Stephanie

 

For a time, I was asleep. I was dreaming that I was with Isaac again, and it was all those years ago. Instead of thinking about how fucked up everything was, I could only focus on all the beauty all around me. We were riding together, on the same bike, and my face was pressed into the back of his neck. I could smell his sweat and his cologne and the faint odor of smoke, and more than anything in the world all I wanted was for Isaac to stop the bike, turn around, and kiss me deeply.

 

But instead, Isaac drove faster and faster. I could feel the bike speeding up and changing gears under my legs, and I clung to his back as tightly as I could. We whipped through the trees and the forest like it was nothing, like we were gliding on air.

 

“Candace,” a voice whispered in my ear. It sounded like Isaac, but that was impossible because he was sitting in front of me. “Candace, I love you.” Now I knew that it was Isaac, and it made sense. “This is a dream,” Isaac’s voice whispered in my ear, the dark tones caressing my skin. “This is a dream, Candace, and you need to wake up.”

 

“No,” I said, shaking my head from one side to the other. My head felt strangely heavy and I realized that my helmet extended from my neck all the way down my sides. Instead of thinking this was strange, it actually seemed kind of nice. “This is weird,” I said back to Isaac. “Why does my helmet fit like this?”

 

“It’s supposed to fit that way,” Isaac said. I felt his hand stroking the back of my neck and suddenly, I was no longer afraid. “It’ll protect you in case we get in a crash. I wouldn’t want you to ever be hurt, Candace. That would absolutely destroy me.”

 

And Isaac knew best. I closed my eyes and rested my face against the back of his jacket as we sped through the forest roads. Soon, we were deep in the forest and I could no longer see the sky. Sunlight dappled the road, the rocks, and the trees around us. I breathed in and felt content—the smell of trees, mixed with Isaac, had always made me feel calm. It reminded me of one of the first times we’d ever snuck out together and gone to the woods.

 

As we drove further and further into the forest, I felt a chill come over my skin. Rubbing my hands on my arms, I realized that it was getting late. And dark. A bat flew across our path and the sunlight had suddenly changed to moonlight. Even though I was with Isaac and completely safe, I began to feel afraid and scared.

 

"Don't be frightened, Candace," Isaac said, as if reading my mind. "I promise, everything's going to be just fine." He stopped the motorcycle and pulled me into his arms. Isaac felt even stronger and more protective than usual, and I nestled happily into his chest. Before I knew it, his fingers were dipping under my chin and nudging my head up for a kiss.

 

“I love you,” I whispered to Isaac. “I’m so sorry about everything.” I pulled away and gestured towards the empty air. “I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted to do that thing.”

 

“What thing?” Isaac stepped closer. He held out his arms again and I dove into them, rubbing my face against his neck. “What are you talking about?”

 

I wanted to confess. I knew that Isaac needed to know or else he’d be really angry, but I couldn’t make myself tell him. Snuggling in his arms felt too safe, too good to even begin talking about something dangerous.

 

“Nothing,” I murmured as I wrapped my arms around his strong torso and squeezed hard. “You’re my favorite person. I love you so much, Isaac.”

 

“I love you, too,” Isaac whispered. He kissed the top of my head, my temples, my hair, until I was tingling with love and pleasure. Arousal flowed through my body like oil as I turned my head up to meet his face. Isaac’s lips were soft and full and I moaned softly as they pressed against mine. When I felt his tongue slip between my lips, I knew I was in heaven.

 

“Oh, Candace,” Isaac moaned. He slid his hands down my back and firmly squeezed my ass. It sent shockwaves of pleasure through my body and I shuddered happily at his touch. Isaac knew how to touch me like no one else ever had—or could. I was convinced he was truly the only man who could make me happy.

 

“Isaac,” I moaned softly, tangling my hands in his blond hair and pulling his head down towards me. “Oh, let’s run away. Let’s never come back to LA, let’s forget about everything and have it be just the two of us.”

 

Isaac grinned at me. “Baby, that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he said in a husky voice. He stared at me in a way that made me feel he was looking at me naked. “That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? We’re running away.”

 

I nodded. I hadn’t thought of it before, but now it made sense. We were running away. Because we loved each other, and that was the only way we were going to be together.

