Chapter 10 #2
“I’m perfectly happy with my life. We have a hearing in two weeks, I’m sure Harry has told you that we’re going to be working on the documentation to present to the judge.”
While I’m talking, I take my cell phone from my purse beneath the table.
I’m adept at using one hand for things like this.
A couple of years ago, dad got me to install an app on my phone.
It’s one that connects directly to three people in the MC and tells them I need help.
It’s not something I’ve ever used before and this is certainly not an emergency situation, but I don’t have a car tonight. Harry brought me.
My guess is, they’re expecting Vance will be giving me a ride home, or somewhere else. With men like Vance, it’s difficult to say no and I’m walking a fine line with him as a client and a pig.
On the pretense of adjusting my napkin on my lap, I hit that SOS button. It’s on the home screen to make it easier to find. I can use it to get me out of here, it’s not that I’m scared.
“You really find it hard to switch off, don’t you Cassie?” he wipes his mouth with his napkin and sets it down beside his empty plate.
If there is one thing I can be grateful for about these expensive restaurants, it’s that the meal portions are so small.
“This is a business meeting, isn’t it?” I point out. I won’t say his name, that is what he wants.
“We can mix business with pleasure though, can’t we?” he leans back and one of his hands lowers beneath the table.
I’m about to fire back something that is probably going to show my hand when my phone rings. I glance down and see my brother’s name. He’s the first one to see the SOS. I excuse myself again and rise. Vance doesn’t hide his irritation. I’ve got no fucks to give for his feelings.
“What’s wrong?” Ransom asks before I even get to speak.
“I’ve got a situation I need to get out of,” I say quietly. “This isn’t an emergency. I’ll explain when you get here but I need you or someone else to come and get me within the next five minutes.”
“Where are you?”
No questions asked. I love my brother right now.
We may not be members of the MC but we’re a part of it.
We’ve grown up understanding questions can always be answered later.
And Ransom knows I would not hit the SOS if I didn’t need it.
I tell him where I am and fortunately he is nearby and says he will be five minutes.
He will also call dad and Dirt, otherwise, they will start calling, or dad will track me and show up here.
“Call dad first before he does something we’ll all regret.”
Ransom laughs but it’s short-lived. “I’ll be there in three.”
“Don’t break any laws, I really can’t spare the time to get you out of a speeding ticket.”
“Be safe.”
“Always.”
Ending the call I close my eyes. I hate using this to get me away from Vance.
It begins to cement it further in my head that this guy is bad news.
This is more than a feeling. This is a certainty.
This man is guilty, not just of this current situation.
I’ve got to see the darkness in people being around the club.
There is no doubt in my mind this man has not only hurt women, he’s a fucking killer.
“Did you actually think mom was going to let you go home after this?”
“It’s not that serious,” I look out of the window.
Vance wasn’t happy when I said I had to leave.
He hid it behind a quip about both of his lawyers running out on him.
I offered to pay, even though Vance is richer than most people.
He made a halfhearted attempt to argue but let me do it.
Harry can take the hit on this one. I used the company credit card.
Ransom gives me a look. Mom will tear me a new one if I don’t explain. Fine, I can explain, to a point. Despite my feeble attempts to say I’ll call, he shoots that down with another look.
What I don’t like is the direction Ransom is taking. He’s heading straight for Sussex. My protests about it being late are met with a stone wall.
“I’m not taking the wrath of mom if you don’t go there. She said you can spend the night.”
There is a house on the compound that girlfriends use. They’re usually the only ones allowed in, together with the kids from the club who are looked after there when school lets out. Club whores have never set foot in there and it’s rare a brother goes in, unless his old lady is there.
It’s not that bad, but it also means there is a chance I can run into Handlebar.
Ever since I fucked Mace, I’ve thought more about Eli. For the woman who swore off bikers, I’m working my way through them far more than I would like.
Truth is, I’ve been comparing them. Both men are beyond hot, tall, amazing bodies and damn, even more amazing cocks.
I’m not ashamed to think that. I’ve been with a lot of men in my life, but it’s really fucking hard to choose who was better.
They’re different, it’s like their personalities bleed through into how they fuck.
Although there is a dark side to Eli, he’s the mild-mannered southern guy who is loyal, quiet and gets the job done.
He has a dominant streak I never would have expected from him.
As much as he took control, he made sure I was never uncomfortable with what he was doing.
Eli took care of me. While well and truly railing me, giving me one hell of a good time.
Mace on the other hand is passionate and single-minded. I could have been mad about how he picked me up and without a single thought about making sure I was ready, getting straight to it.
I was ready, there was no doubt about it. Like a fucking wanton woman, needing him inside me. He owned me, pushing me to a point where it would be a struggle to get free, but I never felt the need.
