by Brook Wilder
“Emmett, hurry,” I said as I pulled him to his feet. He was still groggy, but at least he was now also upright and moving. We both started to cough as thick black smoke began to fill the trailer.
I pulled him toward the back window and tried to undo the clasps. The fire must have reached the trailer by now because I cursed and pulled my hand back at the heat that radiated from the walls. Without missing a beat, Emmett sent is hand flying through the glass hard enough to create an opening for us to tumble out. We landed on the ground miraculously missing a batch of burning debris just to our right. Though all I wanted to do was sit and catch my breath, I jumped up and pulled Emmett to his feet. We barrelled into the woods with no clue as to where we were heading. All I wanted to do was put as much distance between me and that burning trailer as possible. Tears were streaming down my face and Emmett hadn’t stopped coughing.
I finally stopped by a large tree and slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Emmett stayed upright and leaned against the trunk. Some of the terror was starting to recede as the realization that we’d actually escaped started to sink in. I listened carefully, afraid that maybe someone had followed us, but heard only the sound of the woods around us.
“We made it,” I gasped. Emmett took a large rattling breath and sat down beside me.
“The question is, where do we go next?” he said.
“Let’s think about that in a second and focus instead on just getting out of this forest.”
After we rested for a few moments, we stood again and started to pick our way back to the trailer. I had been against that plan, but Emmett made the point that the only way we’d find his bike was by passing the trailer again.
Chapter 22
“Shit,” Emmett said as we stepped back into the clearing. The fire had died down a little, but there were still patches of flame scattered around the property.
“Thank God we weren’t in a drought,” I said. “They could’ve started a forest fire.”
The trailer was covered in a layer of black soot and parts of hit had started to deform and twist from the heat. I shuddered to think of what would have happened to us if Charles hadn’t helped us escape.
“Let's just get to the bike, if it’s still there,” Emmett said. “There’s no point in hanging around.”
We continued through the forest as quietly as we could, just on the off chance that there was someone still guarding the area. We made it to the road safely and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the bike still standing in it’ hiding place.
“Someone obviously found it,” Emmett said with a frown. He was right, the bike had been covered when we left it but now it was just sitting out in the open.
“Look,” I said, pointing at the seat. There was a scrap of paper there, held down by a rock. Emmett picked it up and read the note aloud.
“We left the bike, but two of us are supposed to come back to get it later,” he said. “Bring it back to Black Rock, but park it at the abandoned gas station at the edge of town. I’ll take it from there. Stay safe and keep low. Charles.”
“Why don’t we just run?” I said. “We can stay at that motel then make a break for California. So long as the Martyrs think we’re dead, we can go anywhere.”
“They took my wallet, Liv, and your purse burnt up in that fire,” he replied. “We don’t have any money, credit cards, or ID cards. I’ll be surprised if we’ll even have enough gas to get back to Black Rock.”
I looked around aimlessly, wondering how often this road was used when something caught my eye.
“Well, I think I just solved that problem,” I said as I walked over to a pile of gas containers the Martyrs had abandoned by the side of the road. After scavenging them all, we were able to come up with one full container which Emmett said would be enough to at least get us within walking distance of Black Rock.
“I also have this,” I said as I pulled a wrinkled twenty dollar bill out of my bra. “I try to at least keep something just in case my purse gets stolen.”
“Perfect, We’ll be able to at least get back in town. We’ll need to go to your place. I doubt Wendell will have anyone guarding it, and I can’t exactly just walk back into the club compound.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “But let’s get going. I want to get as far away from here as possible.”
It took longer than our trip out but we finally rolled into Black Rock just after the sun had set. We pulled into the abandoned station as instructed and walked the rest of the way into town. I never thought I’d be glad to see this dusty old town, but it was like a paradise now, considering all I had been through today. Despite using back roads and avoiding the street lamps, we almost got spotted twice on our walk to my apartment. Pretending I was dead was going to take some getting used to and I realized that we were going to essentially be in hiding for the foreseeable future.
We made it safely to my doorstep, though, and I collapsed onto my couch the second we stepped into the living room. My conscience, which sounded an awful lot like my mother, chided me for not being a better host to Emmett, but I just couldn’t summon up the energy. He seemed fine and wandered into the kitchen. He brought back two glasses of water which I sucked down greedily as he sat next to me on the couch. I turned on the T.V. just for the background noise and we both just sat there passively watching the evening news.
“Can I use your phone?” Emmett said after about an hour. “I just want to call my ex and make sure everything’s ok.”
“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” I asked.
“She’s always hated the Martyrs, Wendell especially, so I doubt she’d talk to them willingly. I’ll make sure she knows not mention that I called her if that’s what you’re worried out. I just wouldn’t put it past Wendell to send someone out to rough her up as payback.”
