Chapter Ten

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Melody had never felt so powerful, after feeling powerless for so long. Standing in front of Bryce as he begged and pleaded should have made her happy. Instead, it truly made her sad that she had let him into her life where he had been able to cause so much pain.

"Why Bryce? Who were you going to take me to?" Melody could feel her body wanting to shut down but this feeling kept her strong and wanting to go on.

He just glared at her and refused to answer.
"You may want to answer her, otherwise you won't like what I have to offer", Oak threatened. 

"Who is the devil?" Melody asked as she walked closer to Bryce.

"Someone your father should have stayed away from. You can't hold me here like this, I am a decorated detective and have unlimited resources!" Bryce snarled. 


Melody snapped at his high handed attitude having had enough of it. "Oh! But it was fine when you were holding me down not twenty minutes ago?! Fuck You Bryce, fuck you! You admitted to killing my father and you want me to stand back and just let you go?"

Melody's chest was heaving as she waited for a response. She saw both Ash and Oak straighten up at this, realizing that they had no clue about what else had been going on.

"I will never admit to that and you! You need to be warned! If I die than so do you because when I don't show up next week to drop you off then he will be coming after you!" Bryce spat out as spittle flew from his mouth.
"Who Bryce?! Who are you talking about?!" Melody's voice rose high with exasperation as she threw her hands up.
Bryce just laughed and shook his head, "That's for me to know and you to find out." His childish come back had Melody seeing red. 
       "Ok, I've had enough of this." Oak stepped up to Bryce and slammed his fist into his cheek causing whiplash as his face whipped to the side.
"Fucking slut you are huh, Melody. Leave me after our last night toge..." another fist connected with his crotch, this one tiny and angry belonging to Melody. 

He howled from the impact as she thought about the times he had held her down, hurt her, killed her father. She stepped back only to scream with rage as she launched herself forward  before two strong arms wrapped fast around her.

"Trust me, you don't want to do this. Let Oak do what he does best." Ash calmly held her as she watched with wild eyes, Oak pummel Bryce's body.
      Bryce still thought he was untouchable as he laughed and spit blood at them through the assault.
"Keep...tr..ing...st..ped...cu..."Oak struck Bryce hard in the side of his head knocking him unconscious.  He untied the rope hanging Bryce up off the rafters and let him drop to the dirt floor with a hard thud.
Melody had silent tears running down her face, hating how fast her life had gotten out of control. She groaned in pain, still being held by Ash who quickly opened his arms and stepped back. Oak stood staring down at Bryce's motionless body before snapping his head up and catching her gaze.
"This is so crazy, I don't know what to do about this. I...I just don't know." Melody stood there defeated, feeling helpless and at their mercy. Would they even want to help her? She had no idea what she was bringing to their door and knew she would likely die if they decided not to. 
So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice Oak until his hands were gently cradling her face again. 
"Melody, breathe. I know I can speak for Ash in this, but me and the club have your back and will help you any way we can." Ash nodded behind him in reassurance as Melody closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she needed their help but she also didn't know at what price and that scared her more. Dealing with Bryce had left deep wounds and she didn't want to add to them.
"Thank you but I can't ask you to put your club or yourselves on the line with a possible unknown enemy. And what about Bryce, you guys are just going to what, kill him? He's a cop and once missing will launch a huge investigation. I will be a person of interest leading them here." She stopped as Ash held up a hand. 

