Big Yellow Taxi
Chapter 41
Merle peeked out into the hallway, making sure there was no one outside before he stepped from the room. Rowan was gripping tightly to his hand. They moved quietly down the hall and away from the chapel area. When they got into a longer hallway that would eventually lead them to an emergency exit, they sped up.
"Oh shit, here we go," Merle cursed. There was a set of fire doors up ahead. They were propped open. And three members of casino security were standing in the doorway. From the confused looks on their faces, Merle could tell they were not aware that he beat a man to a pulp only a few moments before. But they were also staring at him and Rowan like they weren't going to just let them slip by without a problem.
"Let's just say we're lost and looking for the bathroom," Merle suggested. Rowan shook her head,
"Won't work," she whispered, "...they all know me. That guy whose ass you just beat works here." Merle cursed under his breath. He pulled his hand away from Rowan's and clenched it into a fist. Then he motioned for her to stay behind him as he started to advance on the men.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting married right now?," one of them asked once Rowan was close enough to him that he could see who she was.
"I was just going out for a little fresh air," she lied. The man looked back and forth between her and Merle, clearly skeptical of what she said. The splash of blood across Merle's face and all over his knuckles wasn't helping. The man gave him another once over before he reached for the radio that was clipped to his shirt. He was only able to hold the button down for a moment before Merle smashed his fist into the man's face. That man dropped to the ground, blood gushing from his broken nose. The other one grabbed Merle and the two of them started struggling. Rowan saw the third man pull out a taser gun from his belt. She rushed towards him, jumping up and catching the frame of the door with her fingers. She could hear her dress ripping as she swung into the man, hitting him square in the chest with both her feet at once. The man flew back, knocking his head against the wall. Rowan dropped to her feet and turned to see Merle knocking the other man's head against the open door. Rowan felt frozen in place, shocked by not only the violence she was witnessing but at her own eager participation in it. Merle's words but through the fog in her mind.
"RUN!"
That was all the encouragement Rowan needed. She turned and started hauling ass down the rest of the long hallway. She could hear Merle's boots pounding against the tile behind her. She hit the exit first, slamming her body into the push door and setting off an extremely loud alarm. Her dress caught on the door and another piece of the tulle underlay ripped off.
"My bike's over there," Merle hollered, pointing towards the main parking lot, which thankfully was not too far away. Because if every one of Derek's cronies wasn't already them after, they certainly were now that they set the fire alarm off through the entire building.
Merle stopped at his bike, looking at the giant puffy dress Rowan had on with some concern. The fucking thing was going to catch up on the wheels of his bike and get them both killed. To his relief she was already yanking and pulling at the stupid floofy dress, trying to get it off. But Rowan couldn't reach the ties in the back to loosen the corset bodice.
"Get me outta this freaking stupidass dress!," she squealed.
"Turn around," Merle ordered, yanking his knife from his belt. He cut up the back, slicing through the ribbons that were holding the thing together. Rowan felt it when the hard boning finally released her. She sucked in a deep satisfying breath. Then she shoved the straps down off her shoulders and wriggled out of the horrible itchy thing. It pooled up on the ground at her feet. Rowan stomped down on the fabric, cursing as she kicked and jumped on it. Merle shook his head, laughing at the rather epic tantrum she was throwing. After ripping herself out of her dress, Rowan was now clad only in a tiny white lace bra, a half slip, and a pair of white lacy thigh high tights. There was an old beat up pair of converse sneakers on her feet.
"Here," he said, pulling off his leather jacket and tossing it forcefully towards Rowan's mostly bare chest. She caught it, quickly slipping her arms into the sleeves and yanking the zipper up. She didn't hesitate before she swung her leg over the bike and climbed on behind him. By the time they were out of the parking lot, Rowan had a death grip on him and the bike. This was not the little scenic pleasure ride Daryl took her for when they went to his trailer to get his things. The wind was whipping past her so fast, Rowan couldn't keep her eyes open. And that was before they got out onto the highway. She held on and closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into Merle's back between his shoulder blades. And she reminded herself that even though she was scared, she would rather be flying down the highway on this bike than back at the casino getting married to Derek.
Merle put some distance between himself and the casino. But not too much. It wasn't the police that were after him. Not yet anyway. He turned off at the first rest stop he saw. They needed to stop and figure out their next move. He at least needed to wash the blood off. And Rowan was in her underwear. They couldn't drive all the way back to Georgia like this.
Once he stopped the bike, he felt Rowan climb off. Merle swung his own leg over and looked to see if she was alright. He expected the girl to be shaken up or upset after what just happened. Instead, he turned around to find that she was laughing her crazy ass off. Before he could stop himself, Merle was laughing right along with her. Little brother sure knows how to pick 'em. They both laughed until there were tears running down their faces. Rowan didn't stop until she was almost knocked to the ground by a giant black dog. The animal came barreling at her from out of nowhere, jumping up and slamming his paws into her chest. Merle was concerned at first. But then Rowan started talking to the giant beast like she knew him.
"Tank!," she exclaimed, "...how did you get here?"
