Текст книги "Ravage Me"

Автор книги: Ryan Michele

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Chapter 9—Cruz

Two days and the bitch hasn’t gotten anywhere. Babs was avoiding her like the plague, and the only reason I knew it was true was because we had Buzz tap her phone. We found out Buzz’s skill by dumb luck talking about how we wished it were possible. Buzz chimed in explaining a bunch of techy shit and set it all up. He then set up all these cameras and video shit around the compound. We could now see who was coming in and out at all times even recording shit at the drop of a hat. Buzz was proving to be a great asset to the club.

Listening into the phone conversation was boring as shit. Mindy only got through that first time shooting the shit about old times. She actually sounded calmer than I thought she would be. But Babs wasn’t biting. Bitch was a bit smarter than we gave her credit for.

Babs’s man Rabbit still hasn’t contacted Diamond, which was pissing him off majorly. Respect in this community was all you have, and when that’s slammed on, there’s nothing left. This shit was going to start a war.

I’m actually surprised that Diamond has held off as long as he has. This laying low shit was weighing on all of us, but we still didn’t know who has the paid hit on Princess. We’ve got some Intel coming in, hopefully this afternoon, and we’re hoping for some answers.

Mel still hadn’t signed the damn papers giving me full custody of Cooper. She hadn’t stepped foot in the club, but had passed through Burnzie that ‘she won’t have some biker princess raising her boy.’ Little did she know that biker princess was more of a fucking mother to my boy than she’d ever been.

I wasn’t going to be able to put Princess off of it much longer, though. She was riding my ass hard about Mel not getting close to Cooper. The more she asked, and the more I evaded, the more it pissed her off. And a pissed off Princess did not equal fun.

“Church! Ten minutes!” Pops yelled across the room. Each of us placed our phone in the old cigar box on the pool table before entering and taking our seats.

Diamond banged the gavel as he called the meeting to order. “First order of business. Princess. We’re supposed to get the information from Deara today. Any packages delivered need to come to me immediately.” We all nodded.

“Our run tomorrow. It needs to go smoothly. Dagger, Rhys, Becs, Cruz, Pops, and I will run it. G.T., Zed, Tug, Buzz, and Breaker will stay here with Ma, Princess, and Cooper. It should be a day run, there and back, quick.” Everyone again nodded.

“Last order of business. Studio X.” My ears perked up. “Since the shooting, Liv’s been running the show and doing a great job. I know that Princess hasn’t gotten back in because of all this bullshit. I’m thinking we need to get better security there.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dagger. “We monitor the place and do drive-bys all the time.”

“No. I want Becs to start monitoring the books. I want him there also monitoring Liv. Princess will be pissed ‘cause she trusts Liv, and I want to, too, but I’m not taking any chances. We need to get this shit sorted. All in favor.” We all raised our hands to vote yes. Diamond slammed the gavel.

“Cruz. All Princess needs to know is that Becs is helping Liv out. Nothing else, because you know Liv will say something.”

“Got it.”

“Anything else?” Diamond asked, looking out over us.

“I got two extra runs lined up. It’ll bring in about three hundred thousand a pop, but I’ll need G.T., Cruz, Rhys, and Zed to come with me.” Dagger spoke up. “It’s not a long haul, but the runs will take two days. One there. One back.”

“Who’s the run for?” Diamond asked.

“Ransom.” Diamond nodded. We’d run for this guy many times before.

“When is it?” I asked.

“Right after this run.” Shit. That’d mean I’d be gone for three days. Dagger eyed me, “Problem?”

“Nah.” I didn’t want to be away from Princess and Cooper that long, but I’d deal.

Diamond threw down the gavel dismissing us.

* * *

“Where the fuck have you been?” I stared into the eyes of a very pissed off Princess and was relieved I wasn’t on the receiving end of it this time.

G.T. had just walked out of church reaching for his phone. “Around.”

“Bullshit you’ve been around. I’m here all the fucking time, and you’re nowhere to be seen!” Princess barked, getting close to his face.

“I’ve got shit to do.” G.T. wasn’t getting off that easy, and he damn well knew it.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you have to do. I’ve been out, and you’ve seen me…what… two, three times. No, how the hell are you Harlow? Or you doing okay?” G.T. pulled out a smoke, rolling it in between his teeth. “No. You’re fucking avoid me. So you tell me where the fuck you have been?” Princess’s anger was shooting off the charts, and I sensed her fists wanting to make contact with G.T.

