"What the fuck!" Oak snarled as he pulled up to his bar, the yellow graffiti standing out against the dark building. When the text came from Sasha asking who he had pissed off cause his bar had been vandalized, Oak couldn't believe it.
       Every colorful swear word that practically existed was painted all over the building. His front door had been bashed in but it appeared no one had been able to actually get in. As he walked closer to the building, he saw something fluttering on the door. He yanked on the piece of paper and scanned what it said, his blood boiling as he quickly dialed his brother.
     Frustrated when it went to voicemail, Oak reread the note.
                                                       DONT FUCK WITH WHATS MINE
      Oak knew exactly who had done this and he couldn't wait until he got back to the compound. He hoped by then his brother would be back with Greg who apparently didn't know who he was fucking with. Knowing he needed to get this taken care of quickly, Oak called up his local police contact and gave them the heads up the newest crime, Mr. Detective had committed.
     He made it clear they would be taking care of Greg but he wanted them to understand how much it was starting to affect more than just one life. The officer on the other end knew exactly what the score was and even offered up his brother's company to get his building repainted that day. Oak agreed before hanging up, crumpling the note up and stuffing it into his pocket.
      Dialing his brother again, he wondered when it went to voicemail what was going on. He tried Mason next and figured at this point they must still be riding their motorcycles. Did they have Greg or was he still missing?
       Oak all of a sudden slammed his hand against the building as another thought came to. What if all of this was a setup to separate them and make it easier to get to Melody? Ash had said one of the cops had called him late last night to say he had gotten a tip about Greg. One of the local inn owners from Conifer had rented a room to a newcomer for a week who matched his description. Was it even true?
      Oak swiped his phone back open and dialed Wyatt which went straight to voicemail. With a bad feeling in his gut, he called Melody's phone but breathed when it started ringing.
     "C'mon, pickup" he breathed as he paced in front of his bar. With no answer, he stalked back to his running truck where Coal sat waiting patiently.
     "Alright Coal, looks like shit is hitting the fan." Oak hoped to hell it wasn't the case. That when he got back to the clubhouse, everyone including Melody would be too preoccupied with the capture of Greg to have paid attention to their phones. Yeah right.
     He gunned the truck out of the parking lot before speeding back out to Evergreen, honking and swerving around cars driving too slow. His grip tightened hard on the steering wheel as Coal sat back and stared over at him.
     Oak dialed her number again and breathed a sigh of relief when it stopped ringing after the first ring.
               "Melody! Jeezus, are you and Wyatt still at your house." The long pause had Oak's blood running cold before a snicker came through the phone.
               "Hello Oak, did you like my gift. It's the least I could do for how well you've been taking care of what's mine." Oak smashed his fist into the steering wheel as he put the fucker on speaker and threw his phone on the seat.
                 "Where is she? Where is Wyatt?" Oak ground out the questions as he knew the longer he kept him distracted, the better chance he had at getting there in time.
                 "Don't you worry about that, they are just fine. Well, for now." Silence rang out as the call ended. Oak slammed the pedal to the floor as he fishtailed down the road and called his brother again.
                 "Oak? Hey where are you?" Ash finally answered sounding out of breath.
                 "I'm on my way to Melody's, Greg's there." Oak shouted making Coal flinch and whimper. He lowered his voice and gripped the steering wheel tight.
                     "It was a setup and we fell for it," Oak careened around the corner on three wheels as he entered Evergreen.
               "Alright, me and Mason are headed back from the motel. I'll call Garrett and get him and some of the men over to Melody's. Don't worry, Oak we got this." They hung up and Oak mashed the pedal to the floor as he flew through stop signs and passed traffic.
             "It's okay boy, we'll get there in time." Oak reassured Coal as he stroked his fur. But, he wasn't so sure how much he was trying to reassure himself with that statement.

                                                                                ———————————————-
                     A hard tap to her cheek woke up Melody as she squinted her eyes against the pain in her head. What had happened?
                      She had raced inside while Wyatt had opened the garage to get her bike out. Her eyes shot open as she remembered getting to her bedroom and the door slamming shut behind her  before she blacked out.
