His Promise

by Wilder, Brook

  Chapter 17

  Hailey brought the bike to a stop, and rolled her wrists. The air had gotten warmer, and the wind had picked up. Her hair flew around her face and her inner thighs ached from being pressed against the bike for hours. She sighed and smacked her hand against the bike. The low fuel sound had started clicking a half hour ago, and she was kicking herself for not having the sense to grab a twenty out of Rocco’s wallet.

  She sighed and looked around the gas station. It was a small mom and pops gas station on the edge of Ohio. Hailey tapped the bike and mumbled, “I guess I’m lucky that I even got this far without having to fill up.”

  She pulled her arms over her head and stretched. Hailey bent over and stretched her legs the opposite way. As she lifted her head up, she made eye contact with a man that was walking into the gas station.

  He was tall, but not too tall. He had a neat haircut and dirty blonde hair. He grinned and nodded at Hailey as he headed towards the station.

  Hailey narrowed her eyes and watched him disappear inside. She smiled and ran her hands through her hair before going into the gas station. The man was in line to pay for his fuel and a pack of cigarettes. Hailey pointed at the cigarettes and said, “Those will kill you, you know.”

  The guy turned around and chuckled. “Thanks, I already have my mom saying that to me every time that I visit her in the city.”

  Hailey turned her head to the side and grinned, “In the city? What city are you from?”

  He moved forward in line and said, “I’m from New York.”

  Hailey smiled and said, “That’s funny. I’m from New York too, well, my mom lives there.”

  “Does she nag you too?”

  Hailey giggled and said, “Only sometimes. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get there though. Did you see that bike out there?” Hailey raised her hand and pointed through the glass. She smiled and said, “I thought it would take a lot less gas to get where I need to go.”

  The guy set his cigarettes onto the counter and handed the cashier his credit card. “Are you stuck here?”

  Hailey wiped an imaginary tear off of her face and said, “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  The guy looked back and forth between the bored expression that the cashier wore and the desperate expression on Hailey’s face. He pointed at the motorcycle and said, “Give me $50 on that pump with the motorcycle beside it.”

  Hailey beamed and stepped to the side as the man moved out of line. “Thank you so much for that. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

  He shrugged and said, “It’s no problem, just be careful. If you ever want to make it up to me, you need to accidentally bump into me in New York, and let me take you to my favorite restaurant.”

  Hailey nodded and said, “Looks like I’ll have to do that.” She offered him one more smile before she stepped outside the gas station. She wore a small grin as she moved over to the motorcycle and unscrewed the gas cap.

  One last thing to worry about.

  ***

  Rocco blinked as the sunlight fell onto his eyes. He rolled over and groaned into his pillow. “Hailey, did you open the blinds or something?” He sighed and reached to the left of him. When his fingers were met with the comforter and not the feel of Hailey’s skin or the soft strands of her hair, he opened one of his eyes.

  “Hailey?” He rolled his neck as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He snatched his cell phone off of the end table and the white, blocky letters on the screen reflected the time: 10:45 AM.

  “Looks like I slept in,” he mumbled. He tossed his legs over the side of the bed and opened the bedroom door. The smell of fresh coffee hit him first. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the corners of his eyes before he moved into the kitchen.

  His eyes connected with Becca’s. Her fingers were wrapped around the handle of the coffee pot, and she held the pot up to him as he moved further into the kitchen.

  “Good Morning, Rocco. Want some coffee? I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself but it’s been so long since I’ve been able to enjoy something like coffee and donuts. There’s still a lot of grounds left in the jug-”

  Rocco held up his hand and shook his head. “You’re fine, Becca.” Rocco moved past her and opened the fridge. He pulled out a pastry and held it to his lips. Did Hailey get an early start on the day?

  He wiped his hands clean of the pastry and moved past Becca. He knitted his eyebrows together and moved towards the bathroom. He raised his hand and knocked against the door. “Hailey? You in there? Taking a shower?”

  Becca’s footsteps came from behind him and she said, “You know, I haven’t seen her yet this morning. I thought that she went for a walk or something.”

  Rocco pushed the bathroom door open and was met with the sight of the lonely toilet and empty shower. “Hailey?!” He brushed past Becca and hurried towards the front door. He opened the door and stuck his head out into the hallway. The stairwell was quiet, the usual sounds of kids running throughout the corridors and people bringing their groceries in was gone. Rocco shut the door and pulled open the door to the balcony.

  It was abandoned save for the crumbs that had been left on the wood panel the day before, and a couple of birds that eyed Rocco quizzically as he slammed the balcony door shut.

  Rocco stopped and ran his hands over his face. There’s no way that Meish or a good got in here last night and did something with her. She would tell me if she was going somewhere, wouldn’t she?

  Becca frowned and set her cup down onto the kitchen counter. “Rocco, is everything okay? I just thought that she went on a walk or something.”

