by Davida Lynn
She felt a new warmth from the bikers that had been missing when she was just a prospect. She decided that it wasn’t weakness that made her crave that warmth; it was a strength in brotherhood. They were beginning to trust her, and they were beginning to let her in to the true club. She knew she was still a prospect, but for the first time, Raven felt that she was wanted.
Then there was Gunner. Every time their eyes met, she tried to discover what it was that he wanted. He was a source of endless frustration. She knew there were unwritten rules, but she was already contemplating breaking them, even if it was just to find out what Gunner was after. As the low buzz of Raven's fifth beer began to make itself known, she made a deal with herself: pass the other two tests, then deal with Gunner. She didn't know what deal with meant, but she would figure that out when she was a full-fledged Rising Son.
As the clock neared ten, they could hear motorcycles pulling up outside. Los Bandoleros was the type of place where men and their ol’ ladies would wait outside. If the place didn't open until ten at night, they'd get there at half past nine. Odds were good that somebody had a cooler, and they’d be able to pregame before the bar opened.
Raven may have passed the first step, but all prospects had to do as they were told. Even though it was her night off from serving at the bar, Bear decided she should tend regardless. Something about building character and humility—she didn't really hear the bullshit line he gave her.
It should have pissed her off, but she was in a good mood. Trask sat at the bar and kept her company while she served. He seemed to be opening up to her. He told more stories about his past and about the club. Raven got the impression that he was warming up to the idea of a woman becoming a Rising Son. She could only listen to him for half an hour, because after that the band got started. From then on, all she heard was Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett, and people yelling for beers.
Some of the other Sons began to filter in along with a regular crowd. Word must have spread, because many of them came up to the bar to congratulate Raven.
After pouring some whiskey, she turned around to see Gunner standing at the bar. He had a cocky smile on his face as he watched her.
She met his stare with a newfound confidence. She was one step closer to being his equal. "What are you staring at?"
"Just taking it all in. Good job, kid. Climbing the ladder. But you're still lower on the ladder than me, so why don't you rustle me up a Jack and Coke?"
Raven leaned in close to Gunner, maybe even too close for comfort. "If I had balls as big as you, Gunner, I’d dip them in your drink." For a tense second he didn't react, and Raven thought she had gone too far. Just as she was about to apologize, she saw the corners of his mouth turn up. He cracked up, slamming his hands on the bar and roaring with laughter.
“Fuckin’ hilarious,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes. “But seriously, the drink.”
It was infectious. The bikers that had heard the two of them shooting insults back and forth. The tension Raven had felt disappeared, and she let loose a little bit. She made Gunner his drink, making sure it was much heavier on the Jack than usual. She winked and handed it to him. He had earned it.
It was one of the best nights of her life. She had worked hard, and after six months of being beaten down, a faint light began to shine. Raven was one step closer to becoming a true part of the Rising Sons Motorcycle Club.
Bear sat at a table with the old-timers. They reminisced about their time in jail, drinking to the fact that they would never go back again. As Cecil and Clyde told stories of their time behind bars, Bear watched Raven from across the bar.
She had proved him wrong. She had proved everybody wrong. She was tough, and he liked that. He knew things were going to get rough, and people like Raven would be worth more than their weight in gold.
With the loyalty test out of the way, Raven felt relieved. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It wasn't just because she had completed one of the tests, but because she considered the first test to be the hardest. The second challenge to becoming a Rising Son was the test of courage. Unlike loyalty, the test of courage wasn't something that the prospect did to prove themselves. Courage was something that a full-fledged member of the club witnessed the prospect doing.
She knew it wouldn't be something as simple as saving a little old lady from getting run over. Her mind jumped more to something like taking a bullet for a fellow biker. She also understood that it wasn't something she could manufacture. It would come in its own time, and worrying about it wouldn't make it happen any faster.
Though her anxiety gnawed at her, Raven had less than two weeks to wait before her final tests.
After another Saturday night of serving beer and whiskey, Raven was back doing her favorite chore: wiping down the bar at the end of the night. At least she had good company. Her brother was the one closing the bar down that weekend. She relished the opportunity to spend some quality time with him when he didn’t have his biker persona on full blast.
As she wiped down the bar, Raven smiled and listened as Tanner told her about a woman he’d met. The night before, some of the guys had taken him out for his birthday. Raven knew they were going to a strip club and had gracefully declined their invitation. Some other time, she might've enjoyed herself and the company of the club, but she didn't find the idea of watching her brother get lap dances very appealing.
