Snake

 

I’d had a few beers, and I should have been in a good mood. It was a beautiful night. I had everyone I cared about near me, and most of all, I had Bambi. I was even cleaning up at pool. But I had nearly forgotten about that damn bet, and I wasn’t pleased that we were talking about it once again. It only reminded me of who I was and how I had thought about life before I’d met Bambi. The weeks with her on the back of my bike had been great. She was content to roll with the punches. She never complained about long days on the road or the fact that we were never in the same place for very long. The only argument we’d had was the one time she said she wanted to go home. I hadn’t liked denying her, but I knew how important it was to keep her away from the evil woman who had raised her. I’d learned enough about Monique Bidwell in the small time I’d known Bambi to understand that she was nothing but poison. Bambi hadn’t been pleased that I had told her she would stay with me, but it seemed as though we had come to a mutual understanding. She had never given me any indication that she was mad or resentful over it.

 

But mention of the bet made it seem like that was the only reason I had kept Bambi at my side. It was fine with me if the guys thought that, but I knew it wasn’t really the truth. I liked having her around, and if it were up to me she would stay with me for a long time. The bet didn’t mean anything at all except that it had allowed me to meet her in the first place.

 

“I guess that means it’s time for you guys to pay up,” I growled as I made my next shot. I wasn’t bad at pool, but Rusty sure gave me a run for my money. I was thoroughly distracted now, and it was showing. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about what you owe me.”

 

“Hold on just a minute,” Axle said. “How do we know you’re telling the truth? Bambi sure doesn’t look pregnant.”

 

“That’s a good point.” Moose bent over to retrieve his cards from the floor. Several of them had landed faceup, so he gathered them into the deck and dealt to himself and Axle. “Maybe we should wait until she gets nice and fat.” He grinned.

 

Rusty laughed. “Can you imagine what a skinny little girl like that is going to look like with a big round belly? She’ll be waddling around like a little blonde duck!” He was amused enough that he missed his next shot. He grabbed his bottle of beer from the side of the table and took a long drink.

 

“That’s going to make it hard to keep riding.” Rubble, for a change, was thinking sensibly. “Are you going to shack up with her somewhere? Or just drop her back off in Myrtle Creek and let her mama deal with it?”

 

My face burned with anger. They had no right to talk about Bambi like that, but I had gotten myself into this mess. I could have picked any girl for the bet, but I had chosen a woman so amazing that she had become more than just someone to fuck. “We’ll figure that out.”

 

Axle slapped a card down on the table and grinned. “Better do it soon. My cousin Cheryl got knocked up, and she started ballooning out within a couple of weeks. Then there’s the barfing, and the hot flashes, and the mood swings. Oh yeah, you’re in for one hell of a ride!”

 

I sank the last ball and shook my head. Bambi would be pissed if she knew how they were talking about her, and she would be even more pissed if she found out I had claimed she was pregnant. It was possible, but I had no proof. We hadn’t even talked about it. I could only hope she was knocked up so I wouldn’t be a liar.

 

“Now, hold on. Shouldn’t we be congratulating him? After all, Snake is about to become a proud papa!” Rusty retrieved the balls from under the table and began racking them up. “Tell me, is the tot going to be a slithering snake in the grass like you are?”

 

I glared at him and handed my cue stick to Axle. I was done with pool. I was done with the whole conversation.

 

“Congratulate him all you want,” Moose said as he gathered up the cards and shuffled them once again. “I’m still not paying him jack shit until I have proof.”

 

A sense of dread fell over me, weighing me down and dragging at my skin. Now that my little lie was out there in the world, I was going to need Bambi to help me make them believe. If she was like any other woman, she would be furious that I’d claimed she was pregnant. Still, I might be able to get her to cooperate. She went along with almost anything I asked her to do. I had her wrapped around my finger, and like it or not, I was going to have to take advantage of that.

 

“I’ll go find her, and she can tell you herself.” I turned from the pool table and stepped into the bar, hoping I could at least get a moment with her to explain what I needed her to do. The bar area of the place was practically empty. It was a beat-up old place, with old wooden tables that had been carved on with pocket knives over the years. Not all the neon lights hung near the tops of the walls worked, and they cast a dim, eerie glow on the few drunks gathered in the corner.

 

Janet was at the bar, getting dangerously close to the young man behind it. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and leaned down, letting the bartender get a full view of her cleavage. I cleared my throat as I came up behind her. “Hey, have you seen Bambi? She went to the pharmacy, across the street, but I haven’t seen her since then.”

