Kade

by Knox, Elizabeth

  “Got ya. You see that guy with the beanie? Follow him. You’re packin’, right?”

  “Are you dumb? I’m from the great state of Montana, we’re born with .22s in our hands.”

  Zane hears him from beside me and shakes his head. “Fuck, that cocky bastard will never change. Can’t believe he even wants to be in the club after all the shit he’s been through. One bad accident and that fucker’s gonna be paralyzed.”

  “Tell Zane I heard the bullshit that just came out of his mouth. It’s my life, not his. I stopped riding because of the opportunities that presented themselves to me. Now I’m not playing football, and I’m gonna get back on my bike.”

  “Nah, I’ll keep it to myself,” I mutter, watching Hammer follow Connor from a short distance away. “Zane, text Dad and tell him he’s coming around the corner now. If they do it right, they can knock him out, throw ‘em in the back and we can get on our way.”

  “Is this some Assasins Creed shit or something?” Hammer chuckles into the phone.

  I roll my eyes, wanting to throttle the bastard. We always prefer to do shit the quiet way because it’s the better way. Making a scene only makes more witnesses and more bullshit to deal with later.

  “Got a text back from Dad. They’re gonna handle it swiftly.”

  Zane and I stay in the truck for a couple of minutes, sitting quietly while we wait. I hear shuffling every now and again when the line goes dead on Hammer’s side, only causing me to worry and want to interfere. It’s Connor against three men that are at least double his size. There’s no way he’ll manage to get out of that shit, but still, I worry and wonder if he’ll somehow slip out of it.

  “Fuck this, I’m not waiting anymore.” I turn on the truck and put it in gear, driving up the road until I can make a left onto the side street. Going a little way down, I come up on the entrance to the alley and see my dad’s truck is parked there. It’s not on and I sure as fuck don’t see Connor in the back.

  “Shit, where is everyone?” Zane asks lowly, looking around the truck in every direction.

  It feels like a cannon launched straight into my stomach. “Something must’ve happened. They should’ve been here.” From the corner of my eye, I see Zane texting in our group chat, asking what the fuck is going on.

  “You slimy little piece of shit!” my dad roars out, and I don’t think— I only react, swinging the car to the side of the road and parking, unbuckling myself, and hopping out of the car, heading in the direction where I heard his voice coming from.

  It’s cold as shit out here and the snow is still coming down in heavy flakes. The one thing I hate about Montana is how much it fuckin’ snows. It’s not just something that happens every two weeks, or at least it hasn’t been for quite a while. The last few days it’s been continuous, and thank goodness we’re smart enough to all have plows around here. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be making it out of our homes.

  A car door slams behind me and I turn back to see Zane following me closely. “Shit, he’s a fast fuck!” Cracker hollers out. His voice isn’t too far so I follow it and see Cracker’s fat ass on the snow. “’ Bout damn time you showed up. Your Hammerhead buddy is out chasing Connor, so you’d best run your fit little chicken legs along. They went that way.”

  I want to make a remark back but there’s no time for that shit. Zane and I both start running down the street, listening for any sort of indication on where they might be. I see a light come out of nowhere behind me and turn to see Zane holding the flashlight from his phone on the snow. “It’s too dark back here to see shit, at least with the light, we can see their footsteps.”

  I nod, continuing to go down the alley until I see our dad trying to jump over a six-foot chain link fence. He jumps trying to reach the top and pull his body over but comes back down, huffing and puffing. Looks like old age has really fucked with this man today.

  “Thank God you two are here. I boosted Hammer up to follow that motherfucker. Zane, C'mon,” dad holds his hand out for Zane to put his foot up and help lift him up over the fence and once my brother is over, he runs. “Kade, what in the fuck are you waiting for?”

  “Nothin’,” I hiss out, deciding not to use him for help and jump up grabbing onto the chainlink fence. I wrap my fingers between the wires and climb up, using the strength of my body to continue on until I’m going over the other side and my boots make a thud in the snow. I realize as the wetness soaks my socks that I fuckin’ forgot to winterize my boots again. Fuck my life. At this rate, I’m just gonna have to buy some new boots before these go bad.

