Chapter Twenty-Seven
Kytten
It was Friday night and time for me to go to the clubhouse. I didn’t know what to expect. Sypher had told King about me, so I was positive he would be pissed.
I should have let him know when I got to town. There were rules in the biker world about visiting another club’s territory. But well, Val never really held to those rules because of what we did. Often, we had to get in and get out with no one ever knowing we were there.
It was what I was used to.
I wasn’t used to this.
Tonight was a birthday party for one of the brothers.
And it was my birthday. Though no one who was there tonight knew that.
I couldn’t help but wonder what Amber was feeling. Did she remember the significance of today? I certainly did. It was a day I would never forget. I scratched at my leg.
At the diner last Sunday was the first time I had ever seen her in person. I guess she kind of looked like Val. They shared the same blonde hair.
I didn’t know why I was so nervous. I had met the women already. They all seemed nice. I knew Sypher, and I definitely knew Cash. But it was the others I worried about. Not all bikers approved of female clubs.
Not that I needed anyone’s approval. But I wanted his brothers to like me. Cash made it sound like we were a done deal. But if his brothers didn’t agree, there would be no us.
And I still hadn’t called Val.
I didn’t know what to tell her.
As I sat on my bed, worrying about what was to come, I heard a bike pull up out front. As I neared the front door, I heard boots stomping up the steps followed by a loud knock.
“Open up, Rosie.”
I yanked the door open and stared at the man behind it.
“What are you doing here? I said I would meet you at the clubhouse.” He grabbed my hand as he barged in.
“Pack your shit.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re staying with me from here on out.”
“Cash—” My protest was cut off by his lips against mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I groaned. His hand went through my hair, holding the back of my head, stopping me from pulling away, not that I wanted to.
No one had ever kissed me like Cash. Never made me feel things the way he did. As his other hand went to my hip, he backed me up against the wall and held me there while he ravaged my mouth.
When he pulled back, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His smug grin told me everything. I was in trouble. All he had to do was kiss me and I would give him anything he wanted.
“Pack your shit, baby.”
“Ok,” I whispered. I went to the bedroom in the small cabin. This one was half the size of the one Sypher and Dante lived in. Only one bedroom.
Not meant for a family.
As I packed my bag, my nerves started to frazzle. I wanted to stay with Cash. I did. But at what cost? How would I hide the scars?
“Hey.” His voice behind me caused me to jump. And when his arms went around me, I stiffened. “Rosie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, you just startled me.” I turned around and gave him my practiced smile. “All done.”
When his brows furrowed, I leaned up to kiss him and pulled him from the room. I’d have to ride my own bike to the clubhouse. Disappointment filled me as I looked at his.
“We can come back and get it tomorrow,” he whispered in my ear.
“I can ride with you?” It was a question I didn’t want to ask. One I didn’t want to have to ask.
“Rosie, if it were my choice, you wouldn’t have a bike. You would always be on the back of mine.”
I looked over my shoulder and gave him my real smile. The one I barely used because there was nothing that truly made me happy.
Until him.
I had to remind myself it was too soon. His old lady had recently died. I’d only known him a month. But here I was. Having veiled conversations about being an old lady and climbing on the back of his bike.
The monsters were nowhere to be found.
“I’m not getting rid of my bike. But I would like to ride with you tonight.”
He grabbed my helmet as we walked to his bike and instead of handing it to me, to put on myself, he set it on my head and lifted the visor while he clicked the strap. It felt a little like having a man open the car door for me.
I could do it myself. But it was nice to be taken care of. Val had been taking care of me since I was eleven years old and she found me on the street.
But this was different.
Cash did it because he wanted to. Not because I was a helpless child with no other option. Don’t get me wrong, Val had never done anything to make me feel like a burden. In fact, she worked her ass off to make sure none of the Nyght Nymphs felt that way.
She just couldn’t control the monsters in our heads that screamed and told us we weren’t worth having. The ones that told us everyone left us because we were too much trouble.
Cash kept the monsters away. So, when I climbed on behind him, I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. I didn’t want to ever let go.
Pulling up in front of the clubhouse, Cash backed his bike against the wall. He helped me off, and then pulled me close, kissing me soundly. “Relax. You’ve already met the women. They’re the tough ones.”
I nodded as I stared at the front doors. I had been watching the clubhouse for weeks. But tonight would be the first time I entered.
Cash held my hand as we walked in, the sound of country music playing loudly. Balloons and streamers hung everywhere. It looked like a party store threw up and I loved all of it.
I didn’t miss celebrating my birthday. Not really. Not until I saw something like this. Then I remembered the birthdays my mom had planned. The few birthdays Val planned until the one she forgot.
