Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (13 page)

Chelsea raised an eyebrow and looked at Kelly.

“They bury people under the barbecue? Why not just roast them in that eternal fire” she said.

Kelly barked out a laugh and hugged Chelsea again, before sitting on the edge of Mason’s bed, Chelsea spotted the empty condom wrappers and felt her face blush. Kelly followed Chelsea’s line of sight and turned to face her.

“Three? Damn girl” Kelly laughed.

Chelsea smiled and shook her head and sat down next to Kelly.

“Now listen tonight the clubhouse is going to be full, they are having their monthly meeting here, so there is going to be a bunch of moronic bikers here.” Kelly said. “I know that Mason will follow you around as much as he can, but he will be expected to spend time with the guys.”

Chelsea nodded her head, it didn’t thrill her; the thought of having to put up with a whole bunch of Duggar’s and wondered if she could spend the night at Dylan’s house. She didn’t know it would be a good idea with Mason wanting to punch Dylan in the face only a matter of an hour previous. Kelly tapped on Chelsea’s leg.

“It will be fine.” Kelly said “There are a few rules that need to be followed, just while the guys are here. Knox is pretty laid back when they aren’t here but while the guys are around he likes things to go right.”

Chelsea nodded her head wondering if she should get a notepad out to write down the rules so she didn’t break any.

“So the first and foremost rule is that you don’t talk to the guys unless they speak to you. That will go for Mason as well. It’s a shitty rule, but in the world of bikers women are a second class” Kelly said.

Chelsea nodded her head, she thought that would  be an easy rule to follow as she tended not to talk to people and got very shy in big groups.

“The second rule is if they guys ask or in most of their cases tell you to get them a beer or some food you go straight away and do it.” Kelly said watching Chelsea to make sure she was taking it all in.

Chelsea nodded again committing the rules to memory.

“We will make them dinner and it’s our job to serve them, so Knox gets his first because he is the President and then it’s Bobby who is the Vice President. Then it will be Blade, who is the sergeant at arms. That’s just a fancy name for thug, but he’s not mean at all, wait till you meet him. He’s really a big softy, like a big fat cuddly teddy bear.” Kelly said with a smile.

Chelsea rubbed her forehead this was going to be tough and she didn’t want to mess up, the last thing she wanted to do was to embarrass Knox or Mason. Kelly patted Chelsea’s knee again.

“Just stick by my side. Wherever I am you be too and you won’t mess up” Kelly said with a smile putting her arm around Chelsea’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

Chelsea smiled and put her head on Kelly’s shoulder. Kelly reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo of a man and woman in the “Kings of Darkness” club patches sitting on a picnic blanket with a chubby red haired baby between them.

“This is my parents. This is the photo I was thinking, if you got a chance would you mind drawing for me?” Kelly asked.

Chelsea took the photo from Kelly and looked at it. Her parents looked happy.

“I’ll draw it” Chelsea said with a smile. “Kelly, what happened to Mason’s Mum?”

Kelly smiled and nodded her head.

“It’s not my story to tell. He will tell you when he’s ready, but even though she’s been gone for many years it’s still raw for him” Kelly said. “Give him time he will open up more”

Kelly stood and grabbed Chelsea’s hand leading her out to the living area. Chelsea glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see Duggar.

“I’ve told him to fuck off” Knox said.

Chelsea lowered her head and looked down at her shoes.

“I’m sorry I did that” she said quietly.

Knox came over to where Chelsea stood and put his arm around her shoulder pulling her into his side.

“He’s a dickhead, he had it coming. He will be shittier at the fact that a woman embarrassed him than anything else” Knox said. “Don’t worry about him”

Chelsea nodded her head and looked over at Mason who sat with a beer in his lap and his feet up on the table watching Lincoln play a game on the PlayStation. Kelly nudged Chelsea’s shoulder.

“Come on let’s get this dinner started, when they get here tonight they will all want food immediately” she said.

