“I’m bored,” Tabitha said.
“Then read a book.” Daisy didn’t even glance up from the book she was reading.
“I’m bored with reading.”
“Then watch a movie.” Finally, her friend lowered her book. “Let me guess, there’s no movie you want to watch either.”
“You got it.” She dropped down onto the bed. “I suck, don’t I?”
“Why? Because you’re like most teenage girls and bored? Why don’t you text Simon or something? That’s what you do.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“He’s got this study thing he needs to do.”
“Ah, right, the study thing where you went crazy not too long ago because you thought it meant he was seeing another girl?” Daisy offered her a smile.
“You don’t have to be that way.”
“I’m not being any way, just stating a fact.” Daisy picked her book back up.
Tabitha recalled her deal with Anthony and groaned.
“What is it now?”
“Nothing,” she said. It was hard to get anything past Daisy. Rubbing at her temples, she looked at her best friend. “You know Darcy and Ink decorated their place for Halloween?”
“I know. I seem to recall helping them. I picked up what they needed, remember?”
Great. Daisy went back to reading her book, and Anthony would be pissed with her if she went back on a deal with him.
“So, er, don’t you just love Halloween? I mean with all the partying and the fun. Dressing up. I love it. I can be whatever I want.”
“No.”
“What the hell is the no for?”
“I know you, Tabs. I know you better than anyone. Even Simon. Believe me. I get it. I know what’s going on here and there’s no way I’m going to any kind of party. I don’t want to. Period.”
“Ugh! It would just be for me.”
“No.”
“Come on, what’s so wrong with going to a party?”
“I don’t like to party.”
“You’re being a royal pain in the ass.”
“And we both know the reason you’re upset and angry and pissed off is because you want to go and head out to the Quad.”
Tabitha was going to kill her friend. The Quad was where all the fights happened. She didn’t know if her father or Lash, the current President of The Skulls MC, knew of the place, but she and the gang frequented the place often. Tabitha loved to be able to unload, especially if she’d experienced a shitty day, which seemed to happen more often than not.
“This has nothing to do with the Quad. I need you to go out on Halloween with me, to go to the party, at the high school. Is that such a bad thing?”
“You want to go to the high school where the Dogs will be? Seriously? You know it’s bad enough going through a single day with them without you know, all the crap after school. I’ve seen them hanging out at the Quad as well. It’s like this joint school thing has given them permission to come onto our land. It’s not good.”
She started to smile.
“What?” Daisy asked.
“Just, our land and permission. You sound very possessive all of a sudden.”
“I am. Especially of the club. I’ve seen the way the guys are. Especially Luke and Ryan. They’re pieces of shit.”
“That I won’t deny.” She sighed. “This school thing. I kind of agreed with Anthony you’d be there.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“You know, he likes you.”
“Not that again. Please, not that. I can’t stand that. I’ll have to barf if you do that.” She rolled her eyes. “Anthony has a gazillion girls he could date. You’ve seen the way they throw themselves at him.”
“Yeah, but have you actually seen him kiss one? Hang out with one? Even touch one?”
“I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation. It’s completely pointless.”
“It’s not. Come on. You’d be doing me a huge favor by hanging out with him. You know you want to.”
“I don’t know that I want to. In fact, I think I’d rather forgo the whole Halloween dance. Dad is going to rent a bunch of movies and we were all going to watch. Halloween candy, some kind of drink he’s going to make up. It’ll be fun.”
“Sounds boring,” Tabitha said. “Come on, you’re only going to live once. Why not make it the best thing like ever? There’s going to come a point when we’re not going to be able to party and have fun.” She held her hands together, begging. “Please, please, please.”
There was a sudden knock on Daisy’s bedroom window.
Tabitha turned toward the sound to find Simon, Miles, and Anthony all waiting in the tree.
“Oh, look, some of the gang are here.” This Simon was her nephew, even though they weren’t that far apart in age. Something he hated to acknowledge as he was actually older than her, even though she was his auntie.
