Zeus
I knew having to tell our dads what we did would be a nightmare, but that was even worse than I had imagined. I expected anger, yelling, maybe even them trying to discipline us. I didn’t expect Ryker to pull a gun on us and threaten to kill us all.
I get why they were pissed. We caused a lot of unnecessary drama for the club tonight that easily could have been avoided if we hadn’t interfered. Fat chance of that happening. When it comes to Serena, I will always step in to protect her from anything. Especially when some asshole thinks he could come onto our turf and try to rape her.
We listened to our fathers scream and threaten us for twenty minutes before they finally threw us out and said they needed to discuss what our punishment was. We all nodded, knowing there was nothing more to say before heading outside.
King’s Garage has always been a home away from home for me. It all started with Pops. He loved this place almost as much as he loved his wife. He lived for the club, but working on and restoring cars and motorcycles was a passion for him.
The place used to be filled with classic cars. Some in better condition than others, but they always left her looking like they just rolled off the factory line. Pops would spend hours in the garage, bringing history back to life with such perfection.
He taught me everything I know. I would come here every day after school and help him with anything, even if it was just grabbing tools for him. I would sit for hours, watching and learning. He was always the one I would go to for advice, or just someone to talk to. He was there for me after my accident and again when my parents were going through their nasty divorce.
I always told myself I would grow up to be just like him. So far, I think I have failed in that aspect. I often wonder if he would be proud of who we have become. He made all three of us promise not to turn out like our dads. He had known them their whole lives and watched as they turned darker, and didn’t want that for us. He stayed President as long as he could, but he got sick and couldn’t ride anymore. Not long after, he was gone, and his wife shortly after that.
“Well, that could have gone worse,” Odin says, breaking the silence.
“It could have gone a lot better.” Midas snarks back.
Both are right. We never know how our dads will react to anything we do. That's why we avoid them unless it’s necessary. The only time I ever see my dad is when I am here. My mom won sole custody over me in the divorce. How she was able to manage that still surprises me. My dad has most city officials in his pocket, and the judge is no different. He must not have wanted me to just let me go the way he did.
To say my dad was a piece of shit growing up would be an understatement. I know I am only here because of Midas. They made a stupid pact to all have kids at the same time, so my dad had no choice. He never wanted kids and told me such when he was drunk while I was still a kid. The only time he wanted kids was when he was with his high school girlfriend. When she dumped him and left, he became extremely cynical.
Fuck her for making my dad the nightmare he has become.
I thank God every day for my mom, though. She was young and gave up so much for me, but she was always there. She was my biggest supporter and advocate when I needed it. She never pushed me or expected anything from me after the accident. Mom was patient, kind, and understanding. If it wasn’t for her, the guys, and Pops, I would have killed myself years ago.
I absentmindedly nodded to Midas and Odin while they bickered back and forth over what had just happened. None of us thinks we are in the wrong for what happened. We know we aren’t. They are pissed about our dad's reaction. When we told them it was Serena who almost got drugged, they went silent. Silence is never a good thing with them. We know they have something up their sleeves, but we don’t know what yet.
I straddled my bike and revved the engine, breaking the fight between the two. I wait for them to start their bikes before driving off towards Midas’s house. My phone vibrates in my pocket. That’s Serena’s camera notification. I picked a different tone and vibrated setting so I would know it was her no matter what. She must have just gotten home. A couple of minutes down the road, it vibrates again.
I don’t think anything of it. It notifies me every time she enters her room. She is probably just getting ready for bed, or Evie is over. They have been spending most of their free time together. Evie seems to be the one person Serena can count on, and that makes her smile. I’m so glad she has someone like that in her life, especially after the shit her old friend pulled on her.
Serena never speaks about her old life, but I did some digging one night. Hacking into her social media, phone, and emails was easy.
I found everything.
I know what a piece of shit her ex is, how he spoke to her and treated her. How he abused her. Seeing the threats and the rules he had for her. How he spoke to her, telling her she was too fat or not good enough. He degraded her and made her feel worthless. It was enough to make me want to hop on a plane and kill him myself.
Self-control is a strong suit of mine, and that is the only reason he is still alive. If I ever see him set foot in my town, he is a dead man.
We pull into Midas’s laneway. I look over, seeing Serena’s car parked out front where it should be. There was a car parked in front of Odin’s house. As far as I knew, Ryker didn’t own a car, only his bike. It looks somewhat familiar, so I don’t think anything of it. Probably a member of the club that Ryker ordered to do something for him. He is an asshole like that.
