by L. Wilder
I knew better. The warning signs were there, and I ignored them all. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. One look at her, and I was willing to lay it all on the line. I almost lost it when she offered herself up to that asshole for my freedom. There was no way in hell I was gonna let that happen. I’d rather take my chances with the brass knuckles. Maybe it was the whole damsel-in-distress thing, but there was no way I was walking out that door until I knew she was okay—especially after I saw the way she looked at me. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink and a hungry look filled her eyes as they skirted over my body. I won’t deny it. I liked that she was into me, and I wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and carry her the hell out of that place to spend the entire night exploring every curve and every inch of her body.
I would’ve done just that if that asshole hadn’t been in the fucking way. It just didn’t make sense. I couldn’t understand what a girl like her was doing in a place like Nudie’s, much less how she got herself mixed up with a guy like Slider. I had every intention of finding out until I found myself almost dead in the alley behind the strip club.
At least three of my ribs were broken along with my jaw and possibly my shoulder, and I’m pretty sure I had a concussion, if not worse. Everything around me was spinning in circles, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. I’m not sure how long I’d been lying there when I heard a car pull up beside me. The car door opened, but my eyes were too swollen shut for me to see. I heard footsteps coming towards me, and then I heard a woman cry, “Oh, shit. He looks awful. We’ve got to get him to the hospital now!”
I wanted to tell them to leave me and go get Clutch and Stitch. I needed to warn them of the heist, but I was only able to let out a loud groan. I was becoming frustrated when I felt a cool hand rest across my cheek. A woman whispered softly, “We’re going to get you some help. I just need you to hang on a little longer.”
“You’ve seen this guy, right? He’s gotta weigh three hundred pounds! There’s no way we’re going to be able to get him into your car!”
“We’ll figure it out.”
I was too out of it to help as one of them reached under my arms and the other grabbed my feet. They tried to pull me forward, but only made it a few inches. Again, I groaned, hoping they would stop.
“Oh my God. We’re never going to be able to do this.”
“We have to! Come over on this side, and we’ll pull together.”
They each took a hold of an arm and started to tug. This time they made it several feet before they stopped. “Quick. Open the back door.”
I heard the door creak open, and then I was being pulled once more. I thought my head would burst open like a fucking cantaloupe with the way it was pounding, and them pulling me across the gravel wasn’t helping. I could barely breathe from the pain in my side, and I had to hold my breath as they tried to yank me into that damned car. I’m not sure how they managed it, but with only a few bumps and knocks, they wedged me in the backseat. My head was spinning, making me even more nauseated, but thankfully, I was distracted when I heard the engine start. As soon as the car started moving, they began talking back and forth. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. He’s pretty out of it, and his face looks like minced meat.”
“I hate them so much for hurting him like this. It’s so stupid. None of it would’ve happened if Slider would have just left me the hell alone.” I thought I had recognized her voice, but it wasn’t until then that I finally realized she was the girl from the strip club. I wanted to tell her that none of it was her fault, but the words just wouldn’t come.
“Slider is an asshole, and he’s had an eye for you from the start. He was bound to screw up sooner or later. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before Tank gets wind of it. He’ll take care of Slider.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“What are we going to tell the doctors?”
“What do you mean?”
“We can’t tell them the truth. We have to have a story, something that won’t have the cops sniffing around the club.”
“Maybe it’s best that we tell them we found him somewhere else, like a gas station or behind our apartment complex,” she suggested.
“Or we could just drop him off at the front door and get the hell out of there.”
“I’m not leaving him.”
“Zoe.”
“This all happened because of me. I can’t just dump him off. I just can’t.”
“It’s not like it’s going to matter. Sooner or later, this guy is gonna find out you’re tied up with the club.” I was trying to make sense of what they were saying, but they were talking too fast. I couldn’t understand. “And when he does, he’s going to hit the ground running.”
“Maybe so, but I’m still staying.”
“Fine. You do what you gotta do, but as soon as we get him to the hospital, I’m outta there. I need my job. I can’t—”
“I get it, Kat. I don’t expect you to do any more than you already have.”
The car came to a quick stop, and one of them said, “Wait here. I’ll go in and get somebody to help.”
After that, everything was a blur. I heard the familiar sounds of heart monitors beeping next to me, so I could only assume I’m in some fucking hospital room. I tried to move, to call out to someone, but I couldn’t. I was too far into the haze to break free. Even when I felt the soft caress of fingertips trailing down my arm and the soft whimper of someone crying, I could only lie there and listen. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
I could hear the pain in her voice, and I wanted to reach out to her, comfort her in some way. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Why didn’t you just leave while you still had the chance? Now, you’re stuck in here fighting for your life. You were just too stubborn to listen. I don’t know what I would’ve done if… Anyway, the doctor said you were lucky. One of your broken ribs pierced your lung, and it could’ve killed you if we hadn’t gotten you here when we did. He’s worried about your concussion. It was pretty bad…”
Her voice faded as she started to cry. It took her several minutes to collect herself and finally continue talking. “I’m not really supposed to be in here. My Aunt Janet is the chief nurse over the night shift. She’s the one that let me back here. I’m kind of surprised. She’s usually such a stickler for the rules.”
