35. Mad Dog
MAD DOG
Is that a dust cloud up ahead? I squint, but it’s hard to tell. I point.
Riptide must have sharper eyes than me, since he gives me a thumbs up. Fuck, have we done it? The road is narrower now. It’s been dirt for miles, the kind of terrain that’ll swallow a body whole, feeding it to the local wildlife and leaving nothing but bones.
If Melody’s dead, Clutch is gonna beg for death by the time the club is done with him. If by some miracle she’s alive, it’ll be the same, but probably faster. He’s gonna wish he never lived.
But Melody comes first.
We’re close when it becomes obvious that the car has noticed us. It weaves and a moment later, a gun points out from the left back seat window.
Fuck. I veer right, keeping an eye on the side of the road. If my tires hit loose dirt it would be fucking disastrous at this speed.
Rebel draws his iron, but after a moment, packs it away again.
There’s nothing we can shoot at that couldn’t potentially hurt Melody in the process.
Just gotta hope we get an opportunity after.
Based on the GPS, this road’s about to end.
Only way out is coming back this way, and they’ll be stuck.
I signal for us to ease back and let the car run ahead.
Not so far we don’t see it, but outta practical gun range.
And then it’s just a matter of running them down like persistence hunters.
The road starts to twist and turn, probably following the landscape, but it’s hard to tell in the dwindling light.
And then the road widens into a plot large enough to park a few cars and still turn around comfortably.
Some kind of utility building with paint flaking off and a broken antenna on top sits to one side.
There’s a sign on it, but most of it’s faded.
Something about environmental… research maybe?
Doesn’t fucking matter. What matters is that Clutch has nowhere left to fucking run.
We skid to a stop at the edge of the lot, getting off our bikes and taking what cover we can. There isn’t much. A couple of tree stumps from when they cleared the spot and a power transformer that looks like it hasn’t done ten watts of work in at least ten years.
The car starts turning, but the moment it comes around to face us and three guns pointing at it, it stops. I don’t know the fucker in the front seat, but the two people in the back I recognize immediately.
I can’t shoot anyone yet, but we’ve got them.
“Let Melody go, and we might let you fuckers live. Don’t, and no one’s gonna find your bodies ever again,” Rebel yells as loud as he can. “This is your only fucking warning.”
“Let us go, and Melody lives. How’s that for a fucking counteroffer?” Clutch’s voice yells from the back of the car, followed by a scream.
Fuck.
“Trust me, Clutch, you do not wanna fucking test us on this.”
Honestly, the last thing I expect is for the guy in the front seat to dive into the back, crowding Melody and Clutch, but he does.
There are grunts and a shriek in there as the car shakes. The driver side back door opens and out tumbles Clutch with a frustrated yell, rolling right out into the open like a present for us. “Motherfucker!” he yells and then he sees us aiming our guns at him. “Fuck, don’t shoot.”
I smile, but it’s far from fucking friendly. Rare for us to get a gift bag like that. “Lie still, and we won’t.”
Riptide yells at the car. “Hey, generic goon number four thousand and three! Let her go, and we’ll let you walk outta here. We just want the girl back, and that fucker on the ground isn’t worth dying for.”
“I swear, it wasn’t personal,” Clutch whimpers. Not so tough when he’s got a gun pointed at him.
“It’s always fucking personal,” Rebel snarls. “Fuck you.”
The passenger door on the other side slams open like it’s been kicked.
Melody sobs audibly, and then she’s the first one out, with her hands on her head and the goon right behind her.
He’s got a gun right up against her spine.
“Guns down, or I fucking execute her right here. You want to know anything? I’ll tell you. Just let me go.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Riptide asks.
“I’m the guy who had to listen to him rant like a lunatic for the last hour.”
I almost feel bad for him. “We’re after your boss. Give us the girl, and you can fuck off. You’re not worth the trouble. If you start walking now, you might find a house by morning.” I gesture at the road behind me with a tip of my head.
“You’re fucking lying.”
“Do I look like a fucking liar? I don’t know who you are, don’t know fuck about you. You saying there’s a reason I should kill you? What I don’t know won’t hurt you.”
He looks thoughtful. Weighing his options. It’s probably obvious to everyone that his odds of taking on all three of us are low at best. His only ace is having a gun on Melody. As soon as he lets her go, he’s fucked.
“Mel, are you okay?” I center my gun on the goon’s forehead, daring him not to let her talk.
“I… yeah, I am. Just scared. Really scared.” The last comes as a whimper.
I lock eyes with the goon, letting him see the murder in mine as I look for the fear in his. “I notice you haven’t let go yet. We’re not gonna fucking ask you again.”
He looks around him, as if there’s any other way out. Unless he wants to get himself lost in the wilds, he’s not fucking going anywhere. He’s at least not making it if he tries to drag Melody along. “You—you swear you’re not gonna kill me?”
“Don’t give me reason to.”
“Okay. Okay, fine. I’ll let her go, see?” He releases his grip on her neck and points the gun toward the ground.
The moment she’s free, Melody runs to me, throwing herself against me. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” she keeps repeating as she struggles to breathe. Still aiming my gun, I wrap my other arm around her and hold her close.
“He’s the one who attacked me at the rally,” she whispers where only we can hear.
And there goes any sympathy I might’ve had for the guy.
A gunshot solves the problem, followed by Melody’s terrified yelp. The guy’s sporting a third eye, this one bloody and hollow. I glance over at Riptide, who’s just lowering his iron. “I didn’t promise shit.”
No argument here.
Melody shivers against me, but this time her voice is steadier, more determined. “How much did you hear in the car? He confessed to everything once he hung up. Clutch shot Lightning because Lightning saw him shoot Red.”
“What? No, fuck, she’s just trying to have you kill me to save her father! I swear, it wasn’t me. Why would I ever—” This time it’s Rebel who fires, but only into his leg. “Shut the fuck up. You’re coming with us. If it were up to me, I’d kill you right here, but there’s a line.”
Riptide laughs. “By the time Lightning and his boys are done with you, you’re gonna fucking wish we blew your brains out here.”
We use the goon’s shirt and pants to make sure Clutch isn’t going to bleed to death on the way back, then we throw him into the trunk of the car and drag the body into the wasteland, leaving it beneath some scrub to rot. Hopefully there won’t be anyone looking, ‘cause no one’s ever gonna find him.
“Kiss me?” Melody asks. “I just spent the last hour thinking I was about to die, and I don’t want to waste any more time not asking for what I want.”
I know exactly what she means, because I spent that same time thinking I’d lost the one thing I really wanted in life.
Her lips taste like everything that’s right in the world.
I barely let go before Rebel’s kissing her just as fucking hard, squeezing her so hard she squeaks.
None of us thought we’d fucking see her again.
Miracles do fucking happen. Riptide is last, picking her right off the ground and carrying her around with him as he kisses her like it’s his last chance.
“You okay with driving the car back?” I ask.
“Hate to ask it, but we got three bikes, one car and four people who aren’t tied up and about to fucking die.
” Riptide glares at the trunk. By now, Clutch has given up trying to kick it open.
“No one’s gonna complain if you drive a little recklessly, you know, a little back and forth and a sudden stop or two. ”
She laughs at that. “Yeah. Looking forward to it.”