Daisy climbed off her bed. She wore a pair of boy shorts, exposing her thighs. Tabitha watched as Anthony climbed through the room and seemed to try to get as close to Daisy as humanly possible. How was it no one else saw this? She’d noticed Anthony’s obsession with her best friend years ago.
Her friend, as always, was oblivious to his devotion. It was kind of sad, but funny. For a long time, Anthony hadn’t really spoken. He did his glaring thing, which seemed to scare off a whole lot of people. Not her and the group though.
“What’s going on?” Tabitha asked, getting to her feet. She had yet to change her clothes for her pajamas.
“Big fight out at the Quad,” Miles said. “Dogs are fighting. I thought it was time for us to see them in action. We’ve seen a couple of their boys, but not with any real competition.”
“I can’t,” Daisy said. “My parents are downstairs.”
“They’re probably making out,” Miles said. “We know what they’re like, and with the Chaos crew just vacating, we’ve got time. We all know how this goes down with the parents. This is something we’ve got to do.”
“You know he’s right,” Tabitha said. “We’ll be back before midnight.”
“I hope you know my dad already knows when we sneak on or off. He’s got the whole place wrapped tight.” Daisy’s father, also known as Whizz, was amazing when it came to technology. He handled most of the security for the entire club and also helped to work the markets as he had a keen eye on investment. To The Skulls, he was the shit.
“Then what do we have to lose?” Tabitha asked. “They already know they’re here. Let’s go. Let’s do this.”
Daisy sighed. “Are we grabbing everyone?”
“No can do,” Miles said. “I already checked in. They’ve got shit to do. It’s got to be us.”
“Of course, it does. I mean, why would we be strength in numbers?”
“You sound a little pissy there, Daisy. You okay?” Simon asked.
“She’s fine,” Tabitha said, interrupting. “She’s just agreed to go to the Halloween party and we’ve now got to go shopping. Of course, this is all a treat on me.”
“I did not,” Daisy said.
“If you’re going, that will be cool. The whole gang is going, right, Ant?” Miles asked.
Anthony, his silent self, just stared.
“See, confirmation.” Miles pointed at his friend.
“He didn’t even speak.”
“But if you watch his facial expressions, you will see he is actually very easy to read. A certain brow lift. The sneer. You name it, he has it.”
“We’re all going,” Anthony said. “Don’t stare at my face for so long.”
“Look, irritate him enough and he starts talking as if by magic.”
She loved her twin. Miles didn’t have a filter. A trait that seemed to run in the family. Their half-sister Tate was known for it.
Tabitha had learned young to bide her time, to hold her tongue, at least, that was what she tried to do. It didn’t always work out that way.
“I’m going. Fine. I’m going.”
“We’ll go shopping next week. Come on, get dressed. You know you want to.”
Daisy rolled her eyes again, another little trait she’d decided to start doing. Rather than be pissed at her best friend, she rolled with it. It was what she did nowadays.
She knew, at times, Daisy was going through some crap inside her head. When she was ready, she’d unload, but until then, she got the pissy version from time to time. It wasn’t like anything she couldn’t deal with.
“Guys, leave,” Daisy said. “We’re not kids anymore. I’m not getting changed in front of you.”
“Buzzkill,” Miles said.
Anthony slapped him around the back of the head and made sure the guys left before he did.
Daisy changed into a pair of jeans, and like all of the kids of The Skulls, she quickly pulled on her leather jacket, labeling her as one. Whenever they visited the Quad, it was essential.
“This is stupid.”
“You’re going to love it.”
“Watching a bunch of kids fight. Yeah, it’s going to be so much fun.”
“We are all still a bunch of kids.”
“Yeah, well, I’m trying not to be.”
“Oh, really, what are you trying to be?” Tabitha asked, climbing out of the tree.
“An adult. Do you expect us to keep on acting like this when we’re older?” Daisy asked. “Should I put the window down?”
“You didn’t make the bed to look like we’re still home and like you said, Whizz is going to know we headed out. He’d see it.”
