by Vivian Lux
But no one was looking back into the bar. All their eyes were fixed on the advancing wall of glinting hogs.
At the head of the formation was a biker with a flag hung from the pole at the back of his bike. The swath of fabric flapped and whipped in the desert wind. Each snap of the cloth treated us to the terrifying visage of the crowned, red-eyed rat they wore on their patches.
The head biker looked like a standard-bearer leading the cavalry on a charge across the battlefield. Their steeds were leather and chrome.
The head biker turned into the huge parking lot. As soon as he did, the big guard wrenched the bloody Rat forward and held a gun to his head. Upon seeing this, the head Rat held up a warning arm to the bikers behind him. He parked his bike and killed the motor about a hundred feet away from where Moloch and the guard stood.
The rest of the bikers pulled in and did the same, forming a line across the parking lot. When all the engines were quiet, the two sides stood in silence. The only noise was the fluttering of the flag against the flagpole.
Chapter 33
“Thought you could surprise us, but we got your man,” Moloch sneered.
The head Rat ignored this taunt. I saw the concern in his eyes from a hundred feet away.
“You all right, Dogger?” he called.
My hair stood on end when I heard the name. Dogger. Pauline’s brother was called something like that. Was that Matty?
“I’m all right,” Dogger wheezed back, lifting his head with extreme effort.
The head Rat nodded. “All right, you little piece of shit,” he snarled at Moloch. “How ‘bout you send him over and we talk about terms?”
Moloch crossed his arms. His tone was devoid of emotion. He was enjoying this—toying with people was his favorite pastime.
“You attacked us unprovoked, Randall.”
“Weren’t unprovoked.” Randall crossed his arms, matching Moloch’s bored air. “Your guys broke the truce. Turner and them crossed the tracks at Porter Crossing.”
The Devils looked at one another in shock. “You’re lyin’!” came a shout from the back.
To my surprise, I heard Wyatt’s snarl above the crowd. “It’s true.”
Everyone turned to look at him. He stepped forward into the space between the stand-off. I wanted to leap across the crowd and clap my hand over his mouth before he betrayed Cade any further, but I was rooted to the spot. Wyatt continued in a commanding voice.
“Turner weren’t tryin’ to take territory, you dense old fucker!” he shouted across the lot. “His old lady got attacked by some punks in your territory. Your guys couldn’t keep shit under control, so Turner had to cross the tracks and go in to get her.”
His words made me jump in surprise. He had called me Cade’s old lady.
Dogger jumped too. He wrenched himself around in the big guards arms until he could face Wyatt. “You say Turner’s old lady was in Porter Crossing?”
Wyatt looked at him, weighing how much to reveal. “We was bringin’ her here,” he drawled. “He picked her up in that shit-town we have meet-ups in. Flack Spring.”
Flint Springs, I thought angrily.
Dogger shook his head slowly. “No, that ain’t right. Turner’s old lady ain’t from Flint Springs.”
Wyatt furrowed his brow and stepped up to the beaten Rat. “The fuck you talkin’ about? You don’t know shit about Turner.”
Dogger lifted his head in defiance, staring down Wyatt with his one good eye. “I know Turner’s old lady, ‘cause I came to take her back home.” He spat on the ground by Wyatt’s feet. “Bastard fucked with the sister of a Rat. My sister.”
My heart leapt into my throat. There it was. Matty. It was him. I was about to leap from my hiding place when the sound of a bike pierced the tense silence.
“Turner’s here!” came the cry even as the noise of the bike slowed.
I dared to poke my head further around the door.
Stop, stop, stop! I screamed internally as Cade slowed just outside of the fence. Don’t come in here—please!
But it was too late. Before he even had time to react, two huge Rat Kings had pulled him from his bike. I watched my lion try to fight, but more and more men piled on him until he was overpowered and wrestled to the ground.
