Chapter Eleven #2
There were six bikes parked near the entrance.
Mace looked both ways before opening the doors and stepping out.
He dragged me to the left, away from the group of bikes.
There was a black and red Harley Fatboy parked in an actual slot, not at the sidewalk like the rest of them.
Under different circumstances I would have stopped and admired the sleek bike but this wasn’t normal.
Mace pulled out his keys and got on the bike, waiting for me to get on. Now was not the time to hesitate about getting on the back of another man’s bike. I got on as he started the engine.
I saw someone moving near the bikes to the side of us and almost screamed when I realised it was another Kingsmen, he must have stayed with the bikes. He shouted at us and started running.
“Mace!”
“Shit. Hold on,” he said, throttling the bike. He shot forward swerving around a parked car. I ducked my head towards his shoulder as I gripped on for dear life as a gunshot cracked out.
“Fuck,” I screamed.
“Don’t let go!” Mace shouted as he spun the bike around the car. More gunshots sounded and I screamed without thinking about it. “Shit,” Mace shouted as the bike wobbled.
He got it straightened out and pushed the bike hard.
We shot away from the house but the other bike was starting up.
He was going to chase after us. I squeezed my hands together over his stomach, keeping pressed up tight against his back.
I looked over my shoulder as we rounded a corner and hit the main road.
Mace knew the neighbourhood, switching and turning through the streets.
I couldn’t hear the sound of the other bike the further he rode, and we hit a busy highway with lots of traffic.
He started to drive more carefully but still at a decent speed, putting as much distance as possible between us and that apartment.
My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I was trying to keep from having another panic attack. I kept glancing behind us but it looked like we’d lost him. I let Mace know and he grunted but didn’t slow down.
He got us off the highway and we rode through a neighbourhood that looked a hell of a lot nicer than the one we’d just been in. He made it through to another highway and got back into traffic. I saw a sign that said Sussex was forty miles away. Shit, we were far away from home.
After a while, he slowed and turned towards a gas station on a strip mall, pulling in around the back, where there was a parking lot.
He drove as far back as he could and parked the bike by two huge dumpsters.
He killed the engine and leaned forward, panting like he had just run a minute mile.
I sat back, pulling my hands away from him.
“Jesus,” I muttered, brushing my hood back and wiping some hair off my face.
Mace remained leaning over the front of the bike, his back was rising and falling slowly.
“Hey,” I leaned my head around to look at his face. He was grimacing. “What’s wrong?” I started to get off the bike and saw the blood all over his pants. “Shit, are you shot?” I got off and knelt down beside him. He sat back, his eyes screwed shut.
“It’s probably just a graze,” he said.
Not with all this blood. I pulled back his cut and my eyes widened.
The whole left side of his body was covered in blood.
There was a tear in his shirt. He winced as I carefully moved it aside.
There was a bullet wound in his side and it was bleeding badly.
I couldn’t believe he had ridden this long with a gunshot in his side.
“You need a hospital,” I shot up, frantically. “When the hell did you get shot?”
“No hospitals,” he shook his head, pulling his shirt back over. “And I think it might have been when he was firing his gun at us,” he added sarcastically.
“Mace, it looks really bad!”
“Hospitals mean cops,” he grunted. “I just need to put pressure on it.”
Against my better judgement I tore of my hoody then the t-shirt I was wearing, quickly pulling the hoody back on. Mace watched the whole thing without comment, even though he’d just seen me in my bra. He arched to the side, groaning in pain as I pressed my t-shirt to his side.
“Jesus Christ, Mace, you’re gonna bleed to death if we don’t get that seen to.”
“What part of no hospitals do you not understand?”
“You at least need medical attention.”
“You know any doctors who can keep their mouths shut.”
“Yes…I-”
“That aren’t Devil’s Chaos?” he cut me off.
My mouth snapped shut.
“I just need to get somewhere safe where I can see to this.”
I looked around the parking lot. The place wasn’t too busy but we were definitely going to get noticed if we hung around here.
I didn’t know what to do, where to turn.
My first instinct was to call Hudson or Warren but Mace was right, he was a member of the Kingsmen.
I couldn’t guarantee they would give me time to explain he’d saved my life.
