by Kylie Parker
“Sorry man, she insisted. She said she wanted you to see her riding that bike. That chick’s crazy.”
“It’s alright, brother.” Bruce smiled. At that moment, Melissa dismounted her motorcycle and walked up to Matt. “Give her the phone, will you?” Bruce requested. Matt indulged his friend. She looked up and slightly to the left, before she waved at Bruce.
“Hi there.” Melissa said in a sweet tone.
“Hey. I’m sorry I left.”
“Meet me at 3320, Bonanza Road, tomorrow night at 8pm. It’s a pretty big supermarket. It’s kind of hard to miss. Let’s see how fast that bike of yours really is.”
“What?!” Bruce couldn’t believe his ears. “You want to race with me?”
“No, silly.” She chuckled. “I’ll explain when you get there. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Melissa’s visit put a smile on Bruce’s face. She was not mad at him for abandoning her. On the contrary, she sounded quite cool and her proposal made his heart leap with joy. Bruce wondered what she had in mind, but that could wait. It could be a number of things and he was a little too tired to start speculating.
“I was right.” He thought to himself. “Women on Harleys look really hot. You got me curious, Melissa. Thanks a lot for tonight. I shouldn’t have left like that, but you came here, just to talk to me on the phone. I really like that.”
3
As one would expect, Bruce was all smiles the next morning. He had made a mistake the night before, but now he had the chance to make up for it. The idea of a date with Melissa drove his imagination wild. He found it impossible to shake off her image of riding her motorcycle. She was unusual; indeed, Melissa was not as girly as most women he had met so far. The native lawyer was beautiful, funny and persistent enough to intrigue him.
Bruce soon discovered that at least one man on the fifth floor of their hotel was happier than him. It was none other than his friend, Matt. The lazy, three knocks on the door was a clear sign that he was feeling a little too relaxed. Matt had black circles under his eyes. The huge smile on his face quickly gave him away.
“Did you come here to brag?” Bruce asked.
“Good morning to you, too.” Matt teased him. “What’s the matter? Am I the only one who had sex last night?”
“Come in, dumbass.” Bruce grumbled. “Why don’t you tell me what happened after I left?”
Matt whistled at the question. “A lot. There was touching.”
“Matt…” Bruce gave an exasperated gasp. “I don’t want to hear about you and the blondie. What did Melissa do? Did she say anything?”
“She said a lot to Jenny. They look pretty close.” Matt remarked. “I couldn’t hear much. The music was too loud and they kept whispering to each other. When you took off, she was kind of shocked. She thought she had said something wrong. She wanted to come here. I said ‘no’ at first, but then, she started screaming at me.”
“I missed all the fun.” Bruce teased him.
“She’s pretty demanding.” Matt spoke his mind. “I don’t get it. Why would she react like that?”
“Women, brother.” Bruce gave him a friendly slap on the face. “I guess I made an impression on her. She can demand all she wants. I’m not going to marry her or anything. She knows I’m just looking to have a good time.”
“I got some bad news, man.” Matt stated, lowering his tone. “I read an article online about last night’s accident. The casino belongs to a Frank Howard. He said one of his employees stole the money and that the money they recovered is 200k short. They’re looking for the guy who stole it.”
“Damn!” Bruce yelled. “I knew taking that money was a shitty call.”
“Dude relax, no one saw us do it.” Matt said, maintaining his composure, unlike Bruce who was starting to panic.
“You were never good with names, were you?” He asked, gasping for breath.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Matt squinted at him.
“Four years ago, someone else tried to steal from him. We were talking about it in the club. Ring a bell?” His voice was bass-deep with a hint of sarcasm in it. It was there that Matt understood what his friend had been trying to say to him.
“Jesus.” He murmured. “Mickey Roller. They killed his whole family and then killed him, too.”
“Exactly!” Bruce cried, unable to hide his concern. “You don’t have any family, but I do. Who knows what that prick is going to do to my little sister if he finds out.”
