Page 8

Chapter eight

I thought after getting off with Steel last night that I’d actually get some sleep. It’s always done the trick, but it seems even an orgasm can’t stand up against being a witness to murder and almost dying myself.

The men went from chasing me through the woods to chasing me in my dreams, leaving me with only a few broken hours of sleep. I’d never had a problem being alone before, but right now, the thought has me wanting to crawl out of my skin. I refuse to call Steel and beg him to come to me, though. It’s best if I keep my distance so he doesn’t break my heart again.

A knock startles me out of my musings, and I give the front door a wary glance. Knowing what I’ve been through, Steel would have announced himself. My body starts to shake as I glance around for something that can be used as a weapon. The only thing I can find is a knife from the kitchen, so I wobble my way in there as another knock sounds.

“Bailee? It’s me, babe.”

My shoulders sag as Reva’s voice comes through the door. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that it could be her.

“Coming,” I call out, using the wall to brace my weight as I slide to the door.

I slide the chain out of the lock, undo the deadbolt, and twist the lock on the doorknob in the opposite direction to unlock it. When I swing the door open, her smiling face greets me until she sees I’m shaking and the sweat is rolling down my temple.

Concern fills her gaze. “Let me help you.” I open my mouth to tell her I’m okay, but she narrows her eyes. “Don’t get sassy either. How long has it been since you’ve had pain medicine?”

“Sometime last night before I went to bed.” I shake my head. “I don’t like being dependent on them, and I don’t have any Tylenol.”

“Why the fuck not?”

I take a step back toward the living room, but my leg buckles and I almost crash to the floor. Thankfully, Reva rushes to my side in time to catch my fall.

“No wonder that man likes you. You’re as stubborn as he is,” she grumbles, taking my weight and guiding us to the couch.

After she has me settled, she stands straight and puts her hands on her hips. “I’m going to grab shit to clean your leg with, and then I’ll help you get some fresh clothes on.”

“You just want to undress me,” I tease, leaning back into the cushion with a sigh.

Who knew getting shot would be so damn exhausting?

Reva’s husky laugh rolls over my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “That’s definitely not a con to this, but no, firefly, that’s not it. I just want you to have something clean on. I didn’t figure Steel got you any clothes, and we seem to be around the same size. If something you need doesn’t fit, though, it’s not like there isn’t enough of us to find something that does.”

She starts to walk away, but I reach out to grasp her wrist, halting her in place. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this, and I know it makes you uneasy because of the Dirty Mavericks, but you’re choosing to help me anyway. You chose to help keep me hidden and safe without knowing me or what I’m running from.”

“Of course, but I didn’t have to. Steel is a good man, though, and I trust him when he says he won’t let there be any fallback. I don’t want to be the kind of person who turns another away when they’re running for their life. I’ve been in your shoes, and I had someone lend me their hand when I didn’t have anyone else. I don’t have to know your full story, but I’m here if you need someone to talk to. Okay?”

“Okay,” I reply softly, releasing my hold. “Thank you, Reva.”

“I’d hold those thanks, sugar. Just because you’re wounded doesn’t mean I ain’t gonna put you to work. You can’t do much right now because of your leg, but I think if we put you in a dark corner and bring over some drink menus and shit, you can start studying them. How good are you at paperwork?”

I scrunch my nose. “I hate it, but I’ll do whatever you need help with.”

Reva laughs. “It’s nothing much. Just some order shit for behind the bar and whatnot. Pretty simple. I’ll walk you through it and give you a list of what we need. Then you can just go through and mark it on the sheets. I’ll go over it at the end of the night, then we’ll shove it in the office for one of the guys to input. Do you think you’ll be good enough to stand on your feet by the end of the week?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” I laugh. “I’ve never been shot before.”

“Hell, neither have I. We’re just going to have to wing this shit, babe. At least until Steel decides to show his ass back up here. All right, I’ll be back shortly with those clothes, then we’ll get you changed and out of here.”

“Sounds good.” I lean my head back against the cushion. “It’s not like I’m going to be racing out of here.”

My eyes drift closed once the door snicks shut behind her.

