by Sara Crest
He kissed me on the cheek and moved his mouth close to my ear, I could feel his hot breath on my neck. “Never question what I do in front of my men, if you have a problem you tell me in private. I don’t care if the bar was loud they could have heard. Do you understand.”
I stared into his eyes and nodded, I opened my mouth to respond but he kissed me again and shut me up. I wanted to run my hands along his sculpted body but he kept them pinned firmly against the wall.
My heart jumped when there was a knock at that door. Johnny calmly let go of me, running his hand down my face and lightly gripping my neck before continuing down my body to my hips. He gave the side of my but a light squeeze, glancing at me and smirking before letting go of me and opening the door. One of his men was outside.
“Boss, they’re here.”
Johnny walked through the door and past his man. Curious, I followed him, when I passed the Raider member he looked at me funny. I could only assume that he was wondering why we were in a closed off room alone but judging by his expression he didn’t care too much.
Johnny walked outside and at least 30 men from the bar followed him, I found myself getting lost in the crowd of men as we exited the bar.
Outside I saw a group of about a dozen and a half men, their bikes parked behind them. They were armed with lead pipes, crowbars, and any other blunt object they could find laying around. I looked through the crowd and saw Freddie towards the back, these were the deserters that Johnny was talking about.
One of the men from the deserting group stepped forward “Johnny, you’re on our turf. We’re sick of you following us, give it up and leave us to operate in peace.”
“This ain’t your turf, you don’t even have the manpower to hold this town let alone the surrounding area” Johnny retorted. “As far as I’m concerned you’re still my men, you took an oath! and despite all that you have done I’m willing to forgive you and let you ride with us again if you lay down your weapons.”
“How about you come and take them from us!” a voice from the back of the deserter’s crowd yelled. Johnny’s men began to advance on them but Johnny held out both of his arms, signaling them to stop.
“I ain’t losing anyone today” he announced to his men. “They can’t keep holding out for much longer.”
The deserters got back on their bikes after seeing that Johnny’s men weren’t going to fight. Freddie turned and looked at the crowd, I made eye contact with him for a brief moment and all I could see was what looked like a young and scared boy. He turned away and started his bike up and just as quickly as they had arrived the deserters sped off.
Johnny’s men quickly dispersed, many of them were grumbling. Some of them went back into the bar while others got on their motorcycles and headed off in the opposite direction of the deserters.
I walked up to Johnny, putting my hy hand on the side of his arm “I’m impressed, you were actually able to stop a fight from breaking out.”
“It’s why I left early this morning, I knew those bastards were coming. I had to get my men drunk enough to not want to take those guys heads off on sight. When you’ve had a couple beers in you then you just don’t care enough.”
It made enough sense, although I still would have preferred if he woke me up early so I could have actually had a ride to the bar. I looked around and saw that Johnny and I were the only two people standing in the parking lot, all the other members had gone inside of left.
Johnny walked towards his bike, mounting it and staring up at the sky, watching clouds pass by in contemplation. “I need to clear my head for a bit. Want to come for a ride?”
I stared back at the bar, hearing the loud chatter and laughter going on inside.
“They’ll be fine on their own, they’ll probably all leave to do god knows what around town. So are you coming or not?”
I remembered the thrill of riding with him the day before, seemed foolish of me not to take his offer.
“Ok but I get to wear the helmet this time.”
“No dice” Johnny replied, starting his bike up.
I sighed and got on the back, putting my arms around him to hold me in place.
He leaned back and hit the accelerator, for a brief moment we did a wheelie before the front wheel came back down on the pavement.
My heart was racing again as we sped through the streets, hitting turns hard and weaving in and out of the buildings around town before pulling over by one of the town’s oldest diners.
“You ever been here before?” Johnny asked, turning the bike off by the curb.
I tried to think back, I had lived in the town for a few years now but I don’t think I had ever actually been inside this place. “Nope, never” I replied.
We got off the bike and I noticed a “now serving liquor” sign in the window of the diner. It was scribbled onto a piece of paper with permanent marker so it must have been put up fairly recently.
We walked through the front door and I immediately took cover behind Johnny, not that it really did any good. It seemed like half the town was there, as I looked around I noticed the old regulars of my bar having drinks in the corner. Guess that explains where they went.
Johnny and I got death stares as soon as we walked in, some of the people inside seemed to be in shock that we would even show up. “Johnny, maybe we should find another place to eat” I whispered.
Johnny looked around with a slight smirk on his face, eyeing up every man in the joint. “Nah, I think this place will do fine.”
A waitress came out from the kitchen to seat us, just to my luck it was Beth. Her face went from smiling to annoyed in no time flat. I walked in front of Johnny to talk to her “Beth, I didn’t know you worked here, shouldn’t you be resting up for your night shift?”
“They offered me extra hours today” she said annoyed through her teeth. She looked up at Johnny and smiled “so that’s a table for two then sir?”
