Railed (Courage MC #2) (23 page)

H
e looked
at me and ran his right hand through his hair. “You know, Rose…I’m going to let this one be a mystery. Because if you knew the truth, you might go ahead and kill me.” I punched his arm, cursing under my breath.
What a bastard.
I thought.

O
f course
, I couldn’t leave him. Despite it being an utterly insane few days, I enjoyed the adventure this life provided me. I looked at Adam, Jorge, and the men surrounding them and thought to myself,

T
his is my family
. This is where I belong now.

C
hapter
11

W
e didn’t waist
any time standing around. Jorge and his men shuttled us out of the area completely. I didn’t bother looking out the windows of his truck, but it was somewhere far. We drove almost three hours in the desert with our lights off.

W
hen we finally
did
get to
our destination, I turned to Jorge and Adam angrily. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?” I demanded. I wasn’t going to be treated like a child any longer. I at least earned that much respect. Adam looked at Jorge. Jorge looked at Adam. The rest of the guys looked at Rose, as if thinking to themselves,
who the fuck is this Gringa?

J
orge laughed a little to himself
, staring at Adam. “What? You didn’t tell her?”

I
lunged towards Adam
. “Tell me what?”

H
e pushed
my head away and stared Jorge down for a hot second. “No. I didn’t tell her.” He said.

“
W
hat
? You didn’t tell me what, Adam?” This was beyond unreal. “First I witness my first big drug deal. Then I find myself in a deadly car chase. Then, we’re almost killed by
your
own stupidity! What the
fuck
is happening here?” I was screaming. One of the men behind Jorge spit out some of his beer, laughing, “Damn! This girl’s crazy, homie!” He said, wiping his face off.

A
dam turned
to me looking apologetic. “Uhh…” He stuttered. I stomped my feet, turning red with anger. I waited for his explanation. “I had known for a little while, that…uh…well, that Agent Brianna Baxter had discovered my whereabouts with some intel she got. I knew it was a matter of time until she found me. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.”

I
fell
to the floor in an anxiety-induced stupor. I put my head in my hands, feeling my greasy hair slide through my fingers. I was overcome with dizziness. Sweat ran down my forehead. Memories of my old life and home clouded my thoughts. They were all gone now. They were subjected to time and its misfortunes. I shed a tear and looked at Adam. “I want to go home.” I said.

J
orge walked up to me
, kneeling down. He put his hand on my shoulder. “You
are
home, little girl.” I had seen too much. I knew that. But I longed to see my parents’ faces more than anything on this earth. I longed to be in their arms, to feel their kisses on my head, to eat dinner with them and talk about how boring school was, to get mad at them and storm off, to…oh, it was no use.
This
was my family now. My unfortunate little family. I would have to make the best of it.

N
evertheless
, I got up and wiped the tears off my face. That's when I started swinging. I punched Jorge in the stomach three times. Then I turned around and kicked Adam in the shin. “You both ruined my life!” I screamed, walking out of the room. I felt the cold desert air wrap around my face.

“
Y
ou ruined it yourself
!” Jorge yelled. “
Damn puta
…” I held my ground and kept walking.

A
dam restrained
Jorge from chasing after me. He was clearly angry with me for challenging his authority. It was a bold move on my part, but one I had to do. “Come on Jorge. Let her go. She’ll be back.”

J
orge turned to him
, face sweating and turning red. “You're damn right she will. She has nowhere to go. But what's going to happen once you're little crush goes and calls the FBI on us? Then what?” He screamed, pushing Adam away.

“
W
oah
, woah. Settle down there, partner. She ain't going to turn us in.” Adam said confidently.

“
O
h
, yeah? And how do you know that, big man?” He stuck his chest out, displaying his dominance.

“
I
know
because I'm going to marry her.”

T
here was
a long pause of silence in the room. I found a nearby boulder and sat down, listening attentively. Tears were falling from my eyes, hitting the smooth dust below. All seemed barren and empty to me at this point.

J
orge paced around the room
. “You're going to do what?!” He screamed, losing all control. He punched the wall, leaving a large hole in the drywall.

A
dam walked
up to Jorge and stood his ground. “I said I'm going to marry her.”

H
e burst out laughing
, proudly displaying his gold tooth. He looked like he was completely out of his mind. “Adam, man. You never cease to amaze me. Does he boys?” He looked at his men and they began laughing with him in solidarity. “Well if a wedding is what you want, a wedding is what you'll get. Hey Louis, you were the officiate at your sister’s wedding, right?” A very buff man wearing sunglasses and cut off sleeves nodded his shiny bald head. “Well that settles it then. Time to play dress up, boys! We’re gonna’ have ourselves a little wedding.”

J
orge smiled
and the light reflected off his jewelry and teeth in a way that made him look like pure evil. I walked back into the room. This time, I didn't have any tears on my face.

“
S
peak of the devil
!” Jorge yelled.

I
didn't smile
. I didn't frown. I simply stood still and waited for his next grand display. He lifted his button down shirt above his tattooed stomach. The words “LOYALTY OR BLOOD” were marked in black ink. And below his stomach, next to his hip, sat a silver pistol, begging to be used. He grabbed it and pointed it at me. Oddly enough I wasn't even afraid. I didn't flinch a centimeter.

