“kotenok otdykha,” I whisper as I lay a soft kiss against her temple. I am telling my little kitten to rest. She needs her strength.
I’d been outside smoking on my cigarette for just a minute or two when Reed came outside. He was a man on a mission. I knew he wanted answers. I want answers as well. But it won’t do us any good to pace around and fume when she needs to be resting. She will get her rest, even if I have to knock this Prez flat on his ass.
“She wake up yet?”
“No. If she had, I would’ve told you so,” I grumble at him. He’s been nothing but on my ass since she’d gotten back to the club. “You need to let her rest. She’s been injured. Hurt. She needs to recover from that. You wanting to wake her up before she’s ready will only hurt her in the long run. I know you are eager to be a good leader and find the man that did this to her. Have no doubts, I will find this man, and I will kill him for hurting my little kotenok.” What I say is a promise. Jenna has fought me on our relationship and will continue to do so. She is very strong willed. It’s one of the reasons I’m so drawn to her – her fierce spirit.
“Shit. Elena was right. You’re into firecracker, bad,” Reed chuckles, and I nod.
“Bad isn’t even close,” I argue with him, smiling. “Which is why no one will be demanding information from her until she is feeling up to the task. She will rest.”
“Fine, but the moment she’s ready to talk about it, she will be in my office. And Dmitri?”
“Yes?”
“We will be making some changes that Jenna won’t approve up. She’ll be fuckin’ furious, but until I know exactly what happened and who hurt her, she’ll be protected around the clock. All the women will. No woman is leaving without an escort, and I mean the whores too. It’s a lot of shit trying to figure out what’s going on with Kyle’s case and then Jenna getting attacked. We don’t know if the club was the target, or if it was a random thing. I’ll take it that you’ll be handling the situation with her attacker?”
“With pleasure. Say, what’s happening with Kyle?”
“The fuckin’ idiot took a plea deal. Ten damn years. Said the evidence just kept stacking up against him and he didn’t want the needle in his arm or twenty-five to life. It irritates me. We all know he didn’t kill that poor girl. I know he was set up, and I plan on finding out who the fuck framed my brother.”
“We will figure it out. With all of our resources, we will find something. No one can cover their tracks up that good.”
“You’re right about that, brother. Oh, and I hired a construction crew to finish the cabins. Offered them double if they’d have it done by yesterday. Fuckers got it done two days ago! The girls can go back to their old rooms now. Spread the word, will ya?” I nod at Reed, agreeing to share what he told me. I am a bit disappointed. This means Jen will be staying back in her room. I wonder if she’ll decide to come back to my bed. If she’ll want to.
Chapter 15
You became the monster you fear the most, so the monster won’t overtake you. - Anonymous
Jenna
I wake up in my room to a throbbing sensation pounding in my head so hard that it is difficult to open my eyes. Somehow, I manage to push past the pain. The first thing my eyes land on were Spart and Max. They both lay at the edge of my bed. On full protection mode, Spart is staring into the corner of the room, and Max has his eyes glued to the doorway.
“Good boys,” I whisper quietly. It doesn’t take much for them to notice I am awake. They both turn towards me, each walking on opposite sides of my body and lean down to shower my face with kisses. I don’t know if I believe in God anymore. I haven’t prayed in a long time to be frank. I just know that these two are my protectors and that I’m pretty damn lucky to have them in my life.
I grab the sheets, pulling myself upright so I can sit on the bed comfortably versus staying laying back. With each try, I fail more miserably than the last. I am weak and still in a shit ton of pain. I’m also stubborn as all hell, which is why I’ll be sitting up on this damn bed in a matter of time.
“You should be taking it easy.” I glance to the corner. Dmitri sits in my overstuffed chair with a coffee and a newspaper. His eyes are barely visible past the paper. He, no doubt, heard my struggles instead of seeing me.
