Old fool doesn’t think I’m gonna defy him. He should’ve expected it though. There’s only one way I’m leaving Billings, Montana and that’s with Camila on the back of my bike. I needed to get away from the club for a bit, so I drove into town and stopped at one of the few bars. You can’t do much here besides eat, drink, and watch a movie. It’s better than where I grew up though. My family settled in a small farming town in Iowa. You can pass through the main street in the blink of an eye, completely missing it.
“Had a feeling I’d find you here,” Hawk mutters as he takes a seat beside me. Jesus, it’s hard to get any peace and quiet these days. “Don’t think it’s the smartest decision for you to be wanderin’ off on your own with everything that’s goin’ on. We stay strong in numbers, brother.”
“Fuck you. We stay strong cause we’re Reapers, brother.” I snarl out at him, taking hold of the beer bottle in front of me, I swig it back. Hawk has been with the club for a long time. He might be a couple years older than me, putting him in his early thirties.
The bastard smiles at me, shaking his head as he waves his hand up to the bartender, “Yuengling when you get a second, sweetie.” I can’t help but see the way she looks at him, and it just makes me want to eavesdrop. He’s not a ladies’ man in the least bit, but for some reason women love to ogle over him.
She struts over in a white tank and navy blue jeans with tattoos that cover her arms, passing him his drink. “I’m not normally one to say this, but I’d remember a face like yours. You new around here?”
“No, darlin’. You are.” Her cheeks flush red at his reply to her, and Jesus, this just frustrates me. Everyone is getting some sort of action around here except for me. It’s not like Fist is warnin’ the other brothers to keep away from certain women. Nope, only Camila is off limits for me. I roll my eyes thinking at the idiocy of it all.
Her eyes scan over his cut, and as soon as she lands on his name, she says it aloud. “Hawk. I’m Raven, it’s nice to meet you.” She extends her hand out, something that we don’t really see much these days. “For the record, I’m not a new face. I’ve just been gone for a couple years.”
Two birds… really, I think to myself.
“Well, it’s a shame you left.”
She points to a frame behind her on the wall, “Not really. I just got back from getting my bachelor’s in business admin-istration and I’m pretty proud of that.”
“As you should be. It’s a great accomplishment.” “Yup. It sure is.”
“Raven, get your ass over here and finish up!” A stern voice shouts at her. I glance over to the man who barks out the order. There’s something about being a man, we have this super power of being able to read other men. Immediately, I can tell this dude is a joke.
“Uh, I’d better go.” She mutters, walking away from us. Hawk turns his head to face me, “I don’t like that dude.” “Of course, you don’t, he’s a jerk.”
“No, he’s more than that. Can’t you tell?” I nod, “Yeah. He’s a real tool.”
“I sure hope that’s not her boyfriend.”
I scoff, “With your luck, he probably is. Don’t think he will be for too long, though. Not with the way she was lookin’ at you.”
“You’re sure as hell right about that. If he is, he won’t be for long. Enough about my latest infatuation, what’s going on with that transfer shit?”
I shrug. I don’t have to spell it out for Hawk, but it looks like he wants me to. “Fist is just trying to get me away from Camila, once and for all.”
“That’s a joke. I’ve known you for a long time, brother, and you’ve never been this hooked on a woman before. Shit, I don’t even think you’ve gotten your dick wet yet and you’re this invested.”
“I have a plan.” Part of me thinks that I should keep this shit to myself, but I’m not going to. I can’t fuckin’ do that. “Tonight, I’m gonna tell Camila to get a small bag packed up and we’re gonna head to Vegas before everyone else.”
Hawk brings his hand over his jaw, showing me his obvious concern. “Shit…”
“What’s he going to do? Cart her back to Billings?” “You’re about to find out.” We both know that’s a fact.
There’s no way around it. I’m just hoping that he doesn’t. For once, I’m just hoping he’ll let it go. Fist has warned me to stay away from her for quite a while, and I know he’s done some serious shit for women in the past. The pot can’t call the kettle black.