“True. I’ll be grounded for this.”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes.” They were all often grounded as kids, but with how busy the club got, it was hard for their parents to keep a constant eye on all of them.
Down on the ground, Tabitha ran her fingers through her hair. Lacey had agreed to dye her tips, but now she was having doubts. Maybe she wanted a different color. Purple or green. She’d handle it then.
Daisy had such a kick-ass mom in Lacey, even though the woman wasn’t her biological mother. Daisy’s real parents had been pieces of work. Assholes who often forgot their daughter, and it was only because of her own mother and Angel that Daisy got any real kind of care. The Skulls had taken Daisy in, and well, she was family.
That was what The Skulls were, one big happy family. Tabitha or any of the kids could go to any of the club members’ houses and there would be a bed for them, protection, and comfort. It was just the way the club was. Even for the prospects and the recently patched-in members. It was the way the club rolled.
She grabbed Daisy’s arm, locking hers around her, as they walked down the street. It was only a twenty-minute walk to the Quad, but most of the time they took a car. Anthony had been learning how to drive and Simon actually owned a car. It was a gift from his parents, Tate and Murphy, but he still needed to pass his test.
“Do not try to make this right. You were a bitch up there,” Daisy said.
“I know but I promise you, I’ll make it right with you.”
“You’ll make it right? Your Simon will probably sneak here and take you out. You’ll abandon me, as that’s what you do, and then it will be all over. I’ll be at a party, on my own, wishing I’d stayed at home.”
“It won’t be that way.”
Daisy looked toward her with a raised brow.
“What? It won’t. I promise. I’ll be good and I’ll stay with you the whole time.” With the entire gang going, she wouldn’t get the luxury of sneaking off, and from her last conversation with Simon, he wasn’t going to be able to sneak off either. His dad was pissed because he’d gotten suspended again for fighting.
He’d done this a few times. They both went to school with people who just seemed to enjoy running into their fists.
“I tell you, man, I can’t wait to hit someone. I mean fucking mess them up,” Miles said. He slammed his fist against his open palm and chuckled. “It will feel so fucking good.”
“Miles, you’re a dick,” Tabitha said.
He burst out laughing. “Yeah, and you’re a pussy.”
Daisy sighed. “Really, I stopped reading for this?”
“Come on, Daisy. You know you love to watch a good fight. I bet if you asked nicely, Anthony would be all over that shit for you. Fighting, maybe even take his shirt off.” This earned Miles another hit on the head.
Shaking her head, she held her friend’s hand even tighter. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Come on, this is going to be fun. We’ll enjoy this fight, your dad will be pissed, and then we’ve got Halloween to look forward to.”
“And if this all goes wrong and it was a trick to get the cops here, our parents will be picking us all up from the cells. Oh, yay, what fun.”
“What happened to my friend Daisy? You used to be cool.”
“Thanks. Look, I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”
“Is this because of your dad?” Tabitha asked, whispering so the guys wouldn’t know. Daisy had confided in her that her real dad, the one who had given her up so easily, kept on sniffing around, wanting money. Threatening. She didn’t want to take it to Whizz or get The Skulls involved because of everything they were going through, or put them at risk of killing someone.
Her real dad would be easily killed by the club, and he should have been a long time ago.
“Yeah, he called. It’s fine. I’ll deal with it. You know.”
“Tell him to fuck off. He can’t keep taking money from you. Piece of shit that he is.” She hated him and didn’t hide it.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. We should be focusing on what these guys are going to do.”
“Ignore them. I do so often,” she said.
Daisy chuckled.
Tabitha tended to know when her best friend was having a hard time—she turned bitchy. Between the two of them, Tabitha was more than happy to wear the crown of queen bitch, and Daisy was normally the sweet one. The one holding books, reading, and not getting into fights. They each had their roles to play and they did it well.
Arriving at the Quad, she saw it was busier than usual.
