Page 7 of Raze

“Ya just gonna stand there gawkin’ or are ya comin’?” I call out to her and when she shows me that smile and races after me I continue heading toward my beach hut. I’m mad at myself for what I’m doing here and the girl has to practically run to keep up with my strides. When we get to the porch of my hut, I open the door, step through it, and toss her bag on the couch.

“You can stay here tonight, but on one condition.” I turn around and see her staring back at me with the same shocked look she had on her face back in the parking lot. “You stay here. You do not go to the club.” I point my finger at her so she knows I mean it.

“Okay.” She nods her head back at me enthusiastically. “And tomorrow, you take the money I give you, you fill up your gas tank and you get the hell outta here. No good ever came from girls like you hangin’ out at a place like this.” I warn her.

“And what kinda girl do you think I am?” She takes me by surprise when she steps closer, a little too fuckin’ close.

I can smell the coconut shampoo in her hair, and I’m already imagining gripping it in my fist while I find out what those lips taste like.

“You’re the kinda girl who brings a fuckin’ basket of muffins to a bikers club house.” I remind her, pushing all those kinda thoughts to the back of my mind as I move past her toward the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” She suddenly sounds afraid.

“I’ll get one of the girls from the clubhouse to bring you somethin’ to eat. There ain’t much here but help yourself to whatever you need. Just remember what I said.” I snatch my bike keys from the table.

“No going to the clubhouse.” She repeats my words in a sweet soft voice and the way she swings on her heels and looks at me suggests she’s being sarcastic. It makes the urge to take her over my knee and slap the sass outta her tight, little ass hard to resist. But I refrain and continue to head for the door.

“Peyton,” she calls out in a high desperate voice.

“Huh?” I turn back around and catch her lookin’ embarrassed.

“My name is Peyton. I figured since I’m staying here you should know it.” She smiles, at me the same way she did when she was offering me those fuckin’ muffins and I really have to push the thoughts that come into my head back where they came from

“Just stay outta trouble. Peyton.” I move out the door, questioning both my willpower and my fuckin’ sanity.

Ilook around the beach hut that the man, whose name I still don’t know, has brought me to. It’s basic, the furniture is dated, and there's dust settled on pretty much every surface. Despite being on the beach front it’s tucked away and almost hidden by all the trees and overgrown bushes that edge the sand. I rest back on the couch and breathe a long sigh of relief. I’m here, at the Dirty Souls’ compound and if my dad’s right in what he says it means I’m safe. At least for now.

I push to the back of my head that I’ve been told by him that I have to leave tomorrow. Instead, I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the ocean.

“I hope you don’t mind leftovers.” I wake up with a start when I hear a female voice, and I’m greeted by a warm smile from the woman who stands in front of me holding a plate in her hand.

“I’m sorry to wake ya, Raze told me to bring ya something to eat hours ago but I got distracted with Grea…it doesn’t matter.” She cuts herself off and shakes her head. “Here, it’s meatloaf.” She looks at it awkwardly as she hands me the plate.

“Thank you.” I sit myself up and take the fork that's balanced on the edge of it.

“So, I take it this is where he’s staying?” Her eyes wander around the place. “It’s been a while. I hope he plans to upgrade some of the utilities.” She laughs looking at the TV and the coffee machine that look dated.

“This is really good.” I smile at her gratefully as I tuck into the meatloaf. Truth is, it’s dry as hell, but Kane always told me never to bite the hand that feeds you.

“Tell that to those ungrateful bastards up there.” She chuckles as she makes her way over to the bed and starts to straighten it out. “You wanna tell me your story?” she asks, fluffing the pillows and placing them square.

“No,” I answer honestly. I don’t mean to sound rude but just thinking about everything that happened back home makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.

“Everyone around here has a story, and it’s written all over your pretty, little face that you're running away from yours.”

“Ya got me.” I shrug.

“My advice is to keep on running.” She raises her over-plucked eyebrows at me. “Raze coming back here has brought with it a whole lotta hope, but it’s gonna take him some time to fix the mess this club’s got itself in.”

“What kinda mess?” I’m suddenly curious. Raze, I assume that's what his name is, also made it very clear that it wasn’t safe for me to stick around. Now, I’m wondering why.

“This place hasn’t exactly got the best reputation. The man who was in charge before Raze, ran it into the ground and made a lot of enemies. It’s not gonna be easy for him to turn that around.” She flattens out the creases on the comforter before taking a chair at the small square table beside the kitchen counter.

“And Raze, is he one of the good guys?” I desperately want to know more about him. Sure, he comes across as standoffish and grumpy but I sense there's something beneath that tough exterior. Something that made him take pity on me today.

“He was.” She chuckles as she lights herself a cigarette. “I don’t know the man anymore. I haven’t seen him in over ten years. But I’m figuring there's a reason Jimmer Carson chose him to be the one to come here and straighten this place out.” She shrugs. “Him being here will soon separate the men from the boys.” Standing up, she takes my plate once she can see that I’m finished. “You got everything you need here?” she checks.

“I think so.” I nod my head and smile gratefully, and when she turns around to leave I call her back.

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