by Addison Jane
Emma wrinkled her nose and nodded, holding her books close to her chest as she walked ahead down the sidewalk. She looked over her shoulder nervously as she disappeared around the corner to the froyo store behind a handful of other teens.
“My name is Officer Visser. If it’s okay, I’d like to make this as private as possible,” he noted, directing me toward the police car. I complied and pulled open the passenger door, slipping inside as he rounded the other side of the vehicle.
When he was finally inside, I turned my body toward him. “Have I done something wrong?” I asked a little nervous, but I was sure he was a policeman, and I wasn’t in any danger.
Apparently, I was wrong.
He pulled off his dark glasses and placed them on the dash before turning his gaze to me. A chill ran through me, the light blue color of his eyes reminding me of ice. “Miss Benson,” he addressed me, the sweetness and casual tone gone and replaced with something harsher and more devious. “Your uncle is a part of the local MC, isn’t he?”
My mouth had suddenly gone dry, and I swallowed to try and add some moisture before I spoke. “Yes, sir.”
“And your boyfriend?”
Technically Ham and I weren’t a couple. So while I wanted to scream from the rooftops that he was mine, my first instinct was to admit the truth. Especially to a police officer—no matter how embarrassing. “Um… I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t—”
His hand moved like lightning clutching my neck and forcing my head back against the headrest. I gasped in fright, and he squeezed tighter. I could feel the roughness of his skin, the callouses on the inside of his palm against my throat as he placed more and more pressure against my windpipe.
“You’re gonna listen very carefully,” he warned, keeping his voice low and terrifyingly calm.
My eyes moved, looking out the windows, wondering why no one was banging on the car windows to get him to release me, but there was no one around. I hadn’t thought about it before, but the street we were parked on was a quiet one with not many actual businesses on it that needed foot traffic. We only used it because it was the shortest way to get to where we wanted to be, but it seemed like the rush of students heading into town was now gone.
“Look at me.”
Trying to calm my heart, I moved my eyes to meet his. It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when you look someone in the eyes. Usually, an emotion strikes you, whether it be joy, or anger, or even confusion. They said eyes were the gateway to the soul. If that was so, I was almost sure his were dead. If the color of his eyes was any indication, it was frozen over.
“You’re little boyfriend and his club…” he started. Beneath his perfectly manicured and gray streaked mustache, his lip twitched a couple of times, the only indication he was anything but calm and collected. “I need to get a message across. Since the one that I left for Romeo didn’t seem to hit home hard enough.”
His gripped lessened just slightly, and I fought the urge to take a big breath and suck in as much air as possible just in case he was fucking with my head. I just needed to listen to what he had to say and get the fuck out of there without pissing him off. I could have sworn I felt my heart stop when his hand began moving down the center of my chest, his eyes following. Just as he reached the curve of my breast, I knew I couldn’t let it happen, I couldn’t just sit here and let him touch or hurt me.
I wasn’t that girl anymore.
I refused to be that girl.
With all my strength I smacked his hand away and then shoved at his chest, the force behind it making the patrol car rock. I opened my mouth to scream, but a harsh blow to my cheek threw my head to the side, slamming it against the no doubt reinforced window. Dazed and in pain, I groaned loudly, curling my body toward the door and reaching for my head, wondering if I’d split it open. My cheek already felt like it was two sizes too big, and I was trying really hard not to just openly sob due to the pain being that excruciating.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there.
He grabbed a fist full of my hair at the back of my head, the fresh injury causing me to scream out in pain as he wrenched it so far back that my body was bent back over the center console, and I was almost in his lap.
I didn’t know what to do. Whether I should scream for help. But all I could do was a struggle and try to fight back. Even though my vision was still blurred, and in my head, everything seemed a little foggy, all I knew was I was in trouble, and I needed to get the hell out of here.
“Stupid little bitch,” he muttered, using his free hand to slap my cheek again, the one I was pretty sure he’d just driven his fist into, and that was now blowing up like a balloon.
Twisting and turning, I struggled against his hold, my feet kicking at the door and the window trying to make as much noise as possible. I spotted the police call unit that was on the dash and reached out, not having any idea what I was doing, but wondering if I could maybe alert someone on the other end, or at least do enough to have him panic. My fingers brushed the microphone, and with a growl deep in his throat, he suddenly pushed me away, sending me flying back against the door. My hand fumbled as I fought to find the silver door handle, the sleek and smooth surface under my fingers lit my body on fire and shot my heart up into my throat.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
At first, it felt like a paper cut, or when you catch your finger on the edge of a brand new knife. It was so sharp and defined. There’s that moment where you think ‘ouch,’ and maybe you curse for those two brief seconds before you feel the blood rush quickly to the surface and spill over the edge. The sting was distinct, and it’s almost like you can hear it cutting through your skin.
It’s chilling.
And it was all I was feeling right then as I felt him run a hunting blade from just behind my ear, down my neck.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t see what he’d done, but as he pulled the blade away, I just stared at him in horror. The smallest amount of blood staining the pointed tip of his knife.
