North Kings of Carnage MC

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to those who know the just of

riding a motorcycle on the open road.

To finding someone misjudged and not just a

broken soul but as their missing piece.

To self-discovery whether it’s solo or with a

companion.

ASPEN

THE HARD CHAIR I’m sitting on is pressed into
my ass, and I re-cross my legs trying to get
comfortable. Looking around the office, I scan the
posters of half-naked women, and butterflies fill my
stomach. Am I going to end up on a poster? God, if
I get this job, my parents are going to disown me, I
know it. He’s left me no options. Whether they can
see that or not is no longer my problem. I’ve tried
everything, and this is where I’m left.

The door behind me opens and a tall blonde

woman strolls in. She’s wearing a crystal two-piece
that looks like it’s made of mesh. It’s gorgeous and
shows her body in just the right way.

She sits behind the desk and pulls out a laptop.
“Okay, so you’re Aspen,” she states, clicking

open my application.

“Yes,” I say a little too eagerly, scooting to the

edge of the wooden chair.

“I’m Valley, the house mom.” She continues to

scroll across the screen, her eyes squinting as she
examines it harder.

“Hi, thanks for getting back to me,” I say in a

friendly tone. I desperately need this job, if I don’t
get it, I’m homeless and screwed.

Her eyes pop over the screen at me, and she

bites  her  bottom  lip  with  toothpaste-commercial-
white  teeth.  She’s  really  pretty.  Insecurity  runs
down  my  spine,  but  I  don’t  break  eye  contact.  If
I’m  going  to  work  here,  I’m  going  to  have  to  step
out of my comfort zone and build some confidence.

“Have you ever danced before?”
“No, but I used to be a gymnast and I catch on

really quick,” I defend.

“Mhhm, what’s your stage name?” Her tone

comes off as bored.

“Um, just Aspen will work.” I shrug, I didn’t

know I need some exotic name, otherwise, I would
have come up with something awesome.

She sits back in her chair and crosses her arms,

her eyes taking me in with what I assume is
amusement.

“You are different than the other girls; basic,

but pretty,” she observes, tapping a perfectly
manicured nail on the desktop. I curl my nails into
my palm, making a mental note to paint them.

Blinking a few times, I’m not sure if that was an

insult or compliment.

She closes the laptop.
“Okay, follow me.” She stands and opens the

door to the office. I grab my purse and follow her
out. Right across the hall, she takes me into a room
filled with vanities, all the lights are off because it’s
in the middle of the day, but the smell of dancers
from the night before lingers in the air. Racks on a
wall hold various wigs and clothes of every type.

Valley steps up to a vanity in the back and

presses her hand to the tabletop.

“This will be your vanity. If you don’t want

something  used  or  stolen,  take  it  home  with  you.”
She  says  with  a  bored  tone.  Swallowing,  I  can’t
help  but  want  to  touch  the  vanity  too,  it’s
something  that  is  mine.  My  ex-husband  has  been
trying  to  take  everything  from  me  in  this  divorce,
but he can’t take this.

“This way,” she sings, walking past me. Her

heels click on the floor, and I tilt my head sideways
to  look  at  them.  The  heel  is  really  tall,  and  the
straps  wrap  around  her  ankles.  I’ve  never  worn
anything  like  those  before,  but  I  need  to  get  some
shoes like that for sure.

I follow her across the hall and into a locker

room. Both sides of the room are stacked with
silver mini lockers, and a bench sits in the middle.

“This is the locker room, here is your locker.”

She stops and hands me a piece of paper from her

cleavage, reminding me of the fortune you get from
a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant.

“I’m the only one who has the code to open

this, so it’s safe for your purse or other shit you
want to lock.” She looks at me, her lips pursed and
eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

“Okay,” I mutter, taking the code.
She takes off again, and I make a mental note

of the locker number and hurry up behind her. In
the main area where the stage and chairs are, I take
the chance to look around. I never get to see inside
these places because they only come alive at night.

“You need to come two hours before opening

hour  to  rehearse,  get  used  to  the  pole.  One  of  the
girls  might  help  you  with  a  couple  dance  moves,
they  may  not.  You’ll  dance  one  week  from  today
and if you screw it up, then you’re fired.”

She looks over her shoulder. “So I suggest you

get  some  clothes,  get  the  moves,  and  get  the
personality  if  you  wanna  work  here.”  She  huffs,
crossing her arms. My brows furrow from her tone,
it’s  almost  as  if  she  doesn’t  like  me.  Lifting  my
chin, I nod at whatever she says. I need this job, it’s
the  only  job  left  in  this  town  that  I  can  get  at  this
point.

“Are you scared?” she asks with amusement,

and my eyes narrow in on her.

“Not at all,” I lie. I’m terrified. Only one man

has ever seen my body naked and now I’m going to

put it on display for strangers.

Her eyes size me up, her lips pulling into a

smirk.  “Good.  If  you  work  out,  you’ll  be  like  the
babysitter  every  man  wants  to  fuck.  You  look
obtainable.”  She  so  bravely  puts,  and  I  have  to
keep myself from choking on my next breath.

“No body hair whatsoever, if you need to be

waxed  I  can  hook  you  up  with  the  club’s  salon.
Don’t  put  on  lotion  or  moisturizer  because  you’ll
slide  right  off  the  pole  and  get  hurt,  and  the  smell
rubs  off  on  the  clients  and  then  we  have  angry
wives calling asking why their men smell like a ho.
Don’t wear heels higher than seven inches. I would
check  out  the  brand  Pleasers,  they’re  the  most
popular  and  have  a  ton  to  pick  from.  You  have  to
pay  the  club  a  hundred  dollars  a  night  to  dance
here,  if  we  have  celebrities,  the  house  pay-out  is
higher.”

She stops rambling, her hand in the air as she

turns around so quickly her hair slaps me in the
face. I’m overwhelmed by her presence alone,
much less all this new information.

“You won’t be ready for private dances, so we

don’t have to go over that,” she informs, cheek in
tongue. Meanwhile, I’m trying to remember
everything she just said. What kind of shoes did she
say to get?

“Walk slowly through the club, you’re a

goddess men want to stare at. If you waltz in here

like a crackhead, you become unappealing. Do not
ever sit or stand on the floor and do not get drunk
while on the clock.”

“Oh-okay,” I mumble. “Should I be writing this

down?” I ask as she continues to ramble off rules.
Most companies give you sheets of paper to look
over and sign, but Valley is just assuming I’m going
to remember all of this.

She makes a humming noise as if I amuse her

and smiles.

“One last thing. Do not bother or talk to

North.” Her tone dips and I’m taken aback.

“Who is North?”
“He is a part of the motorcycle club that owns

this club. He sits in that chair.” She points to a lone
high back throne sitting in the back. “That’s the
most important rule, Aspen.”

Taking my eyes from the Game of Thrones

looking chair, I shrug.

“Not a problem. I’m done with men, they all

suck,” I growl, my ex-husband leaving a sore spot
in my chest.

“Welcome to Centerfolds, Aspen.”
Walking out of the dark building, the sunlight

blinds me causing me to raise my hand and shield
my eyes. My phone rings in my purse, and I stop in
the middle of the parking lot to find it. I swear this
purse eats everything that goes inside of it. Finally,
all the way at the bottom of the damn thing, I pull

out a pay-as-you-go phone and answer it.

“Hello?”
“Did you get a job yet?” my mom greets, and I

roll my eyes.

“I did, actually.”
She sighs heavily into the phone, not happy that

I’m becoming independent without her, my
husband, or the Lord’s help.

“You know, I’ve been praying you’d gain your

senses and go back to your husband like the Lord
wants,

Aspen.”

Her

voice

cracks

with

disappointment, and my heart aches. Ever since me
and Kace started seeing differently, my mother has
done  nothing  but  throw  Bible  verses  at  me,  telling
me  to  stay  with  my  husband  during  the  hard  times
as  well  as  the  good.  I  loved  Kace,  and  did
everything  to  make  him  happy,  but  when  his
devotion leaned more to drugs and booze instead of
his  daughter  and  I.  I  decided  game  over  last  time
his fist collided with my face.

Jerking my car door open, tears in my eyes that

my own parents won’t help me in my time of
despair, I hammer in the final nail to the coffin that
defines our relationship.

“Yeah, well, because of Kace, my job is

stripping. I had to get a job at a strip club so I can
try and keep my daughter!” I holler into the phone.

“ASPEN! You are not to show your flesh—”
“I don’t have a choice. You think this is easy

for me? Because it’s not. It’s the only way!” I
throw my purse into the passenger side of the car,
tears streaming down my face.

“You’re not my daughter. You can’t be. Until

you cleanse your soul and take back your husband,
don’t you dare step foot in this house. Do you
understand me? And that goes for that abomination
of a child!”

I grit my teeth, how dare she say that about her

own granddaughter.

“I told your daddy from the start, I didn’t think

that was Kace’s kid and seeing how you so easily
decided to be a whore, I’d say my suspicion was
right!”

Feeling more angry than ever, I scream into the

phone and hang up, tossing it onto the dashboard.

My back begins to sweat sitting inside the

steaming hot car, my palms sweating as I strangle
the steering wheel.

Clenching my eyes shut, I see Kace and I as

kids, sneaking out and being mischievous. The
smiles on our faces and the butterflies in our bellies.
But when I open my I remember the pain and hurt
of Kace, the pulling of my hair and screaming in my
face when he’d come home after work drunk from
meeting his buddies at the bar.

I can’t live in the past, I have to live for the

future and as I stare at the strip club in front of me I
think it’s safe to say that those sweet sixteen

NORTH

CURLING my fingers into dull blonde hair, I tilt
her head back as far as it will go, the light above us
illuminating the sweat glistening on her neck. She
moans, the sound of her whimpers conveying she’s
close to coming, but too bad for her, I’m closer.

Gritting my teeth, I come, the expression on my

face hardening as I finish, leaving her wanting for
more as I pull out of her.

Turning away, I tug the condom from my dick,

the sound of me pulling up my pants and loss of
breath filling the room.

“You really are an ass, North,” she complains,

tugging her jean skirt over her bare ass.

With a smirk on my face, I toss the condom in

the wastebasket in the corner of the office and look
at her. “Yet, you keep coming back for more,
Valley. Why is that?”

Straightening the extensions hanging out of her

hair, she glares at me with an unreadable twinkle in
her eyes. “Good question,” she mumbles unhappily.
But she knows why she keeps coming back, and it’s
because the times I do let her come… she almost
passes out from lack of oxygen and pleasure. Valley
has had something for me since the day we met,
and we’ve been fuck buddies ever since.

Shaking my head at her attitude, I zip up my

jeans  and  open  the  door  to  walk  out  of  the  office.
The  music  is  loud  through  the  strip  club  as  usual,
spotlights of every color pulsating to the rhythm of
the  song  playing  through  the  speakers.  The  walls
are dark with no windows because no one has any
business  looking  in,  the  matching  black  hardwood
floors creak beneath my boots as I take note of the
place filling up which is normal for us. Centerfolds
is  the  best  place  to  be  Thursday  night  through
Sunday  morning.  Our  women  are  talented  and
classy, and we have alcohol which a lot of clubs in
this area don’t have.

Our floor host, Ariel, spots me, her eyes lighting

up as she locks in on me. With hair as bright red as
the mermaid Disney character, but with eyeshadow
always  perfected  in  wild  vibrant  colors,  she  is  a
character  of  her  own  making.  Tonight,  she’s  in  a
black tank top and leather shorts leave little to the
imagination,  but  just  enough  for  me  to  wonder
when  Valley  will  promote  her  to  dancing  so  I  can

see what she’s got under those skimpy clothes.

“Hi North.” She winks before walking past me,

allowing her hand to lightly brush down my arm,
feeling my muscles.

“Hey sweetheart,” I reply, but I doubt she hears

me over the rap music thumping through the
building.

Each dancer picks their songs, which means the

night  is  filled  with  a  wide  variety  of  music.  Two
steps up, I find my way to my chair. I sit here three
nights  a  week  to  make  sure  everything  goes
smoothly.  It’s  a  high  back  leather  throne  with  a
footstool to rest my feet. The location gives me full
view  of  the  entire  place,  except  for  the  private
dance  area.  My  job  is  to  protect  the  women  and
keep the club from the cop’s radar.

I’m the key enforcer for the Kings of Carnage

MC.  Centerfolds  is  one  of  the  multiple  business
fronts  to  float  clean  money  for  our  other  ventures
that are far from walking the lines of the law. We’re
not  a  huge  club,  but  we  can’t  have  any  reason  for
authorities to look into our shit. So my job is mostly
to  keep  Centerfolds  quiet  and  be  the  muscle  on
runs.

The lights dim just as my ass hits the seat. One

of  our  girls  named  Bad  Bunny  begins  swirling
around  the  chrome  pole  like  an  angel  kicked  from
Heaven  for  her  sins  as  she  descends  to  Hell  with
the  rest  of  us.  With  her  legs  wrapped  around  the

pole,  she  bends  to  the  point  her  black  hair  nearly
touches  her  ass.  She’s  thicker  than  some  of  the
other women, but her perky tits and pink nipples fit
her  figure  perfectly.  Besides,  she  wouldn’t  be  up
there if she wasn’t one of the best. We don’t have
half-ass talent here, Centerfolds is the real deal.

Ariel steps up to my chair and hands me a beer

like she does every night just as the next girl comes
onto  the  stage  to  the  left  to  dance.  “Pony”  by
Ginuwine  plays,  a  song  played  regularly  by  the
girls.  I’d  be  a  liar  if  I  said  I  hadn’t  gotten  drunk  a
couple times and took the pole into my own hands
a  time  or  two  myself.  I  like  to  dance  when  I’m
hammered,  what  can  I  say?  The  girls  around  here
call me Magic Mike two-point O.

I visually scan the area, making sure everyone

is behaving beneath me. All eyes are on the dancer
as the testosterone can be felt in the air.

Guys standing on the floor cheer for Bad

Bunny, throwing twenties and fifties at her in hopes
she’ll grace them with her presence even if it’s just
to take their money. Rubbing my chin, I take her in.
From those gaudy pink heels to the fake bunny ears
on  her  head.  She’s  a  looker,  but  annoying  as  fuck.
Get  her  backstage  and  she’ll  talk  your  fucking  ear
off  about  her  damn  cat  back  at  home.  The  only
pussy  I  want  to  talk  about  is  the  pussy  I  stick  my
cock in.

The music fades, the lights dimming on the

main stage so Bad Bunny has enough time to grab
all her money without looking greedy to the crowd.
With the attention on the side stage, I take the free
time to check my phone and make sure none of the
guys have messaged me for anything back at the
clubhouse.

I take a pull off my beer just as a spotlight hits

an unfamiliar face in the middle of the stage, I set
my phone down, curious.

Valley didn’t mention a new girl, then again, I

didn’t give her time to say much before or after I
was done fucking her. While I oversee security
here, Valley handles the talent. She’s what the girls
call the house mom.

This new girl has shoulder-length blonde hair,

soft eyes, unmarked skin. She’s wearing a black
sheer robe, her back to the pole and eyes cast
down. Like a virgin lost in a sea of sex and sin. It’s
eye catching, to say the least.

Lifting my hand, I grab Ariel’s attention, and

she leaves the men she was waiting on, her hand
balancing a tray full of tips and cigars as she makes
her way to me.

“Who’s that?” I point to the woman I haven’t

seen before.

Ariel looks to the stage and back to me. “New

girl,  name’s  Aspen.”  Ariel  nods  with  her  response.
“She’s  been  here  before-hours  for  a  couple  weeks
learning  the  ropes  from  Valley,”  she  explains

further.

DJ Nerve taps the mic to introduce her. “Let’s

give it up to our new girl, Aspen, heart of ice, but a
soul of fire!” his rugged voice growls through the
speakers.

The music kicks on, and her body starts to

move.  “Nightmare”  by  Halsey  plays,  and  she  rolls
her neck, her hair falling into her face right before
she  flings  around  the  pole  like  a  dark  angel.  Her
robe flying behind her. Every movement is so fluid,
it’s  more  than  dancing,  it’s  art.  She  doesn’t  dance
like  the  other  girls,  there’s  something  different
about  her.  Dropping  onto  all  fours,  her  back  pops
up  and  down,  her  hand  slapping  at  the  floor  right
before she pulls herself up to her knees and rips her
robe  open,  her  eyes  still  cast  down  as  she  reveals
perky tits in a fishnet bralette, her thong matching.

Brows furrowing, I watch closely. She’s lost in

the song, dancing as if she’s living the lyrics and not
dancing for a bunch of horny men. The alabaster
skin in front of me has no tattoos, no piercings that
I can see. She’s unmarked in every way. Aspen’s so
pure that it baffles me as to why she’s even up
there.

The beat continues to thump as the rhythm

plays  on  and  Aspen  continues  to  tell  a  story  with
her  body  on  the  stage.  Wrapping  a  leg  around  the
pole, her creamy ass cheeks come into view as she
swings  and  does  a  sexy  move.  I  don’t  know  what

it’s  called,  I  just  watch  her  in  fascination.  Now  all
the way at the top of the pole, she takes her top off,
the  small  scrap  of  material  flying  into  the  crowd
allowing  some  drunk  bastard  to  catch  it.  I  stand,
making sure to lay eyes on the man in possession of
the garment so I can be sure to get that back. I’ve
heard  the  women  talk  in  the  dressing  room  about
how  expensive  lingerie  is  and  her  being  new,  her
attire will be limited for a while.

Just as the song comes to an end, she slips from

the chrome pole to her feet. The beauty of Aspen
on display for me, with her tits in full view, her
stomach not tight and fit, but smooth and sexy, I’m
intrigued and certainly turned on.

She lifts her head just as the lights dim, hooded

eyes landing on mine. The crowd between us
disappearing for a split second before the room
darkens to black.

Stepping down from my throne, I head to the

man  who  has  her  top.  He’s  about  five  feet  tall,
wearing  a  wrinkled  suit,  with  a  tie  hanging  off  his
neck.  I  tap  him  on  the  shoulder,  pointing  to  the
black fabric rolled into his hand.

“I’mma need that back,” I tell him with a hard

expression. I flare my nose, trying to hold my
temper in that he even thinks he gets to keep it.

He sneers. Not giving him a chance to cause a

scene, I snatch it from him and walk away.

Left of the stage, I push the heavy curtain out

of the way, finding Aspen wrapping her naked body
up in a Kimono. The silk material hides her body
from me, concealing what I really want to see up
close.

The room smells of a variety of perfumes and

makeups. The soft glow from each vanity filling the
room with just the right amount of lighting to make
the girls look like models when sitting in their
chairs. Girls idle chit chat about regulars coming in
and how much they’re making in tips.

Aspen sits down at a vanity at the end of the

room, keeping to herself. A wallflower if I ever saw
one, but one lost in a desert of selfish people. Stick
to the wall, babe, nobody here is your friend. I
think but don’t say.

The women notice me as soon as I step foot in

the  room,  my  presence  getting  them  excited,  they
all  begin  to  talk  to  me,  standing  to  catch  my
attention. Jesus, it’s flattering, really. But too much
at  times.  I  guess  my  reputation  precedes  me,  then
again  I  know  Valley  tells  all  the  girls  to  stay  away
from  me  so  it  makes  them  at  much  more  eager  to
get my attention.

It’s a game. One I play very well myself.
I give a smile, rub my hand down one of their

backs in passing, but who I really want is at the
back of the room. I want to know who Aspen is,
why she’s here?

Coming up behind her, she’s sitting in a silk-

covered chair messing with makeup on her vanity.
Her eyes slowly slip up, finding mine in the mirror’s
reflection. Her lips part, dark green eyes surprised
to see me.

“This yours?” I hold it out to her.
She smiles, her cheeks turning red. “Yeah,

thanks.” Her voice isn’t silky smooth, it’s laced
with an edge. Smokey and sultry without even
having to try.

Tossing it on her vanity, she grabs it quickly.

Her cheeks blush the color of a rose that’s been out
in the sun too long, its vibrant color faded into a
light pink.

“Be careful where you toss your shit, the men

will take it and they’re not easy to get back,” I tell
her, my voice coming off harsher than I intended it
to, but that’s just who I am. I say exactly what I’m
thinking  and  getting  in  a  brawl  over  retrieving  a
fucking bra back for one of the girls is more trouble
than it’s worth. Her face hardens from my tone and
it occurs to me how out of character it is for me to
be  back  here.  I  never  come  in  here,  usually,  I  just
have  Valley  get  on  to  the  girls  if  they  fuck  up,  or
return belongings they lose to the crowd.

Why am I back here? When have I ever not

been able to resist the pull of a hot woman? What
has gotten into me?

“I’m North,” I introduce myself. “I keep an eye

on things around here, make sure you’re safe.” I

keep  talking  instead  of  fucking  leaving,  but  I  want
to  hear  her  voice,  see  more  of  her  face  and  look
into  her  eyes.  If  Jinx  taught  me  anything,  eyes  tell
you a lot about a person.

She looks up to me with a look of purity, green

irises the color of leaves in the summer.

“I’m Aspen,” her voice is light and airy, tugging

on something unfamiliar inside of me. She’s so very
different from any creature I’ve ever come across.

“Let me know when you get off work and I’ll

walk you to your car, you being new, I don’t want
some bastard thinking he can get one over on you.”
I look to the floor, anywhere but her eyes. It’s not
uncommon  for  us  to  walk  the  girls  to  their  cars  at
night to make sure they’re safe but I’ve never come
to  one  of  the  dancers  and  personally  walk  her  to
her  car  after  work.  My  actions  confuse  me,  this
feeling inside of me different.

Rubbing my neck anxiously, I turn away. I need

to  get  back  to  work.  Heading  out  of  the  dressing
room,  I  spot  her  in  on  one  of  the  dozen  mirrors,
turning in her chair to watch me walk away. I find
Valley  standing  at  the  entrance  of  the  room,  her
arms  crossed,  a  brow  raised  in  an  unspoken
question. She’s a good fuck, but clingy as hell, man.

“I see you met the new girl.” She grins.
“Is she new?” I shrug, as if I don’t keep track of

who is who at this place. Including her.

“Don’t act like you don’t know any of us.” She

squints her eyes in knowing. Her lips cocking to the
side as she silently reminds me I just fucked her.
This has nothing to do with the girls of the club and
everything to do with her.

Raising a brow, I relax my features. My lips

pulling into a smirk. “Not anyone important.” I
deadpan, and her sassy ass grin falls flat.

The song in the background changes as I exit

the space, not giving Valley another second of my
time or even share the air I breathe. I have one
focus, returning to my throne.

We are kings, after all.

NORTH

MY  HEAD  RESTS  on  a  pillow  with  my  arm
wrapped  around  it,  snuggling  it  to  my  body.
Plucking the earbuds from my ears, Halsey playing
“Gasoline” is cut short as I roll over onto my back.
I’m  at  the  clubhouse.  Yawning,  I  look  to  my  left
because  I  never  go  to  bed  alone,  and  find  Cookie,
the club ass.

I shove her in an attempt to wake her ass up.

She groans, her mascara is smeared down her face
and onto one of my pillows. Her dark hair mangled
and looking a fright this morning. It’s one of those
nights where I went to bed thinking Merry
Christmas and woke up with Trick-or-Treat because
the beer goggles are off. The present I saw last
night is a cruel joke in the light of day.

Did we fuck? Nah, I had to be really hammered

to screw her.

I shove her again, her limp body tensing

beneath my touch.

“Come on, get up. Get dressed and get out,

Cookie.” Finally, pushing herself up, she looks
around the room.

