FangI had put it off too long already. Going to see the new owner of The Drunken Otter. But I couldn't put it off any longer. She was hosting my party tomorrow, the least I owed the woman was a hello. Not that I wanted to. I had no time for women like her. I had no time for any woman beyond taking my fill. Not anymore.Something huge and grey leapt out in front of me, jolting me back to reality. I swerved, but my bike clipped it and sent it tumbling further into the road. Panting, I came to a stop, throwing a glance behind me to see what the hell I had just hit. A dog. A dog the size of a fucking pony got up, shaking its scraggly grey fur, and started limping towards the curb. Who the hell had a dog that big? And what the hell was it doing running free in my town?“Woofy.”Frowning, I looked down the street to see Pope’s old lady tottering towards us in her usual skyscraper heels. There was a rainbow-coloured dog leash dragging behind her. “What the actual fuck is that?” Slippi
FangI’d hit her damn dog and manhandled her all in the same day. It wasn’t quite the meeting I had envisioned, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. Not when she was looking at me in the way she was.She was trying to be discreet about it. Trying to catch glimpses when she thought I wasn’t looking.Unfortunately for her, I was always looking. I didn’t even attempt to be subtle about it. What would be the point?I was interested in her, and for all her fire and venom aimed in my direction, she was interested in me. It was only a matter of time before she fell into my bed. Personally I was all for speeding up the process. The chase was fun and all but there were other things that were fun that we could be doing.“Something going on between you and Gypsy?” Monster sipped his drink next to me, his face impassive. I could feel his eyes on me though.“Nope.” Slugging down the rest of my drink, I carried on staring in her direction. She was moving behind the bar with an easy kind of d
GypsyPutting on a brave face was what I did best. But I had to admit to myself that Fang's words had hurt. He was entitled to think those things if he wanted, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about that, but to say them out loud? That was below the belt. He had been lucky that I hadn’t tipped the half-drunk pints over his head as a thank you. Not that I cared what he thought about me, he was the biggest asshole I had ever had the misfortune to meet. And I had met quite a few. Yet, there was something about the way he looked at me...a softness I hadn’t expected from him. Not that it mattered, he ruined it every time he opened his damn mouth. Asshole. “Gypsy, I think we have a problem.”I glanced up from my place on my knees. Restocking the fridges was one of the jobs I actually enjoyed after a busy shift. It gave me time to think. “What’s up?”“I think Kelly is skimming from the till.”Her words shocked me. “Do you have any proof?” We had been open for a week. One week and on
FangShe had humiliated me, called me out in front of my men and that was something I couldn't forgive. How she had handled the Kelly situation was unforgivable. Yes, the girl had been stealing and Gypsy had every right to fire her on the spot, but to drop that bag full of stolen liquor at my feet? That had been uncalled for and it had sent a clear message.Gypsy thought she was the boss of me. Part of me admired her fighting spirit. A very small part. Not that I would ever tell anyone that. “Sorry, Prez, I tried to stop her.” Pope's face was flushed as he pushed open my office door.For a moment I had no clue what the hell was happening, and then Gypsy appeared. Her face was murderous, her tanned legs hidden under a layered dress that reminded me of what Darcie had turned up wearing a few times. It was the kind of dress that covered almost every inch of a woman and yet was somehow the most sexual thing in the world.“You changed your hair?” The blonde with multicoloured streaks w
Fang“Ok, let me get this straight?” Hansel leaned back in his chair, rocking it backwards on two legs as he surveyed me. “You fucked Gypsy?”The room was suddenly quiet, more than one head swivelled in our direction. I flashed my eyes at him. Why did he have to say it so loud? Not that I was embarrassed about what had happened between us. God knows it had been a long time coming. I just int particularly like the whole club knowing my business. I wanted to shush him, to tell him to keep his fucking voice down, but instead I nodded mutely. “What the hell were you thinking, Fang?” Hansel’s anger took me by surprise. My head snapped upwards to glare at him. Hansel carried on regardless. My temper had never put Hansel off from telling me how things were. Not even my role as his president did that. We had known each other too long. Had too many shared secrets for him to hold his tongue when he thought I had done something wrong. And I could tell by his face that he thought I had crossed
Gypsy“So you and Fang, hey?” Bobby, the Drunken Otter’s former bar manager and my newest recruit, flopped down into the chair opposite me, stretching his long legs out under the table. He had a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in his hands.Usually, I would have a problem with any member of staff helping themself to the liquor on my shelves, but after what had been the shift from hell, I was just glad he was there.As much as I hated to admit it, Bobby was a good fit for us. He knew the bar, was friendly with the regulars and was burly enough to deter even the most intoxicated asshat who thought they could smash up the place.For the most part anyway.That night had been a little different. It seemed it didn’t matter whether it was a town or city, drunk college boys were the absolute worst.My legs ached, my arm was bruised where one particularly persistent man child had grabbed at me and I was in need of a very large drink. I raised my eyes to him. “Me and Fang what?” Motioning wi
