by Anna Mara
“We can have all the fun you want, sweet thing. There’s a couch in the back.” He nodded towards the open doorway with the swinging saloon doors. He stopped dancing and started to tug her in that direction. “Come on.”
Suddenly, Tori sensed rather than saw the other bikers begin to crowd her, obviously wanting to get in on the action too. Sick fear coiled in the pit of her stomach and a wave of nausea climbed up her throat. Oh my God, they were all going to rape her and she knew it for a fact!
“No! Let me go!” She resisted Wizard’s pull. Her frightened eyes glanced over his muscled shoulder onto her grandmother’s horrified face.
Nana rushed forward and began hitting the biker bartender with her purse. “Leave her alone, you pig,” the elder lady screamed, as she tried valiantly to save her granddaughter.
An evil laugh spewed out of the fat biker who had been chugging beer at the counter. He grabbed Nana by the arms and held her still. “Hold on, Grandma, this won’t take long,” he sneered. “We’re just having a little fun, that’s all.” He laughed harder as Nana squirmed more.
Tori’s scream tore through the air before Wizard’s clammy hand clamped over her mouth. She went wild then, kicking and yanking and twisting and resisting but it was all in vain. The biker was too damn strong and his arms were like a steel clamp around her cold, quaking body. She glanced up and she could have sworn she saw Hell in his crazed eyes.
Oh my God, how could this harrowing nightmare be happening to her? She was just a simple kindergarten teacher from a small Texas town, for crying out loud. She should have been home right now, soaking in a hot bubble bath. How had she ended up here? The thoughts whizzed through her brain in one second of time as she was dragged roughly towards those saloon doors. But every fiber in her being was still physically fighting him and she would keep on doing so, no matter what!
It happened in a flash…
One second Wizard’s excited, malevolent eyes were glaring down at her and in the next they were bulging out of their sockets, as a heavily tattooed, muscular arm came around his neck and squeezed tightly, choking the bastard. A powerful punch then landed in the middle of his back. The force was so strong Tori felt it come out of the bartender and into her body. He released his evil grip on her and she tumbled backwards onto the floor, grunting as her tailbone thumped the cement.
Finally free, she scrambled out of the way and stood up, only to see the fifth biker—the one with the smart phone who’d leered at her earlier—brawling with Wizard. With his tall, six foot frame and large biceps, he was easily the stronger of the two.
Tori, rooted to the spot, gawked in horror at the violence she was seeing as the brute landed a vicious punch to the bartender’s nose. Blood spurted like a mist through the air and landed on the bar counter but that didn’t stop him. In fact, it seemed to spur him on as he pummeled a series of powerful blows to Wizard’s stomach. The bartender’s efforts were futile against the other man’s skill. The tall biker then grabbed a handful of Wizard’s hair and slammed his head hard against the wall. A low moan escaped the slimy bartender’s lips, as he crumpled to the floor in a heap—bloody, limp, and unmoving.
The tall biker swung around to the others. “Okay, who’s next?” he snarled, and waited to see if any of them wanted to take him on too. But when the fight had begun, all the others had parted from the brawling duo, giving them space. Tori sensed they were afraid of and respected this fellow club member, and none of them were going to challenge him.
“Aw come on, Savage, you didn’t have to do that,” one of the fifty-year-old bikers said to the tall one as he gazed down at Wizard’s crumpled body. “He was just havin’ a little fun.”
“Yeah, he didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” the fat one who’d been holding Nana hostage added. When the punch-up began, he had released the older woman who now stood off to the side, she too seemingly transfixed by the brutality that had just occurred.
With the back of his hand, Savage Monroe wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth where Wizard had leveled a glancing blow. “It’s bad for business. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you clowns,” he growled.
Tori had never seen such violence in all her life except in the movies. Coming to her senses and realizing that they should get the hell out of there fast, she rushed to where Nana was standing in the back. Grabbing her purse off the table, she yanked at her grandmother’s arm. “Nana, let’s go,” she commanded but the older woman stood rooted to the spot, with a curious expression of wonder on her face as her eyes were glued still to the tall, brutal biker.
