by K. J. Dahlen
Bastian’s ears picked up the hint Jolene gave her daughter that fateful day. Sawyer never knew it but she had held the secret of where her mother hid the Hand all these years. He had read the newspaper article about the break-in and beating of Father Riley. The poor man had been surprised before early mass at the Northridge Church. He leaned over her prone body and gently kissed her forehead “Sleep now and when you wake up, you will feel fine. Everything is all right now.”
He kept silent and simply watched her as the sleep took her.
Very carefully, he gathered her wrists and slipped silk ties around them. He didn’t tie them tightly. He didn’t want to damage her skin any more than it already was but he did want to disable her. He reached into his pocket and brought out a blindfold. Securing it around her eyes, he leaned forward again and this time, he kissed her lips. He had a four and a half hour round trip to face and he didn’t want to go without something from her. Even if she didn’t know she was giving it.
~* * * *~
Near Troy, New York…
Sam was almost back to Troy when his phone rang. Pulling over to the wayside, he answered the call, “Hello.”
“Hell, I’d know that voice anywhere. How the hell have you been Gunny?” came a voice from his past, his long distance past.
“Stone? Stone Masterson?”
“Hell yeah, it’s me.”
Sam tipped back his head and laughed out loud. “Damn Sarge, where in the world are you calling me from?”
“I’m at a place called Saranac Lake, and I’m not a Sergeant anymore. Hell, I’m not even a Marine anymore. I retired about five years ago, a full bird Colonel.”
“Well shit, back when I knew you, you were lucky to hang on to those Sergeant stripes.”
“Tell me about it.” Stone chuckled. “I spent all my time keeping you smart ass fuckers in line.”
“What are you up to these days?”
“Got me a gig in Texas. We call ourselves the Hell’s Fire Riders,” Stone informed him.
“If you’re based in Texas what the fuck are you doing in New York?”
“Personal business.” Stone’s voice was curt.
“I’m in Troy if you want to stop by. My son is President of the Sin’s Bastards MC.” Stone chuckled.
“Still running them cycles huh, Gunny?”
“Yeah, I am,” Sam replied quietly. “Gave up my own club over a year ago to be with my kid. Found a couple more along the way and then I found me a good woman and had another one. Not only that but I’m a grandpa now too.”
Stone laughed loudly. “You never could keep it in your pants, boy.”
“Yeah, you’re right about that. I always lived every day like it was my last. I have no regrets though. My kids are worth it.”
Stone seemed to hesitate then said, “Gunny, if I were to need some help in the future could I count on you?”
“Always, you know that,” Sam assured him.
“Maybe I will stop and see you in a couple days. I’m working on a project that could use some of your input.”
“Call on me anytime.”
“Be careful Gunny, I just might do that,” Stone teased. “Catch you in the next couple days.”
Sam hung up the phone and couldn’t help but wonder what Stone Masterson was doing in New York. He hadn’t seen or heard from the man since he got out of the service, more than thirty years ago. He chuckled, as he also knew the man had people with him who could find anyone’s cell number. He always ran a top flight and tight operation. It didn’t surprise him that Stone was a full bird Colonel. What did shock him was the fact that Stone called him at all. But they were both the same type of men deep down inside. Outside, Sam was a rebel while Stone acted more like he was for the system. They both lived by the same set of rules though. If it was wrong, they fixed it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sin’s Bastards Mc Compound
Early morning found Cricket alone in the clubhouse with Raine. He’d been gone as he went to see his family for a few days.
She’d felt so glad when he came back. Now, she would try not to make Bane mad, if she could help it. Not in front of Raine. He was overprotective of her. It was sweet but with her so called ‘killer’ family, it could get him dead.
No one else was up yet and they were sharing a cup of coffee before the day began.
“So what did your uncle want this time?” Raine asked.
