The Snake Bites MC

Chapter Three - Snake

I had no idea why that night was so vividly in my mind tonight except it was the night both dad and I got injured on two separate runs. It was also the night Spirit snuck into the compound even though her uncle, Doc had forbidden her to be there. I'd watched the antics of the men with her from the door of the medical room where Doc had just finished patching me up. They'd tried to scare her straight and I never will forget the sight of Doc following through on his 'hide tanning' threat.

It had only been a week since the funeral but I felt it was about time I checked in with her. I reasoned it was some notion of acting like an older brother since her father was gone and she only had Doc and there was an eighteen year age gap between us.

I'd watched her grow up and apparently I was inclined to be an overprotective controlling jackass, if any woman I'd try to be with for more than five minutes was to be believed. If I could be really honest, now that she was free again, that half-open door was creaking and I wondered if we all would ever be ready for it to be opened wide.

Another memory I tried hard to suppress came roaring back into view. My father's funeral and Spirit's 21st birthday gift we'd provided. She'd asked us to fuck her senseless as a foursome and so we'd obliged but it had left an indelible mark on all of us.

Since then she'd been the woman all were compared to if we weren't drunk enough not to notice. Then on the day of her husband's funeral she'd etched another memory into our brains and if we hadn't been besotted before that, we certainly were now.

I leaned back into the office chair and took a long pull on the beer bottle. Ugh it was warm.

I crossed to the small fridge that sat on the shelf of the book unit, snagged another one and flopped into the armchair. I looked around the room and let the dark wood and muted colours calm me.

My phone pinged. I glanced at the time -- 2am -- no good news arrived at this hour of the morning and I'd had so much bad news lately I almost didn't want to look but I did.

Now that was spooky.

SPIRIT : S.O.S.

SNAKE : What do you need? Are you ok?

SPIRIT : I'll be ok if your disposal crew can take out some garbage for me, tonight.

SNAKE : You know it's not normal garbage they dispose of, right?

SPIRIT : I'm not a fucking idiot, Snake.

Wow, she sounded pissed off and more like the Spirit I knew. The next message was one of those videos that disappears once you play it. It looked like her house, her living room, which I'd only seen once and there were...five dead guys strewn around.

I tried to ring her number but she wouldn't pick up.

SPIRIT : Can you help or not?

Fucking hell, five bodies? How the hell did she have five bodies to dispose of and why?

Her address was an hour's drive at least so I started moving as I typed.

SNAKE : Sit tight. On our way.

SPIRIT : No need to hurry -- they ain't goin nowhere. You might want to put Doc on stand-by, I'll need medical help. Buzz at the gates when you get here.

Shit, how hurt was she if she'd been up against five men?

I stalked out of the office and marched to Grinder's room and banged on the door.

"Disposal Crew -- you're up. Ten minutes out front."

Down the hall Duke, stuck his head out.

"What's up, Prez?"

"Spirit needs our help. Out front ten minutes."

He nodded and kicked the door on the opposite side of the corridor.

"Hammer get your ass out here," that made a full house.

I sat astride my bike in the courtyard and watched everyone scramble while I fired a message to Doc to come to the club that we'd have someone injured for him to treat. I didn't mention who it was so as not to worry him.

The black van would be ideal for moving the cargo and Grinder, Angel and Stoic had all the equipment they needed to clean up any mess.

I led them out of the compound, the rumbling of my bike under my thighs and the cool early morning air did nothing to calm the part of me that wanted to speed to her and make sure she was in one piece.

The roads were clear, weather was favourable and we made good time, rolling up to the gates of the stunt company lot just before 3.05 am.

I pressed the buzzer and watched the screen. Her face appeared only briefly while she released the gates but fuck...was her eye swollen shut?

Grinder's crew took the road around to the back so they could park outside her house. We parked where we had before and jogged down the alley way.

She was standing....well not really....more leaning against the frame of her front door which seemed to be fucking holding her up, when we appeared.

"They're in there," she gestured behind her with her phone as I reached her. She took a step towards me and then collapsed, going down fast.

I made sure she didn't hit the deck but scooped her up into my arms.

Duke and Hammer came in close.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Duke cursed.

