The Girls Club Read online

“Yeah, I’ll remind you of that when Sarah Steiger’s chewing on my fucking fanny”

  They both laughed. It was easy to laugh when you had no idea what you were headed into but each had agreed that a small rebellion against Sarah Steiger would bring about the same wraith. Might as well make it worthwhile and maybe not end up like Sheila if possible.

  “Here,” Sky handed Heidi her cell, “Text Rochelle back, just say,”

  “The goose flies backwards at night?”

  “You’re a dick” she squeezed her thigh, “Tell her, Don’t worry, the cavalries coming, if anyone’s reading her messages, which they probably are, it’ll put a scare into them”

  “You hope”

  “I know” she scowled, bringing her eyebrows down for dramatic effect.

  “Now who’s the dick?” she set about sending the text.

  “This way, they’ll know its not just Karen they need to be ready for, they won’t know what’s hit ’em”

  “Sky”

  “Yes Heidi love” she placed her hand over Sky’s on her brand new jeans.

  “You’re a bona fide dangerous bitch”

  “From you Heidi, I’ll take that as a compliment”

  Chapter 18

  It had been hell.

  All morning sat with various strange girls. All of them grumpy and out of sorts. All of them regarding her with contempt and disdain. All she’d done was fall in love. Look at this happy horse shit.

  They had let her read and answer her texts as long as they got to read them too. She managed to send two they didn’t know about from the bathroom.

  She felt Karen getting nearer. She felt the promise being broken. She could have just grabbed her passport and left LA. Gone back home. Given time, Rochelle could have joined her.

  Sarah would never have let you go, maybe Karen knows that.

  Sarah Steiger. Older sister. Previous lover.

  She tried often not to think about the times they had lain together. After she had encouraged Sarah to find her family she hoped Sarah would find someone else to be neurotic with. Sarah was sexy, good in bed, obsessive and psychotic. Rochelle held the belief to this day that she took some sick joy in telling Rochelle what she had discovered. That the family tie they had shared had made the sex all that bit more enjoyable in her eyes. She hadn’t been very pleased with Rochelle’s outrage. If Sarah had gotten her way they would have continued to sleep together. Sarah reasoned that it had been fine before they knew, hot even. It had indeed been hot, but Rochelle would no more sleep with her now than her own mother, God rest her soul.

  “Promise you won’t go” Sarah had asked of her.

  Rochelle had promised that they could put it behind them and remain unlinked at the office. There were certainly matters of stature to be considered. Rochelle didn’t give a shit about stature. What she didn’t want was everyone knowing she’d fucked her sister. It was nothing she would ever have done intentionally. A select few knew. They kept it that way.

  There had been looks at times, looks of smouldering passion. Like the forbidden fruit was the best Sarah had ever tasted and she wanted more.

  Rochelle had moved on. Along the Chain she had travelled until she had met Denise. They had hit it off right away. There had been no mistaking the look of animosity in Sarah’s eyes when she came to meet them at the bar.

  If she couldn’t have you, no one could.

  She had asked Rochelle to prove her promise to never leave by asking her to give her her passport for safe keeping. Rochelle had complied, happy with Denise, no thoughts of dirty deeds in her mind. If it meant Sarah chilled out then she was more than happy to hand it over.

  She had been close to Denise, very close. She had talked about many things with her. She knew their link. But that had only served to make her even more angry when Rochelle had been ‘marked’. Hindsight being 20/20 Rochelle thought maybe that was exactly the reaction Sarah had been hoping to get out of Denise. The beginning of the end.

  All these things to think about. All the while all she was really thinking about was Karen. Karen was very head strong. Rochelle knew, instinctively knew that she would be on her way here. She’d mentioned a plan. Rochelle dreaded to think what it was.

  After one of the Chain guardians had left there had been a relatively quiet afternoon spent in front of the TV. There were two of them here. When she’d received Karen’s obvious message about being at the apartment another had left. Rochelle could see how it was shaping up and allowed herself a thin hope that it might just turn out ok.

  Then the shit had hit the fan.

