10. Roxy
Roxy
Iforgot how menacing this place is.
Last time I was here, I was fuelled by determination to find my best friend. I barely registered the huge men sprawled in booths, drinks in their hands.
Barely noticed the stains on the floor, a suspicious shade of red.
I notice it all now.
The way the air is charged with a current of danger, sizzling and ready to cause destruction. The way the men, covered in tattoos and scars and hard eyes, glance at me before flicking back to my shadow, who stands behind me waiting.
At Kai’s presence, they look away, returning to their games of pool or foamy beers.
The part inside me that’s programmed to run from these types of situations has my legs twitching to turn around and sprint for my dear life.
We already know that doesn’t work, Roxy.
Giving myself a silent pep talk, I lift my chin and saunter through the club. An older man at the bar is the only one who acknowledges Kai, giving him a nod before turning to me.
“Maddy will be down in a second,” he grumbles, eyeing me curiously.
“Thanks,” I mutter.
Kindness glows from his light eyes, framed by age-worn wrinkles. Waiting near him is probably the safest place here.
Kai is stiff, watching over the place with shadowed eyes.
“Oooo! Is that the famous baseball bat I’ve heard about?” a voice croons from the bar.
My eyes shoot to a younger boy, maybe my age. I didn’t notice him, too busy focusing on stopping my legs from running the other way. But now, I can’t help but notice him.
He looks completely different from the rest of the men here. Curly, sandy hair and piercing green eyes. A golden septum piercing glints in his nose, rings decorating his ears as well.
Even his tattoos are different. They are like mine.
I lift the bat in my hand, smirking at him. “This is Kitty.”
I give it her a little swirl. I wonder how she feels finding out that she’s a living legend.
Leon smirks, folding his laptop closed. “Nice to meet you, Kitty,” he purrs.
I like this one. Which is a travesty because I don’t like men like him.
He just seems so... different. No less dangerous, though, that’s for sure.
Kai makes the tiniest of sounds, one that I’ve never heard before. And when I glance at him, he’s not even looking in our direction.
I decide the sound is a scoff, but it better not be at me naming my bat.
“How do you hang around this one?” Leon mock whispers, loud enough for everyone around to hear. “Doesn’t he scare the bejeebies out of you?”
Oh, this man has balls.
“No,” I fake whisper back, making sure Kai can hear me. “Deep down, he’s really just a ray of sunshine. He even bought me a brand-new tattoo gun.”
Turning over my shoulder, I watch the muscle in Kai’s jaw jump.
Leon chuckles, biting his bottom lip. “Oh, so there is a sign of life inside him,” he drawls.
I hum, nodding my head and barely containing my laugh.
It feels good to smile this hard.
As Leon reaches for his laptop again, I notice his nails. “Oh my God,” I gasp, reaching for his hand. He lets me, wiggling his black nails painted with intricate designs of cobwebs and moons. “These are so cool.”
A grin spreads across his face. “Thanks. I did them myself.”
“You painted those?”
He nods, looking so damn young.
“They’re incredible.”
His chest puffs out, just enough for me to notice. “I know.”
Before I can reply, a door next to the bar slams open and a giant man stalks out. His hair is tied back into a messy bun, a leather vest hugging his enormous body so tight it looks like it’s about to tear down the middle.
Hard golden eyes immediately land on Leon. Then me.
I can almost feel the ground shudder as he stomps up to the bar.
“I need a fucking drink,” he mutters.
His voice is rough, deep enough to vibrate through the room.
Leon watches him with amusement all over his face before glancing at my baseball bat. “Kitty, this miserable bastard is Griff.”
I almost recoil when those golden eyes land back on me. But when they land on Kai, who is still behind me, the tiniest of smirks pull at his lips.
“Don’t you think his nails are incredible, Griff?” I glance between them.
Griff slowly looks down at Leon’s hands. His nose wrinkles and his upper lip curls with disgust.
Dismissively, he grabs the bottle from the older man and storms away, shaking his head and muttering about little children.
Leon snorts, his head falling into his palm as he watches the growly man, letting out the most dramatic sigh I’ve ever heard.
“Just look at that ass,” he sighs, and my brows knot. “Tell me how a man so difficult can be so fucking yum.”
A shocked laugh tumbles out of me.
“I like you,” I murmur, loving the way his face lights up. “I’m Roxy.”
With crazy nails, he reaches over and shakes my hand. “Leon.”
