Rumbling Thunder

by B. F. Harrolle

  Maddog stopped and was glaring back at him. “What?”

  “Take your hands off of my old lady.”

  “She’s not your old lady; she doesn’t have your mark on her,” snapped Maddog.

  Decker walked over to Rainy and pulled her shirt down over her right shoulder exposing the new tattoo.

  Tinman was sitting with his back to the bar with his elbows resting on it. He threw his head back and laughed until he was crying. “Decker, you’re amazing. You know that?” He started laughing again.

  “This is bullshit, Tinman. She’s mine. And I take what’s mine,” snorted Maddog.

  Tinman laughed even harder now. “I tell you what, Maddog. If you think you can take her away from him, you just go right on and try.”

  Decker took a hold of Rainy’s hand and was walking her back to his room. “One thing, Decker. You better teach her the rules, or she will go for that ride!” Tinman called out after him.

  After he closed the door and flipped the lights on, he pinned her against the wall. “Do you even know how close you just came to dying? Don’t you ever do something that stupid again, or you won’t have to worry about Maddog because I’ll take care of you myself. Now get in bed!”

  Rainy slid into bed and turned away from him. He laid down on the other side of the bed. Laying on his back, he knew she was crying. But he wouldn’t let her know he cared. He was almost asleep when someone knocked on the door. Decker moaned as he got out of bed, pulling the door partway open. Handlebars was standing there with Grisly in his hands. “That nasty mutt is not coming into my room,” declared Decker.

  “He smells good. Liz bathed him today.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? I have to deal with the kid and now the dog. One that you saved, not me.”

  “Oh stop the hardass shit. You would have done the same thing to help the dog, and you know it!”

  “What am I going to do with him?”

  “Nothing. Let the girl take care of him. Hell, John, that girl loves this dog. And I think Gris feels the same for her. Besides, it will give her something to do. You know, we’re really going to have to watch over her now. No telling what Maddog’s next move will be.”

  Decker made a face at him and reached for the tiny dog. “Alright,” he sighed. He then turned and walked back into the room. He went into the bathroom and got a clean towel and placed it in the corner and put Grisly on it. “Stay!” he ordered. Grisly sat on the towel and watched Decker. He didn’t get off the towel, but he wouldn’t lie down either. Decker got into bed and laid on his side, watching the dog. Grisly sat for about five minutes before he whimpered and finally laid down. That was all Decker remembered.

  The next thing he knew, he could feel the dog licking him in the mouth. Pushing Grisly away, he sat up bellowing, “Get off my bed!” Grisly jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom with his tail between his legs. Rainy was trying her best not to laugh. “Oh, you think that’s funny?” Rainy’s eyes got big and she shook her head no. Decker narrowed his eyes at her, and Rainy busted out laughing. Decker came up on his knees and grabbed her and started to tickle her. She was trying her best to get free of him. Then Grisly jumped on the bed and started to tug on Decker’s shorts. Rainy laughed even harder, to the point of crying. Decker became still, not sure if she was laughing or crying. He asked, “ Are you alright?” Rainy tried her best to stop laughing. Decker swatted at the dog. “Will you stop pulling my pants down!” Rainy started to giggle all over again and rolled off the bed. At this point, she was hysterical and couldn’t catch her breath. Decker looked over the edge of the bed. “What are you doing down there? I see how you are. You leave me with the kissing dog.”

  It felt so good to laugh again that Rainy forgot he was the bad guy for just a moment. She became still and was watching him. He was gorgeous, that’s for sure. If only… Decker reached down to give her a hand to get up. Rainy took a hold of his hand, and he pulled her up on the bed.

  “You hungry?” he asked

  “Yeah,” she said and smiled back at him. He tucked a loose hair behind her ear. “I’ll see what I can find for us to eat,” he said and stood up, grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. Walking out into the hallway, he turned around and came back into the room. “What about the dog, should I get him something to eat?” Rainy nodded her head yes. “What does he like?”

