Chapter 3
Adelaide parked her Nissan Versa in the alley behind the house of her best friend, Angela McSands. Gingerly getting out of the car while also trying to calm her swimming head, she tried to hurry toward Angela's back door and then proceeded to pound on it.
"Angie! Angie, please open the door—it's Addy!" She pounded as loudly as she could with her fists, and then with the palms of her hands till they both stung. "Angela!" Oh, God, please let her be home, she prayed.
The door opened suddenly and Angela emerged clad in a terrycloth bathrobe, her short, blond hair still wet from an apparent shower. "Oh, my God—Addy! What hap-" Her gaze raked quickly over Adelaide's slender frame and took in every detail. Her best friend's temple had a goose egg, a bruise marred the alabaster skin of her cheek, and her lip was split. And that was only what she was able to see. There was no telling what injuries Liam Walker had bestowed Adelaide with underneath her clothes. "It was Liam, wasn't it?" She gently tugged her unsteady friend into her house. "Come inside. Let's get you cleaned up and into some…" She trailed off when she fully took in the state of Adelaide's ripped and disheveled clothing. There was no denying what had happened. "Oh, Addy… I'm so sorry…" She hugged her friend close and stroked her dark hair, then led her into the living room. "Come on, honey. Let's get you to the hospital. They'll need to do a rape kit."
"No," Adelaide whispered, as Angela led her into the living room. She sank weakly down onto the sofa. "He's a cop, Angie. He'll get away with it. Then he'll kill me."
"But, there's proof, Addy. Your clothes, the cuts and bruises, his DNA…"
"He'll turn it around somehow. That is, if he's still alive."
"What do you mean," Angela asked, sitting down beside her and brushing some tangled hair out of Adelaide's face.
"He was raping me, and I… I tried to fight him off. I was feeling for a weapon to use and I was able to grab my heavy fruit bowl." She shuddered before continuing. "I hit him on the head with it—several times. I don't even know if he's alive. If he's dead, I'm in even deeper trouble."
"No, honey," her friend tried to convince her. "If he's dead, then you can explain it as self-defense…"
"You don't get it," Adelaide cried, wrapping her arms around herself. "They're his friends! They won't believe a word I say! They'll think I murdered him!"
Angela was silent for a moment and let this sink in. Maybe she's right, she thought. If she's this terrified, there's a reason. "Okay," she finally said. "You need to get out of here, and soon. Go get a shower so your appearance doesn't get noticed and raise questions. Then you're going to take one of my cars and get out of town—far away from here."
"But what about my car? If Liam sees it parked here, he'll hurt you—"
"I'll drive it into the river. Don't worry. It'll look like you drowned. He'll never know."
Tears filled Adelaide's blue eyes again. "We may never see each other again."
Angela nodded sadly. "I know. But your safety has to come first. That's what matters most to me."
Adelaide sniffled and wiped at her tears. "And yours matters most to me."
"I'll be fine," Angela assured her, placing her hand over Adelaide's. "Like I said, I'll take care of your car. If Liam thinks your dead, he's got no reason to do anything to me. Okay? So go get yourself cleaned up and I'll get you some fresh clothes together."
About twenty minutes later, Adelaide was showered and wearing a pair of jeans, a black WWE t-shirt and sneakers. Angela handed her a key to her old Jeep, a small suitcase of clothes along with a pocket knife, and then proceeded to press many paper bills into her hand. "And take this too."
"No, Angie. It's bad enough you're giving me one of your cars. I have money. I stopped at an ATM before I came-"
"Hon, I could care less about the money. It's only a few hundred dollars, but it could help get you out of a bind. I'll sleep a lot better knowing I've done everything I can to help you."
Adelaide swallowed hard and smiled sadly at her best friend. "I would never have made it without you."
"Oh, yes you would've," Angela contradicted her, her green eyes filling with tears. "You're stronger than you realize, Addy. You're going to be fine, honey. Now get out of here, and start living again."
"I'm going to miss you," Adelaide said, hugging her friend close. "So much."
"I'll miss you too, but I'll take comfort in knowing you're alive," Angela replied, returning Adelaide's hug.
