Page 5 of Lamb

He turned, the sound of his footsteps echoing as he grew closer with every step until even the puddle began to ripple with his presence.

I knew by now my vision should have been able to focus, but instead, he remained a blurred, formless shadow as my eyes fluttered no more than a sliver from closed.

“I warned you.” His words burrowed under my skin. His voice, even from afar, was like a whisper deep in the shell of my ear. “I told you to never stop running.” He paused, and I was incoherent enough to believe it almost soundedpainedas he muttered his next words.“This was your last chance to escape.”

A warmth gripped my chin, my body wanting to jerk away, but my strength had been sapped, and I was prey to his touch. Unlike the bruising grip before, his was tender, almost humanly gentle.

Do you know what will happen if I catch you …?

His distant voice replayed from a not-so-distant past in my head. I could feel the ghost of his breath on my skin from all those months ago and felt the same shiver of fear and anticipation crawling over my skin.

I won’t ever let you go.

His fingers travelled, slipping beneath my jaw, stretching until his fingers fit snugly against my neck. My neck rubbed against his firm, calloused palms, and his hand shivered.

“I’ve caught you.”

Chapter Two

LAMB

Every day was the same.

Men lay on worn leather sofas, cigars and cigarettes lit between one finger, and a cold beer encased in the opposite meaty paw. Half-naked girls saddled on empty laps with a full face of makeup, smelling of sex and perfume. Children ran around inside and out, shouting, screaming, and giggling along the way. It was the picture-perfect club life the brothers had carved out for themselves through long wars, fast rides, and hard work, and it was nice to feel some semblance of peace that had been scarce the last few years.

“I said,” Anna growled. “Move. Your. Ass.”

I moved the white polishing cloth around the glass, water marks disappearing until only my warped reflection stared back. Once done, I put it down and moved on to another.

“Motherfucker, I swear to everything unholy, I will strip you of your manhood right here and now if you do not fucking move.”

I sighed. I let my eyes wander far across the room, searching every meticulous square inch of the dusty, worn, and battered place we called a club before dropping them down to the bright red tomato spitting fumes at my side.

“Oh.” I gaped. “I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s it!” Anna seethed, her forked tongue flashing from her lips, fangs sharp and ready to pounce like the little viper she was. Her bloodred boot rested heavily on the footrest of the stool I was lounging against. As her shoes now matched her cheeks, I assumed she’d spent more than a little effort trying to push it from beneath me.

“I picked something up recently,” I mused, letting my eyes wander once more. The door swung open, and I watched as a chaotic cluster of small, rambunctious bodies came rushing through the door. The children screamed and chased, but the brothers in the room paid them little mind.

A string of fervent swearing went in through one ear and out the other as small pinches nipped up and down my arms. I didn’t flinch. I put down my clean glass and picked up another.

“I don’t want to know about your STIs.” Anna’s anger ebbed quickly into disgust. She retracted her talons, her attempts to claw me not working in her favor.

“It’s not an STI.”

“Look”—Anna held up her palms—“I don’t care if it’s an STI, or STD, or any other letters; you can keep your nasty to yourself. Now get off my chair.”

I sighed, shifting on the seat, still blocking access to the red wine on the top shelf, the one Anna had said she would be drinking the moment she stepped through the door. The wine that I had no intention of letting Anna have for the pure sport of it. “It’s not a sex thing.”

Anna growled out a sigh, her eyes rolling somewhere between resignation and frustration. “Read my lips.” She pointed at the bright red lipstick. “I do not care.”

“How do I make it like me?” My head lolled toward my shoulder, eyes going out into the room once more.

Anna had hidden herself behind the bar while the men corralled a gaggle of children crawling on mats in the center of the room. The other women also escaped as far out of reach as possible, leaving the big burly bikers to fend for themselves against a small army of infants.

“It?” Anna repeated, eyes wide. “It’s alive?” One hand lunged over her heart, and the other under her eye as she wiped away an invisible tear. “The poor thing. What could it have possibly done to deserve such a terrible owner? How cruel God can be!”

It was my turn to roll my eyes now. “You don’t believe in God.”

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