by Tonya Coffey
After I checked to see if the driver was dead, I ran to Cora. She was half sitting, lying on the ground. Her eyes wild with fear, mouth slightly parted and her chest rose and fell as if she were still running.
“Are you hurt?” I knelt next to her.
She finally moved her eyes from the wreck and shook her head.
I helped her stand but she groaned when I took hold of her arm. Carefully she raised her right arm to see why it hurt. There was a rip in the hoody from her wrist just above the elbow. I took hold of her arm, making sure not to hurt her as I inspected the wound.
“It’s bleeding pretty good.” A gash went from the elbow along her forearm that was about two inches long and deep enough to lay a pencil in. “I think you’re going to need stitches.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit Dad’s number. I dreaded the exchange but I quickly told him where to come and who to bring as backup.
While I held Cora’s arm everything slipped through my mind. The sheriff. My dad. Abbott. Cora. I wanted to protect her but all I did was force her into more danger. I was so angry with her and myself. Why did I have to take what she said to heart? It shouldn’t have bothered me. It was who everyone saw me as.
“Why did you run?” Her eyes finally met mine. “You knew they were looking for you.”
“I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered as she looked away.
Seeing the hurt on her face that I caused, again, made me dislike myself. “You don’t have to apologize.” I sighed. “I do.”
She looked at me. An expression of surprise on her tear soaked face.
“You make me nervous,” I admitted.
Cora stared at me as I took in every contour of her face. In the odd street light, she was still beautiful. Even with twigs in her hair and dirt on her face, I saw the beautiful girl I’d stared at in school and seen around town. So many times when I was younger, I made sure to go out of my way to sneak a peek at her. The older we got, I watched her. I could never get enough of her.
“I don’t see you like that.” She relaxed a bit and so did I.
I looked at her, wanting to tell her that I knew. Yet I couldn’t.
As we stood there the rumble of Harley’s came into earshot along with sirens wailing out to the night. I took a breath, ready to receive my tongue lashing from Dad. I was responsible for her and she got hurt. I would accept what came my way unless he sent me home away from her. That would be something I couldn’t do.
An ambulance came to a halt at the opposite end of the building where the alley entered the road. I walked next to Cora until we met with the paramedic. “She cut her arm,” I told him.
The paramedic walked Cora the rest of the way to the ambulance. I heard the shirt rip and watched as she winced when he cleaned her arm. I stood stationary but when Dad walked up to the mangled vehicle. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to it so I could join him.
He eyed me then faced the truck. “What happened?” He stood next to the driver’s door, staring at the dead man.
If I were one of the other members there wouldn’t have been the hushed tone he spoke to me with. In his leather cut and his rough exterior, he was unapproachable. When it came to me and my sister, Emily, he was different.
I was ready to tell Dad how I took Cora’s words to heart and overreacted. How I spoke without thinking and hurt her. My words caused her to storm off and she nearly got squashed like a pancake.
Instead, Cora spoke, “It was my fault.”
Dad turned to face her. I glanced over my shoulder at Cora coming up behind me with the paramedic. That didn’t take long.
“How is what happened, your fault?”
“I wanted to go home but Dante tried to stop me.” She didn’t stop. “Don’t blame him. Blame me.” She took a breath. “I just wanted to go home.”
“No,” I said. “It was my fault. I take full responsibility.” Don’t make me look like a pussy in front of Dad.
Dad didn’t say anything. He just looked at us. I could tell he had a million thoughts rolling around in his mind because that muscle in his jaw twitched when he was mad.
He’s steaming.
“How is she, John?” Dad asked the paramedic.
“I cleaned it and added some glue with tape but she’ll be OK.”
Dad shook his hand. “Thanks, John.”
As John walked away, Dad turned back to me. “Take her back to the club.” He eyed me. “Do you think you can handle that?”
I knew I’d screwed up and he was letting me know it with the coldness in his voice. I nodded.
“We’ll talk later.”
I didn’t waste any time. I slipped my arm around Cora and turned her toward the clubhouse. Walking past the onlookers, I felt stupid for saying the things I did to her. I felt like a dumbass for believing she didn’t care. If she didn’t she wouldn’t have walked by the job site all the time. Well, I hoped she did anyway.
We walked toward the club. The darkness of the night washed over us. On this side, the back side of the clubhouse, there wasn’t any lights, no people. It was only us and the flashing red lights of the ambulance half a mile behind us.
“If you stay in the club, safe, then your dad will have a clear head to do what he needs to do. You can’t take off like that anymore.” I sighed. “You won’t be here for long. He’ll come and get you before you know it.”
Cora faced me, making me stop. “It doesn’t bother me to stay here.” I wanted to reach out and touch her face. “I don’t want to stay here if you’re mad at me.”
My heart felt as if it were trapped, unable to beat. My face relaxed. I could never be mad at her. She could call me a million different bad words and I wouldn’t be upset. I cupped her face. “I could never be,” I whispered.
A small twitch of her lips caused me to look at them, then her eyes. I knew right at that moment I loved her. It didn’t matter what would happen, I would always be with her. I lowered my lips to hers. I kissed her lightly just to feel her full lips against mine. Right now everything was wonderful but what would tomorrow hold.
