Chapter 5 Cece #3
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “I don’t know what you know about motorcycle clubs, but trust me when I tell you, they aren’t all the same.
I’ve dealt with horrible ones. Ones who abuse women.
My husband had dealings with one from Arizona.
They often came to the compound to pick up the drugs that were made there.
I was one of the ‘perks’ they got for helping the elders distribute those drugs to the outside world. ”
“Jesus,” Roman breathes out, his gaze now filled with compassion for the living nightmare that is my past.
“The Black Roses are nothing like those monsters. Not even close. But in a way, they are why I contacted you.”
Confusion creeps into his gaze. “I’m not sure I’m following…”
“Six weeks ago, the men from the MC in Arizona came to town. They took me and were going to abuse me like they had when I lived on the compound. They didn’t get that far, but it was close. Too close.”
Roman’s jaw tightens. “Thank fuck they didn’t. But I’m still confused about this meeting.”
“I’ve been a mess since the kidnapping,” I admit. “Scared of my own shadow. Angry. Angrier than I’ve ever been.”
“I can imagine,” he says with a hint of sympathy in his tone. I really fucking hate how it sounds coming from him.
“Then I went back to my self-defense class. That’s when I learned one of the women had been hurt by her boyfriend. Well, ex now. Her cousin gave me your number, assuming that I’d gone through the same thing, and that’s why I hadn’t been around.”
“A nurse friend of mine said I should be expecting a phone call,” Roman says.
“Bet you didn’t expect it to be me.” A small chuckle escapes me.
“I can honestly say that so far, nothing about this meeting has been what I expected. I’m still not sure why you reached out in the first place.”
“When she told me what you did, something clicked into place for me. It’s not enough to go to classes and learn how to fight to get away.
I want to learn how to fight back for the sole purpose of fighting back.
To show men like my deceased husband and those other bikers what happens when you mess with someone who you think is weaker, only to find out that you picked the wrong woman to try to hurt.
Or you hurt someone and now you have a price to pay.
It sounded like you were in the business of collecting on their bad deeds. ”
Roman chuckles. “That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Yeah, that’s what we do.”
“I want to do it, too. I want to be the one who makes them pay.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners as he shakes his head. “Cece, I don’t think you know what you’re asking.”
“I do,” I answer firmly.
He nods and looks behind me, clearly mulling over what he’s going to say next. “Okay, if that’s what you want, why not go to the MC you’re associated with? If they are who you say they are, talk to them about your idea. We could always use some extra help.”
“I can’t. The brothers are…protective. Too protective sometimes.
My sister is involved with Jude, which is why I live with him, too.
She remembers the girl she left all those years ago.
I’m far from her. If I told her about this, she would try to talk me out of it.
She doesn’t understand. She still thinks she can keep me safe. Like I’ve told you, it’s an illusion.”
“What my team and I do is dangerous. The guys we go after aren’t afraid to hurt women.
They will hit back. Maybe even try to kill you.
And not to hurt your feelings—” He eyes me from the other side of the table.
Not in any sort of off-putting way, but as though he’s assessing my stature.
“But just by looking at you, I can tell you it wouldn’t be too hard. ”
“I know. Trust me. I’m well aware of how men see me.
However, with your help, with your training, I could change that.
” I pause and take a breath. “There’s an anger inside me, Roman.
And it’s eating me alive. I’m hurting myself and the people I care about because I can’t change the way I feel.
When I heard about you and what you do, I thought to myself, I want to do that, too.
It’s as though all that rage was focused.
As though I found a purpose for everything I went through.
A way to make a difference for women like me. ”
He listens intently and his gaze shifts from a sympathetic one to one of understanding.
He’s silent for several moments, his jaw flexing as he mulls over what I’ve presented him with.
“So, let me get this straight. You want me to train you to go out and take down a man twice your size. Because that’s what we do.
Then we threaten to destroy their lives if they ever breathe in the direction of the woman who called us.
We don’t have a chat first. We don’t try to convince them to do the right thing.
I learned a long time ago that doesn’t work.
Now I start with pain and work from there. ”
“Some men wouldn’t listen otherwise.”
He shakes his head. “Some men still don’t.”
“What do you do if that happens?”
Roman smiles and tilts his head to the side, holding my gaze.
“How about this? You come to my office next week, and I’ll show you a bit of what we do.
If you still want to do this, I’ll train with you.
Teach you how to fight. How to handle a weapon.
Then, after a while, we’ll reevaluate where you would fit into our little setup. ”
I rest my arms on the table and lean forward. “I want to do this, Roman. There hasn’t been anything that’s made me feel like I have a purpose in this new life I’m in now. I’m committed to this.”
“All in due time, Cece. This isn’t some easy little self-defense course. If you go up against a man twice your size, you need to know how to take them down quickly and how to make sure they stay down. And you don’t go out until I say you’re ready.”
“Understood.”
Roman blows out a deep breath and scrubs a hand over his face. “What am I getting myself into?”
A wide smile stretches across my face, and if I weren’t trying to impress upon the man in front of me how seriously I take this, I might be jumping around in my seat.
I reach over and hold out my hand. When he takes it in his, I shake firmly. “I can’t wait to work together, Roman. You won’t regret this.”