                "Hello there baby, miss me?" Greg's voice now taunted her as he stood to the side of her bed. She shot straight up and realized her hands weren't bound but he stood between her and the doorway.  She swallowed nervously and looked up at him, seeing a gun gripped firmly in his hand and his face smug. Refusing to answer him, she listened for any sounds of Wyatt downstairs.
      "If your waiting for your biker friend to come save you, he's won't be." Greg stated darkly. "But I'm sure he'll appreciate the show." Melody looked at him questioningly before a muffled groan sounded on the floor.
       Greg kicked Wyatt hard in his side, his grunt of pain making Melody flinch.
     "Stop!" Melody exclaimed as she rose up on the bed to see Wyatt cuffed to her bureau. His head hung forward as he attempted to twist out of them, his muscles bunching with the strain. Greg kicked him again, laughing as Wyatt's head snapped up and he glared daggers, his mouth covered by black tape. She slid to the edge of the bed, her head pounding as she inched towards Greg's back. He spun around so quickly, she didn't have a chance to defend herself.
Twack!  Blackness swam in her vision as she held a hand to the side of her head and felt blood dripping over her fingers. Greg stood over her, his hand holding the gun as he chuckled down at her.
           "Stupid girl. Now, I have been searching high and low for Bryce. You remember Bryce, don't you Melody?" Greg gripped her chin in his hand as he got close to her face. She felt his hot breath but stared past him to Wyatt who was still working on freeing himself.
       Greg shook her head, "Look at me! Where is Bryce, Melody? I know he came here looking for you." She closed her eyes as her vision swam, hating that she had been foolish enough to get caught again. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard, her eyes flying back open as she spit in his face, anger starting to replace her feeling of helplessness.
               He stepped back and slowly wiped the spit from his face. "Melody! Do you want this young man to die?" Greg now held the gun to Wyatt's head. Wyatt glared at Greg and refused to look at her as muffling sounded from behind the tape.
Suddenly, her phone began ringing but it wasn't on her. Instead, Greg grabbed it from his back pocket and looked at the display. His distraction gave time for Melody to take stock of the room and look for a weapon. Her gun usually was right under her pillow, feeling her hand underneath it, she stopped as Greg spoke.
             "Hello Oak, did you like my gift. It's the least I could do for how well you've been taking care of what's mine." Greg's eyes settled on her before moving to the window and looking outside.
            Melody wrapped her hand around the butt of her gun and felt better knowing that at least the other guys were now aware of the situation. She put the gun in the front of her pants before scooting from the bed and rushing to Wyatt as Greg's back remained facing them.
                Silently, she looked down at his hands in the cuffs, wincing at seeing how tight they were and that there was no way she could get them off. They were secured to the bureau handle and real cuffs so there was no way of trying to break the chain. He started shaking his hands and arms causing her eyes to fly up and meet his panicked ones.
          "...for now." A hand grabbed Melody's hair from behind and wrenched her back.
               Her hands flew to her head, crying out as he flung her to the other side of the room. She landed on her front but didn't get up, trying to hide her gun. Pain lanced through her side as Greg kicked her before flying down to her face on the floor.
               "Fucking Bryce should have taught you better. It always falls to me." Greg spit out as he wrenched her arm behind her, his knee now in her lower back. Keeping her other arm underneath her, she ignored the pain in her shoulder as she grabbed the gun and pulled it slowly out of her pants. When he whipped her over on to her front she flung her arm holding the gun and slammed it into his face.
"Argh, you fucking stupid bitch!" Greg gurgled as he spit blood.
                    Melody pushed herself up off the floor and raised her gun to point at Greg who had stumbled backwards towards Wyatt. Wyatt was desperately trying to wrench his arms free but the desperation on his face proved he wasn't having any luck.
          Melody watched him grab Wyatt and point his own gun to his head as blood dripped from his nose.
              "Put your gun down now, Melody!" Greg pushed the gun against Wyatt's head as he stood facing her.
             "No! I will shoot you Greg, put yours down." Melody could feel her arms and hands shaking from the adrenaline as she gripped her gun harder.