My first instinct was to reach up and hold my hand over it. I was already struggling given the two strikes to my head, but with this added, I was fighting hard to stay awake and somewhat alert. It stung badly. But I could already tell it wasn’t deep and only a couple of inches long.
But it was bleeding enough to scare the fucking shit at me.
Bleeding is bad.
Make it stop.
Hurry!
I stayed still, my eyes focused and narrowed on him as I pressed my palm against the cut, while my back pressed against the door like an animal stuck in a cage. My fight or flight instincts were alive and well, and I’d already exhausted both. Now, I was in a lot of pain and ready to do whatever it took to get out of there alive.
“You’re fucking crazy,” I snapped, glaring at him, trying to keep my eye on every move he made in case he came at me again.
“You done?”
“Screw you.”
He didn’t respond. The both of just staring at each other, his glassy emotionless eyes glaring straight through me as I huffed and puffed in exertion. After a few moments had passed, he decisively spoke again. “Finally.” He slipped the blade back into an obviously specially designed holster beside his gun and baton. “You listening?”
Quickly, I nodded.
I just wanted this over.
I wanted to go home.
“I don’t take kindly to betrayal. You let Romeo know he has one week to get his little punk ass back to Las Vegas and back to work.”
Finally, some semblance of emotion. A tick appeared in his jaw as he talked about Romeo. He was furious, but almost like a damn robot. His lip twitched again, his mustache wiggling with it, reminding me for a second of a cartoon character.
“If he’s not there. I’ll be back… and I don’t want to have to come back to this piece of shit nowhere town to get him ‘cause that will make me very… very, mad.”
I waited, wondering if that was
it or if he’d come after me again if I tried to move.
He sighed heavily. “Now get the fuck out of my car before you get blood on the seats.”
I didn’t wait to be told twice, my hand instantly reaching for the handle—my escape. The door flew open, and I bailed out, not even managing to make it to my feet, just tumbling out onto the curb, the rough concrete scratching at my knees. It was barely a blip on my radar at that moment, but I couldn’t help thinking I was going to feel it later, and that I should probably get up on my feet and attempt to get out of there.
Instead, I just crawled to the nearest wall and placed my back against it.
He reached over the middle of the car and grabbed the door handle, about to pull it closed when the deep rumble of a motorcycle filled the air.
He froze, his hand on the door, his eyes on me.
He heard them, too.
He knew what that meant.
My family was coming.
The roar of a motorcycle started up outside. It was the way people left that told you what you needed to know. The spray of gravel and full rev told me they needed to get somewhere fucking fast.
“Sarah! Run up and get my first aid kit from my room,” Skins yelled as he came sprinting in from outside throwing orders at one of the newer club girls. She didn’t miss a beat, immediately tossing the cloth she was using to wipe down the tables and making a beeline for the staircase.
A chill instantly went down my spine, and I stood up from the stool I was sitting on leaving my pool cue leaning against the wall. Romeo felt it, too, his face instantly changing into a deep frown while Phee obliviously played her shot on the pool table. We were spending some time together, it was kind of like getting to know each other again, I guess. Some parts were easy, others were awkward and really made you feel emotions deep down in your gut you couldn’t have imagined. Good or bad, though, I was enjoying my time with my two siblings. And while I knew there were still a lot of things Romeo was holding back, and the trust between us was still hovering in the air, I was glad to know he was willing to try, and that he wasn’t just going to write me off.
“What’s going on?” I asked, even more confused when Skins asked a very pregnant Hadley to get him a couple of towels.
Skins rushed over to the nearest sofa and quickly cleared it off. “I don’t know what you know, but Eagle just rang and said some shit went down. He’s bringing Meyah in on his bike.” He continued moving pillows, and when Sarah leaped two steps at a time downstairs with Skins’ massive medical bag and placed it beside him, I instantly felt fucking ill.
“She hurt?” Romeo asked seriously, taking in what was happening.
“Someone needs to get Op,” Skins noted to no one in particular.
Hadley appeared from the hallway with black towels. “No problem, I’ve rung Leo. He’s meant to be in a meeting, but they’re leaving right now,” she explained, tossing down the towels and returning her empty hands to her baby belly, moving her hand over it gently as she turned her attention to Skins. “Now tell me, is Meyah conscious?”
Skins nodded. “Yes, Eagle said she was awake and talking.”
“What are the towels for?” Phee asked, finally coming to investigate, but I already knew the answer.
“Blood. He said there was some blood.”
Romeo moved in closer watching the way Skins meticulously pulled out bandages and blood pressure equipment—anything he thought he might need. They were placed on a clean towel. “You know what you’re doing? Isn’t this a little overkill?”
Skins didn’t bother looking up at him. “I was an EMT for years. I’m not a doctor, but I know what I’m doing. Eagle didn’t say much, but I heard blow to the head and blood, so I’m gonna prepare for the worst and hope for the fucking best.”
I didn’t know what to say as I stood there with my brother waiting and waiting. I had images in my head that made me want to vomit.
Meyah was hurt.
She was bleeding.
What the fuck happened?
I clenched my fists at my side, ready to punch a fucking hole through the damn wall. “Why is this taking so long? If they were just in Athens, it shouldn’t take them this long to get here.” I worried, my eyes continuously looking toward the open door as if I might not hear Eagle’s bike roar into the compound.
