Treasure

Ashley walked out of Rori’s bathroom, the packet of pills in her pocket. When she had gotten close enough to Rori to start spending time at her house, she had taken pictures of her medicine cabinet and texted them to her father. He passed them to Alpha Martin and the Pack Doctor. They were shocked at what she was taking and agreed that they should do something before the stupid humans permanently harmed her wolf. The Pack Doctor made up placebos to match the pills, and Ashley had just switched them out.

“How do I look,” she asked. “I’m not sure what biker gangs expect for clothing.” She twirled around, showing her Daisy Duke shorts off as she spun on her low, side-zip boots. The Orlando Mixed Martial Arts Academy T-shirt was tied below her breasts, exposing her six-pack abs.

“Damn girl! You’ll be fighting them off with a stick.” Rori was sitting on the bed, wearing a figure-hugging pair of jeans, ankle boots, and her Club t-shirt. Her red hair braided along her back. “You sure you want to head there in your crotch rocket?”

“I’m a tough chick, I can handle the comments,” she said. The Club was full of riders of big American steel, mostly Harleys, but some Indian or Victory motorcycles too. Her Kawasaki Ninja 650 would stick out like a sore thumb in the parking lot.

“Just don’t challenge any of them to a race, I don’t think they could handle losing to you.” She laughed as Ashley flopped down on the bed next to her. “Thanks for coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Walking in with me isn’t as bad for your biker-chick reputation as coming with your Mom and Grandma.”

Rori laughed. “They won’t stay long. At least I don’t think they will. Mom hasn’t been on a motorcycle since Dad died.” She had told everyone she lost her Dad by a drunk driver, which was true. Ashley knew the truth she was hiding. “At least you get to stick around if you want since you’re eighteen.”

“Yeah, well, your Mom can make sure you get to bed on time.” Rori smacked her with a pillow as she got up. “Come on; we need to go.”

Rori and Ashley parked her motorcycles at the end of the lot, while her Mom parked out on the street. Members flocked to Rori, all wanting a hug or a hello. She introduced her guests to them. “You’ve got a great kid there,” President Mongo said as the big man hugged his Mom. “She’s always safe with us.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about,” Donna said with a smile. “Now come on, I need a drink before things start getting wild.”

Her dress showed the tattoos on her shoulder, and he noticed the shield with the black stripe across it. “Your husband died on the job,” he said softly.

“Yes.” He pulled her into a hug with his old lady. “Hit by a drunk driver while responding to an accident.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Rori never talked about it; she changes the subject any time her father comes up.” When introductions finished, he led them inside. The Ladies pulled the three guests over to sit with them at a table. Mongo led Rori to the head table, where she met the visiting Presidents and the Regional President. She kept an eye on her friend and her family, but the ladies made sure they met everyone and had a good time. Grandma was chatting with the older ladies of the club. Donna was laughing with Roadkill, a big man who ran his own trucking business. Ashley was the center of attention by the pool table, where she had the attention of the younger men of the club.

There was a big barbecue buffet set up for dinner. When the two hundred or so people attending had finished, Mongo called for silence. “Tonight we unveil the memorial to the five men this Club has lost to the road. For Sprocket, Bucket, Burrito, Jaws, and Flash, your memories will live forever here in the Club thanks to the talent of one special friend. Rori King has rapidly become a valued part of this Club, and you’ll see one reason why in a minute. Rori?”

She stood up from the table, accepting a hug from him before she walked over to the tarp than covered the wall behind them. “Thank you all for being my friends and accepting me into your family. May this painting never need updating again.” She took the rope on one side, while Mongo took the other. With a nod, they pulled the tarp down and showed everyone her work.

There was silence for about ten seconds, long enough for her to start worrying that she had done something wrong. Then a clap sounded, and it turned into thunder as the men and women showed their appreciation. “TO THE FALLEN,” Mongo said as he raised his beer.

“THE FALLEN!” The toast finished, then the party started. Rori was the hit of the party, even making it to the dance floor with some of the younger men. She wasn’t used to being around boys, much less having people pay attention to her in a good way. It was a lot of fun for a girl who’d never even dated. She got contact information and invitations to visit from all of the other Chapters, and the Ladies had her back. She could go anywhere and find family now.

