by Brook Wilder
Suddenly, Christian was standing right in front of her, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.
“I know it’s not… exactly what you wanted, but it will keep you safe. I promised I would protect you and this is the only way I can see how to do that. We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. After the wedding, we’ll…”
“Wedding?” Melody interrupted faintly.
But Christian went on as if he hadn’t heard her.
“…we’ll figure it out. Together. I promise. Just trust me, okay? Everybody is heading out for the day, but Bianca will be here if you need anything. I’ll be back soon.”
And then he was pushing her gently into the bathroom, disappearing as he shut the door.
Melody stood there, listening to the sound of his boots retreating down the stairs, and suddenly it hit her.
A wedding. ‘After the wedding.’ Hub had agreed to Christian’s crazy plan for them to get hitched.
Dizziness hit her like a sledgehammer, and Melody let herself drop to the floor as a million conflicting emotions warred within her. She was grateful that Christian had saved her but resented him for going through with this farce. It would never work.
It didn’t even make sense. Why would he want to marry her? Why was any of this happening?
She sucked in a gasping breath, holding back the sobs that threatened to pour from her throat as she tried to make sense of it all.
Everything seemed to be happening so fast and she didn’t have a say in any of it. It was overwhelming, all of it; she was drowning in it.
Melody forced herself to take a deep breath and pushed herself back to her feet.
“I’ve been through worse than this. This is nothing,” she tried to tell herself. “I’ll be fine. I’ll get through this. I’m safe for the moment. That’s what matters.”
Melody ignored the false hope she heard in her own voice as she muttered the words over and over. Now, all she had to do was make herself believe it was true.
She forced her doubts away as she locked the bathroom door, checking that it was secure before peeling off the dirty, ripped remains of her dress and stepping under the warm water.
It felt incredible. Melody closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling, washing away the physical dirt and grime, and imagining the fear and panic being washed down the drain right along with it.
She refused to let her spiraling thoughts get the best of her. Melody stayed in the shower, washing her long brunette locks three times before untangling them. Only when the water started to grow cold did she finally turn the faucet off with a sigh of regret and step out of the tub, wrapping the big fluffy towel around herself as she dried.
Melody glanced at her dirty clothes in distaste. The last thing she wanted to do was put on the stained tatters of the mini dress, or what was left of it, now that she was clean again. She looked around unsure what to do but was saved by a sudden knock on the door.
“I thought you’d never get done in there!”
Melody was startled by the brusque female voice and didn’t open the door when another knock sounded.
“Well, I’ve got clean clothes for you here. I’ll just leave them on the floor and you can get dressed.”
There was the sound of a disgruntled ‘humph’, and then the floorboards creaked as the woman walked back downstairs. That must have been the Bianca that Christian had mentioned.
Melody stood by the door for several more minutes, listening for the sound of another’s footsteps, before hastily swinging it open, grabbing the clothes and hurrying back inside. She threw the lock again, her heart racing far more than it should have been.
“Get a hold of yourself, Melody,” she chastised herself as she unfolded the pile of clothes to see what Bianca had left behind for her to wear.
There was a loose, flowing cotton dress that fell almost to her ankles and a t-shirt that was almost as long as the dress. Melody shrugged, layering them both together and pulling them over her still damp hair. She still felt like she wasn’t wearing enough clothes, but she was grateful that she was clean at least.
She took some time combing through her hair with her fingers before twisting the long locks back up into a bun and securing it as well as she could. Finally, she felt a little bit more like herself. But, as she stood there, staring into the bathroom mirror, it was almost like looking at a stranger.
With all her makeup washed off, her normally tanned and bronzed skin looked pale, and she could easily see the layers of bruises, some half-faded along her jaw and cheekbone, some just a week old.
Her dark eyes looked enormous, dominating her oval shaped face, and Melody suddenly wished she had some mascara or a little foundation. Enrique hated seeing her without her hair and makeup done and she’d gotten so used to seeing herself all dolled up that she almost felt exposed without it. Without her mask firmly in place. It made her look so much younger, so much more innocent than she felt.
Melody turned away from the unfamiliar image in the mirror, drew in a deep breath for courage, and then stepped outside. She knew she couldn’t hide in there forever. It was time to face whatever was going to happen next.
She was damned tired of other people making decisions for her. It was about time she decided what was going to happen to her own life. The first step was figuring out just how much shit she was truly in. Then she could figure out what to do next.
Melody crept down the stairs as quietly as she could. She didn’t want to rouse anyone’s attentions, especially if any of the bikers were still around. She made it to the first floor before Bianca’s voice reached her.