She was rambling, but I liked the sound of her voice. It was relaxing and helped me forget about the throbbing pain in my head. “I’m not crazy about hospitals. They make me a little nervous, and when I get nervous, I talk too much. I probably need to give you a break.”
When she stopped talking, the room became eerily quiet. I didn’t like it. Without the distraction, the ache in my side started to intensify, and the pounding in my head became damned near unbearable. The pain continued to increase, and it felt like my skull was splitting in half. I felt the palm of her hand on my chest as she asked, “Hey… what’s wrong? Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?”
Seconds later, I heard the door open and a voice call out into the hallway. “We need a nurse or a doctor in here! Now!”
She came back over to me and placed her hand on mine, giving it a light squeeze. “Hold on. They’re coming.”
My breathing became more strained, the pain hit a new level of excruciating, and I was falling deeper into the darkness. I tried to hold on, tried to listen as the doctors attempted to find the problem, but it was just too hard. Suddenly, the pain began to ease and my breathing became less difficult, but the need to let go was even more powerful. It was like descending through the air with no end in sight. The noise in the room faded, and I felt miles away from anyone. I tried to call out for help, but the words wouldn’t come. I was trapped, drowning in the pits of darkness, and there was nothing I could do to pull myself free. My fight was gone. I could only lay there and submit to my circumstance.
I was just about to give up hope when I heard the faint soun
d of music playing. I tried to concentrate on the rhythm, hoping I might remember the name of the song, but it was nothing I’d heard before. Like a moth to a flame, I found myself drawn to the soothing melody. The tension in my body began to diminish, and as my breathing steadied, I started to relax.
“You’re going to be okay.” Her voice seemed so far away, but I could still hear everything she said. “You scared me for a minute. The doctor is worried about the swelling in your brain, so they’ve put you in a medically induced coma. It’s supposed to help give your brain a chance to heal so you can get better faster. The breathing tube will help…” Her voice trailed off, and I had to strain even harder to hear her. “I can’t stay much longer. I’ve got to get a few hours of sleep before work, but I’ll be back when my shift is over. Try to get some rest.”
I was in a heavy fog, but there was still something gnawing at me. There was something I needed to remember, something important, but the memory was too far in the back of my mind. No matter how hard it tried, it just wouldn’t come to me. Instead, I was bombarded with other memories—memories long forgotten. I was just a kid, maybe twelve years old, when my oldest brother Jax decided to give me his old dirt bike. He’d had it for years and never once let me come near it, so when he told me I could actually have it, I was skeptical.
“What?”
He stood by his red and white Yamaha BW200 smiling like he was up to something. “It’s yours.”
“Huh?” It just didn’t make sense. My brother had always been overprotective where I was concerned. He was always trying to keep me out of trouble, and when it came to his bike, he wouldn’t even let me ride with him, much less alone. Now he was handing it over, and I couldn’t help but think there had to be a catch. “You’re giving it to me?”
“You want it, don’t ya?” He offered me the keys as he shook his head. “I thought you’d be excited about it.”
Still feeling doubtful, I took the keys from him as I looked at the bike. “You’re being for real?”
“Yeah. It’s not like I can ride it anymore, and Eric and Hunter could care less about it.”
“Seriously?” I was excited beyond words. It was my first bike, and even then, I knew it wouldn’t be my last.
“Yeah. Seriously. Just be careful. Dad will have my ass if you break your neck.”
“This is so freaking cool.” I rushed over to him and gave him a big hug. “Thanks, Jax.”
“Start out slow until you get used to it, and then give her the gas.” He started walking to the house as he shouted, “And stay around here.”
My hands were shaking with excitement as I climbed on and started the engine. I gave it a good rev, and then I was off. The sun was beating down on my neck and shoulders as I headed to the fields behind our house. I couldn’t get enough of that feeling. I rode for hours. It was like I was soaring through the air as the wind whipped around me. There was no better feeling in the world.
I wanted to hold onto that memory, but the low rumble of the doctors talking at my side pulled me from my thoughts. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the tone in their voices told me it wasn’t good.