"Be sure and get my cell number out of your contacts," Adelaide warned. "I left my cell phone behind and if you call it, Liam will realize you know something."
Angela nodded, "I'll take care of it right now."
Minutes later, Adelaide was pulling out of Angela's garage and began heading for Interstate 40 West, tears streaming down her face.
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A loud curse echoed throughout the MC's clubhouse. Juice rubbed his shaved head for the third time in one game of pool. "You're gonna take my head off if you keep jumpin' the cue ball like that," Juice shouted at Rat. "What are ya trying to pull, bro?"
"I was just trying a new trick is all, settle down, Juicey," Rat grumbled as he picked the cue ball up from the floor and put it back on the pool table.
"How about ya play the right way, and then I'll settle down," Juice retorted.
"No, how about the two of ya quit bickering like a couple of little girlies," Chibs asked from the bar. "I can't hear myself think!"
The two smaller men each mumbled something unintelligible under their breath but resumed their game in a quieter manner.
Daisy, Tig's pet pit bull he rescued from a dog fight, scratched at the club's front door and whined for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past half hour.
"What's with her," Happy asked, draining his beer bottle.
"I don't know," Tig replied thoughtfully. "I just took her out to use the bathroom, and she took a long piss, so I'm totally clueless."
"Maybe she's constipated," Chucky suggested, wiping down the bar. He blushed when he noticed everyone staring at him. "I mean… Ya know… It's a possibility."
"Shut up and grab me another beer, Chucky," Happy ordered.
"I accept that," Chucky murmured, grabbing another bottle of brew from the cooler.
At that moment, Quinn returned from a repossession and opened the door to enter the club house, and Daisy took that instant to flee.
"Daisy," Tig yelled. "Come back, girl!" He shot up from his seat and bolted for the door. Sticking his head out, he was distraught when he discovered the dog had completely vanished. "I've gotta find her. Chibs…help me out, brother?"
"Ah, come on," Chibs groaned. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Drive the van," Tig suggested, his vivid blue eyes pleading with his friend. "I can't very well bring her back on my bike, and she gets nervous in a vehicle. Someone needs to drive while I keep her calm."
"Mother Mary," Chibs growled as he pulled the keys to the club's van from his vest pocket and put on his sunglasses. "Let's go get this over with." The two men hurried out to the van and pulled out onto the road.
"Did you see what direction she went," Chibs asked Tig.
"No. Not really. DAISY! WHERE ARE YA, BABY," he shouted.
Chibs cursed and looked at his friend as if he were crazy. "Do you really think-"
Tig shushed him and yelled for Daisy again. To Chibs' utter surprise, he could hear the dog barking in the distance.
"That way! Go," Tig hooted, happy to have an idea of where his dog was. "I know my girl, Chibby! Follow that bark!"
Rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses, Chibs turned the van in the direction the dog's barks came from and they drove down the road, keeping their eyes peeled for Tig's pit bull.
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Adelaide touched a hand to her head as another wave of dizziness came over her. She groaned softly at the pain and struggled to keep her eyes open.
"At least I'm just on an empty old dirt road," she reasoned with herself. If I come across some traffic, I'll have to pull over until this dizziness passes.
In the next instant, she was aware of opening her eyes and discovered she was in the wrong lane. Reflexively, she jerked the wheel back into the right lane and breathed a shuddering sigh. Realizing she was briefly losing consciousness, she rolled her window down the rest of the way in hopes of getting some more air. The California heat was stifling and the old Jeep's air-conditioner had long ago kicked the bucket.
"I need water," she thought out loud, realizing she must be severely dehydrated.
She couldn't even remember her last sip of liquid or bite of food, or sleep for that matter. She'd been in such a hurry to get away from Nashville, she drove for two days strait. She'd been too frightened to pull over and close her eyes, afraid that Liam—or someone affiliated with him—would capture her when she was at her most vulnerable.
