Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Stormy
When we pulled into Spokane, Maisy had arranged for a friend to leave us another vehicle, which we switched into before heading east through Idaho and crossing into Montana.
She finally stopped for the night. I was exhausted at that point and needed to sleep in a bed.
I still have no clue where she’s taking me, but I’ll go along with her if it means getting farther away from Seattle.
The more distance I put between where Andrus was and where I escaped, the better.
The jostling of the car along a dirt road makes me perk up from the passenger seat.
When we woke this morning, she said we only had a couple more hours to drive and that I’d be staying with her friends for a bit while she visited a family member.
She’s being secretive, and for once, I don’t like it.
It bothers me and makes me worry. She’s been a constant in my life since I woke up in the ICU, and now she won’t be around.
We pass through a fence line, and as I stare out the window, a farmhouse, barn, and a few outbuildings come into view.
Again, there’s a niggling in the back of my mind that I can’t shake.
Goose bumps rise along my arms beneath my hoodie when I see the motorcycles parked in front of the house.
But it’s the women stepping out onto the porch—a petite blonde and a dark-haired woman with a tattooed face—that make me pause.
My stomach drops. I know where we are. I can’t be here. Panic sets in and my hands start shaking. My breathing exhilarates as I realize who I’m staring at. I’ve heard the stories. Every Handmaiden has.
Maisy puts a hand on my thigh, and I jump and scream. She slows the car down but doesn’t stop the forward progression. I can’t be here. I should jump out and make a run for it. I can’t jeopardize these women too.
“Jane, are you okay?” Maisy’s voice breaks through my thoughts. When I turn to look at her, she pats my leg again. “It’s going to be okay. They look scary, but they aren’t. Well, not unless you want to hurt them or the ones they care about.” She chuckles, but it’s stilted, forced.
“I can’t be here,” I say.
I don’t realize the car has stopped until my door opens. Standing there, holding it open, is Tink, president of the Timber-Ghost, Devil’s Handmaidens Motorcycle Club Montana Chapter. Up close, I see she’s probably as tall as Maisy, only a couple of inches shorter than me.
“No, close the door. We need to leave.”
“We’re here to help you,” Tink says. “You’ll stay with us while Maisy heads up to Requiem for a bit.”
I shake my head so fast that I get dizzy. “No, I can’t be here. I need to leave.” In my panic, my voice rises.
“I think she’s scared of you, Goldilocks.” The taller, tattooed woman chuckles, and I know she’s Shadow. Everyone talks about what she can do, what she’s like, and no one ever wants to cross her.
“I’m not afraid. I need you to forget you saw me and just let me leave.” I turn to Maisy. “Give me a ride to another town, somewhere away from here. I’ll get on a bus and go far away.”
“You remember something?” Maisy asks.
I can’t stop the words from escaping. I’ve hated lying to her.
“I know these women. They will tell my president I’m here, and I can’t have that. I won’t be the reason another woman is hurt like I was. Or my niece gets kidnapped.”
Everyone stops and steps back. I take the space and jump out of the car. I’m in a pair of loose jeans. I don’t eat much, and my clothes are too big again. When I hold up my hands, I see them shaking. I don’t have the strength to fight these women, but I know they won’t hurt me.
“Why would I forget I saw you? Who is your president?” Tink asks as a tall man steps up behind her. Him, I fear. I could be putting his woman in danger.
I shake my head and glance around for Shadow. She’s behind me. I hold a hand out to stop her from advancing. Maisy comes around the car, but Shadow holds her back.
“I can’t tell you. You’ll tell her, and then Andrus will know. He told me every day that he knew about the Handmaidens. That he wouldn’t let some girl gang stop him. He said he’d kill them all or enslave them too. He told me several times that powerful men want us gone.”
“Us? Who is this Andrus asshole? We don’t like bullies, and we can take care of him,” Shadow says.
“No.” I back away from them, but a few more women start to surround me.
I’m trapped. Defeat hits me like a sledgehammer. I can’t do this. Dropping to my knees, I cover my face and cry. Arms wrap around me, and I know it’s Maisy.
“When did you get your memory back?” she asks me softly.
I wipe my hands across my face and give her the truth.
“I never lost my memory. I took your advice and just hid the fact that I remembered everything. Atlas figured it out. That’s why I asked to be moved and not listed. I couldn’t have him or anyone else finding me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hurt crosses her face.
