by Jess Winters
She could only imagine what she looked like. She’d gone out of her way to put on eyeliner and mascara. That was always a mistake when she slept over at a guy’s house.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice husky from the previous night. “You want some coffee?”
“I’d kill for some coffee right now.”
“All right. You okay to get up, or do you want me to bring it to you?”
She fell back laughing. “So, I guess you usually leave girls unable to walk.”
He bit his lip at this remark. “Not typically. Are you having some trouble walking this morning?”
“I haven’t tried yet, but if I do, just know that it’s definitely because of you. And us having been busy multiples times.”
“Well, it would be too bad if you couldn’t, you know. I kind of had something planned for us today.”
“Oh? What, exactly did you have planned?”
He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her with his blue eyes. “I don’t know. I was thinking a ride out to a secluded beach.”
“Seriously? That sounds amazing,” she said, sitting up in bed with her hands holding the blanket against her chest. “Might even help my hangover.”
“Well, I don’t know. If you can’t walk—”
“I can definitely walk.”
“You sure?” he asked, stepping into the room. “Just a minute ago you were saying you weren’t so sure. I mean, I don’t want to push you into it.”
She pursed her lips. “I’ll be fine.”
He leaned down and brought his lips to meet hers. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She stood outside and stared at the motorcycle with pursed lips. She’d never been on one, and her father had made it clear that he expected her never to get on the back of one. He’d been against it because the feeling had consumed him.
The black motorcycle had silver all detailing along the side. Luckily, they weren’t going too far, and the police in the area didn’t give the biker’s any hassle for not having the right equipment. Apparently wearing the wrong gear could be considered an offence, especially if they got in an accident.
“You okay?”
She raised her eyebrows. “You might not believe me when I tell you this, but I’ve actually never been on a motorcycle before. My dad kind of gave that all up when he left town with my mom.”
He laughed and brushed his hand through his dark-brown hair. “You’re kidding, right? That’s all your dad did growing up!”
“He didn’t want me to be like him, I guess. It may have also made him feel sad that he didn’t have everyone here to hit the road with him.”
“Did your dad hate his life, or something? I mean, I’d heard that the group had been a little messed up back in the day, but it’s not like they killed people.”
Scarlett shook her head. “I don’t really think my dad that made those decisions for himself. It was my mother’s family that really looked down on it.”
“I can’t imagine your mother hated the lifestyle, if she was dating your dad, too.”
“My dad told me once that she loved the feeling of being on a motorcycle.”
He smiled and took a step back towards his garage. “Well, I think most people like the feeling of being on a motorcycle. There’s just something about it that's so...freeing.”
9. Tanner
The beach had always been his favorite place, and he’d always come here alone. He wasn’t sure why he was going out on a limb and showing some girl he’d only just met this private place, but here she was.
He watched as she touched her feet into the water and pulled back. The sun was shining in full force, and reflected on the water like diamonds. He could only see her silhouette and long dark hair from where he stood.
“Come on!” She yelled, waving to him from the shoreline. “Aren’t you going to come swimming?”
He stepped down towards the sand and watched as she kicked the water towards him. “I’m not much of a swimmer.”
“You’ve got to be kidding! You brought me to the beach, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t watch you swim.”
“That’s boring!”
He placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Not boring for me.”
Scarlett left the shoreline and ran through the sand towards him, with her hair flowing behind her. Even without makeup she was beautiful. “C’mon. Just a short swim.”
“I really, really suck at swimming.”
“I’ll give you mouth to mouth if you start to drown.”
He rolled his eyes. “In that case, I’ll drown all day every day.”
She approached him with a coy look in her eyes that immediately caused him to become hard. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted her lips to his, kissing him deeply. He could barely breathe when she let go.
He wanted to take her right then and there.
“So, why don’t you want to swim? You knew about this beach, after all.”
He shrugged. “Well, it was my dad who brought me here, actually. It was our secret beach.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Did something bad happen here?”
“No,” he told her, his voice low as the sound of the water crashing up against the rocks reverberated around them. “He’d drive us here when I was younger, and those were the only good memories I had growing up. It was also the only time he was ever really sober.”
She ran her hands through his hair and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you for bringing me here, then. Why don’t we create more good memories here?”
“What did you have in mind?”
She lowered her hands to the bottom of her dress and began to lift it above her head, revealing her bare breasts in the sunlight. She was silent as she took a few steps backwards, tempting him to follow.
His heart threatened to jump out of his chest, and he removed his shirt. He followed her to the shoreline and smiled at her. He wanted to make these kinds of memory with her for as long as she would allow.
He’d never felt this way about anyone and, as he walked towards her, his stomach began to knot. He didn’t want it to end.
10. Scarlett
She had been in town for three days now. She passed through the centre of downtown and turned towards the road that would lead her to the garage.