Tori tried to pull her away again. “Nana, come on,” she hissed.
“No, I have to speak to that young man first and thank him.” She made a move towards him.
“Are you crazy? After what just happened?”
She looked up then, just in time to see Savage or whatever the hell his name was, barreling towards the both of them with a frown marring his handsome features. Her heart leapt into her throat. Maybe he was going to beat them up too like he had Wizard? Or would he finish what that satanic bartender had started and drag her into the back for his own pleasure and rape her himself?
He stopped a foot away and peered down at the duo from his superior height. Suddenly, his mouth curved into a devastating smile. “Ladies.” He nodded at them politely. But in the twinkling of an eye, his smile dropped only to be replaced with a fierce scowl. “Get the fuck out!”
Before the women had a chance to move, he had clamped one hand on each of their arms and was escorting them out the door, like a bouncer would at a nightclub.
Tori was livid. “Get your filthy hands off me, you animal.” She tried to wrench out of his death grip. She’d been manhandled enough today to last a lifetime, and none of these creeps were ever going to touch her again.
Nana, on the other hand, had a big satisfied smile on her face and allowed herself to be led by his strong capable hand.
Savage kicked the front doors open with his right black biker boot and the trio emerged into the bright, hot Vegas sunshine. It was only then that he released them.
He turned to Tori. “Listen, Snow White, you’re at the wrong party here, unless you wanted to get gang-raped in there.”
He sounded stern but an amused gleam twinkled in his eyes, the same gleam she had seen when he’d looked her over when they’d first walked in.
“Look, mister, all we wanted to do was ask about our friend, Joe Sorelli.”
“Yeah, well you did. You got an answer. Now leave. And don’t come back.”
Nana seemed enthralled by him and threw him a radiant smile. “I want to thank you, young man, for what you did for my grandbaby. What’s your name, by the way?”
He turned to her. “They call me Savage, ma’am.”
“Of course, they would,” Tori mumbled.
Savage heard the sarcastic sotto-voce comment and smirked her way. “I suggest you remember that then the next time you decide to leave Fairy Tale Land and venture into Hell.”
Tori’s defiant eyes lowered to her grandmother. “Come on, Nana, let’s go.”
Okay, so maybe this biker had saved her from a fate worse than death and yes, she should be thanking him, but dammit—he was one of them after all; and from what she’d seen, he was just as violent and if not more so, since those other psychopaths had been scared of this one.
Besides, what he’d done hadn’t been for her benefit but for his stupid club’s. Hadn’t he schooled all of his fellow bikers afterwards that what had happened to her—or almost happened—was quote ‘bad for business’ unquote? Of course it would have been! He wouldn’t have wanted his entire gang taken out on rape charges, now would he?
Suddenly, the enormity of it all hit Tori like a subway train and her whole body began to shake. Oh my God, she’d almost been gang-raped—and who knows what could have happened afterwards. They might have even killed her and her wonderful Nana too. Her knees suddenly gave out and she crumpled into a sitting po
sition on the sidewalk.
“Tori!” Nana yelled, as she came down on her haunches beside the younger woman.
Savage also crouched, a look of worry crossing his features. “What’s wrong?”
Beads of sweat broke out on Tori’s forehead as a bolt of fear squeezed her heart. Her stomach felt queasy. “I—I can’t get up. I don’t know…what’s wrong with me?” Her breathing had become short and shallow.
“It’s called aftershock, sweetheart.” Then his voice turned hard and he mumbled half to himself, “For fuck’s sake, I don’t need this right now.” But then his eyes softened, as he looked down at Tori again and he let out a resigned sigh. Scooping her up, he lifted her into his powerful arms.
“What are you doing?” Tori tried to put a good amount of indignation into her voice but she was still shaking very badly and all she could manage was a squeak of a question.
He ignored her and turned to Estelle. “Where’s your car?”
