by Adair Rymer
“Si. On my word.”
“In the trunk of the car we came over in.”
Bones nodded to Caballo and the portly man ran off to check. I turned to address Roughneck. “Now give the lady some breathing room. Or I'll come over there and do it for you.”
“If Lorenzo isn't in that trunk, I'll kill her myself,” Bones interjected.
The whole time Caballo was gone, I looked only at Star, reassuring her with my eyes that she would be ok. I mouthed the word 'Breathe' at her. She nodded, her faint, short breaths lengthened. The rapidity in her chest falls steadied. The knife was a hairsbreadth from spilling her life out all over the carpet.
Roughneck saw this and lowered the knife to let her breathe a little easier then brought it quickly back into her. The twisted old man raised her as high as he could until she squeaked or grunted, then let her down. He'd slap her throat with the flat of the blade all the while staring at me. He put the point of his knife into her shoulder just enough to draw blood then put it back against her throat.
He was torturing her to get a rise out of me. For as much as I wanted to tear his fucking head off we both knew I wouldn't be fast enough to stop him if he decided to kill her.
Bones' phone went off. “Someone's in the trunk,” he casually replied while texting. “Pretty beaten up though.”
“He was alive when I put him in there. Now call off the ghost of Christmas past, here.”
“In good time. Let's see if it's the man you say it is.” Bones put his phone away and studied me for signs of breaking. He would find none.
It was an eternity until the Lobos dragged Lorenzo in. Lorenzo was thrown into the room like a bloody sack of potatoes. Aside from his busted jaw, I left him mostly recognizable.
“Hola, Lorenzo. It's good to see you, my friend.” Bones walked across and squatted down to meet him eye to eye. “We have much to discuss.”
Lorenzo immediately started talking but it all came out a garbled mess. Talk your way out of this one, asshole. Bones stood back up and kicked the man in the face then ribs.
“Cuff this maldito hijo de puta to a chair in the next room. I'll be over in a few minutes.” Bones spat on the man and spread his fingers across his mustache in what looked like a triggering mechanism to force himself to calm back down. Lorenzo coughed teeth and gore and left a blood trail as they dragged him out of the room.
“Let her go.” Bones was riled up at seeing his old adversary. Roughneck complied, shoving her toward me. I caught her and brushed her hair from her face. “You kept your word, you delivered me, Lorenzo. So I’ll keep mine. One life for One life. She may live. Pero, tú, mi amigo, a pesar de ser útil, sigues siendo un Steel Vein.”
Damn.
Sobering resignation washed over me. I touched my forehead to hers and breathed her in as deep as my lungs could carry her. I let her scent fill my soul. My soul. Something I had regained by having her with me. For the first time since Maria, I felt like everything was ok. I was ok.
“Star,” I whispered to her. Bones pulled a gun from one of his hanging dual shoulder holsters. “In the end, looks like you saved me.”
“Remy, what's going on, I don't understand?” Star's beautiful hazel eyes became shining pools of dread as they started to water. She couldn't know what was coming but she knew something was very, very wrong.
The climate in the room shifted. Bones wore an expression of resignation. The rest of the men were caught somewhere between surprise and righteousness. Everyone backed away from us. Roughneck giggled like a storybook witch.
I smiled at the angel in front of me. When she tried to hug me, I used all the willpower I had left and shoved her away as hard as I could. I'd only known her for such a short time but I couldn't imagine my life withou—
Blam.
Blam. Blam.
Blam.
Blam.
Chapter 5
Star
“No! Nononono! Remy!” The scream swelled from every fiber of my body.
The bullets punched into his chest and arms. The final round skipped off his head. It didn't seem real at first. Then the dark holes in his clothing filled with color. Four sickening roses bloomed on him. I couldn't move. Or breathe. Or think. I could only gaze on in horror. The room was silent as a grave. Smoke rose from Bones' exhausted gun barrel but Remy still stood.
He turned his head to look at Bones. A line of flesh on his cheek, where the bullet glanced off him, had been burned and tore away. Remy's cheekbone peeked out before immediately sinking beneath a river of blood.
“Sorry, Poet, you know how it goes. Only good Veins a dead Vein.” Bones shrugged, reloading his pistol. “I am impressed though.” He raised his gun again. “You claw your way outta hell, come see me. I'll put you to work.”
Remy teetered like a weathered statue finally about to succumb to gravity, then collapsed. Openly sobbing, I scurried to him. One of the bikers cursed at Remy and went to spit on him. I couldn't see which one. I could barely see anything at all through the tears and mucus.
Bones scolded the man.
I couldn't understand exactly what they were saying but I understood the gist of it. They argued about what to do with me. I honestly didn't care. Remy was my tether in this dark jagged cave. It was hard to tell up from down but as long as I was secured to him I was safe, strong and confident. Now I'm still in that dark place but I'm falling free. I didn't dare look up because I knew that every glance or touch from one of those men would cut me like a jagged rock.
