Zeke
“I don’t get it,” Zeke said, pacing the room. “The police said there were two bodies found in the blaze at Troy’s. They were too badly burnt to identify, but there were definitely two. Troy must be out there. Unless he had accomplices, but I doubt it. Who else would care as much as he did?”
Sophie knelt up on the bed. It had been hours since the explosion, but there was absolutely no chance of either of them sleeping.
“You need to get out of here in the morning. Go and stay somewhere safe for a while. I can’t let you get hurt.”
“But I want to be with you,” she insisted.
“I know, honey, it would just be temporary. Until this is all fixed. We’ve got another life to protect now, too.”
Sophie nodded. “I suppose so. But as soon as this is over, I’ll move in here. I just want us to be free to get on with our lives.”
“Me too,” he said, sweeping down and kissing her head softly. “It’ll be over soon. I promise.”
The next morning Zeke called Tina Graham to ask about the possibility of Sophie staying with them.
“Oh, Zeke, I was just about to call you. In the middle of the night, we had a brick thrown through our window. There was a note attached that said we’ll be dead within a week.” By the end of the sentence, her voice crumbled, letting out her true emotions and fears.
“Jesus. We need to get you and Jeffrey out of there. Sophie’s not safe here either. The three of you need to get out of town. I take it you’ve told Jeffrey about the calls now, too?”
“Yes. I had to. I was furious I’d kept it from him,” Tina said, “but eventually he said he understood why I hid it from him. No more secrets, though. We’re all in this together. Jeffrey too. I know a private spa lodge upstate we could book into. It has security gates and cameras. We’d surely be safe there.”
“Perfect. I’ll take Sophie round to yours, and you can leave as soon as possible. How far away is it?”
“An hour or so,” she replied.
“Perfect.”
As soon as he hung up his phone rang. It was Stephan. The same thing happened to him.
“I’ve sent Ruth and the kids away to stay at her mom’s,” Stephan said. “I just don’t want them in town right now. Not with everything that’s going on. We never know what the next thing will be, or who the next target is.”
“You’re right,” Zeke replied, holding the phone up to his ear while he looked at Sophie, who was packing her things in an overnight bag. “We can’t risk keeping them close to us.”
When he hung up, he walked over to Sophie and put his arms around her from behind. She turned to face him with a smile and placed her arms around his neck. “I really don’t see why I should go with Tina and Jeffrey on their little getaway. I’d much rather just stay here and help get things worked out. It’s not as if I’ll be able to take my mind off it all. I’ll be doing nothing but thinking of you. And worrying.”
He frowned. “You need to do this. For me. I don’t want you in any more danger. Hell, you’ve been near explosives and a madman too many times already. Enough is enough.”
“But it’s not as if...”
“Sophie. You have to.”
The urgency in his voice shut her up. She sighed. “OK. Fine. I’ll leave you to it.” She sulked for a moment, before his warms lips landed softly on hers, thawing the frosty tension between them.
The truth was, he didn’t really want to be apart from her. He wanted to be near her warm smile all the time, to smell the candy scent that floated off her hair when she walked past, to hear her sweet laugh.... He couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from all that. But to be without it for only a few days was a far better prospect than losing her for good if something went wrong. If Troy found out he was heavily involved with Sophie, that she was expecting his baby, for God’s sake, then who knows what he would do? She could become his prime target. Hurting her would be the perfect way to get back at Zeke. Even just the thought of it made him shudder.
He drove her over to the Grahams’ house and kissed her slow and firm on the lips as if it would be the last time, before walking her to the door.
They rang the bell and waited a few moments later until Tina appeared.
“Hi guys,” she said, but some of her cheeriness was lost.
“Are you alright?” Sophie asked as they stepped over the threshold.
“I’m just a bit shaken up, that’s all,” she replied. “The sooner we get out of here the better. I’m paranoid he’s going to turn up any minute and try to kill us.”
“You’re doing the right thing by getting out of town for a while,” Zeke said. “Less distractions for Troy might lead us to him quicker.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Sophie said, suddenly looking up into his eyes. “I don’t want you going anywhere near him. But I know this needs to end... somehow.”
Zeke rubbed her back and sighed. “I’ll leave you guys to set off for the lodge. Try to enjoy it. I know that’s tough. Think of it as an escape.”
Tina forced a smile and stepped forward to give Zeke a hug. Why did everything feel like a goodbye?
“See you in a couple of days,” he said casually as he walked back to the car, deliberately not looking back.
He got in, turned the key in the ignition, and started up the car, about to head over to Stephan’s when his cell buzzed again. It was Toby from the club. One of their members had been rammed off his bike by a car. Another biker who was following behind tried to stop the driver, but he’d sped away. John, the guy who’d been hit, was in a coma. Things were getting really ugly. Zeke knew straight away this had to be a message for him. Things like this didn’t just happen every day. It couldn’t be a coincidence that everyone connected to him was in danger.
He decided to take a detour to the club to show face and check in on everyone after this shocking news. But when he pulled up his gut churned with rage at the sight of the burning building. The clubhouse was on fire. It was as if hell had opened and was ruining everything he held dear.
A friend of his walked over, his face pale with worry. “There’s no one inside,” he said. “Everyone’s unharmed. But, damn, that’s gonna cost a shitload to repair.” He wiped his brow with an oil-stained hand and sighed.
Zeke was lost for words. He couldn’t tell them this was to do with him and that psycho Troy. As he stared at his home away from home, which had been violated so crudely, he noticed something shining between two bikes parked to the side of the building. His friend Pete was walking towards his bike.
“No!” Zeke shouted. “Don’t touch the bikes! They’re rigged!”
He ran over to Pete to pull him backward, causing Pete alarm. “Sorry man,” Zeke said. “But look – there are wires running between each bike. They must be set to detonate. Whoever set the clubhouse on fire was planning something much worse as an after party.”
Zeke told Pete to spread the word and keep watch to make sure no one came near the bikes until the authorities arrived. Zeke had to move fast before anything else happened. Who knew were Troy could be?
Before he could leave the parking lot, there was an almighty explosion as each bike went up in a powerful mass of flames, forcing Pete to the ground. He crawled along the ground, blood trickling down his forehead. He was hurt, but he was alive. Zeke rushed to him again and helped him to his feet, before a paramedic who was already on scene as a precaution took over.
Could things get any worse?
His phone rang. Sophie.
“Hey, I’m coming back to town. I’m just gonna let these two get some time alone at the spa. I miss you,” she said.
“No. You can’t,” Zeke said with a voice so fraught with tension it made even him wince.
“But... I, I can help,” she stuttered.
“No. I don’t want your help. Just stay away. Don’t come near me.”
“Zeke, why are you being like this?”
He hesitated. Nothing he would say about her being in danger would work, he knew that. She was braver than most. She embraced danger. But he couldn’t face drawing her into all this. He’d never forgive himself if she got hurt, or lost the baby.
“It’s not working between us,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “I don’t... I don’t love you.” His chest ached as he said those words. It was the hardest thing he’d ever had to say in his life. And it was as far from the truth it could possibly get. But he needed her to stay away. She hung up.
He dragged himself over to his bike and got on without checking it for wires or devices. Somehow, he didn’t care about his own safety so much anymore. Maybe if Troy killed him, this whole saga would end, and everyone would be free to live their lives without him. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. Don’t be such an idiot. You have to end this properly. Even if Sophie never speaks to you again, you’re doing this for her.