"Look. Don't judge me, but for a stripper, she was real nice." Tanner had a grin on his face as he realized how ridiculous his sentence was. A fair share of Captain and Cokes had put him in a jovial mood.
Raven had only seen Tanner that happy after a long ride or a hard fight. She couldn't remember the last time he'd been head over heels for a woman. "Right. The way she could put her legs behind her head was real nice, I'm sure."
Tanner waved a finger at his sister. "No, no, no. She wasn't that kind of stripper." He squinted and tilted his face to one side. "Okay, so maybe she was. It was my birthday, though. It was like going to Applebee's and getting your meal for free."
"Oh my God. I no longer want to be a part of this conversation. I don't want to think about you and a stripper. And now you've ruined Applebee's for me, too." Raven threw the wet bar rag at her brother, whose reflexes, despite being drunk, allowed him to snatch the rag out of the air with ease.
Tanner tossed the rag back to her. Raven caught the corner, but the backend came around and got her in the cheek. She mimed like she was about to throw up, and her brother pounded the bar as the two siblings cracked up.
"Seriously, though," she said as her brother came down from his laughter. "I've never heard you talk about a girl this way."
"I've never felt this way about a girl. I mean, this one might be a keeper."
Another sentence she'd never heard her brother say. Raven could barely believe it. Her big brother, Tanner, settling down? The guy who would do anything for a thrill. This was the guy she’d thought would die on the back of a motorcycle without an ol’ lady to cry for him.
Raven shook her head. Looks like I'm not the only one changing their mind about the opposite sex…
A few days later, Raven was excited to meet Tanner's girl. She would have to say her name without giggling, but she'd manage: Charity. Raven decided it was a great stripper name. It was one that made you laugh at first, but the more you thought about it, the more layers it had.
She couldn't hear her phone over the music, but she felt the vibration and pulled it out. Her brother was calling, so she headed back into the kitchen where she would be able to hear him.
"Hey, what's up?"
Tanner’s voice was twisted metal, sharp and ugly. "I'm worried, sis. She hasn't called me. She hasn't called her friends at the club. I think something happened."
"Her ex?" Raven's heart jumped into gear, ready for action. She had a stalker ex-boyfriend, and to make matters worse, it was another Bakersfield PD.
"I don't know. But if I had to put money on it, I'd say yes. I called the
club and talked to somebody named Princess, I think. Says she's besties with Charity. She's got to call a few places then get back to me."
"What you need for me? Name it." Raven prepared to leave the bar and head wherever Tanner needed her.
Tanner waited a moment, then said, "I know her ex's name. I need his address, and I know you can get it."
Raven's heart sank. She could fight better than most of the men in the club, she could shoot, and she was smart. But in this case, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the man she happened to be fucking. She felt useless.
"Sis, I know he's got her. I just do. The guy’s nuts. Get his address from your friend, and then get the hell over here. You're coming with me."
She took a deep breath. "I'm on my way." Raven dreaded the call that would get her deeper in debt with Allan, but given the circumstances, she saw no other choice. So far, she’d been able to dodge Allan and his demands, but that was about to end.
The previous day’s rain had washed the road clean. Most of the desert life sucked up the moisture, but the riverbed behind the Bandoleros had a small creek running down it. Raven could still smell the rain in the air as she peeled out of the parking lot.
Tanner was desperate, and Raven knew she could help. At first she thought her brother only wanted her because of her contact. It had made her feel useless, but then he called her to his side. They were partners.
Even before making the call, she knew that asking Allan for the cop’s address would up the ante. She owed him more than she could even fathom. She would think about it later, though. At the moment, the only thing Raven was thinking about was saving her brother's girlfriend.
She made the usual twelve-minute trip in less than seven. Tanner's Harley was in the driveway facing the street, ready to go. She pulled in, turned it around next to his, and went inside.
Tanner was standing in the kitchen, his hands at the sink, his head hung low. His shoulders were hunched as if defeat was crushing his body. When the screen door slammed, he turned his head in a slow, deliberate movement.
"Got the address. Let's do this.” Raven dug her phone out and held it up.
Tanner's head moved from side to side, his eyes sunken in and bloodshot. "No. We’re not doing anything."
Raven was impatient. She was ready to ride and fight for Charity. "What the hell do you mean? Let's go.”
Tanner turned to his sister, and the light reflected off the tearstains on his cheeks. "We can't go. We can't save her. The club said no. If the club says no, we do nothing.”
"What the hell are you talking about? This isn't about the club. This is about you and Charity. Who gives a fuck what they think?" Raven's blood was boiling. Her hands shook. "She's your girl, Tanner. Let's go fucking save her."