 

Janet straightened and turned to glare at me. She had never been all that fond of me in the first place, and now I had ruined her game. Her dark eyebrows crunched together and she stuck her tongue in her cheek. “She was here, but she took off.” She flung her hand toward the front door.

 

Every system in my body was on high alert. My muscles were tensed and ready for action. My heart thundered in my ears, and a major dose of adrenaline shot through my bloodstream. I was ready to pummel whoever had done something to Bambi to make her act that way. “Took off? Where?”

 

“Beats me. She was crying her eyes out, though. Said she’d gotten bad news.” Janet lifted a shoulder and let it fall carelessly, as though none of this was all that important. Maybe it wasn’t to her, but Bambi wasn’t just some biker bitch. She wouldn’t have just left like that without saying a word.

 

I grabbed her by the shoulders, my fingers clenching around her leather jacket. “Did she say where she was going? How long ago was this?”

 

She pushed against my chest uselessly. “Hey, chill out! For all I know she was headed back to the motel. She didn’t say. And it was just a few minutes ago.” Her bright red lips were twisted with anger, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even pay attention to the young man at the bar, who was getting concerned and trying to tell me nicely to calm down and back off.

 

I let go of Janet and dashed out into the parking lot, taking a moment to look around. There was always a possibility she had just stepped out for some fresh air, but in my heart I knew that wasn’t the case. Bambi knew how protective I was of her, and she wouldn’t have done something like that without telling me first. No, whatever had happened, it was much worse than that. My mind flew back to what she had told me about life with her mother in Myrtle Creek. Had Monique found her? Had she convinced her daughter to go home?

 

The parking lot was dark in the moonlight, with only a distant streetlight casting a small gleam on the hoods of cars and on the gas tanks of the motorcycles. The gravel crunched under my boots as I slowly walked between the rows, watching the shadows for any sign of movement. But she wasn’t there, just as I knew she wouldn’t be.

 

I jogged out of the parking lot and over to the pharmacy. It was brilliantly lit compared to the pool hall, with its bright sign and the interior lights making large rectangles of yellow on the parking lot. I burst in through the front door.

 

The clerk at the counter to my right recited her greeting. “Hello, and welcome to Hometown Pharmacy.” She didn’t look up as she slowly rang up a purchase for a customer.

 

I ran up to her and slammed my hands down on the counter. “Have you seen a girl come in here tonight? About this tall, with blonde hair and a purple tank top?” I was desperate for information and yet terrified of what I might learn, and this woman had no idea what she was doing to me by holding out.

 

The clerk looked up at me over her glasses, her drawn-on eyebrows creasing. “Excuse me, sir, but you’ll have to wait in line.”

 

“I don’t have time to wait in line! I just want to know if you’ve seen her!” I slapped the counter once again.

 

The customer, a woman in her forties with bleached hair and a loudly patterned dress, cleared her throat. “You’re being very rude, you know.” She glared at the clerk. “Can we please finish this?”

 

“Of course.” The cashier grabbed a bottle of vitamins on the counter and slowly scanned it, setting it gently in the bottom of a plastic bag before reaching for the next item.

 

“Damn it! Stop being like that. This is an emergency!” They were lucky they were women.

 

They both ignored me while they finished up, the customer digging in her purse for an eternity before she finally found her debit card and then had to swipe it three times to get it to work.

 

When she finally left, the clerk regarded me with a steely glance. “Now, can I help you?”

 

“You already know what I want. I’m looking for my girlfriend, and she said she was coming here. Have you seen her?” I tried to keep my voice calm, since it was clear that was the only way to deal with this woman, but it was hard.

 

She tapped a manicured nail on her chin and rolled her heavily lined eyes toward the ceiling. “Blonde, you said? Purple tank top? Yes, I believe I rang her up just a little bit ago.”

 

“Did she say where she was going?” I suddenly remembered that Bambi had claimed not to be feeling well. “What did she buy?”

 

The clerk shook her head at me. “Now, now. I don’t just go giving away all my customers’ secrets. What they buy at the Hometown Pharmacy is their business, not yours. I’m sure if she wants you to know, she’ll tell you.” She gave me a smug smile and turned toward the cash register, pretending to do something.

 

I was enraged, but it was clear I wasn’t making any progress here. The next bet was the motel, which was just a little way down the road. I had to go back through the parking lot of the pool hall to get there. I didn’t bother firing up my bike. If Bambi was trying to get away from me, then the sound of the engine would only alert her to my presence. I had to stalk her like a hunter tracking a deer through the woods. I had to be quiet and gentle to get close enough. That is, if she was anywhere to be found.

