Saving Della Ray

Gloria came over to perch in my corner, brimming with curiosity at how my perceived theft from her had worked out. “Did you go home with him last night?”

I almost choked on the sandwich I was trying to get through before my time ran out.

She wasn’t put off by the ‘what the hell’ look I gave her either.

“You snatched him away from me,” she stated with a shrug. “The least you can do is come back with some stories.”

I realized she was already over it, so I eased off and took things easy. “I didn’t go home with him, Gloria. I just owed him a little debt which I have now repaid.”

“Debt?” she asked her eyes gleaming with curiosity. “Wow! Did you borrow money from his club? That could get you killed if things went awry, you know.”

I swallowed the food in my mouth. “Why would I borrow money from them and why would things go awry?”

“Well, you have borrowed money from everyone in this diner before, so there’s nothing strange about that.”

I stilled.

But she went on, completely oblivious to the insult she had so casually thrown out, “And of course, things could go cockeyed. Don’t you know how vicious these outlaws are?”

“She’s right,” Allan commented as he flipped a patty. “My cousin Gusto was a hang-around for the outlaws for about two years before they even allowed him to become a prospect. It’s his third year and he’s still yet to receive his patch.”

“What’s a hang-around? And a prospect? And a patch? Is that their logo?”

They both turned to me in surprise.

“Outlaw clubs are quite active around here. How come you’re not the least bit aware of them?” Allan asked.

I knew they were quite active in town and had heard of the trouble they caused in certain drinking joints, but I had never had time to really consider them because my own life was in such a mess. I bit my lip and tried to sound natural. “Um … they’re into drug trafficking aren’t they?”

“Drug trafficking is the least of what they do.” Gloria shrugged. “They also deal in weapons. Worse, I heard they sometimes kidnap girls and gang rape them. After the girl dies from all the abuse, they bury them in the desert.”

I stared at Gloria in horror.

“And they’re constantly having wars,” Allan added. “You didn’t hear of the mass shoot out at one of the Club’s parties last summer? Almost 200 members were arrested. Some of them were thrown in jail, but they have so much money, they just buy their way out.”

“Jesus …” I gulped.

“That’s right,” Gloria said, nodding with a knowing expression. “More than twenty-five ended up dead that night.”

“Oh, my God,” I whispered.

“It all started about six months ago when there was some sort of explosion in one of their clubhouses,” she continued. “It completely went up in flames and burned about six of their members alive. Ever since then, it’s been war between the clubs.”

I listened to them, terror slowly beginning to creep up my spine. “Why would they be involved in so much violence?”

“They’re fucking animals fighting for territory,” Allan explained calmly. “Even the cops are barely able to get a handle on them.”

“That’s not right,” Gloria said. “One of the rival clubs harassed another club’s member and took his vests from him. The club’s patch is attached to that vest and to them, that patch is a badge of honor like no other. The first one to go was the club’s president, Hammer. He was on his bike at a red light when a truck pulled up and he was blasted with seven bullets. Died on the spot. It was pure war from then on.”

I gaped at her, frozen in place.

Gloria burst into laughter at my expression. “Still, I would have slept with the one that came in last night.” Then she walked away to handle her section.

Allan looked at me with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” I responded quickly.

He dinged the bell to signify a readied order.

It made me jump.

“Why are you so shaken?” he asked.

“I’m not,” I retorted, embarrassed that I knew so little about life around me. Jumping up, I picked up the steaming plate from the counter and started walking away.

“Stay away from biker dudes Della-Ray,” he warned in a mocking tone.

I shot him a sour look.

His response was a charming smile that did absolutely nothing to chase away the terror that had slithered up my spine and had frozen it cold.

Perhaps it was a great thing then to have had no sight of Bone. Blasts of bullets, arson, and gang-raping were especially bothersome activities that I didn’t want anywhere close to my little Jess or me.

I did wonder though if he truly was involved in such activities. He didn’t strike me as a bad person. Michael was ten times more psychopath than Bone. I wondered too, why he chose to live that way. He seemed mentally astute, clear minded, and particularly grounded to the things that truly mattered in life. The way he asked me to hang on to Jess were not the words of a man that did not know good from bad.