I choke out a sob. “Oh, God. Please no.” I feel the heat of his skin poking against my back side. “Stop it, Todd. You don’t want to do this. Not like this.” Fear bubbles in my chest as he continues to ignore me, forcing me to spread my legs for him.
“Shut up. You’ve been teasing my cock for months, you fuckin’ slut. Tonight you’re gonna give me what I’ve been waiting for. You owe me.”
Trembling beneath him I stare at the end table next to the couch. Beside the lamp is a picture of Rochelle’s dad and her mom in a pretty white frame. It’s their wedding day. Both baby faced and not much older than I am now. James wearing this beautiful smile on his face and probably one of the only times the man has been in a suit. He’s holding Rochelle on his hip. I imagine him gazing at me like that. Full of love, adoration, and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
As Todd’s body slams against mine, I pretend I’m in that photo in place of Ruthie, and I get lost in the fantasy. Pretending I’m somewhere else. That I’m someone else with each brutal thrust as my stomach slides over the carpet. “That’s it. Take it, you whore.” The heat of his breath fans along my neck. Bile churns, in the pit of my belly, clawing its way up my throat.
Todd bites and nips at me like a savage animal. His teeth digging deep enough to draw blood.
I hear the front door open and pray its Murder.
“What do we have here?” A gritty voice growls.
I hear the bones in Todd’s nose crunch, and he cries out.
I try to see who my savior is, but one eye is swollen, and my vision is hazy. “This the little bitch who got off with the product?”
“You broke my nose,” Todd whines.
“Make yourself useful and tie her up.”
I try to crawl away from them but it’s no use. I’m no match for the two of them.
Chapter Three
Two Weeks Later
“What are you looking at?” I step up behind Grudge who is staring hard at the gate to our compound. The Devil’s Playground.
“That’s the third time she’s walked past the gate in the last ten minutes.”
I move to stand next to him to see who she is.
One look at her blonde braids and the way her skirt swishes when she walks, hinting at the curve of her ass cheeks, and I know exactly who she is. Alexa. My daughter Rochelle’s friend. “I got this.”
“You know her?”
“Yup.” I leave off the unfortunately. Fucking Alexa showed up at house two weeks ago in need of a place to stay and then she vanished. No one has seen her since. Her folks and the police been leaning on me for information, but I didn’t know what the fuck to tell them. I pointed them in the direction of that stupid fuck she was dating. Little prick Todd but he’s been missing too. I figured she skipped town with him.
“Looks like jailbait, brother.”
“She is.” I climb on my motorcycle wondering why she’s wearing her cheerleading uniform still and Grudge opens the gate. I roar onto the main road and her red and black skirt flies up exposing her black lace thong and tanned ass cheeks. Jesus. I look away. I idle and wait for her to approach me. When I see her face, my blood runs cold. “What the fuck happened?” I glare at the black and blue bruise circling her left eye.
Alexa wraps her arms around her middle and shakes her head. “Nothing. I just...I don’t want to be alone...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.” Her pearly whites graze her plump cherry stained lips. Her thick black lashes flutter as she blinks away her tears. She swipes them away quickly, sniffling. “I should go. I’m not your problem.”
“Well you’ve made it mine by showing up here,” I snarl at her. “Who gave you the shiner? You didn’t have that shit las time I saw you.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
“Asked you a question. I expect an answer.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Just don’t ask me any questions. Please.”
“Get on.”
“Umm.”
“Now,” I bark, and she startles, but climbs on. Her arms go around my middle, holding on for dear life. Her tits smash against my back, and I speed away hoping no one other than Grudge saw me putting another woman on the back of my Road King who isn’t my wife. Politics within our club are fragile. Shit is split down the middle. I don’t need any trouble with Lion right now.
As they say between the legs is between the legs and the only bitch who rides bitch should be your Old Lady, but this is an emergency.
Banks better not have had shit all to do with this. I’ll deal with him later. Right now, finding out what in the hell happened to Alexa is my priority. She was under my roof when she disappeared. Motherfucker.
I drive to a safehouse the club owns but rarely uses. Alexa can sleep here for the night, and I can get her story before I turn her back over to her folks. I cut my bike off and Alexa climbs off. I push the kickstand down and lead her to the porch.
The spare key is in the black metal letterbox that hangs next to the front door. “Shouldn’t be anyone here,” I tell her as I unlock it. I flick the light switch just inside the door, but nothing happens. Shit. Bulb must’ve blown. The house is in a bad neighborhood, but everyone knows it belongs to the club, so no one bothers it.
Alexa stays close to my side, pressing into me, a hand wrapped around the sleeve of my leather jacket. Guiding her further into the house, I kick some empty beer bottles out the way and find the switch to the kitchen light. Luckily, it still works.
“What is this place?” Her gaze moves around the bare room. There’s the usual appliances and a small table with one chair. The others are stacked in the corner, broken.
“Safehouse. You should be fine for the night. There’s a bed or a couch. You got a way to get home in the morning?”
Her right shoulder lifts slightly. “Don’t worry about me. No one else does.”
I wince at her words. Someone should give a damn about her, but it can’t be me. I’ve got enough on my plate.
“Where the fuck you been the past two weeks?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Please don’t make me.”
“Police been breathing down my neck for two weeks sticking their noses in my business. I need to know where the fuck you were. Don’t pull no shit with me. Rochelle thinks you’re dead. Hell, your folks too. Do you have any idea how worried sick we’ve all been?”
“You were worried about me?”
“You ready to tell me where you were?”
“I can’t. I need time to think of what to say to my parents. You don’t understand. If I talk, I’m dead.”
“Right. Sure.” I call bullshit.” Bet she went off with that fucker and he beat her. She’s trying to protect him. If she wants to go down that road its none of my business. “If you need a ride home, I can swing by in the morning. No big deal.” Fuck. What am I doing? I shouldn’t have even brought her here.
“Okay. Thanks.” She shoots me a smile so big and bright that the hell I catch might be worth it.
“You need anything before I go?”
Alexa chews on her thumbnail. “Don’t guess so. But could you stay until I fall asleep?”