Abandoned Angel (21 page)

“
Shhhhh
, it’s just me,” Blaze said, softly releasing her mouth. His chest pressed up against her back.

“You scared me,” she responded, hitting him harder than she intended to. Hating the dark, standing there alone, had been terrifying for her. Overwhelmed, she fell into his arms, holding tightly to his body, afraid to let go.

“I can’t do this Blaze,” she stated, small sobs escaping her nervous body. “How do people live like this? How do you live always having to look over your shoulder?” she wanted to know. Emotion overcame her.

Blaze held her tight, saying nothing. He wanted to confront Spike. He wanted to go and beat the shit out of the man for messing with his camp. Most of all, he wanted to make him pay for scaring Angelina. He wanted the bastard out of his life, but wondered if it would be worth it. He would only be making things worse for Angelina if he did. He was not accustomed to backing down, but knew that was exactly what he would have to do for now – it was what Angelina needed him to do.

“What if he comes back?” Angelina finally asked.

Blaze held her tightly for a moment longer, wanting to release her fear, but he knew the fear was real, and necessary in order for her to survive.

“Wait here,” he said as he let her go and moved out of the bushes.

Angelina did as told. She stood completely still as she watched him grab some items from their camp. Spike had left, and for a second it looked as if Blaze was going to go after him. He did not.

When Blaze returned he handed Angelina her blue jeans and shoes, and instructed her to put them on. She did as told. He then led her through the bushes. Angelina quietly followed closely behind until they reached an open area of grass. Even in the darkness, she recognized it to be where Tiffany had taken her to hide.

“How do you know about this place?” she breathlessly asked, still afraid to speak too loudly.

Before Blaze could answer, the two of them realized that they were not alone. Tiffany, curled up in a ball on the large boulder in the middle of the landing, looked up when she heard their voices. Blaze rushed over to her with Angelina close behind.

“What are you doing here?” Blaze asked. His concern was obvious. “Are you ok?”

Tiffany sat up as she spoke, her words slurred. “I’m fine baby, how are you?”

She was stoned.

“Does anyone know you are here?” asked Angelina, worried about Tiffany.

“Of course not, this is my hideout. You don’t show nobody your hideout.” She thought for a moment and then continued. “
Weeelll
, just you guys.”

Tiffany lay back down on the large stone, obviously not feeling great. She had partied too hard, too fast.

“Is she going to be ok?” asked Angelina.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine, just needs to sleep it off. When she’s had enough she hides out down here.”

“How do you know about this place?” Angelina asked. “Did she show you it?”

“I watch out for her,” he replied without elaborating. Blaze covered Tiffany with one of his blankets.

Angelina and Blaze sat on the ground and leaned up against the rock, covering over with the other blanket.

“We’ll stay here for a while,” he stated. “Try to get some rest.”

“I’m scared Blaze,” Angelina softly stated. Her heartbeat was still racing.

“You don’t have to be Angel, I’m here.” Even as he said it, he knew she had every right to be scared. He wondered if he could keep her safe.

Angelina curled up against Blaze, and thought about how badly she wanted things to be different. She imagined what it would be like to have met him under other circumstances. She wondered what he was like before he became a biker, and why he was trying so hard to keep her protected from the others. He barely knew her, and didn’t owe her anything. Blaze had taken her word about Justin, never questioning it. She looked at his face. His strong jawline and handsome features brightened in the moonlight. He looked back at her, and squeezed her tighter. They sat like that for a while, listening to the sounds of the other bikers partying in the distance. Neither of them spoke. What was there to say? Their lives were so different from each other’s. It was only by chance that they had met, and both of them knew it couldn’t go anywhere. Angelina fought the urge to reach up and kiss Blaze as she felt the rhythm of his breathing against her cheek. He made her feel safe and she did not want that feeling to end. She was able to relax.

It wasn’t until everything had been quiet for some time before Blaze stirred and motioned for the girls to follow him back to camp. Tiffany was still pretty well out of it, so Blaze resigned to putting her on his back and carried her thru the bushes, stumbling on a rock as he did so. He took her to Doc’s tent so she could sleep through the rest of the night. Marge awoke when Tiffany entered the tent. Doc continued to sleep. Mothering the girl, Marge made room for Tiffany. She grinned shyly, not really knowing what was happening, and lay next to Marge, where she fell back to sleep.

Blaze and Angelina then continued on to their camp, both drowsy and tipsy. Angelina winced in pain as she slowly lowered herself to the ground. She curled up on the soft blanket. Blaze grabbed a bottle of water and handed her a pill to help with her discomfort. He felt guilty for not giving her one earlier. She had not complained once about hurting, but he could see it in her expression when she moved.

“Take this. It will help with the pain.”

“What is it?” she questioned.

“It’s just a pain killer, go ahead and take it.”

Angelina did as he said and took the medicine. She was tired, sore, and out of it. Angelina let Blaze gently cover her over with the flannel, and then watched as he walked over to his bike and lit a cigarette. She kept her eyes on him for a few minutes, but it wasn’t long before she drifted off into a deep sleep. She awoke a number of hours later to the sound of harsh conversation and the roar of bikes in the distance. The camp was packed and ready to leave.

