Storm- A Wings of Diablo MC Novel #8

by Lake, Rae B.

  "Storm." I croak. My face is bloody and covered in snot and tears. "Please. Help me. Please."

  His face turns to mine, and I can see the indecision. He wants to stay and help Vale, but there’s something in his eyes that shows his concern for me. The small piece of goodness I saw in him when I first noticed him in the bar all those days ago is still visible now, even in his broken state. He isn't a bad guy; he’s just running around with one.

  He stands up and rushes over to me. He pulls up the covers dragging on the floor and lays them over me to cover my body before he moves down to my legs. I move my leg back as far as I can with it still being connected to the chain. The fear that he is going to hurt me overriding my reason and logic.

  "I'm going to let you out. You need to come with me."

  "I'm not going anywhere with you." I snap. If he frees me from these chains, the first place I'm going is back to my fucking house to cry my life away.

  "You have to come with me. It's the only fucking way. He will come for you again, and he already has others who will come for you. I promise you I'm not going to hurt you. Not that it matters now anyway." He puts his hand out, waiting for me to make a decision. I look at Vale and see he is still down but moving around. If I want to get out of here, I’ll have to do it now. As much as I don’t want to, I have to trust Storm right now. So far, he has shown me I can, but I’ve known people to change. He could be playing me, but I don’t have the time to figure it out right now.

  I push my foot toward his hand, and he makes quick work getting the cuffs off. I try to put my feet down on the ground, but I've had them tied up for so long they can barely hold my weight.

  "Come on. We have to move fast." He tries to pull me behind him, but the covers get stuck on the door. "Fuck." He tugs the fabric, and it tears. We make it up the stairs, and instead of us going straight through the front door, he takes a small detour and walks into one of the rooms. He comes back out with a few things in his hands and a small bag over his shoulder.

  "Here, this is all I have right now. We will get you something else later." I quickly throw on the oversized sweatshirt, it falls to my knees. At least I'll be fully covered. I bend to put the boxer briefs on, but before I can pull them up, a scream cuts through the air.

  "Storm!" Vale yells from downstairs.

  "Fuck, we have to go now!" Storm pulls on my arms, and we run toward the kitchen. I run the best I can, only falling every other step.

  We make it out the back of the property, and though we can't hear Vale anymore, Storm is convinced he’s following us. I'm not interested in stopping to find out if he’s right or not.

  My legs are caught in some branches, and the limbs tear at the skin on my calves.

  "Ah fuck." I try to shake off the pain, but I'm barefoot, and I'm running through a fucking swamp. When we get further in, and the ground becomes almost impossible to walk on without slipping, we start to move slower.

  "We can't go this way. It's too dark. We don't know what the hell is out here. There could be fucking gators." The swamp water is already up to my calves. It stings the cuts I received from running through the trees.

  "We can't go the other way. He'll be watching that way." Storm says over his shoulder.

  "I can't make it. I can't." I slip again. Between the cuts on my legs and them being tied up for so long, there’s no way I’m going to make it any further. In fact, I don't even think I’d make it back. I may have lived in Louisiana for a large portion of my life, but I still don't know all the ins and outs of the backcountry. If I get lost out here, that’s going to be it for me. "Just leave me here. I have to find a different way."

  He turns to look at me, his light blue eyes a shade darker as he glares at me. "I promise when I get to my father, I will tell him you helped me and that it's only because of you I'm alive and not laying on that metal table being raped by your brother. He will be lenient. I promise you he will."

  It's true my father and the family don't forget things easily, but if it were a personal favor from someone in the family, they’d hear it. If I say Storm should be spared, he will spare him.

  "I'm not leaving you here." He grunts and pulls me again.

  "I can't fucking make it. What part of that don't you understand? I'm a woman of my word. If I say I'm going to tell him you should be spared, then that’s what I'm going to do."

