by K. J. Dahlen
She pulled on the doorknob and cracked the door open. When she did, her heart sank. The men sitting in the outer room were Grim Reapers. She could see the leather vests on their back and they all said the same thing. She closed the door again softly, but not all the way, not wanting to bring any attention to the fact she’d opened it in the first place. If they thought she was still passed out, it would give her time to figure a way out of this situation.
She looked around the small room. In the dimness, she couldn’t see everything but what she could make out she didn’t like. It must have been a bedroom at one time but now, it was just a dirty hovel. A mattress lay on the floor, pushed up into the corner it had no sheets or even a pillow. The window was boarded over which didn’t allow much light into the room but what little there was showed her there was a pile of clothing on the floor next to the mattress. She moved over to it and saw her jeans laying there. They were the same ones she’s taken off last night before going to bed. She didn’t find her shoes though.
Slipping her jeans over her bare legs, she left something heavy in her back pocket. Pulling it out she saw it was her cell phone. Turning it on, she noticed it survived being thrown on the floor. She quickly turned it off and went back to her spot by the door. She needed to know what she was up against.
Sitting down, she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. At the moment, she thought things couldn’t get any worse. The Grim Reapers were one of the local MC’s. They were ruthless outlaws who thought they didn’t have to follow the laws of everyday life. They had everyone in the area scared to come up against them and for a very good reason.
Jarrett was a small town, only three hundred and four people lived here…just another small town in Louisiana, where everyone knew everyone else’s business or thought they did. Nothing ever happened that ten minutes later everyone in town knew about. But the Grim Reapers were everyone’s concern and now, they thought they owned her. This was not good news.
She didn’t notice it at first but soon, a new sound permeated the air. It held a hint of danger and it made her curious. She opened the door again and peeked out carefully. There were three additional men standing there talking to the Reapers. They were all tall and dark, their hair and their skin color. They were well dressed and clean looking. Nothing at all like the Reapers, who hadn’t seen a bar of soap in weeks.
“All we need you to do is cause enough trouble around town, so we can get what we need to do, done without anyone realizing what we’re doing,” one of the new men explained. “Can you do that?”
The leader, a man named Lyle Boyd, got to his feet. He stood nearly as tall as the men he faced but the difference between them was noticeable. He was dressed in blue jeans and a dirty t shirt. His hair long and greasy looking, as if he hadn’t washed it in several days. He sneered at the three men facing him and nodded. “Yeah, we can do that, but what do we get in return?”
The lead man sneered. “You and your riffraff have been paid very well for what we’ve asked you to do. We need you to draw the authorities away from the water area and keep them busy while we do what we have to do. How you do it, we do not care.”
“What do you have to do?” Lyle asked.
“That is none of your business,” the lead man told him. “All you need to know is what we require you to do.”
Lyle shrugged. “That’s fine, I don’t mind raising hell. In fact, me and my boys love to raise hell.”
The leader sneered. “Yes I’m sure you do. We need a day to get things in place, then we’ll need five days to finish what we started. You need to keep up the distractions for the next six days.”
“What the fuck are we supposed to do for six days?” Lyle scoffed. “I thought this would be a one or maybe two day job, not close to a fucking week.”
The leader of the other men stepped forward. “You made a deal and accepted our money, you will do the job you contracted for or we will kill you, do you understand?” he growled.
Lyle laughed out loud. “You are only three men, we are over twenty, how do you expect to get us all before we kill you?”
The leader stared back at him unafraid. “What makes you think we are only three? We belong to a brotherhood much like you do, only in our brotherhood if something happens to one of us, many more will take his place and seek vengeance for the fallen ones. If you try to cheat us, it will not be a good thing for you or your men. We can and will wipe your entire group out and we will do what we want anyway. Believe me when I say, my people know quite a bit about seeking vengeance.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are anyway?” one of the Reapers asked.
The leader stood tall and proud as he replied, “We are members of an elite group in our own country called the Bleu Vipers and that’s all you need to know. Cross us and we will kill you and everyone you are related too. I promise, it will not be a very pleasant death for any of you.” He paused then glared at Lyle. “We have made a bargain with you. Either do it and shut your mouths or give us back our money and accept your death for your failure. Those are your only options.”
Dead silence followed his remark.
Lyle gazed around at his men then looked back at the other three. “We’ll do it, just liked we planned. When do you want us to start?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“What the hell are we supposed to do for six days?”
The leader shrugged. “I do not care what you do, just keep everyone away from the water. We’ll take care of the rest.”
Georgia closed the door again quietly. Turning toward the room she was being kept in she knew she’d better to find a way out. She needed to get out and get some help. She had a feeling whatever those men were going to do would not be a good thing. And she wasn’t going to be here when the Reapers wanted to play.
The one window in the room was boarded over. When she went closer, she could see why. The window glass was busted out and the only thing that kept the critters out were the loose piece of plywood loosely nailed to the frame.
