by Mallory Funk
His eyes are cold. I can only hope that these women know what they are doing.
I know firsthand that his patience is not to be tested.
These girls seem to have such great faith in their club and, from what they say, I can tell that they are with good men. If only I had met a great man and not the asshole who put me in this position.
I move closer to the wall and try not to wince at the bruising on my stomach.
One of Charles’ men burst through the door.
“Boss, we have company!” he yells frantically.
The man curses. “Who is here? I’ll deal with them later. I’m talking to my trophies,” he says dismissively.
The guy shakes his head rapidly.
“No, boss, you are going to want to see this. This isn’t a friend.”
The boss looks at him with hard cold eyes. “Well, who the fuck would come onto my land?”
Whoever is here, I can feel this is about to get ugly.
I glance at the women and notice that they are all wearing smug expressions.
The look on their faces is the only thing that gives me hope that it’s one of their clubs coming to save them.
If this backfires on them, I hate to think of what will happen.
There is a lot of shouting, tension, and rage in the air.
I flick my eyes around the room the best I can, but every movement hurts. They have been hurting me extra hard since the trophies came in.
I look at the men in front. They all seem to be angry and around the same age as Reaper.
“We had the same enemies!” Charles screams at the men.
I finally look at Charles who is holding a gun to one of the men.
I look in this man’s eyes and see something that I haven’t seen in months.
The protectiveness my father holds in his eyes, like he would do anything for his daughter.
The second I register that Charles is going to shoot, I don’t hesitate.
I lunge at him.
I move in front of the gun so quickly. When it goes off, I feel a blinding pain.
Charles looks at me in shock while I manage a tiny smirk.
He can’t break me.
My fight never left.
When he’s tackled to the ground, I fall over and everything goes black.
I can’t help but feel terror when I think of Charles’ eyes.
He may not have broken me, but he’s in my head.
I’m afraid that I won’t be able to get him out. I know that they don’t plan on keeping him alive; if he is even still alive.
I try to not let myself think of it. I can’t help the thoughts and memories as they creep in. How do you move on from something so horrific?
The Vicious Snakes tell me that I’m safe and that no one will harm me again. They tell me not to worry and that Charles is being dealt with.
The question is how do I trust something like that?
Sure, the Vicious Snakes saved me from the life of hell I was living where I was just waiting for the day that I would either die from the torture, or be killed by Reaper or Charles when they had finally had enough of me. Those were horrible, yet surprisingly freeing thoughts that crossed my mind daily.
They were bikers and, with the things that I have seen and that have been done to me, I know the biker gang that I was a prisoner to were horrible people. From what I can see, the Vicious Snakes are nothing like that.
Can I trust them that they won’t hurt me, or are they hiding a dark part of themselves from me, giving me a false sense of security?
Trusting anyone is going to be hard. I wish that I could be with my brother Xavier right now, but I know that I can’t. I’m not safe and I sure don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way. It is better that Brent thinks that I didn’t make it when I took the bullet.
One thing that I know for sure is that they are still looking for Brent because he wasn’t there that night. He didn’t spend much time there after leaving me in my hell. He would come and go, and I mostly saw him when they dropped off another woman.
There’s a knock at the door and I’m thankful because of the way that my thoughts are straying.
“Come in,” I call out softly.
Derek appears with a friendly smile.
“Hey there, darling. Do you have everything you need? You know, you aren’t stuck in here; you are free to walk around the club house. I just don’t want you leaving the property,” he says softly.
I nod my head. “I know. I’m fine, but I’m just not ready to be in front of so many people that I don’t know yet,” I tell him honestly.
I don’t think that I could lie to this man. He has been nothing but sweet to me since I saved his life, and I can tell that he is truly thankful. When I first woke up and saw him, he told me that he was forever in my debt and, if I needed anything at all, I could ask him.
I never had someone say that to me. He seems like he would try and do just about anything to take care of me.
“Okay, just let me know if you need anything, or any other brother. We have your back, Camilla,” he says as he leaves the room.
There are so many emotions going through me right now.
I let the tears fall for the second time that day.
I can’t seem to stop them from falling.
I don’t know how much time passes, but Krista comes into the room with takeout containers.
“Hey sweetie. I thought you might want to have some supper together,” she says holding up the bag.
“Sure, that sounds great.”
She sits beside me on the bed not saying a word and hands me my food. I reach over to grab some sodas from the mini fridge sitting beside the bed where a nightstand would be.
Derek put this in so that if I didn’t want to wander out of this room, I wouldn’t have to. I’m very grateful for that because it is just so overwhelming to be in front of people you don’t know when you are going through this kind of a recovery.
Krista holds out a couple pills in her hand. “Here are your pain killers and antibiotics. Doc said that you should only need them for a few more days.”
I nod my head gratefully at her. “Thank you. I hate taking medication, but I’m in so much pain right now that I’m not going to argue.”