It wouldn’t belong to Odin’s mom as she rarely leaves the house, so she doesn’t need a car. I don’t even think she has a license anymore. Her addiction made sure of that. She is barely lucid enough to get out of bed most days.
I pull my phone up and open the cameras in Serena's room. The live feed of her room is playing, but the room is empty. Her window is open, which is off. She never leaves it open. All I can hear is music playing loudly from another room.
I scrolled back through the feed to when I got the notifications and almost dropped my phone at what I saw. A man, all in black and wearing a ski mask, is standing in her room by the open window. Serena opens the door, sees him, and tries to run while he chases her.
I don’t think. My body moves on its own accord. I jumped off my bike, not even caring if it landed on its side, and ran to her house. Midas and Odin yell my name, but they don’t wait a second before running with me.
I’m coming, Serena.
I reel my foot back and kick the door as hard as I can. The echoing bang as it hits the interior wall is static compared to the panic rushing through me. I take a second to scan the room. I can’t see anything. With the music playing loudly, I can’t even hear where she might be in the house.
We rush in. We are about to split up to find her, but we all stop as we pass the entrance to the kitchen. My heart practically stops at what I see. A masked man- a dead man walking- holds a gun pointed at Serena. As quickly as I could, I scanned to see how injured she is. Her foot is bleeding, but that seems like the only thing wrong.
Serena stands tall as she faces off against her stalker, trying not to look as scared as I know she is feeling. I pull the gun out of the back of my pants and point it at the masked man. I look over at Midas and Odin, both in the same position as me. They have their guns drawn and are ready to shoot. I open my mouth to yell, wanting his attention on us, but I don’t even get a sound out before a shot rings in the air.
Time seems to stand still as I watch the bullet hit her in the arm. An earth-shattering scream leaves her lips as she clutches the wound and falls to the floor.
Odin doesn’t think. He just shoots and hits the man in the shoulder. He cries out in pain before turning around and looking at us. I can’t tell who he is. His entire body is covered except for his eyes, but I feel like I have seen them somewhere before. I roar out in anger and pull the trigger. I need this man dead in the next ten seconds, or I am going to lose it. He needs to pay with his life for what he did to my siren. The text messages. The pictures. Harassing her. The man has a massive laundry list of crimes he has committed against my girl, and I plan on being the one to end him before anything else can happen to her.
The bullet misses the guy as he ducks and runs for the side door. I pull the trigger a few more times, praying that at least one will hit him, but none do. He makes it to the door and runs out of the house. I want to go after him, but I need to know how hurt Serena is first. He may not have died by my hand tonight, but he will. Soon. I can promise that.
Midas, Odin, and I rush towards her, curled on the ground in a ball, still holding the wound. The blood seeping through her fingertips, staining her hand a grim red. I drop to the floor next to her at the same time as Midas. He pulls her into his arms, cradling her close to his body as the tears flow freely from her eyes.
“You guys go get him. I’ll take care of her,” Midas demands.
I want to argue with him and stay with her, but the look in his eyes tells me not to. I can see the anger in them, and I know he wants to go after him himself, but there is a tinge of guilt there too. He needs to stay with her.
I nodded my head, knowing one of us should hunt him down before he gets too far away. Odin reaches a hand out to me, helping me off the floor. We ran out of the door, stopping in the yard. He isn’t here. There is no sign of him, so we split up. I go right while Odin goes left. By the time we reach the front yard, he is in the car that's parked in Odin’s laneway. Odin and I raised our guns, firing as many as we had left in our clips. Wanting to hit him or at least his tire.But each shot misses, and the fucker drives down the street, out of range.
I stand stock still as his black car with no license plate turns onto the main road and out of sight. I scream and curse at the sky. Cursing any god that may be up there for letting this happen to Serena. I blamed anyone I could for letting this happen to her.
Odin slaps me across the face, forcing me out of my rage and back into reality. He searches my eyes. Seeing if I am all right before we rush back inside.The air in my lungs feels heavy, making breathing feel impossible.
The front door is still open, and we run straight back to this kitchen. I scramble over to Serena and get to my knees. Midas is cradling her close and trying to keep pressure on her wounds. Tears want to fall from my eyes, but they don’t. I can’t remember the last time I cried, but if there was ever a time to start, it would be now. I grabbed her hand and stroked my thumb back and forth.