We echoed his sentiments because not only was one eye swollen shut but there were nasty bruises on both cheeks, her lip was split and I could just see rope burns on the part of her throat exposed by the hoodie she was wearing. Her top slid up revealing a makeshift bandage on her side. The dark stain on her track suit didn't look good. Stab or gunshot wound probably and she'd likely lost some blood.

Angel let out a low whistle at the spread of bodies across the sitting room. I lay Spirit down on one of the couches and she began to come back to us.

"Did she do this?" Stoic asked and I shrugged.

"Since she's the only one alive I'd have to assume so."

There was a clunk as something fell from her pocket. I picked up a gun.

"She's got good aim, I'll give her that. Five head shots."

It took the crew 30 minutes to load up the bodies, clean the scene of evidence, including Spirit's gun. She released it reluctantly asking if we could replace it as soon as possible.

"What the hell happened, sweetheart?" I grumbled.

She explained to us in detail what the guy on the phone and the guys who were now dead wanted. She was unsure what to think about whether Mac had lied to her about the money.

"Maybe he felt bad and gave away the rest before sinking the mil into this place," Duke suggested and she shrugged.

As she described what they'd done to try to get the information from her I found it harder and harder to listen. The implication that if round two had fucking started it was going to be sexual abuse had me punching the nearest wall and putting a dent in the plaster board.

"They're lucky they're already dead or I swear..." Duke growled, looking like he really needed to murder someone. Only guy left was the asshole on the phone.

Hammer was holding himself in check but one look at his expression and I could see the desire for vengeance clear as day.

My relief that nothing sexual had happened wasn't only for her but for us too.

"Is it ok for me to come back to the club? When they don't contact phone guy he'll likely send more and I'd rather not be here for that," she asked and I nodded.

"I've put the staff here on paid leave for a couple of months so there's no risk anyone else will get hurt."

She was so together that I worried about how hard this would hit her when she finally let herself feel.

In the time it had taken us to arrive she'd packed a suitcase of clothes and gathered items like her and Mac's laptops and some personal photos.

"Can you take that stuff in the van?" she asked quietly and with a grumble Grinder agreed.

"Oh and my Harley Nightster, it's in the garage?"

Stoic's eyes lit up and he smiled at her. She tried to return it but somehow her eyes just couldn't join in.

"How about I ride it back for ya?" he suggested, his youth shining through.

"Ok, but don't over rev her. And watch the brakes, they're hyper sensitive."

When we finally locked up her house, dawn was beginning to break so it was near 5am. In the hallway, she stretched to punch in the code to arm the alarm and winced. Her stride wasn't right as she moved outside and around to the garage and I wondered what other injuries she might be carrying. We needed to get her looked at by Doc, sooner rather than later.

She entered the garage instead of heading for the van.

"Where are you going?"

I lengthened my stride to keep up, Duke and Hammer not far behind.

"To get my ride. I don't plan on sitting in the van with dead bodies."

Stoic had joined us and frowned, disappointment in his expression.

"The Harleys are under there," she pointed to a tarp. Stoic pulled it away and two bikes were revealed.

"Harley Road Glider," Stoic identified the second one and she nodded.

He rolled the Nightster out of her way and she snapped open the storage box on the Glider. She unrolled leathers and pulled the trousers over her track suit wincing and hissing all the while. The leather jacket was like a second skin and when she tried to push the snug helmet over her eye and cheeks she stamped her foot and swore like a trooper.

She pulled it off and threw it into the storage box with so much force it bounced off and landed with a crash on the ground.

"Hey, hey..." Duke stepped closer, scooping it up and stowing it, "you can go without it just this once, right?"

She looked up at him as he approached and backed away a little. He didn't push it but extended his arm and loosely cupped her shoulder.

She winced and then blew out a breath.

"Sure. Sorry."

"Are you sure you can ride?...alone I mean," Hammer asked and after a slight hesitation she shrugged.

"Probably not but I'm not leaving my bike behind."

We all understood the sentiment. Our bikes were an extension of us and our personalities and she'd grown up surrounded by bikes and bikers, so we didn't argue.

"Stoic, tell Angel he can ride my bike back, very fucking carefully," Hammer threw his key to Stoic who rode off towards the van.

