Chapter 12
-:- VICTORIA -:-
Sitting in Nell’s kitchen, I keep smiling at the woman because she is confident, warm-hearted, and very welcoming. “So, what are you thinking about being Chaos’ woman?” Nell asks, taking me by surprise.
“Well, I don’t really know him. He just, sort of, um, inserted himself into my life and took over,” I admit, feeling somewhat silly admitting that.
“But are you okay with that?” Nell asks again.
“What do you mean? You know him far better than I do. Are you saying I should be worried and run?” I ask and look from Nell to Star.
Star smiles softly, “I love Chaos. He is Meat’s brother in all ways except blood.
He is solid, Victoria. You can trust whatever he tells you because he’d never lie, steal or let you down intentionally.
Yeah, the rumors of him being a man whore could be true.
He’s been around quite a lot, but he wasn’t in a relationship with anyone.
He never cheated on anyone. He was always upfront with any woman, and they knew it was a one and done thing. ”
Nell shrugs, “Yep, a one-hit wonder, if you ask me.”
I’m not sure if I’m happy with the information I’m getting about his love life. But I also know it isn’t really any of my business. At the end of the day we’ve shared one kiss, that’s it. It’s hardly enough to think he owes me anything. I look at Nell again as she continues speaking.
“Okay, it seems Chaos is going to claim you as his woman. Which is the same as being married but without the ceremony. Do you want that or not? If not, then you need to think about making your escape. Remember, he and his brothers…” giving Star a look I’m not sure of, “can track you wherever you go. Make sure you have no trackers on any vehicle, phone, or anywhere else. If you want help, I will help you.”
“Why would you do that?” I ask, shocked because Nell is a friend of all these people.
“I’d love to give Chaos and his brothers something to do other than mosey around. You have to admit, Star, that Meat gets bored quickly, and that’s why he gets himself into so much trouble!”
Star laughs, “Yeah, I know. But I can curtail his naughtiness most days. I’ll help if you want to get away, but you’ll not get away for too long. They will track you down, and he’ll probably have you hogtied before you know it.”
“Let me think about it. I have to speak to Bethy when she gets here. Wings is making sure she arrives safely,” I look at Nell when she laughs.
“Wings has gone to collect your friend?” Nell asks with a huge smile on her face. When I nod that yeah, he is, she laughs more, “Oh, that’s going to be good. I wish I could be a fly on the wall.”
“What do you mean?” Now, this is worrying me as her reaction isn’t one that I think I should be seeing.
Star giggles, “Wings is as crazy as Meat. He is just less explosive with it. Have you not spoken to Heather? Heather is Forest's woman, and I’ll tell you she and Wings have been playing pranks on each other for a long time. I think every woman in the MC has seen that man, and Meat naked, at one time or another. Not sure about Chaos? Anyway, Wings will get your friend Bethy back here in one piece, that I am positive about.”
“Chaos will give you a good life. No doubt about that. He’ll love hard, protect strongly, and he will be faithful. I have no doubt about that, Victoria.” Nell turns as do Star and I when the door opens and a man walks into the kitchen.
Star jumps to her feet and hugs the man with no restraint at all. “Well, if it isn’t our Star,” he murmurs while chuckling and hugging her back.
“This is Graham, my brother. Now he’s nearly as crazy as Meat, Chaos and the rest of the MC. Don’t let any of them fool you, they all have the capability of being nut jobs,” Nell states with a small smile, right before turning and making more tea.
“So, what are you all doing?” Graham asks as he takes a seat at the kitchen table.
“We are trying to find out if Victoria is going to stay and be Chaos’ woman, or do a runner, in which case we’ll give her a head start,” Nell states like it’s something you do every day of the week. You know, arranging someone to run.
“Oh, that’s cool. I’ll help you run and stay in front of the fucker.” Graham is smirking, rubbing his hands together, and looking way too excited about the prospect of me running.
“I don’t know yet. I’ll think on it and if I decide to run I’ll call you,” I quickly state. This could get out of hand if I’m not careful, and I’m not sure what I want to do, but I’m worried about Bethy now.
“Are you ready to go home, Victoria?” Star asks, and I quickly get to my feet, give Nell a hug, and thank her for her hospitality. I give Graham a wave after he tells me again, he’d love for me to run.
Back at the apartment I think about what has been said, and I’m so unsure of what to do that I think I’ll have to sleep on it. I make a call to Bethy, keeping my fingers crossed that everything is okay. Bethy picks up after a few rings.
“Hi, Victoria…”
I cut her off before she could say more. “Are you okay? Is Wings treating you right? Are you nearly here?”
“Wow…wow…calm yourself. What on earth has gotten you so shaken?” Bethy asks.
“Well, I have heard a lot of talk…”
“Stop. You know we don’t listen to talk. We find out for ourselves. We don’t pre-think what a situation is, or what a person is like. We don’t do that.” Bethy sounds annoyed, and I take a deep breath and calm myself.
“Sorry, Bethy. Are you okay?” I ask more quietly and have to admit, calmer.
