Page 1 of Trusting Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #8)

Prologue

Lexie

T he mirror vibrates to the beat of the music as I stare at my reflection.

“Fuuuck. You feel amazing,” the guy I met tonight groans from behind me.

His friend yells to hurry the fuck up from the other side of the door. I don’t know why he doesn’t find someone else to hook up with. There’s a whole house full of drunk girls to choose from.

But none of them are as easy as me.

I run my fingers under my eyes as the guy bounces me against the sink. I do my best to clean the mascara running down my cheeks. The look on my face at the moment is pathetic, probably because that’s what I am.

The dude grunts, then bumps against me a few more times before pulling out. He reaches around me and drops his used condom in the trash.

Slowly, I let my leg fall from the edge of the sink. My boot hits the ground with a soft thud of finality.

Someone knocks on the door.

“Fuck off!” he yells as he buttons his pants.

“I’ve got to pee,” a girl whines over the commotion of the music and drunk partygoers.

At least his friend has moved on.

“There’s a bush outside! Go water it,” he shouts.

“Asshole!” she screams, banging her fist on the door one last time.

“You good?” the guy asks me, fixing his hair over my shoulder.

“Great,” I tell him, tugging my skirt back over my ass.

He winks at me in the mirror. “I’ll see ya around.”

The high I usually feel after a hookup fizzles before it even begins. He slips out the door, and I lock it behind him. “Yeah, see ya around,” I whisper, dropping my forehead to the door.

I go back to the mirror, tipping my head to see a hickey already forming on my neck. I open the bathroom cabinet, looking through the prescription bottles of whoever lives here.

Nope. Nope. Maybe. Nope. Bingo.

The entire bottle gets dumped into my palm. I drop two pills in my mouth. My hand wraps around my red solo cup, washing them down with a swig of vodka and orange juice. Perfect combination to get me through the rest of the night. The remaining pills get dumped in my purse for later.

Someone knocks again.

For the love of god. Isn’t there another bathroom in this house?

“Lexie, your dad is here looking for you.”

“Not my dad.” My father is overseas. I can’t remember the last time he was stateside, although he should be back tomorrow.

I continue my perusal of the meds, opening another bottle. I don’t know what these are, but they sure are pretty.

Suddenly, the music stops. I close the cabinet, looking at myself as I wait for it to start up again. When it doesn’t, I step over to the door and press my ear against the wood. It’s incredibly quiet. Fuck, I hope the party isn’t getting busted.

Someone bangs on the door. Shit, it’s a cop! I knew it.

Quickly, I open the toilet lid, tossing my handful of pills into the bowl. Just then, the door busts open, splintering wood across the floor.

My jaw drops. Oh crap. Not a cop. I wish it was, because I would have had an easier time talking my way out of this.

JD stands in the doorway, his gaze roaming over the bathroom. My head instantly falls.

He steps into the room and reaches around me to flush the toilet. I hug my purse to my chest, wishing I had a pair of ruby slippers to whisk me away.

His fingers wrap around the back of my neck, and he guides me out of the now empty house. Looks like everyone dropped their shit and ran.

Fuck, that means there will be more Skulls outside.

Sure enough there are.

“Why can’t you guys just let me live my life?” I grumble, stumbling down the steps.

JD doesn’t say anything as he steadies me.

Jackson walks over to us, but my “dad” waves him off. He opens the passenger door for me and waits for me to get in.

I stand there, swaying on my feet. “Um, I have a ride home.”

“Had,” he corrects, his hand landing in the center of my back. He pushes me gently but firmly into the cab.

“Fine.”

I watch as he rounds the truck. His eyes never leave me.

When he slides in, he notices the death grip I have on my purse. He snaps his fingers.

“What?”

“Hand it over.”

“No. Jesus. I have tampons in here. Is that what you want to see?”

He doesn’t argue with me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. “Where are we going?” I ask, disappointed when we pass the turn to his house. I guess that’s for the best. I haven’t been there since the night I made a terrible mistake.

