by Sara Crest
“Look, fellas” I said hanging my phone up on Barron. “I was just looking for the Freedom Riders and-”
“Yeah sure you were pal. Get damn near half of us killed or hurt and the first thing you want to do is join back up with us? You were probably just inside trying to get your money before you really bailed out.”
They were minutemen out with a job to do, take me away by force. I didn’t know where it was they wanted to take me but I had to go and talk to Walsh, I couldn’t let them do it.
“If you tell me where everyone went I’ll go and meet with Walsh. It’s very important that I go there on my own and that Walsh knows that it was my choice to come back.”
He pulled a gun out on me, a sawed off double barrel shotgun. With the way he was pointing it at me I’m sure he’s done it a thousand times before.
“And it’s very important that we don’t mess this up. Walsh gave us specific instructions; catch you and have you lead us to the girl, we’re all gonna take you to the Empire MC and sort shit out. That’s exactly what we’re going to do here, you might have fucked up your job but we won’t fuck up ours.”
I discreetly reached my hand behind my back to grab my revolver, I had no intention of killing either of them, but I couldn’t let them keep me hostage.
But when I reached behind my back I felt nothing, my gun wasn’t there.
Shit, I gave it to Emma for protection and never got it back. How the fuck could I make such a rookie mistake.
She was right, I came to them and they immediately wanted to sell me out to them. I was naive, I should have listened to her, I was blinded by my own love to the brotherhood and now I had no way of even escaping.
“Now are you gonna be good, get on your bike, and take us to that broad of yours? Or are we gonna have to tie you up and drag you through the streets until you squal? Quite frankly after the amount of blood I saw on the street today you don’t even deserve a choice.”
“What if I don’t believe you? What if you’re just going rogue and taking matters into your own hands.”
One of them sighed and took out his phone, putting it on speaker. After a few rings I heard Walsh answer.
“Did you get that fucker yet?” he barked through the phone.
“Yeah boss, have him right here” the minuteman replied.
“Walsh you piece of shit you’re really selling me out?” I yelled back.
“Oh wow Euroboy is angry, sorry Sven it’s just what’s best for the club. You know how it is.”
“Walsh I can help fix this, give me a damn chance I know I can!”
“I’m not letting you touch this situation with a 30 foot pole you fucking coward, running away from the fight like that… You’re gonna lead these boys to that girl of yours and then you’re gonna head on over to the Empire State MC and everything will be sorted out.”
Before I could ever respond he hung up the phone.
I wanted to kick his fucking teeth in, I wasn’t going to take them to Emma though, I would lead them on and figure out a way to break free.
The more the situation sank in, the more I regretted not running away with Emma.
God I’m such a FUCKING IDIOT.
Chapter Thirty-One
(Emma)
Four motorcycles whizzed by, the sound of their engines roared before quickly disappearing over the hill. Looked like they were heading in the direction of my town, I just hoped that they weren’t involved in the gang war that was going down. All I could think about was how those four men could be the ones that killed Sven, I rubbed my eyes and tried to get the thought out of my head.
I worried for Sven, I wanted him to come back but for all I knew he was already dead. I was just in a state of confusion, do I mourn him already? Or do I keep my hopes up? I know he’s a real man who can handle himself but I don’t think a gang war is exactly his forte.
Milly grabbed my coffee from across the table and took a sip, making a grossed out face before putting it down. She never did like coffee. I don’t even know why I ordered the thing, I was so exhausted that I thought it would help me clear my head but the smell was just making me nauseous somehow. I used to love the smell...
We were sitting in an old diner, it was mostly empty with only a handful of people eating there in silence. The silence was actually starting to get on my nerves, it was like everyone was waiting for something to happen and didn't’ want to say a word in case they distracted themselves with their own ramblings and missed it.
We must have been about an hour away from our hometown and at this point I’d say we were pretty close to New Hampshire. The diner was off the side of the highway, judging by the few people inside I assumed that only truckers really came here.
I didn’t want to go stay with mom and her coworker, I didn’t want to put any more people in danger, hell I tried to convince Milly to let me drop her off to be with mom but she insisted on being with me. Reminded me of my situation with Sven.
“So where exactly are we going?” She asked me before drinking some water to wash away the taste of coffee.
I really don’t know Mill, I didn’t know any of this would happen.
I had told her everything during our drive, the only thing that people in town knew was that a gang war had suddenly erupted in our streets. Our police were corrupt so they wouldn’t do anything, and as far as I knew our state police didn’t want to risk their lives trying to contain hundreds of bikers going at each other. The unofficial word was that we had to wait until the gangs sorted it out themselves or just flat out killed each other.
“I’m so sorry Emma” Milly said as she twirled her hair around in stress. She always did that when she was stressed out.
“Why are you sorry? This isn’t your fault, hell some of this is my fault. I’m the one that should be sorry.”
“I’m sorry because he was my dad, if he never did any of that to you then maybe this wouldn’t have happened…”
I took her hand in mine and squeezed it. “Milly you did everything you could to help me, you can’t take the blame for what John did.”
