.” Raven lays her hand on my shoulder. “One, he brought you to the clubhouse, and two, he put you withus.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re at the good-good table. We’re all old ladies here.”

“Oh.”

I look around the room, noticing more of those scantily-clad women. They don’t seem to be here with anyone specific, bouncing from man to man.

“Those are Hounds,” Ellen tries to explain. “They’re basically here to take care of the men.”

“Oh. I see.” She doesn’t need to be more specific. I think I know exactly what she means.

The women go quiet for a beat before Marlowe pipes up. I get the feeling she’s trying to change the subject.

“I’m going to ask the burning question I’m sure we all want the answer to. Give up the goods, Emily. How’s the snake man?”

“Huh?”

“The bedroom,” Raven clarifies. “I already know Venom’s got a big dick, but does he know how to use it?”