Silent Warriors

Chapter Thirteen

Melody watched the two brothers walk out of the main building with Ash waving off with the rest of the men. Oak walking toward her had her stomach plummeting as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

Whatever that had been said inside was about to be unleashed and she needed to be strong for it. Steeling herself, she waited as Oak stopped in front of her and looked around them. 

"Want to go somewhere private? We can go inside or go for a ride?" Oak's eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses so Melody couldn't read his expression. Privacy indicated it was probably pretty bad so it might be better to get away. 

"Let's go for a ride then, maybe I could ride on the back of yours?" She asked, knowing she probably shouldn't be riding her own after such a heavy conversation. She felt forward for asking but his quick nod reassured her.

"Yeah, of course. I was going to suggest it anyway. Come on, I got an extra helmet. Coal with Wyatt?" Melody nodded and followed Oak over to the bikes lined up before stopping in front of a red and black Road King. He handed her a skull cap from his saddle bag before settling himself behind the handle bars. She slid in behind him and pressed herself against him since there was no back rest. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she leaned her face against his leather clad back and closed her eyes as she felt them glide away from the shop.

She loved the feeling of letting go when she was on a motorcycle-like no one could touch her. The sun warmed her face as her hair flew behind her while the bike wound down the road. Instead of heading towards town, Melody saw them veer deeper into Evergreen before riding back up into the mountains. Curving up the road with the breathtaking scenery had her squeezing tight as she took in the vast landscape around her. Before long they had reached the end of the road and pulled up to a small cabin. Oak placed the kickstand down before nodding for her to get off before he followed. Grabbing the helmet from her hands, he placed his and hers on their respective seats before speaking.

"Figured it would be better to go to my place," Oak led the way to his front door that opened directly into a small kitchenette with an island for eating. The small living room past the kitchen was lit with sunlight from a high ceiling. She stepped inside and looked around, liking the quaint feeling of the simple décor of the cabin. Looking over at him, she could see he felt at home here and felt herself warming up to him even more. He shrugged out of his jacket before opening the fridge and looking back at her.
     "Do you want water, soda, or beer?" With a beer in hand she nodded knowing she would probably need it.
       "Beer sounds good, I like your place. It's simple and cozy." Melody trailed her fingers over the island in the kitchen as she stared out the back window to the Rocky Mountains. 
     "Thanks. I don't need much, just a place to cook a quick meal or sleep when I need to get away from everyone." He gave her the bottle of beer before leading her into the living room and onto the back porch with the breathtaking view.
      She nodded in understanding but the view had her attention as they sat down in two of the  rocking chairs. She knew she was being quiet but she appreciated the fact he didn't push things either. Swallowing a mouthful of beer, she toyed with the bottle between her fingers as she knew she couldn't delay finding out the truth.
       "So how bad is it?" Melody looked up at him, finally able to see his piercing blue eyes now that he had discarded his sunglasses. Knowing she could get lost in them, she averted her eyes and took another swig of her beer.
       "Nothing we can't handle. I know Wyatt showed you the picture of Bryce and that was the nice one. These people he dealt with, they are very bad people who work for a major Mexican drug cartel that also traffics women. This Devil guy, known as Hernandez Garcia uses police forces all over the United States to keep his lines flowing and your Dad came upon this information and tried to first get in on a drug deal. That deal went south so he threatened and attempted to get internal affairs involved in investigating your ex-fiancé and this drug lord." Oak paused to take a drink and let her process this information.
      "Wait, Bryce was apart of this cartel?" Melody couldn't believe it. he had hid so much from her that she couldn't believe how stupid she had been.
      "Yes, his partner, Greg was the one who introduced him to it. They helped not only with keeping his local drug dealers out of jail, but also used illegal methods to pickup girls that they thought wouldn't be missed like prostitutes and runaways." Melody tensed at the mention of Greg, wondering what else Bryce had told them. She had never liked Greg, especially after that one night and had tried to forget about him.