             "You give me no choice then," Greg flicked his safety off and-
         "No! Stop, okay...alright I'll put it down, just don't hurt him." Melody exclaimed as she slowly lowered her gun to the floor.
             "Kick it over here." Melody thrust the gun across the floor with her hand as Greg quickly snatched it up.
                 "Good, now take your clothes off." Greg had placed her gun in his back but now held his own gun up and trained on her.
                     Melody's heart started pounded harder as she fought off the memories, shaking her head as her arms wrapped around herself.
                          "I won't ask again, Mel." Greg put his finger on the trigger as he turned the gun on Wyatt. Melody looked at Wyatt, knowing she couldn't let him die for her. She swallowed and closed her eyes as she knelt down to undo her shoes and slip them off slowly.
               "Faster, we don't have all day." Greg growled out as he pushed the gun harder against Wyatt's head.
       Shaking hands pulled off her socks and she pulled her sweatshirt over her head. She unbuttoned her pants and slowly pushed them down before she tensed on moving further. Wyatt was looking away but it was Greg's gaze that had her skin crawling.
       "Don't stop now, you're just getting to the good part," Greg's snigger made Melody wish she still had her gun. Angrily, she ripped off her tee shirt and bra, her eyes now trained on the floor as she let her hair fall forward.
       Her hands pushed her underwear down and she attempted to cover her body with her arms as much as she could.
       "Damn, missed that sight. Now, get on the bed and put your hands in those cuffs." Greg still had Wyatt held at gunpoint, whose eyes were full of rage as he strained against his own cuffs.
        Melody shakily climbed on the bed as she found the cuffs and placed her wrists loosely in them before clicking them shut.
     Twack! Melody looked over her shoulder, crying out as she saw Greg strike Wyatt again with his gun in hand.
       "Stop!! I did what you asked, leave him alone!" Melody shook with fear and anger as she contemplated yanking her hands out and throttling Greg. He placed the gun on top of the bureau before removing Wyatt's belt, the hiss of the leather sliding through the loops making her shiver. 
      Greg strode toward her as he snapped the belt before pulling at her hands and sliding the cuffs tighter.
         "Why are you so concerned for him? Did you fuck him and the rest of those bikers? Huh, you stupid fucking whore!" Greg slammed down on her back with the belt in his hand.
      Melody felt the burning pain from the bite of the belt as she attempted to keep herself held up. Anger had her refusing to answer him as she let him assume the worst but the blistering pain in her backside was making it harder to keep herself up.  
        Her body fell forward before she felt her feet being pulled down the bed as the hitting stopped.  Her eyes landed on Wyatt who could only muffle apologies for something he had no control over. His tears of frustration and straining of his arms did nothing and blood continued to pour from his head wounds. His booted feet kicked out but Greg remained outside his reach. 
      She felt Greg climb on the bed behind her but there was nothing she could do. Her eyes locked on Wyatt's and now reassured him that she would be okay as Greg pulled her body towards him. Closing her eyes, she let the fight go out of her body, not even flinching as his hands ran down her back across her wounds.
              She did it before and she would do it again. She would get past this or she would die, either way she knew Greg would be a dead man and that made her smile. Her bureau was now rocking and Wyatt was screaming behind the duct tape across his mouth.
                    Slam! Her door flew open but she couldn't see behind her. All she felt was a rush of air before Greg's hands were removed from her body and she fell against the mattress. Her vision blurred and she couldn't move as exhaustion took hold. When hands touched her again, she flinched away but no words came out as she gasped in fear.
             "Hey sweetheart, I got you. Your going to be okay." Oak's voice cracked at the end but his hands gently undid the handcuffs as he pulled a light sheet over her lower body. She closed her eyes in relief and tensed when fingers touched her back.
"What did he do to you..." Oak's voice whispered as his hands lightly trailed around her wounds. She heard the anger in his voice as she opened her eyes and saw that Wyatt was no longer cuffed to her bureau. She hoped he would be okay, and that Greg who was shouting to be let go wouldn't be.
                "Thank you", was all she whispered before darkness overtook her.