Game Changer (Hell's Saints Motorcycle Club) (6 page)

I parked in front of a long low building with a flat roof and no windows. A half dozen Harleys, a van and a couple of trucks were all parked in front. There was a flagpole flying an American flag and under it flew a flag with the Hell’s Saints insignia on it. So it was here. The safe place was an MC clubhouse
. Of course it was
. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. I wasn’t sure what I had expected but stupid me didn’t expect this. My safe place was the home plate of the shadow people of my childhood. Things had just gotten worse and my brave was on empty.

Then I pulled myself together, got out of the car and headed towards the door.

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dim lights. When they did, I felt the impact of several feral eyes boring into me. The lamb who had just walked uninvited and alone into the lion’s den. The room was massive and was one long rectangle. It had a scarred oak bar that ran the length of it. There were a few pool tables in the back end of the room. Several worn couches lined the walls. In the middle of the room were various heavy wooden chairs and tables. Some round, some rectangle, some square. Most of them occupied. There was a few card games being played and lots of women whose choice of clothing screamed barely there, were draped on the men playing those games.

I felt sick inside. I didn’t want to be here and instantly knew I had made a mistake. This was no one’s safe place. The adrenalin screaming through my body set me in a fight or flight response mode. But I was tired of running so I figured I had better pony up and fight for me and Claire.

I looked straight ahead to the bar. Holy Shit. Now what? Taking a deep breath I walked towards it like I had a right to. Even though there was no one behind it, I thought that would be a good place to start.

I heard it.

Then it pounced.

The stuff of my nightmares. The thing that I had packed up all my earthly belongings to escape. My sister’s would be killer was barrel assing it towards me with hell to pay in his eyes. I was gonna have to high tail it out of my safe place. Thanks a lot Prosper.

“What the fuck, Raine?” Diego was on me before I had gone three steps. “You follow me here? You crazy? WHAT THE FUCK? PRIVATE PROPERTY BABE, NOT COOL.” His fingers were digging into my arm. He was dragging me to the door.

I pulled away from him. Sweet Jesus. I just driven all day trying to escape him and here he was. If I let him take me out that door it was going to be over for Claire and me.

“GET OFF OF ME.” I yanked back. Then I pushed him. Then I kicked at him.

He looked at me horrified and released his grip for a split second. I ran from him and instinctively looked for the biggest guy in the room to help me. Then I stood right in front of that guy.

“I’m looking for the man who’s behind the bar today.” My voice strong and clear. My body shaking.

Everyone just stared at me. It was awful. The stuff of nightmares. I tried again.

“I need to find the guy who is working the bar today.” I repeated desperately.

Diego came up behind me and I could feel his breath on my neck and he grabbed my arm
again
and started to yank
again.
Then big guy put his hand up in a stop gesture to Diego.

“This your woman, D?”

“NO
,
I’m not his woman. I need to talk to the guy who’s behind the bar today.” I was near hysteria.

No one answered. Not one person responded. Those were my magic Ali Babba Open Sesame words. I had played this scene over and over again in my mind. They were the words that held the key that unlocked the door to the safe place and no one was answering. God Help Me.

Diego started dragging me towards the door.

“You got business with me, darling?” A voice came from the back. I couldn’t see him, but thank you Jesus, I could hear him.

“I got this, Jules.” Diego still dragging me. Me still trying to scratch his eyes out.

“She’s got something to say.” The voice was getting closer but I still couldn’t see.

“She’s got something to say, she’s going to say it to me. Outside.” Diego said.

“No brother, ain’t happening. She’s not your woman. She came here looking for the man in charge and today that man is me. Taking into consideration that her face looks like somebody used it for a punching bag, and
again,
she asked for me, I’m going to hear the lady out. Because you know me 15 years, brother, you’re going to be okay with that. Because I know you fifteen years, I’m gonna assume you got nothing to do with the black and blue that she’s sporting.”

Diego stopped dragging me to the door, but to make up for it his fingers were a vice grip on my arm. The man belonging to the voice stepped out of the shadows. He was 6 ft. 5 inches easy. He had on a clean, white wife beater shirt under his cut. A black and silver belt was holding up his low riding, loose fitting jeans. He had muscles on top of muscles with a few muscles thrown in for good measure. His hair was blonde, long and loose around his face. A thin scar ran from the outer corner of his left eye to his mouth. He looked like a Viking God.

“That fifteen years, us knowing each other, just bought me not sticking a knife in your belly for that remark. You know me to ever hit a woman, Jules?” Diego hard and tense beside me.

“That’s why you got the assuming part friend.” Jules eyes were steely blue. “Now, little lady,” he turned to me. “What can I do for you?”

This was it. Make or break it. This was the game changing moment that it all depended on and I was running out of brave.

“I’m Raine, and I’m looking for Prosper.” I said it like it meant something.

Quiet, but not just quiet. Absolute dead silence.

Then “Holy Fuck” from someone at a table.

“Say again, sweetheart.” Jules stepped closer.

