Raine Falling (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club)

by Marinaro, Paula

  “What the fuck was Diego Montesalto doing in that office, Ellie?” Manny was barrel-assing it out of the parking lot.

  “Who?” Ellie’s voice did not reflect the fear she felt in her heart. Only for a minute. She felt that fear only for a second. Then thought to herself: Good! Let him know what it feels like to lose someone like I lost him. He wants that half breed over me? Well, he’s not getting her now. Soon as we put her to ground, he’ll see what a mistake he made and then he’ll come crawling back to me. We can pick up right where we left off. And Manny? Well, I’ll just have to make that look good. He’ll be dead. She’ll be dead. No one will ever know. It will look like some old vendetta crap. Bikers are big on that.

  “Montesalto, Prosper’s boy. One of the kingpins of the Saints. You know he was gonna be there, El?” Manny was driving fast and freaking out.

  “Aw, baby, of course not. Breed whore must be playing him like she played my brother. That must be it.” Ellie rubbed one of her tits on his arm and Manny immediately got hard. Seeing that, Ellie decided that it might be a good time to show Manny again just how grateful she was.

  When they heard the moaning and hushed voices behind the metal mesh in the cargo van, neither one of them bothered to look back.

  CHAPTER 74

  Claire was feeling nauseous but didn’t think she had gotten hit as hard as Raine did. She didn’t think she was out that long. She was trying to listen to the conversation in the front but things were too muffled. God help her, she saw that skank, whoever she was, go down in the guy’s lap face first. Van careened a little after that. Gross. Yuck. Yuck. Claire wondered for the millionth time who they were and what they wanted with Raine and her.

  Claire was looking at Raine. She was pale but her pupils looked okay. Claire was no nurse though. And she was scared, more scared than she had ever been in her life. Claire hushed Raine as her moans became louder, and her eyes became more focused. She didn’t know why, but instinct told her that it would be better for Raine if the two fellatio-enjoying fools in the front were not aware that her sister had regained consciousness. She tried to keep Raine as comfortable as possible while trying to keep the terrifying numbness from taking over her body, and her mind. Claire had to think. Raine had always been the hero in Claire’s story; now it was time for Claire to step up and save the day.

  Save the day.

  Yep. She just hoped she was up to it.

  They stopped much later and the door to the van opened. A small wiry Mexican wearing the prospect cut of an MC called Los Diablos Rojos stood there with a gun pointed at them. Next to him was a skanky-looking white girl. Young. Could have been pretty once, but the life she had chosen had put hard lines around her mouth and eyes. Her hair was a brash, bottle blond, and her red fingernail polish was all chipped and the nails under the polish were dirty.

  The two were obviously together. But what didn’t make sense was what they wanted with the two of them. Claire had no idea.

  “Get her on her feet,” yelled the crazy white chick.

  “You realize my sister is eight months pregnant?” Claire was still cradling Raine’s head in her lap.

  “Eight months?” The prospect was looking at the skank. “I thought you said . . .”

  “Never mind that,” the white bitch said. “Get her the fuck up.”

  Claire was looking at the prospect. “You realize who we are?”

  “Don’t know who you are. Don’t give a shit either. But your sister here, she’s got blood on her hands. My girl’s brother fucking offed himself because your sis got knocked up by his best friend,” Manny replied.

  “What? What? What are you talking about? My name is Claire Win . . .”

  Claire heard the blast before she saw it. The skank had grabbed the gun out of the prospect’s hand and fired a shot right near Claire’s head. It pinged off the side of the metal wall and Claire moved quickly over her sister to protect her from what might be a ricochet.

  “JESUS CHRIST!” Claire screamed.

  “Shut the fuck up. Just shut the fuck up, bitch.” Ellie was pushing the gun at them.

  Then she looked at her man. “You gonna listen to these skanks trying to talk their way out of this, Manny?”

  “Get her up and get her in that car over there,” Ellie was saying.

  Every instinct, every instinct Claire had told her to stall. To keep her and Raine from getting in that car at all costs. She didn’t know why, but she knew if they allowed themselves to be taken into that car, they were going to die much sooner than later. Claire needed time. Most of all, she needed time. Prosper and the brothers must be going balls to the wall looking for them right about now.

  She just needed to figure out how to separate these two fuck buddies and to wind up with the prospect instead of the crazy whore. They stood absolutely no chance of getting out of this once alone in the hands of Crazy Pants. Of that Claire had no doubt.

  In the few minutes since the two amigos opened the van door, she figured that for whatever reason, either mistaken or for some personal vendetta, the blonde was feeding the outlaw-in-training a boatload of shit. When she had tried to make it clear, the bitch had almost blown Claire’s head off. So she figured the deception was intentional. But what did this have to do with Raine?

  Unless . . . there were few things in this world that would cause a woman’s eyes to go crazy like that. And one was the loss of a man to another woman. Jealousy. Jesus. Were their lives at risk because this skank wanted Diego? Back when Raine had come to get her from rehab, she mentioned a run-in with some club whore. The girl had not only called Raine out, but her sister had said that there was something crazy, something wild and irrational going on behind the eyes of the woman. Claire was thinking hard. She seemed to remember that Raine said Diego had run her off. But Raine had been sure that they had not seen the last of her.

