2. Sienna

2

SIENNA

I hate these damn parties, but I know it's a breeding ground for the lowest scum around. It'll be the perfect place for one of these girls to go missing. They might not think it's anything they need to be worried about, but I do.

I'm tired of having to hang missing posters on telephone poles. The police don't give a shit, and it's almost laughable the effort the community has put in to find these girls.

Yeah, most of them are prostitutes, junkies, and strippers, but that doesn't mean they are any less human beings.

"Red, you're missing out on all the fun." Uni twirls into my line of vision and tries to pull me off the wall.

"I'm having all the fun I need." I pull my hand back and give her a soft smile.

She's only eighteen years old and is using her job at the strip club to pay for college. At least that's what she told me.

"Aww, come on, Red. Nothing is going to happen." Uni pouts, but when I don’t move, she simply shrugs and goes off to enjoy the party. She thinks nothing bad is going to happen, but I like to be sure. I need a guarantee that nothing is going to happen, and when it comes to these Chrome Creed bikers, I can’t have that. I've heard stories about them in the streets. They are brutal and can be real assholes, but I've never heard about them willingly hurting women. Of course, there's always a chance to start for anyone. I'm not going to take that chance.

I sip on the Pepsi I got from the bar and continue to scan the crowd. My eyes sweep over all the women's faces, and anyone I see who isn't wearing a smile, I hone in on the men they are with. If I need to identify them later, I would like to be able to. It's the only reason I even agreed to come to this party. I want to be here if something goes wrong. Maybe stop it if I can.

As I'm scanning the crowd, my eyes slam onto one man who seems to be stumbling in my direction. "No, please God, no," I whisper to myself and do my best to make it seem like I'm not interested. I'm not at all. The stumbling man gets closer, and the stumbling increases until he's nearly bowling people over to get to me.

"Shit." I brace myself against the wall, sure that I'm about to have to carry this man's weight.

"Care for a dance?" A deep voice speaks in my ear, and a large hand closes around my wrist a second before I'm pulled off the wall in the opposite direction. Everything happens so fast I nearly catch whiplash. One second I'm waiting to be crushed by the drunken asshole coming in my direction, and the next I'm in the arms of a man nearly as large as a fucking house.

The scent of leather and liquor wafts up into my nose, and something about it makes me feel at home. "You good?" the man asks, and I shake my head to get out of my own thoughts. Slowly, I let my eyes trail upwards until I look at the person who is more than likely my savior.

He's so tall my line of sight starts at his chest. It's broad and covered in a dark wife-beater. I let my gaze sweep from side to side, trying to find the end of the expanse in front of me. His shoulders are bare, minus the tattoos and scars littered there. His muscles bunch and relax as he helps me get my footing.

Oh, lordy...

My eyes continue on their way up his body, and I stop for a second at his full lips framed by just enough scruff that I know it'll tickle if he ever were to kiss me. Not that I want him to, but I can imagine. His nose is slightly crooked, like he's had it broken a few times and just quit going to the doctor to get it reset. His eyes are dark, and it's impossible not to notice the storm brewing in those chocolate depths. Part of me wants to know why, but the other part, the smarter part, knows that whatever secrets he's got hidden in his gaze are there for a reason. He's dangerous.

Finally, I blink a few times and take a step back so I can see him properly. "You need to get your men under control. I'm not sure any woman in here would appreciate being smashed by a drunken fool." I spit venom at him and chuckle inwardly when I see him jerk back in surprise. I'm sure he thought I would be grateful for his help. I don't need anyone's help.

"He's not one of us. In case you haven't noticed, he's not wearing a vest." The man in front of me slaps a hand to the leather vest he's wearing. Right above his heart is a patch that says "Chrome Creed." Under it is a tag that says "Enforcer," and under that is another tag that says "Lash."

That's his name? Lash. "Well, Lash..." I spit, "Maybe the people you're hanging around with—whoever they are to you—need to be kept on a tighter leash."

Lash narrows his eyes at me. "He's a grown man. I'm not here to police him."

"No? Well, I guess that shows what kind of party this is." I cross my arms over my chest again before I go back to looking out over the party. I don't have time to play games with this man.

"You're just not going to thaw out, are you?" Lash asks and takes another step closer to me. His scent is driving me wild. I’m not sure if it's because of all the openly sexual content that is going on at this party or what. Usually, I'm not squeamish when it comes to other women getting their jollies, but something about being this close to this man is setting my hormones on fire. I wouldn't say I'm an exhibitionist at all, but if I were in a different frame of mind, I don't think I'd mind if he took me right here up against this wall. Unfortunately, I'm not here to have fun. I'm here to make sure the girls have their fun and get home safe—a task that Lash is presently stopping me from completing.

"What do I need to warm up to you for? You saved me from the bumbling idiot. Brownie points to you. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a party to enjoy." I try to walk away, but Lash grabs hold of my arm and spins me back so I'm looking at him.

"But the party is right here." He smirks at me, but I don't find anything funny about this situation in the least. This motherfucker has his hands on me. There's no one to save me now, and I certainly didn't ask him to touch me.

"I'm going to give you this warning once: Take your fucking hands off me or be prepared to lose some fingers."

His eyes go wide, and I wait for him to bark at me. Instead, he laughs—full-on, clutching his belly, head tossed back laughter.

"Oh shit, you're serious, huh?" he asks but makes sure to move his hand from me.

"Why the hell would I lie about something like that?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Yeah, I like you. What's your name?" He nods his head like he's just found the greatest prize in the building. Definitely not what I want to be to him.

"You don't need my name."