I looked behind Milly to see a man in a long sleeve white t-shirt staring straight at us. When he saw that I noticed him he quickly looked down at his food. He looked around Milly’s age, and it seemed as if I could make out that he had some tattoos around his wrist and neck area. I didn’t see any motorcycles pull into the parking lot since we got here but he still gave me an uneasy feeling that made me want to leave.
“Is it… is it wrong that I’m glad he’s dead? He is dead isn’t he? You’re sure of it?” Milly asked me.
I looked away from the man, trying to put aside my superstition. “He’s dead Milly, I saw it. I’m sorry he couldn’t be a better father for you, I’m sorry that he made you grow up so fast by seeing the things he tried to do to me.”
“He would have done it to me too, I know he would have. When I pushed him off of you that last time I could see it in his eyes, for the first time he didn’t look at me like I was his daughter he looked at me like I was just a piece of meat to him. He would have used you and then came for me… and even if he didn’t come for me he didn’t deserve to live anymore. No man that puts his family through all of that deserves life. I just wish that his life was taken away from him by going to jail, I almost feel like him dying as fast as he did was too good for him.”
I didn’t want her to feel this way about her dad, to have such a negative outlook on life at only 18, but there wasn’t much I could say. In a lot of ways what she was saying was right.
“We just have to look towards the future” I told her. “John is in the past, once we put all of this behind us then we can start living our lives… once we figure out where to go from here we can-”
My phone started to ring, interrupting me, I quickly hit the button to put it on vibrate without even looking at who was calling me.
“You’re not going to check who it is?” Milly asked.
“Mom went to sleep so she wouldn’t be calli
ng, it’s probably just someone from town who wants to ask me if the rumors about me are true…” I was lying, I knew that it was probably Sven. I just felt like confirming it would make me worry about him more.
“Come on Emma, at least just check who it is.”
I took my phone out of my pocket, only to see Sven’s name on my screen for a split second before the calling ended.
“Well who was it?” Milly asked.
“Unknown number” I said lying.
The phone started ringing again and she snatched it from my hand, giving a small smirk before turning the phone to me. “Sven is an unknown number now?”
I tried to grab it out of her hands but she pulled it back. I looked behind her again to see that the man seemed to be fully paying attention to our conversation. Was it because we mentioned Sven?
“Are you going to answer him?” Milly asked.
“I… I don’t know if I should Milly. I don’t know if I can take hearing his voice again only to know that it might truly be the last time before he’s killed. He’ll be in the heart of the town right now, he could be killed at any moment.”
“Don’t you love him?” Milly asked. “Don’t you want to be with him?”
“I love him more than any man I’ve ever love in my life Milly. I’ve only known him for a short time but I feel a bond with him that I never thought I could ever have with someone. I feel a connection to him that I thought wouldn’t be possible for me to have with a man after everything I was put through. When he looks at me I feel like he knows me, when I look at him I feel like he really cares about me as a person. I just… I just can’t talk to him knowing that he’s giving it all up to be with the Freedom Riders. He says it’s only temporary but death is the most permanent thing imaginable. I want my memory of him to be the face that I kissed goodbye, not the phone call in this diner only hours before his death. I know that’s selfish but with everything that’s happened I don’t think I could live through a call like that.”
Milly looked at me for a few seconds before handing me back my phone, it seemed like she understood what I meant.
My phone starting buzzing for a third time, all I could do was stare at my screen and wonder what it was that he wanted to tell me. I wish I was a stronger woman, I wish I was strong enough to actually hear his voice in a situation like this. Ever since I met him his deep and booming voice soothed me, it made me feel like I was safe, now it would just be a reminder of what our situation was.
Maybe if I calmed myself down for a few minutes I would be able to call him back, call him and talk to him and convince him to be with me. Even if I failed to convince him before I had to try again, I was in love with him too much not to try again.
Every time I tried to calm myself down I kept looking at the man who was still staring at us. Was he following us? Did he recognize us? He wasn’t wearing any biker gear but who knows, all I knew was he was helping fuel my anxiety.
“We should leave” I said to Milly as I looked straight at the guy. “I’d feel a lot better if we put some more distance between us and the town.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
(Sven)
The two minutemen followed me all the way to Emma’s house. I was hoping I could make a break for it but they each kept a gun pointed at me as they rode with one hand.
We pulled up to her house, I knew she wouldn’t be there but it was a believable place to lead them while I tried to figure out how to break away from them.
“What the fuck is this?” one of them asked as I stepped off of my bike.
“It’s her house dumbass, I told her to hold up here quietly until things died down” I said lying.
One of them pulled a pistol out of the motorcycle bag, pointing it at me for a few seconds before tossing it over to me.
“That pistol only has one round in it, so don’t even think you can use it to kill us. Go in there and find the bitch, bring her out here and shoot her in front of us.”
“Shoot her? I thought I was just supposed to bring her to you.”
