by Claire Shaw
The shocked look on both their faces makes Beau move behind my legs.
“He’s not had it great and will fill you both in more later but he’s a little shy and timid.”
Pops is still staring at him but Tank crouches low and holds his hand out to Beau.
“Hey there pal, I’m your uncle Tank. You and I are going to be great friends and we can get into all sorts of mischief.”
Beau moves from behind my legs and his little fingers run over the string bracelet on his wrist.
“Scott,” says his little voice.
Holy fucking shit!
Tank falls to his ass on the ground and Beau jumps into his arms and he holds him tight. Tank looks up at me with hurt and disbelief on his face.
Carrie had made that bracelet for him when we were kids and he’s never taken it off. Clearly Carrie has told our son all about his uncle Scott.
“You know me?” Tank asks slowly.
Beau backs away and returns to hiding behind my legs. I place my hand on his head, hoping to reassure him a little. His head peeks back around my legs and he nods.
“Momma told me stories from when she was younger and the adventures she went on with daddy, Scott and Johnny. Scott and Johnny are my uncles. You have my uncle’s bracelet so you must be my uncle.” He confirms in his quiet little voice, shaking like he's afraid to speak. Beau being afraid to speak and hiding needs to stop. Tank seems to be in another world as he stares at Beau as if he cannot believe Carrie told him all about what we got up to.
“Okay so we’re off to get little the dude everything he needs,” I declare.
With my hand on Beau’s shoulder I start to guide him towards the truck.
“I’ll tag along,” Tank says as he jogs towards my truck.
I give him a chin lift as we all get into the truck.
The drive to the nearest Target isn’t too far and the whole way there Beau has his face pressed against the window taking everything in. All too soon we’re in the parking lot. Watching Beau in the mirror, his eyes are wide.
“Son, you ever been to a store like this before?”
He slowly shakes his head while still taking everything in.
“Okay so this place sells everything you could ever need. We’re going to get you some clothes and stuff for your new bedroom.”
Jumping out the truck I open his door for him.
“It’s going to be busy in there, lots of people but that’s okay. Uncle Tank and I will be with you and nothing will happen. If you see something you like then let one of us know and we will get it for you. Okay?”
Tank and I grab a cart each and head into the store with Beau between us. We head straight for the clothes, grabbing him jeans, underwear, tops, and pyjamas. Tank finds a pair of kid’s biker boots making me smile.
Look dude, same as your dads and mine.”
Beau has a massive smile, he’s still timid but luckily, it’s not too busy so he’s been okay. He tries a couple of pairs of boots on until we find the right size. Now we know his size I can order him some decent footwear.
A couple of loud kids run past us followed by a harassed looking mum shouting at the kids. Beau’s hidden himself between the carts, trying to make himself really small frightened by the sudden noise and movement.
Fuck, knew this was going too well. Tank gets down to his level again and takes his bracelet off.
“Beau you are safe now, we are going to make sure of it. I want you to have this.”
He ties the bracelet onto Beau’s wrist.
“Now you always have something that reminds you of your momma and know we are always with you keeping you safe.”
Jesus the smile that lights up his face when Tank gives him that bracelet, I’m glad he came with us. Beau seems to calm down now and we manage to fill the carts with everything the kids needs plus a few other bits such as toys. I got him an Xbox and all the age appropriate games I could find.
I know he's ten years old but he’s not a normal ten. He's never been to school or around normal kids his age. Think maybe a trip to some places other kids his age go like the park and stuff is in order.
Making it back to the compound with the truck piled high with stuff, we get Beau set-up in the bar with his new Lego while I get the prospects to haul all the crap we bought into our rooms. I go to start unpacking but Pip has beaten me to it.
“Go spend time with your son, I got this,” she shoos me out the room.
Prez’s old lady is one of a kind. She’s sweet, kind, and soft. But she can put men four times her size in their place with just a look and a few choice words. Making my way back downstairs, I sit and build the Lego with Beau. Watching the concentration on his face is sweet. His little tongue sticks out as he's thinking and working out how it all fits together; he might not have been to school but kids smart. Pops and Reck join us on the sofas in the common room.
“Beau, come here a minute please. Got some important people I want you to meet.”
With a little pout that makes me chuckle, he comes over and sits next to me.
“Beau, this is Bull and Reck. They’re your granddads. Bull is my dad and Reck is your mom’s dad.”
He looks at me for a second and then slowly turns to look at them. Reck’s face is awash with so many emotions it’s hard to get a read on them all.
“You look just like your dad Beau, I’m Grandpa Bull.” He holds his hand for Beau to shake, which he does making me smile. The more he seems to be around the compound and the brothers, the more he seems at ease.
“Beau, I’m Grandpa Reck.” He opens his arms a little as if he’s wanting a hug. Beau looks at me as if he’s asking if it’s okay. I give him a little nod and he hugs Reck. Reck gets choked up and seems to hold him tighter.
“Beau you also have uncle called Johnny. He’s your mom’s brother. But you think of every man here as your uncle. They will all care and protect you.”
