Page 34 of Claymore
I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing on the nightstand and as my eyelids fluttered open, the sound only grew louder. I reached for it, squinting at the bright screen to see just how many missed calls I had from Louise. I slipped out of Claymore’s grasp, throwing on another T-shirt before I made it out into the living room, watching as the afternoon sun flooded the entire house. The phone rang again in my hand and this time, I answered.
“Louise? Is everything okay?”
I could hear her shuddering on the other end of the line, whimpering like she was fighting back tears. Her breaths were quick, almost like she was gasping for air, but couldn’t quite get it.
“Louise? Louise, what’s wrong?”
“They’re looking for you, Ella. This. This happened because you left. That’s what he said. If you didn’t leave then—”
“Louise, slow down. You’re not making any sense. Breathe. Tell me what happened.”
“Some bikers came through here looking for you. Derek tried to get them to leave, but they started beating him. They had everyone here scared, Ella. They started shooting and—”
She let out a cry, swallowing it hard so she could continue.
“Derek? Oh my God. Is he all right? What about everyone else?”
“The docs say he’ll be fine. They say he’s got a few big fractures and some broken bones. Ali and Erica were hurt pretty bad too. A few bullet grazes,” she said.
“And you?”
“I’m okay. Derek made me hide in the back. Ella, I don’t know what’s going on or what these bikers want with you, but they said they’re going to kill us if they don’t find you soon. You can’t come back, Ella. You can’t,” she cried.
“I have no choice, Louise. I can’t let them hurt you. Any of you. Listen to me. I need you to describe them for me. Were any of them wearing jackets with a symbol on them?”
“I-I don’t know, Ella. Everything happened so fast.”
“Think, Louise. I need you to think,” I begged.
“I don’t remember any—wait. Yes. The biker that was shooting. His jacket had a lion symbol on it. Actually, they all did.”
“Fuck.”
“Does that mean something?”
“Louise, I need you to hang tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“But Ella, you can’t—”
“I can and I will.”
I hung up the phone, rushing to wake Claymore, quickly filling him in on all the details. We both quickly rushed to get dressed, barreling out the front door onto his bike within minutes. Claymore stopped me when I tried to grab his bike helmet, caressing my cheek. The adrenaline coursed through me alarmingly fast, and I wanted nothing more than to be there for the people I loved, the people I spent so much of my life with.
“Ella, wait. Are you sure you want to go back there? We could be giving these fucking Lions exactly what they want. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you,” he said.
“I can’t just sit around and do nothing, Claymore. You promised to protect me no matter what, right?”
“Right.”
“Then I need you to have my back right now. These are the people I care about. I need to make sure they’re okay. Besides, we might find something there that could lead us to some of these Lions. We need to find out more,” I told him.
“Think Ray’s behind this?”
“I’ll be damned if he’s not. This is how he plays his games. He loves to toy with people. Especially me.”
“Well, looks like we’re just gonna have to do some digging. When we get there, I’ll call some of the guys down. We ain’t heading into Sedona with no backup,” he said, and I nodded.
I slipped onto his bike, hearing the engine roar as we rode down the suburban streets onto the highway. My heart sank into my stomach as I clutched onto him, realizing how quickly my fantasy came to an end. Just a few hours ago I was savoring how good it felt to be away from all the chaos, but just as the sun came up, it came knocking at my door all over again.First, Gina. Now, this. You won’t get away with any of it, Ray. We’ll find you. We’ll end this once and for all.