After that, I didn’t want to celebrate anymore. She tried to apologize, but I plastered that fake ass smile on my face and told her I understood.
And I did.
The first time.
She had just found her daughter after years and years of searching for her. What kind of bitch would I be to hold that against her? Val was a mom first and foremost. Everything she did was with her daughter in mind.
Even walking away.
She was selfless.
But then the next year she was so sad. Amber had gone missing again and Val had forgotten my birthday.
I told myself it wasn’t her fault Amber had been found on my birthday.
Val wasn’t my real mom. She was Amber’s.
So, I let her off the hook. Told her it wasn’t right to celebrate my birthday without Thorne anyway. She didn’t fight me on it.
“Hey.”
I blinked, looking up at Cash, giving him my fake smile. The one that made my eyes wide and bright. But he frowned back at me.
“I hate that fucking smile,” he growled.
“What?” I muttered.
“Cash!” Sam, Jackass’ old lady, slapped him on the chest. “That was mean. What’s wrong with you?”
I dipped my head, not wanting Sam to see my distress. Cash ignored her and lifted my face until I looked him in the eye. “I don’t want that fake fucking smile. I want the real one. The one that tells me you’re happy because you feel something. Not the one you think everyone wants to see.”
My nose burned, and this time, the tears threatened to fall over.
He saw me.
The real me.
I gave him a watery smile. One I hoped he could see despite the threat of tears that never fell. And when he saw it, he smiled back.
“So fucking beautiful.” He kissed my forehead, and Sam sighed next to us.
“Kytten, I want you to meet someone.” Sam looked around the room, and my eyes followed hers. And when her gaze landed on a young man, my chest tightened.
I dropped Cash’s hand and slowly walked across the room until I was standing in front of him. My breaths came out fast and uneven. I felt lightheaded as I stared up into his light brown eyes. Eyes I recognized.
“You’re here,” I whispered. The tears that filled my eyes but never fell slipped out and ran down my cheeks. “You’re really here.”
He looked at me, confused. When I reached my hand up to his face, I heard Cash call my name. “ROSE!” But everything else behind me fell away as the young man’s eyes flared with recognition.
“Rosebud?” Thorne whispered in disbelief. Then I jumped into his arms.
“You’re really here,” I cried.
The music stopped, and suddenly I was ripped from Thorne’s arms. “NO!” I fought against whoever held me and I saw Cash punch my brother.
Thorne fell back against a table, and I screamed. Everything became a blur. I kicked out, hitting at the people around me, biting the hands that held me back, until the arms holding me loosened. I ran for my brother, who was on the floor, his nose bleeding from the hit.
Cash grabbed me, and I didn’t think. My instincts kicked in and, well, my foot kicked with them. Right into Cash’s dick. He dropped to the floor, and I left him there. My only focus was getting to my brother.
I kneeled on the floor next to him. “Are you ok?”
“I’m ok, Rosebud.” I tackled him again. I didn’t care about getting his blood on me. I had my brother.
He was here.
He was alive.
“KYTTEN!” My body froze at the angry sound of his voice.
Oh shit.
I looked over my shoulder at Cash. He was seething. Being held back by several brothers. “What in the actual fuck?” he growled. “Mimic, get your fucking hands off my woman.”
I looked back at Thorne, and then Cash. “I-I... can explain.”
“Cash, it’s not what it looks like,” Sam said. She’d stepped in front of him and laid a hand on his chest. He looked down at her belly before turning his rage fueled eyes my way.
“Jack, get your old lady,” he said, his voice steady and low. I could see the tension in his shoulders. The barely held rage burned brightly around him.
I looked back at Thorne. “I’ll be right back.” I scrambled to my feet, but Thorne grabbed my hand.
“Rosebud.” I helped him to his feet and he pushed me behind him.
“Back the fuck off, VP.”
“Thorne,” I hissed behind him.
Cash looked around my brother and caught my eye. “Who the fuck is Thorne?”
I slipped in front of Thorne so Cash could see me as tears still streamed down my face. I couldn’t stop them now that they had finally been let loose.
“He’s my brother,” I whispered.
Thorne placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me back as Cash grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
“What the fuck is going on?” King yelled. He glared at me. “Kytten, I presume?”
All I could do was nod, caught between the man I was falling in love with and the brother I had been searching for.
“You come into my town, without a word. No courtesy telling me you are here and why. Then you come into my clubhouse and cause chaos and fighting among my men.”
I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat. “I-I’m sorry.”
“King, this is my fault,” Sam said, stepping up.
He turned to look at the pregnant woman. “How?”
Sam looked at Cash and then at Thorne. She pulled me to her and wrapped her arms around me. Neither of the two men fighting over me objected. It was like she had some magical power over both of them.
“Let’s talk in church.”