Reck is not wrong, as we’ve been playing Lego in the common room, all the brothers have been stopping by to say hi and introduce themselves. Some even played Lego with us for a bit. I’m really hoping having everyone around will help him settle in. Bull smacks me on the back.
“You doing good kid? We have church but Pip is going to watch Beau.”
I knew we would have to meet at some point, especially with the new information we have on Carrie. I can feel that were close to getting my girl back. I know it's not going to be easy once we do but I’m prepared. Pip appears from the rooms.
“Beau’s bedroom is all sorted. Beau, do you want to come have a look while your dad talks with the brothers?” holding her hand out to Beau.
“Yes please,” he jumps up all excited and then suddenly stops. “Where is Agnes?” He looks to me for the answer.
“Agnes has her own room across from yours, she’s been having a lay down.”
He looks as if he’s thinking this over.
“We can see if she’s awake when we’ve looked at your new room,” Pip assures him.
That seems to be the right answer and they head for the bedrooms while we make our way into church. Taking my seat, I wait for BJ to start.
“Okay, so we’ve had a development in the search for Carrie. A woman by the name of Agnes turned up at the compound early this morning with a little boy in tow. The boy Beau is nine years old and is Carrie and Jokers son.”
He takes a minute to let that sink in and the brothers all congratulate me.
“Agnes confirmed that she and the boy have been with Carrie this whole time however she and Carrie had an agreement that if it got too dangerous; she would escape with Beau and bring him here to safety. It was too risky for Carrie to leave too.”
“What has this Agnes woman told us about Carrie?” Reck is the first to speak.
“It’s not good brother. She’s alive but we need to figure out a way to get Carrie out. The man who’s keeping her has stepped up the abuse and it’s getting worse. Agnes said when she lef
t Carrie was not in a great condition.” He looks at me with sympathy.
“Wire I need you to do your thing and find any trace of Carrie anywhere.”
Giving the Prez a confused look, he sighs.
“Agnes mentioned Carrie is not the first girl this man has had and he usually films what he does to them for fetish sites but also dark web sicko sites. He’s never done this to Carrie before so we might be able to stop it before it gets to that point.”
I feel sick. I feel like my insides want out. He filmed what he’s done to her so other sickos can get off on it. For the first time I’m scared to bring her home. She’s going to need a lot of help to come to terms with what's happened to her and move on with her life.
Reck’s chair slamming into the wall pulls me from my head. He storms out of church. Bull gets up and follows him out.
“I’ll get on it now Prez,” Wire confirms as he leaves.
The brothers all file out of church which leaves me, Tank and Prez still in the room.
“I know that must have been hard to hear Joker. You doing okay?”
Shaking my head, I dropped it into my hands. It was a lot of information he dropped on me and now it wasn’t only me to consider. I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“We’re all here for you son; you’re not alone and neither is Beau or Carrie. We will get through this as a family.”
I honestly wish I could believe him. But a part of me was afraid of what we would find once we found Carrie. It was a lot for one person to go through and now she had lost her reason to keep going. She would have pulled herself up for Beau because that was type of person she was. I watched her do it for Johnny when we were younger. She always put him and me before herself.
“Let’s go spend some time with your kid while we wait,” Tank groaned as he made his way out of church. Following behind him into the common room, Beau is sitting with Pip doing some sort of puzzle.
“Hey Beau, wanna come spend some time in the family room with your dad and me?” Tank holds his hand out for Beau not really giving him a choice.
“Okay,” he says with a smile.
Making our way into the family room, we decide maybe a film would be a good place to start. Choosing a film which isn’t too babyish for him, we get comfy and watch Toy Story.
A few hours later we are on Toy Story 3 and Beau loves it. He keeps copying Woody and Buzz; his impressions are spot on making us laugh. He then does an impression of Tank which is hilarious as he tried to get his voice real deep. This kid is a born entertainer when he feels comfortable.
“What’s all the laughing,” Prez asks from the door, with Reck and Bull behind him. Beau instantly stops and comes closer to me.
“It’s okay, they won’t hurt you,” I reassure.
“Kid is a genius at impressions,” Tank tells the others.
“Beau show them your impression of Tank,” I encourage.
“Oh, this I gotta see,” Bull says with a laugh and gets comfy, Reck also sits.
Prez stays near the door and watches. Beau seems to be looking right at him.
“Come on Beau, I wanna see too,” Prez says softly.
Beau smiles and does his impression causing them all to laugh loudly.
“Do me, do me!” Bull says. Beau gives it his best and he’s bloody close.
“What about me?” Prez asks.
Beau hesitates and looks at me; I give him a slight nod. He puffs he chest out trying to make himself bigger than he is, holds his arms on his hips
“God dam idiots.”
His voice is spot on but his whole impression has us losing our shit. Reck lets out a stomach holding laugh and Prez is laughing. A feminine giggle comes from the doorway and Pip is stood watching us. Coming into the room, she ruffles his hair and kisses his forehead.
“Born entertainer.”
Beau looks so proud of himself. He carries on his impressions and more brothers join us and ask him to impersonate them too. He picks all the traits of each brother quickly which just makes it funnier but also shows me he’s always watching his surrounds and reading people. This seems to lift our spirits and is exactly what we needed.
