A Broken Beautiful Beginning
Page 14
“Harley.” He says softly full of that caring loving tone he’s always had for me and my daughter, but I’m not fooled. A shiny silver gun catches my eye and I quickly bend down to pick it up just as Caleb jumps for me. I point it in his direction and he backs away quickly with his hands raised up.
“Harley... Please let me explain, I’m not here to hurt you.” He says.
I hold the gun firmly, I try to find my voice but it’s croaky and hardly anything comes out. I try again with success. “No! No more! I’m tired of explanations, they don’t mean shit coming from you. What I need from you…. is to back the fuck away.” My voice turns into hoarse whisper but the words are clear.
He drops his head and takes a few steps back. I bend down and search the old man’s pockets finding a cell phone and wallet. Taking both, I move around Caleb and when I reach the staircase, I run as fast as I can without looking back.
I climb the stairs hearing Caleb’s loud steps behind me. My eyes are still adjusting to the light by the time I reach the top step so I enter the first open door, shutting and locking it behind me. I turn to find it’s a dirty bathroom, it has clothes strewn everywhere and it’s absolutely disgusting but it has a window so it’ll do. I hear banging on the door just as I’m about to climb out the window.
I don’t care how high I am from the floor at this point. I’m afraid, weak and adrenaline is coursing through my veins.
The bathroom is on ground level so I’m able to climb straight out into the nearby bush. I hear people laughing and talking outside so I make sure to stay hidden. I’m not sure what time it is but it is night time and apart from the moon lighting up the sky, it’s a dark night. The Stowaways compound is more like an old farm house. It’s surrounded by tall grass and I don’t see another house in sight.
I peep through the bushes when I reach the corner of the house and see the front yard filled with various cars and motorcycles. Not many people are lingering around the vehicles so I make a run for it and hide behind a black van. I’m out of breath and my chest heaves with every breath I take.
I glance through the windows of the cars looking to see if anyone has left their keys inside. After passing three locked cars I finally find a small beat up blue Volkswagen with the keys still stuck in the ignition.
I battle to open the door and when I do it makes a huge clanky noise, but the music from the house is so loud that the people chatting on the porch pay me no attention. I creep into the seat and quietly close the door.
Bang!
I scream a broken scream when Caleb’s hand smacks the window. He moves to open the door. Twisting my body around, I use all the energy I can muster to kick the door as hard as I can. It hits him in the face and he falls to the ground a few feet away. I quickly shut the door, lock it and start the car.
Finally on my third attempt the engine kicks in. Caleb is still stumbling on the ground when I skid past him with the car.
I watch from the rear-view mirror as a couple of people head in his direction. I speed up as fast as the old car will go and reach out to the cell phone I left on the other seat; praying there’s no lock code on it.
Swiping the screen, I let out a deep breath when it opens to the home screen. I press the dialling pad and dial my father’s number. It rings and rings. I try Anna’s number in a panic and it does the same.
I type in Hunter’s number but erase it; he may also be working with Caleb and the Stowaways. My anxiety causes me to call the only other number I know by heart, he answers on the second ring.
“Who’s this?” Jace mutters into the speaker. I never thought I would be so happy to hear his voice again.
I cry this time…like a fucking baby. I keep my eyes trained on the road ahead of me, glancing in the rear-view mirror every few seconds. I’m so relieved to hear a familiar voice.
“Harley?” His voice is softer.
I try to speak but my voice is dry and croaky.
“Jace... Jace I need your help.” I wipe away the tears and try to swallow the rest back.
“What is it? Where are you?” he sounds as if he’s just woken up. I look at the clock on the phone to see it’s already a few minutes past midnight.
“They took me. The Stowaways took me. I don’t know how long I’ve been there, but I think it’s been about three or four days. I managed to steal this rackety stupid blue Volkswagen but I’ve got a feeling they’re going to be looking for me once they figure I’ve escaped.” I swallow as I try to catch my breath but my throat burns from all the screaming. The dryness doesn’t help either.