I felt so hopeless.
My hands hovered shakily over him. I was terrified to touch him. He was bleeding from so many places! I didn't know what to do! Was there even anything to do? He wasn't breathing... Oh Remy please don't leave me.
I finally placed my hands on his chest. I don't know if I thought I could stop the bleeding or if I just needed to touch him one last time.
Remy gasped.
His eyes flitted open then shut again. He was still alive! I needed to do something. He was dying and I needed to save him! Pull it together, Star. What would Remy do?
“Hey.” No one heard me. “Hey, assholes!” I screamed, drawing every set of eyes in the room. Ok, don't freak out. “Someone help me get him into the car.”
“Bitch, you don't tell us what to—” Spyder started speaking but I cut him off.
“No! Bones, you offered Remy a job if he lived. If your word— if your honor is meaningless then shoot me in the head right now. When I get to hell, I'll make sure to tell everyone how much of a coward and a liar you are.”
“Do not insult my honor. Now leave here before I reach the limit of my patience.”
“Not without Remy.” I had never sounded more unyielding in my life. Those three words could've chipped granite.
“Chamaquita...” Bones exhaled. “I don't want give the Veins a martyr. Papa, Caballo, put him in the Cop's car.”
“You knew?”
“Of course I knew. I had them run the VIN numbers when they checked for Lorenzo.”
Flaco and Spyder argued with him but Bones silenced them and reaffirmed his order. “—It doesn't matter.” He switched back to English so that I could understand. Probably as a warning. “They can't nail us to any of it. If she gets pulled over, or if she's stupid enough to talk while driving a stolen cop's car, it'll be her word against ours and we own these cops. Last I heard it was the Steel Veins that abducted her. The Steel Veins that put the hit out on her boyfriend, Poet. Not us. Now put him in the fucking car.”
Remy was dragged into the car. His breathing was so faint but it was still there. I drove to the nearest McDonald's drive-thru, fortunately it was empty. After what was probably a very strange conversation with a crazy lady through a speaker, the teenage employee directed me to the nearest hospital.
How the hell was Remy still alive? I nervously looked him over again for the hundredth time. There was a lot of blood, and he was starting to look pale but I felt like he should've been bleeding more for how many time
s he was shot. I wish I knew anything about medical stuff! I stifled more tears and drove faster.
Red and blue lights and sirens wailed behind me.
Oh god.
We couldn't afford to be pulled over, not right now. I'm still dressed like a fucking stripper. If we get stopped I'll be arrested, Remy will get medical attention but will be linked to all the shit that went down in Vegas and be completely fucked.
The pistol on my lap burned in my brain like a wild fire. I've shot someone before and even killed a man by running him over. But to shoot a cop? That was too far! Wasn't it? The lights got closer. Maybe I could out run them. Was I insane? How many episodes of Cops have I seen where that's ever worked. Fucking zero is how many. And I'm no Paul Walker. I didn't even get my driver's license til I was nineteen.
I slowed down and pulled over. “I'm so sorry, Remy. I just can't.”
The cop behind us turned out to be an ambulance and it blew by us. Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. Wait an ambulance? I must've been close to the hospital!
I stomped on the gas and chased it. A few minutes later the bright St. Mary's sign shined like a beacon in the darkness. Remy saw this and finally woke up enough to grab my leg.
“No... hospital. Records... Veins.” His voice barely a whisper. Records? Oh, he'd be on file there. There'd be a record of us or at least him, even if we entered him as a John Doe. The Steel Veins would probably hear that he'd been shot and figure the closest hospital is a good place to check for him. Same for the police or even the Lobos if they felt like tying up loose ends. Hospitals aren’t designed to keep people out. Fuck! He'd be a sitting duck for however long it took him to get better.
We pulled up beside the ambulance. It was late and the hospital was mostly dead. “What do I do, Remy? How do I help you? Please!” He'd passed out again. I don't know if it was the the bumpy drive but he was definitely bleeding more now. No! After all the crap getting him here, and everything we've been through these last few days, I refused to let him die in the fucking parking lot of a goddamned hospital!
The rear ambulance doors were still open from when they rushed inside whoever it was needed rushing. I had a crazy idea. I drove the car around so that the passenger side was right next to the back door of the ambulance. I stuffed the gun into my thong. The cold steel on my pussy sent a chill up my spine. I ran around the car and half-dragged, half-tossed Remy the short distance into the back of vehicle.
I parked the stolen car and got out just in time to see one of the EMTs exiting the building to have a smoke. I ran up behind him and jammed the gun into his back. Please don't let this be one of those times that a gun just goes off for no reason! I'd have taken the bullets out if I knew how.
“Give me the keys!” I shouted into the man's ear.
“Jesus! They're in the ignition! Take it! Take it!” He dropped his cigarette and lighter.