Just then, Maddy strolls through a door. “Roxy!”
She’s dressed in silky, light-blue pyjamas and still looks half asleep. Seeing her pad across the club in fluffy slippers, through these men without batting an eye, makes me chuckle.
She wraps me in her arms the second she gets to me.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” she chokes out.
I know immediately that she’s talking about my studio being destroyed. Hugging her back, I fight the emotion burning behind my eyes.
She pulls back, hardness coating her dark eyes. “Those fuckers will pay for that, I promise you, babe.”
I can’t help but grin.
“That’s why I’m here,” I add, balling my hands into fists. “I want those assholes to regret it.”
She nods, reaching for my hand and leading me into the room Griff had just left.
“If you’re back here to growl some more, Griff,” Ash’s angry voice makes me flinch. “I’m more than happy to blacken your other eye.”
“So grumpy,” Maddy croons.
Ash’s eyes immediately soften when they land on her.
“Sorry, Angel. Big day,” he glances over at me and Kai, as Kai closes the door behind us.
The rowdiness fades as soon as I step into the room.
Ash gestures to the chair next to him, pulling Maddy onto his lap. “Sit.”
I lower myself into the one beside them, Kitty resting on my leg. Kai remains standing behind me like a bodyguard, arms folded across his chest.
“Tell us what’s going on, Roxy,” he murmurs, staring at me through his lashes.
The words are right there, but they become lodged in my throat. Each fighting their way to get out.
Maddy leans over to grip my hand. It gives me enough strength to start.
“My brother called me.” I swallow, waiting for one of them to fill the thick silence. But they don’t. All eyes are on me, questioning. “My brothers...” I swallow again. Fuck, I need a drink and twenty-four-hour nap. “They aren’t good people. The people they hang around aren’t good people.”
Tears burn my eyes.
“I was one of them.”
Lifting my, I expose a mess of a tattoo. From the first glance, it looks like a callalily. But when you look closer, you notice the scythe peeking through. The mask of wraith.
Maddy inhales sharply, squeezing my hand tighter.
My lip trembles.
“They were only grunts, I assume. Doing the dirty jobs of breaking and entering. Sometimes selling drugs in clubs. Nothing big. And I was never there for any of that. I barely know anything about the Wraiths, to be honest.”
My next breath shudders.
“They... they kept me at home. I was there... for them. Their friends. Other than that, I did some tattoos. Men would visit to get their tattoos redone.”
Anger flashes across Ash’s face. Sadness etches over Maddy’s.
“But it’s okay,” I reassure her. “I got out. Three years ago I ran and never looked back. But they’ve found me. I thought that being in another territory would help.” The next words come out as a whisper. “But still, they found me.”
Ash’s lips purse. “Roxy, the territories would have continued to protect you if it wasn’t for recent events,” he bites out. “I’m sorry that they didn’t do as they should've.”
I nod, but the words don’t make sense to me.
“Do you remember when I got hurt?” Maddy pries.
I nod again.
“Well, that night, it spurred a lot of animosity between other clubs. Some who think we’re in the wrong. Right now, the Devils are as vulnerable as they’ve ever been. That’s why your brothers seem to think it’s okay to wander into our territory.”
I swallow. This is bigger than I could have imagined.
“He did say things have changed,” I murmur, a shiver coiling down my spine. “But what does he want with me?”
Ash’s face twists into a form of viciousness that makes me nervous. “Maybe we should find out.”
Even Maddy looks confused.
“You agree to meet them.”
Every muscle in my body locks. Maddy immediately turns to him. “Ash...”
“We’ll have eyes on you the entire time,” he says, looking only at me. “You won’t be alone.”
Dizziness blurs my vision.
“No.”
The single word slices through the room. The word uttered by the man behind me.
Ash blinks once.
“No?”
I can’t bring myself to look over my shoulder. His one word bringing me so much relief that I feel like I could fall on my knees and kiss his feet.
“No.”
The look of shock and amusement on Ash’s face feels dangerous. Maddy rolls her eyes, giving an exasperated sigh.
“It’s not even three o’clock in the morning. I’m not sitting through this testosterone fuelled pissing contest.”
She slides off Ash’s lap, taking my hand. “Let’s go get a drink.”
I let her pull me out of Ash’s office. Only once do I glance over my shoulder. At Kai, who stands motionless, staring blankly at the wall.
Does he even realise what he just did for me?
The door closing breaks the spell, and once again I’m back in the rowdy club.
