by K. J. Dahlen
Amos shook his head and muttered, “That is a big man on a mean bike, all right.” He then joined her and together, they went to the main doors.
As they walked the halls, the other men fell in behind them. Cassie didn’t notice them until she opened the doors and stepped outside. The men behind her all gathered at her back protectively.
“Is this your welcoming committee?’ Deke asked.
Cassie turned and saw all the guys behind her. All of them looked a little rough but willing to stand with her. She couldn’t help but smile. She turned back to Deke. “What do you guys want?”
Deke looked around and could see signs of improvement. Frowning, he began to notice more changes being made to the outside of the building. “What is this place?’ he finally asked.
Amos took a step up and wrapped his arm around Cassie’s shoulder. “This is Redemption House.” He knew the man asking meant the world to Cassie and as much as he hated it, he didn’t want any trouble for her.
“Redemption House?’ Deacon repeated. “What the hell is Redemption House?”
“Why don’t you all come inside and have a look.” Frankie held the door open.
Deke, Gator and Deacon stepped forward.
Amos dropped his arm and stepped back leaving Cassie to lead the way inside.
When they stepped into the building, they could see building materials spread out all over the place. The lobby had tables all over filled with saws and other building equipment on them. The floor had sawdust all over and there were brooms and buckets all over the place.
As they walked down the hallways, the doors to the classrooms stood open. Deke peeked into one room and saw a living area, complete with a bed and a sofa. The colors on the walls were not those of a schoolroom instead, they were softly muted colors.
When they reached the end of the hall Gator asked, “What is going on here?”
“Redemption House is going to be a place where people can start over,” Cassie answered. “A safe house if you like, where people who need another chance can come and get set up. These guys are making the classrooms over into living quarters to hold a person or persons until they can get back on their feet. Eventually, we’ll be able to offer them jobs too, or at least I hope we can.”
“Where did this idea come from?” Deacon asked.
“From me, it was my idea,” Cassie replied.
“Why?” Deke asked.
“Because sometimes, people need a little help when they are down and out. Sometimes, they just need someone to believe in them enough to give them a second chance. Here they can be safe…they can start over if they need to.”
“When did you come up with this idea?” Deke asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“When you’re cold and hungry, living off the streets and eating somebody else’s garbage for your supper because it’s the only meal you’ve had that day, you tend to dream a lot,” Cassie whispered. “When me and Peaches were living on the streets of Boston we both had dreams, she wanted a family and I just wanted someplace warm and safe to live. I took care of myself okay but it would have been better if it were safe. There are too many evil people out there. People who would slit your throat for just being in their way.”
“So, how are you funding this? Where is the money coming from?” Gator asked.
“I had this place declared a nonprofit, so some money comes from the city and Peaches’ grandfather donated some and I had some savings.” Cassie motioned toward the guys standing around her. “These guys are doing all the work to refit the rooms and we’re reusing a lot of what came with the school.”
“Why don’t you boys have a look around and see for yourselves what we’re doing here?” Frankie offered.
As everyone moved away, she found herself alone with Deke.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this place?” he asked.
“Because this was my dream, not yours.” Cassie stared at him “I didn’t need or desire your permission to do this.”
“Maybe not, but it would have been nice to know about this before tonight.” Deke growled.
“Why? You could have cared less about what I did, unless it interfered with your plans. You have your business to take care of. You made that very clear to me. In the past few weeks, you’ve barely spoken to me. I’m not allowed to ask you about your business, so why should I have to tell you about mine?”
“Damn it, because you’re my woman, that’s why.” Deke roared.
“And just what does that mean to you exactly?” Cassie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Deke just stared at her for a moment. “What do you mean…what does that mean?”
“Am I you’re partner? Or just your lover? Hell Deke, I don’t even know if you like me or not. You never talk about how you feel, so how am I supposed to know?” Cassie pushed her hair back away from her face. “We sleep together but we don’t talk. I asked you a couple weeks ago about getting a job and you told me I didn’t have to work, you would take care of me.” She began to pace. “Well, I’ve been taking care of me most of my life. I don’t know any other way. Change is very hard for me. I don’t like it. Ever since I met you, I’m just supposed to let you handle things. But Deke, that’s not who I am.”
“What do you want me to do?” he finally asked. “I can’t let you go. You belong to me.”
“Are you saying that you love me?”
“No,” he retorted. “I don’t do the love thing.”
Cassie felt her heart breaking. She could hardly breathe. “Then I’m nothing more than your whore,” she whispered.
“You’re my woman,” Deke corrected her. “You should be happy with that.”
Cassie shook her head. “I won’t be a whore to anyone. My life means more to me than that.” Taking a step back, she stared at him for a moment, then she turned away and began walking down the hall.
