Highway to Home, page 2
I felt these little butterflies fluttering and bouncing around in my belly the moment I saw Rubik sitting on his motorcycle. He was a very big man, bigger even than Stryker, and had so many tattoos all over his arms and shoulders. His hair light brown hair was long and pulled back in a braid. He smiled when he turned off the motorcycle.
“Hey there Izzy,” Rubik said in his deep voice and smiled at my sister when he climbed off it.
I wished he smiled at me instead of my sister.
Then he saw me standing behind her. “Hey, Marie.” He smiled. His eyes were so blue!
“Hi, Rubik,” I said, smiling at him.
Hope started to whimper so I patted her back softly.
“Damn, is that Hope?” Rubik said as he climbed the steps. I turned around so he could see Hope’s cute little face. She was the most beautiful baby in the world.
Rubik was so tall I had to lean my head back just to look up at him. He touched Hope’s little balled-up fist. “She’s a pretty little doll. Looks just like her Mom.”
I turned back around to face him and those butterflies in my belly bounced around again.
“It’s good to see you, Marie and you too Izzy.” Rubik said stepping back then looked at Izzy, “Where’s your ole man at?”
Izzy pointed toward the trees beside the cabin, “He went out there to see Sadie and Kage.”
Rubik thanked her and went down the steps then followed the path through the trees to their graves. Izzy bought some really pretty headstones a few weeks ago and I helped decorate them with some flowers we bought from the grocery store in town.
I missed Rubik so much and thought about him every day. He left a month ago, only a few days after Hope was born. I never had the chance to thank him for taking me to the hospital and saving both my life and Hope’s life. I kept reliving that day in my dreams – those bad men who raped me came into the cabin and tried to kill Izzy and me.
I took out the gun Izzy left in the bedroom drawer and remembered how Stryker taught us to use it - aim it at what you want to kill, then pull the trigger. I didn’t know how to read. But I was good at numbers and good at remembering people’s faces. There was nothing I had to try and read when I used the gun and it was easy to kill those men that tried to hurt me and Izzy.
Stryker and Rubik were the only two men I trusted. Izzy loved Stryker and he protected us, letting us live in his cabin.
When Stryker and Rubik appeared from the trail, Hope had fallen asleep. I wrapped her in a pink blanket then laid her down in the crib in my bedroom. Stryker gave me and Izzy a whole bunch of money to buy some nice things for Hope like the crib, some clothes, pampers, bottles, and baby formula. I tried my very best to feed Hope with my own milk, but she wouldn’t latch on to my nipple. Then the nurses at the hospital gave me some baby formula to put in a bottle to feed Hope and she liked it. Hope didn’t fuss anymore. Well, only when she was hungry for more baby formula.
The doctor had made me go to sleep to cut me open and get Hope out of my belly because Izzy told me she was going to come out feet first. My cut was healing now and I was feeling much better.
I helped Izzy cook dinner but I kept looking out the kitchen window at Rubik while he sat with Stryker outside on the porch. Their voices were deep and low so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I was peeling potatoes and I nudged Izzy standing beside me. “I wonder what they are talking about, Sissy.”
She was putting all the ingredients together to make meatloaf. “It must be club business, Marie. Stuff we are not allowed to know about.”
“Why not?”
“To keep you, me, and Hope safe.”
“We aren’t in danger are we?”
“No Marie. Not anymore. Don’t ever worry about that okay? Stryker loves us and he will always keep us safe.”
“Do you think Rubik has come back to stay with us too?”
Izzy smiled at me. “Let’s cross our fingers that he does.”
Later, I set the table with 4 plates, 4 knives, and 4 forks when Rubik and Stryker came inside from the porch. Stryker told Rubik that he’d have to get used to Izzy’s terrible cooking. Izzy rolled her eyes and Stryker smacked her butt. I knew that this was something they did, he was always teasing Izzy, but I understood that it was all in good fun.
I handed the big bowl of mashed potatoes to Rubik. “Izzy is the best cook in the world. My mashed potatoes are the best too.”
When Rubik smiled my heart pounded fast in my chest, then his fingers touched mine when he took the bowl. “I’d place all my bets that yours are the best in the world, Marie.”