“Time for you to go, and take your friend with you,” Three Tequila said. She was Mongo’s old lady and President of the Steel Ladies. “Things are going to get rowdy.”

Rori was disappointed, but the other ladies were already leading Ashley over. She turned to her Mom, who was locked in a conversation with Roadkill. “I’ll be home later, honey,” she said. “Make sure Grandma is all right, and don’t wait up for me.” Great, Mom was going to party all night, and I have to leave, Rori thought.

The three of them drove back to their homes, and Ashley texted her friend to thank her for the invite before she went into the house. “How did it go,” Charlie asked her when she got back to her condo.

“Good,” she said. “I’m starting to lose her to other things. She’s spending more time with the Club, and they’re already offering up jobs in other Chapters. We won’t be able to protect her if she starts traveling and staying with them.”

“We have to move soon,” Charles said. “I’ll make a call.”

Ashley showered and changed into lounge clothes, and when she came back down, Charles was on a Skype call with Alpha Martin. She sat down at the table, and her Alpha immediately addressed her. “Ashley, do you think Rori trusts you enough to go on a vacation with you? We need to get her on Pack lands, alone, without raising suspicions.”

“I think so. Donna might not like it, but if she’s with me, it might be all right.”

Her father, Harry, spoke up. “It might be best coming from a parent,” he told them all. “The Fourth of July is coming up, and the Pack party is a good excuse to get her up there.” The Pack always celebrated remotely and quietly as their wolf sides didn’t like the loud noises of fireworks. They had a private lake and made an all-day and night party out of it. “I’m sure they’ll want to ride, and I don’t mind escorting them.”

“That’s a long ride for you, Dad,” Ashley said. “Straight through, it’s a good eighteen hours.”

“We don’t need to go straight through. Let’s make an adventure of it, take some rides through the mountains, see some of the sights. The more comfortable Rori is, the better.”

“It’s a solid plan. Invite Rori, and let me know. Once she is on Pack lands, we can show her our true nature, and draw her wolf out.” The Alpha ended the conversation, and they looked at each other.

Ashley just prayed to Luna that it would work. She liked the younger female, and this vacation was going to change everything in her life.

The next week, the three riders left their Orlando development for the Clubhouse. The Steel Brotherhood club was making a run to Charlotte, where they would attend the wedding of a former member of their charter. Having the Club with them part of the way, and Ashley’s father the rest, helped to ease Donna’s worry about Rori’s safety.

Rori was just glad to be out on the road, with her freedom. It had been almost three years since the attack that left her isolated and doubting her sanity. Being on her motorcycle was like therapy for her, and she felt better this past week than she had in a long time.

The Club got on the road just after seven in the morning on Saturday, getting on the freeway and heading north at high speed. The three stayed near the back of the formation as they rode two by two in the fast lane. The trip was close to five hundred miles, but they did it at speed in nine hours. Ashley was in bad shape by the time they arrived. “My back is killing me,” she said.

“That’s why crotch rockets are for drag racing, not cruising,” Rori said. “You’ll come over to our side eventually.” The three got introduced to the local members, who were just as welcoming as the ones back home. The wedding was fun, and one of the Club members put them up for the night at their home.

They took their time the rest of the way, averaging two hundred miles a day. On July 3rd, they turned left onto a paved private road that wound into the Adirondacks. It took them another twenty minutes before they broke out of the trees into a clearing, with a sprawling hotel-like house surrounded by smaller A-frames and log homes. When they pulled up in front of the stairs of the imposing house, Rori’s excitement level was through the roof. “Wow,” she said as she pulled off her helmet, “This is quite the place.”

“Thank you,” a man said as he walked down the stairs, a beautiful blonde at his side. “Welcome to our home, I am Martin King, and this is my wife, Rebecca.” Rori smiled at them, something inside her told her she was safe, that she could relax.

Then a man came out of the doorway, and her eyes met his. “Welcome home, Charlotte,” he said with a smile.

It was the same man she had seen outside Madison.

He called her by the same name as the men in the woods.

The men who almost killed her friend.

They had found her.

She screamed, turning to run back to her motorcycle, but the pain in her head knocked her to her knees. She fell to the ground in agony.

The last thing she saw was the older man looking down on her before the blackness came.