by Kim Jones
“You son of a bitch! How dare you walk out on us!” she said, her voice full of hurt and anger. “You are what keeps us together. Those men are lost without you.” Her seething anger was something I wasn’t expecting from her. Out of everyone, I thought she would get it.
“I didn’t have a choice, Red,” I said, willing her to understand.
“You always have a choice.” Her words rang true. They were ones I had used many times myself.
“Yeah, well I chose to keep my club whole and my girl alive. I couldn’t choose between the two. Charlie demanded that I come alone and I knew the club wouldn’t go for it. Even if they did, I didn’t want them to have to live with that burden if things didn’t happen as planned. Charlie keeps his word, but that’s the only thing he does. He is unpredictable, Red. He never agreed not to hurt me or Dallas once the trade was made. He is capable of anything.” I had her by her shoulders, looking into her red rimmed, hazel eyes. I needed her to understand. Regg would need her. I couldn’t have them both against me. If I lost one, I lost the other, and I was hoping to salvage the friendships I had with them.
“We could have found another way,” she whispered, sobbing lightly in front of me. It didn’t matter to her that her makeup was smeared or her nose was running, mixing with the tears that poured down her face. This was a woman whose appearance was the last thing on her mind in a time like this. I wiped her eyes with my thumbs, fighting off tears of my own. If any woman could bring a man down to size, it was this one.
“There is no other way, babe. This is it. It’s all I have to offer. What do I do, Red? What is my main goal in life?” I asked.
“You protect your family,” she whispered.
“That’s right. You are all my family. I can’t keep everyone safe if I stay. By stepping down from the club, I am keeping it whole and keeping Dallas alive.” Red nodded. She understood. “I need you, Red. Don’t hate me, because I can’t live in a world where you do.” She looked into my eyes that were filled with tears.
“I could never hate you,” she said, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face in my chest. I held her for a long time, letting her cry into my shirt. Sometimes I guess even the strong ones break. When she regained her composure and wiped her face, she gave me the smile that I loved so much. “Come on and I’ll fix you dinner. You have to go get our girl tomorrow.”
Red insisted that I let Frankie come up and eat dinner with us in the kitchen. Some shit about the last supper. When I told her he wasn’t Jesus and we were not his disciples, she clarified that she meant the last meal-the one death row inmates had before they were executed. I rolled my eyes, but knew she wouldn’t shut up until I brought him upstairs with us. I found Frankie, untied and alone in the safe room beneath my house. The door at the top of the stairs had not even been locked. It took a minute to control my anger. Fucking Red. He could have escaped.
“Yo Frankie,” I called, standing on the stairs looking down at him. He was lying on his side in the bed unmoving. “Frankie,” I repeated a little louder this time. My stomach flipped and I held my breath as I descended the stairs. Something in my gut told me that Frankie wasn’t answering because he was asleep, but because he was dead. By the time I hit the bottom step, I felt like I was going to faint. Just then, Frankie rolled towards me, giving me that awful fucking grin of his.
“Just fucking with ya, Luke. I ain’t dead.” If it hadn’t been for Dallas, I would have killed him with my bare hands. “Dinner ready? I’m starving,” I wanted to tell him to fuck off, that the only thing he would be eating was a shit sandwich, but Red chose that moment to scream for us to hurry the hell up.
“You have got to be the luckiest bastard on this planet,” I mumbled, grabbing Frankie by the arm and pushing him in front of me.
“Yeah, well ya know Lukey boy, I always have had some pretty good luck. I remember this one time in Reno-” I stopped listening as I stared at the clothing he wore. Fucking Red.
“Ooh Frankie, don’t you look nice,” Red said, giving me a wink. I gave her the I’ll-rip-your-fucking-heart-out stare and she moved her gaze from me to Frankie.
“Those are my jeans,” I said to no one in particular. Did it not bother anyone that he was wearing my fucking clothes?
“Oh Luke, you are such a girl. You can get them back when Charlie kills him. I’m sure he won’t mind.” I sobered at her comment, not believing she had just said that. In front of Frankie. I hated the man, but even I felt sorry for him. Red had no fucking heart. I walked into the kitchen, making myself a plate. Red had fixed Frankie’s and sat it on the table for him. Frankie’s laugh was nervous as he dug into the mashed potatoes and gravy that I knew were divine.
