Brittany jumped at the sudden pounding against her front door. She stood frozen in the middle of her apartment, her cell phone brandished in her hand like some kind of weapon. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Fear rattled in her chest as she listened to the frantic beating of her own heart echoing in her ears.
“Brittany, it’s me, open up.” Zack’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door.
“Zack,” she said striding towards the door, releasing the locks in bewilderment. She thrust open the door to reveal her brother in the hallway, his face tense and pinched. But he wasn’t alone. Brittany glanced at his companion and did her best not to stare at the deep scarring covering half of his face.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she turned back to her brother.
“I don’t have time to argue.” Zack barged past her entering the apartment, his friend close behind.
“And who is this?” Brittany gestured wildly to the stranger. “And did I say you can come in?”
“This is my friend, Jameson. You can trust him.”
Jameson gave Brittany a brisk nod in greeting.
“Trust him?” Brittany pressed her fingers against her temple. “Zack, what’s going on?”
“We don’t have time, Brittany!” Zack came over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing slightly. He stared at her hard, willing her to believe in his words.
“I need you to listen to me, Brittany,” he spoke slowly to ensure she understood exactly what he was saying. “You’re in danger here. You need to come back home with me right now.”
“In danger?” Brittany shrugged him off and stepped back. Was this just another of her brother’s attempts to thwart her relationship with Max? If so she certainly wasn’t in the mood for it.
“Brittany, I’m serious,” Zack’s voice was razor sharp. “Max is dangerous.”
“Please,” Brittany scoffed at the suggestion. Max might look menacing, but he wasn’t dangerous. He was caring and kind. And distant. His recent lack of availability pinched at her chest, winding her. Why was he blowing her off all the time? Had he stopped caring about her?
“He’s not dangerous,” she quickly blinked back tears, refusing to let her brother see her cry over Max.
“He is,” Zack insisted, his eyes wild with urgency. “He’s dangerous and you being here, being with him, is putting you in danger. We need to leave. Now. Go and pack up your things.”
Brittany exhaled sharply and placed her hands on her hips. She wasn’t back home, committed to obeying all of Zack’s orders. This was her apartment, which she paid for with her own money. Her brother had no right to storm the place and start giving her orders.
“You’re out of line, Zack.” She told him angrily.
“So help me Brittany, I’ll drag you out of here if I have to. You’re leaving Colridge tonight, with or without your consent.”
“Zack!” she glanced at his scarred friend for support, but he just turned away from her, letting the siblings conduct their argument between themselves.
“Pack, your things, now! Or I will pack for you.” Zack bellowed at her, pointing towards her bedroom door.
“No,” Brittany objected tearfully. Her brother was just trying to drive a wedge between her and Max, she was sure of it. And he was being cruelly heavy-handed about it.
“I promise you that Max is dangerous,” Zack repeated, his voice softening slightly. “That bar that got turned over in town last night, he was responsible for that.”
“How can you say that?” Brittany felt like her brother had smacked her with a whip, and she was still smarting from the wound. Why would he deliver such a vicious lie? There was no way Max could have had anything to do with the fight at the bar. But Zack had successfully planted a seed of doubt in Brittany’s mind. She hadn’t seen Max last night, nor this morning. Was he avoiding her to hide his battered face? He did sound odd on the phone.
Tears beaded in her eyes as she glanced helplessly at her brother, willing him to be wrong.
“He rides with a motorcycle gang called the Skeleton Kings,” Zack continued. “They are a really nasty bunch of guys bred on violence. And they are looking to stir up trouble here in Colridge. Being with Max makes you a target. I’m just trying to keep you safe Brittany.”
A motorcycle gang. The Skeleton Kings. Brittany felt dizzy as she tried to take it all in. She lowered herself onto her sofa and lay her shaking hands upon her knees. Zack had to be wrong. He just had to be. But even Nancy had hinted about the danger.
“How do you…how do you know this?” she wondered woefully.
“I just do,” Zack told her vaguely. “Trust me, the Skeleton Kings are trouble, Brittany. Look what they did to Jameson.”
Jameson stepped forward and angled the damaged half of his face up towards the light so that Brittany could take a better look at it.
“The Skeleton Kings - they did that to you?” she gasped, a hand flying up to her mouth.