“Fuck... tell me where you are, I’ll get Caleb and Hunt-” he says sounding fully awake now. I can hear shuffling as he gets out of bed.
“No! You can’t call him. He was there… he’s been lying to us all this whole time. He’s part of their club. You can’t call him Jace. Please don’t tell him where I am.” I babble on full of panic.
“He can’t. No... Something’s not right. He wouldn’t do that Harley. Not to you, Willow or the Club.” He hesitates and I hear the sound of keys jingling over the phone.
“Jace, I don’t have time to explain right now, please hurry. I’m passing what looks like a truck stop, it’s called...” I open my window and stick my head out as I drive slowly through the parking lot. “...Bugg’s Place. What do you want me to do? I don’t even know which direction to go? There are no road signs or anything in this fucking place!” I smack the steering wheel in frustration. My heart is still beating out of my chest and I’m looking around to make sure I’m not being followed, my paranoia going wild.
“Don’t stop there Harley. The President of the Stowaways owns that joint, everyone knows everyone in that little town, if you walk in there… chances are the Stowaways will find you. Look around and try to find a tall water tower. Head in the direction of that tower, when you reach it, turn left. I’m already on the road, about thirty minutes from you if I put my foot on it. I’ll meet you on the road, when you see my lights flashing, pull over... okay? I’m in my black pick up. You got me?” Jace says seriously. My head is already out the window looking for the water tower.
“You got me Harley?” He says louder.
“Yes Jace... I got you.” I locate the water tower and head in its direction.
“Drive safe now and watch your...” the line goes dead before he can finish his sentence.
I throw the phone out the window as I make a left turn onto a long straight road. My body is exhausted and the earlier adrenaline my body was running on is slowly depleting. I open the windows fully, allowing the wind and fresh air to keep me from passing out at the wheel.
When I see a car’s flashing lights ahead of me on the road, I pull over to the side. I’m out of the car before he gets his car into park. I open his passenger door and climb in.
“Jesus Harley!” his eyes go wide when he sees my torn shirt and dirty body. I haven’t bathed in at least three days so I’m pretty certain I smell bad too.
“Just get out of here before they find me.” I say full of panic as I look out of the windows to see if anyone’s followed me but there’s no one on the road.
Jace drives fast in the direction he came from and I huddle as far away from him in the corner, my head leaning against the open window taking in as much fresh air as I can get. Starving and thirsty, I wrap my arms around my stomach. I watch from the corner of my eye as Jace’s knuckles turn white as he squeezes the steering wheel tight, squeezing and releasing as if that’ll ease the anger surging through him.
“Caleb wouldn’t do this Harley. There has to be some kind of mistake, maybe you need to let him explain. Get him to tell you what’s going on.” Jace talks softly but I don’t want to hear that name. I don’t want to think of Caleb and his betrayal. I lift my hands and cover my ears as I huddle closer to the door. Jace doesn’t ask any more questions for the rest of the trip.
CALEB POV
“What the hell is she doing here Avery?” I slam the door closed; Avery stands in the
corner of the room pacing.
“I don’t know! You know they don’t tell me anything regarding Club business. I asked Dex and he says dad wanted Grimm’s old lady but when they showed up at the house, only Harley was there. You don’t know what my father would have done to him if he came back empty handed Caleb.” She continues to pace the small space frantically. “God!” she yells. “This isn’t going as planned!”
“No shit! They took my phone when I entered the compound, I need to use yours. I have to let Grimm know she’s here.” I reach for her phone and she starts laughing hysterically. She’s obviously still on her high from earlier, when I caught her in the bathroom shooting up her arm.
