by Sara Crest
I felt helpless. What would I do if Axel was taken from me? I had no support system, I couldn’t fend for myself, and relying on the kindness of others might just put me in a situation where they might be expecting a little something extra from me.
The town was practically dead, did everyone here really feel that way about the Desert Vultures? I knew I hadn’t been around them for long but it seemed like they only did petty crimes when it came to what actually affected the townspeople.
As I walked through the streets looking for any landmarks I could identify to make my way back to Axel’s apartment I noticed that the gunfire finally stopped.
I stood there in the middle of the street, almost as if I was waiting for something to happen. When I heard the sounds of some motorcycles riding off into the distance I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders.
I didn’t know how many bikers there were, I didn’t even know if it was Axel was the one riding out of there, but I liked to imagine that he made sure he got himself out of that fight as fast as he could to make sure that I was safe.
That is what he would do, right?
I heard a the sound of a single motorcycle speeding towards my direction. Was it him? Was he able to find me already?
I looked down the street to see a biker pull over to the side of the road for a moment, I could see him staring down the street at me trying to make out who it was. I squinted my eyes but couldn’t make out who it was, the setting sun was right behind him, causing him to be nothing more than a silhouette standing in the street.
“Axel?” I called out as I waved my hands. “Axel is that you?”
He started the bike back up and revved his engine before speeding towards me. In a matter of seconds he was coming at me going at least 70 miles per hour, and he was only getting faster.
I took a step back, uncertain of what was happening.
I felt petrified, I stood there in the middle of the road with this biker barrelling straight towards me.
Every instinct in my body begged me to just step aside, but deep down my mind told me to just let whatever happened, happen.
26
(Axel)
Donnelly turned into an alleyway, I had been chasing him for damn near 10 minutes and I wasn’t about to let my legs fail me now. It was almost funny how the shoe was on the other foot, all the times as a kid I ran away from the cops and now I was chasing one down.
The alleyway had a fence in the middle, separating the properties. Donnelly tried to hop it but misstepped on his jump and was forced to try to climb the rest of the way up.
As his hand grabbed onto the top of the fence I was able to grab him by his ankle, tearing him off of the fence and slamming him down on the hard pavement below.
He lay on his back and tried to pull his gun on me but I swiftly kicked it right out of his hands and underneath a nearby dumpster.
“After so many years I finally have you grovelling at my feet… you fucking bastard” I growled as I stared down at him.
He gave a little half smile, I could tell he was nervous, he had no idea what to expect from me. As far as he knew I was just some punk who had him cornered.
“You don’t even know why you’re here do you? You don’t even know who I am? Or what you did?” I asked him as I crossed my arms.
“Listen here buddy, you’re not gonna make a name for yourself by killing me. Just let me go and I’ll pretend like this didn’t happen.”
“You didn’t let Zeke go, no you thought it would be more fun to put a bullet in the both of us.”
He looked at me like I was insane, this bastard really didn’t remember. “Do you really have nothing better to do than to make up stories about me? Don’t you have somewhere better to be.”
My mind flashed to Hannah alone on the streets and I felt anger growing even more within me. Yeah I made my choice but me wasting time on this fucker was keeping me away from protecting her, I was breaking my promise to her. I couldn’t just kill him, not when he couldn’t even remember what it was that he did to me, not when he didn’t know that his actions brought me years of pain.
I leaned over him and held him on the ground by his throat, just enough for it to hurt and cut off some air.
“Two years ago” I told him. “Two years ago you killed my friend and threw me in jail all because of some bullshit your snitch was saying about us. He fucking died in front of you and you just laughed, then you threw me in the pen for two years on some bullshit drug charge.”
I hit his head hard against the pavement and he winced in pain before meeting my eyes with his own again.
“You better fucking remember.”
I loosened my grip on his throat so that he could speak, his face had already started getting red from how hard I was choking him.
Suddenly I could see the revelation in his eyes, but of all the reactions he gave me I never expected him to laugh in my face.
“You actually gave a fuck about that piece of trash? I did you a favor by putting him down and letting you live, now you never have to deal with him again.
I flew into a blind rage, pulling him to his feet and pinning him against the chainlink fence.
The sound my fist made when it connected with his face is one I’ll never forget, it was loud enough that I’m sure Zeke himself heard it. Feeling my knuckles collide with that freckled faced bastard was the most satisfying feeling in my life, and I let myself experience that feeling again and again and again.
In that moment I forgot about everything else, I forgot about the club, I forgot about my duties as president, I forgot that Donnelly was a cop, hell I almost forgot about Hannah. It was just one man seeking justice for the sins of another, and damn did it feel good.
I stopped for a moment and just looked at him, the fucker was still laughing no matter how hard I hit him. My knuckles ached and my fingers were cut and bruised but I was more than ready to lay him out again.
“You call Zeke a piece of trash when you put down your own chief of police? What kind of sick fuck are you?” I asked hitting him one more time in the jaw.