“You are one evil bitch,” I said, walking up behind her and whispering in her ear. She shrugged her shoulder’s, not bothered by my choice of words.
“Frankie knows I hate him. He deserves everything he gets,” she said while propped up against the counter, licking a spoon covered in chocolate cake batter. “Including those potatoes.” Motherfucker.
Chapter 18
Luke
By the time morning rolled around, Frankie was probably wishing for death. He had shit fifty times during the night. Not that I was keeping count, that’s just what he told me as we piled in my truck and headed West. I didn’t care that Frankie had been sick all night. He looked alive and well today, and that was all that mattered. He was clean shaven, dressed in my fucking clothes and looked almost normal. I informed him that I didn’t want to talk, and I only had to deliver him alive, not unharmed. It was a lie, but I didn’t fucking care. I promised to break a finger if he spoke, so he decided to just stare out of the window instead of striking up a conversation. Smart move, Frankie.
I called Charlie to let him know that we were heading out. He told me to meet him at the cabin and he would bring Dallas. Just the mention of her name helped me to remember what I was doing this for. I asked to speak to her, but he refused. He said he wanted to enjoy the morning with her, and speaking to me would just upset her. It pissed me off, but I didn’t say anything. He knew I was mad and calling him out on shit like that would do nothing but piss him off. I had come too far and gave up too much to let my temper ruin everything. I would deliver Frankie to Charlie. He would give me Dallas. Everything was going to be fine.
We pulled up to the cabin, and in the yard sat two black SUV’s. I backed my truck into the yard across from them. As soon as I had Dallas, we would be leaving. I would need a fast exit if things went bad, and we actually managed to make it to the truck. I nudged Frankie’s shoulder, waking him. The motherfucker had slept the entire way, even when I stopped to fill up, he refused to get out. I handcuffed him to the steering wheel, not sure if he would try to run or not. A man would do anything when he knew he was about to die. When he looked around and saw where we were, I expected him to turn to me and beg. He needed to fucking die. I couldn’t even think about what he had done to Dallas when he was in my house. I avoided him at all costs and if it wasn’t for the beautiful girl that would ride back home with me, in the same seat his grungy ass was in right now, I would have made him suffer a slow, painful death.
“Well, are we gonna get out or just fucking sit here? I gotta piss, and you need to work on your driving or get a better ridin’ fuckin’ car. This truck about beat me to death,” he grumbled, reaching for the door handle.
“No more than me, Frankie. No more than me.” I reached out and grabbed his arm, waiting for Charlie to make the first move. He stepped out of the car and held the door open, smiling sweetly to whoever he was talking to. Then I saw her. I forgot how to breathe when I saw my whole life emerge from the car. She was breathtaking, literally, just as she had always been. Her tight skirt wrapped perfectly around her toned, tanned legs. She stood tall in a pair of black heels, and even from here, I could see the necklace I gave her dangling on top of her black, button down shirt. She was fucking perfect, and she was mine.
“Get out,” I snapped
at Frankie, he needed to do something to piss me off. The sight of Dallas for the first time in over ten days was throwing me off my game.
“You ain’t got to holler at me, you cocky little fuck. I’m going.” Well, that did it.
“Charlie may not kill you. He may actually let you live. Don’t push your fucking luck with me, though. I want you dead.” Frankie mumbled something I couldn’t understand and got out of the truck. I took a deep breath and stepped out. Time to make a deal with the Devil.
Dallas
I didn’t know where we were heading. Charlie had just said that he wanted to show me his cabin. I had asked him when I would get to see Luke, but he told me ‘when it is time’ in that voice that let me know I shouldn’t ask again. I thought the gravel road we had turned onto looked familiar, but in Texas, there were many open fields that looked just like this one. I still wasn’t sure if it was the right place until I saw Luke’s truck barreling down the road. Without realizing it, I had grabbed onto Charlie’s hand and squeezed. I couldn’t believe my eyes when his truck came into full view and I saw him for the first time. I looked at Charlie and smiled, he didn’t smile back, only watched my reaction. Luke backed his truck into the yard across from us so that the vehicles were facing one another.