When we finished dinner, I checked on Hope and changed her diapers then fed her another bottle. Stryker and Rubik sat outside on the front porch drinking beers and smoking cigarettes. Izzy told Stryker she didn’t want him smoking inside the house anymore since Hope was born.
I sat in my rocking chair laid her down on my lap and she fell asleep again. Hope was a very good baby and never cried. Well, she cried when she needed her diaper changed or when she was hungry.
It was late that night when Izzy and I went to bed. I crossed my fingers in bed, lying wide awake, hoping that Rubik would stay the night at the cabin. I didn’t want him to go away again. Then I heard Rubik and Stryker come back inside from drinking their bottles of beer on the porch. I climbed out of my bed and checked on Hope sleeping like a little angel in the crib, while I put on my robe. I tip-toed to my door and opened it a crack to peek into the living room. I watched as Stryker went into the bedroom he shared with Izzy. Rubik shrugged off his vest that all the Berzerkers wore and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair. When he pulled off his t-shirt, my jaw dropped. Rubik’s chest was solid and his big shoulders covered in tattoos made him look so mean and dangerous. But not to me though. He didn’t scare me anymore and I wanted to touch his tattoos.
He walked over to the couch and sat, taking off his black boots, then laid down on it. That’s when I inhaled deep, opened my door, and walked over to the couch.
Rubik’s big arm laid across his eyes, but he sat up quickly when he saw me standing there.
“Marie, you should be in bed,” He said.
I sat down on the edge of the couch, folding my arms. “I can't sleep.”
“I can't sleep either.”
“Can I sit here on the couch with you?”
“Sure,” he said, patting the couch cushion next to him.
Our thighs touched as I sat close beside him and I felt my heart skip a beat.
I flung my arms around his shoulders, just like I did that day he carried me to the van and drove me to the hospital.
“Thank you for saving me, Rubik. And for saving Hope.” I mumbled.
“You’re welcome, Marie. You, Izzy, Stryker, and the Berzerkers are family.”
“Are you going to stay here with us now?”
“Yeah, but Stryker and I are leaving in the morning.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“This is club stuff, Marie. But don’t worry. We’ll be back in a few days.”
I leaned away and looked into Rubik’s eyes. When his big hand pressed against my back those butterflies came again, bouncing around like a tornado in my tummy. Then he put his lips on mine. It was soft and warm, sending goosebumps all over my body.
But when I blinked, Rubik was off the couch clearing his throat. “Sorry about that.” He growled like a grumpy bear.
Maybe he didn’t like the way I kissed him? I didn’t know how to kiss. Rubik was the first man to ever kiss me.
He knelt beside his duffle bag laying on the floor and pulled out one of the box puzzles with the different color squares on each side of it. He walked back and sat down next to me. “Do you want to watch me put this cube back together so the colors match on each side? I can show you how to do it too.”
I curled my legs up on the couch and watched Rubik twisted the cube to make the colors match on all sides. It was so incredible how fast he was! Then he handed me the cube and showed me which part to turn so that I could put all the red red-colored squares together on one side. I twisted the little blocks many times and was ready to give up because it was taking me too long. Maybe I was just too dumb to figure it out.
“Don’t give up Marie. You’re so close to getting all the colors together on one side.” Rubik said, placing his big hands over mine.
With a few more turns, all nine squares of red were on one side of the cube.
“I did it!” I shouted.
“Fucking-A Marie!” Rubik said chuckling then he winked at me. Sitting so close to him I could see just how handsome his blue eyes were.
CHAPTER 3
RUBIK
Early the next morning, I rode out with Stryker on our way to the meet-up with our brothers at the Berzerker Bunker. Stryker’s plans were set in motion to grow our numbers in Virginia. He gave Diezel, the Prez of the Richmond chapter, the go-ahead to patch over a small club called Hellion MC from Petersburg, to the Berzerkers.
As we rode, my mind wandered back to the month before.
