She hadn’t seen Ugly Beast since he’d brought her to his home, and he’d not even called. The only person she saw was the neighbor, who was a nice lady, but she didn’t catch her name, and Raven.
That was it.
No one else.
Raven turned the radio on to some rock music that was playing. She pressed her foot to the gas.
“You drive?”
“No. I’m not allowed.”
“Then we totally have got to do that as well.”
“Driving?”
“Yes. It’s a rite of fucking passage.” Raven laughed. “Girl, we are going to have so much fun with you.”
“Don’t do anything that will get me in trouble.”
“With the club or your family?”
“Both?”
Raven laughed. “You got to learn to live dangerously. We only have one life, and you’re wasting yours.” Suddenly, Raven pulled the car to a stop. “We’re totally changing places.”
“What? Now? No. Please, I don’t want to.” She held onto her seatbelt for protection.
Raven jumped out of the car, but left the motor running.
Abriana’s door opened.
“Come on. You’ve got nothing to fear. I’ll teach you.”
“How many students have you taught before?”
“None. I’m a damn good driver. Come on. I’ll beat your ass if you don’t get out of the car.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. Five … four … three … two…”
“Fine, fine. I’ll do it.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, climbing out of the car.
“Go ahead, girl, give me the evil eye. I don’t give a flying fuck.”
Her heart pounded, and her hands shook as she climbed behind the wheel. Closing the door, she buckled up her seatbelt.
“This beauty is not an automatic. It’s a manual. The ignition is already on. You need to press down on the pedal nearest me, and slide this bad boy into first gear.”
Abriana followed the instruction and screamed as the car jerked forward.
Raven laughed. “You shouldn’t take your foot off the clutch. It’s fine. We’ll start again.”
She hated driving. Jerking the car forward every few feet, only to stall or to panic. Raven was laughing as if it was the best comedy she’d seen while Abriana’s cheeks were on fire.
“Okay, okay, you so need a lot more practice. We better change places before the bar closes and we don’t get to have any fun.”
She was more than happy with that. Her hands were still shaking as she climbed out of the car.
“You did good, Abriana.”
She nodded but knew she was a failure. Doing good at something meant she succeeded. Tonight was a failure, and no one liked that in someone.
Raven kept on talking, and Abriana listened with half an ear. She wasn’t interested in anything the other woman had to say. The small driving lesson had opened up a whole load of insecurity that she wasn’t ready to deal with.
Her father had liked to tell her often how much of a failure she was and how she wasn’t doing something right. Nothing she ever did was good enough. She couldn’t drive a car or be a good wife.
If she was a wife Ugly Beast wanted, he would have come home long before now. She was trapped again.
Only this time, she didn’t know what to expect. Raven was nice, but again, could she trust the other woman? Were they going to kill her? Women were disposable in her world. When one died, another took their place.
She tried to breathe easier, but it was next to impossible. Raven didn’t notice her panic attack or mini-meltdown. Abriana had learned the value of suffering in silence.
“We’re here.”
Stepping out of the car onto solid ground made her life a whole lot easier.
Several cars were parked outside of the bar. She didn’t get a clear view of the sign as most of the words were dull. Only an “e” and “a” were visible, and it was dark.
Raven pushed her arm through hers, and together they walked into the bar.
The moment they did, several male gazes landed on them, and Abriana wanted to run. It would be a lot easier to do.
“Come on, we’ll start by having a drink.”
“I’m not old enough,” Abriana said.
Raven snorted. “Please, you’re with me. You’re old enough.”
They walked toward the bar. Raven slammed her hand on the bar. “Boss boy, how is life treating you?”
The large, heavily inked man behind the bar shook his head.
“You know I don’t like that, Raven.”
“Come on, Ryan, you want me to call you that instead?”
“What can I get you?”
“Two beers.”
Ryan nodded. “Any of your boys going to be here later?”
“Only if I start causing trouble.”
“So can I expect some trouble?” Ryan asked, putting two bottles in front of Raven. She handed him some bills.
“Only if a couple of guys don’t keep their hands to themselves. You know how I work.”
“Yeah, dressed like that, I better get my gun ready.”
Raven laughed. “Nice talking to you.”
“Does he really have a gun?” Abriana asked.
“Every good barman has a gun. Shit always kicks off. Especially around pussy and dicks.”