She smiles slightly at me. “I know. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. I’m a nurse, you know? I used to work with Olivia when she first moved here.”
I look at her shocked and shake my head. “No, I didn’t know that. I haven’t spent much time getting to know anyone.”
She shrugs her shoulders like it’s no big deal.
“It’s okay, you’ve only just got here. You spent most of the time in the hospital. No one is going to quiz you.”
“I guess so,” I say with a sigh. “I just used to be very talkative and loved making new friends. Then…” I trail off as a tear slips out.
I feel Krista’s arm around me. “It’s okay. It’s going to take time. If you ever need to talk to someone, that’s okay too. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it. Right now, I’m just trying to convince myself that this isn’t all just some dream and that I could wake up any moment and be back in that room.” More tears come, but I don’t bother to wipe them away.
“This isn’t a dream, sweetie. You aren’t ever going back there,” she says with such finality that I have no choice but to believe her.
Torch “Tyson”
I wake up how I usually do nowadays; hungover as fuck.
The only time that I’ve been sober is when we were looking for Krista and Ella, or for those few days in the hospital.
Normally, I’m in some shitty motel room because I’ve been on the road for a few months, but this time I wake up on the couch, staring right at that fucking box.
I don’t know what the fuck is in it. It was a gift from Stacey. She put it there the day she, along with a brother was taken from me. Only he made it out of the fir
e, and she didn’t.
I haven’t gotten the courage to open it. It’s the last fucking thing that she gave me and I have this feeling in my gut that whatever it is, it’s going to break my already shattered heart.
I let out a groan and wipe a hand over my face.
“Nice to see you awake, son.” My dad’s voice scares the shit out of me. I jump up and see him sitting in the recliner, coffee in hand.
“When did you get in?” I ask.
“About an hour ago. You sure as shit didn’t hear me. You are lucky that Damien put a prospect on watch with the active threats right now, or you would have been gutted like a pig before you could open your eyes,” he says, and I wince at the visual.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I just needed a night to myself, after everything,” I say as I hang my head in guilt.
“I know, son. That’s why you are going to clean yourself up. You’re on watch for the rest of the day. You know better than to ignore orders in a lockdown,” he says angrily.
“Fuck, where do you want me?” I ask. There’s no point in arguing. I knew that he was pissed. Putting me on watch while hung over will be brutal as fuck, especially since it’s going to be a hot day today.
I know better than to question him. He may be my father, but he’s also the president of the Vicious Snakes MC. There are times that the club has seen him get emotional; like when Ella showed up after he searched for my long lost sister for years, and when she had a baby. He also got emotional when Stacey was killed. She was my old lady and like a second daughter to him.
There were so many days that he would come over for supper and ask her when she was going to give him grandbabies. She just wasn’t ready and he knew that but, being my father, he still had to ask.
No one would mistake those times he cried for weakness. He would probably kill anyone who would call him weak.
Something he always told us at Church was that showing your brothers that you care and love your women, men, and children doesn’t make you weak. It takes a strong person to have anyone see that side of him. If you lost your mother, father, wife, sister, brother or kid today, then anyone would be an idiot if they thought you were weak. We are a family. We do not hide.
My dad is the man that I have always looked up to. Yeah, I’m drowning in grief, but I know that I can’t show him disrespect. Ignoring the lockdown was stupid and selfish.
“Let’s go. Before Sophie gives away all the muffins,” he says rushing me.
I head into the shower knowing that he means business.
I make sure that I have what I need even though I keep lots of extras at the club. You never know when you’re going to need them.
Once I’m outside, I feel better. My dad had a cup of coffee ready for me so that I can get ready. By the time I’m ready and feeling human enough to ride, we head out.
I glance at the box before shutting and locking my door.
I blow out a big breath.
One minute at a time.
Camilla
Hours pass by until I hear voices coming closer to my door.
“She’s still in there?” I hear, and I know automatically that it’s Torch.
I know his voice anywhere. It’s a deep growl that’s filled with pain. I find myself wanting to find out what’s hurting him, and make him smile.
These thoughts are ridiculous. I need to concentrate on making myself better instead of thinking about Torch.
The kindness that he showed me by staying in the hospital so that I wouldn’t have nightmares makes me feel like there’s a hidden gentleness that hasn’t been brought out in a long time.
He stayed with me. Even when the doctors examined me, I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t feel safe without him there.
He has seen some the injuries I have and the deep scars that were inflicted on parts of my body, but he would turn away when I had to lift my hospital gown. I felt his anger radiate around the room each time he saw another mark on me revealing what had been done.
The door to my room opens and Torch walks in. “You need to get out. You can’t stay in here all day.”
I shrug and don’t look at him.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“I’m just not ready,” I say quietly.
