Chance

I watch as Abby disappears into Max's room. My heart burns to go to her, hold her in my arms and beg and plead for her forgiveness but I don't deserve that. I deserve to wallow in self-pity feeling like my world is standing still, but in actuality everything around me is moving at the speed of light.

When Austin came out and told us what happened and that Abby and Ghost were on their way here, my heart stopped. Knowing I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most, knowing I was here getting shitfaced all while she was fending off an attack that almost ended her life, kills me. If it weren't for Ghost and Swatch, she would have been dead, and it would have been all my fault. I am no better than her father, the same man that not too long ago, I fought for putting her in this same situation.

"Church in five." Austin shouts walking over to our newest guest. Leaving this morning after saying horrible things to Abby, I realized I had nowhere to go. No place I called home, no place that offered me even a distant memory from a happier time. I came straight here and passed out in my old bed only waking hours later to begin drinking away my sorrows.

Yet another time someone has needed me when I am ass drunk against the wall.

"You comin'?" Austin asks bumping his shoulder into mine. I rub the sore spot and follow him in.

Sitting down at my normal seat, I watch as everyone piles in, most making menacing eye contact with me. The nomad walks in last and stands next to the now closed door. I spot Ghost on the other side of me and try to ignore the pain I feel in my chest.

It's my fault she was hurt. I should have been there.

"Someone want to tell my why the fuck I am just now finding out about my daughter being hurt?" Bone yells out. His drunken stupor is not new, but he normally has more respect for Austin's position than this.

"Just found out about it Bone. Luckily, Swatch was there to help." He says staring over at me.

"And who the fuck is Swatch?"

Swatch makes his appearance known by stepping forward. His arms are crossed, as he nods his head to Bone. I don't know much about him, met him only once a couple of years ago. He wasn't nomad then, but it wasn't a shock to find out he needed that part in his life. The Virginia chapter had some backstabbing a few months back, and some of it circled around Swatch. He needed a fresh start and since meeting him back at Austin's engagement party, I have thought a lot about that life for myself.

"This is Swatch. Came down since we needed the help. Be glad he did Bone, or you may not have a daughter right about now." Everyone remains silent as Austin continues. "We got more intel from the Morader's. Seems they wanted to redeem their last bit of useless information and got us something more useful. Apparently, they have the location of our missing friend."

"One that got away from us?" Shane asks.

"The very one. He's up north, Torque can't get the address on any file, no name, no deed, not even a goddamn picture. Have a strange feeling about this, which is why I'm sending in a few brothers. Max, Shane, Slice, Dipp and Ghost." Austin looks at each brother as he says their name and my anger surges that I wasn't included in this. "Want him alive, he's got info I'm going to want. Keep your phones on, Torque may be able to get something. I've got him working round the clock, but we can't waste any time. Any questions? Good. Get the fuck gone."

Everyone begins piling out of the room, but I stay back. Austin notices my body and walks over to me with his arms crossed.

"Need somethin'?" He asks once the last brother leaves.

"Why the fuck did you bench me?"

"Figured you were too drunk to be able to ride."

"Nobody knows that fucker's face better than me. I should be on this run Aus."

"See, I would agree with you, except you have this way of not following my rules." I look down at my shoes. Hating how small I feel in this moment. "I told you to watch out for her, I put you in charge of her, and this is how you do that?"

"I know I fucked up. I know that. But I need to do this."

"Not about redeeming your soul. I need to make sure no one else is going to get hurt on your dime." That hurt. I've let not only Abby down, but my brothers as well, and that feels like a hit to my gut.

"Please Prez. It's not about me, I know that, but you know I should be there." Austin takes what feels like hours then finally nods his head.

"Go but keep your fuckin' phone on." He begins walking towards the door but stops and turns back over to me. "And do not make me fuckin' regret this."

Blowing out a deep breath, I startle when Swatch begins speaking from the back of the room. "This all seems familiar."

"Fuckin' hell." Fucker nearly gave me a heart attack. "What do you mean?"