  “He seems to find you tasty!” she replied with a smirk. Decker picked up a pillow and threw it at her, hitting her in the head.

  Chapter 11:

  Maddog

  Decker returned with donuts and coffee for them, and kibble for Grisly. He handed Rainy a jelly donut. She smiled as she took it from his hand. He placed the bowl of dog food down for Grisly, and the little dog wasted no time scarfing it down. Rainy wondered how he could eat so fast, but she figured he had gone hungry a lot. Taking a bite of her donut, the sweetness sent a shock wave through her. She wasn’t used to this much sugar at one time. Waiting for her mouth to adapt to the sweetness, she licked the sugar off her lips, wondering what her father would say if he could see her now. The man was a wonderful cook, but he never seemed to bake. Thinking back, she only got to have cake or cookies were when they went to her grandparent’s house on the holidays. And candy was never allowed. She knew because her mother had a sweet tooth and would stash candy around the house, hiding it from her father. Now that she thought about it, her parents were so funny together. She wondered how they ever happened.

  Decker spoke, and it broke her thoughts. “What are you thinking so hard about?”

  Rainy smiled. “My Dad.”

  “You miss him?” She thought about what she should say because she didn’t want any of them to know who he was. If they found out, they would know right where to find him. And what if she did get away? “Aren’t you going to answer me?”

  “No!” she blurted out.

  “Alright, sassy mouth. I think that’s a good name for you.”

  “Sassy mouth. That’s a dumb name,” she retorted

  “Yeah, well, if you would tell me your real name.”

  “Drop dead!” she said and gave him a dead expression.

  He was giving her a look from hell. Funny that he could go from being playful and fun to being this jerk. “Alright, if that’s how you want it.”

  “You know exactly what I want,” she said, wiping the sweet sticky off her hands.

  “That’s too bad. You should have thought about that before you got on Maddog’s bike. Now you’re stuck, sweetheart.”

  She wrinkled up her nose. “We’ll see,” she mumbled and looked away from him.

  This was just the kind of shit he was worried about. She was smart, and she’d find a way to get out of this clubhouse. The thing was, he didn’t know how to handle her. If he tried to be her friend, she might still run. Maybe he had better put the fear of God in her and hope the hell it worked. “Alright, sassy mouth. Here are the rules. Do not go near that shed again. When you walk the dog, stay in the front of the clubhouse. Stay away from the bikers, and do not talk to them unless you have too. Do not, under any circumstances, nose around like you’re looking for something. You understand?” Rainy just stared back at him. He waited for an answer, but she didn’t give him one. “I asked you a question.” Still, she said nothing. He grabbed her by her left arm and jerked her off the bed. He placed his hand around her throat and applied pressure, just a little to scare her. “Answer me. Do you understand the rules?” Grisly growled and started to show his teeth. Decker side swiped the dog, pushing him away. The tiny dog went sliding across the room, then jumped up and ran under the bed.

  Holding his arm with both her hands, she tried to push his hand away. Finally, she coughed out, “Yes.”

  He let her go and stared at her, then said, “I don’t believe you. And you need to just remember; you brought this on yourself. I’m leaving, going north with Tinman and Bear. So, sassy mouth, you will stay in this room. You will not take the dog out. Someone else will, and they will
feed him also. You will not leave this room for any reason. You want to be a little bitch, let’s see if you like stewing for a week. See if that makes you think before you act like the dumb bitch you are.”

  ***

  He pushed her towards the bed. Rainy looked down and wouldn’t look at him. She was so confused right at the moment. How could he turn that fast? What did she do that was so bad that he would choke her? And poor little Grisly. She now knew she hated him with all her heart. Getting down on her hands and knees, she pulled Grisly out from under the bed. Standing back up, she said, “I don’t care if you hurt me. But there is no reason to hurt him,” she stated, her green eyes burrowing right into him.

  “Tell you what, sassy mouth. You piss me off again, I’ll take that dog and dump him in the next state.”

  Rainy took a step back, holding on to the dog for dear life because she believed him. She wanted to say something smart, but she knew he would keep his threat about the dog.

