Harmony (The Club Girl Diaries Book 1) (15 page)

The meeting with the devil was enlightening to say the least.

When he told us he was willing to offer up three-mil as a cut of the money he was looking to earn, it told me there was a big player in this game and things were more dangerous than we had initially anticipated. The club wasn’t short of money. With the legal businesses and projects on the side, we all lived very comfortably, well above the average income of a two working parent family. The Brothers all got a cut in profits, more for the senior officers of the club, less for the prospects, but enough that no one struggled.

But three million dollars? That was a shitload of spare cash for someone to just throw around.

“Unlike you,
Daniel
, I don’t put prices on the heads of the people I care about,” I sneered. “Is that how much your daughter was worth when you sold her? Or did you just take a couple thousand and called it even?”

I watched as his face contorted into an expression of fury and his hands balled into fists on top of the table. “You know nothing of my family,” he ground out tightly as he fought to regain his previously calm composure.

I smirked, knowing I’d hit a nerve. “No, but I’m sure you know a lot about mine and how far I’m willing to go to keep them safe. So, I would suggest you grab your shit and go while I’m still in a good enough mood to let you walk away.” I stepped to the side, my Brothers following suit.

My eyes remained on him, the standoff between us causing the heat and tension in the room to crackle. He sat there for a few moments, the rigidity in his body visibly releasing. He brushed off the thighs of his suit pants and stood, his silent bodyguard following his every movement.

“I’m disappointed that things have gone this way, Mr. Cranshaw. I thought you would be more reasonable than this. Smarter, in fact.” Aiken opened the door and they both stepped through, he turned back to look at me over his shoulder. “I apologize for having to drag you away, I hope you manage to return home soon and your night isn’t dragged out too long.” With that he walked off, his words striking me in the gut. I knew he wasn’t done yet.

“We letting him go, just like that?” Wreck asked, cracking his knuckles.

“This wasn’t the place or time for this to be dealt with using force. We didn’t know how many men he had out there or what they were willing to do to protect their boss. I wasn’t going to risk Missy or her girls finding out.” The boys all nodded, accepting my explanation without question. “Do the rounds of the place, make sure they’re all out. We’ll keep an eye out for a bit before we head back.”

Rifle stayed beside me as the others went to make a few rounds of Glow. “He’s gonna play dirty, Prez. Men will do all types of crazy shit when there’s that much money at risk.”

“I know.” I nodded. “Get Tally on the phone and tell him to keep a close eye on Harm.”

“Sure.”

With Glow secure, we were ready to head out half an hour later. It was around 3:00 a.m. and I was itching to get home to my girl even though Tally had texted to say he had her locked down and safe. I trusted him to do whatever was necessary to keep her that way.

Just as we all filed out of the club’s entrance the flash of red and blues caused me to cover my eyes. I swore under my breath. “Fucking cunt.”

My Brothers all groaned and I felt them brush against my back as they rounded to stand beside me. We knew there was no reason for the cops to be here unless someone had called them. We also knew exactly who that would have been.

The club had contacts within the police force, but they were purely for information purposes, not for protection from the law. Fortunately, most of them were all right guys and generally didn’t go out of their way to hunt us down. We did a lot of positive work here and in neighboring towns, from charity runs to free security at high profile events.

We stood under the lights of the entrance as four police officers made their way toward us, hands on their weapons. “Evening guys, sorry to disturb your night, but we got an anon call to say there were some rough looking guys fitting your description carrying weapons. We need to check you all.”

My heart began to race.
Fuck.
My piece was tucked into the waistband of my jeans. Alabama law allowed people to openly carry a handgun unless you’d been convicted of a violent crime, something I had done time for after freshly being patched into the club. I didn’t usually carry a gun on me unless I felt it was necessary, knowing how much trouble I could get in by having one. But as soon as I’d heard the asshole’s name, I automatically picked it up, anger fuelling me.