 

“But there’s one thing you have to do first,” Isaac said. He smirked at me and I blushed hotly, thinking he was going to ask me to suck his cock or let him fuck me. I shivered deliciously. Isaac never had to ask—he knew that I’d always do exactly what he asked of me.

 

“Of course,” I said as sweetly as I could, stepping forward and lowering my eyes. “What is it?”

 

“Tell me why you ruined this club!” Isaac roared.

 

I gasped, stumbling back and falling on my butt. Sharp stones pierced my jeans and scratched at my skin until I could feel myself beginning to bleed. I tried to scramble away on my hands and feet, like a crab, but the ground was too rocky and I yelped as a stone cut into my thumb.

 

“Isaac,” I whimpered. “You hurt me, why did you do that?”

 

But when I looked into Isaac’s face, it was no longer Isaac. The person standing in front of me was none other than Val, my arch nemesis. She was just as tall and muscular as Isaac, and maybe even stronger from the look of hatred in her black eyes. As Val stepped forward towards me, I scuttled back, crying out in pain as the sharp rocks continued to abuse my body. All of the arousal and safe, calm feelings in my body had completely disappeared and I felt more terrified and afraid than I’d ever felt in my life. All I wanted to do was get away from this monster, this creature, and find Isaac. If I lived, I’d find Isaac. I vowed right then and there to never leave his side ever again.

 

“Stephanie,” Val said with a nasty grin on her face. She stepped closer and kicked me hard in the gut. I cried out and clutched my stomach, rolling over onto my belly. “Stephanie, you bitch,” Val said calmly. “And what the fuck kind of name is Stephanie, anyway? You read some Greek mythology in high school, and now you think you can fucking rule a motorcycle club?” She threw her head back and laughed viciously. “Stephanie got kidnapped by Hades, and then she had to spend six months out of every year in the underworld,” Val said. The grin on her face spread wide, almost supernaturally. “She was a fucking dope who ate the pomegranate,” Val added. “You wanna be dumb like her?”

 

"Val, I'm sure we can work this out," I begged, getting on my knees and staring up at her. For some reason, I could get to my feet. Then, I realized that I was frozen to the ground—Val was somehow keeping me captive, walled in ice. Shivers crawled up my spine and I began to taste metallic fear in my mouth. I yelled loudly, but my scream only echoed in the trees. “Val, please!”

 

Val grinned and walked around me in a slow, deliberate circle. “Stephanie, you have to realize that you’re my prisoner now,” she said in a low, deep voice. “You’re mine, and you never get to escape.” She winked at me and sucked her teeth. “You have to do whatever I want, you realize that?”

 

“No,” I said defiantly, shaking my head and staring down at the ground. Maybe if I prayed, maybe if I thought hard enough, Isaac would be able to come and rescue me. “No, Val,” I added. “I’m not doing that. I’m not living as your slave. I refuse!”

 

Val laughed again before coming so close that I could smell her—a rank, sweaty scent, amplified by smoke and engine grease. “You told me once that I’d lead the Succubi,” she said casually, and my heart sank. “You told me that I’d be the leader, that everything would be worth it as long as I followed you.” Val paused and the sick feeling in my stomach grew more intense. “You swore that everything would be okay. You swore it, you bitch. And now I’m here, having to do everything on my own because I can’t count on you as a friend anymore!”

 

“Val, it’s not like that,” I insisted weakly. “You know I’d never do anything to hurt you! You know how much I used to care for you!”

 

"It was never enough," Val sneered. "But don't worry Stephanie. I've figured out the way I wanna get my revenge on you." She smiled at me and I felt a chill of fear spike in my heart. "I figured out exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna hunt down your precious Isaac like a dog."

 

In the distance, there came the howling of wolves. My skin prickled with fear and I glanced at Val’s face in absolute horror. Surely she didn’t mean to chase Isaac down with a pack of wolves! Surely she wouldn’t ever do something so awful, something so hateful!

 

“Val!” I cried loudly. “Don’t do this! Don’t hurt Isaac! I’ll do anything you want! I’ll give you anything! All of the money, the whole club, everything’s yours!”

