Ruthless (Dark MC Romance) (11 page)

He muttered something indistinct as he took the box from me.

“I also think we should vote on whether Spike should become a member.” Not liking the look he gave me, I continued on. “He’s valuable. He could be a real asset to our team.”

“Fine,” he said bitterly. “We’ll vote.”

He’s such a pain in the ass lately.

I gathered them all in the boardroom and sat at Crash’s left. “We’re here to vote a new member into the club. Spike. He’s proven himself to be an asset. I think he’ll be very valuable for the club.”

“Yeah, he’s a good kid. He washed my bike the other day.”

I let their laughs wash over my ears. The votes were unanimous. Spike was in.

“Spike!” I yelled as I opened the door. “Get the fuck in here!”

The others grinned as I sat back in my chair. They assumed grim faces as Spike opened the door.

“You rang, boss?”

“Sit down,” I snapped.

Bewildered, he found a seat before Tank ordered him upright to rip off his leather jacket. With an irritated look on his face, he flung the jacket on the table. Spike crossed his arms and glared at us, a shit-eating grin on his face. The bastard was immune to hazing.

No one spoke as Tank ripped the prospect patch off the leather cut before slicing the stitches with his knife. Spike stared at it, his ears slowly turning a deep shade of red. His anxious eyes spotted me and shrugged in a
what-the-fuck-did-I-do
expression.

“Replace it with this.”

Tank slapped the member patch on the leather jacket and Spike stared at in for a few seconds in apparent disbelief.

“Shit, thanks guys.” He leapt out of his seat to give Tank a huge hug.

“While everyone agrees you’re a pain in the ass, we thought that you should be rewarded for your countless hours cleaning our bikes,” I quipped.

Everyone roared with laughter at that and even Spike grinned. I watched them slap his back. Even Crash had a smile for Spike.

“Thanks guys. I’m honored.”

He slapped me on the back when the others filtered out of the boardroom. “Thanks, man. I know it was all down to you, but if you think that this means I’m going to be your bitch, think again.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what it means.”

JULIA

“So, what’s it going to be?” I asked the poor bastard. He alternated between glancing at me and the wallet pinched between his fingers. “You’re going to give up already?”

Hours earlier in the pool hall (where I dragged Cain and Spike to hustle) the middle-aged man slid behind me and grabbed my ass to introduce himself. I turned around with a smile on my face and asked the drunken idiot if he wanted to play a game. He played so horribly that it hardly mattered whether I was a competent player. I sent him on five trips to the ATM to withdraw money. Finally, it looked like the booze wore off and he stammered something about “my wife” as he replaced his pool cue and exited the bar, the back of his neck burning with shame.

God damn it.

The rising disappointment was quickly replaced by dread as another man with shoulder-length, blonde hair dressed in a charcoal-grey suit approached me with a demanding look in his eyes.

“How much?” he growled in my ear.

On my advice, Cain and Spike changed clothes before we headed out to the most upscale bar in town. If they identified themselves as Dragons, it would give the whole game away.

I wore a red dress that clung to my curves, which was a magnet for the marks flocking my way. I could feel Cain's eyes stabbing me from across the room when my marks slid their arms around my waist or leaned in to give me a kiss, which I usually dodged.

It was all part of the act. He knew that, but he hated it.
Any guy would
. I tried to soothe him by pulling his head down by his tie, reassuring him that I was his with a steamy, quick kiss. I pulled back and was disappointed to see that his face was still tense.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw men glancing at him jealously. “You look very handsome in a suit,” I said, tugging his tie.

My antics pushed him to his limit. He trapped my hand in his and squeezed uncomfortably, as if he wanted to punish me for all the men who ran their hands down my sides.

“Stop stalling. How much?”

I sighed and acted like I was embracing him, slipping the hundreds of dollars into his jacket pocket. “Cain, you’re scaring all the men away. You need to trust me and stay away.”

His eyes burned at that remark and his fingers grabbed a fistful of my flesh, pinching hard until tears welled in my eyes. “Careful, Julia. Remember who you belong to.”

Fear and relief mingled together as he walked away from me to sulk across the room. I knew that I would pay for it later. Yes, he reminded me constantly that I was
his
.

