“Don’t worry about it. I don’t think they’re holding
it against each other. I don’t think we should.” Eva escorted them through to
the dining room as Tiny was coming down. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and
white shirt. His entire wardrobe was made up of white shirts and jeans along
with a couple of leather jackets.
She watched Tiny and Devil shake hands.
“Come on, they’re going to start talking and I’m
starving,” Lexie said.
“Will you be going back to Piston County before we get
the plans for the wedding?” Eva asked.
“I don’t know. Pussy wants to marry Sasha as soon as
possible. Devil still has his doubts about her.”
“Why? Pussy and Sasha are perfect for each other.”
“She’s blind, and Devil worries that she’s not good
for the club with her vulnerable state.”
Eva shook her head. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Pussy
will protect her, and Sasha’s clearly not stupid. She won’t put herself in
difficult situations.”
“That’s what I keep telling him, but he worries.”
She couldn’t argue with Lexie about that. Tiny always
worried about his club. He worried about Sophia when Nash and Zero both had a
thing for her, but that worked out fine in the end. Sometimes it was easier to
take a step back and let life take whatever course it chose rather than
interfere.
Going through to the kitchen Eva worked with Lexie to
get dinner finished. They talked about the wedding and what Pussy and Butch
wanted for their women. The wedding was going to be a joint one where both
clubs joined in on the celebrations. Eva wondered if Lexie knew the truth of
what was going to happen at the town hall. Long ago she’d given up caring about
what Tiny did to make sure the club survived. Everything he did was for the
good of the club.
Lexie started to hum as they finished serving up
dinner. Eva really did like the other couple and hoped nothing came between
them all.
Chapter Eight
Whizz sat down in the café and ordered himself a
sandwich along with a strong coffee. He didn’t know why he was back here again
or why he hadn’t even bothered to bring his laptop. Being in the clubhouse was
starting to bug him. With the Chaos Bleeds crew camping out with them, the
house was feeling cramped. He’d spent last night all alone but thinking about
the blue haired siren
who’d
interrupted his work last
night. For the first time since Alan had tortured him, he felt at peace. He
knew the guys and the old ladies at the club tried to help, but they couldn’t
help him. No one could cure the demons that he suffered. The demons were locked
inside his head, refusing to get out.
He’d never seen this woman before in his life. Was she
new to town? His gut was telling him to tread carefully. All they’d done was
stare at each other, neither talking, but the silence, to him, spoke volumes.
Tapping his fingers on the table, he paused as the
waitress placed the plate down in front of him. “Here you go, Whizz,” she said.
“Thanks.” He didn’t know her name and didn’t extend an
invitation for her to sit down. There was a time all the waitresses would keep him
company for the day. He’d stopped inviting women to his bed after Alan broke a
part of him.
When she lingered, he forced himself to look up at
her. “What?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to get together
sometime?
” He saw the desperation in her eyes, the lust, and
to a point the greed. This invitation from her wasn’t about him but about the
club. She wanted inside the club to get to know The Skulls, nothing else.
Frowning, he glanced down at her name badge to see her
name was Mandy. Before his attack he’d have taken her up on her offer. Now, he
wasn’t interested in her.
You’ve not fucked a woman in a long time.
For the last year he’d shared a lot of women’s beds,
but none of them had been available to him. He didn’t want to have sex. The
thought of letting loose again terrified him.
Why are you here to see a woman you don’t know?
“Not interested,” Whizz said, glancing down at his
food. He didn’t want the waitress. No, he wanted a nameless blue-haired woman
who was far more dangerous. Whizz and The Skulls knew Mandy. She was a local
whereas the blue-haired woman was a complete stranger.
“I don’t mind waiting—”
“I said I’m not interested. Now fuck off.” He glared
at her, letting her see the anger inside him.
She walked away with her shoulders slumped. He’d never
spoken to a woman like that. Shit, was wrong with him?
“What did she say to put a stick up your ass?” the
blue-haired woman asked, appearing in front of him as if he’d thought her up.
God, he hoped he wasn’t losing his mind.
Glancing up, he saw she was dressed in black jeans and
a blue shirt that contrasted with her hair. She wore the hood that covered her hair
and face.
Watching her move, he was drawn to her voluptuous
curves. She took a seat opposite him in the booth.
“Nothing.”
She raised a brow. “You mean you got pissed because
she didn’t say anything to you? That sounds a little mean.”
He shook his head, picking up his sandwich. “She
wanted to fuck, and I wasn’t interested.”
“Wow, it really does happen.”
“What does?” he asked, taking a bite.
“A guy who’d
turn down an available pussy.
I didn’t think
I’d ever live to see the day that a guy would turn one down. It makes me wonder
if you’re human or not.” She smiled at him.
Pausing in chewing his food, he was charmed by her
smile.
“I’m not interested in fucking, and I’m very much
human,” he said.
She placed her palms on the table. He caught a glimpse
of the ink around her wrist.
“Why don’t you take your jacket off? It’s hot.” Whizz
wanted to see her without anything obstructing his view.
“I’m fine.” She folded her arms in front of her. Her
eyes were still on him.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering why you’d turn down some pussy when
you’re a hot guy.”
“You think I’m hot?”
She shrugged. “You called me beautiful last night. I
was merely returning the favor.”
