Page 2 of Stonewall

I’m glad I brought my black Jeep Wrangler instead of my Harley. These rocks would sure as hell dinged my paint which I just had Black repaint my bike. Not to mention I wouldn’t rest leaving my baby a silver 2002 Harley Davidson VRSCA V-Rod alone around this area. It’d be stolen and stripped within minutes.

I love that bike too much to risk bringing it here.

When Tildie said her sister worked at a restaurant and I agreed to check on her to make sure she was alright, I sure as hell never expected a place like this. I’m guessing Tildie had never been to where Brooke worked, only talked to her at the Fire Dragons MC clubhouse. I’m almost positive this is a biker hangout, so I need to be careful and hope I’m not recognized because even without my bike and cut, my face is known among certain rival clubs.

And Shadow will have my ass when he finds out I went in alone. But, there is no need to have another brother drive up here. I just need to get inside a find Brooke, make sure she is fine, follow her home, and stake out her house to follow Flex. And since Flex is supposedly an abusive asshole, kill him at some point.

Simple.

Sighing, I got out of my Jeep and headed toward the worn wooden door with the blinking open sign in the window. I patted the gun holstered underneath my shirt before opening the door and stepping inside. I looked around the room.

Yeah, a dump on the inside too.

Everything about this place was worn down from the stained faded yellow wallpaper, the cracked and faded bar, dirty tiled floor, and scratched-up tables. And the place smelled like smoke and ass.

Why would Brooke work in a place like this?

Old AC/DC played from the speakers as several rough-looking men, a few with the Fire Dragons patch, and half-naked women sat drinking at the bar and a few of the tables. No one seemed to notice me as I walked to a corner table and took a seat. But I knew from experience that people notice when you walk in a place like this. I would be observed, so I kept my expression blank as I waited to see a waitress.

It was only a minute before a waitress appeared from the back. I knew right away this was Brooke, and fuck, she was gorgeous. She had similar features to Tildie with her coal black hair, big crystal blue eyes, small nose, and plump lips. But Brooke was taller, around five-seven and willowy. Brooke had a dancer’s body. Long and lean. She wore tight blue jeans, a tank top with the bars logo, and sneakers, her long hair in a high ponytail.

Brooke didn’t wear that cheery smile that Tildie did; no, Brooke didn’t smile, and even from a distance, I could feel how closed off she kept herself. She put some food down at one of the tables, and her movements were practiced and mechanical. Brooke was a woman in survival mode.

Just like my Mom had been.

Brooke looked up, seeing me sitting there, and our eyes met for a few seconds, and the sadness that lay behind those beautiful eyes shocked me and immediately connected with me at the same time. Some emotion crossed her face before she closed it off and approached my table with a graceful stride wasted on this shithole.

“I’m sorry I took so long I didn’t see you come in,” she apologized in a soft, breathy voice that went straight to my cock. But that feeling didn’t last when I saw the bruising on her arms and face. She tried covering them with makeup, doing a pretty good job. I clenched my jaw at the thought of Brooke being beat by that fucker Flex.

I unclenched my jaw to answer, “No worries, I’m not in a hurry.” I tried keeping my voice light even though I was seething inside that Flex had laid hands on Brooke.

“What can I get you?” Brooke managed a small smile showing straight white teeth. But that smile didn’t even come close to her eyes.

“Whatever beer you have on tap,” I replied, smiling at her and keeping eye contact, watching as she shifted her feet and lowered her eyes. Finally, mumbling, she would be right back with my beer.

I watched her walk away, enjoying the view of the most perfect ass I had ever seen. I was instantly attracted to Brooke, really drawn in a way that confused me.

Stop it, Stonewall, this wasn’t part of the plan, you can help her, but you can’t allow yourself to get close to Brooke. I had a feeling that if I allowed myself to give in to the pull I was feeling, I wouldn’t ever let her go. This was uncharted territory for me to feel this way about a woman, especially one I had just met and didn’t even know. There was only one other woman I felt any connection to, and she was taken.

But, this was even a different feeling than that. I can’t put a name to it, but it’s not the same.

I had the gnawing feeling as I watched her that I was fucked.

GOD, I HATEthis place. But it’s the only place Flexwill allow me to work because his asshole friends can keep tabs on me here. I have no choice; I need the money; Flex barely gives me enough for rent, so all the other expenses fall on my shoulders. Along with the care of our four-year-old son Gael.

Who is my life, and I will do anything for him.

Including trying to get away from Flex before he starts to abuse Gael. I know it’s a matter of time, and I need to find a way. I have been putting aside money, trying to save enough to leave. I’ve almost got a couple thousand hidden away where Flex can’t find it. So pretty soon, I will pack up the car and grab Tildie, and we will get the hell away from here.

I’m worried about Tildie. The last time I stopped by the clubhouse to see her, I was told Mouth had taken her on a run, and that was three weeks ago, and when I called to see if she had returned Carol, one of the club girls said she hadn’t. I pray that creep Mouth didn’t hurt her. I begged Cross not to give Tildie to Mouth, but he just shrugged and said Mouth would be good to her, and a deaf girl like Tildie was lucky a man wanted her like Mouth did.

Cross was a bastard in more ways than one. I will never forgive him. First, my dad betrayed me by giving me to Flex as a favor owed even though he was twice my age and a known abuser of women, saying it wouldn’t be forever. Flex would get bored and ignore me; that was a fucking load of crap. And Cross did the same thing to poor Tildie.

Only it was so much worse for Tildie since Mouth started creeping around her when she was only twelve, and it escalated from there, and poor Tildie had no defense against someone as horrible as Mouth since she couldn’t hear or speak. At least I can fight back and tell Flex how much I hate his guts.

And I do hate him with everything I have inside me!

And at the age of twenty-three, I was already so damn tired of life.

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