  The Chain guardian left, Casey who was still there, had received a call on the room phone. Someone who knew they were here then. Mere minutes later there had been a surge of people arriving. At last count there were 7 guardians and the word on the street was, Steiger was coming, and boy was she pissed.

  That thin hope was crushed. If Karen came rolling in now she’d get swatted like a fly.

  The guardians were all taking turns twitching the curtains to look out onto the parking lot. Not one of them had taken their jackets off. They were all dressed like funeral attendees, black jeans, black padded jackets, some had white polo neck shirts, some had black polo shirts. All of them had guns.

  Not one of them was in the room with her though. She had demanded that if they had to sit guard, they could do it just as well from outside the room, one sat on a chair at the door break so they could see her at all times.

  The word that Sarah was upright and taking nutrients didn’t fill her with sisterly love. She would have the excuse she needed to kill Karen now, just like she had with Denise. She would never allow Rochelle any happiness if it wasn’t to be with her.

  The worst was not knowing what was happening. She had received messages and answered accordingly. When she got the message which read:

  How many did you say were coming for dinner tonight, I forgot.

  She had ran into the bathroom and bolted the door. Sobbing against her arm she knew her heart wouldn’t be able to take it, not again, she had promised!

  She had messaged her back as quickly as she dared telling her not to come. She’d have no idea that all the clever manoeuvring had been undone, that Sarah Steiger was on her way. That she would kill them both if she had too.

  Thump! Thump! Thump!

  “HEY, COME OUTTA THERE!”

  She deleted her messages and pocketed the phone. Flushing the toilet she opened the door, Casey eyed her up and down.

  “Stay out here, I’m warning you, Sarah’s on her way. Be ready”

  There had been no answer from Karen to say she had got the message. That she had been slightly remit in her previous endeavours but now remembered her promise. To not get herself killed.

  Maybe Sky could head her off.

  She had scooted under the blankets on the bed, tried to make it look like she was watching the television. She had her cell on her chest with the cover making a barricade, she texted Sky. It hadn’t made her feel any better. But it had made her feel she’d tried her best.

  She sat back and prepared herself for whatever Sarah was going to be like when she got here. There had probably been a punishment. Sarah was too high profile to kill, they would have done something nasty to her though. That was the way of the top ten.

  Rochelle jerked awake. She’d actually been falling asleep in this room full of goons. She got the message back form Sky, Don’t worry, the cavalries coming babe, and her heart filled with love for her friends. Sky, who also knew what it was like on the inside to a degree, who had her heart broken by a wandering eye, was coming to her aide.

  Rochelle the unlikely princess. The guardians would have no reason to hurt Sky, at least she thought not. She would perhaps be a decoy.

  “You got another message?” the blonde goon came over and she handed over her cell.

  Beep, beep, beep, “Hmpf, oh yeah, hear this, the fucking cavalries coming!” she called over her shoulder, the girls there all laughed.


  “Get outta the bed sweetness, if the cavalries coming you need to be ready to greet your company” she pulled a plastic tie grip out of her jacket pocket.

  “You are not putting that thing on me”

  “Girls” the guardian called over her shoulder and two of them came through.

  Rochelle was lifted out of the bed and presented to Casey with her arms behind her. The tie grip was attached and tightened.

  “Now we wait” Casey smiled, the girls went back to the other room where the main room TV was playing Oprah.

  Just as she was sitting down in her chair the fire alarm went off. The shrieking bray filled the room and Rochelle knew it was Karen. Just as sure as shit rolls downhill.

  “Whadda we do?” one of the goons asked Casey.

  “We go out, they’ll check all the rooms and this is a bit of a strange arrangement, come on princess, I’ll stand right behind you. We’ll draw less attention if we do like everyone else”

  Rochelle couldn’t see them getting on the defensive. They were treated this as a genuine fire drill.

  She cautioned herself to do the same in case this was just a flight of fancy and some dickhead had managed to set fire to his room by plugging a stove cooker in and falling asleep.

