“I don’t know if you heard it, my stomach I mean. I ate very little this morning and it must be quite late now. If I don’t eat something soon I think my stomach might start to eat itself,” she joked attempting to see casual and lighthearted.
“What should I care if your stomach eats itself,” he said with the deep dark voice of someone dangerous and heartless.
Lauren gulped back her fear and answered, “I just thought I would ask. I didn’t realize you were attempting to starve me to death.”
“A few hours are hardly enough to starve anyone to death.” She could imagine the hard rolling of his eyes in the pitch black. “But, I’ll go and find you something because I could use another beer,” he continued. “Does our guest have something in particular in mind?” he said teasingly as he pulled her hair on his way towards the door.
She set her face in a scowl despite the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see it and answered gruffly, “Whatever is fine.”
“Good. I’ll be right back,” he said as he pulled open the door and stepped outside.
Lauren was alone again in the darkness with nothing but her worrisome thoughts. It felt like she’d been here an awfully long time and she was beginning to wonder if she had overestimated the connection that she and Jacob had. If nothing else she had thought that his sense of duty would bring him to her, but maybe she’d been wrong – or maybe they’d done far worse to him at the store than a few bruises and scrapes. She was beginning to feel like her situation was hopeless and she wondered what the Diablo’s would do to her if the club didn’t come to rescue her. She considered that they might just shoot her and dump her in a ditch, surely they could do much worse but she didn’t want to think about what “much worse” could be.
The door creaked open and a man slid inside. She could tell by his smell that it wasn’t the same man. In another circumstance she might have laughed at her heightened sense of smell, but the darkness brought it out. The other man had smelled sour like the ancient sweat of someone that never bathed. This man smelled good, a light wisp of cologne and a masculine deodorant, nothing that turned her stomach. She wondered who he was and why he was here.
“Lauren?” a familiar voice whispered into the dark. “Are you in here?”
“Jacob? Is that you? I’m here, in the middle, they’ve tied me to a chair.”
Jacob rushed to her in the darkness. In his haste he had left the room dark, but somehow he found his way to her. He got down on his knees, his hands travelling her body until they found her face.
“I knew you’d come for me,” she whispered. Jacob leaned forward, his hands still softly embracing her face, and he kissed her. It was the hungry relieved kiss of someone that had been worried and afraid. As they kissed his hands moved to his ankle where he kept a knife. He removed it from its holster and brought it to the ropes. He pulled away breathless and began to cut at the heavy jute.
“I’m not alone,” Lauren whispered to him. “The man just left to get another beer, he’ll be coming back. You should hide.”
“I’m not hiding from a Diablo. I came to get you out of here and that’s what I’m going to do.” Just as the last word left his mouth the door began to open again.
“Look what I found for you,” the Diablo stated, a beer in one hand and a taco in the other. “See, we treat you good, even give you authentic Mexican food. Just for now, I’ll even turn on the light so that you can see while I feed you. Maybe I’ll even imagine that I’m cramming something else in your mouth,” he continued with an almost audible sneer. “You’d like that would you? I bet you’re a real dirty girl.” The sound of the light switch seemed to echo through the small space as the room was suddenly illuminated.
Lauren squinted against the sudden light. It pained her eyes after so much time in the dark. “Shit its bright in here,” he Diablo commented as he held his arm over his face. He hadn’t noticed Jacob yet. Jacob took the opportunity and ran straight at him ramming him into the wall. The man dropped his beer, and the sound of it crashing and breaking on the floor echoed throughout the room. The taco was still firmly in his hand as Jacob landed a heavy punch to his cheek. He cried out and his fingers seemed to open in slow motion, his grip on the taco loosening slowly, the lettuce, cheese, and then the meat exiting the shell to cascade down to the floor.
The men continued fighting as I jerked and pulled at the ropes. Jacob had almost completely severed the one and I thought if I pulled hard enough that it would break the rest of the way and I could set myself free. I wiggled the best that I could but it was slow going and it felt like an eternity before anything substantial happened. Finally, the last threads disintegrated and I was able to start working the ropes from my stiff and tingling body. Looking up to check on Jacob, my chair was forced to tip by a solid fist to my face. I could feel my eye instantly swelling as my chair tipped backwards and then fell to the ground knocking the breath out of me.
“You hit Lauren!” Jacob screamed. The act of the other man hitting me unleashed something in him. He no longer took care of his own injuries and full-on attacked the other man. Watching him was like watching a caged animal set free. He worked his fists down the Diablo’s midsection and then up to his face. It only took a few good hits before his face was a bloody mess and he slumped to the floor. Jacob stood over him panting, his fists held out before him, his chest heaving. “Did he hurt you?” he gasped as he rushed to my aid.
“Just a bruise I think,” I said, my body still stuck to the chair. Despite freeing the ropes, my heavy body and the chair now sandwiched them to the floor preventing me from fully releasing myself.
Jacobs hand came to my face. He touched it gingerly and asked if it hurt.
“A little,” I admitted.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as he leaned down and kissed my temple just above where the bruise was forming. “I never wanted any of this to happen to you. You deserved to be safe.”