"I had my buddy at the station look into his status and currently he is on self initiated leave for six months. By then, you should be enjoying life here in Colorado and the threat, if there is one, should be eliminated. His body won't be found and you will not be a person of interest.  His car is going to be found far away from here. Melody, this isn't our first rodeo either." Ash turned away before dragging Bryce's body behind him and out of the barn.
       Melody's mouth dropped open as she stared after Ash.
"Did he just think that up right on the spot?" Melody turned towards Oak who was already staring at her.
          "Probably and if not, it's still a solid plan. Look Melody, your a strong woman that much I know.  You've helped me so much in the short time you've been here at my bar and I don't want to loose you. If there is someone that is after you, we can help and protect you." Oak stepped closer to her and softly curled his hands over her shoulders. 
                 She stared up at his serious expression and shivered, whether it was from his close proximity, his good looks, his knight in shining armor routine or all the above, Melody didn't care. She wanted to feel safe again and if that meant Oak and his brother's club of bikers wanted to help, then who was she see to say no. The world of bikers scared her because of the unknown and what she did know only came from TV shows and old documentaries.
                     "Okay...let's do this. I don't want to be a charity case and if there seems to be too much danger involved you guys need to step back. My life isn't worth you and your brothers club getting hurt. I don't want to know what you guys are doing with Bryce just as long as he is gone forever. I can't believe I just said that", Melody whispered the last part. She realized  two things; one she still had a long road of healing and two, she was glad she had the Silent Warriors on her side.
                  "He put you through a lot from the sounds of things and it's only natural to feel that way. Come on, let's get you back to the house so you can shower and I'll help with the clean up. Ash already has some of the guys coming over to fix what needs it." Oak slowly moved Melody forward with his hands on her shoulders as they made their way back to her house.
             Stepping in through the back door, she quickly spied Mason and Wyatt playing with Coal and inspecting the damage in the kitchen.
                   "This where it start?" Mason asked as he picked up the overturned chairs. Wyatt grabbed the other one before spying the bloody knife on the floor.
                  Melody only nodded but didn't budge when Oak attempted to push her past them. "I...I have clothes of his from the other night in the dumpster out back behind the barn. There's blood too but it's only from a Pika that Coal killed. I thought you guys should know since, well...you know". Melody didn't want to say it and if that made her weak than so be it. She was still trying to wrap her mind around her life being turned upside down and feeling powerless again.  Bryce was who knows where awaiting his final breaths and she just wanted to forget any of this had ever happened.
                     Wishing for that was pointless though, so she bucked up and shook Oak off her shoulders.
                 "I'm going to get cleaned up." Turning around she said a quiet thank you to Oak before walking up the stairs with Coal at her heels.
                    Closing the door behind her and leaning back to look at her room, Melody felt the first sobs shake her body. She bit her fist as the tears pooled and spilled down her raw cheeks, her body sliding down the door. She wrapped her free arm right around Coal who sat there panting and leaning into her for comfort.
               It was her fault this was all happening. If she had never dated and said yes to marry Bryce in the first place then her dad would still be fighting and winning against cancer. He'd still be able to crack jokes and maybe come to her about his troubles. Instead, his murderer was about to be murdered and she, an accomplice to it all.
              She moved her pity party into her attached bathroom, throwing the shower on the hottest setting she could stand before she scrubbed her body raw. Her fingers traveled over the torn skin between her legs and up to her neck where she could still feel his hands. Her face felt swollen and raw and she didn't dare look into the mirror just yet.
                  When the hot water ran out she stepped out and wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror. She winced at her face and knew it was going to take a lot to cover the bruises for work as most of her face was beginning to turn into a rainbow of colors. Coal wined at the door that led to her bedroom just as she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
            "I'll be right out." She grabbed a towel and wrapped it completely around her body before stepping into her bedroom and finding Oak there.
               "Hey" she said before shyly looking away as she felt his eyes on her. She moved to her bureau to grab clothes before turning to face him.
              His face held anger before softening and she knew why. The bruises would fade but the physical and emotional scars would always remain. She wasn't sure what Oak's expectation was in all this but she needed to find out and soon.
               "It's okay, let me just get dressed and then we can talk". Melody took her clothes to her bathroom and quickly dressed before coming back out and finding Oak on her bed.
His dark demeanor and clothes contrasted with her light blue comforter and yellow room. Emotions were swirling like crazy in her head and she wondered at the thoughts going on in his.
               "Oak, I am not good at this, any of this really. I am not good about asking for help and have always been self sufficient, something my dad made sure of. You barely know me and with all this going on, I wouldn't blame you guys for wanting to step back. My understanding of biker clubs is limited and I feel like all this is out of my hands." Melody twisted her hands as she stood pacing before him.
                "I get it. I do, but as VP of this club and knowing how my brother feels, I can assure you there's no need for this conversation. We may seem like just your normal riding and charity giving bike club but we also have many hats that we choose to wear. If this "devil" is hellbent on coming here for you like Bryce said then, regardless if we knew you for five minutes or five years, we aren't going to back down. We are going to make sure your life is protected as well as our way of life here. The cops that we know are already aware of the situation or the basics of it at least and have given full support on making sure this doesn't taint anyone else. Many eyes and ears are open and hopefully this will all blow over after next week. Now, your taking tomorrow off since the bruising is going to worsen tomorrow and we can't afford questions to tip anyone off."             He held his hand up as she opened her mouth.
         "This is for your safety and the others at work. If questions were to arise and word to spread, I wouldn't want to make it easier on them finding you." Melody nodded at this and swallowed hard as the realization of how serious this all was set in.
             "Okay, fair enough. I...is there at least anything that I can help out with? I need something to do and it would make me feel better to give back and help out the club in any way when they are doing so much for me." Melody knew it was a lot to ask and as far as she knew the only women that hung out at the shop were groupies looking for biker dick. She definitely was not that type of girl but she could at least help with the cooking or cleaning or accounting, anything to make her not feel worthless.
            Oak thought for a moment and she wondered if he really thought she was a groupie.
             "And before you say anything, I mean to help in a non-sexual manner. I'm not a hang around looking to provide the entertainment of the night. I am useful when it comes to helping out with cleaning, cooking, maintenance, accounting, or whatever else that needs attention." Melody held his gaze as she stopped pacing and waited.
             "I know that, I wouldn't have hired you if I thought that. I know my brother could always use some help with the books and there will be a ride coming up this weekend where we will need some help with preparations. Depending how you heal, you may be able to come back to work this weekend but for now we will just take it one day at a time." Oak shifted on her bed before continuing.
             "Are you doing okay? I have a friend who's a nurse who could make sure you are alright if you need to." Melody looked away and knew she was fine, she'd had worse and he hadn't hurt her too bad this time.
                 Shaking her head, Melody sighed before responding. "No, but I have one more favor?" He nodded for her to continue.
"Can I see his body? I need...to make sure he's really dead." Melody needed that closure no matter how gory it was, she needed to know for sure.

            Oak looked at her for a long time, making her wonder if he was going to say no. She put on a determined face and was about to open her mouth when he nodded his head.

            "Yes, but I will have Ash let you know when you can." Oak sighed as he stood up and he seemed to want to say something else but kept his response short. "I'll see you downstairs." He left and closed the door behind him before she heard his heavy steps down the stairs.

                "Thank you." She said as she watched him leave her bedroom before she sunk down in the same spot he had just vacated. She stroked Coal's fur as he curiously looked up at her. "It's okay, we are going to be just fine, Coal. You'll see." She felt like she was trying to reassure herself more than her dog as she stared out her window and wondered what tomorrow would bring.

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