Page 21 of Ginger

I didn’t think I’d ever understand the men here, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to. They may be nicer than others I’d known, but they were still men, which meant they had the power to hurt or destroy me.

“No more parties for you.” KiKi smiles. “Your men will keep you up in your room every night. I can guarantee it. They know everyone here has fucked you before. It’s going to take them some time before they don’t think all the guys are eyeing you like a prime cut of beef.”

“I’m not anything special,” I said. “I have no idea why they wanted to keep me.”

KiKi reached over to pat my hand. “Because you’re sweet, Ginger. No matter what you’ve suffered, you haven’t let it burn out your humanity.”

“While the men are busy, we should watch a movie.”

“Come on. We’ll stretch out in the beds in our room and put something on. You can use your old bed, Ginger. No one will mind,” Sasha said.

Melody snorted. “Except Bronx and Reno. You really think those two won’t flip out seeing her in there?”

“Well, they aren’t going to want all of us in their room, so…”

“It’s fine.” I smiled and stood. “I’m kind of tired, anyway. I think I’ll take a nap while I wait on the guys to come back upstairs. Thanks for the offer, though.”

Without another word, I left. For the first time since the girls had accepted me, I felt out of place. I was no longer one of them. So where did I belong? I’d just figured out my place within the club, and now I was starting over. The girls were still friendly. Except there was clearly a line drawn between me and them, and they didn’t want to overstep it.

It was fine. I understood. Sort of.

Okay, maybe not. All I knew was that I was lonely once more. Bronx and Reno had meant well by claiming me. Now I needed to prove I was worthy. First step would be figuring out where I belonged within the club. Once I knew that, everything else would fall into place. Or so I hoped.

Bronx

Vegas looked about two seconds from losing his shit. I could understand why he’d wanted a deal with those men, but knowing what they’d done to Ginger? Yeah, I wasn’t letting those assholes anywhere near this club, and if Vegas thought otherwise, he’d have a mutiny on his hands. I knew Reno was every bit as ticked about it, and Houston… Well, the VP had seemed to be seconds away from beating those assholes when he’d heard Ginger’s story.

“We spent too much time on this to just let it go entirely,” Vegas said.

“You want to do business with them?” Houston asked. “Knowing what they’re capable of? Those men are pedophiles.”

“I want to end every last one of them,” Reno said. “I can’t even take Ginger out of the clubhouse for fear they’re waiting to snatch her from us. And yeah, I said it. I’m scared shitless they’ll take her and run.”

“I don’t think you understand. It’s not just the time we’ve put into it, but the money as well. This has been in the works for a while.” Vegas scanned the room, meeting each of our gazes.

“I agree with Houston and Reno,” Memphis said. “I’m sure Bronx feels the same.”

“Me, too,” Diego said, lifting his hand. “Sorry, Pres. I can’t stomach the thought of those men being anywhere near us or our girls. Can you imagine what they would have done to KiKi, Sasha, and Melody if we’d let them have some fun while they were here? Those girls would be in the hospital, if not the morgue.”

“They’re just club whores,” Vegas said. “Disposable pussy. Nothing more.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath. Then another. I seriously wanted to flip the fucking table and bash the Pres’s brains in. He’d always been a cold, calculating bastard, but this was going too far. Those girls were more than trash to be used up and thrown away.

Houston leaned back in his seat. “You know, we’ve been through a lot, Vegas. Even before this club. I have to say, in all those years, this is the first time I’m ashamed to say I know you much less call you my brother. Those girls out there have given us their all from day one. The moment they walked through the doors and decided to stay, they’ve not once defied an order. To hear you speak about them like that really pisses me the fuck off.”

“What the fuck?” Vegas stood. “Are you all seriously turning against me over free pussy?”

“Is it really free?” I asked. “We clothe them. House them. Feed them. We take care of them, and in exchange, they’ve taken care of us. To me, that makes them a part of this club, whether they have a patch or not.”

“We’re off topic.” Vegas pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. We don’t do the deal anymore. I’ll think of some way to back out of it. But if you’re going to make those men disappear, that’s entirely on you. I want no part of it. The last thing this club needs is word spreading that we not only go back on our word, but then we bury you in a shallow grave.”

“You’re not seeing this clearly,” Houston said. “They hurt one of our own. Ginger is now our only old lady. She’s the property of Bronx and Reno. If those fuckers decided to threaten her or take her from them, then this club has every right to defend her at any cost. Am I wrong? Would you not do the same if they came for a brother?”

Vegas held up his hands and sank into his chair. “I get it, all right? We’ve never had an old lady. I have no fucking clue what to do with her. She’s not a club whore. At the same time, she can’t hide in the newly renovated apartment either. So where does she fit in?”

I’d been thinking about that myself, and I wondered how long it would take for Ginger to asked the very same question. Once she hung out with the girls again, she’d realize she wasn’t the same. Not anymore. By giving her a property patch, we’d changed her status in every way possible. Although, it seemed the Pres still didn’t give her the amount of respect I felt she was due. Hopefully, he’d change over time. If not, I wasn’t sure what Reno and I would do. We couldn’t stay in a place that didn’t value our woman.

“I’ll try to appease the men with money or something,” Vegas said. “Anything else we need to discuss?”

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