Chapter Three
Bonnie...
It’s always begins the same. I’m cold and the scrap of cloth that’s meant to be my night gown barely covers me. The only light shining downstairs is coming from the lounge. The rest of the house is shrouded in darkness. I am shrouded in darkness. There is no carpet on the stairs, the wooden steps are rough against the bottoms of my bare feet. My little bony fingers are turning white from gripping the banister bars so tight. I want to help her, I want him to leave. No…I want him to die. The scene never changes. Every detail is the same, every smell never changing and the words being screamed never quieten. If anything, they get louder.
Every slap, every punch, each and every time his hand connects with her body, they always make a sound.
He is yelling at her. She has done something bad but I don’t understand what that is, nor does she. She’s begging him to leave her alone. It’s when she cries that he loses his temper even more. My little heart is banging against my chest and the silent tears are falling down my cheeks. I stand there weak, scared and defenceless, unable to help her. I want to help but she cries when I try, she tells me ‘never ever help Bonnie’. So I remain on the stairs, unseen. It’s when he flings her onto the couch that she appears in my line of sight. This is worse, she knows I’m hiding but she won’t look at me in case she gives me away. This is all I can do for her.
She asks one more time for him to stop and cries out when he wraps his hands around her neck.
They were the last words I heard her say before he killed her. She went slack against the couch cushions and he stands up and stares at her. After a moment he bends over her and wipes his bloodied knuckles on her jeans. When he half turns around so I can see him he shows no remorse, no feelings of anything apart from her being an inconvenience. I’m standing there silently motionless but on the inside I am screaming, I desperately want to fly down the rest of the stairs and cuddle into her. She was gone and now I’m alone.
“Fuckin’ hell, wake up!”
My eyes flutter open and I’m back in the room I fell asleep in with Sparky leaning over me, yelling and shaking me. My body immediately locks into place, his weight is crushing me and I daren’t move.
“You okay? You were screamin’ the fuckin’ place down,” he said, still leaning over me.
I couldn’t reply. He looked too angry and I’m too tired to hope I don’t say the wrong thing.
“Talk to me will ya! Are you alright?” he asked again.
“Please get off me,” I whispered.
He slowly moved away and placed a gun on the table by the bed. Why the hell would he sleep with a gun? Surely he can’t think he needs it for me?
I slowly sit up making sure to keep the sheet around me and take in my surroundings. He hasn’t moved off the bed and he is settling down again on the other side from me. Has he been sleeping next to me all this time?
The room is in darkness but I can see where the door is. I keep my eyes on it wondering when Alannah is going to let me leave through it.
“I’m tired and you’re not fuckin’ leavin’ tonight, so lay back down and get some fuckin’ sleep,” he said, roughly noticing I was staring at the door.
My eyes shot to him as he was getting comfortable in the same bed.
“I can’t sleep in this bed with you,” I snapped, in shock at the thought of it.
Instantly recoiling ready for the slap. This is why they would never leave me alone at home because I never knew when to do as I was told.
He looked at me for a long time before mumbling incoherently while shoving the sheets off of himself.
I edged my way up to the top of the bed as he went in the opposite direction. He stomped to the couch and pulled the large blanket from the floor beside it and threw himself down, groaning as he tried to make his large body comfortable.
Well, that’s a first. Back home no man would’ve done as I asked. Cautiously I lay back down and try to get comfortable myself.
If it wasn’t for Sparky tossing and turning trying to make himself comfortable, the room would be silent.
“What’s going to happen to me?” I asked him. I know Alannah wouldn’t let anything happen to me but I know how clubs work. If they wanted someone to disappear, they knew how.
“I don’t have a fuckin’ clue,” he sighed.
He must have known I was going to ask another question because he cut me off and spoke again. “Go to sleep,” he ordered.
After that I didn’t try to speak to him. It took a long time to fall asleep and I knew he was awake too but we didn’t utter another word to one another.
The sleeper I took last night, which didn’t really help at all, left a metallic taste in my mouth when I woke to a knocking at the door.
Blearily I opened my eyes and saw the sun was up. There were no curtains on the small window so the sun poured in over us. Sparky was softly snoring on the couch with his legs draped over the end still not hearing someone at the door.
By now I am an expert on getting out of bed without causing extreme pain. Pulling the handle down, I realised it was locked and there was no key around. Not only did he sleep with a gun but he had locked me in and now I have no way of getting out.
Oh god, this can’t be happening. I truly believed they would be pleased I came to warn them but now I’m thinking maybe I should have carried on running.
The knock came again and startled me into action. I could ask who it was but I didn’t want to speak to anyone but Alannah. Sparky still hadn’t woken up so I went and stood in front of him on the couch. I stood taking in how relaxed his face was while he was sleeping, for longer than I should have. He didn’t look anywhere near as intimidating as he did last night.
Bending over him, I shook his arm saying his name.
Still nothing.