He noticed her hands were shaking, but she’d
remembered that he called her beautiful last night. Pushing his plate toward
her, he offered her the other triangle of his sandwich. “Eat.” He wanted her to
stay to keep him company. This woman had seen part of him was broken, but she’d
also admitted that she shared in a pain similar to his. What had happened to
her? Did she get nightmares at night that scared her to her core? Were there
times she wondered if ending it all would make it easier?
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve invaded my privacy not once but twice. Eat.”
She kept staring at him as the plate was held in front
of him. “You like my company. I can see it. If it bothered you so much you
wouldn’t be here, and do you always
get
what you
want?” she asked.
“No.” But he used to get what he wanted. There was a
time when the world didn’t seem so scary or dark. He’d snap his fingers and he
could have women swarming around him. Whizz could probably still snap his
fingers and have women, but he couldn’t follow through. Their touch repulsed
him, scared him. Whenever they got close all he saw was Alan. The women at the
club, they didn’t scare him as they were all taken. Running fingers through his
hair, Whizz glanced away from her. The scar down the side of his face and the ones
on his hands, in fact the scars all over his body were a constant reminder of
what happened to him.
“I’m going to make sure you never forget me.”
Whizz jerked as Alan’s voice sounded through his mind
as if he was always there. He knew what came next, the searing pain as Alan
raped him. Someone grabbed his hand pulling him out of the sudden shocking
memory.
“It’s okay. I’ll eat the sandwich, and you’re here
with me. We’re here together,” she said, talking to him calmly
He stared at the woman waiting for the nightmare to
continue. She dug her nails into his skin.
“You’re with me here. Nothing bad is going to happen.
I’m going to eat the sandwich, and you’re going to be there with me.”
“What’s your name?” he asked, needing to know something
about her.
“Lacey.
You?”
“Whizz, my name is Whizz.” He took several deep
breaths, containing his fear, locking it in a box and throwing away the key. No
matter how many times he did this, he couldn’t help but find the key.
Holding onto her arm, he gritted his teeth to fight
with the memory.
The same nightmare that plagued him most
nights of him being tied down and at the mercy of a monster.
Alan had
taken a great deal from him. He’d taken his freedom to enjoy life and have fun.
He watched as she lifted the sandwich to her lips and
took a bite. “Yum,” she said, eating.
Keeping hold of her arm, he watched her eat. She
didn’t pull her eyes away from him. The way she dealt with him was like she
knew exactly what he was going through.
She’s
as broken as you are.
They were the only two people in the world as the
rest fell away.
What was going on here? What was happening to him? How
did she know what he was going through? It seemed so unreal to him to finally
meet someone who knew what it was like to feel pain of the inner kind.
“I’ve finished.”
The sandwich was gone, the plate empty apart from a
few crumbs. He continued to hold onto her arm.
“Who are you?”
“You know my name.”
“I’m not talking about your name. I’m talking about
this.” He pointed at their hands.
The way she knew how to
bring him out of the pain.
“Someone who knows what you’re going through,” she
said.
Frowning, he gazed down at where he held her. With his
grip on her arm, he’d bunched the jacket up her wrist. The ink covered her
hands, working up her arms. Turning her hand over, he saw the signs of her own
pain. One faded scar ran up the inside of her wrist. Kelsey had tried to kill
herself in the same way when the pain got too bad. Why did Lacey want to hurt
herself? Nothing was making sense to him. Why did this woman have to turn up in
his life now when he wasn’t ready for her?
“What did you do?” he asked, glancing back up at her.
There was no emotion on her face as she stared at him.
“I had to end the pain. Sometimes we can’t control
what happens to us, but we can change what we do.”
Running his thumb over the raised scar, he heard her
gasp. “Did it help?”
“No, it didn’t help. It just made me
realize
how much I wanted to live but be different. Trying
to end my life was a mistake. I wasn’t winning by trying to take the pain away.
They were winning whereas now I’m the one that’s winning.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m
still living my life.
No one is taking it off
me.”
For several seconds neither of them said anything.
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before,” he said.
She let out a sigh. “Someone you shouldn’t want to
know.” She pulled away from him. He wanted to continue holding her, but she
pulled away. “I’ve got to go.”
Whizz didn’t fight her as she started to pull away
from him. He watched her leave the café running off in the opposite direction.
Follow her.
He didn’t follow her. Staying sat in the café, he
watched as Mandy walked toward him. She placed another sandwich in front of him
then walked off without saying another word.
Who the fuck was Lacey?
****
Closing the door behind her, Lacey charged up to her
bedroom.
“Lacey, are you okay?” Dalton asked.
“I’m fine.” She didn’t turn around to look at him. He
always saw too much when it came to her, and she didn’t want to share this with
him.
Shutting the rest of the Savage Brothers out, she
flicked the lock into place and walked straight into the bathroom. Removing the
jacket that covered her body she stared at her reflection.
Blowing out a breath, she ran fingers through her hair
trying to calm her nerves. No one had touched her or caressed her like Whizz
had to her wrist.
Staring down at her wrist she looked at the raised
scar from years ago. It was over fifteen years old. She’d been attacked at ten
years old, her innocence torn from her along with the beating. Five years later
she’d tried to move on, tried to have a boyfriend and pretend for once that her
life wasn’t miserable or scary.
Instead, she’d not been able to accept a guy holding
her hand or giving her a kiss. The only person she allowed to touch her was
Dalton, but he was like a brother to her. Closing her eyes, she felt her heart
beating rapidly against her chest.