  ***

  Decker watched her sit down, holding the dog. He found his control over her, but he hated this. He wanted to make love to her, not torture her. But what could he do? Whatever it took, he knew. If she got away from him, there was no way he could protect her.

  He went into the closet and grabbed a few things, tossed them onto a blanket, rolled it up, and headed out, stopping on his way to talk to Handlebars. “Listen, Hans, don’t let the girl out of that room. And make sure she and the mutt eat.”

  “Whoa, dude, why am I the jailer?”

  “Maddog is not coming along this time, that’s why!”

  Handlebars turned to face Decker. “Why the hell not? I thought he was an officer of this club?”

  “Tinman said only me, him and Bear this trip.”

  “I don’t like this, John. You watch your back, man..” “Always, my friend!” Decker then slapped Handlebars on his back and headed out the door.

  ***

  Liz saw the worried look on Handlebars face. She moved over to stand next to him. “What’s up, old man?”

  “Maddog is staying here.”

  “Yeah, Decker told me. Listen, can I use your bike? He asked me to buy the girl some clothes, but that’s hard to do when you don’t know her size.”

  “I don’t think so. He told me not to let her out of that room.”

  Liz gave him a hard look. “So what are you saying, Hans? Do you really think I can’t protect her.”

  “I know you can. But you know Maddog is crazy as hell and might try anything.”

  “Me taking her to the store isn’t going to change what he might do.”

  Handlebars let out a frustrated sigh. “I know, but if anything happens to that girl, Liz, it’s you that is going to answer to Decker.

  “What the hell, Hans, it’s not like he’s not breaking every rule there is already. And that’s going to hurt all of us.” She turned and went to Decker’s room.

  Rainy didn’t know who was knocking on the door, but she got to her feet and made her way to the door and pulled it open. Liz stood, looking back at her. “What?” Rainy asked.

  “I need you to go to the store with me. Decker wants me to buy you some clothes.”

  Rainy tilted her head, staring back at her. “That’s funny, he told me not to leave this room for any reason.”

  “Yeah I know, but here’s the thing. I don’t know what sizes you wear. And if you’re going to be Decker’s old lady, you have to look the part. Besides, he is not going to know unless you tell him.”

  “Yeah right. You know someone will tell him.”

  “If he says anything to you, send him to me.” Rainy just kept staring at her. “It’ll be alright. Besides, we have to get you ready for the wedding.”

  “Who’s getting married?”

  “You are.”

  “I thought I already was.”

  “Well, yes, but Baby is already planning the reception.”

  “Who’s Baby?”

  “Egghead’s old lady.”

  “Why would she want to plan anything for me?”

  “Because that’s just the way she is. She loves nothing more than to celebrate. But I think you’ll like her. She laughs at everything. She and Egghead have a couple of kids together.”

  Rainy scrunched up her nose. “It’s hard to picture any of them with a family.”

  Liz smiled at her. “Don’t you have a family?”

  Rainy wouldn’t answer that question. She looked away from Liz. “What about Grisly?”

  “You can let him out of the room. He hangs out with everybody here.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “They’re mean to him.”

  “Okay, leave him in the room. No one will bother him in there.” Rainy stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her. “Come on. Hans is going to let me use his bike.”

  “Do any of the women ride motorcycles?”

  “Yes, I have my own bike, but Tools has it taken apart right now. Something is wrong with the motor, and he’s going to fix it.” Rainy nodded her head and followed Liz out into the yard.

  ***

  After they were mounted on the motorcycle, they headed for the city. At first, Rainy was apprehensive about riding with Liz. However, it didn’t take long for her to relax. She could tell Liz handled the motorcycle as well as Handlebars did. As they rode along, Rainy started to look around at road signs, figuring she needed to know where she was exactly so when she got away, she’d know which way to head. It took about twenty minutes to arrive at the store. The name of the store was Patches. It didn’t take Rainy long to realize this store sold leather goods.

