Hell on Heelz (Asphalt Gods' MC) (16 page)

I peeked out the window blinds. “No one’s around. You’ve got to go now.” I pointed to the back door.

“Come with me,” he croaked.

“What? No.” I backed away not because it was out of the question but because I’d wanted to. I wasn’t even sure what he was asking me to do, leave for the night, leave for forever, and I wanted to, bad.

Mud started to fall over but caught himself. I rushed to help him. “You’ve got to get.” I started walking him to the back.

“Can I at least get your number.”

I sighed. It wasn’t the time. I grabbed a pen and wrote down my old cell phone number, Edie’s phone, not a throw away on his arm. “You call me when you’re safe,” I said pushing him out the door.

Mud smiled weakly and left.

I ran to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror for the first time since I’d gotten back, I didn’t know how I could make myself look worse. I looked like something Mr. Mittens would leave on my front stoop. My hair was windblown out like the bride of Frankenstein. Dirt from the ride made all my wrinkles stand out. A nasty scab ran down my right breast, looked infected too. I turned my head over and mussed my hair a bit differently. I ripped my already ripped tank a little more. I heard the putter of the old Harley trying to start, and then the squeal of it, meaning Mud rode off. I ran out my front door just as Pepper’s head appeared out hers. She lived catty corner to me. I ran over. Panting wasn’t much of a stretch. I was worn slap out. I collapsed on her steps, telling her the God had gotten away. “Was loose from the cuffs when I went in,” I lied.

“My word!” she exclaimed, marveling out how he’d managed to escape.

I found my strength and visited Sugar for a moment. Jason looked well. He was bundled up in Pepper’s bed with a stack of magazines. Pepper would take good care of him.

“Big hunk got away, huh?”

“Something like that.” I wanted to tell him all about the last couple of days, but I couldn’t even tell him about me and Mud. If anyone found out I helped our enemy escape, well, it’d be the end of me.

I kissed his head and went back to my cabin for a hot bath and that glass of whiskey. Afterwards, I fell asleep hugging my cell phone, praying Mud was alright.

I was woken up from a dead sleep by an upbeat song. I started muttering along, “Do you remember…da, da, da… September…” That was Edie’s ringtone. My eyes opened a peep to the bright screen in the dark room. I read a local area code and the time. It was three a.m. I had to answer, my mom had this number. I said hello and heard Mud’s voice. “Edie.”

“Yes,” I said, but I’d left her back in Alabama. It only took a drop of feeling like a fool to make her run away. “You safe?”

“That depends, anyone after me?”

“No.”

“I didn’t make it far.”

“Where are you?”

“A motel in Crescent City.”

That wasn’t but a fifteen-minute drive up the highway. “Did you run into trouble?”

“No.”

I just came out and asked him what I was wondering. “Why are you calling so late?”

“I was dreaming about you. I was wondering if you’d want to come see me, before I head back.”

My heart skipped at the prospects of such a meeting, but I told it to get itself under control.

“We never got to say goodbye,” he went on about us taking a ride together.

“I didn’t just leave, you know. Your brother came to the cabin.”

“Goose?”

“Is that his name. Yeah, long story, but he was looking for you.”

“I need to know what he said, but not like this. Edie, come see me.”

Damnit, Edie was tempted all the way from Arizona and Rage was about to give in too. “When?”

“Now.”

At three in the morning, with most of my sisters gone or sleeping. I’d say now was the time, if ever. “Okay.”

I wrote a note to Pepper and taped it to her front door. It said I’d be going to my mama’s house for a spell, but I’d be back sometime next week if not before. Pepper wouldn’t go to my mom’s looking for me. Mama and Nina had run her off last time, calling her a hippy, white trash whore, and if you think that’s bad you should hear what they’d called me these last two years. I added making amends with my mama to my mental ‘clean up Rage’ to do list. Mom would be so happy to know she’d be seeing her grandbabies again, that check might not be too hard to make.

