by Sara Crest
“Like I said, I see something in you, it just hasn’t come out yet.”
He leaned in and kissed me. I ran my hand up and down his muscular arm as his warm lips wrapped around mine. I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart beating as he ran his hand up my back before nestling his fingers in my hair.
I pushed away from him for a moment, looking into his eyes “if you mean everything you said, then I’ll come with you when you go.”
He smiled as his eyes gleamed, he pulled my head towards him and brought me in for another kiss. The warmth of his lips sent tingles over my body as I embraced him.
Just then Johnny’s phone started ringing, he broke his kiss and looked into my eyes for a brief moment before excusing himself and answering the phone.
He walked into the bathroom to continue the conversation, a quietly followed him in order to listen in.
I put my ear to the door but could only hear muffled chatter, frustrated I gave up and went back to the couch. My frustration didn’t last however as a few seconds later Johnny came out of the bathroom .
“That was Max, he told me he found a place for the gang to hide out for awhile. He’s coming over here so we can discuss how to move forward.”
“Did he mention any plans?”
“No, he said we’ll figure something out once he gets here.”
I felt a little uneasy, with all the unrest in the gang it seemed as if now wasn’t the best time to willingly let other members into my home and around Johnny, but Max was someone that Johnny said he trusted. Johnny did call Max his right hand man, and they were working together to stop the chapter from splintering, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that things weren’t the way they were supposed to be.
Johnny looked at me “everything will be fine” he said as he held the side of my face in his hand. He must have noticed the look of concern on my face to come over and reassure me.
“Just… just don’t let your guard down” I replied as I kissed his palm.
“When you deal with the type of men I deal with your guard never goes down.”
A few minutes later we heard the sound of a motorcycle pulling up outside the building. Johnny walked over to the kitchen window to see Max pulling in on his bike, parking it out front.
Johnny frowned as he watched Max walk towards the building. “He has a gun on him.”
I peeked out the window seeing Max’s empty hands. “How do you know? His hands are empty.”
“He has it concealed. Look at the way he’s walking, he’s keeping one of his arms unnaturally close to his side as if he’s hiding something. That side of his vest is also lower than the other which means it’s heavy enough to weigh it down.”
He sighed and closed the blinds of the window just as Max entered the building.
“Does he not normally have a gun on him? Maybe he’s just protecting himself from a possible attack.”
“I’ve known Max for three years and he’s never carried a gun without the full intent of using it, he’s been in far more danger than this and never carried one on the grounds of self defense. He’s here to kill me.” Johnny had a stern look on his face, but I could still see that he was disappointed “to think I called that man my brother.”
I felt my anxiety shoot through the roof, Johnny had invited a man over and he had the full intention of killing us. “Johnny we got to get out of here we can’t just sit here and wait for him to come and kill us.”
“No, I’m not going to run. I need to hear from the son of a bitch why he’s betraying me. When he comes to the door you answer and let him in, I’ll take care of him the second he walks through that door.”
“But Johnny he has a gun!”
“His only advantage is the element of surprise and we just took that away from him, just trust me on this one.”
Before I could voice more qualms with the plan I heard a knock on the door. I walked to the and looked through the peephole, seeing Max on the other side. He had his hand in his jacket, seemingly ready to draw the pistol the second Johnny opened the door.
I slowly opened the door, practically shaking at the thought of him hiding a gun. I gave a fake smile to him as Johnny moved behind the door and waited.
“Is Johnny around?” Max asked, his voice sounded heavy. He took his hand from out of his jacket when he didn’t see Johnny, guess I wasn’t important enough to kill.
“Yes he’s in the bathroom” I said trying not to show how nervous I was, come inside you can wait for him.
“I’d prefer to wait out here actually” he said sternly. My palms immediately became sweaty, he wasn’t taking the bait and I had to think of something fast.
“Oh then let me get you some water while you wait” I said with a fake grin on my face.
“That isn’t necessary” he replied.
“Oh don’t worry it’s not any trouble” I said as I turned and walked to the kitchen. I got a glass and began filling it up with water, looking over at Max standing in the open doorway and smiling at him.
“God I hope this works” I thought.
I began walking back to him with the water in my hand. Just as I walked by my center table I purposely caught my foot on the leg of the table and pretended to fall hard onto the floor, faking a cry in pain.
Max took the bait, he walked inside to help me up, reaching out with both of his hands to lift me off of the ground. Johnny didn’t hesitate, he lunged from behind the door and grabbed max by the collar of his shirt with his left hand, landing a solid punch to his face with his right.
Max stumbled and fell over, disoriented from the hit. Johnny shut the door and pinned Max to the ground, Johnny must have been at least 50 pounds heavier than Max and held him in place with ease. He dug through Max’s jacket and pulled out a pistol, he extended the pistol out to me, I hesitated but took it from him.
Johnny raised his fist to punch Max again but stopped, seemingly unable to hurt a man he once trusted so dearly.
He grabbed Max by the collar with both hands, hovering just inches away from his face as he stared at him intensely. “Tell me why you came here.”
