Obsessed (6 page)

He craned his neck to look at the place on his shoulder where I touched him. He turned to face me while the other two kept walking. “It’s James.”

“Huh?”

“My name is James, and do you know what could happen to you for touching a man’s colors?” He directed his gaze toward the front door, where just outside his friend’s were doing their work.

I looked behind me to acknowledge his point. “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just wanted to say thank you. That guy was really starting to bother us. He was intimidating and-”

“I don’t think you know what intimidating is,” he said. “Now, you and your friends should get outta here. You’re in the wrong place.”

“Okay, well, thanks for the-”

“Leave. Now. I don’t want to tell you again.” He turned on the heel of his boot and walked out through a set of double doors in the back. Jenn and Brooke were looking more anxious than ever. When I got back to the table they grabbed me and nearly carried me out the door.

***

A week had passed since the incident at the biker bar. We hadn’t talked much about it, and neither Jenn nor Brooke felt like doing much since.

For the most part, I was over not getting the job. When I went back in on Monday, I quit my internship. They tried to persuade me to stay, but I just told them to call me if any paid positions opened up. The rest of the week, I half-heartedly looked for a new job, and generally acted like a lazy slob. But my mind kept wandering back to the biker bar. I wanted to know so badly how they spent their days. What kind of
life
they lived. It was eating away at me.

“What’s the plan tonight, girls?” I said.

“I don’t know,” said Jenn. “Why don’t hang out here and rent a movie?”

“Yeah, that’s good with me,” said Brooke.

“What!? No way. You guys give me so much crap for not wanting to go out, and when I finally do, you change your minds?”

“Let’s just chill this weekend, Katie. It got a little too crazy last week,” said Jenn.

“Too crazy? It was a little bar fight, no big deal. I wanna go back.”

“A little bar fight? Are you serious? I think they did way worse to those guys than beat them up a little. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up in the hospital or something. Anyway, didn’t you
see
those guys? They were the real deal, not some weekend warrior pretend bikers. They were a legit motorcycle gang.”

“Yeah,” said Brooke. “Didn’t you see their vests? They had those 1%er patches. I think that means they’re, like, hardcore criminals, doesn’t it?”

“Besides, don’t you know what they do with their girls?” said Jenn.

I was intrigued. “What do you mean,
do
with their girls?”

“I don’t know. They act like they own them or something. Like they’re property.”

“So. Just because you hang out with those guys doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to become somebody’s bitch.” It made them both laugh. “Besides, don’t you think they were hot? I mean, where do you see guys like
that
around here?”

“Listen, I agree, they were pretty sexy, especially the one who rescued us from that douche bag, but it’s just too dangerous. We’re not going, Katie,” said Brooke.

“Fine. But who’s the goody two shoes now?” They both looked away. “I’m just joking,” I said. “But how about we meet at Jenn’s place tonight. I feel like getting out of my apartment, at least.”

They agreed and we decided to meet later that night. Neither one of them had any idea I had no intention of showing up. I was going back to that bar whether they wanted to come with me or not.

***

Gravel kicked up from the rear tires of the cab as it pulled out of the parking lot. It looked bigger and more ominous now that I was sober and alone. The motorcycles were all lined up like they were before, only it seemed more sinister this time. There were loud rumbles off in the distance. It was probably the sound of more coming to the party.

I walked in and was met with the same familiar music and smoky air as the last time. I changed my attire up this time, though. Instead of a low-cut dress and heels, I wore torn jeans and a t-shirt that I had slashed nearly in half. My mid-section was completely exposed, but I didn’t look much different from any of the other girls there. I wore these sexy black boots that I had found in a second hand store. I didn’t know if they were the boots that biker chicks wore, or if they were for for the S&M sex dungeon-type crowd. Either way they looked cute with the rest of my outfit.

“Hey, honey, haven’t seen you before.” It was old biker. His long beard was gray and braided in some parts. He was so drunk; he could hardly hold himself up straight.

“Yeah, I’m, uh, one of James’s girls. Have you seen him?” I said.

“Yerrrgh...yeah.” He was fighting to keep his eyes open and the bottle he was holding was almost parallel to the floor. “James? You mean Icy?”

“Right, Icy,” I said.

“Hell, he’s in there probably. But why don’t you stay here and be my girl instead.”

I tried to play it off like I thought one of the real girls might. “I don’t think so old timer. I came to see Icy.” He tried again, but I slipped away before he could rope me into a conversation.

There were more people this time. It looked like the whole gang was out tonight. There was a little more tension in the room too. Or maybe it was always there, and I was just sober enough to recognize it this time.

I saw him on the other side of the bar. He was at table with two others. A different pair than the two from before. They looked like they were discussing something important. I steadied myself and walked up to them.

“Uh, hey guys,” I said.

He stared, blankly for a second, then he recognized me. “City girl? Goddammit. Didn’t I tell you to stay out of here?”