FangThere was blood dripping down my fingers. Hot, thick blood. It made a scorching line as it dripped across my hand and down my arm. Like acid.And just like acid, it burnt a mark on my soul.How many men had there been before the one before me? Honestly, I couldn’t remember. Too many over the years. Hell, there had been too many in the last few months. This was just the latest in a long line.A very long line.I was tired of it. The blood and the screaming. And with each man, we interrogated my soul grew a little bit darker. Soon there would be nothing left at all.“He's not going to tell us anything more.”The deep timbre of The Judge’s voice snapped me back to reality, my eyes lifted from the blood that had snaked past my wrist. He was right of course. The man in the chair in front of us was beyond speaking now. He had probably been too far gone for the last hour at least. And we had found out nothing. Just like with all the rest of them. Every single person I had asked had
FangWatching her from the road was stalkerish as all hell, I knew that but I just couldn't seem to help myself. I hadn’t rushed back from our pointless meeting with one of The Family’s cronies to be screamed at because I had woken her up. When I knocked on the door of the bar, I wanted her to be happy to see me. Because I had come back quicker just to see her. The interrogation might have been pointless but it had made me realise one thing. Gypsy was special. I might not have known what the future held but I sure as hell wanted her part of it at least to involve her.Unless of course, she told me to get lost.That was a real possibility.I had faced down gunmen, criminals out to take my life and yet this was the scariest thing I had ever had to do. I couldn’t seem to get my body to move off the bike and towards her door.The curtains in the apartment above the bar flicked open and I held my breath. She was awake. That meant I wasn’t about to wake her up and...A man came into v
Gretal“You’re home.” In an instant I was off his bed and rushing towards him, yanking his head down to mine so I could kiss his lips greedily. It was instinctive, the kind of greeting I had given him in the old days when I had missed him every second that he was away from me. Before things had all gone wrong. Hansel untangled himself with a small chuckle. “Of course I’m home. I said I wouldn’t be long.” Even as our lips parted, his hands were closing around my waist, keeping me close to him. “I like the way you say it, by the way.”Craning my head up to look at him, I arched an eyebrow. “How I say what?”“Home, that I’m home. Although I wouldn’t call the clubhouse our home, not unless you want to live here of course.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled.“Anywhere you are is home, Hansel.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Not that they weren’t true. They were. I was tired of being away from him. Sure, we had a lot of shit to sort out, but we were older now, wiser. I knew
HanselHow was it possible that Gretal had disappeared into thin air? I knew it wasn’t possible, but that’s what it felt like. Like she had literally vanished. I knew it wasn’t the case but that’s how it seemed, The club was out in force, scouting the streets, making calls to any and all contacts that could help, and so far, there had been nothing. Not one damn sighting. And I hated to admit it, but I was losing hope.No Gretal and no Pope. It weighed so heavily on me that I found it hard to breathe. Slowing the bike, I ripped the bandana from around my chin and nose, sucking in a deep lungful of cool night air. It still wasn’t enough. Was it possible to suffocate from panic? That’s what it felt like. Like someone was squeezing the life out of me. That’s when I saw it. If I hadn't slowed, I wouldn’t have. Squealing to a stop, I snapped my head back, looking over the hedge to the parking lot. Pope’s bike. I was sure of it. How many years had I ridden alongside it? I would know it a
GretalPulling my phone from my pocket, I ignored the barrage of messages from my husband that flashed up on the screen the moment I switched it on. He was worried about me, mostly because he knew I was about to do something stupid. Except it wasn’t stupid. It was justice. Keeley deserved to be avenged, so did those other girls.So did I. Swiping passed them, I clicked on the camera option, checking my face out. I looked good. My lips were ruby red and glossy, my lashes thick with mascara, my hair curled around my face in soft waves. I looked good enough to eat.And I hoped Pope would think so as well. After all, if he didn’t take the bait then all of this was for nothing. He would fall for it though; I knew he would. Men like him always did. They thought they were superior. That they could take what they wanted without asking. And Pope wanted me. I had seen it in his eyes in the way he had looked at me. I had thought he was just being overly friendly, trying his luck a little. Bu
