Sons of Flame MC - Redemption (10 page)

He debated taking the bike, but he didn't want the loudness of the engine to attract any unwanted attention, so he decided to walk. He went to the office and woke the front desk attendant, the same woman from before. Through yawns, she told him that there was an all-night convenience store a few blocks away. Eli set off into the darkness, hands tucked deep into the pockets of his jacket.

The cool air perked him up a little, cleared his head. He needed a clearer plan for the next day. They couldn't just keep running forever. At some point he was going to have to deal with the problem, face it head on. In a straight up fight, he had no chance. He needed to find some way of ambushing them, or tricking them, or something.

It didn't take too long to find the store, lit up like a beacon in the night. The clerk eyed him warily as he entered, but Eli just ignored him. Their clothing selection was...minimal, to say the least, and he had no idea what size Tess normally wore. He picked out some plain jeans, a few white cotton t-shirts, and some basic panties. That would just have to do, and if they didn't fit...well, he'd tried. They didn't have time to go on a shopping trip.

The only hot foods in the place were some gross-looking hotdogs, but Eli bought some anyway. They smelled surprisingly good in his ravenous state. He picked up a couple of bags of chips, some coke and water, and paid using the last of his cash. The clerk bagged it all up, giving him a weird look, and Eli was on his way, back out into night.

When he pushed the door open to the motel room, his heart lurched when he saw that Tess was no longer sleeping on the bed, before he relaxed when he heard the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom.

He set the clothes down on her bed and tore open a bag of chips, stuffing them into his mouth in handfuls between huge bites of hotdog. The bathroom door opened and Tess emerged, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hungry, huh?"

Eli's cheeks bulged and he reddened a little as he tried to swallow in order to answer. She didn't seem to care though. She was wrapped in a towel, and her hair hung around her face, wet and smelling of shampoo. She sat on the bed and crossed her legs, and it took all of Eli's willpower not to stare at them; long and shapely, and that towel really didn't leave much to the imagination... She looked infinitely better than she had when they'd arrived, and she started digging around in the grocery bag, fishing out one of the hotdogs and taking a huge bite.

"Mmmm," she said with her mouthful. "Usually, I wouldn't go near something like this. But with how hungry I am, I'd eat damn near anything right now."

"I got you some clothes," Eli said, gesturing to where he'd set them down on the bed. "I didn't know what size you wear, so I just guessed as best I could."

She picked up the jeans and took a look at the label.

"Close enough," she smiled. "They might be a bit baggy, but I'll deal."

She whistled as she saw the cotton panties.

“And you bought me underwear too? Wow, normally I’m a few months into a relationship before the guy buys me lingerie.”

She took another bite, before fixing him with a look.

"Thanks. For everything. Listen, I'm sorry....about what I said, yesterday morning in the workshop. I should've talked to you before jumping to conclusions."

Eli waved away her concerns.

"It's OK. What else were you supposed to think? I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. It's just been a crazy stressful few days."

He held out a hand.

"Friends?"

She laughed.

"Friends."

She took his hand and they shook solemnly, Eli trying not to crack a smile. He caught her gaze and their eyes locked for a few moments. Something passed between them, then....here they were, alone in a motel room in the middle of goddamn nowhere, on the run, and Eli was lusting after her. That morning, he’d been so angry with her, so angry that he would have been happy never to see her again. But now, things were different.

She’d shown him that she was capable of more than he’d thought. She’d shown him that she was tougher than he’d thought. And she’d shown him that he’d been too quick to judge her.

And so, as they sat there facing each other on the bed, Eli wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to reach out to her; he wanted to pull her into his arms. And all the while, as these thoughts were going through his mind she was staring at him. Like she was waiting for him, waiting for him to make the first move.

