Savior Ch. 33

I'd been stupid. I'd gone out on the track and ridden angry and reckless. I'd pushed the bike, and myself, to the limit and a little beyond, my anger with Carl, the Orcas, and the whole situation I was embroiled in causing me to take unnecessary risks. I'd dragged knees, elbows, and toes, but the track had been grippy enough that the bike had stuck, even though I was backing it on all of the slower corners.

Vince had been right to warn me that I was pushing. The tires on my moto were pitted and gouged, brutalized by the blistering pace I'd been riding. I always ran the softest compound tires I could, taking grip over longevity, and I'd used them up in only one lap. I shook my head. Reckless! I forced myself to calm down. If I rode my Harley with such irresponsibility I'd have certainly crashed, the big, heavy bike not as forgiving of being pushed beyond its limits. Flanked by Vince and Jacob, I strode up to the cluster of Orcas. I hadn't bothered to unsuit. I'd wear the same armor on the Harley... just in case.

"You probably want to start getting ready," I said, staring at Carl. "They're about to send the last rider out on the track."

"Where's Hanna?" Carl demanded.

"She's over by the timing station with Garrett. Why?"

"Because she's my fucking wife, and my fucking son, and I want her here!"

"She doesn't want to be here. Are you here to race or argue about Hanna?"

"She's leaving with us," Alex rumbled. "She was one of us, and she fucked us. She has to answer for that."

I didn't like the way that sounded. "No. She stays with us."

"Then the deals off!" Alex snapped. "We were setup."

"By who? Who set you up? You picked your man, and you picked me to race against."

"It doesn't matter. She fucked us."

"Again, how? What did she do to fuck you? Seems to me the only person that fucked you is this asshole right here," I sneered, jerking my thumb at Carl.

"I'll deal with him. We're leaving. Go get your bitch," Alex growled to Carl.

"Wait!" I snapped. "How about a side bet, then? For Hanna and Garrett."

"Rand?" Vince muttered, clearly not liking where I was going.

"Same as before," I continued. "Carl, or whoever you want to run against me, wins, you get the race. I win, you go away and never bother us again. But now, I'll give your guy a one-minute head start, and win or lose, you let Hanna and Garrett go free and never bother them again. I'm stacking the deck in your favor. All you have to do is agree and you can still get what you want."

"Rand! What are you doing?" Vince snarled. "That wasn't the deal and Doug isn't going to like it."

"Doug doesn't have to know. This is between me and Alex."

"Jacob! Go get Doug and get him over here!" Vince snapped. "Rand, you need to shut your fucking mouth, right the fuck now!"

Jacob nodded and turned to trot away. I needed to get Alex to agree before Doug got here because I knew there was no way Doug would go for it.

"What do you say?" I encouraged, ignoring Vince, trying to hurry Alex's decision. "You can still get what you want. All it'll cost you is the girl and her son."

"Five minutes," Alex said.

"No. Impossible unless you let me ride my moto."

"No. That's the deal."

I shrugged. "Then the race goes as originally agreed, or you can chickenshit out. I'm not giving you the race, so forget it."

"Three, but you ride your Harley," Alex countered.

"No. That's too much time to make up."

"That's my best offer," Alex growled, digging in.

"Then I guess we're done here, and you're leaving with nothing, because you're not taking Hanna or her son... unless you want to get it on right here." I held Alex's gaze. "I've already put the word out about the race. If you start shit, I can almost guarantee this will be the last race run even if you do manage to wipe us out... and as you've discovered, that's not as easy as to do as you thought."

I watched as Alex glared at me, then his eyes flicked over my shoulder. "Two, but that's it! No less!"

I thought about it. Two minutes was a hell of a lead to make up, but I knew from Alex's glance and his sudden willingness to bargain, that Doug was probably on his way. This was probably the best deal we were going to get.

"Done," I said as Doug hurried up.

"I don't know what kind of deal you made with Rand, but he doesn't speak for the club."

"It's done," Alex said.

"Rand doesn't speak for the club!" Doug repeated. "What did he agree to?"

"A two-minute head start in exchange for the girl and her son."

"What?" Doug shouted. "No fucking way! The race goes as originally agreed!"

I grabbed Doug by the shoulder and led him away. "We have to do this. If we don't—"

"We have to do no such thing! I can't believe you put someone you just met before the club!"