A man where Leon was before, does a long line of powder and groans as it hits his system. The scent of cigarettes and straight alcohol burn my senses.
“Hey, Matty,” Maddy murmurs. She bites her lip at his intense focus, and I feel like I’m intruding. I fucking knew little miss innocent Maddy was a lie. “Can we get two wines, please?”
“Scotch for me,” I interrupt. She looks at me in confusion. “I need something strong after that.”
Humming, she nods, and Matty makes our drinks.
“Sorry about that,” she mumbles into her glass. “Ash has barely slept, trying to figure this Wraith shit out, and he wants answers.”
“I get it,” I smile softly at her. “I just don’t think I can see them again.”
“Then you won’t,” she replies with surprising authority.
We both lean against the bar, watching the commotion play out before us. It’s a good distraction from my spiralling mind, and so is the liquor warming my stomach.
“Guess what?” Maddy breaks the silence, an evil smirk twisting her lips.
I can’t help but grin. “Tell me.”
She leans in, her breath dusting my ear.
“I’ve killed someone, too.”
My mouth falls open, and I search her face for the lie. There isn’t one.
So many words, so many questions. None form. Maybe it’s how exhausted I am. Or maybe it’s how ridiculous this situation is. But my head falls back, and the most carefree laugh barks out of me.
She’s laughing too, snorting into her wine.
“Fuck, I love you,” I giggle. I can’t stop.
She snorts, making her laugh harder. “We’re insane, aren’t we?”
“Certifiable,” I agree, trying to suck down lungfuls of air.
Suddenly, everything feels not so heavy. Like maybe, with the help of my best friend and her psycho gang, I might get through this.
“Oh, shit,” Maddy gasps. “I put a pizza in the oven! I’ll be right back.”
I watch her scurry off in her cozy pyjamas and slippers with a warm smile on my face, throwing back the last of the drink.
The front door crashes open again, and my eyes fight to adjust to the man standing in the doorway.
“Kai...”
Turning, I look at the door of the meeting room, and it’s still shut. Wasn’t he just... How did he...
He stalks towards me, a predatory look gleaming in his eyes. There must be a back door he went through and is coming back to take me home.
Thank God.
Picking up Kitty, I walk towards him.
“Roxanne,” he murmurs.
Frowning, I go to correct him. But his hand whips out to grab my bat from my hand, wrenching it away from me and letting it tumble to the ground with a clatter.
“Who the fuck do you think...”
My words cut off with a squeal as he reaches down and picks me up with little effort, throwing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down, asshole!” I cry out, kicking my legs.
Laughter and amusement fill the room full of bikers. No one moves.
“Fuck you, Kai,” I grit out, twisting and turning to try to free myself.
It makes no difference to him as he strides out the front door and through the car park.
The freezing air doesn’t even touch me, through my red-hot rage.
“What are you doing?”
He doesn't reply. Just keeps walking further into the darkness. Further towards a looming building that looks like an old factory.
Two large hands grip the backs of my thighs, holding my writhing body still. My hands slap at his back, hard. But I may as well be punching rocks.
My teeth bare as I growl. “You fucking prick. Put me down!”
The faint red glow of the club fades behind us, swallowed by the night. Gravel crunches beneath his boots with deliberate strides.
I twist again, trying to throw him off balance, but he’s built like a damn machine. His hands never falter.
“I swear to God,” I huff, hair hanging in my throbbing face, “if you make me throw up, I’m doing it in your hair.”
A low breath leaves him.
The scary, abandoned building grows larger with each step. Broken windows, rust creeping up corrugated walls and vines crawling up cracked brickwork blur in my upside-down vision.
“Kai,” I whimper, fear taking hold. “This isn’t funny.”
Whatever happens in here... it can’t be good. I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the nausea and pure terror. The rowdiness of the club has fades. They won’t hear my screams.
A door squeals and he ducks beneath the door frame, pushing us inside.
Cold, stale air rushes over us; the scent of damp concrete and something much, much worse hits me; Strong chemicals, metallic rust, and death.
Darkness swallows us whole. Only thin streaks of moonlight spill through shattered skylights high above, painting silver lines over the concrete.
An echo rattles the dust as the door slams behind us. Every step he takes slows. Taunting me.
Against the chilled air, his hands on the backs of my thighs feel like a brand, even through the material of my pants.
In the middle of the cavernous building, he finally drops me to my feet. And now, I wished he hadn’t.