Johnny looked down at her with his eyes slightly squinted, it looked as if he was examining her the same way he had examined me. “Table for two is fine, thanks.”
Beth led Johnny and I over to a booth, sitting us right in the middle of the diner. People were still staring us down when we took our seats but soon returned to their chatter. I felt uncomfortable, Beth was right the whole town knew what was going on.
I began to calm down when a different waitress came to take our food order, although she wasn’t smiling she seemed much more accepting of our situation.
As soon as she had finished writing down our order two men came and shoved her out of the way, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.
“Buddy you gotta go” one of them blurted out, he stood with his arms crossed staring down at Johnny. He had an average stature, wasn’t very intimidating, but the look on his face said he meant business. The other one was a bit shorter but looked a little stronger, there was a new neighborhood being built up nearby so I could only assume by the way he dressed that he was a builder.
“What the hell are you doing with this guy? Ain’t you worried about the town’s safety? You’re just keeping him here longer” the other said, chastising me and poking me hard in the chest.
Johnny reached out across the table and grabbed him by the arm, standing up and twisting it behind is back causing the man to grunt in pain.
The first man took a swing at Johnny, hitting him square in the ribs but Johnny didn’t even flinch. “Try that again and I break your friend’s arm” Johnny said to him, glaring down at him.
“Now y’all listen up” Johnny yelled out, the eyes of the entire diner were on this scene so Johnny had everyone’s attention. “I’m only going to say this once, so you better listen carefully and spread to word to anybody that’s missing out on this little get together.”
Johnny took the man whose arm he was twisting and tossed him aside, Johnny then reached a helping hand down to the waitress who was still on the floor, helping her to her feet before continuing.
“It seems
like some of you might have a problem with me and my brothers taking over a local bar, I can assure you all I have no intention of staying in your town any longer than I need to… but until then I think something needs to be established. My name is Johnny Odell and if you didn’t know me before you certainly know me now. I am the chapter leader of the southeastern Rolling Raiders Biker Club. Until I walk out of this town I run this, all of this, and depending on how you act this can be an easy and peaceful visit or one that you will never forget. Now that means that you leave me alone, you leave my men alone, and you leave my girl Ashley alone.”
Did he just call me his girl?
“Any questions?”
The whole diner was silent, some held their mouths wide open while others stared right at Johnny waiting to see what he would do next.
“Good, now let me and my girl enjoy our meal in peace.”
Johnny sat back down in our booth and the murmuring among the people in the diner began.
“Did… did you just call me your girl?”
“It’s what I said, isn’t it?” he replied, running his fingers nonchalantly through his hair.
I tried to hide my smile, I guess I didn’t realize we had reached that point together. I was even more surprised by how giddy it made me feel. The more time I spent with Johnny the more I liked him.
I reached out and touched his hand as it rest on the table. He took my hand in his and gave me a smirk. “Anyone comes anywhere near you and they’ll have to deal with me, as long as I’m around I’ll always protect you Ash.”
I blushed and looked down to hide it. Wherever this was going, I was enjoying the ride.
9
I sat on Johnny’s lap while we sat on my couch. My head was resting on his heaving chest and the tv was playing softly in the background.
“Not to say that I don’t enjoy this right now, but this ain’t the lifestyle for me. I know it ain’t the lifestyle for you either.”
“What do you mean?” I replied.
“This sitting around, not doing much with the TV on. Life’s too short to be doing that kind of stuff, and I know how much you want to get out of here.”
“I’m- I’m not sure Johnny, it’s not something I’ve ever done before.”
“If you don’t get a push out of your comfort zone then you’ll never experience life. You gotta come with me and my club, I’m telling you you’ll love it.” He ran his fingers through my hair, bringing my face up for a kiss.
A lifetime of adventure really did sound nice, it was what I always wanted, I just didn’t have the guts to do it on my own. If I were to do it with anyone then Johnny was definitely the ideal guy for it.
Before I could give my response the sound of gunshots rang out in the distance. I let out a scream and ducked down but Johnny leaped to his feet and ran to the kitchen, sticking his head out of the window. “That’s coming from the direction of the bar!”
He grabbed his vest off of the chair and bolted out of the door.
“Johnny wait! You can’t go out there you could be shot are you serious?”
“My men could be at that bar, who knows if any of them died. I need to be there for them they’re my brothers!”
He ran before I could convince him to stay, I had to make a split second decision on whether or not to follow him. Another wave of gunshots rang out and I ducked out of instinct. “I’ve been stuck at that counter for years if that bar goes down then I need to see it for myself.”
I ran after Johnny, pulling on some jeans that were on my floor and grabbing a hoodie out of a drawer and slipping it on.
I ran outside to catch him just starting his bike, a few seconds longer and I would have been too late.
