Page 2 of Denial

“Fuck!” I yell, rushing forward and listening for any sound to help guide me where this person is. “Need you to keep makin’ noise so we can find you.”

Killer is at my side as we work together to start shoving debris out of the way. The person moans and whimpers as if screaming for help zapped all of their strength. It feels like an eternity passes before we’ve removed enough of the buildings that fell to the ground in a heap. Dust particles fill the air from us moving everything around and I finally see what appears to be a leg. It’s thin and covered in cuts, dried blood, and bruises.

“Killer! I’ve got someone buried right here!” I yell out, my voice breaking as I drop to my knees and work faster at trying to uncover the body that I notice is trembling. “Please, don’t move if you can help it. We don’t know how hurt you are under there.”

The person doesn’t respond but the shaking gets slightly better as I continue to keep one eye on the person as I work as fast and hard as I can. Killer is at my side as we continue to remove the debris. Somehow this person is buried in a type of hole. I’m not sure what’s holding all of the debris off of them, but there’s something there. The more we uncover of the body, the easier it becomes to tell this person is a young woman.

Her clothing is ripped and shredded in most places. It barely covers her body as Killer and I continue to work until everything is removed from her and I look down into the darkest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. They’re almost black as the young woman squints up at us and tries to move so she can get up.

“Don’t move,” Killer growls out, his voice startling her as she goes instantly still and looks between the two of us. “We don’t know what injuries you have and you could do more damage that you’re not expectin’. We’re gonna get you out of there and send you to the hospital to get the medical attention you need.”

“No. Hospital,” the girl says, her voice raspy and broken as fear fills her eyes and I watch her entire body fill with tension. “Hiding.”

Killer and I look at one another. I’m not sure what to do in this situation because we have no clue what the hell she’s hiding from. The possibilities are endless if I’m being honest. Turning back to face the girl, I try to take in as many details of her as possible, but it’s impossible considering how dirty she is. There’s no way in hell we can even tell what color hair she has right now.

“Hidin’ from what?” I question her, not taking my eyes off of her as we continue to remove the small pieces of debris still trapping this woman.

“Abusive. Ex,” she exhales, every word she speaks robbing her breath and filling her with pain.

“We’ve got you. We’ll take you back to the clubhouse and have Doc come check you over. If he feels you need to go to the hospital, we’ll figure that shit out. For now, remain still and we’ll get the rest of this shit off of you,” I inform her as Killer removes his phone from his pocket and places a call to someone.

It doesn’t take me long to figure out that he called someone to bring an SUV to our location and to call Doc so he’s prepared for us when we get to the clubhouse. Court shows up in the SUV and rushes over to our side so he can help us get this woman free from the rest of the debris. We carefully carry her to the backseat and lay her down. Killer and Court jump in the front while I get in the back so I can keep an eye on the girl. She passed out the second we picked her up. Killer and I will have our bikes brought back to the clubhouse. Slim is already on his way here with a trailer to load them up for us so no one gets any bright ideas to steal our bikes. Right now our only concern is getting this woman back to the clubhouse so we can get her the help she needs and find out more about her story before we push her back out into the world all alone.

Chapter One

Jinx

Six months later

IT’S TAKEN THE last six months to get the city of Pine View cleaned-up enough for crews to come in and start rebuilding. Crews have been fixing the roads and sidewalks, the energy company has gotten the power restored and all the poles that were damaged in the storms fixed or replaced. The main thing that needs to be finished now are the buildings that need to be repaired or built from the ground up again. There are several construction crews in town working on the businesses and homes that were lost or damaged. We’ve been helping where we can and the Wild Kings from Cedar Bay have been here on the weekends to help. We’re all pulling together to ensure that the city is rebuilt and better than it was before. Even if a lot of people have left the city, more will eventually move in and we want to ensure there are enough homes and jobs for them to find here. We don’t want anyone here to start out homeless or without a job. Vault has already informed us that we’ll do what we can to ensure everyone has a job if we can help them.

