by Zoey Parker
“He tell you that?” he scoffed.
“Yes,” Brittany confirmed stiffly. “He did. When it should have come from you. It should have been you who told me, Zack. How could you keep that from me?”
“Because it doesn’t concern you!” Zack was so angry he feared he might spontaneously combust, splattering all those around him with his feeble innards. “Brittany, do you have any idea how hard it was when Mom and Dad died? Of course, you don’t. I shielded you from all of that!”
“I didn’t ask you to!” Tears were sparkling in Brittany’s eyes, her mouth down-turned in anguished sorrow. “You chose to take that burden on, Zack.”
“What choice did I have? I had to protect you, Brittany. To take care of you.” Something unpleasant crept up Zack’s spine as he spoke. It reached his mouth and left an unpleasant taste there. He realized that he resented his sister for unknowingly stealing his childhood from him. For her, he had sacrificed so much ,and now she repaid him by bringing his enemy to his home.
“I did it all for you,” he wanted to be free of his burden, to be free from all the responsibilities which had weighed him down for so many years.
“Let’s just kill the fucker and be done with it,” Jameson took a menacing step forward, raising his crowbar to eye level.
“Wait,” Zack pushed him back. Brittany looked so defeated, faced with his anger. Her pretty faced crumpled, and she was once again a little girl lost in the world. Zack remembered the day their parents had died, how she’d wilted against him and cried herself hoarse. He’d vowed at that moment, to always take care of her, to always love her.
“If he’s come all this way, the least we can do is hear him out.” He stepped aside, allowing a bemused-looking Brittany and Max to enter the house.
“Seriously?” Jameson contested angrily. “If the pack hear about this, they’ll fucking kill us, you understand?”
“Well they won’t hear about it from me,” Zack said sternly. “Will they hear about it from you?”
“Shit, no,” Jameson shook his head and closed the front door, sealing them all inside the little house. “I don’t have a death wish.”
“So why are you here?” Zack addressed Max, folding his arms across his chest. “And no bullshit. I want the truth.”
Chapter Ninety-Two
This was the first time Max had been in Brittany’s family home. There was evidence of happier times in the framed pictures on the walls. He reached for her hand and locked it in his own. Her brother’s scarred friend was worryingly close, still gripping a crowbar. If things went south, Max knew that he couldn’t take both men on. All that mattered was keeping Brittany safe.
“Tonight there’s going to be trouble in Colridge,” Max announced stiffly. It felt wrong to betray his pack this way, to speak with Reaper members on reasonable terms. He had to keep reminding himself that he was doing it for Brittany. It was all for Brittany.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Zack snarled.
“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” Max continued, hoping he could somehow reach Brittany’s brother and convince him not to go.
“Good,” the crowbar-wielding friend grinned excitedly.
“Not good,” Max shook his head sadly. “It’s a fight few will be walking away from. Which is why I’m not going. Instead, I’m leaving town with your sister.”
Zack’s glance flicked between the couple, darkening with unease.
“You’re what?”
“We’re leaving town,” Brittany stepped in.
“You mean you’re going on the run?” Zack clarified coldly. “Putting my sister in danger because you’re too chicken shit to fight?” the look of confusion crossed his wicked eyes.
The scarred friend laughed wickedly at this.
“I’ve begged him not to fight,” Brittany said defiantly. “And now I’m asking you the same thing. Zack, why does this pack demand loyalty to the point where it would cost you your life? Can’t you see how mad that is? Please, just cut your ties with them, and then we can all be free.”
“Sweetheart, this isn’t the kind of club where you can just opt out of membership,” the friend told her sharply.
“There’s only one way you stop being a Red Riders member,” Zack agreed. “And that is if you die.”
“Do you hear how insane you fucking sound?” Brittany raged, her pretty face pinched with anger. “If Max can be man enough to walk away, why can’t you?”
“Walk away?” Zack was staring directly at Max now, his eyes cool and impassive. “Is that what he told you? That he’s just walking away? Then why are you two kids having to flee town? It’s because you don’t just walk away from the Kings or the Red Riders. His own pack will hunt him down for desertion like the dog he is.”
“Desertion? You’re talking like this is a war!” Brittany blurted heatedly.
“It is a war!,” Zack snapped. “We’ve been at war for a long time, Brittany, and tonight it all comes to an end. One pack will be victorious, and that pack will end up ruling over the whole state.”
“Do you listen to yourself? You sound like a madman!” Brittany was starting to cry, tears shimmering as they died on her cheeks.
“Brittany,” Zack raked his hands through his hair, calming slightly. “The Red Riders, they are my family now. After Mom and Dad died, they took me in, they let us keep a roof over our heads when anyone else would have forced us into foster care. I owe them everything, can’t you see that?”
“No,” Brittany was shaking her head, refusing to believe her brother’s words. “I’m your family, Zack. It’s always been you and me against the world.”
