by K. J. Dahlen
Lance read the look in his eyes. “Well between you, Iceman and the Vincinti family, Robbie doesn’t stand a chance. Can’t say I’m unhappy about those odds.”
“She won’t be here very long. We have a nurse that can give her twenty four hour care if need be.”
“And the dog?’ Victor asked.
“The dog is for her peace of mind and mine,” Deke stated. “He can be with her when I can’t. He’s trained to protect her from anything and everything. Nothing is getting close to her again.”
“He’s K9 then?”
Deke nodded.
Lance reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clear baggie. Handing it to Deke he said, “I thought she might want this back.
Deke checked out the bag and found a locket inside. It was oval shaped and he knew this was her mother’s locket. His hand tightened around it and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he gave Lance a nod. “Thank you. She never had much but I know she treasured this.”
Deacon came over and asked. “Can I see that?”
Deke handed the baggie to him and watched as he opened it.
Taking out the small locket Deacon carefully opened it and smiled. He gently touched the small photo inside and held it out, so Deke could see it. “This is the face of an angel. She’s my sister Jemmia.”
Deke saw a beautiful woman staring back at him. She looked just like Cassie. She had the same eyes, shape of her face and mouth as the woman he loved. The only thing Cassie must have gotten from her father was the color of her hair, otherwise she was her mother reborn.
“I wish you could have known Jemmia,” Deacon said softly. “She would have been so proud of her daughter.”
“She taught Cassie what she could,” Deke replied. “And Cassie learned those lessons well.”
The doctor came in next. He noticed all the people. “I think its time for you all to leave now. Cassie needs to rest.”
“Doc, I’m not leaving her alone. Not now, not ever,” Deke stated firmly.
When the other man turned and observed the dog lying on her bed he said, “That animal can’t stay. This is a hospital.”
“He’s here for her protection doc, he stays,” Deacon stated.
“I want to take her to a more secure location,” Deke informed him. “When can she be moved?”
The doctor took a deep breath. “I’m not sure at this moment. She’s still very weak and very much in danger of losing her child. I can’t risk that. She needs medical attention.”
“I can get the necessary medical staff here in a few hours,” Leon assured the doctor.
The doctor stiffened and glared at Deke. “Don’t you trust that I know what’s best for her?”
“It isn’t that doc,” Deke explained with a patience that was rare for him. “The bastard that cut her is still out there. I don’t want to give him the chance to finish what he started.” He stood up. “I’m not going to risk her life for anything or anyone. I have men available to protect her. I can’t guarantee the same protection here.”
“Okay, I understand.” The doctor shrugged. “I can have her ready in a couple of hours.” He turned to leave. “I think you should know someone has been asking about her condition. He said his name was Amos?”
Deke smiled. “That’s okay, Amos is a friend of hers. But Doc,” Deke reminded him. “No one else gets information on her condition. Deacon is her only family and he’s right here beside her. And no one needs to know she isn’t here either.”
“I understand.”
A few minutes later, Deke turned to Leon. “Can you get a nurse to the compound?”
Leon reached for his phone. After he spoke to someone on the other end, he turned to Deke. “She’ll be there by the time we get there.”
“Are you and Calderone coming back with us?”
Leon nodded. “I’d like to if you don’t mind, at least until I know she’s going to be all right. That girl is awfully important to us.”
“Yeah the little Spitfire has that effect on people,” Deke stated with pride in his voice. “And I’m sure Peaches wouldn’t mind that.”
Leon gave a slight smile. “Spitfire…” He nodded. “Yeah, I can see that, for sure. We wouldn’t have Peaches at all if it weren’t for her.”
A short time later, Maggie came into the room and got Cassie ready to transport her back to the clubhouse.
~* * * *~
Leon had made a few calls before he left the hospital and by the time they arrived back at the clubhouse, there was a nurse waiting for them. She was a small dark haired woman named Rita. Between Rita and Maggie, they would care for Cassie until she was past the danger zone and back on her feet.
As the nurses got her settled, Deke and the others waited in the main room. Deke ordered men to patrol every window along with the rest of the area.
Leon and Calderone stood staring at the two paintings Cassie had done.
When Deke joined them, Leon turned and nodded at the paintings. “Peaches told us about him. She said no matter where they were, Cassie carried this image in her heart.”
“She got him from her mother,” Deke explained. “I want to thank you for what you did today.”
Leon shrugged. “I didn’t do all that much. Made a few calls.”
“I also want to thank you for giving Cassie money to see her dream come true,” he said. “Without the money, Redemption House wouldn’t have gotten off the ground.”
Leon frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t know what Redemption House is.”
Deke frowned. “Cassie said you gave her the startup money.”
Leon shrugged. “A few weeks back, Peaches asked for some money. She wouldn’t tell me why she wanted it and at the time, it didn’t matter. I gave her the money. I have no idea what she used it for.”
Deke nodded. “She gave the money to Cassie. It was Cassie’s dream to start a second chance house for people who had nowhere else to go. She wanted to give them a safe place to come to while they got their lives back on track. She claims that while she and Peaches were living on the streets, there was no place to go where she felt safe.”
