“Come on, darlin’. Out you come.”
Extracting me from the closet comes with a price for the man as I kick and bite, trying to free myself from his large-handed grasp. “Jesus, woman!” he shrieks as my teeth rip at his flesh. Twirling me quickly, he pulls my back against his torso and wraps his arms tightly around my chest and broken rib. The fight leaves me as the pain floods back in. The woman walks closer to me and inspects my face. I wonder if she recognizes me from the bar, though I know I look vastly different now than I did that night.
“Judging by the smell of smoke on you, I’m betting you’re the one whose sooty tracks we followed from the salon. The question I’m wondering is, were you the one who started the fire or were you the one that put it out? Which is it?” she asks, watching my face for what I can only assume is guilt.
“I saved it,” I whisper.
“Is that so?” she asks skeptically. “Did you happen to see who did it if you were the savior of my salon?”
I know I have no choice but to answer with this brute trapping me. Let’s just hope that my answer doesn’t get me killed if these two are friends with my kidnappers. “It was a man wearing a leather jacket with orange and green writing and a white skull on the back,” I reveal, waiting for their response nervously.
The woman’s eyes light up and instantly look at the man holding me. “You sure about that, sweetheart? Was it a white skull or a red one?” she asks as if she’s testing me.
“It looked white from the place I was hiding,” I reply. God, I hope my honesty doesn’t end with me back in the possession of those bastards. Death is a better option if that’s the case. “It was the same symbol the men who kidnapped me wore. I couldn’t be found by them so I hid.” The man holding me suddenly lets me go and jerks me around to face him. His face is mere inches from mine.
“Kidnapped? Men wearing those colors kidnapped you? When?” he yells while shaking me. “Why would they kidnap you? Are you one of their whores? Do you run drugs for them?” he continues to bark at me while I try to move my face away from his verbal attack. “Answer me, woman,” he yells.
“Yes, those fuckers kidnapped me from my bed because of my roommate. I don’t know why they wanted her, but they took me as collateral instead. They choked me out and shoved me in a trunk, but I escaped and have been hiding here since!” I scream. Fuck, my verbal brain to mouth filter just spilled everything to this complete stranger. What the hell is wrong with me?
The woman edges closer to me. I can smell her thick perfume blanketing me. The man releases me just as her hand touches my shoulder, sending me scrambling away. “What the fuck do you people want with me?” I yell. “If you’re here to kill me, just fucking get it over with.”
“Kill you, doll?” the man says, nearly laughing with each word. “What do you think, Maj? Do you buy her story or should I call the boys to bring over the other cage to dump her body?” The woman's eyes narrow as she’s evaluating me. She walks around me like I am on an auction block about to be sold. She suddenly stops and motions for me to come closer. I do what she says and move forward just close enough that she can’t grab me.
“What’s your name?”
“Dani,” I stutter.
“Well, Dani. Since you saved my salon, I’m going to help you out. Voodoo here is going to take you back to our clubhouse under my protection. I’ll make sure that you get a room to yourself, food, and clean clothes. You show us we can trust you, and I’ll even let you work at the salon to earn your keep. What do you say?”
“You’re kidding, right? You come in here busting down the doors with this fucking linebacker manhandling me, and you think I’m just going to move into your humble abode and play happy camper? Lady, you’re bat-shit crazy!”
“Ha! I like your spirit. Let me lay it out for you, Dani. You come live with us or you end up back with the bastards who kidnapped you. You’re far safer in our clubhouse than you would be on the streets. They’ll never look for you there. So, I’ll ask you again. Clubhouse or whorehouse? It’s your choice.”
“You’re offering me protection, a home, food, and a job. What’s the catch? No one in this world is that nice anymore,” I ask with trepidation.
“You helped me out so I will help you out. If you behave and keep your nose clean, we’ll make sure you stay safe and out of the Tribe’s hands.”
I really don’t have a reasonable choice at this point. The alternative to saying no is much less appealing than being what I can only assume is her personal slave. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about the necessities. Fuck, I hope this is the right decision.
“Fine. I’ll fucking go with you back to your clubhouse. By the way, why the hell do you call your house a clubhouse? Are you five years old?” I say, hoping my mouth isn’t about to get me into trouble.
“It’s not just my house, baby doll. You see that guy?” she says, pointing to the Sasquatch next to her. “There are fifteen more guys just like him who live there. My husband is the president of a motorcycle club, so I’d stow that fucking mouth of yours if you still want to have a home.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I utter. Fifteen men just like this asshole. What the hell did I just sign up for?
“That’s what I like to hear. Obedience will get you far in our lifestyle,” she says. Turning to the man, she barks more orders at him. “Take Dani here back to the clubhouse and get Ruby to help her clean up and put her into one of the guest rooms upstairs. She is off-limits to the guys at the club unless she says otherwise. She is to be treated like an extension of my family until otherwise decided, you got that, Voodoo? You make sure every one of the guys know that. Someone fucking with her is like someone fucking with me. Heads will roll if one hair on her head is harmed. ”
Off-limits? Do I even want to ask what the other women do for these guys if she’s branding me off-limits? The man grunts and drags me out of my temporary home. Pulling me behind him to a truck parked on the street, he all but shoves me into the cab before sliding into the driver’s seat. He starts up the engine and pulls away from the salon. The man stays silent during the entire drive. We twist and turn down the streets before he passes an Upland sign. Holy shit, he’s taking me back toward the city I lived in before the kidnapping.
“Do you guys live in Upland?” I ask.
“Yes,” is the only response I am given before he turns to head up into the mountains. Since moving into this town, I have wanted to see Mt. Baldy. I never imagined I’d be seeing it for the first time riding in a truck with a tattoo-covered biker. Thinking about our surroundings gives me hope that once the smoke clears, I might be able to make it back home to retrieve my money and my possessions. The thought of the photo of my parents lying there in a room waiting to be stolen or thrown out sickens me. I’ve got to get back there and get them before that happens.
Voodoo pulls onto a dusty dirt road and drives deep into the mountain side. A few minutes later, a metal structure comes into view with several motorcycles dotting the drive in front. Voodoo slams on the brakes and veers into a parking spot on the left of the bikes. He jumps from the truck before even turning off the engine. Throwing open the door and pulling me out, Voodoo walks me to the front door and shoves me into a room filled with leather-clad men and women in tiny little outfits. The room is in stunned silence upon seeing me. Looking around the room, I notice worn leather couches sit in the center of the space while beer and Harley neon signs line the walls. The worn hardwood floors under my feet have seen better days, just like some of the older men in the room. The smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and cheap perfume lingers in the air
“Guys, this is Dani. She’s under Maj’s protection until further notice. Keep your rod and tackle to yourselves and leave this bitch alone under pain of castration. Got it?” he yells into the silent room. Grunts and murmured yeses fall on the room as Voodoo shoves me off toward the stairs. Ascending the stairs, Voodoo deposits me in a tiny room. “Go get cleaned up. Ruby, one of the club girls, will bring you shit to put on. Stay in this room until someone comes to get you. Got it?”