 

But I never got the chance to get out of the parking lot. Several cop cars came charging down the road, flicking on their sirens and lights as they swept into the parking lot. The officers were out of the doors before the wheels came to a full stop, their guns drawn. They were mere shadows against the brilliant red and blue of the lightbars, but I understood just how dangerous they could be. I stopped in my tracks and watched in confusion, not quite understanding just why they were there.

 

“Freeze! Put your hands in the air!” An officer charged toward me, one hand stretched out with his finger on the trigger. The other hand was reaching around behind his back, and when he brought it back forward it held a pair of handcuffs.

 

Stunned, I did as I was told. I watched as they clustered around me, all those muzzles pointed in my direction. “What am I being arrested for?”

 

“You have the right to remain silent …” one of them began.

 

Another one gestured with his pistol. “Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your back.”

 

I wasn’t exactly the type of guy who followed every law to the letter. I had earned more than my share of traffic tickets, and I deserved more than I had gotten. I had done some lying and some cheating, and I wouldn’t have considered myself the most upstanding citizen. Still, I knew better than to challenge the cops. If nothing else, Bruiser would hire some scumbag lawyer to bust me out long enough for us to hit the road once again and move on to a new place.

 

The rocks dug into my cheek as the officer clapped the cuffs around my wrists. As though from a distance, I could hear the other cop continuing to read me my rights, but I wasn’t listening. The only thing on my mind was Bambi. I was supposed to find her and bring her back. What if she had gotten herself into some sort of trouble? What if her mother had somehow convinced her she needed to go back home? I didn’t have time to go to jail, because I had to get to her. Someone tugged on the handcuffs, and I got to my feet.

 

“So this is him?” A higher-ranking officer marched up to me slowly, his eyes scanning me with disgust. He was an older man with sagging jowls and a crooked nose, and he stepped close so he could look straight down at me. He took in my leathers, my tattoos, and the rough stubble that covered my jaw.

 

“Yes, sir, Sergeant Bixby.” The cop who answered him was young and eager, nerves breaking his voice.

 

“Figures. Only some dirty rotten son of a bitch would do what he’s done.” The sergeant pulled a toothpick from his pocket and stuck one end of it in his mouth, chewing on it as he switched it from one side to the other.

 

“What exactly is it that I’ve done?” I could hear the panic in my voice, even though I had attempted to stay calm. They just didn’t understand the bigger picture here. “Too many parking tickets? I’ll pay for them right now.”

 

Sergeant Bixby laughed. “You really think we’d bother hunting you down for something like that? We’ve got bigger fish to fry, like guys who kidnap young girls.”

 

I stared at him, my mouth gaping. I glanced at the bar, hoping Bruiser or one of the other guys would come out and see what was going on. Anger once again took over my body, but I tried to keep it contained. I was outnumbered by a long shot. “I never kidnapped anybody.”

 

“No? Does the name Bambi Bidwell ring a bell?” He saw the look of horror on my face. “Yeah, I thought so. Don’t think that just because you ride a motorcycle and have a bunch of tattoos that you can get away with abducting a beauty queen, buster. You’re not above the law, and it’s time you learned it.”

 

“You don’t understand. She was with me, but she came on her own. I never made her do it. All of my friends are inside, and you can ask them.” I was beginning to feel a flower of desperation bloom in my chest, its petals slowly reaching out toward my extremities.

 

“Right. Because we’re going to take the word of a bunch of guys from a notorious biker gang. I don’t think so, buddy.” Bixby stepped closer and pulled a pen and a notepad from his pocket. He smelled of coffee and gasoline. “Now, tell me where the girl is.”

 

“I don’t know.” I wished that I did.

 

He heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. “Do I really have to tell you that it would be to your benefit to cooperate? We’re talking about a missing girl, here.”

 

I realized that even though I couldn’t go find Bambi myself, I might have someone who could. “I know. She is missing, but not because I kidnapped her. She was staying with me, but I haven’t seen her since we arrived here. Bambi went to the store, and then she was supposed to come back.” I was talking too fast, but I couldn’t get it all out. I needed them to comprehend what a desperate situation this was.

 

“So she escaped.” It wasn’t even a question, and he was scribbling calmly in his notebook.

 

“There wasn’t anything to escape from!” I lurched toward the cop, furious now. They weren’t on my side, but it was clear they weren’t really on Bambi’s side either. Two other officers grabbed me by the arms and yanked me backward, keeping me well clear of the sergeant. The flashing lights from the cars were burning into my eyes.