Chelsea nodded and followed Kelly into the kitchen looking over her shoulder at Mason who seemed completely uninterested in her. She wondered if he was mad at her and thought it better to leave him be. She thought maybe this was just how he got when he was angry and she didn’t want to be one of those clingy girlfriends who couldn’t live without his attention.

Chapter Thirteen

For the rest of the day Chelsea spent with Kelly in the kitchen making a variety of dishes for the club’s dinner and dessert. Every now and then Chelsea would catch a glimpse of Mason who was throwing back beers steadily, each time he saw her look at him he would turn away. The rejection cut deep into Chelsea’s heart and she began to wonder if it was a case that she had overstayed her welcome. Chelsea decided that she would ask Knox for her Mum’s number after the guys had all left and see whether her Mum was true to her words. If that didn’t work she would ask Dylan and hope that he still wanted to be her friend after that morning’s drama.

The day seemed to slip away fast as it wasn’t long and different men all wearing the same vests and patches came into the house, shaking each other’s hands and hugging. Chelsea looked around at the men, some big, some short and some fat and other’s scrawny. They all had one thing in common they all looked terrifying. She caught the sight of Mason who sat back in a chair, his head back, arms folded across his chest. This time when he saw Chelsea looking at him he winked and smiled at her. Chelsea frowned and turned to help Kelly.

“Right you ready?” Kelly asked with a smile.

Chelsea looked over her shoulder and saw all the men settling down at the big trestle table in the centre of the room. Chelsea turned back to Kelly and nodded her head, who handed Chelsea a plate piled high with food.

“Alright I’ll go first, I’ll give these two to Knox and Bobby. Then you give the plate to Blade and then Mason” Kelly said pointing to the big rounded man sitting to Mason’s left.

Chelsea nodded her head and followed Kelly into the room, where they were greeted with cheers and wolf whistles. It took all Chelsea had not to shrink back and run, but she kept her eyes focused on Kelly, determined to get it right. She waited for Kelly to set down the plates in front of Knox and Bobby before copying and setting her plates in front of Blade and then Mason who looked up at Chelsea as she sat his plate in front of him and ran his hand up her thigh. Chelsea slammed her thighs shut which brought a cheeky grin to Mason’s face.

“Leave her alone” Knox said warningly to Mason who lowered his head and moved his hand.

Chelsea followed Kelly back into the kitchen to get the next set of plates and once all the men were happily eating she started on the dishes. Kelly came and stood beside Chelsea and hip bumped her. Chelsea glanced up and smiled.

“You doing alright?” she asked.

Chelsea nodded her head. Kelly smiled and kissed her cheek.

“It will be over soon, they will eat their dessert and go into the office have their meeting and then they will all go home, these meetings are never a big thing” Kelly said.

Chelsea smiled again and nodded.

“As for Mason, ignore his antics tonight, he has to act like a big man in front of all the other guys, he will be back to his sweet self after they go” she said.

Chelsea felt relief. She didn’t know if she could stand the rejection and what attention he gave her wasn’t very pleasant.

“Hey Kel, come sit on me lap and help me drink me beer?” Blade called from the other room.

Kelly grinned and shrugged her shoulder, handing Chelsea some beer bottles to take in. Chelsea followed Kelly and put the bottles on the table for the men, who were like vultures grabbing them like it was their first drink in weeks. Kelly flopped down on Blade’s lap and kissed his forehead. Chelsea felt uncomfortable standing there and didn’t know what to do. She caught Knox’s eye, who smiled and nodded at her, so she continued to stand there.

“So  I hear you’re Mason’s woman?” Bobby asked Chelsea.

Chelsea looked over and caught the look of pride on Mason’s face, he winked at her. Chelsea mustered up a smile and nodded.

“Yes I am” she said quietly.

“Well fuck me, I never thought I’d see the day that Mason would find a woman to hold him down. You must be a good one” he said with a laugh clapping Mason on the back.

