Page 50 of Born Savage

As I walk down the hallway, I decide to make a quick stop back in James’s room to grab a sweatshirt. South Carolina feels cold compared to Vegas. After pulling the soft gray sweatshirt over my head, I’m back in the hallway, rounding the corner to the large main room.

Shit.

The eyes of three giggling brunettes turn and fall directly on me. They don’t look like the typical club whores who are constantly hanging around the clubhouse in Vegas, but I instantly have my guard up.

“You must be Scarlett,” the tiniest one, wearing a red tube top, grins at me.

“Yeah,” I nod hesitantly.

“I’m Cora, Ryder’s fiancé,” she announces proudly and I release the breath I had been holding.

Thank God. They’re not some nasty girls who are going to try to rip into me like I'm the competition.

“This is Ayla, and that’s Jade,” she points to the other two, who are smiling back at me. “We’re heading out to get our nails done and you’re coming with us,” Cora announces, her eyes shining with pure delight.

“Uh…” I stutter in response.

“Don’t even bother. It’s a losing battle,” the one named Ayla grins. “She already gave Shark an earful when he tried to argue with her,” she adds.

“Okay. Um… Can I at least go out to the garage to say goodbye?” I question, feeling completely frazzled under their watchful gazes.

“Of course you can,” the one named Jade speaks up. “Don’t let Cora’s loud mouth scare you. Go on and see your man. We’ll meet you outside,” she smiles.

???

Sitting in the nail salon, I watch as my nails change from an old outgrown pale pink to a fresh bright purple. I’ve been listening to the three girls chat since I sat down, and I feel like I already know them.

I’ve learned that Cora and Ayla are BFFs from New Hampshire. Apparently, they met the guys at a rally and followed them back to South Carolina. Now they’re both engaged to the president and vice president. It truly sounds like something you would read in a book.

Jade is a different story. She’s the daughter of a southern politician, but she ended up in Rock Hill after a falling out with her family. I guess everything is good now, but she stayed here after finding Fifty, the other enforcer of the Rock Hill charter.

These girls definitely like to talk, especially Cora. I’ve barely gotten a word in, even when she asks me a question. I honestly don’t think she’s stopped talking for more than thirty seconds since we left the clubhouse.

Other than Roxy, I’ve never had many real girlfriends. I have Trish too, but she’s always been more of a parental figure, not necessarily a friend that I want to share with or confide in. Not that she would, but there’s always the potential that she could report everything back to my dad. And all the other women in my life have been strippers, or something similar.

It’s been an almost constant rotation of different women going in and out of my life as I grew up. Some of them were nice and at least attempted to be friendly, but most were cold and distant, thinking I was just an obstacle as they tried to sink their claws into my father. What they didn’t seem to grasp was that I was never a hinderance. If Ray had wanted to settle down with any one of them, he would have.

I was young at the time, but from what I’ve been told, he changed when my mom left. She was all he wanted, but then she left us. He shut down after that. He only had love for me and Sonny, and the club. The revolving door of women was just his way of having some type of release, there was no love behind it.

This group of girls is completely different from what I’m used to. They actually want to talk to me and get to know me. They’renot just being nice to get close to my dad. And it’s clear that they aren’t just letting the guys use them for sex, they have real relationships and rings on their fingers. This is a different world from the Vegas clubhouse, and I have to admit, I love it already.

Thirty-One

Shark

Irev the engine on my spare bike and she sounds almost perfect. I haven’t ridden this bike in months, but a little tinkering in the garage and she’s ready to go. Now I can take Scarlett out when she gets back.

As much as I hate to be away from her right now, I have to admit it’s good for her to do something for herself. Plus, I know I can count on Cora and the girls to show her a good time.

Sound’s fuckin’ cherry, brother,” Fifty’s gruff voice hits my ears when I cut the engine.

“Nice to see ya, man,” I say. And I mean it. Before I left, I was a spiteful and jealous prick, but as soon as I met Scarlett, all those thoughts I had about Jade vanished.

“So, is it true?” he asks with a chuckle and I feel my brows pinch. “That you brought home a woman from Vegas?” he clarifies.

“God damn right,” I grin back.

“What’d you do, knock up a stripper?” he barks out in a laugh.

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