“We should return it.” It was Matt’s turn to panic; he spoke too fast. “It’s the only way, man.”
“Frank Howard’s an animal.” Bruce groaned. “He’ll kill us anyway.”
“I’m just looking out for you, brother.” Matt muttered, his voice barely audible.
“You should have thought about it when you stole that money!” Bruce yelled at the top of his lungs. “We’re trapped, you asshole! Don’t you get it?!”
“We need to ask the MC for help.” Matt suggested.
“We left the MC two years ago, Matt.” Bruce said with a sigh, trying to calm down. “Besides, who would want to start a war with the most powerful man in the State? Why? Because two former members stole his money? They’ll want a piece of that. We could leave Vegas, but Howard’s got connections. He’ll find us.”
“What can we do?” Matt inquired.
“We got two options. One: Try to pin this on someone else. We can find some local lowlife, dump the cash in his backyard and tip Howard off. Two: Pray he never finds out we stole that money.” Bruce replied, running his hand through his hair.
“I don’t want to go down that road again, Bruce.” Matt said, shaking his head sideways.
“In case you haven’t noticed, you have.” Bruce claimed, his voice calm and steady, looking deep into Matt’s eyes. “We both have. Now, I don’t care who this guy is. We’ll get through this, like we always have.”
“I wish I didn’t hear you say that. Vince used to say those words a lot.” Matt sighed, referring to the middle-aged president of their motorcycle club, Vince Burrows.
“Screw Vince.” Bruce urged. “That’s why we left the MC in the first place. We’d be in prison if we hadn’t.”
“I miss the life sometimes.” Matt confessed. “The money. The girls.”
“What about the feds that come with it?” Bruce got sarcastic. “Do you miss those, too?”
“No.” Matt snorted.
“Don’t worry about Howard. We’ll deal with him, when time comes.” Bruce assured. “Anyway, did Melissa say anything else?”
“Oh, shit!” Matt yelled. “Jenny’s still in my room!”
Not wasting any time, he flipped around and rushed to the door. Matt stormed out of the hotel room, leaving a very amused Bruce. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Despite his initial emotional reaction, he was determined to face the danger that possibly lay ahead. Yes, Frank Howard was a dangerous criminal, a local kingpin, but he had faced people like him in the past, while he was still a member of the motorcycle club. Bruce might have to get his hands dirty; still, that prospect did not worry him. He would whatever it took to protect himself, his sister Miranda and Matt.
“Should I call Miranda? No. I’ll upset her for no reason. I still don’t know if Howard knows. Damn it. I wish I had someone in his crew. He’d tell me if they had anything. I wouldn’t be here waiting for someone to take a shot at me. I’d hit him first. Maybe Matt’s right. It’s a long shot, but the Vegas MC charter might help. But I can’t talk to them, either. Someone might tell Howard that me and Matt took that cash. I don’t know if I can trust them.”
4
By the time he had left his hotel that afternoon, Bruce’s head was spinning, contemplating his next move. However, he was on his way to meet Melissa and he could not afford to show his emotions. Most likely, she would start asking questions. Bruce would have to tell her the whole story and reveal his secrets, secrets that had been haunting him for years. Un
der the blood-red sky of Las Vegas, her image reentered his mind. He liked her; she seemed like an honest girl, but he barely knew her. Bruce could not know whether he could trust her or not.
During his short ride to Bonanza Road, he enjoyed the scenery. He liked the uphill road, even though a couple of turns were quite steep, but, more than anything, he savored the sensation of the cool air against his skin. The day in the city had been extremely hot; neither he nor Matt would even consider getting out before sunset. However, the evening was rather brisk, ideal for long walks or long rides on his Harley. This one though lasted less than ten minutes. Bruce spotted Melissa on the right side of the wide road, sat on her electric-blue motorcycle, just outside the supermarket she had told him about.
“Hey you.” She sang. “How was the ride? It wasn’t hard to find, was it?”
