“Same,” Emily said. “Well, except for the whole combat medic part.” She broke into a smile. “I do have a role to play in today’s raid, though, and I’m kind of excited to tell you all about it.”
Naomi stared at her. “Have you been holding out on us?”
“I just found out about it last night. You’ll know soon enough.”
“Interesting,” Julia said. “Those sneaky bastards have me doing something, too.”
“Oh?” Emily perked up.
“We gossip,” Jayson said, folding his hands in his lap. “That’s what we do when the guys are gone.”
“We do not gossip,” Emily said, giving him the stink-eye. “We solve all the problems that require more than brute strength and external plumbing.”
“Oh, honey, everything requires muscles and dicks,” Jayson replied. “Can’t we just talk about people? Sasha, tell us how you managed to snag your very own personal dark man of mystery.”
“I just want to know how you got him to tell you the truth about anything,” Naomi said.
Deciding I could share a little of our history without breaking Tap’s trust, I said, “Well, funny story. I accidentally got jumped into a gang, and Tap basically kidnapped me against my will.”
Naomi threw up her arms. “God help us, she lies just as much as he does.”
Shocked, I gaped at her. “That was all true.”
Jayson’s eyebrows rose. “Not exactly the romantic opening I was expecting, but I suppose it has promise.” He leaned forward. “Now about this kidnapping… were there any handcuffs involved? Whips? Were you naughty? What?”
Emily smacked him with a throw pillow. “Not everything is sexual, you perv.”
“Well, it should be,” he replied, rubbing his arm. “And stop abusing me. I bruise easily.”
“I’m assuming that by being jumped into a gang, you mean the Serpents since that’s what Link told me,” Emily said.
Naomi’s eyes widened. “You were serious about that?”
“Havoc had to stitch her up,” Julia replied, sounding proud.
“Alright. This story is clearly the distraction we need,” Naomi said. “Please, share it and let us live vicariously through your adventure.”
I couldn’t refuse such a desperate request, so I started with my father’s death and finished with Tap showing me that I was wanted. I left out everything else about Tap—his story wasn’t mine to tell—but I covered all the excitement, corruption, and abuse. When I finished, a thoughtful silence settled over the group.
“Wow, you’ve really been through it,” Emily said.
“It’s been a rough past few years, but my future is looking pretty damn bright,” I replied.
“What are you gonna do for work?” Naomi asked. “Because I gotta tell you, retirement’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’m sure this little curtain climber will have me running ragged in no time, but I’m slowly losing my mind as I wait for him or her to get here.”
I’d been so focused on surviving Breaker and freeing the girls that I hadn’t even thought about what to do afterward. Even if my name was cleared and I was able to go back on the force, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a cop anymore. It was all about paperwork and procedures, definitely not the fulfilling career path I’d hoped it would be. “I don’t know. I still want to help people, but I’m underwhelmed with how much actual helping the badge lets me do.”
“Have you thought about working in a shelter or something?” Julia asked.
I shook my head. “No, but I’ll look into that. I’m sure I’ll need certification or something.”
“We should start our own non-profit organization,” Naomi suggested, sounding surprisingly serious.
I don’t have many female friends because women are competitive bitches who like to stab each other in the back. It’s like we have a flaw in our DNA that’s threatened by the ideas, style, humor, or general existence of other women. Because this was a group of women (and one Jayson), I expected Naomi’s idea to be met with laughter or criticism, but everyone surprised me by thinking it over and seeming genuinely interested.
“What kind of non-profit do you have in mind?” Emily asked.
“I don’t know, but the guys have their MC, and what do we have for women? Not a damn thing, that’s what. We need something that empowers women and combines our resources to do something useful. I mean, Julia has a degree in psychology, Emily is a kick-ass attorney, I could teach women self-defense. Sasha, you could give them access to information about shit like shelters and domestic abuse counselors. We wouldn’t have to ride bikes and wear cuts and stuff. We could form our own club to help people our way.”