“It’s time to get out, Dallas. Are you ready?” I nodded enthusiastically, the words ‘ultimate sacrifice’ resurfacing in my mind. I didn’t care about anything except seeing Luke at this point. Charlie stepped from the car, and reached his hand out for me to take, smiling warmly. I slid across the seat and placed my hand in his. When the doors were closed and I had a full view of Luke’s face, I noticed that he looked pissed as he looked at Frankie. How had he managed to ride all the way up here with him? Was he alone? The thought of Luke, alone with Charlie, Frankie and all of Charlie’s goons sent a shiver up my back. Where was the club? Every thought, every worry and all my fear subsided when Luke stepped from the truck.
He was so amazingly perfect that I had to remind myself to breathe. Even with his left eye still black and slightly puffy, the cut in his lip and the bandage he wore over his eyebrow- he was beautiful. There was no way any person on this planet could feel as strongly towards someone as I did Luke. He wore loose fitting jeans and a flawless white t-shirt. He was the only man I knew that could make something so simple, look so damn good. He didn’t wear his normal black ‘DFFD’ hat, but in its place sat a gray cap with an Under Armor symbol. It was turned around backwards and Luke looked like a street thug mixed with biker and a hint of country boy, hence his brown squared toed cowboy boots that he wore on his feet. The six foot two bad boy wore a look of determination as he stood with his arms crossed, baring the tattoos that covered them for all of us to see. How had I managed to survive ten days without him? Charlie took a step towards Luke and I was thankful that he was holding my hand, or else I would have fallen flat on my face. I willed my legs to walk at an even pace with him, when all they wanted to do was take off running and wrap around Luke’s waist.
Luke and Frankie met at the hood of the truck and walked the short distance to us. I was surprised at the way Frankie looked. He didn’t resemble the crazed maniac I remembered. His head was clean shaven, as was his face, his clothing was nice and he looked- normal. He wasn’t dirty and nasty, or bouncing around waving a gun. This must be the man Maddie thought of when she pictured him as her father. My heart hurt for her, and even for him. Despite what he had done to me, this was a human being and he had a daughter, one that he obviously cared about. He might not have done the best job of showing it, but he sure had stirred up a lot of shit trying.
“Luke, it’s good to see you. I’m proud that you took my demands seriously and came alone. I’m sure your club was not very pleased about that.” Luke shrugged his shoulders feigning disinterest, but I noticed the distant look in his eyes when Charlie mentioned the club.
“That’s ‘cause he patched out,” Frankie chimed in. Even his voice sounded different. I didn’t know what ‘patched out’ meant, but I was guessing it had something to do with him coming alone. Luke kept his eyes on Charlie, not acknowledging Frankie’s outburst.
“Patched out?” Charlie asked, the look of surprise on his face making me wonder what in the hell it meant. Charlie turned to me and seeing the confused expression, patted my hand and gave me a smile. I noticed Luke’s eyes fall to our hands as he shifted his feet. “That means Luke left the club.” My eyes found Luke’s and I could see that Charlie spoke the truth by the look of loss in Luke’s eyes.
“Why?” I asked, unable to keep my mouth shut. The club was Luke’s life. He looked at me, his bright, blue eyes softening.
“It was a sacrifice I had to make to keep everyone safe,” he said, speaking to me as if no one else was there. Was that what Charlie meant by the ‘Ultimate Sacrifice?’ Did he know Luke would have to patch out of the club to come get me? The thought pissed me off and I turned to Charlie.
“You said you and Luke were good. That there were no problems between the two of you. Why would you put him in that position? Haven’t you hurt him enough?” I wasn’t yelling at Charlie, but I wasn’t exactly whispering either. My voice was probably higher than it needed to be. I turned back to Luke and now it was his turn to look confused. Charlie laughed at my outburst.
“Oh my sweet, innocent Dallas. The ultimate sacrifice was not for Luke to give. It was for you.”
Chapter 19
Red
Luke’s house was nuts. People were running around everywhere, hanging banners and running streamers. It looked more like a five year old’s birthday party than a welcome home party. The club house had been cleaned, the house had been cleaned, the presents were on the table and the food would be here in the morning. I was fucking tired.
