by Vera Quinn
“Are you going to share that information with us, so our family can quit bleeding for something we don’t even know how it began.” Shine asks with a sarcastic tone.
“You also have not told us how this is linked back to Cap and my dad.” Rebel is barely hanging on to his anger.
“Cap, as you call him, and Javier had some dealings that the Demented Revengers MC were not privy to. It was a private matter of Cap’s. The kind that he did not want his family to know about, especially his wife. Javier and Cap were friends, old drinking buddies, and when this situation came up Cap asked Javier to take care of it. I don’t think that Cap was happy with the way Javier took care of the situation, but it concerned a woman named Patsy Alvis, the younger sister of Butcher and Alvis Mills.” I don’t like where my mind is going with this story.
“You’re a damn liar!” Shine stands from his seat and yells at Cooper.
“No, I’m not. I have all the proof you need. I am not going to try and fill in any of the rest, get it from Cap himself, but do it discreetly. There is no reason his wife should get hurt after all these years. I know around the time this happened Cap had lost his sister and it hit him hard, but the story is his to tell and I respect that. So, ask him.” Cooper says in a calm voice. “That is all I have. We need to finish Deacon. Another man that was a big player in the community was Samson Harmon, the husband of Hope, the third sister. We haven’t gotten a report that he is dead so beware of him. That man is pure evil, and he was promised Faith to become another wife for him but was outmaneuvered by Nic’s family, and he was not happy about it and from recordings the NSA has gotten they think Samson is Alice’s right-hand man now and waiting to get Faith back and start repopulating the community. They want Connors blood to still run through the children. Tell this Brody to keep Charity close because that child Charity is carrying does have Connors blood.”
“It will be at least a week to get into position to take Deacon down. We are careful and leave nothing to chance after that if the government does not give us the go-ahead to give you the location of the community then we will do it anyway and you can put this to rest. We start tomorrow.” Sean tells us.
“We need that information now.” Shine is pacing the floor. I know he is beyond livid. “Maybe we will just beat it out of you.” Cooper and Sean, both laugh hard. “We want in on all of it. If the other club is going down, we want in. They have invaded our club and harmed our family and they owe us retribution. I am not asking, I am damn well demanding that we take these sons of a bitches down and burn them to the ground.” That stops the two men from laughing.
“Are you saying that you won’t be there to see that Alice goes down? That is how we feel about all these damn people that have done nothing but cause havoc in our lives for the last few years. We should be able to see that this is finished with our own eyes and get all the answers.” Rebel backs Shine up.
“We can do it with your help and us working together or we will do it alone and you can clean up the dead bodies. Your choice.” I let them know that all three of us agree. Cooper looks at Sean and Sean shakes his head. Cooper smiles.
“That’s what we hoped you would say. This will take our surveillance to more like ten to fourteen days. We will need to watch both groups and coordinate our men together. They will need to be taken down simultaneously, so no one gets away but to be clear the main objective is to arrest these people, not kill. Each one that is brought in will get booked and questioned. If they have information that the government deems important then they may be offered a deal. Some may never serve any considerable time in prison behind bars and may become a problem for you down the road. Once we arrest the criminals we have no say in what happens to them. Do you understand what I am saying without saying?” I look at Shine and he nods his head. Of course, we know what they are saying, shoot to kill or at least injure, so we can give them the message of don’t fuck with us, now or ever.
“Go home and discuss this with your brothers and we will be in touch when we have everything in place to start the surveillance. Pick your men well. Here is a file on your traitors in your clubs. Zig Zag is our man. He has never betrayed any of you and I can’t discuss him with you, but he will know that you know everything, so have that talk with him. He is important to taking these people down and just know he has been keeping you safe. No one needs to get a warning of what we are doing. They have had that edge for too long. Take care of your family issues quickly and Con, consider what we said to you about Faith, and warn Charity’s man to do the same. We will be in touch to see if Charity will agree about the DNA test and if you do not do right by Faith and that test shows either of us is the father then we will be there to bring her home. We will keep her safe.” Cooper glares at me. I want to go across his desk and hammer his face, but we are too close at getting what we need to stop this damn war. I look at Shine and he is livid over the Zig Zag situation.
