CHANCE To Load

by K. J. Dahlen

  Deke felt a crushing pain in his chest. The kind of pain you don’t recover from. He couldn’t breathe and he knew he had to get help. He stumbled into the clubhouse with Jemmia still in his arms.

  “Gator!” He bellowed. “Sam, Leon, Iceman.”

  Everyone came running at his shouts.

  Reva came out of the kitchen and took in the scene at once. She reached for Jemmia and Deke reluctantly let her go. She was joined by Quinn, Paige and Adriana. Several of the other wives joined them in the main room as well.

  Adriana was holding baby Piper and Paige was holding little Sam’s hands. He had gone to her as soon as he heard his dad bellow.

  They had all been cleaning up after lunch. When they got a look at Deke’s paling face they wondered what had happened. The man looked devastated. Everyone went quiet, so they could hear what he had to say.

  He turned to the men standing around him. “Somebody took our women.” He growled. “Some bastard took them right from under our noses.”

  “What the fuck?” Sam snarled as he took a step forward. “Who was it and how did he get them out?”

  Deke shook his head. “I don’t know but Jemmia told me Cassie went with a bad man and Auntie Peaches. And that she was crying when they left.”

  “Fuck!” Iceman screamed. “Peaches.”

  “Hold tight gentlemen,” Leon ordered in a cold, unyielding voice. “We know who the bastard is who took them and we can find out where he resides quickly enough. What he doesn’t know is that we know who the fuck he is and why he took them.” He turned slowly glaring at each man standing there. “We will move in on him before he has a chance to hurt either one of them and we will watch him as the life drains out of his body.”

  Just then, Chance’s phone rang. He’d been standing at the back of the room but the sound of his phone broke the silence that covered everyone at Leon’s announcement. When Chance answered the call, he straightened his stance and looked into Deke’s eyes. When he hung up, he stared at the other man and said, “That was my mechanic, Wesley Wylde. He just saw Jonah’s man Victor arrive in a car with two women in the backseat. They went to the warehouse. That’s where the women are, Jonah’s warehouse.”

  “Was he seen by anyone?” Deke asked.

  Chance shook his head. “Wes was standing in the tree line. It was dark enough where he was standing to keep him hidden from sight.”

  “Is he still there?” Leon asked and looked at his son as they awaited the answer.

  “Yes he’s still there,” Chance told them. “He’s getting some friends together to help him watch the place this afternoon.”

  “We’ll be there this afternoon as well.” Deke curled his hands into fists. “She’s not staying there any longer than it takes us to storm the place and get them both back.”

  Leon stepped forward and grabbed Deke’s arm. “Remember your word to me,” he said softly. “Jonah Rossi is mine.”

  Deke pried his fingers off his arm. “We have to get to him first. I can’t guarantee he won’t be beaten to a pulp, because right now I want to rip his face off, I only promised that you could end his existence.”

  Leon nodded. “That will do.”

  Deke looked around the room. Each and every man there was willing to go to war to get Peaches and Cassie back and to put down any threat that remained for them. “You all heard that. We can take on Jonah Rossi but he’ll be dealt with by Leon and Calderone. Anyone else is fair game. We’re meeting Chance’s mechanic in the woods behind the warehouse.” Then he looked around the room. “As much as I’d like to take you all, we can’t leave the women and kids unprotected. Some of you will have to stay behind and stand watch until we can get back here.”

  He could read the disappointment in several faces but the men divided themselves up equally. They all understood the importance of protecting their families as well as getting their revenge to anyone stupid enough to take what didn’t belong to them. The Bastards were well known for getting their own back anyway they needed to.

  ~*~

  The women said goodbye to their men, each one knowing the other might be hurt or not come home at all. Quinn felt it most of all, this was her father, her brother and her boyfriend leaving to go to battle with a monster.

  Chance wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close for a moment.

  She looked up into his eyes, “You guys be careful out there this afternoon.”

  “Chance grinned slightly. “The way we all feel right now, it’s Jonah Rossi you should be warning.”

