Page 7 of Crow
“Too dangerous without knowin’ which shit hole they call home,” he said. “Besides, we can’t do anythin’ before knowin’ for sure this is from the Freeways, or we risk fightin’ a war on two fronts.”
I slammed my beer onto the bar’s counter. Suddenly, all attention was on me.
“Of course, it’s from the goddamn Freeways!” I almost shouted. “Who the fuck else would it be from?”
“We don’t fucking know, Crow. That’s the point.” Wrench was agreeing with Tank, even if his expression said he wasn’t happy about it. Anger sparked higher in my veins, my stomach clenching.
“Them or not, they’ve been a thorn in all our sides for years now.” I gestured to the people crowded in the room, thinking of all the missing faces. “How many more of us are we going to let those fuckers murder before we take them out?”
“Crow,” Tank said warningly, his face hard and his voice low. “We’d be in their territory, and we’re not familiar enough with it or their hideout to ensure success. It’s not a good idea.”
“Well then,” I said tightly, trying to control all the conflicting emotions rushing through me so I could give an answer logical enough that the club was more likely to get on my side and agree. “We need to spend some time in their territory, scoping the place out and planning our attack.”
“Still too dangerous.” Tank shook his head. “Any scouts would be outnumbered if they were discovered, and we don’t want to risk any more lives.”
“Yeah.” Archer laughed. “Rose’d kill me if I died before we got hitched.”
Vegas scowled and punched him in the arm. “Too fucking soon, man,” he said as Archer glared at him.
People began bickering among themselves again, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of it, lost in a flashback. Again, I saw the bullet hit Archer, the blood spreading across his shoulder and the pained shock on his face as he fell to the floor. I felt my own fear for him as though it was happening right now instead of two years ago.
I stood up, the stool’s feet scraping against the wooden floor with a deafening screech. Attention once again returned to me.
“If you all want to do nothing, fine, but I’m not going to wait around and be a sitting goddamn duck. Maybe if you would spend less time in strip clubs and planning fucking weddings, and more time worrying about the Freeways, we could actually get ahead of them!” I looked around at all the staring faces, at Archer’s outraged expression, and my shoulders slumped. “Fuck this,” I muttered, tossing a few dollar bills onto the counter for my beer. I needed to get out of here. I needed another drink, a stronger one than anyone at the Tavern would be willing to give me, what with my history with addiction. Besides, it was probably best I wasn’t around anyone from the club for a while.
I loved the Rebels. They were my family. But I couldn’t stand to look at any of them as I walked out of the Ironhead Tavern. I didn’t want to say or do anything I would regret later.
Ripper caught up to me as I was putting my helmet on. He stared me down, arms crossed and mouth set in a firm line.
“Don’t drink too much, okay?” he said quietly. I flipped him off as I peeled out of the lot.
Chapter Four
Jade
There were many different customers that came to Tease. There were the shy ones, blushing sweetly as they thanked us for letting them touch our boobs, the regulars who knew who and what they wanted, the ones who felt like they had something to prove but barely looked at us as we ground on them, and the lonely ones who were just desperate for some attention. There were even the girls, who either watched us with the awe of someone just coming to terms with their sexuality or touched us with the casual attitudes of people who thought this was never going to be them so it was all just fun and games.
There were also the creeps, sniffing around the strippers late into the night. The ones who preached that they could save us, and the ones who invaded our privacy because in their head we had “a thing”, and the ones who wanted things for free because, “Come on baby, just come home with me, it’ll be a night you’ll never forget”. Usually, the creeps were encouraged to leave Tease early if they became too much, and the bouncers were only too happy to remind them where the door was.
Tonight, there was no such luck. This guy, short and balding, had been talking to me for almost half an hour now, trying to get me to come home with him, and security was nowhere in sight. I had seen him watching me from across the room and smiled at him as I sauntered over. I had made sure to put a little extra sway in my hips, earning myself a couple of dollars from the tables I passed.
“Hey,” he had said when I reached his table. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me the entire time I had been walking over.
“Hey there,” I had said, purposefully making my voice higher and breathier than usual. “You like what you see?”
He nodded and told me I was one of the most gorgeous women he had seen. It wasn’t a particularly original compliment, but I never got tired of hearing that I looked good. It had carried on like that for a little while, with him giving me compliments that made me hope he would ask for a private dance, or at least leave a big tip. I smiled and flirted, leaned over his table to make my cleavage look its best, and hinted several times about moving somewhere more private, but despite my best efforts, he didn’t spend a single dollar. Eventually, I tried to move on to someone with a more generous wallet, and it was when I straightened up that his attitude shifted. His hand closed around my wrist and stopped me from leaving as he said the dreaded words:
“Come on, baby,” he said, and my stomach dropped. “Don’t leave just yet. You and I could have a good time, you know?”
“You know where you’re at, right, hon?” I asked. “You gotta pay to play.” I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight. Panic started to swell in my chest, and I searched the edges of the room, hoping some of the bouncers had come back from their smoke break. No such luck, and even though I could see Jess a couple of tables away, she had her back to me as she flirted with one of her regulars.
“I think you’ll make an exception when you see what I’ve got for you.” The man leered with a significant glance down at his lap. Revulsion bubbled up my throat, but I couldn’t help looking down too, and the bulge I saw made me want to laugh. I’d seen bigger in a box of packing peanuts.
“Sorry,” I lied through gritted teeth, struggling to keep my tone sweet. “We aren’t allowed to sleep with clients, and I’ve got a boyfriend anyway.”
“So? I won’t tell if you don’t.” The man shrugged, and tugged at my arm. I stumbled forward in my heels, almost collapsing into his lap. Fury boiled under my skin as I struggled to right myself. Where were the fucking bouncers? The man took advantage of my distraction to slip his other hand up my thigh and cup my ass, and that was the final fucking straw. My hand reeled back, my lips peeled away from my teeth in a snarl, and then I slapped him. The sound of my palm hitting his cheek cut through the music, and people sitting at the tables around us finally seemed to take notice of what was happening. The man let go of me to clutch at his face and curse, and I took several large steps back, still glaring at him. The palm of my hand tingled, the skin getting pink and warm.
Suddenly, Cameron was next to me, apologizing to the man. Movement caught my eye and I looked down to see his hand behind his back, waving for me to leave. I huffed but turned and stalked to the dressing room where I paced, still fuming. Other girls on their breaks were lounging on the ratty sofas, drinking and watching me with glassy, disinterested eyes. It wasn’t long until Cameron came striding into the room, pushing his fingers through his hair and muttering to himself.