I can honestly say we were fucking lucky that the storm didn’t damage the compound at all. It went right around our land and nothing of ours was touched. We were able to use that shit to our advantage. The ol’ ladies spent countless hours in the kitchen preparing food to feed as many people in town as they could. They went out shopping for more groceries than I’ve ever seen one group of people buy in my life. When they weren’t doing that, they were filling our new houses with furniture and making sure it was everything we wanted. We allowed a few people who were homeless because of the storms to put up tents and stuff within the compound so they weren’t in the way of the work being done. Our only rule was they had to help out daily and they all did. The women who stayed took turns watching all the kids and helping the ol’ ladies while the men went out to clean-up the city. We all worked together and didn’t exclude those who needed our help.

Our parents left after being here with us for a few weeks. With the guys from the Wild Kings coming to help us out, we didn’t need them and they still have a club back home to run and worry about. So, they went home and promised to come back if we needed them. We were all sad to see them leave. Hope didn’t deal with her family leaving at all. She barely came out of her room for the first three days they were gone. Savannah and Annabell were the only ones she’d talk to and Hope did watch the kids while they were busy doing things for the club and to help those in need. I wanted to go to her and give her some comfort, but I denied myself from going to her. My reason was that Morgan also needed help and the time I was at the clubhouse was barely longer than it took to get something to eat and grab a power nap or something a few hours longer. So, Hope dealt with her feelings on her own and it’s gutted me every single day because we should’ve helped her and didn’t. I know Kingston didn’t help his cousin out at all because he more than likely didn’t know what was going on with her. Kingston isn’t the one to leave his family on their own when something is going on.

The Nomads who wanted to get back on the road left about two months ago. We had a weekend-long party with our families here, the Nomad chapter members who were in Pine City showed up, and a few other clubs showed up as well. Everyone was sad to see them leave, but we all knew they weren’t going to stick around once we moved down here. They were holding our spots until we came of age to take over. The ol’ ladies outdid themselves preparing for the party we had to send them on the next step in their journey. For almost three days we ate, laughed, talked, and got drunk. Our new Phantom girls provided entertainment and Vault brought in the girls from Enchantment to help with all the guys here. I didn’t fuck any of them the entire weekend. I was with my family, talking with Morgan, and hanging out with everyone like I should be. Plus, I was too busy watching Hope as she moved around the backyard of the clubhouse and talked to everyone who came to show the Nomads support.

Morgan is the girl Killer and I saved. She was examined by Doc and by some miracle didn’t sustain any horrendous wounds that would require her to go to the hospital. Doc got her patched up here at the clubhouse and we let her stay for a few days to recover. When she was well enough, Morgan talked to Vault, Devil, Kingston, and myself about staying here at the clubhouse. She doesn’t want to be a Phantom girl, but said she would clean, cook, handle the bar, and do anything else we needed her to do. Morgan is scared for her life and wants to be away from her ex-boyfriend and anywhere he might be able to find her. We talked it over and agreed to let her stay on as a house mouse. She can sleep with who she wants, but doesn’t need to fuck anyone here. Her responsibility is the bar mainly so the Prospects can deal with other shit. Since then, Morgan and I have gotten close and she always searches me out when she’s having a bad day. I guess I do the same when things are rough and I need to just take a minute away from the world. Kingston is the only other person I go to and he doesn’t really understand what I’m doing. I don’t either.

We have all new Prospects in the clubhouse. They’re local guys who need a purpose in life and have started working in our businesses to earn the money they need to live. All of them are young, hungry, and willing to put in the hard work and time it takes to earn their cut. We honestly met most of them as they were going around town helping out where they could. The one thing I can say about everyone here in Pine View is that they’re loyal to one another and take pride in the city they live in. There wasn’t a single person here that didn’t help out in some way. Even the smallest of children helped out by opening lemonade stands and handing out bottles of water to workers as they made their way up and down each street to make sure nothing was missed. So far, the guys seem to be some of the best Prospects I’ve ever seen. They take their job seriously and I can already tell that a few of them are gonna be patched in for sure. These are the guys who anticipate the needs of others, step up no matter what they’re in the middle of, and are always ready to run out at the drop of a hat for us and the women in the clubhouse.

