Renegade Lady (27 page)

“What?” I whisper out.  I’m sure that I didn’t hear him right.  Wasn’t he was just pissed at me a few minutes ago?  He shouldn’t be telling me he’s proud of me now.  Fuck, I’m confused.

His head comes up, and he looks straight into my eyes. “I am so proud of you.  You wanted something, and you went after it.  You didn’t come to any of us for help, and instead just did what you had to do to make it happen.”

I shake my head.  “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You taking classes is the first step to making all of those other dreams come true.  You stick with it, and when you graduate, I’ll pay for you to get a salon set up in town.”

I grab hold of his arms.  “You can’t do that.  Those things cost a boatload.”

“I’m the fucking president of the Renegade Sons.  I can invest in anything I want to.  Right now, I think you’re the best investment I could ever make.”

For some reason, I blurt out, “I love you.”

“If you had asked me yesterday if I could have loved you more, I would’ve said no, but I would’ve been wrong.”

He places his lips back on mine and gives me one of his slow kisses, the kind that makes my toes curl.  I’m just about melt into him when I remember why I was so mad earlier.  I pull back and gently push him back an inch or two.  “Why was Krista crawling all over you tonight?”

He shakes his head and tells me what happened.  When he’s done, he says, “I don’t understand why in the fuck she would even think about trying to get with me.  I know you probably hate to hear me talk about her, but I was with Sarah for a while.  What would Krista want with a man that had been with her sister, is what I don’t get.  I’m sure Chipper and I have shared a club girl or two, but no way would I want to be with someone that had warmed his bed for nearly a year.”

Hearing him talk about Sarah doesn’t hurt me like it did before.  I guess I’m starting to understand that their relationship wasn’t really a relationship at all.  I hated Sarah for the longest time.  Even after she died, I held on to my anger; not because she was with Kidd, but because she threw that shit at me on the day of Mindy’s funeral.  I don’t hate her any more though.  If anything, I feel sorry for her.  “I don’t know why she would do it.  There’s something about her.  Something that’s just not right.   She’s lying about her past, and she’s definitely hiding something.  I’m not sure what it is, but I know for a fact that’s she’s keeping something from us, Kidd.”

“I agree.  I thought something was up as soon as I saw her, but I just couldn’t turn her away.  It doesn’t matter now anyway.  I told her she has till payday, but then her ass is leaving Big Clifty for good.”

I nod, placing my hand on his face.  “I’m glad.  We don’t need her right now.  If we’re really going to try to make this work, then we don’t need people trying to cause shit.”

His face gets hard.  “I agree.  I don’t want anyone causing us trouble.  That includes Daisy.”

I start to defend her, but he places his hand over my mouth. 

“Don’t even try to lie.  As soon as she saw me, she ran out of here to get to you before I could even walk across the room.  She didn’t give me a chance to tell her what the fuck was going on.  Her actions led you to get up on that stage, which is something that should’ve never happened.” His eyes narrow, and his voice turns harsh.  “It’s something that better not happen ever again.”

I jerk back, dislodging his hand.  “You’re right, she should’ve stayed around to hear your side of the story, but you’re wrong if you think she was trying to cause trouble.  She didn’t call me to make me mad at you.  She called me so I wouldn’t listen to the bullshit when all the other girls called, and believe me, they did.  Within five minutes of Krista climbing in your lap, my phone was blowing up with voice mails and text messages.  Daisy was the only one that said I should talk to you.  She told me that something didn’t look right.”

He looks at me and nods.  “Fine, I guess Daisy’s not a bitch after all.”

“No, she’s not.  She’s my friend.  Other than Timber and Reese, she’s my best friend.”

He pulls me to him.  “You mean other than me.”

A slow smile creeps onto my lips.  “If I remember correctly, you used to be a pretty good friend.”

He kisses me gently and murmurs, “I’ll be the best friend you ever had, and I’ll be it for the rest of your life.”

CHAPTERTwent
y-
One

Jenna

Daisy and I are driving home from the city.  We’ve spent the day doing girly shit.  It’s not something I do often, but when I do it, I go all out.  We went to Rocco’s and got our hair done, got full body waxes, and we even stopped off at Měilì Nails to get manis and pedis.  It cost us out the ass, but we look damn good. 

Kidd didn’t want me going into the city.  He’s on edge, because Timmons has been in town.  I am too, but I can’t let that dick control my life.  He took enoug
h from me when I was sixteen. I refuse to give him anymore.  Kidd kept bitchin’ until finally, I told him I needed a break, which is true.  I’m not used to being an old lady.  I am definitely not used to having someone by my side night and day.

It’s only been a few days since he claimed me, but we’ve spent most of that time together.  I’ve spent a few hours at The Kitty Kat or over at the apartments working with the girls, but other than that, he’s been by my side.  After I explained that I was starting to feel smothered, he agreed to let me go with Daisy, but made me take one of the brothers with me.