  She allowed herself to be frog marched out of the room onto the forecourt, a respectable crowd was gathering there. Karen spotted the group in black immediately and could just see Rochelle. Not as tall as her captors, I’m coming Rosh.

  There was a meat head right up behind her.

  She shook her arm to wake it up a little and prepared to do the second most stupid thing she had ever done in her entire life. The first being to have arrived here in the first place.

  She pulled her hood up and put her good hand on the butt of the gun. Without rushing she weaved through the milling people, the alarms shrill cry filling the lot and bouncing off the hills beyond to give it a queer doubling quality.

  No fear, no fear, no fear, no fear.

  She gave the group a wide skirt, the woman right behind Rochelle probably had an arm on her. If that was their leader, mores the better in Karen’s book.

  When she was directly behind the Chain guardian she made a beeline right for her, still without rushing she got right up behind her and pulled the gun out, she placed it right in the small of her back.

  “Guess who fuck face?”

  “Wha…” an arm flailed round and Karen used her abused arm to grab the woman’s waistband.

  “This is a real fucking gun stuck in your back and I’ll fucking use it, keep it down”

  Amidst the noise and shuffling people they had remained unobserved by the rest of the troupe who were all forwards of Rochelle’s position.

  Rochelle’s mouth swung open when she saw that behind her hulking captor, Karen was clinging to her back like a limpet with her hood up.

  “Take your hand off her” Karen tiptoed and whispered into the goons ear,

  “Rosh, back up” she mock whispered.

  One of the goons looked round and Casey flung her hands up.

  “She’s got a gun!” half the crowd fell to their knees.

  Stealth is not your thing sweetie. Maybe breathing won’t be for much longer either.

  “You’re a fucking idiot Karen!” Rosh yelled over her shoulder.

  “Undo that thing on her, slowly angel” Karen tickled Casey’s ear with her breath. Casey took a penknife from her front pants pocket and opened the blade. Karen had no idea if anyone was behind her any more, she only hoped it was clear to all these present that they had been holding Rochelle hostage. A ‘have a go hero’ at this point would be a death sentence.

  Casey gently slipped the blade under the plastic bind and cut it.

  “Rosh, run, GO!”

  Rubbing her wrists she turned to face Karen.

  “No”

  “ROCHELLE, NOW!” Karen shouted so hard she felt herself go dizzy, Rochelle came up beside her and took the gun from her hand.

  “I said no, you, get over there” she planted a foot in Casey’s ass and sent her sprawling. Just at that moment, a car, weaving erratically in and out of traffic was hurtling towards the forecourt.

  Karen’s strength was ebbing again now, that shout had been the last of her reserves and she was ready to hit the deck. Rochelle grabbed her arm, it stung like blue blazes but it kept her conscious.

  She pointed to the car that was barrelling towards them, “Sarah!” she wheezed. People were diving left and right, Sarah hadn’t slowed, anyone in the way got knocked up and over the ones behind them.

  Chain guardians were pulling weapons now. Finally their hackles were raised.

  Two Chain guardians bounced off the hood and were then run under the tires, guns flying bonelessly from their hands. Sarah’s face was animated and disjointed. She looked like she had perhaps had a stroke, her anger so resolute she had finally burst a blood vessel.

  Karen weaved on her feet and Rochelle gave her a push. Rochelle was up on the hood then, safety glass between the two sisters, the pistol on the end of one finger. There was no sisterly concern on Sarah’s face for the welfare of her sib.

  Karen felt pretty good on the floor. Like a well earned rest was just what the doctor ordered. Everything had gone quiet in her head. The day itself tranquil, clam. A little sleep was in order.

  Er, scuse me?

  The ground was quite cool. It was soothing against her hot and tired skin.

  Just one sec, please?

  Maybe a little power nap wouldn’t hurt. Her arm however, hurt like a raw and bleeding cut that had been filled with salt. Yeah. Little sleep.

  SARAH’S GONNA KILL ROCHELLE IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR ARSE OFF THE GROUND NOW! WHAT ABOUT THE PROMISE YOU MADE YOURSELF?

