by K E Osborn
Because In the morning, I will leave Houston Defiance.
I’ve officially outstayed my welcome.
NEON
The Next Morning
I hardly slept a wink last night, I kept tossing and turning, trying to come up with a plan to patch things up with Oakley, but I come up with a blank. I need a gesture, a grand gesture, but I just have no fucking clue of what.
Maybe I should just try talking to her first.
I slide out of bed, dress, and make my way over to her room. I knock gently, my heart hammering as I wait.
There’s nothing.
I slowly open the door which creaks a little on its hinges. Oakley’s bed looks as though no one slept in it, she’s nowhere to be seen. For fuck’s sake! I scrunch up my face, close her door, and head downstairs to see if she’s having breakfast, but no Oakley.
I make my way outside to the firepit.
Nothing.
To the gym.
Nada.
My palms begin to sweat as I walk back inside with a sinking feeling in my gut.
Surely, she hasn’t left already?
Chills talks to Anna, getting her ready to leave today, but I ignore that situation and keep searching the clubhouse for Oakley. But I come up empty-handed everywhere I look.
“Where are you, Oakley?” I mumble to myself.
Suddenly, Phantom rushes inside, his eyes wide as he stops in the doorway. “Someone stole my fucking ride!”
Zero stands, glancing around the room. “What the fuck are you talking about, Phantom? No one can get inside the clubhouse?”
I shake my head. “No… but people can get out.”
Zero and Phantom both turn to me. “Neon? What’s going on?”
“I can’t find Oakley.”
Zero grits his teeth. “Fuck! Track Phantom’s bike… now!”
Quickly grabbing my device, I bring up the program to track Phantom’s bike. The pinging shows it’s heading toward Dallas. I let out an exhale. “It’s gotta be her, pres. She left because of me. Dammit! She’s not safe out there.”
Zero scrubs at his face. “I wanted one morning, one fucking morning to eat my breakfast taco in peace. Fuck! All right, boys, mount up. We got us a runaway to catch.”
We race out to our rides, and I attach the tracker on my handlebars so I can follow wherever she heads, and we take off toward Dallas. She hasn’t gotten a huge head start, so if we leave now, we’ll be able to catch up to her. I hammer down like a bat out of hell, my brothers following behind me. The wind usually calms me, the road a way to compose myself, but right now, I’m wound tighter than an inmate’s asshole.
I need to get to her.
Stop her from running.
From me.
From her problems.
From something that could be so fucking good if she just gave us a shot.
My mind goes all over the damn place when I need to focus on the task at hand.
I let the vibration of the engine rattle through me. I need to let this ride calm me down before I see her. According to my tracker, we’re creeping up, getting closer as we weave in and out of traffic to get to her.
Then I see it.
Phantom’s purple Harley straight ahead.
I hammer down hard, riding straight for her, but she scans over her shoulder spotting us, and accelerates. I grit my teeth, following along, while cars honk as she weaves between the traffic, but the thing she doesn’t know is, my bike possesses far more power than Phantom’s. I kick it back a gear and rev my baby harder.
We pull past the traffic, and I move in front of Oakley, turning to cut her off. She skids to a halt in the middle of the highway, the burn of the tires sending up smoke into the air. Kicking out her stand, she jumps off her bike heading right for me. She rips off her helmet, throwing her hands in the air. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you asshole? You could have killed us both!”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, running away like this, Oakley?”
“I did not run away. I left… big fucking difference.”
“That shit’s being a coward, no matter how I look at—”
“A coward? Huh! That’s brave coming from the likes of you!”
“Just you hang on one min—”
“Will both of you shut the fuck up!” Zero screams as he storms over, while cars pass by watching the commotion play out like a damn movie. “We need to get off this road. Oakley, will you at least talk to us if we go somewhere?” She huffs, folds her arms over her chest in defiance, but eventually nods once. “There’s a Buc-ee’s off the next exit. Take it. We can discuss shit. Got it?”