“Over here.” Nana retrieved the keys from Tori’s purse where she’d dropped it when she’d collapsed, and opened the car doors.
Gently, Savage deposited Tori into the back seat, laying her prone as best he could. “Do you want me to drive you home?” he offered, a modicum of concern seeping through his words.
“No thanks,” Tori whispered, mustering up as much strength as she could. She certainly didn’t want this thug knowing at which hotel they were staying. He was not to be trusted.
Nana shook her head. “I can drive, thank you, Mr. Savage.” She graciously smiled at him before getting into the driver’s seat. She opened all the windows to let the heat out before putting on the air conditioning.
Savage shut the back car door with finality. “Then good-bye, ladies. It’s been—fun,” he mocked, obviously having eavesdropped on their conversation earlier. He bent and popped his head through the open window to peer at Tori. “I’ve got some advice for you, Snow White. In future, stay out of dragon caves. But I think you’ve learned your lesson today.”
His lips broke into a wide smile, showing a set of perfect even white teeth before a bout of soft laughter escaped from his full, sexy mouth. He was clearly laughing at her, making fun. With one last teasing look, he turned and disappeared back into the bar.
“You big jerk!” Tori mumbled, as those black double doors swallowed him up.
Chapter 7
Thursday – 12:37 p.m.
Jubilee Hotel & Casino
Tori and Nana entered Tori’s hotel room, both ladies silent and lost in their own thoughts. Not much had been said in the car on their drive back. By the time they’d reached their hotel, Tori had regained her strength, and despite Nana’s coddling and over-the-top insistence on getting a hotel wheelchair for her granddaughter, she was able to walk just fine to the elevators and up to her room.
Now, as Tori plopped down on her bed, she watched Nana rifle through the minibar and pull out a small whiskey bottle, unscrewing it open. Guzzling it down in one shot, the senior turned to stare at her granddaughter. Tori noticed that the elder’s hand was shaking slightly.
Suddenly, Nana’s mouth dropped open in shock. She approached Tori. “Oh my God, baby, look at your arms,” she wailed.
There were bruises on her skin where Wizard had grabbed her. Getting up, Tori went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Blue marks marred both of her arms. A shiver of fear went down her spine as she remembered what had almost happened.
Nana came into view and she burst into tears. “Oh, Tori honey, this is all my fault!” She wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and hugged her tightly. “We should never have come. You were right all along. We’re going to pack our bags right now and go home tonight.”
“Don’t cry, Nana, please.” Tori hated to see the elder upset. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it was. We should have gone to the police about Joe. You were right.” She raised her head to look into Tori’s eyes, her blonde hair tilting up awkwardly. “I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you, sweetheart. You’re the love of my life!”
“I know, Nana. I love you too!” Tears welled up in the younger woman’s eyes as she squeezed her grandmother tightly. “Why don’t we go sit down and talk about things, okay?”
Nana allowed herself to be led to the bed. The pair sat down, and the elder blew her nose loudly into a tissue, dabbing at her wet eyes.
Tori continued. “I’ve been thinking and I want you to hear me out. We’re not going home. In fact, we’re staying right here and looking for Joe, no matter what.”
“What?” Shocked, Nana sprang off the mattress. “Have you gone plumb crazy? After what happened?”
Tori stubbornly tilted her chin up. “No! No one is going to run me out of this town. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready, and I ain’t ready yet.”
Tori had been thinking about this the entire drive back from the biker bar. Of course, what had happened to her had scared her to death but she had come to Las Vegas to find Joe Sorelli and get her grandmother’s money back and dammit, that’s what she was going to do! No one, not that evil pig Wizard, or those other disgusting biker thugs, or that arrogant, vicious, Savage person, or anyone else in this sin-city-of-a-town was going to stop her.
And she wasn’t “chickenshit” either, as her grandmother had accused her earlier of being, nor was she going to bow down to defeat, running all the way back to Gideon, Texas like a scared little rabbit. She had grit and brains and balls; and no one was going to tell her what to do, from now on.
