Harley's Surrender: Wild Kings MC: Dander Falls

by Erin Osborne

  “Good. Get out of here then. I’ll message the guys and let them know you’re headin’ out in five,” Gage replies, dismissing me so I can grab my shit and get to my bike. “I’ll find out who’s territory it is and make the calls.”

  Nodding my head, I run to my room and grab the bag I always have packed for runs. Once I check to make sure that I have my piece and the blade I carry with me, I head back out and don’t stop for anyone. Shadow and Crash are out at their bikes waiting for me and I can see Tank and Maddie in the SUV they arrived in. Tech comes rushing out the door with two bags filled with shit I can’t even begin to image. He loads them in the SUV with Tank and runs over to his bike. We head out and I can’t even enjoy the ride and relax. My body is wound so tight with the questions and possibilities running through my head.

  It’s taken almost a full day to get to the address in Savage Bend that the girl sent me. I don’t even know her name, yet she has my daughter in her care. The ride was horrible since I couldn’t concentrate or go as fast as I wanted to, but we’re finally here. I pull into the parking lot of the less than desirable apartment complex and wonder what the hell Harley was doing in a place like this. Then the thought that this is what Alan has her used to and she was trying to stay under the radar hits me.

  The complex itself has two different buildings. They’re run down with peeling paint, screens missing or hanging on by a thread, and trash littering the parking lot leading toward the dumpster at the very end. Honestly, it feels abandoned and like no one should be living in this place at all. If only I had read the fucking letter, I’d have known where my daughter and Harley have been all this time. I would have made sure they were living somewhere better than this dump.

  I see a curtain move in the front windows on the bottom of the complex and I instinctively know that it’s the girl that called me looking outside. Without taking a much-needed stretch after riding for so long, I make my way to the apartment door and raise my hand to knock. Before I can do that, the door opens, and I see a small woman standing before me holding the most precious looking little baby girl in her arms. Everything around me freezes as I lay eyes on my daughter for the first time.

  Quinn is so precious. She’s got a tuft of dark hair on her head that I know will end up the color of her mom’s. Her eyes are the shape and exact color of mine. On first look, Quinn is the perfect combination of Harley and me. Scanning her little body from head to toe, I see her ten little fingers curled up into fists while she’s covered in a pair of pajamas, so I can’t count her little toes. I can’t believe that we made this gorgeous little girl. I’m going to be beating the boys away when she gets old enough to date. No one is going to be good enough for my little girl.

  I reach out to hold her but end up bringing my arms back to my sides. This woman doesn’t know me, and I don’t see her letting me hold my daughter before I prove to her who I am. This is bullshit, but there’s nothing I can do about it right yet. I’m not going to snatch my daughter from her and risk hurting the little girl dressed all in pink. It’s the same thing I’d do in her position though. This little girl should only be in the arms of someone that’s going to care about her and make sure that she’s protected at all costs.

  “I don’t know your name, but I’m Steel. These are my brothers Tech, Crash, Tank, and his wife Maddie. Can we come in?” I ask, needing to know any information she has on Harley and her last whereabouts.

  “I’m Kim. Sorry I didn’t say my name before. I have no clue what’s going on or who’s listening. Harley seemed very concerned about something. She was always paranoid to leave the house or leave Quinn with me,” she says, stepping aside and letting us all in the tiny but clean apartment.

  I can’t take my eyes off my daughter no matter what I do. Kim is watching me as I gaze at the little bundle in her arms. She walks to me and hands over my baby girl. I cradle her against the hard planes of my body and look into her blue eyes. There’s so much innocence and trust shining back at me and I’m filled with a sense of wonder and amazement. Lifting a hand, I rub a finger down her soft and rosy cheek. Quinn reaches up and grabs onto my pinky with her little hand that barely wraps around my finger and I know that she’s got my heart. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this little girl already and I’ve just laid eyes on her for the first time.

