A/N: Don't kill me for this but I started another SOA book! I'll update the others but writer's block has been kicking my ass and yes, life has been life-ing! Definitely want to go another route with this one though so look for an update every Sunday. No, it's not connected to the others. It will be stand alone.
Chapter One
Amid a mental battle, Alanna found herself at a lonesome bar with only her sorrows to drown. She paid no mind to the catcalls as she strolled in with a black backless one-piece halter short dress that fit her tall, athletic yet curvaceous stature like a glove. Her light brown curls flowed down to her waist and of course the girl was all dolled up. She couldn't help the slight sway of her hips as she walked in 6-inch heels to the bar to catch a seat.
"Hey, do you have a phone?", she asked the bleach blonde bartender once she settled into a barstool. "Mines just died."
"Sorry sweetie! My phone is all locked up. We have a pay phone right over there if you need to call a ride," she gestured with her chin towards the pay phone nearby a group of men playing pool and having biker chicks drape off them like cheap coats.
Alanna ordered a double shot of Tequila before she threw down a $20 and headed to the phone. She needed to get the fuck away from here. It had been two hours since she left her security detail and ditched the phone on side of the road just in case they decided to track her down. A quick deep breath and she made her way over to the phone.
Unfortunately, this wasn't her best night. A pale arm littered with crappy tattoos shot out to block her way and she clicked her tongue against her teeth in annoyance. She wished she had a machete to cut off all his favorite body parts just for disrupting her peace.
"What's a pretty caramel chick like you doing in a place like this?", the drunken ass who stopped her came closer smelling off all the liquor he had drunk for the night.
The beautiful woman fixed him with a fake smile to avoid drama.
"Just need the phone."
"Give me your number and you can pass through. I need a new piece of ass to grab on every now and again."
The guys nearby chuckled as the women clinging to them giggled at the crude joke. They were easily intoxicated and high on stuff by the way their red eyes stood out against their pale skin and this one before her kept rubbing his nose as if he had a cold.
"No, thank you," she tried to step around him only for his arm to shoot out again in her way. "Please stop. I just need the phone."
"And I just need those pretty lips wrapped around my cock until you're gagging, pretty lady."
She lifted a brow in disgust but didn't gag like she wanted to. Instead of moving towards him again, she backed away. It was clear she would have to create a scene to even do what she needed to do. This asshole and his friends were laughing as if it were a funny comedy show.
"Let the lady use the phone, asshole!", a bearded man wearing a beanie spoke up from her left side.
He had been sitting alone and the beer in front of him was surrounded by shot glasses. The deep grumble of his voice caused everyone to look over in surprise. Alanna thought it was kind to speak up for her especially with this one being belligerent and clearly sexually harassing her.
"And who the fuck asked you?!", the asshole hyped up at the prospect of a fight.
"Don't worry about it. I'm over it," Alanna mumbled as she continued to step back but before she could get far, the idiot grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her into his chest. "Get the fuck off me, bastard!"
No one jumped to her rescue as she struggled against the hands of the drunken asshole.
Before she knew it, she was pushed behind someone's back and heard the colliding of glass and loud groans of pain. The commotion happened so fast and the men who were once cheering on the pathetic loser jumped to his defense but before they could even harm the man who had pulled her free from the idiot, she pulled out her Glock 19 with no hesitation.
"Drop the pool sticks or I'll shoot each and every one of you and your whores between the eyes!", she snapped angrily.
A loud gunshot tore through the building, and she glanced back to see the bleach blonde holding a shotgun. She had shot into the ceiling a warning shot.
"Both of you! Out!"
"Thanks for the last-minute help," Alanna sassed with a smirk as she continued to point her gun at the men across from her. She tugged the jacket of the man who had helped her, and he stood up off the idiot, now bleeding and sniffling.
She tucked her gun back in but made sure to keep her back to the people who tried to harm her and the ones who just watched it all happen. They clearly were racist because no one was blind and deaf by the way they were all talking and drinking.
"I'm sorry if I ruined your drinking."
Alanna gestured back to the bar as they stepped out into the crisp night air. She fixed her dress and ran a hand down the length of her curls. If it weren't for the fact that her car broke down just a couple of miles down, then she'd be in a hotel by now.
"Hey, you have a light?", she asked.
The tall stranger looked down at her and noticed she had pulled out a pack of cigarettes and had a lighter, but it obviously wouldn't strike a light. He nodded, stepping over to her. His figure towered over her even though she was pretty tall, and the six-inch heels gave her even more height. He had to be about 6'5 with his mountain man beard.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she cupped her hand until the cigarette lit.