He fell heavily and was then hauled back up to his feet, arms wrenched behind his back. I could see the look of shock and pain on his face and it pierced my heart.
It was too much for the Devils to see their sworn brother attacked like that.
“Die, you Rat fucks!” came the shout and the back of the crowd pressed forward en masse.
But they were held back by the Devils at the front of the line. In one fluid motion, seven of the Devils whirled around with their guns drawn and pointed them straight at their own men.
“Stay the fuck back,” Moloch spat. His minions snarled threateningly.
The Devils at the back of the line froze, confused.
“Are you serious?” came the call.
“They got Turner!” came another cry.
“First man who moves tastes lead.” one of the minions sang out gleefully.
“Fuckin’ traitors!”
Moloch ignored the cries of the dissenters and turned back to the Rat Kings. Slowly, it dawned on me what he meant to do.
“We got your man!” called the head Rat. “Give us ours.”
Moloch nodded. “We give up Turner and this war is over?”
The head Rat looked surprised, but nodded in assent. “Over.”
Moloch nodded. “Agreed.”
He nodded to the big guard. At once, the guard released his grip on Dogger, who staggered forward. The Devils roared in anguish but were held at bay by their own men.
From across the parking lot came Cade’s howl. “Why?”
Dogger stepped forward slowly, putting one foot deliberately in front of the other. With each step towards freedom, he seemed to grow stronger. His back was to me, but I could hear the menace in his voice as he snarled at Cade.
“You took my sister.” Each step carried him closer and closer, and I could hear murder in his voice. “Where is she, Turner? I hear you have a new old lady now. Where the fuck’s my sister? What’d you do with her?!”
“Stop!” I surged from the doorway, gun in hand. “Matty, stop!”
Chapter 34
Dogger turned his bloody face to me. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Lainey!” Cade cried in anguish. “Lainey, get out of here!”
“Matty, stop. Please.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Pauline told me. Cade didn’t hurt her. Please. Let him go.”
“You talked to my sister?”
“Your sister is here.”
A murmur went up from the Rat Kings. I saw two men loosen their grip on Cade and he swatted them away.
“Lainey, what do you mean? Where’s Pauline?”
“She’s here.” I gestured to the Town Car still parked at an angle. “Matty, she’s in that car.”
A low rumble came up from the Kings. Matty turned to me but stumbled. I raced forward and caught him around the arm. His face was terribly swollen and beaten but I could see his eyes. They were huge.
“You guys have the same eyes,” I whispered.
“My sister’s here?”
I led him to the Town Car. No one moved as I opened the door. “Pauline? Pauline, honey?”
She lay staring vacantly at the backs of the seats, her eyes unfocused. This time, I knew what to do. I crawled into the back seat and leaned over.
“Pauline, honey,” I whispered, and brushed my finger across her forehead.
Her whole body jerked and she sat up with a scream. “Lainey!” she cried and I caught her to my chest.
“Pauline, Matty is here. He’s been hurt real bad. But he’s here. And he’s gonna take you home.”
Tears flooded her huge eyes, “Matty?” she whimpered.
I lifted her and carefully pulled her from the car
. She wobbled on unsteady feet.
“Pauline?” Matty whispered.
She blinked at him, unrecognizing.
“It’s me, sis.”
“Matty? What happened to your face?”
He made a sound that could almost have been a chuckle. “Got in a fight.”
Her face softened immediately. “You’re always in a fight.”
“I know.” The corners of his mouth jerked as he continued. “Not my fault. They started it.” He shuffled his feet in the dirt like a naughty little boy, a perfect rendition of the little brother.
Her eyes widened. Then her face broke out into the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. She rushed to him, and he folded her into his arms.
“Not so tight, sis,” he grunted as he stroked her hair.
The crowd of bikers watched, confused.
“Pauline?” Cade’s voice was a whisper on the wind. He shook himself free of his captors, who seemed too confused to hold on to him anymore. “Leen, what happened?”