Needless to say, Rum has not been a happy guy today.  I guess he’s not as into nails and hair as we are, but he’s been happier since Daisy showed him her new bikini wax.  Granted, Daisy doesn’t spread her legs for the boys, but she doesn’t mind showing them her mind blowing body.  She may be a tiny thing, but she’s by far my best dancer.  Guys come from miles around to see her dance.  When “
Little Flower
” takes the stage, the crowd goes fuckin’ wild.

I’ve never really had a woman friend before, but I love Daisy.  We’ve really grown close since she started dancing at The Kitty Kat.  I’ve known her for years, but I never thought of her as a friend before.  Now, I rarely go through the day without talking to her.   

When I see her looking into the visor mirror, I shoot her a wink and smile.  “I love the pink tips. Wish they’d show up in my hair.”

She smiles back and touches the tips of her hair.  “My Mom’s gonna flip the hell out.”

“You’re a grown ass woman.  You need to get the hell out from under her thumb.  You should move into the apartments with the other girls.”

She closes the visor and looks at me.  “I can’t,”

“What do you mean?”

She leans back into her seat and closes her eyes.  “Mom’s been going to the gambling boat again.  Dad doesn’t know, but they’re about to lose the house.  They need the money I make to keep them afloat.”

“What the fuck?  You’re supporting them?”

She shrugs.  “I’m helping them out.”

Yep, Daisy’s mom is a bitch; even more of a bitch than I thought.  “What’s that got to do with you living in the apartments?  You know the girls live there for free.”

“I know, but if I lived there, I couldn’t make sure stuff was actually getting paid at home.  Sure, I could pay the bills and stuff, but how would I know if there was food in the house or other shit they need?”

I shake my head.  “You could buy groceries and take them there.”

She lets out a frustrated breath.  “If I’m not there, I won’t know if Dad’s getting his pills. I have to keep them locked up and give them to him myself.  If not, they’ll disappear.”

Maker
had a bike wreck a few years back.  He shattered his left hip and has been in pain ever since.  “Is he taking too many, or is your mom selling the shit?”

She turns her head towards me and shakes her head.  “She sells them before she even gets them home. Dad had to call the pharmacy and tell them not to let her pick em’ up anymore.”

My hands tighten around the steering wheel.  “He needs to throw her the fuck out.”

Daisy doesn’t respond, and we fall into silence as we finish our drive home.  Ten minutes later, we pull into the compound.  As soon as I do, I see Krista’s car sitting out front.  After last night, I didn’t think she would have the nerve to show her face around here. 

As we walk toward the club house, I hear a party going on inside.  From the sound, I’d say it’s one hell of a party.    My eyes narrow when I look back at Krista’s car. Something tells me that I’m gonna be walking into something I’m not gonna like. I turn to Daisy. “Did you know they were having a party tonight?”

“No.” She says, shaking her head. 

Daisy’s not really a part of the club, so she doesn’t come to the club house very often.  Just like me, when she turned eighteen, she had a choice to make.  Leave the club or become an old lady or a club girl.  She chose to leave the club.  Working at The Kitty Kat keeps her close though, and her friendship with me brings her to the clubhouse every once in a while.

We continue to the door, and Daisy walks inside before me. She struts her ass to the middle of the common room then stops and places her hands on her hips. I follow, but I don’t give a fuck about struttin’. I’m on a mission.  I want to find Kidd, and I want to find him now.  He better hope that he isn’t with Krista.

I look around the room and notice that a bunch of club girls are here, and even a few of the old ladies are around.  Two of my girls are in the corner making out with each other, while Timber runs his hands over their asses.  He catches my eye and winks, and then leads the girls down the hall. 

Mary is on the couch, riding Wayne.  Fuck!  That is something that I never thought I’d see, and something I never want to see again. Two oldies, all wrinkly and shit, bumpin’ uglies. Yuck! I shiver as I turn away, hoping to get that image outta my head. I look around more, and see people getting it on everywhere.  I bend my head towards Daisy.  “What the fuck is going on here?”

Sure, these boys are bikers, and they’ve never been shy about where they got their nut, but… Well, this is like something from a bad seventies skin flick.  Daisy starts to respond, but stops mid-sentence.   Her body goes tight, and she stomps towards the bar. 

I look to the direction she’s heading and see that Preach has Leah bent over the bar, and he’s pounding into her from behind.  His hips buck against her, and he throws his head back and shouts out his release.

I look back to Daisy and feel my heart break just a little for her.  No matter what she says, she’s in deep with Preach.  This shit has to be killing her.  My eyes follow her, and I watch as she picks up a mug of beer from the bar and pours it over Preach’s head.

Preach pulls away from the skank and turns to Daisy.  He whips off the used condom and tosses it towards
Leah.  He starts to zip up as he yells at Daisy.  “What the hell is your problem?”

Her body goes still, and I swear I can see her eyes filling with tears from across the room.  “I hate you.  I hate you so fucking much,” she says in the coldest voice I’ve ever heard. 

With those words, she turns around and walks out of the clubhouse.  I whip my head over to Preach and give him my death glare, but I let it soften when I see how pale his face is.  I swear it looks like he just had his heart ripped out of his chest.  He stands there for a second more before chasing after her. 

I’m still looking at the door when an arm wraps around my shoulders.  “You best get your ass out of here,
wahine
.”

