Chapter Nine.
Sapphire
“That was fun,” I said, almost skipping. Wylde was walking by my side, trying to control his laughter.
“I think you nearly gave Grandmother and Grandfather heart attacks.”
“Well, they shouldn’t have looked down their noses at me. Can we stop and get something to eat, because I didn’t get to finish my meal?” I asked.
“Saph, whatever you want, I’ll buy because that performance was well worth it,” Wylde chuckled.
I grinned at him. The meal had descended into chaos.
Marla had taken offence at my comment that she was a nobody.
Malcolm had ordered Wylde never to bring his fuck buddies to lunch again.
He’d sneered down his nose at me like I was trash.
Wylde had instantly replied that I wasn’t anyone’s fuck buddy but his girlfriend, and if his parents didn’t like me, fine.
He wouldn’t bring me to lunch, dinner, or any other outing, but he wouldn’t attend without me either.
Mr Dickenson had commented that women like me had no place in polite society.
Which was when I let rip. I asked him how he could sit in judgment when he was a regular at my male strip club and had a lap dance off Tarzan every two weeks.
Mr Dickenson turned puce before going very pale when I informed him that I knew every member of my club and could prove what I was saying.
As his wife squawked, I then turned to Marla, who was staring at me in unadulterated hate.
I asked how Darius had treated her the last time she’d booked him.
I did question why she booked a young, male stripper rather than one she often did, as they operated on a strict no-touch rule.
As Harold spluttered into his wine at his wife hiring a male stripper, I turned to Malcolm, who was now pale under his tan. Wylde had watched me carefully.
“Yeah, you know what I can spill on you. Maybe you should teach your family not to throw stones in a glass house,” I’d said before getting to my feet.
I’d taken in Mrs Dickenson, Jennifer, and Megan with one glance.
“You won’t get into the women’s club, Megan, and both of you will find your memberships revoked. ”
“You can’t do that!” Mrs Dickenson had cried, and I smirked. A lot of deals and power plays went on at the Royal Club. Add to the fact that the membership was exclusive, and being kicked out meant you missed out on a lot of shit.
Then with Wylde by my side, we’d both left our half-eaten meals and sauntered out.
“That was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen,” Wylde said, but a frown crossed his brow. “What do you know about my dad?”
“Wylde, there are some things a son shouldn’t know about their parents. Please trust me when I say this is one of them,” I responded.
How did I tell this man that his father regularly stayed at the Royal Motel with a different prostitute every fortnight? Or that he took part in the once-a-month underground casino we run? And there was other shit I had on him. How the hell hadn’t I realised that Mr Wylde was his father?
“For now, baby, I’ll agree to trust your judgement. What do you want to eat?”
“How about a steak?” Pops asked, approaching from behind.
“You cutting and running too?” Wylde inquired.
“Sure as hell am. That was a lunch that will be legendary, so many fires to put out,” Gramma said.
“Let’s go for a nice lunch where we can actually finish the meal and have a pleasant time,” Tom suggested with a smile.
“You’ll have to drive us, if that’s okay, Hayden. Your father brought us today, and judging by the hysterics happening currently, he won’t remember to take us home,” Gramma added with a sad smile.
I linked my arm through hers, feeling sorry for her. “That is not an imposition, Gramma.”
“Somehow, for you, Sapphire, dear, I don’t think it would be,” Gramma replied.
Wylde’s beaming smile sent shivers down my spine as his eyes warmed with affection. Clearly, his gramma and pops meant the world to him, and, without meaning to, I’d just concreted his interest in me.
◆◆◆
Two days later, I bounced out of my office, checking to see who was around. “Vengeance, Dagger, Cyber, we need to roll. Who else is here?”
“Nun’s in the kitchen and Birdie is here,” Vengeance replied.
“Grab them. I’ve just had a call from the women’s shelter.
The woman we were watching, Geri Danvers, her husband just grabbed her.
Two support workers were hurt, and they’ve called for our help.
Liam Danvers ran off, so he’s in the wind, and they think Geri might be at further risk of harm,” I said.
Vengeance nodded as Dagger came over. “Where’s Blade? We’ll need your powers.”
“She’ll meet us there.”
I didn’t need to ask if she was armed. All my sisters carried concealed. We didn’t need a licence under NH state law, but we all had one anyway. No point in not covering our backs.
Nun and Birdie arrived both grim-faced faced, and the six of us headed for our bikes.
We rode towards the women’s shelter until a seventh rider joined us.
A glance identified the Fatboy; it was Blade.
