by K. J. Dahlen
~* * * *~
Lake Placid, New York…
Sam glared at the group of men in the cabin. Deke had his daughter in his arms. Both men had been happy to hear her cry out, “Daddy,” when they burst through the door. But they weren’t so happy to see Cricket laid out on the sofa with a bandage on her back. “What the fuck happened here Colonel?” Sam growled at his old Sergeant. He stared at the man who hadn’t changed all that much over the last thirty years.
He was still a bigger than life size man. His muscles were still tight, his hands still larger than a phone book. The only difference between now and then was the shock of white hair, instead of the dark brown he’d had before. It was also longer than the stock Marine cut he had thirty years ago but his dark eyes hadn’t changed much. They still knew how to cut through the bullshit of everyday life.
“We got here before they did and got set up just like we always do,” Stone explained. “But the little fucker got impatient and he hid the knife from sight until it was too late to stop him. We came up behind him and he had time to slide it into her before we took him down.”
“The wound is superficial.” Doc shrugged.
Sam snarled at the man.
Deke called out, “Dad, let it go. The girls are okay now.”
Raine knelt down beside Cricket. He brushed the hair away from her face. When her eyelids twitched, he called her name. When she opened her eyes and smiled at him Raine asked, “Are you okay, baby?”
“I am now. I am so glad to see you!” She closed her eyes again. Then she opened them and began looking around in panic. “Jemmia! Is she okay?”
“Jemmia’s just fine darling,” Sam assured her as he squatted beside Raine. “Thanks to you, she’s just fine.”
“Yes, she shielded that baby from dumbfuck over there, the entire time,” Stone spoke up. “Protected her with her own body.” He looked like he was in awe of Cricket.
Cricket frowned and craned her neck to look at the others in the room. “Who are they?” she whispered. Turning her head, she looked at Sam. “They said you sent them.”
Sam grinned. “Yeah, I did. This is my old Sarge from when I was in the Marines another lifetime ago. He was in the area and I knew he could get here before we could. I asked him to stop by and protect you till we could get here.”
Cricket smiled. “Well, thank you very much. Michael was getting out of control.”
“What exactly was he after?” Stone asked.
Cricket motioned to the wall of weapons in front of them. “He wanted the daggers. They belonged to my father’s family and he wanted to win his father over by retrieving them.”
Stone and the others stepped forward and observed the weapons.
Reaper, one of the men in the group let out a low whistle of appreciation.
Sam nodded. “Orrin sure had a very nice collection of weapons and he’d kept them in pristine condition.”
The weapons were old and new. Medieval swords and knives were mixed in with modern day rifles and handguns. Old west Colts and Henry repeating rifles over a hundred years old could be seen as well as Vietnam semiautomatic weapons. In the middle of the wall was a clear sided storage case that housed a set of daggers. The blades sparkled like new and the hilts were covered in jewels.
Michael groaned as he returned to consciousness. He couldn’t move as someone had hogtied him with his hands behind his back. The rope went all the way around his ankles and back up to his wrists. “What the fuck?” he shouted as he struggled to get free.
Stone ignored him as he turned to Cricket and motioned to the weapons. “How long did it take your daddy to get all this together?”
Cricket sat up with a flinching from her wound and smiled sadly. “He worked on that collection most of his life. He was particular what he put into it.”
“It’s a damn fine collection,” Reaper commented.
Cricket frowned. “I hate it.”
Raine looked surprised. “Why is that?”
“I know guns don’t kill, people kill but guns are the weapon of choice for most people.” Cricket winced as she tried to sit up. “They are a fine thing to have when you respect them but not everyone respects the power they represent. My dad tried his hardest to teach us how to use the weapons he had but I never wanted to learn.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, your sister liked the knives the best, didn’t she?”
Cricket nodded. “Oh yeah, she did. When she turned twelve after mom died, Dad gave her a knife and showed her how to use it. She loved it. She spent every waking minute learning all she could about handling the weapon. She got to be very good with it. She used to beg my father to allow her to try the swords but he never would.”
“Why not?” Stone asked.
Cricket shook her head in disgust. “He knew she was too much like her father and would use her skills against whoever refused her anything.”
“Her father?” Reaper questioned.
“Wasn’t he your father too?”
Cricket sighed. “Orrin was, but Cordy was from another father. All three of us have the same mother but I had a different father than the other two. It’s a complicated story.”
Michael twisted around to glare at Cricket. “My father will kill all of you!”
~* * * *~
Cricket got to her feet. Every movement was painful but she did it. She carefully made her way over to the wall of weapons and took down a short sword. Walking over to where Michael was bound she knelt down beside him. “Your father might and I stress the word might miss you but he wouldn’t kill us for killing you.” She pointed the tip of the weapon on his nose. “He has no feelings, remember? Neither do you. I could run this sword through you right now. I could watch you bleed to death and that would bother me a hell of a long time. The act alone would haunt me for the rest of my life but the same act done by you wouldn’t register for five minutes in your world or your father’s. That’s the difference between us, Michael.”
