Through The Woods

by Myers, Shannon

  “None taken.” I studied the words on the back of his leather vest as he moved through the small apartment, gathering up armfuls of clothes.

  Scarred Savages MC.

  A skull with flames exploding from the eye sockets grinned back at me and I winced before looking away. Biker gangs were meant to be feared, so it’s not like there would’ve been a kitten riding a Harley on the back—although that would’ve been adorable.

  The one percent emblem was proudly displayed to the right of the skull, opposite the MC logo. As if there was any mistaking what these men were.

  At the bottom of his vest was the word Kasselhessen. I was even further from Boulder than I’d previously thought if I’d ended up in the mountain town of Kasselhessen. I didn’t know much about the town, other than it was founded by German immigrants in the late 1800s—well, that, and it was obviously home to these outlaw bikers.

  “Bathroom’s that way. Clean towels are in the cabinet. I’m going to try and scrounge up some more clothes for you.” Rooster gestured toward a closed door, dismissing me.

  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bathroom was relatively clean. He had an extensive array of shampoos and soaps and I took my time sampling a little from each one. I doubted that he’d even notice and, judging by the river of red coming off of me, I needed it. I managed to avoid my bandages, washing around them as best I could.

  I let the hot water run over my body until I began to worry that Rooster was going to break the door down to ensure that I was still breathing.

  As I used my towel to wipe the steam from the mirror, I tried to avoid looking at the bones protruding from my chest as I carefully dried myself off. I failed and actually jumped back in fright, certain that a ghost was in the room with me. I looked like a dead girl—my eyes were sunken in, a necklace of bruising visible around my neck. I had bruises almost everywhere I looked.

  Charm had been right—I did look like an animal that needed to be put down.

  There was a light knock at the door and I rewrapped the towel tightly around my body before opening the door about an inch.

  “Found you some clothes.” Rooster’s face peered at me through the crack. I pulled the door open just enough for him to pass me the clothes before shutting and locking it again. The clothes were extra small, but still hung off of my frame. I cinched the cotton pants as tight as they would go before pulling my damp hair up into a ponytail.

  The bag he’d given me contained lip balm, deodorant, lotion, a tube of toothpaste, and a toothbrush. After using them, I felt almost human again.

  Almost.

  I pulled on the oven mitts and carefully removed the casserole dishes from the oven. It looked even better than the picture in the cookbook.

  “Damn, Neve. Why didn’t you get lost in the woods sooner?” Rooster grinned over my shoulder before stabbing a bite of steaming chicken pot pie with his fork.

  The silent biker nodded earnestly, as if he was seconding Rooster’s comments.

  “It must be somethin’ if it’s got Joker piping up.” The man I recognized as the voice of Grumpy said, rolling his eyes on his way out of the kitchen.

  I tried to determine if he was teasing or not—I hadn’t heard ‘Joker’ say a single word since I met him a few hours ago. He’d shaken my hand and bobbed his head before sitting down to watch me cook. That had been the extent of it.

  “Gunner, it’s the shit!” Rooster talked through a mouthful of food, exhaling in an attempt to cool his mouth and I hid a small smile, staring down at the saucepan of broth in front of me.

  Take that, Grumpy Gunner.

  I didn’t think I’d seen the man do anything but scowl since I’d arrived; which was a real shame, because he had a beautiful face. He was a little taller than Doc and though no one had said it, it was apparent that he’d served in the military.

  You know how some men just carry themselves a certain way? Well, that was Gunner. And his way screamed, “Back the eff off.” He wore his dark hair slicked back and his facial hair was trimmed so perfectly, that I’d bet my next meal he didn’t leave the bathroom until every hair on his head obeyed him.

  I mostly just tried to stay out of his way.

  Rooster abandoned his post at the oven when I told him he couldn’t have another bite. I’d been hidden away in the basement, but I didn’t remember the guys making so much noise. They must’ve just been looking forward to a home-cooked meal.