 
I’ve fucking got it.
The only release I had was in those white, powdery lines. There was nothing to fill the gaping emptiness in the middle of my chest.

Hugging him was like embracing a rock. What would happen when I couldn’t bring home the money he wanted? What then? I could be fine with a life with him if I received an iota of affection from time to time.

“Come challenge me if you think you’re hard enough!” Spike bellowed to the coterie of uptight, rich patrons.

I giggled behind my hand as Spike’s drink slopped on the floor, his cue waving madly in the air. We already paid off the bouncer and the owner to prevent them from kicking him out. When I told him what to do, he assumed his role with enthusiasm. It turned out that Spike was quite a good shot.

But not as good as me.

I challenged anyone in the bar who would play a game against me, beating them all as I slowly established a reputation of being a great player as Spike did the same.

His raucous laughter from behind made me jump. “THERE IS NO MAN IN THIS BAR WHO CAN BEAT ME!”

A group of annoyed men and woman clutching cocktails approached him. “Sir, I think you should leave.”

Spike threw back his head and laughed, even more drink spilling on his tattered, ugly suit. It was the most obnoxious thing I ever saw. It was royal blue and his undershirt was an appalling banana-yellow. “Are you going to make me, pal?”

He squared his shoulders and faced the polished man who approached him. Suddenly, the belligerent drunk looked threatening. “I—I just—”

“If someone beats me at a game, I’ll leave.” Spike took another drink from his mug, his eyes sweeping over me.

I bent over the pool table and continued my game.

“You!” he barked. “Hey, girl in the red dress!”

Straightening myself, I assumed a look of disdain as the drunken man stumbled to my table. “You got something you want to say?”

Several onlookers watched the exchange with angry looks at him and sympathetic looks at me.

“There are many things I’d like to say to you, baby,” he said in a husky voice. “Come to my place and I’ll tell you them.”

An unsuspecting wave of heat flushed my skin as he looked down at me under his heavily lidded eyes. He said it so convincingly and I stared a bit too long into his playful brown eyes.

Since Spike was playing the role of a disgusting drunk, his head swooped down and his lips came far too close. My head rattled as I thought what it would feel like. I was unprepared for the bubbling giddiness and I didn’t know what to do about it. Our lips touched and I pulled back as if I was burned.
Cain will kill me.
I didn’t dare look at him.

“Step back, asshole!”

A random guy shoved Spike’s chest.

“Let’s play a game. I bet I can beat you.”

He bellied up to the bar and leaned his head into his palm, slipping several times. “Oh, yeah? What’s the wager?”

“A hundred per game.”

With the whole bar rallied behind me to beat Spike, we played a game. I made sure to lose to him at a very close margin. They groaned in pain when I lost.

“Sorry, babe.” He winked. “You were good, but not good enough.” The curly haired man let out a booming laugh that made everyone around me cringe.

“Play him again!” They urged me.

Even the skeptics that doubted a woman could be good at pool seemed converted. I shrugged hopelessly. “I would, but I’m out of money.”

The lanky biker gave me a sly grin as the whole bar pooled money together.

“Let’s double it,” Spike said.

We played a spectacular game, the entire bar cheering whenever I sank a ball. Spike pretended to be annoyed.

“You can’t win against me, little girl. I’m fucking invincible!”

To prove his point, I sank the eight ball in the wrong pocket and lost the game. This time, everyone screamed and stamped their feet in disapproval. It had been so close. So damn close.
Not really.
I was impressed that he could still play while being so wasted.

He spread his arms open, squinting under the harsh light. “Is there anyone in the world who can beat me?”

“Just one more time! Beat this motherfucking bastard!”

“I’m not playing unless you can get four hundred bucks together.”

My eyes widened and even Cain from across the room returned a sharp look. He was getting too cocky.

I laughed as the bar patrons ran across the room to the ATMs to withdraw twenties, piling them into my hands. Spike gave me heavy, suggestive winks throughout the game, telling everyone that he was going to take me home after the game.

“Dream on, loser.”

