Broni’s heart broke at the shell of a woman behind the counter. Her bruises had healed, but the vacant look in her eyes showed she hadn’t recovered.
She brought Broni a sandwich and bottled water that she ate slowly, savoring the taste of the thick peanut butter.
“How are you doing, Abby?”
Her face crumpled at Broni’s question. “My family are all dead.”
“Your sister?”
Abby nodded her head.
“I’m so sorry.”
If Tank hadn’t kidnapped her, then she probably would have died along with her family. Broni didn’t think she would ever be grateful to Tank for anything, but she was glad the girl had survived.
“Where’s Nikki and Dee?” Broni asked, afraid of the answer.
“They’re sleeping. The bikers are keeping them busy,” Abby whispered with trembling lips.
“Have the men…?” Broni tried to ask delicately.
Abby gave her a smile for the first time. “No, Jace won’t let anyone touch me.”
“Thank Mother for small mercies.” Broni didn’t think the woman would have anything left if they’d traumatized her that way.
After she finished eating, Broni worked off her nervous energy by helping Abby behind the counter. She cleaned the counter and tables then mopped the floors. The men looked at her in amusement as she moved around the room. When she returned behind the counter, Adam’s eyes caught hers.
“The world is falling down around us and you’re fucking cleaning?”
“If you live like animals, you act like animals.”
She thought her words had angered Adam from his silence, but surprisingly, he turned to the men sitting around. “Ransom, Harlow, get the broken furniture and throw it out back. Mason, you and Jace go from building to building on this block for the supplies we need.”
“Why the fuck should we do that? Why not just keep doing what we’ve been doing? Let someone else go through the trouble of getting it then take it from them.”
“Because we don’t know how long this is going to last. We need to start planning ahead instead of living for the here and now,” Adam answered, staring into Broni’s eyes.
Without further argument, the men left the club in two groups, loaded with weapons.
Nikki and Dee came out not long afterwards, and both women hugged her when they saw her. Dee noticed the difference in the club.
“We haven’t had much energy left to clean,” Dee admitted.
“Don’t worry about it. I can handle it,” Broni said, placing her arm over her shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Dee said, leaning against her.
“You two have a seat. I’ll fix you something to eat,” Broni offered.
She fixed the girls a quick meal as they told her how after her and Rhys had disappeared, everyone had returned to normal, leaving the devastation in their wake. The government agencies and law enforcement were nonexistent, gangs of men had taken over the streets, and women without men to protect them were being attacked and taken.
Ransom and Harlow returned with a bounty of items; flashlights, batteries, gasoline, and canned foods. The men seemed bolstered by their success. Broni and Abby organized the items in the back room.
“You were right,” Adam admitted as he watched his men.
Broni filled his glass, placing a plate of food before him at the table he was sitting at with his men.
“Dee, get your ass on the stage,” Tank yelled from across the room.
Dee put down the bottle of liquor she was holding to refill a glass then went to the stage, stripping her clothes and beginning to dance.
Harlow picked up Nikki, carrying her to the stage. He set her on the edge, pulling her top and shorts off.
“Shake that ass!” he rudely yelled.
Broni looked down at Adam. “I’ll kill the first man that comes near me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied.
The men became rowdier as the night grew later.
Adam found her at the bar, standing guard over Abby. “Let’s go. It’s not safe for you two out here any longer.”
Abby and Broni both followed him to the bedrooms. Adam locked Abby into Jace’s room before opening the door to the one next door. Broni cautiously went inside looking around. It was cleaner than she’d thought it would be with a bed and a chest of drawers as the only furniture.
“Get some sleep.” Adam closed the door and Broni heard the lock click before hearing his booted feet leaving.
Her backpack and sword were already on the chest, having given both to Adam earlier.
Broni opened the drawers, taking a t-shirt and a pair of boxers out before going to the bathroom where she saw that Adam still had running water. Showering, she washed the dirt and grime away from her trek in the forest. She then dried herself off, dressing before lying down on the bed.
Broni groaned at the softness. Rolling over, she looked out the grimy window with bars across it. She stared out at the dark sky, letting the tears she had been holding back loose. She refused to feel sorry for herself; she was stuck here because she had tried to do something their law forbid. She would willingly pay the price, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t miss her family in the coming years.
* * *
She was jolted awake later when the bed moved. She jerked upright, clutching her sword.
“What the fuck! Put that down,” Adam grunted when she accidently poked him in the ribs.
“Adam?”
“Yes. Put that sword away before you neuter me.”
“Sorry.” Broni almost giggled at his grouchiness, instead she kept the sword pointed exactly where it was. “Why are you in here?”
“Because this is my fucking room, and I’m not sleeping in the clubroom. I’m being nice letting you share my bed instead of making you fuck forty horny bikers, but you can choose which you prefer.”
“I prefer to sleep alone, but as long as you keep your hands to yourself, I’ll share.” Broni lowered her sword and laid it on the floor beside the bed.
“I appreciate that.” Adam’s ironic voice reassured her.
Broni lay back down, feeling the bed sink under Adam’s weight next to her.
“Thanks, Adam.”
“It’s not going to be easy keeping the men off you, Broni. When we’re outside this room, you have to pretend we’re together. I’m barely managing to maintain control since Tank’s come back,” Adam warned. Broni had already noticed his tenuous control.
“I’ll be careful.” Broni rolled on her side, away from him.
She would take his advice and play along like she was his. Tank may no longer be influenced by the Drearien, but as her mother had told her, she recognized the evil within him that had allowed the Drearien to take control. Broni had every intention of avoiding a confrontation with Tank if at all possible. When that no longer worked, she would kill the bastard.
Chapter 21
Broni used her sword to shift through the rubble.
“Find anything?”
“Not yet,” she answered Ransom’s query as they searched through the ransacked room, seeing if anything worthwhile had been left behind.
She had begun going out with Ransom and Harlow during their runs, preferring it to staying behind at the clubhouse with the randy bikers. She was disgusted with most of the men. Only a few were seeking to provide for the group that was expanding by the day with survivors seeking shelter and the protection the clubhouse full of men provided. There were more women now, too, and they were more than eager to trade their bodies for a full stomach and protection from the threats that were on the outside.
It had been two months since she had returned to the clubhouse. She still shared Adam’s bedroom, fully aware he had taken more than one woman up on their offers. Many sought him for his protection, the others for his looks. She had expected him to move her out of his room and move in one of the women willing to share her body, but he hadn’t.