“Yeah… I got it,” Oakley replies, pulling the helmet back over her head, then stepping back to Phantom’s bike.
“Got it, Neon?” Zero grunts out like he’s sick to death of the steaming pile of shit this club dishes up to him on a plate daily.
Not waiting for anyone else, I wave him off and take off on my bike. I pull into the Buc-ee’s and turn off my engine just needing a few seconds. Yelling at Oakley only makes me hotter for her, and that creates a problem. What the fuck is it about this woman who infuriates me but works me up at the same time?
Oakley pulls in surrounded by my brothers, then slides off the bike, placing the helmet on the seat.
The guys walk past us, heading inside, leaving the two of us outside alone together.
Not sure if that’s the wisest idea, but we will see how it plays out.
She huffs, folding her arms over her chest. “So, you found me…”
“The bikes have trackers.”
“Should have guessed.” She snorts out a laugh.
I take a step closer. “Oakley, you need to come back to the safety of the club. There’s too much risk out here, for fuck’s sake.”
“I can’t depend on you forever. That would make me as bad as Anna.”
Without warning, a van pulls up beside us, the side door slips open, and two Heathens jump out grabbing Oakley. I reach around for my gun, but the passenger side door opens, and Rage reaches out, his gun aimed directly at me.
It’s as if time slows down. The flash of gun being fired hurts my eyes, the loud blast of the bullets leaving the chamber follows soon after, but the searing pain through my system makes my breath catch. My entire body jerks back once, then again with the multiple hits.
My entire body goes numb, my eyes bulging as they meet with Oakley’s. She screams as they drag her backward into the van. Her body thrashing with everything she has to get to me, while she screams and cries. But I can’t move. I try hard to catch my breath as heavy footsteps thump quickly behind me.
I attempt to reach out for her, but my body doesn’t move.
The van door loudly slams shut, and the tires burn rubber as they take off.
Then as the world moves back to normal speed, I hit the concrete with a rapid thud.
And just like that, everything turns black.
OAKLEY
My heart shatters into a million pieces. Watching Neon shot like that broke something inside of me. The fact he could die right now is all on me.
The blood.
Fuck, the blood.
Letting out a guttural sob, I feel completely bereft as two Heathens hold me down. I try to struggle against them, kicking and screaming, but one of the men wraps a gag around my mouth as the other lands his fist right into my cheek. The force of the hit sending searing pain right through my face so fierce, it causes me to stop screaming as I zone in and out.
My eyes blink slowly as Rage chuckles while sliding down in front of me. “You thought you could outrun us, Nic? You thought you were smarter than us? You should know I’ll always come for you.” Then he leans in pressing his lips to my forehead.
My eyes flood with salty tears as he pulls back.
“You’ve been a very naughty girl, and while normally bad girls turn me on, your behavior leaves a particularly bad taste in my mouth.”
My pulse races so fas
t my heart might explode. Adrenaline spikes through my veins as my body shakes uncontrollably.
I’m terrified.
Actually petrified.
Paralyzed with fear.
The van continues to drive.
“For now, you’re going to have a little sleep until we get to where we’re going. Then we’re gonna have a whole lotta fun!”
I try to push these assholes off me, but one of his men stabs me in the arm with something, my head instantly swirling with fog. I try to fight it, my breathing becomes heavy, but darkness hits before I can do anything to stop it.
My mouth feels like a camel walking through the Mohave Desert, my chest heavy as fuck. I’m so desperately miserable at the thought Neon might not have made it as my eyes slowly begin to open. I guess I’ll never find out because Rage is surely going to kill me, anyway.
My eyes finally flutter open.
The room I’m in is dark.
I wriggle my hands, finally figuring out I’m tied. I peek down seeing I’m strapped to a bed. My hands and feet are strapped to each post like a starfish. My jaw ticks when I realize I’m only wearing my bra and panties. I observe my legs, spread eagle, and I can’t help the tears forming in my eyes.
I did this to myself.
