“Did my mom do it?”

 “I don’t know,” Willa lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. “But I’m sure it was embarrassing for her, anyway.”

 Georgia hadn’t been embarrassed; she had been furious. After school, Georgia had followed her home and had ripped out half of her hair before Drake had pulled her away.

 “That’s not much of a reason,” Sissy scoffed.

 “For Georgia, it was.” Willa had thought about it over the years. “She knew I was afraid of her, and it made her feel powerful. She liked the feeling it gave her. That’s why people bully others.” Willa stared at Sissy.

 The young girl turned red, looking down at the floor.

 “I’m ready for you,” Sex Piston said as the pretty blonde left the shop.

 Once Willa crossed the floor and sat down in the chair, Sissy began sweeping again. Then Willa felt a tug on her hair. Thinking Sex Piston was being unusually rough, she glanced upward, and their eyes met in silence. With the flick of her wrist, Sex Piston flipped her top up, showing a scar on her abdomen. Then she felt Sex Piston’s finger touch the bald spot on her scalp which she always kept hidden.

 Sex Piston was one of the strongest women Willa knew, and she was telling her she had also been a victim of bullying. Ever since the day Georgia had attacked her, she had felt like a scared child who was too afraid to strike back. However, right in that instant, a burgeoning of confidence began to grow inside of her.

 “Damn, bitch, look at that rock on her finger!” Sex Piston grabbed her hand, lifting it so the other women in the shop could see.

 “Lucky and I are engaged.” Willa smiled. She couldn’t contain all the joy she was feeling.

 “I don’t talk to Lily and Beth one day, and I miss all the gossip,” Sex Piston fussed.

 “I asked them not to. I wanted to tell you all today.”

 “Does this mean we get to have another bachelorette party?” Crazy Bitch asked.

 “Fuck no. The last one almost killed me,” Killyama complained.

 “I’m with Killyama; one was more than enough.” Willa still had problems with recalling certain parts of that night.

 “I heard one is never enough for Lucky.” Willa’s smile slipped at Sissy’s snide comment. “For none of The Last Riders, either. I don’t know why anyone would want to pick one when you can have them all. Viper promised, as soon as I turn nineteen, I can join the club. Don’t worry, Willa; I only need six of the eight votes.”

 Willa gasped, not at what Sissy said, but at Killyama’s reaction.

 The woman moved like a pouncing tigress, jerking the broom away from Sissy, and began hitting the girl with it.

 “Shit!” Crazy Bitch ran toward Killyama, but she couldn’t get close because the broom was moving so fast.

 Willa tried to get up to stop the crazed woman, but Sex Piston pushed her back down on the chair.

 “Sit your ass down. Killyama won’t hurt her too bad. It’s a plastic broom.”

 Willa could only sit and gawk as Killyama hit the girl several times across her butt and thighs. Sissy curled into a ball on the floor with her hands over her head.

 “If I see your ass near The Last Riders, I’ll fucking rip those tits of yours off! You want a man, you find him in Texas, because that’s where I’m taking you when I get done. I see you back in Treepoint or Jamestown again, and I’ll make fucking sure the only man who wants to fuck you is a blind one!” Killyama threw the broom down on the floor then reached down and jerked Sissy to her feet by her hair.

 Sissy screamed in pain, tears pouring down her face while Killyama threw her in Willa’s direction at the same time the shop door opened as T.A. came inside.

 “Tell Willa you’re sorry,” Killyama ordered.

 “I’m … I’m sorry.” Sissy was crying so hard she could barely talk.

 “It’s all right—”

 “Shut up,” snarled Killyama. “That bitch should be kissing your ass. Talking about babies’ snotty noses when she’s an ungrateful little snot. Quit crying! I took a worse beating when I was in fifth grade.” Killyama threw one of the shop towels at Sissy. “Get your ass in my car. I’ll be there in a minute.”

 Sissy ran past T.A. and out the door.

 “What did I miss?”

 “Killyama beat the shit out of Sissy,” Crazy Bitch told her, reaching for a cupcake when her client practically ran outside after throwing some cash down on the reception desk.

 “Oh.” T.A. went to the counter, taking a cupcake while Killyama went to the door.

 “Is it just me or is this box—” T.A. began.

 “Make up your fucking mind about what color pink to use,” Killyama said as she shot a glare at Willa.

 Willa opened and closed her mouth. Killyama in a temper was scarier than Georgia ever had been.

 “I guess that one then. Everyone noticed it.”

 “What shade is it?” T.A. asked dubiously.

 “That one is Pink Flamingo.”

 “I’d pick another one,” Sex Piston offered her own business advice. “And she’s not the only one who needs to make up her mind.”

 Killyama threw her friend a glare of rage before going out the door and slamming it shut behind her.

 Willa turned back to face Sex Piston.

 “Don’t worry about Sissy. Killyama’s calmed down. She just has STS.”

 “STS?”

 “Sudden Train Syndrome. She freaks the fuck out when she thinks about Train and a clubhouse of women.”

 “She likes Train?” Willa asked, grateful for the change in topic.

 After all, Lucky had told her he had given up his cut, which Willa took to mean that he was no longer a Last Rider. He had told her all her friends’ husbands remained faithful to their wives, and she was happy for them, but she was much more comfortable with the quiet life she envisioned for herself and Lucky.

 “She hates Train, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting him.”

 Killyama was the complete opposite of herself. She was filled with confidence. The clothes she wore clung to her body yet weren’t as suggestive as her friends. They fit along the lines of her body so that, when she walked, it was like a cat about to spring on you if you made the wrong movement.

 Willa had talked briefly with Train at Winter’s wedding and Lily’s shower. His low voice had sent her scurrying to her friends. He had been polite, but in his dark eyes she had seen swirling emotions.

 “She should go for Rider. He’s much friendlier.”

 “Rider would piss himself. He’s afraid of Killyama.” Crazy Bitch threw herself down in the shop chair next to hers, eating a cupcake.

 Sex Piston began pasting Willa’s hair with the hair color, lifting the sections as she worked.

 “I noticed last time that you don’t have your ears pierced. How come?”

 “I just haven’t ever done it.” Willa brought her hand to her ear, but it was slapped away by Sex Piston.