I noticed a CVS sign at the back of the row of shops and looked at him. He shook his head.
“Mace.”
“No,” he snapped.
“Stop being a dick, you need help, if we can’t get a doctor or a hospital, then I’m the best you got, but I need supplies. There is a pharmacy right there,” I pointed behind us. “I’m just going to get something to help you.”
“I don’t…” he panted a little. “I can’t trust you.”
“You just saved my life,” I pointed out.
“So? I’ve also had you locked in a room for three days. I’m coming with you,” he started to get off the bike.
“Mace you’re covered in blood, you can barely walk,” I groaned as I tried to take his weight. He straightened to his full height, wincing but pulled his cut over the wound. His shirt was dark, but the lights inside would be bright, and both of our hands were covered in blood.
He used my t-shirt to clean himself up then handed it to me.
I wiped off as much blood as I could. That was my answer.
He pushed the keys to his bike in his pocket, made sure his gun was covered then started walking.
He looked terrible but I guess we could pass for normal people if we tried.
I lifted his arm and ducked under it so we looked like a couple.
He glanced down at me but didn’t say anything.
The CVS was small, but it wasn’t busy. I easily found the aisle we needed, grabbing everything I could. Mace was half leaning against me, and the shelf. His pallor was awful.
“You can’t come over there, they’ll see and they’ll call the cops.
Just wait by the door.” He shook his head.
“Mace, for fucks sake, just do it, we need to hurry. I swear, I am not going to say anything. I’d be dead or worse right now if you hadn’t come in there and stopped them.
Just let me… Shit, I don’t have any money. ”
He rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. With a shaking hand he got a handful of cash out of his wallet and passed it over. “I still have my gun.”
“Good for you,” I said, gathering up what we needed after taking the cash. I hurried to the checkout and put everything down. The kid at the register didn’t even look up as he scanned everything through. I glanced over at Mace and saw him standing near the door, watching me.
To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure why I hadn’t sounded the alarm.
He was right, he’d kidnapped me, held me against my will, and his MC was waging war against mine.
But something was stopping me from getting help for myself.
The kid rung me up and I paid and bagged everything then went back to Mace.
He was looking at me as if he didn’t recognize me. I wasn’t sure if it was because he had lost too much blood and was disorientated, or if he was just shocked I hadn’t tried to run.
We were heading back around to the bike when I spotted a liquor store.
“Stay here,” I moved before he could stop me. There were a few people in there but only one person looked at me, a young college kid who eyed me up and down, then winked. I turned away from him and grabbed a couple of bottles of vodka.
Mace was leaning his shoulder against the wall when I came out. He looked like a drunk. A couple of people passing by were watching him.
“Come on,” I swung his arm over me again and we headed back to the bike. I didn’t know where we were going to go next, but cleaning him up in a dirty parking lot wasn’t a good idea.
“There’s a motel a few blocks from here,” he told me.
“I don’t think you can ride,” I pointed out as we reached the bike.
“Don’t have a choice,” he sighed. “It’s not far.” He eyed me looking at the two bags clutched in my hand. “Why are you doing this?”
“Already told you.” He shook his head. “Mace, stop arguing before you fucking bleed to death. Let’s get to this motel.”
It wasn’t easy but he rode us the few blocks.
I checked us in, with him watching through the window, then we rode around to the room, I’d requested a corner one if they had it.
Once I’d got him inside, I went out and wheeled the bike around the side.
It was really fucking heavy, and my strength was starting to wane. I still had things to do though.
Mace had started to lose it too because he hadn’t bothered keeping an eye on me. He was half propped up on the edge of the bed, looking like he was on the verge of passing out.
I hurried over, dropping the bags on the bed, tipping them out.
The bottles clinked together, and I grabbed one and unscrewed the top.
I took a few swigs and winced at the taste and the burn.
Mace was looking at me with an arched brow.
I held out the bottle. He took it and tipped it to his mouth.
He didn’t react like I did, guess he was a hardened drinker.
He winced and groaned through me getting his cut and T-shirt off. I tossed it all on the floor and for a moment, both of us looked down at the leather with the Kingsmen patch on the back. He clenched his fists but offered nothing else.