Hard Roads

by Lily White

  “JD, not sure if you remember these two men, but they were friends of your father’s a long time ago. Last time you saw them, you were probably around ten or eleven.” Henry spoke as he moved to the cooler to pull out three more beers, popping the tops and handing them off before taking a long swig of his own.

  I glanced between Henry and the men, eventually nodding “hello” in their direction. They didn’t smile or introduce themselves, just popped the tops of their bottles, downing the entire thing before pulling it away from their lips.

  Holy shit those fuckers could drink.

  “Hatchet and Knox, this is JD. JD, Hatchet and Knox.” He waved between us as he made his introductions and the two men finally acknowledged me with simultaneous grumbles.

  Turning to Henry, I asked, “Where’ve you been? Woke up and I’ve been waiting here all goddamned day thinking you’d gone off and done something stupid.” I was pissed and my anger was clear in the tone of my voice. Henry scowled back at me, but grinned before responding.

  “I’m the one who does stupid shit?” He marched towards me raising his hand up to flick me hard on the forehead. Fucking shit stung when he pulled his hand away and I resisted the urge to rub at it like a little bitch.

  “You’re the one who showed up at my house in the dead of fucking night to tell me that you abducted the daughter of the Prez of Dominion and delivered her to a psychotic drug lord who then sold her to a trafficker and now you want to get her back because you felt responsible.” He made little air quotes as he mocked me. “Well, of course you’re fucking responsible and if it wasn’t for me, you’d have no fucking hope of getting her out of the hellhole you so thoughtfully tossed her into. Girl can barely open her eyes, much less move or talk because of you and somehow I’m the stupid one? You’ve got to be kidding me, brother, because if there’s a fucking idiot standing in this yard right now, it sure as fuck ain’t me.”

  The other men remained silent, listening intently as Henry tore me apart. I didn’t interrupt or object to what he was saying because every damn word he spoke was the absolute truth. He wasn’t saying it to be a dick, he was simply pointing out the obvious.

  “So, what you need to do instead of running your fucking mouth is shut up long enough to hear me out. I know how we’re going to save that poor girl, but to be honest with you, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to make her right as a result of what you’ve done. I’m afraid that she’s had some permanent damage done to her and you’re going to have to answer for it. Now, let’s go the fuck inside where it’s not 1000 fucking degrees so we can discuss it.”

  He didn’t give me a chance to respond before spinning on his heel and marching his big ass boots up the steps of his porch. Reaching out, he strong-armed the door as he entered, allowing it to slam back shut behind him.

  Without a word, the other two men and I looked at each other and then back at the house, before letting out our breath and following Henry inside. When we entered, he was moving back and forth between different tables, picking up bits and pieces of gun parts and locking them together. Within minutes, he’d silently constructed three guns. Finally satisfied, he looked up at us from what he was doing.

  “There’s an abandoned road house about an hour west of here. Place has been home to mostly MC’s passing through that know about it and who use it for a place to bunk for the night. It’s trashed, but there’s some men heading out there now to make it appear like somebody actually lives there. Some more men should be rolling up here shortly to ride out with us when the place is set up. Hatchet, Knox and I are going to be waiting at that house and at 7:05 sharp, you’re going to roll up with those additional men. None of you are to be wearing anything identifiable and I want bandanas over your ugly mugs so nobody knows who the hell you are. You got me?”

  I didn’t understand what the fuck he was talking about. I shook my head “no” before saying, “Wait. Slow the fuck down. What are you talking about?”

  Metal scraped against wood as the other men sat down at Henry’s table, leaving me standing by myself in the middle of the room. Henry ducked behind the low cabinets in the kitchen, grabbing another gun part and locking it into whatever he’d starting putting together.

  “At seven tonight, Hector’s boys are going to roll up with Holly. They were promised $150,000 in exchange for her, but damn if nobody has that kind of money to pay. I suspect there will be at least four or five of his men at the exchange, so that’s where you come in. You and the other brothers from Hatchet’s MC are going to gun those motherfuckers down, leaving one alive who can tell the tale. I also expect for you to put a bullet or two in my chest so when they tell that tale, I’m good and dead by the end of it. That way, Hector won’t come looking for me or anybody else in search of his cash. I’ll have a bag with me and you better be damn sure to grab it when you leave the scene. Got me?”

  “No, man, I don’t have you. I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. I’m not fucking shooting you!” My voice boomed through the room, the windows rattling from the sheer volume of it. Henry was talking fucking crazy and I couldn’t believe he was telling me to shoot him. This was my fucking problem, not his. If anybody deserved to take two to the chest, it was me.

  He stepped out from the kitchen and towards me. Quickly grabbing me by my shirt, he slammed me against the wall so hard the entire house shook. I wasn’t going to fight back. I had a too much respect for this man to raise a hand to him, even if he was pissing me off by the way he was acting.

  “You’re going to get your girl back is what I’m telling you.”

  “She’s not my girl.” Our eyes locked when I responded and he grinned slightly in response.

