Chapter One #2
“You’re not cops,” she said, nodding toward my cut. “But you’re something.”
“Something,” I agreed, not elaborating. The less she knew about the Kings, the better -- for her safety as much as ours.
She swayed on her feet, and I tightened my grip slightly to keep her upright. She flinched at the pressure but didn’t pull away.
“I need to get you somewhere safe,” I said.
“Nowhere’s safe,” she repeated, but with less conviction.
“Safer than here.”
A distant sound pierced the night -- an engine, far off but approaching. Callie’s entire body tensed, her breathing accelerating into near hyperventilation.
“That them?” I asked.
She nodded, panic overriding caution.
Decision time. I knew taking her to the compound would have consequences. Was I prepared to face them?
“I’ve got a place,” I said, making my choice. “People who can help. But you need to trust me, just for tonight.”
“Why would you help me?” she asked, suspicion threading through the fear. “You don’t know me.”
A fair question. One I’d asked myself.
“Because years ago, I was on the wrong side of some bad men,” I said simply. “Someone helped me then. Sometimes that’s reason enough.”
Not the whole truth, but enough of it. The Kings had saved me from a life heading nowhere fast, given me purpose, family. Some debts you pay forward.
“I don’t have another option, do I?” she asked.
“You always have options,” I said. “Right now, they’re just all bad ones. I’m offering the least bad one I can.”
She glanced toward the sound of the approaching engine, then back to me. Weighing unknown dangers against the devil she knew.
“Okay,” she whispered.
The engine sound grew louder.
“We need to move. Now. I’ve got a bike.” I nodded toward my Harley.
The offer hung between us, simple words carrying complicated meaning.
Her eyes darted between me, the motorcycle, and the darkness of the road where engine sounds grew louder.
Fear of the known versus fear of the unknown -- I recognized the calculation in her gaze.
I’d seen it countless times in people forced to make impossible choices.
“What if they see us leaving?” Callie whispered, her voice barely audible over the approaching engine.
“They won’t. Different road than they’re on.” I kept my voice confident despite the uncertainty. The engine sound came from the south -- opposite direction from the compound. “But we need to move now.”
She nodded, steeling herself. I guided her toward the Harley, my arm still supporting most of her weight. Each step seemed to drain what little energy she had left. Her breath came in short, painful gasps.
“Ever been on a motorcycle before?” I asked, stopping beside the bike.
“No.”
“It’s simple. Sit behind me. Arms around my waist. Lean when I lean.” I steadied the bike. “Ready?”
She tried to lift her leg over the seat but faltered, muscles giving out. I caught her before she collapsed, feeling her flinch at the contact.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be.” I repositioned to help her. “May I?”
At her nod, I lifted her carefully onto the seat, mindful of her injuries.
She bit back a whimper as she settled, hands immediately clutching my leather cut for support.
She seemed weak enough I wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold on, but then she gripped me tighter.
I felt the desperation, her sheer willpower.
“Hold tight,” I instructed, mounting in front of her. “We’ll take it steady.”
The engine sounds grew louder, maybe half a mile away now. Callie’s breathing quickened behind me, panic rising. Her fingers dug deeper into the leather of my cut.
I reached for the key but paused, scanning the tree line one last time. Nothing moved in the darkness, but the feeling persisted -- we were being watched.
A twig snapped in the woods to our left.
Callie jerked at the sound. “Please,” she whispered, leaning forward against my back. “Please go.”
The Harley roared to life, the familiar rumble cutting through the night. Callie’s arms wrapped around my waist, her grip surprisingly strong given her condition. I felt her whole body trembling against me -- from fear, cold, exhaustion, or all three.
We pulled away from the shoulder, tires crunching on gravel before finding asphalt. I kept the speed moderate at first, conscious of my passenger’s precarious state. The headlight carved our path through the darkness, trees blurring past as we accelerated.
In the side mirror, I caught a flash of movement at the edge of the road where we’d been -- a shadow detaching from the tree line. Then we rounded a curve, and whatever -- whoever -- it was disappeared from view.
Callie pressed her face between my shoulder blades, holding on as if the motorcycle was the last solid thing in a crumbling world. For her, maybe it was.
The Kings’ compound lay just ahead, around two more bends. The club had enemies, rivals who’d use any weakness against us. Which was why we had certain rules in place. But right now, I didn’t give a fuck.
I took the next curve faster, leaning into it, feeling Callie mirror my movement instinctively.
The wind cut through my jacket, but the night seemed impossibly warm where her body pressed against mine.
She was burning up -- fever from infection, most likely.
Another reason hospital would’ve been the right call, if hospitals were an option.
We passed the weathered oak that marked the unofficial boundary of Kings territory. No signs, nothing obvious to outsiders, but every member knew the markers. From here, we’d hit the first security checkpoint in two minutes -- Prospects who patrolled the perimeter, keeping watch for threats.
I’d need to explain bringing Callie. The club would want answers I didn’t have yet. But that was a problem for later. Right now, getting her to safety came first. The rest would sort itself.
The road narrowed as we approached the final stretch before the checkpoint.
Trees pressed closer, branches forming a canopy overhead that blocked out moonlight.
In the darkness, I sensed rather than saw the motorcycle pull onto the road behind us -- headlight off, engine barely audible beneath my Harley’s rumble. Following, not pursuing. Yet.
Callie must have sensed it too. Her grip tightened, fingers digging into my ribs. I accelerated, the bike responding instantly, eating up asphalt as we raced toward the checkpoint.
The first glimpse of security came into view. Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by tension. They’d want to know why I had a half-dead woman on my bike. I glanced behind me, but the bike was no longer there.
I flashed my headlight three times -- the all-clear signal. The chain dropped. As we approached, I recognized the Prospects -- newer guys, still proving themselves. They stared as we roared past, confusion evident even in the brief moment we passed them.
I’d deal with the fallout later. The main compound lay another mile ahead -- a collection of cabins and houses surrounding the clubhouse. Medical supplies there, people who could help. Sanctuary, if temporary.
Behind me, Callie’s head drooped against my shoulder, her grip loosening. Adrenaline wore off, her body giving in to exhaustion once the immediate danger faded. I reached back with one hand and squeezed her arm gently.
“Stay with me,” I called over the wind. “Almost there.”
She mumbled something I couldn’t make out, arms tightening again through sheer effort.
The headlight cut through darkness ahead while my mind spun through the implications. Breaking protocol meant consequences. The Kings functioned on trust and loyalty. I’d built fifteen years of it, from Prospect to patched member. Now I risked all of it on a stranger.
Still, as the lights of the compound appeared through the trees, certainty settled in my chest. I’d made the only choice I could live with.
The Kings stood for something -- family, protection, justice on our own terms. We lived outside the law but followed a code, and sometimes that code demanded hard choices.
I felt Callie’s fevered skin against my neck, heard her ragged breathing in my ear. Whatever trouble followed her, it was our trouble now. Mine, specifically.
The compound entrance loomed ahead, and I slowed the bike, preparing for the reception that awaited us. Whatever I’d set in motion tonight, there was no turning back now.