  Quinn grabbed him a little tighter. “I mean it. You guys have come to mean a great deal to me this last year and now I don’t know if I can live without you in my life. You or that stupid big brother of mine or even my dad.”

  “Aww, I think you love me,” Chance teased.

  Quinn nodded. “I think I do too.”

  Chance lifted her chin with his knuckle. Looking into her eyes, he smiled. “We’ll all come back to you and to the other wives and kids. We have too much to lose otherwise.” Pressing his lips to hers gently he said, “When I get back, you and me are going to find a room and we’re going to celebrate our victory.”

  Quinn smiled as her heart almost stuttered. “Do you promise?” Would he allow it now? She wondered for a long time, when…

  “Yeah, that’s a promise.”

  “I can’t wait. I need you so much. You’d better get ready to go. Deke looks a little intense right now.”

  “If someone had taken you against your will, I’d be right there in his shoes.” Chance reluctantly let her go to join the others.

  “Is there a way inside?” Mountain asked as he checked his weapons one last time.

  “I don’t know until we get there and look the place over.” Deke admitted. “I’m hoping we can get in there without alerting them. I don’t want to give them an opportunity to hurt the girls before we get to them. There’s no telling what that man will do with his back to the wall.”

  “I’ll burn the fucking place down if he’s hurt Peaches again,” Calderone vowed. “And take pleasure in destroying the man while I watch him die.”

  “Let’s ride!” Deke called out.

  Like an army, the men gathered their weapons and poured out of the clubhouse.

  ~*~

  It had only been an hour since they found the girls missing but it had been the longest hour in Deke’s life.

  He wanted his wife back and by god, he was going to get her back.

  They pulled into the woods about a half a mile away from the warehouse and walked toward the building from there. When they got close enough to see the back door of the warehouse, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was an older man with a white beard and grease under his fingernails. He was dressed in jeans and a red flannel shirt and he wore an old fishing hat on his head.

  He found Chance in the group of men and nodded at him.

  Chance nodded back and stepped forward. “Guys, this is my mechanic, Wes Wylde.”

  Deke stepped forward and shook the man’s hand. “I’m Deke and one of the women is my wife, Cassie.”

  Iceman stepped forward and said, “The other is my wife, Peaches.”

  “Are the women still alive?” Leon asked.

  “Yeah, they’re still alive.” Wes nodded. “I even know where they got them.”

  “How do you know that?” Gator questioned.

  Wes grinned. “I’ve been in there.”

  Deke grabbed him by the arm and hauled him close. “You’ve been in there? How is that possible without them seeing you?”

  “My granddaddy built that place when I was nothing more than a kid,” he rushed out as he was held by an iron grip. “Me, my four brothers and four sisters would come down here and play in these woods when the building was going up but I know every nook and cranny of that ole building. Me and my two oldest brothers would come down here and explore the building site after dark. It wasn’t the smartest idea we ever had but we were dumb kids back then. My
granddaddy told me all the secrets of that building when it was being built and I remember them all.”

  “What kind of secrets old man?” Mountain asked.

  “Well now…” Wes took a moment to scratch his jaw with his fingers. “There might be a tunnel inside with a hidden entrance that leads to a space inside the walls. It was used at one time as an escape route in case there was ever a fire inside the building. Back in the war time, the warehouse used to be used to build weapons for the soldiers. It was empty for a number of years after the Vietnam War. After that several businesses came and went from the place but it’s been standing empty for years until Jonah Rossi bought it a couple years ago.”

  Deke looked at his father, Leon and Calderone then smiled. But it wasn’t glee in his grin it was pure unadulterated evil in it. “Let’s go get our women and do some damage to this prick.” He looked over at Wesley. “Show us the way inside.” He paused then added another word. “Please.”

  Wes nodded. “The doorway is right over here. But I should warn you, this tunnel is old and with so many going in we got to be careful. It could collapse. One at a time and don’t make too much noise.” He looked over at Mountain and shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll fit in the tunnel.”

