Jessica wound up storming out of the clubhouse with Val hot on her heels, eager to wreak some havoc somewhere else. I could barely watch. Even though I’d spent a ton of time in the past few weeks worrying about the demise of my club, it was finally happening for real. Or at least it felt like it was happening for real.

 

“It’ll be okay,” Alexa said quietly. She sidled up to me and glanced into my eyes. “Just trust me. Everything’s gonna work out.”

 

“You don’t know that,” I muttered darkly. Closing and bolting the door, I walked over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey that we kept close for times like this. Beer wasn’t gonna help me anymore, at least not today. I uncapped the bottle of whiskey and poured two shots. Handing one to Alexa, I called Tara’s name loudly.

 

She came over in a matter of seconds, a stormy expression on her wide face. “Stephy, what’s going on?” She looked at me, pain in her eyes. “Why is Val so fucking pissed off at you?”

 

I bit my lip, weighing whether or not to tell her the truth. On one hand, it would probably help to clear my head. But on the other, I had no idea of Val’s true motives. I only knew that she wanted to bring me down from the inside out, and so far she was doing a bang-up job of just that. If Val had somehow gotten to Tara, or if Tara was vulnerable to Jessica…

 

“I don’t know,” I said finally. “But it’s completely changed our friendship. When the dust from this settles down, we’re going to need some serious restructuring inside the Succubi.”

 

Tara nodded sagely. “I know,” she said. “I just want you to know I’ll always be on your side.”

 

I frowned. “I don’t worry about that,” I said sharply. “On account of how I’m the leader of this group and all, you should always be behind me.”

 

“Right,” Tara said. She bit her lip and I could tell she was hesitating. “But I mean, Jessica’s not with you. She kind of went against you, even though you went to bat for her at the beginning…” Her voice trailed off and she glanced away. “I’m just saying, I know this sucks. And I know some of the girls have been fickle. But you don’t have to worry about that happening with me.”

 

“Thanks,” I mumbled. “I appreciate that, at least.”

 

Tara nodded. “Of course,” she said. She put her hand on my shoulder and just let it rest there. For a moment, I let her. The touch felt good and comforting.

 

“I’m gonna go downstairs,” Tara said. “Just yell if you need me, okay?”

 

I nodded without speaking. She jogged off, leaving me with Alexa. Alexa stepped up and poured two more shots, downing hers and passing the glass to me. I drank mine down without even a second glance at the toxic contents.

 

“Come on,” Alexa said. “Let’s go do something to take our minds off this.”

 

The alcohol was making my head feel woozy but something in my stomach didn’t feel right. Suddenly, I ran to the window and looked: both Jessica’s and Val’s bikes were missing. No!

 

“What?” Alexa looked at me hurriedly. “Stephy, what’s going on?”

 

With trembling fingers, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Isaac. Halfway through dialing, I started to pray that for whatever reason, he wouldn’t answer. Then, I wouldn’t have to know. And what I didn’t know couldn’t hurt me anymore.

 

Isaac answered on the second ring. “The cops,” he spat bitterly into the phone. He must have been somewhere loud; I could barely hear his voice rising about the din in the background. “They fucking showed up! We were just barely able to get away!”

 

For once, I had absolutely nothing to say. I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket, swallowing hard and steeling my nerves. Val had done it. She’d betrayed me; she’d actually fucking betrayed me.

 

“What is it? Stephy?” Alexa stepped closer. “What happened?”

 

"She called the cops," I said dully. My limbs felt frozen in place like I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. "She called the cops and now everything is fucking ruined, that's what happened."

 

Alexa gasped. “Oh my god,” she said hurriedly. “I can’t believe that! You need to go, Steph! You need to go to the site, now! Tell the cops there was a misunderstanding, and just tell them that everything’s going to be okay. I’ll go with you!”

 

“No,” I said sharply. Springing into motion, I tugged my jacket on and grabbed my keys. “I need to go alone.”

 

Alexa watched me silently as I ran out to the parking lot, climbed on my bike, and drove away from the clubhouse. This could be the last time you ride as leader of the Succubi, I thought grimly. If the cops got involved, we’d all go to prison.

 

This was all my fault. I couldn’t believe that I’d been so stupid for so long, trusting Val like that! She’d been out to fuck me from the very beginning, and I was so blind for so long. I wished I could go back in time and slap myself upside the head, if only that would make me realize that I’d been a fool.

 

I forced my bike as fast as it would go, until I was whipping around corners and bends so fast that I could have spun out of control. The breeze lashing my face felt painful, almost like being stung, and I closed my eyes as I wrestled my goggles down over my face. The loud sound of the highway roaring in my ears didn’t even have its usual soothing lull. All I could think about was Isaac. All I could think about was how I had to save him and his club from being unfairly charged.

