Harry

by KJ Dahlen

  “He told us as long as one signed them, they all signed them,” Yeta informed him.

  Gunner crossed his arms over his large chest. “Well, he lied. He took your money and he lied to your face. This property belongs to the MC.” He leaned down and got almost in Yeta’s face before he snarled, “And he won’t be handing over the bounty hunting business you wanted either. He never had any intention of delivering either to you.”

  “Oh, you couldn’t be more wrong about that,” Yeta insisted. “He would have delivered both or risked his own life if he failed.”

  Gunner threw back his head and laughed. “You don’t know him as well as you think if you believe that. Blacky never tells the truth when a lie will work better for him. He was thinking of leaving the area when we caught him a few days ago. He had his next place of business all set up already. His ties were broken to the cartel and he was about to leave you hanging in the wind.”

  “You are wrong,” Yeta argued. “That little worm fears dying by my hand too much. He would never betray us like that.”

  “Oh, but he would and he did.” Gunner assured him. “He may fear you but he also thinks he’s smarter than you will ever be.” Gunner began to pace in front of the other man. “You led him to believe you were Vory V Zakone didn’t you?”

  “What if I did?” Zeta asked. “He wanted the connection so I let him believe it. No harm, no foul. So what?”

  “I don’t know about your Russian friends but most organizations usually get pissed when you claim to belong to them when you really don’t, you know?”

  “Except I never claimed to be Vory V Zakone. He assumed I just didn’t correct him.” Yeta pointed out.

  “I wonder if the real Vory V Zakone will think that makes a difference?”

  “You my friend will never know.” Yeta sneered. “You wouldn’t dare to ask them.”

  Gunner nodded. “Are you sure about that? A willing to bet your life kind of sure about that?”

  Yeta’s eyes went cold as he glared at the other man. He looked away for a moment then asked, “Where is my sister? I know she’s here, I can feel her presence nearby.”

  Gunner nodded. “I have her down in the basement. She’s tied to a cell wall.”

  “You dare to treat her in this manner?” Yeta growled.

  “She’s lucky she’s not dead yet.” Gunner snarled. “But her luck could run out anytime. She’s rigged so that if she struggles she’ll hang and I’m not sure Blacky will give her that message or not. He didn’t seem the type to want to help her all that much.”

  “If she’s dead, you will pay with your life,” Yeta warned.

  “And just how are you going to do that when you’re trussed up like the dog you are?” Cobra wanted to know.

  “My men will come for me. They will free me and we will burn this place to the ground.”

  Gunner smiled as he walked over to the table and picked up a sheet of paper with the list of the names of his men on it. “Oh, you mean these men?” He walked back over to the other man showing him the list. “These men are being tracked down even as we speak. They are being arrested on charges.”

  Cobra nodded as he took over, “First, they will go to trial and then to prison. Sorry, but they won’t be able to help you. They know you wouldn’t be there for them. Or they will find that out when you don’t show up in time to help them. Some of them will even die cursing your name as they take their last breath.”

  Tate chuckled. “Karma’s a bitch that way.”

  Just then, Gunner’s cell beeped as he got a message and when he read it, he looked over at Tate and Cobra. Then over at Boone. “Watch him a minute. Annie found something interesting she needs us to see.”

  “Tell me something, is Annie the woman who arrived today? The bitch with the long black hair?” Yeta inquired.

  “She is.” Tate stared at him. “Why?”

  “The Mexican cartel is hunting for her. She’s wanted for the murder of the leader’s son three years ago. They will be most happy to be able to find her,”

  “Except she didn’t do it and they know it. And you fucking know it too, dumbass,” Cobra informed him.

  “We found out that she returned the son to his people and now, they are hunting you.” Tate smiled coldly at him. “Karma, remember?”

  Yeta struggled against the bonds that held him. “That’s a fucking lie! I know he’s dead.” Spittle flew from his mouth as he swore at them.

  “Oh, that’s right, because you shoved a knife into his stomach when he gave you that pretty scar on your face, right?” Gunner mocked him.

  Yeta started to scream obscenities at him and the rest of the brothers.

  Gunner shook his head as he observed the man. “He either has a small brain or a small...” he paused.

  Tate began to laugh. “Well, I don’t know, some men are just tiny all the way around.”

  Cobra even chuckled as he added, “Microfuckingscopic.”

  The brothers in the room all laughed at this.

  Yeta went literally blue in the face with rage as they all laughed at him and then he got even louder with his ranting as he tugged at his chain like a wild monster dog that couldn’t get loose.

  Gunner looked disgusted as he motioned over at Tate and turned toward the hall to the church room.

  Chapter Ten

  The men all headed down the hall to Church.

  When they got there and knocked, Jett threw back the lock and they entered.

  “What the Sam hell is so important?” Gunner growled.

  “We may have found out why they want this land so bad,” Thor informed them.

  “And why is that?” Tate asked.

  Annie turned her laptop around and they read for themselves the reason why.

  Gunner finished the article first and he wanted to punch something. “That’s what this is all about? Fucking gold?”

  “Gold that may or may not even be here,” Cobra reminded him. “The settlers didn’t find that much the first time or so the article said.”

