by Erin Trejo
“Hangin’ over at the Nomad clubhouse. Where the hell are you? Thought you were ridin’ out this way?”
“Plan on it after this job. You gonna be around in a few days?”
“Yeah. I’m hangin’ back on a few jobs. Scout is ridin’ into town soon too. Thought it might be nice to kick back and just hang with you boys a little bit,” he says sounding a little overly happy about that. When us Nomad boys get together it’s sure to be a good fucking time. Scout is another one like us that we’ve been friends with for a long fucking time.
“Heard that. As soon as I finish up on this job, I’m headin’ that way. Save me some good pussy, you bastard,” I tell him with a chuckle.
“On it. Don’t take too long.” The line goes dead when I slip the phone back in my pocket. I pull my knife out, twirling the blade between my fingers as I watch the site in front of me. Any time now that bastard is set to meet his dealer. Won’t he be fucking surprised when he pulls up and finds me instead. The prick probably won’t even know the difference. It almost amuses me to see just how fucked up in the head he truly is. He can put on the best front in front of the cameras but people like me always see through the façade they carefully put in place. Deciding I’ve had enough of the watching, I shove myself up and stand in front of the row of junk cars that his dealer was supposed to meet him at. I wipe the blood from his useless body on the leg of my jeans when I see headlights heading toward me. About fifteen feet away it stops and a shadowy figure appears. I know it’s Lester by the hunched shoulders and the way his hands shake at his sides. He must really be needing that next hit to keep him going.
“James?” He asks as he approaches me.
“No but I got your shit,” I tell him truthfully. It just isn’t the shit he was expecting. With the knife slid up into my sleeve, he will never see it coming. I will though. I will see every pained and stunned look in his eyes. I will see the silent begging that his eyes will hold but I won’t give a shit.
“You better have all of it!” He growls the closer he gets to me. I chuckle under my breath. Yeah, I got all of it that’s for sure.
“Don’t worry about that,” I inform him. When he’s standing right in front of me, I sigh. His eyes dance over my face, his hand coming out waiting for that eight ball that is sure to take away all the pain inside of him but that’s not what he gets. Instead, I jerk my hand, letting the knife handle slip into my palm like it was made to be there. The tip glistens in the soft glow of his headlights as his eyes widen.
“What is this?” I shrug.
“You pissed someone off,” I inform him casually.
“I can pay you. Whatever they are paying you, I can double it!” I hate when they try to negotiate my kills. Do I look that weak?
“It’s not particularly about the money, man. I was paid to do a job and I plan to do just that.” His eyes widen as fear slips into his gaze.
“Who?” Shrugging again, I step closer to him.
“Don’t know. I take orders and money, that’s all. Names mean shit to me.” I raise the knife and twirl it around my fingers quickly as he watches almost mesmerized by my actions before plunging it into his stomach. As quickly as it slid in, I pull it back out and slice straight across his throat before he has the chance to react or scream. His hand comes to his neck, but it’s too late. The damage is done. His body falls to the ground as he chokes on his own blood. I cock my head and stare down at him as his life slowly leaves his body. Reaching into my pocket, I pull the baggy of drugs free and toss them down next to him, slipping my knife back into its holster.
“Pleasure doin’ business with you, Mr. Ingles. Sadly, I can’t say that we’ll be seein’ each other again any time soon.” With a chuckle I turn on my heel and start heading back toward the front where I left my bike when I hear those soft cries. My heart begins to race at the thought of someone seeing me here tonight. I checked the fucking place before I ever got set up! There was no one but when that second cry echoes through the still night, I know I’m wrong. And now I’m going to have to kill for the third time in one night. Leave no witnesses. That’s an easy one when you live the life that I do. Pulling my knife free, I stalk silently around the junk cars and trucks, following the soft cries that I heard. My boots crunch over loose gravel until I still and listen. Shallow and shaky breathes are coming from the broke down Honda next to me. I take a step past the door letting the unintended victim think they are in the clear for a second. I turn slowly and quietly and reach for the door handle. One tiny pop is all it takes. Screams ricochet off every surface in the old junkyard. Fuck, I need to end this quickly.