"Went through the same type of shit with my prez."

"I'm sure it's different. You weren't the bad guy in your story Swatch."

"No, but I wasn't trusted within my club at one point. Know what that feels like brother."

"And what would you do if you were in my shoes?"

"Don't know you that well, don't know your story, but I can spot an asshole a mile away, and that ain't you. You want your club to respect you, show them that they can trust you. Respect your club but follow your mind. It'll lead in you in the right spot." I nod my head content with his words.

"Thanks man."

"Can I just ask you one question?"

"Shoot."

"That pretty little blonde with the bangin' rack."

"Stay the fuck away from." He smile then nods his head.

"Understood. You goin' to be make it right?" I stare at him, his Virginia accent strong with each word.

"Plan on it." I state then head out of the room and right to Max's room.

Max is standing outside his room, back against the door with one foot up. His arms are crossed and head back and eyes closed. When I get close enough his body tenses. His eyes open and bore into me like he can see my unfit soul.

"Told you man. Told you not to fuckin' hurt her."

"I need to speak with her Max."

"Yeah, figured you'd come, but see, I've been standing outside this door while my girl is in their comforting yours. I've been the one that has had to stand here and listen to her sobs wreck through me. I'm the one that had to listen as each cry tore through her. So you need to give me something other than needing to speak with her." He finishes the last part with his fingers in the air as quotations.

"Look Max, I understand your pissed at me, but I need to go into that room right now and speak with Abigail. I'm not looking for any permission from you. I appreciate your protectiveness for her, but it's not warranted with me. Austin just approved me to go with you guys and I need to see her before I leave, so get the fuck out of my way or I will make you."

A small smile covers his face and at first I assume the worst, but eventually Max shakes his head and stands to the side.

Before I had inside Max says one last thing to me. "We have all fucked up with our women, not gonna stop you from trying to do right by her, I've been in that category, but this is your last warning Chance, I will not let you hurt her again. She's been through enough in her life she does not need any more of a broken heart."

Nothing more to say to that, I not my head and walk inside.

Shawna notices me first, her arms immediately cross over her chest giving me attitude. She and Abby are sitting on the bed cross legs with pillows surrounding them.

"You don't belong in here."

"Shawna"

"No, you don't get to come in here and plead your case now that you're sobering up. Abby has been sitting here"

"It's okay Shawna. I'll be alright." Shawna's glare turns soft as she looks back at her friend. I respect Shawna for caring, but right now I just her need her the fuck out of here.

"Yell out if you need anything. If he tries to come near you, kick him in the balls like I showed you." Shawna walks over to me, stares me down, which is something seeing how I've got at least a foot on her, and walks out, slamming the door in the process.

My vision goes back to Abby. She looks so frail and small sitting on the bed. She hasn't looked at me, hasn't even looked up yet, but I can already tell her eyes are red and puffy from crying.

I did this to her.

I'm such a fuckin' asshole.

"Abby, I'm so sorry. I"

"Do you know what I was most afraid of when I was a little girl?" I wait for her to look up at me for conformation that I'm supposed to join in on this conversation, but she continues. "My mother. After her death, I saw her everywhere. At school, at church, in my bedroom at night when I would try to fall asleep. It's like she never left me, but the problem was it wasn't really her. I saw her in the same way as I did the night she was killed. A hole in her face and blood all over her clothing."

I stand there, not able to move. Abby has never opened up to me about her mother's death. Certainly not like this. This dark and nightmarishly scary image she is portraying is making me want to go back in time and protect that scared little girl that just needed someone to care about her.

"I hated it at first. I didn't want to see her like that. It didn't seem fair. It was bad enough I was a five year old that lost her mother, why did I have to see her in that way, everywhere I went? I eventually got used to it, figured her death was my fault, so I should have to live with the demons that followed. Then one day, she just disappeared. I didn't see her anywhere, couldn't find her." She looks over at me with tears flowing over her cheeks and more forming in her beautiful blue irises. "Do you know what day that was that she left me forever Ryan?"

