On The Run

Chapter One

Storm

How in the fuck did I get wrapped up in this shit? I may be involved in some pretty heavy stuff sometimes but what guy with a legit cut isn’t?

The thing is, I’ve never had to lay a hand on someone who didn’t really fucking deserve it. Murder? That’s one thing I’ve never done.

I’ve never killed a single fucking soul, but here I am, on the run from the pigs because they want to lock me in a cage for something I didn’t do. Fuck that. I’m no animal. If they want me, they’re going to have to catch me, and I don’t intend to go down without a fight.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that my brothers have my back. I’ve been a patched member of the Desert Ryders motorcycle club for almost six years.

In fact, I was just about to become Sergeant at Arms, and I was going to be damn good at it too. I was born to be an enforcer and my time had come. It’s too late for all that now. All I can do is go on the run and hope I run faster than the pigs do.

I know I’m gonna have problems once I make it out of town. I don’t have any family except for my brothers in the club. They know I didn’t kill anyone, but we have no way of proving that.

A couple of the prospects have asked if there are any girlfriends I can stay with until the heat dies down. All I could do is laugh. I’ve never been the relationship kind of guy. I’m more of a fuck her and leave her type. I doubt anything of the women I’ve banged would be willing to help me out. Fuck them.

Who needs them anyway?

I’m sitting here with Rocker while we try to figure out the next steps. Rocker is the President of the club and he’s seen some shit in his days. This isn’t the first time he’s had to handle a fucked up situation, and I’m hoping he has something up his sleeve.

Fuck, Rocker, I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind. All I did was rough that little bitch up a bit. There’s no way that anything I did could have killed him. I’m telling you something else happened that we don’t know about.

"I don’t know why you’re trying to explain this shit to me. I know that if push came to shove and you had to off someone, I would be the first person you told.

We’re all brothers here and you know we’ll do whatever we can to make this better for you. The fucking problem is figuring out where to stash you. The asshole pigs around here have been anticipating some kind of high-profile case, and this is falling right into their laps."

Fuck this shit, prez, I just have to get out of here and live on the run for a while. What I really need to do is get the fuck out of the country. That’s sure as shit gonna be hard to do with every police force and the feds looking for me. I’d never make it inside the airport, let alone on a fucking plane!

I’ve got an idea. Hide out until morning and we’ll have you a ride out of here. I think I know of a way to get you out of the country. It’s gonna be risky, and you’ll be right out in the open for a while, but if this works, you’ll be home free.

I couldn’t tell what Rocker had in mind, but I can’t really focus on that too much right now. He’s never steered me wrong before so I just have to put all of my trust in him.

The problem is going to be finding a place to sleep tonight. I can’t stay at the clubhouse or with any of my brothers because the heat is on me like crazy. The cops will be searching the areas of any known associates of mine.

Again, I’ve got no bitches I can bed for the night. Most of the club whores have been crashing out at the clubhouse. Besides, I wouldn’t trust them too much, most of them are airheads.

My best bet is to hide out in the Arizona desert until it’s safe to take off. I hope I make it out before the pigs snatch me up and roast me. Of course, I have to worry about the Aces of Anarchy, too.

They’re a bunch of punk asses that tried to invade our turf. That’s what this shit was all about. All I did was give their Road Captain a couple of hooks and left him lying on the sidewalk.

I just wanted to teach them a lesson in respect and territory. He was moving around when I left. In my rearview, I saw that he was getting back up on his feet. I still don’t know what the fuck went wrong after that.

Fuck sleeping in the desert . Not that I slept much at all, but that shit was stupid. This better not be a preview of what my life is about to become.

For the time being, I’m going to have to always look over my shoulder and stay one step ahead of everyone looking for me.

Walking into a secret meeting place that we have designated for emergency situations, I saw Rocker sitting with a couple of prospects.

Prospects are never allowed to sit in on these kinds of meetings. They don’t get to know about our fucking business until they are legit one of us. Yet, here they are putting their noses right into my shit.

What the fuck Rocker? Why are these shit stains here? I thought prospects weren’t even allowed to know about this place.

Settle down Storm. You know we have to stretch the rules when certain situations go down. I had the pigs banging my door down last. Scared the piss out of my old lady. Womp and Bluto, too. Fuck, they took Bluto to the slammer when they ran his name and found some old warrants. They didn’t fuck with the prospects though because they have no clue who they are.

So you’re telling me I’m supposed to put my freedom in the hands of two lackeys who may not know their dicks from a hole in the wall? Fuck me!

What I’m telling you is that there are no other options. If you want to get the hell out of dodge, you’ve got to do this shit right. We have one shot at this. One! If you get caught, you’re probably going to be locked up for life or worse. What’s going to happen is you’re going to follow my orders! You guys are going to leave as soon as the sun goes down. After that, it’s up to these guys not to get caught.

Jesus Christ! Where are we going anyway?

Galveston, Texas.

Galveston? What the fuck Rocker? I punched the table. How do you expect me to make it all the way to Galveston? That’s over 1,200 miles! Are you outta your mind?

It’s the best shot we’ve got Storm. Do you think this is what I want to do? You want to get out of the country don’t you? There are huge fucking cruise ships leaving from Galveston all the time. All you have to do is sneak on one and lay low until you’re in South America or Mexico or wherever the fuck you want to get off.

