Chapter 8

Chapter 8BellaIwoke up the next morning alone in Forge’s bed. When I slid my hand over to his side of the bed, I found no trace of his body heat. Snuggling back down under the covers, I replayed yesterday in my mind. It started like any other day. I woke up, chose my songs for the evening, practiced them, and gave my list to the DJ. When my shift started that evening, I walked stoically downstairs and performed with a smile on my face like every other night. Even though Forge and I got along like oil and water, I couldn’t help but think of him while I sang.I had been drawn to him since the first night he walked into the bar. He was dressed like the others, but he wasn’t like them at all. Forge had a hard edge about him that even the mafia guys didn’t possess. I could almost see in his expression how little he respected them. He was clearly a man who walked his own path, free and proud and strong.Having my first taste of freedom in a year and a half had gone straight to my head. The second we were safely squirreled away in the middle of nowhere, I wanted to experience what I’d spent weeks dreaming about. I hadn’t anticipated sex being such a hard sell for Forge. He was a man and attracted to me. I thought he would jump at the opportunity. He took some cajoling, but once he got into it, the experience had surpassed even my wildest dreams of what sex could be.I blushed like crazy remembering how easily I came for him, not once, not twice, or three times, but four times in a freaking row. The man was embarrassingly good at making me orgasm. His mouth did things I had only dreamed about, and he even made my secret fantasy come true. I’d worried that I might not like being dominated by a man in real life, but that had turned out to be a baseless fear—I’d loved it when Forge took control.Sighing, I slid out of bed and decided to shower and get dressed. By the time I finished, I could smell coffee and bacon. I tiptoed downstairs out of habit. Living in the bar, I never wanted to draw attention to myself if I could help it. Common sense told me that I probably didn’t need to do that anymore, but some little voice in the back of my head warned it was better to be safe than sorry.I followed my nose to the kitchen and found Forge frying bacon in a cast iron frying pan on the stove. He turned when I entered the room and jerked his chin toward the coffee pot. “I made coffee, and breakfast should be finished soon.”Heading to the coffee pot, I murmured, “Thanks. I’m starving.”Forge’s amused voice responded, “I’m sure you are.”He didn’t need to say we’d worked up a fierce appetite last night after going to bed without dinner. I poured my coffee and added cream and sugar. The first taste was amazing and warmed me from the inside out. I glanced around. “Is there anything I can do to help?”“Maybe start filling the containers with food.”That’s when I realized there were no plates on the table. Instead, there were six round plastic divided food storage containers about the size of breakfast plates. I remembered that he had at least three or four men outside guarding the cabin for our safety.I set my mug down and began filling each plate with hot biscuits, scrambled eggs, and a scoop of hash browns. Forge added a few strips of bacon to each container, and we snapped the lids into place.“I already took them coffee this morning. I thought that after we deliver their food, we could take a ride on my bike to a spot down by the lake and have our breakfast.”I drained the rest of my coffee and nodded. “That sounds good to me.”Forge grabbed the containers, and I took several bottles of orange juice from the counter. I followed him out to deliver the food. The men who were so brazen last night were sheepish and tongue tied in the light of day. My best guess was that either Forge had ripped them a new asshole or they’d heard us having sex last night and realized how inappropriate their comments were. The more I watched how they wouldn’t look Forge in the eye, it occurred to me that it might be a little from column A and little from column B.Forge put our food in the rear compartment of his motorcycle, which was all kind of impressive. I loved how it was loaded with chrome that gleamed in the morning sun.“I’ve never been on a bike before,” I commented.“All you have to do is sit behind me and hold on tight. I’ll do all the rest. Are you up for a ride? If not, there are picnic tables around the side of the cabin. We can eat there if you prefer.”“No. For the first time in my life I’m getting to experience new and exciting things. I don’t want to miss out on any opportunities.”Forge beamed at me with genuine approval. