Daria
“Come on!” Rocky urged. “You’ll have fun.”
My eyes flickered between him and the death machine he was gesturing toward and I shook my head fiercely.
“You work in a bike shop, you can’t be afraid of taking one out for a ride.”
“Don’t you have a car?” I begged.
Rocky gave me a flat look and I took another few steps back.
“I’ll ride slowly, I swear.”
I scoffed at that. “No, you won’t. I’ve seen the crazy stunts you pull, and I know you’ve never paid attention to the speed limit.”
Rocky grinned broadly at me, conceding the point.
“Come on, Daria. Please get on the bike. For me?” He widened his eyes and pouted his lip slightly, something he knew I couldn’t resist.
Damn that man.
“Alright, alright. No need to play dirty,” I muttered sullenly.
Rocky swung a leg over the bike and sat comfortably on it, gesturing with one hand for me to come closer.
I stood hesitantly by the bike a moment longer and Rocky didn’t say anything. I knew it was a death trap in disguise but some small traitorous part of me couldn’t wait to get on the bike and be pressed up closely to Rocky.
Mind made up, I strode forward and repeated Rocky’s actions, swinging one leg over the bike and sitting directly behind him.
“Arms around me,” he demanded.
I slid both hands around his waist, trying not to shiver at the close contact.
Sighing in annoyance, Rocky pulled my hands tighter around him, and, as a result, I was pulled further into his back so that every inch on me was pressed tightly up against him.
“Ready?” he asked.
“No,” I said honestly.
Rocky ignored me and started the bike, a fierce rumble sounding out and one that I could feel vibrating through me.
We took off and I wasn’t going to lie about how thrilling the ride felt. It was exhilarating. I could see immediately why Rocky loved it, though I’d never tell him that.
Besides, I had infinitely more important things to be worrying about. We were on our way to meet Cameron and I didn’t think I’d been so nervous about anything in a long while. I wasn’t even sure why. I’d met Cameron Weston before when I was a kid. He seemed nice enough from what I remembered.
But it was a lot different now. It was years later for one thing, and he was now the president of a biker club. I had also been nervous ever since Rocky had told me that Cameron had been asking after me. I racked my brains trying to think of why he’d want me but came up blank. I supposed I would find out today if anything was the matter.
Rocky and I arrived at Cameron’s house and both of us got off the motorcycle. Rocky looked at me with a raised brow and judging by the look on his face, my cover was blown.
“You loved it, didn’t you?” He smirked arrogantly.
“I hated it, it was awful,” I said stubbornly. There was no way that I would ever admit defeat.
We walked to the front door or Cameron’s large house and stood there waiting for him to answer. I’d heard the conversation on the phone when Rocky called his uncle to let him know we were coming, but Rocky was being purposefully vague in everything he said. I hoped that Cameron wouldn’t mind us coming over. After all, I was all but a stranger to him, asking to be let into his life and business. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was angry that Rocky had decided to involve me.
We only waited at the door for a few moments until it swung open to reveal who I could only assume to be Cameron. He matched my memory of him completely, though slightly older. He was middle aged, slightly shorter than Rocky with greying hair and a trimmed beard.
It struck me all of a sudden how similar he looked to Rocky’s dad, Billy. I felt a sudden wave of empathy for Rocky, knowing that every time he saw his uncle he would undoubtedly be reminded of his dad too. It had to be hard on Cameron too, looking in the mirror and seeing your dead brother.
“Daria,” Cameron greeted. “Look at you, all grown up. It’s been too long.”
“Nice to see you again, Cameron,” I replied shyly.
“Yes, hi Cameron,” Rocky interrupted. “Can we move this inside?”
Cameron narrowed his eyes at his nephew but opened the door wider and led us into the sitting room. I followed Rocky’s lead and sat on the sofa beside him. It was a wide, open space, a lot bigger than what I expected would suit a single man. I could imagine a man like Cameron living here, though I could never picture someone like Rocky here. It was too pristine and it didn’t look lived-in. Rocky was rugged and all rough edges. There was no way he would be happy in a place like this.
We sat in silence for a moment and it occurred to me that everyone was waiting for someone else to speak. Finally, Cameron broke the silence. “So, what’s this all about?” he asked. “Rocky didn’t say much on the phone.”
“Daria wants to know about Steele and what we’re going to do about it.”