She was ready to talk to Brighty about what her father had wanted the Red Valley Motorcycle Club to have. She’d procrastinated in Tanner’s arms long enough. It was difficult to admit that she’d need to leave at some point, but she knew it was inevitable.
The wind whipped through her Mustang and brought with it the smells of summer in a remote town - the dampness of the trees, barbecues and sunscreen. She brushed her hair back as she turned into the parking lot and smiled when she saw Tanner.
She knew he’d be working, but had forgotten just how good he looked when he was covered in grease and wearing his work clothes. The hot weather meant he only wore sleeveless shirts. Not that it was a bad look - in fact, it had a great effect and showed off his amazing body.
Scarlett parked the Mustang and waved to Tanner as she neared the immense garage doors. She was surprised to see one open for the first time, and to see that they were red. She guessed she should have expected them to have some red decor somewhere.
“Is Brighty upstairs?”
Tanner wiped his hands with a used kerchief. “He is. You going to go through with it today?”
She nodded and stood on her tiptoes to wipe a spot of grease from his cheekbone. It had managed to get into his dark-brown stubble. “I figured I’ve been here for a few days already, so might as well get it done now.”
“Does this mean you’ll be leaving?”
“Not necessarily, but I do have a life back home I have to get to at some point.”
He shifted closer to her. “A few more days never hurt anyone.”
She brought her lips to his briefly. “We’ll see.”
He kept his eyes on her as sh
e walked away towards the stairs. She knew that she wanted to stay a few more days, but had no idea how that would pan out in the long run. What would her mother do if she stayed in the town she and her father had left to raise her?
Scarlett didn't want to think of the consequences of building a life alongside the Red Valley MC. She had no idea what that kind of life would be like. Being with Tanner, on the other hand? It caused her heart to flutter.
Brighty was upstairs at his old wooden desk when she walked in. He was running his hand through his beard as she opened the door and waved.
“Hey, Scarlett. What brings you here?”
Scarlett pulled out the keys from her back pocket. She had no idea what they opened. “I’m hoping you can help me unravel a mystery.”
His eyes grew wide when he saw the keys. “Today’s the day, then?”
“Yeah. I was looking to get this over with, since I’ve been here a few days already.”
“All right,” he said, and held out his hand. “Toss ‘em over, and I’ll take a look.”
She threw him the keys and watched as he examined the insignia on them. He squinted, clearly trying to determine what they opened. There were two small tags attached, both of which had the names of a storage facility. Scarlett hadn’t been able to verify which ones in the area they were, as there were three of them.
“I know this place,” he told her, and gave her a crooked smile. “You ready to see what your daddy’s been hiding from you all these years? I want you to come see it, too.”
“I’d like that.”
She was about to see a piece of her father’s past. She was ready to see what had been so important to him. She followed Brighty, and her stomach fluttered in the excitement of discovering more about the man who’d raised her so lovingly.
11. Scarlett
So, this was what her father was so worried about. She twirled the keys in her hand and walked up to the old motorcycle slowly. Brighty was eyeing it as if he was a starving man who had waited years for a meal.
“Oh, my God,” he said, mostly to himself. “I knew your father still had it, but I thought for sure he’d take it with him. This is fucking Red Valley history right here!”
The storage unit was filled with piles of leather jackets and memorabilia. This was where her dad had lain his days with the Red Valley MC to rest. It was no wonder he wanted to give it back to them - this was their legacy.
In the middle was a type of motorcycle that she’d never seen before. It looked as if it was a vintage, and it Brighty was walking around it reverentially.
“What kind of motorcycle is that?”
“It’s a BMW Type 255. This is one of the most expensive motorcycles in the world, and it belonged to my great uncle and your grandfather.”
Scarlett paused for a moment and turned to Brighty. “Wait...one of the most expensive in the world?”
He nodded and approached the motorcycle, but kept his hand off it. “This is probably why your father wanted to come back and return the keys. Here is the history of everything Red Valley stands for.”
“What will happen to it?”
“I ain’t gonna sell it,” he said, smiling softly, as he stared at every facet of the bike. “It belongs with us. Sure, we’d be able to make some decent money, but it’s too important to sell.”
“I agree. I think my dad would be heartbroken if you sold it,” she told him, and walked around the unit. “He would have sold all this stuff already, if money were that important to him.”
“I’ll keep it for the boys. You mind holding onto the keys until we know what to do with this stuff?”
Scarlett weighed her options. If she held onto the keys, it meant that she would have more time to spend with Tanner. On the other hand, it would mean that she was still stalling on her life back home.
“How long do you think it’ll take you to decide what to do?”
“A few days maybe.”
She scanned the room again, and then turned towards Brighty. “I can do that. I’ll hold onto them for a little bit longer.”
