Chapter 17
Daisy
After Falcon “helped” me get to the house on the edge of the property, he was sent away by the sweet woman.
“This is a nice place,” I said as she waved me into the living room. It was a stark contrast to the bigger building. The house wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny either. In fact, once inside, it seemed to have more space than it looked from the outside. I didn’t know much about architecture, but it had a wood-stained porch that spanned the width of the house, with a grey paint job and white shutters. It was two stories, and I noticed a door slightly open at the end of the hall that had stairs going down, so it also must have a basement.
The woman, who was probably in her late forties or early fifties, motioned for me to sit on a plush, dark brown sofa that sat opposite a matching love seat. There was a soft, brown leather recliner next to that, and plain but not ugly side tables made of dark wood. There were soft fuzzy blankets of different bright colors folded over the couches and the walls were decorated with what looked like family pictures–some with a bunch of bikers.
“You like sweet tea or something else? I don’t drink much besides coffee, tea, and water, but Penny keeps some other stuff in there,” Mama Hen said as she stood.
I didn’t want to put her out, but I was desperately thirsty. “Some water would be great, please.”
She smiled and shuffled into the other room. When I heard ice, I figured that was the kitchen. I glanced around as I waited, nervously rubbing my hands over my thighs.
“Here you go, hon,” she said as she passed me a glass of water. She plopped down on the love seat across from me and smiled. Her face was warm and inviting. Everything about her seemed safe and comfortable. “So, Falcon tells me your name is Daisy. I’m Cindy but the boys call me Mama Hen. You can call me whatever you like. Hell, I’ve been called some other names from time to time by some of the bunnies.” She let out a full belly laugh and the more she spoke, the more tension melted from my muscles.
“I think Mama Hen suits you. So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, feeling unsure of myself.
She leaned back into the soft cushion and sighed. “Well, I know you had a strange couple of days and I wanted, well we all wanted, to let you know you’re welcome here. But just so we know what kinda shit Falcon got us into, maybe you can tell me a bit about what all happened.”
I raised a brow. “You say that like he’s a troublemaker.” Was he? Did he impulsively steal women and bring them back here?
She gave another hearty laugh. “My Falcon? No. He’s normally preventing trouble. He’s got a sixth sense about him that way. And he’s calm and calculated. So, I was shocked to hear you and your friend ended up here after a brawl over you. You must have made quite the impression.” Her soft blue eyes seemed to sparkle.
“I don’t really understand it.” That wasn’t a lie. “He was at the club a few weeks or so ago and that was the only time I saw him until the night before last.”
“I hope I’m not being too forward, hon, but he mentioned something about sex trafficking. He was worried and went to warn you. Then all hell broke loose.”
My mouth dropped open. My mind was racing, trying to process what she said. I finally licked my lips and blew out a breath I must have been holding. “Warn me? Why?”
“Like I said, you made an impression.” Her smile softened into something else. Still kind and gentle, but more serious. “Falcon’s all about the club. I won’t lie and say he’s never had some ass, but he doesn’t usually think twice about ‘em. And he’s never had anyone on that bike.”
I had a lot of questions about what all of that meant, but I didn’t want to push my luck. “Well, I appreciate what he did. And I suppose with everything that happened, I’d have to ride with him or stay behind.”
Mama Hen gave a mischievous smile. “You don’t know much about this life do you, hon?”
I shrugged and shook my head. What was she about to tell me? Was this where she explained this wasn’t much different than the place with Tony, but try to sell me on it since she’s a sweet older woman? “Not really. I guess you could say I haven’t lived much. I’m used to men, though. Worked in a club since I was eighteen.”
“How old are you, Daisy?”
“Twenty-three, close to twenty-four.”
“So how did you end up where Falcon found you?”
I gave her a short run-down of how I wanted to move cities, but didn’t go into too much detail about my ex. I told her that Tony had wooed me and drugged me, then when I came out of the haze it was too late.
“So, you thought it was just a club. Legit work.”
I took a long sip of the cold water. Rehashing this with a stranger was sending bile to my throat, but it also felt good to say it out loud. “Yeah. Then I tried to leave after I figured it out, but there were men all over the place. There was no getting away unless you weren’t scared to die.” Looking off to the side, I thought about the money I was saving and my own stupidity in thinking I could leave. “But even if we got out, who would listen? Nobody gives a shit about a whore.”