“You might as well come into the kitchen and get yourself something to eat. I know you must be hungry. Christian didn’t bring you much last night and, well, after this morning, I’m sure food was the last thing on your mind. But it’ll help to have your belly full. You’ll see. You’d be surprised how much better everything looks with food in your stomach.”
Caught, Melody let herself be dragged into the outdated but cozy kitchen. She wrapped her arms around herself, unsure of what to do or what to say.
Bianca was busy putting a sandwich together and Melody watched her for a moment. The woman was older than her, but it was hard to put an age to her. She looked like she was somewhere in her middle years, perhaps, but the gray hairs that were starting to show through the black-dye job and the wrinkles around her stern mouth were at odds with the youthful grin in her eyes when she turned around.
She looked Melody up and down before shaking her head ruefully.
“Well, they cover you at least. Better than that dress you were wearing before. Go on. Sit. Don’t make me crane my neck talking to you.” She nodded to the kitchen table in a no-nonsense way that had Melody instantly obeying. “I’ll have Christian pick you up some things.”
“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” Melody said softly as she settled into the creaky wooden chair.
Bianca turned and gave her a look from the corner of her eye.
“Well, I’m sure that it is. I’m also sure that you don’t know what the hell to make of all of this and you’re probably already planning how you’re going to run out of here and escape.”
Bianca turned fully around, facing Melody and shaking a butter knife in her direction.
“Let me tell you this, Melody: that’s just about the worst thing you could do right now. Believe me.”
Bianca punctuated her words by dropping a plate of food in front of Melody that had her mouth watering. She murmured a quick thanks, ignoring the woman’s warning as she ate the sandwich, savoring every bite. She really was starving.
“You’ll be staying here in the house with me, at least until the wedding,” Bianca was saying as she moved to the sink, puttering around the kitchen as she tidied up. “I’ll fix up the spare bedroom for you. Hub wants it big and splashy, but he also wants it done quick. Damn that infuriating man. He doesn’t know a damn thing about what it takes to put on a wedding.”
&n
bsp; Bianca didn’t look over at Melody while she spoke, but Melody had stopped eating, the food suddenly tasting like sawdust in her mouth.
“We’ll have to go into town to get you a dress to wear, and some flowers. Get someone to say the vows. I think Thor is ordained in the state of Texas; he’s a member of the crew. I’ll make sure he stays in town.”
Bianca kept talking, more to herself than to Melody. Which was a good thing because she was pretty sure if she had to say anything out loud, she would vomit all over Bianca’s neat little kitchen.
Melody had to swallow hard as Bianca discussed the plans for the wedding. Her wedding. It was so surreal that she could almost pretend it was happening to someone else, until Bianca said something that jarred her out of her dismal thoughts.
“…not sure who will walk you down the aisle. I don’t really see Hub…”
“No.”
Melody finally spoke, interrupting softly, and Bianca gave her a surprised look, as if she’d forgotten that she was still sitting there.
“No one will walk me down the aisle. Because I won’t be getting married.”
“Now,” Bianca scoffed, planting her hands on her hips, “none of that. You will be getting married, on Saturday, just like Hub wants.”
“Saturday! That’s… four days from now!” Melody shrieked, her voice rising incredulously. “Besides, why would I marry Christian? I don’t even know him. He doesn’t know me!”
Bianca gave her a long, hard look that had her biting back the rest of her tirade. When she spoke again there was a note in her voice that caught Melody’s attention.
“Why would you marry Christian? Let me tell you, girl. You’ll marry him because you don’t realize how serious a situation you’re in. You are a prisoner, make no mistake about that, hun. And an hour ago, you were almost raped by a rival gang member. Now, from where I’m standing, you’re no catch here. Christian is the one who’s doing you a favor, protecting you with his name.”
Bianca shook her head, taking a step closer. Her voice was ice cold but there was a light of something in her gaze that made Melody want to look away. It was pity.
“Don’t tell me you have feelings for that son of a bitch?” Bianca asked softly, nodding towards her tattoo.
Melody shook her head fiercely.
“Fuck, no,” she answered just as soft. “I hate him.”
Bianca’s expression relaxed after a moment and she cupped Melody’s bruised cheek in one callused hand.
“Oh, you poor girl. You poor, stupid girl.”
“I’m not…”
“I know,” Bianca interrupted, throwing her hands in the air as she tsked under her breath. “You all say the same thing. I didn’t have a choice. I had nowhere else to go. I was trapped. I couldn’t escape... I understand.”
The older woman paused and Melody saw that she truly did understand. There, in the depths of her eyes, was the same pain and agony she herself had suffered.
“I understand. But listen to me. You have a choice now. You have somewhere else to go. You have a way out. Take it!”