He took a few seconds to catch his breath before looking back at me with a fire in his eyes that he didn’t have before.
“That fat fuck of a chief knew his place, do you? You’re wasting your time beating the shit out of me and that pretty little thing of yours is out on the street right now. Some fucking boyfriend you are...”
He grinned at me, his gums were as busted up and bruised as his face and in my rage I had knocked out two of his teeth.
“I know exactly who that girl is, I don’t know how you got her but I searched Edgar’s house and there’s no signs of a murder which means you fucking took the bastard. That was a fucking mistake. Although... I guess in the end we got what we wanted out of him, I was hoping I could maybe interest him in getting a second girl though. Now I realize I should have never let him in on all of this, I knew he would fuck up, I should have listened to my instincts. Damn shame.”
He licked his bloodied lips and continued. “As soon as I get out of here I’m gonna clean up the mess he made, then I’m gonna find that little Hannah of yours and fuck her for days.”
I pulled my gun out and put it to his chest, this sick fuck knew that Edgar bought Hannah and he did nothing. I was ready to end this, to end him, nobody talks about my girl that way and nobody hurts my friends.
“You’re not getting out of this Donnelly” I said cocking my pistol as I began to squeeze the trigger.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance” he blurted out.
Suddenly I felt something around my neck, pulling back on me as I dropped my gun on the ground and grabbed at Donnelly. I glanced back to see another cop, trying to restrain me with a lead pipe as I struggled to try and get him off of me.
In my struggled I ripped Donnelly’s uniform, tearing the whole right side off of him.
I looked down wide eyed to see a Scorched Satan tattoo on his arm, just like the one the chief of police h
ad.
Donnelly picked my gun up from off the ground with a smile, as the other cop found the strength in him to throw me against the dumpster and hit me over the side of the head with his lead pipe.
Donnelly smiled and shook the hands with the officer that helped him, judging by how out of breath he was he also fled the scene when he could. Some fucking cops they were, things get hard and they run away.
“You should have stayed in your own fucking lane pal” Donnelly said as he checked to make sure my gun was loaded. “This is bigger than you or anyone else in this shithole of a state could possibly imagine.”
My head was throbbing and my ears were ringing as I tried to piece together what was even going on. What the fuck did his tattoo mean? How many other cops had it? Was it a bond to the Satans? I can’t let it end like this, there’s too much left undone, I can’t go out less than a week after taking over the Desert Vultures.
I was trying to pull myself together as I kept my eyes on the gun in Donnelly’s hand, he was about to put a bullet in me for the second time, I’m sure he wouldn’t make the mistake I just made. I should have shot that fucker when I had the chance and now I was about to pay for it.
I reached underneath the dumpster my heart skipped a beat, I could feel the handle of Donnelly’s gun, the one I had kicked out of his hands during our fight. This was my last chance, I had to make it count.
I drew the gun from underneath the dumpster, I knew my aim would be shit, the bastard hit me so hard in the head I was practically seeing doubles.
Without hesitation I pulled the trigger three times yet to my dismay the gun only fired once, he must have used up all of his bullets in the shootout with my club brothers, I just used the last shot.
That shot didn’t go completely to waste, I hit Donnelly right in his shoulder causing him to drop to the ground immediately. His calls of pain were like nails on a chalkboard, I didn’t get a kill shot, the bastard was still alive.
The other cop swung at me again with the pipe, just barely missing me and hitting the dumpster behind me with a loud bang.
I stumbled onto my feet, still disoriented from the blow to my head as I took off running as fast as I could. The other cop picked up the gun Donnelly dropped and fired it at me, grazing my left arm just as I turned the corner to high tail it out of there.
I failed.
I fucking failed.
I chose getting revenge over trying to find Hannah and I couldn’t even finish the job.
Zeke and Hannah… I failed both of you today.
27
(Hannah)
I paced back and forth in Axel’s apartment as Mason lay injured on his couch.
I had patched him up to the best of my knowledge but what did I know? He was lucky to be alive, he needed a real doctor, not me.
He groaned as he reached for a glass of water, I walked over and grabbed it for him, bringing it to his mouth so he could drink.
The biker that I had saw earlier in the street was Mason, he mistook me for a female officer and charged at me with the full intention of ending my life. When he recognized me at the last second he pulled away, causing him to fall off of his bike and get a terrible case of road rash all over the left side of his body. I couldn’t tell but I also thought that his left wrist was broken.
He had just enough strength to give me a ride on his now damaged bike. When we got to Axel’s apartment building he had to lean on me to have the strength to walk, he practically collapsed on the couch when we finally made it inside.
I walked behind the couch, out of his view, and sat down in a chain by the window.
I looked out onto the streets, it was night and we still hadn’t heard back from Axel, or anyone else from the Desert Vultures for that matter. I kept pushing the thought out of my mind that Axel was dead, but why else would he be gone for this long? Was he still out there looking for me? Should I go out searching for him?
I saw a car speeding down the street towards the apartment building, it swerved into the parking lot and I got up to run over to another window to get a better look.