I wanted to hang my head, knowing that I was about to be cuffed and headed for an extended stay in the big house, but I didn’t. I thrust my chin up and held my arms out. “Have at it.”

The officers went down the line, pulling a gun from each of my Brothers. Most of us had convictions for one thing or another from drugs to traffic violations. As far as I knew I was the only one present who had done time for beating the crap outta some guy and almost killing him. The officers took the weapons and my Brothers’ names. They went back to their cars to check their computers, making sure their rap sheets were clean. Even though most of the officers already knew us by first name and who should or shouldn’t have something on them.

“Kit,” the officer said as he approached me.

“Go ahead.”

He patted me down, starting at the bottom of each leg and working his way up. I held my breath as he reached my waist, feeling around the back of my jeans and the front. When he bypassed it and moved his hands, patting further up my body, I tried to hide my surprise.

My gun wasn’t fucking there.
How had I not noticed that it was missing?
I’d checked it just moments before we’d walked out the door ready to ride home, making sure the safety was on and it was secure before I got on my bike.

“You’re good.” Even I didn’t miss the way he said the phrase, sounding more like a question than a statement.
He was just as surprised as I was.

Aiken stood to my side, the last in the line. My eyes shot up as the kid pulled a gun from the small of his back – my fucking gun and handed it to the officer. “May as well just give you this.”

The officer’s eyes flicked to me, but I didn’t react.

“This gun registered to you?”

Aiken shook his head. “No, sir.”

“You know it’s illegal to carry a gun that isn’t registered to you?”

“Yes, sir.”

He handed the weapon off to another police officer. “You’re gonna have to come down to the station, so we can write this up.”

“Sure.” He followed the policeman to his vehicle.

“Aiken!” he turned to look over his shoulder at me with a grin. I couldn’t help but smile. “Make sure you try get my pop’s gun back, or next time he takes you down to the range to show you how to shoot, you’re gonna be the target.” I tried to give him all the info he would need to make things sound legit. They would ask him who the gun was registered to, and if he couldn’t tell them they might try to do him for theft.

“Sure, Prez.”

“We’ll catch you there, Brother.”

He lifted his chin and climbed in the back of the police car.

The guys got their guns back, all clear, and we watched the cop cars file out of the small lot.

“Why was the kid carrying a gun?” Loose asked, knowing that prospects weren’t allowed to carry weapons unless told specifically to do so by me.

“It’s mine! He fucking slipped it from the back of my pants when we filed out of the place and saw the red and blues. Didn’t even fucking feel it. I was sweating bullets when they came to pat me down.”

The boys all laughed. “Kid has a quick mind and even quicker hands.” Rifle laughed.

“Yeah, to lift that without you noticing. That was fucking ballsy,” Loose commented.

“Lift…I like it. Think he just earned his road name and saved my ass from a long haul in a cell all at once.” I knew Aiken was quick, but not many would have put two and two together and thought that fast.

“Lift it is.” Rifle nodded, the others all grunted in agreement. “Well, let’s go support our boy. Hopefully with a first offense, he’ll get out of it with a fine.”

“Babe.” I squinted through the light, the outline of someone standing over me slowly coming into focus. “Hey.”

Kit brushed my hair away from my face and I cleared my throat. “Hey, you’re back.”

I felt the bed dip behind me and looked over to see Wreck pick up a sleeping Del and give a quick chin lift to his president before exiting the room. Kit walked over and closed the door behind him stripping off his cut, shirt and jeans, leaving him in a sexy pair of boxer briefs that instantly woke my slumbering body.

“Don’t look at me like that with those sexy hooded eyes, I just want to lay down for a little before I have to get up and sort shit for the day.” He climbed in the bed next to me. I rolled, tucking my face into his neck and throwing my arm over his torso.

“What’s the time?” I asked as my eyes drifted closed again.

“‘Bout six.”

“Did you only just get in?”

“Yeah, babe. Had some trouble with the local law.” He chuckled causing my head to bobble on his chest. I leaned over him, propping myself up over his chest.

