Ridge Creek Read Free Page A

washboard abs I have ever seen.
    Fuck, I died and went to heaven.
    “Are you my angels?” I whisper softly as I drag my eyes from
hulk number two’s chest to look longingly in his eyes.
    “Huh?” He grunts as he knits his brows in confusion and
steps closer.  Stooping towards me, I watch as he roams his eyes over my face. 
He winces and then looks over towards Hulk number one near the door.  “I think
her head’s as fucked up as the rest of her.”
    “Fuck,” I hear Hulk number one say.  Turning my head towards
him I watch as he moves closer.  He too now leans closer and I watch as his
green eyes scrunch with concern.  “Arianna, you okay?”
    Trying to put a smile on a face that feels like it might be
swollen twice its size, I announce, “I’m having a bad day.”
    “I’m getting that,” he says as he swings to look at Hulk
number two.  “She’s fine.”
    “How the fuck you get the words ‘she’s fine’ from what I can
see lying there, I don’t know brother.  She doesn’t look fine to me.  Why the fuck did you bring her here anyway?  She needs to be in intensive care or
something.”
    “She begged me not to take her to a hospital, a doctor, a
police station or any place public.  What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
    “Fuckin’ ignore her stupid ass request and take her anyway.”
    “No!” I yell as I struggle unsuccessfully to lift myself off
the bed. “No hospitals…”
    My words are cut off by Hulk number one instantly planting
his hand in my chest as he pushes me back down onto the bed.  “I told you. 
I’ve got this Arianna.”
    Staring up helplessly I fall quiet and stay put.
    “Call in a marker.  We need a doctor.  Here.  Under radar,
no questions asked.”
    With a huge sigh of relief I stare thankfully up at my new
savior.
    “Thank you… um…”
    “Jake.” Tipping his head towards hulk number two he says,
“Zane.”
    Straightening his huge body back to its full height he lifts
his chin to Zane and they both stride towards the door.  Passing through, I
watch as Pops leans back in, grabs the door handle and pulls the door shut
behind him.
    *****
    Jake…
    “What the fuck were you thinking brother?” Zane asks
me as we walk together through the maze of rooms attached to the back of our
Harley store.  Arriving at the main communal area, I walk across the room to
stand behind the timber bar.  Stooping down to look along the shelves lined
with liquor bottles, I spot a bottle of Jamieson.   Latching onto the neck of a
bottle, I tag three shot glasses from the end of the bar and line them up.
    Quickly pouring three shots, I watch as Pops and Zane settle
into stools opposite me.
    Each picking up a shot glass, we tip them back, swallow and
then drop the glasses to the bench again.  I refill them as I feel the burn of
the whiskey sliding down the back of my throat.
    “I was thinking that tiny little strip of a woman lying in
there had just told me she’d been bashed, raped and had to throw herself out
the back of a moving truck to avoid execution.  Not only had she told me that,
but she also told me she’d rather die on the side of the road than go anywhere
public.  It didn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to work out someone wants her dead.”
    Zane slams his second drink and pushes his shot glass
towards me for another.
    “My point exactly brother.  Someone wants her fuckin’ dead. 
Fuck, take a look at her.  She should be dead.  Didn’t you stop to think
that someone might come lookin’ for her?”
    Nodding my agreement, I drink my own drink and wait for Pops
to catch up.  Pouring us all another round I reply, “Yeah I considered it.  But
fuck me boys, look at her would ya?  She’s about five foot nothing, wouldn’t
weigh more than fifty fuckin’ kilo’s and someone has opened a serious can of
whoop ass on her.  I’m pretty sure a fair few of those injuries were already
there when she threw herself out of that truck.  Most men wouldn’t