"It's been a while, Eugene Baker. We were just going through. Will you introduce us to your friend?" One of the gang members took off his helmet, and I could see his eyes. His eyes, to be precise, commanded my attention. The wrinkles on his face told me he was about 50 years old, and there was a deep scar from the edge of his eyebrow to his eyeball. There was nothing in his eyehole, not even a fake one.
"Yeah, is that why you crossed the whole city following my car? What do you want, Sean?" Eugene held my hand, shielding me slightly with his body, standing two steps closer to our enemies than I was. I only peeked out from behind his biceps occasionally, like a small child clinging to the hem of his mother's skirt.
"Not much. We aren't here to declare war, buddy." The man got off his bicycle and approached us. "My name is Sean, and you, young lady?"
I was caught away by the fact that he was standing so near and even bending slightly with his arm outstretched, as if he were a fairy tale gentleman waiting to kiss my hand.
"Gloria. "My name is Gloria. I extended my hand to him but purposefully turned his palm around. We are equals, asshole. I am not afraid of you. I squeezed his hand as firmly as I could.
"A strong handshake. Eugene, your girl is pretty bold."
"I'll repeat the question," Eugene said, breaking our handshake and pushing me behind him, cutting off my access to my new bud. "What do you want?"
I noticed the other two males starting to move, slowly encircling us. Damn, I hope he sees this, too.
"I am interested in this young lady, and you, as I recall, owe us. And you know you can repay us with her." Sean didn't have to remove his helmet for me to notice his sarcastic grin. He was well aware that we were outnumbered and that making the wrong move may have disastrous consequences.
"She's not my wife, and it wasn't part of our agreement. My debt is not to you, but to Lucian. Do you realize you're simply a pawn?" God, what an idiot. Eugene should learn how to avoid escalating a conflict.
"My friend, I'm conveying Lucian's will. You killed his father; he has the right to seek payback. You are already aware of this."
The back of my neck began to quiver, the hairs on my arms sprang on end, and I felt danger. Turning around, I noticed the two of bikers getting closer and closer.
"Eugene. Behind." He didn't react. Damn it.
Sean got closer to us, and I could smell beer and sweat. Ugh, I was expecting that all the motorcyclists in Rotten Crown were cool and wore beautiful perfume like Boogeyman. But no.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm from behind. I tried to take it away, but then I heard a click. Someone had fastened shackles around both my and their wrists.
"What the hell?" I only saw Eugene, who was enraged, and in an instant, I was yanked away with such force that I fell to the ground, slightly touching the scars on my wrists. Damn it. Not again. Are men truly incapable of persuading women other than by brutal force?
Before I could recover, I looked up and watched Sean fall to the floor, his helmet smashed. A second rider charged Eugene, but he hit that guy in the kidneys with equal ferocity. Except for the crunching of bones, there was almost no sound. Sean began to moan softly as glass from his helmet struck his empty eye socket.
"I told you back then, take your helmet off when you fight." The third biker, who had the upper hand, tried to attack my friend, for which he also immediately received a punch to his helmet.
God, how strong do you have to be to break people's bones and helmets, which are supposed to keep them from hitting the asphalt? He approached the second gang member, who was lying on the street with his hands on his ribs. Baker approached him, smacked him on the head, and knocked him unconscious. I believe he broke his skull.
Eugene began removing the helmets from each of them individually. God, one of them is only 21, so why trash your life with this crap?
I was lying on the floor, shocked at how quickly the combat had broken out and how swiftly Eugene had dispatched all of them.
"Take a close look at each. If you see any of them in town, please call me immediately."
"Baker, you will regret this." Sean was still moaning and cradling his wounded, empty eye in his palm. He was extremely unlucky.
"No, you'll regret it. Tell your boss that if I smell you or that chicks near my house again, I'll come after you all personally. Sean, you know who I am. I am not kidding."
"Go to hell."
Oh, I will. You should pray I don't find you there." Eugene struck him directly in the nose again, causing an awful snap to reverberate across the parking lot and a torrent of blood to shoot from the asshole's nose. He was out cold. Just like all of them. "Are you okay?"
Me? I have no idea what's going on here. I sat on the asphalt in amazement, stroking my palm against the metal bracelet. Unable to speak. No, I wasn't terrified; I've seen far worse, and as an anxious person, I'm always expecting the worst.
It was the first time I'd seen a man be so tough, especially around scary people like Rotten Crown. Ten years in a gang had certainly left its impact.
"What the fuck was that?" Eugene approached the person who had pinned me down and wrenched his wrist. I couldn't take another crunching sound today. But he managed to pull his hand out of the handcuffs, essentially freeing me.
"Nothing good."
I got up from the asphalt, dusting off my backside, and, still stunned, followed him to the car, occasionally turning around to see what was going on with those three miserable guys.
When we got into the car and Eugene started the engine, I understood that things were horrible. He hadn't been this worried since he pulled me up from the woods.
"It will be a sleepless night, so save your strength, okay? Let us stop for some energy drinks."
"Can you explain?"
"Blood for blood. I assassinated the current boss's father, so they must take the life of someone close to me." I stared at him quizzically. "They don't realize you're not my wife, girlfriend, or lover. You're the first human they've seen near me in years; therefore, they were drawn to you."
"Why are you protecting me? I feel like a pain in your ass right now. I'm not a child, and I know that everyone is on their own."
"I have my reasons." He held the steering wheel even tighter, as if he was recalling something extremely awful. I softly put my hand on his, barely touching him.
"Hey, we'll work it out, okay? Everything will be fine."
He smiled, and stillness fell in the car. I placed a cigarette in my mouth and lit it again. I was astonished when he removed it from my mouth, took a few puffs, then returned it to me. I was sure he did not smoke.
The night promised to be fun, so I mentally prepared for another encounter with the Boogieman.