I’ll probably never go back there.

The thought makes me sadder than I thought possible.

I glance in the mirror, seeing several bikes trailing us. “What’s going on?”

He sighs. “I’m taking you home to pack a bag.”

Oh, so I am going to his house. Guilt gnaws at my gut. “Um, I would love that, but my parents are coming home tomorrow.”

It’s not a total lie. They will be home for a quick layover before both heading off in different directions. It’s their occasional hookup. They spend the day going over schedules, talking about finances, and then they have “date night.” None of it involves me, but JD doesn’t need to know that.

“I don’t give a fuck if the King of England is coming tomorrow. You’re packing a bag, and then we’re leaving.”

The road begins to blur as we pull into the driveway, and I sway slightly in the seat. My hand slaps against the dashboard to steady myself. Oh my god. I just need to go to bed.

At the door, JD hurries me along as I fumble with the keys. Kelsie’s dad joins us on the porch when I finally get it unlocked.

Just as I’m about to duck inside the house, JD plucks my purse from my shoulder. “I’ll keep that.”

My heart races, and my gaze bounces between the two of them. “You know …” I point my finger at JD ready to tell him off.

“I know. I know. I ain’t got no right.”

“Thank you.” I hold my palm out, waiting for him to hand it over.

“That doesn’t mean I’m giving it back. Go on.” He waves me inside. When I try to close the door on them, he shoves his boot in the jamb.

I throw my hands up and storm inside.

I’m slamming stuff around my room when they join me. “Get out of my room!” I yell.

He walks over to my bed and empties my purse in the middle of it. The white pills fall, sprinkled amongst my beauty supplies.

“You know Ash can’t be around this shit,” Dan admonishes calmly.

“Ash isn’t here, is he? Besides Ash isn’t my responsibility,” I tell him, my tone clipped and my chin raised high.

JD sighs loudly, his gaze roaming over my space. He walks over to my desk. “What’s all this?”

I try to shove him away with my hip. “It’s nothing.” I grab the trash can and scoop all of my unsent letters into the trash.

Jackson, Ash’s brother-in-law, knocks on the door jamb.

“Why are you all in my house?!” I shout.

He crosses his arms over his chest. “I see you haven’t opened any of the packages Ash has been sending. They’re piling up on the kitchen table.”

“Get out!” I shriek, pointing at the door.

Jackson ignores me, walking toward the bed. He picks all of the oxys out of the pile, and then he sets them on the floor and crushes them beneath his boot. “I think you were right, JD. We have no choice but to try Dirk’s suggestion.”

The other two men nod in agreement.

“None of you are my parents. You can't tell me what to do.” I rush over to the bed and angrily shove my personal things back into my purse. “Just give up already.”

When everything is where it belongs, I flop face first onto the mattress.

The men leave but hover just outside my door, speaking quietly. I’m so tired of this. Of them.

The oxys begin to take full effect, and a gentle warmth slides over my body. That’s nice. I blindly reach for the blanket at the end of my bed, dragging it over myself. I can’t wait to fall asleep. To escape.

I’m just about to doze off when I feel the mattress dip. Someone sits beside me, their fingers gently running through my hair.

That feels wonderful.

“I know you’re going to have a hard time with this, but we’ll never abandon you.”

Elizabeth’s voice holds me on the very edge of consciousness. I love her, but all I want to do is slip out of this world.

I’m drifting away as colors swirl behind my eyes.

“Just let go,” I mumble, letting the cyclone carry me to a dimension far away.

“Let her sleep. We’ll pack her bags for her. It’ll be easier on her this way,” JD tells her.

I blink my eyes open and see her resting her head against his stomach as he stands beside the bed. Why do I need a bag? Oh, yeah, I’m going to their house. That’s right.

I like their house. It’s warm and cozy.

Warm and cozy. Heaviness pulls my eyelids shut.

So cozy.