Outlaw (13 page)

“It’ll be alright, girls,” Angel assured them. “I
know they hardly look like knights in shining armor, but they did just ride in
and rescue you.”

Cole turned back to his brothers. “Pick one.”

They each moved toward the bunch, and grabbed a girl
by the hand, and led her toward their bike.

Cole smiled, watching his brothers trying to handle
them gently. He thought he even heard Red Dog say ‘there, there, now little
lady’. Then he turned back to Angel, and smiled. “Knights in shining armor?”

Angel shrugged.

When the girls were out of
ear
shot
, Cole bent close to Angel’s face. “Look, this didn’t exactly go as
planned. These girls…” he broke off, shaking his head. “They can’t talk. If
they do-”

“I know. I know. They’ll end up dead.”

“Exactly.” He stared at her. “You gotta help me
persuade ‘em.”

She nodded. “I’ll make sure.”

“They’re gonna run ‘em back up to Wyatt. Then come
back, and we’ll take care of the rest of this.”

She looked over his shoulder to the van and the two
men laying face down on the pavement.

Cole took her by the hand, and walked her back over
toward the van.

They watched as the six bikes, each with a scared,
young girl on the back, pulled out.

Cole sat down on the curb, and pulled Angel down
beside him. He knew that every minute they stayed here increased the risk. He
needed a good place to get rid of these guys, and the van. This site was no
good. If any of those girls did talk, and somehow was able to describe this
place, he didn’t want them leading the cops right to the bodies. Cole walked
over to the van, and rummaged through the glove box. He came walking back with
a road map. He unfolded it, and found their location on the map,
then
he studied the surrounding areas.

About half an hour later, three of the bikes
returned. Crash, Red Dog and Green, who they’d knick-named for his Irish
heritage.

Angel watched as the guys loaded Chuck’s bike in the
back of the cargo van. It took all four of them to lift the six hundred pound
bike up, and get it in. Red Dog slammed the back door shut. They walked over to
Ling and Chuck.

Cole looked down at Chuck. “Take his cut off him.”

They stripped it off him, and tossed it to Cole.

“Let’s go,” Cole said. They yanked Chuck and Ling to
their feet, and dragged them toward the back of the van, and threw them inside
with the motorcycle. Cole picked up a roll of duct tape from the floor of the
van, and taped their mouths shut. He slammed the doors shut, and turned to his
brothers. “I found us a place.”

The guys all nodded. They got back on their bikes,
and sat waiting.

Cole walked over to Angel. “Look, I need you to
drive the van.”

She looked past him to the van. “What?”

“I wouldn’t involve you, but the rest of us have to
get these bikes out of here. There’s no one to drive the van, but you, babe.”

“Where?”

He smiled, and kissed her forehead. “Come on.” He
led her over to the driver side door, and opened it.

She climbed in.

He handed her the keys.

She turned, and glanced back, and saw the two men
crammed in on the other side of the bike. She knew they were handcuffed, but it
was still terrifying knowing they were right behind her.

“Angel.”

She turned, and looked at Cole.

“It’ll be okay. We’re right here with you.”

She nodded.

“Follow behind me. But not too close.” He grinned.
“Don’t run me over.”

She started the engine, and waited. She watched Cole
walk back to his bike, and stuff Chuck’s cut in his saddlebag. The four bikes
revved to life, and then Cole roared past her. She pulled out after him, with
the other three falling in behind her. They got back on the interstate, and
took it down to the next exit.

Cole led them down a desolate road for several
miles. He made another turn onto what was more like a trail than a road. There
were two tire tracks with grass growing in the middle and woods on both sides.
Soon they were deep in the woods. Cole stopped, and dismounted.

Angel brought the van to a stop, and got out, not
wanting to spend another minute in it with those two men.

Cole headed off on foot into the woods on the left.
He returned a few minutes later. He walked to the back of the van, and pulled
the doors open.

“Find a place?” Green asked.

“Yeah. There’s a ravine back there.”

They pulled the guys out. Chuck was moaning
something behind the duct tape. With a brother on either arm, they hauled them
deep into the woods.

Angel stood by the van. It got very quiet. She could
hear the wind blowing through the trees, and birds chirping in the distance.
After a few minutes had passed, the silence was broken by several gunshots.
Pop, pop. Pop, pop. Angel jumped. She closed her eyes, and tried to remember
that they deserved this.

When the men returned, Cole got in the van, and
drove it further down the trail, and disappeared.

Angel stood next to his bike. She couldn’t bring
herself to look at the others. Not because she was disgusted by what they’d
done, but because she felt ashamed. She felt a part in this. They were doing
this for Cole, and Cole was doing this for her. To appease her, so she wouldn’t
bring the law down on them all. Was this really what she had wanted? Two
murders? Then she thought about those girls, and all the other girls like her
that had come before, that maybe didn’t make it out alive. And her resolve
hardened.

“Darlin’, they deserved it,” Crash said to her
quietly.

She looked at him, and then nodded. A branch
snapped, and she saw Cole walking back up the lane. When he got to her, he
didn’t say anything, just got on the bike, and pulled her helmet out of the
saddlebag, and handed it to her. She got on, and they headed back to the
interstate.

Soon they were pulling back into the Dead Souls
clubhouse. They parked, and dismounted. The place was empty compared to the
last few nights.

Angel followed Cole. The six girls were sitting at
one of the picnic tables. The other three brothers were sitting on the porch
steps.

Cole nodded toward the girls. “Talk to ‘em.”

Angel nodded.

Cole walked up the porch steps.