"Listen to me. They were going to walk! They're saying we played them. This is our only chance to avoid a war with the Orcas."

"We did no such thing!"

"I know, but they're looking for any excuse to break the agreement. This keeps them in the game... plus we promised to get her son back."

"If we could!" Doug raged. "Hanna isn't our fucking problem!"

"It is now."

Doug took a couple deep breaths. "Look, I know you like her. We all do. I know we said we'd help get her son back, and we would have, but this is between her and the Orcas. That's going to be some real bad shit, and we don't want to get mixed up in that. Can't you see that?"

"What I see is a woman who helped us. Without her, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation because the Orcas would have already crushed us. We owe her, Doug. We owe her big."

"Rand, I know you're fast, but two minutes? Are you fucking crazy?"

"He wanted five."

Doug rolled his eyes. "Be thankful for small favors. You can't do this. The club is bigger than you, or me, or any one of us."

"It's done. If we can't stand by our agreements, if we can't help and protect those who help us, I'm not sure we deserve to be a club. Doesn't our word mean anything anymore?"

"We never agreed to this!"

"We agreed to help her if she helped us. Right now, she needs our help more than ever. They'll probably kill her if she goes back with them. Even if they don't, you know they're going to beat the shit out of her. Do you want that on your conscious? I sure as hell don't want it on mine. What about Steph? What if it were her? Would you just let her be taken away and beaten or killed, to let her take one for the club?"

Doug stared at me. "Of course not. She's my wife."

"Fine. Hanna's my girlfriend."

"You just met her!"

"I know, but I know enough about her to know I want to know more."

"If you lose, you know it's the end of the club?"

"I'm not going to lose."

"It's a two-minute head start, Rand!"

"Trust me. I can do this." I leaned in close. "Carl is slow as shit. I can take him."

"You better," Doug grumbled.

"Are you going to back me?"

"Goddammit! You should have come to me first!"

"Are you going to back me?" I asked again.

He sighed heavily. "You're not shitting me? They were going to walk?"

"Ask Jacob or Vince if you don't believe me."

"Goddammit," he muttered. "Yes. I'll back your play. You and I both know that if we go to war, it's only a matter of time before they win... and I don't want to lose a lot of friends in the process."

"That's why we need to beat them here and now."

"I just hope they'll stand by their agreement."

I nodded. "Let's spread it around. Let everyone know what they agreed to, and let's make sure they know that everyone knows that if they fuck us, they can't be trusted to run a clean race."

Doug began nodding. "Good idea. I'll announce it." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "How do you know you can beat him?"

"I ran his ass down before... I can do it again."

"The club is depending on you."

"I'm still going to win... it just won't be as easy as before."

Doug held my gaze, glanced to where Alex was waiting. Alex was looking smug, like he'd finally managed to salvage something from this. Doug stepped away from me and stopped in front of the president of the OMC.

"We agree. We'll hold Rand for two-minutes in exchange for Hanna and Garrett. Fastest time wins."

"They race at the same time," Alex sneered. "None of this pansy-ass racing against the clock bullshit."

Doug glanced at me and I nodded once. "Agreed," he said.

Alex turned to Carl. "This is your last chance," he growled. "If you lose, we'll track you down and kill you... and we'll make sure you don't go easy." He paused for a heartbeat. "Consider that an incentive to push it."

"See you at the starting line... asshole," I sneered before I turned away to go get my Harley.

I'd just reached my Harley when I heard Doug's voice booming over his megaphone. "Racers to the starting line!"

There was a pause as I swung my leg over the saddle. I pulled my helmet over my head and was tightening the chin strap when Doug began speaking again.

"This is a straight up grudge race between the BRMC and the OMC in a winner take all match. The stake? This very event. The Orcas thinks they can run this race better than we can and want to take it from us. We... disagree. The winner of this race will determine who runs the racing in the future."

There was another pause. "Yes, that's true," Doug continued. "By agreeing to giving the OMC rider a two-minute head start, the Orcas have agreed to allow the woman in question, and her child, to be taken into our care."