  Walking over to the couch, I sit down and relax with my baby in my arms. I look to Kim and see her watching me like a hawk. It’s nice to know that Harley has someone willing to protect our daughter with everything in her. That’s the feeling I get anyway. “So, Kim, what can you tell me about Harley?” I ask, needing to get this conversation going so I can find my girl and bring her home.

  “She’s been working at Angel’s, a strip club, and that’s about it. That’s the only time she leaves the house unless she has to go to the store. If it’s not one of those two things, Harley stays inside and takes care of your daughter. She made sure that I had your number and would call if something happened. When she gave it to me, I could see how afraid she was, but I don’t know of what,” Kim says, sitting down in the chair across from me while Maddie sits next to me and the guys stand behind us.

  “Why didn’t she call me herself?” I ask, needing to know why there’s been no contact from her at all in the last year. “She knew she was havin’ my baby and she didn’t call me once.”

  “All I know is something about a letter that was sent. When she told me that little bit of information, she seemed scared. There was always an air of fear surrounding her,” Kim says, looking me straight in the eyes so I know that she’s telling the truth.

  “Okay. Who’s her boss at this strip club?” I ask, so I know who to talk to when I get there.

  “Frank something or other,” Kim says just as Tank’s phone rings.

  He answers it as he’s walking away, and I hope it’s Gage letting him know where we stand with other clubs in the area. I’m not sure what club is here, but I’m sure there’s one close by. Gage will smooth the way for us and let them know we’re only here to get my girl and daughter and head home. Tank walks back after a minute and nods his head to let us know we’re all good as far as the other club is concerned. I’ll find out more information in a few minutes when we head out.

  “Thank you, Kim,” I say, getting ready to head out. “Can Maddie and Quinn stay here with you while I go to find out where Harley is? I’ll leave Shadow outside so that no one comes to bother you guys.”

  “Of course. I’ll feed her and get her ready for a nap while you’re gone so you can see her some more when you get back. I’ll also let you in to look around Harley’s apartment to see if there’s any clues there,” she answers, standing up to take my daughter back from me. I don’t want to let her go but I know that I have to.

  Crash, Tech, Tank, and myself make our way out of the apartment to our bikes so that I can go talk to her boss. I got the address from Google and now the GPS is pulled up on my phone. I’ve looked at the directions and I think I know where we’re heading so I put my phone back in my pocket and straddle my girl. These days, I can’t even find peace when I’m riding though. It simply gives me time to think about Harley and my daughter and everything I could’ve done differently so that I was a part of their lives and nothing bad would happen to them.

  It takes about twenty minutes to get to the strip club that Harley works at and I can see that there’s three vehicles in the parking lot. Hopefully one of those are Frank’s so that he can tell me what happened last night to make my girl flee and leave our little girl behind. Tech volunteers to stay outside with the bikes and I nod my head to him in acknowledgement. Crash, Tank, and I make a formidable trio and I’m sure that we’ll have no problems getting these people to tell me what I need to know.

  Walking in the front door, I hear a male voice holler out that they’re not open yet. It doesn’t faze us as we continue to walk toward the bar where I see an older guy with a young girl. Hell, this girl doesn’t even look old enough to be out of high
school, let alone standing behind the bar slinging drinks. He’s got his back to us and I can see that he’s busy making sure that everything is ready to go when they open the doors tonight. If I don’t get some answers, they won’t have to worry about opening their doors for a long fucking time though.

  “We’re here for information and not drinks and used up pussy,” I say, letting the rage I feel at not knowing where Harley is filling my voice as I stand at the bar.

  “I don’t know anything and I’m not saying anything,” the man says, continuing to do what he’s doing and keeping his back to us.

  “Listen here you fuckin’ asshole, one of your girls has gone missin’ and I want to know what happened while she was here last night,” I say, frustration filling my voice as I drop my large body onto the closest stool.

  “What are you talking about?” he asks, finally turning to face us. I watch as the fear goes across his facial features before he drops his mask back in place. “Are you talking about Harley?”