“Well, I don’t think it makes you a whore if you’re forced into, hon. Even if you chose it, ain’t nothing wrong with using what you got to take care of yourself.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, sex work is valid work. But not when you didn’t sign up for it is all. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Mama Hen waved me off. “Oh honey, spend a few days here and you’ll see, it’ll take a lot to offend me. As long as you don’t fuck with our club, there’s not much you can do to piss us off.”
“So did you ever dance or–”
“Whore? No. I danced a little when I was younger and cuter, but don’t nobody wanna see this now. Plus, once Raven claimed me, he didn’t want anyone else looking, so I stopped dancing.”
“Is that your man?”
Her blue eyes got glassy, and my lips thinned as she brushed her fingers through her short, sandy hair. I struck a nerve by the look on her face. She reached over and grabbed a picture from the side table. “Always my man. But he’s gone now.” She ran her fingers down the photo then put it back on the table. She looked back at me and my heart sank. Her nose and cheeks turned pink, and she blinked hard and fast to hold back the tears.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Pressure built behind my eyes as I watched her face. I blinked it away before I made a fool of myself, but my chest tightened. The love she had and the sorrow she felt was palpable. “I—”
“Hon, you wouldn’t know. I’m sorry to cause a fuss. It’s still so new. We were together for a long time. More than half my life.”
I never had a love like that. Even before my ex went crazy, I loved him but never thought we’d be together forever. And I never saw a love like that at home, nothing close.
Moments of silence stretched between us. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Enough pity party. We have a real party coming up to celebrate him. You’ll be there. You’ll see what he built.”
“Oh well, I—”
She held a hand up. “Listen, there’s no trafficking here. In fact, Raven was loud about the fact he didn’t tolerate it.”
“Can I ask you something? You may not answer, but I just want to know where I am.” Mama Hen nodded, so I continued. “You said no human trafficking, but there is some other trafficking, right?”
She sighed and threaded her fingers together, taking a moment to answer. Finally, she said, “You see the diamonds on their cuts?”
My brow pinched together. “Their what?
Her shoulders shook as she laughed. “The vests. They don’t call them vests, they’re cuts. The diamond means they’re one percenters. There’re things you don’t wanna know and things you won’t know until you’re an old lady. And even then, you don’t talk about it. Best to stay out of it as much as possible. Plausible deniability.”
I wasn’t a saint. I used to dabble with drugs, but after the shit with Tony, I decided they weren’t for me. And working in clubs for years, I saw a lot of shit, but I hadn’t been mixed up in it myself. “Am I safe?”
“Probably ain’t nowhere safer than here for you, hon. Falcon wouldn’t have brought you here otherwise.”
I may have been shit at choosing men, but reading women was easy. And this one seemed to be telling the truth. But why was he helping me? Why was this woman? I was just a stripper some guy met once before he decided to tip me off.
“I assume you don’t have any family you want to call?” she asked.
“Kinda how I ended up like this.” I ran my fingers through my nearly dry hair. I had a shit childhood but didn’t need a pity party. “Left home young, trusted a couple of creeps. It’s just me. Well, and Lacy.”
“That your blonde friend?”
I nodded. “She was the only friend I had there. It was a strange place. When shit hit the fan, I couldn’t just leave her.”
She grunted a laugh, and my eyes went wide. What was funny?
“Yep. Falcon’s got it bad.”
My brow drew together in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“He not only grabbed you but let you bring her. Technically Eagle outranks him, but Falcon can be persuasive. Should’ve been an Enforcer if you ask me.
“A what?”
Mama Hen looked out the window then stood and walked to me, holding her hand out. I grabbed it and she pulled me from the sofa, looking down at my bum foot before locking eyes with me. “You’ll learn all the important stuff soon. But don’t you worry, hon.” She squeezed my hands as she tipped her head toward the window where I saw Falcon walking up the stairs. “He’ll take care of you.”
As she hugged me, I melted against her. When the door opened and his hazel gaze seared into me, I started to really believe what she said about him.
At least I wanted to.