Hope Survives Even After Maps Are Burned by Niro Mason 3

Chapter 3 

-Hailey- 

The door slammed behind Logan, and the building vibrated with the roar of engines. I sat frozen in the chair he’d left me in, with my heart slamming against my ribs. 

He was gone. Just like that. 

And yet, somehow, I didn’t feel abandoned. I felt… claimed. 

“Well don’t just sit there lookin‘ lost,” a voice drawled. I looked up to see a dark–eyed girl with glossy black hair and a cigarette balanced between her fingers. Smoke curled lazily around her head, and she smirked at me like she knew all my secrets. “Name’s Ruby. Come on, girl… Tell us your story.” 

Another girl–round face, soft smile, a streak of silver in her hair though she couldn’t have been older than thirty–five- reached out and dragged my chair closer to her. “I’m Kayla.” 

The other two ladies at the table were older, maybe in their fifties. One had long gray hair and kind eyes. The other one with fiery red hair smiled at me, her expression warm. “I’m Trina. This is Becky. What’s your name, honey?” 

“Uh, Hailey,” I replied quietly, glancing around the table. 

“She’s soft,” Ruby chimed in. 

Trina smacked her on the arm. “Don’t mind her, Hailey. She likes to scare the new girls.” 

I glanced up at Ruby, my lips quirking despite everything. “Careful… I bite,” I said softly. 

Ruby barked a laugh. “Oh, I like her already.” 

I stared at my hands, still shaky from the ride. And from… everything else. Music thumped from the jukebox in the corner, men laughed too loud, glasses clinked. The air was heavy with cigarette smoke and testosterone. 

The girl Logan had spoken to first wandered over to the table. She looked me over from head to toe, assessing. I admired her dark curls, her deep blue eyes. I wondered if Logan had ever slept with her. And then I wondered why I’d even wonder. 

“I’m Scarlett,” she said slowly, tilting her head. “So. Logan brought you here. That’s… new.” 

I rested my elbows on the table, tugging my hair forward to hide the bruise around my throat. Heat crept into my cheeks, and I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut. 

Ruby’s gaze sharpened, following the motion, and her smirk vanished. “Men like that don’t change,” she said flatly, flicking ash into the tray, “Good thing you caught Logan’s attention before your jackass killed you.” 

Her bluntness hit me like a punch. “Does he… do this often? Bring women here?” 

“Literally never,” Ruby said. “Don’t get it twisted, though… he gets around. Everywhere but here.” 

I swallowed hard, staring down at the tabletop. 

Scarlett arched a brow, sipping her drink. “Relax,” she said. “Logan… doesn’t bring girls here. So if you’re sitting at this table, it means something. Question is, are you strong enough to handle it?” 

The way she said it made my pulse spike. “Handle what?” 

“The life,” Ruby said simply. Her tone wasn’t mean, just factual. “Being with a Warrior means loyalty. Standing tall when shit hits the fan. Knowing the club comes first, no matter how much it might hurt sometimes.” 

13:00 Mon, Dec 22 

Chapter 3 

My throat felt tight. “I’m not-” I hesitated. “I don’t even know what I am right now.” 

5 vouchers 

Scarlett’s expression softened for the first time. “Well you should figure it out fast. Because once you’re in, you’re in.” 

The table went silent. I tugged at the sleeves of my shirt, sort of wishing I could disappear. The bruise on my throat throbbed under their stares, like it had its own heartbeat. 

Ruby finally crushed her cigarette out and leaned back. “You don’t have to decide tonight. For now, you’re safe. That’s more than you had an hour ago.” 

Safe. The word felt foreign. 

“I’ll get us another round,” Trina said, pushing out from the table. “What’s your poison, Hailey?” 

“Uh, whiskey,” I said. “Maybe just bring the bottle. Thanks.” 

Trina raised a brow, a smirk crossing her face as she turned toward the bar. 

“So, Hailey,” Kayla said as Trina returned with a fresh round of drinks. “You from around here?” 

I took the glass of whiskey Trina handed me. “I’m… not,” I admitted. “I grew up a few hours from here. Moved here last year with “I stopped myself, swallowing hard. “With him.” 

Ruby’s eyes went sharp. “The one Logan’s beating the piss out of right now.” 

I nodded, my fingers tightening around the glass. “Yeah… Matt. We were supposed to get married next month.” My laugh was bitter and hollow. “Guess that’s not happening now.” 

