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She laughed again and shook her head. “No, I got you just right, Charlie. Thanks for a place to get me through the worst of these fucking withdrawals. I do appreciate that. Good luck and all that.”
Yeah, I wasn’t letting her get away that easily. “You think you can make it out there with all the Black Jacks looking for you now? They pick up girls at the train station all the time. Didn’t know that did you?”
I didn’t wait for her to answer because shock was written all over her face. “Didn’t think so. Come with me.” I lifted her trash bag from her hand to my shoulder.
“No, thanks. I don’t need another run-in with your fuck toy bitches.”
I didn’t know what happened between her and the Reckless Bitches, but I could figure it out pretty easily. “What did they do?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just give me back my shit, and I’m gone.”
“No.”
“Whatever. Keep it, then.” She spat the words at me and kept walking. She was only about twenty feet from the road now. Despite her weakened condition, her anger and motivation to move was driving her forward. I knew if I let her, she’d keep on walking until she was in real danger. Again.
“Fuck! You’re a stubborn woman,” I growled and scooped her small frame up, tossing it over my shoulder. “Just remember that I tried to do this the easy way.”
Savannah kicked and hit at me as I strode across the parking lot toward my bike. “Get your filthy fucking paws off me!” She punched me in the back and bit my shoulder, but all she got was a mouthful of leather.
“Put me down!”
“When you stop acting like you’re batshit crazy, I will.”
“Motherfucker,” she snarled, but calmed down. A little. “Just let me go.”
“I can’t do that, Savannah. You’re not safe out here, not yet.”
“And I’m safe with you? Between you forgetting about me and getting ganged up on by your women, I’d rather risk it.”
“Too fucking bad.” I couldn’t trust her on the back of my bike, so I walked over to one of the club’s trucks. As president, I had a key to everything. I unlocked the passenger door, a neat trick to dig into my jeans pocket with Savannah kicking like she’d sat on a hornet’s nest. Finally, I maneuvered the door open and tossed her in the passenger seat.
“If you try to escape, I’ll just chase you down. Got it?”
She clutched her side and bit back tears as she nodded. “Whatever.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Savannah.”
She sat up slowly, gingerly holding in her pain until she was upright, releasing it in a slow exhale. “Whatever.”
I wanted to apologize again, but she wasn’t receptive, just holding her spine erect as she looked straight ahead, breathing slowly so I couldn’t see her pain.
“Stay here.” She said nothing, and this time, I didn’t expect her to. I stayed next to the truck. I knew Savannah needed help and there was only one person for me to call. I pulled out my phone and stared at her through the closed truck window.
“Ma, I need your help.”
“What do you need, son?” My ma was the best. She listened to everything I said and didn’t ask too many questions, mostly because she would wait until we were face-to-face. It was always impossible for me to lie to her or deflect. “I’ll meet you at your place,” she said. That was Ma, ready to drop everything on a moment’s notice for me.
“Thanks, Ma. Love you.”
“Love you too, Charlie.”
Back inside the truck, Savannah was as quiet as ever, fuming a little even though she did her best to hide it.
“You good?” I asked as I put the key in the ignition.
“Does it even matter what I say?” she said sulking.
“Of course, it matters. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.” I wondered if she was this prickly before they had kidnapped her, or if this was just who Savannah Rhymer was.
“Then I’d be better if you dropped me off at the train station, or the bus station, with some cash.”
I didn’t want to argue, so I stayed silent too, and it made for a long, tense drive. Eventually I pulled into my driveway, killed the engine, and turned to Savannah.
“Hate me if you want, but it’s obvious you need to recoup before you can go anywhere. Since you won’t tell me what happened, I’ll just give you the help I can.”
She continued to stare through the windshield like the cure to her ills was stuck on the end of the hood ornament. “Like I said before, it doesn’t fucking matter what I want, so whatever.” She made a move to grab her black trash bag, but too fast. She screamed out in pain. And when I reached to help her, she was like a cornered animal.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, flinching back. “I don’t need your help.” It took the damn woman five minutes, but she finally made it out of the truck and up the porch steps.