But Eli was frozen. He couldn’t. He felt cowardly and ridiculous; he could fix a car, he could steal drugs from the Sons of Flame, but he couldn’t make the first move on Tess. Not right then. In his heart of hearts, he knew that she was waiting. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He wasn’t good enough for her. It was his fault that she was even in the situation in the first place. If she’d never met him, she’d be at home in bed right now, not in this dingy old motel on the run from dangerous criminals.

The moment had passed and Eli didn’t know if it would ever come back again. But it was too late for that now. They needed to get some more sleep.

“I’ll take the floor. You have the bed.”

She started protest, but Eli just waved away her words.

“I’ve slept in worse places than this, trust me. This is luxury compared to prison.”

She looked to him for a few moments, and then just nodded.

“Okay then. Wake me when we need to leave, I’m a deep sleeper.”

She smiled wryly.

“And if I’m in a bad mood you’ll have to forgive me.”

It was Eli’s turn to smile.

“Alright then, I will. I’m not really a morning person myself.”

She gave him one last lingering look, eyes meeting his in a tacit invitation to him. Eli knew that look. He knew what she wanted, and he knew that he wanted it too. But it wasn’t the right time. It just wasn’t.

Maybe when they’d got themselves out of this mess, then he could think about it. So, he looked away from her gaze and settled himself on the floor using his jacket as a pillow. He heard Tess let out a sigh of frustration and exhaustion but he didn’t say anything.

He was so tired that he was asleep in seconds.

*****

Tess

T
ess awoke with a start; there was a hand clamped across her mouth and another pressed on her shoulder shaking her awake.

“You need to wake up,” Eli hissed. “We need to leave. Now.”

Tess’ heart was pounding with the panic of the unexpected awakening. She glanced out of the window to see that it was still dark. She could just about see the sun rising on the horizon, signified by a soft golden glow that was just beginning to illuminate the sky. She watched as Eli stalked to the window and lifted the blinds, peering surreptitiously out. He turned to face her and in the gloom Tess could see that he was gripped with panic.

She jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on her clothes. Had the Sons caught up with them? Adrenaline coursed through her veins.

She went to the window and put her lips close to Eli’s ear.

“What’s going on?”

Eli put a finger to his lips and indicated that she should crouch out of sight.

“I think they found us,” he whispered. “Or if they haven’t yet, they’re going to soon.”

“What do we do?”

Tess could hear the panic in her voice, but tried her best to push it down and not let it overcome her.

She peered around the edge of the blinds and into the empty parking lot beyond. There. Four bikes, parked next to one another near to the entrance to the motel reception. The owners of the bikes weren’t visible, but Tess could only assume that they were in the reception.

She heard an intake of breath from Eli. He looked down at her, his face half shrouded in the gloom.

“Here is what we’re going to do. When I open this door, you’re going to run round back where the bike is parked. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop, don’t turn around, just run for the bike. It’s our only chance. Understood?”

Tess nodded, not trusting her voice. She didn’t want to think what would happen if they caught them.

“Right. On three. One. Two.”

Eli paused, as if he was waiting for the right moment.

“Three.”

He threw open the door, and without thinking Tess charged out and did exactly as she had been told. She ran left and then round the back of the motel building. Eli’s bike was parked there, just as he said. She jumped on the back, and a second later Eli was there, clutching the suitcase and the rest of their meagre possessions.

He slammed the bike into gear as the engine roared into life. They tore away through the motel parking lot, and as they were leaving Tess glanced behind them and saw four leather – clad bikers come running out from the motel reception area. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the expression on their faces told her everything she needed to know.

Anger. Excitement. They’d found their quarry.

Three of the bikers jumped onto their vehicles, while the other pulled a cell phone from his pocket and talked into it for a few moments before starting his own bike.

That was all Tess could see before they were out of sight. Eli was accelerating dangerously fast, faster than Tess had ever gone before. Luckily, the roads were still empty.

Tess leaned forward and shouted into his ear.

“What are we going to do? Where can we go?”