Right at that moment, the sound of him changing down gears to get in through the gates had my feet moving with my little brother directly on my heels.
He was moving slowly, and it was then that I realized why it had taken them so long to get back to the clubhouse. Where the girls would usually get on the back and hold on, Eagle had put Meyah in front of him and caged her in. She was leaning back into him. It would have been a difficult and uncomfortable ride home, and they would have had to take things very slow.
He sidled closer stopping his ride just a few feet from where Romeo and I were standing. The moment he had his feet on the ground, I rushed forward. He was already lifting her under his arms and passing her off to me. She was awake, her eyes open and alert, but she seemed a little dazed, and her entire right cheek was bruised and swollen which almost forced her eye closed. I bundled her into my arms.
Eagle was quick to follow me kicking out his stand and clambering off. “I didn’t know if she’d be able to hold on if I stuck her on the back, it was the only way I could get her here.”
I nodded, understanding completely. I would have done the same thing instead of waiting for someone to bring a car. She sniffled in my arms and cuddled closer to my chest. It was when I looked down again, I noticed she had a hand pressed to the side of her neck and blood was staining her fingers. “Fuckin Christ,” I cursed, heading for the door and carrying her straight to where Skins was waiting. “I gotta put you down, Meyah.”
She whimpered but gave me a nod, and I gently laid her on the sofa that Skins had covered.
My little sister gasped behind me. “Oh my God,” she whispered in horror, but I couldn’t focus on her right now. I dropped to my knees next to Meyah, trying to stay out of the way but refusing to move too far. Skins was just going to have to fucking work around me.
The sound of more bikes riding in played in the background as I watched Skins work. He shone a little light in her eyes and pressed softly against the already darkening bruise on Meyah’s cheek. She pulled away at the first touch, every muscle in her body tightening telling me just how painful it was.
“What the fuck happened!” Leo roared as he came through the door, Blizzard and Op right behind him. “Where is she?”
“Here,” Eagle replied, nodding toward the sofa where I was crouching. Skins continued to look her over as if there was nothing going on around him. I appreciated the fact that Meyah was his first priority and fuck everyone else.
I held her hand in mine, my thumb drawing circles on the back of her hand. It was a habit I had in situations where I was nervous or unsure of what to say. My mom used to do it when we were little if we were feeling scared or overwhelmed. The continuous pattern was calming. It made us focus on something else, something predictable and comforting.
“Meyah, I need to look at your neck,” Skins prompted. When she shook her head, refusing to pull her hand away, he turned to look over his shoulder at me. “I need to see how deep it is.”
Inhaling through my nose, I stood up and moved around to her head looking directly down at her. “Skins needs to make sure it’s not too deep, Meyah,” I whispered, brushing the crazy strands of hair away from her face. She looked up at me, and I swear at that moment, I wanted to take whoever had hurt her and soak them in gasoline before lighting them on fire. Their screams would be like fucking music to my ears.
She was haunted, the Meyah that was staring back at me was not the Meyah who I kissed goodbye on her way to school this morning. The pain in her eyes wasn’t just physical, it was mental, and it was going to leave a scar.
I tried to keep my tone light even though inside I was screaming to rip shreds off someone. �
��Come on fury fists,” I teased playfully, placing my hand over hers and gently pulling it away. “Good girl.”
Her palm was covered in blood, and at that exact moment, I got a look at why. I knew instantly, shit was about to hit the fucking fan.
“Sorry, baby girl, I need to clean this,” Skins told her gently as he took a cloth to the fresh wound. Tears dripped down onto her cheeks as he attempted to wipe away the mess around the perfectly, and obviously purposefully, straight slice through her skin.
I sat back on my ass continuing to hold her bloody hand in mine, the red stain now imprinted on my fingers and my arms along with a couple of smudges on my jeans. My girl’s blood spilled, covering the both of us. It wasn’t a situation that was easy to get my head around. A rush of emotions flooded through me. Guilt for not being there to protect her. Anger that someone could do this to her—she was fucking innocent, goddammit.
“Who did it?” Leo demanded as he stood on the other side of the sofa looking down at his niece. Blizzard had his hand on Leo’s shoulder, a silent promise his brothers had his back and that it would be okay.
Meyah’s eyes moved to me, and I squeezed her hand, letting her know it would be okay. “I think it’s best for her right now if everyone just moves away and let Skins work,” I announced, noticing how Leo’s eyes flashed in anger.
“I don’t think you have the right to make that decision for her,” he challenged.
“She’s mine,” I threw back, staring him directly in the eyes, refusing to back down. He’d had his turn. Meyah had been his responsibility for years. Not anymore.
Leo’s eyebrows raised in surprise along with everyone else’s. “Since fucking when?”
“Since now.” As far as I was concerned, Meyah had been mine since I first set eyes on her a year ago. For me, that was enough, but in the club, things worked differently.
Once I claimed her, she was mine. She was my responsibility, she was my woman, and it was up to me to protect her and make sure she was safe. She was my Old Lady, end of fucking discussion.