I hate that I have to depend on her and Steel to get me things I need, but my purse got left behind in my car, so it’s not like I can buy anything right now if I wanted to anyway. The clothes Steel bought me were left in his Bronco and I forgot to tell him, so I don’t have anything here. It worries me that all my information was left behind along with anything that can lead to my identity, but there’s not much I can do about that right now. The only thing I can do is get a hold of my brother and make sure he knows because he’ll probably start worrying when I don’t check in soon.

He’s used to me going silent when I’m on a photo job, but he’s always given me a time limit to check in by, and I do my best to make sure to meet it.

I don’t remember falling asleep, but Reva is gently shaking me awake a bit later with a soft smile on her face.

“How long was I out for?” I ask, working myself into a sitting position.

Reva grabs the stack of clothes sitting on the couch beside me and stands to help me up. “Not long. I just went over to my apartment and grabbed a few things. We’re about the same size, except your ass is a bit juicier than mine.”

I sigh. “Yeah, it’s such a burden to carry.”

“You’re a smartass. It’s no wonder you and Steel get along so well.”

When I grimace at her words, she laughs quietly. “Let me guess. We can only be friends. My world is too dark for you. I only fuck. Blah, blah, blah.”

My lips quirk to the side as we make our way to the bathroom. “You’ve heard it before?”

“Not from him, but it’s a spiel I’m familiar with.”

Even though the undertone of sadness in her voice has me curious about the story behind it, I’m not going to pry. I’ve been on the receiving end of that shit too often, especially after the rocky as hell ‘relationship’ I previously had with Steel. Thankfully, I have a best friend who’s amazing at reading me well enough to know when I just want something to be left alone. If she’s with me and someone continues to pry, she has absolutely no qualms about putting them in their place and telling them to mind their business. Not that I can’t do it on my own, but it gets really exhausting trying to fend off people from digging too much.

Reva changes my bandages and helps me get dressed. Our conversations aren’t very deep, just basic surface-level stuff as we get to know each other in a friendlier way. It seems like I’m going to be spending the next who the hell knows how long around her, so getting to know each other sounds like a step in the right direction. I only have Lena, my best friend, so adding more female friends to my circle isn’t a bad thing, especially when we get along well already.

The next few hours are spent upstairs doing what Reva said she was going to make me do—freaking paperwork.

It’s not like it’s boring, though. Being secluded in a dark corner booth, I’m able to observe the customers and the way they salivate over the girls on stage.

Who could blame them?

I struggle to pull my eyes away from them myself. Their bodies are beautiful, but it’s more than that. The way they own that stage is so powerful. I’ve been to strip clubs before and can’t ever recall the girls actually looking peaceful while taking off their clothes in front of a bunch of leering, drunk, horny suckers.

Reva continues to keep me filled with drinks and small snacks, laughing every time I grumble about it being non-alcoholic.

Stupid gunshot wound.

Stupid freaking pain medicine.

Stupid, stupid freaking Killer.

Leave it to me to get tangled up in a mess with bikers all over again just because I wanted to take some pictures in the woods.

The booth shakes a little, and I lift my gaze from the order forms to find a stunning black-haired pixie staring back at me. Her intense sapphire eyes match the shaved portion of her pixie cut, and her blood-red, plump, cupid bow lips are stretched into a firm line.

I hold her stare, not giving an inch to someone I don’t know.

Soon, those lips of hers quirk to the side, and she lifts a brow. “So, you’re the girl we’re risking our asses for hiding you from the club?”

I wince, hating the reminder as guilt claws my insides. “I never expected anyone to hide me from the Dirty Mavericks. I only wanted protection from the other club after me.”

“Then why did Reva tell us we aren’t allowed to let anyone know you’re here?”

“You’ll have to ask Steel,” I reply with a shrug. “Look, I’m not okay with other innocent people getting caught up in my trouble. If you feel safer telling them, it’s honestly okay. I don’t want you all betraying anyone on my account.”

“Why are you hiding from the other club?”

