by Sara Crest
If what he said about the Scorched Satans was right then the situation with this girl might be far more important than I thought. We have nothing on them but who knows how much they know about us. If they sent her to come after me then maybe we had other girls in the club who were working with them, feeding info back to them so they knew when to hit us hard. One thing I’ve learned from being in this club is that a man’s lips are loose after he’s had himself a nice go around with a sexy girl he’s had his eyes on for a while. We had to start looking at the girls the club passed around and make sure none of them had ties to another gang.
Guess the best thing to do would be to start with the one I had in my very own bed.
“Listen I got something I got to take care of, I’ll try and figure out how to take care of all of this. Somehow. Just keep your head down and get this car stripped and taken care of fast before we get anyone snooping around here.”
Wyatt nodded his head and reached into his pocket before pulling out a crumpled up piece of paper.
“Here, I wrote it down for you, it’s the number to my burner phone. We need to get you a phone so I don’t have to wait for you to get home just to contact you.”
“Appreciate it Wyatt” I said as I took the paper and put it in my pocket,
I turned to get out of there, that girl had a lot of explaining to do.
8
(Hannah)
I woke up to find both of my arms bound to a bed frame, when I tried to scream I realized that a piece of tape had been placed over my mouth, preventing me from making anything louder that an annoyed grunt.
Oh god it was happening all over again, I spent so long trying to free myself and I only got to experience freedom for a few hours. Now I was back to square one but with a whole different person. I didn’t even get to enjoy the little bit of freedom that I got to experience, it was filled with the anger and stress of me trying to ensure that my freedom would become permanent. Now I was right back to where I was all because I decided to rob the wrong place.
I struggled against my restraints but they were too strong, on my right arm I was firmly duct taped and on my left arm I was handcuffed. Maybe if I was a little stronger I could have broken out of the hastily made duct tape restraint but I was still too thirsty and weak.
Once again I was at the mercy of some sick and twisted asshole.
He thought I was sent there to kill him, what kind of man is he to have people who want him dead? God that just made me even more worried, he wouldn’t treat me like the girl I am he would treat me like the girl he thought I was. How would I be able to convince him that I really didn’t mean him any harm? How could I get out of this.
Before I even had a chance to think of a way out I heard footsteps approaching the door, I flailed my legs hard against the bed and tried to break myself free but once again my efforts were totally and completely futile.
The door opened and the man stepped inside, he looked at me even more sternly than he did when he held me against the wall of the bar. Oh god what did he have in store for me?
He walked into his kitchen and picked up a stool, bringing it over to me and setting it beside the bed.
He reached over and grabbed the end of the duct tape on my mouth, it was already starting to become loose from the sweat on my cheeks. He slowly peeled it off, for whatever reason he took special care to make sure that it wouldn’t hurt me, despite that care he still kept me bound to the bed.
I could have screamed, I could have screamed my heart out until someone came to help me, but when I looked in his eyes I could tell that me screaming would be the last thing I would ever do. He had a purpose when it came to me, he wanted information that I just didn’t have, and now all I could do was try to convince him that the only thing I was guilty of was trying to steal that money.
I opened my mouth to try and reason with him but he placed his finger over my lips.
“Before you say anything you need to tell me your name, I want your real one too, I can already tell that you’re gonna try and weasel your way out of this so let me tell you that all of this will be much easier if you’re honest from here on out.”
I took a couple of deep breaths as his eyes explored my body, I could feel my skin tingle whereever he looked as shivers went up and down my spine. How was he able to do this to me?
I took a gulp and told him.
“Hannah, my name is Hannah.”
He gave me a little smirk, the same kind of smirk he gave me at the bar, I looked in his eyes and I could tell that he believed me.
“Ok Hanna, now tell me why you came into that bar this morning with a gun pointed straight at me. What were your intentions?”
I didn’t want to talk to him about the reason why I was in this situation, I didn’t even want to think about it. Just remembering the past few years of my life made my blood boil and my skin crawl, but how else would I get him to believe that I wasn’t there to hurt him specifically?
“Please sir” I pleaded. It almost felt weird calling him sir, he looked like he was in his very late 20s so he was only a few years older than me, or at least a few years older than how I felt. I’m sure every girl my age says this but I felt older beyond my 19 years of age. Although at this point I wasn’t even sure if I really was 19, the past few years just all felt like a blur.
“I really can’t say why I was there this morning, it’s something that will haunt me for the rest of my life and… and to even acknowledge the actions that led to me being here would be like a knife in my heart.”
“I’m sorry Hannah, I really am, but the safety of my club is at stake here. I need you to tell me why you walked in.”
I stayed silent, pressing my lips together as I felt tears begin to build up in my eyes. I looked down to see I was still wearing this stupid, ugly, frilly, cheap, piece of shit dress that asshole forced me to wear. It just made all of this even more humiliating.
