by KJ Dahlen
Suddenly, River heard footsteps coming her way and she had to scramble to escape her campsite. Shaking her shoes out in case any little night time animals curled up inside them she slipped them on her bare feet and looked around the area. Instead of running away, she climbed the tree and hid in the upper branches. When she saw him come into view, she was stunned.
At least six foot three or four, long blonde hair and a full beard he was built solid. She couldn’t see his eyes as his head was down but she wasn’t sure she wanted to or not. His leather jacket wore many patches but what frightened her the most was the gun on his right hip. It was huge. She’d never seen a gun like this. The holster went from his hip to his knee and the gun itself looked like a sawed off shotgun.
She felt her heart rate pick up and the pounding echoed loudly in her chest. She was trembling so bad, she almost slipped and fell out of the tree. She wouldn’t want to meet this man in a blind alley ever.
She tried to move her foot but it completely slipped off the branch altogether. She scrambled to regain her footing but she made enough noise for the giant of a man below her to stop and look around. She froze in place, praying she was up high enough in the branches to still be hidden, then something happened she hadn’t expected, a tiny bit of bark from where her foot slipped off fell gracefully to the ground.
Shotgun turned around and his narrowed gaze followed the imaginary path back up the tree. At the end of his search, he found a pair of green eyes staring back at him. He just stared then slowly reached down and whipped his gun up to point it at her.
“I need you to join me down here.” He growled at her. “Quickly and quietly.”
“Please don’t shoot me?” she whispered fearfully. “I don’t have any weapons.”
Shotgun motioned for her to come down.
The girl did promptly... Making her way down the tree trunk, she came to stand next to him. She was petite compared to him and her hair was bound up inside her cap, so he couldn’t really see her but as soon as she got to the ground, he transferred his weapon to his other hand and grabbed her upper arm.
Hauling her closer, he put his hand over her mouth and dragged her closer to the tree. Leaning over her he whispered, “Don’t make a sound. We aren’t the only ones in these woods and until I know who else is here, we could be in danger. We aren’t on the other side of the wall at the moment.”
She nodded then heard what he heard. More footsteps were moving around the area to their left. She began to sweat as the footsteps moved closer to them. She couldn’t just sit there and get caught. She grabbed his shirt and dropped to the ground, inching her way behind the bushes she laid on the ground.
Shotgun followed her and she threw the camo blanket over top of them both.
Shotgun moved to lay on top of her to compact the area they both took up and he pulled his feet under the blanket. The gun was at her side and still in his hand as the footsteps got closer. They both waited and watched as the footsteps finally came into view. The boots were scuffed and had seen better days. Shotgun noted the boots were marked by a symbol, she knew intimately and
The girl next to him gazed right at them and began to shake.
Shotgun felt her tremble and he tried to look down at her, but he couldn’t see her face because of the hat. He couldn’t move for a moment, couldn’t even raise the gun to cover them without letting the other man know they were there.
They laid there for a couple of minutes.
River stared at the man’s boots. There on the heel of his boot was a snake’s head, the same snake head that marked his left hand. The same snake he’d wore most of his adult life. It was the same snake that had marked the burnt out shell of the house her parents died inside. He had tagged their house before he set it on fire. The police had sent her a picture of the tag when they called to tell her about the fire. They had even asked her if she knew it, recognized it.
She knew what it meant but she told the police she had no idea what the symbol meant. She begged them to tell anyone who called there were three bodies found inside the house not two. At first, the detective refused to lie if anyone called. When she told him her story, Detective Robby Hart assured her if anyone asked he would pass her message along.
Now he was a few feet away from her and she really didn’t want him to see her. She turned her face into the man’s chest and tried to make herself as small as she could be. His scent crept up her slowly and she didn’t even really notice it until it surrounded her.
His scent made her head swim. It was musky with a clean scent of woodsy man underneath. He smelled faintly of coffee and of all things, strawberries, but only faintly. When the footsteps of the other man faded away and they both could her nothing at all, Shotgun groaned and moved off her.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. He gathered her things together quickly and shoving her backpack into her hands, he pushed her toward the back gate. The gun he carried was still in his hand as they made their way to the back wall. They moved quickly and quietly and soon were at the back gate. The back wall seemed to be cement block, a solid wall but this man knew the trick to getting inside.
He checked the area carefully before he made his move and when he knew it was clear, he opened the wall and stepped inside. Dragging her with him, he shut the gate again and began the trek to the clubhouse. Making sure the wall was once again a solid barrier, he turned to continue to the clubhouse.
River was terrified now. Had she gone from one danger to another? These men didn’t look friendly, she just hoped they were all sensible at least.
Moments later, he pushed in through the backdoor and dragged her along with him.
Chapter Three
Shotgun had been gone for maybe an hour and a half. He’d lost his backup, but he hadn’t cared, as they would’ve gotten their heads blown off by this freak stalking the woods, if they had managed to keep up with him. Most men couldn’t keep his pace, as he was big, but dammed fast on his feet.