I left giddy, anticipating getting another taste of Mud before he was gone from my life from good. At the run down motel, he answered the door in nothing but his boxers. It was a sight to see because of course he was hella fine, but I was quickly reminded how bad of shape he was in. He’d showered because he was clean and his hair was real wet but bathing hadn’t done much but make the swelling around his eyes, the bruises up and down his torso, the cuts on his cheek, all stand out more.

I gently touched his face. “You look plum pitiful.”

He put his arms around me anyhow, whispering into my hair, “I’m not about to turn down a pity fuck.”

Mud kissed my neck, feeling a bit too good with an erection about to burst from his shorts. How could anyone in this shape feel so horny? I pushed him off me.

“You’re high. How?”

He stepped back, smiling like a loon. “I know how to find what I need.”

“What you need is a doctor.”

“Can’t,” he plopped onto the bed like he couldn’t stand anymore.

I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. I was lucky I hadn’t been arrested, yet. I wasn’t wanted like some of my sisters, but my time was coming.

“There’s a crazy bunch a pistol toting women after me.” Mud hooted, taking a swig of beer. “My brothers are seven hours away too. I didn’t call them.”

That was a relief. If the Gods caught wind my sisters and 2Kurrupt of all people had taken one of their own. They’d burn down the Roost, us girls in it. “I’ll make sure you heal. Get you home.”

“Why do all that for me? You falling in love with me?” It was the drugs talking.

“I don’t fall in love,” I told him, crawling over to him.

Despite the shape he was in, he was feeling good, high and sporting an erection that was hard to ignore. He grabbed at the back of my head, wanting to pull me into a kiss, but I wouldn’t have it. I ripped down his boxers and soon had my way with him like I did most men, using them like a glorified dildo, but I couldn’t separate like Rage does. Mud was watching my face, enjoying my reactions. And I was enjoying him watching me. It was sexy as fuck, but more than that, I couldn’t forget the passion from the other night. That same feeling washed over me as I came undone.

Exhausted, both of us slept the next day away, not waking up until the afternoon. Mud could barely move to get out of the bed.

I was sure his ribs were broken. “Don’t get up,” I told him.

I went to the ice machine and got some ice. From taking care of my sisters after fights at the Roost, I knew I needed to wrap his ribs. I left for some decent coffee and stopped at the Walmart to pick up some antiseptic, an ace bandage for his ribs, some antibacterial cream for his other wounds and some ibuprofen. I tried to think of everything I might need to fix him up and by the time I rolled my buggy to the checkout lane, I looked like I’d be nursing an army. I’d thrown in some microwaveable dinners and some beer too, thinking he needed to take it easy a few days.

When I got back to the Motel, Mud was up but in obvious pain.

“Get your ass back in bed.”

“I’ve got to get back.” He was trying to get dressed and failing. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through worse.”

“You ride off in this shape, alone, and you’ll end up dead.”

“You’re right.”

I couldn’t believe he listened to me and part of me wanted to believe he just wanted more time with me. He let me nurse him, wrap up his ribs and all.

I warmed him up some soup, had him eat and made him lie on his side that wasn’t aching.

“When you told me you had kids, well, I don’t think I believed you up until now,” he said. He was pretty sober today only taking ibuprofen.

“Is that a thank you?”

“It is. Where are your kids?”

“Up in Maine.” I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t without becoming distraught. “Your brother was looking for you.”

He reached up and pulled my shirt down a bit, asking about the scab, “That’s new. Did Goose do that?”

He looked angry about. Not needing a man to defend me, I pulled my shirt back up. “I got away.”

“I’m sure you did.” He smiled, though weakly.

I ran my hand through his hair as he fell asleep.

I used to be at the Roost, sipping on whiskey but now I was drunk on him...

My sisters were back, bickering about who’d take over the Heelz. Legs had been staying away as much as possible to console her Granddaughter, Star. Miss B and her crew were back celebrating. They’d returned with a prisoner, having caught the Banshee’s killer in Mexico. Moreover, they’d killed a God to do it. Legs was staying away now so she didn’t kill Anne Marie, or rather Emery, which was her real name, herself before she negotiated terms with the Mutherfukers.

