The Middle of Nowhere

by Piper Phoenix

  I turned the car onto the top level of the ramp and stopped when I got to the end. The Wild Henchmen were all lined up waiting there for me. It looked as though it was the whole gang too. Instead of letting my shoulders slump forward like they wanted to, I stiffened my spine as I pulled forward and put the car in park.

  I was a fair distance away… what I hoped would be a safe distance. But nothing about what I was doing was considered safe. I stepped out of the car and heard more motorcycles roaring behind me. I was completely surrounded. Great. Just great.

  “Which one of you is Dick?” I shouted towards the group in front of me. I took half of a step away from the car and it almost felt as though I would lose my balance. It felt as though I was about to be forced to walk the plank.

  “That’d be me, princess.” A short, scruffy, gray haired man said stepping forward. “I wasn’t expecting such a beautiful woman. I thought Terry would send someone more hideous… taller with hairy moles.”

  His me all laughed at his words as if they thought he was the funniest man on the planet. I didn’t even crack a smile. It wasn’t funny… not even a little.

  “You didn’t need to bring your whole club for little ol’ me,” I said as I scanned the group. They were all armed, and they were all scary. Their club was a lot bigger than I thought they’d be.

  “I did… in case you were lying.”

  “I don’t lie.” Except, when I do. But hopefully they wouldn’t find that out until they were far away, back at their clubhouse. “Where’s our guy?”

  “Your guy? Are you like his old lady?”

  “No. I meant The Brother’s guy.”

  “Aw don’t worry sweet thing, he’s here.” He grinned and stroked his beard as he looked me up and down. But it wasn’t as though he was checking me out, I was pretty sure all he cared about was where I was keeping the cash. “Where’s the money?”

  “It’s here. I have it.” I crossed my arms and stared at him stubbornly. He nodded to one of his lackeys. Two of his men stepped over to a van and pulled a blindfolded Stretch out of the back.

  His face was black and blue covered in smears of fresh and dried blood. He was tough. Far tougher than I would have been. They must have been trying to beat information out of him. It didn’t seem as though they had been very successful, which would make my dad happy.

  I didn’t say anything to Stretch. He was probably already wondering who had come for him. Maybe he didn’t even know what was going on. He probably hadn’t recognized my voice either when I called or now when I spoke to Dick. It wasn’t like he was going to question me in front of everyone. He was probably assuming it was my dad’s plan, and not something I just decided to do on my own.

  “Here’s your guy,” Dick said with a flourish. “Now where’s our money?”

  “OK… OK, I’ll get it,” I said as if I was worried they might start beating Stretch if I didn’t move fast enough. Hell, they might just start beating them if they got bored.

  I held my arm up into the air as I popped and opened the trunk. When I couldn’t life the suitcase with one hand, I had to put the other down so I could yank it out of the trunk. It felt like it was taking forever, but I finally managed to get it down on the ground.

  The suitcase wobbled, and it felt like a wheel was going to break as I starting pulling it over to Dick. He raised his hand up, “Stop there.”

  Two of his men walked towards me and grabbed the bag away from me. I wanted for them to send Stretch over but they didn’t.

  “Hey!” I said throwing my hands up into the air. “Give me Stretch!”

  “It’s not that simple, cookie,” the president of The Wild Henchmen said with a laugh. “We have to check it.”

  This was where I would die. Eventually someone would find my body laying at the top of this parking ramp. They were going to take the money, take Stretch and leave me here, and they’d laugh as they drove away. That would get the Brother’s to retaliate… they’d flood their base and walk right into their trap. Maybe my dad had been right.

  I tried not to let my fear show but I could feel the sweat dripping down my face and my back. They could probably see how scared I was from where they stood. And they were probably enjoying every minute of it.

  One of the members tried to toss the bag into the back of a pickup truck but he crumpled over and grabbed his back. He’d barely even gotten it off of the ground.

  A few of the men laughed and one of them called out, “Even the chick got it out of the truck by herself!”

  More laughs rolled around until the guy holding his back shot a look at the other members. When they abruptly stopped laughing, I knew he had rank on them.

  Another member came over and lifted the suitcase into the bed of the truck while the man holding his back climbed in after it. He unzipped the case and started going through the piles of money. I almost grinned when I saw him flipping through them quickly. He was spending far longer with the stacks than I had hoped but he looked up at his president and nodded.

  I was in the clear. At least I thought I was. Dick too a step towards Stretch.

  “Wait… what’s this?” the man going through the suitcase said. My first thought was to try to run. I tried to locate the stairs… the elevator would take too long, and they’d be able to catch me easily if I tried to run through the ramp. But the stairs… maybe I was faster than these old guys.

  He held up a shiny silver bracelet, and I thought my heart quit. I couldn’t feel it beating any more. It had had enough over the last few days. It was just going to give up on me.

  I almost grabbed for my wrist but I didn’t. If I moved to check for my bracelet, they would know that at the very least, I had been there helping pack of the money. What would that mean to them? Maybe nothing… but I held still. I didn’t want them to know I had anything to do with it other than bringing it here. If they even in the least thought I was doing this on my own… well, that would change everything.

