Page 15 of The Biker’s Second Chance (Chrome Creed MC #2)

PARTY INVITATIONS

JAYNE

" H ow are you ever supposed to find anything in all this?" Spike chuckles as he helps me pull a large bag of flip-flops out of my closet.

"Don't start with me now." I laugh and grab hold of the bag to help him get it onto the floor.

"I just need to get another pair of sneakers.

" I'm already sweating and puffing hard.

When I moved in here, I managed to shove all my clothes into the extra-small closet, but I didn't really think about the fact that I'd have to go diving back into it whenever I wanted something out.

I'm surprised that Spike is willing to help me. This is really going above and beyond what he needs to do to protect me.

"Is this the bag?" He shows me the corner of a bright blue duffel bag, which I know only has belts in it.

"Nope, the bag is black."

"Jesus. Seriously, what is in all of these bags?" he questions.

"Clothes," I reply.

"How many clothes do you need?" He looks back at me with that quirky smirk on his face.

I look over his head and see there’s an intense overabundance of clothing. Unfortunately for me, that’s how I relieve stress. Nothing like a sale on a cute top to get my endorphins pumping.

"I know, it's too much. But a lot of that stuff in there I've either never worn or it's very lightly used. I hate the idea of just throwing it away for space." I bite the corner of my lip, getting an icky feeling just thinking about that.

"Then don't throw it away. Why don't you donate what you don't wear to one of the women's shelters?

There's one on Cribbons Ave, a lot of young teenagers, single mothers who are always in need of stuff.

The club tries to help them out as much as we can.

" Spike nods and goes back to digging in the closet to find my bag of shoes.

I'm shocked silent.

Did he just say the club was going out of their way to help a women's shelter? That's news to me. Something they weren't doing when Spike and I were together. I guess this is what Nisa meant when she told me things had changed since I'd left.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll give that some thought." There was no thought to be had—if they are supporting those women and I can help, I will.

Spike isn't the same man he was when I left, and the crazy part is I don't even know if he notices.

I don't know if he realizes that after only a short while, he's changed into a much better man.

Equal parts pride and remorse fill me up.

If I'd only stuck it out a little longer, maybe I could be the one benefiting from all his changes.

Maybe we wouldn't be stuck in this awkward situation.

"Oh, that one!" I exclaim when Spike grabs hold of a large duffel bag and starts to yank it forward.

"Finally." Spike groans as he starts heaving the bag out from the depths of the small closet. He pulls harder and harder. Various items start to fall as he dislodges the bag.

Boom, boom, boom.

Both of us stop and look at each other. At first, I think he must have knocked something down inside the closet, but when we hear the banging sound again, I realize it's coming from outside the house.

Shit, it could be one of the girls. I rush out of the room with Spike right on my tail.

"Jayne, damn it, hold on." He orders, and it takes everything in me to stop moving forward.

"What the hell was that?" Spike questions Lash, who is already looking out the peephole.

"Someone is real eager to get into the apartment next door." His voice is cold, calculated.

"Be quiet, come with me." Spike puts his hand out for me and walks me over to the front door. He moves Lash out of the way and allows me to look through the peephole.

"You know him?"

All the fear I'd just been feeling rushes out of my body. "It's nobody, just a john. He's a regular. I used to see him at least twice a week coming in and out."

This man wasn't one of the people I was afraid of. He was just there to taste the merchandise before it was shipped off to wherever the final location was.

"If he's a regular, maybe he has intel we aren't privy to?" Tella says from over my shoulder. All three of them look at each other before Spike moves me out of the way and they open my door.

The man across the hall is so focused on getting into the apartment that he doesn't even notice three large biker men coming up on him.

"You looking for something?" Lash questions, which finally gets him to spin around.

"No, I mean maybe... are you one of the Souls too?" the john asks.

"You're gonna wish we were one of the Souls in a minute." Spike pulls out a long knife from a side pocket. I gasp when I see it, but I don't say anything. I'm just praying Spike knows not to take this too far.

"Oh my god, what the hell are you doing? I don't have any money on me. What do you want?" The john has the nerve to whimper.

"We don't want your fucking money, we want to know what you're doing over here."

"I'm just here for some fun. I have a problem. A legit medical issue. I'm an addict. I swear it. This is the only place that has what I need on hand all the time."

Lash looks over to Tella, confused.

"Pussy. He's talking about pussy."

The john nods his head. "Yeah, I'm a sex addict. I always treat the girls nice. Did they say I didn't?"

Spike grabs the back of the man's head by his hair and yanks back. He presses the knife to his cheek and looks him dead in the eyes. "It looks like you're going to have to get your fix somewhere else. The girls in this apartment aren't working anymore."

"What about the new ones that are coming in?"

I shake my head in amazement. This man is so hard up for sex that he's not really understanding the gravity of his situation. I guess he really does have a problem.

"What new ones?" Tella growls.

"The ones from the party? I don't want to get my hopes up if they are off limits too."

Once again, Spike, Lash, and Tella all look at each other. A silent conversation happening between them.

"What party?" Spike questions, and the john's eyes get big.

"I can't tell you. If you don't already know, then I can't say. They'll kill me."

Spike moves the knife from the man's face only enough to bring his free hand back to punch him right in the gut.

All the air puffs out of the man's lungs, and he leans over trying to breathe.

"You make it sound like you have a choice. Either you deal with them later or you deal with us now," Lash adds as the man is still sucking in air.

"Okay, okay, just don't hurt me." Spike grabs the man by his collar and forces him to stand up straight.

"Start talking."

The john goes on to tell us about an invitation-only party where the Souls will show off their new stock and also let the attendees have some wild fun. Basically a big fucking orgy. I'm shocked when he tells us the password is Angel.

With how depraved and sordid the whole situation sounds, I'd think they'd have a more fitting password than Angel.

When the man finally finishes his verbal diarrhea, Spike and the guys take a step away from him, giving him a clear exit.

"This is your lucky day. I don't know what you used to get into with the Burning Souls before, but take this as your wake-up call. I don't want to even hear about you being around here anymore. You got it? Get your pussy somewhere else."

The john nods furiously before he nearly sprints toward the exit.

I'm not worried about him.

What I'm worried about is the fact that he just said there are new girls being brought in.

I have to find a way to get them out of there.

What if they are all kidnapped? What if they just think it's a party?

Before, I was only thinking about the girls in this apartment, but now I have information that I can use to stop a whole shipment of girls from being put through this hell.

Just as I open my mouth to talk, Spike speaks up.

"Looks like we've got a party to go to."