“I don’t need another fucking mother. One’s enough. Get out of my fucking business.”

“Out of your fucking business? Are you kidding me with that bullshit?”

“All you are is a fucking ol’ lady, and you’d be best to remember that shit before I lay you flat on the ground.”

“Lay me flat, Gage Thomas.” Princess threw off her leather jacket inviting him.

“What you think that I’m a pussy like this guy over here?” G.T. pointed at me as I began stalking towards him.

“Stop!” Princess yelled as she saw me coming. “This is a brother and sister matter. Five minutes in the ring. Let’s see how big of a pussy you are.”

“Fuck off. I’m not getting in the ring,” G.T. snapped.

“Yeah. You’ll be there.” Princess turned walking back down the hallway to my room.

“What the fuck, Asshole?” I said getting close to his face. “Why the fuck are you gonna provoke her like that?”

“I didn’t do shit. She needs to calm her shit down and remember that bitches don’t run shit here. She thinks she fucking does, but I got news for her, that shit’s stopping.”

“And what? You’re man enough to stop her?” I laughed knowing that there were only three men that could get through to Princess, and G.T. wasn’t one of them. “Dumbass, she doesn’t think she runs shit around here. You would know that if you got your head out of your ass.”

“You’d be best to put your girl in check.” G.T. crossed his arms over his chest, and the arrogance that came off of him had my hand clenching into a fist wanting to make contact with his jaw.

“That girl is your sister, your blood. You best remember that. Whatever you got up your ass right now, you’d better work that shit out in the ring, and get the fuck over it.”

“Whatever.” We both knew he wouldn’t back down from a challenge, be it his sister, or not. He wouldn’t come up a pussy even if he did get his ass kicked.

* * *

The fight went on for much longer that we thought it would. Apparently these two had a lot of shit they needed to work out. Both G.T. and Princess were bloody from face cuts and a bit wobbly from all the chest kicks. They were both still standing, barely. Neither one of them were backing down, which was what I’d expected. They’re too damn stubborn to give in.

“Daddy!” I heard Coop’s small voice behind me as he ran up into my arms. Ma followed closely behind.

“What the hell is going on here?” she barked, causing Cooper to look into the ring. Cooper’s body went ridged in my hold as if he were a statue. Looking at the shock and horror on his face, I didn’t move quickly enough as he got his bearings, wiggling out of my grasp faster than a slippery eel.

Running after Coop, I called his name reaching for him, but he didn’t slow down. “Mommy!” He yelled as he reached the ring with me right at his heels. “Mommy!” he yelled again making my mouth drop to the floor.

Princess stopped sparring with her brother, ripping the head guard off her head. She slipped under the rope of the ring to the floor kneeling in front of him staring into his eyes. “I’m okay, Baby.” Her tone was soft and gentle.

“Hurt. Owie,” Coop said looking at Princess’s face.

“Get me a towel,” she ordered to no one in particular. She wiped her face gently getting rid of some of the blood. “See, Buddy. I’m okay. Just a few scrapes.”

“Why fighting, Mommy?” he asked her innocently. Princess looked up at me, her eyes showing me a small glimmer of a tear that wanted to escape with tons of unanswered questions swirling inside of them. She breathed in a deep breath trying to regain control.

“I was just practicing to be strong. One day I’ll teach you.” She brushed his hair away from his face lovingly.

“I be strong.” He smiled.

“You are Buddy.”

“Mommy?” Princess looked stunned as if she didn’t know if she should answer. She looked to me asking for permission and I, of course, smiled, loving the fact that I was witness to this remarkable exchange.

“Yeah, Baby?”

“You need Band-Aid?” Princess laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around his little body.

“Yeah, Buddy. I sure do. Let’s go find those Spiderman ones. I think that’ll make it all better.” Princess picked Coop up, carrying him to the clubhouse, the huge smile she sported, even with the cut up lip, was beautiful.

* * *

“You sore?” I asked, walking into the bedroom expecting to see Princess and Coop hanging out, but only found Princess.

“I’ll be fine.” Her face had been butterflied, and the caked-on blood removed. She was beginning to sport some serious bruises, but her beauty still shined through.

“What the hell was that shit?”

“What shit? My brother or the fact your kid just called me mom?” She glared at me. I didn’t feel the need to touch the mom comment, so I moved on.