A drop of blood dripped down from the weapon as it pushed against his nose and Michael sneered at her.
She ignored his reaction. “You brought me here as a hostage. You used the welfare of a baby against me to get me to do what you wanted me to do. You knew I wouldn’t do it willingly. You and Bane use people. Neither of you give a rats ass about anyone or anything that doesn’t revolve around you. I could give that damn collection away tomorrow and it wouldn’t bother me one bit. In fact…” She turned to the man Sam called Stone. “Do you want the whole fucking collection? You earned it by saving our lives. All accept the daggers, of course. Those I’m gonna shove up my uncle’s ass.”
Stone looked impressed by her again, as he nodded. “Yeah, I’ll take it and give it a good home.”
“I don’t care if you bury it alongside the dammed road…just get it the hell out of my house.” She turned back to Michael. “What do you think your father would do if I gave him a choice? You or the daggers?” she paused then asked again, “Which one would he chose?”
“You fucking whore!” Michael growled. “You fucking know which one he’d chose.”
Cricket nodded. “Yeah, and lucky for you, I would never ask him to pick one or the other. He can have you both as long as you and him leave me the hell alone. I never want to see either of you ever again.”
“He isn’t going to get off scot free.” Deke growled. “I owe him for knocking out Cassie and taking Jemmia.”
Cricket smiled. “By all means make the little fucker hurt but don’t kill him. I want his father to see what happens when you piss off an MC.” She lifted her foot and slammed it into Michael’s head. “Just take him outside. I don’t want his blood on my floor.”
Raine, Sam and a couple of Stone’s boys hauled Michael outside.
Deke looked as if he wanted so badly to join them but he was holding Jemmina.
Cricket sat back down on the couch and stared at him while patting the couch seat beside her.
Deke stepped over and set his
daughter down on the couch. “I will be back in a few minutes.” He then went out the door in a rush and then the screaming started.
Cricket kept Jemmia in the house and tried to distract her.
Stone stayed inside and sat down on the other side of her. “Are you okay?” he asked after a moment or so.
Cricket nodded. “I’ll be fine. The little prick didn’t do that much damage.”
“Were you serious about the collection?”
She nodded and wouldn’t even look at the weapons. “Yeah, I want them gone. I’ll take the daggers back to Troy with me but you can have the rest of it.”
“Would his old man really take the daggers, instead of him?” Stone asked quietly.
“In a heartbeat. My uncle Bane is a sweetheart like that.”
“That’s just wrong.” Stone shook his head. “Just fuckin wrong.”
“There isn’t anything about Bane Jessin that is right.” Cricket scoffed.
“Your uncle is Bane Jessin?” Stone asked in astonishment.
Cricket nodded. “Michael is his son.”
“Is this going to come back and bite us in the ass?” Stone demanded.
Cricket shook her head. “No I’ll make sure of that. If Bane gets the daggers, he won’t care about the beating Michael is taking.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’m saving his life. Michael told me he plans to learn what Bane can teach him then he’s going to take his place. I think he plans to kill his father to do it.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“Not in so many words but with people like him, you have to read between the lines. I could read his eyes though. I’ve spent my entire life with someone just like him. I learned to read her thoughts too.”
When Raine, Sam and the others came back inside, Raine asked if she was ready to go back to Troy.
Cricket went over to the wall and carefully brought down the case with the daggers in it. Her body felt sore and her wound throbbed. She placed it on the table and went to the cupboard to get something to carry it in. She grabbed an old backpack and put the case inside. She looked over at Sam and Deke. “Who is taking Michael back?”
“I put him in the truck of your car,” Sam replied.
“Yeah, that’s the perfect place for trash.” Nodding, she turned to Stone. “Get the weapons out of here. I don’t care how you do it but get it done. Then please lock the place up again.” Cricket picked up the backpack and said, “Let’s rock.” Then she went out to her car.
Deke was already there buckling Jemmia in the back seat. When he straightened, he held out his hand. “Keys.”
Cricket handed over the keys and got into the passenger side. “What about Raine?”
Deke shook his head. “He will need to ride my bike back. I had him ride bitch because he couldn’t ride his own bike with that head banged up like it was, a few hours ago. He seems fine now. I need to take my daughter back to Cassie myself.”
They started out and when they hit the highway, Raine pulled Dele’s bike out on one side of the car and Gator was on the other as their escort. Sam didn’t come back with them. He told Deke he needed to parley with Stone and would be back later.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sin’s Bastards Mc Compound
Two hours later, Deke drove along the highway nearing the compound and he let out a sigh as he peeked at his daughter in the rearview mirror. “You know before Cassie and the kids, my life was a hell of a lot more simple.”
Cricket laughed out loud. “Yeah, but think of all you would’ve missed. Besides, you know you love them like crazy.”
Deke grinned. “Yeah, I do at that.” He sighed heavily. “But I could sure use a break from all the drama around here lately.”
“I’m hoping I can get my uncle to just go away,” she told him. “He and Michael can just leave and never come back and I would be happy.” She looked away for a moment. “Maybe I should think about moving on too. I have brought enough trouble to your MC.”