“If it’s what you need to do,” I said. “Then do it. There’s a phone in the kitchen and I also have a line in the bedroom if you want more privacy.”
“Thanks, Liv,” he said as he stood.
“One last question, real quick,” I asked. “Why do you not call him Capone? Everyone else does.”
“Because it’s a stupid nickname that only feeds into his delusions.”
Before I could respond, he turned and made his way back to my bedroom. I fought the urge to eavesdrop at the door. Instead, I let my mind start to work on comprehending everything that happened today. Knox was gone, on the run and who knows where, and the Devil’s Martyrs thought us to be dead. I honestly wasn’t sure what our next move would be. The obvious answer was to get the hell out of dodge, which was doable. I could sneak down to the bank tomorrow and empty my savings account. It wouldn’t be much, but it’d be enough to go somewhere. I’d have to get some sort of message to Jon, though, to let him know what had happened. I tried to tease that problem out but was interrupted by Emmett suddenly storming out of the bedroom.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my mind immediately jumping to the worst possible outcome. Emmett’s face was beet red and contorted into a mask of rage.
“That bitch wouldn’t let me talk to my daughter!” he growled as he paced the length of the hallway.
“Oh, so I take it they’re safe?” I said as I let out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, they’re fine. She said a couple of guys came over earlier that day looking for me, thinking that I might run to her. They thankfully left her alone after she said I wasn’t there. It scared her, though. She’s now decided that I’m too dangerous to be around Lizzy.”
“So she wouldn’t even let you talk to her?”
“No, she said Lizzy was asleep and didn’t want to wake her up.”
His face had relaxed now and it seemed that the pacing had used up all of his angry energy. He slid back down next to me and bent over to put his face in his hands.
“After all this shit I’ve been through, that we’ve been through, I’m still no closer to seeing my Lizzy again.”
“It’s alright, Emmett,” I said as I stroked
his back. “We’ll figure something out. All of this will blow over eventually, then Jon can help you win back better custody rights.”
Emmett looked up at me and I saw tears starting to well in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t speak and, instead, looked deep into my eyes. I gazed back, wanting nothing more than to soothe his frustration. When he pulled my head toward him and placed his lips on mine, I melted into the kiss, thankful for the delicious oblivion his touch offered me.
Chapter 23
We moved slowly, methodically through the motions of the kiss. The frantic and blossoming energy that had colored our last love making session was gone and replaced with a somber hunger. My need, and Emmett’s too as far as I could tell, was a selfish one born out of a need to forget. As our tongues started an almost mechanical dance, I forced all other thoughts out of my mind and tried to focus only on Emmett’s touch.
As if we read each other’s minds, we decided to shed our shirts at the same time. When his bare skin brushed against mine, goosebumps rose on my arms. I was thankful that despite all the awful events of the day, his touch could still send jolts of electricity through me. We had been sitting side by side up until now, but Emmett suddenly pulled me onto him so that I was sitting on his lap with my legs straddling him. The kissing continued and his hands started a wandering exploration of my bare back. He pulled his lips away from mine and began working on my neck and chest, leaving a trail of small kisses all over me. I arched my neck upwards, giving him more real estate to work with and moaned gently from the pleasure he was giving me.
Without warning, he stood, his strong arms bearing me up with him. I expected him to carry me back to the bedroom but, instead, he laid me gently down on the plush rug in front of the couch. He began to undress completely, and I followed his lead, wiggling out of my jeans. When we were both fully naked, he stretched out on top of me. His hair spilled around my face bringing with it the smell of smoke and sweat. As we kissed, I could feel him hardening against me and dig into my skin. I yearned to have him inside of me again and the just the thought of that made me suddenly wet. Without breaking our kiss, Emmett brought his arm down through us and let his fingers slide down my cleft. He gave a grunt of approval as he felt my slickness and I let out a moan as his thumb found my clit. Each circular stroke sent a wave of pleasure through me and I felt myself finally relaxing. He stopped suddenly, jarring me out of my trance, and rolled over so that I was straddling his waist. I closed my eyes as I stretch upward, enjoying the feeling of the cool apartment air on my skin.
I felt him fumbling beneath me and when I opened my eyes again, I realized he had somehow slipped a condom on. I took the hint and guided myself over him before I slowly slid downwards. I sat still for a moment, simply enjoying the way he felt inside me. Showing his impatience, Emmett placed his hands on my hips and started guiding me in a rocking motion. I obliged, increasing my speed and grinding myself against him. I shifted around slightly until I found the best angle. Little moans were escaping me and I looked down to see Emmett’s face contorted in concentration. I continued riding him, each pass of my hips adding to my climbing bliss. When I couldn’t take it any longer, I let go, my body spasming from the pleasure.
