by Sara Crest
“Listen here you pampered little bitch” he said walking up to me and getting in my face. “If you don’t hand over what’s in your hand on the count of three I’ll make you fucking regret it.”
I didn’t know what to do, he was already losing his temper. I had hit call on my phone and I could feel it vibrating as it rang. My only hope was that Sven would come rushing over from my call alone because I wouldn’t have the chance to say anything. I slowly handed my phone over to John, afraid that if I didn’t he would hurt me or even worse hurt Milly.
“Were you calling the fucking police?” he said as he snatched it from my hand. He took a look at the contact as my phone rang, seeing “Sven” in bold letters on the screen.
“Sven? Who the fuck is this? Who is this and why were you trying to call him?”
“John just calm down” I replied hearing the malice in his voice.
“Is this your fucking boyfriend or something? Was that chopper I heard outside yesterday him coming over? Who the FUCK told you that you were allowed to have a FUCKING boyfriend?”
“John calm down please, it’s not a big deal.”
“Hello? Emma what’s wrong?” I heard Sven’s voice coming out of my phone. John hit the hang up button before tossing my phone aside onto the ground.
“You’re a fucking slut!” he screamed at me, spitting in my face before striking me so hard across the cheek that I fell to the ground. I had hoped that I would never ever feel that pain ever again, to feel that all too familiar sting on my cheek, to hear the ringing in my ear as he shouted down at me. Everything came flashing back to me, all the times he had hit me, all the abuse he had given me, all the times he had tried to rip my sweatpants down as I lay in bed only to have Milly come just in time and save me from him. I felt so goddamn helpless.
He kicked me hard in the stomach, I coughed trying to breathe, gasping for breath after getting the wind knocked out of me.
“What did I tell you? You fucking whore, I told you that you’re gonna save that fucking body for me. You think I haven’t been keeping tabs on you while you were in college? I know you still haven’t had a man yet, what did you think that this guy would be your first? You’re gonna be a good girl and give me what I want when I’m fucking ready.”
He stepped over me and grabbed my shirt, pulling my torso off the ground with one hand and raising his other hand ready to strike me again. “Until then you need to learn your fucking place!”
Before he could hit me Milly pushed him off of me, causing him to stumble into the dirt.
I could see the rage in his eyes, a look that made him seem like he was ready to beat his own daughter until she couldn’t take any more.
As he tried to stand up I heard the sound of a car coming down the road, I turned my head and recognized it as mom’s car in the distance.
“I’m not dealing with that fucking bitch” John said as his two men helped him up to his feet. “We’re leaving boys.”
He turned to walk towards his car but then turned back to me, spitting on my face again as I lay on the ground still trying to catch my breath from the blow to my stomach.
“I’m coming back for that virgin pussy, you fucking slut. You better tell your boyfriend he missed out because when I’m done with it you’ll be ruined. I’m gonna take what I should have taken a loooong fucking time ago.”
I wanted to yell out at him that he was too late to get what he wanted, that I wasn’t a virgin and he would never really have his fun with me. Whoever he had keeping tabs on me in college did a bad job. I had two boyfriends in college not to mention a short term boyfriend back in high school. I let him believe what he wanted to believe because I was afraid of what he’d do to me otherwise if he found out that he wouldn’t be my first.
That fucking asshole.
That insane fucking asshole.
“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE” I cried out as I regained my breath. He got into his car and pulled out in reverse, sliding it into position to leave down the other road leading to our house.
“Call me what you want you fucking bitch, I’m coming back for you soon so don’t get too comfortable.”
He hit the gas on his car and sped away just as mom was reaching the house.
Milly rushed towards me and helped me up to my feet. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she could barely hold herself together.
“I’m sorry Emma, I’m so sorry. I should have done more I should-”
“You did every thing you could Milly” I said touching our foreheads against each other. “He hasn’t gotten what he wants yet and he never will.”
I looked down on the ground and saw my phone, the screen was now cracked all over but I could see that Sven was calling me.
I reached down and picked it up, just missing his call as mom got out of the car.
“What the hell is going on? Who was that speeding away? Why do you two look like you were just rolling around in the dirt?”
“That was your husband mom. John is back, I don’t know all the reasons why but I do know that he came back for me. ”
She stayed silent, looking at me with dried spit on my face and a rosy red cheek from where he slapped me.
“I’m… I’m sure he didn’t mean it Emma you know how your father-”
“I’m done. I’m done with all of this mom. We already had our argument not even half an hour ago and now the evidence is staring you right in the face.”
I looked down at my phone to see Sven had just started calling me again.
“Mom this is the last time John is ever getting away with something like this, it’s time for this to be over…”
“Emma I…” she said looking right at me. I expected her to argue, I expected her to defend the man she married. Deep down I thought that she still loved him, but as she looked at me and Milly with her mouth agape at a loss for words something inside of her clicked. Maybe it was seeing her two daughters dirty, maybe it was the fact that John had fled from her again at the sight of her, or maybe it was just her realizing that it had all gone on long enough.