The door flings open, Rage and Hash both stride in, happy as pigs in shit.
“You’re awake… good! We can get started,” Rage grunts out.
“Just kill me already. That’s where this is leading, so just do it,” I demand.
Rage and Hash both chuckle while moving to the edge of the bed.
“Oh, Nic, did you learn nothing from your time with us? Death doesn’t come quickly nor easily for those who wrong us, sweet thing. We’re gonna make this last, so it’s just as good for you as it is for us if you know what I mean?” Rage waggles his brows, sliding his hand up my thigh toward my pussy.
I wriggle on the bed, trying to force him from my leg while I glare at him. “Don’t you touch me. You lost every right to me the second I left.”
Rage scoffs. “Oh, don’t worry, Oakley. My brothers, they all want a turn. Once me and Hash here are done having fun with your body, they’re all going to have their go at that sweet pussy of yours.”
A single tear slides down my cheek.
I’m not sure why this shocks me.
This is, after all, the Heathens’ style.
Why should I be treated any differently? Of course, they plan to do their worst to me. I disrespected the club, so they’re going to disrespect me in the vilest of ways.
I only hope Neon did die because if he hears what Rage is about to do to me and lived, I know even though we aren’t on the best of terms right now, he will want his vengeance, and I hate the idea the two clubs might go to war over my death. Defiance has been so good to me, I don’t want their blood spilled because of my stupidity.
“Do what you want to me. I’m dead inside, anyway.”
A look so sinister, so evil, glints in Rage’s eyes. I swear the devil himself lurks behind those lids. The atmosphere in the room charging with an uncomfortable surge letting me know only misery and torment will haunt my final few hours on this earth. There’s something unnerving yet calming in that. Realizing these are my final moments, I can either spend this time scared out of my mind, my heart leaping out of my chest at every subtle movement Rage makes, every torturous pain he inflicts, or I can go to a place in my mind, remembering the good times I had with Neon. Let him be the last thing I cling to, to help me get through this suffering.
I choose Neon.
I choose Neon every single time.
I was so angry at him that I didn’t take a single second to realize he was the best thing in my life. It took two bullets to his chest and me about to die to come to terms with it.
Now, it’s too late.
Rage gives a head bob, to Hash and he walks over grabbing a sliding tray. He wheels it over, and I lift my head to look at it.
Great, a torture kit.
Rage picks up a long knife as he sits on the bed next to me. “You know, Oakley, it’s going to be such a shame to let you go to waste. You really are stunningly beautiful. Maybe I’ll keep your face pretty and tarnish everything else.” He drags the tip of the blade along my thigh, the cool tip making me quiver as my breathing comes in short and sharp. My pulse races so fast I want to be sick. I’m usually strong, but the past couple of weeks I failed at that. Right here, right now, I don’t feel strong at all.
I clench my eyes shut and shift my thoughts to Neon’s gorgeous face.
“Nu-uh-uh, look at me, Oakley!” Rage instructs.
I shake my head, clenching my eyes tighter, trying to imagine Neon’s presence with me. Suddenly, the tip of Rage’s blade digs into my thigh. My eyes widen, Neon fading from my vision as I let out a whimper. He doesn’t dig it in far, just enough to make me comply.
“There you are. Now, keep your eyes on me.”
My bottom lip trembles as his blade scrapes up my thigh, along the edge of my stomach. The cool of the metal leaving a line of blood from where he nicked me moments before.
“We could have had a good thing, you and me, if you had just stuck around a little longer.”
With tears rolling down my face, I bob my head trying to placate him.
“Don’t lie to me!” he screams so furiously, spittle flies out of his mouth, hitting me on my cheek. He grabs the knife scraping it down my stomach, the blade slicing into my skin. I yell out in pain as the flesh wound sends a sliver of blood pooling onto the tatty mattress below me.
Agony sears through me as he pants, trying to calm his rage. He got that name for a reason. When he fires up, there’s no controlling the bastard. He’s worked almost to that point now, and I really don’t want to get him there.
