by Brook Wilder
He hadn’t noticed it during the mad drive there, but she was shaking behind him. Her whole body was trembling and Tex didn’t hesitate. He turned in the saddle and pulled her tight against his body, wrapping his arms all the way around her, encompassing her with his body.
He’d spent the whole ride fuming about how he’d felt. How sick it had made him to rush in and see Gears attacking her. And now, all he could think of was how she must have felt. The terror, the pain, the agony of knowing what was about to happen and not being able to do a damn thing about it. It made his own anger seem like nothing in comparison.
Tex lost track of the time as he held her. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was safe and in his arms, and he’d be happy to stay just like that until the end of the world if it meant her trembling would stop.
Eventually, it did start to fade, her strength coming back bit by bit. But he still didn’t let her go.
Tex opened his mouth to say something. He wasn’t even sure what, he just knew that he had to reassure her, somehow. But nothing came out. All of a sudden, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. It felt just like someone was watching him, watching them, and it sent another chill shooting through him.
He cast a quick look around the darkening yard, but he couldn’t see anything. It was fenced on one side and the other let out onto an alleyway, but there was no other sound, no other evidence of life besides that feeling.
He shook it off, telling himself that he was just imagining things because of what had happened. But even he didn’t totally believe it.
Tex didn’t wait for Lori to regain strength in her legs. He just scooped her up from the back of the bike and hurried them both inside. Out of the rapidly darkening evening. Away from the unseen eyes that he could feel following him all the way inside.
Tex took one last look outside before slamming the door shut and throwing the deadbolt for good measure.
Only when he was sure that the door was safely locked did he let Lori slide down until she was standing on her own. He looked down into her face expectantly, but all he saw was the same blank look, though her eyes were wild.
“Come here, sweetheart. Come sit down over her.” Tex said gently. He had to grab her hand and pull her along with him as he led her to the couch that dominated most of his living room.
After he made sure she was sitting still and that she wasn’t going to try and go anywhere, Tex walked over the kitchen, yanked open the cabinet over the fridge and pulled out the bottle of amber-colored liquor. He unscrewed the top, taking a swig of the burning alcohol himself before pouring three fingers of the whiskey into a glass for Lori. He carried both the glass and the bottle back over to the couch, handing her the drink.
Lori’s hands were shaking so badly that she spilled more than she was able to get into her mouth. She tossed back the rest of the liquor in one shot. She held it out to him and he reluctantly poured her another.
This time, though, she just held the full glass in her hand, staring into the liquid as if she was going to find some sort of answers there.
Tex glanced at her worriedly. The calm she was wearing was just a façade. A thick mask to hide the turbulent emotions that she had buried underneath. He knew it had to break sooner or later.
Gently, he caught one stray strawberry blond tendril and pushed it back behind her ear.
“You just stay right here, sweetheart. I’m going to take care of everything. Just… Just stay right here.”
Tex’s mind was still rife with worry, hating to leave her there looking so alone. But he didn’t know how much time they would have there. He had hoped to be able to spend the night there, rest and recuperate until they had a plan figured out. But something told him that time would be a luxury for them. He knew the type of man Gears was, and he wouldn’t take being beaten like that laying down. Tex knew he could expect some sort of retaliation from the man. But what? And when?
Those were the questions that plagued him as he tore through the apartment, gathering what he could as he went and packing it into his saddlebags. Extra clothes, toiletries, water bottles.
He grabbed all the money he could find lying around and then went to the safe that sat like a nightstand by his bed.
It took him only a few seconds to type in the key code, and then a few seconds more to pull out what he had stashed inside it. All the money he had saved up, a couple thousand dollars and some change, went into the saddlebags first.
The second thing was a small pouch. Tex loosened the draw string and looked inside. It was a bunch of jewelry that he had swiped on a job when he was younger. He’d kept it all these years, in case he ever needed to pawn it for some fast cash. He tossed it in after the envelope of dollar bills without really even looking at it.
His passport and a few other mementos followed after. The last thing he pulled from the safe was a case that he rarely ever opened. But he knew there would be a need now. He cracked it, staring at the set of pistols that sat mirroring each other on the fabric-lined interior.
Tex closed the case with a snap, carrying the whole thing with him as he rose, shut the safe door, and then walked back into the living room.
Lori was exactly where he’d left her. Still sitting there, stock still and staring into that damned glass.
He had to clear his throat before he could speak, and even then it was hoarse with anger. Not at her. But at the man who had done this to her. And at himself too, if he was being honest. For being gone for so long. For not realizing sooner how serious her situation was.