~* * * *~
Deke just stood there and frowned. He apparently, didn’t make himself clear. He wasn’t leaving this place until she would come home with her. He followed her down the hall and when he got close to the room she went into, he heard her crying. He paused and was about to enter the room when someone stepped behind him. He looked back at the two men standing there, neither one of them had a kind expression on his face.
“I think it’s time for you and your friends to leave here,” Amos told him. “I don’t think you’re welcome here anymore.”
“I’m not leaving without her,” Deke stated.
“I don’t think she wants to go with you,” Frankie said.
“Deke, we should go,” Gator urged. “We don’t want to start any trouble here.”
“I think I’ll stay here,” Deacon said leaning against the wall. “I’m family and she needs me right now.”
Deke tightened his jaw and without saying a word, he stomped down the hall to the main doors.
Gator followed closely and when they were outside, they both heard the lock snap behind them.
As he and Gator got on their bikes, he looked up and saw her standing in the window of one of the classrooms. He could see the tears on her cheeks and the heartbreak in her eyes. Deke growled beneath his breath as he hit the gas and he popped a wheelie as he turned and roared down the street.
CHAPTER FOUR
Two hours later, thirty bikes and bikers came into the lot.
Cassie, Deacon and the other guys watched as the bikers came forward.
Wiley was among them and he stepped forward to announce, “We’re here to help, just tell us what to do.”
Cassie showed no expression as she nodded and motioned for Amos.
Amos stepped up and began giving orders. About midday, a large delivery truck for the local hardware store pulled in. On the truck were stacks of lumber, sheetrock and other building materials.
Cassie was handed the delivery slip and after the guys unloaded everything, she watched the truck pull away. She glanced at the slip in her hands.
“I think this i
s his way of apologizing,” Deacon told her as he came up behind her.
“Why can’t he just say the words?” Cassie whispered.
Deacon wrapped his arm around her waist and put his chin on the top of her head. “Honey, some men just can’t say the words, they think that what they do says it all. Deke is just one of those men.” He chuckled. “I can tell you he’s never met anyone like you before.”
“Meaning?” Cassie frowned.
“Deke is and always will be one of the leaders. He doesn’t follow very well. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. As President of Satan’s Spawn MC, he’s had various women throw themselves at him, hoping to be the one he chose for his old lady. He would play the game but he never played it for keeps. Not until he met you.”
“You think he wants to keep me?” she asked as her hand brushed against her stomach.
Deacon’s eyes caught the movement as slight as it was and his mind went blank with surprise. “I’m thinking he does, he maybe just doesn’t know it yet. Some men are stupid that way.”
Cassie nodded as she turned and watched the crew working. She motioned at the bikers and materials and asked, “Why is he doing all this?”
“My first guess would be, because he wants you to have your dream. He thinks he knows how much this means to you,” Deacon whispered. “Deke isn’t a bad guy, baby. He’s a good leader and the men under him would go to the wall for him. They respect him and they willingly follow his rules, because they know he’s got their backs too.”
Amos and Frankie came over to where they were standing. Amos was rubbing his whiskered chin. “I guess that man of yours ain’t so bad after all.”
Cassie smiled a little. “No, I guess he isn’t.”
“You know something, missy,” Frankie remarked.
“What’s that Frankie?”
“You’re giving us a second chance to make something of ourselves here maybe you should do the same for him.” With that said, Frankie and Amos turned and went back to work.
Cassie slowly walked away as well. She went into the old gym and closed the door behind her.
~* * * *~
Deacon stood there for a while, then turned and walked down the hall looking for what he could do to could help.
Wiley stood in the doorway and called out to him, “Deacon, can I see you for a minute?”
When Deacon joined him, Wiley shut the door cutting off the noise of hammers, saws and the other men calling out orders. Motioning toward a bench, he sat down and stared at Deacon. “So what’s going on here? Why did Cassie leave?”
Deacon shrugged. “All of this…” He motioned around the room. “Deke didn’t know about until yesterday. Cassie’s been working on this for over a month now and she didn’t tell him.”
Wiley whistled low. “And he got pissed about it?”
“That and other things,” Deacon admitted. “He didn’t give her a chance to tell him last night and she left. We followed her here this morning and found out about this place.” Shaking his head, Deacon stared at Wiley. “And Deke being the jackass he can be at times, pissed her off. He should have remembered she isn’t like the other women he deals with every day and that he can’t order her around.”
Wiley grinned. “Yeah, I’d have liked to have seen that for myself. Both of them have strong personalities. I’ll bet she didn’t give him any quarter either.”
“No she pretty much stood nose to nose with him. Plus, I saw that mark on his jaw.”
“Yeah…”Wiley chuckled. “I’ve gotten a few of those from the Spitfire, myself. Well, he told us to come here and help. At least, it gives us something to do. It’s kind of slow right now.”
“Cassie and the guys appreciate the help.”
“So, who are those guys?” Wiley asked. “They look homeless.”
Deacon shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t asked them yet. For all I know, they are.”
