Spotting Rider with Beauty, Tank, Letti, and Bull, I walked toward them. Rider shed his jacket, spreading it out on the ground, gesturing for me to sit down and I acknowledged his politeness with a bow of my head.
Letti thrust a brown bottle in my hands. “Drink. You’ll like it.”
“Thank you.” I tentatively put the bottle to my lips. I took a tiny sip and immediately spat out the liquid. Laughing echoed all around me.
I confronted Letti. “What was that?!?”
Winking, she said, “Bud. Beer. Hops. The drink of the f**kin’ gods! But I take it you’re not a fan?”
With a shudder, I shook my head. Bull took the bottle from my hand and drank the whole thing in one long, appreciative gulp.
“More for me, then.” He grinned.
Giggling, Beauty leaned over a shirtless Tank to a large blue box. She pulled out a small can, opened the top, and said, “Here, try this, honey.”
This time sniffing the contents first, I brought it to my mouth, slowly trying a sip. This one tasted a whole lot better. In fact, it was amazing!
“That better?” Beauty was now sat in front of me, practically bouncing with excitement. I nodded my head and took another sip.
“What is it?”
“A cooler. It’s what I drink, though I get shit from all’a these dicks for doing so. Too girly, apparently. But not anymore! Drinking buddy!” Beauty trilled and tapped her can to mine.
The grill was smoking behind us. The smell of the barbeque sausage and steak made my mouth water. I had never eaten so well as I had this past month, never knew food could be so enjoyable to consume.
The minutes rolled on as someone played music, the men mostly lazed around, and a few brave souls moved, jumping off rocks and into the cool pool of water.I was actually having fun. Up until now I had not known what fun was.
“Hey! Snow White!”
I watched as Rider turned his head behind me, then met my eyes. “They’re talkin’ to you, Mae.”
Glancing around, I saw Viking, Flame, and AK all huddled together, looking my way. They had been on the “run” with Styx and only just returned. I was not sure about this trio. Of all the brothers, they were the scariest in the club—by far—particularly Flame. As handsome as the man was—perfectly sharp features, toned physique, dark hair—the soulless look in his black, dead eyes froze me to the bone. The way he watched everyone with constant suspicion, the way he could never sit still for more than a few minutes at a time, the way he always held a blade, rolling it between his fingers and stabbing it into his flesh, did nothing to make me feel safe.
I looked at Rider, who had stripped to a white T-shirt, his bronzed, muscled arms now on display and his trademark bandana keeping back his long hair. “What or who is Snow White?” I enquired.
He smirked and a playful glint flashed in his eyes. “She’s a cartoon character.” I frowned. I had no idea what a cartoon was. Rider had clearly seen this in my expression. He laughed. “She had black hair and blue eyes, pretty damn hot for a moving drawing. It’s what they call you.”
I swallowed hard as his eyes bore into mine. Over the last few weeks, the way Rider looked at me had become more intense. The way he treated me became less aloof and more considerate. The distance he tried to keep seemed to lessen daily.
A piece of bread from a burger bun hit my arm. Turning, Viking jerked his chin, trying to get my attention again. “You gonna tell us where you came from, mystery girl?”
My heart seized as he asked the question. I looked at Rider for help. “You don’t need to answer that question if you don’t want to,” he assured, a deep frown on his face. The chatter that had been filling the humid air quieted. Most folks now listened in.
“I… I do not know the location,” I replied quietly. “It was forbidden.”
Viking looked at AK and Flame, and laughed. “You don’t know where you lived, grew up? Are you f**kin’ joking?”
Shaking my head, I said, “No, the women were never allowed to know. We, the sisters, never left… ever. I was never permitted to leave my quarters, apart from on special occasions. The brothers left commune from time to time, but even then it was only rarely. They did not want to be away from us too long in the sinful outside world.”
“Left where? What the f**k you gettin’ at?” Flame asked, with a wide grimace. Chills shivered down my spine as I read the word PAIN tattooed on his gums.
Swallowing back my fear, I answered, “The… the commune. The Order. My… home… my people.”