Chapter 8
Nora
After tossing and turning all night worrying about Lena and not being able to do anything, I wake to the sound of men moving beyond the bedroom door.
There’s the quiet thud of heavy boots and the deep masculine voices reverberating through the walls.
I can pick up the smell of coffee and the sound of rock music from farther away.
These are the morning sounds and scents I recognize from growing up in my father’s clubhouse.
But I’m not with the Hyenas today. I’m being housed by their enemy, the Sons of Rage MC.
For a long time, I lie in the bed that smells faintly like Jinx, staring at that ceiling. I can’t believe that I’m not only in enemy territory, I’m in their stronghold. My father had always said it was a virtual fortress.
I’m not here because I want to be. I’m here because it’s safer than returning to my father.
His prospects hunted me down and ran me off the road yesterday.
Jinx saved me from being dragged back for an arranged marriage to someone I loathe.
He vouched for me with his club brothers.
I should be grateful, but I’m struggling.
My father, brothers, and their club have taught me favors always come with strings attached.
So, I’m just basically waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Right now it all seems too good to be true.
Maybe I should have just asked the Sons to escort me over the county line and taken my chances alone?
My arms are under the blanket. One hand slips up to rest against my flat stomach.
I don’t know what kind of instinct drives me to do that, but I almost can’t resist it.
Maybe I’m still awed to think there’s a baby growing inside me.
It’s too early for there to be a baby bump.
There’s nothing to give away my secret at this point, but I know there soon will be.
I have to remember I’m making decisions for two now.
So, whether I want to be here or not, I’ll stay for now because it’s safer for my unborn child.
I know I can’t stay here, relying upon the Sons’ protection forever, so I start brainstorming ways to be safe on the outside.
The nausea hits without warning. I scramble out of the bed, rush to the bathroom, and bend over the toilet with one hand on the tank.
I retch uncontrollably, but nothing comes up because I haven’t eaten in a while.
My stomach continues heaving anyway. I know it’s just how pregnant bodies work but deep down inside it feels like a primal punishment for daring to disobey my father.
When it passes, I lean back against the sink for a brief moment and breathe through my nose until my stomach finally calms. I turn around and run cold water over my hands before leaning down and washing my face.
I grope around in the drawer until I find a toothbrush that’s still sealed in its original packaging.
I tear it open, squeeze toothpaste onto it, and thoroughly scrub the horrible taste of stomach acid from my mouth.
When I’m all finished, I rinse my mouth and the toothbrush.
Looking at myself in the mirror over the sink, I can see how pale I am and the dark circles under my eyes.
Bringing my hand up again to press against my stomach, I whisper, “You and I need to work something out, little one. Because I can’t keep dry heaving like this. ”
There’s a knock at the door, and when I open it, a woman wearing all silver hands me a stack of clothing. Her mouth falls open when she sees my face. “Are you okay, honey?”
I take the clothing from her. “Yeah, I just had a rough last couple of days.”
She slowly nods but the expression on her face is disbelieving. “I guessed about your size. I hope the clothes fit. I didn’t know if you had anything with you or not.”
I bring one hand up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Thank you so much.”
“My name’s Silver,” she says with a grin.
A faint smile tugs at the corners of my mouth because she’s clearly been nicknamed after her love of silver clothing.
“It’s nice to meet you, Silver. My name’s Nora.”
“I know,” she says cheerfully. “Everybody knows who you are, the club princess from the Hyenas.”
I want to deny it, say I didn’t choose to be born into the family I was, but I don’t get the chance. A sharp male voice interrupts our conversation. “Silver, you know that you’re not supposed to be giving the old ladies a hard time. Jasper will skin you alive if he finds out, not to mention Jinx.”
She twirls around a quarter turn to look down the hall. “Striker, what are you doing down here?”
“Whatever the fuck I want. Unlike you, I’m a fully patched brother. That means I have the run of the place.”
I recognize that voice from the club meeting. So, I lean out of the doorway and hold up the stack of clothes. “Silver was just dropping off some clean clothing for me. Honestly, she wasn’t being rude.”
“This time,” he deadpans back. Silver seems nonplussed by Striker’s words. That tells me she has a history of making trouble. He jerks his chin and tells her, “Get the hell back upstairs unless you’re escorted by a brother. Club girls are only allowed on the main floor. You know that, Silver.”