He got a little closer, looking at me deep in my eyes, they were eyes that I could get lost in. In any other situation I would have been all over this man, but with everything that’s happened to me not only in the past day but in the past few years I just wasn’t so sure anymore.
“What does the same Scorched Satans mean to you?”
He stared at me intensely, not breaking his gaze, trying to read every minor movement that I made. Every uncomfortable shift, every time I looked away, every time my lip quivered, every gulp and every short breath, he saw it all and he was more than willing to use it against me.
“I’ve never heard of that in my life.”
“Were you sent here by any MC to try and get to me or my club?” he said moving a little closer to me.
“No, I did this on my own, I’m not tied to anyone else I swear to god!”
“Then where did you get that Mercedes from? It doesn’t have its original plates, excuse me if I’m wrong but I don’t think a young girl like you would take the time out to switch the plates on a car before stealing it. Not to mention you just abandoned it in the road.”
Switched out plates? I didn’t know the car had different plates, how could I have known? More importantly why did the asshole who I stole it from have different plates on his car?
“Look” I said trying to get him to believe me. “I don’t know how anything about any switched out plates or anybody trying to kill you, I’m just a girl who’s lost and who ended up stealing a car without a full tank of gas. I tried to rob you because I needed the gas money…”
He sighed and leaned back a little bit.
“I believe you, on some level... but you’re still not telling me the whole story. I need to know that whole story or else I can’t let you go in good conscious. I really doubt a pretty thing like you just dressed up in that outfit, jacks a Benz, and then throws her shoes away into the desert without a good reason.”
I stared back deep into his eyes but his opinion of me was unwavering. If I told him right then and there why I had stolen the car and the situation I had
escaped from he wouldn’t believe me.
Now not only would I have to relive telling the story, but I would have to go back to where it all happened. I was hoping I would never have to see that place again but it was starting to look like it was the only way I’d get him to believe me and truly let me go.
“Before I tell you anything… what’s your name?”
He seemed a little surprised, I guess he figured that if I was sent here to really kill him that I would have at least known his name. Seems like I just unintentionally got him to believe me a little more.
“Axel, my name is Axel.”
“Well Axel” I said trying to fight back the tears caused by the memories of what happened. “You’re not gonna believe what happened to me, and even though I hoped I would never go back there it looks like I’m gonna have to show you why I walked into your life this morning.”
He looked at me and raised and eyebrow, boy was he in for a treat.
9
(Hannah)
I held onto Axel tight as we sped through the desert on his motorcycle. I had never been on one of these things before but it was the most exhilarating experience I had ever had, at least the most positive one.
The desert heat couldn’t fight against the wind in my face and hair, and even after Axel had held me in his room I was comfortable enough around him to wrap my arms around his waist as rode. I was starting to understand his perspective, and I fully believed that once he saw my situation he would realize that I was telling the truth to him.
I just wish I didn’t have to go back, that I didn’t have to see that place again, that I didn’t have to see him again. Just thinking about it made me so angry I wanted to throw something.
I thankfully was able to take the dress off, and even if my new clothes didn’t fit me right getting out of that dress made me feel so much better. Axel had given me an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that he said had shrunk in the washing machine, the pants fit me way too well to be men’s pants so I had to assume they belonged to a past lover however many years ago. Shame he didn’t have something a little more temperature appropriate for me to wear but at this point I’d risk another heat stroke over wearing that godawful pink dress again.
It was hard for me to remember the directions to get to where we were going, and I didn’t have an address either. All I remember was stealing that car and getting off on the first highway exit I saw, frantically driving for as long as I could until my car ran out of gas.
“I hope you know where we’re going” Axel called out, I felt his abs tense against my hand as he spoke, I never even knew a man could be so muscular.
“Of course I do” I lied. I was banking on my general sense of direction somehow getting us there, or at least seeing a landmark that I recognized. All I could remember was that I was driving for half an hour once I got onto this road, didn’t exactly help when I had no idea what speed I was going at.
I heard the motorcycle start to become louder and louder and suddenly we began to pick up speed. I looked over Axel’s shoulder, only to realize it wasn’t his bike making the noise. I spotted 4 bikers, coming at us head on as the distance between us became shorter and shorter.
“What are you doing?!” I called out as Axel hit the throttle even harder. I was terrified but I couldn’t look away, watching those bikers coming right at us lined up side by side. My hair whipped around behind me as I held onto Axel for dear life. What the hell was going on? Why was this happening?
I tried to grab his arm to pull us away and let the other bikers pass but Axel held firm, my hand couldn’t even wrap around his bicep let alone pull it to influence our direction. We were playing a game of chicken and he was determined not to give up.
We kept picking up speed and it looked like none of the four bikers coming at us intended to pull away. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest when I realized we were close enough to see their bloodshot eyes.
I was so afraid I couldn’t even scream, I clenched my grip tight onto Axel’s side as the distance between us and the bikers became mere feet.