  "What the fuck, Duo? Is that why you think I got you out of there? I don't give a shit about that anymore. If I fucking die, so be it. I need to make sure you're safe. That’s the main fucking priority right now. I'm not leaving you here. Now, let's go. We are in this together. No matter what."

  He meant it. "I can't. My feet and legs are jacked up."

  He looks down at me for a minute before he turns his back to me. "Come on then."

  "What?"

  "Jump on. I'll carry you.”

  I take a second to laugh at him. Is he going to carry me through the swamp? Is he serious?

  "Duo, we have to go. Come on." He lowers down a little further.

  I do my best to hop on his broad back, my legs protesting a bit from having to spread so wide. He hooks his hands behind my knees, and I try not to choke him.

  "You good?" He looks over his shoulder and catches my eyes.

  "Yeah. I'm good."

  "Hold on." He warns, and then he is off, running through the woods. Storm is running faster than I would’ve ever been able to make it through. The swamp water is already up to my mid-thigh, and though I'm still worried about gators and such, he doesn't seem to be thinking about that at all. He runs faster than I thought possible with me on his back like a fucking bookbag. It's intimidating. I may not be overweight, but I know I'm not the smallest person in the world.

  I don't know how long we’re running for, but a few minutes in, I bury my face in Storm’s neck and just let him take me where he thinks we will be the safest. It's pitch black when he stops.

  "I don't think he is going to follow us in here, and I can see lights further out. You ok to rest for a bit?" He asks.

  I hop down off his back and rub my legs with my hands. The ache is going to be serious tomorrow. "Where are we going to rest?" I ask.

  He turns and looks at me. "Right here."

  His face is covered in dirt and leaves from the run. His chest is heaving up and down from the exertion, yet his eyes are soft on mine. He is more concerned about me than he is himself. The complete opposite of his brother. He tries to push some of his hair out of his face. The dirt and the rips in his clothes make me think of Tarzan. The only difference is the peppering of tattoos on his chest that I can see. I shake my head and think back to the question at hand. This is not the time to be shoving him into my long time fantasy. I've always wanted to be someone's Jane.

  "Yeah, this will work just fine. Let's go over there." The swamp water has receded, so he’d been running on dry-ish land for a while now. I wasn't worried about gators anymore, but there’s still wildlife out here that would try to come for us if we let it. Fortunately for us, there’s a nice-sized pile of rocks that look like we could lay on. They are high enough from the ground that we wouldn't be as visible to someone walking behind us. To spot us, they’d have to know to look for us up there.

  "Yeah, that works."

  We walk over to the rocks, and he makes a stirrup with his hands to give me a boost up. Once I am safely on top of the rock, he scales the side and sits back.

  "This is fucked up. You know that?" I tell him after a few seconds and him being able to catch his breath.

  "Yeah, I know." He runs a hand through his hair. His fingers get stuck in the tangled mess. Suddenly, I’m very aware of my curly and unruly hair. It’s hard to manage on a good day, so I can only fucking imagine what it looks like now that I’ve been running through the swamp. It probably looks like a bird’s nest. "I spoke with the club I used to run with before I came downstairs for you."

  "Yeah?"

  "They gave me quite a bit of information. They are going
to set up a meeting with your father at the old clubhouse. We just have to make it there. Then you can go home. If Vale has people looking for me, he will have people looking for you too, and if I let you go now, you’re in more danger. They won't let you go if they catch you. You need to get into safe hands before I back up from this." He stares at me, waiting for me to understand what he’s saying to me.

  I understand. He’s saying I'm stuck with him until I can get to my father.

  “Why are you doing all this now? I mean, there must have been so many other times you could have left Vale to fend for himself. Why are you doing it now when I can hold you back?”

  “It never crossed my mind to leave you, Duo. It’s true, I could have turned away from my brother, but I can’t turn away from you. Something about you, that snarky attitude you have in the middle of what could be your death. The way you look at me like you can see right through me, and even how you still are trying to get me to leave you behind so I have a chance reminds me of who I used to be. I can’t live this life anymore, and I won’t leave you behind to live it either.”