  Rocco shook his head. “No, I don’t know. I have no clue where she is. Meish has got guys scanning the neighborhood, I don’t want them to run into her and take her back to the club to get me to talk.”

  He rushed into the kitchen and did a doubletake upon being met with a clean countertop where his keys normally were. He turned towards Becca and said, “Have you seen my keys?”

  Becca shook her head. “I haven’t seen them.”

  Rocco jerked his finger at the counter and said, “I left them here. I always leave them here.”

  Rocco swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat and opened the door to his apartment. He flew down several flights of stairs before he made it to the first floor. He burst through the front doors and narrowly avoided bumping into an older woman that lived in the building.

  “Fuck!” He screeched. He earned nasty looks from a group of moms that walked by with their six year olds beside them.

  Rage shot through Rocco’s body and he said, “Are you fucking kidding me?! My bike?!” He ran his eyes up and down the street and tossed his hands above his head. I don’t fucking believe this.

  Rocco headed back into the building and jogged up the staircase. He stopped just outside of his apartment and made an attempt to slow his heartbeat. She ran off with my baby.

  Rocco pushed the door open and Becca hopped off of the couch. She frowned and said, “What’s wrong? Did you find her?”

  Rocco closed the door behind him and shook his head. “Hailey’s gone.”

  Chapter 18

  Hailey’s hands trembled as she slid her leg off of Rocco’s bike. She looked around and nodded politely at a well dressed couple that walked past her on the sidewalk. Each of them held the pamphlets for a Broadway show in their hands, and Hailey tore her woeful glance away from them. Who knows, Hailey? I could have a man to go to musicals with a year from now. This could be a fresh start.

  Hailey took a deep breath and stepped onto the sidewalk. It had been five years since she last visited New York in her late teens, and the city seemed brand new to her still. While Chicago had it’s busier parts and city life, New York felt like a completely intimidating monster. She craned her head up to look at the gorgeous brownstone that she stood in front of. Her mother and stepfather had purchased their home around the time Hailey visited back in high school. She remembered feeling determin
ed to make enough money to buy a place like this one day. She took a deep breath and took a couple of steps forward. Her feet refused to cooperate for the other steps that lied in front of her.

  “Come on,” she whispered. She moved up the steps and raised her fist to knock on the door. A moment passed and when no one appeared at the front door, she mashed her finger into the doorbell a couple of times. Hailey tossed a wary glance over her shoulder. She didn’t want to be stranded outside all night if her mother didn’t open the door. She doubted that she even had the energy to figure out how to find somewhere else to stay.

  “Come on, Mom.” Hailey repeatedly jammed her finger into the doorbell and held her breath. Finally, the sound of footsteps and swears came from underneath the door. The door swung open and Hailey’s mother, a five foot ten woman with long, strawberry blonde hair, opened the door.

  “What the hell is—Hailey?” She held her arms out in front of her and pulled her daughter to her chest. Hailey breathed in the smell of the expensive perfume that had soaked into her mother’s bathrobe.

  Her mother’s shoulders shook and she pulled away from Hailey. “Hailey, oh my God, we thought you were dead!”

  “What?” Hailey asked.

  “Oh, come in, come in.” Hailey’s mother, Anna, had never been extremely maternal. With Hailey having lived with her father and gone to school in Chicago, their relationship was limited to once a month webcam chats and the occasional summer visit. Anna stepped to the side and ushered Hailey towards the sofa. She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water and a cup of hot chocolate.

  “Mom, it’s still eighty degrees outside-”

  “I don’t care, sweetie. Here.” Anna pushed the bottle and the hot chocolate into Hailey’s hands and said, “What’s going on? How did you get here? Your father has been looking for you for days.” Anna rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on her own cup of coffee. She crossed her legs and said, “And since your father refuses to leave that…. motorcycle life behind, he didn’t want to bring the cops into anything. All he told me was that a rival motorcycle club was screwing with him.” Anna shook her head, “I can’t believe that man-”

  Hailey held up her hand and said, “Mom, stop. It’s fine. I mean, yeah, things were pretty scary for a while, and a lot has been going on. I’m sorry that I made you worry so much.”

  Anna sat back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Her nostrils flared and her eyes fluttered open to reveal her glistening eyes. She put on a smile and patted Hailey on the knee, “It’s not your fault. Are you okay, though? Did anyone hurt you? What happened? Start from the beginning.”

  Hailey nodded and took a long sip of hot chocolate before she spoke. The sweet taste spread over her tongue and she took a deep breath before she said, “So, I stopped at a cafe for lunch because I was job hunting. I was getting ready to leave when Becca from before—you remember Becca, don’t you? Becca called me and told me that she wanted to meet up and apologize. I waited for her at the cafe and a little bit after we got something to eat, this van pulled up and…”

  ***

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Rocco whispered. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started to do idly type a few words into the search bar before he set his phone down. Alright, Rocco, you can’t start thinking like you don’t know what to do. Get your other bike out of the garage on twenty-eighth. I’m sure that they’ll let me in if I show them my ID.