“You’ve lost control Johnny, we’re under good authority that the state and federal police are gonna be on our ass soon enough, there are some of us that could go away for a long time. You’ve let this chapter split up for far too long, if it kept going it could spread.”
“When I drag your ass to the other Raiders they’re gonna have your fucking head” Johnny snarled.
“You idiot, you think I’m acting out on my own? The whole damn chapter thinks this is for the best, half of them are on their way right now to make sure I finished the job.”
“You’re bluffing” Johnny replied.
I began to hear the sound of engines in the distance, similar to what I heard the first day the gang came into town. I ran over to the window and opened it up, the room filled with the unmistakeable sound of dozens of motorcycles closing in, the sound of their bikes was only drowned out by their chants and hollers. I rushed back to Johnny “He’s not bluffing Johnny the whole gang is on their way right now.”
Johnny didn’t budge, he stayed on top of Max glaring at him.
I pulled Johnny by his shoulder “come on Johnny this is serious let’s go!”
“They could just be here to make sure I’m ok, I’m not abandoning my club!”
“Then why wouldn’t they call you? Johnny you either stay here and risk the lives of both of us or we leave the gang behind and get out of here with our lives.
“Ahhh!” Johnny yelled in frustration as he got off of Max. He took Max’s gun from my hand and put it in the waist of his jeans. He turned and kicked Max hard in the stomach, causing him to grunt in pain on the ground. “Let’s go” Johnny said as he took the gun from me and grabbed me by my hand, bolting out the door. I turned to look at my apartment, wondering when I’d get to return.
We rushed down the stairs and out the back door just as the gang was pulling up to the front of the build
ing. Their noise was practically deafening as Johnny kept his cool and led me to the bushes where he hid his bike.
“Hey he’s over here!” a gang member yelled out as he came around from the side of the building.
“Shit, hop on!” Johnny said as he turned the key in his bike and brought it to life. I jumped on behind him and held onto his body tight, he wasted in no time speeding out of the bushes, driving across the grass on onto the road.
I looked behind us to see some of the gang members chasing after us on their motorcycles. I tapped Johnny on his side and pointed behind us. Johnny took out Max’s gun and fire it into the air, scaring our pursuers off.
As we raced down the road and onto the highway I looked behind us to see the town slowly disappearing from view, its light fading as we sped towards the night. It had been years since I left the town and now, for my own safety and for my own good in the long run, I was leaving. Yet as I squeezed Johnny’s body against mine, as the wind blew through my hair, and despite all that had happened... I still wasn’t sure if I was making the right choice.
Act II
1
I brought the hot cup of coffee to my mouth, sipping it as I felt my body strain to give me a little bit of energy. We had rode through the night, Johnny had the bike going so fast that the wind was too loud for us to talk. By the time we stopped we were in Alabama, I think Johnny would have kept going if I didn’t keep tugging on his vest until he pulled over. We had found a small diner off of the highway and stopped to get our bearing.
Johnny ordered some toast as I drank my coffee, he seemed incredibly on edge.
“We need to rest” I said “we’ve been riding for hours they’re not going to find us here.”
“They know exactly where we’re going” Johnny said as the waitress handed him a plate of toast.
“Oh they do? That’s strange since I don’t even know where we’re going, I thought we were just trying to get out of there.”
“We’re going to see the major leaders of the gang up in Seattle and-”
“Seattle?!” I blurted out interrupting him.
“Yeah Seattle, I’m the head of the Southeast chapter but the real higher ups operate around the northwest. I need to tell them what’s going on and get help to regain control.”
“Back at my apartment you made a choice, go out and risk your life to wrest back control of that angry mob that was once your gang or flee with me to safety. I guess I thought it meant you chose me.”
He took my hand from my coffee mug and held it. “I could have gone out there and tried to reason with them, I could have taken the chance. Had I taken that chance there was a possibility they would have gunned me down where I stood before them. If you weren’t now a part of my life I would have gladly taken that chance, to die with my club’s name on my jacket… but with you I feel like I may have something more to live for. With you I feel like I can reach higher than before.”
“Oh Johnny…” I said as I squeezed his hand “but why take the risk, why drive all the way to Seattle?”
“Well it’s just… I just want one last chance with them. I want one last chance to lead them again and if I make it to Seattle I know I can do it. You don’t have to come with me, but it would mean a lot if you did.”
I could feel my anxiety skyrocketing. I finally had taken the first steps towards freedom from my old life but my choices were far from ideal. I had to choose between going back home and risking the wrath of Johnny’s gang, to go off on my own which I didn’t think I was ready to do, and to ride with Johnny who I fully believe could protect me but we’d still be exposed to danger. I felt his hand squeeze mine as I looked up at him and smiled, I wanted to make a decision but I was far too tired. Riding all night had completely drained my energy and no amount of coffee could make up for being up this long.
“Johnny, I can’t give you a real answer right now. I know time is a factor here but I need a least a little bit to sleep and think about it. You understand right?”