The world goes silent and dark. I don’t know what to do. I feel myself going black, a beast wanting to escape. Emotions begging to be free. I feel too much right now. My breathing goes ragged, but I push through to stay with her. I need to be here with her and make certain she makes it through this.
It doesn’t take long for me to hear the sirens.
It takes even less time for the quiet to get too loud. A swarm of people rushes in and pushes us out of the way. An animalistic urge takes over, needing to protect her from them. Logically, I know they are here to help, but it doesn’t ease anything in me. An EMT tried to push me out of the way to treat her, but I didn’t move. He tries again, and when I don’t move again, Odin comes out to get me out of the way. Reluctantly, I moved, but I kept myself close so I could keep an eye on her.
When they try to pull Midas away from her, I expected him to react the same way I did, but he moves without a fuss so the paramedics can evaluate her.
Everyone is speaking too quickly for me to catch anything they are saying, but it doesn’t take them long to get her on a gurney and wheel her away into the back of an ambulance. I rush after her, not wanting to be far from her, but the paramedic stops me at the ambulance doors.
“Only family can ride in with her.” He says, trying to placate me.
I growl at him, feeling more beast than human right now, and place my hand on my gun. There may not be any bullets left, but he doesn’t know that. Everyone in town knows who I am and normally wouldn’t stop me, but this is one of those times he has to follow the law. I have dealt with this paramedic before when someone from the club had gotten injured. In those instances, he wouldn’t stop anyone from getting on the rig with him, but this is a normal citizen to him.
The urge to argue runs through me, but the longer she sits here, the longer before she gets the medical attention she needs. I raise my hands in defeat and step back. He gives me a sympathetic look before turning around and climbing in. My eyes stay focused on Serena until the doors are closed.
Midas and Odin join me as we watch the ambulance speed away.
There is only one hospital in town, and that’s where I plan on going.
I rush over to my bike, needing to follow the ambulance, and know Serena is fine. I don’t look behind me, already knowing they are close behind me.
My bike is a little fucked up after landing on the handlebars, but it’s nothing I can’t fix later. As long as it is rideable, that’s all I care about right now. Anything else is something that can be dealt with later.
We peel out of the laneway, speed through the streets until catching up with the ambulance. The seconds tick by, feeling like hours. The drive isn’t long, but it feels like an eternity before the ambulance, and we pull into the emergency entrance.
I dismount my bike as Serena is wheeled out and into the hospital. I watch in a stupor as she is pushed through a set of double doors. My feet move without thought, following the girl who has taken up my every thought and desire.
Serena is pushed through another set of doors, and I go to follow. I can’t bear the thought of not being next to her when she needs me the most. A few nurses rush over to stop us from following, telling us we need to wait in the waiting room.
Midas thanked the nurses. I take a step towards the double doors, but he stands in front of me, shaking his head. We aren’t allowed back there, and making a scene isn’t going to help anything right now. I nod in understanding. Now is not the time to pull any stupid stunts. The three of us walk down the hall to the waiting area.
The room is bleak. White walls and checkerboard linoleum tiles. Blue plastic chairs that look insanely uncomfortable. A small TV hangs in the back corner of the room, playing some random show.
I take a seat closest to the door. I will be able to see and hear everything that goes on from here. A small reassurance in this stressful situation. Odin takes a seat a few away from me against a wall to rest his head against. Midas stands by the door for a moment, looking in the direction Serena went before sighing and taking a seat next to me.
My knees start bouncing, needing an outlet for the adrenaline rushing through my blood. This isn’t the outlet I would like. The only thing that would fix this is beating that guy until there is nothing left of him, but sadly, that’s not an option right now.
Midas pulls out his phone and calls Emma to let her know what happened. I don’t know where she was tonight, but she wasn’t home when we got there. I listen while Midas talks to Emma, but the words he is saying aren’t registering. I still can’t believe that we walked into that. It was the last thing that I was expecting to happen tonight.
I was hoping to go over to her house when we got home so I could talk to her. I wanted to tell her how I felt and what I wanted. I wanted to put all my cards on the table and see what she said. Instead, I thought I was going to lose her before I had her.
Midas hangs up the phone and drops his head into his hands, and starts pulling his hair. Odin gets up from his chair and starts pacing back and forth across the entire waiting room. I wish I knew what to do to help, but I don’t. I can barely handle how I am feeling, let alone trying to comfort my friends. My skin is crawling, and my heart rate is racing. I need a way to get this feeling out.
I need to keep her safe. That’s my main priority right now.