“Your brother. What’s going on?”

She blew out a deep breath, “Fuck if I know. He’s been distant since I got out, and when he blew up on me, I couldn’t hold back. Even in the fucking ring, he didn’t talk to me, though.” She shrugged.

“You two fight like that a lot?”

“We used to. He taught me how to fight and how to protect myself.”

“While I’m gone, you need to work that shit out.”

“Yes… Dad,” her words dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. “You okay with Coop calling me mom?”

I walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. “It’s more of a question of how you feel about it.”

“Why do you do that? I ask you how you feel about something then you turn it back on me. I hate that shit.”

Giving her a sexy smirk, I said, “I’m completely fine with it. You’re my ol’ lady and someday soon, my wife.”

“Wife?” She sounded stunned. I didn’t answer; I just let her sit on the idea for a few. If she didn’t want to marry me, I’d throw her over my knee and spank her ass, and the fact that she hadn’t confirmed yet that she was my ol’ lady was not lost to me.

“We’re leave in the morning,” I said, pulling her out of whatever thoughts were racing through that head of hers as I wrapped my arms around her.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Be smart. You need anything you get the Prospects to handle it. You keep our boy safe.”

Her eyes narrowed into mine. “Always.”

“You know I wanted to fuck you, but you had to go get yourself beat the fuck up. Now I’m screwed.”

Princess moved from her chair dropping to her knees in front of me. “Let me see if I can help.”

Chapter 10—Harlow

I woke up to the sound of crying scaring the shit out of me and jumped out of bed to Cooper’s bed. “What’s wrong buddy? Come here.” I reached, grabbing him from the bed. He was sweating, burning up. Yelling out the bedroom door, “Ma!” I screeched as loud as I could.

I laid Cooper out on the bed as his screams were subsiding a bit now that his little body was waking up. “What’s wrong, Buddy?”

“Icky,” was all he said.

“You feel icky?” I said, rubbing his leg, not sure what I was supposed to do.

“Yeah…”

“Where at?”

“Don’t know… icky.” I guessed that was the best answer I was going to get.

“Okay, let’s see what we can do. Lay here for a minute.”

“No, go!” he yelled, as he clutched onto my arm.

“Okay, Baby, come with me.” Carrying him into the main room of the clubhouse, two club mommas were laying naked on the pool table. I’m sure they were leftovers from last night, and I didn’t want Coop to see, so I nudged Tug. “Can you get them out of here?” I asked, pointing to Cooper.

“Sure thing.” He walked over, slapping them on the thighs. “Get the fuck out of here, now.”

These women were all the same. They wanted the life and sucked dick to try and get there. But what they didn’t understand was that would never get them a brother. They don’t want whores for ol’ ladies. My stomach churned. I knew now, that Cruz wouldn’t do that. But it was always in the back of my mind.

They scurried off as I yelled, “Ma!”

Walking in, she yawned rubbing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Coop. He’s sweating and hot. He woke up screaming. Ma, I don’t know what to do.” I heard the panic in my own voice, and it was very much warranted. Bullet holes I could patch up, but a sick child, not so much.

I handed him off to Ma as he tried to cling to me. “It’s okay, Buddy, Ma just wants to see if she can help you feel better. I’m not going anywhere.” This feeling inside of me was terrifying. It’s as if I’d cut my own heart out of my chest so this little boy would feel no pain, ever. I periodically thought about being a mom, but never put too much stock in it because of my no-brother rule and I’d never dared to go with a brother from another club. I saw that as disrespectful. It’s amazing how everything changes.

Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without this little guy. He’s mine, just like his daddy.

* * *

After assessing that Cooper had the flu, we cuddled up on the couch down in the basement of the clubhouse. Ma brought down chicken noodle soup, which he didn’t eat much of, and she made me pump liquids into him. We watched movie after movie, which normally I wouldn’t mind, but how many times are we gonna watch this movie where the cars talk to each other; I was getting a little burned.

Cruz called, and I updated him on what was going on. He said he’d try to get back sooner, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. A run was a run, and he had to finish it out. It was fine, though; I had everything under control; I thought.

On the second night, Cooper’s fever broke, bringing back the fun kid I had grown to love. It’s kinda crazy to admit, but I actually liked him being sick. He was a great snuggler, and I enjoyed every second of it, minus the back-to-back movies, but I dealt with it. I was glad he was better, and Cruz would be home soon.