 

“Easy, now.” He turned to one of the other cops. “I think we’re going to have to put this guy in a cell all his own. He might get killed otherwise, and I don’t feel like doing the paperwork.” Sergeant Bixby stuffed the notepad back in his pocket and shook his head.

 

“That is, if we even have a cell open,” the policeman replied with a wicked grin. “We can’t help it if we’re a little full. But you’re right, that girl is the treasure of the county, and I don’t think even the jailbirds are going to be too happy with him.”

 

“Are you aware that your ugly mug has been all over the news?” The sergeant was in my face now. “You’re the most wanted man in this entire area. Don’t you watch television?”

 

“I have better things to do with my life,” I spat. “And I’m telling you she was never kidnapped. I don’t know where she is, but I need to find her and make sure she’s all right.”

 

“You keep saying that, but how am I supposed to know it’s true if the girl isn’t here to tell me so?” He put his fists on his hips and turned to walk back toward his vehicle.

 

“I’m right here.” The voice behind the crowd made us all turn to look. Bambi stood there, just outside the ring of light from the squad cars. Tears had streaked her face, but in that moment she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. She was alive and safe.

 

At the same time, pure anger lit me up like a blazing bonfire. How dare she run off without telling me? How dare she make me worry about her and come looking for her, especially when she was perfectly safe? Upset, yes, but safe. If I hadn’t had the damn handcuffs on me, I could have grabbed her and slapped her. I wouldn’t, but I could have. I had pulled her away from a horrific life she wasn’t happy with. Without question, I had taken her in and I had taken care of her. She had plenty to eat, a roof over her head every night, and the clothes she wanted. How could she do this to me?

 

“Bambi! Tell them the truth! Tell them I didn’t kidnap you!” I pulled at the handcuffs, and the metal pressed into my skin. I was bound, but not just physically. I had to get everyone to understand, but I wasn’t sure that anyone could hear what I was saying.

 

The pure anger that took over her face was a look I had never seen before. She tipped her head back so that her eyes were lidded as she looked at me, and the contempt in her eyes was enough to keep me in my place even if the cops hadn’t been. I opened my mouth to say more, but the door of the pool hall burst open and slammed against the brick side of the building.

 

“What is all this?” Bruiser shouted as he charged forward. His fists were balled at his sides, and his cratered face was contorted with anger. He wasn’t a fan of the law, and there were incidents in more than one town of him hitting an officer. “Let him go.”

 

Several of the other men came out the door behind him but gave him leeway to be first. They filtered out, fully clad in their leathers and bandanas and tattoos. Individually, they weren’t as intimidating as Bruiser, but their numbers certainly made a difference. In the flashing lights, I recognized Moose, Rusty, Rubble, and Axle. They pushed their way around several of the other bikers until they were directly behind our leader.

 

The sergeant puffed up, his chest pushing out against his uniform. “I suggest you go back inside and resume whatever it was you were doing. This isn’t any of your business.”

 

“It sure as hell is,” Bruiser argued. “You’ve got my boy there, and I know he hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s almost too nice to be one of us, if you ask me.” The rest of the men laughed.

 

“That’s only to his benefit, then, but he still hasn’t been nice enough. Now get back inside, please.” The cop pushed his hand out toward the building, as though he could push Bruiser away by simply moving the air.

 

But the skinny man pulled his wallet out of the back of his jeans. “I’ll pay his bail money right now, or maybe a little extra if that’s what you need. What is he charged with?” He knew there were plenty of officers who could be bribed. I’d seen him do this successfully before, and it gave me a small sense of hope. I could get out of these handcuffs, drag Bambi back to the motel room, and ask her just what the hell her deal was.

 

But this officer thought himself too moral for such a thing. “Are you aware that it’s illegal to bribe an officer?”

 

Bruiser shrugged. “Hey, whatever gets the job done, man.”

 

“All right, let’s go.” The sergeant pointed at another officer and directed him toward Bruiser.

 

He was a small, skinny man, but he was a little crazy. Bruiser knocked the officer aside with ease, and more came after him. The rest of the Warriors joined in the brawl, rushing forward to punch and kick. This whole thing had been bred of a misunderstanding, and it was now resulting in disaster. Fists flew, and the parking lot became a blur of dark uniforms and darker leather. I did what I could to help, but I the handcuffs stopped me from fighting like I should have. Still, I managed to trip an officer as he ran up behind Rusty, and I headbutted another one who came at me out of revenge.

 

“Stop! Stop!” Bambi’s shouts had a magical way of controlling the men. The police officers and the bikers alike paused and turned to her. She stood at the front of the lead squad car, her hands out beseechingly. With her hair loose around her shoulders and the lights shining from behind her, she looked like an angel. “Sergeant, let me talk to you.”