  "So what, you’re going to save me now? You my Superman?"

  "Not Superman, I'm never going to be anyone’s fucking hero, but at least I can not be a fucking asshole.” I think we should all strive to at least lead a good life. I spent quite a few years psychoanalyzing people to determine why that wasn’t their goal, only to have this massive brute of an outlaw default to it.

  I don't answer him. If that’s what he thinks, then he’s already a fucking hero.

  Storm’s POV

  I wake with a start. Something is falling on my face. My back feels like it is on fire; I’m in so much fucking pain right now. It takes me only a second to remember what the hell happened last night. I betrayed my family again. Except, this time, it was Vale. The woman to my left is huddled as close to me as she can get, and my arm is wrapped around her. It's been a while since I've woken up with a woman in my arms. Another drop hits my face. Great, it's fucking raining.

  "Duo, come on, we need to get out of here. We have to go."

  "Hmm?" She tries to lift her head, but I see the pain cross her face, and she stops almost in midair. Sleeping outdoors on a rock definitely gets the body hurting. "Fuck, what the hell?" She groans and tries again to lift her body slowly.

  "Come on, you good? How's your leg?" I ask, trying to wake her up a little quicker. The last thing we need is for her to get stuck here because she messed up her legs escaping.

  "It's ok. They’re good." She nods her head, and we make our way down the rock. I quickly search the area, making sure I don't see anyone. I know Vale isn't a good tracker, and we ran pretty deep into the backwoods, so I don’t think he’s going to find us right now. All bets are off when we make it out into the open.

  "Oh fuck, is it raining?" Duo puts her hand out, and sure enough, the water begins to patter down harder. A little water never hurt anyone.

  "Yeah, that's ok. We'll be fine."

  "Huh, you say that now. It's obvious you've not been in New Orleans that long." She scoffs as we make our way through the trees.

  "What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  "It means a little rain can turn into a flood real fast."

  Flooding, shit. I didn't even think about that. We need to get on our way, and we need to do it fast.

  "Fine, let's get out of here then."

  By the time we make it to the main roads, the rain is coming down in buckets, and we are both soaked through. Duo is shivering hard behind me, and it takes everything in me not to take my pants off and give them to her, but I know it wouldn't do anything. They’re too big, and she is too small; they’d just fall right off.

  "We need to get some transportation," I announce and look to the edge of the road.

  “With limited cash, we’re going to have to do some borrowing." I shrug my shoulders and spot exactly what I need. It's been a long while since I've ridden, but it’s the ideal piece of equipment for us right now. It's much harder to find a stolen motorcycle than it is a stolen car. The rain is still coming down like crazy, and I know no one will be out to look for their bike in quite a while. I, on the other hand, am a pro when it comes to riding in bad weather. I'm not scared of a little rain.

  I pull her behind me and walk the bike away from where it was parked up. They must trust folks in these parts because it wasn't even chained. Anyone could have come by and stolen the bike.

  "That’s what we’re taking? It's pouring out here." Duo complains and presses her hands to her wet arms.

  "It's the quickest way. We will get somewhere dry soon."

  "Where are we going to go, Storm? There’s nothing around here. Only a bunch of ... " Her voice trails off, and that eyebrow she uses to express everything raises. "Are you at war with all the clubs or something like that?"

  "No, just my old one, or at least I thought I was. Though now I think it's just the Spawns of Chaos." I explain to her.

  "There’s another club up the road. They are pretty well known around these parts, but I don't think they have anything to do with the Wings. Maybe they don't even know what the hell is going on. We could see if they will help us at all."

  I shake my head, already not liking the idea of trying to convince another club to help me. I don't know anything about the club. They could easily be part of the folk's Vale hired to do his dirty work.

