Serve Me

“I promise I don’t have it. Please, Blaine, believe me,” I cried, sobbing wildly now. I tried to wriggle out of his grip again, which only made him tighten his grip on me. He yanked me to himself and I squealed with horror. His face was close to mine again, and I could see the rage dripping from his bloodshot eyes. He was capable of anything for that money. Why was it so important to him?

“Tell me where it is before I bash your face in,” he threatened with a hissing voice through gritted teeth. I was crying, my body shaking with horror. He had bunched up his other fist, about to bring it crashing down on my face.

“I’m calling the cops!” Charity yelled and Blaine and I both looked at her. She was holding

her cellphone up in the air and we could see she had dialed 911 on the screen. Blaine’s grip on my arm weakened, giving me the chance to wriggle out. I backed away from him, stumbling on my books and I fell to the floor.

“Leave now or I’m calling the cops!” Charity screamed again and I looked up to see that Blaine was glaring down at me, his shoulders heaving with fury.

“I am not done with you,” he growled, in a lower voice and just when I thought he was going to kick me, he turned around and walked away. When he got to the door, Charity cowered. He looked her straight in the eye and I could see that she was trying to glare back at him, to put up a show of confidence.

When Blaine stepped out, Charity slammed the door shut behind him, turned the lock and pulled the chain.

My sobbing grew louder and she ran to me, kneeling down on the floor beside me.

“Oh, honey, are you okay?” she asked and reached for my arm. Blaine had left a bruise on my arm. My skin was bright pink and I could feel it throbbing with ache where he had dug into my flesh.

Charity ran her fingers over the spot and I winced.

“We need to put some ice on it,” she said and I tried to control my cries.

“I’m so sorry, Charity, I shouldn’t have dragged this to your doorstep,” I said, my body quivering from the pain and shock.

She got up to get a pack of ice from the freezer and returned with it and sat back down on the floor.

“Are you hurt anywhere else, honey?” she asked in a cooing voice and I shook my head.

“Charity…I’m so sorry,” all I could do was apologize and cry. More than feeling afraid for myself, I felt responsible for putting my friend’s life in danger. She looked up at me and dragged me close to herself in a tight hug.

“We can’t stay here anymore, you heard him, he’s going to come back,” she said.

“Where are we going to go?” I asked her, sniffing and trying to stop the tremors in my arms.

“We should go stay with Rocky for a few days, just till things quiet down you know. Blaine doesn’t know about Rocky, so it’ll be difficult for him to find us there,” she said and I nodded my head, grateful that she had a boyfriend she could trust.

“It’s too late tonight and he’s working, but tomorrow, go straight to his apartment after work. I’ll text you his address,” she said and we hugged again.

What had I gotten myself into?

Chapter 11

Commando

“I’ll go,” Girth said. Church was over, and we were all sitting around our usual table at The Lucky Lady. Dad had just given us the go-ahead to investigate the fight clubs that The Black Skulls were running.

“You’ll stand out. Commando, Slade and King should go,” Dad said, emptying the remnants of a bottle of beer down his throat. I nodded my head at him, just when Ava came into my vision. She was serving beer to a table in front of us, and even though she had pasted a smile on her face, I could see the emptiness in her eyes.

I felt a movement in my pants when I saw her, but she looked afraid, or sad…or something. Then my gaze fell on her arm, near her elbow was a deep purple blotch which looked like a fresh bruise.

I jumped off my chair and stalked towards her. She had just placed the tray of beers on the table, when I walked up behind her.

“Outside, now,” I growled and she looked at me with her wide green eyes, her long red hair swaying as she moved. She could see the determination in my eyes and didn’t resist.

I walked out of the bar and I could hear her following me. Outside, amidst the parked bikes, I whipped around to her and reached for her arm.

“What the fuck is this?” I growled, holding her gaze even though she tried to look away. There were bright pink spots on the tops of her cheeks, her green eyes looked dull. She was hiding something.

“It’s nothing. I hurt myself,” she said and tried to pull her arm away. I let her go, but I wasn’t about to let it drop.