  Becca raised her head from the magazine that she’d been scanning and said, “Are you okay? I’m sure that we’ll find Hailey. This really isn’t like her.”

  Rocco wore a sour expression and jumped to his feet. “I need to go and get my other bike out of the garage. Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

  Becca nodded and said, “I’ll be fine, I’ll keep the door locked.”

  Rocco pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway. It took all of his strength to keep his mind from wandering to where Hailey might be, if she was okay, if she was ever coming back.

  I thought that everything was going to be fine. I thought that she wanted me to take care of her. Rocco paused on the second floor. A family of two scurried past him as he stared off into space.

  He had to admit, while he was sick with worry, Hailey and the baby might be better off the farther away that she was from him. No one from the club could get their hands on her, and if she truly did run away and had planned it, she might have left with the baby’s safety in mind.

  Why wouldn’t she tell me? I would have helped her hide out somewhere. She’s been acting so strange. Rocco moved down the rest of the steps and stopped on the first floor. As he moved towards the front doors, Clyde pushed the door open and walked inside.

  “Clyde?” Rocco asked. Meish wouldn’t ask Clyde to come and check out Rocco, there was too big of a chance that Clyde’s story would be unreliable.

  Clyde set his eyes on Rocco and rushed forward. “Rocco, have you been here all of this time?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Meish is going crazy. Let’s get going and get you back to the club.”

  Rocco shook his head and said, “I can’t. Hailey took off with my bike.”

  Clyde’s lips parted and he repeated, “She took off with your bike?”

  Rocco moved towards the door and stepped outside. Clyde followed behind him and said, “What the hell has been going on for the last couple of days?”

  Rocco stepped onto the sidewalk and threw his hands in the air. “I don’t fucking know. I woke up and realized that she was missing. She didn’t leave a note or anything, and she’s off to who the fuck knows where with my baby.”

  Clyde held his hands out in front of him and said, “Alright, calm down. We’ll go get your other bike out of the garage on twenty-eighth street and-”

  “I was on my way to do that. Give me a lift?”

  Clyde nodded and walked a bit further up the street and towards his car. Clyde was one of the few riders that didn’t rely upon his bike as his main method of transportation. He pressed the unlock button on the key fob and Rocco hopped in on the other side. Clyde twisted key in the ignition and steered the car into the street. He turned to Rocco and said, “So, Hailey took off with your bike without any warning. Between looking for Becca and trying to send a couple of guys to see what you’re doing, Meish is going to go insane.”

  They turned around the corner and Rocco said, “I can’t worry about Meish right now. Becca is back at my apartment and I’m betting that it won’t be long before they send a couple more guys to look for her. I had to scare a couple of goons away from my front door yesterday.”

  Clyde sighed and said, “I can tell you one thing, Meish plans on making sure that Becca is too terrified to leave the club if he ever gets his hand on her again. You’ve got to do something about that, he’s already furious that he’s out of bargaining chips.”

  Clyde stopped the car in front of a car garage. Rocco hopped out and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Clyde was hot on his heels.

  “I know that, I need to figure something out. I haven’t even been to think about my next move other than getting my bike back.” Rocco flashed his ID at the clerk that sat in the small office and the clerk pressed the button and spoke into the microphone.

  “You can go through, sir.”

  Rocco pointed to the glass window between himself and the clerk and said, “I’ve got an extra set of keys back there for my bike. Rocco Garrett. Be quick about it, please.”

  The clerk fumbled with the lock box inside of his office and pulled out a set of keys. He pushed them through the small window on the glass between them. “Here you go, sir.”

  “Finally, something is going right.” Rocco and Clyde made their way through the parking garage. They stopped just in front of the bike and Rocco jingled the keys in his hands. “I need you to keep Meish off of my trail.”

  Clyde nodded and said, “I’ll try, but you’ve got to stash Becca somewhere. If you keep her in town, Meish is
going to find her and it won’t be pretty.” He pulled his own keys out of his pocket and said, “I need to get going. Pretty sure Meish is close to reaching over the desk and dragging me out the front door the next time I tell him that I don’t know anything about Becca.”

  Rocco sat on his motorcycle and said, “And when that happens, I’ll have to drag him over the desk myself.” He shook his head and wrapped his hand around the throttle on his bike. “I’ll touch base with you, later.” Rocco revved the engine and breathed a sigh of relief at the healthy way that his engine came to life. He’d tucked his spare bike away in this garage a little over six months ago and hadn’t made much of an effort to keep up with tune ups and the like.

  He tore out of the garage and left a cloud of exhaust in his wake.