“Hi. No, it wasn’t.” He said, trying to pull his helmet over his head.
“Keep it on.” Melissa suggested. “There’s a place I want you to see.”
“Lead the way.” Bruce gave her a smile. She returned it, slowly turned around, put her own helmet on and mounted her motorcycle. Her black leather outfit was tight enough to accentuate her curves. Even in that, Melissa looked very feminine indeed. Sadly for Bruce, he could not watch her for more than just a few seconds. The brunette started the engine of her Harley, as the sun quickly disappeared in the horizon.
“I was so stupid to leave last night. Where are you taking me, Melissa? What is it that you want me to see?”
Curious about what she had in mind, Bruce followed Melissa. For the first time in his life, he was riding with a woman. A beautiful woman. Something in her ways appealed to him. She lured him like nothing else in the entire world could. Bruce was not sure whether it was the fact that she rode a motorcycle, her amazing looks or the way she had treated him so far. It could be any of those things or all of them combined. But he would not bother to analyze it any further. Once again, he was feeling the cool breeze against his skin, as they rode on an uphill stretch of road. The busy Bonanza road continued downhill, giving him a chance to gaze at the dozens of taillights and headlights. The Frenchman mountains stood tall and proud against the clear, darkening sky.
“Freedom, baby.” Bruce thought to himself, as he rolled the throttle on his motorcycle. The speedometer indicated he was doing more than eighty five miles per hour.
“Something happens to you at about ninety miles an hour. All the noise drowns out all sound. You focus on the immediate. All of a sudden, you’re not on the road. You’re in it. You’re part of it. Nothing matters; traffic, scenery, people become nothing more than blurry images of things you’re just trying to avoid. I love that rush.”
The immediate at that point was Melissa and her long hair whipping against her back. The right indicator on her Harley flashed. Fifty yards later, she took a right turn. Bruce found himself onto yet another downhill road. This one however was gravelly and empty, surrounded by thick, dry bushes. Two hundred meters down that road, Melissa left it and went to the right. She rode across a rocky ledge, slowed down and eventually stopped, just a few feet before the edge.
“This is it.” She said, pulling her helmet over her head. Bruce’s jaw had dropped. The hill that they were on overlooked the city of Las Vegas. Thousands upon thousands of sparkling city lights lay ahead of them. Their numerous color variations added to the sheer beauty of the scenery. Several high-rises towered over the rest of the smaller buildings and could be seen from a distance.
“It’s fantastic.” Bruce voiced his mind in a mild tone, as he removed his helmet as well. The two of them dismounted their motorcycles almost at the same time. He left his helmet hanging on the left handlebar and put his hands in his pockets, as he lazily walked up to her.
“This is my favorite view of the city.” Melissa confessed, her voice low and sweet. Then, she turned her head to the left and faced Bruce. “You said you’re from Boston. What’s your favorite view of your city?”
“Charles River.” Bruce’s response was sharp. “It’s a great place for a walk, with amazing views of the city.”
“It sounds interesting.” She commented.
“You should see it someday.” He suggested, as his thick lips curled into a razored smile.
“There’s that grin again.” Melissa remarked, pointing at his face. “I swear to God, if I hadn’t seen you riding a bike, I would never think you’re a biker.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you don’t act like one.” She explained. “You got…” Melissa faltered. “Manners. You’re not loud. You can actually talk. Most bikers I’ve met yell a lot. They’re pretty crude, if you know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Bruce spoke in an emphatic tone. “I was member of a motorcycle club.”
“Really?” She chirped. “How was it?”
“Well, it was pretty loud. We had lots of fun. You know, riding around, going to places. We were pretty close.” He replied.
“Then why did you leave?” Bruce dreaded Melissa’s last question. It put him in an impossible position. Not ready to reveal his past, he decided to try a different approach.
“Why are you so interested in me, Melissa? I mean, I’m a tourist. You know I won’t be here for long.” He said, as a breeze tugged at his short, black hair. Melissa rolled her eyes to the right and squeezed her lips, clearly saddened by his words.
