Railed (Courage MC #2) (36 page)

H
e grabbed
my face and held me still. “Don’t you ever say that, Rose. Never. If I die, you go on living for the both of us. That’s a fucking order.” He muttered. “Anyway, I ain’t dying anytime soon.” He grabbed a cigarette from his bag and lit it up, sighing from enjoyment.

“
I
f you keep smoking
those things, you just might.” I teased him.

C
hapter
30

T
he day turned
to night and we had been sleeping for at least a few hours now. I woke up to find Adam holding me against his chest. He was patiently staring up at the open road. “What is it?” I asked him, blinking my eyes open.

“
M
ornin’” He said
, petting my hair. “How’d you sleep?” He was still staring at the road.

“
P
retty good
, considering… What you looking at?” I squinted my eyes to see the road. It was fairly dark out. I could barely see a city in the distance, maybe 10 miles away.

“
A
h
, it’s nothing.” He said, scratching his head. He looked over at his bandaged arm and then back at the road. “I just can’t shake the feeling. It’s like we never escaped that bank. It’s like our celebrations are in vain. They’re out there, Rose. Somewhere close. I can sense it.” He flexed his muscles, as if it were a reflex and gripped me tight.

“
H
ow
? How can you sense something like that, Adam? We’re hundreds of miles away. If we were going to get caught, we would’ve gotten caught by now.” I grew worried, even though I was fairly certain I was right.

“
N
ah
. That’s not how they work. Jorge and Brianna are silent observers. They’re two snakes in the grass. And when they find the right moment, they’ll strike and get us both.”

J
onathan turned around
, “He’s right. They’re 100 percent evil. I tell ya, there’s some bad motherfuckers out there. None of them are like Brianna and Jorge. They don’t play by the rules of the MC. They cross all the lines.” He tapped at the steering wheel and turned on some talk radio. We were suddenly very quiet as a woman told the news of the day.

“
A
nd
the search
for Rose Fischer has been called off. Let’s listen to what Police Chief Donald Westman stated in today’s press conference: ‘Despite being seen in Oregon, there has been no sightings in the past week. The hotline will still be available to those with more information, but because there is very little evidence or resources to build the case further, we have no other options, but to cancel any further investigation. Our condolences go out to the Fischer family…”

T
hat was it
. That’s all that was said. The hunt was over. I leaned my head against Adam’s chest and sighed. “Thank God…” I said. He ran his finger around my earlobe and neck. I felt so warm against him. In these moments of victory and defeat, we were everything because we stuck together. We were two pieces in an enormous, convoluted puzzle. And we would not be pulled apart again. We would not accept defeat.

“
H
ow are we on gas
, Jonny?” Adam suddenly asked. “I gotta’ pee pretty bad.”

“
P
iss in this bucket
. We’re not stopping for another 65 miles. I can’t risk it.” He said in a serious tone.

“
D
ammit
. Hate this shit.” Adam muttered under his breath. He walked to the front of the truck and grabbed the bucket, looking slightly embarrassed. “Don’t look at me like that.” He said. I couldn’t help but laugh. He unzipped his pants and—
CRACK!

T
he sound
of something popping outside pushed me to my feet in alarm. “Adam!” I cried out. He threw the bucket and ran over to me.

“
H
old on to my body
!” He said. The front tire outside had burst and began flapping against the road. “Ah, shit!” He cried out. “Jonny, is that the tire?”

“
F
uckin’ seems like it
. No worries everyone. I got a spare.” He parked the wobbling truck on the side of the road and got out.

“
H
urry it up
, will you?” Adam called out.

“
Y
eah
, I hear you.” He replied.

H
e grabbed
the spare tire and began working at it with haste. “Adam, I’m scared.” I said.

“
D
on’t worry
, everything’s fine. It’s just a flat.” He said. I felt stupid giving into my fear like that, but it was a tense time for all of us now. I just wanted to make it to Idaho, so we could settle down for a second. Ever since we started this trip, it had been chaos over and over again. I just wanted a moment of peace before the next storm turned up.

W
e didn’t have
a clear view of the road. All I could see was through the front window and it seemed to be all dust and insects. A few hills shown in the distance. “I’m going up front.” I said to Adam. I walked up to the front and looked out the window. Sure enough, Jonathan was just doing what he needed to do. He was bent over with a flashlight in his mouth, mounting the new tire in.

B
ut after a minute
or so of this, a car pulled up behind us. A man got out, looking friendly enough. “Hey, are you guys alright?” He called out. “Looks like you got a pretty bad flat there.”

“
W
ho is that
?” Adam called out.

“
I
don’t know
, but get down just in case. If he’s seen the news, he probably knows about the bank robbery. I’ll come back there in a second…” I ducked my head down, but slowly peeked out the window.

J
onathan shook
the man’s hands. “Yeah, it happens. It’s mighty nice of you to stop for me, but I’m okay. Almost done here.” He continued working on the wheel.

“
A
w
, come now. You look like you could use some help.” The man smiled.

J
onathan
, not looking at the man, replied, “Look, I said we’re okay—” But as soon as he raised his eyes, he realized what was going on. The man had a gun pointed directly at his face. Jonathan quickly put his hands up.

“
S
hit
!”
He cursed under his breath. I looked back at Adam, who had no clue. I was about to shout out to him to grab his gun, but as soon as I opened my mouth I heard the door open.

