Sons of Flame MC - Redemption (8 page)

Eli cut her off.

"Did you think I really just went back to work for Tex and the Sons of Flame like nothing had happened? After everything that man did to me? After he stole the last few years of my life?"

Eli laughed bitterly.

"If so, you don't know me as well as you think you do. Tex forced me. He threatened my grandmother, hell, he threatened
you
after he saw us together that day we had lunch. I couldn't see a way out, so I had to agree to let him keep this stuff here."

He tapped the trunk of the car.

"But I've decided. Enough's enough. I'll never be free of Tex if I don't do something about it. Here and now. If you walk out now, Tex will know that you saw everything. Him and his boys will be here in minutes, and we'll be in a whole world of trouble."

As she'd been listening to Eli speak, Tess' expression had changed, from one of pure anger to a dubious curiosity.

"OK," she said. "Assuming you’re telling the truth, what do we do now? What was your plan?"

He looked at her.

"I didn't really have one, to be honest. I was going to take the drugs, get on my bike and just drive - then think of something later."

The withering look that Tess gave him made Eli want to shy away.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, "maybe I didn't really think it through properly...I just had to do something, anything, to stop being pulled back in."

Tess brushed her hair away from her eyes and took a breath.

"I'm a witness now," she said. "I don't want to be, and I wish I could just drive away from here and forget all about it, but I can't."

She narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

"Here's what we'll do," she eventually said. "I'll call the police; tell them that there are drugs hidden in here. Their first assumption will be that they belong to you, but I'll testify to what I saw last night. In court, if I have to."

Eli took a step towards her.

"Tess, no," he began. "It's too dangerous. At the first sniff of cops Tex and the Sons will be gone. They'll never get caught, and they'll never forget. You'll be in danger for as long as they're out there, and I won't let that happen. I have to do this alone."

At his words, Eli saw a stubborn look cross her face, one that he was already becoming familiar with him.

This woman really doesn't like being told what to do.

"And what will happen when you just drive out of here with Tex's drugs, Eli? Do you think he'll just shrug his shoulders, write off the loss, and carry on with his life? No! He'll hunt you down and he'll probably kill you."

Eli set his jaw and crossed his arms.

"Not if I hide. And not if I get him first."

Tess gave him a pointed look.

"So, what? You're going to hide for the rest of your life, always looking over your shoulder? Or are you going to take on the whole Sons of Flame gang, all by yourself, somehow win, and then somehow avoid jail for murder or manslaughter?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Great plan, Eli. Really great. It really sounds like you've thought this through."

Anger suddenly blossomed inside him, red hot and uncontrollable.

"And what would you have me do, Tess? Just go back to working for him, until the next time he decides to throw me under the bus? Run to the police and have him murder my grandmother? I. HAVE. NO. CHOICE. Can't you see that?"

He laughed bitterly.

"Of course you can't. To you, I'm just another subhuman criminal, another idiot who doesn't know any better. Look how quick you were to assume that I willingly went back to work for Tex. And now you think you have all the answers, when you don't know anything at all."

He saw how his words had wounded her, but it was too late now, too late to stop.

"Wait in here until I'm gone, Tess. They'll see me, and they'll chase me. Once that happens, make sure nobody is around, go and get in your car, and leave. Leave and don't look back. All I ask is that you wait until you get to the city before you tell the police. Give me some time to get away."

Tears were running down her face. Eli had the urge to reach out to her, pull her into an embrace, tell her that he didn't mean it, that everything was going to be OK. But he couldn't, because it wasn't.

With a supreme effort of will, he wrenched his eyes from hers and took out the briefcase from the trunk. She stood there like a woman lost.

"I don't have time for this," Eli said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. It's been a stressful few days, and I'll try and make it up to you when it's all over. I promise."

He reached out to her, but she flinched and drew away from him.

The first good woman to ever take an interest in you, Eli Flint, and you push her away. Smooth. Real smooth.

