Chapter 11

Chapter 11BellaForge took me straight back to the grill because it was getting to be midmorning and neither of us had eaten. As soon as we stepped onto the patio, Crystal waved at me so hard I thought she might dislocate her wrist.Forge said indulgently, “Go visit with your new friend, princess. I’ll get you something to eat.”I twirled around to face him, grinning from ear to ear. “Thanks, babe. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”He looked bashful for a second. “Yeah, I’m downright fucking amazing.”I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. “Yes, sir. You definitely are.”We were both smiling when we parted ways.I grabbed a seat beside Crystal. “Hey, how’s your morning been so far?”“Fine. Nothing interesting going on in my world. But I hear they caught those assholes who held you captive. Here have a piece of crispy bacon.”I took the piece of bacon from her and pointed it at her. “Is this some kind of conditioning, where you give me something fun to take the place of thinking of something bad?”Crystal’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but her husband beat her to it.“Yeah, we ended up with a puppy. Ever since she realized her classical conditioning tricks really work, she’s been trying them out on everyone.”“Cool,” I said before biting into the delicious meat. “You picked the perfect reward. Who doesn’t love bacon?”Crystal replied smugly, “That’s what I’ve been saying. If we all gave each other treats for good behavior, the world would be a better place.”Forge sat down with a huge plate of overflowing food, presumably for us to share. “Whose job is it to determine what good behavior is? What if we don’t all agree? What should we do if some people are more difficult to train than others? Should we start introducing penalties or punishments as well? How ethical is it to modify someone’s behavior based on your own perception of good and evil? Or even better, should there be some criteria for people who believe they have the right to change someone’s behavior without permission?”I looked at Forge with new eyes. “Those are very good questions. You’re a deep thinker.” When he turned to me, I added gleefully, “And you’re handsome too.”Hash was not as delighted with Forge as I was. He shot Forge a disgruntled look. “Philosophical arguments at brunch? Yeah, can’t say I missed that when you were gone bro. Why do you always have to overthink everything? You do this every damn time.”Forge grinned. “I’m just asking the questions, brother. If you don’t like them, then don’t worry about answering them.”Hash shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth and grumbled with his mouth full, “Once you open that little door in my brain, you know I can’t resist walking through it. And that’s why I hate you for getting it started. It’s too damn early in the day to get deep.”I nibbled off the plate Forge made for us as the three of them debated each question in turn. These people were absolutely fascinating to me, some bizarre cross between rough and ready bikers and intellectuals. I just kept eating and listening for what seemed like forever.As brothers came and went with their wives and girlfriends, I began to feel self-conscious. Even though the club bunnies were dressed in skimpy skirts and belly shirts, the other women were very fashionable. I really wanted to fit in with these people, and leggings and Forge’s old club t-shirt made me feel dowdy. I hated being so shallow, but maybe wearing those fancy frocks in the club did affect me? When there was a lull in the conversation, I asked Crystal, “Are there any clothes stores in the area? I need to do some shopping.”Crystal seemed more than happy to leave the conversation she started in her rearview. She scooted her chair around and pulled out her cell phone and began showing me her favorite shops. A couple of them even looked like they might be in my price range. We got lost in our conversation as Hash and Forge continued debating the merits of rewards versus punishments.Crystal winked at me and whispered, “Let’s get out of here and go on a shopping spree, diversion and distraction are also valuable tools.”Both men stopped talking and turned to look at us at the same time. “I don’t have time to take you shopping today. We have church starting in bit.”I asked nervously, “You picked up the guys stalking me. I should be safe now, right?”Forge hesitated, but Hash answered, “Yes. Those two assholes are long gone. Diego and his brothers fucked off back to LA with them.”“Let’s not be hasty,” Forge cautioned. “We aren’t one hundred percent sure we picked up all his guys. There could still be danger.”Hash’s voice lowered an octave. “Storm said he was pretty certain we got all the guys who came to town with the two old dudes. Even if we didn’t, they’ve probably headed back to LA by now. What conceivable reason could they have for staying near Griffinsford after their illustrious leaders got snuffed?”