“I understand…” she said.
I looked down at my phone and hit the answer button, bringing it to my ear ready to tell Sven about what just happened.
I felt so helpless, but I had to admit that’s what I was. I liked to think of myself as a strong person but I was no match for the man who haunted my memories who just happened to step back into my life. If something wasn’t done then he’d violate and kill me, and if I wasn’t enough for him then he’d probably turn on Milly too. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Emma? Emma what’s going on? Who was the yelling when you called me?”
I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know how to tell him, so I just said the one thing I truly felt in my heart. The one thing I had never told a man before.
“Sven, I need you.”
Chapter Fifteen
(Sven)
She ran up and hugged me, crying into my shirt and squeezing me. I had no idea what was going on but with the way that she was talking I invited Saul and Barron just in case something really was wrong.
I ran my hand over the back of her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her clothes were dirty like she had been on the ground. I looked down at her crying face and saw that someone had clearly hit her and I immediately felt a rage build up within me.
“Emma, who did this to you?”
“Sven my stepfather came back into my life, he came here and he hit me and now he’s threatening to hurt me in ways I’ve never been hurt before. I don’t know what to do and… and I just know that you’re the only person who can protect me from him.”
I looked down and saw the fear in her eyes, the true genuine fear that could only come from someone afraid for their life. I had seen it so many times before in the men whose lives I had ended, but now it was on the face of a woman that I cared about.
“Has he hurt you before?” I asked holding her face by her chin.
“For years
Sven” she said burying her head back into my chest “for years and years and years. It’s why I’ve wanted to leave for so long”
I looked up and saw her mother staring at me, she looked tired and weary. Despite not knowing who I was or anything about me she could see right into me what kind of man I was.
“I’m never going to let that man hurt you again” I told Emma looking right into her eyes. “This ends tonight, you go up to your room and get cleaned up. I have to talk to my buddies here for a second.”
I brought her in for a kiss, one that felt even more real than the one I gave her earlier this morning when I left the house. If it was any other girl asking me to do this I would have told them that it was there own problem, even if I did hate a man who hit women. Emma was a different story though, I wanted to protect her, I wanted things to work out with her because I felt like she was the kind of girl I’d like to have in my life. For that I’d do far more than get rid of her stepfather.
She looked at me longingly as I let her go, her sister came and helped her back into the house while their mom stayed outside and lit up a cigarette.
“So fellas. Are you in?” I asked turning around to Saul and Barron.
“I knew you’d drag us into something like this” Saul said sighing. “As soon as you ran off last night I knew that we’d end up dealing with your bullshit. That’s why I always tell you that girls are good for nothing more than a quick ride.”
“Saul you owe me for all the shit I’ve been doing on raids recently, this will be just like the house we hit last night. Just think of it as another job.”
“We don’t know who this guy is or where he is. We could be walking into a death trap” Barron replied.
“Every place we’ve ever hit has expected us in one way or another, we can hit them before they even know it. You both know I would do the same for you.”
“Whatever, I lost my lead on the head cook anyway I got nothing better to do. We don’t have any equipment though, unless you want to go and dig up the guns we used in last night’s raid.”
“You can use John’s guns” Emma’s mom said exhaling her cigarette smoke. “I know what kind of boys you are, you’re not just gonna go over there and rough my husband up. You’re gonna make sure he never sees daylight ever again. At this point I can’t say I really blame you.”
She waved us over and walked to a nearby shed and we followed. The shed looked more like an outhouse, wood built and at least a few decades old. She opened the door and pushed past some old shovels and gardening tools to reveal an old sawed off double barrel shotgun.
“There are a pair of pistols in that green lockbox over there too. Don’t know why I ever kept this garbage, should have sold them years ago. I don’t even know if my husband bought them legally, guess I was afraid to find out the answer.”
I turned around to see Milly standing there looking at us frightened, she must have come back out after she helped Emma inside. I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head as she saw all of us putting away the weapons to use later.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where this John guy is would you?” I asked Emma’s mom.
“If I knew where that man kept running off to maybe I could have saved our marriage. Can’t help you there.”
“I know” Milly announced. “Before he saw Emma outside my dad told me I could come and visit him at an old abandoned motel on the outskirts on the east side of town. He should be there right now.”
“Well boys, let’s go get this over with” Saul said as we began walking back to our bikes.
Emma was already sitting on the back of my ride, I could already tell what she was going to say.
“I’m coming along with you, that man has put me through hell for almost my whole life. I need to see this, I need to see what you do to him.”
“I can’t let you do that” I said to her. I didn’t think I was ready for her to see what kind of man I really was just yet. Not to mention if she got hurt I would never forgive myself.
“I want to see him hurting the same way he hurt me all those years. I’m coming with you. Either you let me on the back of your bike or I’ll get in my car and follow you there.”