  “Why do you ask that?” I ask him, knowing in my gut that something happened before she left work last night.

  “She got a phone call and I could see the fear plastered on her face and the way she walked back to the bar. I told her she could go home, but she refused,” the man answers, as I realize that this must be her boss.

  “Frank, right? Well, what happened when she left? Did anyone stop her or follow her out to her car? Did anyone follow her home?” I ask, questions and concerns flying around my brain in rapid fire.

  “Yeah, I’m Frank. I don’t know who was on the phone. I just know that it was a male. He asked to talk to Harley and I took over for her behind the bar while she was on the phone. Usually, I don’t let my employees talk on the phone during work, but he said it was an emergency. After that, she looked spooked, but she wanted to stay at work,” Frank tells me, leaning on the bar and scratching his head. I can tell that he’s trying to think about last night and figure out if anything else happened. “Stan watched her get in her car and take off. He didn’t say anything about anyone following her. We could tell that something was off with her, but I didn’t press for details. Stan’s watched her walk to her car and leave since her first day here. If anything was out of the ordinary, he would’ve told me.”

  “Talk to him and make sure. We’ll be back later on, but for now, we don’t know where Harley is. I’m goin’ to find her one way or another. Your help would be nice if you think of anythin’ else,” I state to let him know we’re on it and to convince myself that I will find my girl and bring her home where she belongs.

  Frank nods his head at us and we take off. I don’t know where the fuck to look now. We can keep following the road that I’m sure Harley would take home, but her car’s there so she more than likely made it home before she was taken. This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions! Before I can turn my bike on, Tech is on the phone and I hope that he’s gotten some bit of news he can share with us.

  “Head to the hospital. I gave my number to Kim before we left and that was her. She just got a call, but it’s not good brother,” Tech says, shoving his phone in his pocket before jogging over to his bike.

  Tech takes the lead as I’m sure he’s already gotten directions to where we need to be. I follow him, and my mind is spinning with all of the things that could’ve happened to Harley for her to be in the hospital. How did she get there? Who the fuck dared to put their hands on my girl? Alan is the one I’m suspecting to have hurt her, but I don’t know how she would’ve gotten to the hospital.

  Thankfully it doesn’t take that long to make it to the hospital that has my girl. I don’t know if my bike is even parked I’m in such a rush to make my way inside and find Harley. The guys will take care of it, so I take off at the dead run until I see an older lady sitting at a desk. Hopefully she can help me.

  “I’m lookin’ for a girl that was brought in. Her name is Harley,” I say, not caring about anything else going on around me.

  “Who are you to the patient?” she asks, not bothering to look up at me.

  “I’m her husband. I just got to town today and we just got the call that there she’s here,” I lie, knowing that if I don’t they won’t tell me shit and I won’t be allowed to see her.

  “There’s no one here by that name,” the lady tells me, finally looking up at me. I can see the fear that floods her eyes at my appearance.

  “Listen ma’am,” Tech says, putting a hand on my shoulder in a silent communication to calm down. “Her neighbor just got a call saying that they found her name in Harley’s phone under emergency contacts. She’s here, but I’m guessin’ that they don’t know her name. Please get me someone to help us so that her husband can calm down.”

  “Go have a seat and I’ll have someone come talk to you,” she says, picking the phone up and turning her back to us so that we can’t hear what she’s saying.

  There’s nothing more I can do until a doctor, or whoever, comes to talk to me. I take a seat and notice a few people moving to get farther away from us while I hang my head in my hands. This is all my fault. If I had done something more to stop Alan from going after Harley, she wouldn’t be in the hospital. She doesn’t have to tell me anything for me to know that it was him. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen him, but the last time I did he looked off. My gut is telling me that I’m not wrong this time and I always listen to the feelings I get. Fuck!