  “I hate small places anyway. I think I’ll stay here and watch over the rest of you guys,” Mountain muttered.

  “Just don’t shoot any of my brothers or friends coming in. You won’t know them and they don’t know you either,” Wes suggested.

  Mountain nodded and then went to stand next to a tree. Crossing his massive arms over his chest, he leaned against the tree and frowned.

  Wes then walked over to a big rock and pushed it easily to one side. They all saw a huge hole in the ground with a ladder leading down into the darkness. They could all smell the scent of damp earth wafting up but that didn’t deter anyone.

  Wes led the way down into the tunnel and then walked the length of it until they reached the end. He pointed upward and motioned for everyone to be quiet. Stepping up on the ladder, he disappeared from view. One by one, each man went up the ladder and came out in a narrow hallway.

  Deke was the first man up. He followed Wes down the hall. It was dark and smelled moldy in the tunnel but they pushed on. Finally, Wes stopped and looking over his shoulder, he motioned for everyone to be quiet.

  The men following him stood still and after a moment, Wes reached up and pushed back a small peep hole. He moved away and Deke stepped up to the peep hole. He realized he could see into the room beyond.

  Searching the room, he found Cassie curled up laying on top of a bed. Her hands were tied behind her back and her clothes were torn and he could see cuts on her arms and face but she was still alive. Deke closed his eyes and said a short prayer.

  Then he looked around the room again and realized she wasn’t alone in there. There was another man in the room with her. He was sitting in a chair opposite the bed just staring at her. He was holding a gun in his hand and he wore a frown on his face as he looked at her.

  Deke snapped his head around and glared at Wes. “Who is the dick head with her?” he whispered.

  “That’s Victor,” Wes whispered back. “He’s Jonah’s driver and body guard.”

  Leon crowded the hallway. “Where is Peaches?” he demanded softly.

  Wes frowned and raised his finger to cross his lips. He then motioned with a jerk of his head further down the hall.

  Deke stood closer to the doorway to allow Leon, Calderone and Iceman to slip past him. Several other men slipped past him as well.

  Sam stood beside his son and when everyone was ready to go, he cracked a glow stick, so they could hit both rooms at the same time.

  In the soft glow of yellow light, Sam held up three of his fingers. Slowly, he counted backward until only one finger was left, then he curled that finger into a fist and Deke lifted his leg to smash in the door.

  Both doors crashed open at the same time. Someone screamed but Deke didn’t let the sound penetrate his mind as his eyes were caught by the man sitting in the chair in front of him. He didn’t move a muscle but instead lifted his hands slowly leaving the gun on his lap.

  Victor kept his eyes on Deke and Deke did the same.

  Somewhere in the building, more shots and screams were heard. But Deke paid no attention to it. The only thing he had on his mind was Cassie.

  Sam rushed in front of Deke and snatched the weapon off Victor’s lap. Then he stood beside him and with his gun pointed at Victor he told Deke, “Go to your woman Junior. She needs you. We can watch this prick.” Sam nodded at one of the men in the room. He grasped Victor’s hands and wrenched them back behind his back. The man tied his hands together and slapped the back of Victor’s head for good measure.

  Victor didn’t make a sound.

  Deke turned to rush over to the bed.

  Cassie was sobbing and when he cut the ropes that held her arms behind her back Cassie fought blindly for a moment then Deke ripped off the blindfold. Once she saw who it was, she reached for him. “Oh god, Deke!” She bawled. “

  Deke whispered in her ear as he held her tight, “Are you okay? Did the bastard hurt you?”

  “Not really.” She cried as she hung on to her husband. Then she backed off and whispered, “Peaches? Do you know anything about her? That bastard Jonah took her to another room. Oh god Deke,” she closed her eyes. “She was so scared.” She grabbed his arms, “Is she okay? Did he hurt her?”

  Deke shook his head. “I don’t know. Her dad, grandad and Icemen were rescuing her when we busted in here.”