A cruise ship? You want me to just sneak onto a cruise ship? Like it’s just that easy? I’m fucked. I’m so fucked! I wiped the sweat from my brow. It was pouring down my face like a hooker sitting in church.

Like I said, it’s the only shot you have. Go get some sleep in the back room and I’ll come back before you leave.

I didn’t even know what else to say at this point. I knew Rocker was right. I know that I don’t have many options, but damn. A cruise ship? A motherfucking cruise ship!

After what happened at the World Trade Center, they take their security shit seriously. They check everyone who gets on those things. I have no clue how I’m supposed to sneak onto a fucking cruise ship. I’ll worry about that shit later. Right now, I know I need to get some rest. There’s a long fucking trip ahead of me.

Iwoke to the sounds of motorcycle engines as Rocker and the prospects arrived to get me out of there. I glanced at the clock and couldn’t believe how long I’d actually slept. It was a hard sleep, precisely the kind I needed to get ready for the trip.

Okay Storm, you’re going to be in good hands with the prospects. They’re both eager to earn their bottom rockers with the club. This is their test of loyalty to the organization. Executing the plan will go a long way when it comes to being voted in. Of course, for any of that to be a consideration they have to get you there in one piece and get you there without getting your ass caught.

I looked over at the prospects; they had disgusting, shit eating grins on their faces. They have no idea about any of this. Those pansies have no idea how hard this shit is going to be.

They were standing there with all the confidence in the world and it pissed me off. They haven’t earned any of this, and it makes me want to punch them both in the mouth. Regardless, they are my only way out of town and knocking their asses out wouldn’t do any good. I figure this is as good a time as any to address them.

Prospects, we’re ready to roll. Just know that I love this club, and I will be back. Anything that happens along the way will be dealt with. If there is any disrespect, there will be consequences. Even though I’m taking off, I’m still a fully patched member. Rocker can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m assuming my Sargent at Arms post will be waiting for me when I get back.

Rocker nodded in agreement.

All I’m saying is that neither of you prospects want to be on my bad side. If we’re all ready, let’s get a move on.

I walked up to Rocker and shook his hand. There was a bit sadness in the air, but there is no fucking way I’m going to show any kind of emotion.

The Ryders have been my family for the last six years and to wonder if I’m ever going to see any of them again is starting to stress me out. I didn’t say anything. I looked at Rocker, and he gave me another nod. It was his way of saying everything was going to be okay. I wished I believed it.

Outside, the sun had set, and the bikes were running. When I walked out the door, I strode up to the lead Harley and tapped the prospect on the shoulder.

What’s my name, Prospect?

Storm, he stuttered. Your name is Storm. He looked like he was going to shit his pants.

Right, so why are you calling me a bitch?

What? his eyes widened. I didn’t call you a bitch. I didn’t say anything.

Fair enough. Let me ask this a different way. Do you think I’m a bitch?

No, not at all. I have nothing but respect for you.

I see. If you have all this respect for me, why in the fuck do you think I’m gonna sit in the bitch seat? Get your ass back there. I’m in charge bitch!

I’m absolutely fucking amazed that we made it to Texas without getting busted. These two dickheads couldn’t have been less prepared if they tried. We got about four hours out of the desert before they realized that neither of them had any cash.

Of course, they didn’t bother telling me so I could figure something out. No, these assholes thought it would be a good idea to rob a convenience store to fund the rest of our trip. How stupid can they be? Are they oblivious to the heat that’s already on me?

We still had more than 9 hours left in our trip, and now the pigs were going to be on the lookout for bikers who committed an armed robbery. Fortunately, we didn’t get stopped, but I still wanted to punch ‘em right in the throat.

After I ditched the prospects once we arrived, everything was up to me, which is the way I like it. I had them give me the money from the robbery, leaving them just enough for gas and grub on the way home.

I figured that since I was about a quarter mile from the port, I should go ahead and get some supplies before I try to board the ship. I slipped into a convenience store and put my head down, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I bought some food and smokes, just enough to last me a few days.

As I was checking out, I got the feeling that the girl behind the register was eyeballing me. All I wanted to do was ask her what the fuck she’s looking at, but that’s just asking for trouble. With supplies in hand, there is only one thing left to worry about: figuring out how to slip past security and board the big ass cruise ship. It’s my one shot at getting out of the states and avoiding a long prison sentence.

If I fuck it up and get caught, it’s over for me.

Chapter Two

Meghan

Ever since I was a little girl, there were only two things I dreamed about. First was meeting my Prince Charming. I always wanted to find the perfect man who would sweep me off my feet and make me his wife.

This, I later found out, would prove harder than I’d ever expect in my existence. The other thing I wanted to do was travel. There was nothing that excited me more than home and seeing a multitude of exotic locations. I was able to make the marriage thing happen. I met what I believed to be the man of my dreams.

Unfortunately, my prince became not so charming shortly after we were married. Instead, he turned into a toad—or Jackass is more like it. All the promises he made about the fun and adventures we would have were thrown to the wayside.

He had plenty of money so he insisted that I quit my job so he could take care of me. I didn’t want to, but he talked me into it. That was exactly what he wanted. Once I was at home, he became exceedingly controlling—and greedy with the money, basically cutting me off from cash other than what was needed for the household. But that’s over now.

It’s been over for almost