"No." I shake my head, my body feeling like it's going to explode.

"It was the day I met you. The day you came into my life and told me I was too beautiful to hide my ugly."

My feet atomically move towards her. I sit on the bed beside her and take her in my arms. She wails while I hold her, and I allow each cry to scar my heart further. Her arms eventually seek out my comfort and hold me back and I take the opportunity to lay her down on the bed.

"I'm so sorry Abby. I'm so sorry I fucked this up for us before we could ever start. I hate everything I said to you. Every moment I hurt you. I'm an asshole and don't deserve you. Please, please forgive me."

"You have to give me something Chance. I can't open my heart back up to you, only to have it ripped to shreds again. I can't survive that again."

"It won't Abby. I won't hurt you ever again baby."

"You have to tell me something. I need a piece of you that you keep hidden. Something anything."

I stare at her for the longest moment. I can feel my heart opening up to her but the fear I have at the rejection I will receive for my sins is too much. I know I have to give her something and I blurt out the only thing I can.

"I killed my own daughter."

ùùù

I killed my own daughter.

I killed my own daughter.

The words loop around in my brain as I follow along Max and Slice. We have been on the road now for over three hours and I've spent the entire time going over my last words to Abby.

She said nothing after those horrifying words left my mouth. I don't know what I expected. Her to gasp and look at me with shock? Her to run away from me? Her to cry? She did nothing, simply held me in her arms. It was the first time I had said the words out loud. Knowing what I did to my little girl was painful enough without saying the truthful words.

Max's hand signals for us to slow down as we come to a stop. We're on a dirt road, miles from any kind of city. It took us three hours, but we are near Massachusetts now. Torque hadn't yet figured out why he couldn't access images from the address we received from the Moraders, only that there was nothing wrong with his laptop or program. Whoever lived here, knew how to keep themselves off radar. The thought didn't worry me, I needed to get back the fucker that got away, and whoever was up here helping him, was going to die along with him.

"Where are we?" Dipp asks walking up to Max and me. I notice a slight hobble in his step, not for the first time, and look back up to him.

Dipp was diagnosed with arthritis. He says he won't let it stop him from riding, but I've noticed his movement declining. I know it won't be long.

"Ten minutes out. We need to find some ground to cover us. Leave the bikes here, we're on foot from here on." We follow Max until we find a grassy hill that is deep enough to provide cover from all around. Laying low to the ground, we each check our guns and ammo. I'm in the middle of tying my boots when Max makes his way over to me.

"You good?"

"Yeah, just have a bad feeling about this."

"Same. Once we get to the actual location, we'll go from there. No need to be a hero over some fucker."

Nodding my head, I wait for everyone else to check their clips. We move as a unit, Max leading from the front, with Shane in the back.

"Whoa."

"What the fuck?"

"Is this the place?"

My eyes find Max as we all take in what looks like a large mansion at the top of a long hill. It's large white stoned walls are high with a slanted roof made of dark grey ceramic tiles. A massive gate covers the outside land and of what I can tell, there is not only a shed, but some kind of greenhouse.

"Max?" I ask watching as his eyes access his surroundings. Max served two tours, and of what I know, came back different than when he went in. Shawna's presence in his life changed all that, but right now, I think he's the soldier his unit relied on in Afghanistan.

"Let's check it out." Shane says from behind me causing Max to look over at him.

"Got a bad feeling about this Shane. Torque couldn't get the address of this place? It's huge, it doesn't seem right."

"Which is exactly why we should go." I chime in. Max and Shane both turn their attention to me. "We came all this way, I agree with you, it sounds fishy, but we need to find out if our guy is in there. If he ain't then we leave, but I can't let the fucker that got away go. He could have already contacted some friends about who we are and where we all live."

"Chance is right. Plus I didn't sit my ass on that bike for almost four hours for nothin'." Slice states.

Everyone's attention goes to Max. Shane may be the Road Captain, but Max is the VP. It's his call above all.

"Gonna make a phone call." I watch as Max walks over to the side of the hill, his phone by his ear before he can even take a breath.

