**
Their names were Sasha, Erin, and Charlie. They were regulars around the clubhouse. During the day they were fully dressed and took care of things. Cleaning the place up, cooking food, making sure everything was under control. At night, they were half naked only to end up fully naked with whoever sank their teeth into them first. In exchange they were pretty much taken care of and protected. I never understood the way they survived but I knew I was basically a day away from the same fate. I was already shacking up with Daxton more than I should have. The second I ditched his room that left me as free game… and that’s what they called it.
What did that mean?
That meant anyone could go after me.
If Rocco wanted me on my knees in front of him…
“I wonder what they’ll do to you,” Erin said. She dropped a dirty rag into a bucket of sudsy water.
“Yeah,” Charlie said. She was so beautiful. Naturally curvy in all the right spots, bright blue eyes, the most innocent face I’d ever seen. And something about her name just added to it. “It’s not usually a good thing to go into that room.”
She nodded to that room.
It was the room where all the main bikers would meet and talk. Some of the guys called it church. Some called it a conference. Other people made comparisons that it was the door to heaven and hell because behind it, that’s where the MC got to play God. It’s where lives were decided and wars would begin and end.
And Gunner wanted to see me privately.
He could kill me. He could thank me. He could put me on the table and command me. I had no idea what to expect.
“Here,” Erin said. She put a shot glass on the table. “Drink this. Just in case.”
“What?”
“Might be your last drink,” she said.
“Or maybe it’ll help you loosen up,” Charlie said.
“Maybe they’ll get you away from Daxton,” Sasha said. “He’s rough, huh?”
“Yeah, right,” I said.
“It’s okay,” Sasha said. “Sometimes you take a beating for good reason.”
That’s how they talked. They accepted everything as though it mattered. All I knew was that the guys in this club weren’t good people. I don’t think anything was ever really planned out. I had only wanted to help them one time to make some money to keep the lights on in my shitty apartment.
Now I was trapped.
I touched the shot glass and stared at the door.
It opened and there stood Rocco. He looked like a hyena. He was lanky and his grin was goofy. But his eyes told the truth. It was like all the people he killed were somehow living in those eyes. The kind of guy that would kill his best friend for a beer and not think twice about it ever.
Rocco looked right at me. Then he walked away.
I hurried to take the shot. It was like fire on my tongue, in my throat. I felt like it was all going to come right back up a second later. I managed to keep it down and then waited.
Gunner appeared in the doorway and pointed right at me. He gave a quick nod.
“That’s all you,” Charlie whispered.
“Good luck,” Erin said.
I stood and walked toward the room.
When I entered, Gunner was seated at the table. He had his elbows on the table and his hands balled into fists.
“Shut it,” he said. I closed the door. “Now turn around.” I slowly turned. “Look at the wall.”
That’s when I saw the pictures. It was a flow chart of pictures. At the top was a picture of a guy with a black X across his face. Then another picture added right next to it. Under that picture was a set of pictures. They were labeled table. Under that a lot more.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “I don’t know anyone.”
“Exactly,” Gunner said. “That’s Back Down Devil MC. A rival club that’s been fucking us over. We’re at war, Harlee.”
“Why are you showing me this?” I asked, looking back.
Gunner stood up. He slowly started to walk toward me. “See that top part?”
“Yeah. What’s the X for?”
“He’s dead.”
I shivered. “Oh.”
“Ripper. He was the President. Something went down internally and the club took him out.”
“They hurt their own member?”
“That’s how horrible these guys are. The new President, a guy named Trev, is from another charter.”
Why is he telling me all of this?
I wasn’t supposed to know anything about club business. For every word Gunner spilled, it meant I was deeper into the MC.
“Stare at the pictures again,” Gunner said. “The table pictures. That’s where the war is. See, the bottom guys are just patched in members. They’re front line. They come and go. Just like our MC. But the table guys…”
Gunner was then right behind me. I smelled cigarette smoke and whiskey. A hand gently touched my side and I squirmed.
“Sweetheart, I’m VP,” Gunner whispered. His lips were close to my ear. “Daxton is a patched in table member. If I wanted my cock inside you, there’s nothing you could do to stop me. No matter what hole I wanted to fuck. Got it?”