  She glanced at him with tears in her eyes. “Can we go find her? I need to know she’s ok.”

  Just then, the door burst open and two men stormed in the room. Both had weapons in their hands and they were looking around the room in a crazed panic. Just as they lifted the weapons to fire them, two gunshots could be heard. Both men jumped as the bullets ripped through their bodies. Then in slow motion, they fell to the floor. A pool of blood grew bigger around them and still no one moved.

  The whole group looked stunned. No one moved for a long moment.

  Deke and Sam snapped their heads around to stare at the hidden doorway.

  Wes stood there still holding the gun in his hand. He turned to Deke and shrugged. “They were Rossi’s men and they were going to start shooting up the place. Couldn’t let that happen,” Wes muttered. “Bullets flying all over the place might have killed your woman and that wouldn’t be a good thing.” He chuckled. “Might have hit one of your guys too.”

  Footsteps came running down the hall and everyone lifted their weapons to defend themselves.

  Iceman and Peaches stood in the doorway. Peaches looked a little worse for wear and when she saw the two bodies on the floor she paled and looked like she would puke but she didn’t. Instead, she went closer to Iceman. His arms tightened around her and he helped her step over the bodies.

  “Cassie?” Peaches called out.

  “Peaches!” Cassie rushed out of Deke’s arms and they met in the middle of the room. Cassie swept the other woman into her arms and they both cried and clung to each other.

  Deke watched his wife and Peaches carefully. Neither woman looked all that bad but only god knew how this would affect them. He almost lost her to her memories one time and he never wanted to do that again. Neither one of the women looked all that bad though. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard for either of them.

  A moment later, Iceman joined him and Deke asked, “Is she all right? He didn’t hurt her, did he?”

  Iceman growled. “Yeah, he hurt her but she said it was nothing that couldn’t heal. He was just getting to the point of roughing her up when we broke in. At least, he didn’t have the chance to rape her again.”

  Deke turned his head to stare at Iceman. “Leon and Calderone?”

  “They’re taking care of business with him. I had to get her away from there. Leon didn’t want her to see what they were doing to him.”

&nbs
p; Deke nodded. “Yeah, I have a feeling that little ‘come to Jesus meeting’ is going to be bloody. They wouldn’t want her to see that.”

  “It’s nothing he doesn’t deserve, believe me.” Iceman growled. “As much as I wanted to hurt the bastard, I had to take care of Peaches.”

  ~*~

  When the three men burst into the room where Jonah was holding Peaches, he twirled around to face them. “Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?” He screamed at them. He was trying to hang on to a struggling Peaches and it wasn’t an easy thing to do.

  He’d had to hit her more than once and she wasn’t settling down like he thought she should. Ten years ago, he could handle her but today she was different. He had a feeling it was because of that Cassie. That got his blood hot. He liked when the girls he fucked struggled a bit. He would have to tie the other woman up and give her a tumble once he had his fill of this one.

  But when the men crashed through a door he wasn’t aware of—they had startled him.

  Peaches looked at the men and called out to them, “Iceman, Daddy, Grandpa, oh thank god!”

  Jonah sneered at the men. “What the fuck do you want here? Don’t you know who I am?”

  “You’re a dead man walking as far as I’m concerned,” A huge biker growled at him. “That’s my wife you got your greasy hands on and you’d better let her go before I tear you apart where you stand.”

  Jonah sneered at him. “I’ll see her a widow before the night is over. I have men coming soon.”

  “Not soon enough, you perverted bastard.” Leon growled. “Let my granddaughter go before I rip your head off your shoulders and spit down your neck.”

  “Pretty brave talk for an old man.” Jonah laughed at him while glancing toward the door. His hands tightened on Peaches’ arms and she winced in pain.

  “I’ll give you one minute to let her go.” Leon nodded.

  “Who the hell do you think you are to give me orders?” Jonah screamed. “Around here, I tell you what to do not the other way around.”

  “My name is Leon Vincinti,” he told him. “And I take orders from no one, especially little pissants like you.”