Tex let the saddlebags drop to the floor by the back door, but he kept a hold of the weapons as he walked back towards the couch. He kneeled in front of her, placing the case on the coffee table and opened it up.
Lori’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the guns and she was already shaking her head before he’d even opened his mouth.
“Just in case, I think you should hold on to one of these.”
“No. No way, Tex,” Lori balked, still shaking her head. “No guns. I hate guns.”
Tex gave her a sardonic look.
“You’re a member of a notoriously violent motorcycle gang, and you don’t like guns?”
“I’m a bartender,” she said with a shrug, her expression still emotionless. “I don’t deal with any of that other shit. I make their drinks. I pour their beers.”
Tex shook his head. He wished there was another way, but there wasn’t. At least not one he could see.
“You don’t understand who we’re dealing with here.” He tried to explain to her, tried to make her see. “They won’t hesitate to shoot you. Or me.”
“I know exactly who we’re dealing with,” Lori said, her voice hard enough to crack a stone.
He hated hearing the tone that edged her words. She was still unsure about the weapons and he didn’t blame her, but they didn’t have any other options.
He jumped back to his feet, taking another swig of whiskey from the bottle, thinking as he paced. As he tried to figure out another way out for them that didn’t end in violence. He glanced down at Lori and could see the way she shied away from the guns. He didn’t want to force her into that.
With a deep breath, Tex pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number he knew by heart. It rang several times, but there was no answer. After a few more minutes of waiting, it switched over to voicemail.
Hey, you’ve reached Porky’s phone. I am unavailable at the moment. Otherwise occupied, if you know what I mean. Leave a message and maybe I’ll call you back. Maybe.
Tex shook his head, but after the beep sounded his voice was all seriousness.
“Hey Porky, it’s Tex.” He drew in a deep breath, trying to decide how much to say and how much to hold back. “I’m here, with a friend of that friend of yours. She’s in pretty bad shape.” Tex looked down at his knuckles and let out a harsh laugh, “But you should see the other guy. Hey, I – uh – I know how much you like getting your hands dirty and y
ou might just need to get them really dirty. Not sure what the fall-out is going to be, but I’m planning for the worst. Just call me back as soon as you can, alright?”
Tex hung up the phone with a sigh. Porky was the only other person in the world that he trusted, and he sure as hell wouldn’t trust anyone else with Lori’s safety, or their baby’s.
He slid the cell back into his pocket, his mind already on to what they should do next. But when he looked up, all other thoughts stopped. Lori was standing all alone in the middle of his living room with her arms crossed around herself. And he could see pure, stark fear shining in her changeable eyes. They were bluer now, a dark worried blue.
Tex should have been relieved to see at least some emotion coming back into her face, but he hated that it was that. Anything but that. He walked over to her as slowly as he could, when all he wanted to do was run.
Coming close to her, he brushed his thumb over the cut along her cheek from where Gears had hit her, and the fury and rage that had been pushed down beneath the surface hit him all over again.
That anyone could do this to her shook him to his core. But the fact that Gears had done it, the man that should have been protecting her. He couldn’t stomach it. He couldn’t stomach anything about this situation. But he was going to do anything and everything he had to do to make sure that Lori and their baby stayed safe. Even if she didn’t like it.
Tex leaned down and grabbed the pistols.
“Have you ever used one of these?”
Lori just shook her head, leaning further away, as if the distance from the cold-looking weapon would somehow protect her.
“Come on. I’m going to show you how to use this one.”
“No, Tex, I…”
“I’m not going to argue with you about it,” Tex said, the words coming out harsher than he’d intended. He had to fight to get his tone softer again, but the idea of her getting hurt had him on edge. “You have to be able to protect yourself, to protect the baby, in case I…”
Lori was in front of him in an instant, her hand outstretched to stop his words.
“It’s not going to happen, Tex. Nothing is going to happen to you. Or to me or the baby.”
Tex nodded his head.
“You’re right. And I’m going to make sure of that. Starting with teaching you how to use this.”
Chapter 6
Lori watched Tex, trepidation filling every inch of her as she watched him pull out the pistols one by one, checking them over. He grabbed a handful of bullets from another box and then turned, gesturing for her to follow. He turned back with a sigh of impatience when she didn’t move.
“I know you don’t want to do this, sweetheart, but it might be the difference between life and death. Not just for me, but for our baby.”
It was that last reason that finally had her feet moving, however reluctantly, as he walked outside. She forced herself to follow, but dread sat heavy inside her, growing worse with every step. She really did hate guns. They were only made for one thing and one thing only. To kill.