  I shrugged and then so did he. He dropped my five-hundred-dollar birthday gift from last year that my dad had gave me into the suitcase. The he zipped it away forever.

  “It all looks good, man,” he said shoving the suitcase deeper into the back of the truck. He leapt down and then closed the tailgate.

  I flashed Dick a small smile. I had held up my end of the bargain and now it was his turn.

  Instead of him sending Stretch over to me, he tilted his head. He was looking at me strangely. My stomach started to twist and turn… I didn’t know what, but something had gone wrong. Really wrong.

  Chapter 15

  “Wait. Hmm… you look awfully familiar now that I’m getting a closer look,” Dick said as he brushed his finger across his nostril and sniffed inward sharply. “Like really familiar. Do I know you?”

  I widened my eyes and stepped back, “I doubt it. I don’t know you.”

  “No… no, I do know you, but where do I know you from? Where could I have seen you before?” The Henchmen president said as he walked side to side looking up at me while he tried to figure it out.

  “I really don’t think so.” I shrugged and twisted my fingers together.

  “Do you dance over at Dirrty Devil’s Darlings?” he asked, but he scrunched up his nose as if he knew that wasn’t where he knew me from.

  I shook my head. I should have probably been insulted, but all I wanted was to get Stretch and get the fuck away from The Henchmen.

  “No, that’s not it,” he said and then he stopped walking around. He grabbed Stretch and started pushing him towards me.

  When he was about ten feet away from me he shoved Stretch with his blindfold still on. Stretch stumbled forward almost keeping his balance until he tripped over his own foot and fell face first towards the pavement.

  He had a fresh new cut on his chin, but otherwise he looked fine. I helped him up and started moving him closer to my car. I ripped off his blindfold and tossed it on the ground. He looked at me with wide eyes, but he still didn’t say anyt
hing.

  I started to work on his restraints but I was struggling to get them off. They had tied the rope so tightly I couldn’t do anything to get it off. I could see the rope was cutting into his skin. If only I would have carried a pocketknife with me.

  “Well, shit! You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dick said pointing at me.

  “Get in the car,” I whispered to Stretch as I opened the door for him.

  Dick started laughing, “Wait, wait, wait, love… what’s your hurry?”

  I closed the door behind Stretch and walked as quickly as I could to the driver’s side door, but Dick stepped in front of the door blocking my way.

  “This is almost too easy. I know you… what doesn’t make sense it what you are doing here. Your old man wouldn’t ever let you come here. Not even if you were accompanied by the entire Brother’s MC.” Dick grinned at me, showing off his yellow coated teeth. I started to back away but stopped when something pushed into the back of my head.

  “Oh shit,” I muttered and balled up my hands into tight fists. I wanted to punch, hit, kick, scream… whatever but with that gun at the back of my head I couldn’t do anything.

  “That’s right. But it’s not as bad as you think,” Dick said rubbing his palms together as if he was about to dig into a hearty meal. “He’s free to go. His freedom has been paid for. I’ll keep my end of our little bargain. But, and here’s the part you ain’t going to like… you’re coming with us.”

  I sighed heavily and nodded towards the truck that held the suitcase, “That’s all we got. There isn’t any more money.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that. Terry will find more money, especially when it comes to his sweet, little girl. Another mil maybe? Maybe I should ask for two just to see what he can pull together,” Dick said, and several of his lackeys laughed.

  “I don’t know who you think the Brother’s are but they don’t have that kind of money. And they don’t know anyone that does,” I said thinking my dad probably wouldn’t like that I told him that. He probably liked having the power that came along with money even though in the Brother’s case it was all perceived. The money didn’t actually exist. At least as far as I knew.

  My dad wasn’t here. I was, and I was about to be kidnapped, which of course was completely, one hundred percent, my own stupid fault.

  “Maybe it’s you that doesn’t know who the Brother’s are,” he said, his confident grin fading. “Let’s go.”

  I glanced back towards Stretch who was sitting in the passenger seat of my car. He was watching everything unfold. Hopefully, he’d gather as many details as he could before trying to get free and finding my dad.

  He’d be able to leave since I’d left the keys in the car, but only if he could get himself untied. If he found my cell phone in the console, maybe he’d make a phone call. Get help for me, but again, only if he could get himself untied.

  “You know what?” Dick whispered in my ear as we walked over towards The Henchmen clustered together. “I think with you, oh, I can get something even better than money. I could probably take down the entire Brother’s Rebellion MC.”

  “I really doubt that,” I said rolling my eyes. The MC was bigger than just the Greenwood Pass chapter. It would take a lot more than capturing one president’s daughter to take down the entire Brother’s Rebellion club. But it was possible he could take down the entire Greenwood Pass chapter.

  “We’ll see,” Dick said shoving me towards the prospects. “I want Terry Vincent’s ugly head on a stake in my garden.”

  They shoved me into the back seat of a black SUV with a prospect on each side of me. I had no idea who was driving, but Dick sat down in the passenger seat. He turned around to look at me and then nodded at the prospects.

  The cacophony of all the motorcycles starting up was almost enough to deafen me, even inside the SUV. I reached up to cover my ears as the SUV pulled out and followed the motorcycles down the parking ramp.

