Hailey’s eyes snapped open. She pulled herself upright in bed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her eyes flew around the room for anything that she could use as a weapon but the book that rested on the end table beside her wouldn’t be much help against a six-foot tall biker that’s determined to get his hands on the Vice President’s Old Lady.
Hailey’s heart thumped her against chest, and she pleaded with her brain to remember all the things that Rocco had taught her about self defense. She slipped off of the bed and held one of her hands out in front of the other and spread her legs apart.
I think he said to try to aim for their nose. She raised her right arm so that her palm would line up with a six-foot tall man’s nose. She focused on the door. Her knees buckled as the door swung open, and the unsettling dark background of the unlit lobby came into view.
Hailey cleared her throat and said, “I’m not sleeping, and I’m ready to kick your ass.” How much damage am I going to do at 5'5 with a baby inside of me? She swallowed a lump of spit and stepped forward.
Hailey jumped back with a start when Becca tumbled into the room. Fresh bruises decorated her arms and legs, and she rested her hazy eyes on Hailey with a glare.
“Hey, Hailey. Are you just hanging out, relaxing?” Becca leaned against the wall, and blinked. “Relaxing with a nice read?” She spat. Becca pointed at the book that sat on the end table.
Hailey stepped backwards and said, “Becca? What are you doing in here?”
Rocco stepped through the doorway and Becca broke into a grin. She threw herself against Rocco’s chest and said, “Oh, it’s you. I’m so happy that it’s you again.” She pointed at Hailey and said, “I’ve been hanging out with her again, and she’s no good at all.”
A goofy grin spread across Becca’s lips, and she wrapped her arms around Rocco’s neck. Her lips hovered just above his collarbone. A wave of rage surged through Hailey’s body as Rocco’s hand came to rest on her lower back.
Hailey brushed past Rocco and said, “Rocco, I need to talk to you out here.”
“Now?” Rocco said, he craned his neck to look at Hailey from where she stood in the hallway, and he frowned. Becca’s lips were dangerously close to his neck, and Hailey ground her teeth together.
“I need to talk to you now,” Hailey hissed.
Rocco groaned and carefully pried Becca off of him. He halfheartedly steered her towards the bed, and stepped into the hallway. He shut the door behind him and stared into Hailey’s fierce eyes.
“Hailey? What is it?” He stepped towards her and extended his arm to wrap it around her waist.
Hailey sucked in a breath and lifted her quivering finger towards the closed door. “Rocco, what the hell have you been up to?”
Rocco looked between the door and Hailey and asked, “What do you mean, ‘what I am up to’? I’m right here in front of yo-”
“Are you fucking her?!” Hailey snapped. She angrily blew a strand of hair out of her face and said, “Are you fucking her now?” She threw her hands towards her belly and said, “Was knocking me up not enough? You have to go have a taste of Becca, too?!”
With wide eyes, Rocco stepped forward and held his hands out in front of him. “You think that I’m fucking Becca? Seriously? I’m practically bending over backwards to keep you safe and cal-”
Hailey’s humorless chuckle cut through the air. She wore a furious smirk as she said, “All the men want a taste of Becca. It’s just the way that things go, right?”
“Hailey, what the hell are you on about-”
Hailey frowned and said, “She’s got legs that go on for days, she’s vulnerable, she’d probably do anything to get out of this hellhole. What did she do for you, huh? What did she say that she’d do for you?”
Rocco frowned and said, “You’ve got everything twisted around.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Hailey. She struggled against him for a moment before she went still. Hailey sighed and said, “Just tell me the truth. I deserve that much.”
Rocco pulled away from her and said, “I am telling you the truth. I’m not fucking Becca.”
Hailey drew out every letter of every word, “You’re not?”
“No. But, I just yanked her out of there once everyone decided that every rider in there was going to have a turn.” Rocco curled his lip in disgust, “Made me sick. I need to get her back to my place though. I need to make sure that she lies low.”
Hailey’s eyes darted between Rocco’s serious expression and the room that housed Becca. Hailey pointed towards the front doors and said, “Seriously? You’re going to take her back to your place?”
Rocco nodded and said, “We’re going to take her back to my place. I know that Meish wants you watched, but he won’t find it too odd if I take my pregnant Old Lady back to my apartment and let her rest here.”