Deal was, Mutherfukers wanted to be the ones to turn the woman in for the bounty because our club owed their president Dirty Sanchez an undisclosed amount of green, all related to the Banshee’s drug habit.

“Least I can do is pay off Shirley’s debts so you girls don’t have to,” Legs said. She didn’t want to be president but wouldn’t give it up until this matter was attended to. Problem was she didn’t think her late daughter could possibly owe such a big debt. The only Heel who’d know, our treasure of course and Shirley’s favorite—Dixie, she was dead too.

Conversely, Miss B thought we should just hand Scar’s girl over to the mob boss ourselves and then pay off the Mutherfukers with the one hundred grand, use the change to arm ourselves better. Legs argued that now that my sister’s had gone and killed a member of the Asphalt Gods named Hannibal, the General’s VP that we’d needed the Mutherfukers as a true ally.

With all this infighting and Mud still recovering at the motel up in Crescent City, I made every excuse I could to leave my sisters and go see him instead.

He was recovering quickly. I’d been up to visit him for the last three nights and although we hadn’t gotten physical again, we’d talked more each time until we’d practically talked each other’s heads off. Tonight was no different. Mud was sitting up in the bed, feeling much better. I’d brought a bottle of whiskey, some chicken wings and plenty of napkins.

“So, you’ve never killed anyone on purpose.” Since I was already betraying my sisters, I guess I’d figured I’d jump in feet first. I’d told him about Kelly.

“No, not yet. I’m hoping I don’t ever have too. I’ve done so much illegal shit in the club, I could go to jail someday, but I still feel like my soul’s intact. If that makes sense.” At least somedays I felt like that.

“I haven’t either, killed anyone, but Goose sure did, more than a few times, and he gave me credit for one of them.”

“He betrayed you before?” Mud had told me about his brother leaving the Gods to work for some drug lord in Alabama.

“Nah, I’d wanted to claim it. We used to share everything.”

“Even women?”

“Always women, but I wouldn’t share you.”

I compressed a smile, after all, even though we’d opened up, I’d tried hard not to giggle and fall for him any further. He’d be gone soon. 

Surprisingly, he towed me to him. Mud had gotten his strength back, and boy, did he want to show me. I didn’t even mind that he hadn’t washed his buffalo flavored hands. He was pushing my shirt off and tugging down my leather pants. He’d pretty much lived in his boxers for the last few days, recovering. They were easy to get rid of. His mouth was on my neck, warm and comforting as he kissed eagerly.

“Hold onto the headboard,” he said, his voice husky and low. 

“Why should I take orders from the likes of you?” I teased as he kneaded my breasts.

“Trust me. You’re going to love this.”

Trust would get me hurt—love would get me killed. Mud entered me, and I was fucking dead but in fucking Heaven. No one fucked like Mud, and I was fucking loving it! Being used hard and loving every minute of it, the sensation had me howling before long.

Wrapped in his arms, I read the clock and frowned. “I’ve got to get back.”

Mud noticed my demeanor and asked what was up.

“I’m on guard tonight. Girls caught...” I stopped before I’d told him they’d caught Scar’s woman. The women he’d been protecting when we’d met.

“Who?”

“Nobody.” I sat up. I’d said too much already. I’d already told Mud too much these last couple of days too, but if he knew about Emery, it’d put my sisters and I in more jeopardy than we were already in. Thinking of it, I felt ashamed. I’d been selfishly coming here while my sisters were in trouble. “I’ve got to go,” I repeated as he kissed my bare shoulder.

“I’ve got to be getting back too.” Mud got up and started dressing. He was leaving to go back to Mobile.

It was clear my vacation from reality, whatever it could be called was over. We hadn’t even taken a last ride together. I left and didn’t say goodbye.