My rattled nerves slowly began to calm as we continued down the hallway. Several members of the football team scuttled out of the way as we walked past them. I watched as these tough football players unsuccessfully pretended that they weren’t about to shit their pants as we passed by them. They were obviously threatened as they checked out the Satan’s Fury patch on the back of Clutch’s cut. The reaction from the females was vastly different. A couple of the hookers… I mean sluts… I mean pretty girls, smiled and flicked their long, beautiful hair as they tried their best to get the men’s attention. My lips curved into a smile when their efforts were totally ignored. Yep… even though these men were here to save me from god-knows-what, I was walking down the hall smiling like a big dork.
With people still gawking at us, I followed Scooter over to his bike. After he helped me get my helmet on, I climbed on the back and rested my hands on his waist. The engine suddenly roared to life as Scooter throttled the ignition, and drove out the parking lot. The seat vibrated wildly beneath me as we picked up speed, quickly jetting into traffic. Surrounded by the others, we sped out onto the open highway towards the clubhouse. I’d never ridden on a bike before, and I loved it. As I held tightly onto Scooter, a feeling of pure ecstasy washed over me as we glided down the highway. The freedom… the bliss of being out on the open road thrilled me. The sound and speed was overwhelming, but I felt safe riding with Scooter. These guys rode with such confidence that it made them seem invincible. I was enjoying the ride so much, I almost forgot why I was with them. Once we pulled through the gate, reality came crashing down on me. As soon as they had parked their bikes, Clutch motioned for me to follow him through the back door.
“Cotton is in his office,” he told me. My nerves jumped into overdrive when I took a step towards his office door, making it difficult to walk with my trembling knees.
“Okay,” I answered wishing that he was going in, too. Dread washed over me as I tapped on the door. My heart jumped when he called out for me to come in. The door creaked loudly as I slowly opened his door.
“Hey… uh… President Cotton… sir? Clutch said you wanted to talk to me,” I stammered.
He got up from his large wooden desk and walked over to me. Looking genuinely concerned he asked, “Are you okay?”
His voice was low and gentle, and it instantly set me at ease. “Yes, sir. I’m fine,” I answered.
“Just call me Cotton. Come on in and have a seat,” he offered as he picked up his phone and stated, “She’s here. Come down to my office.”
Just as he was settling back down in his seat, Maverick walked in. Shit! Now I had to deal with the two most intimidating men I’d ever met. I’ll admit it, Maverick was good looking – extremely good looking, but damn, the man was a giant. As he made his way over to me, my eyes roamed over his large muscles that bulged beneath his tight black t-shirt. The scowl on his face was hard to ignore as he stood there glaring at me. Just being this close to him made me feel like I was twelve again. Without saying a word, he sat down next to me and waited for Cotton to speak.
“Henley, Cassidy told us that you saw something last night,” Cotton said with a hopeful ring in his voice.
“I did. I tried to call her last night, but she couldn’t hear her phone,” I told him defensively.
“I need you to tell me everything you can remember. Everything,” he demanded. The tiny crow’s feet around his eyes crinkled as he spoke.
Without any interruptions, both men listened intently as I told them everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours. I could see the anguish in their eyes as they listened to the details of their brother being shot. I tried my best not to leave anything out, but I was nervous, and it was hard to think straight.
“Did the cop ever call you back?” Maverick asked.
“No, but I could tell he was just trying to put me off,” I explained as I clenched my hands together and rested them in my lap. “I’m pretty sure they thought I was lying. The guy said they found no evidence of a murder. I don’t understand it. I mean… they shot him. He was bleeding. There had to be something.”
“Guardrail and I went by earlier to check it out. There was no trace of blood anywhere. The place had been cleaned by someone who knew what he was doing,” Maverick informed Cotton.
Cotton looked over to me and asked, “Can you tell us anything about these men you saw? Were they wearing cuts, or did any of them have tattoos?”
“They weren’t wearing any leather, but one of them had a huge tattoo going down the length of his arm. I couldn’t really make it out… a snake maybe? He had a long, dark beard and several piercings… a big dude, but not like you. He was just fat. The other one was tall and skinny and had his hair greased back. Kind of slimy looking. And, he had the same tattoo on his arm, along with another weird one on his cheek, just below his right eye. A tear or a star? I couldn’t really tell. The guy talking had a slight accent. He didn’t sound like he was from around here.” My knees began to quiver involuntarily as I remembered how those men looked at me with rage in their eyes.
“Do you think you’d be able to recognize them if you saw them again?” Maverick questioned.
“I think so. They’re pretty much burned into my memory.”