The older, skinny biker at the table said, “Is she new, Icy? I like her.”

“Shit, Roads, she isn’t like that. She’s mixed up. Just a dumb city girl who wants to play biker bitch.”

“What’s the matter,” I said. “You afraid of little old me?”

The other guys at the table nudged each other and a couple in the back hooted and hollered.

“Damn, Ice, looks like she might have your number.” They howled with laughter. Except for James. He stared right through me, and only then did I start to really doubt myself.

He stood from his chair and grabbed me hard at the elbow. He pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “I told you to get the hell outta here. Now, I’m trying to be good to you, but you better go before you get yourself in trouble. We aren’t playing games here.”

I didn’t know quite what to say. As I was about to give up and leave, I heard a commotion behind me.

Something crashed at the front entrance. Someone outside screamed. There were three loud pops, all in quick succession. It could have been gunfire.

“Shit! HOHers!” someone said. “Load up,” said someone else.

The bar was chaotic. I hadn’t quite made heads or tails of what was happening when I realized James was no longer next to me. I searched the crowd and found him charging toward the front with shotgun in hand.

Engines revved and loud pipes roared outside the building. The sound was deafening. There was more gunfire.

“Push ‘em out! Get ‘em the fuck outta here!” said the skinny man who was at the table James earlier.

Two large men burst in through the front. They were wearing red on their vests and bandanas. One was carrying a large pistol.

“Watch out! Gun! Gun!”

Adrenaline took over. I ran for the exit. Gunshots rang out. More men stormed through the door. People were fighting all around me. There were screams of anger and screams of pain. As I reached the front I saw the old man crumpled and bleeding on the ground.

A surge of bodies pushed me through the door. Outside, there was action everywhere. One of the riders in red crashed into me as he ran toward the bar. The impact sent me sprawling in the dirt.

I saw James struggling with two men. One of them had a knife and was swinging it wildly. My mind raced to comprehend what was happening. It wasn’t until I was laying there in the dirt that I realized I was in the midst of a gang war. The others had arrived so suddenly, I hadn’t had a chance to really think about what was happening.

Then, a burly, bearded man wearing the blue and gray colors burst outside. He carried an automatic rifle and started firing. Everyone scrambled for cover. The other gang, someone had called them the “HOHers” I think, ran for their motorcycles.

I tried to stand, but stumbled forward. All I could think was that I had to find cover. I saw James streak in front of me and dive for a gun on the ground. It would all be over soon. The HOHers were retreating.

“Grab her!” said someone behind me. I felt two muscular arms wrap around my waist.
Thank you God.
I thought.
Someone is here to protect me.

But then I was being dragged away from the bar and towards a motorcycle. I wiggled around until I could see who had me. It was one of the HOHers. He smelled of dirt and oil and his beard rubbed against my cheek.

“Ahhh, let go of me!” I struggled against him, but I was not strong enough to even slow him down. “Help me someone, please!”

My heels kicked up a small dust cloud as he pulled me through the dirt. We reached his motorcycle and he told me to get on. I fought hard but his grip felt superhuman.

“Get on!”

I fought harder. Then, his clenched fist smashed into the left side of my face. The world seemed to turn upside down in front of me. I lost my balance and tumbled face-first into the back wheel of his bike. I was unconscious for a second, maybe two, then he was pulling me back up.

I landed hard across the back of the seat. My stomach hit the bar on the back. I was left with my top half hanging over one side and my bottom half over the other. He kicked at the machine until the engine roared to life. We swayed from side to side for an instant and then it gurgled and shot forward like a rocket. My head was spinning.

I tried to scream again but nothing came out. As we reached the edge of the parking lot I was able to turn just enough to look back at the bar. James was their, staring back at me. Our eyes locked, and then I passed out.

***

Hayes and Roads stared at each other from across a small, round table. James watched them from the corner of the bar. Three dead, nine severely wounded, one missing. That was the damage resulting from the HOHers attack.

“Not in a million years…” said Hayes..

“I didn’t think they’d have the balls to try it either, Prez.” said Roads.

“We lost three good ones, and we got a bunch more layed up. They weren’t just tryin’ to get our attention. They were making a statement.” said Hayes.

“I know. But we can’t lose our heads. We have to come at this intelligently. If we strike back now, they’ll be ready for it. They’re expecting us; they think we’re gonna retaliate immediately.”

Roads straightened his worn leather vest over his shoulders and took a long drag from his cigarette. “The smart thing to do is wait. We wait, then, when the time is right, we crush them. We get everybody in town and ride on them. They won’t have a chance.”

“Goddammit We’ll look weak if we don’t respond to this right now.” Hayes kicked back from the table, balancing the wooden chair on two back legs. “Who gives a fuck if they’re waiting for us? We’ve got enough to take ‘em.”