The banging on the door and my second attempt at waking him up happened simultaneously. He shot up like a jack in the box and I went flying back on the floor. My whole body was shaking in terror while his relaxed features from seconds ago were now replaced with urgent scouting around the room. When he saw me on the floor he rushed over, shoving his hand at me. Scrambling back and hastily wiping the tears away, I realised he was offering to help me up. Embarrassment soon kicked in and I apologized.
“Someone is at the door, I was trying to wake you up,” I tried to explain.
And right on cue, the banging on the door sounded again.
As he passed me he pulled the key out of his jeans pocket, his face never leaving mine like he was trying to work me out.
He unlocked the door and swung it open to find Alannah on the other side. I moved to the side so she wouldn’t be able to see me upset.
“Cas wants to speak with Bonnie now,” I heard her say.
“Yeah okay, give me ten minutes and I’ll bring her to the office,” he told her and shut the door.
He turned and stared me again. I didn’t know where to look or what to say.
Finally, he went to the drawers near me and pulled out a hoodie and he threw it in my direction. It would be massive on me but I took it regardless as my dress was in no state to be worn again.
“That should cover enough of you. I’d sort you out some sweats but they’d fall straight of ya. Go get washed, you got ten minutes,” he said, before turning away.
Behind me there was a small bathroom, I closed and locked the door. It wasn’t the cleanest bathroom but it was a hell of a lot better than anywhere I’ve been. One small sink, a toilet and a shower cubical but no tub. Running the hot water in the sink, I peeled my dress off and shyly hid from my own reflection in the cracked mirror. I’m disgusting to look at. Tommy made sure no one else would want me and looking at the scars across my chest and back, I agreed with him. No one would find me attractive anymore. The bruises and cuts will eventually heal and disappear but the scars will remain with me forever.
“Hurry up, I’ve got shit to get on with,” he shouted through the door. I jumped into action and began w
ashing my face as best I could around the pain of my touch.
After coming out of the bathroom wearing his hoodie, Sparky was already changed and waiting on the couch for me.
He stayed close as we walked to the office that Cas was in. When he knocked on the door he remained close. My hands began trembling and I covered them inside my sleeves.
“Tell him the truth to whatever he asks you and you’ll be gone in no time,” he offered, as he opened the door.
Alannah was sat on Cas’s lap when we entered but quickly moved when she saw us. She came round the desk and sat in the chair next to where I was to sit.
Sparky closed the door and remained standing behind my chair. I’ll tell them everything I know and then I’m gone, I reassure myself.
“Who done this to you?” he asked pointing to my bruises.
Sparky told me to tell the truth but I couldn’t tell him who.
“It doesn’t matter,” I murmured.
He frowned and carried on.
“Why did you turn up here? You could have called Lana and told her your warning,” he asked.
“I didn’t have her number since my father took my phone. I was passing anyway so I came here,” I told him.
I remembered Alannah mentioning Willows Peak, but I had to find out in town where their clubhouse was.
He leant forward on his desk and clasped his hands together. I could see the attraction of him. His strong features are gorgeous and unmasked of a beard that many men wore in our world.
“So, what do you know? And believe me when I say you better not fuckin’ lie to me, after what your fuckin’ family nearly took from me, I ain’t gonna be happy if you spout a load of shit to me,” he said clearly.
His no bullshit attitude took me aback.
“The night Hunter had Alannah, my brother had orders in case my father didn’t make it out alive. When he left. he took me with him and a couple of the others. My brother Joe kept low until he heard news of what happened. When news came back that no one had survived your attack, he went crazy. I don’t specifically know when or what is going to happen but all they talk about it is how none of you are going to live long enough to see the end of the year. My brother wants to make his retaliation spectacular. I don’t know how or when but my brother is coming for you. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
No one said anything. I kept eye contact with Cas but I don’t think he believes me.
“Don’t doubt me. Just because I don’t know when or how doesn’t mean I’m lying. I do know he will come for you. I came to warn you all and I have, now I need to go,” I added, relaxing into the chair.
“No, you can’t leave, where will you go?” Alannah asked, worried for me.
As selfish as it sounds it felt nice having someone worry about me for once.
I wasn’t given the opportunity to reply to her as Cas spoke again.
“Where did you get all that cash from?”
“I took it from one of my brother’s men, let’s say he owed me more than that.”
There was no way I was telling him any more than that. He didn’t need to know who I was on about or why he owed me.
He sat there watching me while he thought things over. Sparky was still behind me and Alannah to my side. I could see she wanted to say something. I could also see she wasn’t refraining from speaking out of fear for being out of place but because she knew how this worked. The president thought, then acted on what was best. I’m sure if she doesn’t agree she will voice it though.
“Here it is, you’re the daughter of the man who took and beat my old lady, killed her friend right in front of her and you’re the sister of his clubs new fuckin’ president. You look like you’ve been through hell and I don’t like it, but I can’t take you in.”
“Cas?” Alannah gasped.
She looked mortified at his decision. I squeezed her hand in mine telling her I expected no less.
“Babe, if I let her stay here, the club will be on fuckin’ tip toes and not to mention who her fuckin’ cunt of a brother is. Bonnie being here will bring more trouble to our door. No, I’m sorry but you have to go,” he said.
