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“Everleigh, the man who did this to you is dead.” I reach out my hand and get nothing in response.
The smell is almost choking me, there are flies swarming around the poor girl, and the bare legs that I can now see more clearly are scrawny, bloody, and bruised.
“Come on, let’s get ya outta here.” I reach out a little further, and as soon as I make contact she screams like a banshee. It slices through my brain and rings in my ears, and I realize there's only one way I’m getting this girl out.
“I am not here to hurt you,” I tell her one more time, praying she believes me before I lunge at her and lift her over my shoulder. Her body tries to protest as I rise back onto my feet but she’s too weak and frail.
I move fast, taking the stairs back up to the fresh, open air and hearing her screams get louder when the sun invades her eyes. I try placing her feet back on the floor but when they fail to hold her up, I quickly catch her again. Lifting her into my arms and heading for Tripp’s cage. She waves her head around with her eyes firmly closed, looking like a blind dog trying to catch a scent.
“I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m here to help,” I repeat the words over and over again as I speed-walk us through the village and out the gates.
“What the fuck?” Jessie pulls himself away from the crowd of people who are surrounding him.
“I found Everleigh, she ain’t dead. Not yet.” I look down at the limp, broken body in my arms. The white nightdress she’s wearing is stained with blood and feces, her face is swollen with bruises and covered in infected scabs, and her hair is knotted into one big mat.
“She needs a hospital.” I can see that she’s dehydrated from the dryness on her lips and there’s no meat on her bones, I can feel them rattling with each step I take.
“Come on, let’s get her outta here.” Jessie slaps my back before nodding over to Storm and Troj, who are throwing Abraham’s dead body into the back of the cage where all the other leaders are tied.
“Tripp, this girl needs water and a hospital,” I tell him as Jessie opens the back doors of his cage so I can put her inside.
“There’s one about an hour from here.”
“No. You fix her up for the journey and take her to the one in Manitou Springs. I’ll just need you to stay with her until I can prepare Addison for this.” I look at the mess that’s been made of Addison's sister.
“I gotcha.” Tripp nods, grabbing a med bag from one of his shelves and shocking me when he pulls out a saline bag. Lucky for us, Tripp’s got medical training. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s prepared.
“I gotta get straight back and speak to Addison,” I tell Jessie, as Storm pulls out the gates and stops so we can get inside.
“That girl ain’t in her own head no more. She needs somethin’ familiar. She needs her sister.”
“Jump in, I’ll drop ya off where the bikes are.” Storm reaches his arm out the window, curling it behind him so he can open the side door. All the Elders who are tied up in the back and I lift the sacks of their heads so I can see their faces. Some look hopeful, some look scared. Their saggy cheeks gape over the gags that are tied around their mouths and I get in the back, climbing over Abraham’s body so I can get to the one who I’m confident is Addison’s father. A man who allowed his daughters to become possessions.
I hook my finger into the fabric that’s wedged between his lips and drag it down to his chin.
“Your daughter is alive. Barely.” I let him know. “Yourotherdaughter is safe and well, she’s strong and not only a beautiful person but she’s a kick-ass mom to her kid.”
“P-P-P-Please don’t kill me,” he begs, disregarding everything I just told him.
“Sorry, I already made a promise to your wife.” I take out my gun and put a bullet right between the eyes of the man who allowed this to happen to his daughters. A man who, in my opinion, is no man at all. Even with a silencer attached, the noise makes everyone else jump. I feel no guilt or remorse like I expected to, just strangely satisfied.
When we get back to the motel where the bikes are, Storm gets a head start and starts making his way to Sinnerman’s Quarry. We figure if we kill these fuckers on site, it will save Grimm the job of moving them when he gets back from L.A.
I call Addison just before we leave but she doesn’t answer. That's nothing new. Addison has spent so many years without a cell phone it isn’t an essential item to her. She hasn’t even had to charge the thing since I bought it for her. I leave her a voicemail telling her I’m on my way home and that I did what I came here to do. I’ll explain to her about her sister when we’re face to face. Addison needs to be prepared for what she’s gonna see, and I can’t risk her trying to get to the hospital without me being there to soften the blow of it.
“You ready?” Jessie asks once I’ve slid my phone back inside my cut pocket.
“Yeah.” I nod, more than ready to make the journey home.
“You know, you're gonna have to get better at this phone thing, darlin’.” Skid’s voice message comes out from the speaker of my phone his brother is holding up, so we can all hear.
“Everythin’ went to plan, Ads. You're safe. That fucker ain’t gonna ever be able to hurt you again.” There’s relief in his voice, he sounds so happy and it’s painful to think how oblivious he is to how far from safe we really are. Right now, Skid is on top of the world. He thinks he’s saved me, and that our new life together can start.
“We’re headin’ home now. Should be back at the club around three so we can pick Charlie up from his first day back at school together. Anyway, I love ya, darlin’. See ya in a few.” The room goes silent when he hangs up and Chop shakes his head.
“Just Skid doin’ what he does best. Bein’ a fuckin’ hero.” He rolls his eyes and slams my phone on the table, while I remain silent, just trying to focus on not panicking. Charlie is trying so hard to be brave but I can tell that he’s petrified. I have to stay strong for him. “Nothing is going to happen to us. Nothing is going to happen to us,”I tell myself over and over again in my head.
“How are we gonna pass the time while we wait for him?” Chop paces in front of us, tapping his finger at his mouth theatrically.