“I ain’t giving you a chance to run away with her. You’ll shoot her here and sort out how to get her to the MC later.”
I looked down at the pistol in my hand, contemplating shooting one of them knowing full well that the other would kill me instantly. As much as I was sick of killing I know I would have done it if it wasn’t for the desire to see Emma again.
As I walked up the steps I turned around to see one of the minutemen making a phone call while glaring at me, guess he was calling Walsh back to say what I was doing. I walked into the empty house, my footsteps on the hardwood floor echoed throughout the room. I knew full well that nobody was there, but at least while I pretended to look for Emma I could use the alone time to call her and find out where she really was so I could escape to her.
I took out my phone, looking behind me to make sure the other minutemen didn’t follow me inside and see what I was doing.
“Come on, come on, pick up” I muttered to myself as two calls went through unanswered.
After two more unanswered calls I heard what sounded like some motorcycles pulling up. Was it Walsh to make sure that I killed her? Sorry to disappoint but she’s miles away from here, safe and sound. You weren’t gonna get the satisfaction.
“What’s the hold up in there? Do we have to come in and get you?” I heard one of the minutemen call out.
My final call went unanswered like the rest. I didn’t know if she was ignoring me but if she did I couldn’t blame her, not after everything that I put her through tonight.
I walked out of the house to see five more bikers there next to the minutemen. I stopped in my tracks, realizing that these five men that were here were all part of the Empire State Rollers. I guess they really were gonna sell me out.
I kept my cool, I didn’t want to make the wrong move and get myself killed.
“She’s not in there, she must have gone against me and ran off” I said lying again.
“We had a fucking deal” one of the Empire State Rollers said angrily to one of the minutemen.
The minuteman gave out an exasperated sigh and sped off. The other one turned to them “well you have the one that killed your guy, I’m sure you can use him to get to the girl. It may not be the whole deal but it’s enough, take it or leave it. We’re not dealing with this shit.”
He pulled a U-turn and sped off to be with his brother, leaving me alone with the Empire Rollers.
Emma was right, they sold me out the first chance they got. I was right to want to run away deep down inside, I should have listened to her. This wasn’t a brotherhood anymore it was a goddamn farce.
“Get on your bike, we got somewhere you gotta be” one of them said as 2 of them got off their bikes and ran past me into the house.
I looked at the three Empire Rollers in front of me. Looks like I was really about to meet Clay.
Chapter Thirty-Three
(Sven)
We were only a few minutes away from the motel where I shot John when the three Empire Rollers pulled me over. This far away from town it was pitch black but I could see the light emanating from the motel in the distance.
“Get off your bike” one of ordered. I glared at him for a few seconds before I got off, I fucking hated taking orders, especially from assholes like this.
As I got off I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, that had to be Emma. I wanted to answer it but I couldn’t with these men around. I just hoped they wouldn’t hear it vibrating and use it to track her down.
One got off of his bike and took out some rope, tying it tightly around my wrists. I knew what was coming, these fucks were gonna drag me the rest of the way there.
He walked over to my bike and opened up the gas tank. One of his brothers handed him a piece of paper and he rolled it up and stuffed it into the opening of the tank.
“You might want to step back” he said turning to me with a shit eating grin on his face.
He lit the end of the paper, I ru
shed over to try and pull it out with my bound hands but one of the men punched me hard in the stomach causing me to fall to my knees.
I thought about reaching for the pistol the two minutemen had given me, using my one shot to shoot the bastard that just sentenced my ride to a fiery death. I hesitated to pull it out, thinking I might need it to use on Clay if I had to.
I watched the flame engulf the paper and move closer to entering my gas tank. I had that bike since I joined the freedom riders, and it was about to go up in smoke just like my trust for the brotherhood.
I sat there on my knees and I watched the bike explode into a fireball before being completely engulfed in flames. The bastard that lit it started laughing before patting me on the back and getting on his ride, I looked at his face, I’d get him back somehow.
“You guys can handle him right? I’ll meet you all back at the motel.”
He sped off and left me alone with just two of the men. I felt my phone begin to vibrate again but the sound of the fire helped mask the noise, I wondered if I would ever be able to hear Emma’s voice again.
The two got on their bikes, tying the other end of my rope to the back of one of their motorcycles before speeding off.
I watched as the slack on the rope became shorter and shorter, in a few seconds it would pull my along and give my the wildest ride of my life.
Never did I think I’d be bound and dragged behind a motorcycle, guess there’s a first time for everything.
Suddenly the rope pulled on my wrists and in a split second I found myself being painfully dragged along the road.
My pants pocket tore open and my vibrating phone flew out onto the side of the street.
I could have been riding my bike with the greatest girl I ever met, instead I was being dragged painfully along a road pavement to a man that had the full intention of killing me.
I wanted Emma, I loved her and I needed her, I fucked up.
“Just give me one more chance” I said wincing from the pain of the road against my thigh as I desperately tried to put my feet underneath me.