Even if he does, I’ll put up a fuckin’ fight for her.
Chapter 2
YOU’RE ALWAYS ONE DECISION AWAY FROM A TOTALLY
DIFFERENT LIFE.
-ANONYMOUS
Camila
I wake from a dead sleep, feeling my covers being taken from my body. A cold chill swarm’s over my body, and I know something isn’t right. Shooting up, I look around the room and am faced with a silhouette. “Relax, Princess. It’s just me,” Booger whispers, “Grab a handful of clothes and c’mon, we don’t have much time.”
I shake my head, trying to understand what’s going on. “What do you mean grab a handful of clothes… and why don’t we have much time?!” I grumble, rubbing my hands over my eyes. I lean over to grab my phone from my bedside table and see that it’s a little past two in the morning. Good-ness, I want to kill him. I’m the type of woman who appreci-ates good sleep.
“We have to go.” He urges, holding his hand out to me.
“And I need to be a sleeping beauty!” I don’t care that I’m snapping at him. He woke me from a good slumber.
“You mean, you need your beauty sleep. God, you still don’t get shit right.”
I huff, “Go away, jerk.”
He comes closer to me and wraps his hand around my face, “You wanna come with me to Vegas or not, Camila? Cause this will be your only chance.”
Dios Mio! Booger is planning to take me away in the middle of the night like a bat out of hell. He’s wanting to sneak me out… to get a head start…
The question is, do I want to do this?
“Camila,” He repeats my name. “I won’t force you to do this, but it’s pretty simple. Fist isn’t ever going to let us be together. He’s carting me off to Vegas to try to keep me from pursuing you, and I’m gonna leave this simple for ya… I want to see where things may go, and we’re never gonna get that chance here. So, you either wanna come to Vegas and see where things go. Or, you want to stay here under your safety net of an adoptive dad. Your choice. Either way, I’m leaving in ten minutes. Meet me out front if you do.”
Booger quietly walks to my door and exits my room, leaving me alone with only the impending choice I need to make. It seems pretty simple, to either stay or go, but it isn’t. If I stay here, I never get the opportunity to see if he could become my ol’man, or even just a boyfriend… but if I stay… I will be safe from Rafael’s clutches. He doesn’t know where I am because Fist has done such a good job of protecting me. Las Vegas is closer to the border, and with that brings great risk.
If I leave, it might be a bigger risk, but I could also get more reward. The possibility that for the first time in years I may feel free, versus feeling like a prisoner, or a woman in
witness protection makes me so excited. It almost feels surreal. I’d be able to go out and do things I want to do. I’d be able to leave the club, probably. I’m just assuming.
But… if I stay here… under Fist’s protection and watchful eye, will he do the same that he’s done to Booger, to other men who pursue me. If that even were to happen again. Knowing Fist, he’ll repeat the overprotective father bit.
I hop out of bed and don’t bother changing from the black tank top and matching booty shorts I have on. Quickly, I grab the duffel bag that I keep under my bed and pack as many clothes into it as I can. He said to only bring a handful, but I’m Camila, which means I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to do.
I grab a hair brush and my small pack of makeup, shoving that into the bag. As I approach the doorway and
open it, I stand in the frame and turn back to take one last look at my room. I say last because I’m sure that it will be my last glance, the last time I ever stare into the place I have called my home for these last few years.
If I have learned anything over my time here, it’s that change is inevitable and more importantly, it needs to be embraced. Now it’s my time to embrace the changes that are staring me in the face and begin the life that I’ve always wanted. The one where I’m the one in control.
Chapter 3
MAKING A BIG LIFE CHANGE IS PRETTY SCARY. BUT, KNOW WHAT’S EVEN SCARIER? REGRET. -ANONYMOUS
Booger
“You’re dumber than I thought you were,” Widow’s voice pops out from the middle of nowhere. I continue securing my bike to the back of my truck, making sure that my baby doesn’t tip over in our long ass drive. At first, I thought I’d take my bike down, but I’m so limited to what I can take with me. They’d be fuckin’ dreaming if they think I’m going to leave my flat screen TV up here.