  Gunner ran his fingers over the back of his head. “I also read they were scared off by superstition or some such nonsense.” He shook his head. “The Ghost Protectors or some such crap.” He thought for a moment then added, “We’ve been living here a good long time and never found any sign of gold or anything else worth dying over.”

  “That’s because you weren’t looking for it,” Cobra suggested. “Yeta and his group would be. They would strip mine this entire place until there was fucking nothing left and then move on.”

  “You actually think Blacky told them about this foolishness?” Gunner asked Annie.

  “Lucille seems to think so,” Winona told her father. “She thinks its just the sort of thing Blacky would tell them to up the price.”

  Gunner snapped his head around and glared at Lucille. “Oh, yeah? And just how would she know?”

  “Dad? Maybe now isn’t the time to ask,” Winona suggested. “One step at a time.”

  “She’s right Dad,” Dana agreed. “Right now you have other things to deal with.”

  Gunner looked between both his daughters. They were agreeing on something? Well, if this did not fucking beat all. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell was happening here when they all heard shots coming from outside.

  Gunner, Cobra and Tate ran for the door.

  “Lock it!” Gunner ordered.

  Jett and Thor closed the door behind them.

  Bolting the door, they all heard the report of bullets flying back and forth.

  Everyone was nervous as they waited for what seemed like hours for the shooting to finally stop.

  Annie kept one eye on the clock and with the other, she was busy with research. Finally, the shooting stopped and she pushed away from the table.

  The silence was overwhelming at first. As time dragged on it became unbearable. Then there came a pounding on the door.

  When no one called out, Jett motioned for everyone to remain quiet.

 
; Lucille got up, went over to the painting next to the door and took it down. Then she stepped back.

  Jett moved over and looked at the wall next to the door.

  Gunner and Tate were standing there.

  Jett looked over at Lucille and frowned. Then he looked back at the wall and took note of the small two way mirror imbedded in the wall. “How the bloody hell did you know about that?” He growled.

  She just stood there but didn’t say anything.

  Thor shook his head then wrenched back the lock and opened the door.

  Gunner and Tate came in slowly and looked around. “Is everyone in here okay?” he asked wearily.

  They could see his arm was bleeding and he seemed in pain.

  “What happened out there boss?” Thor asked.

  “Yeta’s men did come after him, well at least four of them did.” Gunner shook his head. “They all died for him unnecessarily.”

  “Maybe they thought they had a chance to win the war and free Yeta.” Dana shook her head.

  Tate grinned at them despite the tenseness in the room. “Yeta took a bullet from one of his own men and he wasn’t very happy about it.”

  Gunner snorted. “Yeah, he’d rather bleed to death than accept our help, so to hell with him.” Shaking his head, he growled, “Too bad it’s only a flesh wound.”

  Tate nodded. “We think the worst of it is over now, so you can come out. Maybe sharing what you uncovered with the others might help us make sense of all of this.”

  They all filed out of the room and Jett followed last. He hadn’t had a chance yet to tell the others about the mirror and who found it but he would as soon as everyone was together.

  Just as they all stepped into the main room, someone stepped through the door and raised a gun.

  Lucille glanced up and saw the gun pointed at Gunner’s head and she reacted without thinking. She rushed forward and pushed him out of the way just as the gun went off. The bullet tore through her shoulder, ripping into her body and she screamed as she flew back couple of steps and collapsed on the floor. The gunshot knocked her completely off her feet.

  Thor reacted instinctively and raised his gun then just shot blindly.

  The man in the doorway never stood a chance. The bullet caught him midchest and he dropped to the ground dead as the bullet tore through his heart.

  “You fucking bastard!” Yeta screamed. “You murdered him. You murdered my son!” He twisted and pulled at the chains holding him while screaming curses at everyone in the room. He couldn’t get close to his son and he dropped to the ground. “You bastard!” He wept as he stared at his son. “You killed my son, my only child.”

  Cobra walked over to the downed man and kicked the gun out of his hand. Then he turned to Yeta. “Shut the fuck up old man. He shot first.”

  Yeta crawled as close as he could get and reached out only to fall short of reaching his son. “I will kill you for what you’ve done, you bastard.”

  Gunner picked himself up off the floor and looked over at the doorway then looked to where Lucille was laying. He couldn’t think for a moment. Then he saw Winona on her knees beside the older woman. His daughter was sobbing and calling the other woman’s name.

  Patriot was rushing to the two women and Gunner just stood there still stunned. Slowly, he walked over to them and dropped to his knees.

  Winona turned her head and sobbed.

  Gunner took her in his arms and held her while she sobbed. “Why did she do that?”

  Patriot looked to look at him and snapped, “Let’s get her back to the infirmary. I have more supplies back there and she needs care.”

  Cobra and Tate helped pick her up and carry her back.

  Winona got up and Gunner helped her to the infirmary. They stood to one side while Patriot began treating her wound.

  He cut the shirt off her and began cleaning the shoulder wound.

  When he pressed on the wound to stop the bleeding Lucille woke up and cried out in extreme pain, “What the hell are you doing to me?”

