“Are you taking a good long look?” Whizz asked,
glaring toward her.
“You’ve got pretty eyes. I’ve always been a sucker for
a man with pretty eyes.” He had a nice shade of green eyes. They were kind, if
sad at the same time. Whizz, like her, had lost a great deal. He would
understand her and know not to pity her. She didn’t pity Whizz. He was stronger
than the monster who took him. Lacey wished she could prove to him how strong
he actually was. He didn’t need to keep hiding behind the weight lifting or the
computers. Whizz was much better than that.
“If you keep staring at me, I’m going to start feeling
nervous,” he said.
“Sorry.” She dropped her gaze from his and stared at
the dark liquid in the cup.
“Drop your hood,” he said.
Glancing up, she saw he was still staring at her.
Going against her better judgment, she dropped the
hood, wanting to please him. Had he been with women since his attack? Did he
even want to be intimate, or was it a hard fucking he craved?
“Nice hair.”
“I’m going through my radical phase.” She ran fingers
through the blue locks. Changing her hair color was fun. Dalton did her hair
without argument. Over the years, he’d gotten good at it, too. The first time
he’d dyed her hair had been a disaster.
“How old are you?” Whizz asked.
“Thirty.”
“What are you doing in Fort Wills?”
“I’m just passing through.” He went to open his mouth.
“Do you want to ask me when I last gave blood or sucked a man’s dick?”
Whizz stopped. “What?”
“The interrogation, does it work on all the women
you’re with? Or is this special for me because you’ve never seen me before?”
“I’m sorry.” He went to touch his laptop again. She
didn’t want him thinking about anything else but her.
“Don’t be. It’s kind of cute, in a very weird kind of
way.”
He jerked back to look at her. “What are you doing?”
“I’m having a cup of coffee with a hot guy in a café.
Admittedly, it would go a lot sexier if we were in a bar than a café. I’m easy
though.”
She lifted the cup to her lips.
“This is just a cup of coffee. No ulterior motive.
You’re not working for Gonzalez, are you?” he asked.
It took every ounce of willpower not to show any
emotion at that name.
“Never heard of
him.”
Whizz frowned at her, looking deep.
“Look, I thought you looked lonely, and I know what
it’s like to be lonely. I just wanted to have a cup of coffee with you.” She
waited to see what he’d do. Lacey wanted him to like her, to see the same part
in her that was damaged that she could see inside him.
“Okay, fine. I’ll drink a nice cup of coffee with
you.”
She smiled as he ordered a coffee by shouting to the
waitress. Maybe being in Fort Wills wasn’t so bad after all.
****
Whizz stared at her blue hair and wondered what she
was trying to hide. He wasn’t an idiot. There was something not quite right
about this woman in front of him. Sure, she was a beauty, but he’d long since
given up on beauty. There was more to life than someone pretty to look at. With
Gonzalez hanging around, he didn’t trust anyone. He’d done his research on
Gonzalez, and he didn’t recognize this woman in front of him.
The moment she entered the café he’d noticed her.
She’d been nibbling her lip as she looked at the list of different coffees she
could pick from. The hood hid her hair but not her face. He hadn’t been able to
look away from the indecision on her face. Her hands had been shaking as she
grabbed money out of her pocket. Everything about her spoke of shyness, yet she
came over to him as if she didn’t suffer at all.
While he’d been looking at her, he’d seen the fine
curves of her body on display, her rounded ass and the full tits her clothing
couldn’t disguise. He imagined her body was full, hour-glass even. Fuck, he was
getting hard. He was actually getting hard for a woman, and he didn’t have a
clue
who
she was.
“I’m going to break you until you can’t look at another person without
being disgusted,” Alan said.
The harsh words stayed in his mind all the time.
Everything Alan did to him stayed with him. There was no getting away from it
or hiding away from it. At times all he wanted to do was hide away from the
truth, the pain, and the scars.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked.
Her hands were wrapped around her cup, and she reached
out as if to touch him but withdrew within seconds.
“I’m fine.” He watched her cup her drink. Her gaze
locked on his. Whizz couldn’t look away from her. She hypnotized him where she
sat. He couldn’t recall a time since before he’d been taken that he’d been this
drawn to a female.
“You keep staring at me.”
“I’m curious as to why you came and sat over here.
You’re a beautiful woman. Surely you’ve got a guy waiting for you somewhere.”
She shook her head. “No guy but it’s nice of you to
think I’m pretty.”
“You’re way more than beautiful.” He closed the laptop
and pushed the device back into his bag.
“You don’t have to be nice to me. I’m sitting here
already.”
He shrugged. “I’m not trying to be nice. I’m stating a
fact.” Whizz saw her cheeks heat as she glanced down into her cup. “What?”
“Nothing.
I guess I’m not used to being paid nice compliments.”
“Well, you should be.” If she was his woman, he’d
spend all day telling her how beautiful she was.
What the fuck are you doing?
He rubbed the scar down the side of his face feeling
conscious of the mark.
“Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what?”
“You don’t need to be conscious of your scars. It’s
nice to know someone else has been through something that’s changed them. You
have, haven’t you?
Been through something that’s changed you,
that is.”
She tilted her head to the side to stare at him.
What did she see when she looked at him?
“Have you been through stuff that’s changed who you
are?” he asked, more intrigued than he liked to be.
“Yeah, it’s not too hard to see. You’ve just got to
look closely at people and you’ll see there are more of us out there.”
“That doesn’t answer my questions,” he said.
