Chapter Fifteen
Indie
The dream faded as I slipped into consciousness. My eyes opened and looked around the room as I sat up quickly, not recognizing where I was.
Memories of the night before came rushing back. Mimic, the Death Dogs, the trance I was in. The look on Mimic’s face when he realized I would have given him a blowjob if he hadn’t pushed me away.
I fell back on the bed I’d slept in, my hands covering my eyes, and groaned. I would never forget the look of disgust on his face.
Then there was everything that happened in church. Seeing his picture on the screen. His black eyes stared at me, telling me to keep my mouth shut.
There was no way to tell them who he was without telling them how I knew him. And I wouldn’t tell them that. I couldn’t. Mimic already suspected. And after they asked me about Daniel Scott, it wouldn’t take long for them to put the pieces together.
The pieces of the puzzle that I kept hidden prevented everyone from seeing the whole picture.
No, they could never know. I had to get out of here. I needed to leave Diamond Creek. Leave everyone here. It was the only way to keep them safe.
My suitcase sat in the corner. I hadn’t unpacked anything beyond what I needed last night. Because I knew I couldn’t stay. I just had to wait for the right time to slip out undetected. If I had to leave without my bag, then so be it. I had enough money that I could replace everything now.
It wasn’t like when I left the Trick Pony. I didn’t have Magyk to rely on to buy me things. And it wasn’t like when I left Texas in the middle of the night. If I were careful, I could plan. I didn’t have much time, but I needed only a day or two.
I just had to get away from the clubhouse, and then I could slip away without being seen.
My mind made up, I took a shower and got dressed for the day.
I stuck my phone in my back pocket and a stash of money in my shoe.
I would never understand why women put money in their bras.
It was itchy as hell. And who knew where it had been.
At least in my shoe, my sock provided a small layer of protection between my skin and the germs that money was laced with.
I opened my door and stepped back when I almost ran into Archie.
“What are you doing out here?”
“King asked me to guard you.”
“Guard me? Am I a prisoner?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest and glaring at him.
“No, ma’am. King wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“Am I not safe in the clubhouse?”
“No, ma’am. I mean, yes, ma’am, you’re safe here.” Archie shook his head. He was flustered, and I wondered how he would make it in a motorcycle club being as nervous as he was.
He’d been in the studio a couple of times, adding to his tattoos. As I looked him over, all visible skin was clean. Untarnished. But I knew under the clothes he wore was a world of ink that told a story that would give men nightmares.
“Are you supposed to follow me around all day?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Archie. Please stop calling me ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am, I mean... sorry.” His head dropped, and he looked defeated.
“Where are you from?”
“Georgia.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. I guess I can let the ma’am shit pass. I don’t imagine it’s as easy to let it go as it was to put it there.”
Archie chuckled as he followed me downstairs.
“No, ma’am. Been saying it since I learned to talk.”
That meant he was raised by someone who loved him.
Someone who’d made sure he learned manners and respect.
Archie had a gentle soul, but there was something in his eyes.
Something fierce that said he shouldn’t be underestimated.
And I wondered about his life before coming to Diamond Creek.
What brought him here? Why not join a club close to home?
The main room was quiet. I looked around, and the only people milling around were the club girls and the prospects.
“Where is everyone?”
“Sam went into labor last night,” Brandy explained. “We’re holding down the fort while everyone is at the hospital.”
“Everyone?”
“Yup,” Crystal replied, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word. “Whores don’t rate high enough to visit the precious old ladies.” She looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow, as if to say that I was in the same category as her.
And I was, but she didn’t know that.
“Hey, Indie. You hungry?” Johnny asked.
“Starving.” I followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table while he fried up some bacon and eggs.
“Don’t listen to Crystal. She’s bitter that Big Ben won’t fuck her anymore. She thought he’d make her his old lady.”
“He won’t?” I asked, pretending as though I knew nothing about motorcycle clubs. I’d learned the basics from Apollo. Though he’d kept me away from the club. He’d never brought me to the clubhouse; the only brothers I’d met were the ones who came in for tattoos.
“Fuck, no. Brothers don’t put a property patch on just anyone. And never a club whore.”
“Didn’t Massacre put a patch on Amber?”
He stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder. “You’re right. But that was different. They had history.”
There were rumors floating around town about Amber. I didn’t know whether they were true. But given that she knew Daniel Scott, I imagined there was some truth to them.
“But Crystal’s a whore; Amber wasn’t.”
“What’s the difference?”
He set the plate in front of me, and I smiled. I like Johnny. I counted him as a friend. He’d never made a pass at me or ever been inappropriate. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was a gentleman, but he wasn’t an asshole to women, and that was rare these days.
“Crystal will spread her legs for anyone. Amber had standards.”
“Are club girls allowed to have standards?” I asked.
I certainly wasn’t. I did what and who I was told if I wanted to eat. If I wanted to survive.
“Here they are. I don’t know about other clubs.” Johnny sat down across from me, and we ate in silence. I wondered if I was missing my chance to slip away. No one was here but the girls, who I could easily best. And the prospects.