“I will take care of mine. You take care of your end of this and don’t worry about Faith.” I tell the two men.
“Con, get Faith so we can get on the road.” I don’t wait for another word. I walk to the door and get out of that room. I need to stretch my legs out on my bike and get some wind in my face to think this out.
Chapter Eleven
Brody
I sit here watching Charity sleep. She looks so peaceful in her sleep and you would never believe she had a trouble in the world. This little scare of her passing out took ten years off my life and my fiancée is going to start paying more attention to her health and the health of our unborn child. I know Faith is the only family that Charity has left, and she worries about her, but it is time both Connor girls learn to stay put. I don’t know how but I have fallen so deeply in love with Charity and our child that if anything happened to either of them then I would be destroyed. Loving Charity means loving Faith just like loving me means loving my family and that is something that both Charity and I agree on. I want to lock all my loved ones in a room until this chaotic war going on is settled. We can’t lose any more family.
I know that Charity and my relationship started out through necessity. We needed each other’s help and we had one night together and after that Charity has owned my heart even though I fought it and even if I wasn’t aware of it. Charity said it was the same with her, but she functioned and kept her sister safe while it was all I could do to face another day without her in my arms. If it makes me sound like a lovesick sap, then that is exactly what I was and still am. I’m man enough to admit it. Then when I walked in that room last night and she was passed out, I couldn’t breathe. I got it together and got Charity to the hospital but until her eyes were back open, and the doctor said that our child had a strong heart-beat, I couldn’t take a deep breath. Then the doctor said they were both doing alright, and that Charity was just dehydrated. They gave her an IV to hydrate her and they kept her overnight for observation and then my heart rate went back to normal and I can breathe with ease. I am getting my ring on this woman before the week is over, so Rebel better bring Faith home with him. Charity has been napping since lunch and they should release her before dinner time. They wanted her here twenty-four hours. When she is awake all she does is worry about Faith, so her sleeping is a good thing. She needs her rest.
Mom and dad have gone home to make dinner for us and make sure there is nothing that needs to be cleaned in our house. Charity keeps our home immaculate, but if it gives mom something to do then I told her to go for it. I don’t want Charity overexerting herself cleaning and Charity just fusses at me for being overbearing. She’s ordered me out of the house more than once and I must say the last few weeks have been an adjustment but a good one. I love this woman.
“What are you doing handsome? You look deep in thought. Have you heard from Rebel yet?” Charity asks.
“I got a text a little while ago. They are on their way home with Faith on the back of Con’s bike against her will. She hasn’t lost her sass while she was gone.” I try to calm
Charity’s fears.
“I don’t know where that sass came from. She’s always been such a good child and teenager. Listening when she needed to. This Faith is a new person and I don’t think I like it. Do you think she is going to hate me for giving Con the okay to claim her, I just want her safe, and all of you said that is the fastest way to get her that way, she’s acting like me?” Charity smiles at the last part.
“I see a lot of you in Faith, both good and bad and her taking off is a definite bad. I think that Faith and Con are going to take a lot of adjustment time. They push each other’s buttons, and not in a good way. They can both be high strung and react without thinking. Con is not my favorite person, but I know he will give his all in keeping Faith safe. Charity just remember we can’t interfere. If Con is making Faith his ol’ lady, then it will be his way and the faster Faith learns this the easier it will be on her. Con would never hit Faith, but he would put his hand on her ass and I don’t even want a picture of that in my head.” I let Charity absorb that before I go on. “He has also guaranteed me that even though the age of consent is seventeen in the state of Texas that he is not going there.”