As one, we paused at the shelter’s gates and identified ourselves to be buzzed in.
Once through the gates, we parked and headed towards the entrance.
We’d paid for the walls and gates to enclose the shelter a few years back after several women got attacked there.
Now they had a state-of-the-art security system, and their clients were safe behind its walls. Nobody would harm them anymore. I glanced across and saw an unmarked black Dodge Charger Pursuit and guessed Wylde was here. The door opened, and Gabi, the woman who ran the shelter, appeared.
She had a mark on her face, and I hissed as I approached her. “What the fuck, Gabi? You didn’t say you were injured.”
I reached out and touched her face, tilting it into the light, my eyes narrowing on the bruise darkening her pale skin.
Gabi batted at my hands. “Sapphire, I’m fine, but Geri is in a state.”
“Did he get his hands on her?” I asked.
“Yes. We need to get her out of here; the cameras have caught Liam staking the place out. Geri’s not safe here until the court case,” Gabi replied.
“Okay, we can hide her. It’s what we do. Can Dagger and Blade talk to her with Cyber?” I asked.
“Yes, she’s in room fourteen. I’ve told her to pack, and we’ll get her somewhere safe.” Gabi moved aside and let my three sisters move past us. All of us were familiar with the shelter, having been here many times.
“The cops are here?” I asked, nodding towards the unmarked.
“Yes. Come on, they’re in the visitor lounge.” We stepped into the small entrance hall and headed left towards a door. For security, there was a wall blocking the rest of the shelter from prying eyes, and you could only be buzzed in. The visitor lounge was the only room accessible from here.
When we entered, Wylde got to his feet, looking surprised to see us. Beside him was a woman in a suit who didn’t seem happy we were there.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
I raised an eyebrow and faced her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Detective Sally Rivers.”
“Well, Detective Rivers, maybe you need to do some research before throwing your weight around. The Royal Harlots MC sponsors and funds this shelter after the local assholes shut it down. We own the building, employ the staff, and fund its expenses. If a client is attacked, we’re called.”
“Is that true?” Rivers demanded of Wylde.
“Yes. The state closed the shelter, and the Royal Harlots MC stepped up,” Wylde confirmed.
“Huh. Who’d have thought,” Rivers stated.
“Have you got the security footage?” I asked Wylde, ignoring Rivers.
“Yes. Sally is going to speak to Mrs Danvers and get a statement, and also get the statements of the other three victims,” he replied.
“Do Geri first. She goes to court in six weeks to testify against Danvers. In the meantime, we’re moving her to a safe house,” Vengeance said.
“Safehouse?” Rivers questioned.
“Geri isn’t safe here, and we won’t endanger the staff and other clients. We’re going to put Geri somewhere where she can’t be found,” Birdie replied as she stared at the cop.
“What gives you the right?” Rivers challenged.
“You gonna put a cop on the door for the next six weeks? Nah, didn’t think so. In this case, might makes right. We can and will protect Geri,” I retorted.
“Safehouses. You have safe houses,” Rivers said consideringly.
“Yup.”
“We need their addresses,” Rivers said.
“Nope.”
“What do you mean, nope?” she demanded, looking at Wylde.
“No. Only the Harlots know the addresses of where our clients are staying. Anything else is a security breach,” I replied.
“You’re talking about a security breach?” Rivers asked incredulously.
“Wylde, explain shit to her while I talk to Geri and get the lowdown on what happened,” I said, my temper fraying.
Rivers opened her mouth to argue, but Wylde pulled her aside. I didn’t wait to listen to him lay down the law; somewhere there were two injured workers.
“Who else was hurt?” I asked.
“Sadie, who is the cook, and Marabelle, the admin girl.”
“How bad, Gabi?”
“Sadie took a punch to the face, but Marabelle tackled him and was smashed into a wall. Danvers hit her a couple of times, but she’ll be okay physically. Mentally is a different story,” Gabi said.
“Okay,” I replied. I spent the next half hour reassuring the women that we’d review all security measures and that we’d cover any medical help they needed.
“Look, Sapphire, I know you’re feeling responsible, but you’re not. You didn’t create these monsters. I might take a day or two off to heal up, but I’ll be back,” Marabelle said.
“You’re a brave lady,” I replied.
“And so are you, Sapphire. Many could step up and don’t. They all turn their backs and ignore what’s right under their noses? Not the Royal Harlots. Don’t worry about us, get that poor woman to a safe house,” Marabelle urged.
“We’ll have security on the grounds within a week. I know a company we can use. We’ll put two on at all times.”