“That’s great news. I’ll let some of the other members know about this,” he said, and beamed. “They’re going to lose their minds when they find out.”
12. Scarlett
She was taken aback by how comfortable she felt in someone else’s home. It’d been less than a week since she’d arrive in town, and already she was making herself at home. There was a calmness to Tanner’s house that put her at ease, and it surprised her.
She’d never entirely felt so at home in her life in the way she did at Tanner’s.
Another surprise was the fact that he let her stay at his place at all. Even after setting everything up with Mary-Belle and Scarlett promising she’d stay over there, he’d still insisted on having her stay over at his. Yes, there was the sex, but he was an open book.
Scarlett relaxed in a patio chair and took as sip of her warm coffee. It was a grey day with innumerable clouds in the sky with the sun occasionally peaking through where it could. The entire property was silent, and there were so few neighbors that she felt as if she could have run around naked without so much as a staring eye.
The knock on the front door nearly caused her to drop the mug.
She placed it down and walked into the house. She saw a shadow under the door. Who could possibly be knocking in the afternoon like this?
She hadn’t seen anyone ever come by Tanner’s place. Scarlett stretched out so that she could see through the window at the top of the door and exhaled when she saw that it was just Sid. She opened the door and smiled.
“Hey, Sid. What’re you doing here?”
He had his hand behind his back and returned her smile. “Just getting what I’m owed.”
She was silent and she lowered her eyes to his hand, which was holding something black. “Is everything OK—”
He lifted his hand above his head and, with that, everything went dark.
13. Scarlett
She could feel blood dripping from her forehead as she leaned against the window. The world outside was blurred with raindrops and she could hear the music of Frank Sinatra filling the old truck, which thudded against the old gravel road.
She looked sideways at Sid, who seemed rather pleased with himself. It was as though he’d done this before. That, in itself, made her even more fearful of what would happen.
Scarlett licked her lip, which had a gash on the side. Maybe this was the reason her mother and father had left. It was a dangerous business after all, and there was no telling what kind of past these men had.
There was also no telling if she’d make it out alive.
She could feel her heart thrashing in her chest, despite being delirious. She sat up in her chair and tried to ease the aching in her head as she brought her hand to her forehead. Crusted blood was trapped in the strands of her hair and she turned to look at Sid again.
He was oblivious to the fact that she’d woken up. The music pounded inside her head and made her feel as though she was going to puke. She wasn’t sure if it was the pain or the fear of being trapped in a vehicle with Sid that was causing her stomach to churn.
She lowered her hand slowly to the door and tried the handle. It was broken. Her heart sank at the thought that she was trapped, and there might be no getting out.
“Don’t even bother with that handle, sweetheart,” Sid said casually, as though he was telling her to watch out for traffic. “You might not believe this, but this isn’t my first rodeo.”
“So what’re you going to do?” she asked; her jaw and head throbbing. “Are you going to kill me?”
Sid chuckled. “Not going to kill you. Just going to make sure that you can’t go running to anyone – just yet.”
She considered his words. Going to make sure that she can’t run anywhere, or rather, to anyone. Kidnapping.
“So you’re going to leave me in an abandoned building or something?”
The silence that followed seemed to seep into
her skin. She leaned her head on her hand and watched as the sun began to set in the distance. The gravel road seemed never-ending and it all looked the same.
It was impossible to tell where they were.
He turned onto a small path to the right of the road, which led to a barn and an abandoned house. The world around swirled in an array of colors as Scarlett tried to keep her eyes focused. She could barely keep her head up.
The truck came to a stop at the end of the path and the driver’s door squeaked open. She was glad to be rid of the music, but her instincts were telling her to run. Her body, however, was no longer in fighting condition.
He rounded the vehicle and pulled something out of his back pocket before opening her door. She leaned further away from him in her chair and watched as he formed the contraption in his hand into a switchblade. Her breathing quickened as he unfastened her seatbelt.
“Why are you going to all this trouble? You could easily just steal it.”
He placed his arm across the doorframe so she couldn’t get out. “And have Brighty come after me right away? Rather just get out of town without him knowing what’s even happened.”
He lowered his one arm, but brought the switchblade up towards her face and gestured for her to move. She could feel the blood rushing to her head with each movement as she stepped out of the truck. She tried to determine where she was, based on the barn and her surroundings, but she was on some property in the middle of nowhere.
Sid forced her ahead of him and slammed the truck door behind her. The forest surrounding them was ominous and dark, despite there being slivers of red sunlight between the trees. She forced herself to walk straight as he led her towards the barn with the switchblade against her back.
She grabbed at her jeans and closed her eyes briefly. At that moment, she wished that she’d never met anyone from Red Valley MC. She wanted nothing more than to be back in the city and safe.