Page 75

Rachel

The next two weeks flew by, with Dante and I settling down into a routine with an ease that took us both by surprise.

I would spend breakfast with his family, sometimes making small talk, sometimes not. His dad was easy to get along with, and I enjoyed the meals more when he was around. But most times, it was just me, Bee, his mother, and Macbeth.

I caught Macbeth throwing suspicious, almost nasty glances at me when he thought I wasn’t looking, but I shrugged it off, deciding I’d deal with whatever his problem was if and when it became something serious.

He was probably still pissed that I had kicked off when he grabbed my arm, and I couldn’t find it in me to be bothered about that.

He needed to learn that he couldn’t manhandle me.

I put up with enough of that from Dante; I didn’t need it from his brother too.

Still… It made me uneasy when I saw the nasty glint in his eyes.

I didn’t want to mention it to Dante and ruin the little bit of peace we had found. Jenna’s words played in my ear, and I resolved to keep a closer eye on Macbeth. He might think he could sneak around, but I was smarter than that. I’d see him coming, no matter what the attack was.

I spent my days with Bee. In the morning, I would continue her homeschooling, going over the basics so I could assess her levels, strengths, and weaknesses.

During the afternoon, we went around the village and volunteered at the numerous businesses that were around.

It was important to me that Bee had social interaction outside of the clubhouse, and I wanted her to experience firsthand what hard work looked like.

Big Mama had more or less resigned herself to the fact that I was staying – at least for the time being.

I hadn’t thought about leaving since the night of the party.

It was comfortable here, especially when Dante and I were getting along.

So I stayed civil with her, and she stayed civil with me, and we settled into a truce of sorts.

She had even given up homeschooling Bee and told me she was happy for me to completely take over.

She had handed me all the schoolwork, and we had spent a rather pleasant evening with a bottle of wine, going over the plans for the rest of the school year.

As much as I hated to praise anything Big Mama had done, she had been excellent with Bee’s schooling.

There were only one or two areas I wanted to work on, otherwise she was more or less where she should be for her age.

Mama was strict, but she was thorough, and Bee wasn’t being left behind.

Mama had even tried to make the work more fun and had thrown me a nasty side eye when I told her I hadn’t even realised she knew what that word meant.

We laughed it off, and a line was drawn in the sand.

It was an unstable truce, but for Bee’s sake, and for her happiness, Mama and I kept things civil.

I had told Dante that I wanted more for Bee’s future than to simply wind up as someone’s old lady, and he agreed, saying that he wanted Bee to feel as though the world was hers to conquer, and there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do.

Dante would sometimes join us in the afternoon, his eyes always on me as he watched me work. On the days he wasn’t there, I was always scanning for him, earning me more than a few teases from the local women.

I had spent a lot of time with Shark, Vienna, and Hacksaw these past two weeks as well.

Dante had told me those men would be his right-hand men, and I was actually comforted by that.

They were borderline insane, but they were always there whenever Dante needed them.

They knew when it was business, and they knew when it was playtime.

Vienna was my favourite, and if Dante wasn’t around, I found myself seeking him out.

He made me feel safe. Even when he was acting the fool, you could see the sharpness in his eyes.

He knew what was going off around him at all times.

His senses were always heightened, and he was always aware.

He just liked you to believe otherwise. Vienna made me relaxed, and Dante encouraged me to stay near him.

But then again, the entire club was always on high alert. I was suspicious about why they always seemed to think danger was on the horizon, but I didn’t pry. I was enjoying myself too much to get drawn into the drama.

Oftentimes, the members of the club would have me laughing until my sides hurt.

And Jenna had been right. It was particularly funny watching Vienna try to do the bookkeeping with Imogen.

I had almost wet myself laughing when she grabbed every receipt from the office and tipped them over his head.

He had flipped the desk up and laid down, making “receipt angels”, as he had called them.

Imogen had called him immature. He said she was a ball buster.

She had dropped the box that had contained the receipts onto his dick and asked how that was for ball busting.

They had both come flying out of the office, each speaking at the same time as they tried to recruit people onto their side.

Vienna had approached me and stroked his beard down my face, reminding me that we had hair growth in common.

When I told him I was siding with Imogen, he had stormed off mumbling something about a power imbalance, and he was sick of the disrespect around these parts.

Imogen had called him a bitch, and had stormed back to us, grabbed her around her waist and dragged her off, saying it was time the men took back the power, and we women were getting ahead of ourselves.

Imogen took it in high spirits, and had laughed along with us, playfully threatening to chop off Vienna’s beard whilst he slept.