He’s called me mom and mommy repeatedly, and I never corrected him. I didn’t want to. Every time I heard the word fall out of his mouth, my heart grew warmer.

I haven’t had a chance to talk to G.T. yet. I wanted to, but the timing hasn’t worked. I need to talk to him; something’s up and he’s damn well gonna tell me. What it is, I have no fucking clue, but I’ve only been out a short time, surely I haven’t pissed him off that much already.

The envelope came today from Deara, and Diamond snatched it up before I could get my hands on it. I’d loved to have known what was inside, because holding this little boy in my arms makes me want to get this shit taken care of fast. He doesn’t need this in his life. Innocence like this doesn’t need to be tainted with stupid bullshit.

But Diamond was keeping everything from me, and I knew there was no use asking, because he wouldn’t budge and tell me.

* * *

The third day, Ma wanted to spend some time with Cooper, and I couldn’t blame her, but spending time alone with Tug, Rocky, Breaker, and Buzz wasn’t doing it for me. They weren’t too happy, but I needed to get away for a bit.

Riding to Studio X was utterly relaxing. I loved being back on Sting, feeling his rumble between my thighs and the cool breeze flowing through my hair. Breaker and Buzz were elected to come with me, which didn’t bother me. They stayed out of my business and just hung in the background. I liked that. I needed that. It seemed that my every move was monitored by someone, and having any bit of freedom was amazing.

X was just starting to come alive when we stepped inside. Mostly men filled the tables as they drank in earnest. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” started blaring through the loudspeakers as the curtain opened. All eyes were on Dallas Knox, the voluptuous brunette with huge-ass tits and a curvaceous body. Her small triangles of clothes left little to the imagination and watching the men in the room adjust their pants made me grin. She was one hell of a smart girl, who was only dancing to get through school. She was also my number one entertainment. I’d known her for years.

As Dallas worked the pole up and down, her clothes slowly fell away from her body, captivating everyone’s attention. Looking at the B.Boys, they were fully entranced by Dallas, their mouths hanging open.

“Hey boys, I’m gonna go find Liv. Enjoy the show.” Patting them on the back, I headed towards the office. Opening the door, Liv was behind the desk working on the computer. As she looked up, she glared at me. “What?” I asked, wondering where the hell that came from.

“You have Becs checking up on me?” Her voice was angry as she pushed back the chair, standing there crossing her arms.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Confusion set in as I thought back to everything that had happened and Becs having anything to do with it didn’t register.

“Becs… he’s been coming in here going over the books.”

Initially, anger surged through me, wondering what the hell was going on. “What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t know anything about this.”

“You live with them.” She looked at me dismissively. “You knew and didn’t even bother to call me and give me a heads up? Becs has been into everything.”

“Liv, seriously. I didn’t know. First, what exactly do you mean by doing the books?”

“The books… all the money that comes in and goes out, everything that I’m supposed to be doing.” She pointed at the desk to emphasize her words.

“Maybe just to help you out?”

“Come on. I’ve been doing this for two years. You come home and all the sudden I’m not capable? Bullshit.” Her words were lacing with ferocity.

Thinking back over the last few weeks, I got it. “It’s not you. It’s me. They’re trying to protect me.”

“They’re protecting you from me?” she asked, as if it were the most asinine thing in the world.

“Pretty much. Liv, I can’t give you all the details. The guys are just handling shit the only way they know how, by taking over and controlling. Don’t take offense to it, and Becs isn’t a bad guy.”

“I didn’t say he was bad, he’s just into everything, and it’s driving me nuts.”

“Is he treating you and the girls good?”

She sighed, “Yeah.”

“Once all this shit blows over, it’ll get better and back to normal. I’ll actually be able to be here, and Becsll be gone.”

Blowing out a deep breath, she said, “Fine. Since you’re here, we gotta talk about something.” She sat down, and I followed sitting in the chair across from her. “Coke and heroin.”

My eyes popped to hers. Since I started X, there has been a policy of no hard drugs used by the girls. I understood that some needed a little relaxation before getting on stage, so a little weed would fly, but no coke, heroine, meth, etcetera. “What about it?”

“Some girls are using, and I can handle that. The problem is dealing.” She laced her fingers together pressing them to the desk. “Word has it that Stella and Moxie have gotten themselves in a mess, and the only way to get out of it is to deal, which they’ve been doing here at X.”