I look up to Reese and scrunch up my nose.  “What the hell is going on here tonight?  I’ve seen a lot of shit around here over the years, but never anything like this.”

“Some of the boys from the Lords came by, and they brought some weed with them.  After it had been passed around a bit, they told us it was laced with
E,
” he chuckles.  “The only woman in the place was Mary.  When the boys started looking at her like she was a piece of meat, I decided to call in some the girls.”

I let out a short laugh.  “That’s good.  Not sure Mary could handle you all.”

He chuckles, “Doubtful.”

I look around again, hoping to see Kidd, but don’t. I also don’t see Krista.  “Where’s Kidd?”

“When he realized it was going to be an orgy, he went to his room.”

I nod then quietly ask.  “Where’s the new girl, Krista?”

He shakes his head.  “Kidd told me to make sure she didn’t come with the rest of the girls.”

“Her car’s outside.”

He shrugs.  “I haven’t seen her, but when I called in to get the girls, I told Skittles to make sure that Krista kept her ass away from the clubhouse.”

I lean up and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.  “I’m going to go find Kidd.”

I walk towards the hallway, stepping around naked bodies.  With each step, I remind myself that Kidd wouldn’t do anything with Krista.  He promised me that he wouldn’t do that shit to me.

When I reach his room, I hear murmured voices.  It only takes a second to realize that Krista is in there with him.   I have to stop myself from rushing in and going bat shit crazy, but I have to give him a chance to defend himself.  I’ve seen too many old ladies just go off the rails on their man without knowing the full story.  I’m more level headed than that shit.

I quietly crack the door open and listen to what they’re saying. 

“Why are you with her? Sarah hated her! Didn’t you love my sister at all?” I hear Krista say.

Oh shit. Do I want to hear this?

“You know damn well I never loved Sarah. Why do you think Sarah was leaving? I told her straight up that she was a stand in for Jenna. She knew that since her first day in Big Clifty,” Kidd says back.

“She’s not good enough for you. She’s cold.  Even you call her Ice. Don’t you want something warm?” I hear her say, making her voice sound like a purr. Women and their fuckin’ purring. Why the hell do men like that shit?  I’m not a fucking cat, and I don’t purr.

I hear a long zip before Kidd shouts, “What the fuck are you doing? Put your damn dress back on!”

That’s it! I swing the door open and see Krista plastered to Kidd, and Kidd standing as stiff as a board. I grab Krista by the back of the hair and throw her to the floor. The bitch’s boobs are on full display, so I grab the small knife out of my back pocket and put the blade next to her nipple.

“Since day one, you have given me shit.  Not only did you try mouthing off to me, you refused to stay behind the bar at The Kitty Kat like I told you.  Then yesterday, you tried to get in there with Kidd, even though I told you to keep your fuckin’ hands off him,” I say while running the flat of my blade over her nipple, not causing any damage, but scaring the shit out of her.  “He turned your ass down, but you wouldn’t take no for an answer.  Now here you are, trying to get my man again. Do you really want to fuck him bad enough to die? I killed a bitch once just for slapping Chipper. What do you think I’d do to a skank trying to take Kidd from me?”

Talking about Cary’s death sends a wave of nausea through me, but for the first time, I don’t feel that guilt.  Instead, I just feel angry; angry that this bitch just won’t leave us alone.

“Jenna,” Kidd says, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I ignore him and look into Krista’s eyes, expecting to see fear, but instead I see disgust.  It takes a minute for her reaction to click in my mind.   “I know you don’t really want him.  The thought of doing Sarah’s man turns your stomach. Doesn’t it?”

When her face pales, I know I’m on the right track. “You don’t want to be in Kidd’s bed, but you’re doing your best to get in it.  I want to know why, and you’re going to tell me.  If you don’t, I’m gonna take this blade, and for every minute you don’t fuckin’ tell me, I’m diggin’ it in.”

She doesn’t respond, but looks behind me to Kidd. I feel his hand tighten on my shoulder. He knows I’ll do what I have to do to get the truth from her.

“Might wanna speak up, Krista.  There’s no stopping Ice once she starts,” he says, sounding bored, his voice almost dead. I’ve heard that voice before; it’s the voice he uses when he’s doing club business.

She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her body shaking. I start to dig the knife into her, slowly, but not yet drawing blood. I don’t want to hurt her, but I’m willing to do what I have to.  I also know that I can’t leave this for Kidd.  He feels guilty enough about Sarah’s death.  He doesn’t need Krista’s torture on his conscious too.

“T-t-t-immons,” she suddenly stutters out.

I’m almost tempted to just shove the blade into her after hearing that name. I have a feeling what she’s about to say is going to fuck with my head. More importantly, it’s going to hurt Kidd.

Kidd

I pull Jenna away from Krista, and take the knife from her, before stepping around her and pushing her behind me.  I let her play her game with Krista, but it’s time to for me to step up.  “What the fuck do you have to do with Timmons?”

Krista starts to scoot back, pulling her dress up.  “He showed up almost two years ago, said Sarah had left some of her stuff at the Mateland club house and he thought I might want it.”