Bouncer by Kim Jones Page 0,12
than she’s a good cleaner? And a heavy drinker? And unfuckable?”
Everyone looks at each other.
“Sly, you pay her. Is it in cash?”
He nods.
Fuck.
“Jinx, you picked her up. Was it at her house?”
“Nope. She was at four points. Wearing a hiking pack. Figured she was homeless.”
“So where does she live now?”
He shrugs. “Fuck if I know.”
“Does she have a phone? A boyfriend? A car? Friends? What about family? I mean, she’s here every fucking day. You have to know something.”
Silence.
Bash clears his throat. “There is one thing.” Finally. “She told me she used to live with her father on a boat. But it wrecked when she was a kid. She survived and they put her in an orphanage for girls. She escaped around fourteen and lived in an abandoned house. Said the next-door neighbors had kids who would sneak her food and shit.”
“She told me her dad was an inventor,” Jinx says. “Said he let her and her brother kinda do what they wanted. He invented some kind of car he was famous for.”
North drums his hands on the table. “Yeah, I remember her telling me something about being an army brat? She was in an all-girls school. But when her dad died in service, they couldn’t afford tuition, so she worked at the school as a maid or some shit. But turns out her dad was actually alive—”
“For fuck’s sake!” I kick my chair and it crashes to the floor behind me. “Those are fucking movie plots. She’s not Pippi Longstocking. Her dad is not Dick Van Dyke. And she sure as fuck ain’t Shirley Temple from The Little Princess.”
Chaos stands and places his hand on my shoulder. “Brother, we know she’s not. She gave all of us bullshit stories. Just because she’s hiding from a past she wants to forget. Doesn’t mean she’s here to infiltrate the club. You don’t trust her. I get that. We respect that.”
“Which is why I sent her away.” North ignores Sly’s groan at his announcement. “She disrespected you. That’s not acceptable.”
Sly straightens. “She what?”
North shakes his head. “I handled it. It’s done.”
I should feel better.
Why the fuck don’t I?
“Good. Now can we move past this bitch and get back to business?” Bash asks, as serious as ever.
I try to focus on what they’re saying. But I can’t. I’m pissed at myself for second guessing my gut. Because now my gut is telling me there is something about this girl, but it has nothing to do with her past or her disrespect.
What the fuck am I missing?
Church ends and I spend the rest of my night alternating between smoking Apple out of my head and scanning the faces of women in search of my mystery girl from last night. It’s late when I stumble to bed. The scent of the girl still surrounds me. I want to find her. The idea of asking my brothers about her makes me nauseous. The last thing I need is those nosey fuckers in my business. But I’m getting desperate.
My mind won’t quiet.
My brain won’t stop.
Who is she?
Where is she?
And why the fuck am I still thinking about Apple?
Eight
BOUNCER
“This place is a fucking wreck.” I don’t miss Sly’s pointed look at me as he stomps through the scattered beer cans to sit at the only spot at the bar that is somewhat clean. “And it smells like a fucking fart, too.”
He’s not lying.
It’s been three days since Apple has been here and Sly’s not the only one who seems annoyed at her absence. North hasn’t even been around since she left—choosing to hang out at the strip club instead. Chaos and Bash are in shit moods but try to pretend they don’t give a shit either way. And Jinx claims he’s too busy playing with his sweet submissive girlfriend to come around. I hope that’s the real reason he hasn’t invited me to the kink club we both frequent, and not because he’s pissed at me over Apple.
Even Cassie walks in pinching her nose. When she tells me it’s my fault the place looks like this, I shoot her a look and place my hand on the buckle of my belt. She flushes, drops her eyes and wisely leaves the room.
“Here’s an idea,” I say to Sly, my own frustration clear about the mess and my no-show mystery girl. “Why don’t you call Apple and tell her to come back to work?” I snap my fingers. “Oh. That’s right. You fucking can’t. Because she’s the only female in