After I left the hospital, I went home and tried to get some rest before work. I spent a few hours tossing and turning, but sleep never came. I couldn’t stop thinking about something my father had said to me: “In a moment, everything can change, and in a moment, you can change everything.” When he first said them, they were just words with no real meaning, but after last night, I finally was starting to understand. I’d been living a lie. I’d convinced myself that I was trapped, that there was no way I could cut ties with the club and all the indecency they represented, but that was a copout. I was a coward. I let my fear keep me from going for what I wanted, for what I dreamed about since I was a little girl, and just settled for whatever scraps the brothers threw my way. After the hell that unfolded the night before—having someone dragged into the craziness that was my life—I was determined to make a change. A match had been struck, lighting a fire inside me that couldn’t be denied. I was done being afraid. No matter the consequence, I would find a way out. It was just a matter of patience. Until I found my out, I would have to play the game and pretend nothing had changed. I would go to work, take my classes, and continue to put up with the brothers’ crap. I just had to wait for my chance. Otherwise, I’d just be dragged right back in with no way of ever getting free.
I’d already missed my class for the day, and by the time I made it to work, it was almost two in the afternoon. Luckily, no one seemed to notice as I headed back to my office. I’d just sat down and started going through the timesheets when there was a tap at my door. Before I had a chance to answer, Kat came in with a shocked look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“There are two guys at the bar,” she whispered.
“Okay?”
“They are asking about that guy from last night.” My breath caught in my throat as she continued, “I tried telling them I hadn’t seen him, but they aren’t budging. We’ve got to get rid of them before the guys…”
Trying to swallow my panic, I stood up and started towards the door. “I’ll talk to them.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, giving her an honest answer. “I’ll figure it out.”
Kat followed as I walked over to the bar. My fingers trembled with nerves as I approached the two men. The man with long, tousled hair wasted no time as he asked, “You Zoe?”
“Yes.”
“Good to meet ya, Zoe. You can call me Thomas. I’m looking for a friend of mine.” He held out his cell phone and showed me a picture of the man from last night. “This is my friend Seth. Have you seen him?”
I stared at the photograph for a moment as I connected his face to his name. Seth. It was a good name. I looked over to Thomas and considered lying to him. It was right there on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t do it. Before I considered the consequences, I answered, “Yes. He was here last night.”
“How long was he here?”
“Zo,” Kat warned.
I rubbed the palms of my hands together as I worked up the courage to say, “There was an altercation.”
“What kind of altercation?”
I looked up at the clock and panic washed over me when I realized what time it was. At any time, the prospects could start rolling in with God-knows-who following behind. “He’s over at the county hospital. I can take you there.”
“What the hell happened?”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain when we get there.”
Kat reached for my arm, pulling me towards her. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m doing the only thing I can do. Just cover for me. I won’t be long.”
She rolled her eyes as she released her grip on my arm. “You’re going to get yourself into a mountain of trouble with this whole thing.”
“Maybe so, but we can’t very well let the brothers find them here. I’ll take them to the hospital, and then I’ll come straight back. No big deal.”
“Fine. Just please be careful.”
I turned back to Seth’s friends. “I’m ready when you are.”
They both stood, and I followed them towards the door. When we stepped outside, I was relieved to see that none of the guys had shown up just yet. I just had to get back before anyone realized I was gone. As I started for my car, Thomas motioned me over to their SUV. “You can ride with us, if you want.”
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I knew I could trust them, but knowing I didn’t have much time, I insisted, “Thanks, but I’ll take my car. I’ll need to get back.”
He nodded before opening the door to his truck and hopping inside. They followed as I pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the hospital. I looked back in my rearview mirror at the men who had come to find their friend—the men who were going to have questions, lots of questions. I gripped the steering wheel as I tried to think of
the best way to explain everything that had happened with Seth. I went over it a hundred times in my head, but there was no way to put a spin on it. Seth was in that hospital fighting for his life because of me, plain and simple.
When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, I parked the car and got out. I headed straight over to their SUV. As soon as the door opened, I started talking. “I tried to get him to leave, but he just wouldn’t listen.”
Thomas got out of the SUV and stepped towards me. “You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”
Trying my best to explain everything without falling apart, I told him about Slider and how Seth tried to intervene. As soon as I’d finished telling them how Kat and I got him to the hospital, I added, “He’s in pretty bad shape.”
“How bad are we talking?”
“He has several broken ribs. One of those punctured his lung, and he’s pretty bruised and swollen. There were some complications from his concussion, so they put him in a medically induced coma. He’s on a ventilator.”
“Fuck.”
“They did a real number on him, but he was still holding on when I was here last night. I would’ve stayed longer, but didn’t want to take a chance on the brothers finding out I was here.”
Thomas gave me half a smile. “He’s a fighter. He’ll come out of this just fine.”
“I’m really sorry about all of this. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to get hurt.”
Thomas came over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s be clear. None of this was your fault, Zoe. If anything, you saved his life by getting him to the hospital. I know that was a big risk for you. He owes you. We all do.”
“He’s in there fighting for his life because of me.”
Thomas shook his head as he said, “No. He’s there because he was standing up for what was right. That’s who he is, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.” He took a few steps back. “Now, take us to see him.”