“I know what you’re saying is true. I just have a bad feeling about this situation. I can’t explain it, but I feel like this isn’t over yet, I’m not happy about leaving her boss out of it.” Forge said.I looked down at the table, I’d chosen to spare Marco’s life. I know he was scum, but my instinct told me that he was only doing his father’s bidding. And with Mr. Morelli Senior out of the picture then he’d start back on the straight and narrow.Hash shook his head. “That gut feeling is just shit left over from mixing and mingling with those mafia fucks until you were suspicious of every single person you met.” Slapping him on the back, Hash said, “Those city slickers have got you spooked, but you’re back in Griffinsford now. Shake it off, man.”Forge nodded. “I’m probably being overly cautious, but I’m going to ask a prospect to tag along.”I perked up and immediately asked, “Could we have the fourth prospect who guarded the cabin?”“You want Corey?”I nodded. “I didn’t see him the whole time he was there. He must be good at making himself scarce. I want to pretend like he’s not even there.”Hash chuckled. “I’ll text Corey to get ready to escort you two.”Forge grinned at me. “Corey is still recovering from injuries he got when a group of our brothers were ambushed on the highway a while back. He can ride, but don’t expect him to do a lot of heavy lifting.”I threw my arms around his neck. “Thank you. I haven’t been shopping in almost two years those bags might be heavy, but I think I can manage them myself.”Forge reached for his wallet, but I put my hand over his. “Please don’t give me your hard-earned money. I have a small savings account that I’ve been contributing to. The whole time I worked at the club, what wasn’t spent on my grandmother’s nursing home or the storage unit rental was tucked away for a rainy day. And guess what? It’s raining.”He pulled out a card anyway. “When we picked up the old geezers, they were hoarding cash and other valuables. We think they were preparing to buy arms. Storm kept half the money for our club coffers and put the other half on this prepaid debit card for you to use to start your life over again.”I was too shocked to know what to say.He grabbed my hand and forced it into my palm. “There is close to thirty grand on this card.”I shoved the card back into his hand. “I can’t accept that kind of money.”“Of course you fucking can. After everything those assholes put you through, it stands to reason that you should be compensated, think of it as the shortfall in your wages,” Hash explained.Forge placed the card in my hand. “The brothers voted on it today, so it’s done.”This was more than enough money for me to put a down payment on an apartment and maybe buy a car. All I needed was a job to keep myself going.“Thank you for rescuing me, Forge. I want to thank Storm and the rest of your club brothers. I can’t believe they would do something this nice for me, especially considering that they don’t even know me.”Forge closed his hands around mine, trapping the card inside. “They know your circumstances, and that was enough for them to decide to be generous with you today.”I nodded, tearing up. “Sorry for being emotional.”My rescuer wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. He smoothed one big hand down my hair as I struggled to get my feelings under control. The men in this club were something special. Anyone with eyes could see that.Before I could get myself together. Storm stuck his head outside and announced loudly, “Time for church. Let’s get a move on.”I heard Forge whisper, “because we’re burning daylight,” into Hash’s ear. The other man laughed. I wasn’t sure what was so funny but they both grinned in Storm’s direction.I stood up, and the next thing I knew, a handsome younger prospect was standing near our table.“Are you ladies ready to head out?”I nodded.Forge cupped my face in his hands and kissed me firmly on the lips. “Are you gonna be okay, princess?”“Yes. Of course. Go to your meeting and thank everyone from me.”He smiled, still looking worried. “You be careful out there, Bella.”“I will. Don’t worry about me. You caught all the bad guys. That means I’m safe.”We parted ways reluctantly, him going to his meeting and me going with Crystal and the young prospect. As we walked out the door, Crystal put her arm around me. “You deserve a run of good luck so let today be the first day of your lucky new life.”“Truth be told, I feel stupid for answering the ad that landed me in clutches of those mobsters. I should have been more careful.”She unlocked the passenger side door of her car and then went around and did the same for the driver’s side. “You know, if life has taught me one thing, it’s that hindsight is twenty-twenty. I remember when I opened the door and my stalker came barging in and wrestled me to the ground in my own home. It took me a long time to see I didn’t do anything wrong. I couldn’t know what evil was waiting for me, any more than you could tell a couple of well-dressed club owners were mafia kingpins.”