  As we went down and around and around the ramp the noises from the bikes echoed. Anyone that was walking to or from their car looked up and each one of them wore the same expression. It was a look of fear and worry. The random people could tell something was going on.

  Dick turned around and tapped my knee, “We’re going to have to tie you up sweetness, but since I like you, I won’t have them gag or blindfold you. Unless you want them to.”

  The driver laughed and then the prospects joined in. It was like sitting in a car full of hyenas.

  “Tubs probably won’t rape her… unless she’s gagged, then he probably will,” the driver said with a chuckle, but only he laughed.

  “Tubs?” I asked softly but I don’t know why I had said anything. I really didn’t want to know more about their club’s rapist.

  “Don’t worry about Tubs. Unless your dad doesn’t cooperate,” Dick said, I waited for them to laugh, but they didn’t. He was serious.

  I wished I would have put my dad’s gun in my waistband instead of leaving it in the glove compartment. It wasn’t like it would have done me any good in there. But even if I had it, I wasn’t a great shot. At best I’d probably be able to take out only one of them before my life would be ended by the three guns that would surely be pointed at me.

  I watched as we drove through the city. We passed my favorite restaurant, the park I played at as a little girl and my old high school. It felt strange to watch everything pass by from the backseat of their SUV. It was like my life was flashing before my eyes.

  Before I knew it we were out of the city and I was saying goodbye to any chance at being rescued. If they were taking me back to the clubhouse, maybe the Brother’s would come for me, but maybe it would be too big of a risk. It could take days to come up with a plan.

  If they weren’t taking me to the clubhouse, the Brother’s might not find me. I was living a nightmare.

  I wondered how far into the country we would go. How far had the Brother’s banished The Henchmen? The Brother’s owned the city but did The Henchmen own the countryside?

  I knew The Brother’s had the support of the local police department, the hospital and even political support. The Henchmen were jealous which made them even more dangerous. All I could do was hope someone would come for me and soon.

  We’d taken numerous turns. If I ever managed to escape, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea which way was back to the city. But that wouldn’t stop me from running. It wasn’t likely that with all these bikers around me, I’d get an opportunity to escape. There were far too many eyes on me.

  They took a turn down an old dirt road and that’s when I heard them. I heard the bikes in the distance. This was even worse than I could have imagined. They must have called reinforcements. What were they planning on doing to the Brother’s Rebellion?

  My stupid idea to rescue Stretch was going to lead to the massacre of my dad’s chapter of the Brother’s Rebellion. By saving Stretch I was going to manage to get everyone else killed.

  Chapter 16

  The driver of the SUV shifted in his seat, “We got a problem here pres.”

  “What?” Dick growled as he tilted his head to look out his side mirror.

  “It’s the Brother’s.”

  “Fuck!” Dick turned around and glared at me, “Did you do this?”

  “No! How could I? I’ve been tied up here with you!” I said, shaking my head vigorously. I worried that one of them might just pull out their gun and take me out right here and now.

  How did the Brother’s find out I was here with The Henchmen? Had Stretch gotten free? Maybe he was able to call my dad, or maybe they had no idea I was here. Perhaps they didn’t even know Stretch was free. For all I knew I was about to be caught in the middle of a shootout between the Brother’s and The Henchmen.

  The trees and shrubbery outside the window started to blur as the driver sped up the SUV. The world started to spin and my stomach turned. I was afraid I was going to vomit all over myself.

  “Tell them to go that way,”
Dick yelled at the driver as he pointed towards another dirt road that headed towards a forested area.

  The driver called someone on a phone and told them to take left. A car at the front of the pack I hadn’t even noticed turned and all of the bikes followed. And with that we were headed into the thick, secluded wooded area. I didn’t want to die.

  We drove through the trees until we stopped at a clearing. All of the vehicles turned to face the direction the Brother’s would drive in from. This was bad. This was really bad.

  I was afraid they were going to ambush the Brother’s, but I didn’t have any way to warn them. I would just have to sit here and watch it all unfold. They’d kill Stone and then they’d kill me dad and I wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it. And it would be my fault.

  The guys got off of their motorcycles some started running into the trees and others went to hide behind barricades and buildings. They were all pulling out their guns, except for those of us in the SUV. We stayed still, his men waiting for his command.

  I turned around and watched as the Brother’s started coming towards the clearing. They slowed their bikes and I could tell they were approaching with caution.

  “Do you see your dad out there?” Dick said and I could tell without looking that he was smiling. I shook my head. Thankfully, I didn’t see him. If he was with the Brother’s, he wasn’t on his bike. Hopefully he had been smart enough not to come.

  Even though I didn’t see him I still didn’t feel relieved, because while I hadn’t spotted Stone either, I knew he was here somewhere. He wouldn’t ever let the club go and deal with something without his help. It was just who he was. He wanted revenge. I was sure he’d be out for blood, after all they had shot him and then kidnapped Stretch.

  “Oh, good news, sugar lips, he is here,” Dick said as he opened the passenger side door and stepped out of the SUV. He stood next to my door with a big stupid smile on his face as he looked towards the Brother’s.