Eli didn’t respond. He was focused on the road, his jaw set. Tess held on for dear life as the bike kept on going faster and faster. The engine was singing, a throaty roar that in any other circumstance would have been impressive. However, at this moment all it was doing was signifying to her just how much danger they were in.

It only took a couple of minutes for them to reach the edge of town. The road stretched out in front of them once more, endlessly into the desert. The only small blessing was that the sun was still very weak and low in the sky. Before long though, it would start to heat up again. Tess didn’t know if she could take another day underneath that relentless heat. She had been doing her best not to complain, and not to show Eli how much she had suffered the previous day, but she didn’t know how long she could keep this up. The three hours of sleep hadn’t been enough, and it was only the adrenaline that was currently keeping her alert.

She chanced another glance behind them, and when she did her worst fears were confirmed. The sons were minutes behind, and while not yet gaining on them she knew it was only a matter of time.

Tess was scared; she felt utterly powerless. Her life was in Eli’s hands, and she had no idea how he was going to get them out of this mess. She decided to ask him again.

“Eli. Please tell me you have a plan. They are gaining on us, and fast. We can’t stay ahead of them forever. What are we going to do?”

He glanced around at her, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly when he saw how close the other bikers had gotten already.

“We just need to get to the next town,” he shouted over the roar of the engine. “I made a call, before you woke up. There should be someone waiting for us there.”

Tess felt a surge of hope, a lifeline where before there had been only despair.

“How far to the next town? Do you think we can make it?”

No response. Eli was focused on the road once more, and Tess knew that she wouldn’t get any more out of him. She felt like they were racing inevitably towards some sort of climax, some sort of conclusion. She just hoped it would go however Eli had planned it.

A sign raced towards them. Tess just about caught sight of it as it whizzed by.

Hope spring. 12 miles.

Twelve miles. Tess began to believe they could make it. She trusted Eli to get there before they were caught. She knew he could do it. He
had
to do it.

She could hear the roar of the bikes behind them now, closer, ever closer.

Something kicked up some dust and masonry from the road just to her right. Tess frowned, confused.

What was that?

It happened again, closer this time.

Tess’ blood run cold as she suddenly realized what was happening.

They were bullets, hitting the road right next to the bike.

“Eli! Are those bullets? They’re shooting at us!”

Panic threatened to send Tess over the edge, and she could hear it in her own voice.

“I know,” Eli shouted. “Stay calm. They’re just trying to scare us. They won’t risk losing the drugs, and if they shoot us or the bike there’s a risk of that. Just hold on tight and I’ll get us there.”

More pinging sounds from all around now, more bullets whizzing through the air. But it seemed like Eli was correct - they were far enough away from the bike that it seemed to be deliberate. No matter what Eli said though, Tess was still terrified. She’d never been shot at before, and it was something she would have been happy to have lived her entire life without ever experiencing. The sound that the guns made caused Tess to flinch every time - each was an explosion of sound clearly audible even over the angry whine of the bikes.

When it became clear that Eli wasn’t going to be intimidated by the gunfire, the Sons tried a new tactic. At this point they were only a few meters behind, keeping pace with Eli. Tess’ attention was drawn by movements in the corner of her eye. She looked over and to her horror, saw two of the bikes pulling up beside them.

“Give it up, Eli,” they shouted. “You ain’t got nowhere to go. Pull over and make this easy on yourselves. Nobody gotta get hurt. You’re just makin’ it...”

Whatever the guy had been meaning to say was lost in the wind as Eli wrenched on the throttle and pulled away from the bikes.

Tess could just about make out what Eli said next.

“Fucking lies. Soon as Tex arrives we’re good as dead if we stop.”

The road and the sand were passing in a blur. Tess’ hair was whipping every which way in the wind, and her knuckles were sore from gripping the seat. Her heart was pumping at a hundred miles a minute and she was shaking all over from the massive amounts of adrenaline in her bloodstream.

It couldn’t be far now, surely. Everything would be okay. Tess just had to trust Eli.