Rust: A Bad Boy Romance (Courage MC)

by Kara Hart

  Don wasn’t doin’ too hot. He was shaking and mumbling to himself, all the while a thick foam was seeping out of his mouth. If I knew any better, I’d say he was on the verge of being brain dead. That was probably a generous conclusion. Served him right.

  At the same time, my shoulder was killing me. I looked down at my body. My leg was shattered to hell. Blood was everywhere. I was bleedin’ out. God dammit, Rust. What have you done to yourself?

  I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever be able to walk normal again. “Fuck.” I said to myself, tying a bandana around where the blood was seeping out. “Come on, you got this.” I whispered, working up the courage to continue fighting.

  “Don is useless to us now!” A man at the compound screamed. “Kill them.”

  I saw that same man aim directly at me and pull that fuckin’ trigger. The bullet released from the chamber, spiraling through the barrel, cutting through the cold air. I threw Don’s dying body in front of me and jumped into the dirt. The bullet hit him directly in the gut. If that didn’t kill him, time would. We couldn’t worry about him any more. He was done. And though these bastards didn’t know it, they were done too. I crawled quickly behind the rock with Jackie and Bruce as a whole army of assholes opened fire at us.

  “Shit!” Bruce yelled, jumping up every now and then to fire his gun. “I’ll kill you all!”

  It was like a swarm of bees as they unloaded all they had on us. The rocks were chipping away, casings fell down everywhere like rain, and our time was running out. “What’re we gonna do?” Jackie cried.

  “Hell if I know.” Bruce squinted, pulling the trigger and grinding his teeth.

  I held my gun and prayed for a second. Anything to keep us alive. And by God, we needed a fuckin’ miracle. “Only thing we can do is fight and try to keep them back.” I said.

  “Maybe we can get them to run out of ammo.” she said, though I could tell she knew that wasn’t such a great plan.

  “Yeah.” I assured everyone. “It’s not our time just yet.” But I knew the truth. This was the end for us.

  We were fucked. God, we were so fucked.

  Jackie

  “Why did I ever fuckin’ listen to you bastards?” Bruce was yelling in the face of danger. He grabbed a cigarette and lit it up.

  “Think it’s a good time for that?” I asked him, feeling the knot on the back of my head swell up.

  He grinned. “Sweet-cheeks, it ain’t time for anything except death. Might as well have one last smoke.”

  “It isn’t over for us yet.” Rust said, gripping his gun tightly.

  Bullets littered the dirt around us. All I could do was duck down and hope to God I didn’t get hit. “Jackie,” Rust began saying, grabbing my hand, “whatever happens, I love you more than life itself. If we die tonight, I hope you know you’ve changed my life for the better. Everything was worth it because I met you.” He kissed my cheeks and looked me directly in the eyes. I couldn’t help but cry. I didn’t want to lose what we had. I wanted a future with him, not just the past and present. I wanted children, dogs, a nice house, a family. I wanted everything with him and now I was going to get nothing. It wasn’t fair.

  Bruce loaded his gun and said, “Enough with the sappy bullshit. I need you to fight, not whisper sweet nothings to each other!”

  Rust kissed me one last time and nodded to both of us. He stood up, wielding two sub machine guns. “You want this?” he screamed. “You want a piece of me, mother fuckers?”

  He began shooting wildly, dodging bullets and diving into the dirt. Blood was dripping from his shoulder and leg. He was pretty wounded already. “Rust no!” I screamed. I didn’t want him to be the hero anymore. Leave that for someone else. My love didn’t need to lose himself in order to be with me. But there was no other choice. It was either that or total peril.

  “Fuck you!” he screamed at them, teeth clamped down together as bullet casings flew up in the air.

  Their leader Don had been killed, yet they kept fighting. It made no sense. They were all drug-addled mad men. But within a minute or so, Rust had gunned down at least ten men. His aim was sharp. His determination was powerful and steadfast.

  “Ah, shit!” Bruce yelled. “Fuck it all!”

