“I gave him head. He tried to steal my wallet. Things escalated. My dad stepped in. I didn’t simply leave. I left him.” He worked up the courage to look at Zane, who’d crossed his arms on his chest and stared at his feet, pale and expressionless as if he were made of clay. “That’s what you wanted to hear? I knew he’d get a beating, and I left him, ‘cause I’m not a good person. Never was, never will be. But you tell her what you did next.”
It was almost as if Roach got tunnel vision. Zane became his absolute focus until Karla’s silhouette blurred into a colorful blot. He’d expected Zane to look up, to challenge him with his gaze, but he remained very still when he opened his mouth and spoke.
“They beat me. They tortured me. They put a beer can into hot coals, and each used it to leave a mark on my back, so I’d never forget their lesson. The youngest one didn’t want to participate in everything they did, but they made him. He wanted to fit in.”
Zane meant Jersey, their prospect. Barely twenty-five, but he thought he knew what he was in for with the club. He’d had no idea. Would Roach have joined in too if he’d stayed? A voice in his head whispered yes. After all, he was a coward who couldn’t stand up to his father, but deep down, he knew he wouldn’t bear Zane’s extended torture. He’d been angry, but a few cries for mercy would have broken any of his resolve to remain cold and cruel.
He would step in. Ajax would call him a fag for wanting to protect Zane, the goading would continue until Roach also became the object of cruelty. But he wouldn’t be able to save Zane anyway. When Hulk set his sights on someone, he didn’t let go. He’d force Roach to watch the torture and make the suffering worse just to spite him.
Zane’s hands gravitated to his pockets, and he continued in a tight voice, never once gracing Roach with his gaze. “I’ve never been in so much pain. I thought I would die, and I was afraid my bones would crumble if I moved, so one of them grabbed my legs and pulled me down the porch. They wanted my head to hit each step as he dragged me all the way to some bushes.
“The party was over, so there was no one around to help me, and I think they were curious if they’d have to dispose of me in a few hours or if I’d pick myself up. They were too high on coke to care. I thought about you, and how you just left me alone with them. How much I hated you,” Zane said, raising his voice as he briefly looked Roach’s way, slicing bits of skin off Roach’s flesh with the sharpness of his gaze.
Maybe this was how their bond was severed. The more details Roach knew, the more he understood that there would be no going back for them. Whatever relationship they’d thought they had was built on rotten foundations. Zane would walk away, even if he no longer had the murderous drive from three months back.
Zane rubbed his face, as if he was trying to wake up from a bad dream. “I felt something. A dog. It licked me awake. And then I saw this old woman looking down at me. The lady with star-shaped glasses and colorful hair, who walks around with a shopping cart, she was there. I don’t remember it all, but she had alcohol bottles and rags, and a lighter. Still don’t know how I got the strength to get up, but I blocked all the doors, and then I threw Molotov cocktails inside the clubhouse. And she danced. She said they deserved to burn. We watched the fire. And then, I woke up in the hospital. She apparently got me there in her cart.”
Karla hummed. “I’m sorry you have to relive that. But this might be what we’re looking for. That eccentric lady. She brought you back to life. She once tried to sell me an amulet. She had this powerful violet aura, and for all we know she just might be a real witch. You were being hurt, and Reed didn’t feel that.” She looked to Roach for confirmation, so he shook his head. “If the connection appeared after Zane met her, she might be your key.”
But Roach didn’t care about keys, or curses, or black magic. He wanted Zane back in his arms, to always be close and fall asleep with his face buried in the long, dark locks. But if he expressed that, Zane would only hate him more.
“Zane… please. There was no biker lover. I was just so angry yesterday. Let’s just forget about this.” He shuddered when Zane’s eyes became two clouds about to unleash lightning and burn Roach to the bone so he’d join the rest of his brethren.