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“FarFromPerfect(GhostNotesSymphonies)”—RiseAgainst
While Decker gave clipped replies to whoever was on the phone, I dressed in my now dry clothes. Too bad they didn’t air out like I’d hoped they would. They stank of smoke.
Keeping my eyes averted from his defined naked body was proving to be quite the task, so I slipped into the bathroom. Using the travel toothpaste and one of the toothbrushes, I got rid of the disgusting morning breath. Then I grabbed one of the combs and tried to work it through my mop of hair.
“Hopeless,” I muttered as I dropped the comb to the sink. I wound my hair up into a messy bun and left it be.
As I stared in the mirror, I trailed my fingertips gingerly over the bruises and scrapes on my face and neck. I looked like shit, yet Decker had treated me like I was beautiful. Then again, it had been pretty dark in the room.
“Stop. Get out of your head right fucking now. You are stunning, and no amount of cuts or bruises can disguise that.” My eyes flashed to his in the mirror as I awkwardly dropped my hand.
“What’s the plan?” I asked as I searched his eyes for a clue as to what was next.
“My truck is out of commission. Snow is going to trailer it to Storm Lake. My brothers will meet us there and pick it and us up, then take us the rest of the way home. We just need to wait for the weather to clear. It’s expected to die down shortly. Then we’ll wait for them to start clearing the roads.”
“So can we go by my house to see if anything was salvageable?”
“Not yet. Roads are still shit, and we don’t need to be seen around there. Hacker said your neighbors called in the fire but with the weather, it took the fire department a hot minute to get there, and by then all they could do was keep it from spreading to the nearby structures.” He looked like he dreaded telling me that. I had no idea who Hacker was or how he knew my neighbors called in the fire, but frankly, it didn’t really matter at that point.
My shoulders drooped as I fought the helplessness that was surrounding me, threatening to smother me.
“But I need clothes and shoes. My birth certificate and stuff are in a fireproof lockbox under the bed. Can we try to get it?” I asked as I tried not to cry.
“I’ll see if one of Snow’s boys can check it out.”
Turned out, when bikers were grounded from their bikes due to snow, they liked to ride what they called “sleds.” Several of the club members climbed on snowmobiles and rode them into town. A couple of hours later, they came back with my lockbox and, of all things, my truck. Thank God for four-wheel drive.
My truck would be staying with Snow until we could get back up to get it, despite my arguing I wanted to take it. I was introduced to Hacker, who it turned out was a computer nerd. Though he sure as hell didn’t look like one.
“I’ll have a duplicate of your driver’s license and anything else you need delivered to you,” he told me after I cried when they told me my phone and purse had been a loss.
All I could do was nod. They weren’t happy, but I insisted on notifying my employers. I borrowed a phone from them to call Mel to tell him what had happened and that I was leaving town. I also notified the two businesses where I did after-hours cleaning on Saturday nights.
“Hey, doll. I heard about your stuff, and Soap asked if I had anything for you to wear,” Tash said from the doorway to the kitchen where we were all sitting at the table discussing plans. I stood up and went to her. We both stepped out into the common area so the guys could keep talking.
“Thank you,” I said, sniffling at the emotion elicited by her kindness.
“Don’t thank me until you try them on. I didn’t know what your style was, but I didn’t figure stripper-deluxe was it. So I tried to find my most conservative things.” Her cheeks flamed, and her gaze dropped to the clothes in her arms. “It’s not much. I figured leggings would fit, since we’re close in size, then I had a T-shirt and a hoodie. Oh, the panties are brand-new. Just took them out of the package.”
If I thought her cheeks were pink before, at the discussion about underwear, she positively reddened. It made me wonder how this girl got on a stage and stripped if she was so easily embarrassed. To ease her discomfort, I teased her. “I’d say beggars can’t be choosers, but again, thank you. You’re too kind.”
We found out that her shoes were too big, but I had an old pair of running shoes in my truck that I used on the nights I cleaned. Once I was dressed, I left the room with my dirty clothes in a bag.
“Really?” Decker asked Snow and Tash when he saw the hoodie I had on. I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. I looked down at the SYLDS and frowned in confusion.
“What’s wrong? What’s this mean?” Belatedly thinking to ask, I glanced at everyone chuckling or smiling as Decker damn near growled.
Tash giggled and explained, “It stands for Support Your Local Demented Sons. I think Venom would prefer it said something else.”
Still confused, I looked to him for clarification. He huffed and said, “I’ll get you a new one when we get to Ankeny.”
That had everyone laughing.
I was still lost.
It was midafternoon by the time we got on the road toward Ankeny via Storm Lake. Everyone was quiet and on edge—constantly checking the mirrors. I tried to entertain myself looking out the window, but there wasn’t much to see. I’d been to Storm Lake, but never to Ankeny or Des Moines, so I had no idea what to expect when we arrived.
The men who met us in Storm Lake tried not to stare, but I caught them shooting me curious glances several times. As they greeted Snow and his club, I tried to stay out of the way.
