Chapter Eleven
“Feel better?” Hammer asked once the woman in his arms seemed done with her breakdown.
He’d run one hand up and down her back, in what he hoped had come across as supportive.
With what he knew about her, both from what she’d told him and what he’d been able to find online, which wasn’t much, he suspected she hadn’t had a chance to break down like that, to purge the emotions she’d been shoving out of the way, in a long time, if ever.
Hammer might not be a psychologist, but he knew that a person didn’t break down like that somewhere they felt unsafe, somewhere you’d be punished for being human.
If she felt safe enough to do it now, especially in his arms, he wasn’t going to complain.
He liked the idea of being her safe space.
The one she knew she could rely on to be there when she needed him.
To stand at her back when she needed support and to step in front when she needed to be protected.
If she could trust him to be there with her and not try to control her the way her father had.
While it wasn’t something he would ever do, and he knew that, it wasn’t his knowledge that mattered.
It was hers. He needed to show her, to prove to her, that he was nothing like the piece of shit who claimed to be her father.
Hammer wasn’t convinced of that bit yet, though he also couldn’t see Alejandro Montoya Mendoza claiming a child, raising a child that wasn’t his, or that he didn’t believe was.
It was a mystery that Hammer wasn’t through with.
But this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
His first concern right now was the woman in his arms. He needed to make sure she was okay.
That was the first priority. Then he had a few questions for her.
Though how he was going to ask them without making her feel like he was interrogating her, he wasn’t yet sure. He’d figure it out, he hoped.
It took her a couple of minutes after he’d asked for her to respond.
Almost as if it took that long for the words to sink into her exhausted brain and register.
She nodded, her face still pressed into the shirt he’d worn to bed the night before to keep from scaring her.
She hadn’t said, but he got the feeling she was a virgin.
Not just from how easily she blushed and her reactions to him and when Velvet had been acting out Goliath’s exhibitionism fantasies.
Hammer rolled his eyes even as he thought about it.
Goliath had a thing for public sex, and they’d all seen more of his dick than anyone should ever have to see of another person’s body ...
or at least another person they weren’t personally sleeping with.
It wasn’t that Camila had been shocked by it—her reaction had caught his interest because it had been odd.
Almost like she knew how things worked, knew what happened between two people, but had never actually done it.
She was an uncommon mix of fresh, almost innocent but not really.
Kind of like the little girl who’s been told to sit and be pretty all her life, but you can see in her face that all she wants to do is get down and play in the mud, even if she gets dirty. He wanted to show her how to get dirty.
Hammer burned to be the one to show her how amazing it could feel with the right person.
Instinct told him things could be explosive between the two of them.
But he didn’t want to push her into anything, especially not if there was any chance she would go back to her father.
He knew she’d said she didn’t want to go back, but what we say we want and what we do are often two different things and right now, he wasn’t sure which to trust. He wanted to think she would stay, but he knew he was likely fooling himself.
Either she’d end up going back to her father or she would move on.
And Hammer was more than aware most women found him terrifying.
Though, Camila didn’t. Was it because she’d seen so many men worse than him, scarier than him?
Hammer wasn’t sure if he cared why she didn’t seem afraid of him.
He found he liked the feeling of her in his arms. This tiny woman seemed to quickly be wrapping herself around his heart.
But could he trust her? With his heart, with his club?
That was the part he wasn’t sure about and he didn’t know how to go about finding out, at least not without jumping in and risking everything important to him.
“So now what?” Camila asked a couple of minutes later, her voice clear. No trace that she’d spent the last half hour crying. If he hadn’t held her through it, he would have no idea of the emotional turmoil she was in.
Hammer took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet, enticing scent of her skin. He held his breath for a moment, savoring everything about her.
“What now depends on you.”
“How?” she asked tilting her head back to frown at him.
“I’m not sure yet. But the Sons will give you a chance. We’ve always been big on judging someone by their own actions not by that of those around them.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means that we don’t assume you’re just like your dad. We let you show us who you are for yourself. That’s how we’ll determine if you can stay, if you want to, that is.”
