“Baby,” Stone said softly. “You were a kid, you did what you had to do.”
“No,” Treat sobbed. “I didn’t. I could have called the police and made them listen. I could have come back and helped them. Fuck, when I saw her in the hospital I could have grabbed her and made her stay with us. Why the fuck didn’t I?”
War pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, “Honey, no, it is not your fault. You need to let the blame lay where it should be, right on your father’s head. He is the one responsible for all this, he is weak. You can’t take this all on, it is not right.”
Treat sobbed, for everything that could have been. That was what bothered her the most—what could have been. Her parents could have been normal, they could have worked together and sorted shit out, they could have done a lot of things, and yet they didn’t. She knew in her head the guys were right, but in her heart, it was breaking wide open and all of the shit she had been carrying around for so long just burst through.
War and Stone motioned to the guys to leave them alone, and Free and Match nodded and left. Both men looking helpless at the sight of one of their own so devastated. They hated it when one of their women cried. All of them, War and Stone both knew, if given the chance, all of their brothers would switch places with them so they could hunt down that bastard and kill him. But they couldn’t leave her like this, she sounded like a wounded animal.
“When I was younger, I used to pray they would die. I even said it aloud a few times to them. I just couldn’t understand why my friends had these wonderful families who did shit together and laughed, while mine was like living in hell.” Treat sobbed and her legs gave out. War grabbed her, carried her to the couch along the wall, and sat down with her on his lap. Stone sat next to him and pulled her feet up on his lap then started to rub her legs as they just let her talk.
For an hour, the anguish of her childhood poured out of her, story after story that broke both of the guys’ hearts. They knew it was bad, but they didn’t know how bad.
“My very first memory I have is them fighting, like seriously fighting. Both drunk, both yelling and swinging their arms at each other. I was standing in the doorway to my tiny room not understanding what they were saying. Then my father hit my mother so hard she fell on the floor and didn’t get up. I didn’t go to her; I just went to the bathroom and back to bed quietly. I was scared he would hit me like that. I never even thought about her. Kids should be worried about their mothers; I don’t ever remember being worried about her like that. I only ever remember hoping it wouldn’t be me. Praying that he wouldn’t notice me, of course this never happened, but I still hoped you know. When I was old enough, my father made me take care of her when he beat the shit out of her. Clean her up and get her out of the way so he didn’t have to look at her. If I didn’t go quick enough, he would pull off his belt and beat me until I moved faster.”
The guys just listened and with each sentence, they thought of something else they were going to punish that fucker for. Every single story she told them, they remembered, and added something else to his list of punishments before they killed him.
“Baby,” War whispered in her ear. “You couldn’t have done anything. There is nothing wrong with you, you were a child, and they were adults. You were not responsible for taking care of anything. It was theirs, and they failed you, both of you. Jilly should never have been with Lane, your father is responsible for that, you know it, baby, you know it.”
Treat sobbed and nodded. She did know it, but it didn’t make a difference, her mother was dead. How did she resolve this in her head and move on. She knew what the club was going to do, they were going to hunt down her father and kill him. He deserved it, she knew this as well, but he was still her father right? That should make a difference, shouldn’t it?
She didn’t realize she had said that out loud, but she had because Stone answered her.
“Honey, you feel what you feel, it is not wrong, you can’t think like that. You survived and that is what matters, now you will help Jilly get herself together. Back then you were a child, someone they should have cherished and taken care of. Instead they didn’t, they traumatized you and, honey, that is what is not fair, none of it,” he whispered and kissed her forehead and she leaned into him and sniffled.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
“There is nothing to do, we deal with it and move on. Right now, worry about your sister and everything we are doing to get her a new life,” War said and hugged her tight. She felt their love. For once someone was there to pick up the slack for her. She had no idea how to deal with that and right now, she didn’t care, they were here for her, and she was feeling like for once in her life, something was going right.
The trio finally came to the meeting room; everyone was there, even the Lady Riders. Treat knew that Nike and Bob were going to come to her; they had been together a long time with her. But truthfully, after everything that happened with Trick, she really wasn’t sure if they still felt the same way about her. Even after all these months of riding along side of them, she was still hesitant. That cunt almost took everything from her, thankfully she hadn’t.
Both women hugged her and Bob whispered they had called Shady and the others and they were ready to ride back here if she needed it. Treat nodded but told them she would call Shay later and talk to her.
What happened next was what completely surprised her. She knew how the home Chapter of the Warriors would have reacted; she had been with them a long time. The guys would have been supportive and awesome, because that is who they were. However, they would never one by one line up to give her their respects like this Chapter was doing. Not because they didn’t care, no it was because she was truly one of theirs, she belonged to this Chapter. She could feel it, Stone and War had claimed her here, and this meant she was home. Something she had never thought of changing before right this second.