  My heart pounds heavy in my chest with every movement I make, weaving in and out of backyards. I haven’t done something this physically taxing in what feels like a lifetime. The cold air doesn’t do much to cool me down as I continue onward, searching for this piece of shit. My anger is what drives me, giving me the motivation to hunt him down like the savage animal he truly is. When I get my hands on him, I refuse to show him any mercy. He didn’t show any toward Ivy, and I can promise I won’t be a better person. I’ll make him suffer in worse ways than what he did to her.

  I hop over a small gate and slide forward as my boots land on ice. I flail my hands around trying not to bust my ass when I see Hammer and Zane circling around Connor.

  I run across the street, not even bothering to look and see if a car is coming. Zane rocks his fist back and plummets it into Connor’s cheek and I watch him waver backward, hands hitting the pavement to hold himself up. “I hope you’re ready for what’s coming your way, Connor. I highly doubt you’ve ever experienced anything like it.”

  14

  “I have you, and that makes me smile every time I think about it.”

  ~Unknown

  Kade

  Zane knocked Connor out with a nasty blow to his temple and called our dad, telling him to come pick us up. Bolt was dropped off at my truck and brought it over to us so we didn’t have to cram in anyone else’s, and we took off to the farm.

  The farm is a property Dad bought a while back, another piece of land for us to do whatever, whenever. It’s twenty miles north of Billings, in the southern end of Broadview. An old farmer died and it was auctioned off dirt cheap because the property wasn’t properly kept. It was a great opportunity for the club to dive in and swipe it up. Normally, ranches around here can go for anywhere from three hundred thousand to millions of dollars. I think our bid was a little over one sixty and was accepted.

  It’s nothing special. A typical four bedroom house with two baths and a couple living areas. There’s even a decent sized basement that’s been turned into a massive man cave. We had a couple pull out couches put down there in case we ever need to use the house for additional company. At least then people would have a safe place to stay.

  I’ve been in the house for about twenty minutes warming my hands up by the fire when Zane walks up next to me. “Connor’s finally wakin’ up. Figured you’d want to be the one to greet him.”

  I nod, take in a deep breath, and head toward the front door. We get outside and it’s so cold that my dick could be frostbitten at this point. We both make haste and head down toward the barns. They’re a good few hundred feet away which wouldn’t normally be a problem but since the wind has picked up and it’s still snowing, it’s proving to be a bit difficult.

  “Did anyone update Bull yet?” I call out to Zane over the sound of the wind. It’s making that “shh” sound like when it’s a full-blown blizzard.

  “No, not yet!” he hollers back to me.

  I pull my phone from my pocket and type away as quickly as possible. With every moment my fingers are exposed to the cold, the quicker they feel as if they’re turning to ice. We both make it down to the smaller barn’s door and push it open, shutting it closed behind us. The wind is a bitch while I’m trying to close it, blowing in a large gust, but I manage to get it done.

  Glancing down at my phone, I verify that my text to Bull has gone through. Ivy should be waking up in an hour or so since it
’s around five in the morning, so I want him to tell her something. It’s better he gives her an update versus her worrying for no damn reason.

  “Didn’t expect to see you here,” I say to Hammer, who’s standing a few feet behind Connor.

  My father looks between the two of us. “I told him he could stay. Without your friend here, we might’ve lost Connor.”

  “I told you he was willing to prove himself to the club. Hammer wants to be one of us, Pops, and I think he’d make a great addition.”

  He tries to not smirk at how I’m sounding tough and unbiased but I think he knows that Hammer is a friend of mine. The thing Dad can tell now is that he really is reliable and he’s surely not a piece of shit who flakes. Hammer was dedicated to the end and with me leaving, we need more people like this to manage the homefront.