Sliding off the bed, I grab some clean clothes

from  the  dresser.  I  snatch  a  white  shirt  that  looks
like  it’s  been  worn  so  much  it’s  threadbare  in
places,  then  I  grab  the  usual  ripped-up  jeans  and
some underwear.

“What time is it?” she mutters with sleep heavy

in her voice as she lifts her hand palming her
forehead.

“Time to get out,” I deadpan, moving from the

dresser to the bathroom, slamming the door shut
behind me.

Turning the shower on, I climb in and lower my

head, letting the hot water rinse the night before
away. My flesh readies for another day of living the
life of a King.

I didn’t used to always be a King. It’s not as

glamourous as it sounds, I’m constantly looking
over my shoulder, and not because I’m an outlaw,
but because of the skeletons I left up north.

My previous club could come looking for me

anytime.

I committed the ultimate sin. I left, I broke the

brotherly code and according to the bylaws, it
could mean my life.

Thankfully, Chaos took me in, seeing where my

heart really lies. Met him at a bar fight. I was angry
and  just  started  beating  the  shit  out  of  people  and
before  I  knew  it,  Chaos  and  I  were  the  only  ones
standing, and a friendship grew. He knows all about
the  other  club  and  how  I  was  selling  my  soul  one
dead  body  at  a  time.  Pulling  the  trigger  became  a
silent  whistle  to  the  reaper  to  come  and  collect
what I’ve just gifted him. I was giving him innocent
souls  for  a  club  I  wasn’t  seeing  eye  to  eye  with.
They didn’t kill for reason or revenge. They called
upon me to do their dirty work simply because they
could. When they finally showed me they were not
a  brotherhood  I  wanted  to  be  in,  I  left.  I  admit
when Chaos introduced me to the Kings of Carnage
and  I  prospected  under  Vic,  I  started  getting
nervous with some of the shit that was going down,
I  was  afraid  I  traded  one  bad  choice  for  another
until  Chaos  promised  me  a  hostile  take  over.  We
cleaned  house  of  every  motherfucker  that  didn’t
know  what  being  in  a  brotherhood  was.  I’m
thankful  for  running  into  Chaos  every  fucking  day
and would throw myself in front of a bullet for him.
He made a brotherhood I’d never step away from.

Soaping up my chest, my hands running through

the curves of my pecs, I einse my body and turn the
water off. There is no way to clean the scum
covering my soul.

Dressing, I grab my toothbrush and add the

paste.  One  hand  on  the  counter,  I  look  into  the
mirror as I brush my teeth. My bright blue eyes ice-
cold  and  soulless,  carrying  so  many  secrets  that  I
can  hardly  stare  at  my  own  reflection.  Spitting,  I
rinse  my  mouth  and  run  my  fingers  through  my
dirty  blond  hair.  It’s  getting  some  length,  falling  to
my  brows  when  wet.  I  feel  my  chin  and  cheeks,  a
little  scruff,  but  nothing  worth  shaving.  With  the
quick  once-over,  I  decide  I’m  done.  Opening  the
door to my room, I find Cookie gone.

Good.
I’d like to say I’m not an asshole, but I am. I

know what I want, and what I don’t. People can’t
handle honesty, thus making me the bad guy.

Opening the door to the clubhouse, I find Apple

pulling a hideously ugly glove up her left arm. She’s
an  odd  one  but  has  a  personality  none  of  us  can
help  but  like.  She’s  the  one  you  go  to  when  you
want  gossip.  She  hears  everything  because  she’s
like a fucking ghost. Always cleaning the club, but
fucking quiet as a spirit shifting through the halls.

“Any chance I can get some clean sheets?” I

wince, knowing I just asked her this yesterday.

Her head snaps up, her baggy shirt shifting with

the fast action but not enough for me to see what
she’s got underneath there. “Why don’t I just burn
them so I ain’t gotta do this every day?” she says
with a half-laugh.

Winking at her, I smile at her sassy ass.

“Thanks, babe.”

“Mmmhmm.” She rolls her eyes, looking back

to the rag and spray cleaner. “Gonna have to take
stock in gloves the way I’m goin’ through ‘em with
all y’all. Damn.”

Turning around, walking backward, I say, “I’ll

grab you a bottle of the good shit from the club
tonight as a thank you.”

She doesn’t respond, but I see that lip want to

smile. I head down the stairs. The opposite of the
hall has a pole you can slide down into the main
room. I only take it when I’m drinking.

Downstairs, I see Jinx is sitting at the bar

messing with his phone, sunglasses firmly in place
even inside a building. Sliding up next to him, I run
my hands back and forth through my hair, still
trying to wake myself up.

“How’s things going with the rails?” I ask. He

found an ingenious way to run things through the
train cars not too long ago.

He nods. “Fine.”
This is Jinx, the man of one-word answers who

only  speaks  when  spoken  to.  I  joke  with  him  that
one  day  he’ll  get  drunk  enough  I  will  jinx  him  by
saying  the  same  thing  at  the  same  time.  Jinx
handles getting the drugs in and out of Uprising for
the  Kings.  The  Samoan  has  arms  the  size  of  some
people’s thighs. We all swear he works out instead
of sleeping.

“You gonna come out to Centerfolds tonight?” I

ask, looking for casual conversation.

Jinx turns his head to me, but with his

sunglasses on, I can’t lock onto his gaze. He shrugs
his shoulders and gives me a grunt before giving his
full attention back to his phone.

I sigh. “Well, a grunt is something.”
To this, Jinx laughs. “Shut up, fucker. If I get

my  shit  done,  I’ll  come  watch  the  ass  swirl  while
you  pass  the  hours  of  the  night  away  calling  it
work.  If  you  don’t  see  me,  then  you  know  I  got
busy. That enough for ya?”

I half-laugh at the asshole. Standing, I pat his

shoulder.

“That’ll do!”
Outside, the weather is hot and I’m aching to

get  on  my  bike  and  ride  before  the  sun  sets.
Bouncer is leaning against his bike, smoking. When
did he get back in town? Bouncer is a nomad and is
like a fucking ghost popping in and out of the club
without  me  knowing  it.  He’s  loyal  though,
whenever  I  need  him  he’s  always  there  no  matter
where he might have been at the time I called upon
him.

“Hey fucker!” I call to him. He nods, a grin

spreading across his face. “When you get in town?”

He shrugs in a manner suggesting he doesn’t

know. He probably doesn’t. The road takes him
wherever he needs to, acting as his calendar, the

NORTH

SITTING  on  my  throne  in  the  back,  as  usual,  I
watch Bad Bunny finish up her routine, the crowd
is  more  wild  tonight  from  a  bachelor  party.  It  puts
me  on  edge.  It’s  always  the  fucking  best  man  that
has to take things too far. Never fucking fails.

“Drink, baby?” Ariel asks.
Sitting up, I take the beer from her. “Thanks,

babe.” I tip her a five for thinking of me, slipping it
into her black spandex shorts. She winks at me as a
thank you, and waltzes off.

The DJ announces Aspen without much gusto.

The lack of enthusiasm from him tells me she must
not have tipped him on the way in for her shift.
Which makes me wonder if Valley even told her it’s
expected. Valley can be an amazing housemother to
the girls, but she’s not warming up to Aspen it
seems. My eyes snap up above the rim of the beer

“H

bottle.  The  spotlight  shining  down  on  her  brightly.
Her  blonde  hair  is  slightly  curled  from  the  rain
outside,  her  body  glistening  from  the  heat  of  the
light above her as I sit back and watch.

She has a black top tied showing her flat

stomach,  black  shorts  layering  a  pair  of  fishnets
with  a  pair  of  spiky  heeled  boots.  Her  hair  is  so
natural,  her  face  light  of  makeup.  She’s  not  in  the
least bit exotic. She stands out like a rose in a field
of  wildflowers.  Has  anyone  told  her  to  spice  her
looks  up,  is  she  ignoring  them?  I  don’t  know,  but
whatever she’s doing, she has every man’s attention
in this club.

eartless” by The Weeknd starts to
play and she starts to move. She
snaps her leg up straight, other knee

in her face and toes pointed to the ceiling as she
swirls around the chrome.

Placing the beer between my feet, I watch,

fascinated. When I walked her to her car last night
she nearly ran, doing everything she could to keep
her distance and not look at me which tells me one
thing. She wants me, and if not, I want her. Rubbing
my hands together, I wait for her to look at me. All
the girls look at me. She flips her hair, flexes, and
dry humps the fucking stage but never looks my
way.

It irks me. Standing up, I push my way through

the  rowdy  crowd,  and  her  eyes  finally  lock  with
mine.  On  her  knees,  she  lifts  her  arms,  teasing  her
hair with her hands. Fuck, she’s sexy. A lot of these
men look at these women and know they’re out of
their  league.  The  carnal  desire  making  them  throw
their money at them for just a minute of attention.
But Aspen, she seems attainable, which seems to be
more  of  kryptonite  to  these  men  because  they’re
going  nuts.  She’s  the  girl  next  door,  or  the  sexy
babysitter the wife just hired. Every man wants her
solely because she has the look of purity.

I pull a wad of cash out, wanting her to come

closer. To notice ME! To know that I’m the fucking
King of this place.

I stand at the edge of the stage and Aspen looks

to the left, her teeth biting her bottom lip nervously.
She doesn’t want to see me, but she doesn’t have a
choice. She needs the money, why else would she
be stripping. I wave the wad of cash, summoning
her to me.

Now on all fours, she slowly crawls to me, and

my dick twitches with excitement. Her hair frames
her face, her eyes hooded with either lust or anger,
I  can’t  decide.  The  stage  lights  hitting  her  every
curve  just  right  as  she  palms  her  way  toward  me.
Finally  reaching  me,  she  places  the  heels  of  her
fuck-me  shoes  on  the  edge  of  the  stage  and  lays
back. Her stomach flat with the cutest fucking belly

button I’ve ever laid eyes on catching my attention
just  before  she  swirls  her  hips.  I  imagine  my  cock
inside of her while she dry humps the air, much like
the rest of the men behind me. I want more of her,
so  I  toss  a  fifty  on  her  stomach,  then  another  just
because  I  can.  Her  eyes  widen  at  the  amount  of
cash I just recklessly threw at her.

Raising my right brow, I lift my head at her top,

willing her to take it off and show me her tits. The
lustful look I was unsure of turns into a full-on glare
now,  but  she  knows  the  rules.  You  make  so  much
money,  you  drop  a  piece  of  clothing,  starting  with
the top. Pulling herself up on her knees, she slowly
unties the knot keeping her top on and holds it open
like  a  pair  of  fairy  wings  before  dropping  it  to  the
floor.  There.  They.  Are.  Two  perfectly  round  tits
with  nipples  so  pink  and  perky  I  want  to  break
every  rule  of  the  club  and  reach  out  and  touch
them. Slip one into my mouth and bite down on the
softness  of  her  breast.  If  I  did,  would  she  slap  me,
or would she enjoy it like most of the women here?

The familiar smell of Valley suddenly washes

over me, the simple smell of rose mist crashing my
little one-on-one moment with Aspen, I look over
my shoulder and find Valley closer than I presumed.
Her lips skim the shell of my ear, her hand
seductively running over my shoulder.

“We have a problem in the back,” she whispers.
Looking back at the half-naked Aspen, her

green  eyes  the  color  of  ivy,  I  use  my  finger  to
silently  tell  her  to  come  here.  She  gets  closer,  her
chest heaving from her routine. I slide another fifty
into  the  waistband  of  her  shorts,  her  eyes  never
leaving  mine  as  I  remind  her  that  I’m  just  another
paying customer wanting to see her tits.

Valley taps me on the shoulder again, gaining

my  attention  to  the  problem  in  the  back.  Smirking
at  Aspen,  who  glares  at  me  with  parted  lips.  I
follow  Valley  through  the  club.  The  music  vibrates
the  floor,  mood  lighting  flickering  making  it  nearly
impossible not to bump into some horny man, I try
to focus on Valley. Her body is fit as hell in the tight
black dress she’s wearing. Her heels just as slutty as
the girls dancing but probably some designer brand
as  her  daddy  makes  sure  his  daughter  has
everything  she  needs.  In  layman's  terms,  she’s  a
daddy’s girl with a silver spoon stuck up her ass.

Pushing the curtain to the side, we step

backstage, past the office and the dressing rooms
before I come to a full stop. Valley doesn’t even
have to tell me what the problem is. I see it.

At the end of the hall, a table and chair are

placed and there sits a little blonde-haired girl
coloring with headphones on.

Valley crosses her arms, the act pushing her tits

up, and leans against the wall beside me.

Rubbing my chin, I examine the kid. Trying to

figure out who she looks like, where she came

from.

“Who the fuck’s kid is this?”
Valley shrugs.
I don’t know any other girl that works here that

would do this except Aspen. She’s new. Sensing us,
the kid looks over her shoulder at us, the softest of
cheeks and greenest of eyes staring at us.

She’s definitely Aspen’s.
“Goddamn it, Valley, did you teach Aspen any

of the rules or etiquette of work here?” I snap.

Valley’s chest lifts with a large inhale that

already answers my question. She didn’t.

A blood-curdling scream echoes through the

club  and  my  head  snaps  to  the  left,  my  feet  are
moving before I even have a second thought about
the child. Back onto the floor, I find a man in a suit
on  the  stage,  his  hands  wrapped  around  Aspen’s
midriff,  trying  to  get  her  to  dance  with  him.  His
hands  continue  to  grope  all  over  her,  ignoring
Aspen’s attempt at removing his grimy palms from
her.  She  starts  to  get  frustrated  and  slaps  at  him,
telling  him  to  get  off  the  stage,  but  he’s  not
listening.  The  bastard’s  entourage  encourages  his
behavior,  fueling  him  on  further,  he  grabs  her  by
the  face  trying  to  kiss  her.  She  snaps  her  arms  out
straight  trying  to  push  him  as  far  away  as  she  can
but he’s overpowering her by the second.

Taking off through the crowd, I climb on the

stage and pry his hands off her body, causing her to

fall to the floor. My nostrils flare to the beat of my
racing heart that this motherfucker thinks he can
come to my club and touch my girls.

“You can’t touch the dancers!” I snap at the

man, my hands rolling into fists.

“I’m getting married tomorrow!” he says,

thrusting his hands into the air like he’s the man.

“Get down,” I growl, pointing to the floor. I

swear to God if he’s doesn’t get out of my sight I’m
going to lose my shit.

He ignores me, coming at Aspen again and

before I let him within two feet of her, my fist
connects with his face, throwing him to the black-
speckled stage, knocked the fuck out.

“North!” Valley screams from the floor. I broke

a rule, a very important rule. Never lay a finger on
the customer until outside. Why? Because his
friends will try to redeem their perverted buddy.

Raising my hand, I gesture for Aspen to get

behind  me  as  some  of  the  guys  climb  the  stage
ready  to  avenge  their  friend  I  just  knocked  out.  I
live  for  a  good  fight,  but  the  thought  of  Aspen
getting  hurt  by  one  of  these  fuckers  has  me  on
edge.  The  need  to  protect  her  more  than  get  my
rocks  off  on  kicking  someone’s  ass  has  a  fist
slamming into the side of my head. Rage filling my
chest,  I  come  to  and  hit  one  after  another  in  the
face, becoming outnumbered faster than the DJ can
stop the music.

Just as I think I’m about to get my ass kicked

by a bunch of squares, Jinx is on the stage helping
me  take  the  motherfuckers  down.  Once  the
bachelor  party  notices  there’s  another  one  of  us
bouncers  taking  control  of  the  situation,  the  drunk
men  start  to  descend  the  stage.  Never  breaking  a
sweat  or  removing  his  sunglasses,  Jinx  is  handling
the  situation  like  he  works  with  me  regularly.  We
contain  the  men  without  causing  serious  bodily
harm to the drunk fucks so we can kick them out.

“Get your friend and get the fuck out now!” I

demand, my lip stinging from one of them swinging
at me. I took a couple hits because I was distracted,
I was worried about Aspen.

They do as I say, two of the men grabbing the

groom and carrying him off the stage. I follow
them, making sure they’re leaving without incident.
Last thing I need is them trying to go backstage or
coming at one of us when our backs are turned.
Once outside, the air fresh and crisp, I slowly begin
to get my shit together.

“Don’t come back. I mean it. You don’t come

here and disrespect my girls. Ever,” I scorn. My lip
bothering me, I use my shirt to wipe the blood.

They flip me off, call me names, but eventually

head  over  to  their  minivans.  Fucking  minivans.
Adrenaline  starts  to  wear  off  as  I  fight  the  urge  to
go  break  some  of  their  bones  and  instead  give  my
attention back to the business in the club.

Shaking my head, I go back inside and one of

the girls is on stage dancing, trying to cover up the
drama that just went down. I head to the back to
check on Aspen, but she’s not in the dressing room
or by the lockers. No, she’s in the hall with a robe
on, bent down talking to the little girl.

“Well, I guess we found out who mommy is.”

Valley sneers from behind me.

Glaring at the so-called house mom, I wipe at

my lip again knowing Jinx is watching over the
front, I can focus on the mess that is a kid being in
a strip club.

“What were you thinking? You know better.”

She glares at Aspen with jealousy laced in her
voice.

“Shut up, Valley. I’ll handle this, you’re

dismissed.” Scowling over my shoulder at her, my
nostrils flare.

Arms crossed in front of her, she raises an angry

brow before leaving. Her heels clicking against the
floor. I thought she would protest, but I guess she’s
smart enough not to push my buttons tonight.

The little girl tugs on Aspen’s robe. “When do

we get to go home?” the little girl asks, a yellow
crayon in her hand.

“Aspen, is this your kid?”
Her head snaps up at me, innocent eyes hitting

me right in the chest.

She stands, rolling her shoulders back. “My

sitter quit, I didn’t have anyone—”

I lift my hand in the air between us, silencing

her. “Then you call in, you don’t bring a fucking
kid to a strip club!” My voice rises.

“I didn’t have a choice!” she yells back. The

little girl stares at us, watching us argue. Something
twists  inside  me.  Taking  Aspen  by  the  elbow,  I
escort  my  newest  dancer  to  the  office  right  down
the  hall  and  slam  the  door  so  the  little  girl  can’t
hear.

“She can’t be here.” I fight to control all the

emotions inside me. “You gotta go home.”

“Then I can’t be here tomorrow either.” Her

voice cracks, emotion thick in her voice. “Or ever,”
she whispers.

My brows furrow, realizing there’s more to the

story. I have so many questions. “What’s going
on?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing, I’ll—I’ll figure

something out.”

Rounding the desk, her body heat mixing with

mine, we’re so close I smell the sweat and apple
body mist mixing with my own. Using my thumb, I
tuck it under her chin and raise her eyes to mine.
“Stop fucking around and talk to me, Aspen.”

“It’s my ex.” She shrugs and I wonder if she’s

going to elaborate. “He’s made it impossible for me
to do anything in this town. I lost my old job, now
my sitter. He’s… he’s going to get custody of her

and there’s nothing I can do.” Her eyes fill with
tears.

Fuck me. Not the waterworks.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her close.

I’m  a  sucker  when  girls  cry.  Listening  to  her  cry
and  attempt  to  take  deep  breaths,  I  can’t  help  but
wonder  who  the  fuck  her  ex  is  to  have  this  much
power over her and this town?

“Your man, he a cop or something?”
She takes a step back, wiping the tears from

under sad eyes.

“Used to be. He got fired for being dirty, but he

has everyone eating out of the palm of his hand,
including the judge in our divorce.” She reveals,
throwing her hands out emotionally.

A knock at the door has both of us cease the

conversation.

Valley peeks her head in. “Again, we have a

child in a strip club, can we do something about this
before we get shut down!” she states.

“I’m handling it, Valley,” I tell her. Raising a

brow, I’m really unhappy with how she’s handled
Aspen. It’s obvious she sees Aspen as a triple
threat.

“Mom?” The little girl comes in underneath

Valley’s arm, walking into the room. She’s so small
and looks identical to her mom.

“Baby, what’d I tell you?” Aspen whispers

harshly. The kid ignores her mom and stares at me.

“Who are you?” The little girl ignores her mom.
“Who are you?” I ask back. My tone laced with

annoyance. I don’t like kids. Never have.

“I’m Halle Moon,” the little one states proudly

and standing tall. Standing in front of the desk, I
lean back on both of my hands and cross my feet at
the ankles.

I fight back a smile. “That’s a stripper name,

dear.”

Aspen’s eyes widen with fury. “Hey!” Her

cheeks redden. I think this is the first time I’ve seen
our little snowflake get angry.

“A stripper?” Halle looks up to her mom with

confusion.

“Jesus.” I half-laugh. Halle has no idea what

her mom does for a living. Then again, it’s not
really a job you want your daughter running around
the school telling her friends about either.

“Take her home, Aspen.” I start shuffling

papers on the desk, not making eye contact. I can’t
look at the kid. They’re ruthless. There is no
escaping a kid, ever. Not having a clue as to when
to say or not say something. They’re messy and
always in the way. They’re fucking monsters.

Aspen whispers something into Halle’s ear, and

the little girl walks out of the room.

“Bye, North!” She smiles with a way too

cheerful tone.

I scowl at Aspen.

“How does she know my name?”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s on your leather thingy.”

She points to my cut, making me feel like an idiot.

“We’re going to have to let you go,” Valley says

from the doorway without an ounce of remorse.

“No, we need her. We don’t have enough girls

in rotation as it is,” I explain before sitting down in
the  office  chair  behind  the  desk.  Immediately,  I
start  trying  to  find  a  solution  to  the  problem  at
hand.  “Don’t  you  have  family  or  friends  she  can
stay the nights you have her?”

Aspen looks down and just shakes her head no.
Bouncer walks into the office and stops short. I

don’t know when he got to town, but given how the
night is going, I’m glad he’s here.

“There’s a fucking kid down the hall.” He

points over his shoulder. The surprise in his voice
matches the feeling I had laying eyes on the kid
myself.

Elbows on the desk, I hang my head. I should

fire Aspen, it’s what Chaos would tell me to do, but
for some reason, I don’t want to. Looking up, my
chin resting on my hand, I look Aspen over.

So innocent, yet so flawed. I love watching her

dance. She’s a breath of fresh air this club needs.

“Okay, keep Halle at the desk and I’ll make

arrangements.” I breathe heavily. Maybe one of the
club girls can watch the kid. A thought hits me, a
scary thought, but it’s at the forefront of my mind.

Fuck, I could watch her if I have to. That will be
the last resort though. I hate kids.

“What?” Valley snaps, her arms going straight.

She’s clearly unhappy with my decision.

“This is the Kings’ club, Valley, not yours. I’ll

handle this the way I see fit, now why don’t you go
make sure the women have everything they need
before they go out onto stage? You know, your
job?”

Valley looks Aspen over with a searing sneer

before  leaving  the  room  and  it  occurs  to  me  I  just
started  a  war  Aspen  doesn’t  even  know  begun.  I
fuck Valley from time to time, but that’s as far as it
goes.  There’s  no  relationship  or  favoritism.
However,  it’s  come  to  my  attention  she’s  silently
been marking her fucking territory this whole time.

“You don’t have to do that,” Aspen says in a

mere  whisper,  not  wanting  my  help.  Normally  I
wouldn’t  help,  but  look  at  her.  Someone  needs  to
step  in  because  whoever  this  ex  is,  he’s  doing  a
number on her, and dare I say I want to help.

Standing from the chair, I walk around the desk.

