“Monet, get us some cold beers, will ya?” Damian shouts, ordering me around like I’m one of his club whores. Even for a shit place, they have a couple girls who service the men and get pretty much whatever they want. I’m not one of them, and I never will be. Dropping my rag to the counter, I turn and pull three cold beers from the ice bin and head around the bar. Damian, the Titans’ president, sits among a small circle of guys, all of them in high spirits because and Damian’s brother died. I guess that means he’s next in line to inherit one of the Seven Knights chapters in California. I don’t know what that means for this place. Will it still be here with a new dumbass thinking he’s the king? Will I be following them into the new club?
Damian laughs at something one of the men said, a topless blonde sitting on his lap with leather shorts that tie up the sides. Damian glances up at me with piercing brown eyes and grins, his teeth stained and his mustache circling his lips.
“Monet!” His voice holds praise and happiness. I fake a smile and hand the three of them their drinks. What I really want to do is smash them over their heads and pour one in the chick’s lap. Turning to leave, a burn across my ass makes me come to a halt, a blaze of anger sweeping over me. I look over my shoulder. Damian winks at me, and I shoot him a glare. I may be his bitch-maid but I’m not his ass. Rage takes over my rationality. I shove the hoe off his lap and knock the beer from his hand, the clanking of the glass landing on the floor causing everyone to look our way. Damian’s hand hovers in the air like he’s still holding the glass bottle, his gaze staring ahead as he tries to figure out what the fuck just happened.
“Don’t touch me like that again,” I snap. Tingles shoot through my arms and hands, firing in my fingertips as I anxiously await his reaction. I disrespected him in front of his club. You don’t do that and get away with it. In my next breath, he’s out of his chair, his hand around my throat, his face an inch from mine, the liquor permeating from his breath making me want to gag. His hand squeezes around my esophagus. Eyes hooded and breathing calm, I stare at him, trying to act unfazed.
“Outside.” His teeth grind against each other like he’s trying to hold himself back from snapping my neck with his bare hands. Knowing I’m playing with fire, I grab him by the wrist and shove his hand off me. I guess when you have nothing to lose, it makes you act in a way you normally wouldn’t. Let’s just say I’ve hit rock bottom. My nostrils flare. Heat in my chest causes a hollow feeling to burn to my core. Spinning on my heel, I quickly find my way out the front door. Gasping in the fresh air, I fight back the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I hate it here. I hate this place. I feel like a fucking idiot being stuck here.
The heavy thudding of boots stomping into the dirt sounds from behind me. I stand up straight, my shoulders back, and glare up at him, his form towering over me a good foot and a half.
“You don’t get to touch me like that!” I point to him, my voice heavy with emotion. I don’t care who he is or what I owe him, my body is not part of the deal.
He swats my hand out of his face like an annoying fly and steps into my personal space. The smell of cheap cigarettes and beer makes my nose scrunch in distaste.
“You act like I made you come here, Monet. Like I put a gun to your head and forced you to make a twenty thousand dollar deal you couldn’t pay back. Let me remind you, sweet girl, you came here—”
“I know,” I interrupt, throwing my hands up. I’m fully aware I came here looking for money, but it was to save the heart of a man I loved and thought loved me.
“It’s not my fault he left you, and it doesn’t make up for the money we lent you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I ask, my voice rising.
“Then you know you owe money and the shitty attitude you have working it off here isn’t going to help you pay it off any faster!”
I run my hands through my hair. My ex told me about Damian, convinced me he’d be the one to help us. He knew he’d leave me, and he knew I’d be stuck here paying it off. Richard and I were together for five years before we learned he needed open heart surgery. We didn’t have the money, so he told me to go to the Titans MC, that he heard they would help people without credit. The deal was Richard and I would pay it back in installments. Two weeks after Richard healed, he moved out with his side piece he’d been seeing for two months, leaving me with the little savings I had, the debt we owed the club, and a broken heart. I tried to hide from the club, but they found me, and Damian has made it very clear what will happen if I don’t work for him to pay off the debt. Because I came to the club seeking the deal, I’m fully responsible, regardless of my damsel in distress story.