“We’ll see about that, Faith has a thing for Con even if she says different. I know my sister. Con just better not keep Faith at that clubhouse and let Faith see him with another woman. I will castrate that fool myself. Faith would be crushed and embarrassed and the embarrassed part is what would make Faith run again.” Surely Con wouldn’t.
“Charity, I don’t condone or defend the biker lifestyle in any way, but I do respect it. They have a separate set of rules that they live by than we do. Taking someone as your ol’ lady is sacred to them, so I don’t think that Con would do anything to jeopardize that.” I didn’t ask Con that, but surely, he knows that Faith won’t and shouldn’t stand for any of that.
“I may have been googling a little bit about biker lifestyle, so I could fit in better with Katie and Gracie. I’ve asked a few questions and if a biker takes an ol’ lady it is up to the biker to how long the relationship last and if he renounces her in front of his club then the relationship is over, and he takes his patch back. The woman has no say. If Faith is led to believe that Con wants her and then when she is safe, renounces her, it will break Faith. I know Faith is trying to put on this strong front, but in some things, she is still innocent. She is becoming an independent woman or trying to, and that would be a rejection in her eyes and we saw what happened when Con rejected her before she even put herself out there for him.” Charity is right, but I don’t know how to take the doubt away, so I give her the truth.
“Charity, I am going to give this to you straight, but you need to think about it very carefully before you tell Faith because it might make her run again and then we would be back to square one.” I look at Charity closely and I see she knows the truth but is afraid to say it out loud and she wants to hear me say it. I want no lies between us. “If a member of the Demented Revengers MC does not fuck the woman they are making their ol’ lady it is not officially done. The member can claim the woman and put a patch on her back, but she is not an official ol’ lady until the sex has been done. It is supposed to show the woman’s loyalty and devotion to the member and the club. Their saying is loving one is loving the other. I hope you will think about this before you tell Faith. We all want her safe and I think a few hurt feelings is easier than locking her down until this is over.” Charity narrows her eyes and folds her arms over her chest.
“You are such a fucking man. Really, Brody? My sister will not only be hurt by Con but everyone that knew and that includes me.” Charity is pissed.
“I had rather have her pissed than dead.” I don’t sugar-coat it. The look on her face shows me that some of her anger is gone and she realizes that I am right, but she still doesn’t like it. “Please, just think about it.”
“Alright.” Charity says but doesn’t commit to not saying anything to Faith.
“Since your sister is coming home, our wedding is the day after tomorrow. Deal with it, I am not giving Faith a chance to go anywhere again before you are wearing my ring.” That makes Charity laugh.
“Deal, but it is not going to be much of a wedding with no preparation.” Charity is always a practical thinker.
“I already have Mom, Audie, Katie, Gracie, and Lil on it. Those five with Faith’s help will make it happen.” I don’t care if it is Charity, me and the justice of the peace, it is happening, but I want Charity to think she has a say. I love this woman and I want her to have my last name. I will tie her to me anyway that I can. I walk over to Charity’s bed and she scoots over, and I take her gently in my arms and just breathe easy. I move my hand down to the baby bump that Charity has now, and it reassures me that everything is right at this minute in our world. I just wish it was like this all the time. I hear the door open and Charity and I both watch the nurse.
“You ready to go home, Ms. Connors? If you sign these papers then I will get that IV out of you and you can be on your way.” I get off the bed.
“I am so ready.” Charity tells the nurse. I begin to gather Charity’s things up; it is time to get my family home.
Chapter Twelve
Uknown
I had to pull back from the old man’s house because of all the bikers, but they won’t keep me away from Faith for long. I see the Demented Revengers MC have come to pick Faith up and she will be going right back to Charity. I had my chance to grab Faith and I let her slip through my fingers, but it will be better getting both sisters together. That was my original plan, so they could watch each other suffer. I will never let the two of them be happy. If I can’t get the two, I will take out everyone they care about, beginning with Charity’s boyfriend Brody and the biker Faith has eyes for. She let him touch her body like she belonged to him. That won’t be happening. Let’s see how many lives I can destroy before Charity and Faith will beg me to take their lives. Faith is the virgin I was promised at one time and it is time I take back what is mine. Patience, always patience.