With her arms still clutched around her brother, Pauline turned her tear-streaked face to Cade. And then it contorted into a mask of fury.
“You left me,” she hissed. “You left me with him.”
Cade staggered forward. I watched the emotions play across his face as he lifted his hand to touch her and then thought better of it.
“I didn’t leave. I never left,” he whispered. “I thought... I thought you left me.”
“What?” The anger was draining out of her voice.
“He told me you weren’t coming back. He told me...” Slow realization was dawning on Cade’s face as he began to understand what had happened.
“He told me you didn’t want me.” Rage rushed into his voice and he turned with a shout. “He told me you were his now, and I believed it!” Cade spat on the ground and lunged for Moloch.
I screamed as I saw the gunmen turn on him. I squeezed my eyes shut, ready for the hail of gunfire, but instead I felt my own gun yanked from my hands.
“Stay back!” Wyatt shouted, training Zyz’s gun at the whole crowd of Devils. “All of you stay back, or I swear to god...”
“What did you do to her, Nails?” Cade screamed.
Moloch’s eyes glittered. “Don’t you call me that!” Spittle flew from his mouth.
“Oh no?” Cade mocked. “You’re the devil himself, huh? Did you think that by giving yourself a scary new name we’d forget what a little pissant piece of shit you are?”
“You ran away, Turner. I stepped in where you left.”
“You’re right, I left,” Cade acknowledged. “But now I’m back.”
“You swore to me,” Moloch said, trying to sound tough but wavering. He backed up as Cade advanced on him. “You swore on your life!”
“You’re the president, not some goddamned king. What did you do to her?”
Moloch opened and closed his mouth. He looked wildly around and spotted one of his followers watching him, mouth agape.
“Kill him!” he shrieked, “Kill him, you idiot!”
Before the words had died on his lips, Cade had him by the throat. “Get back!” roared Wyatt, and he cocked the safety on the gun and aimed straight at one of Moloch’s followers. One by one, they each dropped their guns and raised their hands in the air.
Moloch’s eyes went wide. He clutched at Cade’s arms, first casually, then frantically as he felt the life choked from him. His flat, black eyes rolled wildly, searching for help.
He reached out to the crowd of Devils, who only looked on him in disgust. He sputtered and reached for Pauline, who turned her head and buried it in Matty’s chest.
Then his eyes found mine. I saw his blood-red lips form my name soundlessly. His tongue poked from the corner of his mouth, but this time, it was not a prelude to violence. I felt a calm wash over me as I locked my blue eyes onto his.
I watched and did not look away as the life left them.
Chapter 35
Cade let go. Moloch dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Cade’s shoulders heaved up and down in two deep breaths. And then he too collapsed to the ground, shattered; broken. No one came forward to comfort him as he sobbed on the baking pavement.
I watched my own hand as if it were something alien. I felt a pull. Reaching out to him, I stepped forward.
“Cade,” I whispered.
He didn’t look up. But I heard him whisper in surprise. “Lainey-girl?”
I moved to him. He was warm under my hands and I smelled the hot scent of leather mixed with the sweetness of him. His tawny-gold hair fell in curtains around his face, hiding him from my sight. I knelt down next to him.
“You didn’t know?” I asked.
“I didn’t know,” he choked.
“You swear?”
“On my life. I thought... I thought she had left me.” He lifted his face. His hair parted around his eyes. They locked onto mine and drew me into their oceanic depths. “Like my father. Like my brother.”
“Your brother?”
He nodded and buried his head in his hands.
I heard Wyatt’s voice over us. “Turner’s brother died in the hold-up. It killed their old man,” he explained. Wyatt stretched out his arm and somehow hauled Cade to his feet. He brushed at the shoulders of Cade’s jacket and shook him slightly. “But it weren’t your fault. I told you that and I told you that.”
“She was all I had left, and I just let her go,” Cade shook his head, staring at the ground.