“You can’t call out. The old man is so fucking paranoid since his boys mentioned seeing me at Grimm’s bar… he had my phone chipped. You don’t want to know what I had to do to get one of the guys to lend me their phone so I could call Hunter. None of the prospects are allowed to bring phones into the compound. You’ll need to show your loyalty to him before he will ever trust a prospect, if he hears that you’re asking brothers to use their phones it’s only going to raise his suspicions. They’re already questioning me about why I was so adamant in bringing you into the club, soon enough he’s going to see through all my lies Caleb.” She sits down on the plastic chair in the room and pulls out a joint. I know she’s right, I know how paranoid the President is regarding leaked information on his club. All the prospects had to hand their phones in at the compound entrance before we were allowed in. I’ve been here three days already and I haven’t heard any word from Grimm. I had to come here the same night Harley found me fighting. Avery called and told me that she managed to talk her father into fast tracking me into his club and if I wanted to go ahead with the plan I had to leave as soon as possible. I wanted this to be all over with so I could find Harley and beg for her forgiveness, but I needed to do this one last thing so that our family and the families of my brothers can be safe.
The first few days I had to collect all the Intel I could; listening in on all the drunken conversations around me, picking up on names of dealers and suppliers and storing everything in my head so that when I got back to Grimm I could tell him everything and we could plan to take down each and every one of them. That all flew out the window when my eyes met Harley’s petrified ones and I saw the state she was in. I didn’t care about helping the club out, I needed to find a way to make sure my girl was safe and try to get her out of this place.
Avery managed to talk her younger brother into helping us, since he was in charge of looking after Harley. Dex also wanted his father’s place in the club. Unfortunately due to his father’s paranoia, his phone was wired too… I gave him fruit bars, chocolates and water to sneak down there, anything small enough that the guys on duty wouldn’t see him sneaking in and he was quick to help out.
I’ve done everything I can to get a phone and my attempts at sneaking down to the basement to make sure Harley is okay always fail. There’s always guys watching and I already notice some of the brothers sizing me up and questioning my reasons for wanting to be part of the club. I’m trying hard to keep my cool in this hostile environment but I can already tell they’re starting to figure me out.
HARLEY POV
I open my eyes as I feel the car slowing down, just as Jace pulls up to my father’s club house. I don’t wait for Jace as I open the door and stumble my way to the front of the club. I don’t know how much longer I’m able to hold myself up and when Jace moves to hold me up, I pull away not able to have any man’s hands on me right now.
I walk straight past the few bikers that sit in the bar at this time of night. Hands reach out to help me but I make sure to avoid each and every one of them. I barge straight into my father’s office at the back of the club, not giving a shit about whether or not he’s holding a meeting right now.
Gasps and curses meet my ears when I step inside the room. My eyes meet my father’s shocked ones. I lean against the table keeping my eyes on my father; the people in the room are silently staring now.
Only three people sit at the table, my father, Hunter and Jace’s old man, Ryan. They all seem to be frozen in their seats. Seconds later as the state I’m in registers, Hunter and my father stand up abruptly and rush over to me. I move away from them and Jace places his hands on my hips to keep my weak body from falling. Daddy’s confused face meets mine. I’m done with my so called father always putting his club ahead of me, ahead of his family…his blood. I’m going to let everything out, right fucking now.
“Explain. Now” I say hoarsely.
My father hesitates then sits back in his seat, resting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. “I can’t Harley....this is club business.” he says tiredly sounding really old.
I’ve never seen him look so stressed out before, but I’m too pissed and angry with him right now to care.
“You can’t?” I frown. “Club business?” I yell louder. “Well apparently club business concerns me. I think I deserve a little bit of insight into whatever the fuck is going on… especially after what I’ve just been through, don’t you think?” I tilt my head to the side as I glare at them.
“I was the one fucking taken and left to starve in a cell down in their fucking basement for however many days, only to have the President fondle me. If it wasn’t for Caleb he probably would have raped me too!” I yell using all the energy I can find.
I slam my hands on the table. My father and Hunter whip their heads up to look at me at the mention of what that disgusting old man did to me, anger full and flowing in the charged atmosphere.