Johnny sighed in disappointment but nodded his head. He took out some cash and left it on the table as he took my hand and brought me outside to his bike. “We should drive a little farther down, if we’re further from the highway it’ll be harder for them to locate us if they do come rolling through” Johnny said.
We got on the bike and drove off, the ride mostly consisted of me trying not to fall asleep and fall off the bike but after a few minutes we finally found a motel. Johnny pulled into parking lot and angled his bike so that it would be less visible from the road.
“You really think they could find us this far out?” I asked as we headed towards the motel entrance.
“I’m more worried about the Alabama chapter, they’re gonna be on the lookout for me. Chances are my gang lied to them and said I was a traitor myself, they’d probably shoot me on sight.”
I looked at his arms, with how big they were his tattoos were very visible and clearly showed the markings of his gang. “Any member is gonna identify you” I said with concern “you have the tattoos of a chapter leader and how many 6’5 men can there be in your club? You stick out like a sore thumb compared to the average person let alone your club brothers…”
“You’re right, we’ll have to figure something out.”
We walked into the motel and Johnny bought us a room. The girl working at the reception desk gave me a dirty look, eying me up and down after she saw Johnny’s tattoos. She must have recognized that Johnny was in a gang and probably thought we were here for a quick hookup. As Johnny paid I held his hand, trying my best not to look like some girl he just picked up off the street. Although it worried me that she’s seen enough Raiders to recognize Johnny’s tattoos on sight. It could mean that they operate closer than we thought.
We headed over to the room, seeing the bed gave me a huge sigh of relief. “Johnny I think you should take your vest off.”
“yeah I'll take it off when I sleep.”
“No Johnny I mean I think you should take it off until we sort all of this out.”
“I earned this vest, I ain't taking it off.”
“Johnny it has Raiders on the back if your tattoos don't give you away then the vest definitely will.”
He sighed “I don't like it, but you're right. I don't want to put you in any unnecessary danger.” He took the vest off and folded it before putting it on the nightstand.
He took his t shirt off, I couldn't help but watch his sculpted body as he lay down in bed exhausted.
I quickly followed him, cuddling up next to him as I ran my fingers up and down his torso. He put his hand on the back of my head and kissed me on my forehead. I lay my head down against his chest and listened to his heart, it's rhythmic beating sang me to sleep.
2
I woke up just three and a half hours later to see Johnny already up and leaning against the window. “I hope you at least got some sleep” I said as I got up and gave him a hug from the side, kissing his back and shoulder as he wrapped one of his arms around me.
“Yeah I slept, couldn't sleep much with everything on my mind though… you think you can handle riding another couple of hours?”
“Can’t we just take a plane to Seattle? I’ve got the money for both of us, we could find a place to leave your bike for now.”
“If I could I would, but I’d probably be arrested as soon as I checked in. Flying is not an option.”
“Johnny can I ask you something? And please don’t take it the wrong way.”
“Shoot.”
“Why did the sheriff want to arrest you, is it for the same reason you can’t fly?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Johnny you don’t have to-”
“Ash, do you trust me?”
“I wouldn’t have come this far if I didn’t trust you Johnny.”
He took a deep breath “the police think my chapter is producing and dealing drugs.”
I felt blindsided, I took a step back from him. “You’re the reason why all the
towns near mine were being flooded with drugs?”
“No no no it’s not like that. We have some members that have started a drug operation on the side to make some extra cash, I’ve been trying to stomp it out because it brings attention from the real police like the state and federal cops. This whole damn splinter group thing started because some members don’t believe me when I say I have nothing to do with it, they think I’m taking a cut of the profits. So these guys split off because they think that not only am I going against the club’s unspoken no drug rule by allowing it to operate but they think I’m getting rich off of it.”
“So is that really the truth? You had nothing to do with the drugs?”
“Baby doll there’s no such thing as a biker who deals drugs and doesn’t have a taste of his product. If I was a part of this you would have seen me do a bump already.”
We had come this far and I had no reason to stop believing him now “ok, I’m sorry I doubted you.”
He leaned down and kissed me as I felt the warmth of his touch comfort me. “Let’s get out of here, we have a lot of road ahead of us.”
He put his shirt back on, tucking his folded vest underneath his arm to try and conceal it. Leaving the motel felt good, after getting that dirty look from the girl at the front desk I was worried that we’d be found here. Never in my life did I have to walk around trying to avoid people, having to do it now to protect my life just felt weird. I always thought the kind of freedom I’d have would be going to all the places I’ve dreamt about visiting, maybe doing some odd jobs on the side in order to make ends meet until I was forced to come back home and save up again. Never did I think that I’d fall for a biker club leader and end up stuck with him for my own safety. I did feel safe with him though, he had the level of determination to do almost anything and once this was all sorted out I wanted us to be together. Even if this all ended though I still had to wonder where his mind would be with the Rolling Raiders, but his steps towards hiding his allegiance to them in public in order to protect me made me feel much better about it.