Way to cut to the chase, I thought. Resisting the urge to glare at Rocky, I forced myself to stay calm under Cameron’s gaze. Obviously, Rocky knew his uncle better than me but I would’ve appreciated easing into the situation.
Cameron paused a moment, flicking his eyes between Rocky and me. He seemed to be studying both of us.
“Are you sure, son?”
I felt Rocky tense up beside me, and I figured it had something to do with being called ‘son.’ I couldn’t believe that his uncle didn’t realise that it was strange for him to say that so soon after Rocky’s father’s death. Although perhaps it was something he’d always said, or didn’t realise he was saying.
“I’m sure,” Rocky answered instantly. His lack of hesitation warmed me, even though he’d already demonstrated that he trusted me.
Cameron frowned, looking again between the two of us. Apparently, he had reached some sort of decision because he nodded once and continued. “Well alright then. What do you know about Jason Steele?” Cameron asked me.
“Just that he’s the president of the Nightmare MC.”
“That’s true. He’s also ruthless and dangerous. That’s important to know. A few months ago, Billy was out making a deal with the Mexican drug cartel. It wasn’t anything particularly dangerous, or it shouldn’t have been.”
He paused a moment and took a sip of his beer. Rocky was sitting stoically beside me, though he seemed a little tense. I wondered just how many times he’d heard this story, and how many times he had to relive it every time somebody asked. For a moment, I wished that I wasn’t so selfish and that I’d left him well alone. Only for a moment though, before I remembered that I couldn’t imagine what I’d do without him now.
“It was confusing for us all at the time,” Cameron continued. “I later obtained some inside information about what really happened that night. It seems that Jason Steele sabotaged the deal that night. He told Jose Garcia, the man who runs the cartel, that Billy was a snitch. You won’t know anything about Garcia, but he’s a cold-hearted bastard. He won’t tolerate much, but he especially won’t tolerate anyone who snitches. That’s the reason Billy died that night, because Jason Steele fed false intel to Garcia.”
“But … why?” I asked. “Why would he want to do that?
“Money, power. We’ve had a rivalry going with them for years, but since Garcia moved into town it’s been worse. He’s been looking to expand his drug cartel in the area and both our clubs have been trying to secure a deal with him.”
“So, what now? You're planning on killing Steele?” I asked.
It disgusted me that we were talking about this so casually, as if another man’s life wasn’t on the line. I’d said I was on board with whatever Rocky was planning and I meant it. I just wasn’t quite ready to accept all the facts.
“He killed my brother. I won’t rest until he’s dead.” Cameron was in full biker mode now, making me understand why he had taken over the role of president. This was the first time I’d seen him come close to Rocky’s desire for vengeance and it was a little frightening. I shuffled closer to Rocky and he instinctively put an arm around me.
“But we have to be patient,” Cameron continued. “I don’t want a war between our clubs, we have too much to lose and I value our men. Steele will be expecting our retaliation immediately so we’ll have to lay low for a while. When enough time passes and he lets down his guard, that’s when we’ll strike.”
It made sense, but I wasn’t too confident that Steele would just let down his guard after a while. I mean, killing a club president was a big deal. Surely, he would be on guard for many more months, years even. But maybe he was cockier than I thought him to be.
We talked for a bit longer about lighter topics but I was too preoccupied by what Cameron had said.
Sensing that I wasn’t in the mood to stay longer, Rocky excused us and we left his uncle’s house.
I was quiet on the ride home, still mulling things over. If Mom could see me now, I had no doubt that she would be so disappointed. But it was my choice. And I’d decided to put my faith in Rocky.
“Daria?”
“Hmm?” I said absentmindedly, turning to Rocky.
“I know that it isn’t easy for you to stay by me. I know what you’re sacrificing, with your mom and everything. I just wanted to say thank you.”
It was times like this that I knew I’d made the right choice. It didn’t matter what people in town said about Rocky. I knew he was the kindest man I’d ever met, and I would stand by him no matter what.
As much as it pained me to admit, I respected Rocky for his determination. And I understood vengeance. I understood a strong desire for retribution, even if that meant hurting people in the process. But I also knew that Rocky needed to rise above it.
In a perfect world, justice would be meted out without revenge, and I knew Rocky could learn to live with that. If only he could realize that not everything was so black and white.
But at the moment, I think Rocky needed something to keep him going, and if this was that something, then I wouldn’t stand in his way.