 

Val threw her head back and cackled loudly. “Oh, I’m gonna do it,” she said, winking at me again. Despair overwhelmed my body and I began to sob loudly. “I’m gonna do it,” Val repeated, louder than before. “He’s out there, running like a wild dog, and these wolves are gonna tear him apart." Val reached down until her sweaty forehead was pressed against mine and I could smell the rotten stink of her breath. "And then I'm gonna use his cock as a hood ornament," Val said. "I've always wanted to do that. No one ever took me seriously, but after I ruin Jungle’s Thorns, Val will be the name on everyone's lips."

 

“No,” I begged. Tears clouded my vision and my nose filled with hot, wet snot. “No, please don’t hurt him! Please don’t hurt Isaac! Hurt me! Kill me instead! I don’t care!”

 

“Oh, I will,” Val said. She kept her voice low and soft. “I’m gonna hurt you more than you ever realized I could, Stephanie. It’s not going to be slow, and it’s going to be the worst pain you’ve ever felt. Are you ready to beg for it? Are you ready to beg for your own death?”

 

A sharp kick to the gut made me open my eyes. The air around me was hot and still and try as I might, I still couldn't move either of my arms or my legs. It took me a moment to realize that my arms were still bound behind my back and that the more I tussled and fought, the tighter the bonds became.

 

There was a strip of black cloth tied tightly over my eyes so tightly that it was giving me a headache. Every time I tried to open my eyes under the blindfold, hot, salty tears squeezed through my eyelids and dripped down my cheeks.

 

There was a huge lump in my throat. Whenever I swallowed, I could feel it bobbing up and down, threatening me to cry.

 

“You look like a pathetic little girl when you’re trussed up like that.” Val’s voice was low and amused and I shuddered, remembering the vivid dream I’d just had. “Say, you don’t look like the leader of the Succubi at all. You look almost like a captive.”

 

“Because that’s what I am,” I said bitterly. My mouth was dry and it felt like the soft tissue inside would split apart just from the sheer effort of talking to Val. “You know you did this to me, Val. You know this all your fault.”

 

Val laughed savagely. She threw her head back in the air and cackled. “You’re right, I did, honey,” she said. “And I have a little story to tell you.”

 

My stomach, anxious as it was, did a flip-flop at the sound of Val’s statement. I couldn’t help but shudder as I felt her footsteps circling around me on the ground, like she was a vulture and I was already dead.

 

“Val, cut the shit,” I said softly. “This isn’t worth fighting about. You can have everything you want. You can have the club, no problem. Take whatever money we have. Just let me go, and don’t hurt Isaac.”

 

“Isaac?” I heard the disdain in Val’s voice. “Isaac, really? You wanna save your precious fucking little boyfriend?”

 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said sharply. My voice quavered with fear, hunger, and exhaustion. “He’s just a friend, but I know he’s a good man. He didn’t do this, Val. He doesn’t deserve to go to prison for a crime he didn’t even commit.”

 

Val laughed. I felt her hands twisting into my hair and ripping the blindfold away. I cried out—the fabric had been tied to my hair and Val was now standing with a big chunk of it in her hand. I could feel where my scalp had ripped and now was bleeding. I glared at Val, feeling hatred course through my veins. Never had I felt like this before, never had someone I’d loved so dearly managed to upset me so fucking much.

 

“You want me to save Isaac?” Val’s face twisted into a sneer. She got down on her hands and knees and glared at me. “You really want me to save him? Why, Stephanie? Because he’s a man?”

 

“No,” I said sharply, wincing at Val’s accusation. “Because he’s a good man, and he didn’t rape anyone. I don’t believe in ruining someone’s life just because you have it out against them!”

 

Val laughed. She tutted and sucked her teeth. “You fool,” she said with a nasty glint in her eye. “You absolute idiot. You wanna save men just because they look good. Men like Isaac are scum, Stephanie. That’s the little story I wanted to tell you. Men like Isaac, with their MCs and their boys behind them, they’re fucking scum. They don’t give a shit about women. They don’t care what happens to us, don’t you get that? They don’t fucking care, Stephanie. They care about themselves, and following their dicks and getting rich. Isaac doesn’t love you. As soon as he gets old and you do too, he’ll dump you for the latest model. Stephanie, think about what you’re doing! You’re throwing away the whole MC for a man!”

 

“I’m not,” I protested hotly. Now I was really getting angry. I’d always known that Val hated men with every fiber of her being, but this was something else. This was a senseless desire to ruin Isaac’s life, to wreck everything that he’d built. Sure, he may not be the most honorable man in the world, gun runners rarely were, but he wasn’t a rapist, and he didn’t deserve to go to prison.

