by Colora, R.
“No, I’m not going. I’m done being hunted, I’m going home!” irritated tone.
I pull out my phone and call Crash.
“Hey, sweetness. What can I do you for?”
“I need your help; I need everyone’s help, actually. Can I come by the clubhouse in about four hours?” I look at Rhydian and Reed and they both nod their heads. They know this can’t be done by the book.
“I’ll have Rhydian and Reed with me.” I say to Crash and hear him relay our conversation to Renegade. He comes back on the line to let me know he will let the prospect know who should be arriving.
A few hours later, we touch down in Denver and drive straight to Brighton. It always amazes me the misconception people and even I use to have of bikers. The Chosen One compound is huge and clean. Guys milling around working on the little houses or their bikes; some are pushing young kids on a swing. I’m sure if you’d take the bikers out, it would look like a quiet neighborhood. They have bought the property at an auction after some cult had lost it due to not paying taxes. It seems to work great for them. It is off the beaten path and confined—they don’t bother anyone and no one bothers them. They live the life they want with no interference. We make our way to the clubhouse where all the members are waiting.
When I walk in I see Killian and I’m confused until I see the patch on his vest that says prospect. Rhydian and Reed step in behind me.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I hear Rhydian shout, while Reed just snorts.
“Well, sweet pea, what brings you to the seventh circle of hell?” I hear Renegade’s voice through the loud music and the sound of pool balls making contact.
In front of all the members, I once again tell my story. The bikers are stone faced. I make my way over to their TV and plug in my HDMI cable, I pull up the date I want on my laptop, and it flickers to life on the big screen. The bikers are all silent. I'm about fifteen in the video, I'm naked and tied to a fold out table that's covered in plastic. I probably weigh eighty pounds and look much younger than my fifteen years. Jack Wells comes into the frame, and I watch as the video plays in front of me.
“Please, don't hurt me.” I beg. I'm crying on the video.
He makes his first cut and I scream, pulling against my bindings.
“I love it when they scream.” he says to Edwin, who laughs off camera.
He makes his second cut and then his third. I've stopped begging because I know there is no use; he isn't going to stop. He runs the knife across my face, but doesn't cut.
“I wish I could carve you up how I like, but your daddy here says I can't touch your face. What a pity.” He continues to cut and I continue to scream, until he finally takes off his clothes and walks towards the table with a rope he ties it around my neck and climbs on the table. I shut it off, closing the laptop.
I have to take a minute to steady my voice before I talk to the group.
“This man is after me. They went to arrest him, but he got tipped off so he's coming after me. I'm going to go to my real dad and ask him for his men, but I will keep them on the outside. I'm gonna let Jack find me. I'm not running and I'm not hiding, but I need you to help me catch him and find somewhere to store him. And once I'm done, I need the evidence taken care of.”
“You know you’re talking in front of a Fed, right?” Killian says.
“I'm not a Fed, dumbass. I work for Homeland Security and this guy has funded twenty terrorist and ISIS cells. I'm here for Estelle. As far as my unit is concerned, I have been on leave since we landed in Denver. They want this guy dead, not captured.”
A prospect I remember from my house, and is now wearing a vest that says Pins, speaks up. “Estelle, don't do this. You don't want this coming back on you. Let us handle this for you.”
Crash and Bison stepped forward. “We got this, sweetness,” Bison says, and I reluctantly nod my head.
“I want to be there though. I want him to know he doesn’t scare me anymore," I say.
“We wouldn't have it any other way, sweetness." Crash looks at Rhydian. “Don’t hurt her again.” Rhydian extends his hand and they shakes hands.
Bison came up and gave me a hug. “Damn girl, you have no idea how amazing you are.”
Renegade comes up with Brenda and they give me a hug. “Come on, sweet pea. Let the men do what they have to do,” Brenda says.
“Reed!” I yell concerned. “The girls, Mel, and Patrick are at the house on Anderson Street.”