I had to do something to keep my mind occupied, so I called in the girls and decided that we should plan a party. Regg didn’t think it was a very good idea. He tried to tell me in a way that wouldn’t leave me screaming for the hills that there was a possibility that Dallas would not make it home.
I wasn’t having it.
Luke would bring Dallas home to us. I knew it like I knew my hair was red. She would be here and she would be happy, healthy and hungover by the time the night ended. Plus, she had some shit to handle when she got home. I had begged Luke to let me be the one to make sure Frankie was groomed to perfection before they left. By the grace of God, he had agreed. By bribing him with his favorite meal, clean clothes and a hot shower, I had managed to squeeze information out of him about what happened while Dallas was in Tupelo. Sure enough, that rat bastard, Stacy, attempted to kill her by poisoning her drink. He thought he was going to get something if she died, well not anymore. Stacy was as good as dead. I would arrange for Dallas to see him, one last time, before his life was taken from him. She could get her answers and then go on living thinking Stacy had moved on somewhere else. I knew a bouncer that owed me a favor, a big one. He would be happy to pay his debt by eliminating Stacy, although he would have his work cut out for him. Good thing that he liked a challenge.
Regg wouldn’t tell me shit, as far as Luke was concerned. I tried to get something out of him, but he wouldn’t budge, but seemed very interested in what Luke had told me. I managed to get two date nights out of him at my restaurant of choice if I gave up what I had. Apparently, Luke had not elaborated to the guys on Frankie’s demands. He kept it short and to the point, yet he told me. He knew that I would tell Regg, and it would be long after he was gone. Ol’ Luke was a smart one. I knew it was hard on him, leaving the club, but I couldn’t control myself when I saw him. It also felt really good to slap him and know there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. I had wanted to do that for a long time.
I called Lindsey and got her on board with what was going on. I didn’t tell her about the kidnapping; just that Dallas had been out of town and would be returning tomorrow. I told her the party was just something to lift her spirits and let her know that we cared about her. Lindsey was
easy to convince and claimed to have a bunch of dishes she had wanted to make and promised to bring them. I also called Brooklyn. Word had spread about Luke and Ronnie was planning a trip over anyways, so it worked out. Everything was in place and ready. All I needed was my Luke and Dallas, and I prayed like hell that they would make it back.
Dallas
We were now in the living room of the small cabin. Frankie had suggested that we go inside, but I didn’t hear him when he spoke. I was too busy trying to process what he had told me. I sat on the old couch, looking across from me into the eyes of Luke who only offered me a tight smile. He was sitting on a loveseat, with one of Charlie’s goons on either side of him. They stood with their hands at their sides and not clasped in front of them like they normally did. Something was about to happen and I could tell by their stance that whatever it was, might require physical restraint of Luke. Frankie’s hands had been tied behind his back and he now sat on his knees, in the middle of the floor. Charlie was in another room on the phone and when he walked in, I felt him rather than saw him. Just his presence demanded my attention. I looked to him and the warm expression he usually wore was now replaced with the cold, heartless one that I had seen from him that first time I saw him. He walked across the room, and my eyes followed.
“You know, Frankie, I thought about letting you live until Dallas shared with me what you did to her.” I felt Luke’s eyes on me and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t look at him. “Since she told me, I have thought of a million ways to kill you. You stole money from me, but from her, you took so much more. When I asked her if she would kill to see Luke again, her answer was that she had already given her life for the ones she loved. She asked me, was that ultimate sacrifice not enough? You see, I do not believe that giving your life for someone is that great of a forfeit. It is when you take a life that you have truly done something that makes a difference. That is something you have to live with for the rest of your life. It can be good, and it can be bad. Soldiers, for instance, take the lives of men every day to protect our country. When they go to sleep at night, they think about what they have done and it should give them a sense of pride. Just knowing that there is one less man out there looking to hurt their families and fellow Americans should be worth everything they sacrificed for it. In some instances, you take a life by accident, or because you have no other choice. You wake up every day, wondering what you could have done differently. If you give your own life, your worries are over. It is the living who makes the sacrifices, not the dead.” He reached into the back of his pants, and produced a small revolver. “Come here, Dallas.”
