I nod.
She cleans the wound with gentle efficiency. No one asks how I got it. No one presses. They just take care of me.
Rowan settles onto the couch beside me. "London's a pretty name."
She’s clearly making an effort at friendly conversation, so I try as well.
“Thanks. My mom picked it." My voice sounds rusty. "She said she wanted me to sound sophisticated."
Kayla smiles softly. "It does."
"So…I don't mean to be rude, but is my father here? Can I?—"
"He's not here—" Kayla starts to say, but Rowan interrupts.
"—right now." Rowan's tone is gentle but firm. "He's not here right now."
"But you're welcome to stay until we can sort things out," Sarah adds as she spreads an antiseptic ointment on my face and covers it with a gauze pad.
"Sort things out?" I lean forward. "What do you mean? Do you know when he'll be back?"
Another suspiciously exchanged glance. Sarah opens her mouth, then closes it.
"That's something Zeus needs to talk to you about," Kayla says finally.
"Zeus is the big scary one who let me in, right?”
Rowan grins. "He's the club Road Captain. He's been…not exactly himself lately. But he's good people under the gruff exterior."
"He looks like he wants to kill someone," I mutter.
"He usually does," Kayla agrees, then quickly adds, "But not you. He won't hurt you."
Before I can ask what she means, the door opens and a half-clothed woman slinks in. She’s a platinum blonde, impossibly tan, and wearing a leather bra and a skirt that barely qualifies as fabric. Her eyes sweep over me with obvious disdain.
"Who's the stray?" she asks, addressing the other women but staring at me.
"She's aguest," Sarah says, her voice cooling several degrees.
"Guest." The woman laughs. It's not a nice sound. "That what we're calling them nowadays?”
"Kandi." Rowan's voice sharpens. "Back off."
Kandi shrugs, but her gaze lingers on me—assessing and dismissing, before she turns and walks out, her hips swaying deliberately.
"Ignore her," Kayla says. "She's harmless."
I don't believe that for a second.
"Kandi's what we call a cut slut," Sarah explains, seeing my confusion. "She services the single brothers. It's…" She searches for words. "It's part of the culture here."
My face must show my shock because Rowan jumps in.
"It's consensual. They're not forced. But there's a hierarchy among women here." She gestures to herself, then Sarah and Kayla. "We're ol' ladies."
"Old ladies?" I know my voice must sound incredulous, because none of them can be over twenty-five.
"It doesn't refer to our ages. It's just what we're called. Ol' ladies are claimed."