I started my Harley and began to putter slowly down the road on my way to the starting line. "Yes. We believe the OMC will abide by their agreement. If they don't, then you, as racers, must decide if the Orcas can't honor their agreement with us, will they honor their agreements to you? We take pride in the fact that we run a clean and honest event, and abide by all our agreements. If we lose, we'll abide by this one as well."

I was just reaching the crowd when a woman stepped into the road in front of me. I smiled as my headlamp illuminated Hanna. I coasted to a stop beside her and killed the engine.

"Where's Garrett?"

"With Jacob and Vince. I can never thank you enough," she said as she gripped my arm. "You've saved me, saved us."

"I couldn't let anything else happen to you. No matter what happens now, you're free of the Orcas and Carl."

A slightly sad smile painted her lips as her face crinkled. She kissed her fingers before reaching through the opening of my helmet to press them to my lips. I was still wearing my race helmet, instead of my open face that I normally wore, and there was no way for me to kiss her without removing it.

"Do one more thing for me?" she murmured as she pulled her fingers back.

"What?"

"Fuck him. Fuck him as hard as you can."

I grinned. "Count on it." I reached under my helmet, pressed my fingers to my lips, and then pressed them to hers. She held them there for a long moment.

"I have to go. I have some fucking to do."

She smiled. "When you're done, you're going to have some more fucking to do when we back to your trailer."

I snickered. "What about Garrett?"

"He can sleep on the couch."

"I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

"Be careful."

"I will," I said as I thumbed my Harley to life.

I was waiting at the starting line, my Harley idling, as Carl rolled up beside me. "You're not taking her from me," he growled.

"I already have."

"After I kick your ass, I'll come for her. You'll never know when, or where, but I will. You'll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder."

I couldn't help but smile. "That's going to be hard to do... when you're dead."

"Let's go!" Doug called, waving his arm, motioning Carl to the line as lightning flickered in the distance. "I want to get this done before it starts raining... so you don't have something else to bitch and whine about!" Alex, who was monitoring the start, glared at Doug as Carl rolled to the line. "When you're ready," Doug said, the start light turning green. "We'll hold Rand for two minutes after you cross the timing signal."

Carl revved his bike, spinning the rear tire as he held the bike on the front brake, before releasing the brake and rocking away into the night. It was showy, and loud, but ultimately a waste of time. I crept to the starting line, watching as the clock counted down from two minutes.

"Com check," Vince said in my ear.

"Five by five."

"You want the times?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful," Hanna added, her voice coming over my com. "He'll cheat if he can."

"Copy that. I'll be watching."

"Thirty seconds, Vince said. "You've got this. He's slow as shit. He hasn't even reached Porter yet."

"On this pig, I'm not exactly going to be a rocket," I replied, watching the last few seconds ticking away, the two minutes feeling like an eternity.

"Just run your race. You should have plenty of time to think."

"Ha, ha, ha... you asshole," I growled, but Vince was right. Compared to my moto, the Harley would feel like it was dragging an anchor.

"He just passed Porter," Vince said.

I didn't answer, watching the timer. 5... 4... 3... 2... I brought the revs up on my bike. 1... The instant the light went green I whacked open the throttle fully open, popped the clutch, and I was away, the Harley bellowing its war cry as I began running down Carl.

The first real corner I encountered, the low-slung Harley touched down, hard, unloading the tires briefly and upsetting my line. I ground my teeth as I gathered up the wobbling machine and charged out of the corner at full throttle. Come on, you slow piece of shit! The bike felt incredibly slow, and I worried that I'd overestimated my ability as I urged the bike to go faster, twisting the throttle so hard my hand ached as I tried to wring every drop of speed possible from the bike.

I danced the bike through the bends, staying on the racing line, millimeters from running off the edge of the road on each side as I straightened the curves as much as possible. My Harley had good torque down low but quickly ran out of steam on the top end, which was great for street riding but not so good on the track.

"One thirty-two," Vince said as I rocketed over Porter, and I smiled. I'd gained twenty-eight seconds on my adversary at the first timing marker.

"I'm coming for you... you motherfucker," I murmured to myself.

I battled my way along the undulating pavement, grimacing every time the hard parts of my bike kissed pavement, pushing the bike as hard as I could. As I approached Knife, I could feel the brakes beginning to fade, the road biased pads not up for the punishment I was dealing them on the track. I arrived at Knife, the ugly bump in the center of the corner making the bike shudder briefly before steading down as I rolled back on the power.

