Rescued: COMPLETE (2 page)

Tina sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't plan on taking her with me, I don't even really know what happened," she said.

Laura came out of the bathroom and sat down at the table next to Tina, waving at the waitress.

"Okay, I tell you what," the woman said, "You need cash work and somewhere to stay. Don't tell anyone your real name, or hers either. Go to my brother's place. I won't work there because the men get handsy, but shit, girl, you're out of options, and your sister will be safe there, no one touches a little girl on the Devil's Cowboys' turf."

Tina nods, slowly.

"Where is your brother's place?" she asked, "When do I go over?"

The waitress looked at the clock.

"Now," she said, "They'll be closing up shop. I'll write down directions, it's only about two blocks away - there's not much town here to speak of."

Ten minutes later, clutching the directions in her hand and stammering her thanks to the woman, who didn't charge her for the breakfast, Tina was en route to the biker bar, watching the sunrise with her sister.

The bar was, in fact, still open for business, motorcycles line up outside the door, which shocked Tina. She and Laura crept quietly through the door and looked around.

Apparently all of those dangerous people she was afraid would be wandering the streets earlier were busy in here.

There were a dozen men, all wearing ripped jeans and black leather vests.

Tina put their stuff in the shadows by the door and pointed at it, glaring sternly at Laura until the little girl, pouting, sat on it instead of marching up to the nearest man.

Bracing herself, Tina stepped into the lighter area of the bar.

"Oh, hot damn, good morning to you, princess," one of the men said, and they all turned to look at her.

"Um, Mary sent me? From the diner? Her brother works here? I need a job?" Tina said, her voice quavering and barely audible.

"Shit, I got a job for you," an older man, no shirt under his leather vest, said lewdly, and everyone laughed.

Two of the men got up and came over to Tina, taking her wrists and pulling her over to the bar.

"Take a seat, princess," one of them said, "Let's talk about a job for you."

"That's right," the older man said again, and Tina winced.

She wasn't really sure what to do. These big men were crowding her, and one of them had pinched her bottom, and they were ignoring what she said.

"Tina, I want to go home," Laura said from by the door.

The bikers immediately straightened, and, as one man, turned to stare at the little blonde girl.

"Tina?" she asked.

"Laura, kiddo," Tina began, before one of the men standing by her cut her off.

"Girl, what the hell were you thinking, bringing a little girl in the front room here?" he asked, glaring.

Tina started to cry.

"I'm sorry, I was at the diner and I asked about a job, and Mary told me that I needed my head screwed on straight, and sent me here, she said her brother would give me a job in cash, and that Laura would be safe here, I'm so sorry, I've never been away from home before, I don't know what I'm doing," she said, hiccuping a little, the words coming out in a rush.

The biker who had questioned her winced.

"Shit, Mary sent you here with a little girl? What the hell are you running from?" he asked.

"My parents, our parents, my stepfather ran off with my older sister, and my mother locked all of us girls in the house and called us whores, and then a few days ago, she said that our stepfather and Taylor were coming back," Tina babbled.

The biker sighed.

"So, your stepdaddy was diddling your sister and your mother blamed you, and is letting him come back?"

Tina nodded.

"Shit," he said.

One of the others spoke up.

"Stew, you do need a new girl around here to serve food and sweep up, and she and her sister could stay on the top floor," he said.

Stew nodded.

"No offense, girl, but I wasn't looking for someone like you," he said, "I was looking for someone who could hold her own a little better with the men, and you look like you'd just let them throw you over their shoulders and take you back to their caves."

Tina shrugged and didn't say anything. She just looked at Laura, standing by the front door, looking lost and frightened.

Stew looked at Laura, too.

"Aw, shit, Mary has gotta stop doing this to me. Yeah, you can stay, but I ain't paying you a real wage. You get a bedroom and tips, and we'll help you out, but I ain't giving you squat else until you prove you're not more work than you're worth," he said.

Tina blinked.

"Thank you, sir," she said, looking up at Stew, "I really appreciate it. When do you want me to start?"

"I'll show you where you're gonna sleep, and in a few hours you can come down and clean up after us," he said, and she nodded.

The room that Stew showed her was small, but tidy, with two twin beds and a closet that looked echoing and pathetic with their two little bags tossed in the corner.

A dresser between the two beds and a small bathroom completed the space.

It was boring, but Tina could have cried again, at the clean place with the big deadbolt on the door. She and Laura unpacked their little bags, and she started to make a mental list of what else they needed, starting with more clothes for both of them.