H
e pushed
it against my lips and I felt the cold steel of death hit my teeth. I welcomed it. Nothing could touch me. Not after tonight’s events. I felt more powerful than ever. Adam pulled out his 9MM pistol and pointed it at Jorge. His men were quick to pull out their weapons too, eager to fire.

A
dam looked concerned
. “Jorge, come on man. Put the gun down. You don't want to do this.”

“
O
h
, so now you're in the business of telling me what I want and don't want? Typical gringo bullshit. What do you say, boys?”

“
I
say
we kill him and take the girl for later!” One of the men, Hector, yelled.

“
S
he's awfully pretty
…” One man grunted.

“
W
e could rob him blind
!” Another one yelled.

J
orge laughed
and lowered the gun, “Nah. We gonna’ be cool. You know why?”

I
cleared
my throat and opened my eyes. “…why?” I found myself asking.

“
B
ecause we go
down with our family.” He looked me directly in my eyes and squeezed my cheeks hard. “You got that, little one?”

I
nodded
, still under the strong clench of his hand.

“
G
ood
.” He said. “Come on, boys. She’s cool, for now at least. Let’s get some sleep. We gotta’ be out of here by morning.” Adam nodded at Jorge, as if to say,
Watch your back
.

“
H
ey
, Adam man.” Jorge whispered. “I’d be careful going to sleep tonight. My crew’s anxious for some action.” He slapped his back and laughed, as Adam stared him down. Jorge turned and walked out the room, shaking his head with laughter.

H
e turned
to me and sighed. “We have to be careful now. We could be attacked at all angles. Its us versus everyone.”

I
wrapped
my arms around him and felt myself grow warm with trusting love. I couldn’t help how I felt about him. Even if he did get me into trouble, he showed me a new way of living. He protected me, even against his business partners. For that I was grateful toward him. “Hey Adam, I just wanted to tell you that…” He looked at me, eyes creased with sadness.

“
S
ave it for tomorrow
.” He said coldly. “Let’s get some rest.”

H
e walked away
, leaving me alone. I felt the cold despair of the desert landscape envelop me and I felt like I was at a loss. This was where animals went to die.

“…
I
love you
…” I whispered to myself. I suppose it was just too good to be true. I had thought I met the man of my dreams. Instead I had just met a hardened criminal.

C
hapter
12

“…
I
love you
…” The words echoed in my head. I got up from the hard ground and stretched my back. I saw Adam sitting at the edge of the room, staring into the night sky. He looked contemplative, as if he were rethinking his whole life, over and over again. I knew that look and knew how that felt.

“
W
hat time is it
?” I asked him, adjusting my eyes.

“
N
o clue
.” He muttered. “I’d say probably around 4 A.M.” He pulled out a cigarette and lit the end, sucking in a long drag. There was an extended, awkward pause where we both didn’t know what to say. I tip-toed next to him and sat down. I took a cigarette from his pack and lit my own. He looked at me quizzically.

“
I
’m sorry Adam
. All this…it’s all my fault. I know it is. But I’ll make it up to you. I promise you that.”

H
e took
another drag and looked me in the eye. “Listen to me, kid. It ain’t your fault. Look around you. You see this madness? This is the life I chose. It’s who I am. Must be in the blood or something.” He spit out into the dust.

“
W
hy does
it all have to be so hard?” I asked him, hopeful he could give me an answer. Of course, there was no real way of knowing. There was only the road forward. No use in knowing the past.

“
W
ho knows
? I sure as hell don’t. I just know I have to continue. If I don’t, they’ll kill me. It’ll either be Jorge or Brianna. But it’ll be one of the two. Maybe both. Hell…it’s complicated ain’t it?” He laughed, coughing slightly.

“
S
ure is
.” I laughed with him.

A
gain
, there was the silence that accompanied the ‘knowing.’ It was the feeling that nothing else needed to be said. Still, I had to ask him one more thing. “Hey, Adam?”

“
Y
es
, Rose?” He looked at me oddly.

I
coughed
as I inhaled a drag of the cigarette. This seemed to cheer him up a bit. “Are we really getting married?” I gulped down my saliva, feeling heavy hearted and weak in the stomach.

H
e chuckled
. “Do you really want to get married to a guy like me?”

“
W
ell I sure
as hell don’t want to be without you. Last night, I felt so empty sleeping alone. I never want to feel like that again.”

H
e inhaled
his last drag and threw the cigarette butt in the desert. “Then I guess that means we’re getting married.” He smiled big and ruffled my hair. I kissed his cheek and blushed. Suddenly he grabbed around my waist, holding me close. He wrapped his lips around my mouth and I quickly felt his tongue circle around mine. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. And for a split second, everything felt okay.

H
e released
me and stood up. “Come on. We’re going.” He said, without any warning.

“
E
xcuse me
?” I quickly responded, feeling flustered. I fixed my hair and looked at him with annoyance.

“
I
can’t trust
Jorge anymore. Not after last night’s antics. We need a signal.” He said.

“
A
signal
?” I asked him, slightly confused.