My adrenalin was so high I felt like I was seeing things in slow motion, all I could think about was how if nobody pulled away and we crashed into each other I would be dead on impact.
At the very last possible moment one the biker on the inner right side pulled away, hitting the biker to the outside of him and causing them both to slide on the ground.
I looked to the other side as we passed the two bikers who managed to stay firm on their ride, they immediately slid to a halt as their biker brothers lay injured on the ground nearby.
Axel slid to a halt, we were all going so fast that it took several feet before the bike finally came to a complete stop.
I let go of him, realizing that I was shaking from what just happened.
I looked over at the bikers just a few feet away from us, the two who had made it had dismounted their bikes and were staring at us while the other two who had crashed tried to shake off their injuries and rise to their feet.
“Fucking Scorched Satans…” Axel muttered as he stepped off his bike.
“You all trying to prove something?” Axel called out to the bikers. They were all wearing bandanas around their faces to hide their identities, yet as one of the injured ones got up we made eye contact. He had deep piercing green eyes that seemed familiar, almost like I had met him somewhere, if I told Axel that then there would be no way he would ever believe that a club didn’t send me.
Still, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I recognized him, but as we made eye contact I realized that he didn’t know who I was. Maybe I was just imagining things.
One of the Scorched Satans drew a pistol, pointing it at Axel as we stood only about 20 yards away from each other.
“What you think you have the fucking guts to kill me?” Axel shouted as he clenched his fists.
The Scorched Satan brothers remained silent as the other two finally got to their feet and realized that their bikes were still good enough to ride.
“Come on! Do it!” Axel yelled as the gun shook in the biker’s hand.
I watched the Satan close his eyes as he fired off a round, I let out a scream as the bang filled my ears. I saw the wind from the bullet ruffle Axel’s hair a little bit, but he stood there completely unhurt and unphased. I looked at him in amazement as he still stood as solid as a rock, as if he wasn’t just 3 inches shy of death.
“Fucking amateurs” Axel muttered as the other three bikers got on their bikes and quickly rode off. The final biker kept his gun aimed at Axel for a few more seconds, seemingly contemplating whether or not to take another shot, before he finally grunted in frustration and rode off with his brothers.
I immediately got off the bike and ran towards Axel, as soon as he turned around I ran up to him and started hitting his chest as hard as I could.
“You could have gotten both of us killed! What were you thinking!?” I screamed as my hands flailed against his muscular chest causing him absolutely no harm.
He grabbed both of my wrists and waited for me to calm down, my breathing was short and quick as I tried to pull myself together. I had never been through something like that before.
“I know how to call bluffs” he said. “I’m not going to show weakness or let them intimidate me, you pull some shit like that and you better be ready to back it up.”
He walked over to his bike and mounted it, inspecting it for a moment to make sure it wasn’t scratched.
“Besides” he said “they wouldn’t hurt one of their own.”
“I’m not one of them” I replied. “You’ll see, I have no idea who those men are.”
“Then prove it.”
* * *
Once we hit the road again it didn’t take long for us to find something I was familiar with.
I had spotted a skid mark on the side of the road, I remembered when I had saw a desert rabbit run out onto the road and I swerved to try not to hit it. I sighed in relief, we had
to be close to the exit.
We were starting to enter more populated areas of the state, I couldn’t believe that I had been kept a secret for so long surrounded by so many people.
“There!” I shouted pointing at the exit, I couldn’t believe that I had only been gone from the place for a few hours and I was already on my way back. Just thinking about it made me upset.
Axel pulled off of the road and we entered into a neighborhood, he slowed down as I looked side to side trying to recognize what house I had left just 12 hours before.
“This better not be a setup” I heard him growl as I pointed at him to make a turn. “I already dodged death twice for the day, I don’t want to try my luck a third time.”
“You’ve trusted me this far, just give me a few more minutes.”
I spotted the house and my heart started beating so fat I thought it was going to explode.
“We’re here” I said not taking my eyes off of the place. Axel pulled into the oil stained driveway and turned the bike off, looking around the seemingly normal neighborhood before turning around and looking at me confused.
“Are you really telling me that you had a bad night at prom, stole your dad’s car, and ran away from home?”
“I wish I could tell you that, I wish I could take back what happened to me but what’s done is done.”
I looked at the house and rubbed my wrists feeling where the chains used to be, I could barely hold myself together as I stared at it. The place where I had been for the past year and a half, the place where that sick sadistic asshole Edgar held me.
I guess I have some explaining to do.
“If you’re not just some runaway then where’s the proof?” Axel said crossing his arms.
I took a deep breath as I began to shake “it’s inside.”
Axel looked around the neighborhood again as he got off the bike and walked to the door with me following him. He pulled a gun out but I put my hand on his arm, feeling the warm skin of his bicep against my frail fingers.