  Following Liz inside, all she saw was black leather hanging everywhere. “Hey, Liz. Haven’t seen you in a really long time.”

  “Hi, Mel.”

  “What you ladies looking for?”

  “I need to find her some leathers.”

  “Okay, you want to start with the pants?”

  “Yes, and she’s going to need a jacket and a cut. How long will it take you on the cut?”

  “I can have it by Friday at the latest.”

  “Good, I’ll pick it up then.”

  “Who’s…”

  Liz interrupted her. “Decker.”

  Mel gave her a surprised look. “What happened to Bree?”

  “She’s still around. But if you’re talking about their relationship, no one knows.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, one day she was out of the clubhouse and no one knows what happened. And you know how close Decker and Handlebars are; even he doesn’t know.”

  “Wow, I thought those two were made for each other.”

  “Hey, shit happens.”

  “Yes, it does.” Mel then went into the back room and came out with three pairs of leather pants. “Here you go, sweetie, try these on,” Mel said, pushing the pants towards Rainy. Rainy took them out of her hands and went into the dressing room. “Come out so we can see how they look on you.” Rainy took her shorts off and pulled the first pair on. The two women were still gossiping when she stepped out of the dressing room. Mel looked at her. “No, you need to go smaller.” She walked over to Rainy. “See, they’re to loose in the waist. You need them to fit tight because leather gives.” Mel walked out of the dressing room leaving the door open.

  Rainy pulled on the second pair of pants. She was turned to the side, away from the mirror and didn’t see anyone come in. No sooner did she zip them up when a gloved hand came over her mouth and a knife was at her throat. “Don’t you dare make a sound. You understand me?” A bell sounded when someone else came into the shop, and she wondered if Liz was coming in to check on her. He pushed her towards to back of the shop. And because of the racks of clothing, no one saw them. Opening the back door, he maneuvered her outside. “Now, girl, I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth. And if you make one fucking sound, I’ll cut you from one end to the other.”

  But before he
could remove his hand, she heard, “Put the knife down or I’ll shoot you right between the eyes!” Liz ordered.

  Maddog turned Rainy so she was between him and Liz. “Now if you were a smart bitch, you’d walk away right now, Liz. This cunt is mine, and you know that. It’s not my fault Tinman is afraid of Decker.”

  “You heard me, Maddog, drop the knife and step away from the girl.”

  “You couldn’t hit the board side of a barn.”

  “You really want to find out? You have to the count of three. One, two…”

  He dropped the knife and backed away. “Okay, so you got the drop on me this time, bitch. But just so you know, you better damn sure watch your back. Because you will never know when I’ll be there.”

  “Just get out of here, Maddog, before this gun accidentally goes off.” She waved the gun for him to move. He started to move away, but not without winking at Rainy and blowing her a kiss.

  “You alright?” Liz asked, still with the gun pointed at Maddog.

  “Yes,” Rainy answered, her heart still beating hard in her chest. “Okay, come on and let’s finish up here. We’ll do the rest of the shopping tomorrow and bring one of the guys with us.”

  “How do you know they won’t help him?”

  “I know who can be trusted. And just so you know, not all of the bikers are like Maddog.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t like him either.”

  Liz grinned at her and placed her hand on Rainy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. It will take more than Maddog to get to you.”

  After they were done with Rainy being fitted, they left to return to the clubhouse. The traffic was starting to pick up. Rainy was watching out for Maddog. She was scared of the piece of shit. All she really wanted was for this nightmare to end, and her life to begin again. Rolling up to a red light, Rainy saw another motorcycle in the far left-hand lane. She didn’t think anything about it because it was two lanes over and behind them. As the light changed and they started to move, Rainy saw the motorcycle move over a lane. All at once, the biker came over on them so fast, he clipped the front wheel of their motorcycle causing Liz to lose control. Both of them hit the road hard. Rainy rolled off into the grass. Laying still, banged up and hurt. She wasn’t sure how bad she was hurt. A few minutes later, Liz was beside her. “You okay?”