4
Suzi
Why did she do this? I told her to stay at home. Why can’t she ever listen to me? We are in danger. More than danger. We are about to be mutilated by the same man that just killed daddy’s friend. What the hell are we going to do now? He heard us scream. We’re still screaming, or actually I am. Giselle is trying her damndest to shove me into the background. She thrives for shit like this. I don’t. I’m the safe place. The place where we go when someone wants to hurt us.
“You made a big mistake little girl,” the man rasps grabbing me around the neck efficiently strangling the screams. He pulls me out of the car roughly until I’m standing in front of him. His much larger frame dwarfs me in size but that doesn’t cause him to falter at all. He looks at me with those menacing eyes, that hand he used to kill still around my neck. The knife is in his other hand, hanging at his side as he takes me in.
“I didn’t see anything,” I try to tell him. Giselle is in the back of my mind giggling like the brat that she is. She always wants to ruin things. She’s always looking for trouble that we don’t we need.
“I think you did. I can’t just let that slide either, now can I?” He asks me. My insides shake. If we were at home, we’d be safe but no! Little Miss brat had to run out of the house just because daddy wanted to protect us. That’s what he was doing after all. I have to find a way out of here, a weapon or something. I have to get us to safety. I will not let this man hurt us the way they used too so many times before. Think Suzi, think. Inhaling the deepest breath, I can manage, I swing my leg back, kicking the man in his shin. Apparently that caught him off guard. His grip falters and I’m able to slip free of his grasp. I turn on my heel and run toward the side of the junkyard. It doesn’t take long for him to follow. Ducking behind an old truck, I catch my breath. Giselle is still giggling in the back of my head telling me to just go with it. Maybe if he killed us it would be better. She keeps telling me how hot he is and how sexy killing made him look. She’s insane, that much I do know.
“You like to play games, darlin’? I can play them too. How about I make your death more painful than I did his. How about I fuck you until you can’t walk straight and with every thrust into your sweet little pussy, I slide my knife over your skin. Have you heard of death by a thousand cuts?” He keeps talking and the more he does, the faster my heart beats. I glance around for anything that I can use as a weapon to protect us but aside from lifting the car, there is nothing. I can hear him inching closer and closer. I close my eyes tightly and hold them shut. Block them out. They can’t hurt you if you aren’t here. I repeat those words over and over in my head. That’s the way I’ve always done it. I block them out. Anyone that has ever tried to hurt us, break us. I blocked them out and we didn’t feel it. I kept that part safe and away from Giselle. I was that shield that she needed to be safe, her protector. That’s how she thought of me. That’s what I was then and that’s what I am now. Her protector. So when the man steps around the truck, chuckling like a demon sent straight from hell, I curl up and protect us from his wrath.
“I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.” The words I always told Giselle when the strange men and our mom would come into the room repeat from my lips.
“I won’t let him hurt you.” She has to know that I will protect her just like I always have. That’s my job. His hand latches onto my arm, yanking
me from the ground as tears pool in my eyes.
“I like the chase, darlin’,” he says, his dark eyes assessing me.
“I swear I won’t say anything. I don’t know anything,” I beg him. He chuckles and raises the knife that’s resting in his other hand, pressing the tip to my cheek just hard enough to draw a speck of blood.
“But you did see somethin’ and now I have to take care of that. You shouldn’t have been out here little girl,” he hisses between his teeth. When I pull my eyes to meet his, something else snaps in him. His gaze softens and the hold on me loosens. The thought of running kicks in but he will just catch me again. I take a slow deep breath and wait it out. That’s all I can do.
“Please,” I ask once more. The knife pulls away from my skin, a sob of relief washing over me.
“I’ve always liked beggars. Come on,” he growls, his grip tightening once more. I flinch from the initial bite of pain as he drags me toward the front of the junk yard.