"I do. You already know mine, and I'm going to need to know who the woman is that dared to threaten a ranked patched member of this club. It's not the smartest thing you could do here." He shrugs, and I feel the back of my ears start to heat up.

"Is that a threat?"

"Oh, you mean like the threat you just issued about cutting my fingers off?" Lash retorts.

"It wasn't a threat; it was a promise." I stare at him. I need him to know that I'm not playing with him. If he feels like he's going to be able to get one over on me, I might as well let him lead me to his room right now. I'm not going to lose this match with him. I don't care who he is to the club.

"Okay, let's look at this a different way. You're not linked with anyone here besides the women. We are throwing a lot of money their way. Do you really want to be responsible for us shutting the party down early and kicking them all out? I'm not sure they'll be too friendly with you after that. We can make sure no one at this party ever entertains at another biker club again." He shoves his hands into his pockets, which does nothing but cause his bulging arms to tighten. They are absolutely lickable.

He's right, though. I'm here to help the girls. I don't want to cause them any problems. Most of them have a hard time trusting me anyway. They think because I'm not in their line of work that I shouldn't be hanging around with them. If I get them all kicked out, I'm never going to gain their trust again. I can't have that.

"My name is Sienna," I whisper.

"What?" Lash leans forward so his ear is near my face. I inhale deeply. Suddenly that intoxicating scent is making me nauseous. I hate him already, and I don't know anything about him.

"I said, my name is Sienna." I shout louder than I had to.

"There's a good girl." Lash leans back and slowly lifts his hand to push a strand of hair out of my face. He doesn't touch me, but he's so close to me I can feel the wind from his motion against my cheek.

He's infuriating.

"You don't know anything about me."

"No, I don't, but I'm trying real hard to fix that." Lash smirks at me, and I roll my eyes at him. I wonder how many other women that's worked on. He's got his pick of the crowd here tonight; what the hell is he doing trying to run game on me?

"Lash, I'm flattered, truly, but whatever you think is going to happen between us tonight isn't. Just take this as your one and only L and move on."

"An L? Me? Never." He says, still with that smirk on his face.

"Never say never. There's always a first for anything. Now, like I said, I've got other things to do."

"What other things? The last time I checked, all you ladies are here to entertain us. I just happen to want only you as my personal entertainment." Lash tilts his head.

He's a fucking dog. No, he's a flea on a mangy dog. Of course, that's what he'd have to say. I hate that these men only see the women as something for them to play with. Unfortunately, I know I'm not going to change his mind—not that I even want to.

"This ride is closed, Lash. Now leave me alone." I lift my hand and push him back. I need him out of my space. I need to pay attention to the people around me. I need to be ready for any threat that's coming my way.

"Did you just push me?" Lash asks, looking down at the spot on his chest where I shoved him back.

"What are you going to do, kick me out? You scared of a little girl?" I tease him, and he shakes his head.

"I know exactly what you need." Lash closes the distance between us once again, but this time it's a bit more aggressive. I've had just about enough of him. I reach to my side, ready to pull my blade if I need to. The prospects did a good job patting everyone down when we walked through the building, but I'm always able to get a weapon in no matter where I'm going. It's a gift.

The smirk on Lash's face drops as he sees me reaching down. Now the menace I know he is roars to the front. Quicker than lightning, he slams his hand on top of my hand right over the knife and uses his other hand to wrap around my neck.

"You see how easy this is?" Lash snarls down at me, and I flail around trying to get free. I try to scream out, but his grip on my throat is so tight I can't get out a word.

"You telegraph your moves; the enemy can beat you to the punch. You need to carry the blade somewhere you can get to it easier," Lash whispers down at me.

My mind spins. Is he going to hurt me, or is he giving me tips on how to hurt him?

"I'm not going to force myself on you, Sienna, but I'm also not going to let you threaten me in my own club. Now be a good girl and leave before shit gets bad for you. Unless, of course, you want to come with me into my room and explain why you think you need a knife at a party?" He tilts his head to the other side. His lips are so close to mine now, I'm sure if I lean up on my toes, I'll be able to kiss him. I'm sick. It's been so long since I've been with a man I'm actually contemplating this.

"You going to be good now?" Lash asks, and since I still can't talk, all I can do is nod my head.

"I thought so." Lash quickly lets go of my neck, and I drop down to my flat feet, trying to catch my breath.

"My room or the door. Those are your choices." Lash crosses his arms over his chest.

I'm not going in the room with him. That would defeat the purpose of me keeping an eye out for the other girls.

"I'm gone," I tell him, making sure to keep my gaze locked on his. I don't want him to know that he scared me. I've been in fucked-up situations before, but if he really wanted to hurt me, he could. I'm just happy he didn't.

"By all means." Lash gestures toward the exit, and I roll my eyes at him as I make my way there. I look over my shoulder once, only to see him watching me with eagle eyes. He's not going to let me slip by.

Frustration bubbles up inside of me as I get to the door, and the prospect that let us all in opens the large wooden door for me.

"Sorry to see you go," he grins at me, but I don't have the energy to smile back.

As I hear the heavy door close behind me, I let out a deep groan and put my face up to the sky.

This isn't how I wanted the night to end. Now I can't see at all if the girls are being taken care of. Anyone can be doing anything to them, and no one in there is going to help them.

The cool night air blows through my hair, whipping it around my head.

With a sigh, I start off in the direction of my car. There's nothing I can do now. Nothing but wait. I hop into my black Camry and just sit there. I may not be able to stay at the party with the girls, but I can at least make sure that everyone is going to make it out okay. Of course, I know there are some who aren't going to go home tonight. That just means I'm in for a long, uncomfortable night playing lookout in my car.

I'll do it for them.

I'll do it for them because I wish someone would've done it for me.