Her eyes look all around the room avoiding my
gaze, her body is tense, and suddenly the stripper is
shy. I want nothing more than to break her in. To
snatch her by the hair and throw her fragile ass up
against the wall.

“Just keep dancing for me, Aspen,” I whisper,

my eyes bouncing back and forth between her

emerald irises.

“I can do that.” She breathes heavily.
Since I’ve already dug myself in deep with this

one, I might as well give it all to her. “Tip the DJ or
he’ll skip you and not play your music and tip
Aerial so she will take care of the men that keep
coming back to see you,” I explain, she nods taking
in the information.

“But, how do the girls tip everyone and still pay

their payout?” she asks, doe eyes looking up at me
for all the answers. The club has a payout for the
girls to dance in our club. Ours is a hundred dollars
a night. If we have special guests such as a
celebrity, it raises.

“Trust me, Aspen, you keep doing what you’re

doing and you won’t have a problem with paying
the house fee.”

Her cheeks blush, her eyes again avoid mine.

God, she’s so sweet and pure. I want to dip her in
whiskey and lick her clean just so I can dirty her up
again.

“Oh, and Aspen?”
She looks back up. “Give me the name and

address of this fucking ex-husband of yours,” I add.

ASPEN

In the dressing room, I pull the fifty North stuck in
my shorts out and place it on top of the other tips in
my  hand.  The  shame  of  stripping  isn’t  getting  any
easier, but I made this money on my own and that
blossoms  a  little  bit  of  pride  inside  my  chest.  I  at
least  made  the  house  fee,  but  it’s  probably  all  I’ll
make tonight seeing how unhappy Valley is with me
about  bringing  a  kid  here.  I  didn’t  have  a  choice.
I’m the new girl, I couldn’t call in and my sitter told
me  she  couldn’t  take  Halle  anymore,  that  she  was
suddenly overcapacity. But I know what happened.
Kace. He’s doing everything he can to make sure I
lose Halle, and he’s only doing it because he knows
she’s all I want.

I told the judge in the divorce settlement that

Kace could have the house, the car, the cat. All of
it. I just wanted my daughter, the child I carried for

nine months while he was off cheating on me with
girls I’m trying to be. How is that for irony?

That’s where I fucked up though, showing Kace

my weakness. Halle.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Bad Bunny asks,

pulling  her  bunny  ears  off  and  tossing  them  into  a
locker.  I  don’t  answer  because  a  lot  of  things  just
happened  in  the  last  twenty  minutes  and  I’m  not
sure  what  she’s  concerned  about.  Trust  isn’t
something I give away easily.

“I hate men that have no respect for us. Like,

just  because  we  dance  for  a  living,  it’s  like  we’re
not  considered  real  people  or  something.”  She
shakes  her  head  before  continuing  on,  obviously
referring to the man who literally man-handled me
until  North  stepped  in.  At  least  the  other  women
don’t know about my daughter yet.

My lips purse remembering how hard my heart

hammered when that man climbed the stage. I tried
to talk him down, but when he tried to pull my
bottoms off, I screamed for North. I freaked out. I
forgot everything Valley taught me about keeping
calm. My brows furrow thinking about all the extra
information North gave me. Why didn’t Valley tell
me those things too? Biting my bottom lip, my hand
on my locker, I look to Bad Bunny.

“Hey, how much do you tip the DJ?” I ask.
Her lips twist to the side and she looks up to the

ceiling in thought, her hand reaching around and

adjusting her cotton tail on her ass.

“Um, on a good night at least seventy-five. It’s

important for him to build you up, ya know. Why?
Have you not been tipping him or something?” She
looks at me with a worried expression.

I sigh feeling so stupid for not asking another

dancer what I should be doing.

Taking my sigh as an answer, her eyes widen.

“Girl, tip everyone! And don’t leave your money in
your locker, bitches be stealing it. Trust me.” She
nods assuringly, pointing at me.

“Okay,” I mutter, trying to store all this

information. “Wait, do I tip North too?”

A sly smirk spreads across her face. “He won’t

take it. North watches over all of us without pay,
we’re his girls, and he takes care of us. But you get
on his bad side, he will make you want to quit. He
can be an ass.” Slamming her locker, she slaps my
ass before walking into the vanity room.

I can definitely see what she means about

North. He has this prick vibe about him, a charm I
can’t  defy.  Only  when  push  came  to  shove,  I
screamed  for  North  like  my  life  depended  on  it
when  that  groom  climbed  on  stage,  even  after
North  had  just  made  me  feel  more  like  a  whore
than  anyone  has  since  I  started  working  here.  I
remanence  to  when  North  strutted  up  to  the  stage
as if he not only owned the place, but also me. My
plan  was  to  treat  him  like  any  other  gentleman

down on the floor, but he threw down the perfect
amount of cash to where I had to take my top off…
just for him. It was as if he wanted me to know… I
was his girl, in his club. That he was special and I
will see it that way. I wanted to shove that fifty in
his arrogant mouth.

Heading into the vanity room, I sit down feeling

defeated and Persia sits down beside me, along
with another dancer named Starletta.

“Girl, you have got to toughen up, or these men

are  going  to  eat  you  alive!”  Star  schools  me  with
her  big  boobs  bouncing  as  she  points  at  me  with  a
sturdy  finger.  They  call  her  Star  because  the  girl
bedazzles everything, including her balloon tits.

“Yeah, I know,” I mutter, pulling my sash

tighter around my waist, as if the tightness will eat
away the embarrassment. There’s a voice inside me
that wants to roar and scream how unfair life is, I
want to be the bitch that fate has been to me but for
some reason, I just swallow the fight and keep
taking it.

My parents were old school Christians. Always

praying for those who found themselves down the
path of sin, but always forgave no matter what.

I guess that’s why I find it hard to be bolder and

outgoing  like  some  of  the  other  women  around
here.  Just  getting  this  job  made  me  feel  guilty
enough,  but  it  was  literally  the  only  place  in
Georgia that Kace couldn’t touch.

Taking the job won’t impress the judge, but it

might with family services, because at the end of
the day it’s a job. That’s all they said I needed to
keep my parental rights. A job.

My parents disowned me after becoming a

stripper, and for the very first time in my entire life,
I’m completely on my own with nobody giving me
direction of where to go.

Except North.
My eyes pop to the mirror in front of me. My

heart beating a little harder at the thought of a
criminal biker taking my hand and showing me the
life on the side I’ve been sheltered from.

I’m curious of the woman he’s going to bring

out of me.

End of the night comes and North is standing at the
door. He’s leaning against the wall with his legs
crossed in front of him, his hands in his jean
pockets. Those glacier blue eyes stare me down as
he tosses a toothpick around in his mouth, his split
lip making him look even more attractive.

He shoves the door open with one hand, letting

me walk past, and I clutch my purse closer to my
chest. Halle skipping right behind me.

“Are you going to walk me to my car every

night?” I ask, watching Halle dance and be silly all
the way to the car.

“Until you join me in the back seat; yes.” My

head snaps in his direction and a smirk pulls at his
gorgeous features.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” I scoff,

finally reaching my car. Halle busies herself on the
passenger side just as North suddenly presses me up
against my car, both of his hands on each side of
my shoulders as he leans in.

There’s a hitch in my breathing as I stare at

him, my toes curling in my shoes as the smell of
leather and smoke dance around me making my
body feel alive for the first time in a long time.

“North,” I whisper, the desperation in my voice

telling him I’m not strong enough to handle this
kind of temptation, making him lean in closer. His
lips brushing my ear.

“Have a good night, Aspen.”
Using his hands, he pushes himself off my car

and out of my space, walking away as if he didn’t
just eye fuck me.

“Mom, unlock the car already!” Halle whines

from the other side, but I can’t move. As if I’m in a
trance, I watch North walk back to the building.

There’s something about that man that has me

wanting to ignore the seven sins and live a night of
wrong with him.

But if a stupid man like Kace can wreck my

ASPEN

SITTING ON THE PARK BENCH, I try to look
the part of a mother in every way. A flowery dress,
with  white  flats.  My  hair  down,  and  no  makeup.  I
guess  being  a  stripper  makes  me  feel  less  of  a
mother  figure.  I  should  be  baking  cookies  and
carpooling,  but  instead,  I’m  grinding  poles  and
trying to dodge my ex-husband. So, when I’m out I
wear the dress and the mom hairdo because I don’t
want other moms to think the same way I do about
myself.  Being  a  mother  is  hard  enough  these  days
without having others stick their nose up at you and
cast  judgment.  They  don’t  know  me  but  it  doesn’t
matter  because  they’ll  take  one  look  at  me  and
decide they don’t like me if I stand out. Halle plays
on the swings not far from where I sit as I wait for
her  dad  to  come  and  pick  her  up.  The  trees  are
blowing, making a slight rustling sound, the smell of

some  kind  of  flower  faintly  wafting  by.  I  close  my
eyes  and  listen  to  the  kids  squeal  with  delight  and
the  squeak  of  the  swing.  Aside  from  the  beautiful
view  of  this  park,  I  hate  days  like  these,  drop  off
days. I just want to take Halle back home and keep
her  away  from  Kace.  He’s  not  a  good  man,  he
drinks,  steals,  and  is  abusive.  Opening  my  eyes,  I
sigh, remembering the days when Kace used to be a
gentleman. I used to think how lucky I was to have
him love me. But when he became a police officer
things  changed,  he  became  an  entirely  different
person. Weak men can’t handle power, and Kace is
an example of that.

“Mom, wanna see me jump?” Halle asks,

swinging as high into the air as she can.

“Let me see, baby!” I encourage her, and just

as the swing peaks at the very top she comes flying
down. No fear in her eyes, her face full of courage,
and smile on her lips as her two feet plant in the
sand firmly.

I laugh, proud of her for not being scared of the

fall. Looking down at the stupid dress, I smooth it
out, suddenly wishing I had just a pinch of that
boldness my daughter possesses.

Looking up, I watch the other parents with their

children.  Some  mom’s  talk  amongst  themselves,
others wiping their kid’s faces with wet wipes, and
some  taking  pictures  with  their  phones.  Looking
down  at  my  flower  dress,  I  straighten  the  material

trying  to  distract  my  jealousy.  I  can’t  help  but
wonder if the couples are happily married, and the
kids  here  with  just  their  mom,  where’s  their  dad?
Either  way,  it  doesn’t  seem  to  matter  to  the  kids,
they’re  laughing  and  chasing  each  other  as  if
whatever is going on at home doesn’t matter.

Looking to Halle, I wonder if mine and Kace’s

divorce affects her any. Does she go home sad, or
get made fun of at school because her parents
aren’t together.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Miss Centerfold?”

The spine-chilling crass tone of my ex-husband has
me tense.

He slides onto the bench next to me, reeking of

beer and body odor. His dirty blond hair curls
around his ears and looks unwashed, much like his
shirt and grass-stained jeans. Jesus Christ, he’s a
mess.

“Some of the guys said they saw you dancing at

Centerfolds,” he states rather than asks, taking a sip
of  his  beer.  He  knew  I  got  a  job  somewhere,  just
not  where.  I  knew  it  was  just  a  matter  of  time
before  one  of  his  buddies  from  the  station  noticed
me at Centerfolds.

Ignoring him, I look out at the playground. Do

not engage, I remind myself. There is no talking
with Kace. Only the way he keeps looking at me as
if I’m beneath him presses my buttons to make me
want to react.

“I’m sure the judge will love your new place of

employment,” he mocks, his voice echoing into the
can of beer he takes a sip of. My head snaps in his
direction.

“What did you expect, Kace? You made it

impossible for me to get a job anywhere else.” My
tone bitter and laced with hatred. When he’s near
me it’s as if something dark and sad claws at the
inside of my chest, demanding to be let out.

“Well, it ain’t baking cookies is all I’m saying.”

He belches, tossing the can over his head. His head
wobbles when he looks at me and he raises an
eyebrow as if he’s father of the year.

“Right, my dancing overcomes your thieving

drinking  ass,  is  that  what  you’re  telling  me?”  Sass
sits on the edge of my tongue, ready to have it out
with  him.  “You  were  let  go  from  the  police
department  for  being  dirty,  remember?”  I  remind
him, and he shakes his head, looking away.

“Now that matter is still being investigated! I

might still be on at the department.” He stretches
out his legs, and I scoff at him.

“Oh, is that right?” My voice is sarcastic. When

he was a cop, there was an incident where he was
told to wait for backup, but when his backup
arrived, a man was dead. Kace said he had no
choice but to shoot him. I don’t know, the thing was
sketchy and it’s all being looked at from what Kace
says.

“That’s right!” His voice is cheerful. “Doesn’t

matter what you do, Aspen. You ain’t getting Halle.
I  will  take  that  kid  to  the  end  of  the  world  just  to
make  sure  you  don’t  have  her.”  He  clicks  his
tongue,  stretching  his  arm  out  behind  me  on  the
metal bench.

His words hit me hard because they’re true.

He’d do anything to see me hurt. My eyes begin to
fill with tears and I have to hold my breath to keep
in a sob. How can a man call himself a father and
be willing to put his child through anything just to
stick it to me?

“Why?” My voice cracks. My eyes narrow in

on him, my teeth near cracking. I never turned him
when he hit me, I always had dinner made for him
after  work,  and  I  always  went  to  his  stupid  work
functions.  We  made  a  child  together,  and  at  one
time  we  loved  one  another,  so  how  can  he  be  so
cruel  to  want  to  hurt  me  like  this.  To  take  the  one
thing I did right in my life out of my world, leaving
me in isolation.

He looks at me, his gray bloodshot eyes

enjoying every minute of this.

“Because I can, and there’s nothing you can do

about it.” His lazy grin makes me look away from
him in a hurry. He doesn’t get to see me vulnerable.
He doesn’t get to have the power anymore. I won’t
be broken, I can’t be broken because I have to be
strong to fight for Halle.

“I told you if you left me, I’d make you regret

it.” He sits up, resting his hands on his knees. Now
in my face, I have no choice but to look him right in
the eye. “Regret it yet?” The confidence he carries
disgusts me.

“Daddy!” Halle comes running, and he stands

just  before  she  can  hug  him.  “Get  your  shit,  let’s
go.  I  got  things  to  do.”  The  way  he  speaks  to  her
kills me inside with every sentence. The excitement
from  my  precious  little  girl  is  not  reciprocated  by
her  father.  Doesn’t  he  see  how  much  she  loves
him?  Why  can’t  he  find  kindness  not  for  me,  but
for her?

Halle looks to me, her eyes suddenly not as

brave as she was minutes ago. This is the stuff that
kills me. Do whatever to me, but don’t break my
little girl’s heart.

Pulling her close, I hold her head with my hand,

never wanting to let go.

“I’m not going to stop until the day you live

with Mommy, Halle. I promise,” I whisper the
words more to myself but also to my sweet girl. I
don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I am.

Pulling back, she looks at me, something silent

and unreadable in her eyes.

“I said let’s go!” Kace barks and Halle startles

at his tone before walking toward him. He misses a
step, nearly falling on his face and it’s apparent he’s
had one too many. Standing, I hold my hand out in

front of Halle, stopping her from following Kace.
He’s not had a drink or two to keep him
‘functional’ as he says because he’s addicted to the
alcohol, he’s clearly wasted.

“You’re drunk, Kace,” I point out the obvious.

He  waves  me  off,  tripping  over  his  own  two  feet.
“I’m  not  letting  you  take  her  anywhere  like  this,
you  can  forget  it!”  I  protest.  If  he  can’t  walk
straight,  he  can’t  drive.  Halle  is  not  safe  with  him
like this.

“Daddy, just let Mommy drive me to your

house,”  Halle  suggests  with  a  sweet  shrug.  I  begin
to  nod,  thinking  that’s  a  good  idea  but  Kace
abruptly  turns  around  and  tries  snatching  at  Halle
out of anger.

“Shut up, this is grown-up talk!” he snaps and I

gasp. I shove her behind me, rage I’ve never felt in
my entire life burning my chest like an inferno.
Taking a step back, I shake my head.

“Oh no, you are not taking her, not like this.”
He tilts his head to the side with warning, his

brows raising at my defiance.

“Well, someone found their backbone. Did your

little stripper friends teach you that?” he insults.
Using one hand, he grabs on to the bench to steady
himself, taking a step toward us.

“Because I don’t remember you being that

mouthy back when we were together.”

“Stop,” I warn him, because I know he’s about

to dig up memories I don’t want Halle to hear but
my tone just makes him smile wider.

“Nah see, you’d be eating my knuckles for

disrespecting me like the little whore that you are.
You think because you’re a stripper you can just
talk like trash to anyone now?” he continues.

Halle grabs my waist, looking around to see her

dad. “North isn’t a stripper!” Halle informs.

This grabs Kace’s attention, his face falling of

expression.

“North? Who the fuck is North?” Jealousy laces

his tone, and inside my chest, I know things just got
a whole lot worse.

“Nobody.”
Rubbing his chin, I can tell he’s thinking.

“Look, you either give me my kid or I can call one
of my cop buddies, Aspen. You decide.” Slowly his
eyes  trickle  up  my  body  and  onto  my  face.  He’s
pulling the cop card. He has a buddy named Pepper
that  would  do  anything  for  him  all  because  Kace
took  a  bullet  for  him  once.  It  doesn’t  even  count,
Kace was wearing a fucking bulletproof vest! If he
calls  Pepper,  who  knows  what  he’ll  try  to  pin
against me. He’ll tell me Kace is fine, and to walk
away.  He’ll  make  a  report  saying  I  was  causing  a
scene and the judge that like both Kace and Pepper
would just love that.

Closing my eyes, I inhale a breath, the sound of

the kids laughing drowning out my own heartbeat,

my  lungs  inhale  the  crisp  air  but  I  can’t  breathe.
Slowly  opening  my  eyes,  I  lower  my  head  and
watch Kace mouth off how stupid I am. He’s right,
I  have  been  stupid.  I’ve  been  naive  and  letting
Kace walk over me for far too long and if he wants
Halle, he’ll have to take her over my dead body.

Letting out the small breath I managed to suck

in,  I  kick  one  shoe  off  and  then  another  very
slowly.  My  heart  beating  faster  than  the  red  flags
going off in my head. I know what I’m about to do
is bad. Very bad. But I’ve been good my whole life
and it’s done nothing for me. My parents are gone,
I’m  divorced,  broke,  about  to  lose  my  Halle  in  a
custody battle, and If I let him take her in this state,
I might lose her forever.

“What are you doing?” Kace slurs, looking at

my bare feet. “Look, why don’t you just stop
resisting, and come back home?”

Before I can rethink what I’m doing. I grab

Halle and run. I sprint to my car and toss her in the
passenger side.

“Hurry, put your seatbelt on!” My voice shakes

from  the  adrenaline  spiking  through  my  system.
Kace  runs  down  the  hill,  tripping  and  falling  from
being  intoxicated,  but  still  coming  at  us
nonetheless.  Quickly,  I  start  the  car  with  a
trembling  hand  as  he  flings  his  fist  through  the
rolled-down window, catching my bottom lip.

“Damn it, Aspen, she’s my kid!” he howls, spit

dripping from his mouth as he tries to tug my driver
door open.

“Daddy, stop!” Halle cries. “Daddy, you’re

scaring me. I want to be with Mommy tonight,” she
cries from the floorboard of the car. All the parents
and kids in the park are now staring at us, and the
sound of Halle crying in fear is tearing me in half.

I begin to back out of the space, my foot

unsteady on the throttle, I go too fast and I have to
hit the brakes to keep from hitting a car parked
behind us.

“You’re gonna pay for this, bitch!” he hollers,

just as my tires squeal against the asphalt and zoom
out of the parking lot.

Silence blankets the air that was once hostile

seconds  ago,  and  I  look  over  to  Halle  who  is
climbing  into  her  seat.  Her  face  is  stained  with
tears, and I feel like the worst mother in the world
not  being  able  to  protect  her  from  Kace.  She  puts
her  seatbelt  on  and  rests  her  head  on  her  arms,
looking  out  the  window  with  a  sad  expression  on
her face.

Taking her hand, I give it a squeeze trying to

reassure her.

“You okay?” I ask.
Looking up at me with familiar green eyes, she

nods. A sting annoys my bottom lip and I bite at it
with my teeth, tasting blood. Shit.

I pull down the visor and notice my lip is puffy,

purple and cut. He must have hit me harder than I
thought.

“Why is Daddy always so mad? Why is he…”

She begins to trail off and cry again. Looking to the
road, one hand on the wheel, I wish I could explain
to her what happened to her daddy. He used to be a
clean-cut guy, one that took protecting Uprising,
Georgia seriously and loved his girls more than the
world itself.

But then slowly but surely he became a man I

didn’t recognize anymore. It’s like something on
the outside of the law swallowed him whole and he
hasn’t been able to escape it since.

“Where are we going?” Halle asks, wiping a

tear  from  her  face.  I  obviously  didn’t  think  this
through.  I  just  kidnapped  my  own  kid,  which  will
definitely swing the judges and family services into
Kace’s  favor.  I  can’t  go  home,  Kace  will  go  there
for  sure  and  I  can’t  afford  a  hotel.  I  can’t  do  this
alone anymore. Kace has people on his side and it’s
become  clear  I  need  someone  in  my  corner.
Someone  who  has  power  and  isn’t  afraid  to  get
their hands dirty.

A motorcycle zooms by us and my eyes follow

it until I’m looking in the rearview mirror. I know
who can help me.

“We’re going to find North, baby.”
Looking at the clock on my dash, it’s too early

for North to be at the strip club, I know that, but I

can’t go to the notorious Kings of Carnage
clubhouse either. I’m new at the strip club so I
doubt they’ll know me. Yeah, I’m not brave enough
to do that.

An hour has gone by and I’ve done nothing but

driven  the  streets  of  Uprising,  stopping  once  to  fill
the  car  up  with  gas.  The  idea  of  getting  North
involved  sounding  more  and  more  appealing  with
every  passing  minute.  I  tried  to  do  this  the  right
way  and  be  civil,  but  I  just  broke  the  law.  I  took
Halle, and if I know Kace, he’s already got Pepper
looking  for  me.  I  might  actually  lose  Halle,  I’ll
never  know  when  she’s  sad  or  hungry.  What  will
Kace  do  when  she  wakes  up  sick  in  the  middle  of
the  night?  What  about  your  passion  to  play
basketball,  will  he  help  her  learn  how  to  play  or
lock her in a room while he drinks?

A tear rolls down my cheek, the love in my

chest that I have for Halle hurts so much right now.

My only hope is North. The Kings of Carnage.

I’d sell my soul to them if it meant keeping my
daughter.

I instinctively play with my lip, curious where

North would be at five in the evening. If only I had
his number. Letting go of my lip, I tap my hand on
the steering wheel and look over at Halle. She’s fast
asleep with her head resting on the hand rest of the
door. The air from the vent blowing on her sun-
kissed cheeks.

Turning the wheel, I head to the other side of

town, toward Centerfolds. I don’t know where
North is right now but I know where he will be in a
few hours, I’ll wait if I have to.

Parking behind the building, I turn the car off

and rest back in my seat.

What if North says no? What if he asks for sex?

I have no idea what he will say, to be honest, he’s a
wild card.

A slick black Mercedes pulls up next to me and

Bad Bunny gets out. Her hair is up in a ponytail just
like  any  other  girl  on  the  streets,  her  black  sweats
and white tank top just as casual as the sneakers on
her  feet.  You’d  never  think  she  was  an  exotic
dancer if you ran into her at the market. She smiles
at  me  before  doing  a  double-take  and  coming  to  a
stop.  Her  face  falls  into  a  grimace  and  she  walks
over to my side of the car; I roll down the window.