"You don't know how things work. Without approval, we've got no safety net. You think I'm letting this guy go? You think this is a warning? No. It was going to end tonight, but if the club won't stand behind us, there's nothing I can do."
Raven already had her phone out. She dialed Bear’s burner and waited. When it went to voicemail, she hung up and dialed right back. Bear was never far from his phone, and Raven wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Bear picked up right away. "What is it?"
She tried to suppress her rage, but it was like putting a lid on a pot of boiling water. It found a way to surge over and hiss as it caught flame. "Let us get her. I don't know what Tanner asked you, but this is what I'm asking you. I know he's a cop, and I know we’re being watched, but this girl is dead without us. I don't know if appealing to your sensitive side will do anything, so this might be a waste, but Tanner is in love. Fucking love."
Raven could hear Bear start to speak, but she cut him off before he could get a word in. "Remember Faith. Remember the life that you took her from. That you saved her from. That's all we’re asking for: to save a girl from a life we know will kill her. You know what it feels like to save the woman you love. Give Tanner the chance to feel that, too.”
Raven waited, staring at the linoleum floor. It felt like hours. The silence made her think the call has been disconnected and it was all for nothing. She pulled the phone away from her ear and saw the seconds still ticking away.
A sound from the speaker made her bring it back to her ear in a hurry. Bear’s aging voice spoke, and his aging heart relented. "I ain't about this, darlin’. I want to be very clear about that.”
“I know. I know you aren’t, but let us do this. I know what we’re going up against, and I know what that could bring down on the club. Bear, if I could take the full responsibility on this one, I would, but something tells me a prospect that’s only passed one test doesn’t carry much weight in your book. I get it. I fuckin’ understand, but Jesus Christ. There’s a girl out there that’s hurting—bad. Maybe worse.”
Raven could hear Bear thinking it over. “I know what’s gonna happen tonight. I don’t care if the guy is a fuckin’ serial killer. He’s a cop, and that’s gonna fall back on us if there is one single shred of evidence. I’m tellin’ you right now, I’ll hang ya both myself if it comes to that. You get me, darlin’?”
“I get ya.” Raven smiled. She turned to her brother, and his youth came back to him in a flash. She nodded and choked back her emotions.
Bear sighed on the other end of the phone. “Go save the girl,” he grumbled. “But she is gonna owe us big. I don’t even know how big, but big. We aren’t a goddamn charity.”
Raven tried not to smirk. “You got it. Thank you, Bear.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He hung up.
She slid her phone back into her pocket and turned to Tanner. He looked strong again. That fiery look was in his eyes, and Raven knew it was time.
“Let’s go get your girl back.”
A block from the house, they killed their engines and coasted into the driveway. Kickstands down, they swung over and off their machines. Raven’s heart was pumping hard, but she was in control. Tanner removed a gun from the back of his jeans, pulled the slider back, and flipped the safety off.
Raven heard a TV on in the house, but couldn’t see anyone inside. Her brother pulled open the screen door and tried the heavier interior door. It was locked, but Tanner didn’t waste any time. He took a step back and planted his foot into the center of the door with all his weight.
The wood around the lock and handle splintered as the door buckled. The sound of the TV got louder as Tanner stormed the kitchen, Raven right behind him. As the cop came through the entryway to find out what the hell had happened, Tanner put his shoulder down and barreled into him.
Raven saw the cop’s maniacal smile as Tanner slammed him into the refrigerator. The cop had a taser in his hand, and Raven went for it before he could bring it down on Tanner’s neck. She grabbed the cop’s thick arm, trying to hold him back.
Raven was strong, but the cop was ripped, and she was already losing. Tanner pulled himself upright and threw a punch across the cop’s face. Raven heard something break in his nose and blood began to pour immediately. The cop swung at her and she caught it in the temple. She cried out but kept herself conscious, if only barely.
The force of the blow knocked her into the living room, and despite the haze from the hard hit, she could hear a woman screaming.
“I’m in here! Help!” It was faint and coming from the hallway. As Raven got to her feet, the two large men tripped and fell into the living room. They came down on a glass end table with Tanner on the bottom, taking the hard hit. The cop had his arm at Tanner’s throat. Raven looked around for the gun, but it was nowhere to be seen. Later she would find it buried under debris in the kitchen.
Hearing Tanner’s girl gave her a righteous feeling. They had been right, and the cop had to go down. Raven kicked the cop hard in the side, but he didn’t pull away from Tanner.