“This isn’t your fault. My family should have sought help sooner, then you never would have had to go up against those men alone.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” he said pulling at the ropes.
“Then you don’t blame yourself,” I said. With my arms finally free I reached forward and brushed his hair behind his ear. He looked deep into my eyes and then slid his arms under my body and lifted me from the floor.
“We have to get out of here,” he said. “The other men are working on the rest of the Diablo crew but we should get you to safety.”
“I knew you’d come for me,” I whispered as I laid my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. I thought about how painful his injuries must be, and here he was carrying me. I considered that the adrenaline must have kicked in but I thought about protesting and telling him that I could walk, but the truth was, I loved being in his arms. He was so strong and I felt safe. All of the fear and the worry melted away and I was suddenly very tired. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer as my body slumped and I drifted off into sleep with my head nestled up to his neck. I was exhausted and there was nothing I could do to stave off the sleep that overcame me.
Chapter 11 – Jacob
Her body felt so small and fragile in my arms. I had tried to continue talking to her, to explain how I felt, but as I spoke she remained quiet. I thought it was strange that she had nothing to add or to share, but when I looked down I saw that her eyes had closed and that he breathing had changed – the poor girl had fallen asleep. In the midst of gunshot and yelling she had managed to pass out. It made me feel sorry for her, for the stress she must have gone through to now be able to sleep through so much action and noise.
I carried her out to the woods and laid her down in a grassy area that would be good and soft. I brushed her cheek and looked at her swollen eye. A lump rose in my throat as the guilt assaulted me. All of this has happened to her because I couldn’t protect her properly. I smoothed her hair down around her head and made her a promise that I would never fail her again.
I leaned forward and whispered in her delicate ear, “I have to leave for now. I have to go help the other men, but I’ll be back for you. I will never leave you. You’re safe now.” I kissed her hand and walked away, turning back only once to take in the sight of her. She was beautiful and I felt angry at myself for not having noticed it sooner, all those wasted years when she could have been mine, when we could have been together.
I looked around to make sure that no one had seen me leave her in the grass. I wanted to be extra careful and as far as I could tell, no one was around. I grabbed my gun from my waistband and moved back towards the building. Just as I arrived at the corner, one of the men that had been guarding the front caught sight of me. I aimed quickly and fired off a shit hitting square in the middle of his chest. I don’t know if the shot killed him but he went down and he didn’t get back up. I moved to his body quickly and checked his pulse. Dead. Good, I didn’t have time to keep playing around with watchmen, I needed to get into the fray to help the rest of the Mischief Makers.
My position now put me closer to the front door so I took out the second watchman and moved inside. Most of the men were in the main room, there were a couple of bodies on the floor and the rest of the men were fighting. I jumped in and helped out where I could. In ten minutes we had the whole place under control. We all looked to one another and laughed. Some hunched over to catch their breath while others braced themselves against the wall.
“Holy shit that was nuts,” James said as he wiped his hand across his blood and sweat streaked brow.
“There might have only been a few of them but those Diablo’s are crazy motherfuckers,” Hogarth said with a laugh.
“Telling me,” Chris chimed in.
“We all here?” I asked as I looked around. “No one is seriously injured?”
“Nah, just a few bruises and cuts mostly.” James looked to the side. “Eh…maybe one broken arm.”
“When we get back to the clubhouse I’ll work on fixing everyone up,” Chris said with a sigh. It was obvious he was worn out but knew that he still had a duty to uphold. He’d get help of course but as the main medical for the club, it was on him to take care of everyone’s injuries. Right now his hands were shaking from the action but in an hour or so he’d be fine and ready to work.
“Did you get your girl?” James asked.
“Yeah, I did.”
“She alright?”
“Black eye but otherwise she’s fine.”
“Where she at now?”
“I laid her down out in the woods. She passed out exhausted.”
“I’m glad you got her back boy,” James said as he walked over and slapped his hand on my back. I winced and hunched forward.
“Oh right, forgot about your ribs. Let’s all hear it for Jacob! Saved his girl and came back to help our sorry asses!” The men all began to whoop and holler. “Now let’s get the fuck out of this hell hole he added with a swift kick to one of the men on the floor.
We all walked out the front door and then I motioned for the other men to go without me. I had to go back and fetch Lauren. They all agreed to go ahead and as I walked back to her, she was still sleeping peacefully in the spot I’d left her. I grunted as I bent, my poor body was so battered and sore, but I lifted her and carried her through the woods. I was careful not to bang her on any trees and had to fight the urge to watch her as she slept. I felt like I could stare at her forever, but staring at a beautiful woman and walking through the woods are not things that can be done simultaneously if you want to remain upright. I pulled my gaze from her and focused on avoiding the tree roots at my feet.
Just before leaving the cover of the woods I stroked her face and quietly spoke to wake her. “You have to wake up now Lauren. You’re going to have to get on my bike in a minute.”
Lauren awoke with a fluttering of her eyelashes. “Hmm…what? Huh?” she said as she looked around. “Mmmm… Jacob, my savior,” she said with a smile.
