by Carol Dawn
“Phoenix says that it’s an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere,” Hawk says. “Roughly an hour away. Thank you, baby, I love you.”
“Let’s hit the road, brothers,” Brick says, walking out the door. “We have some men to kill.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Thea
“You are very hard to kill.”
It feels like my body is on fire. A fire that is making its way through my veins at an excruciating speed. I try to scream, but only a whisper emerges.
“I can see that you’re in pain. Would you like me to speed this process along?”
I focus every amount of energy on speaking.
“Why?” I manage to push out.
“Why?” Marco answers. “Well, isn’t it obvious? That whore sister of yours lied to me about not being able to have children. I was going to make big fucking money off of her. The lying bitch lost me thousands of dollars because she got pregnant. The damn child was supposed to die with her.”
“What?”
“It didn’t take much,” he continues. “A little something added to her water bottle before she left for her doctor’s appointment. The poor thing fell asleep at the wheel.”
I’m fighting to stay awake. It’s taking every bit of strength I have just to keep my eyes open. But each word he says is imprinted on my mind. I’ll never forget any of it.
I knew that he wasn’t treating my sister right, but I had no idea he was this type of person.
“I was pissed when the boy survived,” Marco says. “When I was told you were going to fight for custody, I almost gave him up. But then, a plan hatched. Your sister lost me money, but her son can get me a nice penny. Of course, if he was a female, I would get more, but what can you do?
Now, I had this obstacle in my way. You. I gave you a chance to back away. I tried to show you how worthless of a parent you would be. But you didn’t listen. So, I had to change my plan. I needed to make you feel safe. No longer in danger. Then, when the time was right, I would grab the boy and kill you.
I was aiming for your heart. It seems I missed a little.”
“Breaker, we need to get going.”
“Looks like time’s up, Princess.”
I catch glimpses of movement but can’t fully see. The pain is causing my vision to blur.
“Where’s Brendon?” I say between pants.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” he says. “I’m thinking of just letting nature take its course with you. It’s rude to expect me to waist another bullet. Hey, Motzo, toss her in one of the stalls.”
“You got it.”
The pain intensifies as I’m lifted, taken a few feet, and then thrown to the ground.
“Just to ease your dying mind a little,” Cracking open my eyes, I see Marco leaning over me. “Brendon is now a no-named boy until his new family picks one for him. I did lose a couple thousand because he was a few months older than I promised, but that’s okay. I’m sure he’ll be very happy with the Millers.”
Marco stands and walks away.
The Millers. My child is with the Millers.
Remember that, Thea. Don’t freaking die. Mason is coming, I just know it. I need to stay awake long enough to tell him what I’ve learned.
Don’t die, yet.
Please, hurry, Mason.
Hurry!
***Trigger***
We arrive at the address that was written down, but the only thing out here is an old barn.
“Looks like the farmhouse got downgraded to a barn.” Ink pulls his bike in beside me and cuts the engine.
“Phoenix said that the house was destroyed in a fire a few years back,” Hawk says. “I guess they decided not to rebuild.”
“Looks like someone’s been here recently,” Bear’s bent over looking at the driveway. “These tracks are fresh.”
Without a second thought, I make my way to the barn door.
“Thea,” I shout. “Baby, are you in here?”
“Trigger, over here,” Brick’s swiping his fingers on the ground when I stop beside him. “blood.”
I can’t tell if my heart doubles in speed or stops altogether.
“We’ll find them, brother.”
Normally, Bear’s words are soothing, but not this time. I shake off the feeling of dread and continue my search. The last place to search was the old horse stalls. My mind is already planning the next stop when a noise from the last stall reaches my ears.
“Fuck,” someone shouts.
I race toward the stall and am destroyed by what I see. Thea is on the ground bleeding from what appears to be a bullet wound to her chest.
“Mother fucker,” Bear says, shoving my frozen body out of the way. “Call an ambulance now!”
His shout knocks some sense into me, and I rush forward.
“Little one,” I manage to say around the knot in my throat. “Please, baby, open those eyes.”
Thea is moaning in pain but slowly opens her eyes.
“What happened?” I ask.
I want more than anything to wrap her in my arms and carry her away. But I don’t know how long she can remain conscious and I need answers. I also know, even though I won’t admit it to myself, that my woman is very close to death.
“Mill,” she groans.
“Try again, little one,” I encourage.
“Brendon…Millers.”
I lean down as close as I can.
“Tell me, baby.”
“Baby’s with Millers,” her voice is barely a whisper. “Was Marco.”
Before she can tell me anything else, her eyes close. In a moment of panic, I fall to my ass. It takes me a few seconds to clear my mind and notice that she’s still breathing.
“Ambulance is on the way, brother.”
Brick is a comfort at my back with his hand on my shoulder. I have never felt weaker than I am at this moment.
“She said Brendon’s with the Miller’s,” I tell the room. “Let’s find out who the fuck they are and get my son back.”
“The ambulance will be here soon,” Bear says. “Why don’t you go to the hospital with Thea and let us handle this.”