“What’s wrong?” She looks at Halle then to me.

“What happened to your lip?”

“I fucked up, and I need North,” I say in one

breath. I need someone who can break the rules
and North is the only person in my life that has that
kind of potential.

Bad Bunny glances to the club, then back to

me,  her  hand  smoothing  out  her  ponytail  from  the
Georgia  humidity.  “He’s  probably  at  home  if  he’s
not  at  the  clubhouse.”  She  digs  into  the  big  black
leather  bag  hanging  off  her  shoulder,  tugging  out

her phone.

“Don’t tell anyone I gave this to you. Do you

understand?” Her eyes pop to mine, her fingers
stalling on the screen of her phone until I answer.

I nod, not sure what she’s going to give me, but

at this point, I’d agree to anything if it helps me
keep my daughter and me out of jail.

“He lives on Tamper Road, house number is

three-oh-four,” she mutters, the nervousness in her
voice not going unnoticed. I turn the key in the
ignition to start the car, my free hand tightening on
the steering wheel.

“I know where that road is,” I mutter under my

breath, it’s not far from the park I take Halle to.

She slips her phone back into her bag, her faced

pulled with apprehension.

“I didn’t give that to you, remember that.” Her

voice  has  a  cold  clip  to  it,  but  I  can  understand
why. North is a member of a motorcycle club. She
just  broke  a  rule,  I  can  tell.  I  owe  her  one.  A  big
one.  Handing  out  a  piece  of  information  like  she
just did is dangerous for North if it got in the wrong
hands, like a cop.

Hands shaking, I pull from the parking spot of

the club and head out onto the main road. Passing
under every streetlight, a dark shadow creeps along
my car and across Halle’s face.

God, I hope he can help me.
Fifteen minutes later I’m pulling up to a white

house  with  the  smell  of  fresh-cut  grass  drifting
through  my  car  window.  I  notice  a  lawnmower
sitting  in  the  front  yard  and  a  slick  black
motorcycle in the driveway. Parking my car by the
curb, my hands begin to tremble harder. Regret and
shame filling my chest that I even put myself in this
damn  situation  to  begin  with.  I  don’t  know  what
North  can  do  for  me,  but  if  anyone  can  do
something… it’d be him.

Halle stirs, waking up now that I turned the car

off.

“Where are we, Momma?” she asks in a sleepy

voice.

“Um, I think this is North’s place,” I tell her,

looking around the neighborhood. It’s quiet, the
house across the street has an older woman tending
to a garden on the side of her house. Strangely, she
doesn’t look at us or seem concerned that a strange
car is parked near her house. Halle unclips her
seatbelt and opens the door to get out.

“Halle, wait!” Quickly I get out and jog around

the car to her side, snatching her hand before she
can make it to the front door. Squinting from the
setting sun, she glances up at me in question.

I don’t know what we are going to walk into

when we go up there. He could have another
woman there, or some members of the clubhouse.

He might be mad I came here. I just, I don’t

know what to expect. My eyes slide down to Halle

thinking I should leave her in the car to be safe, but
it’s so hot outside the air conditioner won’t run cold
enough to keep her comfortable.

No, I can do this. Just like the day I applied to

work at Centerfolds, I lift my head and tell myself
to be stronger than my excuses. With every step my
feet take, my mind becomes stronger than the
emotional side of me that has taken its place in my
personality.

Stepping onto the patio, I can hear the light

chatter of the TV on the other side of the door. I
blow out a breath and knock on the wooden door.

“It’s open!” North hollers. Halle and I glance at

one  another  before  I  grab  the  knob  and  turn  it,
pushing  the  door  open  to  reveal  North  sitting  on  a
clothed couch, his feet kicked up on a coffee table
littered  with  beer  bottles,  watching  TV.  Taking  a
pull  from  a  bottle,  he  looks  to  me  before  surprise
flashes in his eyes and he stands up.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His tone

grips at my insecurity, making me want to turn
around and run back to my car. Instead, I hold on
to Halle’s hand harder.

“I need help, North.”

alle and I sit on this multicolored couch watching

him pace back and forth in front of the TV, taking

in everything I just told him happened
between Kace and I. North is shirtless,
only wearing a pair of jeans and it occurs

to me he’s shoeless as well, his feet pitter-pattering
along the hardwood floor.

Situating myself on the couch, I take advantage

of North’s silence and check out the rest of his
place from where I sit. He doesn’t have curtains on
the living room window, instead, it has a Jack
Daniels blanket nailed to it to keep the sun out, and
the same goes with the other windows in the house
but with various blankets or towels.

He finally stops and hits me with those icy cold

blue eyes that has me holding my breath like I was
just  caught  doing  something  wrong.  He  has  that
effect  on  me.  Those  eyes  that  are  so  isolated  and
intimidating.  I  know  they’ve  seen  things  that  can
only  appear  in  my  nightmares.  My  body’s  natural
response is to freeze.

“Halle, how about we put a show on for you

while  your  mother  and  I  talk  in  the  other  room,
hmm?” He grabs the remote off the coffee table in
front of us and begins to flip through the channels.
He  obviously  has  no  idea  where  to  look  for
children’s  shows  Halle’s  age  and  stops  at  the  first
cartoon he comes to.

“Paw Patrol, what do you think I am, five?

Because I’m seven!” Halle sasses, and I nudge her.

My eyes silently telling her to find her manners.

North tilts his head to the side as he glares at

Halle as if she’s lost her mind.

“It’s kid shit, and you’re a kid. What do you

mean, do I think your five? It’s got talking dogs and
shit.”

Halle suddenly stands up and rounds the coffee

table  before  snatching  the  remote  from  North’s
hands. He looks at me with a wild stare that has me
biting  back  a  laugh.  I  can  tell  North’s  not  used  to
being  around  children  and  I  find  it  comical.  Halle
flips  the  channel  a  couple  more  times  before
Spongebob’s annoying laugh fills the TV screen and
she hands him the remote back.

“Oh, but a talking sponge isn’t a kiddie show?”

he argues with her as if he’s a kid himself.

She sits back on the couch next to me and looks

to  North  with  defiance.  “It’s  different,  they’re
smarter and funnier. You should watch it with me?”
she  offers,  scooting  over  so  he  can  sit  next  to  us.
He  looks  to  me  as  if  Halle  has  lost  her  mind  and
runs his hands down his face in frustration.

“Aspen, follow me,” he huffs, dropping his

hands.  Standing  from  the  couch,  I  follow  him  into
another room that appears to be a kitchen. A black
towel  nailed  to  the  window  above  the  sink  full  of
dishes.  The  counters  have  cereal  boxes,  popcorn,
and  chips  lying  about  them.  It’s  definitely  a
bachelor house.

He grabs me by the chin with a steady grip,

inspecting my busted lip.

“He do this to you?” His nostrils flare,

something dark coming alive inside of him as he
brushes his thumb over the cut.

“Yeah,” I whisper, feeling embarrassed. He lets

go, and turns away from me. His shoulders are
tense, his demeanor angry. I just can’t tell if his
hostile vibe is because of me or Kace.

“So you just took her without thinking, 'hey, this

might be kidnapping?’” Both his brows lift while he
scrutinizes me.

Feeling defensive, I cross my arms.
“He was drunk, and I didn’t know what else to

do!”

“Um, call the cops.” He raises his voice,

throwing both his arms out beside him.

“I couldn’t,” I yell whisper. “His buddy cop

would have just shown up and turned the whole
thing around and in the end, she would still be in
the car with Kace while he was drunk.”

North stands straight, his mouth closing as if

he’s finally getting the picture that I’m fucked.
Nobody can help me.

“He told me he was going to take her from me

and never let me see her again. Like, run away with
her. I just… I beat him to the punch.” I begin to cry,
overwhelmed with everything.

“Don’t cry.” His head does this weird tilt thing

as  if  my  crying  is  his  weakness.  He  pushes  off  the
counter  and  wraps  his  arms  around  me,  his  bare
chest pressed against my face I can’t help but smell
him.  He’s  sweaty  and  manly.  God,  there’s  just
something  about  him  that  makes  me  want  to  be
someone  different,  someone  who  likes  to  walk  the
line of bad and do things I shouldn’t.

“He’s not going to get Halle. I can promise you

that,” he says into the top of my head.

I push an arm length back and look up to him.
“How can you promise me that?” My voice

dips. My soul is telling me not to believe his
promise, but it’s too late. My heart has latched onto
every word and I want to believe him more than I
have anything I ever have.

He looks down at me with more confidence

than I’ve ever seen anyone possess.

“Because I’m a fucking king of Georgia and I

said so. You’ll see.”

NORTH

I TOLD Aspen to stay at my house with Halle, she
was supposed to work tonight but I don’t know
what to do with the kid and I know that fucking ex
of hers will show up here looking for them.

Sitting on my throne in the back watching

Persia  dance  to  one  of  her  regular  songs,  I  find  it
hard to focus on her and the horny men around her.
All  I  can  think  about  is  what  the  hell  that  kid  and
Aspen  are  doing  at  my  house  right  now,  and  how
her  ex  hit  her.  There  is  one  quick  way  to  light  my
fuse  and  that  is  a  man  hurting  a  woman.  I  can’t
fucking  handle  it,  I  come  undone  and  see  nothing
but red. Aspen is a good girl and doesn’t deserve to
be smacked around by anyone.

Leaning my head back, I look up at the mood

lights. I gotta do something about this fucking ex-
husband first. She said he was an ex-cop, I wonder

if Sly can have Asher look into him. Asher is a cop
we have on the payroll.

Tugging my phone out of my jeans, I text Sly to

ask  Asher  about  a  cop  named  Kace  and  sit  back
and  wait.  Sitting  forward,  I  rest  my  head  into  my
hands  and  flashbacks  of  bruised  thighs,  screaming,
and  bloody  fingerprints  make  me  snap  upright  and
inhale  a  deep  breath.  The  shit  that  happened  up
north  plaguing  my  mind  all  over  again.  I’ll  never
forget the night that made up my mind to leave that
club.

My phone rings and I stand, trying to get

outside so I can hear what Sly has to say.

“Talk to me,” I answer.
“Asher said the man is dangerous, hooked on

drugs  and  booze.  He’s  under  investigation  for  a
murder.  Doesn’t  sound  good.”  Sly  is  the  treasurer
of  the  club  and  usually  deals  with  money  side  of
things, but I don’t underestimate what lays inside of
that  man.  Just  by  looking  at  his  eyes,  I  can  tell  he
has a temper much like my own.

“Thanks,” I reply and hang up.
I shoot Jinx a quick text asking him to meet me

as well, he’s a man with a temper and I can use him
right now.

I see that Jinx read my text but I don’t expect

him to reply, but I know he’ll show. He’s not a man
of many words, but one I trust more than a lot of
guys. I slip my phone back into my pocket and try

to relax. This shit is going to straighten out, and
everything will be back to its normal shit. Jinx will
be running drugs, Bouncer will be doing what the
fuck it is he does, and I can keep watching the strip
club until needed at the club. Easy fucking work.

The familiar smell of Valley has me looking up.

She’s wearing a long red dress with a slit above the
thigh. Sliding onto my lap, her hand rests on my
chest. Her cleavage right in my face.

“You look troubled, baby,” she coos, her big

plush lips pout like she actually cares.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I inhale.
“Lotta shit going on,” I tell her, not wanting to

go into detail.

She grabs my dick, getting straight to the point.
“Maybe we can work this out in the office?”

she offers.

I look to her, the feel of her rubbing my

member feeling too fucking good to pass up right
now.

“Get up,” I tell her, and she slips off my lap.

Setting my beer down, I lead the way back behind
the stage and into the office. As soon as the door
shuts, I grab her by the hips and bend her over the
desk.

She giggles at my eagerness. Truth is, I just

want to get off and be done, I’d jack off in the
bathroom but if she’s offering a warm pussy then
why the fuck would I pass it up.

I shove her dress up over her hips and onto her

back and pull my cock out. She opens the drawer to
the desk, handing me a condom over her shoulder.

Rolling the rubber over my shaft, I hold my

dick at the base and slip inside of her. She’s wet
and warm, making my cock pulse with pleasure.

Closing my eyes, I slip in and out of her. The

desk screeching across the floor with every thrust.

She hisses and moans before bending upward.

Turning her head, she tries to kiss me, and I grab
her by the throat stopping her.

Fucking a girl is enough to make them clingy,

but you add passionate shit like kissing and you just
silently sealed yourself into a relationship.

Her eyes glare at me, and I sneer back just

before my balls squeeze tightly and I nut.

Letting her go, I pull out of her and tug the

condom off.

She grabs a tissue from a box on the desk and

wipes herself up.

“That was quick,” she snaps.
“You offered to help me, and you did. What’d

you want?” I ask.

“Um, to get off. What the fuck, North?” She

holds her left hand out, palm up.

Shaking my head, I know I did her dirty, and to

be honest, I don’t really have a reason why. Maybe
it’s because of the way she handled Aspen. The
jealousy she possessed over me like I was her boy

toy pissed me off more than anything.

Maybe now she will see that I cannot be

owned.  Opening  the  door,  the  smell  of  the  club
wafting into the room of musk and sex, I find Jinx
just  arriving.  He  looks  over  my  shoulder  at  Valley,
then  to  me.  He’s  wearing  sunglasses  even  though
it’s already hard to see in the damn club and looks
unapproachable as usual.

Glancing over my shoulder, I wait for Valley to

leave so I can talk to Jinx privately. She slips
between us both, clearly unhappy with what just
happened. I don’t give a fuck about her happiness.

Jinx sits in the chair in front of the desk and

rubs his chin in waiting for why I called him here.
This is him. He’s not going to ask, he’s going to
wait and watch.

“I need to take out an ex-cop.” I pause,

anticipating his questions, the concern and
brotherly advice to begin but instead he looks up at
me, hands on his knees and nods his head.

“Good talk,” I respond, relaxing back in the

chair, I rest my hands behind my head. “Now we
wait.”

Jinx tilts his head to the side in question.

Because this is how we work. He’s the kind of guy
I bounce thoughts off of sometimes just to watch
his reactions and learn to read him. The way he’s
furrowed his brows giving tension to the lines in his
forehead tell me I have his full attention.

“Oh, he’s coming to us.” I grin. “So, let’s go

enjoy the show until the fucker gets here, huh?” I
stand, and Jinx does the same. If what Aspen says
holds true, her ex will be here, and we didn’t even
have to set the trap.

We both head out of the office and back out

into  the  strip  club.  The  music  is  loud,  the  lights
dimmed, and the smell of the girls making my dick
twitch  with  excitement,  or  maybe  it’s  the  fact  I’m
going  to  beat  down  on  a  scumbag  tonight  that  has
my cock hard. I get off on bringing people pain, it’s
as  if  my  own  problems  and  burdens  drip  from  my
own  wounds  and  into  theirs.  When  I’m  done,
they’re the ones in pain and I feel better, even if it’s
just for a minute. If being a member of the place I
was  at  up  north  taught  me  anything,  it’s  how  to
delegate my own torment.

Jinx and I sit in a booth watching Star do her

routine. She never goes very far up the pole
because of her big ass tits. She says they throw off
her balance or some shit.

Ariel slides two beers across the table for Jinx

and I, and I slip some cash onto her tray for coming
right over and taking care of my boy. She winks and
heads to some men in the far corner.

Some commotion to the right catches my eyes

while I gulp foam down my throat. A guy with
curled hair sits in a booth, the way his shoulders are
tense and head cocked to the side, I can tell he’s in

a defensive posture and giving Bad Bunny a hard
time.

Feeling me staring at her, she glances up, and I

wave her over. She walks away from the guy
without another word.

A pissed off look on her face, she reaches the

table and adjusts her rabbit ears, she’s the Kings’
little playboy bunny, and hot as hell.

“What’s going on over there?” I ask her, trying

to be heard over the music.

“He keeps asking for Aspen. I told him she’s

not working tonight and he’s not having it.”

I stare at the guy. That must be him. Kace.
“I’ll take care of it, but don’t go far,” I state.

She huffs and walks away. Leaning in close to Jinx,
I point to the man.

“That’s gotta be him, I knew he’d come looking

for her.” Jinx slides his glasses down the bridge of
his nose to get a good look at the man. Rarely does
the man expose his eyes.

“Let’s do this.” He growls and stands from the

booth. Yup, shit’s about to go down.

Climbing out myself, not forgetting my beer, I

head over to the mysterious guy and slide into the
booth with him.

His eyes widen with surprise as Jinx and I box

him in, one of us on each side of him.

“I hear you’re looking for Aspen tonight?” I

ask, then take a pull from my beer.

“Yeah, she ain’t at home, so I know her bitch

ass is here with my daughter, now tell her to cut the
shit  and  get  out  here!”  he  hollers,  the  smell  of
booze coming off of him. He’s not drunk like Aspen
said  he  was,  so  he  must  be  sobering  up,  I  assume.
Which  isn’t  good  for  me.  I  need  him  pissed  drunk
so  I  can  slip  him  out  of  here  without  incident.  He
plays with his fingers anxiously, the knuckles on his
hands caked with dried blood like he hit something
or  someone.  I  can’t  help  but  wonder  how  many
times  he’s  hit  Aspen  with  those  knuckles,  my
fingers  twitch  wanting  to  harm  this  motherfucker
now.

I shake my head as if I’m disappointed in Aspen

and look at Jinx.

“Can you believe that? That bitch called in

saying she was sick and she straight up lied to us,” I
state. Jinx plays along, scoffing as if Aspen is just
another pain in the ass.

Kace looks to me, his body relaxing when he

realizes we’re on his side.

“Yeah, that’s about all she’s fucking worth is

causing trouble.” He grunts. I can’t help but take
him in, he’s a fucking mess and I can’t see him ever
being a cop. I guess that’s why he isn’t anymore.

“How about I fix you up with a private dance in

our champagne room with one of our other girls,
and I’ll see if I can get ahold of Aspen in the
meantime, hmm?”

His spine straightens, and he runs his hand

through his hair.

“I think that would be the best for everyone,”

he accepts. Looking up, I find Bad Bunny talking to
Ariel by the bar, I wave her over.

“This is Bad Bunny, my best and naughtiest girl.

She  likes  to  break  a  lot  of  rules  back  there  in  the
VIP  room.”  I  grin,  and  Kace  chuckles  like  any
horny  man  would.  I  give  her  a  knowing  looking  to
let  her  know  this  customer  is  special,  my  eyes
staying on hers for a moment longer than necessary.

“Come on baby, let me take care of you.” She

winks, sliding her hands down her curves.

I slide out of the booth to allow Kace to climb

out behind me.

I lean into Bunny. “I want him drunk.” She

nods, knowing the game.

Stepping back, I cross my arms and drink the

rest of my beer while Bad Bunny takes Aspen’s ex-
husband to our champagne room for a night of
entertainment.

His last night of enjoyment.

ASPEN

Sitting  on  North’s  couch,  Halle  and  I  watch  TV
together.  I  cleaned  all  the  bottles  off  the  coffee
table  and  washed  some  dishes,  but  I  promised
myself  I’d  stop  there.  I  don’t  want  him  to  come
home  and  feel  any  type  of  way  from  me
straightening up. I only did it because I’m panicking
inside and can’t sit still.

Halle sits on her knees and draws on a piece of

paper with a pen I found, looking up every so often
to watch Spongebob.

I wiggle my foot and bite at my nails anxiously.

I know Kace is going to go to the club looking for
me and my mind is racing wondering what North is
going to do. I stand, needing to move. I should be at
the club, I shouldn’t have involved North because
now he’s going to involve the MC and it’s just a
mess.

Walking past the kitchen I decide to get nosy

and walk into the first room I come to, flipping the
light  on,  I  find  it’s  just  a  bathroom,  a  small  one.  It
has  a  tub  and  shower,  a  sink  across  from  it  with  a
razor  and  shaving  cream,  a  toothbrush  sitting  in  a
wooden holder attached to the wall.

There’s a window up high, but it’s not covered

with anything like the other windows in the house.

Turning the light off, I continue down the hall

and walk into the next dark room. I turn the lights
on  and  find  a  king-size  bed  disheveled  with  blue
plaid  blankets  and  white  pillows.  I  can’t  help  but
wonder  how  many  women  he’s  had  on  that  bed.
Probably  more  than  I  want  to  know.  I  clench  my
eyes  shut.  Why  do  I  care?  I  can’t  care,  I  need  to
focus  on  Halle  and  not  some  sexy  biker.  I  have
enough  man  problems.  Clearing  my  mind,  I  take
note of his clothes thrown all over the floor and the
dresser with a TV on it across the room with some
scattered  change  underneath  it.  I  come  into  the
room and open the top drawer of the dresser. A gun
sits  next  to  a  bottle  of  Calvin  Klein  cologne.  My
heart skips a beat seeing the weapon, but instead of
shutting  the  drawer  back  with  fear,  I  reach  inside
and  run  my  finger  along  the  barrel.  The  dip  in  my
back beading with sweat as I wonder if this gun has
ever  been  fired.  I  grab  his  cologne  and  point  it  at
myself, spritzing it on my shirt. Pulling the material
to my nose, I inhale it and close my eyes. It’s as if

North is right here in this room with me. I’ve
smelled a lot of different man smells working at the
club, but North has his own scent. One that does
things to me.

“Mommy?” I jump at Halle’s voice and slam

the drawer shut.

“Yeah, baby?” My voice cracks with surprise.
“I’m hungry.”
Clearing my throat, I head toward her, turning

off the light.

“Let’s go see what we can find.” I usher her out

of North’s room and back down the hall.

“What’s that smell?” Halle scrunches up her

nose and looks over her shoulder at me.

I give a tight-lipped smile and ignore her.
Because there’s no way I can describe the scent

of North to a child and keep it PG.

In the kitchen, I find some crackers and peanut

butter and hand it to her.

“Ooh!” She lights up, excited to be having

peanut butter for dinner, and runs off back to the
living room. Leaning against the counter, I cross my
arms and begin to tap my foot again. My eyes
darting to the clock on the wall.

“When will you be home, North?” I mutter

nervously. It’s weird, I was married to a cop and
never felt the security I do when North is around
me. I wish he was here right now as I’m a nervous
wreck.

NORTH

KACE  HAS  BEEN  in  the  room  with  Bad  Bunny
for about an hour and a half now, and if I know my
girl she has him wasted and eating out of the palm
of  her  hand  by  now.  Which  is  good  because  I’m
anxious  as  fuck  to  get  my  hands  bloody.  It’s  been
too long since I’ve got to show my darker side, the
one  that  thrives  on  violence  and  fucks  on  bad
memories.  I  may  not  look  like  an  outlaw  to  some
people as I don’t have the rugged looks or the hard
personality but piss me off and I will show you why
you shouldn’t trust a pretty boy with a sexy smirk.
Not  all  monsters  wear  scars  on  the  outside,
motherfucker.  I’m  one  package  that  comes  with
good looks and hidden gun.

I flick my hand against Jinx’s arm to grab his

attention.

“Let’s go see where we are,” I tell him, and he

stands up.

I take the back way to the champagne room, a

corridor we take high profile clients to help keep
them from the public eye.

Bad Bunny and Kace are in one of the smaller

VIP rooms. Curtains swoop around the section with
silk ribbons laced in to give it an erotic feel. Pulling
apart the material, a leopard print chair sits proudly
in the middle of the area with a stripper pole right
in front. Kace can’t see me as I stand from the back
of the room, so I stand there for a moment to
observe what I just walked in on.