“I’ve been alone for too long.” She whispered. “My phone was already buzzing in my pocket when you spoke to me. I got a pretty oppressive father. That’s why I was so rude to you.”
“I’m not buying that.” Bruce smirked at her. “You’re too beautiful to be alone. And what you said about your father doesn’t make sense. What does your mother have to say about this?”
“Well, thanks, but it’s true.” Melissa continued. “My mom died two years ago. Heart attack.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He lowered his tone and got serious.
“Bruce.” She snorted. “You can’t. You just can’t be a biker. I think someone’s playing a joke on me.”
“I am. I got the scars to prove it.” Bruce spoke in his deep, manly voice. “I can show you if you like. Why do you say to that?”
“Please, don’t make me repeat myself.” Melissa requested.
“I really liked what you did last night.” He whispered, bending his head towards her. “I dumped you and you didn’t get mad at me. You wanted to see me again.” Sliding his right hand up her forearm, he looked deep into her eyes. She did not stop him; her big smile encouraged him. Bruce’s hand stopped on the side of her neck. The feel of her soft skin in his palm sent sparks up and down his body.
“You could have snapped at me when I said ‘nice try’. But you didn’t. That’s why I talked to you later.” Her high-pitched voice had lowered to a soft, sweet whisper. Bruce closed his eyes and gently pulled her closer to him. Melissa’s skin was very smooth, but it was her tender kiss that blew his mind. Her lips felt warm on his mouth, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Sensing her hot breath on his skin, he held her near. The wind grew stronger; it began to whip her hair against her face, but she would not stop kissing him. Bruce caressed the back of her neck, entwining his other arm around her back. He trapped her upper lip in his mouth and kissed it one last time, before slowly pulling back.
“I’ve never seen anything prettier in my whole life.” He confessed, watching as the wind continued to whip her hair against her face.
“You’re really sweet, Mr. Boston.” She whispered.
“I’m just being honest.” Bruce added.
“Care to follow me again?” Melissa asked in a husky tone.
“Where to?”
“My place is two miles east from here.” She winked at him. With her scent still in his nostrils and feeling a little dizzy by her kiss, Bruce would not say “no” to her. Their date was going better than he anticipated. He couldn’t wait to be alone with her in a much more comfortable pla
ce than a rocky ledge. His heart was racing, as he mounted his Harley for one more time that night.
“Your place it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s up the mountains or in the desert. I really want to spend the night with you.”
5
Bonanza Road gradually got narrower and narrower. More than that, the houses on both sides of the road were much bigger and more luxurious than the ones that they had left behind. Indeed, that part of the area resembled more of an expensive, major city suburb. Bruce couldn’t help but marvel at the massive estates all around him. They seemed to be either new or well-preserved. Supercars were parked on the driveways. Lush greenery surrounded each mansion. Almost each and every one of them featured large power gates. Big swimming pools were visible from the road. Bruce began to wonder where Melissa was taking him. A young lawyer like her could not possibly afford a house like that, no matter how successful she was. It was at that moment that he sensed that she was hiding something from him. The darkness did not allow him to see whether there were any apartment buildings or small, ordinary houses there or not.
Bruce’s first question was answered when Melissa pulled over on the right side of the road, a few feet before a very big estate. She pulled a keypad out of the pocket of her jacket and pressed a button. A huge, gray, iron gate slowly opened sideways. Melissa did not look behind her. Instead, she rolled on the throttle, turned right and entered the estate. With his heart literally racing, Bruce followed her. This time though, he did not stop his Harley behind Melissa’s. Instead, he stopped it next to hers.
“This is your place?” He squinted at her, his voice high-pitched.
“Actually…” She faltered, as she pulled her helmet over her head. “I lied. It’s not. It’s my aunt Helen’s. She’s out of town.”
Her answer made perfect sense. Still, he had one more question.