Hailey nodded and hurried inside of the room. She pushed her hands against Becca’s legs and thighs and said, “Come on, get up.”
Rocco came into the room behind her and scooped Becca up and into his arms. Hailey followed him out of the room as they moved towards the front doors of the lobby. Hailey narrowed her eyes as she watched Becca’s limbs hang lifelessly in Rocco’s arms.
There’s no way that the look that was in her eye before was there because of the drugs. She knows what she wants. If I’m not careful, she just might get it. Hailey followed Rocco to the back of the building. Her shoes crunched over pebbles and trash that had been tossed in the alley beside it, and her heart sank as they stopped in front of the white van that she and Becca had been tossed into when they were kidnapped.
Rocco moved over to the front of the van and pulled one of the doors open. He gently set Becca inside and turned towards Hailey, “You guys are small enough. Get in on the other side.”
“What the hell are you going to do about Meish?” Hailey whispered.
Rocco shook his head and said, “Can’t worry about that right now. Get in.”
Hailey hurried over to the other side of the van and slipped inside. Rocco steered the car around and abruptly pulled into the street. Becca groaned beside her, and Hailey rested her hand on top of her forehead.
She’s like a big, drugged, hot baby. Hailey sighed and buckled her seatbelt. Rocco cruised down the streets with ease, making smooth turns around corners and occasionally looking over at Hailey.
Hailey sighed and said, “I just can’t believe that you’re doing this. You’re risking your job, your standing with Meish, for Becca.”
“Pull your head out of your ass, Hailey. It’s for you.”
“I can’t ever be sure about that when men are around her.” Hailey crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window. They moved out of the high end, gentrified neighborhoods that Hailey had grown used to seeing and visiting, and drove into a mid scale area that her father had once referred to as ‘chump central’. She remembered pleading with her father to let her visit a friend that lived in this neighborhood, and he told her that it was too dangerous, and that he couldn’t risk letting something happen to her.
If he was trying to keep me away from neighborhoods like this my entire life, why didn’t he stop hanging around guys like Meish, Rocco? Different clubs, same stories. Hailey exhaled and pointed towards a tall apartment building that Rocco pulled up in front of.
“This is where you live.”
“Yeah, sorry that it’s not the palace of elegance that you grew up in.”
“Didn’t grow up in a palace,” Hailey mumbled, and pushed the car door open. Rocco leaned out of the window and looked from right to left, and when the noisy streets had finally calmed down a bit, he stepped out of the car. He scooped Becca into his arms and hurried onto the sidewalk.
Hailey held the door open as Rocco moved inside of the building. Hailey tilted her head back and scanned the unending staircase that led to various floors in the building. So, this is one of the Chicago style apartments that people always talk about. She fell into step behind Rocco as he moved up the stair well. He lifted his foot up and gently set it down on each step, taking painstaking care so as not to bang Becca’s head against the wall or the railing.
The strong smell of curried spices and meat blew into the hallway, the faint sounds of a mother quieting down her boys came through the walls. Hailey followed Rocco up three flights of stairs, and they stopped in front of the first apartment on the third floor. Rocco grunted, and leaned against the wall. Becca snuggled against his shoulder and stream of babbling nonsense fell past her lips .
“I need you to reach into my pocket and grab my keys. I don’t want to have to set her down.”
Hailey nodded and slid her hand into the deep pockets of Rocco’s blue jeans. Her thin fingers found the key ring that held the keys that opened the Chasing Spirits Motorcycle Club, Rocco’s apartment, and a couple of Rocco’s bikes.
I have Rocco’s entire world in my hands. She wondered how funny it would if she turned on her heel right now and sprinted down the staircase. Hailey supposed that it wouldn’t have taken long for Rocco and Meish to find her, especially if she drove away on one of Rocco’s bikes. Hailey pulled herself out of her reverie and stepped towards the door. She jingled the keys, and Rocco’s strained voice floated out from behind her, “It’s the only copper key on the ring. Hurry, she’s starting to drool.”
Hailey held back a small smile and turned the key into the lock. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, Rocco came in behind her and pushed his back against the door.
“Turn on the light, it’s on the wall beside you.”