“My name is Raine, and I need Prosper.” Voice trembling, brave spilling on the floor.

Diego still clutching my arm. Quiet and furious.

Jules eyes were locked on mine. He broke away a millisecond to nod almost unperceptively towards the door. Then he was back on me.

“You’re gonna want to step back, Diego.”

“No fucking way, Jules.”

“She’s Prosper’s, man and you’re going to step away.” Jules crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Prosper’s? You telling me Raine is Prosper’s old lady, Jules?” Diego held his ground.

“No, Diego, I’m telling you that Raine is Prosper’s
family.
And you want to get that vice grip that you got digging into her arm off. Brother.” Jules looked him in the eye.

“Prosper here?” Diego asked and I held my breath waiting for the answer.

Jules nodded once.

Diego didn’t let go but he visibly loosened the death grip. I tried to yank myself away from him.

He looked at Jules. “This doesn’t make sense man. Are you telling me that Raine is family, as in daughter?”

“Not sure myself, brother. But there’s been a note hanging behind that bar for as long as I’ve been in the MC, and from what I hear longer than that. As far as anyone knows, it has been there a good twenty. That light outside? Shines all night long. Prosper pays that.”

“What’s the note say? Exactly?” Diego was looking at me.

My eyes were glued to Jules. Holding my breath.

“Note reads; Chick named Raine ever comes in that door looking for Prosper it means she needs safe. And she gets safe. If Prosper’s not here, he’s found. No matter where. No matter when. No matter what. Brother minding the store takes care of that. Prosper not around permanently whoever minding the store takes care then too.” Jules replied looking at Diego’s hand still on my arm.

“Look D, I see you got some kind of stake in this. But from my end, twenty years the brother has kept a light burning and the chick has not used that out. Now she shows up with a face that looks like a punching bag and you looking like you got something to do with it. I know you. I like you and I respect you. I’m asking you to step back, Diego.”

“You come here to be safe, Raine?” Diego’s eyes were on me, furious. “You come here because you feeling you’re not safe? Me coming to your house and fucking tending to your wounds. That shit was me keeping you safe. Me arranging it with the club so it’s settled. You keep the green and Claire gets a pass. You tell me you don’t think that’s me keeping you safe?”

“You setting me up, babe?” He dropped the hold on my arm.

I took a step away from him and reached into my pocket, anxiety so bad my whole body a mass of hard shaky movements. I shoved the money at him.

“You left this on the table.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “Yeah, my point.”

“You brought it
back.
I got it for you. I got the shit beaten out of me to give it to you, to keep Claire safe.” I was heaving my chest ready to explode. I was confused and scared and my brain was still all
what the fuck was the man I was running from doing in my safe place
?

“Yeah.” Diego was watching me.

“It was over.
It was over
. Then I go in my kitchen and there it was. All of it. You came two days early and waited in the dark. Then you left it. Like it was no good. Not enough.

Big heaves now.

“You said that if the MC ever found out that Claire’s involvement was more than what she told you, the money wasn’t good enough anymore. You never told me different. You never told me anything had changed. You never said
safe
. You never said
settled.
You never said
pass
.”

I went on with my heart beating in my chest. But I was getting some of my brave back.

“You were waiting for us in the dark, two days early! You came after me when I ran, and you took that money. You took it then you left without
saying a word
about bringing it back. Then it was back. It was back and Jamie was in the papers. Jamie was beaten to death and you left the money. You
told
me. You said it goes wrong, you would be looking for a different color payment.”

I was breathing hard now trying to get it all in.

“So that color to me means red. And red is the color of blood. So if the green is not enough you were coming back for the red
, you said that
. You said it and you never told me anything different. So don’t sit here in
my
safe place
making it seem like I’m out of my fucking mind. I came to the only place I know that might stop the killing my sister thing from happening.
So yeah, damn right this is me not feeling safe.”

God dammit. I had started to cry. Damn him.

“Unfuckingbelievable.
Unfuckingbelievable
.” Diego was running his hands through his hair.

Looking at Jules he said, “That MC shit I came down here to settle.”

“Got that.” Jules answered, looking at me.

Chapter 14

No one moved. In the whole place. The Hell’s Saints Club house was rocking a silence so loud it was deafening. Diego was shaking his head, Jules was by my side and I was looking towards the bar. There was
a note.
There was a
light on.
My heart was so full it was close to breaking with the gladness of it. The spell was broken when some slut (yeah, my first thought) came up to Diego. She made sure I watched as she stretched in her six inch stilettos to press against him and whisper something in his ear. She linked her arm through his and pulled him away from me.

He shook his head and muttered, “Jesus, Raine.” Then Diego walked away with her.

All tits and short tight
everything,
the woman did a hair toss and flashed a look at me that clearly said, “
You’re out of your league here.”

She was not wrong.

“We’re gonna get you something strong, doll.” Jules put his arm around me and steered me to the bar. He sat me down on a stool. He put down two double shot glasses, splashed something amber into them, and poured out two glasses of beer. Handing the glass to me, he lifted it and we tipped them back. The he splashed some more and we tipped back again. The heat hit my belly and my eyes teared up. The second one was a killer

“Drink the beer, honey.” Jules said to me. “It’ll wash away the burn.”