“I don’t remember asking for your opinion.” I retort back, shutting my tailgate as quietly as I can. Just because Widow’s awake doesn’t mean the rest of the club needs to be.
His figure approaches me, and I’m only able to tell from the light that’s still on at the clubhouse door. “What do you think is gonna happen? Hmm? I saw you sneak outta her room and come straight out here. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
“It might be,” I mutter, grabbing two duffel bags off of the ground I toss them into the back seat of my truck. They sit snuggly right next to my TV. “But sometimes the greatest things come out of the chaos we go through.”
He chuckles, then shakes his head. “Never thought you were one of those romantic types.”
“Oh, I assure you. I’m not. I’m just over getting told who I can talk to, and who I can do what with Fist doesn’t own her. No one does.” I state firmly. Everyone here knows that Fist just wants to protect Camila with everything he can. All I know is that she has a dangerous past, and she’s been under protection ever since she’s been here. Fist should understand that he can’t be the only one that protects her. He won’t be here forever. Someone else is going to have to take over his task.
“Fist doesn’t own who, exactly?” His voice comes out irritated and quite possibly filled with anger. I don’t respond, and instead keep making sure everything is secure in the back of my truck. I’m yanked by the back of my neck and tossed on the pavement.
“What the fuck!?” I hiss out, glaring at the silhouette of the head man in charge. My Prez, Fist.
“I should be askin’ you that, boy. What did you think was gonna happen? No way in hell are you takin’ that girl away from here when we’ve been the only safe place she’s had to stay in years. I’m not allowing you to jeopardize her safety.” He hollers in my face, getting up and personal with me as he leans over me. Just as I’m about to speak, his fists smash against my face. First the left, and then the right. Over and over again until I hear a door slamming shut and a scream.
He lets up and rises, taking a few steps away from me. “I warned you, Boog. I fuckin’ warned you to stay away, to not push me this far.”
“Dios Mio!” Camila rushes over to my side, her knees coming into contact sharply against the pavement. I hear a small hiss leave her mouth. There’s no doubt she scraped her knees along the way. “What did he do…” Her voice goes from loud and shocked to concerned. “Why did he do this…” It’s as if she’s tuning out everything around us, forgetting that he’s still standing a few feet away.
I can feel the tightness of the swelling already beginning to start, causing a great deal of uncomfortableness throughout my face. Driving like this is going to be a bitch. There’s no doubt about that.
Camila shoots up from the ground and charges straight towards Fist. I get up quickly, grabbing her before she has the chance to maul him. I don’t even know why I stopped her. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve to get roughed up by a small little Latina. “What in the world is wrong with you?! Why do you do this to Booger? What has he done to you?!” She questions him, screaming every bit of it out. I can hear the hurt in her voice. She’s far more upset than I ever imagined she would be.
Fist coughs, “He’s trying to take you away from us, Camila, and I simply can’t allow that to happen. You’re safe here, and you’re only safe here as long as you’re under our watchful eye.”
She tries to lunge at him again, but my arms are wrapped securely around her small frame. “I am a prisoner here. Never can I leave the club. Never can I go out and do things that normal girls my age would do. I just want to have a life again, Fist. I don’t want to be anyone’s prisoner, even if it is to keep me safe.”
“I… I’ve only kept you here as a precaution. We both know your past is still looking for you, every day.” This is what happens, whenever Fist speaks to Camila about her past it’s always in some sort of code. I can put the pieces together, that something awful must have happened when she was younger. She’s been here for a few years now, and she must’ve been seventeen or eighteen when she arrived. There’s never a good story behind a girl coming into the club life that young.
