Her head falls back in laughter. “Babes, a man like 81 doesn’t take no for an answer. He will take you home,” she says, her smile wide.
“I don’t know him. He’s been drinking and quite frankly I will not be getting in or on anything with him that I have no control over.” With that I hug Timberly and walk from the fire pit back through that god-awful club filled with women who have no regard for themselves and are prey to all the nasty things that men can do to them. Like look at the state of it, a man doesn’t own you, control you or even have the right to do whatever they want to you and you’re expected to just take it. Fuck that shit.
“You’re worth more than a drunken man pawing you. You know that, right?” I say to the small, young lady who is on a pool table naked. Men pawing her, four of them, all over her body. Doing awful things to her, pool balls and pool ques are involved, and it makes me sick.
“Who the fuck are you?” One of the men says pulling his mouth from her thigh and his death stare locked on me.
Bad idea, Jade. “I-I-I, well…” He steps into my space and all the memories of my past slam into me making my body quiver under the weight of the assault.
“I-I, w-well, I’m no one,” I say shaking. 81 walks through the room commanding the whole area. The others all sense him as he walks toward us, standing taller and stepping back.
“She’s with me, asshole. And Candy, clean yaself up. How many fucking times have we told you to quit with the pool table? We all fucking play with that shit and don’t need your filth all over it.” Candy’s eyes light up and dance a little as she pulls her lip into her teeth looking at him. All I do is roll my eyes and walk from the room and its stink of sex, spilled beer and smoke.
Chapter Seven
Jade
The air outside washes over me and I breathe in deep, when a hand reaches for my elbow and pulls me back. I yelp and flinch at the touch, scaring me and sending chills down my spine. That was followed by that under the armpit hot tickle of fucking fear and sheer panic.
“Hey. It’s just me.” His voice is familiar inside my head, but fear still grips me, the memory from before is enough to have me on edge. How can a group of men evoke such horrid assaults from a man that I have been running from for the last two years? How can I still be so damn scared?
“That shit back there will get you killed,” he says and now it’s my turn. I scoff at him and his eyes go wide in the dark of the night, sending a warning over me.
“Oh, well,” I say as I walk from him, shaking his grip from my arm. I’m walking toward the extremely intimidating gates that are the only exit from him and all that is this place.
“Little bird, stop.” I keep walking. I hear his feet crunch over the gravel toward me sounding heavy, fast and annoyed. I reach the gate.
“Open, please,” I say to the young man who has stepped from the little booth like thing, a smile on his face.
“Open,” he says to me and I nod.
“Yes, please.” His eyes scan me, and it creeps me out. “Just open the damn gates. I didn’t ask for you to ogle at me.”
He laughs. “Oh, don’t flatter yaself, babes, you’re not my type. but that man there, well, he seems intent.” My eyes look over my shoulder at 81. He is standing there, his legs hip width apart, arms crossed over his chest.
“Open the fucking gate.” I seethe out trying to sound stronger than I look by pulling out a cuss word in hopes I sound badass.
The guy’s fingers find the button on the wall. Pushing it, the gates begin to slide open and I let out the breath I was holding.
“Wasn’t hard, was it?” I say slipping through the small crack.
“No, not at all, babe, but you actually leaving might be.” I walk through and out into the front of the street. It’s dark. The only light is just above me and across the street, lighting up the shop front. That’s so weird in a place that has nothing, there is a shop in a dark empty, building.
“Where do you think you’re going?” thing you're going?" 81's voice ripples down over my body, ripples down over my body, as I pull my phone from my purse and look up the number for uber.
“Home,” I say scrolling through the interweb.
“I don’t think so, little bird.” I feel him step behind me and his arms reach around me, taking my phone from my hands. Looking at the screen I am frozen, he unarms me and I feel weak around him
“I am, now give that back.” His throaty laugh washes over me, hitting just behind my ear lobe as he leans down to slip my phone back into my purse.
“No uber will come here and get you, little bird.”
“Um why?” I question him as he slips his hands into the front of my jean pockets.
“Because we are an outlaw biker club, babe. No one will enter this side of town to collect or drop off.” I try to step from his grasp.
“Fine. I will walk to the start of the street, surely someone will come there.” Stepping with him still attached to me is near impossible. “Please, get off me.” I try to pull his fingers from my jeans.