“No, they aren’t” he reassures me. “We moved them to a safe house, but I think we should move them here.”
“Renegade, do you have room? These girls were in the house when I was taken; change is hard for them."
“We have four cabins that were just renovated. Make the phone call, sweet pea, we will protect them."
I turn and see Killian and Rhydian talking. Killian turns and I see something on the back of his ear. I can't remember what it is, but I know Killian can hear now and that’s awesome.
I stand outside the clubhouse and wait for my dad, Vaughn, and Uncle Sal. They are coming here to discuss security details. As soon as they pull up, I see Mel and Patrick pull up behind them. The girls shoot out of the back seat and run towards me.
“We were so worried about you!” Anastasia says. I see Oksana and Zasha have tears in their eyes.
“We thought something awful had happened when they made us grab our things and leave.” Zasha wipes her tears away and then hugs me too.
“Ahhhhh, Zasha. It’s ok. I'm sorry I couldn't call or text you. I'm fine, we are gonna get you guys settled here until we can catch this guy."
“Come on into the clubhouse. I would like you to meet everyone, girls. These are good men, no one will hurt you. They are all protectors, do you understand?” They only nod.
“This is my father, Antonio and my Uncle Sal.” I can see the girls are shocked at the size of the two men.
“This is my brother Giovanni, but he likes to be called Vaughn. These are my friends Anastasia, Oksana, and Zasha.” The girls wave a shy hello in response.
I see Vaughn trying to pull his eyes away from Anastasia and she is blushing. I might have to play matchmaker because my brother needs a good girl and Anastasia needs a man to love her and be gentle and patient. I know my brother can be that man. Then we all walk in the clubhouse.
“You girls remember Rhydian,” he smiles, but keeps his distance. He knows it will take a while for the girls to get used to him and feel comfortable enough to have contact.
“Your boyyyyyyyyyfriend” Zasha says in her sassy tone.
“Yes, my boyfriend” I say, and Mel rolls her eyes.
“I heard that," Patrick says. “Woot! You owe me twenty bucks, Mel! I totally called that.”
“This is Rhydian’s brother, Killian” he waves. “These are two of my best guy friends, Crash and Bison.” The guys only smile.
“There is Renegade, the President, and Pins, Three Fingers, and Pecks” when I say his name, he flexes his pec muscles under his way too tight shirt and the girls giggle, which pisses off my brother and Bison. The rest of us laugh.
“If you need anything, you find one of these guys, understand?” The girls nod their heads, and I notice Anastasia moving closer to Vaughn. Oksana seems to gravitate towards Bison. I could understand that, Bison was easy on the eyes. I'm not sure how I feel about the idea though. Bison is only twenty-one, but he is a biker, he grew up in this club and it’s the only life he has ever known. His dad is the Vice President, so it’s in his blood. I look at the way he places his hand on Oksana’s back, and she doesn’t flinch; she does the opposite, she almost leans into his touch. He whispers something in her ear, and she nods and walks over and the rest of the girls follow Brenda into the industrial kitchen. The women of the club have made us delicious food and we sit down at a small table and eat.
“I was thinking that all of us could stay at the same cabin. If there aren’t enough beds, maybe we can get one of the men to bring a bed
over.” Zasha says looking at her food. I notice one of the prospects overhears; he lets me know he will take care of it personally.
It’s about forty minutes before my father comes in.
“Hey Zasha, Patrick told me you guys have been playing checkers. Have you ever played chess?” he asks her.
“No, I don’t think I’m smart enough.” She replies sadly.
“Zasha, cupcake, I never want to hear you say anything like that about yourself again. You are smart. Some of the kids are setting up a small game area. Do you want to go meet some of them? There’re a few kids your age." Antonio says.
She looks a little worried and looks to Anastasia for guidance.
“I think it will be a good idea, Zasha. It will be good for you to get used to being around kids if you want to start school in a few months. This will be good practice for you” she says reassuringly.
