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ChapterOne
Hollis
I don’t think my parents are happy. They’re still married, have been for twenty-seven years. But I never see them hug or kiss anymore. In fact, the last time I can remember either of them showing any affection to the other was at my baby sister’s high school graduation. That was four years ago. I don’t think they even sleep in the same room. I have an older brother, Simon, who’s an accountant. He hasn’t spoken to me since the day I became a patched member of the Cimaruta Motorcycle Club. That was five years ago. He says that he won’t associate with criminals and I don’t have the energy to explain to him how our MC works, so fuck him. He’s always acted like he was better than me anyway because he got better grades in school and went to college, which I did not.
My baby sister, Aurora, is the only one who will talk to me. We make time to talk once a week and text as much as we can. She’s an international model, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
I found my real family with the Cimaruta MC. I was seventeen when I met twin brothers, Celestino and Francesco Bastianini. I was a senior and they were juniors. Their dad is the president of the Chicago chapter of the Cimaruta MC, which is also the mother chapter. I had only known them for a few months when they invited me to one of their club barbecues. It was then that I decided I wanted to prospect for the club, if they’d let me. It took about a year, but when I was nineteen, I became a fully patched member. It’s been the best six years of my life.
For the last few years, we’ve been changing the way we do business. We’ve never dealt in trafficking, but guns and drugs…well, let’s just say we needed to make money somehow. But again, we’ve been changing the way our club operates and trying to stay on the right side of the law. The club owns real businesses now, and we even pay taxes. We own the Hawk’s Nest, which is a bar. We also co-own Luminescence, a male strip club, with the Mancini family.
We even have women on our council. Caitríona ‘Forte’ Bastianini is our historian and the wife of our president, Giacomo ‘Forza’ Bastianini. After Celestino and Francesco finished prospecting, they were given their road names, ‘Giustizia’ and ‘Bestia’. They’re now on the council along with their twin sisters, Isabella ‘Dolce’ and Luciana ‘Fuoco’. Our chapter clubs are in the process of changing their business habits to match ours. Some chapters are resisting more than others, but if they don’t change their ways, they'll no longer be a part of the family. When it comes to having women on their councils, some are reluctant to follow our example, and that’s okay—as long as they respect the chapters that want to change.
One by one, the Cimaruta MC council members are finding their forevers. First it was Luciana, our treasurer. Rónán is currently one of our prospects, and they got married a month ago. Next to find their forever was one of our enforcers, Liam ‘Amante’ Murphy. He met Charmaine the same night I met Lila Slater. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more gorgeous woman, and her sense of humor matches mine perfectly. She came home with me that night and we even spent the next day together. When I took her home, she said she’d call me. But she’s been avoiding me ever since. She’s the first woman I’ve wanted to see more of, and it’s driving me fucking crazy.
The other day, one of the club bunnies I used to spend time with commented that she missed me. I didn’t even realize I hadn’t been with her for a while. In fact, I haven’t been with anyone since Lila.
I used to think that I didn’t want to spend my life with just one person. Watching my parents become who they are now, why even try? I’m fairly certain they were in love at some point. I mean, they had us, and I’d like to think we came from love. But maybe not.
Lila
Growing up, my older brother, Carter, always watched out for my sister, Diana, and me. When we were little, our parents were around to take care of us. Then one day, they were gone. Carter was sixteen, Diana was fourteen, and I was thirteen. We didn’t tell anyone that they left. My dad was on disability and the checks kept coming, so we paid the bills and lived like they were still with us. Carter worked and went to school. Then when Di and I were old enough, we got jobs too. Somehow we made it work, even when I got pregnant at seventeen.
I have a daughter, Madeleine. She’s five years old and the love of my life. I had her about a month after I graduated from high school. Her dad, Travis, was my world and we got married a few months after Maddie was born. He moved in with all of us because it was easier that way. We met in elementary school and were just friends for a long time. Then, when we were fourteen, things changed. We were at the lake just hanging out, and he kissed me. I'd had a crush on him for so long, and when he finally took that step, I was in heaven. From that moment on? Every minute we could spend together, we did. We pushed each other to do well in school. Even after I got pregnant, Travis said we needed to finish so that we could provide our baby with the best life possible. So that’s what we did. We got married, then Travis went to college to become a certified mechanic. He did everything he could to support the three of us because he didn’t want our baby to go to day care unless it was absolutely necessary.
We had a great life right up until he left us. I still don’t know what happened—I never saw it coming. The only thing I do know is that there was another woman. That was three years ago, and it was the worst day of my life. I felt like I didn’t even know how to breathe after he left. But I knew I had to keep going for my daughter. I was lucky, my brother and sister stepped up and both help me as much as they can.
I have two jobs—one I love, and one I keep because I need the money. The job I love is being a server at the Mancini Grill, which is located inside the Legacy hotel. I started working there about six months before Travis left, and I’ve been waiting for a bartending position to open up. When it does become available, management has promised me it’s mine. Two months ago I started working at Club Curve—I’m a bartender there. The real money is in stripping, but I just can’t get myself to do it. My coworkers are nice, but the clientele can be iffy sometimes. I’ve seen dancers have problems with some of the guys that come in. They hit on the bartenders too, of course. These guys think we owe them something because they tip us for drinks. It’s funny because some are pretty shitty tippers. I'm not going home with anyone, especially not when they tip me like two dollars on a fifty dollar tab. Also, leaving me a phone number doesn’t pay my bills.
When I was in school I never had any close friends. I basically only had my brother, my sister and Travis. I met my current besties when I started working at the Mancini Grill. They’re part of my family now. There are five of us: Chloe, Faith, Charmaine, and Charmaine’s sister, Violet. They’ve really helped me through the last three years. I've always had a hard time asking anyone for anything, but they’ve taught me that it’s okay to need help. I still struggle, but my girls and my siblings make it a little easier.
ChapterTwo
Hollis
I’m not sure why Lila ghosted me. Okay, she hasn’t really ghosted me, I see her when she comes to the clubhouse with Charmaine, but she doesn’t come over and talk to me. As much as I want to chase her, I don’t know if that’s what she wants. Now, I’m not the kind of guy that falls at women's feet. But there’s something about Lila that makes me want her in my life, even if we’re just friends. Nah, fuck that. I want her with me. And not as a friend.
The night we met, we had such a good time. I was surprised when she agreed to go home with me. But I’m so damn glad she did, because being with her was better than it was with anyone I’ve been with before. Then we spent the morning together, and texted throughout the day. But the next day? Crickets.
I could probably get Amante to ask Charmaine. Or hell, I can just ask Charmaine myself. But that’ll make me look like a pussy. Besides, we’re not in high school, I can work without a net. It’s driving me fucking crazy because I can’t stop thinking about her.
It’s Friday night and my club brothers and I are sitting around at the clubhouse. We had church earlier, and after that we usually go to the Hawk’s Nest.
“We need to get out. Any ideas?” Mitchell ‘Granchio’ Harris, one of our enforcers, asks.
“Why not just go to the Hawk’s Nest?” Romano ‘Fantasma’ Vietti laughs.
“I was just thinking maybe we could try somewhere new.” Granchio sighs.
“What about Club Curve? I’ve driven by it before, we all have. But I never thought to go in. If you want something new, let’s try there,” our road captain, Connor ‘Azrael’ Byrne responds.
“Dance club? Or strip club?” Fantasma asks.
Azrael shrugs his shoulders and chuckles. “Does it matter? Worth going in to find out.”
Everyone agrees, so we all get on our bikes and head to Club Curve.
Lila