"Thank you. I don't usually do bar fights, but I can't let a lady be disrespected for no reason at all."
"Hey, I'm never in bars but tonight just seemed like Fate, I guess. Thank you for stepping in when no one else felt it necessary. If you ever have a daughter, you'd be her knight in shining armor."
She took a nice hit of the nicotine before letting the smoke billow in clouds around her to warm her up. It was becoming pretty chilly and this outfit wasn't really something to keep her from feeling it. Her hand subconsciously started rubbing up and down her arm as she hummed softly in between hits of her cigarette.
"Here."
A warmth surrounded her and the smell of alcohol faintly engulfed her. She glanced up to see mountain man in a long-sleeved Henley as he walked over to his bike. He drove a motorcycle and looked to be travelling himself.
"Not from around here either, I gather..."
"No. You?"
"I'm two states over. My car stopped just two miles back. I came to get a phone to call a friend for some help but I'm guessing that won't happen," she threw the cigarette to the ground and stubbed it with the bottom of her heel. "Here. I'll just go sleep in the car for the night. By daytime, I should be able to find a decent place to call someone."
"I'm not letting you do that," he spoke up as she tried to remove the jacket, he had given to her.
"What do you suggest? I'm not rolling with a stranger."
"I'm Opie Winston. There you go... I'm not a stranger anymore. Now, take this helmet and climb on back," he extended a helmet as he turned on his bike.
Alanna glanced at him and then the motorcycle. She could go with him, or she could go back to the car that wouldn't keep her warm nor would it protect her from any perpetrators that decided to bother her in the middle of the night. With a silent prayer to the Lord about killing and strangers, Alanna stepped over to him accepting the helmet with a small smile.
"Tonight, you're my knight in shining armor."
Opie got onto the bike and revved the engine a bit to back out of his parking space. He stopped beside her and waited for her to climb on and wrap her arms around him. She felt awkward about this, but her arms wrapped around his waist, and she leaned in to get closer as the bike thrummed gently below her.
He looked back to make sure she was sitting down properly before slowly taking off to not startle her as he noticed that her eyes had been closed when he looked back.
They drove for quite some time until they reached the motel that he had been staying in. It was a 3-star place but it would have to be enough for tonight. Alanna had nowhere else to go and she saw a No Vacancy sign so there were no more rooms available. She assumed Opie would share his room with her.
"Alanna Darling," she spoke up after they came to a stop, and she slid off the bike carefully. "If you were wondering..."
Opie nodded as he put the helmet down and removed his keys from the engine. He stepped closer to her, and Alanna stepped back, but his hand reached inside the pocket of the jacket she wore. The hotel key was inside along with a handful of cash. She rolled her eyes as a nervous laugh spilled from her lips.
"Sorry, the bar still has me on alert."
He shook his head at her apology.
She followed him as he gestured for her to head towards the motel with him. They climbed a flight of stairs and he stopped at a door just past the ice machine and vending machines. Alanna's stomach growled lowly at the sight of her favorite chips. She ignored it and followed him into the room after glancing around.
It was a two-bedder. Good.
The light brown skinned woman stepped over to the restroom and closed the door behind her as she glanced at herself in the mirror. She felt like Vivian from Pretty Woman, all nerves and jittery thoughts. She took several deep breaths and looked into the mirror at the bad bitch that she was. Her makeup was beat and her body was snatched. Had she been anybody else then she might have looked like a hooker.
She used the restroom quickly not even fully sitting then washed her hands before leaving the seemingly spotless bathroom. She left the door open and went to settle on a bed thinking the one with Opie's bag had to be his claim. It was nearest the bathroom so she didn't complain. He just got to unpacking a few things to wash up.
"Here."
He handed her a big white tee shirt and a plastic baggie with a travel toothbrush and toothpaste. Alanna quirked a brow at the gesture but gave a quick thank you after accepting them. Opie didn't speak much but he seemed very caring and generous.
"I'm not a whore."
She had to say it. She had to get that point across right this second.
"If you were a whore, I'd have left you back there to be harassed. I know a genuinely lost person when I see one. You just so happened to stumble into the wrong bar."
She nodded.
Her brain couldn't comprehend the events, but she knew that somehow this wasn't as bad as being stuck on the side of the road counting the seconds and wishing you had stayed somewhere you didn't want to be. Alanna quickly went back into the bathroom and turned the shower on hot.
Somehow her thoughts went back to the gentle giant in the next room as she climbed in after grabbing a small towel off the towel holder in the bathroom.
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