“Acid,” Jameson explained tightly. “Me and your brother made the mistake of turning up at the wrong bar a few years ago. It was a mistake the Reapers wanted to make sure we wouldn’t repeat again.”
“My God,” Brittany couldn’t imagine the pain Jameson must have gone through. And all because he’d gone to the wrong bar. It all seemed to needlessly cruel. “And that’s how you know?” she glanced between the two men. “That Max is with this gang, because you’ve encountered them before?”
Zack and Jameson shared a look.
“Yeah,” her brother spoke up. “That’s how we know, Brittany. Now do you understand why I’m so worried about you? And why you have to leave here?”
Brittany understood. Numbly she got to her feet and made her way towards her bedroom. As she hastily filled a bag with a few essential items, she thought of the girl she’d tattooed at the shop, the girl who worked at the bar. Had Max hurt her? No, that was impossible. Max would never do something like that. Brittany couldn’t ignore the fact that her brother might still be lying.
With Zack and Jameson waiting in the main area of her apartment, she quietly pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Max. She wanted to at least give him a chance to explain himself. After five drawn out rings, a woman answered.
Brittany felt like someone had electrocuted her. A violent shock raced down her spine when she heard the unfamiliar voice.
“Hello?” they picked up with an air of impatience.
“Hi…is….um, is Max there?” Brittany had to speak quietly for fear of attracting the attention of the men in the next room.
“He’s passed out at the moment,” the woman replied briskly. Her words were cold and lacked any emotion.
“Passed out?” tears started to run down Brittany’s face like a river. Why was Max passed out? Where the hell was he, and who was this woman answering his cell phone?
“Sweetheart, if you know what’s good for you, you won’t call him again.” And the line went dead. Brittany stared at her cell phone in disbelief. How could she have been so very wrong about Max all along? She honestly believed he was a decent guy who genuinely loved her. Had he got blind drunk and slept with the woman who was now taking his calls?
Brittany felt sick at the thought of such a betrayal. She dropped against her bed and cradled her head in her hands, her clothes still strewn around the room in her haste to pack.
Five long minutes passed before a gentle knock came at the door. “Brittany, we really need to go.”
It was Jameson’s voice, not her brother’s.
“I’ll be right there,” Brittany sniffed and wiped her eyes. The door creaked open and Jameson slid around it, throwing her a sad glance.
“I’m sorry if Zack scared you.” he noticed her tears glistening in the sunlight.
“It’s okay,” Brittany wiped at her cheeks and stood up.
“Let me help,” Jameson came in and started to scoop up some of the scattered clothes. As he did so, Brittany glanced again at his scar, noticing how it disappeared beneath the collar of his jacket.
“It must have really hurt,” she noted sympathetically.
“It hurt like hell,” Jameson gave her a lopsided smile. “But I think it gives me a tough edge, don’t you agree?”
Brittany laughed softly. She admired Jameson’s strength.
“Your brother will keep you safe,” he added, his tone becoming more serious. “He won’t let them harm you.”
Brittany had previously thought that she could trust Max to keep her safe. But since a strange woman had just answered his phone she didn’t know what to think anymore.
“Where is Zack?” she glanced beyond Jameson into her apartment.
“Moving the bikes around to the front,” Jameson explained.
“The bikes?” Brittany felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Was she supposed to ride on the back of a bike all the way back home? She’d never been on a motorcycle before, and the thought of doing so terrified her.
“Yeah,” Jameson cracked a smile. “I’ll take your bags, and Zack will take you. Unless you’d rather do it the other way around?” a flirtatious fire burned in Jameson’s eyes. He was charming and despite his horrific scars, he was still handsome. But Brittany couldn’t give him the flicker of hope he was yearning for. Her heart still belonged to Max, even if it looked like he was going to break it.
“I’ll ride with Zack, its okay.” She also didn’t want a relative stranger feeling her quake with fear behind them, as they rode down the highway.
“You called?” Zack was coming back into the apartment. Shadows hung beneath his eyes making Brittany wonder when he’d last slept. As soon as they got home she’d cook them something, then insist he take a long, hot bath before going to bed for several hours. Her brother clearly wasn’t doing a great job of looking after himself in her absence.
“Apparently, I’m riding on your bike,” Brittany tilted her head at him, wondering if he’d sense her apprehension about the mode of transportation.
“You’ll love it,” Zack reassured her though his expression remained stern. “Now let’s go.”