“I think the big bad Red is scared to stay by herself,” Maddie teased. I snickered, as I pulled out of the driveway to start our long journey to Lake Charles.
“I’m not scared to stay by myself.” Red snapped. “I just don’t like it,” she added, avoiding us both as she flipped down the mirror to check her appearance.
“Pussy.” Maddie said, in a huff, not believing Red’s excuse in the least.
“One more time, Maddie. Call me a pussy, just one… more… time.” Red exaggerated her words, giving Maddie plenty of time to rethink her decision about name-calling. Silence filled the car and through the rearview mirror I watched Maddie hide her smile with her hand. Red sat with knowing satisfaction at the reason for Maddie’s silence, and even though the feud was funny to me, my mouth remained closed. I turned up the radio, to hear Macklemore and Ryan Lewis serenade us with “White Walls.” Maddie sang along, offering us her own remix, which I never would have caught had I not have been paying attention to how well she could sing.
“I got that off black Cadillac, midnight drive. Got that gas pedal, leaned back, taking my time. Red is a pussy, roof off, letting in sky,” I couldn’t contain my laughter, as I fought hard to keep the car between the ditches.
“I heard that,” Red snapped, clearly not going to follow through on her unspoken promise, only leading Maddie and I to laugh harder. This was going to be a long ride.
“I gotta pee.” Maddie whined, once we had been on the road for no more than an hour.
“Well maybe you should have thought about that before you ordered that big kidney infection when we stopped to get gas,” Red snapped, jerking her head towards the now empty 44oz cup that sat between our seats. My stomach already hurt from laughing too much at the two of them and their constant back and forth shit-talking, which ranged from Red being referred to as a pussy, to Maddie being accused of licking one. I took the next exit, finding a nearby gas station to allow Maddie the opportunity to relieve her bladder and me to get something sweet. Red wouldn’t admit it, but I noticed that she also took full advantage of the stop, loading up on beef jerky and Mountain Dew. I was the first one out of the store and noticed that my car had a few admirers, which wasn’t out of the norm. What made this time so unusual was the fact that they were bikers.
“What’s a pretty girl like you doing driving a fast car like this?” A guy who favored Marty in looks asked. I smiled sweetly at him in response. It was nice to see a group of people who shared the same love and respect for riding and brotherhood as the Devil’s Renegades did.
“Her ol’ man bought it for her,” Red said, walking up and gracing them with her own smile. I shot her a questioning glance, but remained quiet. “We don’t ask questions when we are told what to do or given something. We just appreciate it because they give it to us. Property of Devil’s Renegades, Enforcer Regg,” Red said, introducing herself, not by her own name, but by her husband’s. “This is Property of Devil’s Renegades, President LLC.” She put her arm around my shoulder, and I offered them a weak smile, confused by the way this conversation was going. By the look on the guys’ faces, they didn’t seem very impressed by our titles. “Sorry to rush off, but we have to get going.” Red made her way to the passenger side of the car, while I followed suit and slid behind the wheel, the man in the black and white cut barely giving me enough room to squeeze by. As we sat in the car, both of us in silence waiting for Maddie to return, the group of men seemed to grow. I was getting a little nervous when Maddie finally made it out the door and approached the vehicle with caution. She avoided the stares and comments thrown at her, and pushed her way through the crowd and into the car.
“Leave, Dallas. If they don’t move, run their asses over,” Maddie said, as she looked over her shoulder and out the back window. I started the car, putting it in reverse and easing back, forcing the men to move out of the way. When we were safely back on the interstate, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, looking between the rearview mirror at Maddie, over to the passenger side of the car at Red.
“That was the infamous Metal and Madness Motorcycle Club.” Red said, pulling her phone from her purse and firing away at the keys in a text message.