Chapter Nine
Carrie
God, I miss my boy, I miss Agnes too. I know it was the right decision to send them away. The plan was always that I would go with them but there is no way I could. The pain in my body would've meant I was holding them back. I needed to put Beau first. If they made it to Jason and the Sons then I know they will help get me free. Well I hope to god they would help. When my dad went away, we didn’t spend much time around them as mum hated them. She blamed them for dad no longer being around. I did ask Bull a few times about my dad but he wouldn't tell me. He just got this really sad look on his face and told me it was “club business.” He did tell me though that if my dad could be with me, he would be. I held onto that with all my heart. I loved my dad; I was such a daddy's girl.
I often think about him and Johnny. Where are they now? Are they okay? Are they together?
Dad taught me so much. He taught me how to protect myself and Johnny. When he went away, Bull took over a little; he taught me how to shoot a gun.
He really helped me feel like I wasn’t missing out not having my dad around. Plus, Jason was always with Johnny and me when he wasn’t at the club with Bull.
Did Jason end up following in his dad’s footsteps? Is he now a brother? He always used to talk about how he wanted to prospect when he was old enough. When talked about the Sons and the brotherhood he had such pride in his voice.
Living as part of an MC is not an easy, romantic life like you see on television. It’s gritty, dirty, soul destroying but it’s also wonderful. The sense of family and love they have for each other is more than anyone outside the club can understand. These men may seem rough and scary but you only need to worry if you cross them. Being loved and cared for by these men is truly inspiring. They love with their whole hearts and are as loyal as they come. I miss the friendships and watching them interact together as one huge family who will always have your back. It is this notion that I hold onto as this means they will come for me. I just need to stay strong until then.
The door opens and he walks in.
“You disappoint me pet, they got away and you let them. You will be punished.”
His voice has a violent edge to it that makes my skin crawl. This is not good. I knew he wouldn’t be happy that they had managed to slip passed him but I honestly thought he wouldn’t care. I should have known he would take it bad.
His hand grips my chin hard between his fingers and moves my head to look at him.
“Your first video has been a huge success. You appear to be popular.”
Knowing sick men have watched videos of what he’s done to me and gotten off on it makes me sick to my stomach.
“I am looking forward to your next starring movie.”
Oh fuck! Yeah this is not good. I feel the needle enter my arm and the cold spread through me, looking into his eyes I can see the pain he is going to cause me. The drug kicks in and eyes feel heavy. Trying to fight the heavy feeling but not succeeding as it drags me under.
Waking up I can see I’m back in his fun room as he refers to it. My arms are chained to the ceiling and my legs are chained to the floor spread wide. I’m completely naked. Looking around I can see the table with his toys to the side and a camera is set up again in front of me. Moving my head, I can see another camera is set up behind me.
He enters the room; however, unlike normal he’s wearing a mask which covers the top half of his face and hair. Seeing the confusion on my face, he laughs.
“Can’t have myself being identified and we are going to have some fun today.”
He moves to his table and picks up the remotes and clicking the cameras on. He moves back over to me, stroking his finger along my cheek and down my throat. Wrapping his fingers around my throat, he slowly starts to squeeze. I can feel the
air leaving my lungs, I start to struggle when it seems he’s not letting go. This does nothing but make him smirk. Just as spots start to appear in my vision, he lets go and I gasp for breath. I’m trying to suck as much air into my lungs as I can. His hand doesn’t move away, once I’ve got my breath back, he starts all over again. Slowly squeezing until just before I would pass out and then he lets go so I gulp air in.
He does this a few times. I can see his erection through his jeans. This is turning him on so much. He loves holding this power over me. Once he’s happy with the bruises I’m sure are on my neck, he moves away and to the table. Hanging my head forward as I try to catch my breath, I feel the first strike of leather across my back, causing my head to fly back and a groan escapes my mouth. I feel the leather hit my back again but this time I knew it was coming and I bit down on my lip to stop the scream that was lodged in my throat.
“I will make you scream,” his voice whispers in my ear.
I hear the leather fly through the air before it strikes me across my back. Fuck that was harder than the last but I still managed to hold my scream in. He strikes me again, this time across my lower back. He’s getting harder with every strike and I’m finding it harder to hold my scream in.
The next strike has me losing my will power and a scream breaks free from my throat and echoes around the room. I can feel the trickles of blood trailing down my back and down my legs. My head hangs forward as I struggle to hold it up through the intense burning on my back. He continues to strike me a few more times and each time a scream rips from me like a wounded animal. It is killing me that he broke me. He knew he would and I fought as hard as I could, but I am only human.
Tears run down my face. I feel his hand in my hair as he grabs a handful and yanked my head back, making me look into his twinkling eyes. He’s really enjoying this.
He trails the tip of the whip handle along my jaw and to my lips.
“Suck,” he demands as he forces the tip of the handle into my mouth.
“That’s so beautiful pet. My cock would look perfect in that pretty little mouth of yours.”