Calderone tightened his hands into fists. “At least she was able to keep them both safe and alive.”
“Maybe when she’s better, she’ll tell us more about this Redemption House. I’d like to hear all about it,” Leon commented. “Maybe even become a silent partner.”
“Yeah, you and me both,” Deke said.
Zipper came over to the group and motioned his head at Deke. “I think I got something you should see, boss.”
Deke stepped away from Leon and Calderone and walked with Zipper over to his table.
Zipper had a makeshift computer station set up and nobody bothered him when he was there. He keyed his monitor up and pressed a few keys.
Deke could see security cameras and when Zipper touched the screen, he saw one pop up and fill the monitor. It showed Cassie being hauled away by her hair. At one point, Robbie turned his face just enough to get his picture taken.
“I’m sorry man, I didn’t check this earlier, Zipper told him.
“Print that photo,” Deke ordered. “I want it sent to my phone. At least we now know what the fuck he looks like. I need you to send it to Sullivan too. Now, we have a face to hunt down.”
“I’d like a copy as well,” Leon told them. “My people can use it to find this little bastard.”
Calderone, Peaches and Iceman joined them. As well as Deacon and Gator.
When Peaches saw the photo, she got very quiet. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face.
Iceman frowned and pulled her close to him when she began to tremble. “Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked her. Looking at Leon and Calderone, he shook his head.
“That’s Robbie isn’t it?” she whispered.
“Yes Peaches, it is,” Deke replied. “Do you remember him?”
“Not from growing up. But I know him. He’d been coming into the club before all
this happened.”
Deke frowned. “He’s been to Dirty Dancing?”
Peaches nodded her head. “He always gave me the creeps, like I knew him from somewhere, but he never really looked at me. He was always hanging around Bambi and Jasmine. He would sit there and watch them. He always gave me the creeps.”
Deke turned to Gator. “Get both of the girls on the line and find out if they know him. Double security at the club. We need to protect the girls.”
Gator nodded.
Deke turned back to Peaches. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Peaches shrugged. “I knew you were different than most clubs but it never occurred to me you would protect us that much.”
“He may be hiding here and not in Boston anymore,” Calderone said.
Deke turned to Zipper. “Get this photo out to our guys and Amos too. Get them all looking for him. I want this bastard found if he’s in my city.”
“Sent it to my phone too,” Iceman requested. “I can get it to my men and they can search Boston for him.” He looked over at Deke. “My people can look in places the badges can’t get to, you know that don’t you?”
Deke nodded. “I do.”
“I have men out there as well,” Leon informed them. “Between us all, he won’t have any corner to hide in. We’ll find this bastard.”
“Peaches.” Deke turned to her. “I want you to stay here under our protection.”
“We can protect her just as well if not better than you can.” Calderone sneered.
Deke turned to him. “I’m aware of that as I’m sure she is. Iceman too, but she means a lot to the woman down the hall and I’m not taking any chances something will happen to her. As long as Peaches is safe and alive, Cassie has peace of mind and right now, she needs that more than ever.” He turned and thumbed the monitor. “That bastard got too close this time. I’m not giving him a second chance.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I know Cassie is out of the woods,” Peaches told them all. “So stuff your dicks back in your pants boys and behave.” Then she turned and walked down the hall to Cassie’s room and closed the door behind her.
“That’s my girl.” Calderone grinned.
Deke chuckled. “Well, she is Spitfire’s best friend, so we can expect no less.” He was thinking Cassie and Peaches spent too much time with only each other when they were younger. But he felt very glad they had.
“Let me ask you this,” Leon spoke. “Do you really think his threat to me is real?”
Deke turned his head slowly to view the older man. “Yes, I do. He’s got a warped sense of right and wrong and his mother has fed him one lie after another all his life. He believes you molested her and fathered him. He told Cassie he was coming after you. Once you’re dead, he promised to come find Peaches again.” He shook his head. “I’ll be damned, if he’s gonna get close enough to her to breathe the same air she does.”
“He won’t live long enough to take a breath,” Iceman vowed.
“I didn’t think he could get to Cassie either, but he did.” Deke growled low. “I’m not making that mistake again.”
“Okay, okay boys,” Leon argued. “Like Peaches said, put your dicks back in your pants. It’s time to come up with a plan of attack. Let’s get his photo out, so our men will know who to look for, then we have to decide what we’re going to do once we find this bastard.”
Deke glared. “Do?” He shook his head. “We put him in the ground. Or, what’s left of him.”
Twenty minutes later, the photo had been sent not only to the Vincinti family but also to the Sinner MC’s and to Lance Sullivan. Amos acknowledged the photo and said he would spread the word. Soon, there wouldn’t be anywhere for Robbie to hide and the best part was…he didn’t even realize it yet.
CHAPTER TEN
Robbie watched the people shuffling by without really seeing them. He’d gotten back to Boston hours ago and found a quiet place to think. He thought about how his life had gone to hell. From an early age, he knew there was something off about his mother. He’d seen the indifference in her eyes every time she bothered to look at him.