“I really wish he would forget about me.” Cricket sighed. “He brought Michael to meet me but what he really wants is a set of daggers my father had. Their grandfather left the daggers to my dad in his will. I’m not sure what the old man left Bane other than the safe and that damn jar but why he left the dagger set to Orrin is beyond me.”
“What is so special about these daggers?”
Cricket shrugged. “According to my father, the daggers were given to an ancestor by King Richard the Lionheart after he stopped an assassination attempt. The ancestor, Gowain was named the King’s Protector after that and it was the beginning of a family legacy.”
“Some legacy.” Raine raised his brows.
“Tell me about it. A legacy of rage and murder.” Cricket nodded. “Bane seems to think he should have the daggers back because he’s the true Jessin and will follow through with the legacy. I think he wants to train Michael to follow in his footsteps.”
“Is Michael the type to follow his father?”
Cricket nodded. “Hell yeah, he’s just like Cordy and they both take after their father. Neither one of them have a soul.”
“Do you know where the daggers are? I mean it’s been a while since Orrin died. The daggers might be gone forever by this time.”
“I think I know exactly where they are. My dad has a hidden vault at the cabin, if they were anywhere, that’s where they would be. And they can stay right there for all I care.”
The back door opened and Cassie came in with her daughter Jemmia in her arms. Jemmia was crying and Cassie looked rattled.
Cricket smiled at her. “Uh-oh, somebody isn’t happy.”
Cassie stomped over to the table and handed her daughter to Cricket. “She’s been up all night with a bellyache. God, I miss sleep.” She sat down and leaned on the table. “All I need is a couple of hours before Piper and Sammy gets up. I had to get her out of the house before she woke everybody up.”
Cricket giggled. “Yeah, that would not be a good thing.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “No it would not. Sammy is a demon when he doesn’t get enough sleep.”
Suddenly, movement sounded from behind them. Cricket turned to see Michael step forward swinging a pipe. He struck Raine in the back of the head with the pipe then went after Cassie. She hit the floor hard when the pipe hit her head. Raine tried to grab the table but then slid down off his chair with a thud.
Cricket pushed back her chair hard and almost fell. She still had Jemmia in her arms. “What the fuck are you doing?” she screamed.
Michael threw the pipe off to one side and reached into his pocket for the gun he had in there. Pointing the weapon at Cricket, he told her, “I’m all done playing nice with you.” He snarled. “I want those daggers and I will kill you to get them.”
“I haven’t seen those daggers for fifteen years.” Cricket held the baby to the side away from him. “I have no idea where they are nor do I care.”
“You just told your lover you knew where they were.” Michael growled. “You either lied to him or you’re lying now. One thing for sure though, your life and that brat’s depends on you knowing where the fuck they are! Where is this cabin you told your lover about?”
Cricket took a step backward.
Then Michael stepped closer. When he grabbed her by the arm, he shook her. “Don’t make me hurt you, or the kid. You’ve told me enough times I have no soul and you were right. I could hurt you or her and not be bothered by it. Is that what you want? Let’s go NOW!”
“I
will just put the baby down here—”
“NO! You will keep the kid. Let’s go and no funny business or the kid will suffer for it.”
“You bastard.” Cricket turned and led the way to the parking lot. She settled Jemmia in the backseat of her car and got behind the wheel.
Michael got into the passenger seat and kept the gun pointed at her.
They passed Sam when they cleared the gate.
~* * * *~
Sam turned to watch the pair leave through the gates. Parking his bike, he went in through the front door of the clubhouse just as Deke was coming in through the back door. They both noticed Raine and Cassie at the same time.
“Cassie!” Deke called out in panic.
“Raine, what the fuck?” Sam yelled as they hurried over to the table. Sam knelt beside Raine and saw the welt the pipe left where it connected. He turned him over on his back.
Raine was groaning as he came around.
Deke knelt beside Cassie and pulled her up into his lap.
Her head wound was bleeding but when he moved her she moaned and her eyes fluttered open. “Oh, my head…” She winced. “What the fuck hit me?”