Blaze spent a long, hot, sleepless night watching over Angelina. First, at Tiffany’s hide out, and then as she peacefully slept at their camp. The medicine had kicked in quickly, and she was fast asleep in no time. He, on the other hand, spent the remainder of the morning resting against the solid tree trunk, trying to force himself to stay awake and alert. The amount of alcohol that he had drank earlier in the night made it difficult though. Everything about his tired body screamed,
fall asleep,
fall
asleep
. He desperately wanted to allow himself to fall into a blissful slumber, but each time he started to doze he awoke with a jolt, expecting to find Spike standing in front of him. By mid-morning, exhausted and discouraged, he wished he had just put Spike in his place the night before. If it hadn’t been for the trouble it would cause Angelina, he would have. It was an unwritten rule that you did not mess with anyone else’s camp, and the fact that Spike had disturbed his was a very bad sign. It spoke of his state of mind. It also pissed Blaze off to no end. Spike had deliberately tried to draw Blaze away from Angelina in order to hurt her. It was not about Angelina at this point; it was about Spike making Blaze suffer. Taking Angelina in the process was just a bonus for the appalling man. She was his excuse to finally get rid of Blaze. Spike hated his laid-back methods and carefree attitude. He did not like that Blaze did things his own way, and it infuriated him that the others did not have a problem with him. They had welcomed Blaze into the club without much hassle or concern, just because of what he had done for them in the past. If Doc had not insisted that they allowed him to ride along, he never
would have been accepted
. Blaze was a headache that Spike did not need. His presence gnawed at him, day after day.

Blaze allowed Angelina to sleep for as long as he could. He had given her more pain medicine than he probably should have, considering she had been drinking, but she needed some solid rest before the next ride. He could see how much pain she was in, even if she refused to complain. Keeping it to herself was a sign of strength, and he respected her for that. Plus, if Spike came back to try again, he did not want to have to take care of him with her watching. It would be ugly, and for whatever reason, he did not want Angelina to see that side of him. Although Blaze had controlled his temper the night before, he was at the end of his rope with Spike. If the man returned, Blaze would handle the bastard, with whatever means necessary. Blaze was confident that he would not be on the losing end of a fight. As strong as Spike was, Blaze was a better fighter, and the only way Spike could beat him would be with a weapon. If that happened, Spike would lose his influence with the other members. Club members could not use weapons on one another. Although Spike hated Blaze, he liked his standing with the club, and was not willing to lose it because of the hostile man.

After rousing her, which took a bit of effort, Blaze walked a drowsy Angelina down to the bathroom so she could freshen up. Angelina, still hazy with sleep, did not say much. Blaze followed her lead, and kept to himself. It was not until they were prepared to leave, as she climbed onto the back of Blaze’s bike, that he informed her they would be riding for most of the day.

“It is going to be a long day,” he simply stated, not expecting a reply.

Angelina was relieved to hear that they would spend the day on the bike, though only acknowledged the comment with a slight nod of her head. She wanted the trip to be over with and the more they rode, the closer she would be to Justin. Exhausted, sore, and hung-over, Angelina was miserable. She noted though, that Blaze didn’t look any better. His typically alert eyes looked tired and worn, and he allowed his six o’clock shadow to remain an eight o’clock shadow, which really was not a bad look for him. Angelina noted this.

Although fatigued, Blaze was relieved to be getting back on the road. It would be easier to keep an eye on Angelina while riding. The cool air and exhilaration of the ride would wake him up, alerting his senses. He always looked forward to setting out again after stopping at camp. The ride excited him, not the partying and long nights.

Blaze and Angelina once again rode in the back of the group. Angelina kept her dreary eyes closed most of the trip; worried about her son. She missed him something terrible, and just needed to know that he was safe. She was also concerned about what had happened the night before between her and Blaze. Embarrassed by her actions, it had been hard to face him earlier that morning. She had not intended to lead Blaze on, but she had allowed herself to
get carried
away. On top of that, she was now even more afraid of Spike than she was before. Anytime the thought of what he had planned for her surfaced to her imagination, she pushed it away. She didn’t want to think about it.

The two of them rode in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts and apprehensions. The group rode for over two hours before they pulled into a gas station, one at a time, which advertised a McDonalds in the building. After lifting themselves off the sturdy bike, Blaze silently filled the tank with gas. Angelina waited patiently by his side. He then led the docile woman to the bathroom.

“Meet me at the bike when you are done.”

She took her time in the restroom, knowing that many of the bikers headed over to the McDonalds to grab something to eat. Since she had time to waste, Angelina took advantage of the cold water, and splashed it across her dirty face. She hoped it would help to get her body motivated about waking up. If it were up to her, she would crawl back into a soft bed and sleep for a couple of days. The bathroom door opened. In the reflection of the mirror, Angelina watched as Jules sauntered into the clean restroom. The nasty bitch was startled, not expecting to find Angelina there. The orange and black bandana she wore hung loose around her neck, as she worked to pull her dark hair into a ponytail.

“Oh, hey Angelina,” was all that she muttered as she hurried into an unoccupied stall, never allowing their eyes to meet.

Angelina turned off the cold water. She tensed as anger worked its way through her worn body. Jules had directed Spike to her and Tiffany the day before, which triggered Tiffany’s beating. Again, last night, Jules helped Spike set Angelina up. Standing upright, she debated about waiting for Jules to come out of the stall so that she could beat the shit out of her for setting her up. Although she had no idea if she actually could beat the shit out of the scrawny chick, at that moment, she was willing to try.

The toilet flushed. Angelina’s heart beat faster as a dry desire to get even filled her bones. Wanting revenge was out of character for Angelina, and the anticipation made her nervous. The bathroom door opened, and in walked Marge at about the same time that Jules walked out of the restroom stall.

“Angelina, how you feeling this morning?” asked Marge, with a bit of humor in her tone. Her faded blue jeans hung loose against her body, and a sleeveless jean vest, colored with patches, covered her tight tank top. She carried herself with the same lighthearted ease as she did the day before. Jules stood where she was.

“I’m fine Marge, a bit hung-over is all.” There was no point in telling her that she was also achy, depressed and miserably sore.

“I bet you are girl,” Marge teased as she headed to the stalls.

Jules took a step towards the door, which put her directly in Marge’s path. With a smirk still splashed on her face, Marge made a tight fist and bolted Jules in the gut.