  I tested the side of the casserole dish with the back of my hand and decided that it probably wasn’t too hot to carry before making my way into the dining area.

  My mouth dropped open at the sight of cardboard boxes and the men shoveling slices of pizza into their mouths like savages.

  My face burned with embarrassment as I stood frozen next to the table. “What is this?”

  Charm looked over his shoulder at me as he grabbed himself a slice. “I gave you an opportunity to cook dinner. You took too long, so I improvised. You’re out.” He stalked down the hallway and I hurriedly set the dish down on the edge of the table before jogging after him, managing to corner him at the end of the hall.

  “You didn't even give me a fair chance! You set me up to fail!”

  He shrugged and tried to push the door closed, but I stuck my foot out and caught it before it slammed in my face. To say I was taken aback by the contents of the room would’ve been the understatement of the millennium. I wasn’t sure what I expected—perhaps a dungeon of some sort. “You have a desk!” It wasn’t a question, but an accusation. Bikers didn’t have offices. They had rape rooms and torture chambers, sure, but nothing that would lump them in with regular folks.

  He sat down in a large brown leather chair and kicked his feet up onto it. “And?”

  Why did he hate me?

  It wasn’t as if I’d planned on getting stabbed and choked before being left for dead in the woods.

  My chest tightened when I realized that it wasn’t hatred reflected on his face. It was indifference, which was so much worse. I took a deep breath, hoping the pain would subside. “I made a meal. That was the agreement.”

  He took a bite of pizza, taking forever to chew. “What do you want—a trophy for making one lousing fucking meal? Sorry, Sweetheart, this ain’t youth soccer. We had a deal, it didn’t work out, and now I want you gone. Is that clear enough for ya?”

  I rubbed at the base of my throat. “I—I’d like another chance. Please.” I was pleading, but I couldn’t let him kick me out. Thoughts of being alone in the wilderness again had me rubbing my throat furiously as the pain intensified.

  Charm crossed one foot over the other and pointed behind me. “Door’s that way.”

  I could’ve stayed and argued, but what was the point? He wanted me gone and nothing I said was going to change his mind. I ignored the stab of pain in my side and slammed the door shut behind me before marching upstairs to find my room. I’d barely made it to the top when a hand closed over my wrist, yanking me back down a step.

  “You wanna slam doors like a fucking toddler? You can do it up here where no one can hear you, Sweetheart. I ain’t runnin’ a daycare.” Charm dragged me into a room that I assumed was going to be mine, but I wrenched myself from his grasp and stumbled back into the hallway.

  “You just want to lock me up like some prisoner...holding me against my will.”

  His eyes widened in shock. “Against your will? Let’s go.” He latched onto my bicep and pulled me back down the stairs.

  “Go to hell!” I forced through gritted teeth.

  His jaw worked angrily as he replied, “Oh Sweetheart, look around you. I’m already there.”

  It didn’t matter how hard I dug the rubber soles of my flip flops into the wooden stairs, Charm was a lot stronger. With hardly any effort on his part, he forced me through the living area and out the door. Several of the bikers raised their heads, but when they saw it was him, they immediately looked away.

  “Here you are. Free as a fucking bird. Go. Run. Get
high. Whatever the fuck you want to do. I ain’t stoppin’ you.” He deposited me onto the gravel and turned to go back into the lodge, but I snagged the edge of his leather vest, stopping him.

  “Please, Charm. I’m—I’m—I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me here.” I kept a death grip on him and watched as his chest heaved up and down with each angry breath as he looked down at me.

  He was going to beat the shit out of me and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t so sure that I didn’t deserve it. With that thought, I reluctantly let go and took a step back.

  The intensity of his stare seared me, so I focused on the ground in front of me, expecting his fists.

  After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “I’ll give you tomorrow. That’s it. Think you can handle that?”

  I nodded earnestly. “I can do it. I swear to you.”