  “I’m trying to stop the bleeding so I can dig the bullet out of your shoulder,” Patriot explained to her.

  “How about you leave it right where it is and we call it good enough?” she groaned.

  “Sorry sweetheart, can’t be done.” Patriot shook his head.

  She looked down at her shoulder and found herself looking at bare skin. “What the fuck did you do to my shirt?” she cried out. “I’m naked here.”

  Patriot shook his head. “Not to worry, no one is looking.”

  She lifted her head and growled. “Get out of here. I’m fine, you don’t need to stand there watching me.”

  Jett, Tate and Gunner began backing out of the room.

  Winona moved over to the bed. “What can I do to help?” She asked.

  “Oh honey you don’t have to stay here,” Lucille told her. “I’ll be okay.”

  “I’m staying and don’t you fuss about it,” she insisted.

  “Well then at least cover me up some. I’m not used to being this exposed in front of a bunch of men, that’s for sure,” Lucille grumbled.

  Winona chuckled then grabbed a blanket and draped it over her partner. She stood by and watched as Patriot dug the bullet out of Lucille’s shoulder and began cleaning her wound.

  Lucille had screamed as she felt the pain of the bullet coming out then she bit her lip and endured the rest of the treatment.

  It was only when Patriot began wrapping her shoulder that Lucille fought against him, putting the gauze around her. He had no choice but to leave her shoulder unwrapped. He tidied his work area and then left the room to make his report to Gunner.

  Winona sat down next to the sleepy woman and just sat there holding her hand. “Thank you.”

  “For what honey?” Lucille asked sleepily.

  “For saving my dad. You pushed him away from that bullet and saved his life.”

  “Oh, nonsense. Gunner West isn’t going down like that. Not by a coward’s bullet,” Lucille whispered as she finally fell asleep.

  Winona stared at her friend, puzzled. Sighing, she just sat there with her while holding her hand.

  Harry came over to where Annie was sitting and scooped her up in his arms. He kissed her wildly for a moment then sat down and pulled her onto his lap. “So are you doing okay?” He gazed at her for a moment. “This hasn’t been the trip I planned. I was hoping we would find Becky and I thought we might have to help a bit but this is more than I expected.”

  Annie nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s been more than I expected too, but I’m not sorry we came. I got my sister back and I’m very glad we could help them. This place is their home and they are a family.” She looked around. “I’m just realizing that fact. I guess I never knew what being part of a family was like. Now I know what I’ve missed all these years.”

  “I hope that’s a good thing because you’re part of my family now. I can’t make up for your past but I can give you and our baby a future full of hope.”

  “All this baby needs is you and yours,” Annie assured him.

  “And his or her auntie I hope,” Becky piped up from behind them.

  “Well that goes without saying.” Annie turned to see her sister join them. “I want you to be part of my baby’s future too.”

  “Good, because I don’t want to miss out either. We finally have more family and it sure feels good.”

  Annie nodded. “Yeah, it does.” Then she looked down at her lap. “Unfortunately, we still have one member of the family left to deal with. And I don’t think he’s going to go quietly into the night. Not this time.”

  “If you’re talking about your dad...” Tate came over to join them. “You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

  Annie turned in Harry’s lap and asked, “Why is that?”

  Tate motioned his head toward the door where two of Gunner’s men were standing with an older man.

  Becky gasped when she saw him.

  Annie paled. Nausea rol
led in her belly and for a moment, she thought she would puke at the sight of him standing there. “Dad,” she whispered quietly as her head began to swim.

  Chapter Eleven

  Harry felt her slacken in his arms and held her close for a moment before he asked, “Are you okay babe?”

  Annie pulled herself together and raised her head to look at him. “I don’t know,” she admitted shakily. “It’s just a shock to see him again that’s all.”

  Harry looked her over carefully and nodded. “I gather that.”

  Gunner’s men pushed Randy inside the clubhouse.

  Raising his head, Yeta noticed him and snarled, “You fucking bastard, what are you doing here?”

  Randy raised his head and everyone could see his bruised face. He had a cut above his eyebrow and two black eyes from where his nose had been broken. He also had a bruise on his jaw and a split lip. One of Gunner’s men also had a black eye while the other one had a split lip to match Randy’s.

  Randy glared at the other man then noticed the chains he was wearing. He threw back his head and laughed out loud. “Oh Yeta, how the mighty have fallen. Is your sister here too, or is she dead somewhere. God, I hope she’s dead and waiting for you to join her in hell. That would be the fitting end for the pair of you.”

  Gunner got up and walked over to the trio of men standing there. He looked Randy up one side and down the other. “So this is the famous Randy Sheen huh? Not much to look at are you?”

  “Fuck you asshole.” Randy snarled. “Are you the headman in charge?”

  “I am.”

  “Then tell me why the fuck am I here? I haven’t done anything to you or this MC. I don’t even know who you are.”

  “The name Savaged Souls, don’t mean anything to you?” Gunner sneered at him.

  Randy froze for a moment then tried to bluff his way through. “Nope not a thing. Never heard of you before now.”

  Gunner looked around at his men. His face wore a blank expression.

  The brothers all seemed to know what would happen next as they all backed up.