The Phantom girls are another story completely. More than a few of them won’t be here long-term and I can’t wait until they’re fucking gone. These girls feel as if we owe them for allowing them in our clubhouse. They refuse to cook, clean, or do anything else. Annabell and Vault have already talked to them a few times and they still refuse to do anything. One in particular has me cringing every single time I walk in the clubhouse and see her. Her name is Ice and she’s the biggest bitch I’ve ever met in my life. Ice acts as if this clubhouse is hers and she makes the rules. She bullies and manipulates the other girls to get them to do her bidding. Vault and the rest of us are keeping an eye on her really close. Miracle is scared of her and that girl isn’t afraid of anyone who isn’t a male. If Savannah and Annabell find out Ice did something to Miracle, no one will ever find her fucking body after those two get done with her. Savannah doesn’t fuck around when it comes to her family and that’s not a joke.

Hope is working at the auto parts store, Phantom Auto. She takes care of the office work and fills in at the counter when the guys are on a break, lunch, or out on a delivery. The only reason I know she works there is because Vault put it up for a vote shortly after we got the store re-opened. Hope has that place running like a well-oiled machine and the profits are up even higher than before with the new systems she’s implemented. She’s gotten in touch with a local junkyard to help with parts they have a hard time locating and the suppliers of the parts we order were charging us more than other businesses they work with. Hope went off on them and threatened legal action for ripping us off for so long. It made them come down on their prices to what they should be and then even took an additional percentage off our orders for the money they’ve stolen from us. Let’s just say that Vault and Valor had to be held back when they realized the thousands of dollars we were robbed of over the years of doing business with this company. The only reason we’re still using them today is because of Hope. She’s got them by the balls and they know it.

I’ve taken over The Den, the club’s bar on the outskirts of town. In the last four months, I’ve re-opened the bar, hired all new staff, and implemented some changes to make business better. Our profits are also up even higher than before. Right now, I’m at the bar every single day we’re open and I’m always there early. I’ve got two bartenders and a waitress. I help out wherever I’m needed and Ezra does the same. He’s a Prospect for the club and always arrives at The Den with me and never complains about his hours or anything. The only time he doesn’t work is if he’s needed for club business or has a shift on the gate at the compound. When the guys come in for a drink or to check in after work, they act as bouncers if I need the extra help. So far I haven’t had to deal with any bullshit because most everyone knows if you fuck with the club, we’re gonna fuck with you back. Even the drunk as fuck people who can’t help themselves don’t get in trouble with us. It’s been pretty easy to deal with and I honestly love managing the bar and everything that entails.

Today is a day I’m trying to rest and relax at the clubhouse. The Den isn’t open and we’ve been going nonstop since moving to Pine View. I’m sitting at the bar in the clubhouse with King, Devil, Raptor, and Vault. Morgan is serving drinks while also talking to us and cleaning. Over the last six months, she’s really come out of her shell and doesn’t remain silent when we’re all here. She talks and we’ve found that not only is she fucking smart as hell, but she’s funny too. Some of the guys have asked me what’s going on between the two of us because we’re always together when we’re not busy. None of them believe me that it’s nothing and that we’re only friends. I guess I can’t blame them, but it’s the truth.

“Jinx, are you still gonna take me to the doctor tomorrow?” Morgan asks me as I set down my beer in front of me.

“Yeah. It’s first thing in the mornin’, yeah?” I return, sensing King watching me without having to turn and look at him.

“Yeah. I have to get my shot and yearly done. It shouldn’t take too long,” she responds as the guys start laughing because it again points to something going on between the two of us.

“I’ll be up. I’m not goin’ back out today. But, I have to get to The Den early because we got a delivery comin’ in that I need to grab and check. The last one was short,” I state, anger filling me because the supplier is full of shit saying they double and triple check our delivery before it leaves and it wasn’t short.

I personally check all deliveries and it was not short by a little. There were fifteen cases of alcohol missing and the supplier refused to send me what was owed. It wasn’t until I not only promised to terminate our contract, but to contact a lawyer and file a report against them causing them to lose business that they finally relented and sent over the missing cases. I’m not a fucking liar and I know what I order every single time I place one. I keep copies of everything so this shit doesn’t happen. Vault was just as pissed when I brought it up in church and told me if it wasn’t taken care of to do what needed to be done. If he calls the supplier, they’re going to cry like a little bitch. Vault can be an asshole when he needs to be one and it’s not pretty. I’m glad I’ve never been on that end of him.

---