I saw two men dragging a third man out from the back seat of the car, carrying him inside.
I rushed out of the door and down the stairs to see Wyatt and another Vulture carrying Axel by his arms and legs towards the elevator.
I ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over and falling several times as I muttered “please be ok” over and over again.
When Wyatt saw me run up to he sighed in relief.
“Oh thank god you’re here” he said. “I thought I was gonna have to go out and find you. Part of me thought that the cops might have taken you in thinking you were one of us.”
“Is he alright?” I asked as I ran my hand down Axel’s bruised face.
“He’ll be fine but… he got fucked up pretty good. He got shot in the arm, it’s only a graze so it’s not too bad but someone also hit him in the head. He should be alright in a few days but we gotta patch him up fast.”
“He got hit over the head? Did the shootout turn into a brawl?”
“Not that I know of, Axel sent me off in a jacked car to take as many brothers as I could out of there. When I sped off I saw him chasing down some cop, no idea why…”
Donnelly, Axel wasn’t searching for me, he was trying to get his revenge… he left me out there alone and nearly died trying to avenge his friend.
I knew it was something he had wanted for so long but I couldn’t help but feel betrayed.
The elevator opened and I helped them carry him inside. I looked down at Axel, he stirred a little bit but remained unconscious.
“He was lucky we found him” the other biker said. “He was stumbling through the streets phasing in and out of consciousness, could barely even keep his feet underneath him. If Wyatt and I hadn’t gone back to try and get more brothers out of there who knows what would have happened.”
“What happened to all the cops? What about the fight?”
“The fight’s over for now” Wyatt said as the elevator doors opened back up and we carried Axel towards his apartment. “We got a couple of those fuckers but they’ll definitely be back for us.”
We got into the apartment and set Axel down on his bed as Wyatt noticed Mason on the couch and went to go check on him.
This was all getting too real for me. Cop deaths, gunshot wounds, and revenge? Yeah I knew all of these things were a possibility, maybe if they even came one at a time I would have brushed them off, but this was starting to get to be a little too much for me to handle. I could barely even function as a normal person back in the real world and now my boyfriend was laying on his bed bleeding from a deep cut to his arm and a bruise to his head.
“How the hell did Mason get here?” Wyatt asked as I held onto Axel’s unconscious hands.
“He found me, wandering alone in the streets. Nearly ended up killing me and got himself hurt…”
Wyatt sighed and knelt down next to Mason, leaving Axel to the care of me and the other Desert Vulture brother.
I knew I shouldn’t have been anywhere near that fight, I knew I should have just listened to Axel, but knowing that he chose revenge over my safety still hurt.
The brother found some bandages and began wrapping Axel’s cut up as I watched him laying peacefully in bed.
I couldn’t handle seeing him like this, it all felt overwhelming. I let go of his limp hand and walked into the bathroom as Wyatt came back to check on Axel.
I closed the door and splashed some cold water into my eyes, and ran it through my hair.
Why did I think that any part of this lifestyle would last? Why did I think that I could keep a man who held onto the idea of revenge as it ate away inside of him.
Yes it was my fault that I was out there on my own to begin with but what if something like this happened again? From the sound of it he didn’t fulfill his revenge and I’m sure these injuries would just light a fire underneath him. What if I was in danger for some other reason and he went o
ff to try and kill Donnelly again? He said he cared about me but was revenge for his best friend more important.
I gripped the sink as I tried to calm down, I looked into the mirror and stared into my eyes. I could barely even recognize myself anymore, I didn’t have a mirror in Donnelly’s basement so when I looked into Axel’s it almost looked like I was staring at a stranger.
I sat down on the toilet to collect my thoughts. I had only known Axel for a few days but I felt a real bond with him. Now everything felt like it was unravelling.
Somewhere deep down inside of me it felt as if it was only a matter of time before I would be alone again.
Alone in this big world with nobody to help and nothing to my name.
The thought horrified me.
28
(Axel)
I woke up to from the same nightmare, only this time it was so much worse. How could I let myself fail? How I could get so emotional and not just pull the damn trigger.
I looked around and realized that I was in my own room, was this even real life? Was I still dreaming.
I saw Wyatt walking out of my kitchen and our eyes met, he quickly put his glass of water down and rushed over to me.
“Jesus Christ you’re a tough bastard” he said as I lifted my arm and felt the spot on my head where I was hit by the pipe. It hurt like a bitch but I would be alright. “Sharpe and I found you on the street practically passed out, we were afraid that hit to your head did some serious damage.”
I winced as I adjusted myself, looking over to see my other arm bandaged and padded from the bullet that grazed me.
“Where is she? Where’s Hannah?” I said trying to get out of bed. “I have to go and find her, I left her behind she’s still out on the street!”
Wyatt put his arms on my shoulders and gently pushed me back onto my bed. “It’s alright Axel, she’s fine, Mason found her and brought her back here. You don’t have to worry.”