Railed (Courage MC #2) (39 page)

B
ANG
! BANG!

T
wo shots echoed
. One from Jorge and the other from the biker. The biker dropped the blade and fell over in the dirt. He was dead. Adam took one look at Jorge and went for the gun. Jorge laughed and sent two shots next to Adam’s body. They hit the dirt as a warning. “Stay where you are.” Jorge said.

A
dam fell against the dirt
, breathing erratically. “You…” He moaned. “My father… it was all a fucking lie!”

“
I
t always is
, partner.” He said, getting nearer to Adam.

“
D
on’t
you ever call me partner.” He said. “All that ended a long time ago.”

“
E
verything is ending
. Don’t you see?” Jorge stood above Adam, aiming his gun at his head. Behind us was a huge plume of smoke, and below it was the faint outline of flames. The desert was on fire. We thought we could just leave it behind and be done with it. But as I was noticing, demons catch up to you. They beg for one last showdown.

“
W
ell
, Jorge. Looking down the barrel of your gun, I can see. It don’t mean you have to pull that trigger.” He said. “Let us go. For old times’ sake.”

J
orge laughed
. “Got a cigarette?” He suddenly asked.

“
Y
ou don’t fucking smoke
.” Adam said.

“
O
n a night like this
? Hell, why not?” He smiled, stumbling slightly as if he were drunk. He eventually, wound up sitting on the dirt, gun shaking in front of him.

“
S
ure
. Guess we can share one last cigarette.” Adam pulled out two cigarettes, throwing one at Jorge. They lit them up, eyeing each other cautiously.

T
ears started streaming
down Jorge’s face. Something wasn’t quite right about all of this. “Ah shit. Where did it all go wrong, homie? We used to be brothers. We used to run this fucking place. What happened to us?”

A
dam took
a long drag and thought about this for a while. He picked out pieces of glass from his arms and chest. The pain didn’t seem to faze him. “We saw things, Jorge. Friends died. I grew up. I had to get out. This life wasn’t
me
anymore.”

“
Y
ou took an oath
, homes.” Jorge said, bitterly.

“
A
n oath ain’t shit
in this business and you know it more than I do.”

J
orge threw
his gun into the desert. “Yeah. I know it.” Adam reached for his gun, but all Jorge did was burst out into laughter. “None of this matters anymore, Adam man. “Just wanted to say goodbye.” He took off his jacket and suddenly I saw what he was hiding: A massive bullet hole, right in his gut.

“
J
orge
…” Adam whispered. I realized in this moment just how close these two were. Despite all the violence and feuding, they still had a common bond that could not die.

“
N
ah
, man. Don’t. There’s no saving me. If I had caught you back in Oregon, I probably would have slit your throat.” Jorge fell forward and spit out a good amount of blood.

“
I
guess so
.” Adam inched forward and extended his hand. Jorge laughed and grabbed onto him, clasping down as hard as he could. “Good luck on your journey.” Adam said.

“
T
hink there’s a heaven
?” Jorge asked him.

A
dam hesitated for a moment
. He was watching his old friend, dying. “I believe there’s something monumental waiting on the other side.”

“
I
’m sorry
, Adam. I’m sorry for everything.” He was crying lightly as he fell backward. “Make a life with Rose. Be with her forever and treat her like a fucking queen. I’ll see you in the next life.” He smiled and handed him a piece of paper.

“
W
hat is this
?” Adam asked.

B
ut Jorge was already falling away
from the earth. He closed his eyes. His breathing was faint. And in a brief moment of clarity, he took one deep breath and something in him had changed. He had left his body.

A
dam fell against the dirt
, tears in his eyes. “Rose. It’s over. It’s finally over.”

C
hapter
36

“
I
t’s really over
?” I asked him, falling into his arms.

“
I
t’s really over
.” He said. There were no more enemies left. We had won…

“
W
hat are
we going to do now?” I asked him.

H
e picked
my body up and placed me on my feet. “Let’s get out of this barren desert. I’m taking you home.” He said.

“
Y
ou can’t be serious
, Adam. Home? They’ll throw you in prison.” Though I was adverse to his plans, I had a deep desire to see my family again. Back when I met Adam, I thought it was wise to leave home. On some levels it was. But I was just a kid back then. I didn’t know the real world.

“
I
’m serious
. They won’t know a thing. You’re gonna’ tell them you ran away. You wrote that letter. But this kind gentleman, me, took you home. You see, I saw you on the television, but I didn’t want to make a fuss with the reporters or anything. I just wanted to get you back home safely.”

I
laughed
and squeezed his hand. “Promise it’ll work? Promise everything will be back to normal?”

“
I
promise
, baby. I’ll never lie to you. And as soon as things get settled, I’m gonna’ marry you.”

I
wrapped
my arms around him. He picked me up and carried me close to his chest. We walked toward Jorge’s vehicle. “Oh, Adam. I love you so much.” He kissed me warmly. The smell of fire, ash, and dirt filled my nostrils, but everything seemed sweeter now that he was fully mine. “I guess we can both work at my dad’s shop for money. I’m sorry we never got the cash we hoped for.”

