Page 117 of Vandal Unbound

“You’re being brave, Daze. I’m proud of you,” Vandal says when I’m done, and his words nearly undo me.

Because I don’t feel brave. I feel like every part of my skin has been peeled off and my nerve endings have been exposed to the blistering sun.

“I need to call the police,” I say suddenly.

“They won’t get there faster than me, and I won’t be able to make sure they never bother you again if you do.”

I read between the lines… that he won’t be able to kill them. I never thought I’d be an advocate of murder, but knowing there’s a gun beneath my seat and my daughter is getting farther and farther ahead of me, I would happily put a bullet through their brains.

“Okay. But I’m so scared…what if they…what if they…?” I can’t bring myself to verbalize the things I’m imagining. Horrors far worse than any she’s ever known.

“No. Daze. We can’t do this. I know you’re terrified, but you need to try to swallow that so you can think clearly.”

“We’re pulling onto the trail now. Van, they have one of those powerful SUVs. My car won’t keep up with them if the road’s empty and they go fast.”

He huffs at that. “Good thing you’re getting a new truck.”

My next sob is an ugly mix of fear and gratitude I’m not alone, Vandal feeling like a pillar of strength I can lean on rather than flee from.

“Who is with you?” I manage to ask. After what he told me about his assault, I pray he isn’t alone, that it isn’t just me and him.

“Look in your rearview mirror.”

I do, and I’ve never been so relieved to see so much chrome. Cars are moving out of the way. And somewhere amongst all that metal and leather is the one man I trust to get my daughter back.

34

VANDAL

I’m riding for my girls.

Any other uncertainties disappear beneath that mantra.

Because there’s only one outcome I will accept today. Tonight, all three of us will curl up in bed, and we’ll make Elsie feel safe. I’ll make sure nobody ever gets close enough to take her from us ever again.

The Florida sun beats down on the blacktop, turning the Tamiami Trail into a shimmering ribbon that stretches to the horizon. Canals cut through the landscape, and somewhere out there are alligators and snakes and a thousand places a body could disappear forever.

I want to believe this is Alvarez, but the timing is off. We’d been back at the clubhouse an hour. No more. And nothing about the vehicle or the occupants sounds like Alvarez’s men.

Wind tears at my cut as the miles disappear beneath my tires. The steady vibration of my Harley hums through my hands and up my arms. The throaty roar of engines around me reminds me that this time I’m not alone. Each one of these men would ride into hell for me.

And today, without question, they’re riding for my little girl. Because after this, we’re rushing every fucking step to make them both permanently legally mine.

I’ll make Daisy my old lady, and I’ll marry her. Next week if she’ll let me. Then we’ll start the papers to legally detach Elsie from her father.

For months, I lived inside a fog of painkillers and panic attacks and nightmares and the constant urge to drink. But today? Even with my recovering vision, the world is crystal clear. I see every blade of sawgrass as it flashes by me on the side of the road.

I feel every vibration through the frame of my bike.

I’m fully and completely here.

The realization is enough to make me smile beneath my helmet, even in these circumstances.

I feel like I’ve been plugged into a charging station, and nothing can stop me.

There’s a long stretch ahead of us with no other cars on it beyond the SUV and Daisy’s car. “Daze, move into the middle of the road and hug the white line. We’re gonna peel around you on either side.”

“Okay.” Her voice crackles through my earpiece, thin and scared but steady enough that it punches right beneath my ribs.