“If you just let me go, I promise I won’t say a word.” Reasoning with him is a waste of my breath but I still try. I don’t want to die like this. At the hands of a crazy man covered in tattoos with long stringy dark hair. He jerks me along with him as I try to keep up, stumbling over my own feet and the litter that is strewn around this place. He doesn’t slow his pace or even check that I’m still standing. I’m assuming that he doesn’t care either way.
“Can you stop pulling me please,” I ask softly only to have him return with a frustrated growl. I’m about to say something else when he stops so suddenly I trip and slam into the back of him. He doesn’t move or make a sound this time. I stand there very quietly trying to figure out what the problem is when he spins to look at me, his finger to his lips warning me to be quiet.
“He’s here somewhere! I saw it on his GPS,” the voice in the distance says. My stomach knots. I know that voice.
“Oh God,” the words tumble from my lips before I can stop them.
“You know them?” the man looks down at me as I nod my head.
“That’s our dad’s guys.”
“Who the fuck is your dad?” he growls.
“Not so much my dad. He’s her dad. Shit…he’s Giselle’s dad, which in turn I guess makes him my dad…” I cut myself off the mumbling that I had been doing as he looks at me with that confused glint in his eyes.
“Who the hell is Giselle?”
“Me. Kind of.”
He runs his hand through his hair and releases an exasperated sigh before glaring at me once more.
“Who is your, her or who the fuckever’s dad?”
“The Governor.” He closes his eyes tightly for a second before those dark orbs come back to me. A slow smirk crosses his face.
“Nice to know. Get the fuck on the bike,” he grunts. I can feel Giselle becoming all giddy about this but I know if we stay back we can explain what happened to that guy and why we left the house. We need to be back at home where it’s safe for us.
“You can just go. I swear to you I won’t say a word.” Before I can say anything more, he yanks my arm roughly causing me to slam into him once again before he releases a low growl.
“I don’t think I like the sound of that. Get on the goddamn bike and if you scream, I will make you regret bein’ born.” Well I sure as hell hope Giselle is happy about this one!
5
Remi
What the hell am I thinking? I shouldn’t have brought this girl on my bike. I shouldn’t have let her breathe another second, yet here we are well into California. What kind of shit is running through this goddamn head of mine? I blink rapidly a few more times as I accelerate. I take the curves of the winding road quickly, needing to figure out what the hell I’m doing with this girl. I shouldn’t have stopped to check but what if she would have gone and called the police? She isn’t the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life. Hell, she seems annoying as fuck. She might be hot as fuck with those bright blue eyes and long blonde hair but when she opens her mouth, I want to slap the hell out of her. She remains glued to my back, her arms wrapped tightly around me as we come up to the compound. If anyone will let me hide out with some random ass bitch, it’s the Soulless Bastards. I roll up to the gate and stop as the Prospect looks at me.
“What the fuck do you want?” He asks in a snarky ass tone.
“Smokey around?” He eyes me and my cut before checking out the girl that’s currently glued to my ass before nodding. He takes a step back and pulls his phone out of his pocket, making a call. He says a few words that I hear and more that I don’t before opening the gate to me.
“Up at the clubhouse. Follow the road to the end, it’s on the left,” he tells me. I throw him a chin lift before pulling in the gates. I’ve met the guys up North a few different times but I’ve only heard of the southern chapter. I guess the rumors are true though. They have a whole fucking gated community inside these walls. It’s amazing to see it for myself. I pull up where I was told and park the bike, killing the engine but when I try to climb off the girl’s arms tighten around me.
“Hey. We need to get off now.” I try to be as soothing as possible just to get her off my ass. She nods against my back letting her arms fall to her sides. I climb off and reach out to help her off. I’m surprised that she accepted the help to be honest. She watches me warily but doesn’t say a word when I see guys come stomping from the front doors.
“Who the fuck are you?” The taller one asks, his massive arms bulging at the seams of his t-shirt.