“There’s a note.” I looked at him.

He nodded.

“And a light.” I grinned at him.

“Sure is honey.” He smirked.

Then because there was
a note and a light,
and because the Viking god and I were having a moment, I did my own version of a hair toss. I did it because even though I hardly ever worked it, I knew how much I could really rock the whole tossing the hair thing.

And because just for that moment, the light and the note and the Viking god standing next to me were making me feel that maybe I was not out of my league.

Not even a little bit. Not even at all.

So I shook out my long hair and I smiled a smile so wide that I almost split my torn lip open again. And Jules, well. He smiled right back.

*****

Diego had gone back to the card game with Ellie leading the way. He played a couple of hands badly. His eyes never off Raine for long. He saw the hair toss. He
definitel
y saw the hair toss. Then goddammit, she smiled at something Jules said and he leaned into her. When Diego saw Jules put his hands on Raine to brush the hair away from her face, he was half way out of his seat. Then he saw that Jules was looking carefully at something near her hairline and he forced himself to relax. Jules had been a medic in the Marine Corps and he knew his shit. Better he see if something was seriously wrong there. But Diego felt the jealousy curl in his belly like a serpent.

Ellie watched Diego watch Raine. Ellie didn’t like this. Not one fucking bit. She had done her time waiting for Diego to get how good they were together. The bitch better stay away from her man.

“Yeah, right here. Got that. Right.” Jules had answered on the first ring.

Silence.

“Not too long.” Jules was looking at me. “Definitely been through some shit. Yeah. Got that. Later Boss.”

“Need the room.” He yelled out to the club. Everyone started moving out. No questions.

But not Diego. Diego came right up by my side. Crowding me. Not looking at me.

“Prosper?” Diego to Jules.

I held my breath.

“Yeah, man. On his way, wants the room clear. Totally brother.”

“Ain’t happening.” Diego challenged.

“With that.” Jules.

Jules poured three more shots. One for me, one for him and one for Diego. He left my shot on the counter, and he grabbed the other two in his big hand. He handed Diego the bottle. Then he nodded once to the back of the room, and Diego started walking.

Jules looked at me and winked.

“It’s going to be fine, honey.” He followed Diego to a table in the back of the room.

Diego just kept walking past me. I took a deep breath and turned to the bar to pour the fire down my belly and wait. A few minutes later I heard the door fly open. Then I heard the footsteps that stopped right inside that door. I heard them come from behind me.

“Raine.”

A voice that sounded sweetly familiar. A voice that sounded like firelight, long bended notes on a silver harp and summer nights on a lake. A voice that sounded like my mother, my father, and everything that family meant rolled into one. A voice that sound like home. And although I knew he was coming and I had prayed for him to be waiting for me, I couldn’t look at him. The shame and the fear and the feeling of defeat overwhelmed me. I was that little girl in that van again. All those years ago. Because, although I had tried my hardest to keep it all together, I had failed. All the sacrifice and the hard work and the saving every dime and it still brought me to this. To a place I needed to be rescued from. No matter how hard I had tried, I had failed and that was the darkest secret of all.

So I turned and stood with my back against the bar, arms wrapped around me holding down tight. My face turned away from Prosper.
And he knew
. I could hear the sharp growl when he saw the damage. He looked in the direction of Diego and Jules.

“The cocksucking sonofobitch who did this.” Prosper snarled.

Diego nodded and confirmed from his table at the end of the room. “Dead man brother.”

Then Prosper’s attention was back. I felt his eyes on me and I wanted more than anything to run into his arms. But I knew that if I unwrapped mine, the bad would come shooting up and rip me apart.

He moved slowly towards me and I tensed, my eyes burning brightly from my refusal to cry. Then he was next to me. He was looking at his shoe. I was looking at the spot on the wall.

He knew.

Then damn if he didn’t reach in his pocket and pull out a bar of chocolate. He unwrapped it, popped a piece in his mouth and handed the rest to me.

I reached across the years and took it from him. We sat in silence for a while relishing the sweet taste of years gone by on our tongues.

“You still play that little harp I gave you?” Him not looking at me.

“Every day.” Me not looking at him.

Then I put my hand in his and my head on his shoulder.

“Prosper?”

“Yes little darlin’?”

“I’ve run clear out of brave.” I whispered.

“Just so happens I got some brave saved up just for you, Raine.” He said against my hair.

More silence.

“So Prosper?” I dropped my chin to his shoulder.

“Yes little darlin’?” his voice shaky now.

“You got this?” my voice shaky now too.

“I got this.”

Then I turned into his arms, not a little girl anymore but just the same I held on to him the way a daughter hangs on to her father, and he held me tight. The way only a father knows how to do. We stayed that way for a long, long time. I didn’t see Jules and Diego leave but I know they must have because when I thought to look for them much, much later, they were both gone.