by Carly White
“So you are afraid to go with me?”
He said it as if it was typical and it upset her. She wasn’t afraid of him. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I had just figured that we would stay around here. I came looking for you, so that hardly counts as frightened. I was just hoping that you would show me around.”
Andre bought it and she smiled at her in such a way that made her heart beat a little faster in her chest. What was the pull of the bad boy? Why did knowing that his masculinity was so high that it would overwhelm her as he talked her into things she would never imagine before, sound so good? Namadi wasn’t even sure what she was missing out on, but she wanted him from some gut recess inside of her.
“That’s okay too. I will be more than happy to give you the tour. Do you want to start on the top or on the bottom?”
She looked up the staircase and didn’t like the darkness that afforded her u there. It would be just the two of them and though she had gotten out of going away with him by staying, it didn’t seem like it was going to be any safer. “Um, I guess the bottom. Does this place have a basement?”
He nodded and took her hand, leading her away from all of the people around them. The noise started to lower as they went into one of the back rooms facing away from the road. The house was small from the front, though Namadi was starting to realize that some of it was hidden. When she could barely hear the loud noise behind her, she started to get a little chill. “How is this even possible, to be this far back?”
Andre chuckled at her. You wouldn’t guess that we are underground right now, would you?”
She shook her head and looked around her. There was no natural light, the only real instance that would have told her where she really was. The lighting was done well thought and only after he said something, did she even noticed. The change of light source had been gradual and she was a bit amazed. “No I wouldn’t. I was wondering how this place could be so big when it is so small.”
“It used to be part of a tunnel system that they used to bring in whatever they wanted from Mexico. Most of it is inoperable now, cave-ins and such, but we have always kept a section of it taken care of. Have to or the house would start to sink as the walls fell in.”
His words made her more aware of the dangers of it happening while they were in it and Namadi felt uneasy. Andre noticed the shift and took her hand. “That is not the best part. Come on.”
She paused, but felt that she had no choice. Namadi did not want him to think that she was afraid to. It didn’t serve her, but never knowing she was claustrophobic, the last thing she wanted to do was go any deeper, not knowing what was in front of them. “I think I have seen enough of this place, why don’t we go back?”
***
“I am telling you, that is all there is. I have checked all of the local channels and they just keep playing this one clip over and over again. It is heavily edited but I have been told he wasn’t being the easiest interviewer. He wants the public to figure out what you have done. I don’t know if he is smart or just incredibly stupid.”
David shook his head, replaying the new clip coming out of Waterton for the fifth time. He watched Andre’s face and he realized that the man did not know what he was there for. It was Maxwell that was orchestrating it all. He knew the man well and years ago, he had requested the whole family be wiped out, now the reason was in front of him. Everyone would know what he had done so long ago. He had paid well to keep it a secret, but like all things it couldn’t be swept under the rug forever. David would never know how much of it would trickle out or how Maxwell had found out.
“Maxwell never was stupid, so he has a plan.”
“What do you want me to do Sir? It is almost impossible to get close to him right now. The town is surrounded and as long as they stay peaceful, there is to be no aggression from the police force.”
“Well we need to make sure they don’t stay peaceful then, don’t we?”
Buzz smiled and he already knew what had to be done. There were many people in the town that worked for David and though he was not in Waterton to talk directly, the conversations between them were enough. He could see the way the man’s small eyes narrowed to nothing on his face. It was to be Buzz’s job to take care of things while he was away and unable. There were too many eyes on him now and David knew that he would have to play his cards right. He had to get them out of there and he didn’t care if they were locked up or killed, but someone had to stop the public from looking and the truth from coming out.
“Make sure you get them riled up enough that the police have to come in and then you find Maxwell and his father. You have to get them arrested, so make sure that they are in the middle of it.”
“What about the reporter?”
David wasn’t sure about her. She had been the problem from the beginning. Of course there had to be a reporter there. Cursing himself and the woman that was in the middle of all of this. One moment of pleasure had turned into the worst decision of his life. Now, he had to deal with the aftermath and it was just as bad as he had envisioned it to be so long ago.
“We can’t do anything to the reporter. That is why Maxwell has the place under the public eye. He knows that it will be pushed back to me. That is why you have to make sure that you get them going good, but don’t get caught stirring the pot. I don’t know how we are going to do this, but if I can get those two locked up, the people will quickly forget. There is always something else to focus on.”
Buzz nodded, but waited. “Are you sure you don’t want to silence the reporter?”
David shook his head. “I would love to more than anything, but not yet, maybe when everything dies down. You just make sure that you do what I say and to the rest, they need to get rid of any evidence that we have any dealings together. If they do get wind of it, I want to make sure that it is all just conjectures and rumors. I don’t want any proof.”
“You got it boss.”