“Remi. Nomad. Needed a place to lay low for a little while and figure shit out,” I tell him honestly. He looks past me at the girl and the best I can give him is a shrug. He chuckles and motions for me to come in. Grabbing her arm, I lead her toward the door but she’s hesitant.
“If you don’t fuckin’ walk, I will carry your ass in there!” I roar catching the attention of the others. A few snicker, the others just grin. She looks around but finally begins walking. As soon as we step inside the big main extends his hand.
“I’m Ruger. Prez is in the office. Said any Nomad is welcome as long as trouble don’t come with him. She trouble?” Ruger asks nodding toward the girl.
“Fuck yeah. More than I was lookin’ for,” I tell him truthfully. Ruger chuckles and motions for me to follow him over to the bar. Dropping onto the stool next to him he grabs a beer and slides it my way.
“Trouble follow you here?”
“No. Got out of there before that shit could happen. She happened to see shit go down.”
“Leave no witnesses, I hear ya. She’s still breathin’ though, brother,” he reminds me with a laugh. I take a long pull of my beer and lean forward, resting my arms on the bar in front of me.
“Yeah, that’s the goddamn problem. You got somewhere I can make a call?” I know I need to check in with Kred but even more; I need to let Landon know I’m running behind and that this time, I’m not alone.
“Yeah, follow me, man.” I shove off the stool, grabbing the girl as I go and follow behind Ruger. He leads me down the hall and stops at a door.
“Beds in there too. Get some sleep, pussy, whatever the fuck you need. I’m gonna let Prez know you’re all good.” Nodding my thanks, I drag the girl into the room, close and lock the door behind us. Motioning for the bed, she walks over and sits on the edge. I pull out my phone and dial Landon.
“Where you at?” he answers after two rings.
“Got a little situation, brother. I’ll be there but I had to make a stop first. Is Grady not there?” If that son of a bitch big mouth comes around while I have this girl there, all hell will break loose. I know how he is. He’s another nomad but he’s a trouble making son of a bitch. He gossips more than a fucking female.
“No. He ain’t here and from what I heard he shouldn’t be around either. What the fuck happened out there?” Landon asks in that concerned tone he gets.
“Had a witness,” I tell him and turn to look at her. She lies there on the bed, curled into a ball slee
ping.
“No shit? How the fuck did that happen?”
“Don’t know. It’s a girl.”
“It was a girl? Like before you killed her?”
“Didn’t kill her, Landon. That’s the goddamn situation,” I tell him running my hand through my hair. It’s a problem, I know it is but fuck! My anxiety level is through the roof, my insides are churning but for some fucked up reason, I couldn’t just kill her. I hear Landon blow out a breath before he speaks.
“Bring her and let’s figure some shit out, Remi. You’ve never let me down and I sure as shit won’t let you down either. We might be Nomad’s but we’re brothers none the less.”
“Okay. I’m gonna relax a few and get cleaned up then I’ll head that way. Only about an hour out,” I inform him.
“Sounds good. I’ll get some bitches out here and we can kick back and figure it out. We’ll get her handled, Remi.” I didn’t need his reassurance but it was nice to hear it. When you don’t run with one club, you risk shit like this. Sure, other clubs will step in and have your back but for the most part you are on your own. I love that aspect of my life. I don’t like answering to anyone when I don’t have to. I’m a grown ass man. I send off a text to Kred letting him know that shit’s going smoothly on my end. I know he worries about me like a father and that is the only reason I give two shits about letting him know that I’m okay. Shrugging out of my cut, I toss it onto the chair next to the bed before kicking off my boots. Reaching into the back pocket of my jeans, I pull the handcuffs out and drop them onto the bed before removing my gun and knife and setting them on the bedside table. I reach for the cuffs again slipping one around her tiny wrist. Wrapping it around the head board I cuff the other one to my wrist. I need a few minutes of silence and sleep and I’ll be damned if I’m chasing this girl around here when I wake up. Climbing up closer, I lay down with my arm above my head and let myself doze off.