“This ends tonight. Get the brothers ready. We need to get Caleb out of there before they figure out who he’s working for.” My father says to Buck and Hunter.
Issuing orders… as usual.
“What the hell do you mean, get Caleb out of there?” I yell confused.
“Caleb was the only one that could go in there; they know all of us and who we are. Caleb is new to the club, he’s still a prospect. He went in there for us… for the club. We needed to find out what was happening inside that compound. What type of shit they were running and what they want to bring into our town in order for us to figure out the best way to get rid of them. We had to weigh up our options. Caleb knows the President’s daughter, her father doesn’t tell her shit about club business but she could help Caleb get into the club. She was willing to work with him, anything to get at her father, turns out she doesn’t like the old man very much either.” He tries to continue but I shut him up with my hand in the air.
“Stop…” My heart beats frantically, Oh god… Caleb… he was trying to help me, he wasn’t chasing me to lock me back up. He was there to help me.
“He was doing this to help you?” I ask my father and he nods. I turn my glare to Hunter, I really want to slap him and I’m just about to when Jace wraps his arms around my waist pulling me away.
I reach out and point at Hunter as I yell. “You said you’d look after him! Make sure that he was safe! I swear to God Hunter if anything happens to him, it’s all on you!” My tears start falling again and I know I look like a mess but I don’t care.
“I thought I could trust you with this one request, one simple fucking thing Hunter! God knows I couldn’t trust my father with his safety.” It hurts me to say it but I have to get it all off my chest. I watch as emotions wash over my father’s face.
“He couldn’t even keep me safe! He left me with Jace…. time and time again knowing how dangerous he was… knowing how he treated me.” I feel Jace’s shoulders sag behind me but he doesn’t loosen his grip around my waist. I’m too angry to care about hurting his feelings or anybody else’s in this room.
I turn my attention now to my father. “How could you allow your eighteen year old daughter to share a room with one of the most dangerous guys here, the one you get to do all your dirty work? The same one that had anger issues that you were aware of!” I feel the tears slip down my cheeks.
My father’s voice is soft and tender. “I knew he could protect you if any of the other clubs found out about you and wanted to use you against me. I was so stupid Harley. I never meant for any of this to happen, if I could take it all back….. I would, but I can’t. I was so happy when you said that you wanted to live with Anna and me, I wasn’t prepared for it though. I didn’t realize how this place would affect you. I grew up surrounded by this lifestyle and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when you came. I already knew the moment you walked into the club house you didn’t want to be a part of the Club. I thought if I stuck you with Raven he would show you the ropes… show you how it would be when you became an old lady one day. You didn’t see the way he looked at you when you were in that hospital. Swear he was head over heels, never seen him like that Harley. If I honestly thought he would hurt you the way he did, I would never have placed you under his protection.” Jace’s arms around me loosen as my father continues to speak as if Jace isn’t in the room.
“It was selfish of me, but I assumed that by pushing this lifestyle onto you, you would cave in and accept it. I’m sorry baby girl...I’m so sorry.” My father walks slowly towards me, as sadness fills the room. I’ve never seen him look so regretful before but I’m not so quick to forgive and forget this time. I back away from Jace on wobbly feet and give one last disappointed look at my father, Hunter then Jace before I leave the room.
Jesse meets my crumbling form and he wraps his arms around me. I know it should comfort me but it only causes me more unease. I pray that the Stowaways haven’t broken me for good, that one day I’ll be able to touch another without feeling scared and nervous. Jesse doesn’t ask questions but assists me upstairs into the apartment. He helps me to the bathroom and insists on helping me into the bath tub but I won’t have that. I lock the door behind me and bend down to put the bath water in.
I return to the tap by the sink, turning it I cup my hands under the water and start drinking. I drink and drink, my reflection catching my eye as I pass the mirror. I gasp as I see the person mirrored back at me. I can feel the water I’ve just drank climbing back up my throat and I reach the toilet just in time to throw up. Only liquid comes up.