“I don’t know but I’m gonna kill whoever it was.” Deke growled. “Are you okay?”
Cassie’s eyes closed. “I think so.”
Sam helped Raine to a sitting position. “How about you? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine but I’m gonna kill that little bastard.” Raine seethed as he wiped the blood from his neck.
“Which little bastard would that be?” Sam asked as he sat back on his heels.
“Michael!” Raine shouted then winced as he grabbed his head. “He came out of nowhere.”
“Cricket!” Cassie called out. “Where is Cricket? Where is Jemmia?”
“What about Jemmia?” Deke looked pale.
“Cricket was holding Jemmia when Michael—knocked us o-out,” Cassie tried to explain.
“I saw her driving out of here as I came in. Michael was with her,” Sam volunteered. “I didn’t see Jemmia but she could have been in the back seat.”
“Where would she be going?” Deke frowned.
“Bane came here after a set of daggers, an old family heirloom,” Raine told them as he shook his head to focus.
“I thought he came here to introduce his son to her?” Sam asked.
“That was part of it I think.” Raine sighed. “But he came here to get the daggers. I think Michael must have convinced him he could get her to give them up.”
“And when she does?” Cassie cried out. “Will he kill Cricket and Jemmia when he gets what he wants?”
Deke wrapped his arms around his wife and held her while she cried. He looked at over Raine and Sam. He read the truth in Raine’s eyes. “He wouldn’t dare,” Deke said softly.
“He would and you fucking know it,” Raine told him just as softly. “Cricket says he’s just like Cordy and Bane. He has no soul.”
Sam got to his feet. “Let’s ask Bane himself. I want to know why he came here in the first place.”
“I came here to introduce my son to his only living relative, besides myself,” Bane spoke as he walked into the room. “I also came here to get a set of daggers back from Cricket. She had no use for them and they belonged to the Jessin family.”
“Would Michael kill her and the baby when he gets the daggers back?” Deke asked.
Bane sat down at the table where Raine and Cassie were at. “He could. I think he very well could, but he won’t hurt either one until he gets the daggers.”
“If he hurts my daughter I will kill him myself,” Deke vowed.
Bane narrowed his eyes as he stared at Deke. Turning he gazed at Sam and Raine, he found the same expressions on their faces as he saw on Deke’s. “I can perhaps stop him if I knew where they were going.”
“You don’t have to know that,” Sam spat. “We can stop him on our own. But there’s one thing, we may have to kill him to stop him. I just want you to know that before we go in.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t do that,” Bane replied in a cold flat voice. “I just found him after almost thirty years. I’d like to know him before I die or he does.”
“Then you fucking better hope he listens to reason and doesn’t fucking hurt the girls,” Deke swore. “I don’t give a god damn who the hell you are. No one hurts my family and lives.” He glared at the world famous assassin.
“And you’d better kill us both too. Because Deke and his kids are my family and I will murder you in a hot second,” Sam added.
Gator and Reva came in the front door. Gator joined them while Reva went to get the first aid kit. “What the fuck is going on here?’ Gator demanded.
“Michael has Cricket and Jemmia hostage,” Deke told him.
“Fuck!” Gator growled. “What does he want?”
“A set of daggers,” Sam told his old friend. “That’s the real reason Bane brought him here.”
“And if he doesn’t get them?” Gator asked.
“Then Cricket and Jemmia could be in a world of hurt.” Sam turned his head to glare at Bane. “But that isn’t gonna happen. I might have just the thing to give us the edge. Something Michael won’t expect.”
Bane’s lips tightened. “If you can bring him back here alive. He’s all I have left in this world.”
“I ain’t promising you anything. If he’s hurt my granddaughter, he’ll pay the price,” Sam vowed.
Bane remained silent.
Sam looked over at Deke. “I have to make a call.”
“Do what you must but get my daughter back, Bones,” Deke replied.