  His gaze softened for a fraction of a second before the glare fell back into place. “I won’t tolerate any more of the shit. We clear?”

  I shakily nodded again before he walked back inside, closing the door quietly behind him and leaving me with the stars.

  Charm

  She touched me.

  I can’t recall the last time anyone made contact with me and lived to tell about it, but it was as if she feared the monsters in the wilderness more than she did the one standing right in front of her.

  Just one more indicator that this girl isn’t firing on all cylinders. If she were, she’d have run for her life when I gave her the opportunity.

  She was fiery though; I’d give her that.

  I’d grown up, surrounded by women who did as they were told, when they were told to do it. This girl’s defied me every chance she’s gotten and by all rights, her ass should be wandering the woods for help now.

  But her small hands on my kutte jolted me back to another time and place…

  I don’t know what to think now.

  Gunner slid onto the bar stool next to mine and signaled the bartender for a beer before turning his attention back to me. “Well, that was an interesting way of handling things back there.”

  I’d fled the clubhouse after our encounter outside, needing a clear head and a change of scenery. I should’ve known that he wouldn’t have been far behind. He seemed to be the only one, besides me, who hadn’t immediately fallen under the junkie’s spell.

  So, maybe I didn’t exactly know how to decode my feelings. It didn’t mean shit. She was just another junkie and she’d show her true colors to everyone else soon enough.

  I downed the shot of bourbon in front of me, irritation creeping up my neck. “You have a better plan? I’m all ears.”

  “Look, I knew she was trouble the minute we found her. Way I see it, Doc fixed her up and now her ass can be on its merry way out of our fucking territory. Someone’s gonna start looking for her—you and I both know it.”

  He was right. Underneath the cokehead, there was something there. It was obvious that she was an intelligent girl, even if she’d made some piss poor decisions—it was there in her eyes. She was sharp and girls like that had families who reported them missing. Last thing I needed was for the law to think that my club was into kidnapping.

  I frowned at Gunner. “Did you just come down here to tell me how to run my club?”

  He shook his head. “Been looking at our numbers. If something doesn’t change soon, the entire house of cards is gonna come crashing down on all of our heads. We went from running the entire state and now we’re lucky if we can bribe a gang into doing business with us. We need to go back to what we were doing before.”

  I propped my arm up on the bar and rested my forehead against it. Before was when Luck ran things and, while he’d been wildly successful, the club and families had suffered at his hands. I’d sworn that I wouldn’t run shit like that because, if we failed, the entire town was going to go down with us.

  This was what Luck would call being in between a rock and a hard place. The bastard would’ve made the decision easily though—there’d always been a line of hang-arounds, just waiting to prospect for the Scarred Savages. To Luck, his men had always been replaceable.

  He’d chased after anything that lined his pockets and made the club more powerful. It had been his undoing in the end. The same men who’d been willing to stick out their necks for him no longer saw the benefits. I think they’d probably known it all along—they’d just needed someone to point them in the right direction.

  That was where I’d come in.

  Now, I woke up every morning, wondering when they’d come for me. I wasn’t going to be able to retain my hold on the club if I didn’t start making some tough decisions soon. I couldn’t let a pair of blue eyes distract me from my goal. I was going to have to find men to join us—I faulted Luck for a lot of things, but his ability to amass an army was not one of them. And I’d use just about any means necessary to keep Kasselhessen running.

  Chapter Seven

  “Neve.”

  I pushed my face deeper into the warmth of my pillow.

  “Neve, get up.”

  The deep timbre of the voice reluctantly pulled me back to consciousness and I blearily blinked a few times before rolling over. It was still dark.

  “Neve.”

  I snapped, “I’m up. You expect me to start cleaning when it’s still dark out?”

  I shouldn’t have complained. He’d given me my own room last night even though I deserved to sleep outside after my outburst. I’d left them downstairs talking afterward while I fell into bed, exhausted, but I distinctly remembered locking the door behind me when I came in. I should’ve known he would’ve had a key.