She worked on pulling the plywood far enough away to squeeze her body through the opening. Her head and body throbbed in protest of what she was doing but she ignored the pain she was in. Finally, she got the opening large enough to pass through it. Dragging her body through the broken window left her with small cuts in several places, but Georgia knew she couldn’t stop. She had to get away while the getting was good. She couldn’t depend on the Reapers leaving her alone for too much longer.
When she got through the window, she could feel the flesh on her side open up from where the broken glass tore her skin on her left side. As she began to move away from the shack, the wet spot grew along her side but Georgia didn’t pay it any mind. She needed to get to the wood line and escape through the trees before anyone noticed she was gone. She had no real clue where she was just yet, but it was getting dark.
She stopped once she got to the safety of the trees and looked back at where she’d come from. As far as she could see, she didn’t leave a trail. She turned and stumbled deeper into the woods.
When she got far enough away from the Reaper’s clubhouse, she stopped to check her side. She hadn’t felt the blood stop yet. Every step she took fresh blood dribbled down her side. It wasn’t flowing like before but she could feel herself growing weaker with every step. She knew she’d lost more blood than she should. That on top of her weakened condition from the concussion wasn’t good.
She sat down on a broken tree and felt along her side. She knew it was too dark for her to see anything but she pressed her hand to the wound anyway to stop the flow. After a few minutes rest, she struggled to her feet and kept going. She had to put as much distance between herself and the Reapers as possible.
Later, she came out on the other side of the woods. She paused while still hidden and looked around. There was a building not too far from where she was but she had no idea who or what was inside. She skirted the building the best she could. It wasn’t unti
l she got to the front of it that she saw the motorcycles. There were six or eight of them parked in what she thought looked like the front door of the place.
Panic set in and she tried to hurry away but her weakened condition made her stumble and fall. She couldn’t help herself. Crying out as she fell hard, her head struck a hidden rock and she groaned as she passed out.
The sound of dogs barking kept up inside the building.
The door opened again, as several men inside rushed out looking around to see what was wrong. Two huge dogs streak out of the building as they zeroed in on her position. They rushed over to her, growled and barked until they realized she wasn’t moving. Then one of the dogs came closer and searched her for injures, then they turned to the men rushing toward them and barked
“What the fuck?” Gage called out as he went down to his knees and turned her over while the other stood guard.
“What’s wrong with her?” the leader Caine asked.
“Some motherfucker beat the hell out of her,” Gage muttered.
“Bring her into the clubhouse, so we can see how badly she’s hurt,” Caine replied.
Gage gathered her in his arms and following the others back, he carried her into the clubhouse and laid her on the sofa. In the light, they could see the extent of her injures. Gage brushed the hair away from her face and gasped at the sight of the bruises on her face. One of her eyes was swollen shut and another bruise glared on her jaw. There were dark bruises on her neck as well. They looked like fingerprints, as if someone had been trying to strangle her. “Fuckin A,” he murmured as he glanced up at his brother. “Somebody had fun but it wasn’t her.”
Caine nodded.
Another of the group brought a basin of wash water and a wash rag. Then someone else brought out a first aid kit.
The dogs gathered at the foot of the sofa and watched everything that went on.
While Gage slowly and carefully washed away the dirt and grime they noted the blood that soaked her left side. He lifted her shirt and saw the ragged cuts. Without an apology, he ripped the t shirt off her, so he could get a better look at it.
No one stared at her naked chest, everyone’s eyes were on her side.
“That looks more like a cut from glass than a knife wound but we won’t know until she wakes up and can tell us.” Gage told them. “It might need a few stitches.”
“Get her cleaned up and stitched before she wakes up then,” Caine ordered.
“Hey boss,” one of the men by the name of Lonnie pointed out, “She’s got a nasty bruise on her forehead too.”
Cain nodded. “Yeah, I think she hit something when she fell. I have to wonder who did this to her and why she was running. I don’t think she meant for us to find her.”
“The only other thing out this way is the Reapers’ shack and that’s over five miles as the crow flies, in the opposite direction,” Big Mike told them.
Caine looked around at the men gathered there. “Maybe one or two of you should sweep the perimeter just to make sure she wasn’t followed. Take the dogs with you.”
Big Mike and Sal checked their weapons then each one of them took one of the dogs and disappeared out the front door. Mike went one way and Sal went the other as they began searching the grounds for intruders. They didn’t trust the Grim Reapers any more than they could throw them and they wouldn’t put it past the other group to try and sneak in and take them out. The Reapers were known around town for their dirty dealing.
Caine sat back and watched with eagle eyes as Gage cleaned up their mystery guest. He put seven stitches in her side and the girl didn’t move. Laying a blanket over her, they all watched as she rested.
Caine looked up while Gage was cleaning up the mess. He looked around at the rest of the men standing there and asked, “Does any recognize her?”
“I’ve seen her around Jarrett but I don’t know her name,” Gage admitted. “She would come into Delancy’s diner once in a while, while I was there. She seemed pretty friendly with Charlotte and Maude”
Georgia groaned and began to thrash around.
Gage moved closer and knelt beside the sofa to try and calm her. “Easy girl, easy,” he whispered.