“What the hell are you doing? Get back inside this might be too dangerous for you.”
“If you’re right about it coming from the bar then I need to see it for myself, and I won’t take no for an answer.”
Johnny looked in the direction of the bar as the sound of gunfire slowed to a halt.
“Alright alright we don’t have time for this just hop on.”
I got onto the back of the bike, Johnny hit the throttle and we sped out onto the road and towards the bar. The closer we got to the bar the easier it became to see a bright yellow light.
“Jesus Christ it’s on fire!” Johnny yelled as we pulled into the parking lot. Dozens of Johnny’s gang members stood around the building but quickly rushed over at the sight of Johnny pulling up.
“Johnny you’re actually alive? We thought you were a goner in there” said one of the members as the mood of the gang seemed to lighten at the news of Johnny’s safety. It was one of the members Johnny had sat with in the bar, one of the men he trusted most.
“What the hell happened here?” Johnny said as he stepped off of his motorcycle.
I watched as the bar burned, thinking about the years I had spent working there.
“One of our guys saw it, he said Freddie came back with a bunch of the traitors from earlier and lit this place up. They were firing at the building with their guns, by the time we all got here they were fleeing the scene and lit this place on fire.”
“Freddie must have told them I was sleeping in here…” Johnny said as the yellow light of the flame danced off of him.
“We all did, hell we thought you were dead” said the gang member.
Johnny put his hand on the gang member’s shoulder “I’m far from dead brother, and we can’t keep letting these posers and throwaways run around brandishing our name. We need to end this.”
The sounds of fire engine sirens rang out, coming from afar.
“You all get out of here, they see us standing around here they’ll think we did it and turn the hose on us. You find our guys a place to hide out and contact me on my phone.”
The member nodded at Johnny’s orders “alright everyone hitch up we gotta ride like hell out of here!” the member barked as everyone scrambled back to their bikes.
Johnny hopped back on the bike with me as we sped off towards my apartment and away from everyone.
I turned around and watched as part of the bar collapsed from the fire. All I felt in the pit of my stomach was uncertainty.
10
Johnny and I went back to my place, making sure we weren’t followed. Johnny hid his bike in some bushes so that nobody searching for him could recognize it and find where he was.
“We’re gonna have to hold out here for a little” Johnny told me as he took off his vest and sat on my couch. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Johnny this is getting out of control, I mean jesus the police and those deserters are gonna be coming after you.”
“They won’t be coming after me just yet, as far as those traitors are concerned I’m dead and my body is burning in that bar. If there are any traitors still a part of my gang I’m sure they’ll tell the splinter group that their efforts to kill me failed. The whole town knows that we’re together so if they found you they’d probably capture you to get to me so for now we’re stuck here.”
“So what are we supposed to do now?”
“Now we wait until I get word from my right hand man, Max. Back at the bar fire I told him to find a safe place for our guys to hang out until some of the pressure dies down.”
I sat down next to Johnny, in the distance the sounds of fire engine sirens rang out as they fought to take care of the fire.
“I’m sorry about what happened to the bar” Johnny said as he turned to me.
“Don’t be sorry, it was just my job, I can always get another one. Not so sure what Mr. Cullen will do though now that it’s gone.”
“You may have thought it was just a job, but something about it made you content enough to stick with it for that many years.”
I guess he was right now that the bar was gone I did feel some level of sadness, but what I felt even more was confusion. I always thought it was my job at the bar that was holding me b
ack, and that maybe if I could break my ties to it then I’d feel the real drive to get out into the world. Now that the bar was gone the drive still wasn’t there. There was no denying it now, Johnny was right about me.
“Where do you see me in your life?” I asked Johnny.
“Well what do you mean?”
“I mean you’ve told me that you can be my push to leave this place, you said you’d like to have me around, but where would you see me in your life.”
“I guess ride around with me and the gang, we’d give you the freedom to do whatever you want.”
“Johnny that isn’t freedom, that’s just turning in my duties at a job for being forced to go wherever your gang went.”
“Well what the hell is wrong with that” Johnny said getting visibly annoyed.
“Other than the fact that some men who you used to call your brothers just tried to kill you in your sleep?”
“Well if you don’t want to come with us then just fucking stay here, spend the rest of your life sitting at another job wondering “what if!”” Johnny yelled out.
We sat there for a few moments in silence, staring at each other waiting for the other to speak. “You really want me to go with you, don’t you?” I asked..
Johnny remained silent, he didn’t want to admit anything.
“Why do you want me to come so bad, what does it matter to you if I waste my life here?” I asked.
“You know what kind of men join gangs like mine? Yeah a lot of those guys are great and I’m proud to call them brother but to constantly try and stay in charge of these types of guys is a daily struggle. I just want one person in my day to day life that I can connect with, someone who I can actually display weakness to, someone who I can talk to without everything being a power struggle.”
“But why me?”
