Page 30 of Denial

“Oh, um, you don’t have to help me,” she says, averting her eyes to the table in front of her.

“I’d like to help you. I’m not a bitch and I won’t make you do all of this on your own. This is more than a few loads you’ve taken from the guy’s rooms. I’m guessing this is added laundry that smells like smoke and you went through to collect it all so no one has to deal with clothing or bedding that smells like smoke or has been soaked with water when they put the fire out,” I say as she looks up at me and I know I’m right. “I’m Hope, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Hope. I’m Layla. I’d appreciate the help if you’re offering. This is a lot of laundry,” she says, a smile on her face as I settle in next to her and begin folding laundry with her. “Do you have it separated by who it belongs to or is it just all been dumped into the washer and dryer?”

“No. I keep everything separate so no one complains about getting anyone else’s clothing. I’m the main one to do laundry around here. Morgan helps when she can, but she’s busy with the bar and cleaning the guys’ rooms who pay her. She brings the laundry down and I wash and dry it before putting it back in the baskets to be delivered to the rooms once again. That’s the only time the other girls try to step in and help, but Morgan and I don’t let them. They’re looking for any excuse to get into those rooms,” Layla informs me and my respect for her goes up even more because she’s thinking about the guys before anyone else here.

“I’m sure the guys appreciate that. They all value their privacy and will go to any lengths to protect it. Knowing the girls the way I do, it’s not hard to believe that they’d offer to take care of the guys’ laundry just to get in the doors that are usually kept locked. So, thank you for protecting my family with Morgan,” I tell her, my words sincere as she looks up to see the truth of my words.

I’ve been working with Layla for hours. We’ve gotten most of the laundry done and separated into the baskets it belongs in for each of the guys. All of the extra stuff that was taken from the first floor where the fire was is left on the table as I slowly and carefully leave the laundry room. My body feels as if it’s on fire from the physical work I’ve been doing. It’s been a while since I was able to do this kind of work and I’ve missed it. The guys at the cabin have wanted me to focus on physical therapy and nothing more than that. I get where they’re coming from, but I’m not used to sitting on my ass and doing nothing. There’s always something to be done in the clubhouse. To do only therapy at the cabin drove me insane, but I couldn’t really argue because I was so fucking sore after each session that it was all I could do to get to the bedroom and lay down for my nap.

Today, I can’t just go to the first floor in a room and take a nap. I’ve got to make it up to the second floor and to Jinx’ room. Walking into the common room, my mom and Slim see how weak I am and they rush over to help me.

“Hope, can you make it up the stairs?” Slim asks me, his voice full of concern as I sway on my feet.

“I don’t know, Slim. I’m ready to take a nap, but I’m not sure if I can get up there on my own. Even with my cane I’m having a hard time getting in here,” I answer him honestly since he can see how horrible I’m feeling.

“Give me the keys to Jinx’ room, Sweetheart. I’ll get the door unlocked for you,” my mom says, holding out her hand as I get the set of keys from my pocket and hand them over.

Slim lifts me in his arms and grabs my cane so it doesn’t smack against him on the way upstairs. It doesn’t take him any time at all to get up the flight of stairs and to Jinx’ door where my mom is already waiting with the open door. She enters before us and pulls back the blankets on the bed as I look around Jinx’ space. It’s a fucking mess. He’s got clothes all over and while I know that no one’s been in his bed with him, the sheets and blankets more than likely need to be changed and washed. Slim sets me down on the bed and hands my cane back so I can lean it against the stand and have it right next to me when I’m ready to get up again.

“Are you going to be okay up here?” my mom asks as I appear to sink back against the pillows that smell just like Jinx.

“Yeah. I’m gonna rest and maybe take a shower when Jinx gets done in the basement. He doesn’t like for me to take one alone because I might slip or get hurt and no one will be there to hear me call for help,” I tell my mom and Slim as they head for the door to leave me alone.

“Okay, Sweetheart. If you need anything, let me know and I’ll make sure you get it,” my mom says as they leave me in Jinx’ room and close the door behind them.

Laying back against the pillows, I try to close my eyes and let sleep claim me, but I can’t. All I see are the images of the hitman coming after all of us and the realization that Court and the others could have seriously been hurt out on the road today. Not only that, but everyone here could have been hurt during the fire. This is all because I walked away from Becker. There is nothing special about me that would cause him to have this kind of reaction. Not unless he’s one of those men who see all women as their property and they can’t stand when their so-called property walks away and makes them look like a fool.