“I fail to see the hilarity in that situation. Would you like to let me in on this joke?”

He sighed. “Met with Daniel Ashley last night, downtown at one of our strip clubs.”

I shot up. “You what?”

“It’s okay, Harm. We just needed to have words so we both knew where we each stood on the matter.” He touched my arm softly, but I moved away getting off the bed and pacing the room. Just the sound of the guy’s name made my emotions run wild. I was angry and scared all at once.

“So…”

He sat up, shuffling back against the headboard and scrubbing his hand down his face in frustration. “Harmony, I just want to rest for a little bit. I’ve been up all night dealing with this asshole’s bullshit.”

“No. This involves me, Kit. Tell me what happened.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared him down. He had the nerve to smirk at me and I narrowed my eyes even more.

“You look good in my shirt,” he said casually, his eyes studying me.

“
Kit
.”

He rolled his eyes. “Christ woman, okay.”

Kit explained to me what had happened at the strip club. Daniel had offered him money in exchange for me and Kit had refused. I knew he was leaving a lot of the story out. I wanted to hear it all without the baby gloves he was trying to hold me with.

“What are you not telling me?”

“Do you trust me?” he countered. I was surprised for a second and just stood there, not able to form any type of response. He waited for a minute before getting off the bed and walking around to me. “You need to trust me, Harm.”

“I’m trying.”

“Then try harder,” he groaned, obviously frustrated. “I’m putting my ass out on the line, my club’s ass—”

I pushed him out of my space. “I never asked you to. You claimed me,
remember!
”

He scoffed. “Yeah, I fucking remember. Because you’ve given me hell for it since the moment I did.”

I glared at him. “I didn’t fucking ask for this, Kit.”

“No, but if you can’t have faith in me to keep you safe –”

“I did,
twice
. And look what happened!” I pointed to my shoulder, knowing that I was rubbing in his face his failure, but the words just flowed out like a waterfall, my brain refusing to filter it.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled at his hair. “Go on, Harmony, tell me how you really feel.”

“Maybe I should just go. Then you and your club won’t have to deal with my problems.” I turned to walk away, but a rough hand gripped my wrist tightly.

“I’m sorry about the way that came out. It sounded like it was a problem having you here and trying to keep you safe from these guys. That’s not what I meant.” He pulled on my arm so I had to turn to him and hauled me between his legs. His hands hooked around the back of my naked thighs causing my body to tingle. “The thought of them getting their hands on you does crazy shit to my head. It makes me wanna vomit and it makes me want to beat some fucker’s head in.”

I sunk into his touch. “I’m scared, Kit. He sounded serious and he has no qualms about resorting to violence.”

“I know, baby. But you have to trust that I’m going to do everything I can God damn do, to make sure he never comes near you.”

I placed my forehead softly against his, my fight slowly diminishing. I wanted to trust Kit. We were finally at a point where I realized he wasn’t in this for a short term conquest. But fear of being disappointed once again still hung in my mind.

“I need to know what’s going on,” I stated firmly, hoping that at least being in the know would make me feel better about trusting him to take control of the situation.

“I’ll try to do that, but there are just some things that you don’t need to know.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up a hand to halt me. “I’m not saying that to keep you out, I’m saying it to keep your peace of mind.”

I nodded, reluctantly, and tried to push past our little spat. “So, what happened with the cops then?”

Kit laughed. “Little prick didn’t get his way so he called the cops, saying some dodgy guys were hanging around with weapons. Think he thought a few of us might get arrested, take down some of our numbers.” He shook his head still smiling. “Almost worked too. I was looking at doing time if one of the prospects hadn’t thought quick and lifted my gun from the back of my jeans without me even noticing.”

“You didn’t notice someone take your gun?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Kid was like a freaking pickpocket or a magician. One second it was there, next thing I knew he was giving it to the cop and they were booking him for carrying a gun that wasn’t registered to him.”