“Get ready to ride,” Sam told his son. “But I want someone to watch him while we’re gone.” He jerked his thumb at Bane.
“He stays behind.”
“He’ll stay with us.” Leon and Calderone joined the group.
Cassie got to her feet and grabbed Deke’s shirt.
When he looked down at her, he could see her tears.
“Please bring Jemmia back to me. Go get our daughter and bring her back. I want to hold her in my arms again.”
Deke leaned toward her and kissed her lips. “I swear she’ll be home again, where she belongs.”
~* * * *~
Cricket gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as she drove north toward the cabin in Lake Placid. She glanced into the rearview mirror and saw Jemmia was sleeping in the back seat. For that, she felt thankful. Michael was a loose cannon and she wasn’t sure what he would do to the child if she acted up.
All those years of reading Cordy’s moods had helped her get by, but Michael wasn’t Cordy. She didn’t know him that well. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, who knows I might even answer it.”
“Why do you want the daggers so badly?”
Michael shrugged. “Before Bane came to get me I didn’t know who I was. I was part of a family but I wasn’t. I know it doesn’t make sense but I never felt like I fit in. They were like you, as normal and boring, as the day is long. I always felt like I was the outsider. My old life was crushing the breath out of me, but with Bane, I could breathe. I knew where I stood when I was with him. Then he told me about the daggers. He’d already showed me the weapons he used in his business and they intrigued me. He told me what he does and it fascinates me. Everything finally made sense.” Michael shrugged. “Last night, Bane told me it was time to go home. He didn’t think you would give up the daggers. I knew I only had today to get them. I wanted to give my father something he couldn’t get on his own.”
“And you didn’t care how you got them.” Cricket snarled.
“Not really.” Michael shrugged.
“What’s going to happen to me and Jemmia when you get what you want?”
Michael shrugged again, and stared out the window.
“Okay, well tell me what you want to do with the rest of your life?”
“Why
do you want to know?” Michael asked.
“Just making conversation. It’s a long drive.”
Michael shrugged. “I want to learn all I can from Bane. I plan to take over from him one day.”
Cricket frowned. “You’re going to become an assassin like your father?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Your father kills for a living.” Cricket shivered.
Michael shrugged. “His job is necessary.”
“No, it isn’t,” Cricket argued. “Not everyone he kills deserves to die.”
“If they didn’t deserve it, he wouldn’t kill them.” Michael pointed out.
“He kills them because somebody pays him to do it,” Cricket corrected him.
“True enough, but Bane has never been caught,” Michael crowed. “That’s what I want to learn from him. The skill of not getting caught.”
“My father never got caught either, that doesn’t mean I want to be like him,” Cricket said quietly. “I hated what my father did.”
“That’s the difference between us.” Michael shrugged. “I haven’t killed yet, but I don’t think it will bother me that much. I’ve thought about it all my life.”
“That’s just wrong.” Cricket shuddered.
“For you maybe, but not for me.”
Cricket bit her lip. Her eyebrows came together in a frown as she contemplated what he meant. Every scenario she ran through her head didn’t bode well for her and Jemmia. She could only pray that Raine and Cassie were all right and that someone was coming to their rescue.
If she knew anything at all about Deke, Raine and Sam, they would come and bring hell with them. Only she didn’t know if Raine was even alive to tell them where she was headed. Michael had hit him really hard. As she drove, she worried about the man she’d been with over that last several months. He was so good to her and she loved him. She knew he would protect her with his own life. She just hoped he was alive. Tears rolled down her face. She’d again…brought trouble to the MC.
When she pulled off the highway near Lake Placid, she had a feeling something was off. She couldn’t place it but she felt as if she were being watched. What she didn’t know was if the ones watching her were friendly or not. It was too soon for anyone at the clubhouse to have gotten here before them, so she wasn’t sure who was out there, she just knew someone was. Her senses had never failed her before.