Zasha gets up, grabbing her plate she walks to the sink and looks for the soap and sponge.
Brenda comes and grabs the plate. “You go be a kid. I will wash it for you.”
Zasha gives Brenda a hug and a kiss on the check and thanks her for the wonderful food. Brenda turns towards the sink before anyone can see her tears.
“What’s going to happen to her? She is only fifteen?” Brenda asks.
“Well, technically she is emancipated, but she could really use a good family. She has a lot of therapy left, but even at fifteen she would love to have a family and a normal life,” Mel states. We all look around. This is far from a normal life, but it could be a good life for Zasha. She would have a family and a very large group of men that would protect her with their lives.
The women sit around and talk. It isn’t long before I make my next move. I just hoped I survive it. I make sure the men are occupied and I slip out. I’m not a scared fifteen-year-old girl anymore. I drive the twenty-two miles to Denver and I pull into my driveway. I walk into my house and pull things out for a chicken salad sandwich. I’m chopping up the leftover chicken in the fridge, and as I pull out celery and onion, I’m whistling. I know he there; he isn’t even sneaky. I can see him stroll into the kitchen out the corner of my eye he doesn’t realize I have seen him because I keep working on my sandwich.
“So we meet again, Stella.” Jack says with a sneer.
“It would seem so.” I put the knife down and step away from the counter, leaving the knife. “If you leave now, I will let you turn yourself in." Jack only laughs in response.
“Oh, you're serious. I’m here to finish what I started when we first met all those years ago. I hated to stop when I knew if I could cut a little more, you would be my finest creation.” He takes a step towards me.
I step around the counter towards him, letting him know I’m not scared anymore.
“Oh, you have grown brave, Stella. I remember when the sight of me would make you tremble in fear. You liked the pain, didn’t you?” He says with glee.
“If you leave now, I will let you turn yourself in.” I say again.
“I think I’ll stay. Let’s say you and I have some fun?” He says, reaching into his bag.
I stay still, just watching. I know I have to stay calm. I have to wait until he makes the first threatening move; it’s only self-defense if I’m in imminent danger. He pulls out a knife roll, it’s something chefs carry, but his knives are used on women. Once he unrolls it and pulls the largest knife out. Why do these assholes always have to give some kind of speech?
I know I need to hide my smile. The cameras are rolling and I need to look scared, but I can’t help the grin that tugs at the lips.
I take a step forward; I stand with my legs shoulder width apart.
“Are you coming to play nicely, Stella? Or am I going have to come get you?” He asks, poking the tip of his finger with the knife.
“No, I’m going to stand right here and you’re going to leave one of two ways. Either with the police in handcuffs or in a coroner’s body bag...the choice is yours.” I say with a tone of indifference.
“Rather sure of yourself, Stella.” He takes another step towards me.
“Not at all, but you made a critical error, Jack.” I pause before continuing, “You brought a knife to a gunfight.” Before I finish the sentence. I’ve lifted my hand and shot him right between the eyes. He doesn’t even twitch; he just collapses. I walk to my phone and call 911.
“911. What is your emergency?"
“I shot an armed intruder who I asked to leave twice, and he came at me with a knife,” I say with some apprehension.
“Ma’am, are you injured?” The dispatcher asks.
“No, I’m not.” I reply, before I hang up the phone, moving out the front door, and sitting on the stairs. I’m waiting for the police to come so I put my hands flat on my lap so the police can see I‘m not armed. I can already hear the sirens. A police car pulls into my driveway the officers are in the in the car talking on the radio, when they see me on the steps the first officer exits the car and stand behind his car door. While the other starts heading into the house.
“Ma’am,” a young officer yells getting my attention. The dispatcher said you shot an armed intruder!” he confirms stepping from his car and walking toward me “I’m sorry, but I need to handcuff you until back up arrives they should be here in a few minutes. They have also dispatched an ambulance.”