After I drove Marie to the hospital and left Stryker’s cabin, I stayed at the Berzerker clubhouse. I banged a few clubwhores along with the new bartender at Durango’s that Tug hired named Tawny, just to waste some time when I was bored. Ajax still wore the VP patch but stayed out of my way while I set up a few fights in the basement at Durango’s. I still didn’t know if I was ready to wear that patch again.
The memory of walking into the cabin.
Sadie’s eyes were wide open, staring at nothing.
A puddle of blood pooled underneath my sister’s head.
She was dead, along with her unborn baby.
And the baby’s father, Kage.
The image would play out in my head like a VHS tape on rewind, replaying over and over again on a constant loop.
When I pulled up to the Cabin the day before, I cut off those grim images like I did when I cut the engine off on the bike. It was good to see Izzy. But, when I saw Marie holding her baby, something inside me turned primal and the need to protect her and Hope took over. I knew at that moment I would kill anyone who would try to harm them. But those kinds of people were just like me – criminals and killers.
I found Stryker where Izzy told me he would be, beyond the trees from the cabin to where we buried Kage and Sadie. It was the first time I’d been to their graves since we buried them years ago and noticed the two new headstones.
“Izzy did a good job choosing these marble headstones and having them engraved,” Stryker said.
“Yeah, she did. Should have done this a long time ago.” I said.
My throat hurt and I coughed to clear it. “So, what’s it like having a cabin full of females?”
“It’s good, even though I still have to set Izzy straight when she gets mouthy. Then I fuck her good, and she purrs like a kitten. Marie likes it here too. Her baby, Hope, is growing like a weed.”
“That’s good.”
Stryker steered his eyes from Kage’s headstone to mine. “Are you ready to sit to my right at the table again, brother?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my head throbbed like someone was taking a jackhammer to my temples. “Still got shit all jumbled up in my head. Maybe it’ll never go away. Not sure if I’m ready yet.”
“Losing Kage and Sadie changed us both. But, I’m not Kage. I’m not stepping down as Prez. I’m a bad man, but for some fucking reason, a lucky one too. I love Izzy. Someday, another club will try and move in on my club’s territory. But I’ll never let that happen as long as I’m still breathing. I will kill any man or woman who tries to take what belongs to me.” Stryker offered me his hand then. “Being a Berzerker is our fate, it’s in our blood. Wear the VP patch again, and ride beside me, Rubik.”
I grasped it. “Yes, Stryker. Let’s stay alive and ride hardcore, my Berzerker brother.”
Then later that same night, I made that stupid move and kissed Marie, but I couldn’t help myself when she hugged me. The way she looked, thanking me for saving her and Hope suddenly made my dick hard. She was so pretty with her dark hair and her light brown eyes. She drew me in. But Marie was just off-limits. She was naïve and so damn young. Even though I would always watch out for her, Marie needed a good man to take care of her and Hope, not some criminal like me.
The Baltimore Chapter rode out in tight formation toward Hellion MC’s clubhouse in Petersburg, VA for the patch-over party. When we kicked our stands down later that day, the lot was packed full of bikes ridden by both Berzerkers, and Hellion. Diezel and his VP, Jagger, and Mace, the Sgt at Arms were already there from the Richmond Chapter giving out bro hugs, some were even related – cousins, uncles, brothers.
The President of Hellion MC, Cain was there along with Rex, the VP, and Mace’s cousin, Bear, the Sgt. At Arms. Diezel’s Richmond chapter never had a problem with Hellion MC since they were small in numbers and stayed out of Richmond, only running their business in Petersburg. But the Hellion MC’s rival, the Cutthroats MC were strong-arming them and they had more in numbers and bigger connections in Petersburg.
The clubhouse was packed full of dirty rowdy and foul-mouthed men and bottles of liquor and weed were passed around as I stood beside Stryker and Jagger stood beside Diezel. The Hellion MC Prez, Cain, held the club vote and every member was in. They were now the Berzerkers MC, Petersburg Chapter. The men all gathered outside and set fire to a pile of stacked wooden pallets. Hellion rags were shrugged off and thrown in. Diezel shook a can of black spray paint and blackened Hellion MC on the clubhouse wall and BERZERKERS MC was sprayed over it in red spray paint. Diezel handed out the three-piece Berzerker patches to the new members, with the bottom rocker that read “Petersburg, VA”. Diezel blew a loud whistle and the crowd of men went silent.