“Doesn’t look that way now, does it?” Zack’s voice hardened as he once again locked eyes with Max. “You’ve chosen your family, and I’ve chosen mine.”
“If they stay here any longer, we’re going to be found out,” the friend stated fretfully. “We were supposed to be in Colridge a half hour ago.”
Zack groaned in frustration.
“Jameson, go load up the bikes,” he dismissed his friend.
“You sure?” Jameson lingered for a moment, staring at Max.
“Yes,” Zack nodded. “Go.”
Jameson hurried outside, the door banging loudly behind him as he left.
“Please, Zack, please don’t go tonight,” Brittany pleaded, her voice high-pitched with urgency.
“If I stay or go, either way, I’m a dead man.”
“Zack -” she moved towards him, but he ignored her to hold Max in a steady gaze.
“You should set her free,” he told him. “Walk away from her tonight. Otherwise, your problems are just going to follow her around, as they will you. You’re putting her in danger, and you know it.”
Max clenched his jaw and counted slowly to ten. He wasn’t putting Brittany in danger, was he? He thought he was finally setting them both free. He doubted the Skeleton Kings would really hunt him down. He was leaving town as a precaution. After all, his uncle might not even live to see the morning. So much was riding on the fight that night, but Max couldn’t think about all that. He had to focus on what was his and what was real, and that was Brittany.
“I’ll always keep Brittany safe,” Max swore. And he meant it. He’d sacrifice his own life to protect her if he had to.
“Then get the hell out of here,” Zack gestured towards the door.
“No,” Brittany flung herself against her brother, her small arms reaching for his shoulders. “Don’t do this, Zack. Don’t fight tonight, please. I can’t lose you.”
With one swift movement, Zack pushed her off.
“Zack, please,” she was sobbing as she folded, drooping towards the ground. Max scooped her up, pressing her against his broad chest.
“You understand, don’t you?” Zack looked up at Max. Brittany’s brother looked so drained, like a man resigned to his fate. “They gave me everything,” he continued. “They took me in, they made me one of their own.”
“Yeah,” Max replied gru
ffly. “I do understand. The Kings, they did the same for me. At a time when I had nothing and no one, they stepped in. Back then, they seemed like heroes, angels even. But now I’m older I see it for what it was – they took advantage of a desperate kid to mold me to their will. I’m just a pawn in their never-ending game of vengeance. They never cared about me; they just wanted me to believe they did.”
Something changed in Zack. His eyes misted and his gaze became distant. Max dared to hope that he was actually starting to get through to him.
“We can’t be held to promises we made as desperate children,” he added gently. For a moment, Zack looked like he agreed. But then the moment passed and he was once again wearing his hardened mask of indifference.
“I don’t break the promises I make,” he stated darkly. “Now get the hell out of here while I’m still inclined to remain loyal to my sister, first and foremost. The only reason you’re still breathing is because she clearly cares about you.”
“Don’t do this,” Max pleaded. “Brittany is your family, think about her.”
“I’m sorry.” Max wasn’t sure if Zack was apologizing to him or Brittany, or both of them.
The front door opened and Jameson peered inside.
“Bikes are loaded and ready to go,” he informed Zack.
“Okay, good, let’s move,” Zack nodded at him. Brittany was still sobbing, shaking against Max’ chest.
“Don’t do this, man,” Max pleaded again. “Think of your sister.”
“I am,” Zack replied tersely as he strode towards the front door. “I always have been. That’s the problem.”
Zack was now in the doorway preparing to leave.
“Since you won’t leave, then we will.”
Max opened his mouth to object, but his words were drowned out by the roar of Jameson’s motorcycle as he drove out of the driveway, shortly followed by Zack. All Max could do was watch them leave and hold Brittany up against him. Zack and Jameson were now en route to Colridge and the fight that awaited them there.
“You tried,” Max reassured the weeping woman in his arms. “You did your best, Brittany.”
Looking out at the road beyond the house Max thought of how Zack would rather risk death than defy the pack. Was Max really making a terrible decision to underestimate how vengeful the Skeleton Kings might be to him? If Alex lived to see another day he’d surely be looking for someone to blame for the deaths of any of the Reapers members, and Max’s absence at the fight would make him the perfect target. Fear gnawed at the base of his neck, urging him to move.
“We need to get the hell out of town before shit hits the fan,” Max told Brittany, unhooking her from his embrace and gently guiding her back through the front door towards his bike. They didn’t have much time.
Chapter Ninety-Three
“No,” Brittany cried stubbornly, wriggling free of Max’ grip. Around them, the evening was still and silent, Zack’s motorcycle having roared away into the distance.
“He’s coming back,” she started to move towards the house, unwilling to leave.
“Brittany,” Max turned to her. She refused to acknowledge the pity in his eyes. Her brother was going to come back. He’d abandon his pack for her, just as Max had.