He hauled the little woman into the dining room and saw several of the brothers sitting around. The girls, Amber, Trish and Tracy were still sitting off to one side and they were frowning when they saw her.
Audrey was just coming out of the kitchen with Bess right behind her when she stopped and stared at the new girl.
Rock, Mammoth and Rooster all stared at Shotgun before Mammoth called out, “What did you find VP?”
“Not sure yet, Mammoth,” Shotgun replied.
Grinder chuckled and tipped his coffee cup at the other man. “Why, VP, I do believe that’s what they call a girl.”
Shotgun cast him an evil glare but then chuckled. “I do believe you’re right old man.”
“Not so old I can’t figure out what a girl looks like son.” Grinder smiled.
“Oh, fuck you old man.” Shotgun sat down in a chair and sat her next to her. He was tired after being up all night. Looking around he asked, “How is Ivy this morning?”
Mammoth nodded. “She’s doing fine. Spider has been keeping us informed about her condition and Slammer is in there with her trying to catch some Z’s.”
“Any more attempts from outside the walls?” Shotgun wanted to know.
“Nope, been quiet here. That guy is probably long gone by now,” Rock told him.
“Don’t you bet a nickel on that. You’d lose,” Shotgun told him. “Shortly after I found her, I saw him walking past me, at least I think it was him. We were hiding so I didn’t see his face.”
“Where did this happen?” Grinder asked while looking troubled.
“In the woods behind the back wall,” Shotgun informed them all.
“So who is this then?” Mammoth asked looking at River. “And is she working with this Anaconda bastard?”
“Don’t know, we haven’t been formally introduced,” Shotgun told his men. He took note of the fact as soon as Mammoth mentioned Anaconda’s name she went extremely pale. Pure terror haunted her eyes and left her swaying.
Looking at
her with pure curiosity he spoke, “Ok sweetheart, we need some answers and we need them now. First question, what is your name?”
She looked over at him and wet her lips. She knew he wasn’t gonna like what she had to say. “My name is River Halliday.”
“Ok River Halliday,” Shotgun nodded. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I came here to find out where my brother Cooper is buried.”
“Sorry sweetheart,” Mammoth replied. “But we don’t have a clue who your brother was.”
“Sure we do.” Slammer voice came from behind them.
They turned to find him standing at the end of the hall.
He came forward and sat down beside her at the table. “So Cooper was your brother huh?”
“Who is this Cooper and how do we know him?” Grinder asked.
“Cooper is Copperhead. And we were just talking about him this morning,” Slammer informed them.
River nodded.
“You do realize he died fifteen years ago, right?”
River nodded again.
“Why did it take you fifteen years to come looking for him?” Slammer growled in anger. “Fifteen fucking years and nobody has come looking for him, why?”
River hung her head. “We were too busy running and trying to stay alive. Now it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Why is that?” Shotgun frowned.
River raised her head and looked at him with tear filled eyes. “Because my other brother finally tracked us down.”
“Us?” Grinder wanted to know.
“My parents and I,” She replied. “I was only ten when we got word Cooper was dead. My parents never told me what happened or why we couldn’t come here and collect his remains to have him buried where we were living. All they told me back then was that he was dead. Then we packed everything we could and left that house. Someone was looking for us to kill us. We moved from place to place for the next fourteen years and finally, my dad thought we were safe enough to stay in one place for more than six months.”
“What changed all that?” Slammer wanted to know.
“I finally asked my parents who we were running from and why.” She looked down at her hands. “And for once, they didn’t lie to me. Then they told me everything that happened fifteen years ago.”
“What exactly did they tell you that brought you here?” Shotgun asked her.
She looked up at the men. “Is Slammer still here?”
“I’m Slammer.” He nodded at her.
“Then it was you who called my parents a few nights after Cooper died. You told them how and why he died, didn’t you?”
Slammer nodded. “I thought they deserved to know the truth about what happened.”
River nodded. “Thank you for that. You saved our lives that night.”
“Why what happened?” Grinder asked.
“Anaconda came around looking for some help and a place to stay while he healed from the beating he took,” she explained. “My father told him to go away, that he wasn’t family anymore if he could murder his own brother. There was nothing anyone could do about what happened next.”
“What do you mean?” Slammer demanded.
“He left our house that night and we packed what we could carry and was on our way out of town. We were only a block or so away when we heard the explosion. We stopped and looked back to see our house in flames. Then we saw him sitting there staring at the flames. My dad drove away without looking back and that was the last time we saw him for fifteen years.”
River took off her hat and a cloud of black hair cascaded down her back. She tucked a strand of the inky blackness behind her ear then looked up at the men. “A week ago, I told my parents I was going to come here and at least see where Cooper was buried. I didn’t want him in an unmarked grave.”
“Back up a minute here girl,” Growled Mammoth. “Are you telling us that this bastard Anaconda is your brother?”
She turned her head and stared at him. “Yeah, he’s my older brother. He and Cooper were almost grown before I was even born. I think I was six when they left home.”
“Oh boss,” Texas shook his head. “This could be bad, if he knows she’s here, he could think we’re holding her hostage and then all hell could break out.”