“What have you done?” Outraged didn’t even cut it. Guns I can totally handle, blood, fights, but my guy cheating and drugs in my studio were a huge no for me. When I started it, I didn’t want a bunch of druggie girls not being able to keep their shit together. If they wanted to use, they didn’t work at Studio X.

“This just came out the last couple of days. I haven’t done anything, yet. I need to catch them in the act.”

“Bullshit. You cut them. Get them the fuck out of here, now. I’m going to their lockers and flushing the shit, and then they get the hell out and never come back. They don’t take the stage.”

“But what about them?”

“What about them? They were told they didn’t bring drugs to X, end of discussion. This is not how shit works here.” Liv had a soft heart that I had been trying to harden before I left. Seems I wasn’t able to break that in her… yet. “I’m handling this.”

Getting up, I walked back to the dressing room, immediately going to Stella’s locker. Picking up my cell, I called Buzz or Breaker, one of them. “I need bolt cutters, bring them to the dressing room, please.”

Within a few minutes, I was busting through the lock going through all of Stella’s shit, throwing out heels, bras, and thongs as I went. In the very back of the locker, was a metal box. Pulling it out, I tried to open it, finding it was locked. “B.Boys, can you get me a wire hanger and a small screwdriver, please.”

Busting through the lock and throwing open the case, I was not shocked to see that approximately twenty-five small bags of white powder with several bills filled the bottom of the box. “Taste this, please.” I opened one of the bags putting my pinky inside. Taking the tip, I placed it in one of the B.Boys mouths. “So?”

“Coke,” he said with no hesitation.

It’s what I assumed. Going through Moxie’s things, proved the same thing. I decided while I was at it; I’d check the rest of the girls shit, too. Their contract has a clause in it that they can be searched at any time. I was invoking that right. There were condoms and vibrators, but no drugs.

Looking at the B.Boys, “Buzz go find Stella and Moxie, please. Get them in here, now.” The man on the right nodded and took off.

The other man asked hesitantly, “What are you gonna do?”

“Kick their fucking asses out.” My voice was void of emotion. I needed to separate business from emotion.

Moxie and Stella came into the room, trying to wrench their arms away from Buzz, who wasn’t letting go. “So, ladies. Something you want to tell me?” Their eyes both snapped to me as their faces paled and looked like they were going to be sick. I couldn’t help feel a bit smug at their reaction, but I wouldn’t show it.

Neither of them spoke, but they stopped fighting Buzz, who now had let their arms go. “Found some stuff in your locker. Care to tell me about it.” I stood at the dressing table and put the two identical boxes in front of me, strumming my fingers on them rhythmically. “See… funny thing is. I found something in here that, while in my studio, is not allowed.” Moxie gulped loudly while Stella stood there motionless. “Dealing in the studio is gonna stop. You need to get your shit, and get out.”

Stella spooked out of her trance. “We have to sell, if we don’t, he’ll kill us.”

“Who?”

“Rabbit,” Son-of-a-fucking-bitch. I was sick of hearing that man’s name.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Something wasn’t right. Shit. “Call Tug, have him bring the cage, please. These two are coming with us,” I told the B.Boys.

“We can’t go with you. We have to be on stage.” Stella placed her hand on her hip as if that position would threaten me in any way.

“If you think you are ever going out on my stage again, you’re living in a fucking dreamland. We’re going to the club, and we’re gonna work this shit out.”

* * *

Relaying the information to Diamond and Pops, I actually felt unbelievably lucky to have these men in my corner. We’re not a traditional family, but we stood by each other no matter what. And I was glad to have them on my side. They said they’d talk to the girls. Pops wanted me to put the girls on lockdown, which meant locking them in the one room with no windows and the lock on the outside.

Diamond said he’d call a church as soon as the guys got back to figure this shit out. Until then, he wanted Studio X fully swept for any kind of drugs. That was Rocky and the B.Boys’ job.

Calling Liv and telling her that more of my guys were gonna be in went a lot smoother than I thought. She said the other girls were suspicious when all their shit was gone through, but it seemed that only Dallas knew what the two were up to. The rest were in the dark. This meant that the girls were selling to the men who watched them, not the dancers, which relieved a small part of me.

Curling up in bed, I wrapped my arms around Cooper, who was sound asleep. I knew I should put him in his crib, but I just couldn’t. This time I needed the snuggle.