The moment they paid their entrance fee, Tabitha went on high alert. A crowd this big was dangerous, but it also meant the cops had been bought off.
“Dogs own this territory tonight,” Mitch, the guard at the door, said. “You’ve entered at your own risk.”
Keeping together as a group, they moved toward the main fighting ring. Ned had come to see this place with her a few years ago, and Tabitha had been addicted to it. Of course, neither her parents nor the club knew that Grandpa Ned had looked it over as a possible site he wanted to use.
Ned dealt in fighters back in Vegas. He was notorious for finding the meanest motherfuckers around. She also knew he wasn’t a nice guy either, and so there were some fights that had a lot more odds on them, a fighter’s life.
Those freaked her out. She couldn’t ever imagine fighting for her life, nor did she want to. Still, this was fighting. It was fucked up, dangerous, but that was the way that it was.
“What are you thinking?” Daisy asked.
They pushed their way up to the edge of the ring. It was on a concrete pitch that was higher up as if on a pedestal. There had been wooden posts secured with rope to try to keep people inside. The trick was to not get slammed down. There were some rules to the fighting, seeing as it was mostly kids who took to the Quad. Some college boys as well. Those were the fights the club often went for. It meant bigger money as there was often some pansy-ass rich boy who thought he was the shit and got beat down a great deal because of it.
Anthony didn’t go for fights he knew he could win.
Tabitha just loved to fight, and the thing about the Quad was they didn’t care if you had a dick or a pussy. A fight was a fight. You win, you get paid. You lose, you go home empty-handed.
The club had yet to lose a fight. Out of the whole club, Daisy didn’t fight, though. It wasn’t that she couldn’t fight, it was just better for everyone if she didn’t.
Staring up at the two competitors, she spotted Luke facing off with a guy twice his size. Both had no shirt on. Luke was covered in ink. His arms, chest, and as he turned to dodge a ram, there was also ink on his back.
“You want him?” Daisy asked.
“Don’t be absurd.” She didn’t want Luke but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her. Nope, she’d noticed Luke watching her. He was also the one who tried to keep things nice between the clubs. It was Dickface Ryan she had trouble with.
Luke was the President’s son, and there was no denying he was a badass. He was also a bully. An asshole bully, but he didn’t turn that shit on her, and when she caught him, she stepped right up into his face for it.
His technique was flawless. He hit hard and took no punishment.
It was good.
The guy finally went down and waved his hand in defeat.
The Dogs roared with victory.
Luke was embraced with open arms and then Ryan ran onto the pedestal. He was smaller than Luke. Still had plenty of ink, but he was a complete and total dick. There was no getting away with it. He believed his patch was what made him the shit, but it didn’t.
If anything, it made him even more of an asshole. The guys couldn’t stand him.
She certainly couldn’t. It was bad enough having to deal with another MC, seeing as they’d been able to avoid it most of their school lives, but now, it made it even more so. Especially since some people considered The Skulls as sellouts or weak. They weren’t. They had just reached their end of horseshit and wanted a break.
Simple as that.
Ryan held his fisted hands in the air as if he was already going to be victorious.
“Can you believe this guy?” Daisy asked.
“Come on, are you all fucking pussies?” Ryan asked. He pointed out at the crowd. “I dare you. Come and fight me, fuckers!”
No one took to the pedestal.
“Are you all pussies? None of you can take me.”
Tabitha watched as Anthony handed his jacket to Simon and then climbed up onto the pedestal. He wasn’t scheduled to fight but there was no way Ryan could get away with that. Calling on others to fight when there was no real competition.
“Well, well, well, look what I’ve got here with me. None other than a Skull brat. Someone who needs his ass beaten.”
Anthony didn’t even bother removing his shirt or raising his fists. He looked bored.
The bell rang, which meant the fight had been accepted and now it was on.
Ryan raised his fists, and Anthony kept his by his side.
Tabitha tensed as Ryan went to charge him, but he went into the ropes that only just kept him in the ring.
Again, Anthony still hadn’t lifted his hands.