  “She is now. I’m going to give you an address to a house buried in the middle of the woods out in Oregon. When you have Holly in your hands, you’re going to take her to that property and keep her there until she’s acting like a normal human being again. If you’re lucky, you might walk away from this in one piece, but that’s going to depend on what you do with her to magically bring her ass back to reality.”

  I held my hands out to my sides and Henry released my shirt. Taking a step back, he still eyed me, but he gave me distance so I could speak.

  “How do you know that Holly is going to be there? What have you been doing all day? I’m completely fucking lost here, man, and I need you to give me more information.” Speaking slow and calm, I tried to keep from detonating the live bomb in Henry’s head. I remembered suddenly that the man had one hell of a temper.

  With his finger pointed in my face, he spit out, “You know everything you need to know at this point. 7:05 on the fucking dot, you will show up where I tell you to be, dressed like I said and surrounded by fifteen other motherfuckers who are carrying out the same instructions that I just gave you. When you have Holly, you’re going to get into a car that will be at the scene and you will drive to the location written on a piece of paper I’ll leave in that car. Once you’re there, you will bring that girl back to fucking life and stay there with her until you hear from me again.”

  Storming off, he disappeared behind another door. I stayed next to the wall for a few minutes, finally turning my head to look over at Hatchet and Knox. Both of them stared me down, chuckling beneath their breath. As soon as I looked over at them, they looked down at the table, Knox picking up a deck of cards and shuffling it before dealing the cards between them.

  Well … shit.

  Banging could be heard coming from the other room and when Henry reemerged he carried his old cut in his hand. Tossing it over a chair, he walked to a closet near the front door pulling it open and rummaging around inside.

  I stayed quiet for as long as I could to give him a chance to calm down, but there was a part of his instruction that I couldn’t carry out.

  “I can’t kill you, man. I won’t do it.”

  Spoken as calmly as possible, I waited for him to turn around and acknowledge what I’d said. He kept rummaging, but slower this
time, as if the movement of his hands was keeping him from thinking about what I’d told him.

  Finally spinning on his heel, he looked at me, a blank expression written over his weathered skin.

  There was no anger in his voice when he said, “You need to clean out your ears and listen for once, kid. That’s always been your biggest fucking problem. Think about everything I’ve said to you since I’ve gotten back and then consider what you just said to me. Soon as you’re done doing that, you’ll know why I’m looking at you like you’re a fucking dumbass right now.”

  I did as he said, thinking back on all the words I’d apparently missed because I was too angry to listen. Finally seeing what he was talking about, I asked, “How do you expect to take two bullets to the chest and still get in touch with me when I’m in Oregon?”

  “Kevlar. It’s not just for kids anymore.” He smiled as he pulled out a bulletproof vest from the closet. “Be sure to tag me in the middle of this vest and Hatchet and Knox will do their part by dragging me away before anybody can notice I’m not bleeding. That’s when you’ll run in and grab my bag while the men around you grab Holly and shove her in the car for you. What happens after that is on you, at least until you hear from me.” Throwing the vest on the same chair where he’d laid his cut, he turned back to me, pointing his finger at me again.

  “Don’t leave that property until you hear from me. Just because we have the girl doesn’t mean this shit is cleared up. Joker and Dominion are still looking for your ass. Nobody knows about that property out in Oregon, so you’ll be safe, but I can’t promise the same anywhere else. Soon as I hunt down Joker, I’m hopeful that we can get this all resolved. But that will only happen if his daughter is returned to him in the same condition she was taken.”

  I thought back to the spitting and snarling woman I’d pulled off the road that day, a chuckle escaping me to remember how hard she fought regardless of her tiny size. I smiled for a split second at the thought, but then another thing Henry had told me stuck out.

  “What did you mean when you said the girl can barely open her eyes, move or talk? Have you seen Holly?”

  The corner of his lip crinkled into a grin, but then darkness fell over his face, horror hidden behind his brown eyes. “Don’t worry about that, JD. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.” Picking up his cut, he slipped it over his shoulders. It must have been a silent cue, because Knox and Hatchet stood up and walked to the door, stepping outside without a single word spoken between them.

  Henry followed behind them, stopping suddenly and turning to me when he said, “You bring that girl back from whatever nightmare you cast her into, you hear me? Don’t know why you thought grabbing her was okay, because I know your daddy taught you better than that. Every woman deserves respect regardless of whether or not she realizes it. I don’t give a shit if she acts like a whore or a bitch. You never raise your fucking hand to them or take anything from them that they ain’t offering. I hear about you hurting another woman, you can guarantee you’ll be seeing my ugly mug and it won’t be to shoot the shit either. Got me?”

  I nodded, shame weighing heavily on my shoulders for what I’d done.

  “Good. I’ll see you at 7:05.”

  When he turned again, he reached out to throw the door open. The sun hit his body as he stepped outside, the name “Mad Dog” stitched in large letters across the shoulders on the back of his cut.

  Chapter Twenty

  Holly

  Nobody entered my room again after the three men left, at least not that I noticed. If they had entered, they didn’t mess with me and that’s all I really cared about. At some point, I’d pissed myself and didn’t even have the strength to move away from the puddle. So maybe that’s why nobody wanted to touch me. Ain’t nothin’ sexier than a drugged out bitch lying in a pool of her own urine.