I looked deep in her eyes, she wanted closure with this man and I could give it to her. Maybe if I gave her that then she’d overlook the kind of man I was. She’d overlook the people I killed all in the name of the Freedom Riders, but what she would see tonight wouldn’t be anything like she ever saw before.
I looked back at Barron and Saul, from the look on their face I could tell that to them this was entirely my call if she came or not.
I looked at her, bringing her into me and kissing her deep. After tonight I don’t know if she would ever let me kiss her ever again.
“Emma, you’re about to see what I really do for my club.”
Chapter Sixteen
(Sven)
Feeling that girl wrapped around me tight as I rode my motorcycle towards the motel was a great feeling. Normally when a girl was on the back of my ride I was just taking her back home to fuck her and then kick her out of my bed, this was different. I was about to make this girl’s life better, I was about to make that bastard pay for everything that he did to her, I would make sure that she would never have to look over her shoulder in fear of this man ever again.
We pulled into the parking lot of the motel, I don’t know where Milly got her information from but this place was far from abandoned. It seemed like the homeless were using this place for a shelter, not to mention a few teenagers outside drinking and horsing around.
The place smelled like old cigarettes and liquor. In the background we could hear the faint yet hard grunts of what I could only assume to be a homeless man with a prostitute in one of the rooms, with every grunt you could hear the bed hitting against the wall.
The motel was split up into two buildings, each two stories tall. The place was a dump, I could only assume the town didn’t tear it down because it gave the homeless a place to sleep.
“That’s his car” Emma said pointing to a black muscle car parked in between the two motel buildings. If it wasn’t for the garbage fire a few of the homeless people had going we wouldn’t have even been able to see it.
“Figures a guy like John would hang out at a place like this, and tell Milly to come visit him here. Who knows what goes on after hours” Emma said with anger in her voice.
“Hey you” I called out to a homeless man lying down near the car. “What room did the owner of that car go into?”
The homeless man looked up at me dazed and confused, his eyes took a few seconds to focus on me before responding. Part of me thought that he wasn’t even sure if I was real or a figment of his imagination.
“Second floor of the right building, last room. Why? Are you guys looking to buy some product? I got some, cheaper than the shit they sell too.”
“No thanks” I replied as we all got off our bikes. “How many guys did they have?”
“Three got out of the car but I know that there were another 2 in the room before they came in. I tried to sneak in while they were gone and they kicked my fucking ass, I wouldn’t bother them they’re in a bad mood man.”
I took Emma by her chin and lifted her face up to look at me “you might not like what you’re about to see, just keep your head down and make sure you don’t get killed. Stay behind me and I’ll protect you.”
“How… how badly are you gonna hurt him?” she asked.
“You’re never going to have to deal with him ever again.”
I looked at Saul and Barron who both seemed like they were ready to just get this over with.
Barron led the way and began heading up the stairs with Saul following him. Before Emma and I headed up I brought her in for one last kiss, you never know what’s gonna happen in a situation like this.
We walked up the stairs and found the room where John supposedly was. Barron took the peephole viewer that he used on me out of his pocket and put it against
the door. That thing had come in handy more times than I could count, as long as he wasn’t using it on my own door.
“I see five guys in there, they look like they’re talking about something” he whispered.
I motioned for Emma to come over and look through the device to see inside. “You recognize any of them as John?”
She looked through for a few seconds, squinting her eyes hard to try and make out all the men standing inside. “That’s him alright, sitting on the left side of the bed. But how are you gonna get him out of there?” she asked.
I pulled out one of the pistols her mother had given us, pretty fitting that an asshole like him would die from his own guns.
Emma immediately backed away frightened. I looked at her in the eyes as Saul pulled out the other pistol and Barron took out the shotgun.
“I’m sorry Emma, but you knew this was a possibility when you called me” I told her.
She looked at me frightened for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and nodding her head. Stepping back to make sure that she would be out of danger.
“Just please, make sure he doesn’t walk out of there” she said with tears streaming down her face.
I knocked on the door and their room went quiet.
“Who is it?” one of them called out.
“I’m from downstairs, I just want to buy some crystal. You guys have any?”
I put the barrel of the pistol to the eyehole, blocking out any chance they had to look through and see us.
I had done raids like this god knows how many times, but in all my life I never felt as calm as I did then. For the first time ever I wasn’t nervous, I had no remorse or regret for what I was about to do, and everything felt natural.
This was the first time ever I did something like this for someone I cared about rather than for the good of the club. I knew that what I was doing here was really the right thing and not just something that made the Freedom Riders stronger. I would do something like this a hundred times for Emma, she deserved to never be hurt. That bastard was gonna pay, he was going to regret ever putting a hand on that sweet girl. I wish she didn’t have to see the life I lived until I was ready, but I figured there was no better situation than me confronting and killing the man that hurt her for so long. This would be his end, but it would be our beginning.
