Why would I ever think this was something I could handle? Cal was one of them. But at least I’m escaping. It may be breaking my heart, and it may be taking every part of me to take another step, but I’m escaping this before I get too far in.
My car is still parked outside the home. No bullet holes, thank goodness. But as I sit in the driver’s side, my hand begins to shake. I can’t seem to put the key in the ignition and drive off, even though my head is screaming at me to run.
A hand reaches in and takes the keys from me. The smell of his breath, the tattoo on his arm keeps me in place as I listen to Cal softly speak. “Don’t go, Michelle.” He pauses, turning the words over in his mind before settling on, “It’s not safe, and you know that.”
“Where am I supposed to go? Am I supposed to live there in that house with you? Am I supposed to come this motorcycle bitch who gets passed around like a doll?” My worst fears come flooding back to me as I glance back at the house in my rearview mirrors. The farther away from here I am, the safer I am. At least, I hope it works that way.
“You can go home. We’ll protect you. I’ll send a couple guys out to your place till we get the all clear. They’ll watch the school, too. They already have a protection out for Maddie, but I’ll increase it for you. But you can’t go it alone.”
I nod my head that I understand. It’s actually a pretty generous offer considering I know he would rather me just stay put. Life would be easier that way with me as his little sex fantasy.
I finally get the key into the ignition and start the car. As I’m about to put it into drive, he adds quickly, “But I need you to come back here on Friday. Maddie needs you.”
“Maddie needs me?” I repeat his words back, remembering that this all started because a little girl needed someone to guide her. Was I turning my back on her because of her father? What good would that do?
“Yeah, she needs you. And I understand that this thing is heavy. It’s real heavy. And it’s unfair that you're now in danger. But I need you to just see this thing through. She needs someone like you to watch out for her. Can you do it? Maybe come tutor her Friday nights in return for us protecting you?”
It’s a fair offer, but I’m not big on having to come back here for any reason. This place is death. He is death. And sticking around is just putting me on the line for more of this.
But as I put the car in drive, I think of that little girl lying in bed with me. I think of her mother gone too early and because of men like the one standing before me. I think of Cal and the way he kisses me like there is no guarantee for tomorrow, or even the next second. And I suddenly have my decision.
I’ll be back.
Chapter 14: Friday Nights
CAL
The engine roars underneath me, and my body lurches forward with a force that feels like it’s going to tear the skin from my skull. I hear the rest of my crew start their machines up as the noise blazes into the orange and pink night. The leader from the front of the pack looks past his shoulder towards me as I touch my hand to my head, signaling it’s time to ride.
Our black motorcycles spread over two lanes of traffic as we drift past sitting cars heading home from their workweeks. I’m in my position in the back as the tail gunner, so it’s my job to make sure everyone is staying in line and manning the right position. Even during the daylight hours and in front of all these civilian nobodies, our club is at risk from attack from the Coyotes.
Since that night when the Coyotes attacked, everyone’s been on high alert. We’re riding tighter than ever before, traveling in packs of five or six and wearing our colors as proudly as ever. Normally, I do this Friday run myself, maybe bringing along one or two of the young guns and a couple of potential pledges to show them the ropes. But Jager doesn’t want me out there by myself. I’m too much of a precious commodity.
That, or they don’t trust me anymore. It’s hard to tell. Though the Coyotes managed to only murder one of our own and maim one of our bitches in the house attack, they have infiltrated us by dividing up the group. In one corner are the old guys like me who are loyal to Jager and his more laid back reign over our territory. Then, there were the younger ones, the ones itching for an all-out war between us and the Coyotes.
Being on the wrong side could be deadly in a shit ton of ways. It could mean getting my sweet position taken away or, worse, being taken down by some snot-nosed little shithead with a chip on his shoulder -- one of who is riding right beside me as I scan the highway. Ryan is eying me with more disdain than the night of the Coyote attack where he caught me finishing off on Michelle.