Knowing I won’t get any rest until Jinx is in bed with me, I slowly get up and walk around the room picking things up as I go. On my way to dump an arm full of dirty clothes into the hamper, I knock into the nightstand on Jinx’ side of the bed. The only reason I know it’s his side of the bed is because his crap litters the top of the stand. When I hit it, the light he’s got there falls over and a sharp, piercing sound fills the room. It’s a sound I’ve heard before as rage and a wariness fills me.

Dumping the clothes into the basket, I head for the light and grab it from the stand. Lifting it up so I can take a good look, I search for the slightest thing that shouldn’t be on this light. It takes me a few minutes, but I finally find what I’m looking for. At the very top of the lamp shade is a bug. Grabbing it from the shade, I grab a bottle that’s sitting empty on the stand and drop the bug inside. It’s for some over-the-counter pain reliever that the guys typically take when they have a hangover. Looking some more, I find a small camera on the side of the light. It’s just under the switch to turn it on. Grabbing it like the bug, I open the bottle and place it inside.

I go over every inch of Jinx’ room and end up finding three more cameras in his room and the bathroom along with two more bugs. I’m not sure who the hell put this shit in here, but they made sure to catch every angle with the cameras. In the bathroom, the camera was aimed at the shower. This leads me to believe a woman put this shit up in here and not some guy. Or a guy did it at the request of a woman. I’m pissed as fuck that someone took advantage of Jinx this way. However, I can’t be sure that he’s not the only one this was done too. So, I take the pill bottle full of bugs and cameras down to the common room and look for any of the guys I can talk to.

Moving as slow as I am, it takes me forever to get down the stairs and finally to the room where everyone seems to have disappeared. I move into the kitchen and find Slim, Shy, and Valor standing there talking. Clearing my throat to let them know what I’ve found, I hold out the pill bottle toward Valor.

“What’s this, Hope?” Valor asks me, looking at the bottle.

“So, um, I was cleaning up in Jinx’ room just now. I tried to take a nap but couldn’t sleep knowing that asshole is in this clubhouse and everything that could’ve happened today because of me. I knocked the light over on his nightstand and heard the unmistakable sound of a bug being messed with. I found not only a bug on the light, but a camera as well. After debating, I went through his entire room and found more of them. It seems that they made sure to get every angle of his bedroom and the one in the shower was pointed at the shower,” I answer Valor as his eyes widen with every word I speak.

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” he questions, opening up the bottle and dumping the contents out in his hand. “Fuck!”

“That was the response I had. Here’s the thing, if they were in Jinx’ room the way they were, how many other places in the clubhouse are they? How many of the officer’s rooms have been bugged and had these cameras installed?” I throw the questions out there as Slim stands up straighter and disappears from the room.

The slamming of the basement door is the only indication of where he’s going. Valor steps up closer to me and kisses me on the top of the head before disappearing with the bugs and cameras leaving Shy and myself alone in the kitchen. Seeing that she’s working on making dinner, I abandon my plans to go back upstairs to help her prepare our meal. We work together and talk about everything but the hitman, Becker, what I just discovered, or anything relating to those topics. Especially the fire.

Chapter Nineteen

Jinx

AFTER LEAVING HOPE with the women and some of the guys up in the common room, I made my way to the basement to take care of this fucker who believes he’s gonna hurt my girl. I didn’t want to wait too long because I know Killer isn’t going to wait to get his hands on one of the fucks who wants to get his hands on Hope. That’s the one thing you never fuck around with when it comes to Killer—Gwen, Hope, and Faith are his entire world and he will gut a fucking bitch for even looking at them for longer than he deems appropriate. Knowing that the man in the basement not only looked at his daughter, but had the balls to put his hands on her and then fire a bullet in an attempt to take her life means Killer isn’t going to wait for any of us to get to the basement to get the answers he wants. Right now, he wants to dish out as much pain as possible and I’m not going to miss getting my hands dirty. Not this time. Usually, I wouldn’t mind sitting back and letting someone take what they need from one of the assholes we put in the cells. This time, it’s about my girl and I’m gonna be right next to her dad when this happens.

King and I enter the cell they’ve brought the stupid bitch to. Killer and Playboy are already standing in front of him with their arms crossed over naked chests showing every fucking tattoo they’ve gotten over the years. Every man in the cell has their shirt and cut off, only wearing their jeans and boots as I do the same followed by King. I step right up next to my dad and Killer, the three of us stare down the pussy as he glares back in defiance at us.

“You think I’m gonna talk, you’ve got another thing coming,” he finally says, showing that it’s not gonna take too much to completely break him.

We’re literally staring at him and not saying or doing anything. Killer starts laughing and it’s not one I’ve ever heard from him before. This one is demented and pure evil as he steps up closer to the hitman.

---