Chapter Fourteen
Dozens of members and their old ladies stood outside the club when we rounded the corner. They were watching what took place up the road. Motorcycles roared by and people called out in acknowledgment of the crash. The police were on scene writing up the crash as an accident. It was good to have friends in high places.
When Cora and I walked into the array of gawkers, Luca walked up to us. I could tell by his stance he had been chewed out. Even though Dad didn’t actually raise his voice and make me feel two inches tall, I still felt that way.
“What the hell happened?” He tried to grin. “Was there a reason you ran off shootin’ up the street?”
I didn’t know what to say. The last thing on my mind when I ran after Cora was to pull my weapon and discharge it in the street but I had no choice. The guy was barreling down on her in a four by four…Thinking about it made me cringe.
Two for her…The thought was making me sick.
Luca finally looked like he normally did with a big smile on his face. “You too good to ask for help?”
When everything seemed too heavy to bear I could count on my best friend to lighten the load. “Sorry man.” I punched him lightly in the arm. “I’ll drag you with me next time.”
“Damn straight,” he mouthed, as he turned and walked next to Cora and me. “Because I’m not leaving your side.”
I glanced at Cora then smiled at his comment. There was only one reason for that. “President’s orders?”
“No,” Luca admitted, “VP Daddy’s.”
I couldn’t hold back the grin. I figured he let him have it and for punishment for letting me out of his sight, he had to keep us both in his. It was a classic penalty for one of us four.
As we walked into the club, the music jarred the walls; I wondered how they heard the gunshots through the commotion. Cora ducked her head, keeping her eyes on the floor when we reached the center of t
he room. Cole’s lady was swinging on the pole with him howling at her as if she were the moon. He didn’t care about what had happened. I shook my head and pushed past the crowd into the hall that led to the bedrooms.
I opened the door to Cora’s room. It was reserved for guests who didn’t belong to the club. We called it our guest room because most of the people who stayed in it where only there for protection before moving on to a different place. Luca followed us, closing the door behind him. He was going to take his job seriously.
Cora took a deep breath as she looked at her hands. “I’m going to wash up.”
I nodded and she walked into the small bathroom, shutting the door behind her and leaving me with Luca.
“What exactly happened?” Luca asked, in a hushed tone.
I shrugged. “It had to have been one of his men. When he saw her on the road, he floored it.” The anger I felt for Abbott grew.
“How’d they know she was here?” He asked. “No one’s supposed to know.”
I knew that. I would say it was a coincidence that he was just driving by. But why would he in this part of town? There wasn’t anything for miles. There were abandoned buildings, a garage, and woods. Only a few people inside the club and the sheriff’s office knew where she was. It made me question the people around me who I thought were my friends.
“I don’t know who to trust,” I admitted to him.
Luca sighed. “Best thing to do is to keep her next to you at all times.”
I nodded. I never wanted to let her out of my sight. I had a lapse in judgment that nearly cost her her life and I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
The bathroom door opened. Cora came out, carrying the hoody I’d given her to wear. The expression on her face was solemn. She looked up at me, handing the shirt out. I glanced at it then to her bright but sad eyes.
“I’m sorry I ruined your shirt.”
Without her long sleeves on, I got a good view of the bandage on her arm. It tore at my insides. I did that to her. You hurt her. It seemed as if it was all I could think of. Every time I looked at her, I was my own failure.
Yet I put a smile on. “It’s OK. I got more.”
For a brief moment, a flicker of delight slipped across her face. It wasn’t much but it was there. It made me wonder. Did she like wearing my shirt? And again, it made me happy to think she did. With that, I knew I would get her a new one. She could have them all if it made her happy.
Luca cleared his throat and went to the door. It was a signal that he was in the room and for me to stop staring at Cora as if she was a steak I could eat.
“Um…We were thinking of watching a movie. Do you want to come or would you rather—”
“I’d love to,” she cut me off.
I smiled at her. “Good.”
Luca opened the door. We followed him out, down the hall and to the right at the end. There was a set of double doors that led to a game room. When we were younger, Dad wanted us to stay out of the main room, so he built us a place to hang out when they had church or runs we couldn’t go on.
After we entered, Luca went to the wall of DVD’s while Cora took in the room with a big couch, kitchen, and games. The sofa was a large L shape with oversized cushions in a dark material. On the wall in front of us was a flat screen that took up most of the surface. Speakers in the corners of the room were to make you feel as if you were in the action and at the back of the room was a small kitchenette stocked with food to snack on. It was all ours; Luca, Emily, Cole, Reid, and mine.
While Cora decided where she wanted to sit, Luca started the movie. When she sat, I wanted to wrap my arms around her, showing her she didn’t have to worry any more but I was afraid of scaring her off after what had happened. So instead, I eased into the cushion next to her. Her breathing slightly labored as her eyes darted from the closeness of my leg to the screen.
The lights flickered off and Luca was on the couch at the end with a drink in his hand. I would grab something when Cora was ready to snack.