“And what if they decide I can’t stay?” her voice was little more than a whisper, as if the idea terrified her.
“That would depend on why they decide you can’t stay. Sometimes it’s just that you’re not a good fit for the club. If that happens, I’ll help you get somewhere safe, set you up with a new identity if you need that, and make sure you have what you need to start a new life.”
“And what if it’s another reason?”
“The only other reason I can think of that you wouldn’t be allowed to stay is if you betray us. Then, I’m going to guess we handle traitors similarly to how your father would.”
Camila looked up at him for a few seconds.
“I guess I can live with that. Or I guess I could die by it, but I have no loyalty to my father.” She fell silent for a moment, her gaze dropping, then she took a deep breath and looked up at him again.
“But I’ve decided what I want is a family, and the ladies yesterday were telling me that the Sons of Sin is a large family.
I would like to try to stay to try to make a place for myself.
” She slid one hand up his chest. Hammer’s heart thundered in his ears as he wondered if she was trying to get a reaction out of him or if she was unaware of what her touching him like that was doing to him?
“Did they tell you there are only two kinds of women around here?”
“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.
“We’ve got women like Winter and Miranda, they belong to one of the men. We call them old ladies, they’re basically married in the eyes of the club.”
“But not legally?”
“Some are, some aren’t, doesn’t matter to the club. The other kind of woman around here are the girls who are club ass.”
“Club ass?” The crude words sounded off in her sweet voice, but he didn’t say that, he answered her instead.
“The girls like Velvet.”
“Velvet?”
“The woman with Goliath this morning. While Bulldog was questioning you.”
“Ah. Her. I did not know her name is Velvet.” She scowled. “What is with you people and weird names? What kind of name is Velvet?”
“One she chose. The club ass, that’s what we call the girls like Velvet.
She’s not the only one but she’s the one who’s around the most. I’m not sure she has anyone else to spend time with.
” He shook his head and realized he hadn’t thought much about why Velvet was always around, at least not until now.
He wondered who might know more about her and what was going on with her life and if she needed any kind of help, or at least help that the Sons could give.
But that wasn’t the point of this. “Where was I again?”
“Two kinds of women around the club.”
“That’s right. Like I was saying, there are two kinds of women who hang around the club.”
“Yes, the ones who belong to a man and the ones used by all the men.”
Hammer looked down at her, wondering at her straightforward tone.
She didn’t sound offended that there were women who did nothing more than screw the brothers.
It wasn’t like he’d been hoping for a cat fight or anything, but he hadn’t expected her to act like it was nothing.
Then again, she’d already seen Velvet in action, and had barely blinked.
“How much time do I have?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“How long do I have until I have to be either an old lady or club ass?”
Hammer looked down at her, scowling.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What?”
“I don’t mean you have to be one of those. What I meant is we might have a little resistance from some of the men. If no one claims you, no one offers you protection, then they’ll expect you to act like the club ass.”
Her nose wrinkled in distaste.
“I brought you into this, I’ll protect you. If any of the men get in your face, tell them to come see me. I’ll handle them.”
“What about the women? Will they give me trouble?”
“The club ass might. The old ladies? Well, Winter and Miranda have already taken to you. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble there.”
“But the other girls? The ones like Velvet?”
“They might give you a little trouble. But if you’re not comfortable telling them where to shove their attitude, then let Winter know or come tell me and one of us will handle it.”
She fell silent for long enough that Hammer started to think she’d fallen back to sleep. He was about to get up and get moving for the day, hit the gym, then check on the bots he’d set to mine data while he’d slept, when she spoke again.
“I still need to figure out how to contribute,” her voice was barely more than a whisper and he didn’t think she’d meant him to hear her.
But he had. He didn’t know all that much about her, but he knew some.
He threw the blankets back and got up. He needed to see if he could figure out something she could do that would make her feel like she was earning her way.
It was important to feel useful, if not needed, and he wanted to make sure she had what she needed.
“There’s no need for you to get up. Sleep a little longer. I’m going to hit the gym. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” He snagged a pair of sweats to work out in and headed for the bathroom. He needed some time to clear his mind, and a workout was a great way to do that.