Bianca turned away, but not before Melody caught a glimpse of the dampness turning her eyes to dark pools. When the older woman faced her again, though, her expression was stern and serious once more.
“I’ll only tell you this once, so listen good. Christian is one of the best men you’ll ever meet. His father is a mean son of a bitch, but he takes care of his own and that means, once you join this happy little family, that will include you too. Enrique won’t be able to touch you.”
“But Christian…”
“I told you, girl,” Bianca huffed impatiently. “He’s… different. He’s not like your Enrique and he’s not like his father.”
Melody knew exactly what she was talking about. She’d sensed it in Christian from the very first. A vast well of patience and kindness and innate gentleness that was an antithesis to the world they lived in.
But still, it was impossible for her to trust. She’d learned the hard way that people were rarely what they seemed at first. It was only a matter of time before they turned on her, before they hurt her.
So, Melody just nodded, content to let Bianca think whatever she wanted. But inside she was already planning.
Time wasn’t on her side. She had four days to decide what she was going to do. And she didn’t have a clue.
Chapter 9
The empty highway stretched out for miles in front of Christian, but he didn’t see any of it. He didn’t see the hazy horizon in the distance or the vast Texas landscape that surrounded him with miles and miles of nothing but dust and dry dirt, broken occasionally by shrubs or crooked trees.
The only thing that he could see was a pair of big, mysterious dark eyes staring at him from a perfect face, marred with a myriad of bruises. Long, glossy dark hair that was tangled and knotted.
Melody. She filled his head, overwhelmed his senses. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts all night. He’d had to go back to his own home, an hour away from the farmhouse, near a small city named Hightower.
A part of him wished he could have stayed. All he could think about was that terrible moment when he pushed open the barn door and saw the gang member clawing at her, tearing at her clothes. He remembered the raw fear in her luminous eyes.
Christian barely paid attention to the road as he drove, speeding towards Bianca’s house and Melody. He could feel her like a magnet guiding him, always pointing him towards his north.
He just prayed that she was still there. Christian shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat of the pick-up truck. He wasn’t stupid. He could see her reluctance, her distrust of him. But he’d also seen the gratitude in her eyes when he’d saved her from that asshole. And he hoped that would be enough to keep her there, at least until he got a chance to sit down and talk with her in private. To explain.
Because there were things that Melody didn’t understand. As much as she wanted to get away from the Devil’s Martyrs… well, so did he. It had been in the back of his mind for years now, to save up and finally get out of the gang life.
He didn’t belong there. He never had. First, he’d been too young to realize. All he’d cared about was making his father proud, so he’d stayed way longer than he should have. For three years now, he’d been living a lie. He’d been shirking his duties, trying to keep the gang from committing any more violence.
Christian shook his head at himself. He hated it. He hated being a part of the gang. And Melody didn’t realize it yet, but this could be the ticket out for both of them. If he could just get her to listen to him. If he could just get her to agree to go through with this plan of his.
He slowed his truck as he pulled off onto the nearly hidden gravel drive that was concealed in the dip of the property, finally coming to a halt just before reaching the barn.
Christian sat there for a moment, even after he had killed the engine. He stared out over the buildings. It didn’t look like much, though he knew Bianca had done a lot to turn the inside at least into a real home for herself.
Not for the first time, he wondered what she saw in his father. It hadn’t been until this past year that he’d realized the truth about the relationship between Hub and Bianca, or that it had been going on for years before that, though it had been more off and on.
Hub had moved a lot more, travelling all over Texas for jobs for the crew, and Bianca had been a waitress at a biker bar. She still was, though she worked there less and less.
But after Hub had been promoted to second in command, he’d been more or less stationed in the area, looking after the rest of the crew, helping their new president Bones figure out the shit mess that Capone had left in his wake.
The old leader of the Devil’s Martyrs had been insane. Christian had kept himself distant from the man, more than aware of his volatile temperament, and he wasn’t all that surprised that he’d gotten himself thrown in jail. He’d gone after some of their own and had paid the price.
The reminder of his plan of betrayal made Christian uneasy and he tried to banish the feeling as he jumped out of the truck. He found himself walking forward, not towards the house and Melody, but towards the kennels and pups that were already waiting eagerly for him.
If only everyone was that simple. He always knew where he stood with animals. They didn’t hide and lie, they didn’t betray your trust or pretend to act a certain way. They just were. They were the most honest of creatures. Maybe that’s why he got along with them a hell of a lot better than most of the members of the gang.
Christian gave each dog a pet in turn, their happy greeting putting him instantly at ease. Even Prince let him take a look at his still healing leg without growling at him. Progress.