Trina reached across the table, her hand warm on mine. “Better to find out now than after the vows,” she said softly. “I’ve seen too many women waste years on men who don’t deserve them.” 

I stared at her hand. “I just… I don’t know how I got here,” I murmured. “I thought he loved me. I thought I loved him.” 

Kayla leaned back in her chair. “Love’s complicated,” she muttered. “Especially when it’s mixed with fear. You think you can’t live without ‘em, until you realize you can’t live *with* them.” 

“Sounds like a shitty country song,” I said. A few of them laughed. 

But her words burrowed into me, and I felt tears at the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away, refusing to cry in front of these women I barely knew. “I just… I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted. “We were high school sweethearts. I don’t even know who I am without him.” 

Ruby smirked, lighting another cigarette. “Stick with us, babe. Breathe. Take it one day at time. You’ll figure it out.” 

I nodded, taking a deep breath. The weight in my chest felt a little lighter. “So, what about you?” I took a sip of my whiskey, letting the heat curl through me. “What brought you all here?” 

“I’m with Link,” Ruby said, tapping ash into the tray. “Been with him for eight years. Almost as long as he’s been with the club.” 

“I’m Mason’s old lady,” Kayla said. “It was kinda the same as your situation. Abusive ex–boyfriend. Mase is so good to me, though.” 

Becky spoke for the first time, leaning back in her chair. “I’m with Dex… Been with him for twenty–nine years… married for thirteen. He’s a royal pain in my ass.” 

Trina laughed, shaking her head. “I’m Jake’s old lady. He’s club president. I’ll introduce you when they get back, if you want… And I’m Logan’s aunt. River’s mama.” 

13:00 Mon, Dec 22 M. 

Chapter 3 

Oh, so Logan and River were cousins… 

B5 vouchers 

“I’m Maverick’s old lady. Everyone calls him Monty. And I’m Logan’s big sister,” Scarlett said with a playful smirk. “AKA the Golden Child. Our dad is club VP… He and mom are out of town right now.” 

And she was his sister? Yeah, I could definitely see the resemblance… For some reason, I felt better knowing that. 

A mix of exhaustion and clarity settled over me as the whiskey burned its way down my throat. These women were a strange kind of comfort. They didn’t sugarcoat anything, didn’t tiptoe around the truth like everyone else I’d ever known. It was refreshing, even if it was a little terrifying. 

Scarlett tilted her head, studying me. “So, what’s your plan, Hailey? You gonna stick around? Or you just passing through?” 

I stalled under the weight of her question. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t even know where I’d go if I left. Over the years, Matt kind of… cut me off from my friends and family.” 

Trina leaned in, her smile warm. “Well, whatever you decide, you’re welcome here. We look out for our own.” 

Our own. The words echoed in my head. I wasn’t sure if I belonged here… wasn’t sure if I ever could. But for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel completely alone. 

But even as I started to relax, I couldn’t shake the image of Matt’s face when Logan twisted his arm behind his back. The fury in his eyes, the way he that word 

spat 

– like I was property he owned. 

– 

fiancée 

— 

What was happening to him right now? What were they doing to him? 

Then Logan crept into my head. Crouching in front of me, those green eyes burning into mine. 

Ruby leaned forward, her cigarette dangling from her fingers. “You’re thinkin‘ about him, aren’t you?” 

I blinked, caught off guard. “What? No, I-” 

“It’s okay,” she smirked, cutting me off. “I’ve seen that look a thousand times. You’re wonderin‘ what he’s doing, if he’s okay…. If he’s coming back.” 

I felt my cheeks flush and looked down at my whiskey. “It’s not like that. I don’t even know him… I was just picturing him naked.” 

Everyone laughed. 

“First of all,” Scarlett said, “Gross. Second, I can tell he’s already under your skin. Logan’s good at that. Hell, he has all the single girls in this place drooling over him constantly. Thank god he doesn’t shit where he eats…” 

Kayla reached over and squeezed my hand, laughing. “Logan will be fine, girly. But your fiancé, on the other hand…” 

I didn’t get the chance to dwell on it. 

The rumble of bikes rolled in like thunder. My stomach dropped as every head in the clubhouse turned toward the door. Boots scuffed against the floor, people standing, voices going quiet. 

They were back. 

And 

my stomach twisted while I waited to see how much blood was on their hands. 

MON 

22 

22 

OGR 

O 

Mon, 

Chapter 4