  He dove out into the open as well, shooting wildly. Ten more men dropped to their death. They may have had the numbers on their side, but they sure were a terrible aim. They underestimated our power.

  I screamed and joined them, taking cover behind small boulders along the way. All three of us were gaining ground on them. Finally, we reached the well. It was good cover for the time being. Rust smiled and turned to me, “So far so good!” he yelled over the rumbling of machine guns.

  He reached into his bag and grabbed two grenades. He handed one to Bruce and pulled the pin out. “I’ve got the cop cars. You got the men at the compound?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” he said, pulling the pin out of his.

  They both threw the grenades. Rust’s hit the dirt and rolled under one of the cop cars. It exploded almost immediately, causing all the cars to catch on fire. The corrupt police ran out of the car, screaming into the night sky. Their bodies were on fire, burning to a fucking crisp.

  Bruce’s grenade ricocheted off a rock, causing it to spin off to the side. It exploded, but it was for nothing. No one got hit.

  “Fuck!” he cried out.

  There were at least sixty men left and they were rolling up on us pretty fast. “What’re we going to do?” I asked Rust.

  “I don’t know. We keep shootin’!” he said.

  Bullets were decimating the well we were hiding behind. It wouldn’t be long until they got us. “We have to move somewhere! We need to find another cover!” Only, there wasn’t anywhere else to hide behind. The rest of the space around us was open desert.

  I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was pray. “Please God, get us through this. I know I haven’t lived my life up to your standards, but please get us through this. Give us something. Anything. We need a miracle.”

  “Prayin’ ain’t gonna give you nothing!” Bruce yelled. “Only thing we can do is fight back.”

  My stomach sank and my heart felt heavy with dread. This was it. Our love was a sham. It was built for death. I held onto Rust’s warm body. “I love you.” I said, feeling his head against mine.

  But the shooting sounds around us was soon replaced by a new sound. It was a massive explosion, followed by layers of screaming. I peeked my head out and looked. “Holy shit!” I screamed.

  Both Bruce and Rust looked immediately. “Johnny?!” They cried out.

  “You guys need a little help?” he laughed. Sure enough, all of Courage was behind him.

  “Holy shit! It’s a miracle!” I yelled, laughing like a crazy woman. All three of us jumped up, shooting at the rest of Don’s dwindling army.

  We eventually reached the compound. There was only a few of them left and they were screaming to each other inside the building. “I’m hit! Fuck, I’m hit!” They knew their time was up.

  “Don’t worry. I got ‘em.” Rust said, smashing through the wooden door. He rolled across the ground and shot one of them dead.

  The other guy came running at him, wielding a knife in his hand. Rust threw his guns down and grabbed the guy’s arm, twisting it upside down. The bone cracked and the man let out a bellowing cry, dropping the blade. Rust grabbed the knife and put it through his throat. “Bastard.” he whispered to himself.

  “Anyone else in there?” he yelled, taking a glance at the smoky hallway. “You’re completely surrounded! Come out and we’ll spare your life.”

  Three more men threw their weapons in the hallway. “Don’t shoot!” They screamed.

  “Then come out with your hands up!” Bruce yelled.

  They slowly walked out into the hallway, hands above their heads. They were young, maybe in their late teen years. “Don’t shoot! We’ll comply.” They yelled, as all of us aimed our guns at them.

  “Get
the fuck outside.” Rust said, pushing them out into the dirt. They fell on their faces, mouths filled with dust. It was hilarious to watch.

  All of Courage were present now and it looked like a fucking massacre. Thing was, it was our chance to shine now. What was left of Darkhorse was absolutely nothing. Sure, there may be supporters hiding out here and there. But they had no grounds to stand on any longer. It was us, the real bikers, the real deal, that were left. Once again, the bullshit had been pushed out. The wicked had been dealt with. And I had my man.

  Just at that moment, Rust dropped his weapons in the dirt and came running towards me. “Come here, my honey pot.” he said, arms stretched wide open to catch me.

  I dropped my weapons as well and jumped into his strong arms. We had been forced to be married in the beginning and boy did I hate his guts. But now that we had gotten to know each other, he had become the absolute center of my world. It was crazy, I know. But that’s how love is sometimes. Totally, utterly insane. And that was just the way I liked it.