Eli turned to the task at hand and popped the trunk, lifting the suitcase out. It felt heavy in his hand - heavy with drugs, heavy with consequences, too.

Tess was still standing there, staring into the middle distance. When Eli spoke, he tried to make his voice as soft and gentle as possible.

"Tess, I'm going to go now. I need you to wait in here out of sight for a little while once I'm gone, like I said. Can you do that for me? Please?"

She turned away from him without acknowledging his words.

Good enough, I guess.

Eli pulled his keys from his pocket, took a deep breath, and made for the door. It was getting bright outside - it was going to be another hot, clear day, like usual.

But then, he saw something.

Eli swore under his breath.

"Shit."

It was one of the Sons of Flame. Eli couldn't make out exactly who, but that leather jacket was unmistakable. Eli knew that he didn't have much time. He had to make a decision, and fast. Everything depended on this moment.

He grabbed Tess' arm, who immediately tried to struggle away from him.

"Get the fuck off me!" she shouted. "Just go!"

Eli grimaced. He'd have time to explain all of this later. Right now, all that mattered was getting out of here, putting as much distance between them and this town as possible.

"Tess. I need you to listen to me. You can hit me, punch me, do whatever to me later. Get behind the car again, and stay there until you hear me call your name. When I do, you run to me, and you get on my bike. No questions, no nothing. Just do it, or we're both dead. Understand?"

He didn't have time to see if she was going to cooperate. He shoved her roughly behind the car, and then tried to affect as calm an air as possible. The guy was approaching the entrance to the workshop now, casual, not concerned. Yet.

Good. That was good.

Eli slid the case under the car, hoping beyond hope that the guy hadn't seen anything. He went and stood in the entrance to the workshop, waiting. He could see who it was now. Snake. A guy who'd been with the Sons for years, but was so stupid that he'd never really risen up the ranks. He always got the shitty jobs. Like stakeout duty, for example.

Eli nodded to Snake as he got closer.

"Snake. What can I do for you? Tex still doesn't trust me, huh? I guess not, if he's got you keepin' an eye on me."

Snake's eyes narrowed.

"Shut up Eli. What you doin' in here?"

Eli looked around himself, gesturing with his hands.

"I work here, Snake. I still gotta make a living, right?"

Snake gestured to the trunk of the car.

"Why's that open? Where's the case?"

Shit.

"Oh, uh, it's just over here. Come over, I'll show ya."

Snake followed him. As he walked, Eli knew that he'd only get one shot. Snake was dumber than a bag of rocks, but Eli had seen him fight.

"Where is it then, Eli? I don't see nothin'."

"Just here. I wanna move the car so -"

Eli whirled without warning and slammed his fist into Snake's face.

The big man dropped to the ground in a crumpled tangle of limbs. Eli shook his hand and winced. No wonder the guy was so dumb; his head must have been made of stone.

Eli grabbed the case, and then dashed around to where he'd left Tess. She crouched there, fear written plain upon her face.

"Eli, what happened? What have you done?"

"We can talk about it later, Tess. For now, we just need to get out of here. C'mon."

Without waiting for her answer, he lifted her onto her feet and led her out of the workshop. She glanced over to where the prostrate body of Snake was laying, and she gasped in shock.

"He's not....."

"He's not dead, Tess, Jesus Christ. He'll just be sleeping for a little while."

They emerged into the sunlight and Eli marched them over to where his bike lay waiting, gleaming. Even at times like this, he always made sure his bike was pristine, taken care of.

Eli swung a leg over and climbed on with practiced fluidity.

"Get on," he commanded. "We're gonna need every second we have. I'll bet you a thousand dollars that Tex and the rest of the Sons are on their way here, right now. And we do NOT want to be here when they arrive, believe me."

She climbed onto the bike with the awkward clumsiness of a beginner.

"I've never ridden on a motorcycle before," she said, her voice tremulous.

Eli chuckled, in spite of everything.

"I never would have guessed," he said drily. Tess wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. Eli's thoughts were focused on the task at hand, but even through that there was a stir of something inside him at her proximity.

