Chapter 16
Itouch my fingers to my lips and still feel the friction from his. Raze got the wrong idea about what just happened. I wasn’t trying to claim him. I just couldn’t let him leave without him knowing how I felt. I know Raze feels what I do, I felt it last night in the way he kissed me and how he treated my body like it was something special to him.
I’m not some stupid, little girl who doesn’t know what she’s getting involved in. I know how dangerous a motorcycle club can be. But what just happened was above all my expectations and I feel a little light-headed from how happy I am.
The women who hang out here and make themselves available to all members are scowling across the yard at me, so I quickly turn around and head back toward the beach. It stated something that he kissed me in front of everyone with no intention of hiding it, and although he seemed a little mad, I saw the promise in his eyes when he said we’d talk when he gets home. He said he’d be gone for a few days, and as sad as it is to admit, I already miss him. At least some weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
I don’t want to run from this anymore. I’m already starting to see this place as my home, I just choose to ignore how complicated that makes everything.
I arrive back at the hut feeling so much better than I did when I left it and since I didn’t get much sleep last night I decide to tuck myself into bed and take a nap. My head has barely touched the pillow when I hear a loud bang, followed by a squawk. I get back up and rush to the door where it came from and through the glass I see a raven lying still on the porch.
It must have flown into the door, and when I lean over to check for any signs of life, I jump out my skin when it quickly shakes its head and struggles back up.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” I speak softly as it bounces on its claws and flaps one of its wings desperately trying to take off. “I think you’ve hurt your wing.” He’s only holding the other one-half open. “Stop flapping and I can help you.” I look around for something I can put him in. It looks to me like a few of the members have stayed behind, maybe I can convince one of them to drive me to a vet’s or a wildlife rescue center. The poor creature is exhausting itself trying to take off under the midday sun and I quickly grab some bread to try and entice it indoors, but it doesn’t seem to work.
I have no phone or way of googling what to do in this situation and so I have to run with instinct. I head back into the kitchen and fill a bowl with water, then placing it on the floor in the middle of the hut I surround it with the breadcrumbs I’ve made. There’s an old whiskey crate that Raze keeps his shoes in by the door, so I empty it out. Stepping back out onto the porch, I block the bird from the beach and shoo it into the house. I wave my arms and encourage it toward the water bowl. Then once it starts to peck at the bread crumbs I quickly trap him there with the crate.
“Phew.” I take a long deep breath once I know he’s safe, with water and shelter from the sun. Now, it’s time for phase two of my plan. Getting some help.
The clubhouse turns silent when I step inside. The woman who’s serving behind the bar shakes her head at me and turns up her nose, while the one that's got her hands inside Griller’s pants mouths the word “bitch” at me.
“I don’t think ya should be here.” Sonny rushes from behind the bar and blocks my vision from what’s taking place during the middle of the day in this very public place.
“I’m not planning on stopping. I’m just looking for some help, a raven flew into the hut door and hurt its wing. It can’t fly,” I explain.
“Ya hear that, Sonny? Looks like you get to make your first kill today.” Griller laughs loudly.
“No.” I yell back, “He just needs some help from a vet. I have him secure I just need someone to drive me to the nearest?—”
“No one ain’t drivin’ you to save no bird. We’ll send Sonny down to break its neck once he’s finished restocking the bar,” Griller dismisses me.
“I will not let you kill him, not when there's a chance he can be saved.”
“Ya hear that, boys? One kiss from the president and she thinks she can hand out orders.”
“Shut up, Griller, or you’ll end up with two empty sockets.” Raze’s VP steps out from the office, leaning his shoulder on the door frame and folding his arms.
“Wrath, will you help me, please?” I look to him for some support. Alicia and Corey taught me a lot about the club and who everyone was last night. I learned that there’s tension between him and Raze, and apparently they both left here around the same time.
“I won’t, but Sonny will.” He looks toward him. “Take Raze’s old lady and help her with her bird situation,” he orders.
“Oh…I’m not Raze’s old lady,” I correct him with a nervous laugh. I may not be all that knowledgeable on biker gangs because Kane insisted I stay away from the Reapers, but I do know what an old lady is.
“Looks that way to me. Our prez just claimed you in front of us all.” Wrath sniggers.