“Nic, you and me, we would never have worked out. You’re too good for me. You are decent to the core. That’s where our issues lie, so don’t act like we could have been something when you know damn well, we were not. Don’t try to tell me what I want to hear. I want the truth from you.”
I sniffle somehow finding some inner strength I wasn’t sure I had. “You want the truth?”
“Nothing but it!”
“You were an asshole the whole time I was with you. I don’t know why I stayed so long, and in the end, it was so I could figure out a way to get what I needed from you. You were a means to my end, and it worked until you somehow found a loophole.”
He grins wide. “There she is… the fighter I know. What if I told you after we kill you, we’re gonna go after your mom and do this exact thing to her? What would you say to me then?”
I jerk in my restraints trying to get to him. The tightness around my wrists cuts in as I struggle to get to him. “I swear to God, Rage, if you touch either of my parents… I. Will. Kill. You!”
He leans in, pushing me back to the bed, his stale breath of beer and tobacco hits me as he leans in so close, almost lips to lips. “That will be hard to do… When. You’re. Dead.” He presses his lips to mine. I curl up my mouth, turning my head, breaking the kiss as he lets out a loud laugh, pulling back. “You still taste the same. Like entitled bitch mixed with my cock. Fucking heavenly.”
“You’re crazy if you think my mouth is going anywhere near your cock again.”
“You can’t get rid of me from your system, Oakley. Once I’m in, I’m always there… seeping through your veins, crawling under your skin, eating at your damned soul. You know I brought you down into the depths of hell with me, Nic. You were the devil’s right-hand woman for a while there. Fuck, if you didn’t love to dance in that hellfire we created.”
I snort. “I did it to stay alive, Rage. For no other reason.”
“And what have you done at Defiance to stay alive, huh? Have you been a saint there with them? Or did you continue to dance in the fires of Hell?”
My muscles tense when I think about how much I helped Defiance, especially with the counterfeit money. Sure, I danced. I fucking cha-cha-ed my
way into the black abyss, but I’d gladly do it for Neon. Because even though he might have treated me like shit, he still treated me with more respect than this bastard right in front of me. Neon might be flawed, but it’s for a reason, out of love for his family. That’s not much of a flaw at all, is it? But this is all a moot point right now because I don’t know what’s happening with Neon, and I’m not going to make it out of here, anyway. “That’s none of your concern.”
Rage chuckles. “See, Nic, you’re not the angel you think you are. You’re a devil just like me. You’re engulfed in flames, burning in the bowels of Hell. In fact, I need to cool you down.” He nods to Hash, and he walks over carrying a hose.
I widen my eyes.
How the hell do they have a hose inside?
Rage grabs the nozzle with an exhale. “Time to cool down, Oakley.” The asshole turns on the hose to full pressure—the ice-cold water slamming straight into my face. I gasp, closing my eyes as I spin my head to the side to try and stem the flow. I can’t get any oxygen as the water pummels, hit after hit. The water floods the bed, making me quiver, and goosebumps riddle my skin as I struggle to breathe. I swallow, trying to gasp for air, a mouthful of water sucking itself into my system as I cough and sputter trying to force the water back out. My back arches off the bed needing to breathe more than anything. The struggle to contain my fear is difficult as my entire body arches off the bed in utter panic. I let out a loud gasp desperate for oxygen, then suddenly the water stops, and I take in a huge gulp of air.
I pant so ferociously as I try to catch my breath, my back falling to the now-soaked mattress as I gasp heavily for breaths.
Rage smirks as he pulls up a chair to the edge of the bed. His knife back in hand. “Now we’ve had a little fun, I need you to tell me something.” I cough, ignoring him still trying to gather as much oxygen as possible. “Where is the extra evidence?”
My entire body feels like it’s being electrocuted. I jerk my head to the side as I stare at him in shock not knowing what the fuck he’s talking about. “W-What?”