"Think Austin will tell us to go in?" I hear Dipp ask Shane, but my focus is on Max's demeanor. He's tense, no doubt his mind is screaming what a bad idea this is.

"How was she when we left?" I turn with confusion when I hear Ghost speaking.

"What?"

His eyes narrow at me.

"If you're talking about Abby. She was fine."

"Good." His eyes don't leave me, so I walk over to him as he sits on his bike.

"You got somethin' you want to say to me Ghost?"

"Yep. You need to quit hurting her."

"And you need to stay the fuck out of my business." I know everyone is looking over at us, also know this isn't the time, but I need to get this out in the air now. Ghost and Abby are close, I would never tell her not to have friends, but Ghost cares for her more than just friends, and he needs to know that shit ain't okay with me.

"Not tryin' to be in your business Chance. But I was the one that was there for her this morning, not you, I was the shoulder she cried on, not you. She could have died, again.

"I know that. I haven't been doing right by Abby, but that all changed before I left. I appreciate you being there for her, but I'm warning you now brother, don't step in my way."

Ghost stares at me hard, but eventually nods his head.

I hear Slice in the background making a remark about everything being a soap opera lately and use the opportunity to turn around and go back to my original spot.

Away from everyone.

Moments later, Max finally walks back with a look of doubt. He stares at each one of us as we form a circle around him.

"Austin says it's a go ahead. Torque still can't get shit on the place. Not even a goddamn picture. We've got no idea what we'd be running into, but I agree with you, we need to check it out. Moraders gave us this location for a reason. Let's not waste the trip."

I nod my head and turn to face the place. Accessing the entire grounds, I spot the shed and stare at it. "Think we might get something out of that shed?" I ask pointing towards the large shed.

"It's worth a shot. Let's head out."

We move as one through the darkness. No sound amongst us and no need for communication. Max leads followed by me, Ghost, Dipp, Slice and Shane taking the tail. Max haunches over to pick the lock and after three seconds, has the thing unhinged. We rush in, only to stop at the bloody site ahead of us.

"Holy fuck." Shane walks closer and examines it.

"This our guy?"Max asks covering his nose with the tip top of his shirt,

I squint from the repelling smell of the bloody corpse. The man we drove all this way here for, sits naked on a wooden chair. His face is black and blue, bruises all over his body. There are large welts across his abdomen and face, and looking closer, I can see a single gunshot wound to his head.

Tortured and killed.

"Why the fuck would anyone but us want this fucker dead?" Ghosts asks.

"Don't know, but we need to get the fuck out of here."

"Max"

"Everyone stop where you are." We all turn at the shout and come face to face with about fifteen guards at the sheds entrance with guns pointed.

"Too many of them." Dipp whispers.

"Don't be stupid. Place your guns down." One of them calls out. They all look exactly the same, all dressed in black slacks and black buttoned up long sleeved dress shirts, they're even all wearing sunglasses even though it's dark out.

Max nods his head towards us, indicating for us to follow orders.

We all do as we're told and put our guns down on the ground. One of the men walk up and grab each of our guns, placing them inside some kind of whicker box, returning quickly to his place amongst them all.

"Follow us gentlemen, out boss would like a word." The man in the middle says. He has some kind of ear piece in his ear and I narrow my eyes at how ridiculous all this suddenly feels.

"Got no choice. Let's go." Max follows, keeping his hands in the air as he follows the men out.

"This is a fuckin' trap." Slice mumbles but follows suits along the rest of us.

They lead into the house through a small pebbled path along the deep green grassy fields. I spot several kids toys in the yard, along with a tricycle and some kind of small trampoline.

What the fuck is this place?

Walking inside the mansion seems surreal. It's deep mahogany rustic decor flow unevenly around the wooden panels covering the walls. There is a large stoned fireplace that reaches the ceiling of the second story and the furniture looks right out of a magazine. We are put into the living area, surrounded by the men that remind me of the secret service for the president.