Sweat, sex, and shitfaced. This room smells of a

shitfaced fucker who’s sweating while hoping he’s
going to get some.

He’s wrong.
Dead wrong.
Bad Bunny is sitting on Kace’s lap, his arms

lying flat on the hand rests. I watch him struggle to
keep control of himself and not touch the
merchandise.

“Come on baby, I’m worth it. Can’t you feel

that?” Kace slurs, thrusting his hips upward so Bad
Bunny can feel his cock.

“Oh yeah, I can feel that. You’re so big, baby.”

She feeds into his ego, slides her hands all over his
shoulders and chest. Her eyes pop over Kace’s
head spotting us and she nods, giving us the sign
that he’s fucked up.

Strutting into the room, she climbs off him in a

hurry and I grab the empty champagne bottle by
the neck and slam the bottom of the bottle over his
head. You can’t hear the thud over the music, but I
fucking felt the vibration all the way through my
hand.

He falls forward, landing face-first on the floor.
“That guy is a piece of work!” Bad Bunny

sneers, hands on her hips, her face twisted with
disgust.

Bending down, I grab his wallet and pull out all

the cash he has, which is just a couple of ones.

“Really?” I mutter under my breath. Pulling

some cards out, I find the “emergency fund” folded
up and hand the one-hundred-dollar bill to Bad
Bunny. She deserves more, not just because the guy
is scum but because I involved her in what is going
to be a murder.

“Next time we have a guest come to the club,

I’ll make it up to you and put you in double
rotation, babe.”

She takes the money and nods, accepting my

offer.

“Oh, you want these?” She dangles a pair of

keys in front of me.

“Shit, yeah I’mma need those,” I mutter, taking

them. I can’t have this fucker’s car left in the
parking lot.

Pulling my phone out, I text Bash.

“Now get out of here,” I tell her coldly, needing

her as far away from this guy and what just
happened.

“You brought your truck, right?” I ask Jinx.

“You know, the one Talia stole?” I give him shit and
he smiles proudly as he nods. Talia is his woman,
and she’s full of fire, the little sprite.

“Are you doing all this for some pussy?” he

finally asks, and I instantly scowl.

“I mean…” I don’t know what to say, the

answer is yes. I’m doing this for Aspen and I don’t
really have a good reason as to why I’m fucking
doing all this for her. “Yeah.” I shrug, gaining a
chuckle from Jinx. He doesn’t question me further.

Glaring down at Kace, I know there are a ton of

reasons why this piece of shit doesn’t need to be on
this earth, but I took it upon myself to judge him as
unworthy  of  Halle  and  Aspen  out  of  his  sins  and
now  that  Jinx  has  pointed  out  to  me  just  how  far
I’ve  gone  for  Aspen,  I’m  realizing  I’m  more  than
attracted to the new girl than I want to admit.

I’m killing her ex-husband just so she can see

what a real man is, and the lengths they will go to
protect what is theirs.

Jinx goes to pull his truck around the back of

the  club  and  comes  back  inside  to  help  me  move
the  body.  I  grab  the  arms,  and  Jinx  grabs  the  feet.
With the music and all the curtains, nobody can see
us,  this  back  entrance  is  for  celebrities  and  shit.

Outside, the muffler of Jinx’s black lifted Chevy
rumbles.

Using my knees, I toss the body over the side

and do a horrible job because Kace’s head bounces
off the side and the front of his torso falls to the
ground.

“Fuck!” I growl, grabbing his limp ass and

trying again. I’m off my game and I don’t fucking
like it. This time making it, his body fumbles into
the back of the bed.

Bash suddenly walks out the back doors and my

heart skips a beat.

“Goddamn it, fucker, you scared me.” I hold

my chest.

He looks over the scene, his eyes wide.
“What the fuck?”
I hand him the keys I just found. Bash is just the

man I need tonight. He’s the vice president of our
club and if anyone else likes to get their hands dirty,
it’s him.

“I need you to follow us in whatever car these

keys belong to,” I tell him. Taking them, he looks
them over.

“They go to a Ford,” he states before turning

and pressing buttons on the key fob. A truck out
front starts to go off, and I smile knowing we found
Kace’s car.

“Take me to the rails, one where a train is

expected any minute,” I tell Jinx, and I climb inside

of the passenger seat.

“Sweet Home Alabama” plays on the radio, and

I  lean  over  to  turn  the  volume  up.  Jinx  opens  his
door,  the  cab  light  illuminating  just  enough  light
that  I  realize  I  have  some  of  Kace’s  blood  on  my
hands.

“Shit.” I rub it on my jeans and keep singing, all

while Jinx looks at me like I’ve lost my fucking
mind.

I have.
In fact, all of us Kings have gone mad. That’s

why  we’re  fucking  brothers.  Pulling  out  of  the
parking lot of Centerfold, Bash right behind us in a
small truck, we head to the tracks, Jinx making sure
to  keep  off  the  main  roads.  It  doesn’t  take  long
before Jinx is driving off-road and pulling up to the
tracks, I open the door and get out. It’s dead silent
out  here,  not  a  person  or  house  in  sight.  There’s  a
light breeze with the smell of dew thick in the air. If
my adrenaline wasn’t pumping so profusely, I’d put
on  a  leather  jacket.  We  use  the  rails  to  move
products  and  Jinx  knows  the  schedule  by  heart.
Since it’s a freight system, security is minimal when
a  train  is  in  the  station.  Right  now,  no  train  means
no peering eyes.

Jinx reaches over the bed of the truck and grabs

the body, tossing it over his shoulder like a sack of
potatoes. Kace slurs, trying to talk but is completely
out of it from the booze or the whack to the head.

Jinx drops him to the ground like a bag of trash, and
I kneel down by Kace’s side. I grab him by the chin
making him look at me. Blood spills down his
forehead from the champagne bottle bashing him in
the head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your girls for

you.” A sly smile crosses my face, and I nail him in
the face with my fist. His head slings back, and I hit
him  again.  Over  and  over,  I  beat  his  ass  for  every
time he ever made Aspen cry, for every dirty deed
he  ever  committed  behind  the  badge.  I  beat  the
fucking life out of him for every woman who ever
endured  a  man  hurting  her.  My  vendetta  now
becoming personal, I hit him until my own knuckles
almost  break.  The  metal  tracks  start  to  vibrate,
indicating a train coming, I pause.

“That bitch set me up!” he slurs to the starlit

sky. Visions of my past echo in my head, and I grab
the sides of my ears, wanting the noise to quiet. The
old club, that night they broke their loyalty to me
and left a scene to haunt me for the rest of my life
plaguing my fucking mind. The train rings, warning
it’s coming and drowning out my insanity.

The strength of the train becomes stronger on

the  rails,  so  I  step  back  and  lean  against  the  grill
next to Jinx, making sure our dirty little pig doesn’t
hobble  off  the  tracks  when  I’m  not  looking.  The
spotlight  of  the  train  rounds  the  bend,  and  Kace
cries out for help.

Biting my lip, I become anxious, ready for the

train to do its fucking job and take this low life out.
Jinx suddenly displays a pair of glasses and I take
them and put them on.

“Thanks, man.” Don’t wanna get blood and shit

in my eyes, do I? I check over my shoulder to see
what  Bash  is  doing  and  he’s  wiping  the  car  down,
tossing beer around the seats and making the scene
to  fit  the  accident.  The  train  wails  out  a  warning,
just  as  it  chugs  over  Kace’s  body.  Jinx  and  I
standing ten feet back isn’t enough as blood sprays
across us, mostly me. The sound of bones crushing
sending  a  shiver  up  my  spine,  I  look  to  the  moon
with  the  urge  to  fucking  howl  like  a  bloodthirsty
wolf.  I  hold  my  arms  out  and  smell  the  metal  and
blood hot in the air.

“Goddamn, this never gets old!” I roar out to

the night sky, my arms stretched out on both sides.

Dropping my head, I exhale a breath. As much

as I live for the kill, it’s over just as quickly.

“Well, we better go,” I hesitantly tell Jinx,

climbing back into his truck, and Bash gets in the
back.

“Just a drunk on the train tracks at night. Tragic

accident,” I mumble to Jinx who backs out of the
open field.

“Yep,” Jinx states, looking over his shoulder to

back out. Taking off my bloody glasses, I toss them
on the dash.

“Thanks for the help, Bash.” I run my hands

through my sticky hair, my face pulling into an
expression of disgust.

“It’s what brothers do.” Bash kicks his feet up

on the seat and rests his head on the side window.

Fucking right we do.
Rolling down my window, I hang my arm out,

the smell of dew filling the truck. I need the air, the
reminder I’m surviving.

There’s something about taking the life of a

man,  it  does  something  to  me.  After  everything  is
said  and  done,  I  don’t  feel  bad,  but  I  don’t  feel
good about it either. It’s as if I know I had to do it
to  protect;  a  dog  eat  dog  world.  A  mask  will  fall
into place any minute and I will push through it like
I was taught to do in the north and I’ll live my life.

Just like any other murderer.
“I’ll close Centerfolds, why don’t you head

home and get cleaned up?” Jinx offers and I accept.
Plus, I have blood all over me and that will draw
attention for sure.

Driving home, something excited and light sits

in my chest, maybe the fact that I have someone at
home waiting for me? It’s an odd feeling, but one I
most  definitely  like.  I  wonder  what  Aspen  and
Halle  did  at  my  place  today,  God,  I  hope  they’re
still  there.  Last  thing  I  need  is  to  go  out  and  find
them and worry about an alibi for their asses.

Hand on the throttle, I release all the thoughts

in  my  mind  and  try  to  reset  my  mind.  Though  the
blood  sticking  to  my  skin  goes  cold  and  makes  it
hard,  the  sound  of  my  bike  on  the  road  is  of
encouragement.

I pull my bike into the driveway and find my

house hasn’t been burnt down so, that’s a good
sign. Once inside, I find the coffee table cleaned of
my empty beers, and my brows furrow.

Please don’t tell me she cleaned the damn

house.

I stop when I see Halle and Aspen asleep on the

couch.

Halle and she are both curled up into each

other,  fast  asleep.  I  shut  the  door  quietly  and  lock
it,  not  able  to  take  my  eyes  off  the  girls  on  my
couch. You don’t do the things I do and get to come
home to something like this. It’s serene, and… has
me  feeling  some  kind  of  way.  Every  inhale  and
exhale is of them on my couch sleeping. My house
smells  of  them,  their  faces  imprinting  in  my  head.
Scratching  my  cheek,  I  pick  a  piece  of  something
off  my  face,  and  I’m  reminded  of  what  the  fuck  I
look like. I need to get a shower before one of them
sees  me.  I  don’t  want  either  of  them  to  see  the
blood and never look at me the same again. I head
straight to the bathroom and turn the shower on to
wash  the  blood  off.  Pulling  my  clothes  off,  I  toss
them  on  the  floor  and  step  into  the  warm  water.
The sound of the body under the train echoes in my

head as the blood swirls down the drain, and I close
my  eyes  trying  to  unsee  it  all.  I  need  to  reset  my
mind  and  move  forward  just  like  any  other  time.
Resting  my  arms  on  the  wall,  my  jaw  tics  as  I  see
and hear the train and the body over and over. Why
is this happening? I never have a problem resetting
my  mind  back  to  reality.  The  sound  of  the  water
filling  my  ears  as  I  drown  out  the  world  and  let
everything  that  happened  tonight  sink  in.  Maybe
because  it  was  Halle’s  dad,  or  I  wanted  Kace  to
suffer more. Killing him was too easy of an out for
him  for  the  shit  he’s  done  in  his  life  and  I  just  let
him off. I open my eyes, I notice the water is now
cold. How long have I been standing here?

I turn the faucet off and pull back the curtain,

finding Aspen sitting on the toilet. I cover my dick
with both hands instinctively.

“What the fuck?” I clip. Her eyes climb from

the bloody clothes up my body to my eyes.

“What happened?” she mutters, the softness in

her voice making me feel like a villain, but I did it
for her. I have never once felt guilty for doing my
job. I don’t feel bad now, but I do have a stirring
inside I can’t explain.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s over,” I tell her,

reaching for the towel across me, I wrap it around
my waist and step out just as she stands up. Our
bodies are close, too close. I can smell her breath as
it whispers across my face, her eyes looking at me

in that way and it makes my dick grow with
hardness. She leans forward to kiss me, and I turn. I
hear her inhale the rejection and I grab her by the
chin.

“I don’t kiss anyone,” I explain with more

gruffness to my voice than I intended. But  I  say  it
out of habit rather than meaning it, because looking
at  her  hurt  lip,  something  twists  inside  of  me
making  me  want  to  kiss  it  better.  Letting  her  face
go, I grab her by the ass and lift her, placing her on
the counter.

I run my nose down the crook of her neck, and

she  moans,  her  hands  all  over  at  me  all  at  once.
Grabbing  her  ridiculous  flowery  dress  by  the
cleavage  I  rip  it  down,  exposing  her  perky  tits
sitting in a lacy pink bra. I help her unsnap her bra,
and  slowly  slide  one  hand  in  between  her  legs,
caressing her inner thigh while the other hand cups
her  tit,  pinching  her  nipple  in-between  my  fingers.
The hiss that escapes those lips has me bite my own
to keep from enveloping her pretty little mouth with
my own. I want to kiss her, taste her, and bite that
fucking bottom lip so hard that every time she runs
her tongue across the cut she thinks of me.

I can’t do that though, I know it will only

confuse things between us more, so I run my hands
up her back, pushing her chest into my face and I
bite at the soft creamy flesh of her right tit hard,
making sure to leave teeth marks.

Her hands run through my hair, her legs

wrapping  around  me  as  I  lay  claim  to  her.  Our
breathing  picks  up,  the  animalistic  fuck  inside  of
me  wanting  to  be  inside  of  her  now.  I  tug  at  her
dress  wanting  the  shit  off  of  her,  and  then  her
panties. Her pussy is bare of any hair, and I run my
finger  over  her  swollen  clit.  She  bucks  against  my
hand, and I smirk at how reactive her body is to my
touch. I’ve wanted to touch her since the day I saw
her  on  the  stage  and  I’m  going  to  finally  get  to
tonight.

“Wait,” she moans, her hands pressing against

my chest and my balls instantly feel like they were
kicked. “I’ve only been with Kace, I’m not like…”
She  pauses,  and  I  look  to  her  with  hooded  eyes.
She’s  too  pure  for  me,  so  innocent  and  angelic.
She’s  only  been  with  a  man  that  was  her  husband,
could she get any more perfect?

“I’ll be your last, Aspen.” I breathe heavily,

grabbing her by the nape of the neck, I bite at her
chin and she comes alive within my hold. My words
being just what she needed to break through her
good girl walls.

She uses her pink painted toenails to tear the

towel  from  my  hips,  I  position  her  on  the  edge  of
the  sink  just  right  before  slipping  inside  her  sweet
little  cunt.  She’s  so  wet  and  tight  I  can’t  help  but
groan  against  her  neck,  not  wanting  her  to  see  the
stupid  look  of  pleasure  across  my  face.  I  thrust  in

and out of her, my fingers digging into her ass-
cheeks as I fuck her.

Her hands fly at my arms and back for

purchase, we fuck so hard our bodies slip and slide
all over the goddamn counter.

“Yes! Yes!” she whimpers, her body tensing as

if she’s about to explode all over my cock.

Close to the brim myself, it occurs to me I

didn’t  put  a  condom  on,  I  need  to  pull  out  and  I
don’t want to. I slam my fist into the mirror behind
me,  lost  in  the  sea  of  sex,  and  reluctantly  pull  my
dick  out  of  her  and  come  all  over  her  sweet  little
thighs.

Both of us breathing hard, I slowly raise my

head, her lips are parted, her skin flushed.

“Did you finish?”
She nods, her eyes lazy with lust. I bend down

and grab my damp towel and wipe up her legs,
stopping at her bruised knees. I run my thumb over
her kneecap.

“They’ll get used to the stage,” I tell her, and

she  looks  up  at  me  with  doe  eyes.  She  grabs  the
towel  with  a  sweet  smile  on  her  face  and  rubs  the
cum  off  her  chest  as  I  grin.  “Sorry,  guess  I  had
more in there than I thought.”

She smiles, and tosses the towel back at me

while trying to pull up what’s left of her dress.

The broken mirror catches my eye and I sigh. I

can’t believe I really did that. Losing control isn’t

me.

Slipping off the counter, she begins to nibble on

her nail nervously. Grabbing the towel, I wrap it
around my torso and rub my face with my hands,
I’m fucking tired.

“Why don’t you and Halle take my bed, it’s

late,” I offer, not really sure what to say. Women
crashing at my house isn’t exactly commonplace
for me.

“You sure?” She crosses her arms, that angelic

demeanor that has me by the balls making my chest
squeeze.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Grab a shirt, pants, whatever

you need,” I tell her, feeling bad I ripped her dress.

She laughs, pulling at the rags.
“I mean, to be honest, it was a hideous dress.”
“Yeah, it was. I was just trying to play the mom

at the park, I guess,” she confesses, and this grabs
my attention.

“Aspen, I’ve seen a lot of moms out there and I

can  definitely  say  you’re  a  good  mom.”  Her  smile
drops,  her  eyes  looking  at  me  with  a  solid  stare.  I
can only imagine what Kace and her parents said to
her  when  she  became  a  stripper,  but  I  know  she’d
do  anything  for  her  daughter,  more  than  some  of
those  women  who  wear  flower  printed  dresses,
mom-styled  hairdos,  and  have  reputable  jobs.
Aspen is a good mom.

“Thanks North.” Her voice is merely a whisper.

ASPEN

I go into North’s room to change before waking up
Halle.  I  don’t  want  her  to  see  my  dress  like  this.
Opening his closet, I pull out a black shirt and pull
it  over  me.  The  sight  of  North’s  teeth  marks  just
catching  my  eye  before  the  material  covers  the
swollenness.  I  bite  back  a  smile  at  how  feral  he
was, it’s as if he couldn’t have enough of me. There
was  so  much  passion  and  untamed  attraction
between  North  and  I  that  it  makes  the  times  Kace
and  I  had  sex  look  dull  and  numb.  It  was  pure
vanilla sex, a marriage based off of when we were
kids and not what was happening between us in the
present.  Going  to  the  dresser,  I  open  the  second
drawer, knowing there’s nothing in the first one that
I need, and find some gray sweatpants. I pull them
up and find they’re too big, so I have to tie them as
tight as they will go.

I kick my dress under Kace’s bed with my foot

and go to Halle on the couch. Picking her up, I take
her to the bedroom and cover her up. I turn around
and turn the lights off and shut the door, concealing
the  room  in  a  blanket  of  darkness  before  climbing
on the bed and under the blankets. His blankets are
fluffier than they look and swallow us both up. The
pillow smells like him and I nestle into it more as I
watch  Halle  sleep.  My  body  is  sore  but  in  a  good
way  from  the  hands  of  North,  and  my  mind  races
with  images  of  the  blood-soaked  clothes  on  the
bathroom floor. You’d think I’d ask more questions,
or  be  frightened  by  the  sight  of  them,  but  if
anything,  it  just  conveyed  that  North  kept  his
promise to me.

My parents are out of my life, and now Kace is

gone.

I’m on my own, to be whoever I want and if

tonight is any indication of what my future holds
it’s never going to be boring.

Jesus, who am I becoming and what will happen

next?

NORTH

WAKING  up  from  my  body  crunched  into  the
small  sofa,  I  stretch  out  and  open  my  eyes  to  find
Halle  looking  right  over  me.  Her  eyes  are  so
cheerful, and face so youthful.

“What do you want?” My tone is grumpy.
“I’m going to be a basketball player.”
Sitting up, my eyes crusted with sleep, I stare at

the young girl.

“Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
“It’s summer, duh,” Halle sasses, sitting on the

couch next to me.

Rubbing my hands down my face, I try to wake

myself up. I need to go to the clubhouse and talk to
Chaos, tell him what went down last night.

“Halle! I told you not to wake him up!” Aspen

walks out of the kitchen, scolding Halle. She’s
wearing my shirt, one I’ve had since my high

school days. Her nipples poke through the material,
making me want another round of what went down
in the bathroom last night, so I look away.

“Is it okay if I wear these? I’m going to go to

my place and change before work tonight—”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I interrupt her. I’m not used

to this much chatter this early in the morning. Wait,
is it morning? What time is it? Flexing my neck
back, I look to the clock. Shit, it’s noon. I missed
church.

Standing up, I head down the hallway to find

some clothes and get to the club.

“Um, should I bring Halle with me tonight?”

Aspen asks from down the hall.

Shit, I forgot about the babysitting thing.
“Yes, bring her.”
“Are you sure, Valley seemed really—”
“Valley is just scared of you,” I explain, trying

to get ready.

Aspen appears at the bedroom door, her eyes

looking me up and down.

“I don’t think she’s scared of me.” Aspen

seems amused by my statement and crosses her
arms. “I mean, I can take Halle to the babysitter
now that Kace is…”

“No, you need to act as if nothing has

happened. You don’t know anything about Kace.” I
wake up instantly, straightening my back, I grab her
by the chin to look me in the eyes.

“This is very important. As far as you know,

Kace  is  still  a  piece  of  shit  out  there  doing
everything  he  can  to  sabotage  you.  Last  time  you
saw  him  was  yesterday  when  you  met  up  for  drop
off, and he was drunk. Got it?”

She nods, her face flashing with a sense of fear.

I grab both sides of her face trying to reel her in. If
she loses it, then we’re all fucked.

“Am I going to be okay?” she whimpers, and I

feel it all the way to my gut. I can’t take her tears
or her being scared, this woman does something to
me on a level I can’t understand.

I grin in an attempt to ease her nerves. “Of

course.”

I tug on my leather cut and head out the front

door.

“Bye North!” Halle hollers just before the door

slams. I glance over my shoulder as I walk to the
motorcycle. That kid is something else. I don’t like
children and I would think she would catch the hint
by now but she just keeps at me.

Straddling my bike, I start it and back it out of

the  driveway.  Revving  it  up,  I  take  off.  The  warm
air rushing around me and drowning out everything
ringing in my head. Tires on asphalt, the sun on my
leather  cut,  I  head  to  the  clubhouse,  eager  to  see
my  brothers.  I’ve  been  out  of  character  the  last
twenty-four  hours  and  they’re  the  only  thing  that
makes  sense  right  now.  Maybe  they  can  clear  up

what the hell I’ve been thinking.

Pulling into the parking lot of the club, I park

next to one of the bikes, it looks like Chaos’.
Kicking out my kickstand, I rest my bike and climb
off. Shit, I hope he’s not pissed I missed church.

Inside I find him next to a pool table casually

drinking a beer. His hair is disheveled as usual, his
beard giving him an intimidating look. He looks
every bit of a biker compared to me.

“You missed church,” he informs.
“I know,” I mutter, coming inside further.

“What’d I miss?”

He turns around facing the pool table and racks

the balls for the opening shot. I grab a cue stick.
Chaos is a man of pool. Some sit down and drink
coffee and shoot the shit, Chaos plays pool.

He takes the opening shot, calling solids when

balls two and three sink into a pocket.

I aim my shot and take a deep breath.
“So some shit went down last night.”
“Everything okay?” I feel Chaos’ eyes on me,

but not out of anger but concern.

“Jinx and I took out an ex-cop that was causing

some trouble with one of the girls working at the
club,” I explain further, this catches Chaos’
attention to the point he doesn’t take his turn.