Georgia frowned at the sound of a man’s voice and tried to open her eyes. She groaned again and raised her hands to her head. Pain exploded when her fingers brushed the bruise on her forehead. She opened her eyes and when she was able to focus, she saw the six men standing there. She tried to scramble back away from them but her sore body wouldn’t allow her to move too quickly. When the blanket fell away from her body, she looked down and found herself in just her glory. She screamed and tried to get away but a strong arm curled around her waist and held her tight.
“Don’t hurt yourself girl.” He growled in her ear. “We’ve all seen what you have to offer and we’ve managed to contain ourselves, so settle down.”
Georgia trembled as she tried to calm herself. She knew if she struggled, they would hurt her again.
“We’re not going to hurt you but I don’t want you to hurt yourself either.” The words were mumbled in her ear. “I need you to calm down. Can you do that?”
Georgia swallowed her fear or at least tried too. Nodding, she felt the arm around her loosen. She sat up and pulled the blanket up to cover herself. She peeked at the men standing in front of her. “Who are you and how did I get here?” she whispered.
“We found you in the woods,” one of them explained. “We don’t know what happened or where you came from but it looks like somebody beat the hell out of you.”
Georgia searched the room. She noted the clean environment of this clubhouse versus the nasty dirty place she’d left. Here, the tables were clean except for a few empty beer bottles. The bar was wiped down and the floors were swept free of debris. The walls were decorated with beer signs and photos. Then she looked at the men. Even they were cleaner than the Reapers. Dressed in jeans and t shirts, they all wore their hair cut short and there vests proclaimed they belonged to a MC but she couldn’t read which one.
“Who are you guys?” she asked.
The tallest of the group shrugged. “We’re known as the Nomads. We’re not really that big a group but we don’t hurt women or kids. You have nothing to fear from us in case you’re worried about that.” He smiled. “My name is Caine Lucas, these are my men, Gage Torbin, Ricky Wayne, Benjy Loren and Lonnie Hart. Mike Casten and Sal Rammer are outside checking the perimeter. What is your name?”
Georgia stared at the men as Caine introduced them. None of them had made a move toward her, so she could only conclude they meant her no harm. “My name is Georgia Lacey.”
Caine nodded. “What happened to you Georgia Lacey? Who hurt you?”
Georgia shuddered. “I was taken last night from my house in Jarrett. The Reapers grabbed me after I’d gone to bed. When I resisted, they beat the hell out of me.” She shrugged. “I guess no one ever told them no before.”
Caine frowned as he shook his head. “Yeah, those guys are bastards all right. Why did they take you?”
Georgia shrugged. “I have no idea but I don’t think they wanted me over for tea.”
“Do you have any family we can call to come and get you?” Gage asked.
Georgia thought about that for a moment then shook her head. She wouldn’t go back to Jarrett until she knew what was going on. “No, I doubt my father would be happy to see me come home.”
Caine growled. “Why not? What does he have to do with this?”
Georgia shrugged. “I don’t know that he had anything to do with this. I found him last night before I went to bed. He was drunk as usual and he didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. He tried to give me some cash and he kept telling me to leave town before it was too late but he ran off before I could ask him about it.”
“Your father did this?” Lonnie asked.
Georgia shook her head. “My father is a drunk and normally, a good person. This wasn’t his idea I don’t think. I overhead one of the R
eapers say he paid good money for me but I don’t think my father had much of a choice in the matter.”
Caine scoffed. “Knowing Lyle Boyd, he probably shoved money into your father’s hand when he was passed out and told him they would come for you. That sounds more like what happened.” He paused then asked, “Why did you stay, if he told you what happened?”
“He didn’t tell me anything but the fact that I had to leave town.” Georgia seethed. “My father likes to drink. He likes it so much, he drinks all the time. Half the time, he tells wild stories and you never know if he’s telling you the truth or not. Last night he was really bad, crying and shit. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. I never expected to have someone break into my house and grab me from my bedroom.”
“Is there anyone else we can call for you?” Gage asked.
Georgia hesitated then shook her head. Her head began to swim and she felt nauseous. “I think I need to sleep at the moment, then I’ll be on my way. Thank you for taking care of me, but I need to leave this place. I can’t stay here for much longer. If they’ll find me here, they’ll hurt you guys to get to me.”
Caine gave her a slow grin. “They won’t came here. They know better than that. We may be small but we don’t take any shit from anybody.”
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “They are into something big. I don’t know what it is but I do know they need to create some kind of diversion. They will come here just to cause trouble. I can’t stay here.” She got to her feet and swayed. “I have to get out of here before they find me.”
“Whoa, there girl.” Gage reached out to steady her. “You can’t go anywhere. If you rip those stitches, you’ll start bleeding again. You lost too much blood to go too far for a while. You need to get some rest and recover some.”
Georgia felt lightheaded and she gripped his arm to stay on her feet. “I can’t stay, they’re coming for me.” Then the darkness took over and she swayed before she lost consciousness.