“Don’t you know by now, this is me taking it easy?” I pop off as I grab onto the sheets forcefully and yank my body up. I can’t help but bite down on my lip and hide the groan that wants to slip past my lips. Everything fucking hurts. I am hurting in places that I don’t even know I could ache in, and that still doesn’t stop me as I slide my legs over the side of the bed and stand up. No matter what I do, I sway, ache, and burn. I hear Dmitri’s dissatisfied grunt from behind me as he stalks around the bed and pulls me into his arms.
“You are a stubborn woman, kotenok. You need to be sitting, resting. I want to know what happened to you, and you will tell me, but first, you will rest more.”
“No. I’m not going to sit in this damn bed and sleep. How long have I been out anyway?”
“A day.”
“A day?!” I repeat back, shocked that I’ve slept for this long. I’ve never slept for longer than six hours in my entire life.
“Sit down, Jenna. You have a nasty concussion. All those cuts on your legs need tending to. For once, just do as you’re told.”
If I wasn’t hurting like all hell, I would’ve given Dmitri an ear full. I’ve never had anyone speak to me in the manner that he just did, and yet all it did was center me. Where I would normally fight, I just give up and accept what he wants me to do.
I glance down to my legs; there are more cuts than I thought. On just my right side I have six long cuts, stitches covering them. “Sit down, I’ll put some ointment on them and wrap them up for you.” He is trying to be nice, to be the nurse, and help make me feel better, but his tone came out strong and thick as if I was just a bother to him.
“And that isn’t done already? What kind of bedside service is this?” I joke, trying to get him to smile. This situation sucks. Maybe it’d suck a little less if I could somehow make jokes about it.
“You started to stir after the stitches. It was more important for you to rest,” Dmitri states, lowering me back down to the bed. I cringe, the dogs coming right back to my side, growling at Dmitri.
“No!” I scold them. It takes them a moment to listen to me, but finally, they lay down, so they are staring directly at Dmitri. You’d think that since he’s been around so much that they would automatically trust him, but they don’t. I really think that if this was Enzo who was trying to help me, they would be just as angered by me being hurt. It wouldn’t matter who it was, Spart and Max would always be my defenders.
“They refused to leave your side from the moment I brought you in here. Enzo had to bring food and water in here for them, just so they would eat.” Dmitri grabs what looks to be a first aid kit from the floor. He pulls out ointment and applies it to my cuts. He is trying to be gentle, but even the slightest amount of pressure burns like a mother.
“Sounds like them”, I breathlessly say, jerking my leg as he touches the deepest cut.
“Does it hurt?” He glances up to me, and I don’t even try to fake it for him. I simply nod. He becomes gentler, barely grazing his finger lightly over my skin, just enough to get the ointment where it needs to be.
“Thanks,” I mutter to him. I take his arm with my hand and give it a small squeeze. Something that I know would show him how much I appreciate everything he is doing for me. Dmitri and I are in a new relationship, he doesn’t have to help me right now. It’s not like we’re married, and he made an oath to stand by me in sickness and health or even beatings, for that matter. He is doing this all because he cares enough to. And that, well…that really means a lot to me.
Dmitri leans down and kisses the top of my forehead softly. Those damn forehead kisses melt me into the floor. It is the sweetest show of affection that a man could ever give, even my broody Russian. “A
re my lips not good enough for you?” I ask him, smiling deviously.
“Your lip is busted in two places. Are you trying to hurt yourself, little one?” His voice is gruff. No, I don’t want to hurt myself, but his kisses are comforting. All I can feel right now is the aching all over my body, and I just want to feel something that doesn’t hurt. His eyes search mine for something. I could stare at his dark orbs all day long.
He lets out an annoyed sigh as he dips his face lower and covers my lips with his. He is purposefully being gentle with me. Dmitri kisses me softly; it isn’t a kiss that I am used to with him. He’s typically rough, demanding. There is nothing sensual about Dmitri Petrov. But right now, he’s being so gentle.
I begin to move my arms up his chest and hope to link them around his neck, but he stops me by grabbing them. He even pulls away from our kiss, and I whine about it.
“Don’t do that. I will hold you in bed later, but you will not try to get sex out of me today, girl. Not when you need to rest and heal. Plus, we have things we need to do before Reed unleashes his wrath upon me.”