A
dam reached in his pocket
. He pulled out the piece of paper Jorge gave him as he was dying. “Don’t jump to conclusions, missy. This here is a map to a large sum of money. Jorge was smart. He knew people would be after his shit. So he buried it nearby. That’s first on our schedule.” He smiled.

“
A
dam
, how much are we talking here?”

“
A
bout a couple million
.” He laughed loudly, pounding excitedly against the car. “I guess he had been saving his earnings for years. This was gonna’ be his retirement fund.” He set me in the vehicle and started the engine. We drove off in a hurry.

“
P
oor guy
…” I whispered. Although he had turned on us long ago, I remembered fondly the night I met him. He was the first introduction into this mad world of loyalty, freedom, and family. And now he was gone. I promised myself I would use our money, only for Adam and I’s love. Nothing more, nothing less.

“
H
e betrayed us
. But I’ll miss him too.” Adam said.

W
e kept driving
in the same direction for what seemed like about an hour. “Are we almost there?” I asked, impatiently.

“
W
e’re here
.” He said, parking the car. We got out and walked towards a set of rocks that were shaped in a spiral formation. The sun peeked its head out from the horizon and I squinted to adjust my eyes.

“
I
’ll help you dig
.” I said. “Your arm looks kind of messed up from the crash…”

“
T
hanks
.” He looked at his arm. It was covered in cuts and bruises. It was possible it was broken. If it was, Adam wouldn’t be the one to admit it. “I guess it is kinda’ messed up.” He smiled.

W
e dug
and threw the dirt behind us. This was it. This was the fortune we had been fighting for. Adam gave one last shovel and a metal
thud
rang out. “There it is!” I yelled, dropping to my knees. I began digging with my hands.

W
ith enough strength and willpower
, we eventually pulled the multiple oil cans out from the ground. They must’ve weighed a couple hundred pounds each. Adam quickly opened the tops to make sure everything was in order. Sure enough, there was green money, solid gold bricks, jewels, pesos, and pretty much any other currency you could think of. Adam tossed the drugs that were in there and packed everything into the car.

I
sat
wide-eyed and excited. “I can’t believe he hid this here the whole time.” I said, feeling the smooth paper in my hands. “I wish I could thank him for this.”

“
B
e
careful what you wish for, kid.” Adam breathed. We got in the car and headed in the direction of home.

C
hapter
37

M
r. and Mrs. Fischer
? Are you the parents of Rose?

T
he words echoed
in front of me and I stepped forward to see my parents. There was a moment of true shock as they scrambled to figure out how this was possible. The odd thing was, it looked as if they had aged ten years since the day of my disappearance. I ran into their arms and felt the familiar kisses on the top of my head, that familiar hug, and the tears they shared with me. A few months ago, I couldn’t fathom being back home. Now, I was embracing the idea wholeheartedly.

“
I
found
her wandering the streets of Yuma.” Adam said. He was wearing a nice suit and tie, straight from Armani. It was a little gift I gave him for loving me so well. I thought he looked good in leather. Boy did I think he looked great in rich Italian fibers.

M
y dad knelt down
. “Oh, Rose. What trouble have you gotten into? Where’s this Jax character? I’ll kill him! I swear I’ll rip his head off!”

“
I
, uh, saw this girl on the news not too long ago. I thought to myself, ‘she looks like that girl!’ So I had to stop and see for myself. Sure enough, it was her alright. She said she didn’t even remember leaving home.” Adam shrugged.

“
I
s this true
, Rose?” My mom asked me, sobbing against my father.

“
I
remember
bits and pieces now.” I said. “Every so often, a new memory comes back to me. I mainly remember escaping. I was tied up in some house. The man accidently left a knife on the table in front of me before he left to get us food. I reached and I reached until I could just barely touch the knife. It took a good deal of effort, but I eventually cut myself free.” My eyes began to water. It wasn’t hard faking it. I just thought of all that we went through to get here. Jorge, Brianna, Bruce… it all weighed on my heavily. “I’m so sorry, mom!” I cried, wrapping my arms around her.

“
W
ell
, I’ll leave you to it.” Adam said.

I
immediately turned around
. “NO! You can’t just leave. Not after you saved me like that…” I said.

“
Y
es
, you should have dinner with us tonight.” My dad said to Adam. “We’d…well, we’d be honored.” My mom agreed with him.

“
W
ell that’s
mighty kind of you three. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I saved your daughter. She did that herself. But I never deny a good dinner.” My parents laughed and pulled him through the door.

I
t didn’t take much
for my parents to take a liking to Adam. He told stories of his childhood, of past troubles, and growing up with a dad who worked as a mechanic for a living. They were half-truths, dressed in white lies. There were some things you just kept secret. The life of a man on the run was one of them. If only they knew the trouble we went through to get here!

A
fter dinner
we said our goodbyes. It was finally time to go. Adam didn’t have a home, of course, so I decided it best he go to a motel down the road and lay low for a while. I’d see him every day at that same park we met in the first place. He agreed, though it was hard for us to be away from each other for so long.

“
H
ey
, I wanna’ say something to him real quick. I’ll be right back!” I said to my parents as they waved to him at their doorstep.