  “You and I will have to talk later, son, got it?” He looks over to Hammer who fails miserably at hiding back his smile.

  “Sure thing, Prez.” It’s a rarity to see eager bikers who respect the club enough to do whatever is needed of them. I’m pretty sure we won’t have this problem with Hammer, though.

  “Jesus, can you get on with your gay-man shit later? I’ve got places to be,” Connor grumbles out, glaring at every brother in the barn with him. Hammer, Dad, Zane, Blackjack, and I all stand around him. Even if he attempted to escape this time, he’d be shit out of luck.

  “Well, you surely won’t make it there,” Blackjack snickers, obviously enjoying this. I can’t imagine what is going through his head right now as we all prepare to hurt Connor. It’s gotta be different for him, to bring harm to the man’s son who’s caused him the most agony. It must be poetic in a sense.

  “If you think any of you are gonna get away with this, you’ve lost your damn mind. He’s gonna find you. For fuck’s sake, he always does and he always makes sure you pay for it,” Connor threatens, but he isn’t in the position to make threats right now. We’re the ones with the upper hand and this idiot knows it.

  “No, he won’t find us. Your dad doesn’t even know about this joint,” I correct him and the bastard smiles at me. One of those sick, fucked up smiles you see the psychopaths do in the movies.

  “You’re the one who’s hot for my sister, right?” He turns his head to the side, upping the creepy vibe that’s coming from him.

  I remain silent, choosing not to answer it. I don’t owe this fucker anything.

  “Yeah, it is you. Kade, please tell me how my dear sister is. Does she still cry every night like a little girl? I kinda wonder if she’s doing any growing up while she’s traded sides, but I figure she’s just the same washed up cunt she was when she ran off.”

  That does it. No one will ever get the opportunity to talk about my Ivy like that. I march right over and swing my left fist back, slamming it into his jaw. I know I should stop and leave it as a warning, but I can’t. I can’t fuckin’ stop because he disrespected my woman, my fuckin’ walkin’ heart. I alternate between right and left hearing the cracking of his jawbone with every hit I make. The only reason I stop is when I feel my shoulders being yanked back.

  “Brother, you need to chill. He’s only saying shit to you so you’ll put him out of his fuckin’ misery. You know that you’re not dumb,” Blackjack says, pressing his hand into my face, pushing me away.

  “Guess I must’ve struck a nerve with her lover boy,” Connor mumbles, spitting out blood onto the hay ridden floor. “Don’t know why you’re so interested in her. She’s just like our mother, always lookin’ for something better than what she has. I doubt she’ll even stay around with you too long, Reapers boy.”

  Everything that Connor is saying to me is only being said to fuck with my head. Blackjack is right. This dude just wants to get a rise out of me and I can’t let him.

  “Why’s that?” Dad asks Connor, narrowing his eyes.

  “’ Cause, Ivy loves to run away from things. It’s why she ran into Billings in the first place, to get away from me and my father. Did she ever tell you that she left us a note when she ran off to her new life in your territory old man? Said she wanted to start a life of her own without the shadow of her family cast over her, that she needed to discover who she was without us being around her. What a load of bullshit, am I right? Mentioned some shit ‘bout being disgusted with the way I was actin’ and how I turned into somethin’ worse than our dad.”

  I make sure to look right at my father as he says this shit, gauging his reaction to see if he’s gonna believe him and look at Ivy in a different light after all this. He’s assessing, trying to determine if it’s bullshit or not. “Was cutting those words into her all a ploy to get her in my club?”

  Connor cackles, rocking his body back and forth. “No, you delusional old man! Do you think she was sent by us,” he continues laughing, stops for a few moments, only to continue on before he regains his composure. “It’s cute that you think Ivy would do something like that. She’s as docile as a deer in headlights. You think that girl is strong enough to be a spy? She’s not. She’s a fuckin’ coward who opens her legs for traitor dick. A disgrace to our entire family. Fuck, I should’ve taken her out when I killed our mother. It would’ve been poetic if they both went together.”