“
N
eed a hand
?” A familiar voice asked.

A
dam looked horrified
. “Jorge. We meet again.” He muttered.

“
B
uenos dias
, friends.” He smiled.

C
hapter
31

W
e sat on our knees
, with guns to our heads. Handcuffs scraped against our wrists. This was it. The gang was caught. How they knew our plan, I had no idea, but they figured it out alright. “Fucking snakes.” Adam said underneath his breath.

“
G
et them into the car
.” Jorge said. The two men who were with him grabbed us by our shirts and pulled us into their car. At that moment three familiar black SUV’s pulled off to the side as well. Brianna stepped out of the car.

“
G
ood job
, Jorge!” She exclaimed with glee. She ran up to me and grabbed my cheeks, scraping her fingernails across them angrily. “You almost got away with it, Rose! Almost…” I couldn't help but spit a giant loogie right onto her face. It dripped down her forehead, into her eyes. I turned to Adam and saw that we were both smiling. “You little bitch…” She said to me. She slapped my face and wiped the saliva away from her eyes. “Take them away!” She screamed.

“
Y
ou heard her
!” Jorge called out. He pushed us into his car and suddenly we were speeding into the darkness.

“
W
here are you taking us
?” I asked Jorge, thrashing wildly in the backseat. A cage-like divider separated us from him. Tell me, God dammit!”

“
I
f only you had listened
.” He said. “If only you had played along, little Rose. You wouldn't be in this mess. You'd be back home, alive. With your family.” He shook his head and continued driving.

“
I
'd rather be
dead and forgotten than give Adam to you bastards!” I spit. I rested my head on Adam’s chest and closed my eyes tight. I wanted to disappear forever.

“
A
nd that’s
why you’re here, right? That’s why we’re having this conversation. It’s cute though, your love for Adam. It’ll be the reason for your death. Makes a good story, right?” We were silent. “Right Jonathan? I guess you can’t agree to that, homes. In this little fairytale, you’re just some sidekick who failed them. That ain’t too good, is it?”

A
dam looked at Jorge
, rage building. “It wasn't his fault. He did the best he could do.”

J
orge smiled
, showing off his gold tooth. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, old friend. But still, you can't help but wonder…did he give you up? What about Rose? Did she spoil your little party?” I turned red. I shouldn't have left that night, but I had no choice. I did what I could. I failed, Adam. I just hoped he would forgive me.

A
dam slammed
his head into the seat, demanding Jorge’s attention. “Keep smiling and I'll pull that gold tooth right from your gums.” Jorge pointed his gun at Adam. He was shaking slightly. “Go ahead. Pull the trigger. But deep down in your heart, you know if I weren’t wearing these handcuffs, I'd a cut that bald head clean off. I'd put 8 bullets in your body. I'd send each limb to another part of the continent. All for love. All for Rose.” Adam was more determined ever. I felt my heart and body warm up.

“
Y
ou'd forget
all about our crew? You'd really forget all about courage and loyalty? What about our family, homie. We used to be something. We stood for something real. Now you're going on, talking about love and shit. Please. That ain’t real and you know it. Blood. Now, that's real.” He smiled and nodded his head, as if he had revealed something in that moment. Blood, our blood of course, was the only thing that mattered to him.

“
F
amily used to mean something
. Now it’s just a word. It's something you say when you want your actions to have purpose. You're nothing but a politician, Jorge. All this rhetoric don't mean shit. I've realized a lot in these past few months. The only thing that matters in life are those that love you. That's the real life-connection, brother. But you never loved me. And to go around pretending like you did, would be a bunch of bull. No, you liked the money and the drugs, perhaps you liked the women too. I ain't about that life anymore. Homie.” Adam pressed his forehead against the barrel of Jorge’s pistol, challenging him in that moment.

I
n the end
, Jorge resisted the temptation. “Whatever you say, Adam. You always were the smart one. It ain't up to me though, Brianna will decide what's best. In a couple minutes, you won't be my problem for a while.”

“
W
hat are you saying
, Jorge?” I asked him.

“
I
'm saying
, I got some business to attend to before I deal with you. I just wanted to get some quick one on one time with you before I disappear for a bit.” He smiled and broke out into a high pitched giggle. “You all make me laugh, man. Like, are you for real? Did you really think you'd last? You got everyone on the hunt for you. What were you going to do? Hide out forever?” He shook his bald head.

N
ow was
my turn to laugh. “What makes you so certain you have all the time in the world? There's an hourglass for everyone, Jorge. And the sand in yours is faint.”

“
T
ough girl you got there
. Unfortunately, here's my stop.” He parked the car off to the side and pulled us out into the street. “Adios amigos. It's been real fun. See you on the other side.”

B
rianna’s men
got out of the SUV and ran towards us. The last thing I remember was getting hit on the back of the head. Brianna stood above us, cackling with laughter. All went black.

C
hapter
32

H
ours upon hours
must've passed, for when we woke up, we were back in the desert. “Adam, where are we…?” I asked. But when I turned to my side, the seats were empty. Both Adam and Jonathan were gone. I looked forward for Brianna, but one of her men had taken over. She was gone as well. “Where the hell is Adam?” I cried out. The man stayed silent.