“I’m fine. We have stopped today because we think we had a tail. As we were not sure we detoured and are now sitting in a hotel room waiting to see if the asshole was following us or not.”
“Oh, so you are not going to be here today?”
“Nope, and probably not tomorrow either.”
I take a deep breath and tell Bethy all that is going on. What is happening with Chaos and that so far I’ve not had any issues from her brother.
“Do you want to run?” Bethy asks, as forthright as always.
“Well, it seems I’m in this relationship and now I’m an auntie, all without saying a word.” I sigh, taking another deep breath. “What am I going to do?”
“Okay, listen to me. First, you are going to contact your clients.
Check in and make sure everything is as it should be.
This Jack you mentioned, ask him for more information before you decide on the MC's intentions towards you. Make sure your bank accounts are secure. If you want to run and see if Chaos chases you then go for it. Do you like him?”
Considering what Bethy has said, I quickly respond.
“Yeah, I like him. He seems to be a lovely person. I just feel railroaded because I’ve only known him a short while.
Corey is a great kid who has been dealt a bad hand as far as parents are concerned.
Chaos has taken him under his wing and has ensured his safety. ”
“If that is how it is, and I can hear your admiration. Why are you not giving him a chance?”
“I don’t know!”
I hear the phone being jostled when a male voice appears on the line.
“Vicky, it's Wings. If you are not sure, get done what you need done, then disappear. Chaos will find you, and that will show you how serious he is. I’ve known him a long ass time, and he’s never, and I mean never, attempted to settle down before.
He’s hot for you, it’s more than obvious to people who know him.
He’s all-in, that I’m sure of. We don’t fuck about, Vicky, when we know what we want.
We grab hold with both hands and don’t let go.
Think on it and think quickly.” The phone goes dead and I know he’s closed the call. I’ve got some thinking to do.
As I make myself a drink, I can’t help but smile at the way I am Victoria one minute and Vicky the next. It really doesn’t bother me, but it’s like being Vicky feels like I’m more included somehow!
Shaking myself out of whatever this is, I pick up my phone and walk over to my laptop, fire it up and get started on contacting my clients. I’m going to hand over to a tech friend if my clients are good with it because I’m not in a position to give them the best of what I do at this time.
I have one client who wants to play hardball, but as I have taken nothing from him I don’t owe him anything.
The call I had to make to him wasn’t a good one, and I’m more than irritated at this point.
“I’m sorry that something personal in my life has me at this point, but I cannot work for you or anyone else right now.
I have someone who can assist you, and that is the best I can do at this time.
Again, I’m sorry, but that is how it is.
” I close the call, cross my eyes at my phone, which I know is childish, but he’s got my teeth on edge.
I’m thankful that I have no work outstanding that I couldn’t pass on.
Now, I can look at my accounts and ensure they are not being monitored.
Being a techy isn’t always a safe thing, but working for a bank's security I know the back doors in and out. I quickly get into my account through the back door, checking for any footprints that show the account is being monitored. Seeing nothing, I can safely say it is secure. I check my two others, one with a different bank, and they are both secure. I’m good to use the accounts if I need to.
I wouldn’t say I’m rich, but I have enough to buy a house and probably live twelve months from my accounts without having to worry about money.
I am a careful person with money as I’ve been short in my life and know what it’s like to not be able to afford the simplest things.
Packing everything away, I look at Jack, who has been quiet since I got back with Star. He’s been playing a game on his phone most of the time. He’s aware of his surroundings because he looks up whenever noises are heard.
“I wonder what those two are up to?” I must say this thought out loud as Jack answers me.
“Who? Chaos and Corey?” He asks.
“Yes. I hope Chaos isn’t leading him into any mischief.” I must grin as I can see those two becoming quite a troublesome duo. Even though I know very little about Corey, it doesn’t take a genius to see how he looks up to his uncle Chaos already.
“I spoke to Meat while you were out with Star, and he said that Corey had been with Amelia cooking and making a mess, and then he was commandeered by Mia, so he’s in safe hands.
Although I’m not sure that she won’t get him into more mischief than Chaos!
” Jack gives me a raised eyebrow that invites me to ask for more information, but I’m not going there right now.
“What businesses does the club have?” I ask, and Jack looks surprised at my question. “I ask because Delta is part of the security business, but what else does the club do?”
“Well, let's see.” Tapping a finger each time he states a business.
“Construction is the largest business I think, as they use other companies to help when needed. But there is the range which you know about as Chaos is part of that one. Club Whisky is another. Oh, the coffee house, garage, bike shop, wood supply, furnishing shop, TJs, bike recovery, merchandise selling, tattoo shop, wine shop, swap shop and now they own a portion of the horse ranch.”
I look at Jack as if he’s lost his mind. I did not know there were enough of them to own and run all those places? What is a swap shop? And a horse ranch! No wonder they need a security company, as it would be busy just monitoring their own businesses.
I’m not sure there is anything I could do if I stayed here. How would I be useful to the club itself? I can work anywhere for my own clients, so I’ve got a lot to think about. I have to work out if I want to get fully involved with Chaos or not.