“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. My therapist said I survived and that’s what’s important.”Crystal shifted gears and pulled out of the Dark Slayers’ parking lot. “That’s right. We’re both survivors. It’s something we have in common.”I felt my dark mood lifting. “You’re way cooler than I thought you were, Crystal Connors.”She laughed. “Truth be told, after I met Hash, my priorities shifted. Tracking down bit parts while waiting for my big break lost its luster for me. Giving up show business wasn’t even a hard decision to make in the end. Now I earn my living by giving acting lessons and it’s much more rewarding.”“Do you think any of your students would be interested in singing lessons?”“I’m sure they would. I bought my studio in town because it had a lot of extra space to rent out. I’m sure we can carve out some space for a sound studio. Have you ever considered auditioning to become voice actor?”“No. I haven’t, but that’s something to think about.”“You could even get into voiceovers and audio book recordings. Those kinds of jobs are digital. You can do them from anywhere.”“I like all those ideas. I’m going to have to start a list.” I had considered going back to college to finish my studies. Now I had other options, other options that could keep me close to Griffinsford, and more importantly, Forge...“If you look hard enough, there’s always a way to make money in a small town. You just have to get creative. I focused on doing what I loved and ended up with enough success to keep me happy and enough money to live on.”“This conversation is just what I needed to get my wheels spinning in the right direction. You are really inspiring me today.”“I remember after my trauma, I was so lost and didn’t know what to do with myself. Hash and his sister really helped me get my head screwed on straight.”“I’m glad you had positive support when you needed it. I don’t really have anyone except Forge—he’s been fantastic, but I know he’s going to want to get back to his normal life soon. I can’t expect him to hold my hand forever.”“The hell you can’t!”I stared at her, eyes wide.“Don’t act so shocked. You know that man is head over heels in love with you, right? And you light up like a Christmas tree when he’s around.”I smothered back a smile. “Is it that obvious? Here I thought I was being cool about it.”“Girl, it’s written all over your face. His too. Tell me you’re not sleeping together.”“Too personal, even for a famous movie start to ask.”“Hey, we’re not strangers. We’ve spent hours talking over the last few weeks. We share a similar history, and both fell for bad boy bikers from the Dark Slayers MC. We’re practically twins.”“Alright.” My cheeks flushed bright red. I’d never shared anything personal with girlfriends at school. Well, I’d never had anything personal to share seeing as Forge was my first. “We have been sleeping together since the first night I arrived in town. He’s amazing in and out of bed.”“Of course he is,” Crystal quipped. “He’s a Slayer.”“You seem as enamored with the club as our guys are.”“Of course, the guys are all awesome. There is a rather large female presence in the clubhouse, in case you didn’t notice.”“Oh, I noticed alright. The wives are all pretty amazing, but I can’t say I’ve warmed up to the club bunnies yet, they seem a bit proprietorial.”“They can be a bit much at times and I bet more a few are nursing hurt feelings over Forge. In the past he always made it clear that he didn’t do relationships. Most of them are nice enough.” She paused, and I considered her words. So, Forge didn’t make a habit of having relationships, maybe he did see us as something special?Crystal continued, “My whole point is I never had a bunch of friends until I moved to Griffinsford. The acting business is too cutthroat to make many personal connections. Almost all the women I’m close with are associated with the club. Even if the brothers weren’t all honest, loyal, and kind, I’d stick around for the friendships I’ve made.”“I adore Forge and plan to stay as long as Forge will have me.”“I’ve never seen him fall for anyone the way he has you. The man is walking on air. I know you didn’t ask, but I think your chances of making this work are really good.”“I’m almost too afraid to hope because nothing in my life goes right.” I said, realizing that despite my previously upbeat mood, I still couldn’t shift the feeling that it was all too good.“If you give yourself a chance to get close to Forge and the rest of us, I promise you won’t regret it. Forge might be a newly patched brother, but he’s made of the right stuff.”“You don’t have to convince me how amazing he is. I already know.”“Good. I’d personally love to continue having you in my friend circle.” She pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall. On the end was a small fancy-looking clothing boutique. “This is one of my personal favorites. They always have such unique items.”I bought pretty lingerie, pajamas, and several shirts. All in all, it was a good haul. A little pricy, but worth it. We headed back to the car, our arms filled with shopping bags. Everything went into the trunk, and we continued on our way. This was turning out to be one of the nicest days I’d had in a long time—aside from the days spent at the cabin with Forge.Our shadow trailed behind, always keeping us in sight.