“A fucking cop? Where’s the body? Do we

need to cover anything up, pay anyone off?” he
asks one question after another, wanting to make

sure I’m taking care of, that the brotherhood is not
at risk.

“Jinx and I made it look like an accident on the

train tracks, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” I set my
cue stick down and rub the back of my neck
nervously.

Chaos nods and slaps me on the back.
“I know you take protecting Centerfold to

heart, but I’ve never seen you go to these lengths
for any of the women there.”

“Yeah, there’s this new girl who has a kid and

I’m all out of sorts.” I point to my head, indicating
how screwed up I’ve been lately.

He laughs a full belly laugh, then takes his turn

nailing almost every solid into a pocket.

“Behind every man stands a woman who has

him by the balls, brother.”

Shaking my head, I grin, knowing he just

whooped my ass in pool.

“Thanks for the brotherly chat.”
The rest of the day I play pool with the boys

and  drink  beer.  This  is  the  kind  of  life  I  signed  up
for, the brotherhood I always wanted. I don’t think
about  the  dead  body  on  the  tracks,  and  I  try  my
hardest  not  to  think  about  Aspen  and  Halle,  but  I
keep looking at the clock waiting for opening hours
of Centerfolds to see them.

“Oh, and what’s this about a kid being at the

strip club?” Chaos asks me as I’m stretched over

ASPEN

MY  HOUSE  IS  TRASHED.  The  front  door  has
been busted open, and everything inside the house
has  been  tipped  over,  drug  out,  and  ruined.
Everything  that  was  mine  and  I  worked  for.  My
mouth  parts,  my  eyes  filling  with  tears.  Why  is  it
every  time  I  take  one  step  forward  I’m  knocked
back ten?

“We’ve been robbed!” Halle gasps before

looking  at  me  with  a  face  the  color  of  Casper.
Jesus,  everything  is  ruined.  Bending  down,  I  pick
up a picture of me and Halle that’s been ripped up.
This  was  no  random  robbery,  this  was  personal.
Kace  did  this  after  I  took  Halle  when  he  went
looking for me.

Hands on my hips, I take a deep breath but it

does nothing for my anxiety.

“Yeah, it looks like it.” I lie to Halle, she’s a kid

and  wouldn’t  understand  why  her  dad  would
destroy her home. The important thing now is he’s
gone and can’t hurt us anymore. “But um, we can
just clean it up, and North can help us fix the front
door,  you  know?”  I  stay  optimistic,  bending  down
to  pick  up  Halle’s  Basketball  card  collection.  It’s
got  a  couple  sheets  ripped  out.  He  never  did  like
her being into basketball, he always yelled at her to
get  into  cheerleading  or  something  more  girlie.  It
angered me because Halle can do anything despite
her gender.

Stepping into the kitchen, all my dishes are on

the  ground  and  shattered.  They  were  all  bought
from the dollar store, but still, I bought those when
Kace  refused  to  give  me  any  of  the  dishes  we  got
for our wedding. I moved into this place with an air
mattress,  and  a  TV  I  literally  had  to  bite  out  of
Kace’s  hands.  That  was  before  we  got  a  judge
involved in separating belongings.

“Mom, I think there’s pee on your bed!” Halle

cries out from the other room. Hanging my head, I
press my palm to my forehead and sigh.

Why was he such a nasty bastard?
Going into my room it smells of urine so bad I

have to open a window. Bunching up my blankets, I
take them to the stacked washer and dryer at the
end of the hall between mine and Halle’s rooms and
shove them in, making sure to use extra soap.

“What about your bed, is there any…” I pause,

my face scrunching into disgust.

“No, I smelled it and felt it,” she says, with a

stack of kid’s books in her hands.

“But these are ruined.” She hands them to me,

and a little bit of my soul cries. Some of these were
books we got for Halle when she was a baby. Why
would he fucking do this?

Halle and I clean up what we can before it’s

time for me to get ready for work.

“Mommy, look, it’s you and Daddy.” Halle

walks over to me and hands me a picture frame. It’s
one of me and Kace on our wedding day. My dress
was  two  sizes  too  small  because  I  was  pregnant
with Halle. My face pulls into a grimace wondering
where  it  came  from  because  I  thought  I  got  rid  of
all  of  those  photos.  Something  tugs  inside  of  my
chest as I take the picture from Halle.

Terror.
I wonder if the cops have found Kace’s body

yet, and if they think I had anything to do with it.
Taking a breath, I hand it back to Halle.

“Why don’t you keep it,” I offer, and she takes

it  from  me  and  skips  off  into  the  other  room.  My
life  went  from  helping  the  church  gather  for  the
shelter  on  the  weekends  with  a  husband  that
wanted  nothing  more  than  to  protect  his  town  to
becoming  a  stripper  and  pretending  not  to  know
about her dead ex-husband.

How did my life switch so much, so fast? My

face turns into a scowl, Kace became a dirty piece
of shit, that’s what.

I grab an outfit for work and take Halle by the

hand. Hopefully tonight will be the last night I have
to take her to work with me, I’d die if she saw me
out there dancing.

eading into the club, I walk straight to the
back, the stage and bar are lit up and
being prepped for the night’s risqué

events. I take Halle to the table and chair I had her
at last time and sit her down with my phone.

She looks up at me, her curls in her eyes.
“Mom, this is going to be so boring,” she

whines. “Can I come out and dance with you?”

My eyes widen, my heart skipping a beat.

“Absolutely not.”

“Hey baby, what kind of stuff you like to do?”

Bad  Bunny  asks,  walking  out  of  the  vanity  room.
Her  green  robe  is  open  showing  off  her  skimpy
outfit,  but  it  doesn’t  seem  to  bother  Halle  as  she
turns in her seat and lights up.

“Basketball!” she says excitedly.
“Hmm.” Bunny taps her chin and walks back

into the vanity room.

“You’re going to be the best on the team this

year, you know?” I poke her, smiling at how
determined she is.

“Yeah, but it’s co-ed, Jimmy told me last year

that girls aren’t good enough to play,” she explains,
and I instantly want to hire a little boy to beat
Jimmy’s ass.

“Look what I found!” Halle and I both look up

and find Bad Bunny holding an orange basketball.

“Alright!” Halle jumps from her chair and

retrieves the ball, bouncing it on the floor.

“Oh wow, thanks!” I tell Bad Bunny.
“I had it for a routine I did a few months ago,”

she explains.

Crossing my arms, I can’t help but laugh.
Heels clicking loudly down the hall catch our

attention,  and  we  look  up  finding  Valley  strutting
toward  us.  Her  blond  hair  mixing  into  her
extensions  fall  down  on  each  side  of  her  tits,  her
milky  skin  looking  flawless  with  her  bright  red
lipstick.  Her  black  crisscrossed  top  barely  holds  in
her breasts, a sliver of skin showing just before her
long  black  skirt  flows  around  her  red  heels.  She’s
every  man’s  fantasy  and  belongs  on  a  pole  rather
than a house mom in my opinion.

“Really, again with the kid?” She sneers,

holding her hand out and gesturing toward Halle.

“North told me to bring her,” I inform her, and

this seems to piss her off more.

“You’ve been talking with him?” She tilts her

head to the side. Bad Bunny takes the opportunity
to leave me with the bitch and face her on my own.

“Yeah, he’s been helping me through some

stuff.” I keep my explanation short and look to my
daughter. Hoping my breaking eye contact will end
this.

“He always did have a heart for the poor girls,”

she mutters, and a grimace takes over my face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her eyes widen like she meant no offense, but

we both know she did.

“Just, when he sees a lost puppy he’s always

got to be the one to make them feel at home, until
they do, and then he’s back to snuggling in my bed
at  six  in  the  morning.”  She  huffs  like  it’s  no  big
deal, as if North is her plaything and I’m just one of
his  quests  and  nothing  of  importance.  This  angers
me on multiple levels. For one, I don’t believe that
North  couldn't  care  less  about  Halle  and  me,  and
two, if she thinks I’m just going to walk away from
North  without  finding  out  for  sure  what  I  am  to
North… she’s mistaken.

The old Aspen would have left North alone the

first time she warned me, but now…

“Girls!” The familiar voice of North sounds as

Valley and I look toward the locker room. He looks
good, and the bite marks on my tit sting in a
delicious way, reminding me how great things can
be between us.

His eyes find mine, and I have to bite back a

smile, but his face is unreadable of any expression,
making me question if what I’m feeling is one-
sided.

He takes his leather cut off, and then his black

button-up shirt, tossing it on a vacuum sitting in the
corner, his white wife-beater tight and showing off
his muscles briefly before he puts his cut back on.

“I turned the air-conditioner up as much as I

could, but it’s going to be a hot one tonight,” he
tells all of the girls.

Valley sashays up to him and runs her hand

across his cheek.

“You and your big heart,” she coos, running her

hands all over him. I knew when I woke up this
morning we wouldn’t suddenly be a couple, but I
didn’t think I would be so affected by Valley feeling
him up in front of me either.

“You know me.” He winks, admitting he’s a

sucker for wanting to be the hero to the ladies. My
brows furrow at what Valley told me about him just
wanting to be the hero to everyone’s story. That
I’m new but will become old to him any minute.
Yet, here I am getting all excited and giddy when I
see him.

I turn around, having enough of this mind

racing shit. Valley is in my head now, and I can’t
help but wonder if she’s right. I mean, he’s met my
kid. He killed someone for me! Who the hell goes

to those lengths just to impress a girl because he’s
bored?

There is something between us, and I’m going

to prove it. North and I are going to find out right
here tonight what the hell is going on between us.

I watch North and Valley walk down the hall

talking  numbers  for  the  night,  and  whom  is
expected  to  show  up  and  I  snatch  his  button-up
shirt  and  start  getting  ready  for  my  routine  for  the
night.

Quickly I hustle over to DJ Nerve, my strappy

heels making it hard for me to pick up much speed,
and hand a crisp twenty over to switch my song last
minute.  Leaning  into  him,  the  smell  of  Old  Spice
overwhelming, I hold my breath and whisper “Bad
Guy”  by  Billie  Eilish,  please!  He  nods,  taking  the
twenty  and  starts  clicking  away  on  his  computer.
Turning  on  my  heel,  I  hurry  back  to  my  place
knowing he’s going to call me any second.

“Everybody, you’re going to have to sit on your

hands for this next one. My girl, the sexiest, the
purest, ASPEN!”

The music starts, the beat thumping the floor

beneath my shoes as I sashayed out onto the stage,
grabbing the pole I slowly do a Moon Waltz that I
learned how to do by myself, making sure to keep
my eyes off the ground and find North sitting in his
throne, his eyes on me. Good.

I shove his button-up down my shoulders and

do  a  toe  touch,  my  ass  cheeks  shaking,  my  hair  in
my  face,  I  pull  off  the  perfect  exotic  stripper  look
that Bad Bunny has been trying to get me to act out
in  my  routine.  My  back  to  the  pole  now,  the  steel
acting  as  my  spine,  I  have  everyone’s  attention,
including  Valley  who’s  standing  by  the  bar  holding
a glass as if it were a dagger.

Gripping the pole, I swing myself around it,

parting  my  legs  as  far  as  they  will  go  until  I  slip
onto  the  stage  and  onto  my  back.  On  all  fours,  I
pop my back up and down until I raise to my knees
and  slowly  unbutton  the  shirt,  revealing  my  tits.
The  bite  marks  that  North  left  behind  clear  as  day
even in the dark club, I rub two of my fingers over
the indentations as if they’re a badge of honor. The
gentlemen go crazy, and I begin to sing the lyrics to
the song, making sure to look right at Valley when it
says, “You said she’s scared of me?”

Valley stands, completely angered by the time I

finish the part, and I bite at the air just as the lights
go dark.

I let out a breath, my body shaking and hands

trembling. Holy shit. I did it.

Grabbing as much of the cash as I can, I hurry

off the stage and run smack dab into the hard body
of North.

“What the fuck was that?” He growls, pointing

to the stage behind me. I don’t look away, I find
that sexy bravado I had on stage and glare back at

him.

“Exactly what you think it was!” I lift my chin

defiantly, and he snatches me by the wrist and
pushes me into the office. He’s really pissed.

“You think you’re my girlfriend now? Is that it?

That we’re some kind of couple that you can wear
my shit and mark me as your territory?” His words
cut me, my plan not turning out how I was hoping.
My heart falls into the pit of my stomach and I
have to fight the urge to run away.

Dropping the sweaty money in my palm, I step

up  to  him,  our  bodies  are  so  close  I  can  feel  the
anger radiating off of him. I basically just lifted my
leg and pissed all over him, telling every woman in
this  club  that  he  was  mine.  Well,  is  he?  Who  kills
for  another  person  and  not  have  some  kind  of
emotional attachment?

“I don’t know, you tell me, what am I to you,

North?” My voice cracks, I’m losing what little
courage I have.

He fists my chin and scowls at me with flaring

nostrils.

“You’re…” He hesitates, his ice-blue eyes

searing  into  my  bravado  and  seeing  me  for  who  I
really  am.  Just  a  scared  little  girl  trying  to  play
stripper.  Suddenly  he  presses  his  lips  to  mine,
catching  me  off  guard,  but  not  for  long  because  I
kiss him back. Wrapping my arms around his neck,
my lips fit onto his like he’s been the missing piece

of my entire existence this whole time. He slams
my back up against the door and deepens the kiss. I
taste the beer he was drinking and the scent that is
North. His hand slides up my hip under his shirt and
grabs my tit, the one with his bite marks.

“What the fuck is it about you?” he says against

my lips. I moan, not sure what to say to that. I undo
his belt, the buckle being difficult as he shoves my
G-string to the side of my wet pussy and slips inside
of me. He thrusts so hard my back bangs against
the door.

He notices how much noise we’re making he

turns us, and wipes the desk clean and sits me on it.
My  ass  cheeks  stick  to  the  top,  and  he  fucks  me
like  he  didn’t  just  have  sex  with  me  less  than
twenty-four hours ago. My chin on his shoulder, my
body  tightens  up  ready  to  blow  just  as  the  door
opens.  Our  breathing  so  loud  North  doesn’t  even
notice.  Red  fingernails  push  the  door  open  farther
and  there  stands  Valley  watching  North  take  me
like  he  can’t  get  enough.  Just  to  prove  my  point
further, I lean back and kiss him, and he kisses me
back,  he  nips  at  my  bottom  lip.  Her  mouth  parts,
eyes filling with tears as she shuts the door.

Closing my eyes, I lean my head back and

disintegrate into a thousand stars as I come harder
than I ever have, North following seconds after.

He takes a step back, the pad of his finger

brushing over his bite marks on my breast.

“You kissed me,” I say out of breath. He broke

his own rule. He looks up, his eyes not looking so
cold as usual.

“Yeah, I did,” he says softly, his voice laced

with confusion. Pulling his shirt over my chest, I
slip off the desk. “Go home, Aspen,” he mutters,
turning around and opening the door.

“I need the money, North. I’m not—”
I’m cut short when he slams the door shut.

NORTH

RUNNING  my  hand  through  my  hair,  sweat
dripping down my back, I’m fucking uncomfortable
and  confused.  I  kissed  her.  I  crossed  the  line.  I
laugh  at  myself.  Kissing  Aspen  was  crossing  the
line, not killing her ex-husband.

Who am I trying to fucking kid here?
My bicep is grabbed, stopping me from heading

out of the club, the dig of nails has me glance up
with rage. It’s Valley, her eyes filled with tears.

“What the hell was that? Hmm?” she asks with

more vulnerability in her voice than I’ve ever
heard.

“Don’t!” I warn her.
“No, you and I have been in this together since

—”

I turn, getting into her personal space.
“That is where you went wrong, Valley. There

was never a WE, it was just you trying to make
something happen that I told you wouldn’t
happen.” She closes her mouth and wipes a tear.

“Why her, what’s so special about her?”
I swallow, the lump in my throat feeling larger

than normal.

“I wish I fucking knew…” Turning away from

her, all the dancers act as if they weren’t just
watching the entire thing go down. I slam my hand
on the metal door leading out back, needing fresh
air desperately.

Why Aspen? How did she slip her dainty little

finger under my flaws and take something I didn’t
think I even had; a heart.

I need to go to the clubhouse, see one of my

brothers  to  help  me  work  this  shit  out  in  my  head.
Walking around the strip club, I find my bike, start
it  and  speed  out  of  there.  The  air  is  still  warm
despite  the  hour  of  the  night,  my  heart  finally
beating at a normal rate than it was minutes ago.

Wind therapy, it’s a real thing and does wonders

for my anger issues. I focus on the road and the
sound of the wind in my ears the rest of the way to
the clubhouse, hoping for a clear head when I step
inside the club.

Pulling to the old parking lot, I find Sly working

on his motorcycle, tools laying all around him. I
turn the engine off to my motorcycle and put it on
its kickstand.

My boots thud against the ground as I head to

him, my hands rolled into fists as all the confusion
and anger come boiling back hotter than before.

“You wanna play some pool?” I ask him, my

right arm rubbing my left. On his back on the
ground, he leans up, and by the look in his eyes I
can tell he’s caught on that something isn’t right.

“Yeah, we can do that.” He slides down away

from his motorcycle, his crazy-ass tattoos climb up
his neck and are just as visible as they are in the
daytime.

Inside the club, Chaos is sitting on a bar stool

drinking a beer.

“Hey, why don’t you get me one of those?” I

ask him, and he frowns.

“You alright?”
Placing my hands on the pool table, I drop my

head.

“I fucked up and I mixed signals,” I say on an

exhale.

Chaos hands me over a cold one.
“This about that girl?” Chaos questions with

concern.

“Girl?” Sly’s brow furrows, this being the first

he’s ever heard of me having girl problems.

“Yeah,” I say before taking a large pull of my

drink.

“When I lived up north, I had a girl, we were

together since high school,” I tell them, and they

both  shut  up  and  listen  because  I  never  talk  about
me  being  up  north,  but  if  I’m  going  to  get  through
this  mess  in  my  head,  I  need  to  tell  it  all  to
someone. “My club wasn’t a club, it was more of a
gang,  a  fucking  pissing  contest.”  I  take  another
drink, wishing there was something harder for what
I’m about to say.

“They raped my girlfriend over and over again.

When I showed up, I stood up to them and got my
ass  kicked.  I  tried  to  take  care  of  her,  I  tried  to
make  things  right,  but  she  moved  away  with  her
parents  in  the  middle  of  the  night  not  even  telling
me it was happening or where she went.” The bite
in  my  words  hurt  just  as  much  today  as  when  it
happened.  “I  swore  I’d  never  be  in  another
relationship,”  I  mutter,  knowing  my  lifestyle  isn’t
for one of love and happiness.

Chaos rubs his chin, taking in what I’ve just

said. “That’s why you left?”

I nod. I know a lot of dirty shit that club did and

with me leaving the way I did, they’d kill me if they
ever found me.

“Holy shit,” Sly mutters.
I don’t reply. When they took turns raping my

girlfriend,  only  to  tell  me  it  was  part  of  being  in
with them, that all of them had to do it. I wanted to
kill  them  all.  That  was  not  a  motorcycle  club,  that
was not brotherhood. I left my girl in the hands of
men  I  thought  would  protect  me,  only  to  find  out

they were all frauds trying to be something they
were never meant to be.

Chaos walks over to me and clasps my

shoulder.

“I would kill a fucker myself if they hurt Aspen,

North,” he assures me, telling me it’s okay to
commit.

“I already did,” I mutter, thinking about the ex,

and Chaos shrugs humorously.

“Our club is nothing—”
“I know it isn’t,” I cut Sly off, knowing the

Kings of Carnage is nothing like up North. We’re
small, but lethal to a degree. They’ve proved
themselves to me time and time again, but I guess I
just blame myself for what happened back then and
to move on feels morally wrong.

To be responsible for Aspen, and then

something happens to her… I’d never come back
from that. Plus the kid, Halle. I’m not responsible
for one pain in the ass, but two now.

“I think you’re already in this too deep, brother.

You can’t walk away from her or that kid and you
know it. Ya might as well see where it goes,” Chaos
suggests, handing me a pool stick.

My eyes snap to his, deep down I know he’s

right. He’s always been the toughest out of us all,
not scared of anything or anyone. I envy that.

“Besides, you make her your ol’ lady, she’s

family. Ain’t nobody going to fuck with her or that

kid.”  Chaos  points  to  me,  his  voice  holding
promise.  Something  the  gang  up  north  knew
nothing  about.  It  wasn’t  about  family  or  loyalty,  it
was who could be the biggest baddest motherfucker
and run shit. I pray a club of more caliber than I’ve
ever  know  sets  up  shop  there  and  wipes  them
motherfuckers out one day.

My past is the only thing that envelops its dark

wings around self-consciousness, making me walk
the perfect line. One with no regrets and no
remorse.

But now, a little girl and a pretty little woman

that has no business being a stripper have lifted that
darkness and shed light on a side of life I never
thought I deserved. Happiness.

“So, we done with this bitch talk? ‘Cause I’m

ready to beat your ass in some pool,” Sly jabs,
splitting the rack of pool balls and making Chaos
and I both laugh.

ASPEN

I  ignored  North  and  stayed  at  Centerfolds.  I  had
one  more  routine  the  entire  night  because  Valley
worked her magic on DJ Nerve and I was skipped. I
must  have  been  an  idiot  to  think  she  wouldn’t
retaliate  in  some  way.  I  wanted  to  stand  up  for
myself  and  show  this  place  I’m  not  a  naive  little
girl,  what  I  got  was  confusion  and  no  money.  I
really  needed  the  cash  tonight  as  I  have  a  lot  of
things  to  do  at  home,  like  Halle’s  nightlight  was
broken and her curtains were torn. I need a drink, a
fucking  joint.  Something.  I  should  have  just  gone
home when I realized what was happening so I had
more  time  to  clean  up  the  mess  Kace  made.
Slamming  my  locker  shut,  I  head  out  into  the  hall
and find Halle still playing with the basketball. She
makes me smile.

“Hey goofball, you ready to go home?”

She looks up at me.
“Yeah, but look what Persia taught me!” Halle

put the ball on her finger and spins it. “See, it
doesn’t fall!” she says with excitement.

“Come on, let’s get home. It’s late.” I

encourage her to put the ball down and leave with
me.

Bad Bunny walks out of the vanity room,

rubbing her makeup off her face.

“That girl is going to be the female Michael

Jordan, you just watch,” she states, and Halle puts
her hands on her hips.

“Yes, ma’am!”
Suddenly, Bad Bunny’s eyes look past me and

go wide. I turn around, finding North standing in
the hallway, staring at me.

I swallow, butterflies swarming in my stomach.
“Hey, why don’t you come show me some of

those moves?” Bunny ushers Halle inside the vanity
room, giving North and I some alone time.

“Can I try on some makeup?” Halle asks,

following her in there.

“Hey,” he says, his voice charming as ever. His

hair is a mess like he’s been running his hands
through it a million times, only making him look
more appealing.

“Hey,” I mutter, happy to see him but nervous

about what he has to say.

“Can we talk?” he asks with a hopeful tone.

Crossing my arms, I nod just as he turns around and
walks out onto the main floor. I follow him until he
sits in a black leather chair, I sit in one across from
him. The club is closed and the lights are on, so you
can see everything in here.

“Look, there’s a lot of fucked up shit that

makes me the prick that I am. I’ve been trying to
save everyone from my own past, that I forgot what
being close to someone even feels like,” he
explains, and I instantly feel bad already.