"Thirty-Eight."

"Roger that." I was reeling Carl in, but my Harley was paying the price. My brakes were beginning to fade badly now from having to bleed off a frustrating amount of speed at every corner because the big Harley simply didn't have the lean angles of the sport bikes. My only consolation was Carl was working under the same limitations.

I reached Kink, the nasty right-hander, but the lack of brakes tripped me up and I went into the corner far hotter than I intended. My brakes were mush, and I felt like I needed to drag my feet, but I leaned the bike hard over, trying desperately to muscle the hog through the turn so I didn't run out of road. I touched down hard, unloading the tires so badly the bike began skidding, scraping, and wobbling toward the edge of the road like a wounded animal trying to drag itself from a fight. I held on, keeping the power on to not upset the bike any more than it already was, allowing the machine to grind off speed before I went hard to the throttle at the last moment to help me stand bike up and to power out of the corner. I was well off the racing line, and I'd lost a lot of time, but I'd survived the near disaster.

"Nineteen," Vince said, his calm voice a sharp contrast to my pounding heart.

"Okay, but I nearly fucked myself there. My brakes are going," I panted as the big bike clawed for speed.

"Save your brakes! You've got him!"

With half the race behind me, I'd erased seventy-five percent of Carl's lead, but I still had to pass him, and on these roads, that wouldn't be easy without the high-end charge of the race bikes.

I caught a glimpse of Carl just as he entered Boot. The long run with no braking should have given the binders time to cool, so with the rain still holding off and the road dry, I ran deep into the corner before applying maximum braking, praying I didn't end up in the weeds.

The brakes held and I leaned the bike through the series of turns, the bike touching and scraping lightly as the suspension worked. I was riding right on the ragged edge of the hog's lean angles, but it paid off as I could see Carl ahead of me as I began my run to Finger.

"Five seconds!"

"I see him," I muttered, trying to will a bit more speed out of my overworked bike.

The run from Boot to Finger had a series of turns, a nice stretch I could straighten, then another series of turns before the tight bend that was Finger. Our bikes were too evenly matched for me to close much on the straight, but when Carl reached Finger, I went in deep, praying I had enough brakes left. I did, and though I wasn't close enough to pass Carl under braking, I was right on his ass as we began our run to Wiggles. Because I'd carried more speed out of the corner than Carl had, I had a bit of a run on him, and I was going to use that to pass in this short stretch before the next braking zone.

"Come on you bitch!" I snarled to the bike as I tucked.

I stayed behind Carl in the draft until the last possible moment, grasping for every bit of speed the bike could give me. I flicked the bike to the inside just before I touched his rear tire and came up beside him, placing myself on the inside for the next turn. Carl tried to slam the door on me, but I had the line. As our handlebars came even, Carl reached out with his left hand and grabbed my front brake. The grab lasted only a tiny fraction of a second, but it was enough. My bike wobbled violently with the sudden braking, and I had to back out of the throttle to save it.

"The bastard grabbed my front brake!" I snarled as I gather the bike up and went back to the throttle.

Carl's cheating had cost me, and I was now two or three bike lengths behind him again.

"That cheating motherfucker!" Vince snarled.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah, but now I have to catch him again."

I slowly closed the gap, until I was again sitting on his rear wheel as we worked through Wiggles, but my bike simply didn't have the power to pass, and there were no more heavy braking zones where I could out brake him to take him on the exit.

There was one more chance to overtake him, but it was going to be a hell of a risk. I began to feint left, then right, setting him up for my final desperate attempt to pass. Carl began blocking, a fact I was depending on. I feinted right again, then left, but this time I kept going left, forcing Carl farther and farther to the left to maintain the block. At the last possible moment, I dove right and then immediately hard left, hoping I'd lined myself up enough for a fighting chance as our bikes left the road.

Carl never had a chance as the road dropped from under us in a slight left-hand bend that could be taken flat out if the racer was on the correct line. I wasn't on that line, and Carl certainly wasn't. Already at the far-left side of the road, when Carl's bike touched down, he was pointed straight into the grass, and there wasn't a man at the event who could save it then. The moment he was in the grass he went down hard, man and machine sliding until they hit the tree line.