  Rust

  “Oh Rust!” she cried out, jumping into my arms. Her warmth radiated throughout my body. Her perfume shot up through my nose, hitting every pleasure center in my brain. I grabbed onto her waist, her tits, and her ass – every god damn single feature I loved about her. If I could latch onto her personality and, better yet, her soul, I would have.

  I was so fucking grateful for her. Even though I had been shot twice and I was losing blood by the second, I somehow turned away from the pain. It didn’t mean anything to me. The only thing that mattered was her.

  Bruce and Johnny sat on the sidelines, beating those Darkhorse boys to a bloody pulp. They wouldn’t die, but they would learn a lesson or two. You don’t mess with the good guys. ‘Cause if you do, it’ll come to bite you in the ass. Johnny looked up at us mid punch and smiled. He approved. Oh, Johnny. You’re a wild son of a bitch. I was grateful for him too. Him and Bruce, in fact.

  But as I set Jackie down onto her feet again, I realized somethin’ kinda heavy. This was the end of my run with Courage. I knew it was. Because if it wasn’t, I could lose my life with Jackie. Shit, I couldn’t look back. I had to move forward. And that was okay with me. I knew it was okay with her too. Hell’s Wheels would be a monument to a time period. They would be remembered with respect and Lane, her father, would be honored and showered with the glory of our memories of his just ruling. It was all pretty fuckin’ poetic and shit.

  I turned around to the boys and hollered, “Alright, guys! Time to pack it in. Let’s clean up this mess and grab a drink or ten.”

  One of the boys, a man named Jorge, yelled out. “Or one hundred!” The men all yelled their approval. God damn was I gonna miss them.

  I turned to Jackie and kissed her, pulling back on her luscious lips, while running my hand across her smooth stomach. “This is it for us, right? We’re done being criminals?” I asked her.

  “Oh, God. I was hoping you’d say that. This was too much action for me. Too much death. All I want is to be with you.” She smiled and kissed me back.

  “I want more than that. I want a family. I want every single experience with you.” I admitted.

  “You sure? You sure you don’t want to go out catching women at your club every night with Johnny like you used to?” She playfully punched at me.

  “Hell no. You’re the one. You’re everything I need. Those days are over.”

  She laughed and nodded her head. “I know. We better remodel that club though. You can’t give that up. You can’t give up all your friendships. Even if it is just us that belong to each other, we can’t give it all up. Just the bad stuff. The bad stuff is all that has to go.” she said. God, she was an angel put on this earth to make me a better man. That much was obvious.

  “You’re perfect.” I said, picking her up. I walked her over to the bike and sat her down on the cool leather seat. “Hey Bruce! You got a ride?”

  Bruce looked up at me with a cigarette hangin’ out of his mouth. He was wiping the blood from his hands. “Shit, don’t mind me. You know I’ll find a way back. Go have your fun.”

  I saluted him. He was a good leader, even if he was getting’ too old for this shit. Hell, we all were in some ways, right? “You better take me to a doctor. I’m gonna need some help getting these bullet shards out of my body.” I laughed.

  Jackie looked shocked. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry.” She had been so caught up in all of this drama that she had forgot that I had even got shot. She started the bike and I held onto her this time. Yep, she was my woman. For life. And I couldn’t be any happier.

  “Bullets ain’t mean shit to me. All that matters is you.” I said.

  We drove off into the night sky, whipping through time. Courage would be a thing of the past for me. But there had to be one last celebration. A big send off for me and Jackie. Though I didn’t know it, this was the real start of the story, the real start to my life.

  Jackie

  “Look, I’ll stitch him up, but you guys have got to get a grip on things. I get it. You’re in a war. But I can’t keep stitchin’ up your men every day. I have a business to run.” The vet stood in front of us, arms crossed. He bore a display of disgust at us, as if we were the vilest creatures in the world.