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I’m so fucking proud of you, Bella. You’re one of the bravest women I’ve ever met.”I jumped up onto my tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad to hear you say that. Most men think I’m nothing more than a pretty face with a pretty voice.”His gaze turned intense. “You’re much more than that. Don’t let the dumbasses of the world tear you down.”He handed me a helmet and helped me strap it into place before donning his own helmet. Forge lifted me onto his bike and jumped on in front of me. After showing me where to put my feet and allowing me to wrap my arms around him, he cranked up his engine and slowly pushed off toward an even smaller dirt track than he took to get to the cabin last night.There was something exhilarating about being on a motorcycle. I could understand why Forge loved it so much. It was amazing to be out from under the mafia’s thumb after a year and half, but riding down the slightly bumpy road with the breeze blowing through my clothing was a special kind of freedom I’d never really known before. We didn’t travel far before a river came into view and Forge stopped his bike.We left our helmets behind and walked hand in hand to the river. Forge carried our food in his free hand, and I tucked our drinks under my free arm. I could hear the flow of water over rocks in the river, bees buzzing nearby, and birds chirping from the trees. Being from the city, I hadn’t had the joy of being outdoors much in my life. The sad truth was I’d hardly lived my life at all when I got tangled up with the mafia. Forge led me to a wooden bench that faced out toward the water and we sat together.“It’s really beautiful here,” I commented as Forge opened our food.“I used to come here when I was stressed or needed to think about stuff. It’s my special place.”I took the container from him as my stomach growled. “You chose well.”His eyes flashed up at mine and then away before I could identify his expression.I realized a moment too late that we’d failed to pack silverware. I saw Forge remove the top from one of his biscuits and use it to scoop up a pile of eggs. Then he used the other half to scoop up a wad of hash browns. Just when I thought he was going to put them together to make a sandwich, he broke up a piece of bacon into two pieces and put it on the eggs. Only then did he put both pieces together to make a sandwich of sorts. Instead of eating it, he handed it to me. I set my breakfast aside and took the biscuit from him.“Thanks. I don’t know if I could have managed that on my own.”“I’ve been making breakfast biscuits from scratch for a couple of years now. When I was a prospect, part of my job was to cook all the meals. I spent a lot of time behind the grill, and that’s why my club name is Forge.”“Wow, that must have been a big responsibility,” I commented, awed by his cooking abilities.“It takes a lot to feed upwards of fifty people on a daily basis. Fortunately, I was also responsible for supervising all the other prospects. That meant I could delegate a lot of the responsibility.”“I suspect that being a biker is a lot more involved than most people imagine.”“It is for our club because we have a lot of different things going on. We own and operate a local gym, an auto repair garage, a strip club on the outskirts of town, and a security firm. Those are all legitimate businesses, and it takes hard work and coordination to keep all the balls in the air.”“So, your club really isn’t involved in any illegal activities?”“Not that I’m aware of, and I pretty much know everything that goes on with the Dark Slayers MC.”I took a minute to tackle my biscuit, desperate to get some food in my stomach. I washed down mouthful after mouthful of Forge’s tasty breakfast with sips of my orange juice.“I’m sorry I assumed because you’re a biker that you’re also a criminal. That was an unfair assumption. I hope you can forgive me.”Forge grinned at me. “I suppose we can attribute that to the company you’ve been keeping as of late. When you’re being held against your will by a bunch of criminals, everyone looks like an outlaw.”“It’s unfortunate that my experience over the last year and a half has led me to be suspicious and jaded. I felt like meeting you was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Not only did you save me from the awful things Tony had in mind for me, but I feel like I’ve met someone who will become a lifelong friend.”“I would certainly love for us to establish a friendship, but I would also like to introduce you to some of the other old ladies.”“Like Crystal Connors,” I interjected playfully.“Good God in heaven, I’m gonna call that woman to come to the cabin and say hi to you just so you’ll stop mentioning her name.”I could tell he was joking by the lighthearted tone of his voice. Forge really was a nice, kind, decent man. I knew better than most what a rarity that really was in the world.“Don’t worry, I’m not some starstruck fan. If I had to choose between spending time with you or her, I would choose you every single time.”