Treat always figured she would complete work here and go back to the desert with the rest of her friends, and once again think of these people as a great Chapter. But right then, she knew she would never leave. She would call Shady and the others and ask to be moved, because these people were her family, it felt right, and this was where she was going to stay, if they let her.
Free and Bic were the last in line and when the couple came to her she sobbed a little. Yeah, these people were her family.
“Already called and asked Creed and Fork to have the Ladies vote on you remaining here and being the Vice to Bic. Our club voted before you guys came in, it was unanimous, you belong to this Chapter,” Free said softly to Treat who then burst into tears yet again. “You belong here.”
She nodded and then turned to Bic who was waiting and she hugged her and then pulled back. “Okay, enough of that shit,” the woman said and lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. “Lady Riders forever.”
Treat smiled and nodded. And everyone returned to their seats, and the real meeting began.
“Update,” Free said and Match nodded to both Stone and War as well, as a show of respect.
“The police report says the person who called in was the neighbor next door, a Mr. Ulysses,” Match said and Treat nodded and interrupted.
“He lived to the north, probably is a hundred years old by now. But the man knows everything that happens in that place. He was the one who called Social Services like a thousand times but didn’t get anyone to help. He was always giving us food and treats.” She laughed. “One of the reasons why I picked the road name Treat. Seriously, I know most people think it was for another reason, but I picked mine first. He used to call me Sweet Treats when he would see me. Always had a lollipop for me.” She smiled and the guys nodded.
“Yeah,” Match said. “He referred to you as Sweet Treats, the guys figured you had seen him. Anyway, he said that last night he heard your father yelling at someone. He assumed it was your mother, but then he heard another man’s voice. Said they were arguing about Jilly and why she
wasn’t home. Then he heard some scuffles and your father ran out of the trailer and took off in his car. The man said he heard someone yelling for help after and called the police. Before they got there he saw Lane leave quickly.”
There was silence in the room as everyone processed the information. Free spoke up finally. “We need to find him. Anything else, Match?”
“Data is going to do his thing, ‘cause when we were doing background checks, we came across a lapse in the records on Chet from way back?”
“Like what?” Freebryd frowned.
“Data, you want to explain?” Match said, nodding his head to give the members his take on what came across.
“Sure. Well, it was strange, we couldn’t find anything prior to Chet showing up in this area, just weird stuff, almost like the man didn’t exist, but we know he did because it was about the time Treat would have been a baby. That is what I’m working on, just need a little time to do some digging,” Data said. The man was a computer programmer and one of the best hackers around.
“Data, get it done and keep us updated as soon as you find out anything.” Data nodded to his Prez and Free continued, “Now back to Mr. Hide Behind a Woman’s Skirt and how we are going to go about finding him.”
Everyone nodded, and then they started planning. Because there was no way they were going to let him get away with what he did—to Treat’s sister and apparently her mom.
Treat sat stunned and listened. On one hand, she was glad her father hadn’t killed her mother, which was one thing that seriously she didn’t want to deal with. However, he was a coward, he left her there knowing that something bad could happen. What kind of man did that shit? And she couldn’t even deal with what Data and Match came across in his background. With my luck, the asshole was probably a woman before and had a sex change and became Chet, and for the first time in a while inwardly she smiled at the thought. Fuck, she sure hoped not, that would be fifty shades of messed up.
Chapter Eleven
Lane leaned back in his truck and waited. She was going to come out sometime, the little whore. Then she was going to help him get his son back, get the fuck outta town, and she was going to be brought to heel.
She deserved everything he was planning for her, Lane thought as he glared at the wire fence separating him from what he wanted. Last night had been a fucking necessity. He was sending a message to Chet, that little fuck ran away when he told him he was going to kill him if he didn’t get his son back. Pussy, he had left the weak little woman crying in the corner. Well he took care of that, now the idiot would take him seriously.
Chet, he was a joke of a man now as he had been the first time Lane had come across him. Brooke had just been a baby then, and Chet had needed help. Yeah, he helped him, everyone needed a weak man to use as cover. The dumbass has helped me more than he will ever know too. I can beat the best of them, already had so why a bunch of bikers would think they can outsmart me is fucking hilarious.
Motorcycle gang, seriously, they went out with the seventies. They were just wannabes, he was sure of it, because if they were real bad asses he would have heard about them, and he hadn’t. Hell, he asked a few of his connections and they had been very informative. Boy scouts, the lot of them. He heard all of the stories of helping the community and crap like that, whatever, they were just a bunch of guys who road Harleys that did good deeds. They were harmless, and even if they weren’t, it didn’t fucking matter. She was promised to him, not that sorry excuse for a woman he got, and he was going to take what was his dammit.
He saw a few men come out, get on their bikes, and ride away, Lane grinned. Yeah, a motorcycle against a truck, who would win, he would and that is what he was gonna do. A plan began to form him his head, he grinned as he thought about the weak little bikers who were gonna be upset when one of their own was killed all because they were protecting his bitch.
