TWENTY
Throttle
I spent hours watching her sleep. Remembering every image of her nude, perfect figure beneath me. The flavor. Her exquisiteness is an enchanting sensation and I want to memorize it until I die.
What remains of me is an empty shell.
I wanted to ensure her well-being. We both agreed. Nevertheless, why am I plagued by feelings of being a piece of scum? What comes next? Our relationship will never be the same. We cannot go back to how we were. There's no way. How did I believe it was okay to have her for one night and not value her as the best thing that happened to me? If I were someone else, having her would be the ultimate experience on Earth.
I messed things up.
“You flex your jaw anymore and it’s going to break,” Tank says.
“I didn’t sleep very well,” I reply while we wait for the van that nearly took my life.
As much as I want to put an end to this shit, I’d rather be lying in my bed with Tequila in my arms. Her soft, shallow breaths caressed my skin, and I longed for a miracle to bring me sleep. I tried my hardest, but it was impossible while she laid there. If we were in another universe, she’d be beside me every night. But in my world, there’s no place for her.
If only I could reverse time. It's not because she wasn’t the best I've ever had, but because I regret contaminating her with my sins. It was unfamiliar, something outside of my comfort zone. The strange emotion. Did others feel this way when they were in love?
I’m a goddamn masochist.
Charger strolls over and flicks his cigarette off the cliff. “Fuckers.”
Right now, I'm attempting to shift my focus away from Tequila. This is business and I can’t let it distract me.
After being pulled off by Chain, we pursued it anyway. And that required us to bypass our President. Be prepared for chaos when he finds out. And he will find out. We also didn't want Charger involved, but he's relentless and nothing could deter him. Nothing and no one.
We await these guys to make a move. Any move. But there's absolutely no sign.
My stomach drops at the idea of Tequila waking up in my bed without me. I wanted to be there…
Focus. Not now.
“Dammit,” I mutter under my breath, too audibly. Charger and Tank study my outburst. “I’m good.” Not sure who I was trying to convince, them or me. Because I’m far from okay.
Tank sighs. “So, tell me why we’re doing this again? Chain’s gonna rip us a new asshole when he finds out. And he is going to find out.”
Charger gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Justice, brother. Wives. Daughters. Cousins. If we don’t save them, who will? They’ll endure years of torture like my ol’ lady almost had to go through.”
Menace fills Tank's eyes. “That reminder was all I needed.”
Jules being kidnapped and narrowly avoiding sex trafficking serves as motivation for us. We refuse to be passive about the negativity in this town. If we can stop this heinous crime, we’ll risk injury or death trying. That's why our club exists.
“Aye. Over there.” Tank points to the tall garage door opening from the warehouse and the two men walk out, carrying what we’re dreading it to be over their shoulder. The form is petite and wrapped in a plastic bag substance. My stomach twists in disgust. I attempt to glimpse through the doors, but only emptiness is visible. It's possible that they're being held captive in the basements of these warehouses. Less risk of anyone seeing or hearing.
“Christ. I hope that’s not what we think.” Tank snaps a photo. Proof is on our side if we take this to the heat, but we prefer to do things our own way, which doesn't include legal measures.
The person in black overalls opens the van's back door and sets down a potential human. Hopefully, they didn’t suffer.
I wish for any sign of movement from the wrapped object, but it stays motionless, fueling my rage. In daylight, too. It reveals what these assholes can do. We’re hoping to come up empty-handed today, hoping our suspicions were incorrect.
Once the two pricks start their van, we make our move. I turn on my newly fixed ride I’d have liked to enjoy under better circumstances.
We converge at the road beneath the cliff, coming from above. We also attempt to stay hidden, but we're not foolish enough to believe they won't spot us.
This is the essence of my aspiration to create an impact. A positive distinction. Everyone might not consider it fair and while I may not be donning a uniform or badge, this is how I keep this town safe, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I will always stand by my decision. Especially if it’s saving lives.
We're on our second try to figure out their destination. The motive could be to locate additional women or discard unnecessary ones. It induces such anger in me it makes me sick. But we hope this brings us to their head guy.
We reach the state line, but they suddenly veer off in a fast and unnatural manner. There’s enough distance to still see its taillights before speeding away.
Fuck. Here we go again.
Two armed men point their guns in our direction as the back doors of the van open. Great. I’ve barely recovered from the last time we got shot at.
They're now aiming to kill.
“Shit! Pull off. Pull off!” Charger shouts.
Dammit. We have to devise a more effective plan.
I maneuver my bike to escape the shooter's sight and onto a dirt road. I don’t stop to check and see if my brothers are okay because I hear their engines behind me and I know they’re close. This was one more failure. We need their whereabouts, but we’re doing a shit job.
I bring my motorcycle to a slow halt and wait for Charger and Tank to follow suit, dropping my foot to the side.
We catch our breaths, and Charger slams a fist to his handlebar. “Fuck!”
“We should consider another option. A better idea because I’ll be honest, I’m a little sick of getting shot at.”
With a crack of his neck, Tank slides a hand down his face. “Like a tracker. And I know the perfect person to ask.”
Within twenty minutes, we're standing in front of Bullet, who's seated with a syrupy pancake in his mouth. “A tracker?” he mumbles and raises a questionable brow. “You guys want to plant a tracking device on the same van Chain said to leave alone? Yeah, might have to count me out on this.”
I briefly glance toward my room on the upper floor. My first impulse was to run up there and burrow back into bed, holding Tequila against me, but I resist the temptation, unsure if it's pride or simply avoiding the obvious. No matter the cause, it makes me a coward. I might as well have left a twenty on her pillow thanking her for her service. It was the same.
I suck.
“Something needs to be done and we’re running out of time,” Charger pleads, hoping he’ll agree. Our Vice's extensive knowledge of tech is still a mystery, but we're grateful for it.
He sighs. “So, you want to see if these dirtbags are meeting up with their head honcho guy?” Bullet takes a sip of orange juice, wiping his mouth afterward.
“Yes. Or we’ll catch them in the act,” I say.
“Them snatching up the cargo,” Bullet finishes.
“They’re human beings, not pieces of furniture. Never refer to them as cargo again.” Charger clenches both fists, and I place a hand on his shoulder, watching the tension deplete. We’re running on edge.
“Sorry, man. I meant nothing by it.” Our Vice drops his fork to the plate. “I’ll agree, but only if I'm excluded from the situation. I want to stop this as much as you do, but if Chain learns his second in command went behind his back, I'm screwed. Funny, I’m doing a lot of black ops shit lately.” He aims a hardened glance at me.
“You don’t have to worry about being brought in,” I reassure him.
Bullet nods, showing our agreement. “Who’s the lucky guy who gets to plant the thing?” Of course. Someone has to sneak in there.
“Me.” I’m the best choice. Though I’m not scrawny, I am smaller than the Neanderthals. I won’t be clunking around like any of these big guys. It’ll be fast and silent.
“All right. I’ll let you know when I get it.”
While we go our separate ways, my dirt bike serves as the perfect outlet for my pent-up aggression. I’ll find Tequila later and talk to her, or maybe not. There’s nothing left to say. Only I can’t lose her completely. Even if last night was a mistake, it was one of the best I’ve ever made.