Angel turned, and looked at the girls. She took a
deep breath. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say. She walked over, and sat down
on the end of the picnic table, the girls scooting over to make room for her.
She looked around at all their faces. She looked down, and then cleared her
throat. “That guy? The one that took you?”

Some of the girls that were looking down, turned,
and looked at her.

“He…” she swallowed. “He took me, too.”

“What?”

“You?”

She looked around, and saw the stunned looks on
their faces. “I went with some friends to a party. I think something was put in
my drink. I woke up in that van, handcuffed.” She held up her arms, showing
them her bruised wrists. She heard some of them suck their breath in. She
looked at their faces. “He sold me to another guy that beat, and raped me. I
was kept in those handcuffs for three days. He planned to leave me for dead out
in the desert, still handcuffed.” She looked around, and saw tears rolling down
some of their faces. “But Cole, he saved me. He saved you, too.”

“I was at a party, too,” whispered the girl across
form her.

Angel looked around at all their faces. “That
Chinese guy? Does anyone else here, besides me, want that son-of-a-bitch dead?”

Everyone
of them raised their hands.

“Cole and his friends saved us. But if any of you go
to the cops, and tell them what happened to you, they are going to come after
these guys.” She nodded toward the porch. “These guys that helped you. Helped
you for nothing in return.”

“So, this guy, just…what? Gets away with it?” asked
one of the girls.

“He isn’t getting away with it. I promise you that.
But, would you want the man that kills him for you to go to prison for it?” she
asked them.

“No,” the girl responded.

“Will you all keep your mouth shut, and let justice
be done? Or would you rather call the police, and after an embarrassing trial,
maybe, just maybe the guy does a few years in jail. Then he’s back on the
street again. Free to do it again to another girl. Or to come back looking for
one of you?”

That scared them.

“I know how I feel about it. I hope you all feel the
same.” She stood, and walked away. She went up on the porch, and walked over to
Cole, who was sitting on the railing at the far end, smoking a cigarette. “I
did my best.”

“How’d they take it?”

She glanced over her shoulder at them. “I think they
understand. Maybe you need to put the fear of God in them.”

Cole looked down at the cigarette in his hand.
“Yeah.”

“Or maybe you could use your charm on them. I hear
you have a real way with all the ladies.” She smiled.

“Way with the ladies?” he asked. “Doubtful. Where’d
you hear that?”

She smiled. “Crystal.”

He tossed his cigarette over the railing. “Crystal
needs to keep her mouth shut,” he grumbled.

“Sweet-talk them. Tell them what they want to hear,
even if you don’t mean it. Look into their eyes with those baby blues of
yours.”

“Yeah. Right,” he scoffed.

“Come on. You’re a good looking guy.”

“Now who’s charming who?” He stood up. “Well, let me
go see which works.” He leaned down, and kissed her.

“Try the charm first. Finish up with the fear.”

“Yeah.” He turned, and walked away.

Angel leaned against a support post, and watched as
his boots pounded down the porch steps.

Cole walked up to the picnic table. “Hey, ladies.
You doin’ okay?” He looked around the table. Some nodded. Some wouldn’t look at
him. He leaned down on the end of the table, his palms flat, and looked in
their eyes. “I’m sorry about what happened to you.
Real
sorry.
I’d give anything for it not to have happened. What that guy
did…” Cole shook his head, and continued. “What he was planning to do, to
beautiful, sweet, young girls like you, he doesn’t deserve to walk the earth.”

“No, he doesn’t,” the blonde on the
end
agreed.

Cole’s gaze landed on her a moment, then continued
around the table. “Women should be protected, taken care of. A man that abuses
a woman, he’s the worse kind in my book.” He straightened up, his voice calm
and quiet. “We’re gonna get you all home now. I just need to make one thing
clear. It’s very important that you don’t say anything about what happened to
you. Tell your families you went to a party, and passed out or something. You
can’t talk about this.
To anyone.
Do you understand?”

He looked around at all their faces.
Most nodded.
The one on the end did not. “I took a big risk
getting involved in this shit. And I did it to save you. Because I couldn’t
stand the thought of what that guy was going to do to all of you. Do you even
understand what he had planned?” His gaze moved around the table, staring into
each of their eyes. “He was going to sell you into white slavery. Do you know
what that means? You’d have been beaten. Raped. Repeatedly. Most of you
probably would have ended up dead.” He paused to let that sink in, before he
continued. “But, if you talk, the cops will come here looking to pin this on
us. I can’t let that happen. You understand? It would seem very ungrateful on
your part.”

They all murmured that they wouldn’t say anything.
All
except
the blonde. Cole walked around the table,
talking as he walked. “If you talk, it will be the worse mistake you could
make.” He reached the girl at the end, and squatted down next to her, and
looked in her face. “What’s your name, darlin’?”

“Shannon.”

“Shannon. That’s a real pretty name. For a real
pretty girl.” He brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. “Pretty girl like
you should never be treated like that. I hate what happened to you. I’d hate
for anything else bad to happen to you. But, Shannon, if you talk, I
will
find you, and I
will
kill you. Do you understand?”

She stared, wide-eyed at him.

“Do you understand?” he shouted at her.

She jumped, and nodded, shaking.

He stood up, and walked away.

He rejoined Angel on the porch. “How’d I do?” he asked
her.

“I think you got your message across.”

He looked back. “I hope so. I don’t want to regret
this.” He left her, and went inside to talk to Wyatt.

Angel walked back to the table. “I think we are
going to be leaving soon to take you all home.”