"I'll happily be your bitch just this once," Hammer announced and her lips twitched upwards.

"Nah, you drive. I'm too sore to have you pressed up against me holding on like a big baby."

Hammer gave her the middle finger, she returned it and things felt like old times.

Duke and I moved to go get our bikes but halted when she called.

"Snake....all of you.....thanks." Chapter Four - Hammer

The Glider was smooth to handle and the engine only slightly less powerful than my bike. Every few miles Spirit would shift behind me and resettle herself and I knew she was hurting.

"Tell me if you need to stop, honey," I shouted over the wind but she gave me a thumbs up that I didn't believe.

Jesus she was strong. From what she'd told us about the attack, with five men against her, knives, ropes, fists and a fucking cattle prod in the mix, it was a miracle she wasn't a shaking blubbering wreck.

She was a biker chick, ex-army I supposed and her stunt person career probably gave her skills and resilience beyond the norm but still.

The roads were busier and we had to weave the traffic at times to keep moving. The van had veered off in its own direction with Angel and Stoic giving it a biker escort. It'd be a few hours before they'd be back having taken out the trash.

We were half way home when I felt her arms slacken around me. She was falling asleep and that was dangerous for us both. I tapped the backs of her hands sharply and she hissed. I glanced down and frowned but then remembered her mentioning cigarette burns. I got another thumbs up. Bullshit.

I was never so glad to see the fucking compound and I eased her bike into a spot beside where I normally parked. I felt Spirit rise to swing her leg over the bike. I extended my arm and she leaned heavily on it and my shoulder to get herself off, swearing under her breath all the while.

She stood to the side while I dismounted and then snapped open the storage container. She shrugged out of the leather jacket and the hoodie slid off her shoulder. Shit. I recognised the blood encrusted line of a knife slash, it was fresh but not too deep. She turned and leaned against the bike pulling open the popper at the top of the leather trousers.

"Here, let me," I said, waiting for her agreement before touching her.

"Thanks. I feel so fucking useless. I hate this," she growled.

I slid the leathers down her legs and off her booted feet.

"Hey, ease up on yourself. You've been through hell. Doc's waiting inside. He'll fix you up but then you need to allow your body time to recover."

The club was quiet what with it being so early, just after 6am, and I was glad of it for her. The last thing she needed were curious stares.

We led her through the building and up into Doc's old apartment. Recently Snake had suggested to Doc that he might open it back up so he could crash if needs be. The medical room had been kept up to date so that Doc had somewhere decent to work when he tended the club members but the apartment had been let slide. The old ladies of the club had given themselves the task of cleaning it. The crew wouldn't be here with her stuff for another few hours but she could sleep here, certainly.

As soon as we stepped through the door Doc was over to her. He knew better than to hug her but he took her hands in his and held them gently. He leaned his forehead down against hers.

"Let's make you more comfortable and then you can rest, ok?"

She nodded and he led her out and into the medical room. The medical equipment may not have been state of the art but it was modern and relevant. It seemed natural to stay with her and as Doc began to remove her clothing my blood ran cold and then red hot with rage.

We might be rough bikers and on the wrong side of the law most of the time but we never condoned beating on a woman or hurting a child and so what they'd done to her disgusted me.

Doc's first task was to stabilise the gunshot wound in her side. It was a through and through and needed a few stiches but he worked quickly and it was bandaged in no time. Then he methodically cleaned the wounds from the knives on both of her upper arms and dressed them.

He wrapped bandages around her wrists, and neck where the ropes had rubbed them raw. He cleaned the splits to her lips and eyebrows. He rubbed cream into the cigarette burns on her breast, inner thighs and hands and the bruises that covered the majority of her body.

She yelped when he checked her ribs for breaks but he declared that he didn't think the bones had been harmed.

"Take these as and when you need them and don't be a martyr," Doc said holding out a packet of very strong pain killers. Spirit took two out and with some water, swallowed them without protest. A testament to how much pain she was in. Doc had to go into work but promised to look in on her again.

"You've left it closed up since Doc moved out, after I left?" she asked Snake a short while later, as she moved gingerly into the space of the apartment. She looked a little green and she was holding her body in an unnatural way.