 

Val laughed. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on one heel. “That’s what you say, Stephanie, but I’ve had another plan all along.” She grinned at me. “It was real fuckin’ genius for you to offer the Succubi to me, y’know, after you’re done with them.” She yawned and fanned a hand daintily in front of her face. “But I got a little sick of waiting. You were just so goddamn competent! The girls loved you for some reason!” Val’s eyes flashed malevolence and anger. “And I couldn’t stand it! Where was their respect for me? After all, I’m the goddamn muscle of the whole group! You may be a charismatic leader, Stephanie, but everyone knows you suck at fighting.” Val laughed again. “You barely even bruised me before, you bitch.” She spat the last word.

 

I felt confused and angry. “Val, what the hell are you talking about? You need to tell me what the fuck is going on, and I mean right now.”

 

“I’m getting there, kitten,” Val said in a patronizing little whisper. “You’re not listening yet. So, I had this great plan. Instead of you leading the Succubi, I decided that it should be me. And don’t be mad about that—everyone seems to like me better than you, and you know it, Stephanie.” Val winked. “So…Jessica and I cooked up a little scheme, just the two of us.”

 

My stomach dropped and I shifted uncomfortably on the ground. All of the blood had drained from my hands and I was in intense pain but I knew there was no use in struggling. Val was much stronger than me, and she’d bound me so tightly that I knew I had little chance for escape.

 

“Jessica faked her own assault?” The words sounded even worse out loud than they had in my head. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I shuddered, remembering the dark blood that had soaked through Jessica’s sheets and onto the mattress. She’d been in bad shape after that attack! She wasn’t even able to have children now, for fuck’s sake! And sweet, innocent Jessica! Jessica, whom Val hated!

 

"I love watching you think," Val growled in a low voice. It sent a shiver of fear through my body. "You ain't as smart as you think you are, Stephanie. You're actually pretty fucking dumb. I never hated Jessica, I just needed you to think that I did. She and I have been in this since the beginning." Val made an obscene gesture with her fingers against her mouth and suddenly I understood. "We're lovers, Stephanie. Jessica and I are in love, and we wanted to take over the Succubi for ourselves. I knew that if we brought Jungle’s Thorns down and got rid of you, we'd be the biggest MC in the city. And isn't that what you always wanted for your little girls?"

 

“No!” I shouted as loudly as I could. My world was falling down around my ears in a haze of fright and confusion and I had no idea what was going to happen. Val dating Jessica? They’d been in love the whole time? They’d been working together? That still wasn’t nearly as chilling as the fact that she’d hurt herself so badly just for the sake of revenge against an innocent group of men.

 

"This is so fucked up," I said softly, leaning back and letting my head thump against the concrete wall of the warehouse. "I can't believe you, Val. I can't believe you would fucking do this to your own goddamn club. What about Alexa? What about Tara?"

 

Val whistled. I was horrified as Tara and Jessica stalked out of the corners of the warehouse. They were clad all in black and holding assault rifles cradled in their arms. Tara winked at me.

 

"Hi, Stephy," she said with a grin. "I couldn't wait for you to figure out the plan! Isn't this great?"

 

I glared at her and scowled. “Fuck you, you bitch,” I said under my breath.

 

Jessica walked closer, all smiles like Tara and Val. She still looked innocent and cute, but for once, that wounded air about her was gone and I realized it had been an act from the very beginning. For all her talk about being shy and quiet and young, that was all a fucking ruse to get my guard down. I felt rage seething in my body when I realized how badly Jessica had played me—even worse than Val, considering I’d trusted her so blindly.

 

“You didn’t want to get revenge for me,” Jessica said softly. She smiled at me and I shuddered. “That was when I decided that I’d made the right decision to support Val instead of you. You were a shitty leader, Stephanie. You only thought of yourself.”

 

“That’s not true!” I exploded loudly. “I hate you, you fucking cunt!”

 

Jessica gave me a cutesy smile and spun around in a circle. She walked over to Val and put her arm around her waist, kissing her deeply. Val broke the kiss and turned to face me.

 

“Any last words, Stephanie?” She spat my name and I shuddered.

 

“Yeah,” I said sharply. “You can go straight to hell.”