I don’t say anything but turn around putting my hands behind my back. I feel the cuffs go around my wrists. I sit back on the steps, as the house floods with rescue workers and police officers. I know I’m gonna hear it and then I hear bikes and not one or two, but a whole club’s worth. I see Easton and Kennedy jump out of the car and when Kennedy sees me handcuffed on the steps, she starts screaming
“YOU BETTER UN-CUFF HER RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"
Easton is trying to calm her down, when Frankie and Tristan get out of her car. Frankie starts yelling, “WHY THE FUCK IS SHE HANDCUFFED? SHE’S THE VICTIM! GET THIS SHIT ON VIDEO. THIS IS FUCKING ABUSE!”
The officers tried to calm down, but that was not going to happen with this group. Soon my yard was overtaken by angry bikers and Kerrigans. Rhydian looks like he is about to explode.
Rhydian looks at the younger officer and asks, remaining calm.
“Officer O’Leary, you have my fiancé handcuffed in front of her own home after she was attacked. Is that really necessary?”
The officer looked at me.
“Sir, we arrived on the scene without backup. I was told there were shots fired. I had to make sure I could do my job safely.” I will be happy to move her inside so she can be more comfortable.
The officer helps me stand up and walks me to the staircase on the inside of the house. I am grateful because the media has started to arrive.
“It’s okay, he did the right thing” I say.
Rhydian whips his head around. “YOU will sit on those steps and not say another word, or so help me fucking GOD, open your mouth again, and I’ll choke the shit out of you!” He says through clenched jaws.
He turns back to the officer, “Well, as you can see, she isn’t a threat. She isn’t armed and there are fifty people in this house, so un-cuff her please," he says in a harsh tone. The young officer looks to the senior officer that has just arrived.
“She isn’t being uncuffed! O'Leary, load her up. She is going downtown.”
The bikers all mount their bikes at that.
Renegade yells, “Sweet pea, don’t say shit. Our lawyer will meet you at the station, don’t even tell them your name.” I nod.
I am loaded in the back of the police car. When the police car pulls out, everyone follows. I get to the station and do what I’ve been told. I sit in holding for four hours until someone comes to take my statement. My lawyer is finally also able to come see me.
“Ms. Roux, why didn’t you tell the Officers on the scene that you have CCTV cameras with audio in your house?”
“They didn’t ask, and I knew that I needed to remain silent ‘till you told me
to talk."
My lawyer tells me to stand up and the guard to un-cuff me.
“You aren’t charging my client, so we are leaving.”
I walk out of the room and out the station. Everyone is waiting for me outside the station. I walk to Rhydian and wrap my arms around his neck.
“Babe, I know you're mad, and I’m sorry, but I had to." He kisses my forehead.
“I know, Princess, but I’m still gonna take it out on your ass," I nuzzle his neck.
“I’m looking forward to it, babe."
Crash walks over to us. “The girls, Mel, and Pat are gonna stay with us for a few days. We called our people, they are going to clean the house. It will be like brand new when they get back. However, you and me, sweetness, we are going to have a serious talk about you not listening to not only your man, but your friends. We just want you safe. Damn girl, I love you like a sister. It killed my ass to see you in cuffs.” He grabs me and pulls me into a bear hug and kisses my head.
“That’s enough hugging, Thor,” Rhydian says jokingly as he pulls me back into his arms.
“It’s all good, Crash. It’s over now, no more drama or police." I say, laughing. It feels really good to be loved. I have a great boyfriend, great friends and a new family with Antonio and Vaughn.
Chapter17
It has been two weeks since I killed Jack Well, and even though I’m not sorry, everyone has been right, it’s something that stays with you. I have pulled the trigger and ended a life, and that’s something I’ll have to live with. It seems strange that after everything I’ve been through, going back to school would be a comfort, but it is. I return to class and spend my time with Rhydian and the girls. They have flourished since coming to Denver.