“I do want you and Halle in my life, and that’s

not easy for me to say. It scares the fucking shit out
of me.” His face is pale, his eyes wide when he tells
me this, but my heart can’t help but fixate on the
fact he wants Halle and me in his life.

Kace was the only man I have ever been with

and  it  turned  out  to  be  the  worst  decision  I  ever
made, but he also hid a lot of things from me since
the beginning of our relationship. He’d say he was
going  to  the  store  but  would  come  back  with
nothing. I let him lie to me because I didn’t want to
believe  him  and  endure  the  pain.  With  North,  I
know  what  I’m  getting  from  the  very  start.  He’s
flawed and bad, but that’s what attracts me to him.
He’s  imperfect  to  the  world  but  not  me,  he’s  good
to  me.  If  he  was  a  bad  apple  like  Kace,  he’d  be  a
dick to the world and me. That’s not North, there’s
more to him.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to

protect you and that little girl, Aspen. It won’t
make sense at times, and hell, it may not even work
between us but I’m in it to try if you are.”

His confession takes me aback. The big bad

biker with a big heart just told me he wants to be
with me. A stripper and a biker, how romantic.

Biting back a smile, I look to the ground before

glancing back up at him.

“I’ll try.” My voice soft.
“You can’t strip anymore. Seeing you up there

tonight killed me, Aspen,” he confesses, and my
mouth parts.

“But, I need the money,” I explain.
“I think you need to be the house mom, Valley’s

intentions are not for these girls and she proved that
with you,” he says, sitting forward and resting his
elbows on his knees.

“Um… you’ll make salary and don’t have to

worry about men touching all over you.” He pitches
the  sell,  making  the  job  seem  more  and  more
appealing.  Being  a  house  mom  for  the  girls  here
sounds  better  than  stripping  when  it  comes  to
telling my daughter’s school what I do for a living.

“Yeah, okay. You might have to teach me the

ropes, but I’m down for that,” I accept.

All of a sudden “Pony” by Ginuwine starts to

play, DJ Nerve messing with the acoustics of his
computer and the speakers of the club.

A sly smile crosses my face.

“Under one condition!” I hold my finger up to

North, and he frowns. “You have to dance for me.”
I sit back, ready to see this Magic Mike two-point
O that all the girls have been talking about.

He hangs his head, his cheeks turning red.
“Ah, you little shit.” He laughs, making me

laugh. “No way,” he protests.

“Then no deal. I still strip. It’s only fair. I mean,

you’ve seen me.” I shrug, knowing I’m playing with
the devil.

“Be careful what you wish for, Aspen,” he

teases  before  finally  standing  and  climbing  up  on
the  stage.  Goosebumps  instantly  race  along  my
arms,  wanting  to  see  him  dance.  I’ve  never  seen  a
man strip in person before.

He grips the pole and rolls his hips, and my

mouth parts with how fluid his body is. Shrugging
off his leather cut, he tosses it at me, and I catch it,
but barely. He places one hand behind his head and
slowly drags the other palm down his front before
pulling up his shirt and revealing his abs.

I become so giddy, I cover my mouth with both

hands,  he  drops  to  the  ground,  his  arms  in  a  push-
up  position  he  raises  a  left  leg  and  dry  humps  the
stage. I bite my lip and watch with fascination, my
entire  body  feels  hot  and  sweaty  and  my  nails  dig
into his leather.

He slips off the stage, and I hold my breath as

he comes to me. Each step in rhythm with the bass

of the song, he hops on my lap, a knee on each side
of my hips, and I can’t help but laugh. He rubs his
nose down my neck, his jean-clad cock pressing
into my stomach with carnal desire.

He sings to the song, looking into my eyes as he

swirls his hips and rubs his cock on me. I can’t help
myself and reach out to touch his abs. He snatches
my wrist and shakes his head.

“No touching the dancers, ma’am.” He raises a

brow and drops my hand onto my lap.

“Yes, sir.” I abide by his rules, but Jesus Christ,

I feel like I’m going to combust if he doesn’t touch
me  soon.  As  if  he  read  my  mind,  he  dips  his  head
and  slowly  presses  his  lips  to  mine.  The  entire
dance  sizzling  into  something  passionate  and
intimate just before the club goes silent.

Opening my eyes, he looks back at me with

such intensity I suck in a loud breath.

“Where did you come from, Aspen?” he asks as

if he’s mystified by my presence.

“Mom!!!!” The sound of Halle’s voice has him

climb off my lap and pull his shirt back on.

I stand, straightening out my shirt and shorts.
“I’m tired.” She groans, rubbing her eyes.
“Yeah, let’s get home, baby,” I say, walking

over to her, I press my hand to her back, ushering
her to the front.

“Why are you all sweaty?” she observes, and I

blush. North dancing like Magic Mike is why I’m

all flustered.

I stop at the doorway and look over my

shoulder, finding North resting against the stage
with a sly smile on his face.

“You wanna come with us?” I invite him over.
He bites his bottom lip, pushes off the stage and

walks to us.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”
“He’s not sleeping in my bed!” Halle protests,

walking outside.

“You smell, I don’t want to sleep with you

anyway.” North pokes fun, making Halle gasp in
horror.

“Do you think Dad will be mad that North is

staying  over?”  Halle  looks  up  at  me  with  innocent
eyes,  knocking  the  breath  from  me.  I  glance  to
North  who  is  staring  at  me  like  I  have  all  the
answers.

“Um, I don’t think so. Daddy and I aren’t

together anymore, Mommy’s told you this,” I
remind her, and she throws her arms up.

“Well, he gets mad at everything is all I’m

saying!” She opens her side of the car and climbs
in, and North grabs my hand to stop me from
getting in.

“You sure you want me to come over?” His

brows furrow.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” I grab him by the cut and pull

him to me. “It’s just weird knowing what happened

and…”  I  stop,  not  wanting  to  think  about  what
happened  to  Kace.  I  have  never  known  anyone  to
kill  or  be  murdered  and  when  I  think  about  it,  it
scares the shit out of me that North and I are going
to  be  caught  and  I’ll  never  see  Halle  again.  In  the
back  of  my  head,  I  just  tell  myself  he  finally  left
town  and  Halle  and  I  are  happier  without  him.
North  grins,  brushing  a  hair  out  of  my  face  and
says, “Okay. I’ll follow you.”

Climbing in the car, I start it and begin the trip

home. Halle is curled up in the seat, half asleep
when she pulls her head up and says.

“Dad is not going to like this, Mom.”
If Kace was alive, he wouldn’t like it. In fact,

he’d do everything in his power to have his buddy
run North off. He’d do anything to hurt me whether
it was mental or physical.

The man is dead and he’s still in my head.

When does that stop?

NORTH

I  FOLLOW Aspen to her place and park my bike
right  behind  her  car.  Shutting  her  car  door,  she
walks  over  to  the  passenger  side,  but  I  beat  her
there.  Halle  is  fast  asleep,  so  I  open  the  door  and
pick her up. Aspen smiles and ushers me to follow
her. Walking the brick patch with large green plant
leaves on the sides she unlocks her door but holds it
up  with  the  other  as  if  it’s  ready  to  fall  to  the
ground.  I  can’t  help  but  frown  at  how  unsafe  that
is.

“This way,” she whispers. The house is a mess,

things thrown everywhere, and I have to step over
piles of things to get to a room full of basketball
décor. Holding my breath, I gently lay Halle down
and look to Aspen with bewilderment.

Shutting Halle’s door, I can’t hold it in

anymore.

“Why is your place like this?”
Her mouth opens then shuts as she turns some

lights on.

“Well, Kace broke in that night before he went

to the club and trashed it. He broke the door, tore
my couch up.” She points to the rip along the
middle cushion.

I suddenly remember Kace’s knuckles crusted

with blood the night I killed him, must have been
from fucking wrecking her place.

Using both hands, I jostle the door to test its

durability, and it shifts back and forth. He tore it off
the hinges. I can fix it though.

“I’ll get the landlord to fix it or something.” She

huffs, and I look at her with a scowl across my
face.

“He’ll just charge you damage fees. I’ll get it

taken care of tomorrow,” I tell her, and not ask.

She sits on the couch, small feathers poofing

out from beneath her. Strutting over to her, I lean
in, a fist on each side of her, my face in hers.

“Shit like this isn’t going to happen to you

anymore,  understand?”  The  possessiveness  in  my
voice  comes  out  of  nowhere,  and  she  nods
innocently.  Tucking  my  hand  under  her  chin,  I
make  her  look  me  in  the  eyes.  “You’re  mine  now,
snowflake.”

Grabbing her by the waist, I pick her up and

head down the hall where I saw the other bedroom

and plop her down on the bed. I kiss her until my
lips are swollen, and caress my hands over her body
until it sinks in that she’s really mine and I’m not
alone anymore.

“North, what is your real name?” she asks, half

asleep. I pause, I haven’t told anyone my real name
in so many years.

“Elijah,” I whisper.
She tilts her head back, her eyes looking up at

me in the purest form.

“Why do they call you North?”
I tell her everything from the bad club I was

into  my  girlfriend  being  raped.  She  listens,  curling
into  me  tighter  as  I  tell  my  story.  I  completely
unravel  my  wounded  heart  and  hand  it  to  her,
giving her something not a lot of women would find
appealing. It’s bruised, scarred, and lacks luster that
men our age can give her.

“It wasn’t your fault Elijah,” she says almost

asleep, and I suck in a tight breath hearing my
name.

“What about your parents, do you still talk to

them?” She pushes for more information. My jaw
tightens thinking about my parents, people I
haven’t thought about in a long time. Another part
of my life I try to forget ever happened.

“No.” I clip. They’re drug addicts, and I was

put in foster-care. I don’t have parents, I don’t have
a family.

“What about you?” I return the question.
“Not anymore.” She mumbles, her head tilting

downward and breaking eyes contact. Parents not
being a subject we want to talk about anymore
silence blankets over us.

I don’t say another word the rest of the night. I

just hold her until we both fall asleep.

hat is until the blinding sun shines through
the curtains and the sound of multiple fists
pound on the front door.

That knock can only be one fucking thing.
The police.

ASPEN

I wake to North aggressively shaking me awake.

“Wake up, the police are here,” he whispers,

and I snap straight up. I know they’re here because
they know North and I conspired together to kill
Kace and they’re going to arrest me.

“What do we do, do we run?” I whisper back,

sliding off the bed, I find a pair of shorts on the
floor and slide them on.

“No, we don’t run. Just tell them you met Kace

for drop off and he was drunk so you wouldn’t let
him take Halle. That’s the last you’ve seen him.”
He coaches me through what to say, and I nod a
little too eagerly, my hands shaking.

“Okay. Okay,” I mumble, completely terrified.
“Aspen.” North takes me by the chin and

makes me look him in the eyes like he usually does.
His cold blue eyes grounding me and I take a deep

breath.

“That woman that is on that stage every night,

the  same  woman  that  would  do  anything  for  her
daughter. Bring her out,” he commands of me, and
just like that my hands become steady and I lift my
chin  confidently.  I  can’t  go  to  jail,  I  can’t  lose  my
daughter. Not because of Kace. Walking out of my
room  I  notice  Halle’s  door  to  her  room  is  still
closed;  good.  I  step  over  all  the  things  I  hadn’t
gotten  a  chance  to  clean  up  yet  and  find  my  door
hanging  halfway  open  from  being  broken.
Unlocking  it,  there  stands  Pepper,  Kace’s  old
partner.

“Hey, Pepper,” I say with a sleepy voice and

cross my arms from the cool breeze sweeping in.

“Hey, Aspen. I have some bad news this

morning.” He looks down, his face frowning. I tilt
my head to the side as if I’m all ears. “They found
Kace’s body down by the tracks late last night.
Looks like he had been drinking and blacked out,”
he explains, and I cover my mouth with disbelief.

“When was the last time you saw him? Do you

know?” he asks with an emotional voice.

“Um, the other day.” I cover my collarbone and

shake my head. “He was really drunk when he met
to pick up Halle, I wouldn’t let him take her,” I
explain, my eyes stinging with the urge to cry.

“Well, we all know how Kace had a drinking

problem.” He starts fiddling with his gadget belt

before turning to look at the rookie looking officer
behind him. Must be his new partner.

“We’ll need you to come down to the station,

make a statement when you can.”

“Yeah, okay.” Nodding my head, he suddenly

looks past me at the disaster my house is in.

“What happened?”
“I’m not sure. I was at work and came home to

it like this,” I answer honestly, my nails digging into
the broken door. He frowns.

“I’ll make sure and have a squad car come

through here at night, help keep an eye on things,”
he offers, and I clear my throat to keep from asking
why he cares now.

“Thanks, Pepper.”
Turning away, he and the other officer

disappear, and North pokes his head out from the
corner beside the door.

“They’re gone,” I tell him, and he comes out

farther, running his hand through his hair.

“You killed him with a train?” I ask with horror.
“Do the details matter?” He scowls. “You get

your daughter, don’t you? The less you know, the
better for everyone.”

I suddenly feel foolish for my outburst.
“You can work anywhere and do anything now

that he’s out of your life. Remember how he had
you cornered, Aspen, and you came running to
me?” His voice raises.

“Yeah, I remember,” I mutter, knowing this is

what I wanted in the end.

His face softens and he wraps his arms around

me, kissing my cheek.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… I’m not used to this kind

of thing,” I explain.

“Nobody is,” he whispers.
“Mom?”
North and I turn abruptly, finding Halle looking

up at us with a basketball in her hands.

“Was that Daddy?”
Bending down, I take Halle’s hand and look her

in the eyes.

“They found Daddy hurt really badly,” I begin

to tell her and her innocent face rips me to shreds. I
have to remind myself that Kace was not the father
figure I wanted for Halle, that he used her as a
pawn and cared nothing about her.

“Is he dead?” she outright asks, and I nod.
She inhales a breath and then starts to dribble

her basketball.

“Baby?” I try to get her attention, to make sure

she’s okay.

“Hey, do you wanna go to the park?” she asks

with doe eyes. I look to North, confused by Halle’s
reaction. I just told her that Kace was dead.

“Yeah, maybe we can go later,” North answers

for me, and Halle turns around and dribbles the ball
all the way to the kitchen.

“Kids are weird, man, but that aside, people

react differently to death. Maybe it hasn’t hit her,”
North offers.

Crossing my arms, I nibble on my nail watching

Halle make a bowl of cereal.

“Or maybe she knew her daddy didn’t really

love  her,”  I  say  aloud.  He  never  did  show  her
affection  like  the  other  fathers  did.  Hugs,  kisses,
sneaking her ice cream after dinner even when she
refused  to  eat  her  corn.  He  just  didn’t  care,  he
looked  through  her  like  she  didn’t  exist  until  the
day  we  got  divorced.  He  never  did  want  kids
though,  he  even  wanted  me  to  get  an  abortion  but
my  parents  forbid  it,  not  that  I  was  going  to  do  it
anyway.  The  day  I  found  out  I  was  pregnant  with
Halle was the scariest and best day of my life. Like
a blessing in disguise.

Huh, kind of like my divorce with Kace.
Being on my own I’ve learned I might still be

that naive, timid girl, but there is a woman of a
stronger magnitude inside of me. I’ve seen her, and
she’s one nobody wants to reckon with.

I think all women have that potential harboring

inside of them, it just takes the one asshole to bring
out their true colors.

North grabs the door, rocking it back and forth.
“I’m going to fix this and then head to the club,

let them know the cops found Kace,” North
informs, taking his eyes from the hinges to me.

NORTH

AT THE CLUB I find Chaos playing pool with Sly,
I grab a beer from the bar and take a seat on a bar
stool. The smell of leather and cigarettes instantly
making me relax after this morning’s events.

“Cops came to Aspen’s place today.” I breathe

out heavily.

This grabs both men’s attention and they look at

me with wide eyes. “They found the body,” I
continue.

“This a problem?” Chaos asks, his body splayed

across the pool table as he gets ready to take a turn.

“I don’t think so, they seemed to believe he

was just a drunk at the wrong place wrong time.” I
shrug, taking a pull from my beer.

Chaos strikes, nailing almost every ball into a

pocket, causing Sly to curse under his breath.

“Let me know if that changes.” He straightens,

giving me a curt nod.

“Have you found a place for the kid when

Aspen is working yet?” Chaos asks, and I furrow
my brows.

“No, I was waiting until the authorities found

the body of Kace, didn’t want Aspen acting any
different,” I explain my actions, but can’t gauge
whether having the kid at the club still pisses Chaos
off or not.

“Do you remember Honey Bee?” Chaos looks

to me, scratching his chin covered in hair.

“Yeah, she used to work the club through

college.”

“Well, it’s summer, so she can’t be teaching,

see if she wants to watch the kid while Aspen
works,” Chaos suggests and I point at him with
approval.

“Good idea!”
Sliding off the stool, I decide to go clean my

motorcycle up, it’s been awhile since I’ve shown
my other woman some care. Just as I’m about to hit
the threshold of the front door Chaos calls my
name and I turn.

“Bring Aspen by the club, I wanna meet her.”
Shit.

ASPEN

I  took  Halle  to  the  park  and  we  played  basketball
with  each  other,  she  really  is  good  at  it,  but  she
wouldn’t  say  much  about  her  dad.  She  doesn’t  act
sad  but  doesn’t  act  happy  either.  She’s  the  same
child she was two days ago.

My phone pings and I pick it up with my spare

hand, making sure to keep my other on the steering
wheel.

It’s North, he wants me to come by the club.
My brows furrow with uncertainty, I’ve never

been to a motorcycle club before. I wonder if they
know about Kace. Wait, of course they do. North
doesn’t give me a chance to reply before he sends
the address to the club.

I glance over to Halle who is laying on her arms

on the windowsill, watching the town pass us by.
Maybe having some men who are here to protect

her wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

I follow the directions until coming to the club,

it’s an old firehouse just like the word around town
has it. North is shirtless bent down rubbing a cloth
along the back end of his motorcycle when he spots
us pull in. Parking next to him, I instantly become
nervous about being here.

He grins and walks over to my side of the car,

leaning in the window. His eyes looking me up and
down.

“You look good.”
I blush, running my hands down my white tank

and ripped up jeans.

He opens the door to my car and my face falls.
“Come on, the guys wanna say hi.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I look

around nervously. The sun shines behind the
clubhouse making it look holy, but the shadow the
building casts down upon us is cold and alarming if
anything.

“Me? Why, are they mad about the cops

showing up?” I whisper low enough so Halle can’t
hear me.

He shakes his head, but it still doesn’t do

anything to convince me that being here is okay.
Halle climbs out of the car with her basketball in
hand, her eyes squinting from the falling sun as she
looks the place over.

“Are you a firefighter, North?” Her innocence

showing itself again.

“We don’t usually let little humans inside, but

someone special wants to meet you,” North informs
her and her face lights up.

“Probably because he heard I’m pretty good at

basketball, if I get on the team, he’ll wanna come,”
she  says,  so  sure  of  herself.  I  can’t  fight  back  a
smile  at  the  thought  of  an  entire  motorcycle  club
coming  to  watch  a  little  girl  play  basketball.  It’d
stop the bullies from picking on her for wanting to
play ball though.

North presses his hand on the small of my back,

ushering me forward.

“Come on, some of the guys are inside.”
My fingers start to tingle and my chest feels

heavy with nerves as we walk across the lot and
into the clubhouse.

The smell of leather and smoke is what I notice

first and then the big burly men around a pool table.

“Guys, this is Aspen,” North introduces me and

goes behind the bar to grab a beer. I give a little
wave, my face flustered from all the attention.

A man with a beard and scraggly hair places his

pool stick on the table and struts over toward me
and Halle, his cut naming him Chaos.

“This is Chaos, the club president,” North

informs me, and I give a smile in return. He’s big
and scary, the kind of guy you’d lock your car
doors if he walked by.

“So you’re the girl,” he states with a rugged

tone. He holds his hand out and I return the gesture,
shaking his hand.

“Look, Mom, they have a pole just like they do

at your work!” Halle points the fireman pole out
and I wish the ground would open up and swallow
me whole as the other guys begin to laugh.

A man with tattoos up his neck walks over to

Halle and I tense, he’s intimidating looking. I search
his cut, finding his name is Sly, the treasurer.
Whatever he just said makes Halle jump with joy
and run across the building and up the stairs.

“Halle!” I call after her, not sure where she’s

going.

North chuckles as if he knows exactly where

she’s going, but it doesn’t ease my apprehension
any. A fit of giggles can be heard beside me as I see
Halle slide down the fireman pole.

“Can I do it again?” she asks Sly, and he shrugs

as if he doesn’t care. There she goes, running
across the clubhouse to slide down the pole again.

North slides up beside me and leans in.
“Relax,” he whispers. Inhaling a deep breath

through my nose, I let it out between my lips and
try and tell myself to calm the hell down. Nobody is
of threat here, in fact, they’re just like North if
anything.

“So, North was telling me you didn’t have a

sitter.” Chaos crosses his arms, tilting his head to

the side. I snatch North’s beer, needing something
to help with the butterflies in my stomach and take
a large gulp as I nod.

“We had a girl who danced at the club to put

herself through school, wanted to be a teacher. I
talked to her today and she said she’d love to watch
Halle while you work nights,” Chaos informs me,
and my brows furrow with the information.

“Why?” the question comes out before I can

snatch it back.

“Why what?”
“Why’d you do that for me?” I ask, I mean it’s

a fair question. I don’t even know him and he’s
doing things for me that close friends would do for
one another.

He raises his hands up in the air and stretches

his arms.

“Friend of North’s is a friend of ours, babe,” he

explains.

I take another pull of North’s drink. I’ve been

good  my  whole  life  and  was  only  met  with  evil.
Then  I  toe  the  line  of  being  something  I  was  told
was morally wrong my whole life and find the most
genuine  people  you  could  ever  meet.  It’s  a  mind
fuck if anything.

“Thank you,” I mutter, still in awe of

everything this club has done for me and Halle.

“No problem, you’ll love her. She’s a good gal,”

Sly says with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Isn’t that right, North?”
My heart sinks as Sly jabs at North, I have to

remember I’m basically in a man cave where they
give each other shit. I have to act like I’m unfazed,
even if I do want to turn around and glare at North
for being a manwhore.

“Don’t know, sloppy seconds is more your

style, isn’t it?” North winks, giving a nod in Sly’s
direction..

“Hey, I heard if she’s a dancer then she’s your

type no matter what.” Sly laughs, and I try and
keep my shit together and not get jealous.

Beer in hand, I give a small smile before

remembering I’m not a dancer anymore, I’m a
house mom and I still have to face Valley when
North gives her the news that she’s been replaced.

“Aspen is on the books for Thursday, so we will

make  sure  everything  is  all  set  up  by  then,”  North
changes  the  subject,  snatching  his  beer  back  from
me.  I’d  fight  him  over  it,  but  it’s  probably  a  good
call he took it. I still have to drive home.

Outside, North grabs me by the wrist, turning

me and pushing me up against the firehouse. I turn
my head, looking the other way.

“What?”
He smiles.
“You’re jealous.” He says rather than asks.
“About what?” I play dumb, but my insides feel

like they’re being torn out just thinking about how

many dancers at the club North has been with.

“I had a life before you, a lonely one and I did

my best to live it,” he says, and I finally meet his
eyes. I don’t want him to apologize for his past, that
wouldn’t be fair of me.

“I’m not a dancer anymore, what if a new girl

starts—”

“She’s not you. I’ve seen girls come and go and

none of them have come close to you, Aspen,” he
cuts me off, and I feel myself relax in his hold.