“Trust me, I understand. I’ll grab my bag and leave,” I told him.
“At least stay for breakfast. You need to eat with those pills the Doc gave you,” Alannah said, standing next to me as I rose from the chair.
There was no point in arguing with her so I smiled and nodded once.
“One more thing, why come to warn us? We’ve been waitin’ for your brother, it’s not like we haven’t been expectin’ him at some point” Cas asked.
“Because I owe Alannah, I didn’t want her getting caught up in a man’s war again” I said truthfully.
The Lost Souls would’ve been stupid not to expect my brother to come after them but for the sake of my conscious I needed to make sure Alannah expected them too.
Sparky...
Alannah and Bonnie left the office and headed for the kitchen while Cas and I remained behind.
Last night I had major reservations about Bonnie’s motives for turning up here. I still do, but after being woken up to her screaming from a nightmare in the middle of the night, I knew that shit wasn’t fake. Both Alannah and Cas has asked who hurt her and both times she has evaded the question. Whatever she’s been through it has definitely left its mark on her.
“Maybe she does need our protection?” I blurted out taking a seat in the chair Bonnie had just been in.
“You lost your fuckin’ mind brother. If she stays here we’d be inviting every Ghost Rider fuck to our door,” he argued.
I know he is right but something isn’t sitting well with me, I just don’t know what it is yet.
“Anyway, how do we know she hasn’t been sent here as some sort of spy?”
“It had crossed my mind, but maybe we could use that to our advantage? If she’s lyin’ and hopin’ we’ll take her in so she can get information on us, we could feed her false info, see what she does with it.” I offered.
I had him thinking. I haven’t a fucking clue why I’m fighting for her to stay but I don’t have any trust in the woman and after witnessing her fight her unconscious demons, there’s something telling me she needs help too.
“It’s too much of a risk. I’m not sure it’s a good move to put the club in right now,” he said adding, “This wouldn’t be you thinkin’ with your dick would it?” he finished, cocking his eyebrow questioningly.
I haven’t hid my desires to sink myself into her in the past but since I found out who she is, that desire has well and left the building.
“It isn’t actually,” I scowled. “C’mon, I’m fuckin’ hungry.”
We only made it halfway to the club kitchen before Alannah was heading towards us. She is the only woman I have allowed myself to get close to during my life. Never once have I felt any want for her, and from the first day I met her sitting on a tool box chatting with Oak while he worked on his bike, I felt protective over her. Her father –Mark Blake- had not long died and if you didn’t pay much attention you could’ve easily missed the grief she buried deep in her heart. Even at the age of six years old she knew when to show her grief. I was an only child growing up and soon after I joined the club she fitted in well as a surrogate sister.
Right now though, her emotions were loud and clear on the surface. She wasn’t fucking happy.
“One guess, Bonnie,” Cas whispered before she reached us. Looking at her, I don’t think he is wrong.
“Babe, before you say anything, I…” my brother started.
“Don’t babe me Cas. You can’t let her stay just until she gets better?” she hissed.
“We’re not a fuckin’ hospital Lana, we look out for our own. She isn’t our problem,” he snapped back at her.
I stepped back out of the firing line.
“But she doesn’t have anywhere to go. She needs somewhere safe to heal properly,” she argued.
Cas sighed heavily beside me, running his hand
through his hair and looking anywhere but at Alannah.
“You’re really gonna pitch her out?” she asked quietly.
“Fuckin’ hell babe. If I take her in, I’ll be putting my brothers at risk and after everything we’ve been through lately, we don’t fuckin’ need it,” he told her.
“Fine, I understand,” she said finally.
I didn’t like this look on her face. She was thinking up something and it was about to blow back over my president.
When she started back towards the kitchen, I knew trouble was looming if we didn’t find out what she was thinking.
“Barbie,” I called out but she carried on walking. “Seriously Cas, you should know by now she isn’t goin’ to let that girl walk out on her own,” I told him.
“I know,” he grated out through gritted teeth.
When she got to the kitchen door, she turned around.
“Just so you know, I’ll be going with her until she’s better. I should have helped her sooner. If I did maybe she wouldn’t be in this pain,” she said.
She wasn’t shouting or playing games with Cas, but being deadly serious.
“This is why I didn’t fuckin’ take on an old lady. She knows I’m not gonna let her leave now,” Cas growled.
I kept my mouth firmly closed. Barbie wasn’t playing. Perhaps she does know how to play Cas but with this girl, it wasn’t a game she was participating in.
“I’ll leave you to it then Prez…your old lady, your problem,” I chuckled.
“Oh no, you’re comin’ with me,” he replied, setting off towards the kitchen.
Why the fuck couldn’t I keep my big mouth shut?
I followed at his orders and was barrelled into the wall as Alannah came bustling out.
“She’s not here,” she cried out, running towards the door leading outside.
“That woman is seriously gettin’ on my last fuckin’ nerve,” Cas yelled, following his woman out.
“You were the one who couldn’t be without her, had to make her yours,” I reminded him, sarcastically.
“I’m not on about Lana, shithead…her fuckin’ friend.”