When the title came across the screen, I had to laugh. Cora looked up at me and I glanced at the screen, trying to not be obvious. Luca would put something on that was scary for most girls. He liked doing that to my sister.
The farther the movie went, Cora relaxed into the cushion. She even began to lean toward me by accident, I believed. Her eyes never left the screen though. Wondering if it was too much for her, I lifted my arm, draping it over her shoulders. She didn’t object. She scooted closer, resting her hand on my thigh. The heat from her fingers seemed to burn through my jeans into my skin. I felt every fiber of her as she kept it there.
I was glad she didn’t move it. As the movie went on, I found myself watching her instead of the screen. It was the longest we had spent together and I was beginning to see her with different eyes.
I took in her nose, the small freckles and the plumpness of her lips. The scent of her hair drew me in. It was soft and flowery, maybe from the shampoo but I wanted to lower my nose to her head and inhale, to see if it was as good as I expected.
Something happened on screen because Cora jerked and closed her eyes. She turned her face toward me as if what was on the TV was so gross she couldn’t possibly look. I watched her as she slowly opened her eyes and then they turned up to me.
My heart thumped hard against my chest and my breath caught in my throat. You are beautiful, I thought. The allure was overwhelming. She was everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend but I kept questioning if I deserved someone as good, as pure as her. I couldn’t deny the pull I felt when I was near her. The perpetual electricity when our skin met.
I stared at her, as she stared back. Her eyes held so much. I could tell she was uncertain about being in this position with me. When she gently licked her lips, I couldn’t help but press mine to hers.
I loved how they felt against mine. There was an energy that seemed to hold us together from the contact. Fireworks erupted above us and angels sang in the heavens. With no doubt, I knew Cora was the one girl for me. I would hold her, kiss her, love her and I would protect her with my very last breath.
Chapter Fifteen
I excused myself from the TV room, leaving Cora with Luca while I went to my room. I quickly rummaged through the one dresser until I found what I was looking for. Bingo.
When Cora handed me back the pullover that got ripped, I saw the disappointment on her face. I didn’t want her to be cold or to feel as if she was missing something. I wanted her to feel safe and if a new hoody did it then she could have all of them.
I tucked the pullover into my cut and fastened a few buttons so it wouldn’t fall out then headed back to the game room to get Cora. It was getting late. I believed she needed sleep, to rest from the awful day she had.
Opening the door to the room, Cora stood at the kitchenette talking to Luca. When I entered, she turned to me with a smile.
“You ready?” I asked from the door.
She nodded, came over and took my hand.
I walked next to her until we reached her door. The music playing in the main room kept the environment wound. You could feel the vibration through the souls of your shoes. The bass made you feel as if you bounced. I hoped when she closed the door it was quiet enough to go to sleep. Besides, she had to be tired. It was closing in on three in the morning.
Opening the door for her, she stepped inside. Facing me, she smiled imperceptibly. I gazed back. The intensity of her green eyes pulled me to her. It was as if she could read me and I could hide nothing from her. I would tell her my most treasured secrets without notice.
Reaching into my cut, I pulled out the hoody. She watched me as I held it out to her, the screaming hawk staring up at the ceiling.
“This is for you.”
She pulled her lips together then she grinned. “Thank you.” She stepped forward, placing a soft kiss on my lips as she slipped her hands around the pullover.
When she took the shirt, I took a breath, watching her pull it over h
er head. I stepped back so she could close the door. “Lock it.”
Without any objections, she closed the door. A moment later, the click of the lock sounded and I knew she was safely inside.
I took a deeper breath, satisfied with our time together. When I exhaled, I turned toward the main room to find Dad standing a few feet from me.
He took me off guard. “How long you been standing there?” I asked him.
“Long enough,” he answered in his irritated tone.
I started forward because I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
“Come on, Son. You can’t seriously think the sheriff will allow this?”
Why did it matter? “No, but why not?”
Dad sighed. “We are different.”
I wasn’t stupid. It was one thing I was worried about getting close to her. I knew her dad wouldn’t approve. I just wanted some time to figure it all out.
“If he told her to stay away, would she?” he asked.
I stopped in the hall and faced him. I hoped not. I liked to believe she had feelings for me. That no matter what her dad said, she would still want to be with me.
Dad read my hesitation. “I’m only looking out for you.” He took a deep breath, placing a hand on my shoulder as he let it out. “You’re my son so be careful.”
I frowned. “Have I ever been reckless?”
“No.” He smiled. “But there’s never been a girl involved.”
He could trust me. “Don’t worry.”
I gave Dad a quick hug and then headed into the main room. Cole, Luca, and Reid were playing pool. In the same place, we were a few hours before. When Luca saw me coming he met me halfway. The look on his face wasn’t the same as when we walked out of the game room with Cora.
“While you were saying goodnight, I overheard my dad and your dad talking.” He looked around making sure we were alone.
I frowned, curious what put him in a serious mood. “What about?”
Luca stepped closer so I was the only one who heard. “The sheriff called the pres. Told him a package was delivered with a picture of Cora inside.”