Chapter Thirteen
Faith
Con only told me to get my things and I followed him out to his bike? I didn’t want to ride behind him, but Rebel and Shine explained they had ol’ ladies and no other bitches could ride behind them on their bikes. I knew this but thought I could talk my way around it. I should take offense to being thrown in with the name bitch, but I don’t. I understand it all. Katie and Gracie explained it all and I understand that it shows respect to their women, and I would never disrespect Katie and Gracie, but it infuriates me that Con always gets his way.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy having my arms around Con and riding behind him. Having my body so close to Con’s was torture but I just tried to block out how his body felt to my touch. The ride may have taken a shorter time than walking, but my body was not tortured near as much. Con was his normal stiff bodied self. He would like me to believe that his body does not react to me, but his breathing is a dead giveaway. I may not know a lot about being with a man, but the attraction was undeniable and every time we went through the small towns and stopped at stop signs and red lights he would grab my leg in a caress. Did I mention this ride was torture on my body, I also didn’t miss the looks that Shine and Rebel, were giving Con.
I thought we would be going to Tyler, but we stopped outside the bunker in Winnsboro. It seems like forever since I snuck out the window here. That brings my thoughts back to everything I heard this morning. It’s like I shut it out until this very minute. I just can’t wrap my mind around it. I need to talk to Charity. I know the two of us together can decide what is true and what is not. First, I need to find out from Brody how Charity is and what I need to share with her. I know Charity will be mad if I don’t share everything, but Charity and the baby’s health comes first. I will not fall back into the habit of letting Charity take care of me. I don’t want anyone taking care of me. I will learn to stand on my own two feet and help others along the way.
I take
the helmet off that Con had given me to wear before the ride and hand it back to Con and then I get off the bike. My legs feel like rubber and my body is still alive with the warm feeling that comes from being so close to Con. Con gets off the bike with an ease that I am jealous of. I wish I had the enjoyment of being on the back of a bike more often.
Shine and Rebel get off their bikes and walk over to us. I have a million things that I could ask questions about, but I know they would not be welcome questions right now, so I hold my tongue. Con is standing looking at me and Shine and Rebel are staring at him.
“It’s time, Con. Take care of it before Charity and Brody contact Faith. That’s going to be a cry fest and you do not want to be in the middle of it. I am positive there will be wedding plans added to that. We have work to do and I am calling church for tonight, but we need to talk to Cap before then and discuss how to handle Zig Zag and hear him out. Get it settled right the first time.” Shine says with little emotion. Sometimes I wonder if Shine even sees other women. Women are talked about by him, never to, unless it is Lil or Katie. Seems strange but kinda sweet all rolled into one. I don’t think I am a favorite person of his. I still think Katie is a lucky woman to have a man so devoted to her and their unborn child. Brody is the same way with Charity, and even Rebel as rough around the edges that he can be is a big softy when he looks at Gracie. I hope to have that one day. Someday.
“Faith, you and I are going to my room to settle this shit between us. I am going to talk, and you are going to listen, and then you are going to do as you are told, and don’t think I have forgotten that I am going to redden your ass for taking off like you did.” Con is in full asshole mode. I can’t believe this man pushes me to the edge of my control. Sometimes I just want to get an ice pick and stab him in the eye and watch him squirm. He is talking to the wrong woman. I will not let any man control me. I start to turn and huff off like a pouting child but Con catches me and lifts me over his shoulder and smacks my ass. I jerk in surprise, but it is not pain I feel. I feel my face turning red and my panties getting wet. I hear Rebel and Shine laughing as Con jerks the door open and walks us through the bunker. He stops in front of Lil, Cap, Chief, and Katie. “Where’s my room this time?” That’s when I start yelling.