HanselIt was growing dark when we pulled up outside the Son’s compound. I had ridden without stopping all day, desperate to get back to them. To tell Fang and the others what I suspected. No, not what I suspected. I knew it was true. I didn’t need Sylvie to tell me. The evidence was written all over her face. It dripped from the agony in her voice.“Off the bike, love.” I wanted to be patient with her, but time was already running out. I needed to get her somewhere safe and then I needed to get to The Otter, I would have gone there first if the clubhouse hadn’t been nearer. I hoped to find him inside. And I could exact my revenge without having to worry about my wife and her whereabouts “Hansel, please.” Sylvie was back to begging, she had been nagging in my ear for hours. And she would have the exact same response to it as I had given her before.Nothing.I tugged her off the bike. The prospect who had been lounging by the front door smoking a cigarette straightened as she gave ou
HanselMoney swapped hands easily enough. I had done these kinds of drops often, so it was no big deal. What was a big deal was the fact I was miles away from Gretal and she wasn’t answering her phone. I had been calling her pretty much nonstop. It was one thing The Judge telling me she was fine but I wanted to hear her voice. To see her in person would have been better, but I could tell if she was really ok by her voice. I knew her well enough. Leaning heavily on my bike, I fished my phone out of my pocket. My fingers pressed the redial button without looking. I didn’t expect her to answer, so far she hadn’t, so I was surprised when she picked up. “Hansel.”She sounded breathy, like she had been crying and was trying to hide it from me. “What the hell is going on, Gretal, are you crying?” Doubt ripped through me. She was upset. I had been right when I thought something had happened but I had taken The Judge at his word that he would protect them. Had I been wrong to do that? “No
Gretal“Is she ok?” I raised my eyes wearily as Gypsy came into the small living room. She flopped down on the chair nearest the window with a sigh, her fingers plucking to move the drapes away so she could look down at the dark street below. “Yeah, she's alright. I gave her a mild sedative. She will hopefully sleep until morning.” She sighed again. “There's some…” She swallowed hard, and I could tell by her face that she was reliving her own attack. I had heard briefly what Gypsy had been through. And it had been horrific. “There's some tearing and bruising. A condom was used so we don’t have to worry about pregnancy or sexual transmitted infections. Not that it makes it better, but at least she doesn’t have to worry about that.” Yeah, I agreed with her silently. At least she didn’t have to worry about that. “God, I need a drink.” Darcie was on her feet, her voice shaky. “Yeah, a drink sounds good.” We all deserved one. And being above a bar we were in a perfect place for one. O
HanselThe clubhouse was oddly quiet when I emerged the next morning. I had expected there to be at least some girly chatter. Since Gretal had come back, the common room seemed to be filled with girly chatter. But there was none and it made me feel oddly ill at ease.One look at Fang who was pacing the length of the room, like some agitated bearded squirrel, and I knew I had every right to feel worried. Making my way over to him, I swung him around to face me. “What's happened?” One glance at his face and I knew something had, his face was twisted in misery. “Where's Gypsy?” Another look around and I was sure she wasn’t there. None of the women were, not even the club girls had surfaced yet, the whole clubhouse felt like it was grieving. There was only one thing to put that kind of misery on his face and it was if something had happened to Gypsy. “What's happened? Fang talk to me.”“She rang and said she wasn’t coming home for a few days. She sounded…” His voice broke and he cleare
GretalIt was worse than anything I could have imagined. Maybe because I had known Keeley since she was eighteen years old - the sweetest, most pure soul I had ever met - it hit me harder. She was huddled on the floor behind the counter and one look around told me she had put up a hell of a fight. There were shattered plates and glasses all over the floor. A smear of blood on the floor. A tiny amount of blood but it seemed to stand out in stark contrast. And then my eyes found her. And it was worse than anything I had ever seen before. And I had seen a lot of bad shit.Keeley half lay, half sat in the foetal position in the farthest corner. Her whole body was shaking. Her usually silky blonde curls lay limp against her wet cheeks. There was an ugly bruise on her left cheek and around her throat. Like someone had wrapped their hands around it and tried to squeeze the life from her. But it was her eyes that hit me.They were wide and haunted. I knew the look on her face because I ha
GretalLying in bed with a man who wasn’t Hansel, when I could still feel the wetness of my orgasm against my panties was pure torture. It didn’t matter that Gio wasn’t touching me, simply being next to him felt like a betrayal.All of these years apart and I was still worried about betraying my marriage vows. Sure there had been other people, for both of us, but that was because we were apart. Being back under the same roof as him was bringing up feelings that I thought I had buried. And I was good at that. Burying my feelings for him. When I had been forced to work at The Candy House, when I had been forced to sell my body, I had turned my feelings of love into those of hate. I had thought he had forsaken me, but then he came back. He had literally knocked me off my feet again, like some avenging hero and made it all better, and all the hatred evaporated. Because I loved him. I had always loved him and I always would. “You seem tense, Gretal?” Gio’s voice spoke from the darkness.