12. Addison
CHAPTER 12
ADDISON
I refuse to let this man see me at my worst.
“You must be Crow’s girl.”
I freeze just as I step inside his room and glare at the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. She’s surrounded by shopping bags.
“Let’s call it like it is, shall we?” I snark. “I’m his prisoner, not his girl.”
The woman shrugs as if that’s a tiny detail that doesn’t matter. “If you were a prisoner, you’d be downstairs. I’m Sunny, by the way.”
“I know.”
“And you’re Addison, a detective.”
“I am.”
Sunny wrings her hands in front of her, suddenly nervous. “I know what you must think of me, but I’m not a slut.”
Okay, not what I expected.
“I don’t think that.”
“It’s okay, really. I mean, I do sleep with the brothers. But that’s not why I stay.”
“Okay,” I say, drawing out the word. “Then why do you stay? Are they forcing you to?”
Sunny’s eyes widen. “What? No, of course not.”
“Then why?”
“Because I live here rent free,” she says unapologetically. “I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes on my back. All while going to school full time on the club’s dime.”
“You’re in school?”
She nods. “For computer programming, and I’ve only got three semesters left. Thanks to the Soulless Kings, I’m debt-free because I didn’t have to take out student loans.” Sunny takes a deep breath. “And before you ask, no, they didn’t make working as a club whore a condition on the money.”
“Wasn’t gonna ask that,” I lie.
How could I not ask that? While it sounds great on the surface, Sunny is still essentially engaging in prostitution with the club.
“When I was fifteen, my parents were killed in a car accident. My aunt came down from Utah to take care of me, but she wasn’t exactly parent material .” She scrunches her nose with displeasure, and it doesn’t take a genius, or a detective, to figure out why. “After a particularly bad night, I ran away. A couple of the brothers found me and brought me back to the clubhouse. They took care of me when I had no one else.”
“You didn’t go to the police about your aunt?”
Sunny snorts. “No offense, but the police didn’t give a shit about an orphan from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“I’m sorry.”
And I am. I’ve seen great cops, and I’ve seen awful ones. Sounds like Sunny’s only encountered the latter.
“I’m not telling you this for sympathy or an apology. I’m telling you this because I know why you’re here. And I need you to know that you’re wrong.” She smiles sadly. “Sure, the Soulless Kings aren’t perfect, but they are decent humans with an amazing capacity to give a damn about others.”
I’m beginning to see that.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Sunny moves past me to the door, but she glances over her shoulder before leaving. “You should have everything you need there,” she says, nodding at the bed. “But if you need something else, let me know.”
“Thank you, Sunny.”
After she leaves, I start going through the shopping bags. It seems Sunny thought of everything.
Or Crow did.
There are two pairs of jeans, a week’s worth of panties, two bras, seven tops, and two sets of pajamas. Factor in the three bags of toiletries and makeup, and I don’t think Sunny’ll have to run any more errands on my behalf.
I take the toiletries into the attached bath, along with a change of clothes, and set it all on the counter. After putting the brand-new bottles of shampoo and conditioner, as well as a razor and body wash, on the wall shelf in the shower, I turn on the water and step under the spray as soon as it’s warm enough to tolerate.
I’ve been here for less than twenty-four hours, and I’ve encountered more situations that make me question my opinions of the Soulless Kings than I care to admit. As a kid, I was aware of the club. I’d hear my dad and Gary talk about them in the context of their work, but the crimes they’d discuss were always petty.
I knew Trace in school and liked him for the most part. He was a troublemaker, a class clown, but he never hurt anyone. In fact, he stood up for most kids who were being bullied.
But things changed, life happened, and hatred reared its ugly head.
“You almost done in there?”
Crow’s voice startles me from my thoughts, and I shake my head to clear it. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
I quickly rinse the conditioner out of my hair and wash my body. Feeling slightly more human, I get out and dry off. Five minutes later, and with my hair wrapped in a towel, I step out of the bathroom and toss my dirty clothes into the hamper.
“Mona’s called a few times,” Crow says quietly from where he’s sitting at his desk.
“And I’m guessing I can’t call her back,” I snap, not wanting to deal with him right now.
“I didn’t say that.”
I face him. “You’re gonna let me call her?”
“Didn’t say that either.”
It takes everything in me not to stomp my foot in frustration. “I’m not in the mood for games,” I snap. “Either I can call my friend or not.”
Crow stands and closes the distance between us. My breath hitches at his nearness, and it’s not out of fear.
Traitorous body.
“You can text her, but I’m going to read it, and if I suspect you’re trying to tell her anything or give her some sort of distress signal, Mona will be joining you here.” He arches a brow. “Understood?”
And there’s the evil I knew was lurking just beneath the surface.
“Understood,” I huff out.
Crow hands me my cell phone, and I quickly open the texting app.
Me: Sorry I missed your calls. I’m fine… just hungover.
It’s less than a minute before my phone pings with a notification.
Mona: Thank God! I was getting worried.
Me: How r u feeling? U were pretty drunk
Mona: Hungover, same as you
Me: Get some rest. I’ll call u tomorrow
Mona: K
“You’re that confident I’m gonna let you call her?” Crow asks from his position next to me where he was reading over my shoulder.
“Unless you want someone beating down your clubhouse door, yeah, I am.” I shove my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. “Mona and I talk all the time. It’d be suspicious if I didn’t call her.”
“Fine.”
“Speaking of tomorrow…” I lock eyes with him. “I have an early shift. Kinda gotta go to work.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yeah, Crow, I do. I’ve never missed a day, and I’m not about to start now. Besides, my dad will wonder where the hell I am and send out the cavalry.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“Taken care of it how?”
“You’ve suddenly been struck by a nasty flu,” he says with a smirk. “And the doctor told you to take the week off and rest. Even wrote you a note and everything.”
“Seriously?!” I shriek. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me. I’m thorough.”
“You’re an ass.”
Crow hangs his head as if my words hurt him. He begins to pace, doing his best to avoid looking at me at all.
“Speaking of me being an ass,” he says. “What happened back at the restaurant? One minute, you were fine, and the next, you were ready to rip my head off.”
“I wasn’t fine,” I snap. “I’m your prisoner, and that’ll never be fine .”
“Okay, whatever.” He thrusts a hand through his hair. “You weren’t as bitchy then.”
I roll my eyes and cross the room to the bed. Exhaustion creeps in, and all I want to do is sleep.
“Answer me, Addison,” Crow prods. “What happened?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
It’s true, I don’t. Because if I open up that particular wound, I’ll lose it. And I refuse to let this man see me at my worst.
Crow stops pacing and stands next to the bed, staring down at me. “I asked you about your mother.”
I roll over, praying he’ll drop it.
“What happened to your mother, Addison?”
Tears spring to my eyes, and I can’t stop them from spilling over. I’d give anything to hold onto the anger, but I’m so tired, and my defenses aren’t working at full power.
“Addison?”
He rests a hand on my shoulder, and that brings my anger back in spades. I flip around and scramble to my knees. Crow tries to step back, but my fist connects with his jaw before he can get away.
“What the fuck?!” he shouts.
“You wanna know what happened to my mother?” I scream. “Fine, I’ll tell you. She was murdered.”
His forehead wrinkles in confusion. “Murdered?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” I snarl as tears slide down my cheeks.
“But I don?—”
“The Soulless Kings killed her!”