“Fuck no, he’s not,” Chains interrupts before I have a chance. “If Thea wakes up and sees Trig standing there with no baby, she’s going to flip the fuck out. Slim can meet the ambulance and stay with her.”
“Agreed!” Hawk mumbles. “The girls can go with him.”
Knowing that my brothers will get shit done, I sit by Thea’s side with her hand in mine and my eyes on her chest. With each short inhalation of breath, my heart takes another beat.
I’m not sure how long I sit there before the ambulance arrives and takes my woman away. Not getting in that ambulance was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
“Found them,” Hawk says. “I don’t know how the fuck he did it but Phoenix found the Millers.”
“That boy scares the shit out of me,” Ink says.
I feel my lip tug in agreement. Yeah, Slim even scares me from time to time. He’s a smart boy.
“Forward the directions to everyone, Hawk,” Bear says. “Let’s hit the road.”
“Wait,” I say. “We need to make a plan. I want you all to go after my boy. But I’m going after Marco.”
“Not alone, you aren’t,” Brick crosses his arms over his chest. “You always seem to forget that we’re a family. When one of us is in trouble, all of us are.”
“Damn right,” Ink shouts.
“You go after Marco, and it’s going to start a war with the Death Mongrels,” Bear tells me.
“I’m not letting that mother fucker get away with what he’s done,” I growl. “I’m going after him, and I’m doing it alone.” I glare at Brick. “I won’t have any of you getting killed for me and my family.” I grab the patch that’s velcroed on the front of my vest and rip it off, handing it to Bear.
“I’m not going to start a war between The Infernal Sons and the Death Mongrels,” I say, looking into Bear�
��s eyes. “This is my battle to fight. The war is between me and Marco.”
“Bullshit, Trig,” Chains steps forward. “If you go in there alone, they’re going to kill you. They don’t fight fair. The moment it looks like you have the upper hand on Marco, those fucking Mongrels will jump you all at once. It’s suicide and you know it.”
“I’m not afraid of that damn club,” Bear says, walking toward me. “As Brick said, we’re a family. We’re in this together.” Bear shoves the patch back onto my vest. “You trusted me once many years ago and became my brother. Trust me now to fight at your side as brother’s do. Trust us all.”
I look around to each of my brothers. My family. And before I can stop it, a fucking tear falls from my eye. But I don’t wipe it away. I want them to see how much they mean to me since I can never find the words to say.
Brick walks forward and squeezes my shoulder. His eyes look lost. He’s going through some shit that he hasn’t shared with us. I’ll be reminding him of his ‘we’re family’ comment later.
“Alright,” Bear says, pulling my attention away from Brick. “Chains and Hawk, you two head to the Miller’s and get that baby. Take him straight to the hospital and stay with the girls and Slim. We’ll meet you there as soon as we kick some Mongrel ass.”
“HELL YEAH!” Ink shouts.
We all straddle our bikes and go our separate ways. Bear leads us to the Death Mongrels hideout, while we follow behind.
Marco is the one who started this war. But I’ll make sure I’m the one who ends it.
Knowing that I need to focus on the task at hand, I shove my worry over Thea and Brendon to the corner of my mind and concentrate on how I’m going to make this fucker suffer.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Trigger
“WHO THE FUCK IS BANGING ON THE DOOR?”
“Party time, brothers,” Ink bounces on his heels, waiting for someone to open the door.
“Keep it cool for now, Ink,” Bear tells him. “We talk first. I want information before anyone loses their shit.”
“Hands off of Marco,” I warn. “He’s mine.”
Ink bangs on the Death Mongrels door again. “You got it, brother. I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.”
The door swings open and we are greeted by a stout, drunk, man.
“WHA THE FUCK YOU WAN?” He mumbles.
“Marco,” I answer.
“NOT HERE, MAN,” he manages to answer.
“I don’t believe you,” Brick says, stepping forward. “How about you let us in.”
“SUCK MY COCK, RIDERS!”
Tired of this shit, I walk around Brick and shove the drunken idiot out of my way. A moment later, I hear a thud and a moan.
“Come on, man,” Ink whines. “You couldn’t have fallen in the other direction? You had to fall face-first on my boot?”
Bear laughs as he follows behind me.
“He didn’t fall anywhere near you Ink, you took a step forward and kicked his fucking face.”
“Hey, I don’t wear these steel-toed boots for nothing.”
Ignoring my brother's bantering, I pick up my speed and head toward the voices coming from another room. I stop at the door and tap my sides, making sure my guns are where they need to be.
I don’t plan on making this short. But you never know when one of those fuckers will piss me off.
Grabbing the handle, I push the door open and walk into the room. There are five men hanging out on a set of couches with beers in their hands and women on their laps.
“Who the fuck are you?” One of them asks.
“Infernal Sons,” the man who I recognize as, Dagger, the Death Mongrels president, says. “What brings you by?”
I clench my fist in order to stop myself from running over and punching that smile off his ugly face.
Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms and wait.
“We’re looking for Breaker,” Prez says.
“You’re looking in the wrong place, man,” Dagger says. “Breaker left here hours ago.”
“He’s in the bathroom hiding like a bitch,” the oldest man says.
“What the fuck, Freeze?”