“I’m going to set you down ok?” I said as I lowered my arm to set her feet on the ground. She was wobbly and I helped to hold her steady until she had found her own footing. “Are you ok to stand on your own now?”
“I think so,” she said as she ventured a step and nearly fell. “Maybe just help support me for a few minutes,” she said with a smile as I wrapped my arm around her waist.
“Alright. Let’s go, you can do it,” I said as we walked out of the woods and into the clearing of the vacant lot.
James raised his arm to indicate that we were coming. The rest of the men turned to face us and began cheering. It was a bit embarrassing but I couldn’t keep the smile from my lips.
“Aye, she is a beautiful woman,” Chris said as we approached. “Crotch Rocket went through a lot of trouble to get you back, you better be treating him well tonight,” he said with a sly grin.
Lauren blushed and then her forehead furrowed, “Crotch Rocket?”
James and the rest of the men began to laugh. Full hearty laughter that had them bending over and clutching their stomachs. “Your boy here got on this sexy beast,” James said indicating the bright red and white crotch rocket, “to come and save you.”
“Ahh, I see,” Lauren said.
“No one in our club would normally get caught dead on a motorcycle like that. So, now our little Jacob is deemed, Crotch Rocket.”
“Jesus…” I said as shook my head. “You were serious earlier, about that damn nickname.”
“Fuck yeah,” his dad said. “Don’t worry, in time it will just be a name and a funny story. Hell, it’s pretty damn funny right now. C’mon, let’s get going guys. I can take the girl on my bike,” he offered.
“No!” I answered sternly. “She comes with me.”
Lauren smiled shyly. It was an unusual feeling to have a man standing up for her, putting everyone on the line for her. She could see the fierceness in his face as he told the other men that she wouldn’t be riding with anyone but him.
“It’s your call,” James said as he mounted his bike.
The rest of the group waited as I helped Lauren onto the crotch rocket. I held her hand as she swung her leg over and scooted to the back and then I climbed on in front of her.
“Hold on to my waist,” I told her as I gripped her right hand and pulled it around my waist. “Tightly, but watch the ribs,” I added with a smile.
“Oh, right. Sorry, I keep forgetting.”
“It’s ok,” I said as I pulled her left arm around. “Ready?” I asked.
“As I’m going to be,” she said with a slight eye roll and a giggle.
I started the engine and kicked up the kickstand. “Let’s get going then.” I moved into position behind the rest of the club and followed them back to the Mischief Makers clubhouse. We pulled up in a roar of engines and laughter. The guys were beyond proud of the mess they’d made of the Diablo’s and they were going to celebrate.
“You coming?” Hogarth asked as he waved in my direction. “Let’s go get drunk!”
“Nah, not right now. I need to get Lauren to a bed.”
“Hell yeah ya do!” he called back.
“Not like that. She’s exhausted.”
“I am not! I’m fine,” she said as she strained to keep her eyelids open. “Besides, I gotta…I need to…”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get someone to tell your family that you’re safe and you’ll be home soon.”
“Hm…yeah…ok, a nap might not be so bad then,” she said as she began to slide off the side of the motorcycle. I leapt forward and caught her as her arms slid around my neck. “C’mon, I know a place where you can rest,” I said as I lifted her and carried her into the clubhouse.
“It smells in here,” she said nonchalantly as she attempted to stay awake.
“It smells?” I asked.
“Yeah. Not really bad just different. It’s like…it smells like a man cave. It’s all beer and cigars.”
“Ah, well, that would make sense since we drink a lot of beer and
smoke quite a few cigars,” I said as I leaned forward and placed her down on the bed.
She scooted up and cradled one of the pillows under her head.
“You’re all set then. You’ll be safe here,” I said as I began to back towards the door.
Lauren reached out her hand to me. I stepped forward and took it in my own, careful of my splinted fingers. “Stay with me,” she begged.
“I’ll wait here in the chair until you fall asleep if you’d like,” I offered.
“No. Come lay on the bed with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Just hold me for a little bit, ok?” she said as I moved around the far side of the bed. I laid down behind her and smiled as she scooted back against me. It wasn’t sexual at all. It was the cozy feeling of warmth and security that we both needed. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight against my body. I stroked her hair and listened carefully as he breathing became deep. She seemed so small and so fragile as she slept. I could feel my heart swelling for her, for everything we’d been through today. I slid my hand down her arm and slid her fingers between mine. Her tiny hand was completely engulfed by mine. Normally after a big fight I would be ready to fuck, but with her I was satisfied just to be holding her close. The passion and the fire that comes with adrenaline had turned into something deeper, something I’d never felt before.
I watched her sleep for an hour and then I carefully pulled myself away from her. It took a bit of maneuvering to get my arm free and then I was painfully aware of how much the bed moved with each of my own movements. I feared waking her, I knew she needed her rest, but I couldn’t sleep and I needed a drink. The day has been stressful and I needed something to calm my nerves.
As soon as I left the bedroom my dad came and approached me. “How’s your girl doing?”
“She’s asleep. I think it was harder on her than she’s going to admit.”
“She got off really easy. She’s lucky. The Diablo’s could have done a hell of a lot more than they did.”
Crotch Rocket: A Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance Page 7