Hailey threw her hand against the wall and flicked the lightswitch, the livingroom of the apartment was bathed in a soft, golden light. To the left of Rocco, there was a cream colored sofa that had been placed in front of a cream and gold rectangular shaped rug with a geometric design.
Rocco bent his knees and gently set Becca down onto the sofa. Her head rolled to the side and a thin line of drool spilled from her parted lips.
Hailey scanned the living room. Given that Rocco spent most of his waking hours at the motorcycle club, his apartment truly served as a bachelor’s pad. While it was more tastefully decorated than half of the men’s apartments that she’d seen before, the telltale clues like the unvacuumed carpet and occasional dirty mug told a story.
Rocco looked over his shoulder at the painting that hung above the sofa. He grinned and said, “Yeah, I know, probably not nearly as nice as what you’re used to.”
Hailey shook her head, “I wasn’t judging it. I just think it’s interesting to see where you live.”
Rocco moved towards a narrow hallway and Hailey could hear a door opening from where she stood. He returned with an oversized, plain white t-shirt dangling over his arm. He moved over to the sofa and set it on the edge of the couch. He turned to Hailey and said, “I thought that I’d leave this here for if she wants to get out of those… clothes.”
The makeshift stripper outfit probably hadn’t been laundered in weeks. Hailey nodded and said, “Good idea.”
Rocco slipped his hand under Hailey’s arm and pulled her towards the bedroom. He pushed open his bedroom door to reveal a king sized bed in the center of the room and an expensive dresser with a flat screen TV on top of it on the other side of the room. Hailey’s eyes followed Rocco as he moved towards the dresser and pulled out a large, black t-shirt and a pair of boxers. He tossed them at her and said, “Here. You’re probably dying to have a shower without feeling like you have to look over your shoulder.”
Hailey smiled and tucked the clothes underneath her arm. They smelled of lavender detergent. Rocco brushed past her and moved down the hall. He pushed the door open and said, “Here’s the bathroom. Have at it, I’m exhausted.”
Hailey nodded and squeezed past Rocco. She slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. A comb and a single toothbrush rested on the counter and Hailey pressed her hands against the counter. She twisted the knob on the sink and splashed water on her face. Hailey grinned and pulled open the door to the medicine cabinet. She found a package of cheap, extra toothbrushes that were tucked behind a tube of muscle rub. Hailey slid one out of the package and squirted a bit of toothpaste onto the brush.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she scrubbed her teeth. This is almost funny. I get kidnapped, and end up becoming my kidnapper’s Old Lady. Now, I’m standing in his apartment with my old friend drugged up on his sofa in the next room.
Hailey spat out a bit of toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. She grinned at her reflection and peeled off her old clothes. She set her bra on the towel rack and moved inside of the shower. As the piping hot water pelted her skin, she leaned against the wall.
Could it be like this all of the time if everything worked out? Hailey sighed and leaned forward so that the water could saturate her blond strands. She grabbed a bottle of store brand shampoo off of the shower caddy and squirted into her palm. Hailey looked straight ahead as she massaged the shampoo into her scalp, the tile on the wall in front of her might as well have been invisible. Her mind was still stuck in the living room, and focused on the beautiful, long-legged girl on the sofa.
Hailey grit her teeth and scraped her fingernails against her scalp. She rinsed her hair and turned off the faucet. As the water moved down the drain, she kept her ears open for the sound of footsteps in the living room. There was the low chatter of the television coming from the bedroom, but the rest of the apartment was still.
Hailey grabbed a fluffy, grey robe off of the door and slipped her arms inside of it. She moved into the bedroom and nudged the door open. Rocco’s long body was splayed about on the mattress. He slid his arms underneath his head and grinned as Hailey stepped inside. Rocco pulled himself onto his elbows and said, “Ready for bed?”
Hailey nodded and put on the boxers and t-shirt that he’d tossed her before. Rocco slipped underneath the covers as she slid into bed and said, “I tossed your clothes into the washer while you were in the shower. Should be done drying soon, but you can always re-do them in the morning.”
Hailey sat upright in the bed and ran her palms along the stitches in the comforter. She smiled at Rocco and said, “Okay.”
Rocco’s snores rang throughout the room within minutes. Hailey’s wide eyes were glued to the television screen in front of her. She stayed like that for hours, upright, with her ears wide open. It was around four in the morning when she finally fell into a deep sleep.