Suddenly, Adelaide realized she was coming too again, and prepared to jerk the wheel into the appropriate lane once more. But too late, she saw a telephone pole looming just ahead of her. A hard collision followed, along with the sound of breaking glass and grating metal. If not for the airbag deploying, she would have smacked hard into the steering wheel. Her head was spared yet another trauma, but her ribs weren't. The airbag's tautened material slammed into her hard, and she heard a very audible cracking sound as a burning pain shot up and down her side. The car slammed to a stop and she gasped and sobbed as another agonizing stab of pain sucker punched her.
"Oh….my God…" she wheezed out, shocked by the sudden pain.
She grasped the key and turned it in the ignition, and the engine tried to turn over but didn't manage it. Adelaide tried a couple more times, but gave up on it when it became clear the car was not going to start. She grabbed the small pocket knife Angela gave her and somehow managed the strength to open her door and feebly climb out of the Jeep. Her legs wouldn't hold her, however, and she sank to her knees.
"Get up," she ordered herself, teeth clenched. "You don't have time to fall apart. Not yet."
Shakily, she held onto the car for support as she stood to her feet. I have to get to a mechanic and see if they'll tow the Jeep and repair it, she thought. And then I need a hotel where I can get some sleep, or I'm going to end up killing myself and possibly some innocent people.
Slowly, she began her long walk down the road, in hopes of finding a mechanic that would help her out.
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Chibs continued driving down the road as Tig leaned out the passenger side window calling for Daisy.
"I think we've lost her, brother," Chibs said softly, aware of how much the dog meant to his friend. "I haven't heard her bark in several minutes."
"She's here, I know it," Tig insisted, and then he pointed at what looked to be a dark-haired woman up ahead of them. "Look, there's someone walking down the road. Pull up beside them. Maybe they've seen her."
Skeptical, but humoring his friend, Chibs pulled up beside a woman walking at the side of the road. "Hey lady, have ya by any chance seen a white pit bull around here," Chibs asked. "My friend's lost his dog and we thought she'd headed this way."
The young woman seemed to be startled by his inquiry but she turned to glance in his direction, the sun catching on her icy blue eyes, "Y-yeah… I did," she replied softly. "She w-went up th-that way…" She motioned behind her with a wave of her hand.
"Thanks," Tig called from the passenger side. "Let's go, Chibs!"
"Just a sec," the Scotsman muttered under his breath. Something wasn't right. The woman was moving very slowly and he'd noticed bruising on her pale face. "Are you alright, lady? Do you need a ride somewhere?"
The woman seemed to jump out of her skin again, and shook her head without paying him even a glance. "No, thank y-you. I-I'm fine."
"Ya sure? It's an awfully hot day to be walking a long distance," he pressed, noting her jean-clad legs. The black t-shirt can't help matters either, he thought, recalling how hot the club's black clothing could get in the heat of the California sun. "I can give you a lift somewhere if ya want."
"No," the woman answered curtly, without even looking up and kept walking gingerly in the other direction.
Chibs sensed Tig was about to set out on foot himself to go retrieve his dog. So, feeling conflicted, he drove on, in search of Daisy.
Minutes later, and a few miles down the road, they spotted an older model Jeep wrecked against a telephone pole.
"Wow," Tig said, "That's one busted up Jeep. Do you think it belongs to the woman we passed a few miles back?"
"That would be my guess," Chibs replied grimly. "She's got to be hurt. I saw some bruises on her face, and-" He cut off when he noticed Daisy sitting dutifully by the Jeep. "What the…?"
"She was trying to lead us to her," Tig commented. "She somehow knew what happened to that woman."
"I think you're giving your dog a little too much credit," Chibs said skeptically.
"How else would you explain it," Tig asked.
Chibs pulled to a stop next to the vacated car, his black eyes flashing, "I don't know. Get your dog and then we're gonna go help the woman."
Tig climbed out of the van and approached Daisy, "Come on, girl," he coaxed. "Come back with me, baby. We're gonna go help the lady. Come on." He led the apprehensive dog back to the van and then lifted her up and settled her on his lap once he climbed into the passenger seat."
In the next instant, Chibs pulled a sharp U-turn and headed back for the dark-haired stranger.
