Chapter 7 Toxin
TOXIN
I ground my teeth together as I sped off toward the clubhouse.
Why the fuck was this woman upset? I’d saved her ass.
Ripped her out of the clutches of the mafia.
Did she not understand what I’d given her?
The freedom I’d just handed to her? Did she not understand the assholes she worked for?
Assholes that wanted her dead, apparently! ?
I swallowed my growls.
Her body pressed itself against mine. Her legs wrapped around my body. I kept stealing peeks down at her feet and the smallest part of my heart went out to her. Those blisters ripped me back. Took me back to a time where I felt helpless. Disposable. Used and abused.
If anyone gets it, it’s me.
Maybe the mafia had brainwashed her. Or maybe, she had some Stockholm Syndrome going on. Maybe they’d rewired her brain through training over the years or some shit like that. I’d understand that. I watched my mother go through it back in New Mexico. Back when I was a child.
Back before she helped me escape.
“Where are you taking me?”
Her voice piped up as I came to a stop.
“Back to my clubhouse,” I said.
“What clubhouse?”
“The one where I stay.”
“Why are you taking me there?”
“Does it matter? Not like I’m taking you back to the mafia.”
She scoffed. “Are you always such an asswipe?”
Are you always such a bitch?
I bit down onto the side of my cheek to keep from saying what I really wanted to say.
Instead, I sped away from the light once it turned green.
Natasha squealed before she clung to me again, and it made me grin.
She seethed with anger against me. She had no choice, though.
No choice but to trust and rely on me. At least, until we got off this damn bike and out of closed quarters.
“Are we there yet?” she asked.
“What are you, four?” I asked.
“How much longer do we have? I’ve got a phone call to make.”
“You won’t be making any of those at the clubhouse.”
She scoffed. “And why the fuck not?”
I sighed. “Because I just ripped you away from the mafia. For all I know, you’re going to call them to come pick you up and it’s going to put everyone at risk.”
“You’re a dick.”
“And you need to shut up.”
I figured she’d slap me. Bite me. Do something to retaliate. But she didn’t do anything. Instead, she sighed and loosened her grip a bit. Trying to put some distance between us. That didn’t last long, though. I took turns a little sharper and sped a little faster. Forcing her to latch back onto me.
This woman needed to know exactly the kind of situation she was in.
“Are you going to kill me?” Natasha asked.
It caught me off-guard how nonchalantly she asked that.
“Why would you think that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Are you?”
“No.”
“Are your friends?”
“No. You’re safe with me.”
“So, would they if I wasn’t with you?”
I shook my head. “No. They wouldn't.”
I pulled into the parking lot of the clubhouse and turned my bike off.
I knew I had fucked up my mission. But at least I didn’t get myself killed.
Now, the mission had changed: get Natasha to trust me enough to start spilling dirt on the people she worked for.
Maybe, amidst all the waitressing she’d done, she had some viable information she didn’t know she had. Or something like that.
Then, I heard Natasha giggle.
“What?” I asked.
I slid off my bike and watched her, but all she did was quirk an eyebrow.
“You’re not going to offer me a hand?” she asked.
“You’re a big girl. You’ve proven that enough tonight,” I said flatly.
She rolled her eyes and got off the bike. And while I expected her to let out groans and gasps of pain, she didn’t. She clenched her jaw with a temperamental look on her face but didn’t complain about the pain in her feet. It made me wonder how long she’d been working for them.
Or what had happened to her if she complained.
“So, this is it?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said.
“This is the almighty clubhouse?”
“Yep.”
She nodded as her eyes scanned the building.
“Looks like a piece of shit.”
I was ready to duct tape this woman’s mouth closed.
“Come on. Inside. Follow me,” I said.
But when I started walking, she didn’t follow.
“You coming?” I asked, not bothering to look back.
“I’ll come when I’m ready.”
“There’s a storm brewing over the ocean. You going to stand in the rain and let your feet get infected?”
And once she sighed, I heard her making her way for me.
I led us into the clubhouse, where all the guys stared at us.
Grave, with his eyes ablaze with frustration.
Rock, with his jaw raking against the damn floor.
Brewer, with his eyes narrowed and his nose curled up.
And Saint, with a look on his face I couldn't decipher. I didn’t want to take the time, either.
I was tired. In a monkey suit. And in desperate need of a shower.
So, all I did was shrug before I escorted Natasha down the hallway.
“Not going to introduce me to your—”
“Shut up and follow me or walk until you find someone else to deal with your shit,” I said curtly.
“Um, I’m sorry. But from the sounds of it? You need me more than I need you.”
“Says the girl who just got rescued from people willing to fill her with lead.”
“They didn’t want to fill me with lead until you felt the need to play cowboy.”
“Sorry I didn’t want to see you get raped.”
“And sorry you think that’s new to me.”
Her words sucker-punched me in my fucking gut. An anger unlike anything I’d ever known spilled over me. Someone raped her? When? Who? What was the fucker’s name and where did he live?
I wanted to know all these questions.
Because my fingertips suddenly craved blood.
“This is your room,” I murmured.
I pressed the door open and flicked on the light.
“Not much in the way of decoration,” Natasha said.
“It’s got a bed, a bathroom, and things you can use to clean up your feet. Have fun,” I said flatly.
“So, you’re just going to leave me here and hope your friends don’t kill me in the middle of the night?”
“Trust me, if anyone here wants to kill you, it won’t be because of your presence.”
“Wow. You really know how to talk to the ladies.”
“Usually, their mouths are too full to be talking if I’m in the picture.”
“Ah, a big dick joke. Classy.”
“I’m not the one wearing a low-cut flapper dress and a cheap push-up bra.”
She glared at me. “Say something like that again and see what happens.”
I gazed into her eyes. “I’m not the one wearing a low-cut flapper dress and a cheap. Fucking. Push-up bra.”
Her chest panted with anger. Her skin flushed from her cheeks to the base of her neck. Her dark eyes ignited with fire, and when she licked her lips? My eyes followed the motion. They glistened for me. Hot pillows of softness for my cock to fall between.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through in my life,” Natasha said softly.
“And you have no idea what I’ve been through in mine,” I murmured.
My face fell a little closer, my body stepping a bit toward hers. She didn’t move, either. Didn’t back away. Or close the door in my face. Or push me away. Her eyes danced between mine. Her breath pulsed against my lips. And as my eyes found hers again, there was something in them I couldn't place.
It gave me pause.
“What’s your name?” she whispered.
Damn it, Toxin. The fuck are you doing?
I jerked away, taking a couple steps backward.
“You can call me Toxin. Now, get cleaned up and get some sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
Then, I left her alone to do whatever the fuck it was she needed to do.