“Damn, girl, you really do love my cock. I mean, you must if you would take time with me over your idol, Crystal Connors.”I laughed happily. When I caught sight of how happy my laughter made him, I had to come clean. “It’s not just your amazing dick that makes me want to spend time with you. It’s your charming personality and the way you give me options instead of just dragging me around wherever you want to take me. The way you tried to teach me to stand up for myself if and when other men try to pressure me into doing things that make me feel uncomfortable in bed. No man has ever treated me like you do. I need all that so much at this particular point in my life. More than you’ll likely ever know.”“I have a pretty good idea because when I first came into the Dark Slayers MC, I’d been on my own. It felt like I was fighting a perpetual and never-ending battle against the whole fucking world. I was exhausted and near to giving up when the brothers took me in. That little ounce of empathy and understanding meant everything to me at the time. It gave me the strength to keep fighting to make something of myself. And now, here I am, a fully patched brother on his very first mission to save the lives of our allies. Rescuing you was just a happy fucking bonus.”“Well, I appreciate that you stuck your neck out for me. I don’t know what I would have done if my bosses had decided I was going to be their new chew toy.”“That shit’s not right, Bella. No man has the right to do shit like that to a woman. In our world, that one of the very obvious lines between good and evil.”I dusted the biscuit crumbs off my fingers and looked out over the slowly moving water. The sunlight was shining through the trees, causing the surface to look dappled. I even saw a duck skimming across the water on the far side where a log held back the currents.Without looking at Forge, I said, “If there is one thing that being exploited by the mafia taught me, it’s that humans are not inherently good people. They can create justifications for just about any depraved thing they want to do.”“Talk to me, Bella. Tell me what’s going through your mind right now.”“I remember one time the owners shut down the bar for an entire twenty-four-hour period. They brought in a half dozen Puerto Rican women wearing nothing but thongs. The owners had them cutting and packaging drugs on the bar all night. The next morning, the women and drugs were gone. I often think about those women and wonder if they were held captive like me. Cutting drugs, prostitution, singing and talking rich dudes into buying expensive liquor. It’s just varying levels of exploitation.”I glanced at his worried face and decided to admit the thing that’s been eating away at me all this time. “I know I should feel grateful that my exploitation wasn’t more traumatizing. Instead, I feel guilty. Why did I get off so easy when they were forced to suffer more profoundly than I can even imagine? I’m sure some didn’t make it out alive. I got lucky, I just had to sing for my upkeep.”“What you’re talking about is survivor’s guilt. My club brothers who have lost brothers in arms during the war speak of this often. It’s part of their PTSD. It’s sometimes hard to accept that life is a crapshoot, and no one ever really deserves the hand they’re dealt.”“I know what you’re saying is true. I do.”“It’s hard to deal with man’s inhumanity against man.”Glancing at him again, I said softly, “I worry that I’ve lost my faith in humanity.”“Remember when I told you that our club has a counselor who has helped other women in our club deal with shit like this?”“Yeah, I remember you mentioning that.”He reached out and took my hand in his. “Well, I’m going to arrange for her to come here and talk to you. You’ve been through a lot and don’t deserve to suffer like this.”“You don’t have to go through all that trouble. Just talking to you has lightened my load. You know what to say to make it hurt that little bit less.”Surprise registered on his face. “I’m a total dipshit when it comes to women and feelings. You need someone who knows what they’re talking about. A professional, specially trained in female trauma.”I moved the container between us to my other side and moved closer to this man who was trying so hard to help me through the biggest trauma of my life. “You’re about the furthest from a dipshit as any person I’ve ever met, Forge. Just hold me for a few minutes. That’s all I need right now.”He immediately wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I laid my head on his massive chest and just stared out at the lazy river as images of those women rose in my mind one more time. Suddenly, lightning hit my brain. “Do you think that if my bosses end up finding us, that we can make them tell us what they did with those women?”“I can do you one better than that. I can hunt the fuckers down, drag them to our clubhouse, and turn my club brothers loose on them. Those two assholes will tell us what we want to know or else.”I looked up at him. “Or else what? That sound ominous.”“Or else they leave with broken bones, princess” he replied without missing a beat.