“Do you want to start something with the Sons?” Freeze asks his president. “Breaker is supposed to be our VP. I don’t want no VP who would cut off his own balls just to avoid getting killed.”
“Like, actually cut off his balls?” Ink’s face pales.
“Pretty sure he means Marco is a fucking coward,” Brick answers.
“We’ll be back in an hour,” Bear tells the room. Ink and Bear walk out of the room and shut the door.
I stay right where I am up against the wall with Brick to my left. I’m not a small man by any means, but the beast of a man even towers over me. I can never understand why people don’t run screaming when he enters a room.
“It’s because of my friendly eyes,” Brick answers my silent question, quietly.
I look up and raise my brows.
“I can read silent Trigger,” he grins. “Plus, you’ve asked me once before. You should smile more often. Then people wouldn’t be afraid of you.”
“I want them to be afraid,” I tell him.
I turn my gaze to Dagger, daring him to tell Marco that we’re still in the room. He must not like what he sees in my eyes because the coward sits back and remains silent.
It takes roughly five minutes before Marco finally enters the room.
“Fucking Infernal Sons,” he grumps. “Do you know how painful it is standing in one spot for half an hour while trying not to make a sound? My throat is killing me from holding back a damn cough.”
“Hey Breaker,” Brick says. “Names, Brick.”
Marco freezes and looks from me to Brick. “Yeah, I can see why,” he tells Brick. “You’re one giant man.” Marco turns his attention back to me. “Hey man, how’s my boy?”
“Brendon is perfectly fine,” Ink says, walking back into the room. “Actually, right now, he’s on his way to the hospital to be with his auntie/momma.”
“Can Trigger not speak?” the old man asks.
“Yep,” Ink answers. “But he doesn’t like speaking unless something is worth being spoken.”
“What’s happened to Thea?” Marco asks, looking everywhere but in my direction.
“I love this part,” Ink smiles wide. “This is where I tell you the stupid stuff that you did and how it made my man here very angry. I also warn you that he’s not very kind when he’s angry. I may also hint that he kills people who make him angry.
Sometimes just a quick shot to the head. He doesn’t miss, by the way. No matter how fast the person runs. Other times, he likes to take his time and use his hands. Once, he spent over a week inflicting torture that would make you weep at the mere thought of it on a man who hit his wife. He got revenge for a woman Trigger had never met until that very day. A complete stranger.
I tell you this because someone kidnapped his son and shot his woman. I can’t imagine what he has planned for the idiot who did that.”
“THAT’S MY SON,” Marco yells.
“You know,” Ink continues, ignoring Marco. “I wonder if I could watch this time, Trig?”
“You wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Brick grins. “I once saw him use a spoon to remove a man’s eye. While he was awake! It made me throw up. I never sat with him again while he was ‘questioning’ someone.”
“You have a choice, Dagger,” I say, speaking for the first time. “Head out and let me handle Marco. You don’t want a war with us. A war with us means war with the Soul Searchers.”
“FUCK!” Dagger shouts. “Damnit Breaker, I told you not to get the club involved.”
“Which was bullshit,” Marco says to Dagger. “We’re a club, and that means we have each other’s back.”
“Not this time, man. There is some shit we don’t get involved in. Kidnapping children and shooting innocent women are two of them. You’re no brother of mine. Everyone step back. If you decide to stay
and help this man, then give me your fucking patches right now.”
The Death Mongrels give Marco one last look before turning and following their president out of the room.
All except one. A jacked-up man with a tattoo on his arm of a snake eating it’s own tail.
“Just go Motzo,” Marco says.
Before Motzo can utter a word, I raise my hand and shoot him in the head, killing him instantly.
“Well, that explains the tattoo,” Ink says.
“H…hhh…hey, wait a minute,” Marco stammers as I slowly walk forward. “Let’s talk about this, man.”
I wait until I’m toe to toe before punching him in the face. I feel a surge of excitement as I watch him fall to the ground, blood dripping from his nose.
“Hey, at least he didn’t back away when you got close to him,” Ink says. “Gotta give him points for that.”
“I already messaged Hawk to grab his truck and meet us here,” Bear says. “I figured you wouldn’t want things to end quickly.”
I look over to my president, and I do something I don’t normally do.
I smile.
“Holy fuck, you do have teeth. And a soul.”
“Shut the fuck up, Ink,” Brick laughs. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that smile is because of the plans the fucker has with Marco.”
He’s not wrong.
Just to be safe, I yank the cord from the back of a television and tie Marco’s hands and feet.
Twenty minutes later, Marco is hanging from the basement ceiling at the clubhouse, and I’m heading to the hospital to get my boy and wait for my woman to get better.
She better live. Because if she dies, I’ll burn this fucking world down.
Chapter Thirty
Thea
Am I dead?
“No darlin’, but you sure did come close.”
Where do I know that voice from?
The man chuckles. “Open your eyes, little darlin’, and take a look.
Holy cow, this man can read my mind.
His chuckle turns into a loud laugh. “I’m not really sure I’d want that power if I had the choice. People carry too many secrets.”
If you can’t read my mind, then how are you answering the questions I’m thinking?