Later. Gotta get goin'. Gotta get out of here.

He turned the key and the bike roared into life. With a single glance back at the workshop, Eli put it in gear and roared off onto the road.

He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he had to get there fast.

*****

Tess

S
he clung onto Eli for dear life as he tore out of Mike's parking lot. The bike was so fast, so powerful, that she was afraid she'd just fall straight off the back of it. All she could hear was the roar of the engine and the wind whipping past her.

It had only taken a couple of minutes before they were clear of Joshuaville and out into the open desert. Cacti and sand, sun and sky. That was it. Nothing else.

After the initial shock wore off, Tess had started to enjoy the experience, begrudgingly. There was something about the solidity of Eli in front of her, the sound of the engine, and the wind whipping through her hair that was exciting and utterly new to her.

Despite being desolate, the desert was beautiful in its own way. It was timeless - it had been here long before she'd ever been born, and would remain so long after she was gone.

It just
was
, no matter what petty little dramas and happenings went on with the people who lived in and around it. Tess took some comfort in that, to try and take her mind off the fact that they were, in all likelihood, being chased at that very moment by ruthless criminals who would stop at nothing to recover what Eli had taken from them.

The suitcase was wedged between the two of them, and Tess toyed with the idea of simply picking it up and flinging it off to one side. But that wouldn't solve anything. Tex would find them, and he'd take his revenge. At least this way they had some evidence against him, as long as Tess got the chance to testify to what she'd seen the previous evening.

Eli didn't say a word as he drove, just looked straight ahead into the distance and kept the bike on a straight line.

His words still echoed in Tess' head. Maybe she had been too quick to judge and condemn him, but what else was she supposed to have thought? It was probably too late now. The anger in his eyes and in his voice had been intense, and if everything had gone as he'd wanted it to, she wouldn't even be here now. She probably wouldn't ever have seen him again.

That morning, Tess would have been totally fine with that. But now...she wasn't as certain. Sure, she'd ended up getting dragged into this whole sorry mess, sure they were on the run from the Sons of Flame, and sure, there was no guarantee that they'd even make it out of this alive...but Eli was only trying to protect her and his family. He'd seen a way out and he'd taken it. It was dangerous and it was reckless, but she respected him for it.

But with how angry he'd been, Tess didn't know if it was too late to patch things up between them. She guessed she'd find out whenever they stopped. If they ever stopped. She had no idea how long a tank of gas lasted in a bike like this.

She was still wearing her work suit, and even with the wind blowing it was getting desperately hot. And after the initial newness of the experience wore off, Tess realized that she'd spent last night sleeping in the back of that old rust bucket, and she was horribly tired. She knew that she didn't smell good, and her ass was starting to ache. What was more, she was absolutely desperate to pee.

She wanted to ask Eli when they could stop - preferably somewhere that she could take a shower and buy some new clothes. A quick glance at the surrounding desert made that hope seem awfully silly. There was nothing, anywhere. Just the desert.

But Eli knew this place far better than she did. He'd grown up here, after all, spent all his life here. Even if he was still angry with her, she had to ask.

"Eli!" she shouted into his ear, struggling to make her voice heard.

No response. He continued to resolutely stare into the middle distance, his jaw set stubbornly.

"Eli! I know you can hear me!"

Maybe the hint of a raised eyebrow, though Tess couldn't be sure.

This wasn't going to work. She decided to try a new tack.

"Eli, I need to use the bathroom! I know that we're in a hurry, so if you say the word I can just go right here, on the bike. It's kinda gross, but, hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, hey?"

His shoulders sagged in defeat and Tess felt the bike gradually start to slow as he pulled over to one side.

Tess clambered off awkwardly, her ears ringing in the sudden silence.

"Make it quick," Eli rumbled. "We've still got a long way to go today."

Tess looked around her, one way, then the other. Nothing. Silence. The road was completely empty. She started to trudge off into the sand, gasping in the overbearing heat.