everywhere. The place was a mess. He was on a rampage. He was a drunk and a mean one at that. And we got into it. I was mad at him for what he was doing to my mother. And he was mad that I was getting in between them. We started fighting and he fell after I punched him. The corner of the countertop cracked his head. And he was gone. Since I wasn't an adult, I got sent to juvie instead of the slammer. And that was my saving grace. It was manslaughter instead of murder, a fight that ended up with him dead, and a plea deal to lower the sentence. At 18, I got out. I was free, but it didn't feel like it. I'd already lost everything. My mom eventually forgave me, but things had changed for her. She lost so much after Rooster died.”
"Is she still alive?" Lydia asks.
"No," I say. "She passed away a few years ago. It was about that time I started feeling real lost. I'd been working at auto shops here and there, but I wanted to get away. I needed to start over, so I left California and headed east."
"You didn't get very far though, did you?" Lydia says.
"No. I'd always heard about the Heartlands growing up. And I knew there was a California chapter, but I just wanted to get a bit farther than that, a bit farther away from home, so I ended up here."
"I'm glad you came here. I'm glad I found you, that you found us. And I know you said you don't have family, but maybe you're wrong about that. Because, Jackal, doesn't the Heartlands feel like a family?"
I nod. "It does. And you know, Ranger said the same thing to me earlier today. He said I need to get over my past and get ready for my future because it's coming for me whether I like it or not."
"But do you like it?" Lydia asks. "Do you like this idea of a future?"
I laugh, slowly shaking my head. "Had you asked me a few months ago, I don't think I would have been ready. Hell, a few days ago, even. But now, after this, us, hell, Lydia, I want to make a life with you."
We put our food away and get back on the bike. I drive her home and I kiss her lips, saying goodbye, hating to see her go but knowing that I'll see her again.
In the morning, my phone rings, waking me up. I try to look up the number, not recognizing it.
But when I answer the call, my blood goes cold, my heart goddamn stops.
Ranger's on the line. "I’m calling about Lydia," he says. "Is she with you?"
“No. Not since last night.”
“She never came home last night," Ranger says.
"Yes, she did," I say. "I dropped her off around 11."
"She's not here now," he says.
I get out of bed, reaching for my jeans. "She's not here, I'm telling you, Ranger. She was, and then we went and got something to eat and I took her home."
"Shit," Ranger says. "I don't have a good feeling about this."
My heart goes cold. Truth is, neither do I.
Lydia
Jackal hasn't been gone that long when I hear a bike out front. I know it isn't Ranger and Ruby. They said goodnight to me when I got home.
It has to be Jackal. Maybe he wants to see me again, so I get out of bed, smiling at the thought of it, tiptoeing to the back door and letting myself out. I’m in a long nightgown, my bare feet on the grass, and I squint, trying to see who it is.
When I get close enough, I realize it isn't Jackal at all. It isn't anyone I know, certainly not someone from the Heartlands. The man has a large scar across his face and eyes written with pain that I don't want to understand. He scares me in a way I’ve only ever felt when my father was trying to sell me to Slider.
“There she is,” he hisses. “Get her, Welder.”
Before I know what’s happening, another biker has wrapped something around my mouth, blindfolded me, and shoved me into a car. My hands are bound and I’m in a trunk with no idea of where I am going. Even though I can't see, I cry for help, but I don't know where I am. I only know I’m not home, I’m not with Jackal, and that’s the only