He lets out a sigh. “I know that you have been through a lot, but the women were going to head to Ella’s room for a girls’ night. Might be good for you.”
I don’t say anything but, when Lily and Sasha come in behind him, they are both looking quite determined.
“Just the girls, enough junk food that we will all be regretting tomorrow, and some booze. All of you girls need this. They really want you to be there,” Lily says looking at me with a hopeful expression.
“Look, there’s going to be no men and, if you want to hear some hilarious stories only the Old Ladies know about these bikers; now’s your chance. They may look tough and scary, but wait until you hear some of the ways they got their biker names. You would think that they are named from something tough that they did, but usually they are named on behalf of stupid things that they have done,” Sasha says with an excited expression.
I think about it, and there’s something in their gaze telling me that they won’t try to make me talk about anything that I don’t want to.
“Okay I’ll go. Just let me shower,” I say, wincing as I get up.
Lily comes into the room more, “Let me help you, dear. You can’t be too long because of your wounds, so it will be faster.”
I reluctantly nod. As much as I don’t want her to help me, I know she’s right, and it’s better her than anyone else helping me.
At least I’m not on heavy pain killers. I didn’t want to take anything that made me tired or loopy. After everything I have been through, Doc, Krista, and Olivia reluctantly agreed. Sure, I’m still in pain, but it’s an amount of pain that I can handle.
I hate to say that, after being held captive for a few months, I have learned to live with pain. A day hasn’t gone by that I wasn’t hurting.
I shake the thoughts from my head as I get ready.
~
I end up having a great time with the women. We have drinks and I even got a chance to talk to my brother, Xavier. I miss him so fucking much. Finding out from Xavier that Brent was still going around acting like a broken boyfriend pisses me off. I have no doubt that he wants to find me and bring me back to the hell I just lived through.
When all the ladies start singing “Baby Shark” and passing around a bottle of tequila, I laugh and smile for the first time in months, I felt the stress of everything go away. We even made it to the main room and got the men to join us. I didn’t freak out or anything, I just had fun.
The care that the men showed their women was amazing. You could tell that the bikers that had Old Ladies loved them and would never hurt them. They all had a protectiveness in their eyes that I had never seen before.
I notice Torch in the background sipping on whisky. His eyes have never looked more troubled. It’s like he was looking at all of us have fun, but not really seeing. He was so detached that it scared me, and I wondered if that’s how I looked when Krista and all of them first had seen me back in that room. I was there but not really there mentally. I was only physically existing.
I tried not to concentrate on him, but the worried looks from his club towards him had me getting worried about him too.
I try not to think about it for the rest of the night.
The next day, I’m slightly hung over. I didn’t drink as much as the rest of the women. I still had more than I was ever used to though.
I keep the memory of last night tucked away for when I leave. I know that I’ll have to go home once Brent is caught. After what he put me through, I don’t really care what happens to him.
It’s only days later when I get the news that they caught Brent. I was able to go home and I was finally safe.
After hearing that Brent was caught, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my sho
ulders.
I call my brother as soon as I hear the news.
“Hello,” he says in a bored tone.
“Xavier, it’s Cami,” I say and hear him suck in a breath.
“Damn Cami, it’s good to hear from you. When do you get to come home? Everyone misses you and Brent has been gone for days.”
“Actually, he won’t be a problem anymore. That’s all I can tell you about him, but I’m leaving tomorrow. Someone’s going to drop me off at your place. Can you be home around two?” I ask.
“Of course I can. I miss you so fucking much. I thought…” his voice cracks.
I know what he thought and he won’t feel settled until he sees that I’m safe.
“I know. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I say softly.
“Yeah, yeah I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says. I can tell that he is crying and not even bothering to hide it from me. My brother never cries, so I know how devastated he would have been when he couldn’t find me.
“Okay, I love you brother.”
“I love you too, sister.”
I hang up and wipe the tears from my eyes.
I look up at Derek when I hand him his phone. He gives me a soft smile.
“I got this phone for you with everyone’s number in it. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call. You hear?” he says, pulling out a brand new smart phone.
I nod my head and take it out of his hand. When I turn on the screen, there’s a picture of me and the women laughing as we drunkenly sang “Baby Shark.”
I smile at him gratefully. “Thank you. For everything. If you hadn’t of come…” I say with my voice cracking while thinking of still being in that nightmare.
He shakes his head. “No, thank you. You got shot to save my life. I’m in your debt for that. I wouldn’t have had another day with my wife, kids, or grandchildren if it weren’t for you. If you ever need protection again, or if you feel like you’re in danger, just hit “one” on your phone. It will connect you to the club. Tech made it so that it would signal that you’re in trouble, okay?”
I nod my head. It feels nice that I have people willing to protect me. I didn’t think that protecting him from getting shot would give me his and the club’s loyalty, but it did. I honestly hadn’t even thought I would have made it.