“Because I’m going to leave you too. You would have been safe since you didn’t know.”
“How do you know us?” Tink steps closer.
The circle around me tightens, making me feel claustrophobic. Months trapped in that small room on the yacht have left me fearing confined spaces.
“Step back,” Tink orders, and I nod my thanks.
For the first time in months, I say my name.
“I’m Stormy ‘Poison’ Abbott. My president is Scout ‘Riddler’ Abbott, formerly Keller.
I was a prospect with the DHMC Alaska Chapter.
When you tell Scout I was here, tell her I won’t be coming home ever again.
Tell her to tell my brother and father to forget about me.
” A sob chokes out of me at the words. I don’t want my family to forget me, but they must in order to ensure their safety.
“I won’t tell her.” Tink looks at everyone standing around me. “We won’t tell.” She waves her arm. “We’re here to protect you and others. If your president knowing will cause her harm, we won’t do it. You have my word as a Handmaiden.”
On shaky legs, I stand up and hold a hand out to her.
“You’re safe with us,” she promises.
“Thank you. But only for the night, then I must go.”
“You’re in no shape to leave in the morning. Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” Shadow waves in the direction of a set of cabins, and I nod.
They show me to a small cabin that is bigger than my old quarters on the yacht. It has a couple of windows, and I don’t feel so trapped.
“We can put you in here instead of the bunkhouse with the other women. You’ll be safe here.”
“I can’t stay. It’s too dangerous.”
“Sure, kid.” Shadow chuckles and walks away, closing the door behind her.
I watch Maisy from the window. She’s standing outside, talking to Tink. It hurts that she hasn’t come to me or spoken to me since my confession. I walk to the bed and plop down on the quilt-covered surface.
I try to harden my heart. I want to be strong and shut out others, but Maisy has been there with me every step of my recovery.
She knows this new woman I’m becoming. Well, the broken one.
I need to make myself strong again and stand on my own.
I should’ve been able to walk away or tell them nothing about who I am.
But I just wanted someone to know me. The real me.
“Hey, I’ll be back in a few weeks. My aunt is getting married, and I want to be with her. She’s my only family.” Maisy’s voice breaks through my thoughts.
I stand up fast. “You didn’t just leave?”
“No, I couldn’t do that to you. Besides, I’m going to help you some more.”
“Why?” The word comes out long, full of pain.
Maisy walks to me and carefully wraps her body around me. “Us broken girls have to stick together. It’s how we beat them. I’ll be back in about three weeks.”
“Okay.” I wrap my arms around her and take the sympathy she’s offering.
When she finally pulls away, she hands me a phone. “It’s a burner. It has mine, Tink’s, and Shadow’s numbers only.”
“Thank you.”
As she walks out the door, another Handmaiden comes in and drops my bags down. I thank her, then curl up on the bed for a nap. My body aches everywhere, but I won’t take the pain meds. I need to keep my mind clear.
Two days later, I still haven’t left the cabin. Food is brought to me. I don’t want to be around people. A knock sounds on my door, but I don’t get up. They’ll go away. They always do. I keep lying there, staring at the wall with my back to the door.
I picture kind bluish-gray eyes staring back at me.
They remind me of the sky before a snowstorm.
I recall the moment he realized the danger I was in.
My heart clenched, and I remember being turned on in that moment.
He was tall and sexy, with long hair and a beard.
But then he was shot. The instant the gun went off, everything changed. I knew I would never be the same.
His eyes still turn me on. Is that weird?
His voice, when he sat next to me, was calming.
I felt safe in the brief time he was with me.
I wanted to tell him I knew who he was and that I was Stormy so much, but I couldn’t.
I just couldn’t put my family or him in that danger.
He had already been shot once because of me.
The blankets are yanked from my body, and the mattress is flipped over, dumping me to the ground.
“Hey,” I yell as I come up, but my voice and body are weak from lack of food and liquids.
“You’re not killing yourself on my watch,” Shadow barks. “Come on.” She takes in what I’m wearing, and I look down.
I’m in a pair of leggings and a baggy T-shirt. I did put on a bra, but my hair is all over the place. It’s growing back after the hospital cut it so short, but it’s still not very long.
I slip on my shoes and follow behind her. I expect her to take me to the hall, where meals are served, but she leads me into the house and straight to the dining room. Instead of food, I find a woman standing there with what looks like hair-care products spread around her.