Shotgun watched as tears filled her eyes and she began shaking her head.
“No, he won’t think that, she stated quietly”
“What makes you say that?” Slammer was curious.
“Because he thinks I’m dead already,” River whispered in the stunned silence.
“Come again?” Slammer voiced his confusion. “Why in the hell does he think you’re already dead?”
“Three days ago, he found where my parents lived and he burned their house to the ground.”
Slammer looked over at Shotgun and Grinder. “How do you know that?”
“The police contacted me as next of kin.”
“How do they know he did it?” Shotgun wanted to know.
She reached inside her backpack and brought out her phone. Tears rolled down her face as she brought up a photo the detective sent her. She passed the phone over to Slammer.
He could see the tag still visible on the burnt out shell of the house. He passed the photo around the table then turned to look at her. “Ok, explain why he thinks you’re dead already?”
“The police found all the doors blocked, so no one could get out of the house when they discovered the fire. My brother, if he found them already knew I still lived with them. He thinks all three of us are dead.”
“This is going to sound crazy and maybe even cruel but why weren’t you at home with your parents?” Slammer asked.
River hung her head for a moment then looked up at him. “A little over a week ago, my parents got really nervous and I wanted to know why. We were finally settled and I had a great job, I didn’t want to move again. I’m twenty-five years old and they’ve never let me go off on my own. I went to school, even went to community college but they never let me live on my own before. They always had a good reason for not letting me leave home but this time. I wasn’t going to drop it, so they told me the truth. They told me about Cooper and Anaconda. I couldn’t believe it. They’d kept so many secrets from me over the years and I reacted badly to this news about my own brothers. So we got into a huge fight. I told them I was going to find out where Cooper is buried and bring him home. I was so mad about being lied to. I remembered Cooper fondly, he was a good man when I knew him. I couldn’t stand the lies and the way we all lived through the years being hunted like we were prey. I left a week ago to come here and find him.”
“And you didn’t know your other brother was coming after you and your parents?” Grinder asked.
She shook her head. “They told me that when he’d planted a bomb in our house fifteen years ago that convinced him that were dead. They seemed sure, though if that was true, why did we keeping moving so much? I wasn’t thinking straight, I admit. But it was so disheartening to hear that your brother killed your other brother and no one stepped forward to even make sure he was buried decently? I felt sick by it all. So while traveling here, I hadn’t checked in with my parents in four days when the police got in touch with me about the fire. I knew then he found us.”
“Do you know who the man in the woods was?” Shotgun asked.
“That was Anaconda,” she replied with venom in her voice.
“And how did you know that?” Slammer asked.
“His boots. He has an Anaconda snake stamped in the leather on the heel of his boots.”
Slammer looked over at Shotgun.
Shotgun nodded at him.
This was news to Slammer but then again, back in the day, he’d never looked at a man’s footwear. “What is your brother like?” he asked her.
River shrugged. “I have no idea and I’m glad too. The last time I saw him like I said, was before I was ten and he came to us beaten and injured. When my dad heard why, he wouldn’t let him stay. Somethi
ng about some trouble with bikers. Dad said he didn’t need any trouble like that. He had me and mom to protect and he said he wasn’t going up against this Banger person. He saw the brand on my brother’s shoulder and he knew what that meant.”
“How did he know about that?” Slammer asked while feeling more than curious.
River stared at him for a moment then decided to tell him the truth. “My dad was a biker at one point in his life. That’s how my brothers got involved in this world. He told me he gave up the biker life when the boys were young because he couldn’t live in two worlds anymore. His family needed him to be there for them and he couldn’t risk dying or going to jail.”
“Who was he with back in the day?” Grinder asked.
“He said he was with the Devil’s Bastards.”
Grinder growled. “Aww shit...”
Slammer turned his head and stared at his treasurer. “Would you mind sharing with us?”
Grinder looked at his brothers. “The Devil’s Bastards was Banger’s old man’s club. He had it before he went inside. To prison. Then later when he got out, Banger was grown. When they got into it, as in fights which is something they did a fucking lot of, Banger called it quits. He walked out on his old man and their dream of a father/son MC. Shortly after that, he began this MC. He never did go back to see his old man, but he dammed well made sure there was nothing left.”
“What do you mean nothing left?” Slammer asked.
Grinder shrugged. “Banger could be and often was a vindictive bastard. If he set his mind to something, he always followed through. Well, he set his mind to destroy his old man’s MC.” Grinder paused and glared at Slammer. “And he did just that. He went behind his dad’s back and ruined his runs and hijacked his shipments, then turned around and sold the stolen guns and drugs. He sold them at a loss just to take business away from his old man. He ruined his old man then went in for the kill. One night, he took a small group of friends and killed everyone in the club. Fifteen men died that night. Fifteen men that didn’t do anything wrong, other than being in his ole man’s MC.” Shrugging he said, “But that was the type of man Banger was.” Grinder looked at River for a few seconds. Your dad was lucky he got out when he did.”
