The Middle of Nowhere

by Piper Phoenix

  I tried to move towards the door but the prospect pushed against me. If only I could get out and warn my dad about all the men hiding. I could tell him to get out of here that it wasn’t safe for him. That all the president of The Wild Henchmen wanted was him.

  “Well if it isn’t Terry Vincent and his little club,” Dick yelled still wearing that stupid smile. “It’s so good to see you out here in the middle of nowhere on a day like this.”

  I couldn’t hear my dad but I saw his lips move. He had responded, but he was standing out in the open. He was a target. I closed my eyes afraid of what I’d see if they shot at him. Dick already stated that he wanted him dead. I wasn’t even sure this would be over until he was.

  “We have your daughter,” Dick shouted back, and I wasn’t sure what my dad had said but I did hear Dick’s response. He laughed, “Over my dead body!”

  I pressed my forehead down against the back of the seat and Dick knocked a knuckle against the window of the door. Both of the prospects and the driver stepped outside of the SUV. I was alone with my hands tied behind my back.

  “You can have her back… when I either see Terry Vincent step down and remove himself completely from the Brother’s Rebellion MC and turn himself over to us, or when he’s lying in a pool of blood on the ground at my feet.” Dick had his hand behind his back and I knew he was reaching for his gun. And if he pulled it there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do other than scream.

  I peeked over the seat and watched as my dad discussed something with a few of the club members he was standing near. He lowered his head and I could see his shoulders rise and then fall before he started towards the SUV with his hands lazily held up towards the sky.

  “No dad… don’t do it,” I whispered and felt a warm tear trickle down my cheek. Once they got him, they were going to kill him anyway. Maybe not right here, but eventually they would.

  “Get her out,” Dick said, and the prospect opened the door. He reached in and grabbed my arm roughly as he pulled me out of the SUV. My feet dragged against the ground as he pulled me along.

  “Dad no!” I shouted and my dad stopped. I narrowed my eyes surprised that he had listened. But then I saw something in the corner of my eye. Something was near Dick’s head. It was a gun.

  Dick looked as though he was frozen in place. He looked confused and almost a little frightened. I turned to see Stone standing there behind him with the barrel of his pistol up against Dick’s skull.

  “What are you waiting for? Get him off of me… kill him if you have to!” Dick shouted but his men didn’t move. They were afraid if they moved they’d see their president shot in the head. No one wanted to be the one to make the first move.

  Stone laughed, “You’ll be laying on the ground with a bullet hole in your skull before they can even pull their triggers.”

  Stone looked at me briefly. He didn’t want to take his eyes off of the president of The Henchmen, but it seemed he wanted to make sure I was OK too.

  I was both happy to see him and embarrassed at the same time. He probably thought I was a fool for what I had done. I was sure he wouldn’t ever forgive me for putting Stretch, myself and the entire club in danger like this. And he’d be right to do so. I should have never gotten involved in club business.

  “Go over to your old man,” Stone said nodding his head. When I didn’t move he changed his expression to one that showed me just how serious he was. “Go on now. Get out of here.”

  I started walking away, but stopped to look back to make sure I was doing the right thing. Stone nodded again, and I moved faster. The gravel under my feet crunch as I jogged towards my dad. I tried to wrap my arms around him but I couldn’t.

  He put his hand on my shoulder and then lifted two fingers and curled them at the men behind him. Two members of the club came forward and pulled me deep within the group of Brother’s. One of the two pulled out a pocketknife and cut the rope. My hands dropped, and I instantly started rubbing my wrists.

  “We’re still going to need Terry before this can end,” Dick shouted and even though I was further back I could still hear him clearly.

  “That’s just not going to happen,” Stone shouted not just for Dick’s ears before the benefit of all of his men that were out hiding too. “If anyone tries anything stupid, you’ll all be dead. We’ve got eyes on you too, well, not eyes, but guns, in the trees.”

  “We’ll take out as many of you as we can,” Dick shouted back.

  “As long as you come with… it doesn’t matter,” Stone said smirking. I wanted to scream out to Stone that it wasn’t worth it. To get out of there. He was in the middle of this and it was my fault. If we just left, maybe no one would have to die. But if a war broke out, he was right in the middle of The Henchmen. He’d never survive.

  Both clubs were on edge waiting for someone to shoot first. Dick stood there staring towards the Brother’s while Stone kept the gun against his head.

  Dick’s expressionless face suddenly shift to one of anger, “Fuck it! This is ain’t over. Hold your fire Henchmen. Hold your fire!”

  “Send your men away,” Stone shouted, and I knew he wasn’t going to drop the gun until he knew he wasn’t about to get shot in the back.

  “Let’s go Henchmen,” Dick shouted and his men put down their guns. The men started to get on their bikes and the roar of their engines starting filled the air.

  Stone wasn’t going to let Dick go until the area was cleared of at least most of The Henchmen. He stood there watching as the drove past him. All while keeping the gun firmly against Dick’s head.

  I couldn’t hear what Dick was saying to Stone, but I saw his lips moving. Stone grinned back and shoved him towards the SUV.