  Harley

  There’s a dark haze surrounding me, a blackness that I can’t seem to get away from. I can faintly hear incessant beeping and feel pain radiating throughout my entire body. What I can’t figure out is why I’m in so much pain and what the wetness is that’s hitting my hand as something warm and large engulfs it. My eyes won’t open, and I feel like I’ve swallowed a bowl full of glass shards. Before panic can overtake me, I hear a voice in the distance that settles me down and calms the panic threatening to swallow me whole.

  “Harley, I don’t know why you ran when I would lay down my life for you. I can’t even be mad with you keepin’ Quinn from me, but we’ll talk about that when you wake up. From the first time I met you, I knew that you were goin’ to ruin me and rock my carefully constructed world right off its axis. What I didn’t know is that you were goin’ to capture my heart and become my entire world. You’re the light when I see nothin’ but dark. Harley, you need to wake up. Quinn needs you. I need you,” I hear Steel say, sounding like his heart is being ripped from his body. I don’t understand why he’s so upset and what’s going on that I’m not with him and our daughter.

  My daughter is the light of my life. When I couldn’t get Steel out of my head the last year, I would know that becoming a mother was my new purpose in life. The whole time I was pregnant, I knew that Steel should be there with me. But I wasn’t going to risk our child to move back home. I was struggling, and I knew that eventually I’d be going back to Dander Falls, but I needed to know that Alan was taken care of first. He’s a kind of evil I’ve never seen before and I won’t expose Quinn to him. Hell, I won’t let him come after the club. Somewhere along the way, no matter how hard I fought it, some of the club members and the girls around the club started to mean something to me.

  Knowing that I can’t let Steel continue to be hurt, I try to open my eyes. They won’t slide open and I can once again feel that panic overtaking me. The obnoxious beeping starts to go crazy and I can feel the strength from Steel seeping into my body as he grips my hand tighter.

  “Harley, can you hear me?” he questions me, excitement and hope lacing his voice. “Please wake up, angel. I need to see your eyes and know that you’re goin’ to come back to us.”

  I will myself to move my fingers enough to let Steel know that I hear him and that I’m here. Concentrating as hard as I can, I focus on moving my fingers. The blackness and peace threatens to pull me back under into nothingness, but I need him to know I’m trying to fight my way back. Things are going to be different when I wake up is the last thought I have b
efore the darkness wins and I feel myself floating away.

  I’m not sure how much time has passed. It could be a few minutes, hours, days, or weeks when I feel myself floating free of the darkness again. The pain isn’t so bad this time, but I still have a hard time pulling completely free. I feel a warm hand engulfing mine and I pray that It’s still Steel and not Alan. While I know that Alan wouldn’t be holding my hand or trying to comfort me in any way, there’s appearances to be kept and he would do anything to get what he wants. I know that now.

  Willing myself to open my eyes, I feel them begin to flutter open only to close just as fast when the harsh light of the room I’m in causes the pain in my head to intensify. I squeeze my fingers against the hand holding mine. There’s movement I hear, and I know that whoever is in the room with me can feel me moving.

  “Harley, I’m here. Please wake up,” Steel’s strained voice pleads with me. “Quinn and I need you to come back to us. Please wake up. Fight to come back home. I know you’re stronger than you think you are, but you continue to prove it on a daily basis. Now, you need to believe in that strength and know that you’re a warrior.”

  I try opening my eyes again, but I turn my head away from the lights shining directly into them. Looking in the direction I feel Steel sitting, I open my eyes enough to see the man sitting next to me. Steel looks exhausted, he needs a shave, and his hair is all over the place like he’s been running his hands through it constantly. He does that when he gets upset or agitated and doesn’t realize he’s even doing it. It’s grown longer since the last time I saw him. I like it.

  “S-S-Steel,” I say, my voice coming out weak with the pain in my throat.

  “Don’t talk angel. Let me get you some water,” he says, leaning over next to him and grabbing a glass and a pitcher of water. “Only take small sips. I’m goin’ to let the nurses know you’re awake.”