  Hell. Rochelle had the gun now. She could just pop a cap in her arse.

  Karen was still having her interior debate when she was hoisted off the ground by two sets of meaty arms. She was forced to stand, she looked up to see Rochelle clinging onto the front of Sarah’s car, one hand on the gun and the other on the top of the hood trying to keep a grip. Karen made a half hearted attempt to break loose of the two women, one of them socked her in the gut for her trouble. Winded she bent over, completely missing the second car that was hurtling down the road towards them, in her mixed up and confused mind she wouldn’t have recognised it anyway.

  People had scattered like quail, the alarm from the fire system still singing its tonal song. The parking lot belonged to the Chain now almost entirely.

  Sarah had bumped the car over the kerb round the edge of the lot trying to shake Rochelle loose, she had every intention of running her under the hood and feeling her bones crush through the shock absorbers. The Chain guardians had picked up their fallen colleagues and taken them to their cars. Out of the three that remained Casey was poised to make sure Sarah Steiger emerged victorious, had the other Chain guardians believed in the cavalry ever arriving they may have waited a moment longer. Casey looked round and saw the second car bounce over the first kerb, barrelling towards Sarah’s car that was circling crazily with the girl still hung on the hood.

  “Hey!” she waved at the girls getting into the cars across the lot, “THERE!” she pointed as the second car, Sky’s car, became airborne and then clumped down to continue its unerring course towards the madly circling car. The two girls who weren’t severely damaged or bleeding internally reached into their jackets and came out with guns. They opened fire on the car, Karen looked at the floor, gunshots sounded to Karen like maybe Rochelle was getting some much needed revenge on her sister. Still oblivious she was dropped as the two that were holding her off the ground, let go.

  There were four of them now with guns drawn. The girls in the car were down below the dashboard and when they hit Sarah’s car broadside each got a good rap to the head. The car took the hit from the smaller car in its stride but it did the one thing Sarah herself hadn’t managed to do, Rochelle was flung off at last, was in fact rolling over and over on the
ground. Seeing her chance, Sarah backed up and gunned her engine, then floored it.

  Rochelle got up on her elbows and fired the gun once, and hit nothing. The car hit her head on, collapsing her arms and smashing her skull. Sarah was reversing when Karen screamed, she had been forgotten down there on the pavement but she had felt it when Rochelle had been struck. She ran at the car and grabbed through the window at Sarah. Sky and Heidi had crawled out of their car, perhaps fearing an explosion, fucking cars always blew up in the movies. Sky went over to Rochelle and shielded her with her body. Heidi found a gun at her feet, it was next a splash of blood.

  “Neato” she picked it up, wobbling a little from the bash she’d taken she checked to see if there was a safety catch on it, she couldn’t see one, she levelled it at Casey.

  “DON’T YOU FUCKING MOVE!”

  Casey looked at her from across the car where Karen was hauling Sarah out through the window and then turned to run, no one told her today she had to eat a bullet.

  A shot pinged the floor at Heidi’s feet and she saw two women behind a car near the reception of the lodge.

  “Fuck this!” she fired one shot back, it took the windscreen of the car out and hurt her arm more than she’d manage to hurt anything else.

  “HEIDI!” Sky screamed.

  Was this day ever going to end? As she got nearer to Sky she found she couldn’t look. The girl in her arms was bloodied and her head had an oddly sunken look.

  “Fuck” grabbing her cell from her pocket she wondered where the fuck the cops and ambulances were, if they hadn’t have wanted company they’d have been up their ass like cheap underwear.

  Sky held Rochelle and sobbed over her. She could feel her breathing but it was shallow, she hadn’t made a sound at all. Karen had Sarah on the floor of the lot now, her shot and wounded arm forgotten, all she could do was make wounded yelping noises. Tears and blood mixed and ran down her neck. This had been more to Sarah’s taste all along it seemed. She let Karen expend her fury with a flurry of punches, feeling them no more than an elephant feels a bird sat on its back. Whatever fury Karen was feeling Sarah was more than prepared to match it.