Page 12 of Defended By Bam
“Do you um…work here?”
“Yes and no,” Glenda answered as she shoved her hands in her back pockets.
I didn’t want to offend her, but I didn’t know what else to say, or ask. Standing there with a strange woman in a hallway holding my child while I waited outside the sex room was unnerving.
“I’ll wait here with you. The guys aren't scary, but some look it.” She pointed to a red velvet couch. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stand. I don’t think I can get back up without waking her.”
“I can take her,” she said with her hands out.
My chest tightened. She seemed harmless and kind, but my anxiety was through the roof. I’d known Bama all of ten minutesbefore hopping in a truck with him to some strange place with the promise of a new life. It all reminded me of a movie I watched about a cult.
Glenda must have sensed my trepidation because as I was trying to think of a nice way to say no, she giggled and said, “You don’t have to let her go and you don’t have to explain anything. We all have a past and we all have secrets. How’s your eye?”
I was going to say the proper thing and lie but considered my situation and decided Glenda wouldn’t mind the truth. “Ya know, it fucking hurts,” I scoffed. Even when Allie had asked me, my immediate reaction was to tell her I was fine. I was so used to saying I was fine and everything was okay.
“I bet. How fresh?”
“Day and a half, almost two days. I iced it some after and had some pain meds. They didn’t work; just made my stomach hurt.” There was this so-called opioid-alternative you could buy in some seedy gas stations and head shops, but I couldn’t take Sadie to the head shops. That convenience store where I ran into Allie sold it. Sometimes it came in handy after Marshall’s rages, but this was worse than normal.
“We could probably find you some good stuff, but it could put you on your ass and with her,” she said, pointing to Sadie. “I bet you don’t want to be out of it.”
“She’s a busybody for sure. Thanks for the offer. But I’ll be okay.”
Glenda put her hand on my shoulder. “You will be. And you’re safe now.”
My nostrils flared as I blinked back tears. Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nodded. If I opened my mouth, the waterworks would follow.
She gave a pat to my shoulder, and I didn’t flinch even though it hurt like hell. My face was battered, but it was nothing compared to the rest of me.
The feeling of bubbling sobs was immediately quelled when the double doors flew open. A man, who looked like one of the superheroes in the movies Sadie was obsessed with, came out of the room with Bama, who was still clutching my bag.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Bama said, glancing at Glenda. “Rogers wants to chat with Brooklyn. It may be best if Sadie isn’t around.”
My breath hitched at the mention of taking her away. “She can come. She’s seen a lot already.”
“I have an idea,” Glenda said. “Why don’t we go out back to the pool and Sadie can lie with me on a chair while you guys talk across the way? That way Mom can see her, but you’ll have some distance from tiny ears?”
Nodding, I answered, “Okay. We can do that.”
I followed them through the hallway as Glenda and Rogers led the way. Bama was at my side and while he wasn’t touching me, his arm was out behind me like he was going to press his hand to the small of my back and guide me.
It was an odd but welcome distraction: wondering if this mysterious man was going to touch me. I shouldn’t be thinking it, but I couldn’t help it. Hopefully I could get my head on straight because this wasn’t a vacation where I could get flirty. This was hopefully just a pit stop on our way to a new life.
Chapter 7
Bama
When we arrived, I hustled them inside and tried to keep them away from the partying. Brooklyn was an adult, but I didn’t know her, and wasn’t sure how she’d react to the scene that was usually happening at the clubhouse. Sadie definitely didn’t need to see it. But Rogers was the connection to R.O.Y.A.L. so I had to take them there.
I’d only sent him a vague message but Allie was supposed to speak to him as well while I drove so he knew what to expect.
“Hey man. Heard you got a special package,” Hammer said as I walked toward the bar.
“Good to see you around, Prez. Yeah, they’re in the hall.” I looked around, then back at him. “Not sure the smaller package needed to be in here.”
“Probably right. Although I’m shocked we hadn’t had any kids around. Some of these fuckers have some.” Hammer laughed as he grabbed his beer bottle.