"I think my father thought Doc would change his mind and then I just left it in case either of you ever needed it."

"Well the ladies did a great job, it smells fresh. Thank them for me, won't you?"

She moved into the bedroom and through the open door we could see her sit on the end of the bed. Different expressions crossed her face as if she was having an internal discussion.

"Hey guys. Could you stay close while I try to sleep?" Fuck, she sounded so vulnerable and exposed.

"Sure. We can crash out here, if that's ok," Snake replied, moving into her line of sight.

She nodded and he reached for the door handle.

"No, leave it open."

She toed out of her boots but without getting any more undressed she snagged a blanket and crawled up the bed onto the pillows and curled up onto her better side, covering herself. No position would be truly comfortable but I hoped the pain killers might knock her out a little.

"I'll take first watch," I offered and Duke and Snake nodded, stripping off their boots, t-shirts and jeans and stretching out on the two couches.

I moved the armchair so that I could see Spirit and she could see me, if she needed.

If she hadn't already killed the fuckers that made her sound so small and unsure, right about now I'd be putting their heads through walls. I knew the realisation that she'd taken five lives hadn't sunk in yet and no matter how justified she was to do it, it would still eat at her for a bit. We all knew what it was like to have your first kill but for that to be times five....

I pulled out my phone and opened the games app which would pass the time but also keep me awake.

A couple of hours had passed when I heard the first whimper from the bedroom. Nightmares were part and parcel of trauma for some people and it looked like our girl was one of them. If I could soothe her before it woke her she'd get a better sleep and so I moved quietly into the room. She was beginning to toss and turn and I didn't want her to rupture the stitches.

"You're ok, Spirit, you're safe. It's just a bad dream."

She turned towards my voice, her eyes still closed but her arms outstretched.

I touched one of her hands and she clung to my large one and pulled me towards her.

I knelt onto the bed and stroked her hair from her forehead.

"Shh, it's ok, no-one is going to hurt you. You're safe with us."

"Hold me?"

She turned with her back to me and pulled my hand around her waist. Did she know it was me or was she dreaming of Mac? It didn't matter though. I was willing to give her comfort if I could.

I spooned in behind her and she hugged my hand with both of hers into her chest, snuggling back against me.

Mentally I berated myself for the twitch of arousal that the proximity of her backside caused but hey, I'm only a man, not a fucking saint and it wasn't as if I was going to do anything about it.

I slid my arm under her head and it nestled into the crook of her neck.

She sighed and her breathing evened out.

A memory almost forgotten of her 21st gift after Reverend's funeral when she'd allowed herself the present of three hot bikers, her words not mine, rolled through my mind and I let it. She'd been glorious that night. Part shy and part uninhibited. Part scared but fully curious and ready to give anything a try. And then, she was gone back to the army.

We'd mourned her like she was fucking dead for a long while. We didn't keep in touch with her but the snippets of information we got through Doc was enough of a salve on the gaping hole in our lives to make it a little easier.

It was noon by my watch when Snake padded to the bathroom and on his way back I gestured him into the bedroom.

"Nightmares?" he asked and I nodded.

"Just one. I need a whizz, can you take over. She needs to keep sleeping."

He nodded and went to pull on some clothes. I tried to ease away from Spirit but her grip on my hand was so tight it was almost painful.

"It's ok, honey. Snake's gonna mind you for a while. You just keep sleeping."

She released me and Snake took my place.

I was still fully dressed so I stripped off in the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower then scooted back to my room for fresh clothes.

Spirit's suitcases and shit were stacked outside the room. I heard loud snoring when I passed Grinder's, those guys fucking deserved their rest.

Paula, Grizzler's old lady took pity on me and whipped me up a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon for lunch and I gave her the bare minimum details about Spirit's return as I knew Grizzler and the other Wolf's Paws would want to know. I was half finished when Doc appeared in the doorway.

"Is she ok?" he asked and I waved him into the seat opposite.

"She's sleeping. Snake and Duke are with her."

"Christ. Any idea yet what happened?"

I gave him the rundown of the money and the guy on the phone and the fact that five guys were dead and his niece was still standing.