They would turn her over in a flash then, and if they didn’t he still had a backup. Hell yeah they would and then he wouldn’t have to worry about them chasing after her. They needed to give her up on their own. It was a perfect plan, one he would be able to pull off himself. Kill one, and then send the message to turn the whore over to him.
Lane picked up his cell phone and made some calls, he needed to know a few things first, like who would cause the greatest impact on their club if he killed them.
Soon she was going to be his, and she was going to pay for all this shit.
Chapter Twelve
Treat pulled into the hospital; she was not looking forward to this. Hell who would, she and the guys had talked to the counselor, it was decided that she needed to tell her sister by herself, and as soon as possible. Jilly hadn’t had any control in her life in a long time; they didn’t need to take this away from her.
She had almost not been able to come, the guys were wary of Lane being out there somewhere, all of them thought he was a danger to her. Treat had shook her head, why would he be? She was nothing to him. No, her sister was the one who was in danger.
She took a deep breath before she got off her motorcycle. She had a tail, she knew it, and the guys told her she would. With a grin, she smiled and waved to Peaches, the older man who was driving a beat up old truck following her. They wanted eyes on her at all times. Peaches shook his head and then waved back and pointed to his phone letting her know to text when she was leaving. With a nod, she walked to the door.
The lobby to the hospital was quiet. She walked to the elevator and never even saw the man who had walked into the side door following her. At the elevator she turned and looked around again, Lane grinned, he felt her staring at him, yeah, he was going to break her.
Once on the floor where her sister was Treat relaxed. She saw that once again Match was on the door.
“Damn, Match, you are like all over this.” She laughed and the man blushed, yes blushed. What the hell? she thought but shook her head and walked into her sister’s room.
It was a little dark, the shades were drawn but she could see that Jilly was awake, she was just laying staring at the wall. Not a good sign, she thought and walked to the edge of the bed.
“Hey, Jillybean, what is going on?” she said softly.
Her eyes turned to her and she grimaced. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“About what?” she asked.
“Stuff,” Jilly whispered.
“How are you feeling?” Treat asked.
“Like shit,” Jilly tried to smile.
“I am sorry,” Treat said softly and her sister looked at her with a frown.
“You gotta stop apologizing, Brooke, it is not your fault. Hell, it’s mine, I should have left sooner. Hell, I should never have been there,” Jilly said. “You know how they say ‘looking back I shoulda known’, well I did know, and I still was a dumbass for letting myself get caught up in someone else’s problems. You are not responsible for my bad choices, Brooke, you are only responsible for helping me when I called.”
Treat bit her lip and looked at her sister and then out the window. Shit, this was really going to suck.
“Honey,” Treat said and looked back at her sister. “I don’t know how else to say this but to come right out and say it. Mom was killed last night.”
Jilly gasped and closed her eyes. Tears began to fall as she quietly cried. Treat just held on to her hand and waited. She didn’t know what to say since her thoughts and emotions were scrambled as well.
“Oh, Brooke,” Jilly whispered and opened her wet eyes. “Was it Dad?”
“No, they don’t think so. They think it was Lane,” Treat said softly.
There was no look of surprise, only sorrow. “That bastard, he threatened it often enough. You know the saddest part, I knew it was coming. Because I was in here, and everything. He blamed Dad I am sure. Just like usual, he probably ran away. He did that all the time you know, ran away, left me and mom to deal with Lane. Usually just me. He is evil,” she finished with a hiss. “He is going to come for me, you know. He wi
ll, especially if he’s wanted by the law. Threatened to kill Mom and Dad a million times, he has a back-up plan for leaving, he laughed about it. But he won’t leave his son. It is sad really, I mean, I know Mom is dead, but the only thing I can think of is at least she won’t have to wake up with bruises anymore. I hope she finally finds peace you know, because she never had it in life.”
Treat put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Oh, honey.”
“You can’t help,” Jilly said quietly. “I will never be free of him. He is like a bad penny, he will turn up again and again until he gets what he wants.”
Treat frowned and looked at her sister. She was traumatized, she was broken, and all because of the man and her father. It made her sick to her stomach even thinking about it.
“Yeah I can, and I will stop him. Right now, I am going to call a counselor and have them come here to speak to you. Because, honey, seeing the look of defeat in your eyes is unacceptable. Nothing and no one is going to hurt you or your son. When you leave here, you are coming to live with my friends and me. They will protect you, if you want to make a new life somewhere else, I will give you the money to do that as well. I wasn’t here before, but I am here now, and dammit, he will not take anything else from me,” Treat said intensely and her sister began to tear up again.
“I know you want to help, but you have no clue what you are dealing with,” Jilly said and Treat stood and yelled over her shoulder.
Treats Aren't Always Sweet Page 8