  I sat down and crossed my legs, smiling smugly. “The war’s over Jack. You don’t have to worry anymore. Darkhorse is gone. Gone forever.”

  He threaded the needle and disinfected the metal. “Gone forever? I don’t believe it.” he laughed.

  “Well believe it, Jack. We wiped them all out. I ain’t gonna go into any details or nothing, but they’re a thing of the past. That’s a definite.” Rust said, getting ready for his stitches.

  The doctor leaned over him and whispered, “This is gonna sting a bit.” The needle went in quick and fast, with a pop, and Rust closed his eyes tight.

  “Fuck! Son of a bitch!” he moaned.

  “Don’t be a pussy, darling. It’s all over now.” I blew a kiss at him.

  “Look guys, I’m happy for you and all, but you really think it’s over? Even if you destroy Darkhorse, there will be more like them coming later. Just you wait.” Jack said.

  “Well, when you’re right, you’re right. But it don’t matter anymore for us. We’re getting out of the game. Moving up into the valley. We’ll be close, but I ain’t gonna be a criminal anymore. No time for that shit. I want kids. A real life. I’m done and so is Jackie.” Rust sighed as the doc stitched him up.

  “Is that so? I was kinda hoping The Hell’s Wheels wouldn’t be over for good.” he said.

  I took in a deep breath and said, “Yeah, well, it died when my father passed. It didn’t need to continue any longer. Besides, what is life without love? I don’t want to keep running from the law and neither does Rust. I’d like to live a long life.”

  “What will you do though? I mean for work. You don’t have too many options.”

  “What is this, 20/20? We have all the options in the world. When you’ve lived the life we’ve lived, you start to realized anything is possible.” I said.

  Rust chimed in, “I was thinkin’ we could start a farm and live off the land. We could sell livestock and organic vegetables. Hell, it’s the same thing as drugs, right? There’s a demand for this shit. So let’s sell it.”

  My eyes lit up. “You mean it?” I cried out, feeling my heart beat against my chest. It was an incredible idea, one that made too much sense.

  “Hell yeah I mean it. I want time with you. I know it’s hard work, but we can do it together. I can’t think of a better way to spend my life with you.”

  “Last stitch.” The doctor moaned, threading the needle through his tight skin once more.

  “God damn!” Rust winced.

  “Alright, I’m done. Well, guys. It sounds like you know what you want. I salute you for taking a stand on this. It’s an honorable thing. I wish you the best. Now get out of here before the cops see you here.” he said, ripping off his gloves.


  “Bye. Hope to God I never see you again.” I winked.

  Rust grabbed his shirt and vest and together we walked out the front door. “Shall we?” he asked.

  There was one last get together with Bruce and the boys. It wasn’t a party or nothing, but it was a farewell meeting. You see, Bruce didn’t grant too many of those to too many people. It was a lucky thing to get. But I think deep down Bruce wanted what we had. A real life. Love. Happiness. The things normal people expect out of life.

  However, he couldn’t have those things. He was the boss of one of the toughest One-Percenter Motorcycle Clubs in the world. Sure, he could have a wife. He could have kids too. But what good would that be. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of it. Besides, I think he also just liked to see his men happy. Despite him being tough as nails, he was getting old. He knew what it was like to be young.

  So when we got to the bar, we grabbed a glass and raised it high up in the air. Bruce, eager to get his drink on, proposed a toast. “To the loveliest bastards I’ve ever gotten to know. May you keep the happiness you’ve come to find!” Cheers all around the bar. “Wait, wait. I ain’t done yet. Look, you almost ruined everything. But somehow you didn’t. Somehow, you managed to take away the most brutal bunch of assholes I have ever come across. Now they’re gone. Now there is peace. To that, I have to salute you.”

  “We couldn’t have done it without you, Bruce.” I said, swigging down my drink as some tunes came on the jukebox.

  “Now don’t you start lyin’ to me. Of course you could have done it without me. If anything I probably held you back! But god damn, if I didn’t have some fun takin’ down those fucks.”

  “Cheers to that, brother.” Rust said, chugging the rest of his beer. “So, what’s next for Courage?”