Biting my lip, I stare at her and twirl the pen in my hand as I struggle with whether to trust her or not. I don’t know this girl, but if Reva told her why I’m here, that means she does trust her, and that holds weight with me since I trust Reva.

The woman leans back in the booth, folds her arms under her breasts, and narrows her eyes. There’s something mesmerizing about a woman with pasty-covered nipples and glittery breasts being a badass bitch as she protects her own.

“I’m not risking myself or my best friends without knowing why the fuck we’re doing it. So, baby cakes, you either tell me why you’re hiding from them, or I call Wraith right now and tell him that Steel is going behind their backs.”

My next move happens so fast that I don’t know who I surprise more, her or myself.

I’m around to her side of the booth with the tip of my pen resting against her jugular. “Threaten me all you want, but do not ever fucking threaten Steel, you understand? I don’t know you, but I do know him. He may have an issue touching you, but I do not.” When she doesn’t say anything, I dig the pen in deeper. “Do you understand me?”

“Lee, what are you doing, girl?”

I ignore Reva as I stare this woman in the eye. Finally, she drops her gaze and gives a barely perceptible nod. “Understood. I apologize.”

Pain shoots up my leg and side when I stand, and black spots dance in my vision.

“Goddamn stubborn woman,” Reva says as she grabs the back of my shirt and guides me back to my seat. “You’ve probably just reopened your wounds because you’re trying to be a badass.”

“She shouldn’t have threatened Steel,” I reply tightly.

“Kenna?” Reva says sharply. “What the fuck?”

Kenna shakes her head. “You can be mad all you want, Reva, but I’m always going to protect you all. I don’t like this. Hiding things from the club could get us all killed.”

“And I told you that Steel wouldn’t let that happen. We’re only following our boss’s orders,” Reva snaps back. “If there’s anything that’s going to get us killed, it’s going to be your fucking ass threatening a man who’s got more blood on his hands than we’ve probably seen leak from our bodies our entire lives.”

Reva gently lifts my leg and rolls up the thin material of yoga pants she loaned me. “Fucking threatening a goddamn biker,” she mutters. “What the hell is wrong with that girl?”

“She’s protecting the people she loves.”

Reva peers up at me. “So were you.”

With a scowl, I glance away. “Don’t be ridiculous. I care about him. He’s a good friend, but I’ve been there and done that. Got the t-shirt and shredded heart to show for it. But I don’t really do well with people threatening anyone I’m friends with either.”

“Sure thing, firefly.”

After making sure my wounds are still okay, she gets back to work with stern warnings to Kenna to behave. I don’t apologize to her, instead choosing to focus back on the order forms in front of me.

Throughout the rest of the night, the other girls make their way over and introduce themselves to me, and I instantly fall in love with Reva’s little crew. They’re funny, kind, and a bit badass.

Lennox, who goes by Lennie to her friends and Kitty on stage, is a blonde-haired beauty with eyes that remind me of the clearest, greenest part of the ocean on a bright summer day. They sparkle when she talks about her daughter, Chalee, and her son, Kellan, resembling the glass you’d find after lightning strikes sand at the beach. Until Steel and his club took over Sinful Saloon, she hated working here, but being a single mom who is also trying to provide a great life for her kids, she did what she had to do. She said she doesn’t dread coming into work anymore, and she never throws up after her dances like she used to. Now, being on stage actually makes her feel powerful and in control of herself and her sexuality.

Georgia Rose, who goes by Pretty Peach on stage, is a quiet and kind beauty with a charming smile and wicked sense of humor. When I caught her gyrating against the pole, her ashy-brown hair danced with her to the middle of her back. But the thing with Georgia Rose, I learned, is that if you peer closely, there’s old pain hidden in her gunmetal-blue eyes. Except when she talks about the daughter she’s raised on her own for a long time now. Only then does the pain fade away, replaced with love and happiness.

Reva tells me that Farryn is off tonight, so I’ll get a chance to meet her tomorrow. After connecting with the others, I’m excited to meet her and see where her personality fits in with the group.