"What the fuck you all waiting on?" Dipp calls out nearly screaming behind my ear.

"For me, Mr. Ortiz." A tall round man walks into the room, causing the men to part ways for his presence. "Thank you for joining me this evening gentleman."

"Who the fuck are you?" Max asks looking from the man to his goons and back again.

"The man that will make your lives much simpler."

"Doubt that man, my old lady, she's fuckin' crazy." Max's calm demeanor as he crosses his arms with narrowed eyes causes the man to chuckle.

"Yes, I am certain old ladies of bikers are supposed to be. But rest assured, I am no enemy to your gang. unless you want me to be."

"Who are you?" I can't help the threatening sound of my voice. This man clearly knows who we are and why we are here.

"My name is Domingo Manchela. And you boys have been on my radar for some time now."

I look over at Max for some kind of confirmation. His face remains stoic but when I glance at Shane, I can see the panic set into his eyes.

"You're a part of the skin trade." Shane announces. Everyone's eyes go from him back to Manchela who takes a seat amongst the secret service that surround him.

"Not a part of dear boy. The leader." A smirk captures his lips as he takes in our group.

"What do you want with us? We ain't in your business." I stare at Max with worry. How he is so calm I do not know. Though we are not in his business, Abby did murder a man that works for him.

"I want nothing from you Mr. Stone. Simply to give you the information you so badly need." Manchela snaps his fingers, causing one of the guard to come forward with a large envelope in his hands. He addresses Max with it, then takes his place back beside his leader.

"What is this?"

"Consider it a gift."

Max tears open the envelope, a few papers are inside and Max glances at them then back to Manchela. "Who is this?" I stare at the large photo of a man that looks familiar but can't place him.

"The man you are after." Manchela stands and walks over towards us. I notice a slight limp in his leg as if he at times, may use a cane. "His name is Benjamin Alberts. Think you may know his brother John, he was your former chief of police."

Shock registers among the group. I look down, trying to grasp the fact that after all these years of trying to get info on that mother fucker, nothing has ever led me to believe he had a brother.

"We aren't after a Benjamin, just his brother."

"Trust me son. You are after his brother Ben as well. Benjamin used to work for me. His position was something I took pride in, someone I trusted." Manchela's eyes go dark as he finishes his thoughts out loud. "A few weeks ago, one of our men came to us and told us that he had been seen trying to persuade some of the others to join him and his brother on their mission. They want to not only rule over the drug trade, but the skin trade as well. Apparently some of my men even joined them. The one in that back shed, was one of them."

"Holy shit." Dipp says aloud.

"My men will be dealt with. I am no push over and they will realize that, in the meantime, I will leave you to getting the Alberts brothers. The information I am giving you is where they are most likely currently staying. Do with it as you wish, but I want them taken care of. Do not let me down."

My gaze veers over to Max once again. His body language screams calm but I know he is taking this in as much as he can. Who could have thought the king of the skin trade would be leading a group of bikers to kill a former chief of police. This is fuckin' nuts.

"I'll have to speak with my president."

"Understood. Austin will have my information to contact me shortly. I expect an answer my noon tomorrow. Give them back their guns and escort them out." A nod slips out of Max and with a wave of Manchela's hands we are led outside, all the way to our bikes where they knew we parked and left alone.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Slice practically screams.

"Do we trust him?" Shane is next to chime in.

"Don't have a choice. He knew everything about us. Fuck, even who we were after. He's got men everywhere."

"If what he said was the truth, then we only have two men we have to go after." Shane ever the optimist points out.

"Yeah, but it also means we are on the Skin trade's radar. We don't step on their feet, but we help women get off their feet after their lives were flipped upside down by something or someone. We need to make sure we can protect ourselves." Slice adds.

"Gonna call Austin?" I look over to Max and ask. His body language is still hard, but I can tell there is a bit of relief there now. What we just came from, it's a miracle we are alive right now.

"Yeah, I'll call him on the road. Let's get the fuck out of here." We all pile on our bikes and veer out of there.

What a fuckin' night.