“Zack is coming back,” she folded her arms across her chest and raised her chin defiantly. “He’s just pushing my buttons. Any minute now he’ll come speeding back down this road wearing his usual cheeky grin.”
Just like he used to when he was younger. Back then he was always testing the boundaries with their parents, seeing how far he could push them. After an argument, he’d leave the house amid a tornado of curse words and scowls, threatening to leave and never return. Brittany would watch him go, tension enveloping her young heart like prickly thorns. But Zack never made good on any of his threats. He’d always return within the hour like the prodigal son, smiling as though the previous argument had never even happened. And her parents always forgave him, grateful that he came back.
“Any minute now,” Brittany repeated, nodding towards the road which remained painfully silent. She imagined Zack pulled over on the roadside somewhere, laughing with his friend about how upset she’d been, pleased that he’d put on a convincing display.
“We need to go,” Max’ hand was on her shoulder, his words warm but stern.
“No,” she shook her head. Zack was coming back. He wouldn’t just leave her like this. This wasn’t how they were going to say goodbye. He was coming back.
“Your brother is loyal to the Red Riders to a fault,” Max continued, scratching at his chin with his free hand. “You pushed him to choose between you both, and he chose the pack.”
“No, he didn’t,” Brittany snapped. She refused to believe it. She could already feel the waves of grief swelling up inside her, threatening to drown her as she stood in the driveway, which had once felt so familiar and reassuring but now was alien to her. Dark shadows bordered her on every side, mocking how she’d once found security in such a place.
“I know this is hard for you,” Max was moving away from her now, swinging himself up onto his motorcycle. “But sweetie, we’ve got to go. “If we linger here too long, we might run into someone we don’t want to see.”
“He’s coming back.”
“They’ll kill us if they find us,” the bluntness of Max’ declaration cut through Brittany like a sword. She stared at him wide-eyed.
“I’ve abandoned my pack at a crucial moment, such an act is unforgivable in their eyes,” he continued. “They will kill me to make an example of me. And then they’ll kill you to taunt your brother. And our deaths won’t be swift. Both packs prefer blades to guns.”
Brittany noticed the freshly stitched wound on Max’ head which was caked in dried blood. She bit back tears.
“Get on the bike,” Max ordered. She wanted to stay, to wait in the driveway for Zack’s inevitable return, but fear was now seeping into her bones. She didn’t want to die beneath some stranger’s blade because of her own stubbornness and naivety. Quickly she headed to Max and climbed up behind him on his bike, pressing herself tightly against him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hold on tight,” he instructed before kick starting the bike. The engine grumbled and then roared like a beast which had suddenly been awakened. They pulled out of the driveway and then careened off into the night, taking the opposite direction to Zack. While he had been heading north towards Colridge, they would be taking the South route to avoid detection. Brittany could feel the wet heat of her tears soaking her cheeks as they rode off into the night.
Chapter Ninety-Four
Max had no idea where he was going. He was just driving. He was driving hard and fast and putting as much distance between him and Colridge as possible. The lights on the highway blurred as he picked up speed, the roadside becoming indecipherable. He weaved through traffic, the wind tousling his hair. Behind him, he could feel the pressure of Brittany pressed against him. It felt good to have her so close, so near. She was safe and that was all that mattered. But how long before that changed? How long before Henry went back on his word or before Alex realized that his nephew was missing? Would they forsake the fight at Colridge to search for him? Max doubted it. The battle was too important. As long as he was long gone by the time the dust settled he’d be okay.
Nerves made his entire body feel unpleasantly tight. He was suddenly adrift without a clear path, just as he had been when his mother tossed him out. He remembered that panicked feeling of abandonment, how it had opened up within his teenage self like a cavernous black hole, threatening to consume every inch of him. But he’d made it back then and he was going to make it now. Because he wasn’t alone this time. He had Brittany, and they loved one another. Surely that was enough of a foundation to create a fresh start?
As he continued to drive, Max mentally counted how much money he had on himself. Hundred and fifty dollars, two hundred at most. He always travelled with a considerable amount of cash on hi
m, a habit he’d picked up since riding with the Skeleton Kings. You never knew when shit was going to go south and he’d need to hold up in a motel for a few nights and lay low. And that was his plan now. Get the hell out of town, out of the state and find a quiet motel somewhere he could hide away in with Brittany. He felt comforted at the thought of them sleeping together in the same bed behind a locked door. He’d keep her safe. The blade he’d shoved into his boot reminded him that he’d do anything to protect her if it came to it.
Chapter Ninety-Five
It was chaotic in the bar when Henry made his way back inside. The entire Skeleton Kings gang was present and becoming increasingly rowdy. At the bar, Alex was doing his best to calm his troops, but his efforts were in vain. The monster he’d created had now taken on a life of its own.