“I was not trying to get…” I can’t even finish because Dmitri gives me the look that says ‘Stop speaking. I know you’re bullshitting me right now,’ and he is right. I was trying to get sex out of him. I want to feel something, not this pain.
“Come. Let’s go see Reed.” Dmitri wraps the gauze over all my cuts, securing them with medical tape. I am just now realizing I was just wearing an old Vipers MC shirt. I slide my arm up on his shoulder as he finishes with the last cut and pulls me up. He slides his arm back around me, helping me walk over to my dresser. I grab the knob, pulling at the drawer, and take out a pair of black leggings.
“I hate to admit this, but I’m going to need your help getting these on, just…don’t let me fall,” I tell him, and he grunts in response, keeping his hand around me. Dmitri tries to hold me as I try to get into my leggings by myself. He has enough and growls at me to stay while he quickly but efficiently pulls my leggings up over my cuts. It hurts like a bitch, but I feel a hell of a lot better being somewhat clothed.
After that, he walks me into my en-suite bathroom and shuts the door as he walks out. I did my business, and as I was washing my hands, I got a good look at my face.
I look like complete shit.
I take a brush back through my black hair, tying it back in a high messy bun, then taking a hot washcloth and pressing it against my face. I take it around to the back of my neck, cleaning off the dried blood. God, I want a shower, but I know there is no way I could do that without assistance. I normally wouldn’t mind showering with a man, these circumstances are a lot different than any other that I’ve had, though.
My face is swollen. I look like I just won a round of Chubby Bunny. What’s worse than the swelling is the bruising everywhere. Black, blue, shades of purple, and even green, mark my face. That does it, I am not walking around this clubhouse looking like some victim. We all know I am far from it, I’ll be damned if I look the part.
I yank out my makeup, thanking the power of YouTube for showing me how to use this damn beauty blender. By the time I am done, I look like my body is just holding in a lot of salty shit. I don’t look like the punching bag I was the day before.
I apply a little bit of bronzer and walk to the door. Dmitri is sitting on the edge of my bed, petting the dogs. He immediately stands up and helps me make my way over to my closet. He helps me remove and toss off the MC shirt, and I grab a deep red sweater and slide it on. I try to bend over to grab the matching red heels when Dmitri grabs my hands. “You aren’t wearing those death traps right now.”
“I’m not walking barefoot around this place,” I tell him. I don’t even want to think about how dirty this place is. Yeah, we clean it, but there is no way in hell those germs aren’t back right after we disinfect everything.
“Don’t you have flats or something?”
“Flats,” I repeat, completely dumbfounded. I am shocked my eyes don’t just pop out of my head. I hate flats, absolutely hate them. I dig through my closet and find a pair of old slippers. Yeah, I don’t think so.
I finally find what I am looking for, a pair of Converse. Dmitri helps me get them on and quickly secures his arm right back around me, holding me close to him as I walk. Both dogs follow quickly behind us with each step that we take.
Dmitri and I walk into Reed’s office. Not church, but his private office. Enzo is already there, and is Elena. Dmitri shuts the door behind us, walks me over to the couch, and sits down next to me. Maximus stays in front of me, and Spart sits on the couch on my opposite side, putting his head in my lap. I rub him, so I won’t have to focus too much on the interrogation that is about to happen.
“I want to know everything, Jen,” Reed states, staring right at me. I’m sure he does want to know everything, but I won’t give him all the information. There are parts that were specific, knowledge that only I need to know, like exactly who sent that coward after me.
I glance up to my Prez, my friend, then look to Elena, seeing the worry stricken over her face. Enzo doesn’t look much better. “I went on a run with the boys, when I was jogging back to the car, they were a little bit behind me. It all happened so fast, nothing was unordinary, and then I was jumped by some man.” I pause for a moment, recoiling at the memory. Dmitri puts his arm around my back and rubs my shoulder softly.