Mason smiled and winked again and she felt herself relax a little more smiling back at him. Kelly clamoured off Blade’s lap much to his protest and she kissed him on the top of his head.

“As much as I love sitting on your lap and cuddling you, I need to clear your plates and bring your desserts out” Kelly said with laugh.

“Oh well don’t let me stop you doing women’s work” Blade said holding his hands up.

Kelly put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

“Women’s work? Really? You big old Neanderthal” she laughed.

Blade slapped her backside as she reached to clear Bobby and Knox’s plate. Kelly squealed and gave Blade a fake telling off. Chelsea reached over and took Mason and Blade’s plate, clearing the dishes in the same order in which they placed the food. When she leaned over to pick up Mason’s place he caught her around the waist and pulled her down on his lap with a smile. Chelsea smiled as he kissed her tenderly on the mouth, she could taste the beer on his tongue as sounds of wolf whistles that surrounded them.

“You’re doing good baby, it will be over soon” he whispered in her ear.

Chelsea looked up into Mason’s eyes and he winked at her again giving her a quick kiss before letting her up off his lap to continue clearing the plates. As she left he gave her backside a light tap, running his hand down the back of her leg and giving her thigh a squeeze. Chelsea smiled at him and followed Kelly into the kitchen. Kelly was right that it wouldn’t last long. No sooner had the men devoured their dessert than they were going into Knox’s office, which was more like a big conference room. The door was shut and they were in there for about an hour before the men soon filed out and went on their way. Each man called out goodbye and Chelsea and Kelly waved in return. Blade came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Kelly’s waist kissing her neck.

“If only I wasn’t married” he growled, nipping her on the ear.

Chelsea couldn’t help but smile as she dried the dishes and put them away. Once they were all done Kelly made her and Chelsea a cup of coffee and they both leant against the bench.

“Was that too bad?” Kelly asked turning slightly to face Chelsea.

Chelsea shook her head.

“No it wasn’t too bad, they were a lot more respectful than I had imagined” she said.

Kelly nodded.

“That bunch are, mainly because they respect Knox and Mason. Most of them knew my parents so they know I’m part of the family, but when they have the big group gathering here, I reckon if you’ve got somewhere to go, definitely go there, that’s when it gets a lot more full on” Kelly said scrunching up her nose.

“What do you mean?” Chelsea asked.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders.

“Once a year they have a big get together with the other Chapters around the place so there is anywhere up to one hundred guys here, they organise strippers and prostitutes and there is an open bar. So as you can imagine drunken bikies and sex. Everything becomes fair game” she said.

“Oh have you been through it?” Chelsea asked.

Kelly’s eyes welled up as she nodded.

“Yeah. It wasn’t good” she said sadly as a tear dripped down her cheek.

Chelsea put her coffee down and pulled Kelly into her arms. Kelly wrapped her arms around Chelsea’s waist and laid her head on Chelsea’s shoulder. Chelsea held Kelly for a long time stroking her red hair until she pulled away and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“This life isn’t a good one. Especially when you are alone” Kelly said.

Chelsea shook her head.

“What about Knox doesn’t he protect you?” Chelsea asked with a frown, suddenly worrying about what she had got herself into.

She wondered if she was in the same situation would Mason protect her, would he stop someone threatening to hurt her. Chelsea could feel panic begin to grip at her.

“He does, but in that situation he can’t be everywhere. And I’m not his woman, so it’s not right for me to go and hang off him” she said. “At least you have Mason, if you do find yourself here when it happens, you can stick beside him and he will keep you safe”

Chelsea shook her head and took Kelly’s hand.

“I won’t let them hurt you again. I can’t stand by and let that happen” Chelsea said.

Kelly smiled and hugged her.

“That’s admirable of you, but even you with that spit fire spirit you’ve got burning inside you couldn’t have protected me” she said.