 

The sergeant let go of Bruiser’s sleeve with a look of regret and stepped over to her. The bikers backed off a few feet, but they watched the uniformed men carefully. The tension was still high, and it would only take the wrong word or look to resume the fight.

 

The conversation between Bambi and the cops lasted less than a minute, and it consisted mostly of her talking. “He didn’t kidnap me. I went with him because I wanted to. My mother is just claiming I was taken because she wants the attention.” She kept her chin in the air as she spoke, putting on a strong front.

 

“I don’t know.” He scratched the back of his head uncertainly. “She was the one who filed the charges, and until she has officially dropped them …”

 

“She’ll drop them as soon as I’m home,” Bambi promised. “Just take me back to Myrtle Creek, and everything will be fine.” She stepped toward the back door of the squad car. “Just be careful with me, I’m pregnant.”

 

I felt more than I saw the guys stiffen when they heard the words. My own muscles seemed not to know what to do, tensing but unable to move. I had lied to them in order to get them to shut up, but I had been right. Maybe I had known on some subconscious level, or maybe I had just been so hopeful. Either way, this beautiful woman was carrying my child. “Bambi …”

 

She looked at me over the car door, scorn and sadness mixing in her eyes. “I’m glad I helped you win your bet.” Bambi got in the car, and the sergeant shut the door.

 

I didn’t even feel the handcuffs coming off my wrists, and I didn’t quite register Bruiser as he grabbed me by the arm and led me back toward the bar. There was only one way Bambi could have heard about the bet: she had heard everything the guys and I had said around the pool table. That was why she hadn’t come back to me after the trip to the store and why she had left in tears. Hell, that was why she had gone to the damn pharmacy! She wasn’t sick, she was just pregnant. It was no surprise the pharmacy clerk had refused to tell me what Bambi had bought in there. I had to wonder if Bambi had called in my location to the police, but I instantly denied the idea. She had left me, and that was bad enough.

 

“Come on. I’m gonna buy you a drink or six. You look like you need it.” Bruiser guided me inside and sat me down at the bar. “Get him a beer,” he ordered, “and keep them coming until he’s passed out on the floor and swimming in his own puke.”

 

Rusty plopped down on the other side of me and clapped me hard on the shoulder, somewhat jolting me back to reality. “Hey, you’re better off without her anyway.”

 

I turned a gimlet eye to him. “Why do you say that?”

 

He spread his hands wide as though it was obvious. “She was just weighing you down. Now you don’t have to worry about taking care of anyone. You’re free to just be yourself. That’s the life we wanted to live, right? Isn’t that why you joined the Warriors? I know that’s why I did.”

 

“She didn’t weigh me down,” I argued though gritted teeth. Bruiser wrapped my fingers around the handle of a beer mug, but I kept it firmly on the surface of the bar. “She was with me because I wanted her to be. You’re just talking shit because you couldn’t get anyone to stay with you for more than a night. That manager of that motel wouldn’t have come with you if you paid her.”

 

“Hey, now.” Rusty’s face was flushing, as it usually did when he got mad. It was a constant joke for the rest of us when the big, ginger-haired man became even redder than usual. But at the moment I didn’t find it funny, and neither did he. “You don’t have to go attacking me just because you had a bad night. That bitch was nothing more than a bet, after all.”

 

I launched myself at him, knocking him backwards off his barstool and landing on top of him as we hit the floor. My fists flew, impacting his jaw and his cheeks as he tried to ward me off. But I had knocked the wind out of him, and I had the upper hand. “Don’t you dare call her a bitch or a bet, you asshole! She was mine, and what happened with her was my business, not yours! I ought to beat the holy living shit out of you!” And I was. It felt good to let my fists fly after they had been bound in the parking lot. Blood poured from his nose.

 

Hands grabbed me by my arms and around my waist and dragged me off of him. Someone turned me around, and I was facing Bruiser. He grabbed me by the shoulders and got in my face. “Stop! Calm the fuck down! Now you can sit here and have some drinks or you can go back to the motel, but I’m not having any more of this shit tonight! It’s not worth it.” He shoved me back toward my barstool.

 

Axle and Rubble helped Rusty back to his feet, and handed him a rag to press against his nose. He disappeared into the bathroom to clean up.

 

I picked up the beer Bruiser had bought me and tipped it back, chugging until only a little foam clung to the inside of the glass. Yes, it had been a bad night, and it was going to be a long one.