  Eventually, the large brown door swung open again and four men entered, holding their noses and shaking their heads in disgust at my stink. I laughed and the sound was proof that I’d lost my damn mind. There was nothing funny about any of this, but I guess when you’re stuck in a place so dark, even the smallest amount of humor can have you howling out your release. They say laughter soothes, that it’s good medicine. Don’t think that’s exactly accurate because I was still crazy as a loon, but I will say I felt better. So maybe laughter is the type of drug that can cover up the symptoms while still allowing the disease that caused them to run rampant through your body.

  Pulled from my musings, one of the men lifted me up, carrying me to another corner of the room while they hosed down my piss. I was dropped to the floor seconds before they turned that hose on me. They laughed when I opened my mouth attempting to swallow down as much of the water as possible. Didn’t care if I looked stupid, the cold liquid felt like heaven as it traveled down my inflamed throat.

  After they’d finished cleaning me up, three of them men held me down while the other one dressed me in the apparent tramp-wear that was common around this place. Bright red thigh high stockings and a matching garter belt that attached to them. I was even given a bra and underwear, which surprised me. Don’t know how they got the sizes right, but by the time I was dressed, I looked like the good little whore I was supposed to be. When I saw one man slip heels onto my feet, I laughed again. I didn’t have the strength to push myself up off the floor, so there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to walk on four-inch stilettos. Dumbasses.

  They shot me up with a new dose of whatever the fuck was keeping me docile and left the room again leaving me to the pretty colors and moving walls that this shit helped me see. I wondered if anybody else knew that nothing in this place was actually stationary. It all constantly moved around us, but you wouldn’t notice unless time was slowed down by the poison running through your veins.

  Rolling onto my back, I reached out towards the wall, pressing my hand up against it to see if maybe I could simply walk right through it as it moved around me. It felt solid and I spent god knows how much time contemplating why I couldn’t push through.

  A few…well…hours later? Don’t know. The exact time isn’t important I guess, just the fact that three more men walked through that door eventually and attempted pulling me to my feet. When it was obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to walk, two of them wrapped my arms up around their shoulders and dragged me out. I looked back and noticed a single red stiletto heel lying on the cold concrete from where it had fallen off my foot.

  I was hurried down the halls and I closed my eyes to the other crying women who were chained to walls or laid out on the floor, their will to escape suppressed most likely by the same drug that currently rushed through my veins. Another door swung open and cool air collided with my skin, my breath hitching to feel it. Breathing deeply, I tried to make sense of where they were taking me, but I couldn’t make out the blur of images that moved around me.

  After a slam of metal against metal, I found myself locked inside darkness, the floor beneath me vibrating with movement.

  I’m not sure if it was because there was nothing to look at to keep my mind occupied or what, but I started humming a song in the darkness. It was a lullaby my mom used to sing to me when I was young and it put a smile on my face to remember it. Reaching back in my memories, I thought of bright, sunny days when both of my parents were around and everybody seemed to be smiling. Eventually, and like life, shadows rolled over those memories like a sticky film. Images of the past few days flooded my mind and terror overtook me as I remembered the man without a face and what it had looked like to see another man’s arms and legs torn away from his body. I wasn’t sure if it was the images I saw or the memory I had of the inhuman screams that tore from their lungs that terrified me the most. Tears burst from my eyes and I kept humming that song, louder and louder, until the words that my momma had sung fell from my lips. With each passing memory, I sang louder, not giving a shit if anybody could hear me or what they thought if they could.

  I kept singing tha
t song until two doors flew open and I was dragged back out into the cool night air. Well, it wasn’t really night as the sun was just starting to set over the horizon, but the wind felt cold against my skin after the amount of time I’d spent in that hot, white room.

  Carried by two men, my feet dragged over dirt and gravel and I was able to hold my head up enough to see a run down house with one truck parked outside. I had no idea where we were or where I was being dragged, but I did recognize one of the three men that were standing a distance away from us. Just like earlier, his hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but he wore a cut over his shoulders with the old version of the Hell’s Rebellion patch.

  As we approached the men, I noticed that the man carried a large duffle bag on his shoulder, but he dropped it to the ground when we got closer.

  “What the fuck have you got that girl dressed in? I need to carry her discreetly and you fuckers dress her up like a two-cent fucking whore? This is not going to work.”

  The men who were carrying me stopped in their tracks, a third man coming up from behind us to talk to the black and grey haired biker.

  “This is what we were told her to put her in. It isn’t our problem if you don’t like it. Just give us the fucking money and we’ll leave her with you. That was the deal and those were the instructions we were given by Hector.”

  The biker looked me up and down again, disgust evident in his expression. “Tell you what…” He motioned to one of the men standing to his side. “Why don’t you go inside and fetch me a shirt and some sweatpants or something that we can put this girl in. If we get pulled over with her dressed the way she is and all drugged up like that, she’ll be pulled from the car in no time while the cops aim their guns at our fucking heads.”

  Hector’s man quickly objected. “We don’t have fucking time to play dress up, asshole. Just give us the money.”