  He kept his gun pointed in their direction as he walked backwards towards the Brother’s. The president and the prospects got inside the SUV and drove off behind the motorcycles back down the dirt road and away from the Brother’s Rebellion.

  I watched Stone as he walked towards us. He didn’t smile, he stood next to his bike and lit up a cigarette and looked as though he was listening for the noise of The Henchmen’s bikes to fade completely.

  “Get in, Josie,” my dad growled in a low voice. I didn’t have to see his face to know he wasn’t happy with me. If he didn’t already know about the ten grand, telling him was definitely going to make matters worse.

  I sat down and moved slid over when he waved his hand at me. He glanced at me and then pulled in for a big hug. I felt like I was going to start bawling. His arms were wrapped around me and I was reminded of all the times when I was a little girl thinking he was going to hate me forever for something I had done wrong. Only he’d hug me and make things better. I wasn’t sure, but it felt like he was going to make this better too.

  “Dad, I—”

  “I know. We’ll talk about it later,” he said giving me another squeeze before letting go.

  We drove back to the clubhouse in silence.

  Chapter 17

  Once we pulled in at the house, my dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and brought me inside the house. He delivered my right into the waiting arms of my mother. They didn’t speak but I could tell by the way she looked at him that she already knew where he’d been. She looked relieved and happy to see him.

  “I’ll be back in soon… emergency meeting,” my dad said planting a long kiss on my mom’s forehead. He left the house and slammed the door before I could even mention anything about the money I’d taken from him.

  I watched out the back window as everyone in the MC went inside the clubhouse. Stone drove up to the clubhouse on his motorcycle and glanced towards the house before he went inside.

  “He’s not happy,” my mom said putting her hands on my shoulders.

  “No kidding,” I said moving away from her and turning towards the living room. I flopped down on the couch and put my hands over my face.

  Even though it was all over I don’t think I could have felt any worse. I knew I had made things wo
rse between the Brother’s and The Henchmen.

  My mom grabbed my arms and lifted my hands towards her face, “Did they do this to you?”

  I looked at my red, scratched up wrists. They felt sore, and I was pretty sure I was going to have bruises on my arms from where they had grabbed me. I hadn’t even realized how bad the marks that had been left behind were until she pointed it out.

  “Yeah,” I answered, but she already knew that they had.

  “Those fucking bastards, doing that to my little girl,” she said and disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with the first aid kit and started wiping at them with various creams.

  It felt nice to be cared for and the cool creams soothed my skin. I forced a smile, “I’m fine, really.”

  “First Troy and now this…,” my mom mumbled as she gently wrapped my wrists with gauze bandages. “What are we going to do?”

  She stood up and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes shot up towards the ceiling and then she made a small worried, frown before she walked away, leaving me alone in the living room.

  I flipped on the TV so I could be alone, without feeling like I was alone. My mom was in the other room and I was home.

  I zoned out, and at some point I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was dark and all the lights in the house were on. In the dining room, I could hear my dad talking quietly to my mom.

  “I’m just worried about her is all. Who knows what those dick asses did to her while they had her,” my mom said.

  “She’s fine, Lauren. They didn’t have her that long. She’s tough.”

  “I should go over there myself and give The Henchmen a piece of my mind. They should know better than to mess with my daughter,” my mom said, and I almost believed she’d actually do it too.

  My dad laughed, “And that’s where she gets that toughness from.”

  I stood up and stretched my arms feeling the soreness in my wrists as I made my way into the dining room. They both stopped talking and looked at me. I saw the concern on both of their faces although they both tried to hide it.

  “Did you have a nice nap, honey?” my mom asked.

  “It was fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine. But I have something I need to tell you,” I said turning towards my dad.

  “If it’s about the ten grand you owe me, we can talk about it later,” he said staring into my eyes.

  “Right. Later then,” I said and started to back out of the dining room. That had gone far better than I could have ever imagined, but now that I had to come up with ten grand I’d be stuck living here longer than I had planned. I stopped my feet and turned back towards them, “Really, I’m fine. I promise. And now I’m going to go take a shower to wash this Henchmen scum off of myself.”

  My mom took three quick steps in my direction, “They touched you! I knew it, Terry! They did something to her… I’m going to kill them all!”

  “No, they didn’t touch me, mom! Not like that anyway… I just meant I wanted to wash away the crappy thoughts of them and this day. They’re assholes and I’m afraid their asshole germs got all over my skin and clothes.” I smiled hoping that would alleviate my mom’s worries. And maybe it did because they let me leave the room without an interrogation.

  After I finished my shower, I put on some yoga pants and a T-shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror and started to think about Stone. Was he mad at me? Or more importantly, what if he would have been killed? I didn’t want things to be this way between us. I didn’t want to hide, or be afraid anymore. He should know how I feel.

  I slipped into my shoes and grabbed my keys. I reached out to open the front door and noticed my dad’s shadow looming over me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he said in a deep voice.