  "I don't know, Duo. I think we should just try and get this done on our own. We'll be alright." I push the bike toward the road and turn it on. It sputters a few times before it dies altogether. I crank it again, and it sputters to life. It runs for a minute before it dies again. This isn't going to work. We need reliable wheels; I would need to pull off to the side somewhere and try to fix it.

  "They have a mechanic there too." She says at my back. I roll my eyes where she can't see me.

  "You do realize they could kill us before we even get a chance to explain to them what the hell is going on. Most clubs don't like people just rolling up on them.”

  "Yeah, I know, but I’ve never heard of them just opening up on folks. I don't think they are that kind of crowd."

  I know that she's right for the most part. We need to get this bike fixed up, and we need to find somewhere dry and safe. Even if it was just for a few minutes, maybe this club is just what we need.

  "Fuck it, let's go," I say and hop on the bike, kicking it to life once again. She jumps on the back with me and wraps her arms around my midsection.

  I pat her hands to make sure she’s secure, and I push the bike as hard as it can go in the direction she gives me.

  * * *

  I cross the bridge over into Eden's Isle. The clubhouse is big, and I can see quite a few people out front laying out sandbags. Sure, it's been raining pretty steady for a few hours, but I didn't think it would call for all this. I guess Duo was right about flooding being a possibility.

  "This them?” I ask, keeping my voice to a small whisper.

  "Yeah." She grabs onto my sweater and hides behind me slightly. She is surely acting like they can do us some harm for someone who thought the club wasn't so bad.

  I crouch down as low as I can go and begin to walk around the outskirts of the compound. The few people that were outside were so focused on laying out the sandbags that they didn't even see us roll up behind them. I didn't know what I was rolling up on, and the last thing I need is for them to be some crazy cannibal bastards just waiting for people to come asking for help. I want to see what they are about before I approach them. I look in through the back window and see a few members inside, most of them looking completely at ease. No drama, just sitting around shooting the shit. They are all wearing Kuttes that say Inferno's Clutch MC. That must be who they are. I’d heard whispers of them back when I was with the Wings, but we never had any dealings with them.

  Duo turns suddenly at my back, and she gasps loudly, going stock still at my back. Fuck.

  I turn around slowly, knowing I'm about to s
ee someone there. My eyes don't stay on him, though. They drift down to the fucking gator he is walking around like a goddamn pet. It's not fully grown, but it's big enough it would do some fucking damage.

  A tall man with dark brown hair stands in front of us with a fucked-up smile on his face and his head tilted to the side. "You see anything you like?" He asks.

  "Look, man, we don't want any problems. I quickly pull Duo out of the way and push her behind me. That was the wrong fucking move. The damn gator opens his mouth, and a hissing sound comes out as he raises his head and stares at us, unmoving. I don't know shit about swamp wildlife, but even I know that fucking animal is about to rip us to shreds.

  "You picked the wrong fucking club to not look for trouble." The man growls at me and takes a step forward. I move back, pushing Duo along with me. I make sure to keep myself in between the animal and her. She will go faster if it attacks. I move slowly, and the man in front of us stalks, pushing us further and further into the main area.

  "Look, man, I was just trying to see what was happening before I went and rang the fucking doorbell. We got a lot of fucking heat on us right now. I didn't want to walk into a trap or no shit like that. Let me talk to your president, and I'll clear this right up." I try to reason with the man that is still stalking toward us with the fucking gator.

  "Bart, do you think we should let these fuckers talk to Chains?"

  The gator lunges forward a bit, his mouth opening a bit wider.

  "No, I didn't think so." The man says. He must be fucking talking to the damn alligator. “Sorry, Bart here doesn't think you deserve an audience."

  "I don't want to have to put down your pet, bro. Back the fuck off." I don't drop my hands because I don't want him to see me as a threat, but I will shoot this motherfucker and worry about the blowback a different time.

  "What the fuck did you just say?" The smile on the man’s face drops off, and now his hand drops to his side where I'm sure he keeps his gun.

  "Tyres, what the fuck is going on?" Someone shouts from behind me.