When Ryan came at him a second time, he clocked him around the face, sending Ryan down with a single punch.
There were cheers, but the Dogs, they were pissed. She chanced a look over to see Luke watching her.
Averting her gaze, she saw Ryan get to his feet, shake whatever it was off him, and charge again. This time, Anthony took him. Punch by punch. Ryan got a few in to the stomach, but Anthony blocked most of the face aims.
She winced a few times at the brutality of it but she was long gone past the days of covering her eyes. The shit she’d seen, the stuff she knew, it didn’t make her weak, it made her strong. She was more prepared now than ever before, and she was ready.
Anthony threw the final punch, and this time, Ryan stayed down. Their boy had knocked The Dogs boy clean out.
Miles cheered, whooping in the air. “Suck it, Dogs. That’s how it’s done. That’s our boy.”
Anthony climbed out of the ring, went over to Mitch, grabbed their money, and that was it. They left the Quad. If Ryan hadn’t been knocked out, there would have been a lot more crap to deal with. The Dogs wouldn’t accept this. Ryan would demand a rematch.
“You know you fucked up there,” Daisy said.
Tabitha’s brows rose as Anthony came to a stop.
All of the guys did as Anthony turned to Daisy.
“I did?” he asked.
This was new. Daisy and Anthony were often in each other’s presence but rarely on speaking terms. It wasn’t odd for them. Anthony rarely spoke to anyone.
“Yeah. They’re going to demand a rematch. You’re going to have to go up against Ryan or Luke, or all of them.”
“Oh, come on, our boy will take them all on,” Miles said, clapping his hands in excitement.
“Are you all fucking insane?” Daisy asked. “There’s only so much shit they’re going to take before we have to face the consequences. You were only supposed to watch.”
“We didn’t say that,” Tabitha said. She knew the moment they entered the Quad that the chances of them fighting would be pretty high. It was impossible for them to go somewhere with fighting and avoid it. It was like telling a fucking bee not to suck pollen. That shit wasn’t going to happen.
“Were you worried about me?” Anthony asked.
Daisy stared at him.
Tonight was turning out to be full of surprises. Tabitha wished she could take her phone out to film this precious moment. At the very least, she could send it to Simon. That would give them something to talk about, and it would win her a bet, that said Daisy and Anthony would end up together. Simon didn’t agree with her.
“You could have gotten yourself killed. It’s not funny.” She went to turn her back on him, but Anthony grabbed her arm.
Tabitha waited.
Silence.
Nothing.
Damn, the suspense was killing her.
“You better get home,” Anthony said.
Tabitha kept on watching as Anthony let her go, and she was in shock.
“What the fuck?” she asked, mouthing the words to Anthony, who shrugged and kept on walking with the guys in tow.
She and Daisy headed back to her place. “What the fuck was that?”
“Nothing,” Daisy said.
“Come on, it looked like you guys were eye-fucking each other. That has to mean something.”
“It doesn’t. You need to stop thinking you see stuff that is clearly not there. He could have gotten himself killed. I don’t know about you, but could you imagine Lash over that? Angel would be dead, and Lash, he’d start a war. We all know how this goes. Then all of a sudden, our lives will change forever. I don’t want that to happen.” Daisy shrugged. “Anthony is part of us. We need to look out for each other, which includes him.”
“You’re blind, you know that?”
“Anthony and I are never going to happen.”
“And why not?” Tabitha asked as they got to Daisy’s home.
Daisy opened her mouth and closed it.
“See, you can’t even give me a reason.”
“Stop it, Tabs. You and I both know I’m not his type.”
“You don’t even know what his type is.”
“It’s not me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know enough,” Daisy said. “Come on.”
“Why don’t we walk in the front door? Your dad’s going to know.”
“If he hasn’t time to check, I could get away with it.”
They climbed up the side of the house, going into Daisy’s room. As they came to a stop, Tabitha groaned. Not only was Whizz standing there, arms folded, waiting, so was Tiny, her dad.
Oops.