~ 23 ~
Penny
Fighter dropped me off with Charlie, who I soon realized was Rider’s old lady and not some other club biker, and I was glad of that at least. She was the definition of beautiful biker babe, even that early in the morning: big hair, big boobs, tight black leather pants, and thick makeup. I liked her instantly because there was no bullshit or pretense with her. She must have liked me too, because after one look up and down me she pulled me into the house and sat me at her kitchen table with a mug of coffee.
Fighter didn’t even stick around to make sure I was okay before jumping back in the truck and heading back to the club without a second look. I wasn’t hurt. It wasn’t like I expected him to give a damn about me. Why would I? I had just been another potential notch in his bedpost. Another woman whose face he’d forget soon enough. He was helping me because I was forcing him too—at least for the time being—and that was the best I could hope for.
Still, being around him was…nice. He made me feel safe. Which was ridiculous, given that he’d initially kidnapped me. But there it was. Right now, the only person I felt truly safe around was my kidnapper. It was all kinds of messed up.
Charlie had been still dressing her little girl when Fighter and I had arrived, so she left me in the lounge with my coffee and my thoughts while she attempted to change the girl’s diaper. I looked around, seeing family pictures of Rider, Charlie, and the little girl all smiling. I picked one up of all three of them sitting together on a park bench. Rider looked so different—like he was at peace, the pretense of the big bad biker slipping away long enough for the photo to be taken. I didn’t have anything like that of me and my daddy. After Mom left, he had burned all the family photos of us together. I had no idea where she was or what she looked like. I’d never have such normalcy, I realized with sudden grief.
“That was the man I fell in love with,” Charlie said, coming back into the room. She placed her kid on the floor at our feet and began to pick up some of the toys and attempt to play with them. “All six foot three of moody masculinity, that’s my man, apart from when he’s with us. Then he’s like a cuddly teddy bear, ready to do anything for his girls—wash our hair, feed us ice cream, read to us in bed.”
I smiled, wishing I had something to say to that, but there was nothing. I had no way of understanding any of that. My daddy had never read me a bedtime story or washed my hair. The club women did all that.
“That’s nice,” I said, putting the picture back down, feeling ridiculous for using the wordnice.
“It’s more than nice, it’s something that every child and every woman should have.”
“I suppose.” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “How did you two meet?”
“We have sort of an unconventional love story.” Charlie grinned. “I’d seen Rider hanging around the bar I worked at—The Laughing Moose. Watched him take off with a new girl every night, sometimes twice a night. After a week I decided I wanted him. All of him. I wasn’t going to end up as some skank that he fucked and left, though. So one night I drove to his clubhouse, walked right up to him, and told him I was his old lady and that was that.”
I stared at her open-mouthed. “And he was okay with that?”
“Hell no,” she laughed, “but I took him into a bedroom and we locked the door. We stayed in there for so long that when I came out I was walking like John Wayne and his balls were shriveled up like prunes.” She laughed proudly.
I laughed back, and it felt so damn good. “And then he was okay with it?”
Charlie shook her head. “God, no. He still fought me at every turn. But what a man wants and what he needs are two very different things. He wanted his freedom to fuck any woman he saw. But what he needed was me. And every time I thought he was thinking of straying, I’d remind him of that fact.”
I smiled and she laughed.
“Pussies are magical things, darlin’,” she teased. “There’s nothing that our pussies can’t get us if we want it enough.”
I continued to laugh, feeling my cheeks flush. I never blushed, and yet there I was blushing bright red as a complete stranger talked about her magical pussy. I shook my head and smiled, staring down at my coffee. I yawned, realizing how tired I was. Bone tired. The sort of tired that made you feel sick and shaky. Maybe it was the adrenaline of the last twenty-four hours finally wearing off. So much had happened in such a short span of time. I’d gone from living in a bubble that my daddy had created for me, to being kidnapped, to finding my way back home, losing Scratch, and realizing that my daddy would do anything to save face.
I realized with sudden clarity that this was it. There was no going back now.
I was strangely okay with it all. Glad to be out of it, in some ways. Though I had no doubts that it was going to be as easy as it seemed. No one walked away from my daddy or his club without consequences.
“You going to be okay?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You sure?”
I nodded again. “I’m Penny Benite, daughter of Razuuk Benite. He may have washed his hands off me for good, and I may be glad about that, but that doesn’t stop his blood from running through my veins,” I said firmly. “I just need to figure out my next move.”
Charlie smiled. “You were made for this life, you know that.”
I smiled and cocked my head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Not many women can handle this life. It’s dark, brutal, and our men need one hundred percent of us at all times. I see that in you—the toughness, the softness, and everything in between.” She picked up both of our mugs and carried them to the kitchen sink. “No wonder you made an impression on him.”
I didn’t ask who she meant; I already knew who she was talking about. But she was wrong—about me and about him. Fighter didn’t give a damn about me. The only thing he cared about was his club and following orders.
“Come on, monkey, let’s let Miss Penny here take a nap.” Charlie plucked Macy off the floor and headed out of the room, giving me a few blissful moments to gather my thoughts and dig deep to find some strength. When she returned, she handed me a blanket. “You’ll feel better when you’ve slept. Things will seem better, clearer.”