“Hellion MC is no more,” Diezel stated. “You all are now Berzerkers and our brothers. Our chapters are strong and our numbers will grow. Berzerkers ride hardcore and live by their own set of laws, not laws set forth by society. Stryker leads our mother chapter in Baltimore. Every one of you will learn the Berzerker Code and Bylaws. The number one law that all Berzerkers live by - you turn on your brother, you’ll die. If anyone attacks one of us or our family, they become our enemy. And we as brothers will go berserk on every single one of our enemies and kill them all.”
The men continued celebrating with shots of whiskey and tequila. I lit a joint and handed it to Jagger when I noticed Stryker talking with Ajax yards away from the crowd. Ajax was shaking his head, his fists were clenched. He was amped up on coke and I knew he was pissed because Stryker chose me to ride and stand beside him during the patch-over ceremonies. He still wore that VP patch rubbing it in my face and sneering at me the whole day. He knew his days were numbered and that I would be wearing that patch on my rags soon. I continued to watch as Stryker gripped the front of Ajax’s rags and getting up close to his face, saying something I couldn’t hear because of the loud music. Ajax turned and stormed out of the clubhouse as Stryker scratched his beard and shook his head. He looked right at me then, rolling his eyes.
I took a long hit off the joint and passed it back to Jagger to finish, slapping him on the shoulder. I walked over to Stryker. “Let me guess. Ajax is whining like a bitch?”
“Yeah,” Stryker said. “I told him you’re coming back to sit at my right as VP. He’s all high on coke and talks a bunch of shit. I told him to go cool off and get laid. We’ll settle this when we get back to Baltimore.”
“The only way Ajax wants to settle this is either I die or he does.”
“Fuck that shit. It won't come to that, Rubik. Berzerkers only fight to blow off some steam, not kill each other. We only kill our enemies and traitors. I need you both.”
CHAPTER 4
MARIE
I fell asleep laying on the couch next to Rubik the night before. Hope started to cry in her crib before the sun came up. I woke up and climbed off the couch slowly so I wouldn’t wake Rubik. I changed Hope’s diapers and fed her a bottle, then bathed her, and by the time I carried her out to the kitchen, I heard Rubik and Stryker’s motorcycles outside. I felt my heart feel heavy in my chest when I saw Izzy looking out the kitchen window watching them ride away.
Izzy poured us both a cup of coffee and put lots of cream and sugar in mine. She looked angry when she swirled a spoon in my coffee, then handed it to me.
“Are you mad Izzy?” I asked and sat at the kitchen table. Hope yawned, her mouth opening wide then she made smacking noises with her lips. I kissed her forehead. I loved her baby smell.
“Not really mad. Just frustrated at you know who.” Izzy said, sitting down at the table then nodded toward the front door as we heard the motorcycle pipes from far away.
“Why?”
“Him, Rubik, and all the Berzerkers are heading south to Virginia. They’ll be gone for a few days, leaving us here alone. No telling what kinds of trouble they’re going to get into at this damn patch-over party. But Stryker better keep that dick in his pants!”
“What is a patch-over party?”
“It’s when a smaller club becomes part of a larger club and wears their patch. Then they throw a big party with lots of booze, drugs, and clubwhores.”
“Clubwhores?”
“They’re women that hang out with the men of the club and have sex with them.”
“Oh,” I said and felt mad like Izzy did, picturing some girl kissing Rubik.
“I don’t want to think about it,” she grumbled. “Let’s get dressed and drive into town. We need diapers, and baby formula for Hope plus some groceries. We’ll go to the A&P Supermarket. Maybe Frank Turner will be working today.”
Frank worked at the supermarket. He was nice and smiled when he talked to me. The week before, Frank told me that Hope was a very cute baby and put a coloring book and crayons in one of our grocery bags just for me. He even carried our grocery bags to Izzy’s car and put them in the trunk for us. Frank was far from scary looking. He didn’t look like the Berzerkers. He didn’t have tattoos or long hair or beards. He didn’t look like Rubik.