A few hours later, Tina was wiping down sticky tables and sweeping the floor while Laura followed her around, dancing around the room and singing to herself.

"Hey, hot stuff!" a cheerful male voice rang out.

Tina looked up at the man who had just walked in. He was so gorgeous he almost took her breath away, with long brown hair and a smile that was so wicked it made her want to run away and into his arms, all at once.

"Hello," she said quietly, not pausing in her work.

"Oh, key, kiddo," he continued, seeing Laura, who went shy and simply waved at him, "It looks like you two are exactly who I was sent to see. You need to be someone else, right?"

Tina nodded.

"The police might be looking for us," she said quietly. She was trying not to volunteer information, after what Mary and Stew had told her about how to keep herself safe.

"Oh, those pesky po-po," he said, winking at her, "Let's get them right off track."

Stew walked in in time to hear the new man's words.

"Kenny, you found Tina, good. Before you take your pictures, she and Laura need to go get new hair," he said.

"Have they been reported missing? Tina is eighteen, right?" Kenny asked, businesslike.

"Yes, I am, why?" Tina asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you aren't jailbait," he told her with a wink. Tina's head spun at the way this man went back and forth from ridiculous to serious.

"They have, but the picture is terrible," Stew said, and motioned them all over to show them the picture of Laura and Tina, a year ago, in ill-fitting calico dresses, too shy to look at the camera, hair in long braided pigtails.

"Won't take much work for you to look like a new woman," Kenny told Tina, and Stew nodded.

"Thank you, sirs," she murmured, "I'll do whatever you think I need to."

Kenny grinned.

"Aw, man, you're so sweet I can't even torment you too badly," he said, "Let's just get your hair cut and dyed so I can make your driver's license."

"But I can't drive," Tina said.

Kenny and Stew blinked at her.

"Okay, we'll take the van, it's easy, I'll drive you to the beauty salon, and you can drive back," Kenny said, grabbing some keys from a hook by the back door and heading out.

"Well?" Stew asked, when she didn't follow, "He's not gonna wait forever."

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BOOK TWO

Tina threw her head up and yelled "I'm coming, I'm coming," as she maneuvered through the packed bar with a tray of food held over her head.

"Well, speed it up, Princess," the table by the door bellowed.

A month ago, she would have flinched, but now she just ignored it and concentrated on not dropping the heavy platter.

She served the table, dodged the one who tried to grope her ass, and wound her way back through to the kitchen.

"Hey, Stew, I'm taking my break," she said to the enormous man working the grill and cussing.

“If you see fucking Logan, tell him not to step fucking foot in this place ever again, or I’ll break the little shit’s face,” Stew said, “This is the last time I sweat my balls off in this shithole because he’s too busy getting his dick wet to show up for work.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

She walked out and leaned against the wall near the back door, staying in the well-lit area, making sure that she’d left the back door propped open carefully.

So far, the men had been pretty good to her, but Stew and Kenny had been very clear about how dangerous it would be if a few drunk men caught her alone, or even if one did. They were watching out for her, but they couldn’t protect her from the sleazier members of the club if she wasn’t under their eye.

Tina saw the guy skulking towards the back door and waved her arms, trying to get his attention. He came over to her, and she tried not to wrinkle her nose. He smelled like stale beer and body odor.

“What, you finally want a piece of this?” he said, grabbing his crotch and leering at her.

“No,” she said, edging towards the door, “I wanted to warn you that Stew is really, really mad at you this time, he said, um, he said not to come back.”

He smiled at her and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her face close to his.

“Let’s get one thing straight. Just because Stew and Kenny have made you their pet bitch, doesn’t mean that you get to tell a man like me what to do. I’m a Cowboy, and I will fuck you up, and then I will fuck you,” he said.

Tina winced and held still, paralyzed with fear.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “Stew said to tell you-”

He slapped her face with his free hand.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what Stew told you. If Stew tells you to confront a full Cowboy, tell him that you’ll get down on your knees and suck his dick, instead. It would be safer than fucking with someone like me,” he growled.

“Logan, get the fuck off of my bargirl and the fuck out of my sight,” Stew said, his booming voice seeming to fill the entire parking lot.

“She gave me lip,” Logan began, “Held me up getting to work-”

Stew cut him off.

“You were supposed to be at work three hours ago, asswipe, you don’t have a job any more. Go get another Cowboy to let you tinker in his basement for beer money,” he said, flatly.