“Saved your ass, huh?”

“Yeah baby, and owe him one. Think I’m gonna pay him back in the way of a full patch. Not even gonna put it to a vote. He’s proved himself time and time again, and laying his shit down for his president. That takes balls.”

I looked at him stunned. For a president not to ask for a vote at the table wasn’t unheard of, but was very rare. From what I knew about the Brothers by Blood, voting at the table was an important part of their bylaws – the rules they lived by. That being said, the president had enough power to rule on particular issues without having to call a vote.

“Wow, that’s huge. Did he get in trouble?”

“Little. Don’t think he’ll do time, but he may get some kind of probation or curfew type shit slapped on him for a few months, along with a fine.”

“And if he hadn’t done what he had?”

Kit frowned. “I could’ve been looking at up to five years.”

My heart sank and I suddenly felt in debt to this young man. I nuzzled my face in Kit’s neck. “Remind me to thank him.”

There was a hard knock on the door and I almost yelled at them to get lost, the urge to appreciate my man being here taking precedence over whoever the hell was there.

“Tuck your cock back in, the boys are rounding up for Church,” Tally called. I heard him laughing as his boots stomped off down the hall.

Kit hooked his hands under my knees and lifted me up as he stood. I squealed and quickly threw my arms around him as he turned and laid me back on the bed. He loomed over me, my legs still wrapped around his waist. I took the time to admire his stunning face, his prominent jaw and the dark few days’ growth that covered it. His dark, sparkly eyes that drew me in and threatened to never let me leave. I raised my hips, my now soaked center brushing against his barely covered length which began to harden by the second.

He dipped his head, licking at sucking at my neck. “I gotta go to Church,” he whispered. His voice was now quiet and husky and I knew that I was winning this battle. I ground my hips up a few more times before he finally began to throw his forward, meeting me halfway.

“You’re the president, you own the club. They’ll wait,” I told him breathlessly. “But right now I need you to own me.”

He pulled back and searched my eyes, my words apparently exactly what he needed to hear. “Fuck me,” he groaned and began to attack my body like a man starved.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say.”

After I dragged myself away from Harmony and her greedy little pussy, I finally made it to Church and began to hash out with my Brothers the details about what was going on for those who weren’t with me last night.

To say they were livid was an understatement. Brothers by Blood have some serious policies about protecting women and children. They were innocents, who didn’t deserve to get mixed up in messes that their men may have created. Selling woman against their will was a big fucking
hell no
. I knew that all my Brothers would have my back when I made sure that Daniel Ashley paid for his part in an enterprise that disgusted and sickened me to my core.

“I talked to a couple guys I know. One of them is actually engaged to this guy’s daughter,” Mix said as the room quietened down from its outrage. I nodded for him to continue. “My man’s name is Link. He runs a PI style business a couple states away, specializes in finding missing people. Found the daughter about three years after her dad sold her. She was living as one of his associate’s house toys. Got her out quick smart.”

“He sold his own fucking daughter,” Rifle exclaimed in utter shock.

“Dude is crazy dipped in deranged,” I groaned.

“But wait, there’s more!” Mix said in some weird game-show-host voice. I rolled my eyes, but he just grinned at me from across the table. “From what I gathered, Mr. Ashley was a big gambler. That was how he got messed up with this crowd in the first place. He used the daughter to pay his debt, but in their world, selling your family earns you a certain level of respect. It portrays them as ruthless and emotionally detached, the perfect kind of person to do the job he does.”

“So where do we go with this?” Tally asks to no one in particular.

“Seems our man didn’t stop gambling. Higher paying job, you’re no longer looking at poker games and horses. I think he’s in deep and the money he could get from Harmony is his bail out.” Mix leaned back in his chair, a cocky smirk on his face.

The kid knew his shit, he knew people, a lot of people. I don’t think there was any information that he couldn’t find out.

“You think he’s desperate?” I asked, leaning forward and resting my arms on the table.