CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Starlet
After my cellphone rings for the fifth time, I know who to expect if I answer the call. Time to get it over with. “What?” I ask, trying to sound as tough as I can.
“Listen carefully, Starlet,” Checkers warns. “You have forty-eight hours to report back to the compound. If you do, Silver has agreed to overlook your disloyalty. I convinced him you weren’t thinking straight after Sammy died. However, if you don’t show up on time, I won’t be able to stop the retaliation that’s coming.”
I swallow a couple of times before I find my voice again. Threats like that aren’t empty, and I’ve seen what Silver means by retaliation, slow torture intended to never let you forget what you were being punished for. “Why are you trying to protect me all of a sudden?’
“It’s not for you,” Checkers points out. “You’re just another stupid cunt. It’s for your father, his memory. Despite your shortcomings, you’re still his daughter.”
Not sure if I should be offended that he called me a stupid cunt or touched that Checkers, of all brothers, would actually put his ass on the line to save me from Silver’s wrath. “Thanks for your concern,” I offer. “But I’m never coming back. Lose my phone number, Checkers, this is likely the last time I’ll accept a call from you.”
“Starlet… I know where you are.”
I drop the call, my whole body shaking. How can he know where I’m at? I’m two states away. Yeah, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that I might run back to where I came from to make that human connection in Holly Beach. But I’m no fool, I wouldn’t stay long. And though Louisiana isn’t the largest state, there’s lots of places to get lost in—places where no one would look.
I stare out my bedroom window, nervous about Brick’s return. Should I tell him about Checkers? The threat? Admit how frightened I am? No, I can’t. Brothers feed on fear. And though I’m sleeping with Brick, he’s not necessarily on my side, probably never will be. I’m property, a commodity worth some money in the right hands.
An hour later, still sitting in the same spot on my bed, I hear the thunder of Brick’s bike outside. It’s 9PM and I’m starving and thirsty. I don’t move when he knocks on the front door. Instead, I let Juanita answer it. He taps on my bedroom door a few seconds later, and I turn around.
“Come in.”
We gaze at each other before he steps inside. “Starlet.”
“Brick. Has anything changed?”
He closes my door and joins me on the bed, sitting beside me. “Yeah. You have a dinner date at the clubhouse tomorrow night.”
“I do?”
“You can’t refuse, Eagle. He’s trying to be fair. So am I.”
“That’s a matter of opinion.”
“Doesn’t change the facts. You’re not a regular girl living in a normal world. You know that, right?”
I sigh. All my life I’ve heard the same thing. My father started training me early, letting me know clearly who and what I was.“Your dreams shouldn’t extend beyond the kitchen and bedroom,”he’d said countless times. “Learn to cook and clean, how to fix your hair and dress well. If you do, you’ll make the perfect old lady and might have a nice life.”Thanks for the inspiration, Dad. For instilling self-worth and confidence in your only child. Yeah, I know how disappointed you were when you found out you had a daughter. The fact that a penis makes all the difference in a child’s value still pisses me off.
I’m just as loyal and intelligent as any of the brothers. But I had no voice, no say in what I wanted to be. I’d smile and do as I was told, forever the obedient daughter and then wife.
“Starlet?” Brick covers my hand with his.
“Sorry—you brought back some bad memories.”
“That was never my intention. None of this was.”
“Guess I’m to blame.”
He shrugs, obviously unwilling to assign fault. “I’m staying here tonight.”
I snap my fingers. “Just like that? You invite yourself to spend the night in my home—Juanita’s house, really.”
“Yep.”
“You can sleep on the couch in the living room—or in the shed outside.” I inch away from him. “I like to sleep alone.”
He chuckles. “No, you don’t.”