He sighed. “Don’t call me that. Just let me know when it is done. I have more important things to worry about than Maxwell Grindle and the ghosts from the past.”
David hung up and still there was a sinking feeling in his gut. There was no doubt that he deserved what Maxwell had in mind for him, but David would do anything to prolong the inevitable. He had faith that something would happen to change it all. It was not going to be the end for him. He refused for it to happen.
He pushed play on the video one last time, taking in the man’s features. They were so similar to the ones that he seen every day in the mirror. What was he going to do and why didn’t he ever see it before. The man who wanted to see him locked up for the crimes he didn’t even know about, was his own son and he didn’t even know it. David never wanted him to know, because then there would be so many more questions that were going to be impossible to answer. Maxwell had been unable to give the boy up when he had lost his mother, keeping the secret.
Chapter 5
Namadi followed Andre deeper into the tunnel and now that she knew where she actually was, she was almost shaking with fear. Andre took her hand at some point and convinced her to keep going. He wanted to show her the way out and when she finally breathed in the fresh air around her, she could help but smile back at him. They were on the bluff that he had talked about half a mile from his small house.
“Wow, it is a nice place to go.” He had gotten what he wanted anyways and Namadi was just as taken with him as she was the view. There was a moment when she was looking up at him, that she had thought he was going to kiss her. She leaned in slightly, reading herself, but it never happened. Instead his phone ringed and he was soon cursing into the small device.
Namadi tried to keep up with the conversation, but some things became clear. There was something going on back where they had come from. The voice on the other end was sharp, but Andre’s was sharper. “I don’t want any fighting, no guns!”
He listened for a minute and looked back into the tunnel. There was no way that he was going back to g
et arrested. Andre’s men had gotten into a brawl with some of the bikers from Colorado and now the police were moving in. His father had been clear of nothing more specifically than violence, knowing that once the police got involved, everything would be shut down. If they fought back, there side would always be tarnished.
It was already too late though, so going back would do nothing but secure himself a prison cell. There would be no telling what he would be charged with as the ring leader and Andre didn’t want to find out. It was then that he remembered who was next to him and who she was. “Just get all of mine back in the house. Close up the back entrance and cooperate.”
“You heard me. Call me back and let me know if they get my dad.”
Andre hung up and shut the heavy door behind him. Pushing the vines back to cover the door, he looked around for a minute to get his bearing. IT had been some time since he had been out that way and he was worried that the police had the place surrounded. After a few moments of no moving or sound, he figured that they were safe. He grabbed her hand. “I have to go. You can go back to your mom, but I have to take off.”
“Why, what has happened?” Namadi had been quiet through it all, but she had to know that her mother was okay.
“There was a fight between some of the bikers and the police are moving in. It could be dangerous and I don’t like the idea of you walking into that. If you come with me, I can make sure that you are safe until it all blows over.”
She could hear sounds from behind her and it sounded like some kind of gunfire. There was no way that she wanted to go back there and she moved towards him. “Where are we going to go?”
He wasn’t sure, but Andre lust started off towards where the small stand of trees hit the road. He had a friend that he could get transportation from, but he hated to think of what was going on behind him. Andre didn’t want to leave his father in the grips of the police, but he didn’t seem to have another choice. Maxwell wouldn’t want him to get arrested and there was nothing that could be done at the moment. At the moment, it was going to be a mad house and the cops would come through and arrest everyone. It was just easier for them and then they would sort it all out after it was done.
Namadi looked scared next to him and though he had wondered about her, she seemed to resolve herself to the situation. He tried to imagine her on the back of his bike and when he finally got to his friend’s house, Gavin’s bike was all there was around.
She looked even less sure of her decision when he told her to get on. “Let me guess, you have never rode on one before.”
Namadi shook her head. “There are statistics that make it one of the most dangerous forms of travel.”
Andre just shook his head. “Come on now, it’s not so bad. It’s either this or on foot and there is another couple of miles until I can get to another place to get something else.”
He looked at her with aggravation. There was a moment that he debated just leaving her where she was. There was more to do and he needed to get away from the police. She was not helping the situation, but holding them both up.
When she didn’t answer, he got on and started it up. “You either get on or stay here and go back. I have to go Namadi.”
Andre wasn’t sure if he actually would have left her, but he didn’t have to find out. She sighed loudly and gingerly got on the back of the bike. Her arms closed around him in a vise grip and he moved her down so that he could breathe. “You on?”
She clenched him as he laughed a little, Namadi had more courage than he had given her credit for. Taking off, the hands around him hugged tighter, while the girl behind him said a prayer.
Namadi was sure that she was going to fall off and die. Her eyes were shut for several moments as she felt the uneven ground underneath them change to a smooth ride. She finally looked over his shoulder at the road ahead. They were leaving Waterton a few minutes later as the green sign declared they were finally out of the town. Another several minutes had passed and though she was starting to enjoy the ride and the feel of the hard man in front of her, there was no way that she could look beside her at the ground rushing underneath them.