  “Get up.”

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes. There was just enough light coming in from the hall for me to make out his silhouette crouched on the side of the bed. “Can I at least pee first? Or is that not allowed?”

  Charm chuckled quietly. “I think I can make an exception.”

  When I came out of the bathroom, he was still crouched in the same position.

  I yawned before asking, “Where should I start? Is there a cleaning cart somewhere downstairs that I could use?”

  He stood up slowly and handed me a sweatshirt. “Put this on. You’ll need it. Got you some shoes as well. Size six, right?”

  My heart started beating a little faster. “Um, yes. Where are we going?”

  He walked past me and stood near the door. “Get your shoes on. We’ll talk outside.”

  My heart was hammering wildly in my chest at this point and my eyes were on the verge of welling up with tears. He was going to take me back out into the woods.

  After he told me that he’d give me another chance.

  That lying sack of—

  “Sometime today would be nice, Neve.”

  I hurriedly forced my feet into the tennis shoes he’d left and pulled the sweatshirt over my head before following him downstairs. The lodge was deathly quiet.

  He was getting rid of me while the other men slept. He’d probably tell them I ran away too.

  I forced a sob back and instead continued walking to my imminent death. Charm slowed down enough for me to catch up to him outside, but instead of heading toward the vehicles, he led me down a small path that ran near the back of the lodge, using a small flashlight.

  Maybe this was where he took all the mangy dogs to be put down. The thought forced a bubble of hysterical laughter out and Charm turned back to me, swinging the flashlight up toward my face.

  “You okay?” I couldn’t see the expression on his face, but I imagined it was one of confusion.

  I nodded, blinking through the brightness, and he took a few more steps before stopping near a ledge made of stone.

  “What is this?” I’d thought he was taking me back into the woods; not throwing me off of a cliff.

  Charm pointed to the stone. “You’ll see. Come here.”

  I shook my head and took a step backward. “I—I’m sorry if I came across as rude last night. I can be better…I sw
ear.” My throat tightened and I rubbed at it, unable to hold back the tears. It was a great time to realize just how much I wanted to live.

  “Please don’t hurt me.” I managed to force out and Charm reared back as if I’d slapped him.

  “You think I brought you out here to hurt you? Jesus.” He ran a hand roughly over his face. “I just wanted to show you something. Come. Sit.”

  He extended his arm and I reluctantly placed my hand in his as he pulled me up onto the ledge. We sat on the cold stones overlooking the darkness. When he wasn’t looking, I dried my tears on the sleeve of the sweatshirt he’d loaned me.

  “Do you drink coffee?”

  Caught off guard, I stuttered, “I-I-I used to…before—”

  He interrupted, saving me from having to explain that once I’d found cocaine, I’d forgotten about my other vices. “I’ll be right back. Stay there.”

  I nodded and picked at my fingernails. I still didn’t know why we were sitting outside in the dark, but if he wanted me to stay on this rock, I’d do it.

  He came back a few minutes later, carrying an armful of things and had me stand up while he spread a blanket down, before handing me a travel mug of hot coffee. The steam wafted up, hitting my nostrils, and I groaned in pleasure.

  The sky had lightened just enough for me to see the strange look he was giving me. “You alright?”

  God, he must’ve thought I was a complete basket case. “Yeah, it’s just been so long since I had coffee. I forgot how much I loved even just the smell of it.”

  He took a sip from his own mug and looked out over the ledge, before pointing off in the distance. “Watch. Just keep your eyes focused back in this direction.”

  As if he planned it, the sky began to turn different shades of purple and pink. He’d woken me up to watch the sunrise. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken the time to watch a sunrise or sunset.

  The sky gradually lightened with orange streaks and then there it was. A burst of light broke through the darkness, illuminating the beauty surrounding us. I closed my eyes and let it warm my face, tears sliding silently down my cheeks. It was stunning. When I opened them again, Charm was watching me.