When Reva warns us that one of the members of the Dirty Mavericks was here, Kenna rushes me to the dressing rooms, assuring me the guys don’t come in here without notice from Reva or Lennox. While we’re waiting for the all-clear, I learn a little more about her, and my heart breaks when I realize that she started stripping to keep her baby brother out of foster care. It was the only way she could earn quick cash to provide a stable home for him after her mom got locked up for drug trafficking and prostitution. Working at Sinful Saloon has allowed her to put him through college, something she never got to do, and being able to do that is something I can tell she’s damn proud of. When I ask her why she still works here instead of going back to school, she said it gives her the security she needs. If the day comes where she’s ready to put up her heels and step down from the stage, she wants to make sure she has the nest egg to be able to do it without worrying about food or bills.

I hate that I can’t relate to her background. I hate that while I could go out and buy an entire restaurant when I was younger, she had to fight off dirty hands just to provide her brother with a hot meal for the night. I’ve never cared for the money my family had. It’s not something I went crazy over or spent excessively, but it’s also something that I knew was there if I wanted to go to the store to buy something.

Talking to Kenna is a humbling experience, and it’s a conversation I’m glad I was able to have with her. These women come from shitty backgrounds, but they’ve never once let it tear them down. When their life knocked them down, they dusted themselves off and fought back with a vengeance. It’s a lesson I could learn from them.

Thankfully, the member didn’t stay too long, so I was able to get back to work fairly quickly and get the orders completed before we closed for the night.

By the time the last person heads out, I’m so exhausted, I could probably fall asleep standing up. Before I do that, I need to give my brother a call because he’s going to start losing his mind before much longer.

I’m kicked back in the recliner with the phone resting on my stomach as I wait for Reed to answer. Just as my heavy eyes close, his voice finally comes over the line.

“Bails? Where the hell are you?”

“Hey, Bubba,” I murmur.

“What? What is it, Bailee?” he asks, picking up something in the tone of my voice.

“You’ve got to promise that you won’t go playing crazy big brother. I’m handling it.”

“Tell me what the hell is going on, Bailee.”

“Yesterday, when I went out to take pictures in those woods I told you about, I caught something on camera that I really wish I hadn’t.”

“Stop beating around the bush before I have Colby find out where the fuck you are.”

My eyes snap open, and I sit up with a wince. “No. You all need to stay away. I’m safe. I’m with Steel. Last night, I caught the president of another motorcycle club killing someone on camera. They saw and came after me. I was lucky enough to get away . . . relatively unscathed.”

“Relatively unscathed? Your pause tells me you’re a liar. Truth, Bails. Now.” I don’t say anything. “One . . . two . . .”

“Fine. I was shot—”

His explosion interrupts my words, and my heart aches at the anger and pain in it. Reed is huge on protecting his family ever since our father lost his shit and went on a killing spree with his best friends. My big brother doesn’t do well when things are out of his control.

“Bails.”

Tears fill my eyes at his broken voice. “I’m okay, Bubba. I promise. Steel made sure of it. He brought in a doctor because it wasn’t safe to go to a hospital. He’s working to find out everything he can so he can keep me safe and find the best way to deal with them. I can’t handle anyone else being hurt because of me, Reed.”

“Let me help. You know we can get shit done. No fucking way am I just going to sit on my ass while my sister is taking on a whole damn biker club.”

“Two, if the Dirty Mavericks find out Steel is hiding me on their property without their knowledge,” I admit quietly.

“Fucking hell, Bails. Do you have any idea what’s going to happen when they find out? They’re good guys, and I don’t want to have to go against them, but you know I’ll burn their world down if they touch you. Steel is going to be lucky to walk away with his life.”

I lift a hand to my chest and rub the ache there as my eyes water again. “I know, Reed. I freaking know, okay? I don’t like it, but Steel thinks it’s best right now. I honestly think he’s trying to protect everyone, and I’m really scared what’s going to happen when Wraith and the rest of the club finds out.”

“Then let me help so we can end this faster. I can get Em, Willow, and Colby on it. You know they’re damn good.”

“Is that a good idea? Their ties to Steel and Thrasher are strong. They’d have to lie to Thrasher, and I don’t think they’d like that.”

