Chapter Thirty-Three

Axel

I won.

I knew I would. Especially after seeing Savannah and finding out that they had planned to sabotage me. All that did was fuel my fire. They never saw me switch bikes with Spike. So when I got there at the start of the race and saw the smirk on their faces, I simply smiled at them and waved as if I had no idea what was going on. Nothing could stop me from winning. When it was over, I went to talk to Duke, but he was gone. He sped away so fast I didn’t even get the chance to talk to him. Jock stayed behind and handled it like a big boy. He was impressed. He clearly thought that I had won despite the sabotage, and he was looking at me like I was a rock star.

I went home with Pop that night. I thought of going right to Duke’s, but I needed to calm myself down and wait for my moment. But I only managed to get a few hours’ sleep. By five thirty in the morning, I was wide-eyed and ready to go. I found Pop in the kitchen. He smiled when he saw me and handed me a coffee.

“You’re up early,” I said.

“Yeah. I’m always up early. But I especially couldn’t sleep today.”

“Me too. I want to go now.”

“Have some coffee and go. Why wait?”

I looked at Pop in surprise. I had been sure he would tell me to wait until later. “Really?”

“Yeah, for sure. Go out and get her. It’s probably better if you go there early and take him by surprise like this. It won’t give him the chance to even think things through. You did well my boy. I was very proud of you last night.”

I smiled at him. “I saw Savannah last night.”

He frowned. “Savannah? What do you mean?”

I told him the story about how she had come to warn me and how I had swapped bikes with Spike. I had forgotten that he hadn’t known about it. After the race, we had all been so swept up in me winning that I had forgotten to tell them about the sabotage.

“I was just so lucky that Spike was there with his bike. And lucky that Savannah managed to come and warn me. She took a big gamble. And she left Bobby behind when she came to tell me. Poor kid must’ve been so scared at home alone. I’m so proud of him. He’s a good kid that. And Duke is just the worst sort of man,” I said.

“Wow. I guess I’m not surprised. I had no idea. Goes to show how little attention I pay. I know what your bike looks like. I know Spike’s is similar, but there is a difference. Well, if I didn’t notice, then they certainly didn’t notice. Anyway, even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. That’s not going against the rules. Wow, they have some nerve trying to sabotage the race. Especially since you were supposed to race Duke in the first place. Not only did he send someone else to race, but he still wasn’t confident enough to do it in a fair way. Shocking.”

I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. “Yeah. Well, this is it. I’m going to get her back.”

“You’ve got this, Axel. Just remember to keep calm. That is the key to winning against Duke. He lets his emotions get in the way, but you don’t have to. Keep calm and get her back.”

I waited until just before six and made my move. When I got to the house, it was quiet. The only person outside was the bored looking guard. I laughed when I saw him. Here he was trying to do his job and Savannah had snuck off anyway the night before. When he saw me, he groaned.

“What are you doing here? It’s so early,” he said quietly. He didn’t want to wake the house up.

“I’m here to see Duke,” I called out loudly.

“Duke is asleep.”

“Well, wake him up.”

“Really?”

“If you don’t wake him up, I’m going to scream until he gets up anyway. So you might as well do it peacefully.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Really. And you should know by now that I’m not joking. We both know why I am here.”

The guard looked at me to see if I was being serious, then sighed and went outside. At least I was giving him something to do. The guy must get so bored standing out there for so long. He was the same guard I had seen the last time. I wondered when he got a break. Five minutes later, Duke came out looked bleary-eyed. I could see that he had spent the night before drinking. He looked as if he had only gotten a few hours’ sleep. His clothes were rumpled, and his eyes were bloodshot. I could see them even from the distance we were standing. I hoped he wouldn’t get too close to me because I didn’t want to even know what his breath smelled like. He stumbled out the house and looked at me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he said. As usual, his voice was loud. I had never met anyone with such a loud voice before.

“You know why I’m here,” I said calmly.

Obviously, just seeing me there set him off because he began yelling and screaming at me like a madman. His voice reverberated throughout the quiet morning air, and soon people from the surrounding houses came out to see what the commotion was. Most of these people were members of the club. Families who had moved out of the clubhouse but still wanted to be close. I looked around at them and smiled. This was exactly what I was hoping would happen. Duke might be many things, but he would not want to look like a coward in front of these people. For now, though, I had caught him when he was feeling most vulnerable, and he was not coming off like the strong leader some of the people saw him as. Right now, he just looked like an old man who did not know how to handle his alcohol.

“I’m sorry about the noise everyone. I only came to talk to Duke, but I didn’t expect him to react this way.”

Duke swore loudly, and I saw a lady cover her child’s ears.

“As you all know, I raced Jock last night. That, however, was never the official plan. The plan was for me to race Duke. But he didn’t want to do it himself, so he got Jock to do it instead. The reason was simple: if I won, I would get to take my girlfriend and my son back,” I said.

“You raced me to prove a point,” he said. “You raced me so to gain respect.”

I smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong. Yes, I wanted to race you so for the respect. But you didn’t race me. You chickened out. Now, are you going to be a coward in front of all these people that look up to you? Are you really going to go back on a deal you made? Are you that kind of person? Or will you be a man and so the right thing?”

I looked at Duke and waited for him to say something. He muttered something under his breath and then swore at me again. A woman yelled out, “Duke!” to reprimand him and I saw him flush. Duke was not used to people looking at him in that way. He wasn’t a nice man, but he was well respected in the club.

“Everyone, I just want you all you know that my girlfriend is the lovely Savannah. You all know her, and you all knew her father. She has no problem with this club and no problem with Duke,” I said. I needed to lie a little to get them on my side. “But she wants to be with me. Bobby is my son. The only reason she never told me was because I am a part of a rival motorcycle club and she knew what problems it would cause. But when her father died, she decided to come and tell me. We fell in love all over again. She came to live with me, and I was the happiest man you’d ever meet. I mean, you’ve seen Savannah; who couldn’t love someone like that? But Duke here doesn’t want her to live with me. He’s got her trapped inside that house.” I paused for effect. I heard the women gasp. “Now, all I ask is for Duke to give her back to me. After all, what kind of a person does this?  Who bets for someone’s freedom? How could you be so careless with her life? Especially if you consider her to be one of your own? Do the right thing, Duke. Don’t just do it for me. Do it for Savannah. Do it for this club. I know how much all these people mean to you. Do it for them.”

Duke looked around at all the faces watching him. He was waiting for them to take his side, but nobody did. There were too many families watching him. Too many young children and women. He knew now that I had talked him into a corner. He knew that if he didn’t do the right thing, he would be ousted.  The head of the club needed to be respected by all. He could do a lot of things, but the moment he lost that respect, it was over. Duke was a very proud man. He wanted to be head of the club for the control. For the way that people revered him and followed his every move. He would not want to give that up. He stood there, looking at everyone and then looking at me. And then, he walked inside. I stood there, hoping and praying I had done the right thing.