Bound By Blood & Steel

Chapter Eight

Jasmine

I rolled over and checked the time on the bedside clock. Three a.m. Shit, it was going to be a long night; I'd woken up every hour since I went to bed at midnight. I checked my phone for messages, and Jimmy's name filled my screen.

Jimmy: Fight booked for Saturday, 8pm. Prize money $15000. DON'T BE LATE!!!

Me: Jimmy, I'm never late...See you at 7.

Jimmy: That's my girl.

Great. My night has just gotten even longer. The revelations of the evening had stirred up long suppressed feelings and I couldn't stop the memories. I reached for my smokes and lit one, taking a long, hard drag on it. I closed my eyes as it filled my lungs and the smell of it assaulted my nostrils. Smoking was a habit I was trying to break, but in times of stress it calmed my nerves. I took another drag, trying desperately to block out the images of Kelly suffering at the hands of Blake.

Kelly was my best friend growing up. Her father was also a member of the club and we'd been inseparable. She was a few years older than me and had always looked out for me. She was the one person who taught me how to put make up on and beat the boys at there own game. Even after Kelly had fallen pregnant early with Bailey we were inseparable, I helped her look after him, then later, Shelly. We'd swore nothing would come between us, but then on that fateful day that changed my life, something had come between us and there was no coming back from it. Kelly cut me out of her life and I'd had to learn how to live life without the unwavering support of a best friend. Even after Blake had fucked me up, she didn't check in on me; she hated me that much. But I had never stopped loving her and my broken heart cracked even more at the realisation that I would never see her again.

Kelly's hatred stemmed from the fact she'd been dating Rob at the time he attacked me. They'd been together for a couple of years, and although he'd often flirted with me, I naively thought he was harmless. Turned out he was far from harmless. After Christian killed him, and he and Sam buried the body, Kelly had been heartbroken at his disappearance. She wasn't stupid though, and suspected the club had something to do with it because Rob and the club had always had problems. Threats had been made against him constantly, so she assumed that the club had finally made good on them. Then when rob failed to show up after a few months, and I hadn't helped her find him, she turned against me. I can see why she would though, her best friend wouldn't help her look for the love of her life, of course she was going to be pissed at me. If only she knew the truth. But I couldn't tell her the truth because it implicated Christian.