Page 4 of Ruthless Souls

I wanted to roll my eyes. He knew exactly how old I was. “Twenty-two, actually,” I replied with a tight smile.

His hand moved from my stomach to my hip, and in one swift move, he made me turn toward him.

I was still holding the knife, and when he looked down, I noticed the pointy tip was pressing against his leather cut. I looked up again, watching as his lips curled into a vicious smirk. “Careful, darling. We do the killing around here.”

I dropped my hand to my side and swallowed the saliva that had puddled up at the back of my mouth, then I gave him one more tight smile, still not saying anything.

His eyes were locked on mine, and I could sense his amusement. He liked this. Knowing he made me nervous. And knowing how helpless I was in this situation, he used it to his advantage.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek, then he moved his lips closer to my ear and whispered, “Happy birthday, gorgeous.”

My body was tense. He took two steps back and kept smirking, and to be polite, I replied with, “Thank you, JT.”

I cleared my throat and moved my gaze to Tiny who gave a small nod. “Happy birthday, Remi.”

“Thanks.”

Luckily, he didn’t make a move on me, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make one later today.

They left the kitchen and I turned back to the counter. The other women didn’t say a thing because, well, they couldn’t stop them anyway. I gazed over at Iris who had simply continued to cook while I was being taunted by her son.

They had gone through the exact same before marrying their men, and I often wondered how they managed to simply accept being treated like they weren’t worth anything.

Then again, most women here started out as sweet butts. Toys. Passed around like toys.

I wasn’t going to end up like them. I had an advantage of being born into this club. And still…I had no say in what I wanted.

Happy fucking birthday to me.

Chapter 2

REMEDY

Dinners like these were eaten at the big table. This clubhouse was huge, on an even bigger property somewhere near the woods and on the outskirts of town.

There was no limit to how loud the music could get out here, and people who weren’t part of this club didn’t come here without an invitation.

The men liked to call other people in this town outsiders, but truthfully, we were the ones who didn’t fit in.

The big table was large enough for thirty people, but with everyone scootching closer, there were at least fifty people here tonight.

The loud laughter and shouting from the men suffocated us women, but we didn’t add to the conversation anyway.

We often got up to grab more food from the kitchen or went to make sure there was enough beer in the cooler in case they needed more.

Despite the colorful banner above the archway, it didn’t feel like my birthday. I wasn’t the center of attention. Not that it bothered me.

I was just happy to eat and be alive.

Agnes nudged my side with her elbow, and I looked at her with a smile. “Hm?”

“Grab some more of the potato salad before it’s gone. There’s no more in the kitchen,” she told me. She was holding Myra in her arms who was nibbling on a peach that was too big for her two little hands, but she held it like a champ, enjoying the fruit without a care about it drooling all over her.

I moved my gaze to the potato salad, then watched as one of the men across from us grabbed the bowl and emptied it onto his plate.

Agnes sighed. “Gotta be quicker next time.”

“It’s okay.” I smiled tightly. “I’m full anyway.”

---