Hell, Lori had never even held a gun in her life. She knew that the Grim Riders weren’t exactly angels, but she’d never been a part of that side of gang life. She was a bartender, for Christ’s sake. Besides, Tex was the cowboy, not her.
How could he expect her to learn how to shoot? And in a few hours? More than likely she would end up hurting herself before she actually managed to hit anybody else. And the thought of that, of shooting a bullet and watching it tear through flesh and bone, made her sick to her stomach.
Lori nearly told him ‘no’ again, but then she remembered the look in his green eyes, the serious tone in his voice when he’d left that message for Porky. And then, as much as she tried to keep the memory at bay, she remembered how easily she’d been overpowered by Gears.
All she could think about was what would have happened to her if Tex hadn’t been there. What if he hadn’t been able to step in and rescue her? It made her shudder with fear and disgust. She could taste bile in her mouth as the images formed in her head.
Lori tried to block out the thoughts, as she had done since Tex had driven her to his apartment. But now that the thoughts were there, she couldn’t seem to shake them. Over and over, the scene played out behind her eyelids until she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything but stand there and shake.
“Lori? Lori? Are you… are you okay?”
She glanced helplessly at Tex and didn’t know what to say to his simple question. The answer wasn’t simple at all. But she did know one thing, she thought to herself, drawing in a deep steadying breath. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let herself be that vulnerable again. And if it took shooting a gun to make her safe, then so be it.
She still wasn’t happy about the idea, but some of her trepidation had eased as she walked over to where Tex was waiting for her.
Lori forced her spine ramrod straight as she stopped and sudden determination filled her. She would do anything she needed to protect her baby. And Tex, too, though he didn’t know it.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
Tex just sent her a nod and she was grateful that he didn’t say anything else. He was almost businesslike as he showed her the gun, pointing out the different parts. The barrel, the stock, the trigger.
“This is the safety,” he said, pointing to a small catch on one side. “Make sure this is always on. Only take the safety off if you plan on using this weapon. And only use this weapon if you plan on killing someone.”
He went through the steps of loading and unloading the gun several times, making her repeat it every time until she had it memorized. Only then did he hand her the gun. It was surprisingly heavy and Tex never looked away as he had her load and unload it herself until he was satisfied that she wouldn’t accidently shoot herself.
Tex took a step back, saying that he was going to set up a small target, to let her practice a little, but he stopped mid-sentence, looking around with a hard look on his face.
Lori stopped as well, looking around nervously, trying to see what had spooked him, but she didn’t see anything.
Suddenly, he was rushing back towards her, his expression so hard that it made her nervousness even worse. But she still couldn’t see what had caused his reaction.
Tex grabbed the gun from her and shoved it in the back of his jeans, before he took his hand in hers and pulled her inside after him, so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet.
“Tex? Tex, what the hell is going on? Why did you…”
“We have to go. Now.” His voice was as hard as the rest of him, “I swear I saw someone out there. Something’s not right.” He shook his head as if he wasn’t quite sure himself, but she knew enough now not to doubt Tex’s instincts.
She tried to ask him again, what it was exactly, but he just shook his head, silencing her before she could speak her question. He put a finger over his mouth, gesturing for her to stay quiet and, finally, she just nodded her head.
Lori could taste terror again, that same terror that had plagued her since the altercation with Gears. She hated it. Hated the way it made her body weak and shaky. Hated the way it fractured her mind and made it impossible to think straight. It made it impossible to do anything but stand there, helpless, while Tex crept silently through the apartment, turning on all the lights as he went.
By the time he got back to her, her brows were furrowed in confusion.
“What are you doing?” she asked, whispering the question.
Tex shrugged before answering.
“I don’t know if it will work, but I’m hoping that it will throw… whoever it is out there off our track long enough to put some distance between us. If they think we’re still here inside… Okay, we are going to sneak outside very quietly. Go straight to my bike and get on. I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, Tex. I don’t want to leave you.”
She didn’t want to go out by herself. Not without him by her side.<
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“Go!”
The word was hushed, but there was enough force behind it to send her scurrying out through the cracked back door and creeping on silent feet towards Tex’s motorcycle. She climbed on, her teeth chattering with nerves, and nearly screamed when a shadow grew closer. She barely bit it back when she saw it was Tex. He was carrying heavy saddlebags.
“Hold on,” he growled.
She wrapped her arms around him just in time, as he gunned the engine and tore off into the alleyway. For a few seconds, with the freedom of the empty road in front of them and the wind in her face, Lori let herself relax.
But a moment later, another noise sounded loudly, just behind them. The unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine, revving and ready to chase.