Would Johnny stop me from leaving? I knew Archie would. All you had to do was look at him to see how much he wanted this. He wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize his patch.
Joey was young. He was also distracted. He’d come in one day for a tattoo with his baby sister. She was barely two years old, and his mother was crashed out on the couch. That little girl deserved better than a strung-out mom. At least she had Joey. And Joey had the club.
Then there was Keys. He was usually the one behind the bar. I didn’t know much about him. He’d only been in once and asked for Gunner or Bruce. I guess he didn’t want a woman working on him.
Jonah was the newest prospect. He was big. I mean, like a brick shithouse was an understatement, big. I still thought I could take him, though. Guys like him didn’t move easily. Muscles tended to slow down your mobility.
“You can’t leave,” Johnny said, as if he were reading my mind.
“I didn’t say I was going anywhere.”
“I see you sizing everyone up. And while something tells me you might get past us prospects; you’d never get past Tiffany.”
“Tiffany? Really?”
I looked over at the blonde woman sitting at the table with the others. She was tall and slim. Her boobs were big, but not big enough that they looked fake. She was muscular, like a runner. But there wasn’t anything that stood out to make me believe I couldn’t take her.
“She’s a black belt in Krav Maga.”
“Seriously? Her?”
Johnny nodded, and suddenly I had a new respect for Tiffany. I tried not to be a judgmental bitch, but come on, the name Tiffany screamed rich, pampered princess, or slutty stripper.
“I wonder if she’d teach me,” I whispered.
“Hey, Tiff!” Johnny yelled across the room.
“What’s up, Johnny?” Tiffany stood from her seat and started toward us.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-yelled at him.
“Indie wants you to teach her Krav Maga.”
“Really?” The woman smiled so brightly that my mouth gaped open. She seemed excited, but why? She looked at me expectantly, and I realized she was waiting for me to confirm.
“I mean... if you wanted to.”
Tiffany grabbed my hand and dragged me from my seat. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
“Downstairs?”
Johnny laughed as Tiffany pulled me along with her. My eyes bulged out of my head as I silently begged him to help me.
“Jade, let’s go!”
Jade jumped up and followed behind us. “Okay, but go easy on me. I was with Ben last night, and I’m a little sore. That man is a beast.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Brandy called out.
“Bitch.” Crystal’s muttered curse made me smile. Like I said, tried not to be a judgmental bitch. I never said I was good at it.
Tiffany and Jade followed me into my room while I changed into something I could move around in. I expected them to say something about the fact I hadn’t unpacked, but they sat on the bed and whispered about techniques, ignoring me until I was ready.
I followed the two women downstairs. I hadn’t seen much of the clubhouse. After the fiasco in church, Brandy showed me to a room, and I’d locked myself in there, not wanting to see or talk to anyone.
The basement of the clubhouse was massive. It spanned the entire length of the building. Jade pointed out the medical wing as we passed, and then Tiffany opened the door to the gym.
“Through there is a ring the guys use.”
“A ring?”
“Yeah, like a boxing ring. It’s where they beat the shit out of each other.”
“Why?”
Tiffany shrugged. “Sometimes they need more than a sexual release. Testosterone builds up quickly when you have this many men living together. They have to burn it off somehow. Either fucking or fighting. Also, King uses it for discipline, but we aren’t supposed to know that.”
“Discipline?” I asked, my eyes locked on the door across the room.
“Sometimes the guys do things they aren’t supposed to. Disobeying a direct order is one of them. I’m surprised he hasn’t had Mimic down here yet. But then, with Sam going into labor, I guess their minds are elsewhere.”
“Wait, what order did Mimic disobey?” I asked, grabbing Jade’s arm. She looked at Tiffany and bit her lip.
“You may as well tell her; she’s bound to find out,” Tiffany said, her hands on her hips as she grinned at Jade’s discomfort.
“King ordered Mimic to stay away from you.”
“Why?” I looked between the two women. “How do you know that?”
“We know a lot of things. The guys don’t always notice us. We hear things, and we know more than we should. But we’re loyal.”
“Well, most of us are,” Jade scoffed.
Somehow, I knew she meant Crystal. “Why did King tell him to stay away from me?”
Jade smirked at Tiffany. “Your turn.”
Tiffany dropped her chin to her chest. “Me and my big mouth.” She sighed out a heavy exhale and then looked at me. “The old ladies here, they come with... let’s just say, difficulties.” Jade scoffed again, and Tiffany scowled at her. “King had a feeling that Mimic might want to claim you.”
“Claim me? We barely know each other.”
Both women shrugged as if that didn’t matter. Claim me? He couldn’t claim me. I wasn’t old lady material. Not with my past. I was broken, tarnished.
“Hey, let’s not think about that now. You wanted to learn Krav Maga, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, my mind still thinking about the implications of Mimic wanting to claim me.
“Then let’s do this,” Tiffany shouted, jumping in place.
All thoughts of Mimic slipped away the first time Tiffany knocked me on my ass. She was fucking good. And I needed to concentrate. A new plan had formed in my head. One that allowed me to stay in Diamond Creek.
At least until I learned to defend myself.