This time, Emmett didn’t come with me and I squeaked in surprise when he roughly flipped me around so that I was on my hands and knees. He continued thrusting harder with every passing second, and I found myself climbing again. I cried out as another orgasm took me by surprise. We were both moaning now, and with one last thrust, it was his turn to orgasm. He cried out as his body went rigid against me and I felt my limbs turn to jelly when he let go of my hips.
We both collapsed onto the floor and laid next to each other in a panting, sweaty mess. When I felt like I could move again, I scooted closer to him and laid my head on his chest. We stayed that way for a while, and I enjoyed feeling the rise and fall of his breath.
Chapter 24
It was much later when I opened my eyes and realized we had both dozed off on the living room floor. I sat up and stretched while Emmett’s eyes fluttered open. I gave him a loving look, but the moment was ruined by a grumble from my stomach.
“I could stand to eat, too,” he said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.
“I think I have the ingredients for spaghetti in the house,” I said. “We probably shouldn’t go wandering around outside right now, considering we’re supposed to be dead.”
“Spaghetti sounds great,” he said as he stood. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a quick shower first. I don’t think I can stand smelling like a campfire a second longer.”
“That’s fine, I’ll get dinner started,” I said as I headed for my bedroom. I pulled out a fresh pair of pajamas and realized with a pang of regret that I didn’t have anything to loan Emmett.
I shoved the thought out of my mind and started the water boiling. By the time Emmett emerged from the shower, dinner was ready and we sat silently in the living room while we ate. After we had finished and cleaned up the kitchen, Emmett and I were in my bed relaxing and catching up on the news. I usually wasn’t one to watch the local news channels, but after what had happened over the past few days, I was curious to see how much had leaked out to the general public. As we watched, I was struck by how surreal the moment was. We had both relaxed into an easy domesticity with each other and Emmett sitting here in bed next to me seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I sighed and snuggled closer to him and it felt like nothing out of the ordinary had happened today. My moment was crushed, though, when an image of a burning forest snapped onto the screen.
“Oh, look,” I said, pointing at the television.
Knox’s trailer fire had made the news. The reporter stated that fire teams were able to control the flames enough so that it didn’t spread. They were investigating it as arson which wasn’t surprising considering how many gas canisters we left by the side of the road.
“I wonder if they’ll look to the bikers,” I said. The police apparently had little to go on save for the vast amount of footprints leading away from the scene.
“They will, more than likely, but they do that any time there’s a big fire or break in,” Emmett replied. “The police just kind of always assume the Martyrs are behind anything criminal. For good reason, though.”
The news continued, cycling through several other pretty banal stories. The last story of the night, though, was a real shocker. I knew something was bad when they showed a picture of the courthouse with smoke billowing out.
“Today the Black Rock Courthouse was attacked,” the reporter said. “A bomb was detonated at three o’clock this afternoon, leaving two dead and five seriously injured.”
“Oh no!” I gasped. Emmett’s hand found mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Mr. Fulbright, the head of the targeted law firm, survived the bombing and remains in critical condition at St. Mary’s hospital,” the reporter continued. “The police have already taken several eyewitness accounts, but have yet to release a statement on the perpetrators. We urge anyone with information on this attack to call the tip hotline listed on the screen below.”
I sat in stunned silence as the evening news ended. Emmett reached over me for the remote and clicked the set-off, plunging us into silence. He then put his arms around me and pulled me tight to his chest. As soon as my face hit his shirt I let out huge, racking sobs as fat tears spilled out of my eyes. It was one thing to fear for my life, but I never thought that Jonathan would get drawn into this mess. Who else were the Martyrs going to hurt because of me? My family was thankfully thousands of miles away, but were they really safe? In that moment, I finally understood Emmett’s fear for his daughter. I just wasn’t sure how he could continuously live with that terror hanging over his head.
“Why would they do that?” I asked numbly after my sobs had calmed enough for me to speak. I’d completely soaked through Emmett’s tee shirt with my tears.
“Because that’s how Wendell works,” Emmet
t said grimly. “He took us out, now he’s working backward and targeting anyone involved in Knox’s case. I just hope he leaves Lizzy alone.”
“Me too,” I whispered.
We sat on the bed for a while longer just holding each other. We gradually scooted down on the bed until we were lying down facing each other, our arms wrapped tightly around each other. A deep and dreamless sleep claimed us quickly, which was no surprise considering how physically and emotionally exhausted I was.
Chapter 25
We woke up early the next morning just as the first rays of sunlight were peeking through the bedroom blinds. Neither of us had set an alarm, and I certainly wasn't an early bird, but it just seemed natural. We dressed and prepared for the day in silence and an anxious cloud seemed to be hovering around the two of us.