 

And Isaac. God, Isaac. What the hell was I supposed to say to him now? How was I supposed to tell Isaac that I was sorry for everything I’d done, that I was sorry about lying? He wouldn’t ever want to see me again. And if he went to prison, that would be my fault, too.

 

I felt sick inside but there was no time to stop. Swallowing hot, sour bile, I continued out of the city until I was seeing nothing but dusty, dry mountains and a blue sky overhead. The day was shaping up to be a hot one, and I felt myself begin to sweat uncontrollably inside my layers of leather.

 

Remembering where I’d gone with Val the other night, I drove my bike closer and closer to the canyons. The sun was starting to go down and it was quiet, yet I knew she was waiting there for me. With any luck, Isaac and the guys would be safe.

 

“Stephanie,” Val cried loudly when I drove my bike into the clearing. There were footprints and tire tracks in the dirt. I gazed around at them wildly, trying to discern what the hell had happened. There’s no blood. At least there’s no blood.

 

“What the hell, Val?” I said cautiously as I climbed off my bike and stalked towards the woman who had been my best friend. “What the fuck did you do?”

 

Val put her hands together and grinned. “I called the cops,” she said gleefully. “And I got what I wanted. Now your boy Isaac is going off to prison, and the Jungle’s Thorns is ruined.”

 

My mouth tasted like hot metal. “And you think you can just get away with this?” There were sirens in the distance and I closed my eyes and prayed with everything in me that somehow the cops would miss Isaac. They couldn’t attack him, not now! They couldn’t prove that he or the other guys in the Jungle’s Thorns had actually done anything wrong!

 

“Of course,” Val said. She sauntered towards me with a grin plastered on her dark face. I jumped back but Val was too quick. She reached for me and grabbed my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back. I tried to reach for my pistol with my free hand but Val was quicker, and I felt her yanking it out of my waistband. Sweat crawled down my back as Val shoved me down in the dirt. I felt her boot pressing down painfully hard on my back.

 

“What the fuck?” I hissed. “What the fuck are you doing?”

 

“I’m getting revenge,” Val said with a nasty grin. “I’m doing exactly what I wanna do. I’m hurting you because I can. I’m hurting you because I hate you, Stephanie. I hate you, and I’ve always hated you. I’ve been biding my time to take over the Succubi, but you’re so fucking hard to get rid of!” I could hear Val sucking her teeth and spitting down on the ground. “You’re like a fucking pest, woman.” She kicked me in the ribs and I cried out as the toe of her boot connected with my soft tissue and bone. Pain exploded in my body and tears came to my eyes as Val kicked me again and again. I kept holding my breath and trying to anticipate where the blows would catch me but each one was harder and more bone-crunching than the last. If she kept doing this, I didn’t think that I’d make it for much longer.

 

"Come on, Val," I gasped, reaching out for the ground and trying to crawl away from her. Anything was better than lying there, getting kicked to death by my former best friend. "Come on, don't do this! This isn't you, Val! I know you can do better!"

 

Val leaned down until her face was almost touching mine. She glared at me and growled. I felt a shiver of fear pierce my heart as I gazed into her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Whatever good had been in Val, whatever had compelled me to love her for so long, wasn’t even visible. I could tell that she was completely changed, a completely different woman than she’d been before. She glared into my eyes with a fierce anger.

 

“This is what happens when you fuck with me,” Val said in the same low, warning tone that she’d used before. “This is what happens when someone tries to hurt me. Do you understand, Stephanie? Don’t you fucking get it by now? I hate you, and I want your fucking club to be mine. And if I can’t have that, I want to ruin everything. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

 

I struggled to climb to my knees. A hard blow to my back made me collapse into the dirt again, sending clouds of dust right into my face. Coughing and sputtering, I flailed my arms and my legs for Val, reaching out to see where she’d gone. My fingers only groped air and for a moment, my vision went black as pain shot through my body.

 

It took me a moment to realize that Val had managed to get me on my side and kick me in the gut. By the time I was breathing again, she was kicking and punching me in a frenzy. The blows rained down upon my head and neck and I tried to cover myself with my arms, all while wailing unintelligibly. Val’s fists hit me harder than ever, punching all of the air from my lungs. When I lay there like a weak, helpless woman, Val climbed on top of me. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a couple of plastic zip ties which she tied around my wrists and secured until my fingers were aching with lack of blood. I struggled helplessly as she dragged me to my feet and then fastened my wrists behind my back.

 

I felt vulnerable like this, and an incredible, strong pain was slowly beginning to seep down my limbs and torso. Val glanced at me as she dragged me over to her bike and threw me over the seat like a sack of potatoes.

 

“Stay here,” Val warned. “Don’t try anything, you bitch.” She climbed on the bike and cranked it up into gear. Nausea filled my body as I realized what was happening.

 

Val was kidnapping me.