“Then let him! I refuse to live my life in fear. I want to feel the sun on my face and travel to many places. I want to go to a soccer game and enjoy cotton candy. I want to live, not just watch as my life passes me by.”
“Fine, then you can go out…”
“No!” She yells, “You aren’t listening to me. I am not a child that you can give permission to. I am a grown woman who wants to make her own decisions. A woman who wants to see what it’s like to maybe date this burly biker who always flashes his googly eyes at me. I need to make these decisions, Fist. Not you. As much as I love you like the father I always wanted, I need to do these things. I appreciate every-thing it is that you have done for me over the years, but it is time for a new chapter. A chapter of change… where I can grow into the woman I am meant to be.” My arms loosen at hearing her words. I’m pretty sure this feisty girl just admitted she wants to date me. That’s a pretty big win for the day, all things considered.
Fist is silent for a few moments but begins to speak, “I just want to keep you safe. He hasn’t found you yet, and I don’t plan on him being able to.”
Camila heads straight to Fist and wraps her arms around him, hugging him closely from the looks of it. “Nothing will ever happen to me while I am with the Reapers, no matter which clubhouse I am in. I am a Reaper, Fist, and we always protect our own.” I can hear the smile in her voice as she says those words, speaking nothing but the truth. This girl sure is one of a kind.
He grumbles out something lowly and I see Camila jump up and down for a minute and run back into the clubhouse. “She’s going to get more clothes, but Boog, you’re a dead man if you even allow a bumble bee to sting that little girl. You hear me?”
“Yes, Sir. You don’t have to worry about a thing, though. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Good, cause something will happen to you in return.” I guess this is as close to a vote of support that I’m going to get, but I’ll take it cause in a few minutes I’ll be on the road with Camila, heading towards Las Vegas. Driving to the new possibilities that will await us there.
Chapter 4
YOU CAN. YOU SHOULD. AND IF YOU START, YOU WILL. -SKINNY MS
Camila
He put up the worst fight for a solid eight hours before he let me take over driving the truck. Kept grumbling on about how I’d do something to mess up his bike. So, I just assured him she’d be just as pretty as when he was driving. The funny part is, he didn’t even ask me if I knew how to drive. I had… maybe two… yep, two lessons under my belt as a teenager. Jokes on him, though.
I glance over to the passenger side and see Boog comfort-ably laying back in the seat. His face is swollen and he looks tired beyond belief. We just managed to hit Salt Lake City with all the construction that’s happening on the interstate, and I
’m deciding that it’s time for a break, and maybe a bit of shut eye.
The city is so beautiful. Truth be told, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, seeing the ridges of the mountains behind the city scene like this. If I squint my eyes hard enough, I can see the small bit of white that covers the top of the mountains. I guess it must still be pretty cold up there.
I take the truck further into the city and decide to pull over at a small little motel. It’s nothing special, but kinda reminds me of the motels we have back home in Mexico. It’s an off-white color, with rounded archways. Royal blue shut-ters grace the building, giving it a much needed pop of color.
“Where are we?” Boog asks, rubbing his eyes.
“Salt Lake City. I thought it was time for a pit stop. We both need some shut eye. Plus, why not enjoy the scenery of our long drive.”
He sits straight up in his seat and starts to unbuckle himself, but stops. “Camila, there’s no way we’re staying here. Start this bad baby back up and find us someplace decent to sleep.”
I look around the vicinity and see a couple of the doors look a little roughed up, but it’s not too bad. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in worse places than this. “Are you sure? We can make do.”
If looks could kill, I’d be a dead woman. “I appreciate that you want to save me some money, but there’s no way in hell either of us are sleeping in those seven levels of bedbug infested hell.”
I turn the truck back on, reverse out of the parking space and head further into the city. Neither of us speak a word for what feels like forever, but it can’t be more than ten minutes. He hasn’t told me where I should stop at, and I’ll admit I’m getting a bit frustrated at this point the first place I picked wasn’t good enough for him, so who’s to say that the next place won’t be either.
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