Maybe her Nana and Cassie and the girls had all been right? Maybe she had been turning into a little mouse, afraid of living after her divorce? But now it was time to step up and claim her life back. Something had happened to her in that biker bar this morning when she’d almost been raped. She’d found her fighting spirit and now that she’d found it, she wasn’t letting it go ever again!
Nana fished in her purse for a cigarette. Lighting it, she blew out a puff of smoke before pointing a stern finger at her granddaughter. “Tori, stop talkin’ nonsense. We’re goin’ to the police about Joe and then we’re leavin’ this town. Make no mistake. I love my Joe to death but honey, I love you more and we’re goin’ home where it’s safe.”
“Nana, this is not negotiable. I’ve made up my mind. You know how stubborn I can be when I want something, because I’m just like you.”
Nana studied her granddaughter’s pretty but set face and shook her head knowingly. “I can still remember when you were four and you made up your mind to save that dying pigeon you found on the side of the road. Damn, if you didn’t nurse that thing back to life!” The elder sighed in resignation. “I swear you can be as stubborn as a mule refusing to go up a hill sometimes. All right, sugarplum, we’ll stay and look for Joe.”
Tori jumped up to give her Nana another hug. “Thank you.” Suddenly, this quest had become the most important thing in the entire world for Tori to do, and with it, her strength and vitality were all coming back to her. She could feel it—and she hadn’t felt like this since before her husband had left her.
Nana put out her smoke. “Okay, darlin’, you take a bath, order up some room service food, and rest up from your ordeal. I’m going to my room and take a quick nap myself. I’m getting tired now. And then tonight, we’ll have a quick supper together and discuss our next move. How’s that sound?”
Tori smiled proudly, having gotten her way. “Like heaven.”
Chapter 8
Thursday – 6:16 p.m.
Her cell phone was ringing. Tori opened her eyes and grabbed the device off her nightstand. Looking at the number, she saw that it was Nana. “Hello,” she croaked, still half asleep.
After having had a light lunch, she had taken her grandmother’s advice and had fallen asleep on top of her bedcovers for a quick nap. She hadn’t realized she’d fall into such a deep slumber but considering the emotionally draining morning she’d had, she wasn’t surprised.
“Tori, get your ass out
ta bed and come meet me for supper,” Nana dictated.
Tori rubbed her eyes. “Are you downstairs?”
“No. I’m down the street and around the corner at the Pancake Paradise Restaurant.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Can’t a body have a craving for some pancakes? Just hurry up and come on down, sweetpea. I’ll be waiting for ya.” Nana clicked her phone off.
Dumbfounded, Tori stared at her silent phone. What was her crazy grandmother up to now?
* * *
25 minutes later…
Having thrown on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a sunny yellow, thin, summer sweater to cover up her bruised arms, Tori walked briskly along the street to her destination. A few minutes later, she rounded the block to the Pancake Paradise Restaurant. It was a one-story affair sitting on its own parcel of land, surrounded by a large parking lot. Glass windows encircled the building. Her grandmother sat in a booth by one of the front windows, perusing a menu.
Tori made her way to where her Nana was sitting and flopped into the booth seat opposite her. “Why’d you want to eat here?” Tori questioned, as she grabbed one of the menus stationed at the end of their table and began to study it.
At that moment, a 23-year-old, pretty, blonde waitress approached them. “Ladies, my name is Lynnette. I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some coffees?”
Nana smiled at her. “That would be lovely, honey. Two black coffees, please.”
Lynnette nodded and disappeared behind the counter.
Nana threw Tori a speculative look. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
Tori looked up from her menu. “Nana, I feel…great! For some reason, I have a gut feeling that we’re going to find your Joe and get your money back. And I have some ideas about what we should do next too.”
“Like what?”
“We need to go see Mrs. Moore again, Joe’s neighbor, and find out from her the names of some of his friends and then track them down.”