“Did you know Aspen is a place in Colorado,

and North is a cold place. It’s like you two are both
cold!” Halle cuts in, reminding me that she hears
everything. North grins, letting me go.

“Can’t have the beautiful Colorado mountains

without the cold, can you Halle?” North plays off
Halle’s poetry, I playfully slap at North.

“She won’t always be around to save your ass,

you know.” I raise a brow as we walk back to my
car. He gives me that playboy look that makes me
instantly melt, and grabs my ass.

“You can’t be mad at me.” He lays on his

charm, and it occurs to me how right he is.

I’m falling for a King and there’s no turning

back.

ASPEN

Two Days Later

PULLING up to Honey’s house, it’s a simple white
house  with  black  shutters  and  a  bunch  of  green
bushes planted perfectly by the front door. I talked
to her a few times over the phone and she has the
voice  of  a  kindergartener  teacher  for  sure.  Very
friendly  and  excited  about  everything.  She  would
have been a real treat to see dancing at Centerfolds.

Taking off my seat belt, I look to my daughter.

“You ready?”

“You sure I can’t come with you?” She pokes

out her bottom lip, not liking the idea of staying
with a stranger.

“Yes babe, my place of work is not for kids.”
“It’s just dancing, Mom, it’s not like you do bad

stuff there,” she argues, obviously not seeing any of

us woman dance naked on the pole… yet.

“Enough, you’re going to make me late,” I

snap, opening my door and getting out, she does the
same,  a  basketball  in  her  hand.  She  tucks  it  under
her  arm,  her  gray  sweatpants  are  pulled  up  to  her
knees  because  she’s  hot  and  wouldn’t  listen  to  me
about  putting  on  shorts,  and  the  white  shirt  she’s
wearing has ketchup fingerprints on it from lunch. I
sigh,  wishing  she  would  have  changed  but  if  this
woman  is  a  teacher,  she  should  know  how  dirty
they can be.

Before we even reach the front door, it opens

and out steps a short woman about my age. Her
hair is cut short, and the white dress she’s wearing
is about as innocent-looking as you can get.

No way this chick was a stripper. She bends

over, her hands between her knees as she gazes at
Halle with wide eyes.

“Oh my gosh, you are just too much!” she

squeals with excitement. Honey looks up to me,
and shakes her head with her hands now on her
hips.

“I just miss my students so much in the summer,

it’s a real treat to get to spend time with a kiddo,”
she tells me.

Halle looks up at her, doing that squinty face

thing she does, her blond hair a mess from
sweating.

“Do you like basketball?” Halle asks.

“Do I like basketball? I have a hoop on the

back of my house,” she tells Halle, and just like
that, she stole the soul of my daughter. Halle begins
to run behind the house before I call her name and
stop her.

“Hugs!” I remind her, and she rolls her eyes

coming back for lovin’. I snatch her up and hug her
hard.

“I’ll be back early in the morning, okay?”
“Yes Mom, I know,” she says, kissing my cheek

before running off to find the hoop.

Honey looks to me, a smile on her face.
“She’ll be fine, promise. Call anytime you

wanna check up on her,” she offers, walking
backward to catch up with Halle.

Biting my lip, I sigh and nod. This is good for

Halle.

Turning around to get back in my car, I tuck

away the mom feels and remember today is the day
I am replacing Valley. North said he let Valley know
yesterday he was letting her go so I didn’t have to
come  into  a  confrontation  with  her  today,  so  that
helps  my  anxiety  a  lot,  but  still.  I’m  a  mom  to  a
bunch  of  strippers  and  I  have  no  clue  what  I’m
doing.

Pulling into the strip club parking lot, I’m one

of the first here, which is what’s supposed to
happen. I unlock the building, turning the lights on
and make sure everything is in working order for

the girls.

The front door opens, the setting sun letting in

more light than there is in the whole building as
Ariel walks in.

“Hey babe!” I wave at her, checking the tail of

Bad Bunny’s bottoms. She keeps telling me it’s too
floppy, so I’m going to try to sew it on tighter for
her before she gets here.

“I cannot believe you’re the house mom!” Ariel

smiles with excitement, coming farther into the
club. She’s wearing booty shorts and tight black
tube top, a black bulky purse over her shoulder.

“Tell me about it, I don’t have a clue what I’m

doing,” I confess, shaking the material in my hand
to see if the tail flops.

“No, I think it’s perfect for you. I’ve seen you

with  Halle,  if  anyone  can  be  a  mom  to  the  girls…
it’s  you.  Valley  would  have  never  fixed  the  tail  of
Bad  Bunny’s  panties.”  She  giggles,  making  me
laugh. I look over my shoulder to the clock over the
bar,  it’s  about  time  for  the  girls  to  start  arriving,  I
better get myself together.

Cleaning up my sewing mess off the bar, I head

to the locker room, Ariel right behind me.

“You think I’ll make it to a dancing position

now that there’s a spot open?” she asks, opening
her locker and shoving her purse inside.

I pull out my red strappy heels that’ll go with

my white jumpsuit, the front dipping down past my

belly button.

I sit on the bench they have placed in the

middle of the room, and tug my flip-flops off and
place my shoes on. “I don’t see why not, did you
tell them you’re interested?” I make conversation.

“Oh, they know.” Her eyes widen, conveying

she’d told them a hundred times she wants to
dance.

Standing up, I laugh. “I’m sure you’ll get it.” I

take a step toward the vanity room and my ankle
goes sideways, a loud snap echoing through the
locker room.

I fall to the ground, hissing and holding my

ankle.

“Oh my God, Aspen! Are you okay?” She falls

to all fours and is by my side in seconds.

“What the fuck?” I cry out, tugging the heel

off. The straps, they’ve been cut!

Ariel looks the shoe over before finally

snatching it. “Someone did this intentionally!” she
hollers, holding the shoe like it’s the murder
weapon in a game of clue.

Bad Bunny comes running into the room half

naked, her panties with the bunny tail in one hand.

“Oh shit, what happened?”
“Someone snipped the straps to her heel and

her ankle went sideways,” Ariel informs her.

“Girl, that was Valley. Bet money!” Bad Bunny

points at me with the hand holding the underwear.

She’s probably right, Valley did this to get back at
me. She’s the only one that knows the code to my
locker because she gave it to me when I started.

Removing my hand from my ankle, it’s already

purple and looks oddly shaped. I broke it for sure.
Shit.

“I’ll drive you to the hospital, babe, here, let me

help you up,” Ariel offers, coming behind me and
pulling me up from under the armpits. I try to
balance myself, making sure to keep the weight on
my left foot.

“I say we go find Valley,” Persia offers,

standing next to Bad Bunny with her arms crossed.

“It’s fine guys, let it go. She’s gone now.” I try

and  make  peace,  do  the  right  thing  like  a  house
mom  would  do.  Ariel  helps  me  all  the  way  out  to
her  red  convertible.  She  opens  the  passenger  door
for  me,  and  I  slip  in  making  sure  not  to  move  my
right foot any more than I have to.

With every passing second, the pain gets worse

and I internally want to find Valley and beat her ass
with my broken shoe.

That bitch.
We finally arrive at the hospital and Ariel goes

to get me a wheelchair, rushing it over to her car.

“Thanks, babe.” I slowly slip from the car and

into the chair. She shuts the car door and pushes me
up the handicap ramp and into the hospital.

Instantly all eyes are on us, disgust and disgrace

pulling at their faces. Ariel takes me to the front
desk and the nurse sneers at me, her eyes falling to
my chest before glancing back at her computer.

I pull the opening to my suit as closed as I can

but the booby tape has it stuck in place.

“I think I broke my ankle,” I tell her, feeling a

little embarrassed by how I’m dressed, I mean,
everyone is staring at us.

“Keep looking, grandpa, I’ll charge ya!” Ariel

snaps at a man sitting in a waiting chair behind us.
Her voice holding no shame or anger.

The nurse hands me a clipboard and tells me to

wait until my name is called, so Ariel takes me
away from the desk and next to a set of chairs.

I write my name and birthday and look up.

Everyone is still staring.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” I ask, pen still in my

hand.

“Them staring? Nope. You get used to it,” she

says matter of fact, her eyes reading the caption on
the TV in the corner of the room. “Besides, this is
what I do, I look good so people will stare, that’s
the point.”

I bite my bottom lip in thought, not thinking

about  it  that  way.  I  felt  like  trash  walking  in  here
and  showing  so  much  skin  but  they’re  just  looking
at  me  like  they  are  because  I’m  brave  enough  to
show  skin  to  this  degree.  I’m  a  misfit  and  people
will  stare  in  awe,  and  some  will  gawk  in  disgust.

NORTH

Pulling  into  the  strip  club,  I  spot  Aspen’s  car  and
park next to it. I run my hand through my hair and
start toward the club. Today is her first day opening
up and getting the girls ready and I’m excited to see
how she did. The front doors open and Star comes
waltzing  out  with  her  huge  tits  about  to  fall  out  of
her glittery top, her face pulled into a grimace. Her
hair  blowing  into  her  face  from  the  night  breeze,
she  keeps  opening  her  mouth  to  speak  but  has  to
pull hair from her lipstick.

“Baby, Aspen is at the hospital with Ariel.”
I stop and tilt my head to the side.
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“She broke her ankle, someone snipped the

straps on her shoes.”

Turning around, I run to my motorcycle and

nearly lay it over trying to get out of the parking

lot.

I pull up to the hospital and go inside and have

the lady at the front desk look her up.

“Oh, that woman.” She sneers, and my jaw tics.
“What’s that mean?” She shakes her head and

tells me the floor and room number. Backing away,
I  glare  at  her,  not  liking  her  tone  when  she  found
Aspen in the system. I’ll come back to this, I need
to  find  Aspen  first.  Walking  down  the  hall,  I  find
the elevators and go to the third floor, and room six.
Aspen is laying in a hospital bed with a bright light
above  shining  down  on  her,  the  pant  leg  on  her
white  bodysuit  is  pulled  up  past  her  knee  with  a
wrap around her ankle, and Ariel is sitting in a chair
playing on her phone.

“Hey,” I mutter, pushing the ugly blue and

purple curtain aside.

Aspen sits up, her beautiful eyes looking

excited to see me. My eyes travel up her legs and
body, she looks good in that outfit, sexy but classy.

Grabbing the rolling stool the doctor usually sits

on, I roll over to her side of the bed.

“What happened, baby?” I mutter, pulling the

wrap up to look her ankle over.

“I broke it,” she states, not giving me anything

else.

“Did you fall? Get jumped? I need more

information than that!” My voice harsh. I don’t
mean to be a prick, but I’m fucking worried about

her.

“You mean Valley broke it,” Ariel cuts in, and

my eyes snap to hers.

“What do you mean?”
“The only person that had her locker

combination was Valley, and the straps on her heels
were snipped so when she walked her ankle would
snap,” Ariel says it all in one breath, her head
bobbing to the side with attitude. Aspen looks to
me and shrugs.

“I don’t know who did it, but someone did.”

Her  voice  is  soft,  and  I  uncontrollably  bounce  my
knee. Valley did this. When I told her she could be
a waitress or find another job, she was hostile, she
even  slapped  the  fuck  out  of  me.  I  shouldn’t  have
left  her  alone  to  clean  her  shit  out  of  her  locker,  I
knew better.

“It was Valley,” I mutter, my teeth gritting.
“Well, I’m pretty sure Persia and Bad Bunny

are out to find her, so you don’t have to worry
about whooping her ass,” Ariel informs me, and I
just lower my head and shake it. These women can
be ruthless.

“So what’s the doctor say?” I change the

subject.

“I have to have a cast, just waiting to get rolled

up and casted,” Aspen says, pushing herself up. I’d
tell Ariel to head back to the club, but I rode here
on my motorcycle, Aspen can’t be on that with a

broken ankle.

Grabbing Aspen’s hand, I kiss it and I hear

Ariel gasp. My reputation for not kissing must be
passed around the club more than I’d thought.

“She’s not going to get away with this,” I

promise her, and her eyes flash.

“Don’t. It’s done.” She waves her hand like

she’s over it and just wants to move forward.

I nod, agreeing with her.
But I’m not. If Persia and Bad Bunny didn’t

follow through with their threat and find Valley, I’m
going to make sure Valley pays for what she did in
some way or another.

ASPEN

NORTH  MAKES Ariel take me to his house, and
when North pulls up minutes later, my mouth drops.
He  said  he’d  go  get  Halle,  I  wasn’t  thinking  about
him putting her on his motorcycle. The thunderous
machine  echoes  through  our  community  and  when
he  cuts  the  engine,  my  eardrums  still  vibrate.  He
helps the helmet off of Halle, who is smiling at me
with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. North grabs her
around the middle of her body to help her down.

“Momma, I went really fast!” she says with

excitement, and my eyes snap to him.

“You took her on the motorcycle?” I wobble on

my crutches, my ankle starting to hurt.

“She was fine.” He shrugs, taking off his own

helmet.

“She’s too small, or could have fallen—”

Before I can finish my rant, he picks me up causing

me to drop the crutches to the ground. Holding me
like a bride, I totally forgot what I was yelling at
him about.

“Thanks Ariel!” he shouts over his shoulder

heading to his front door.

“Mom, what happened to your foot?” Halle

turns her head sideways and up as he walks, trying
to observe my foot.

“I, um… I fell at work.”
“Yep, so I’m going to take Momma to bed, and

you’re going to crash on the couch watching TV as
late  as  you  want  tonight,”  North  tells  Halle  who
starts  jumping  up  and  down  with  her  hands  in  the
air.  He  passes  by  the  couch,  which  Halle  plops
down  on  making  herself  at  home.  Considering  the
late  hour,  she’ll  pass  out  before  too  long.  North
takes us to the bedroom and slowly sets me on the
mattress. I spread out, taking in the softness of his
blankets.

“Mmm, I love your bed.” I moan, using my

hands to push my back up to the headboard.

“I love having you in my bed.” He raises a

brow before climbing onto the mattress on all fours.
My mouth parts and suddenly my ankle doesn’t
hurt anymore.

Grabbing me by the chin, he kisses me once,

then twice before deepening it. His tongue taking
over my mouth and his hand slipping into the deep
V of my suit.

I loll my head back needing to take a breath and

his mouth skids down my neck before he stops at
my tit.

“My teeth marks are fading,” he observes. I

glance down, pushing the material to the side.

“It is,” I whisper, not really liking that it’s

fading either.

His cold blue eyes look up at me and I silently

nod, giving him permission to bite me again.

Kissing the flesh tenderly, he suddenly bites

down, and my back straightens, my clit pulsing with
desire. It hurts, but fuck, it feels so good to have
him mark me. I love it and never want it to fade.

He kisses the soreness, his other hand slipping

under my top and kneading my other tit. I wiggle,
needing him now.

“I don’t want you in my life, Aspen.”
I hold my breath, his words sucking the air from

my lungs.

“I need you in my life,” he confesses and I let

out that breath I was holding and would never
release if he hadn’t finished that sentence.

He slowly pulls me underneath him and has sex

with me in the dead of silence all night. The weight
of his body my security, the taste of his mouth in
mine, I never want it to end. Halle fell asleep on the
couch with a bag of Cheeto’s watching TV all night
until climbing in the bed with the rising sun asking
for breakfast. The smile on her face, and North

trying to hide from the early hour a moment of all
of us waking up was surreal and a moment I never
want to forget.

“If you stop jumping on the bed I’ll buy you

pancakes.” North tries to bargin with Halle.

Sitting up in bed, my hair falling into my face

my eyes meet with North’s.

“Looks like I have a family that needs feeding,

huh?” he grumbles, pulling a pillow away from his
face.

“Your family.” I make sure and emphasis how

Halle and I our his now, and he better take good
care of us.

“My family,” he repeats, smiling at Halle going

on about all the shows she watched the night
before. You can tell the word seems foreign to him,
but the gleam in his eyes tells me he’s happy to
finally say it without heartache.

THREE WEEKS LATER

At the park with Halle, I throw the basketball and it
slips into the net with ease. The sun is setting, and
frogs are getting louder in a creek nearby as night
falls. This basketball court is hidden from the park
by overgrown trees, so it’s just us. The sound of
kids laughing at the park faint and far.

“Now you try,” I instruct her, pointing toward

the hoop.

She chases the ball, her pigtails bouncing with

every  step.  The  dress  she’s  wearing  shows  off  her
scraped up knees and the crayon Band-Aid on her
leg.  She’s  unlike  any  kid  I’ve  seen  before.  She
positions  her  legs  just  like  I  taught  her,  her  eyes
looking  up  at  the  basket  with  determination,  and
her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth.

She throws it with all her might, and makes it.
“See, I told you!” I laugh. “You have this, you

don’t need my help anymore,” I tell her.

Ball under one arm, and a hand on her hip she

glares at me.

“Do you love my mom?”
My face falls, and I look to the basketball hoop.
“Um, that’s a tough one,” I reply. Thoughts of

Aspen and I slamming into my head all at once, I
find myself at a complete loss of words. Aspen and
I haven’t even labeled ourselves as boyfriend or
girlfriend.

“No it’s not. In fairytales the man would defeat

a dragon for the woman he loves, he’d kiss her lips
when she was dead. Would you do that for my
mom?”

Kicking at the loose rocks of the concrete, I

think about that question for a second. I feel as if I
already beat a dragon as I killed Kace, and as for
kissing a dead woman? I feel as if that one is
backward.

“Does it count if the woman kisses a dead

man?” Because I felt dead and alone until the day I
kissed Aspen, her purity slipped into my own,
bringing a spark of life I didn’t know I was missing.

She smiles and nods. “Definitely!”
“Well by the definition of Disney, I guess so,” I

finally answer her, and she giggles, throwing the
ball at me.

“Now, enough talk about love, more talk about

whooping your ass in basketball, huh?”

She chases me, and I toss the ball into the

basket.

I don’t know how I went from such a cold

miserable bastard into a man loving a stripper with
a child, but it happened and I’ll never let either of
those girls out of my life. Even for just an hour of
either of them out of my presence, I suddenly feel
isolated and bitter.

Every good King needs a woman standing

behind them, it just so happens I have a queen and
little sassy ass princess who likes to play basketball,
that stands behind my throne, and I’d kill anyone
that disrespects my girls.

ASPEN

Two months later

SITTING on the bench in between all the brothers
of  the  Kings  of  Carnage,  I  listen  to  North  and
Bouncer  fight  over  a  thing  of  popcorn,  making  me
shake  my  head.  Bad  Bunny  who  is  sitting  in  front
of  me  with  some  of  the  other  girls  from  the  strip
club glances over her shoulder.

“She’s number thirteen, right?”
“Yeah.”
I’m so glad they came, Halle is going to be so

excited to see everyone here for her.

Halle comes running out onto the court and all

the guys start roaring for her, the girls clapping and

whistling. The entire gym looks this way and I can’t
help the grin that spreads across my face. This is
our family, Halle’s family.

Bad Bunny told me that all the girls bashed the

shit out of Valley’s Mercedes the night my ankle
broke. North didn’t even ask them to do it, they
wanted to. I cried to know that I meant that much
to them in such a short amount of time. I’ve known
people way longer that wouldn’t have lifted a finger
if I told them what happened.

The game starts and Halle is passed the ball,

Chaos  stands  and  yells  for  her  to  make  the  shot.  I
stand  scared  to  death  she  might  miss  the  shot,  but
she  doesn’t  she  makes  it  and  scores  one  for  the
team.

I look to North, giddy as fuck.
“That’s my girl! Get ‘em!” North hollers,

throwing his fist in the air. He still doesn’t like kids,
but he says Halle isn’t a kid. She’s his little human.

Halle looks at us to make sure we saw the shot

and runs into another player, knocking them on the
ground.

“Fowl!” A referee whistles and my heart falls as

all the brothers start hollering at the referee, telling
him what they think of him.

“Guys, it’s okay!” I try to calm them down

before we get kicked out, but they are pissed.

“No, it was clearly an accident, that guy is a

fucking tool!” Bouncer shouts, not caring about

who can hear him.

I laugh and sit down on the bench.
Ariel looks over her shoulder, smiling.
“If you thought you were going to bring The

Kings of Carnage somewhere and there not be
chaos, you were mistaken, sweetheart!”

She’s right, but this is the kind of life I want for

me  and  my  daughter.  I  want  her  to  toe  the  line  of
what’s  right  and  wrong  because  I  lived  a  life
following the rules set out for me until I was out on
my  own,  it  wasn’t  until  then  that  I  finally  lived.
Besides,  who  is  powerful  enough  to  hold  such  a
position to judge a person’s actions of bad or good?

ecause  in  the  end,  we  only  get  one  life,
baby,  and  I  can  tell  you  from  experience
that  it’s  better  to  live  it  in  the  spotlight

than in the pit looking up.

THE END

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

If you made this far, THANK YOU! This book was
so much fun to write. I LOVE Aspen and North so
much!  This  entire  series  came  to  me  one  night
when  I  was  looking  through  one  of  my  MC  series.
How  I  write  each  character  and  try  and  have  a
different  set  of  mind,  and  personality.  Then  I
thought,  what  if  I  had  a  different  author  write  a
different  character  for  a  series.  They  would  be  so
different!  Some  broody,  some  nice,  some  assholes,
but in the end they would all have a different voice
and  told  in  a  different  tone.  Collaborating  with
different  authors  was  a  challenge  as  it  was  a
reward.  We  all  came  together  giving  tips,  and
inspiration  when  needed  and  became  closer
because of it. With that being said, I hope you read
all six books and enjoy each of them!

Xoxo

DEVILS DUST MC SERIES

What Doesn't Destroy Us Links (Devil's Dust Book 1)

The Scars That Define Us (Devil's Dust Book 2)

The Fear That Divides Us (Devil's Dust Book 3)

The Lies Between Us (Devil's Dust Book 4)

What Might Kill Us (Devil's Dust Book 5)

EXCERPT FROM BOUNCER

BY KIM JONES

War is in my blood.

Fighting is what I do.
Brotherhood is all I know.
I was born a 1%er.
I earned the right to be a King.
For the past ten years, I’ve dedicated my life to

upholding  the  legacy  that  is  Kings  of  Carnage
Motorcycle  Club.  My  job  as  a  Nomad  is  to  ensure
that  King  Nation  thrives  as  a  whole.  And  that  the
poor decisions of one charter doesn’t determine the
fate of the patch.

When I get the unsettling news that ghosts of

the club’s past have come to haunt our mother
chapter, I head home to Uprising- prepared to
unleash Hell on those who think they can take the
kingdom myself and my brothers before me built.

What I’m not prepared for is the loud, infuriate,

foul-mouthed  brat  with  the  ridiculous  name  who
cleans the clubhouse. Despite her incessant talking
and overly cheerful mood, there is a sadness in her
eyes  that  pulls  at  my  protective  instinct.  Ignoring
the feeling is easy. Until she comes up missing. And
for  the  first  time  in  ten  years,  I  find  myself
questioning  if  King  Nation  is  still  the  most
important thing in my life.

When you’ve been cursed with a name like

mind, you develop a thick skin and a high tolerance
for jerks. But even Apple Seven VanHolland wasn’t
a horrible enough name to prepare me for Kings of
Carnage Nomad Biker Bouncer.

He’s the most narcissistic person I’ve ever met.

Even his sexy tattoos, perfect body, and killer eyes
can’t atone for his rudeness. He acts as though he
can’t stand me. But I notice the way he looks at
me-like he can see into my soul. Like he can sense
my despair. My struggle. And most importantly, the
war that rages inside me.

Unbeknownst to him, I can see his too.

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