I’m shocked when she turns to leave but then glances over her shoulder and replies teasingly, “Why don’t you make me, old man?”
Striker takes her up on it and begins running towards her, full speed. I’m worried for half a second until he catches up with her, scoops her up and flings her over one shoulder. As he walks off with her, Silver lifts one hand to wave at me.
The whole situation makes me want to laugh.
Silver definitely knows how to get herself out of trouble with the brothers.
I quickly shut the door and lock it. Then I take a long shower, letting the warm water wash away my anxiety.
If Striker and Silver are any indication, maybe this isn’t such a bad place after all.
Once I’m out of the shower, dried and clothed, I pull out the burner phone Jinx gave me and stare at all the missed calls. After talking to Lena last night, I silenced it because I knew that my father would try to contact me or force Lena to do the same.
I want to check on Lena, but I don’t dare. She’s probably still being watched. There’s also a chance she might be too scared to talk to me again after having to deal with my father. He can be terrifying without even meaning to. She probably just wants my family to stop putting her in the middle.
After thinking it over, I decide to call Kassy instead.
She’s a bit flighty and not great at handling difficult situations.
Thankfully, I’m pretty sure that my father doesn’t know about her.
Kassy is kind, loyal, and a good friend, though.
Maybe she can shed some light on what happened with Lena. I’m really worried about her.
I call but it goes straight to voicemail. I leave a quick message telling her to call me and I’m about to put my phone down, when it starts ringing again.
“Oh my God! Nora, are you okay? Where are you? Everyone’s freaking out! Sorry I couldn’t pick up. I’m at work.”
She’s asking where I am, just like Lena. I pray my father hasn’t gotten to her as well. ”Are you alone?”
”Yeah. I’m in the bathroom at work. Your dad came by Lena’s apartment last night. She was terrified.”
My fingers tighten around the phone. “Did he hurt her?”
”No. She was just shaken. She’s at work today and looks fine. Do you want me to find her and put her on the phone?”
I breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t hurt my friend. I hate that my family went to see her.
“No, I’ll call her later. I was scared to in case she was still with them. Tell her I’m so sorry. Do you know what happened when he went to her house?”
“After you ended the call, he started escalating. He didn’t hurt her, but he was loud enough that her neighbors came to confront him and he left. She’s staying with me for now.”
“Thank God. Don’t let her go back to her place,” I say.
“I won’t. What is happening? Your dad said you’d been kidnapped.”
So that’s the tactic he’s taking? Trying to make himself out to be the caring father. “I wasn’t abducted. That’s just the convenient lie he’s telling people to get them to help track me down.”
“Did he do something to you, hurt you?” Kassy asks.
My friends know some of the details of my life, but there are things I kept from them. I guess they need to know how dangerous he can be. “I left home because he was trying to force me to marry one of the older club brothers.”
“You’re joking, right?” I can hear the disbelief in her tone.
I fall quiet at her innocent question, wishing with all my heart that this was just a joke, or a misunderstanding.
I would take misunderstanding over forced marriage any day of the week.
For a moment I wonder whether to tell her about the baby.
But I decide to keep that secret to myself, just in case my father does catch up with my friend.
“No. I wish it was,” I say.
“Should we call the police?”
I respond quickly. “No. Don’t contact the police. That’ll only make things worse.”
“Are you safe? Lena thinks you might be with that Jake guy from the bar.”
My stomach churns with anxiety and leftover morning sickness. Of course, Lena figured that out. She saw me with him. She knows I don’t have anyone to run to. “I’m safe. That’s all you need to know right now. The less you know, the safer you are.”
“Nora, you sound like you’re in real danger. Come to my house. Your father hasn’t been to my place,” Kassy says.
I hope that means that my friends will be safe now. But I can’t bring danger to them. Instead I say, “I’m safer where I am. It’s also safer for you and Lena if I’m not around.”
“Shit, Nora. I hate that this happened to you. Look, I’ve got to get back to work. They’re calling my name over the loudspeaker. Can I call you later?”
“Go. Tell Lena I’m fine. I’ll call your phone when I get a chance,” I tell her.