Grasping For Freedom Read Free Page B

Graham muttered. "Sorry, honey. I didn't know you were working for Rain."
    Uh. Well. Wow. She pulled her gaze from Torque and glanced at Graham. "It's okay."
    She turned to tell Torque thank you, but one look from him and she knew it would be better to walk away. She ducked her chin and turned around. Hiding out in the kitchen wasn't her plan, but that's what she did. She took the time to make small talk with the cook, help hand out ketchup bottles to Taylor, and finally joined Bruce behind the bar when her heartbeat settled into a familiar pattern.
    The counter provided a shield between her and Torque, and meant she could relax. She poured a few mugs of beer and chatted with a couple named Pauline—who ran Pitnam's newspaper and was the old lady to Orca—who was huge. Before she knew it, Bruce announced last call. She glanced at the clock behind the bar. Ten more minutes and the bar closed.
    "Are they really going to have time to squeeze in another drink?" She studied the crowd.
    Bruce laughed. "You must not spend a lot of time around bikers."
    "No, not really," she said.
    At least ten guys lined the bar. Each one grabbed a mug and without stopping, downed the whole drink. She almost laughed at the hooting and hollering that went up from each one after they finished. Fascinated, she watched each one of the men throw their arm over the closest woman and head for the door.
    She whistled softly and grinned at Bruce. "That puts a whole new meaning to hooking up at the bar, huh?"
    "You'll see a lot of that here, but only when Tori's not around. She doesn't put up with the girls hanging around the bar anymore." Bruce slid his fingers through the handles of the mugs and deposited them in the plastic bin behind the counter. "Most of those women are bitches, and—"
    "Excuse me?" She raised her brows. "Not very professional of you to call them a derogatory name. They're customers."
    Bruce grinned. "Nah, they're bitches. A few of them live in the biggest cabin in the back...three doors down from the cabin you claimed. They're here for the Bantorus men. We've got old ladies who keep them minding their manners inside the bar—he pointed at Pauline. Then there's Kristen, though she was born into Bantorus MC, she's now my old lady. Slade's wife Taylor and Raul's old lady Crystal all keep the peace around here. But the single women who only want to be hangers and sleep with the men are bitches. They're not the kind you want to trust in a relationship. The girls know their role while they're on Bantorus land, and mostly follow the rules. Not one of them would go up against an old lady or you, so you won't have any problem with them."
    She couldn't help searching for Torque to see if he left with one of the single women. She found him putting the chairs on the tables. "So, that biker earlier who called me a bitch thought I was available?"
    "Yeah. His mistake. He won't do that again. I'll have Rain take the subject of you working here to the table when he gets back." Bruce picked up the loaded bin. "Word will get around. Everyone will protect you, and that includes Torque—he stepped out of line tonight, and it won't happen again."
    Warmth flooded her neck and she nodded. Her behavior was inexcusable; even more so than Torque's reckless kiss because she was working.
    "They also protect the bitches, but there's a fine line that can't be crossed around those in Bantorus MC, and that includes you as Bantorus property seeing as how you're working for Rain. It's called respect." Bruce patted her shoulder as he walked behind her.
    Alone behind the bar, she understood what Bruce told her about the way Rain ran the bar. The anarchy wasn't much different than with Los Li. Except here, she wasn't a bitch. Not that she'd chosen to sleep around with any of the members of Los Li, but that's because she could work for them here instead. She picked up the rag on the bar and tossed it in the other bin for dirty laundry. At least within Bantorus MC, the