“Get in.” I pushed him in with Remy. “You'd better make sure he doesn't die!” I slammed the door.
I got in and sped off. If there were no exterior cameras on the hospital then we were all set. If there were... I didn't want to think about it. I drove for half an hour before stopping by the side of a poorly lit road. The sky was lightening in the distance. Soon, the fiery hues of dawn would burn away the night sky. I've seen too many dawns lately.
“I'm coming back there,” I called out, tucking the gun away. “Remember, I still have a gun so don't try anything!” I sounded so stupid.
When the door opened, I saw that Remy, barely conscious, had grabbed the medic's shirt preventing him from rushing out the back as we slowed down.
“How is he?” I was almost too afraid to ask.
“He's stable but he wouldn't let me give him anything for the pain. He's lost a lot of blood. I'm not a doctor and this isn't the ER. Without proper treatment he will die,” the bespectacled man warned.
“We can't take him to a hospital, people are obviously trying to kill him.” I climbed in and sat down beside Remy.
“I take it the police are out of the question?”
“Yeah, no. That's not an option.” I brushed Remy's shaggy hair back. “We're on our own.” Remy was in so much pain, it made my heart ache.
“Listen. I'm sorry about your boyfriend but please, you gotta let me go. I have a wife and kids. I can't get dragged into this kind of stuff. Please just let me go.” The medic pleaded with me. I did feel sorry for him but I really didn't have any choice.
I felt the gun slip out of the near negligible amount of fabric that covered my pussy. When I looked down, Remy, half an eye open, had the gun pointed at the medic.
“Oh Jesus, don't kill me. I did the best I could!” The EMT screamed. For someone constantly around death, he sure did startle easy.
“Don't shoot him, R—“ I stopped myself from saying Remy's name. “The man probably saved your life.”
“...wallet.” Every syllable Remy uttered was intensely labored. He shouldn't have been talking at all. The medic handed it to me. Seriously? Was Remy really robbing him right now? “...License... show me.”
I did. What could he possibly want with the man's license? It's not like Remy could've passed himself off as the medic. They looked nothing alike.
“I know... you... now, Shawn... Grayson. Quiet... or... I'll find...You.” Remy passed out again.
The implications lingered for a moment. I had no doubt that if Remy wanted to find this man he could. Granted he'd need to survive the night first. I took the gun out of Remy's limp hand. God, I hated seeing him like this.
“Where can we go?” I wiped the water from my eyes. That silly hesitant girl version of me was burned away. The anger in my voice was unmistakable. My knuckles went white from squeezing the gun handle so tightly.
“OK, OK. I know a clinic that for the right amount of money, doesn't ask any questions. They should have the necessary tools to get the bullets out of him and clean him up.”
“You better not fuck us, Shawn. Give me your cell phone.” He did. “I'm going to give this to very bad men. If this place turns sour or if we get busted by the cops. They will come visit you or...” I looked through the contacts. “Sherry, your wife. Do you understand?”
He nodded, terrified. I got back into the drivers seat.
“Will he make it?” I turned the ignition over.
“It's hard to be certain, but it looks like no major arteries or organs were hit,” Shawn stammered.
“Shawn, will he make it?”
“Yes! Yes he will!”
Seeing Remy barely conscious, clinging desperately to life, fully awakened that darkness inside me. I didn't enjoy the barbwire in my tone but I understood how necessary it was now. Somehow I knew Shawn was telling the truth. Remy would survive, thrive even. He was built with stuff too tough for even death and he was forging me into something truly meant for this outlaw world.
The road before us was straight and free of obstacles so I afforded myself an extended blink as I drove. In the extra second that my were eyes were closed, I saw that the Star I had once been, had gone supernova and was now just smoke locked away in one of the forgotten rooms. I was now the wispy shadow-self, speeding along that hallway and shining so much brighter.
None of the doors dared open at all anymore, save the one at the end of the hallway. When it opened, the room glowed brilliantly with blood and marigolds.
And it was Remy's wide-armed embrace that I crashed into.
I opened my eyes. A new dawn's sun climbed over the distant horizon. Great and horrible things were in store for us when Remy was healed. Until then, I would wait by his bedside and count the days.
END OF PART TWO
Book 3 Coming Soon!
Want to know when book 3 is coming out? Join my newsletter!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adair Rymer is a hard drinking woman with limitless violence in her heart and fingertips. Absurd and obscene life experiences have forged Adair's affinity for decadence and depravity and all the squishy won
derful bits floating in between.
She's been lost in the mountains of Peru, stoned in the green death of the Amazon jungle, set on fire in the Argentine sun and sliced up in the wastelands of Canada.
Adair loves her beautiful Kawasaki ninja and filthy, filthy sex. She's also keen on a hot cup of Coca Tea.
She's survived her life a thousand times but barely, and hopes to do so a thousand more.
Join Adair's newsletter for previews and much more!