  “Out,” I said and almost wanted to confess everything about Stone, but I couldn’t do that, at least not yet. First, I had to talk about Stone. It wasn’t like I could make that choice for him, especially if it could potentially result in his death.

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea after what happened today?”

  “I’ll be fine. Really.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To a friend’s house… I won’t be long, I promise,” I said reaching into my purse for my cell phone, only it wasn’t there. I had left it in my car. My car that was still on top of the parking ramp. “Shit.”

  My dad reached out his hand and passed me my cell phone, “Car is in the driveway. If I get even a tingling sense that something is off, I’m sending the club out looking for you.”

  “I promise… no more stupid ideas,” I said taking my phone and dropping it into my purse. I smiled, “At least not without talking to you first. Where’s my car?”

  “Stretch drove it back,” he said tossing me the keys. “I’m not joking. Straight to your friends and then right back home.”

  “I’m not sixteen, dad,” I said rolling my eyes, kind of feeling as though I was actually sixteen again. My heart was racing at the idea of getting to see Stone.

  I waved at him and left the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he had moved the curtain aside so he could watch me as I walked and got into my car. He didn’t drop the curtain until I backed out of the driveway and shifted it into drive.

  I probably should have called Stone, but I didn’t. I didn’t even want to stop to take the time to dial my phone, I just wanted to get there and see him as soon as possible.

  When I got to his house I was tempted to pull into the driveway, but I didn’t. I parked down the street and ran towards his house. Even though I was ready to stop hiding that didn’t mean Stone would be. I had to respect that because I had no idea how my dad would react when he found out.

  He was pissed I’d went after Stretch on my own. I think he was even more pissed I had taken his money… I couldn’t then be the reason he was pissed off at Stone too.

  I stopped at the door and knocked hard. A light flicked on and I realized I was still knocking. I pulled my hand back and hoped I hadn’t woken him up. Although, truthfully, I didn’t really care if I had.

  Stone pulled open the door standing there with his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He looked down at me and for a second I thought he was going to send me away. Instead he stepped forward and pulled me into his arms.

  “That was really fucking stupid,” he said cupping my face with his large hands. He kissed me so hard and passionately that I could actually feel exactly how he felt about me. I wasn’t just another notch. He held me as though he wasn’t ever going to let me go. “So fucking stupid. I was so worried. Don’t you dare ever do that to me again!”

  “I know… I’m sorry,” I whispered, and he looked around the neighborhood and pulled me inside, closing the door behind us.

  He pressed against the door and kissed me again. I put my hand on his chest, feeling his silky skin underneath my fingertips. But I came here to talk to him, I stepped to the side and smiled.

  “I need to talk to you,” I said crossing my arms as if to say I was closed for business until I said everything I came here to say. It wasn’t like I was saying we couldn’t do other things, I was only saying, not now.

  “Me too,” he grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. His face was serious, and I started to worry that something was wrong. “We have a problem.”

  “What is it?” I said rubbing my fingers against one another.

  “Wait, I have something for you first,” he said as he stood up and disappeared down the hallway. He came back holding a little black box. “Here.”

  “What is this?” I said turning the box around in my hands.

  “Open it,” he said smiling his sexy half-grin.

  I flipped open the top and revealed a shiny, silver bracelet with a tiny motorcycle charm attached. It was beautiful, and I loved it even more because it was from Stone.

  “I saw that you liked bracelets. Like the one you had on the other day,” he said pointing to my now jewelry-fr
ee bandaged wrist. If only he knew what had happened to that bracelet, actually I’m glad he didn’t know because he’d probably go after it.

  “I do… like that that is,” I said putting on the shiny new bracelet. “I love it. It’s so beautiful. Thank you, but why?”

  “I realized something today… This is so awkward for me to say, I’m not good at this shit, but I’m fucking in love with you,” Stone said, his smile even bigger once he had said the words out loud.

  I smiled so huge my face started to hurt. I launched myself towards him and hugged him. It was amazing and I couldn’t have been happier… that was until I remembered why I had come. I looked him in the eyes.

  “But what about my dad?” I said worried that mentioning him was going to completely kill the mood. “He’ll never let this happen.”

  “I know… I think I can get him to come around to the idea. It’s going to take time, but I think I can make him see,” Stone said wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. “We have to try to make him understand.”

  “I’m in. In fact, that’s pretty much why I came here tonight. I want to be with you. I don’t want to have to hid anymore,” I said sliding my hands around his neck. “I can’t stay away from you… and I don’t want to.”

  “You consume my every thought. You’re all I want. We’ll figure this out. We’ll make him see,” Stone whispered as he leaned in and started kissing my neck. I let my body relax as our bodies started to melt into one.

  We were together and I couldn’t have been any happier than I was in that moment. I’d found something I thought I’d never find again, and I found it in the last place I expected.

  Stone lifted me up off of the couch and smiled that sexy smile at me. I couldn’t stop smiling back as he carried me down the short hallway and straight into his bedroom.

  We’d make this work. We’d find a way to make my dad understand. We’d be together.

  Always.