“Well, technically she claimed him.” One of the girls comes and stands beside me, holding her lips so close to my cheek I can smell the cherry balm on them. “What a dumb-ass bitch,” she adds with an irritating little giggle that makes me want to rip the cheap-assed weave right off her scalp.
“Enough.” Wrath eyeballs her, gesturing his head toward the bar to send her on her way.
“Sonny, take Peyton wherever she needs to go. Keep a good eye on her.”
“Sure thing.” The kid who’s now standing next to me, ready and able, smiles. He’s much taller than the other prospect is, and handsome in his own way, at least he smiles which seems rare among the men around here.
“We need something to transport it in, like a cage or something,” I explain, hoping that he’s okay back at the hut. It must be scary for him.
“I can help with that.” I’m shocked to hear a friendly female voice and when a pretty, blonde-haired girl looks up from her phone I smile at her gratefully. “Follow me.” She leads me and Sonny out the door toward the motel then opens one of the doors into a huge janitor closet that's stacked to the ceiling with junk.
“There’s all sorts left in here from when this place was a working motel, the club never bothered to clean it out.” She climbs over the dismantled bed frame and when Sonny notices that I’ve caught him checking out her ass he quickly averts his eyes and looks embarrassed.
“I knew there was one of these in here.” She holds up a pet carrier.
“This is perfect.” I squeal with excitement, relieved to know that we can get the bird some help.
“Willow had a pet cat before she left to spend time in Colorado.”
“Willow?” I ask, not recalling hearing her name mentioned.
“Wrath’s little sister, Cliff took her with him when he left. That’s where Tawk is right now, out there looking for her.” I take the carrier out of her hands and take in what she’s said. There’s so much to learn about this place and its past. I already know the president, before Raze, was a bad man and that his being here is to try to right all the wrongs he made.
“Well, I appreciate this…” I smile awkwardly because I don’t know her name.
“Cara.” She smiles.
“And you should ignore the rest of the girls, they’re just jealous. There’s been talk of Raze coming here for a while, he’s been a target for all of them.” She smiles and I return it feeling grateful for her kindness and her honesty.
“Come on, let’s go get your friend.” Sonny leads me through the arch and into the parking lot where I kissed Raze earlier. I feel my cheeks burn when I recall what I did. I must have embarrassed him by kissing him that way in front of everyone, and as good as it felt at the time, I’m sure he’ll be mad about it. Raze is always mad at the things I do.
The raven is still under the crate when we get back to the hut and with a little help from Sonny we get him into the carrier so we can transport him to the vet practice that he looked up on his phone.
“So you're a prospect, huh?” I look at the patch on his side as he drives us there in his mom’s car.
“Yeah, only been a week, but I’m likin’ it so far.” Something about the way he smiles tells me that he’s lying.
“There’s nothing else you wanted to do, like travel or go to college?”
“Ain’t clever enough to go to college and travelin’ ain’t my thing.” He shrugs while the carrier on my lap rattles and the raven caws.
“So, Sonny, is that a road name or the one your folks gave you?” I ask, often I’ve wondered how Raze earned his name, but I’ve never asked him, more out of fear for the answer than anything else.
“It’s not a road name, more of a nickname.” He nods.
“Because you're all sunshine and light.” I smile sarcastically at him and when he shakes his head and looks down at his lap I can tell he’s not proud of it.
“They call me Sonny ‘cause no one knows who my dad is,” he admits. Focusing back on the road and avoiding looking at me.
“That’s cruel,” I say my thoughts out loud, feeling awful for him.
“Yeah, well, they’re outlaw bikers, what d’ya expect?”
“And you never wanted to find out who your dad is?”
“Mom tells me I’m better off wonderin’, whoever he is, he was never gonna step up and make my moma an old lady, so I guess she’s right and I’m better off without him.”
“Wait, your dad is a member of the club?” My mouth drops open in shock.
“Polly’s my mom and she only learned to cook while she was raisin’ me, before then she was... She’s Soul property, meanin’ the only man who coulda knocked her up was a Soul, and there’s been plenty of ‘em come and go over the years,” he points out.
“You wanna tell me your real name?” I ask, feeling sorry for him. Now that I know why they call him by it I don’t wanna use it anymore.
“It’s James, just plain old James.” He laughs to himself.
“Well, James, I’m very grateful to have you helping us.” I smile at him and tap the carrier that’s on my lap.