Dante would join me in my bed every night. He sometimes arrived before dinner, enjoying his meal with his family. But oftentimes, he arrived in the wee hours of the morning. He always took a shower before joining me in bed, but not even that took away the metallic stench of blood that clung to him.

I refused to comment, preferring not to know what he got up to.

I knew it would lead to an argument about putting himself in danger.

He would accuse me of trying to control him.

I knew exactly how it would go, and I couldn’t find the energy to care enough to light the spark.

He was a biker, through and through. I had come to accept that being part of this club had certain…

responsibilities. I had already been told about the Rough Riders and the semi-war they were in.

I preferred not to know the ins and outs by prying.

Dante would tell me if it was important.

Jenna had filled me in on the basics, but even she admitted she didn’t know the ins and outs.

If Jenna was unconcerned, then so was I.

She had been here much longer than me, and she said the men would let us know if we were truly in danger, as the club would be placed in lockdown, and the women and children would be sent to church to keep safe.

That hadn’t happened, so Dante must not see an immediate threat coming.

In fact, Dante had been that relaxed, that for the first week, he tried to spend more time with me and Bee, taking us out for evening meals, or joining us at the park.

His thoughts weren’t on war or the Rough Riders.

He made a true effort to put the club second, just long enough for me to settle in.

I knew it wouldn’t last forever, and that the club was always his priority, but I appreciated the effort.

He fucked me every night without fail, and I would often wake up in the night to find him reaching for me once more.

I gave in every time. Sometimes I would put up a fight, loving the thrill of his threats and anger.

He knew I would submit as much as I knew it, but he played along, reeling me back in as I ran.

But then I’d find him gone in the morning, and as the days went by, I found my curiosity growing.

By the end of the second week, there was an undeniable tension growing. Gone was the ease of the first week, and in its place was an atmosphere I couldn’t quite decipher.

Macbeth was acting out. Dante was growing cold, with a furious anger simmering under the surface, and he started staying out later and later. He stopped spending time with me and Bee during the day, and he was often snappy whenever I tried to speak to him.

I laid in bed, glancing at the clock, seeing it was past two in the morning, and I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I was more than curious at this stage. I was growing angry with his secrecy, with his assumptions that I’d welcome him with open arms night after night when he left me alone the majority of the time.

He was making me feel like a nagging housewife, and I didn’t appreciate being thrust into that role.

So, with a determination that had me gritting my jaw, I kicked off the covers, threw on some clothes, and crept out of the house, determined to track him down.

He wasn’t hard to find. He didn’t like being away from club territory at night, not when Bee was at home sleeping soundly. He didn’t trust his enemies not to strike in the dead of the night, and so he was always around, just in case.

Which made the process of elimination easy for me, and as soon as I saw lights under the garage, I knew that’s where he was.

The rest of the community was dead, with only the odd light on in someone’s home. Which was strange in itself, because there was always life after dark. These people were night owls, and yet it seemed as though there was a sort of mini lockdown taking place, just like Jenna had warned me about.

Feeling like a thief in the night, I stuck to the shadows as I moved towards the garage, my body growing tenser with every passing step.

As I walked up the pathway, I heard the undeniable sound of flesh hitting flesh. I paused, my heart in my throat.

There’s no fucking way.

I felt sick as I imagined him in there with another woman. The sounds of wet flesh hitting wet flesh almost had me convinced until I heard the moan of another man. The moan was bordering on an anguished wail, followed by the laughter of other men.

What the actual fuck.

I clenched my fists and marched forward.

He left me alone to go play the bully with his stupid fucking friends?

I grabbed the bottom of the garage door and hauled it open, my eyes finding Dante straight away.

I shot daggers at him, a spew of nasty words dying on my lips as I looked at the shocked, panicked look on his face.

My eyes flew to Vienna, Shark and Hacksaw, all of whom looked as shocked and horrified as Dante did.

My heart skipped a beat at the look on Vienna’s face in particular. Vienna was always chill and relaxed. If he was nervous, then something was seriously fucking wrong.

“What…” I began, only to be cut off as a pained moan had my head flying to the side, and my mouth fell open at what I saw. I stumbled backwards, the vomit rising up my throat.

“Ben?” I whispered, my entire body being overtaken by nervous shakes. He might be bloody, his face might be swollen, his body black and blue, but I recognised him. How could I not? That body had violated my own so many times. I would know him anywhere.

Ben turned his head and locked eyes with me, his own widening with surprise. “Please,” he begged, blood bubbling from his mouth.

I froze for a split second before I turned on my heel and ran.