  Oh, my God.

  Was this her?

  Jesus, what was her name? Eileen? Ellen? Shit. Not that it mattered. Was this what this was?

  A random car pulled into the rest area and the door was shut quickly again, keeping the two sisters out of sight. Claire thought about screaming but before the door closed, she caught sight of a baby car seat and two small children in the back. She didn’t want to put the family’s life at risk.

  Putting her ear to the door, she heard the two bastards arguing in muffled voices. Then she heard a car door slam. Claire prayed it was the crazy one getting in the car, and that the prospect would be driving the van. Not sure why, but Claire felt sure she might have a better chance talking the duped fool into reason.

  Claire felt Raine stir and saw that her focus had become clearer. Raine looked at Claire with fright-filled eyes. “It’s Ellie,” she whispered to me. “This is about Diego.”

  Really? Over a man? They had been kidnapped and hit over the head and a life that had not even had a chance to begin yet had been put at risk? Over a man?

  Once they were on the road again, Claire eased Raine into a sitting position and grabbed some blankets that were in the van to support her back against the cold, hard fiberglass interior. Claire took a minute to assess her situation. The van looked like it might be a carpenter’s or mason’s rig. There were some tools bungee-corded on peg-board. A claw hammer and a nail gun stood out like beacons of light against a few other items that were of no interest to the girls.

  Claire looked at them, then at Raine and nodded. Claire got up and plastered herself against the mesh barrier and began trying to talk to Manny. He turned up the radio to drown her out. Asshole move on his part, but the sisters used the noise to shield the sound of them prying the tools from the peg-board.

  Claire slipped the hammer in the back of the waistband of her jeans, and Raine hid the nail gun up the elastic sleeve band of her voluminous shirt. She felt momentarily for the baby moving and gave Claire a thumbs-up.

  They were arme
d.

  Once she had Raine comfortably wedged against the van wall, Claire took advantage of her small stature and crawled over to right under the mesh rigging. She was trying to hear what Manny was saying to whoever he was talking to on his cell.

  He had turned the radio back down and seemed to be trying to talk his way out of the trouble he had gotten himself in. Whoever was on the other end of the phone was not pleased.

  Claire started shouting from the back, “Let Prosper Worthington of the Hells Saints know where we are. Tell him Claire and Raine are with this asswipe.”

  Manny elbowed the mesh and caught Claire on the lip through it. “SHUT UP, BITCH.”

  Then he was back on the phone. He shouted something back to whoever was shouting at him. He shut off the cell and threw it on the seat next to him.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Manny yelled back into the compartment at Claire.

  Now they were getting somewhere.

  “I’m Claire and that’s my sister, Raine. We are Prosper’s family. Raine is Diego Montesalto’s woman, and that’s his baby she’s carrying. That woman you have been banging is cat-lady crazy. Diego sent her packing months ago. This is about her getting him back.” Claire was talking with her mouth back up against the metal mesh.

  “She told me—” Manny began.

  “Yeah, I heard what she told you. It’s not true. You know it’s not true. Whoever was on that phone knows it’s not true. You take us wherever you’re taking us, that bat-shit crazy bitch is going to kill us and then probably kill you too. And if she doesn’t kill you, after what you have done here, there will be no place, no place you will be able to hide. Prosper will never ever let you get away with this. If we die, you die. Ellie dies. Your family, they all die. You know it.” Claire knew every word she said was true, and Manny knew it too.

  “Motherfucker!” Manny screamed.

  Then he swerved the van hard to the side of the road and shut off the engine.

  Claire looked at Raine and whispered, “It’s now or never. You ready?”

  Raine nodded.

  Manny pulled the van door open. He was waving his gun at them and shouting.

  “Get out! Get the fuck out of the van right now.” He was sweating and his eyes were black. The hand that held the gun was shaking. He had powder residue on his nose and on the side of his mouth.

  Shit. He was jacked to his core. Claire hadn’t counted on him being coked up.

  Claire looked at Raine.

  Raine nodded. “Yeah, I see it.”

  The two of them were cool as cucumbers. Years of self-preservation and instinct took right over.

  Claire moved in front of Raine and once again shielded her sister and her baby from the madman.

  Manny moved aside as the girls got down from the van.

  As Raine passed in front of Manny, she bent over and held her belly, groaning. Pretending to lean against him for support, she moved into him and reached for the nail gun under her sleeve. Not being at all careful where she aimed, she pumped three nails into Manny’s groin area.

  His face spasmed in unbearable pain and he let go of the gun. Then a rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins and he roared.

  Claire felt a rush of adrenaline of her own and hit Manny over the head with the hammer. Hard.

  The two women looked at Manny slumped unconscious on the ground, a stain of blood beginning to pool the front of his pants.

  Raine looked at Claire and grinned. “Ouch.”

  “Yeah.” Claire grinned back.