Mace doesn’t scare me. Neither does Eli. What does scare me, is knowing I’d do it again, with both of them. Jesus fuck, don’t even go there.
The whir of the gates rolling back breaks me out of my filthy thoughts. I’ve gone so far as imaging them both touching me, to the point where my god damn panties are damp. My face flushes, how the fuck I’m fantasizing about these two men with my brother in the car?
Once Ransom has driven me up to the clubhouse, he begs off and says he has somewhere to be. Before I can protest he’s heading back to the gate. Fucking ass.
“Cassie.”
Shit. I turn to see my father coming out of the clubhouse. I think I’d prefer the wrath of mom than the stoic, scary man in front of me.
“Where’s mom?”
Dad stares at me and despite learning to stand up to that look over the years, I submit and follow him inside after the silent invitation and warning to not disobey. I don’t answer to these guys, he isn’t one of them right now. He’s my dad.
He leads me to the back of the clubhouse, and King’s office. This isn’t normal. Jesus, the last thing I need is to be explaining this shit to King.
There is no one in the office when we go in, he nods his head at the couch beneath the window. He doesn’t sit in King’s chair, he might be using his office but it’s disrespectful to take his chair. Instead he sits in the chair facing King’s. God forbid he sit next to me.
It’s hard for me to answer the questions to myself that dad is going to ask. Why couldn’t I get myself out of that situation? Why did I feel the need to pull the trigger on an app I’d resented having on my phone in the first place?
“What happened?” Dad gets straight to the point.
He doesn’t need to ask if I’m alright, he can see I am and I’m sure Ransom told him what I said and where I was when he called to say he was handling me. That makes me bristle.
It seems silly to say it now but as I explain, briefly because it’s still attorney client privilege, dad doesn’t move, nor does his facial expression change.
That is probably worse than him flipping out.
“If you called because you were worried about what happened when you left the restaurant with him, then you need to think about where this goes,” he eventually says.
He’s giving me the option to make up my own mind.
I know what he wants me to do. And I know what he will do if anything happens to me.
Mom will lose it and demand I stop representing Vance and stay the hell away from him, but this is my job.
Dad understands that and whether he’s communicative about it or not, he knows I need that side of my life to keep sane.
No one can say I take after Rosa Beillo. I’m more like dad than I’d care to admit. I speak my mind, sure and I don’t have that darkness that dad needs to be what he is for the club, but I’ve inherited his stoicism and rational thinking.
“It has crossed my mind.”
Dad folds his arms and leans back in his chair.
“My work means a lot.”
He nods.
I know what he’s doing. And I’m letting him. “This isn’t like anything I’ve dealt with before. It’s the first time they’ve made me feel objectified and belittled. As one of the best lawyers at that firm it’s pissing me off. All because of what is between my legs.”
One of his eyes twitches and I try to hide the smile at getting a rise out of him.
He lifts a brow at me. It’s amazing how much Ballistic can communicate without ever opening his mouth.
The rest of the council understand every nuance of his facial expressions too.
Besides me and Ransom, the only other person who gets him is Hudson.
Maybe I should speak to Waverley after this.
She’s smart and she will understand this better than anyone.
I dismiss it immediately. Waverley has a past that involves something similar to what I suspect Vance of.
Bringing this to her door would be cruel.
She’d help in a heartbeat, but this is my problem. My decision to make.
“As King sees it, there is more than enough to keep you busy here. And the offer is always there. I do understand why you haven’t agreed to that.”
“I need my own identity dad.”
“I get that.”
“You want me to quit?”
“That isn’t my decision. The problem we have is you hit the SOS button. People here have a vested interest in the consequences of that.”
Which is dad’s not-so-subtle way of saying King knows and he’s not happy. Dad will fill him in when I’m gone. Nothing is sacred around here, especially given one of King’s tech guys developed the app in order to keep his people safe.
I’ve brought down a shitstorm on myself.
“Where is she?” The shout comes from outside the room.
And it’s not fucking over. In fact, my night just got worse. Dad finally shows some emotion at the sound of his wife’s voice, but it’s a sympathetic look as he gets to his feet. He’ll never talk down to her, no one controls my mom.
“Do what you have to, Cassie. Whatever happens, the club has your back. If you want to continue, then understand, it has become our business.”
“Dad,” I groan. “You’re not taking him to the shed.” His lip twitches and I roll my eyes.
How many people can say their dad would literally take someone to pieces and dispose of their body without batting an eyelash, for thinking about hurting their daughter? Very few. I don’t know if that makes me lucky or not.
“Cassie!” Mom knocks on the door. “You better get out here right now.”
Dad pats my shoulder. “It’s your choice.”
Damn right it is. I have to figure out how much to tell my mother to prevent her going to Harry and quitting on my behalf.