Wiley got to his feet. “We’d better get back to work. I’m sort of looking forward to this.”
Deacon left the room and went to find Cassie. When he entered the gym, he found her painting a sign. He could clearly see the outline of the name Redemption House but what she was working on surprised him. “Why are you putting Rufus on there?”
Cassie gave a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Because he’s the one good thing in my life. Every time I needed him, he was always there. He listened to me when no one else did. He gave me comfort just by being there and no matter what, he never turned his back on me.”
Deacon felt his throat tighten. “Just like he did for your mother.”
Cassie nodded. “Yup, he’s been there for two generations of Ryan women, so he’s earned his place of glory. The people who look at this sign may never know his story but I will. And maybe, they will get the comfort from him just like I did.”
“So who are the guys we met this morning?” Deacon asked.
“Why?”
“I just wanted to know.”
“They’re all good men,” Cassie informed him. “They served their country and were turned away when they needed help. Most of them have been living on the streets for some time now. They’re kinda like me, a little broken but all they really wanted was a second chance to make something of themselves. When I asked them to come here and help, they did. We’ve become almost like a family.” She motioned toward the doors. “They live here and they are working here, helping me renovate this place.” She paused then said, “I think my dreams for this place have become their dreams too.”
“Why didn’t you tell Deke about this?” Deacon wanted to know.
Cassie shrugged. “He never asked. He didn’t care enough to wonder what I was doing all day while he was gone, so I didn’t tell him. I figured he found out yesterday when he came back to the clubhouse but he never said anything. Then last night, he demanded answers and I guess I got mad. All he had to do was give me a chance to explain but his temper got in the way and then so did mine.”
“And now?”
“He made it very clear he doesn’t care. I was his property not someone who mattered to him.” She shrugged. “I guess I finally know where I stand.”
Deacon wrapped his arms around her. “Oh honey, you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried. He does care about you, he just doesn’t know how much yet. You are unlike anyone he’s ever met before and he doesn’t quite know how to handle it. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have sent his guys here to help and he wouldn’t have spent money for supplies. He would have simply left.”
Cassie turned her head and stared at her uncle for a moment. Then she asked, “Are all men that stupid?”
Deacon chuckled. “No not all of us are. Deke has never known anyone like you before, so you have to give him a break.”
“Which arm?” Cassie quipped. She moved away to work on her sign.
Deacon chuckled and was reminded of Gator telling him of her nickname of Spitfire and the stories of how she actually had broken some bones. Shaking his head, he finally left her alone.
~* * * *~
Three weeks later, the renovations were almost complete. The whole third floor had been opened to bigger apartments for families. The main floor and second floor classrooms were rebuilt into single dwellings.
They still had cleanup to do and a thousand last minute repairs to finish up but the bulk of the work was done. Deke’s men and the guys Cassie found had done a wonderful job. It was getting to be toward the end of the day and Cassie felt tired. She was busy picking up different equipment and stacking it in piles.
When the door opened behind her, she turned to see who walked in. It was someone she’d never seen before and for a brief second—she felt fear. There was something about the man standing there that just wasn’t right. She should have followed her first instincts and run the other way. But she didn’t. “Can I help you?” she asked as she took a step back.
She saw his hand move as he raised it. She even saw the small gun he carried but as
she did, her mind went blank.
“This is from Janelle, she said to give you this with her love.”
She was staring at the gun when she heard the report. Fire blasted her body as the bullet tore through her belly. She couldn’t even scream it hurt so much.
Cassie fell to the floor and as her eyes closed, she saw a light behind the man who’d just shot her. Then she heard another, much louder report and running footsteps. Then she heard nothing at all.
~* * * *~
Deacon rounded the corner quickly and came to a screeching halt. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He moved slowly to where Cassie was lying. He could barely see her as tears ran down his cheeks. Falling to his knees, he gathered her to him. Her blood felt warm against his skin as he rocked her back and forth. He glanced up to see everyone standing around with horror on their faces.
Amos reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His hands were shaking as he dialed 9-1-1.
“What the fuck happened?” Deacon asked in a low tone.
“This fuck came gunning for her and I was too late to stop him,” a man stated no one had seen before. He still had the gun he’d shot the guy with in his hand.
Wiley grabbed him hand and knocked the weapon free, then threw him against the wall. “Just who the fuck are you?”
The man grimaced. “The name is Iceman. I followed this piece of shit all the way from Boston.”
Moments later, they all heard sirens approaching. Police and ambulance personal rushed the building. The police had their guns ready to use but they met no one willing to resist them.
Deacon had laid Cassie down on the floor and stepped away as the EMT’s came in. His clothes were bloody and he joined Iceman, Wiley and Amos. He barely heard the story Iceman was telling the police. He had turned over his weapon to them the moment they’d come in.
“What happened here?” One of the officers asked, taking in the scene.