  CHAPTER 75

  The state trooper was reporting in to Prosper. “Interstate 7. Yeah, family called it in a few minutes ago. Seems they pulled into a rest area and noted some suspicious activity. Looked like two women, one pregnant, were being held in the back of a van. Guy was standing in front of the plate, but it was a gray service van. Family wanted to get out of there quick. Guy was wearing a cut, but they couldn’t make it out. Young woman with him, early twenties, skinny, blond hair. Sound about right?”

  “Yeah. Thanks, man.” Prosper hung up.

  Diego and Reno were looking at the map.

  “Runs north,” Diego was saying, “Turns off here. And here.”

  Prosper was on the phone again.

  “Get guys up on North 7 up near junction 29. Gray utility van,” Prosper ordered.

  Pinky and Dolly walked through the Hells Saints door and put out a pot of fresh coffee, sandwiches, and several new packs of smokes on the table. They also brought in four shots of brandy but didn’t leave the bottle. Jules was in the other room getting a bag of medical supplies ready. Just in case.

  CHAPTER 76

  It’s different being scared for yourself. When you’re scared for yourself, that’s bad. Really bad. But being scared for a life you are responsible for, that brings scared to a whole different level. A whole different level.

  Crazy goddamn Ellie. I knew it. I knew from the moment I saw her watching Diego and me from the woods that first night that she was going to do me harm. I felt it. I felt it in my bones the way you feel the winds of an impending storm or the drizzle of rain before it turns into torrents.

  I knew she would try to hurt me.

  But I never thought she would go after a pregnant me. I had underestimated her baseline of crazy. I had seen the mean, but I had not recognized it as the pure evil it was.

  And because of that, I had put two of the things I loved most in this world in harm’s way: my sister and my unborn child. I was filled with self-recrimination.

  I was also filled with anger and a sense of protective instincts that sent adrenaline coursing through my veins. The disappointment that I felt in myself would have to wait. I had better use for my fury.

  Claire and I left Mr. Shit for Brains in a pool of his own blood. By the tearing sound I heard when he tried to straighten himself up, my guess is that I had nailed his nut sack to his thigh.

  Good for me.

  Claire and I had scurried into the van and found the keys in the ignition. Not knowing the whereabouts of Miss Crazy Pants scared us and upped our sense of urgency to get off the side of the road and fast.

  Neither of us had any idea where we were going, and it was a damn good thing that Claire knew how to drive a stick shift. We decided our best bet was just to turn the van around until we figured out where we were.

  I grabbed the cell on the seat and said a prayer that it was a smart one. But no, just like its owner, this phone had limited capability. Actually it was locked on two numbers. One said “Clubhouse” and the other said “Lucius.” This was not uncommon. Prospects usually carried a throwaway. Throwaways could not be traced. This prospect could receive any calls coming in, but calls he made out were only to his president or his clubhouse. Other access was earned.

  Figuring what the hell, Claire and I decided to press the “Lucius” button.

  “Manny, where the fuck are you?” someone roared into the phone.

  Claire and I looked at each other, and I almost lost my nerve.

  Claire nodded and I swallowed hard.

  “This is not Manny. Manny is on the ground somewhere with his nuts nailed to his leg and his head bashed in. I’m Raine.”

  “Jesus,” Lucius answered. “You okay, chica? Your sister okay?” Lucius’s voice sounded anxious.

  They had been right. Prosper had put the word out.

  “Yeah, we’re okay for now,” I answered.

  “Where the fuck are you?” Lucius wanted to know.

  “Just have Prosper call this phone,” I answered, then I hung up.

  Claire and I looked at each other and barely stopped ourselves from high-fiving.

  It seemed a little too soon to be that optimistic, but for now, we figured we were out of the woods.

  The phone rang and we felt the bump come from behind us at the same ti
me.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Thank God.” It was Prosper.

  Our smiles of relief turned to something else instantly.

  “Ouch,” I said into the phone as the seatbelt strained against my swollen abdomen. I leaned forward to put my hand on the dash and release some of the pressure.

  Then I felt it again. Whack.

  We were being plowed into from behind

  “Ouch? What the fuck is ouch, Raine?” Prosper worried into the phone. I looked at Claire. I wanted my hand free to cover my stomach so I handed her the phone.

  “We’re in the van. Something is hitting us from behind!” Claire yelled into the phone.

  Then.

  “I don’t know!” My sister’s hands on the wheel were shaking.

  The whole contents of the van were propelled forward. We could hear the tools come loose and clang against the metal mesh of the divider. Claire’s chest hit hard against the steering wheel.

  I looked in the rearview on my side and there she was. Like some crazy phoenix rising from the ashes, Ellie was ramming us hard from behind.

  “Claire, look.” I adjusted the interior mirror for her. “It’s Ellie.”

  BAM.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know, Prosper.” Tears were threatening my sister’s voice.

  She was desperately looking out the windows.

  “There’s nothing around here to look at, Prosper.” She was full-on crying now.

  “Stop yelling at me!” Claire sobbed into the phone. “That crazy bitch is ramming us from behind.

  “I don’t know which fucking direction. I can’t tell.” She was running out of brave and fast. I knew exactly, exactly how she felt.

  Claire looked at me helplessly. Ellie crashed into us again. Hard. The seatbelt retracted against my belly, but I held the slack in my hand. My arm outstretched against the dash.