  The door to the barn opens and in comes Machk, long black hair blowing in the wind. He shuts the door and approaches the group of us, who are all shocked in disbelief at what Connor just confessed. Not one of us knew what happened to Cora, but now it’s obvious. Her own son killed her.

  “What did I miss?” Machk asks, approaching the rest of us.

  “Nothing much. Connor just confessed to killing Cora. Where’d you bury her anyway?,” I ask Connor, gauging his reaction. He probably won’t even tell me what he did with her body, but if I can find out it may help Ivy process her mother’s death more. Machk’s eyes go wide before narrowing in on the disgusting man.

  “Bury her? Do you think I’d really do that?” Connor laughs manically, reminding me of the Joker from Batman.

  “What did you do with her body then?” Connor has to know that there’s only one way he’s getting out of this situation —dead.

  He snickers, continuing on with that sadistic bullshit. “I tossed her in the old barn on our property. She was an animal, so I let her rot like one I’d hit on the highway would. Oh, you know what would be even better? If some coyotes got in and started chewin’ on her. I bet her bones would be really mangled up then.”

  “You took away the life of the woman who gave you yours?” Machk has always spoken in riddles. I credit that to his culture, choosing not to understand it but to accept it.

  “Served her right after cheating on our father with you, don’t you think, Indian? Everyone knows who you are. More importantly, everyone knows who my sister’s father is. Wonder if you even care how badly your little girl was cut up, or the other things we did to her. I wonder how that makes you feel.”

  “What are you saying, boy?” Machk’s breathing intensifies as he looks to Connor for answers. I can’t tell if it’s the truth or if he’s simply fucking with us yet again. It’s too hard to tell.

  “My father knew she wasn’t his child years ago. Ivy and I got into a car accident with our mother when I was eleven and she was eight. She needed blood and my dad tried to donate but he wasn’t a match. That’s when things were put together. Why do you think we made her suffer so much? If we actually gave a damn, we might put her out of her fuckin’ misery, but it was better to let her suffer.”

  “You didn’t elaborate,” Dad sternly tells Connor, “You said other things. What do you mean by that?”

  Connor sneers, “Kade here would like to be the one to know that, to know all the things that were done to her when she was unconscious. My father let the boys have a good go at her. Highly doubt she took a morning-after pill and now I’m just wondering if she got her period or is a baby bear growing inside that womb of hers?”

  “You motherfucker!” I charge toward Connor, but I’m not the one who rea
cts. A shot goes off and before I realize what’s happened, another, and yet another after. I stare at him and see the blood covering his shirt, all coming from his stomach area.

  Turning back, I have to know who raised their gun and much to my dismay, I see it’s none other than my dad.

  Machk is frozen in place as am I.

  Not only do I have to tell her that her father knew she wasn’t his child for years and that her brother killed their mother, but now I have to tell her that she was raped. I don’t know how the fuck I’m going to do this.

  “You all will let him slowly bleed out. He will suffer tremendously before his body goes into shock and he’s given the mercy of passing out. Burn his body. I don’t care if he’s dead or not when you do it.” My dad goes for the door and exits the barn, making me wonder how things have changed now.

  15

  I truly believe that every single person has to go through something that absolutely destroys them so they can figure out who they really are.

  Unknown

  Kade

  I burned Connor alive, smiling throughout the entire thing. If you ask me, he deserved far worse than that. Burning him alive was too kind. That was yesterday, and I’ve been avoiding Ivy as much as I can. I ran into her a couple of times and made up some bullshit excuse that I had some stuff to do for the club. It’s not that I don’t want to be around her, but I don’t know how to tell her what I know.

  Today, I’ll do things a bit different. There is a much-needed conversation to be had with my father since all this shit went down, and I can’t help but feel things are so different now. The series of events that took place have changed opinions. I don’t know how I know, but I can tell. It must be some sort of gut feeling or some shit. My gut has never led me in the wrong direction so I just have to trust it now.