Page 27 of Phantom Riders MC: Hawk

Chapter 12

Audra

I stared at myself in the mirror, taking in the borrowed clothes Joanne had brought me. Not bad. I was petite, mostly meaning that I was short, but there was nothing petite about my full curves. Joanne was close to my size, perhaps a little bustier. She apologized for the lack of underwear, explaining that she didn’t wear any. The cut-off jean shorts were not only too short, but there was a frayed spot that revealed a little too much cheek. There was nothing I could do about that. At least the tank she’d brought me covered everything.

I braided my thick hair and slipped into my boots. Not the perfect ensemble, but again, I didn’t have a choice. I’d made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let Hawk continue to order me around. I’d earned my independence and meant to keep it. Really, the man was just too much. He might be sexy as fuck, had given me some intense orgasms, but he wasn’t in control of me. As soon as I found a damn phone I was going to call Carol and end this craziness.

Instincts guided me back down to the first floor and from there I let my hearing take over. Noise meant people, and people meant phones. I opened several doors before finding my way to the room where we’d first entered. First glance revealed that there were more bikers now, all of them wearing the Phantom Riders cut, all of them pausing from what they were doing the second I entered the room. I halted in the doorway, wondering if my presence would be welcomed. At first I thought I was the only woman there, until I saw the woman who’d walked in on me and Hawk earlier. It was obvious she was still pissed over the incident.

“Well, hello, darlin’!” someone said enthusiastically. I followed the voice to a hairy, grizzled man sitting at a small bar. “You look lost.”

He looked a little too happy. I smiled because he was smiling. “I’m looking for a phone,” I said without hesitation. Surely someone had one I could borrow.

“What you need a phone for?” another man questioned in a serious, suspicious tone.

The speaker looked mean and unfriendly, and pinned his sharp blue eyes on me. I probably shouldn’t have, but I gave him a look that suggested I thought he was missing a few marbles. “To make a call?” There were a few laughs, but he clearly wasn’t amused.

“Who the fuck are you?” he snarled, leaving the stool he’d been sitting on.

I caught my breath at the fear he evoked, realizing I’d made a mistake in the way I’d handled the situation.

“Relax, Rock. Hawk dragged her sweet ass here.”

“And I’m not a prisoner,” I added with false sweetness. I gave Clay an appreciative smile, realizing Rock didn’t have a sense of humor. “All I want to do is call a friend and get out of here.”

Simple.

“Awe fuck, you’re not a new sweetbutt?” the hairy, grizzled biker said with disappointment. “You’re sure dressed like a sweetbutt.”

Maybe that’s because I was wearing the clothes of one, but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t even sure what a sweetbutt was. I glanced at the other woman in the room, her attire inadequately covering her lady bits and making me feel overdressed. The scowls she was shooting my way were less than friendly. If she hadn’t been sitting on a biker’s lap I would have thought that she was jealous.

Clay was the only biker I knew in the room so I addressed myself to him, deciding to change the subject since the whole phone thing wasn’t working out. “Any place I can get a bite to eat around here?”

“Sure, come with me, sweetheart.”

Ignoring the eyes that I sensed were following me, I followed him through two other doors that brought us into what I considered to be a nightclub of sorts. The atmosphere was dim, the music loud, and the dance floor was crowded. Before a small, attentive audience, three naked girls were twirling around poles on separate platforms, the floor around their feet littered with money. Booths lined the walls while small, circular tables filled the center of the room.

Clay led me to a stool on the other side of the bar. “Order what you want.” He made eye contact with Joanne. “Treat her right, baby, she belongs to Hawk.”

My smile disappeared at his comment but I decided to remain silent, at least until I determined whether or not belonging to Hawk would benefit me or not.

“Sure thing, honey,” she responded with a wink.

“I got shit to see to,” Clay murmured into my ear. “You good here on your own?”

I nodded, smiling at Joanne, who’d walked up to stand on the other side of the bar from me. Clay left the same way we’d come in, seemingly satisfied with my non-verbal response. “Can I get a turkey sandwich?” I asked her.

Joanne nodded. “Lettuce and tomato?”

“Please, and a sweet iced-tea.”

She walked off and I relaxed a little. It occurred to me that this might finally be my chance to get to a phone without interference. I glanced up into the mirror opposite me, watching the activity going on behind me. It was busy, but there were some empty tables and booths. It’d been a long time since I’d been in a bar like this, where there weren’t bouncers around to keep order and drinks were cut off when the bartender felt that you’d had enough.

This place was casual, definitely down-scaled for a rowdier crowd. The fact that some couples were getting down and dirty right there on the dance floor told me this was where they came to have fun, and let their hair down, a place to pick up a one-night stand, or two. I had a feeling that sex in public wasn’t an uncommon accordance here.

“Here ya go, honey.”

“Thank you.” The sight of the sandwich made my stomach rumble. Joanne had been generous in piling on the turkey and I ate the first half with relish. I was just washing it down with the ice tea she brought me when a man came up next to me.

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