It was as though a switch had flipped. The blonde stopped struggling, still gasping for breath from the punch to her stomach, but she was no longer fighting. Warren dragged her to the other side of the room by the arm and threw her onto the couch.
“What the hell, Tanya?” he shouted in her face. “Look at this goddamn mess.”
Tanya looked cowed and clutched her arms around her waist. Her hair was a mess, and she had scratches all down her chest and arms, the beginning of a large bruise forming on her cheek. The men around me were laughing and dispersing back to what they would normally be doing.
Casper stepped by and kicked the broken table to the corner. Another young guy appeared with a brush and shovel to sweep the glass, like good little lemmings. Casper caught my eye, giving me a wink before looking over at his VP, who stood over Tanya with a seriously pissed off look on his face.
“Itchy, get over here,” Hudson called. A slim kid with a prospect cut on hurried to Hudson, who handed off the girl. “Take her to the annexe. See if Rosa is around. Her legs are fucked up.”
Itchy nodded and left with the girl, who was trying not to cry, but she looked well and truly worked over and Hudson was right. The broken glass cut her up pretty badly. Hudson caught my eye but looked away, a frown marring his face as he stared at the girl on the couch.
“Why are you fighting with Gia?” Warren asked, rolling his eyes. Clearly, this was beneath him. He noticed me and arched a brow but didn’t reprimand me for not following his orders. He knew I wouldn’t listen.
Tanya burst into tears and threw herself at Hudson. He had no choice but to catch her and put his arms around her waist. I drew in a sharp breath, pain lancing through me, but saw he would rather be anywhere else than here right now. Pushing her back, he held her at arm’s length, giving her a stern look.
“Tanya!”
Tears and blood covered her face as she turned to my brother. Hudson wasn’t doing anything to help her now. I didn’t feel even a little bad about the smirk on my lips. The other girl may have come off worse, but she’d messed up Tanya’s face.
“I’m losing my damn patience.”
“I’m so sorry, War,” she whimpered, but it was a total act. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I had to defend myself.”
I looked at Warren and saw why he was the VP. Imposing and hard faced, he wasn’t taking any shit from this woman. It freaked me out how harsh he looked, while most of his brothers are amused.
Besides our dad, Warren was the highest-ranking person in the club. I walked over to the bar, eyeing up a coffee machine. Casper finished clearing up and came over. He raised a brow, and I nodded as he went to the machine. It was quiet enough to hear the conversation on the couch.
“She said some shit about me.” Tanya raised her chin, and I watched as her lip wobbled. She was a good actress, I’d give her that.
“And you thought smashing up our shit is the way to deal with that?”
She chewed on her lip and glanced at Hudson again, but she wasn’t getting any sympathy and I wondered if she was just a lay for him or if there was more to it, definitely on her part given the way she was staring at him. I knew that look pretty fucking well.
“What the fuck could she have said that made this seem like a good idea?”
After a moment of silence, realising she was in deep shit, she lifted her chin. “Gia said…I’d always be a whore and…he would never. I would be no one’s idea of a…” she trailed off and looked at Hudson.
Hudson looked at my brother and some silent conversation happened between them. For the first time since we came downstairs, Warren’s lips tilted. Has this amused him? Knowing two women were fighting over Hudson? I turned as Casper put a mug of steaming black coffee in front of me and I thanked him with a head nod as he held out a few packets of sugar.
The door behind Hudson opened and Rosa, one of the Old Lady’s appeared. I’d hoped to find her at some point today. Rosa was a legend who took no shit from any of us and handled the brothers like she was commanding her own little army. She was always the one called in when shit went sideways within the ranks of the clubhouse, both with the brothers and the women who hung around. She had been married to the Club Enforcer for almost thirty years. I’ve never been happier to see someone in my life.
Rosa walked around Hudson and straight to Tanya, grabbed her arm, practically throwing her towards the front door. Hudson shook his head as the girl tried to sidle up to him. He turned, his gaze catching mine,and I couldn’t help but arch a brow. He deserved everything he got. Hudson made a growly sound and pushed away from Tanya, slamming out of the door, leaving her staring after him, her jaw clenched tight.
Rosa didn’t even bat an eye as she walked to Warren, hands on her hips. She was the epitome of the phrasesmall but mighty,with her olive skin, thick dark hair, and black eyes of her Italian heritage. Her hair was greyer now, but her skin remained smooth and although she dressed like an Old Lady, in tight jeans and a low-cut top with a leather vest of her own, there wasn’t anything trashy about her.
“She out?” she demanded of my brother.
Warren rubbed his chin, thinking about it. I crossed my fingers, but no such luck.
“She’s been here a long time, has nowhere else to go. We can’t kick her out,” he finally answered.
Rosa nodded her head at his decision. “Gia?”
“Not worth it, she has a rich daddy in town she’s trying to rile up by being here. Cut her loose.”
Well, that sucked. I watched the triumph in Tanya’s eyes as she disappeared through the front door. Rosa made an exasperated sound and turned away from Warren. Her eyes found me, widened a little, then a huge smile spread across her face. She pointed at me. “Come see me after you’ve talked with your dad.” And with that, she left.
I turned to Casper. He had a wide grin on his face. “He’s right. Tanya has been here a long time and she’s good, if you get me. Her and Hustle are real friendly.”