“He wrapped a wire around my neck.” I shut my eyes for a second, trying to not relive what is replaying through my mind. I may be strong, but even the strongest break. I’ll be damned if I am gonna break today, though. “He pushed me to the ground, and I fought back, but it didn’t do much good. He just kept tightening the wire, and then he decided to start hitting and cutting on me. When I saw the dogs, I commanded them to bite, and we got away.”
“Which park?” Reed was seething with rage. I can understand why. I was attacked; this isn’t something that would ever be taken lightly. I know he cares about everyone here, whether it was me or a club whore, he’d be asking where we were. The thing is, I have a lot of fuckin’ secrets. I’m filled with demons, and I’m not going to be sharing my shit with anyone.
Not even Reed.
I stared right into his eyes. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Fuck, Jen, you want this person to attack another woman? You got away, she might not be so damned lucky.” Enzo rises from where he is seated, throwing his hands up in the air as he snaps at me. Both Spart and Max start snarling at him with his sudden outburst.
I look to Reed, not giving Enzo an inch. Surely, Reed will accept what I am about to say. We need to come to an agreement. I’ve known Reed long enough to know how he works, how if you give him something he can work with – he’ll accept. Safety in numbers and all that. I have the perfect solution. “I won’t go out on runs alone anymore.”
“No, you won’t be going anywhere alone anymore.”
“What do you mean?” I ask him, starting to worry. I need my privacy, it’s the only way I can see my son. No one in this club knows about him. Sundays are my day to leave the club, and tomorrow is Sunday. I’ll be damned if I can’t see Wyatt. I haven’t seen him in almost a month because of our schedules.
“You will have a member with you 24/7, and that’s that.” Reed isn’t wavering, there is no wiggle room in this scenario, no matter how much I want it. I’m sure as hell gonna try though.
“That’s ridiculous! I was just some random woman in the park, it’s not like he came after me because I’m a member.” I lie through my teeth at the last bit, what Reed doesn’t know won’t kill him.
“And how the hell do you know that, Jen? Hmm? What did he say to you?” He pauses, it’s almost as if he can tell that I’m lying to him. “What did that mother fucker say to you?”
I look at Reed, not wanting to tell him what I know would be the gavel slamming down on the table about my protection. I don’t know what came over me, maybe part of my conscious. I’m surprised I have any left at this p
oint. I’ve lied repeatedly to everyone in this club, somehow, today it’s different. For once, I don’t lie to Reed. I tell him the one bit of information that I wanted to keep to myself.
“He didn’t say you would be this pretty. I’m going to have my fun with you’,” I repeat exactly what my attacker said to me, goosebumps lifting over my skin.
Reed walks towards his desk, throwing his hands over everything and shoving it off the side in a blind filled rage. “You aren’t to go anywhere without another member, we’re treating this as a threat against the club. And Jen, you’d better fuckin’ listen to me, don’t test me with this. This is for your protection”
I shut my eyes and take deep breaths, in and out slowly, before my own anger becomes as evident as his. “What about Sundays?”
“Same goes for Sundays, you have to have someone with you.” I want to scream at him, to tell him to go fuck himself. It won’t do any good – but I’ll argue. I’ll argue until he finally revokes his decision and gives me my freedom back.
“Reed, no. That’s ridiculous. Sundays are my day, my only day to do what I want. I’m not having some fucking babysitter follow me around.”
“Yeah, you fuckin’ are, Jen, and this isn’t up for negotiation! You can still do whatever the hell it is you normally fuckin’ do! Go get your nails done, or shopping at the mall. You can still do that shit!” he roars out at me, the kind of anger that you’d see between a brother and a sister. I’ve seen Reed screaming this ferociously at Kyle time and time again. He only does it when he cares about someone. But that doesn’t make it any better. I don’t go see Sherry or Wyatt every Sunday, but a couple times a month I do – on my safe day, the day where I know that I can slip away.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Reed?! I was almost raped again and you’re telling me I must have a watch dog around me all the time. This is ridiculous!” I realize I’ve slipped up right after the words spill from my mouth. Internally I’m chastising myself, wanting to slam my head against the wall for being so dumb.