“Let me talk to them. If they know you’ll both be punished, there’s a higher chance they’ll understand. Emmy Lou isn’t going to want anything to happen to her best friend, and Willow knows it would destroy Thrasher if he’d have to go against his own club brother. They understand confidentiality, Bailee.”

I blow out a sharp breath. “Okay. If you think you can get them to keep their mouths shut because, Reed, friends or not, if they cause Steel any more trouble than he’s already going to be in, I’m going to come for them.” The threat catches us both by surprise, and I clear my throat. “He’s put everything on the line to help me, Bubba. I won’t let anyone jeopardize him because of that.”

We talk for a little bit longer, mostly just me listening to him moan about how stubborn our little sister, Macey, is being. A mixture of sadness and longing rush through me when I think about her. Emmy Lou and Willow found her and the rest of the guys’ siblings not long ago. Since then, Macey has taken delight in driving Reed up a wall as they get to know each other. It’s normally pretty funny to watch, but right now, I’d just about do anything to have a hug from either of them.

As soon as I hang up with Reed, I pull up Lena’s contact and hit the call button.

“Lee? Are you okay? You were supposed to text me back yesterday and you never did,” Lena answers.

“Define okay.”

“Bailee, stop playing and tell me what’s going on. I know something is. I can feel it in my gut.”

I give her a quick rundown of what happened and listen fondly as she rages at me for not letting her know sooner. Lena is normally a gentle soul. It’s rare to see her angry, but when she is, whoo boy, you better watch your shit because she’ll light the world on fire. Reed calls her a slow burner.

Finally, she inhales sharply before blowing it out. “You should’ve called me once you were safe.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. My mind has been a mess since I saw them kill that man.”

“It doesn’t help that you’re with the same man who nearly destroyed you three years ago, Lee. Don’t get drawn back into his mess. He has his daughter, and that means Heather is still in his life. It’s just going to end up being the same toxic cycle all over again.”

“So, what you’re saying is now probably isn’t the best time to tell you that we fooled around already?” I ask sheepishly.

“Dammit, Lee.”

I groan. “I know, okay. I know. I’m as worried about it as you are. Do you really think I want to be in that kind of mess again? The person I turned into just so I could have a piece of him anytime he found me worthy of his time is someone I refuse to be again. I was weak and pathetic.”

“You were weak, but you also loved him. Love makes you do stupid shit sometimes. Just don’t let yourself fall into that same trap again. I know it’s hard to fight your feelings, but as long as he has Heather in his life, it’s going to be a constant cycle of back and forth between them.”

“He says they split up for good this time, but I can’t believe that. And even if I could, if I meant as much to him as he did to me, I would have been the first person he turned to instead of the club girls he’s been sleeping with. So, believe me, I know you’re right. We have too much shit on our plate anyway to worry about icky feelings. I don’t know how long this is going to take to clear up. Reed is going to help because the more people on this, the faster we could get it over with, then I can run as far away from Steel as possible.”

“You need to keep me up to date on everything. I want you to check in every day. Do you hear me? I want you to check in at least once a day with our code to let me know you’re okay. I have some work to do,” she says distractedly.

“Eggplant for okay, two melons for not okay. I got you. Love you, Lena.”

“Love you too, Lee.”

Lena isn’t the only one worried about me being around Steel. He’s always been my weakness. At least until I finally grew a spine and walked away from him. I know he says that he and Heather are no longer together, but it’s like I told Lena. If I meant to him anything near what he meant to me, he’d have come to me after they split up. But I’ve always known that my feelings for him were stronger than his were for me. If he even had any at all. There are plenty of times I had doubted it.

Hopefully, Emmy Lou and Willow agree to help protect Steel by keeping quiet that he’s got me at Sinful Saloon. I may not want to get tangled up in my feelings with him again, but I also don’t want anything happening to him either. If he would lose his club, it’d destroy him, and knowing it was because of me would absolutely gut me.

I don’t know how I’m going to protect him from that, but I need to try to find a way.

Maybe I just need to be brave and go to the Dirty Mavericks myself and ask them all for help instead of just Steel.