One thing that she hadn’t anticipated was how fast he was going. It was clear that he was at home on the machine and it was also clear that she was not. Namadi was careful not to move much, afraid that she would tip them over. She wasn’t sure how it all worked, but she hoped that the ride wouldn’t be that long.
When she finally felt the bike start to slow down, she sighed to herself. It was the best feeling in the world and when he stopped, she got off before he could say anything. The ground made her feel a little wobbly, but she wanted nothing more than to kiss it.
Andre watched her for a moment, giving her a shoulder to grab onto when her legs didn’t want to cooperate. “It gets better when you ride more. You did pretty good for your first time. It was your first time, wasn’t it?”
She nodded, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. Namadi was starting to feel the chill from not having him no longer next to her. She wanted to feel him against her again. There were so many things that she had never done. There were so many things that she desperately wanted to do and when Andre looked down at her like that, Namadi decided that she didn’t want to go on without doing one of them.
As she had done before, she leaned in. He was already touching her arm gently as he had tried to steady her and neither one had found it necessary to break the contact. Now the grip on his shoulder turned him to face her and she waited for him to make a move. When he didn’t, she leaned in the last few inches to have him the rest of the way. Groaning against her as their lips met, Andre pulled her in roughly against his solid chest.
Only when she could no longer think of nothing else but him, did Namadi finally feel him move away. Her eyes were still closed. Her lips still felt the wet heat of his lips on hers, long after they were gone. As her dark eyes met his blue ones, there was something new in them. When he moved back in for a kiss, she was more than happy to oblige him. There was something about the way he felt, the way his kiss was so soft, yet had such a powerful effect on her senses.
Namadi melted into his arms and it was only when she felt the hands moving down her back and cupping her backside that she realized what they were doing. It was too much, too fast for her and her senses balked. “Sorry Namadi. You just had this look in your eyes like you needed another kiss.”
She did, but to want something and to be able to handle it once you got it was two very different things. “It’s okay.” She wanted to say more, but it was the look in his eyes that made it impossible. She moved back so that there was some space in between them. “Where are we?”
“A little town I know where we can lie low. I want to see what they are saying on the news, if anything has been found out.”
“You really don’t know what all of this is about, do you?”
He shook his head and Namadi almost laughed. All of it had been done to get information and it would seem that he was as out of the loop as everyone else was. She didn’t ask any more about it, just followed him towards the small cabin in the middle of an open field. It was picturesque if they weren’t on the run. If she wasn’t saddled to a man that knew less than she did about what they were doing there.
Andre found a key where he left it and though the place hadn’t been used in some time, he knew that he would find everything that he needed there. It was a place that the gang used when heat got to be too much on any one member. It was also the place his father had retreated with his young son when his mother died. There was a mix of emotions as he heard the familiar sound of the key turning in the lock. Andre didn’t know if he was happy to be back or not, but it was nice to have somewhere to call home while he figured out what was going on.
Setting down his jacket after he pulled it off, he showed Namadi where the bathroom was after she asked to go. Andre grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a long drink. He had known that all of it was a bad idea, but he hadn’t seen it turning ou
t so poorly without any results. He had never even seen the man that he was protesting and he didn’t even know why he was doing it, but his father had asked it of him and that was enough. With him at the hideout and his father more than likely in prison, it didn’t feel like the choices made were the right ones after all.
Chapter 6
“Things took a turn for the worse in the Waterton saga as my own daughter, Namadi was taken as a hostage before the gun fight that cost five members of the police force, as well as twenty-two bikers from various gangs their lives. While no one is for certain how it all started, one thing is for sure, the leaders promise of peace was not maintained.
The former leader of the gang, Maxwell Grindle was taken into custody without any problems, but there is no word on his son who is suspected to have the hostage. As a mother, I beg you to please let her go. She doesn’t have anything to do with this. Take me instead.”
Andre shut off the television in disgust. The last thing he had thought about was how Namadi’s disappearance would have been construed. He hadn’t thought about them thinking she was kidnapped and when he looked over, he could tell that she was just as surprised.
“Take me instead? Can you believe her?”
He was confused by her reaction. Her mother was in tears on the television and she looked towards the blank screen in disgust. “Out of everything going on, I bet all she is worried about is another exclusive.”
What Andre didn’t get was why there was nothing on the Sheriff. Everything that had happened that day had overshadowed the whole point of the demonstration to begin with. The number of people killed rattled off in his head and he couldn’t believe it. Andre had to know if it was any of his guys, but they weren’t releasing names. He didn’t know who was in, who was out or who he could trust at the moment and now he was stuck with a young girl that the country thought he had kidnapped for nefarious reasons surely.