Deke shook his head and studied her for a moment. “You don’t have to do that, you know. Cordy’s actions brought trouble here, not you. You have saved my children more than once now. I also know Raine doesn’t want you to go anywhere without him.”
Cricket laughed. “Yeah, I would really miss that man.”
“I think if you left, he would follow you, maybe all the way to hell and back.” They now entered through the main gates of the club. Deke’s men gathered near the parking area.
Cricket stared out the window for a moment at the club entrance. “You know my mother always said, home is where the man you love is. I love that man, so I’ve got nowhere else I’d rather be than right here. I was hoping you wouldn’t make me leave.” Deke looked surprised for a moment. “Why would I make you leave?”
“Bane Jessin.”
“Honey, you can’t help who your family is any more than anyone else can. It just so happens that your family is notorious.” Deke parked the car.
She sighed heavily. “Let’s get this over with. I want him gone.” She opened her car door and waited until Deke got Jemmia out of the back seat.
By then, six other men were waiting.
Deke opened the trunk and they lifted Michael out. One of the men untied his feet but left his hands tied behind his back. “Take this piece trash into the club boys,” he ordered.
Cricket followed them into the clubhouse and when they stopped, they were in front of the table Bane was sitting at.
He looked up slowly. His eyes never flickered when he saw his son’s battered body. When he shifted his eyes to Cricket, his gaze held no emotion at all.
She laid the backpack on the table. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“And what would that be?” Bane asked as he raised a brow.
“I’ll give you the fucking daggers if you take this piece of shit and disappear. I don’t care where you go with him but I don’t ever want to see either of you again.”
“Agreed,” Bane replied instantly.
“I don’t want to see you, either of you again. You understand?” she repeated.
Bane nodded.
“I will tell you this. He wants you to teach him all you know.” Cricket leaned closer as she spoke, “He thinks you’ll teach him the trade and then someday, he’ll take over for you.”
Bane shrugged. “It could happen.”
“I think he plans to kill you one day, maybe as soon as you’ve taught him all you know.”
Bane turned dispassionate eyes to his son and sneered. “He could have tried. But I’ll take him with me and we won’t be back.”
Cricket pushed the backpack toward him. “I hope you choke on these, I really do. I hope you won’t retaliate against the club for beating the hell out of him. He hurt Cassie and used Jemmia to get me to take him to the daggers. He had the beating coming.” Then she turned with a wince as her hand went to the bandage on her back and went down the hall to her bedroom.
~* * * *~
Bane lifted his coffee cup to his lips and took a drink.
Deke stared at him for a moment, then asked, “Are we good?”
Bane nodded once. “We’re good. Apparently, my son needed a lesson and he got one.”
“Then, I think it’s time you and Michael left. You’ve outstayed your welcome.”
“We’ll be gone in a few minutes.”
“See that you are.” Deke turned and went to the back door.
Bane sat there a few minutes longer, then looked over at Michael. He found the boy glaring back at him. The gag in his mouth held him silent. Bane leaned down to cut the rope binding his hands together.
Michael groaned as feeling came back to his arms. A second or so later, he ripped the gag out of his mouth.
Before he could say anything, Bane leaned closer and held his finger up. “Do not say a word until we are out of here. I don’t care what you’re excuse was, you got what you deserved. Now, get to your feet and walk behind me. Keep your damn mouth shut.”
Michael got
up and followed his father out of the clubhouse and all the way to the car.
A few minutes later, the car left the compound and headed back for Geneva.
Half way there, a light flashed inside the car and there was a loud bang, but the car never stopped. It kept going.
~* * * *~
Utica, New York…
Bastian watched the dawn rise from the top loft of the barn. In the distance, he could hear the farmers beginning their day but when he glanced over toward the city of Utica, he couldn’t see any signs of life there yet. He knew he had to take Sawyer home but he sure didn’t want to. He wanted to keep her.
Deep down, he knew he couldn’t but it didn’t help. They had made love three more times during the night and when he left her bed a short time ago, she’d been sound asleep. He’d never felt this way before for any woman. He didn’t know if it was love or not but he did know he couldn’t afford to fall in love with anyone. His lifestyle wouldn’t permit it. He knew no decent woman would care for what he did. He knew they would try to change him and that he couldn’t allow.
He had enough money to last him a lifetime but he didn’t do what he did for the money, he did it because this was all he knew. Getting people to spill their secrets wasn’t a job for the queasy. It took skill and guts to do what he did. The need to break a person anyway he could, helped. Causing someone pain didn’t turn his stomach if he had to do it. He didn’t feel the need to do it, it just sometimes was the only option. He never killed unless he had to. The last time was those two hitmen. Both had more than their share of blood on their hands and they had become dangerous to the Family as well.
He knew he couldn’t keep her but giving her up was going to bother the ever loving shit out of him. The only saving grace would be that he could check up on her from time to time. He could follow her and make sure she was okay, maybe even get close enough to rub his body against hers without her knowing it. It was sick and he knew it, but there wouldn’t be anything else he could have of her.