“It ain’t me you should be tellin’ that to.”
Cade looked up. Wyatt gave him a little shove towards where Pauline stood with her back to him. Matty clutched her protectively and Cade lifted his hands in surrender.
“Leen,” he whispered. “Leen, please look at me.”
Pauline shook her head and buried her face in Matty’s chest.
“Leen, he lied to me. I swear.”
She lifted her head and fixed him with her huge eyes.
“Leen, you know what happened. Mac died. Dad died. Everything was fucked.” He looked at the ground and I saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “When Nails told me you left me, it just...” he shook his head in distaste. “Well, it just made sense. Everything else had gone to shit in my life. Why wouldn’t this be shit, too?”
He stepped forward. “What did he do to you, Leen?”
I stepped forward and put a warning hand on his arm. “Don’t make her say,” I whispered.
He looked at me, seeing me again for the first time. “Lainey-girl...” He trailed off as the realization hit him. “Oh my god. He had you too.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but was suddenly crushed in his arms. His scent washed over me and the ice around my heart melted. I felt tears rising as I sagged into him.
“You saved her,” he whispered, stroking my hair back from my face. “You saved me, too.”
“She did.”
Both of us turned. Pauline had untangled herself from her brother’s arms and was staring at the two of us. “Thank you, Lainey,” she said, stretching out her hand.
I smiled weakly and took her hand in mine. “I told you it would be okay.”
“Cade.” Her voice hitched and I squeezed her hand. “I did love you.” She blinked and her mouth twisted. “And then I hated you. And now I don’t know what to do.”
Matty put a hand on her arm. “Come home.”
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Nodding her head, she locked eyes with Cade. “I’m going home now,” she declared.
He nodded, tears brimming at his eyes. “Okay.” He nodded again, resignation slumping his broad shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded, and a soft smile played at the corner of her mouth. Her wide eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Goodbye, Cade,”
She turned and slung her arm around her brother’s waist. We watched as the two stumbled across the parking lot, supporting each other.
When they reached his bike, Matty hel
ped her sling her leg over the seat and then carefully seated himself. She clutched him tightly, steadying both herself and him.
She looked across the lot and fixed me with her gaze. She lifted her finger in a small salute. I waggled my fingers in return and swallowed down the lump in my throat.
Matty nodded to the lead Rat. The big man nodded back and called out across the lot.
“New terms! We better not see any of your sorry faces in Porter Crossing again.”
“No problem there,” shouted Wyatt. “Now get the fuck out of our town.”
The lead Rat nodded. And with a sudden roar, Matty peeled out of the lot, Pauline holding onto him tightly. One by one, the Rat Kings followed in a slow parade down the road and into the morning sun.
Chapter 36
No one spoke a word as we watched them leave.
I saw a flutter out of the corner of my eye and saw Moloch’s hair, rising and falling with each whooshing updraft as Rats pulled out. The sight made me shudder and I huddled into Cade.
He looked down at me and squeezed me close to him.
“Lainey-girl,” he said again, surprise still touching the edges of his voice. “You’re still here.”
I nodded, and then laughed a little to hide the tears that licked at the corners of my eyes. “I’m still here.”
He turned me to face him and I stumbled immediately into the depths of his eyes. There was a softness there I had never seen before. The rage was melting from his face and I knew I was seeing him, the real him, for the very first time. Anger, sorrow, and heartbreak had carved themselves into the marble of his face, but now I saw hope there too.
And I knew the hope was because I was still there.
I lifted my hand to cup it against his cheek. “Hi there.” Tracing my finger down the side of his face, I tilted his chin down. “We were never properly introduced. My name is Elaine Whiteside.”
His eyes widened and a slow grin spread across his face. He stepped back and clasped my hand and pumped it up and down. I laughed.
“Cade Turner. Nice to meet you.” He grinned. “Thanks for saving my life, Elaine.”