“I know it doesn’t. You’re just going to have to trust
me that I know what you’ve been through, or at least something like it. I know
what it’s like to have that fun taken out of you. To be held down while someone
you’ve never known rips you apart over and over again.” She stopped talking to
look down at her hands. “I was young when I was raped and beaten. I had
everything torn from me, but I’m here right now, talking to you. That’s all
you’re going to get out of me. You’re not the only person who has suffered.”
Sitting back, he picked up his cup and took a sip.
They stared at each other for several minutes, neither speaking. The longer
they sat in peaceful silence, the happier Whizz became. He didn’t need to talk
with this woman. She wasn’t expecting anything from him, and for once, he was
happy.
Chapter Seven
Tiny stared at the three men who would later become
prospects within the club. He’d been putting off seeing them for some time.
Baker, Ink, and Fighter, that was how he remembered them. At this moment in
their lives he didn’t give a fuck what their real names were. All three men
looked strong, loyal even. They looked like they’d make good additions to his
club, and he was more than happy to get them involved.
“Man, look at his ink. It’s fucking awesome,” Pussy
said. He had his arms wrapped around Sasha, kissing her head. His fingers were
stroking her arm while Sasha traced lines on his arm. The couple looked happy,
content. On the floor beside her was the guard dog Pussy had bought for her. It
was sweet watching the young couple. Seeing the two together threw Tiny off a
bit. Pussy was a joker and liked to sleep around. Tiny hadn’t pegged him for
the settling down kind of man. The ring on Sasha’s finger knocked
Tiny’s
assumptions out of the water. The man was clearly
smitten with his woman.
“Do we need a baker?” Angel asked. “I mean, we don’t
need anything else to tempt our hips.”
“I’m in for Baker,” Lash said. “I love your hips,
baby, and I intend to work off whatever else you eat.”
She held their son Anthony in her arms while Lash held
onto the both of them. The picture before him tightened
Tiny’s
resolve. They were a strong unit, secure in each other. Both of them were loyal
to the other.
“I think Fighter should be tested against the best of
your men, Daddy,” Tate said.
All of the crew was here in the clubhouse to be
involved in the picking of a new prospect. Tiny had to admit he liked all
three. The only person who wasn’t present was Whizz. Ever since his attack, the
guy had never been late to a meeting. This was the first time the other man was
late.
“Who would you have him fight against?” Prue asked.
“I’d have to go with Lash, Killer, or Zero. They’re
pretty damn good fighters.”
“Hey, my man is a good fighter,” Sophia said, sticking
up for Nash.
“Thanks, babe.”
“No problem. You know I like you all sweaty and sexy.”
Sophia giggled as she wrapped her arms around Nash.
This was his family. The unit he’d come to rely upon
and love. Eva squeezed his thigh, and he glanced down at her. She was smiling
up at him with so much love. This was why he took care of the club. They were a
family, and together they took care of the town. In the last few years he had
started to lose all focus of why he fought for a town that clearly didn’t want
to be saved at times.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Whizz said, strolling down the
stairs. He held three files, and the fucker was whistling. Ever since his
attack Tiny couldn’t recall Whizz whistling. The good-natured man had been vacant
from Whizz for so long. This was strange, and Tiny didn’t know if he liked it
or not.
“Where have you been?” Killer asked.
“I was getting washed. I didn’t know we started
already.”
The whole club looked at him. Tiny turned to see that,
yes, the whole club was looking at him.
“Okay, I’m starting to freak out a little bit here. Is
something wrong with me taking my time and having a wash?” Whizz asked.
“Do you have a woman upstairs?” Murphy asked.
“No, I don’t have a woman. No, nothing has changed. Everything
is good, amazing really. Here are the files on the three men. They’re babies in
the real world. Never been to prison or even got a speeding ticket.” Whizz
handed him the files.
Taking them, Tiny flicked them open to see that Baker
was indeed a good guy. He’d lost his young wife two years ago, closed up his
baking business and gone on the road, settling in Fort Wills. Glancing at the
man, he saw the pain in his eyes. Tiny knew what it was like to lose a wife. It
broke a part of you on the inside. Even if Patricia hadn’t been the love of his
life, he’d still loved her in his own way.
The thought of losing Eva filled him with despair.
Nodding toward Baker, he opened up the next file on
Ink. Now, Ink was a player. Tiny didn’t know how Whizz got the kind of
information he did. He was a great man, and it was a shame about what happened
to him.
Ink liked the ladies, and because of it, he’d lost his
job at the tattoo parlor where he was working because he fucked more clients
than he inked.
Moving to the next person Tiny saw Fighter was a
savage within the ring. He had killed several people while fighting illegally,
but he was moving on in the world. Tiny couldn’t see a problem with the men.
“If you’re all voted in then you’re prospects. That
doesn’t mean you’re part of the club. It means you deal with shit and earn your
loyalty. There will come a time when we will all test you to see if you’re
worth being a club member. Until then, you do everything we tell you without
fucking complaining.”
“No, boss, they can complain, but it won’t do them any
fucking good,” Lash said, snickering.
All of his boys snickered. The men were fresh meat and
were going to be put through the ringer.
“Then let’s take a vote. Who votes for them to be in?”
Tiny asked.
The whole club raised their hands. Several of the
women did as well. Glancing at his daughter, Tiny saw the wicked smile on
Tate’s face. She hadn’t been smiling for a long time. The club life wasn’t
healthy for her. There was no way he could leave the club in her hands when he
finally decided to throw his cut in. She wouldn’t have the first clue on how to
run it and be the president’s old lady. The president’s old lady was as
important as the president himself of the club. Without both, there would be
problems. He didn’t know how he’d managed to run the club without Eva at his
side. She made everything possible, and helped him when he needed it the most.