He’d watched the other kids too. They meant very little to her as well. He knew the only thing his mother cared about was the money she made from selling the kids that came and went from the house. He didn’t know what happened to them after they left, but he did know they might have a better life than he did. When he thought about that fact, it did bother him. Every time she glared at him, every time she slapped him for disobeying the rules, he learned to hate her a little more. The only good thing about growing up in that house was knowing his mother hated Cassie more than she did him.
But after Cassie left with Peaches, his mother’s hate turned back to him full time. When she first locked him that room, he felt he’d done something wrong. After a while, he realized he was no longer useful to her. When he first realized she’d locked him in, he had fought through his panic. He’d been fifteen the first time she’d left him there for days without checking on him. When she finally came back for him, he’d been careful not to make her mad.
He also began searching for his own way out. He knew he couldn’t depend on her anymore. He’d been able to come and go when he wanted to, and that had given him the freedom she never suspected he would have.
Now as he sat in the shadows, the darkness around him didn’t bother him. He’d overcome his fear of the dark a long time ago when he’d become something the city feared the most. His first kill had thrilled him like no other and the others had been good but not as great as the first. He kept chasing the thrill but it was never the same.
Today, had been good for him. He wished he would have had the time to watch as the wolves ripped her apart, but he knew he couldn’t stay. He had too much other work to finish. Now that Cassie was dead, he could go after the man he hated almost as much as he hated his mother.
Leon Vincinti.
But before he could go after someone as important as Leon, he had to have a plan. That’s why he was sitting here alone in the dark.
Off in the distance, he heard the roar of motorbikes but he didn’t give them much thought. He felt safe because no one knew who he was. People change as they grow older and he’d always been careful about avoiding looking at anyone. He had also avoided any cameras wherever he went. No one knew his face.
As the sounds got louder, he still didn’t pay any attention to them. When the first bike passed him, Robbie didn’t move. He could see others hurrying back into the shadows but he paid them no mind. When the second motorcycle passed and slowed down shining its lights on him, he lifted his hand to block the light from his eyes.
The bike passed him then turned at the next corner. Robbie listened but the bike sounds faded. He got up and moved away from where he had been sitting. He didn’t look right or left, just straight ahead. Moving deeper into the shadows, he began paying more attention.
As he was walking away, he heard another growl of a bike behind him. Moving closer to the buildings, he turned away as the bike passed him. When the bike stopped, Robbie froze.
“Hey man, gotta a light?” the biker asked.
Robbie shook his head. “Don’t smoke.”
“Thanks anyway.” The biker rolled away very slowly.
Robbie waited until his engine faded. Then he walked a little faster. He wondered why the biker stopped. They usually didn’t. He’d been watching the streets for a while now and this was unusual. He didn’t know what it meant but he wasn’t sticking around to find out.
Robbie made his way back to the house where he knew he’d be safe. Not looking right or left, he made his way through the city. When he finally got to the house, he made his way around to the back. Glancing around, he pried the siding to one side and slipped in.
~* * * *~
Robbie didn’t see the bikes on either side of him watching his progress.
The man watching from the woods noted his return and the way he got inside. When he made a
call, he spoke quietly. Then he leaned in close to a tree and waited for backup. The moon shone on his vest and anyone who was looking could see the Sinner’s logo along with the name Preacher. It wasn’t long before he heard several pair of footsteps coming through the trees where he waited.
“Are you sure it was him?” one of the men asked.
“Who else would know where the back door was?” Preacher grunted.
“So what do you want to do with this idiot?” another man asked.
Preacher glanced over at him. “Well Dix, I called Iceman and told him we’d found the little fucker. He said to take him over to the clubhouse and wait for him. He also said to keep him alive but if he got a few bruises, he didn’t care. What does that tell you?”
The one called Dix grinned. The moonlight shone brightly off the gold tooth he had. Dix glanced at the other two, Jake and Stinger.
They were smiling back. Then they all started toward the house.
Preacher stopped them. “Dix, I want you and Jake to go through the front door. Me and Stinger will wait here in case he tries to leave before we get the chance to meet him.”
“How do we find him once we’re inside?”
“There’s a small door next to the fridge. Follow the hallway and you’ll find him.” Preacher grinned. “Remember…Iceman wants to talk to him, so let’s not hurt him too bad.”
~* * * *~
Iceman hung up the phone after the call from his man Preacher. He almost smiled…almost. He turned and walked over to Deke and Leon. “I found him.”
Deke turned and stared at the other man. “Where was he?”
“Boston. My men followed him back to his house. They’re going to go in and get him, then take him back to the clubhouse. I can guarantee he’ll be alive, but he may be slightly bruised and battered by the time we get there.”
“Can your men bring him out here?” Leon asked.
Deke snapped his head around to stare at the older man. “Why would we bring him all the way out here?”
Leon smiled but it didn’t reached his eyes. “I’m thinking the country would be a better place to question him. Less busybodies around to interfere with us.”
