Page 4 of Axel (Riders of Retribution #1)

Hazel

“Hazel, this is bad,” my dad says as soon as the door closes behind Axel and his chatty friend. “What the fuck is going on? Why were the Apex Runners here? Why did those other guys show up?”

“Dad, I already told you I don’t know why they showed up,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose.

I wish I could step away and calm myself down, but my dad has a habit of flying off the handle if left alone with big feelings for too long.

It’s the reason that we’re in this mess in the first place.

“The Apex Runners showed up because they needed me while I was at work.”

“I thought they knew your schedule,” my dad says, grabbing at his hair anxiously. “I thought…”

“They do know my schedule,” I say, sinking onto the couch next to him. “It’s just… I guess they want me at their beck and call at all hours.”

“That was never part of the deal,” he murmurs, familiar guilt seeping into his voice.

“That’s what I told them,” I sigh, resting my head against the back of the couch. “Apparently, they want more.”

“That’s the problem with these guys,” my dad says. “They always want more. They’re never satisfied with what they’ve got.”

I wonder if he hears himself. If he would have been satisfied with what he had, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I’m not going to remind him of that, though. I have enough going on without dredging up an argument we’ve had time and time again.

“I know.” With a shake of my head I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “And honestly, if we didn’t need my income, I’d consider it.”

“Consider what?” he asks, attempting to catch my gaze. “What are they asking of you?”

“They want me to move into their clubhouse so I can take care of whatever issues they have at any time of day,” I admit, giving him a defeated smile.

“It would mean quitting my job. And even if they paid me, I doubt it would come anywhere close to what I’m making at the hospital.

Besides, I love my job, and I’m not going to give it up because you owe these guys a favor. ”

My dad shifts uncomfortably, and I can tell he’s considering telling me to do it.

It’s infuriating. I’m the one paying a majority of our bills since he can’t be trusted to not gamble away our money.

Anger courses through me, but I try to stamp it down.

After all, I clean up the messes he makes because I love him.

He senses my unease and lets out a long breath. Changing the subject, he asks, “So… that guy, the one that killed a man and got himself shot… who is he?”

“You really didn’t figure it out?” I ask, tilting my head at him. “He and his buddy are from the Riders of Retribution.”

For a moment, his face is blank as he processes that information. Then, when he realizes that the Riders of Retribution are another MC, he goes pale. I’m actually worried that he’s going to pass out or throw up.

“This is bad, Hazel,” he says, whipping his head around the living room like he’s worried there’s someone else in here with us. “Why would you get them involved? That’s only going to make things worse for us. If the Apex Runners find out...”

“I didn’t get anyone else involved,” I say, not bothering to hide my indignation. “ Your friends are the ones that were roughing me up on the front lawn for anyone to see. I didn’t ask Axel to step in. I’ve never even seen him before today.”

“And you think the Apex Runners are going to believe that?” he asks, the panic in his voice nearly reaching a fever pitch.

“Hazel, they’re not reasonable men. They’re going to see that one of their members was killed by their rivals on our property, because of you, and they won’t ask any other questions. ”

I know he’s right, but I stay quiet. The last thing either of us needs is my feeding into his anxiety. It’s already bad enough as it is.

“We have to leave,” he says. “We have to get out of the state… no, the country. We have to get as far away from them as we can. I… I have some cash put back, and maybe we can get fake IDs and–”

“Dad, we are not running away,” I say putting a stop to that line of thinking before he actually has us on a plane to Norway.

“If you’d only let me leave the country when those goons first started knocking, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

“Do you really want to go there?” I ask, reaching my breaking point. “Because if we’re going back and trying to rewrite history, if you kept yourself out of shady gambling rings, or if you didn’t make bets with money you didn’t have, we wouldn’t be in this mess at all!”

“Point taken,” he concedes, shrinking in on himself. “But maybe it’s time to cut our losses. We need to get out of here before we get in any deeper.”

“And what if we’re already in too deep?” I challenge, rising from the couch and pacing the length of the living room. “Who’s to say they wouldn’t just track us down to settle your debt? What if they’ve already become too reliant on me and now they don’t want to lose my help?”

“They’re a motorcycle club in a little town in New Mexico,” he mumbles, talking to his lap. “I doubt they have the resources to do an international search. I think it’s worth rolling the dice.”

“I’m going to be honest, Dad. I don’t trust your judgment when it comes to gambling,” I say, stopping in my tracks. “Plus, I have a life here. I have friends, and I love my job. I don’t want to just pack up and leave.”

He’s quiet, contemplating. I wait for him to gather his thoughts.

I think my sharpness quelled his overreaction a bit.

I hate having to be the voice of reason with him, but it’s been like this since my mom died.

We’re both getting better at falling back into our roles as parent and child, but when tensions get high, I have to be the adult.

“If we keep dealing with them,” he begins slowly, picking each of his words carefully, “wouldn’t your life here change drastically?

We’re not getting out of debt. They’re going to keep pushing you more and more.

You’re not going to get to see your friends.

They might compromise your job at the hospital.

Wouldn’t it be better to leave? They need nurses everywhere.

You could make new friends. We could live our lives without looking over our shoulders. ”

I hate that he’s making sense, so I keep my mouth shut as I turn that over in my mind.

The Apex Runners are ruthless. I’ve already gotten visits from them at work, having to tend to their wounds when I should be providing care to cancer patients.

My friend circle has gotten smaller since my involvement with them began, if only to keep my friends from getting too close to this dangerous aspect of my life.

It’s hard to invite people over when I know that a wounded biker could show up at any moment.

Still, I don’t want to leave Rio Lunas. I’ve never known another home, and I love this town. Plus, my mom is buried here. I don’t want to leave her.

That’s not even touching on the fact that I’m very interested in the man I stitched up on our dining room table.

Maybe I’m imagining it, but there was a connection between us.

I’ve never wanted to explore something serious with a man before, but I want to with him.

I’d hate to run away the second I find someone that I might be romantically interested in.

“If we do leave…” I say, sitting down next to my father again. I swallow hard. “If we do leave, we’re not doing it immediately. I want to try and find a solution that keeps us in Rio Lunas. I know things seem really bad right now, but maybe they’re not as bad as we think they are.”

“Hazel…”

“I’m not saying that we’ll put it off until it’s too late,” I say as I grab his hand. “I’m just asking you to give it some time. If we don’t have any other options, we’ll go. You can start making the plans now, that way if we have to pack up and leave, all we’ll have to do is grab our bags.”

He nods, squeezing my hand before standing and leaving the room. I collapse back against the sofa, finally allowing myself to relax since the whole mess today started. My dad’s probably right. It’s dangerous, and leaving is our best option. But god… I don’t want to.