Ball after ball sank into the pockets and they rallied behind me. I waved off their offers of drinks as I bent over the table, Spike shamelessly looking at my cleavage. I almost felt sorry for them all. This was the biggest scam I had ever pulled in a while.

The final hit. This part was always the most stressful. I had to hit the ball so that it appeared as though I almost won. My last ball was lined perfectly with the top right pocket. I aimed, striking the ball on its side so that it knocked into the corner and shot out, looking like a freak accident. Spike gave out a triumphant yell as he won yet again.

“I’m sorry, everyone,” I moaned when Spike collected his winnings. “I really thought I could win.”

My lip trembled and even tears squeezed out of my eyes. Men surrounded me, handing me tissues and giving me friendly pats on my shoulder. Spike gave me a mock bow and stumbled for the exit, Cain quickly following him.

“I just don’t understand what happened,” I sniffed hard.

I sulked at the bar for about fifteen minutes, waving off anyone who tried to hit on me, and then I finally grabbed my purse and left the bar. Spike and Cain were nowhere to be found, but I knew they must be nearby. I found them tucked in an alley, counting the money Spike earned. He spotted me and waved me in enthusiastically.

“You did really good, Spike.”

“And you. Jesus, what a brilliant scam. We made seven hundred dollars in a couple hours work, plus the couple thousand we got from hustling.” He hiccupped loudly.

“Half of that goes to Crash,” Cain said, ripping the money out of his hands. “Not much left after that, really.”

He looked disappointed. I touched his arm. “That was only a few hours of work.”

“Still. It’s like a futile enterprise. It’s not like you can do that same routine anywhere near that bar.”

Spike’s brow furrowed. He punched Cain's shoulder playfully. “Oh, come on, Cain. Give your old lady a break.”

The blonde man allowed himself a small smile. “Okay, fine. It was really damn smart. I just couldn’t stand watching all those douchebags running their hands over your body.”

“Including me?” Spike grinned.

Smartass.

“Especially you.”

“It’s just an act,” I said in a hard voice.

Cain shrugged, and I gave Spike a worried look. There was a strange tension between them I hadn’t noticed before.

“Lighten the fuck up.” He shook a cigarette out of his carton and it fell into a puddle. He swore. “I’m still drunk as fuck.”

“I’m going to wait by the car.” He swept out of the alley before I could say a word.

Nausea filled my stomach as I watched him walk away.
He’s going to hurt me when we get back, and I was just doing what he wanted me to do.

“You look like a ghost.”

Spike’s dark face lit up in periodic flashes as he attempted to get a light. Then he looked down at me with a sleepy smile.

“Hey,” I said, touching his hand. “Can I have one of those?”

Watching me, he took another cigarette and lit it for me. I grasped it with a shaking hand. “Thanks.”

“So, what’s your story?”

My body stiffened until I realized that he probably hadn’t heard it. “I stole money from the MC, they caught me and killed my husband. Then they dragged me here to kill me but somehow Cain convinced Crash not to.”

His face darkened, the red light of the cigarette casted an ominous glow. “I remember.”

“You stood up to Crash,” I said in a quiet voice. I never really thought about how scared I was and how his warm eyes met mine, giving me strength. Why did he care?

“I just think it’s fucked up. I didn’t sign up to terrorize women.” His voice sank lower. “That day, I really questioned why I was there. But then he told me he meant to save you all along.” His gaze drifted to mine again. “Why did you stay with him? Why not run?”

I smiled at him. “And go where?”

Spike’s eyes shined with pity.
God, he’s so normal.
It was so strange to notice, but maybe there was a dark side of him I didn’t see.

“You’re with him against your will?”

My heart gave a painful squeeze as his eyes softened. I shoved his drunken ass against the wall and slapped my hand over his mouth. My heartbeat raced as if I just did a line as I stared down the alley. Cain could be right there, listening to every word.

Spike’s cigarette flew from his hand and extinguished on the ground, smothering us in darkness. I could feel his slow, strong heartbeat under my hand and become uncomfortably aware of his closeness.

“Don’t fucking say that. He could be listening.”

Spike’s face was indiscernible in the dark. “Julia, no one should have to live like this.”