Bowie

by KJ Dahlen

  Shayna shook her head and Bowie turned her around to face him. That when he saw the tear running down her face. He brushed it away with his thumb and said, “Go on.”

  “My grandfather showed up shortly after the accident. He claimed me but didn’t really want to take Danny, as he was damaged goods and couldn’t be of any use to him when he was older. When I told him I wouldn’t go without my brother, he finally decided to take us both. He took us from Bar Harbor and brought us back to Boston. My life as I knew it changed. He taught me how to steal and how to break a lock. I hated those lessons and hated everything he tried to teach me. Adrick and Sean resented me and Danny. It was almost like they were jealous but of what I never knew.” She shrugged. “I was just me. When Axel saw how quick I learned his little tricks, he concentrated on my skills. But I was as stubborn as he was. I hated that he was making me do things my parents never wanted me to do, so I fucked up a lot. Or I just plain refused to do his bidding. That when he would try to teach me a lesson. Whether it was a belt or a cane, he would try to beat me into submission. I refused to give in. That’s when he knew the one way to ensure I obeyed him was the threaten Danny. I took whatever he handed out and still stood my ground when it was just me he beat on but then he found out if he threatened my brother, I would do what he wanted without giving him too much sass.”

  Bowie let out a long disgusted sigh. Her life had been one long nightmare. He so wanted to help her heal, show her the good things...make her happy. He knew she never even had a sunny day without fear for so many years. No wonder she had been so afraid to trust any of them.

  “That’s when he taught me to be the best he ever had. The better I became the more Sean and Adrick hated me. I didn’t know until after Axel and Adrick went to prison that Sean had been abusing Danny. When Brody kicked us out, he told Sean that he could leave me behind if he wanted to.”

  “But Sean didn’t do that did he?”

  Shayna shook her head. “No he told Brody he was taking me with him. If anyone was going to benefit from my skills it was gonna be him. He also told Brody he would regret the day he disrespected him.” She shook her head. “Brody just laughed at him and told him to get out of his sight.”

  “Where did you go from there?”

  “We stayed in Boston for a couple of weeks, then Brody found out we were still there. He sent his crew out to rouse us out of the city. Sean got out just before they caught up with him. When we left Boston, we moved around a lot the first year. He began picking up his street kids along the way. They would steal for him. He used them so they didn’t have to work a regular job. When his crew was good enough, he began to plan their next jobs. Sometimes, we’d be in a town for three or four weeks, sometimes it would only be days. We moved around Massachusetts for a year and a half, then we went to Maine, after Maine we came here to New York.”

  Bowie frowned. “How long have you been here in New York?”

  “We’ve been in New York about eight months now. Sean picked up Benjy, Orrin, Arthur and Lindsay here. He already had Maggie and Ponch. In fact, when we left Boston, Ponch was already with us.”

  “Where did he pick up all these kids?”

  Shayna glanced at him with sorrow in her eyes. “They were street kids. Some people call them throwaway kids. Their parents lose their jobs and then their houses and then they are living on the streets. They get lost in the system and society forgets them. They were ripe for men like Sean to come along and take them under his wing. These kids were so needy that Sean didn’t have a problem training them to steal for him. Especially Benjy. Benjy had a whole lot of rage to work through. He hated the fact that Sean called me his number one thief. Benjy wanted his praise, his confidence. He thought we were in some sort of competition. I think that’s why he followed me the other day. That’s why he ran straight back to Sean and tattled on me. That the day Sean threw Danny down the stairs and left so quickly.”

  Bowie thought about what she’d told him, then asked, “So the scars on your back are from your grandfather?”

  “Axel gave me some of them but Adrick and Sean gave me more. They enjoyed beating me. I don’t know why but they took pleasure in punishing me. Axel would sometimes watch when they did and he never once tried to stop them. One time, he even called out my mother’s name when he walked away.”

  “He thought of you as if you were your mother?”

  Shayna nodded. “He told me he couldn’t control his own daughter, but he’d be damned if he was going to lose control over her daughter.”

  Bowie hugged her closer. “Well, you’re well away from them now and I’ll make sure they never hurt you or Danny again.”

  “Do you promise?” she whispered.

  Bowie brushed her lips with his own. “That’s more than a promise girl. That’s a fact. You and Danny belong to me now and I watch over what belongs to me.” He kissed her temple and said, “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow in another day.”

  “Ok. Good night.”

  Bowie smiled in the shadows. It would be one of many. This woman would be treated like a princess and her brother, a prince. He intended for them both to have their happy ever after. Or he would die trying to make it happen. He ground his jaw together. If he ever got face to face with this Sean or Brody, they would be dead men.

  ~* * * *~

  Just before dawn, Bowie was awakened by Shayna groaning and thrashing next to him. He leaned up on one elbow and glared when he caught sight of her. She was sweating and seemed to be in some pain from the look on her face. He brushed a strand of hair off her forehead and was surprised to find she was warm with a fever.

  “Babe,” he called out. “Are you okay?” When she didn’t open her eyes, he shook her shoulders. “Shayna, wake up sweetheart. Are you okay?”

  She still didn’t wake up, but did cry out. Her forehead was wrinkled as if she was in pain. He shook her harder and finally her eyes opened. But Bowie didn’t like the look in them. They were clouded and dazed as if she couldn’t focus.

  “What the fuck?” he swore under his breath. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he reached for his jeans and pulled them on. Then he grabbed his shirt and put it on over her head. He knew he had to get her medical attention and he didn’t want anyone to see her bare body.

  Slipping on her underwear, he left the room briefly. When he returned, Raine was with him, along with Deke and Sam. The three of them watched as Raine checked her over. The first thing he checked was her freshest wound, the stab that Sean gave her three days before. The wound was only a little bit ragged and drawn. It didn’t look infected yet but was working toward it.

  Raine checked her eyes and noted the dazed look in them. Taking her temperature, he called out 101.9. Then he looked at Bowie and shook his head. Coming over to where the three men stood he told them, “I don’t know what this is. I mean she’s got a low-grade fever but nothing that would warrant this reaction. The wound looks clear enough and yet, she’s in pain and running a low fever.”

  Bowie thought about what they had discussed the night before. “Would a bullet still inside her cause this? She said she’s had this sort of thing happen before. It’s like her body is trying to reject it but it’s still in there. She said it only lasts a day or two but that she’s really sick during that time.”

  “That could be what’s causing it, yes. If she’s still got the bullet roaming inside her, it could cause her to react like this,” Raine agreed. “She needs to get rid of that piece of metal.”

  Bowie looked over at his woman lying on the bed. He knew she would never get it out unless the threat was completely gone. He looked over at Deke. “She won’t do that until the threat to both her and Danny is gone. And that won’t be until both Sean and Brody are either dead or in jail. We need to ask Danny about this. Maybe he can tell us more about what she does when this hits.”

  Deke nodded.

  “I’ll go back to the hospital.” Bones offered. “I left four brothers there to keep watch in shifts.
“See if I can talk to Danny.”

  “Thanks Dad.”

  Bones walked out the door.

  Bowie turned to Raine. “So what do we do here?”

  “Just keep her cool. Give her some Tylenol and lots of water. Talk to her so she knows she isn’t alone. We’ll know more when Sam gets back to us but if she’s done this before we need to know how often and what they’ve done in the past about it.” Then he looked at Bowie. “How long has she had that bullet in her?”

  Hawk and Iceman darkened the doorway just about the time Raine asked his question. It was Hawk who answered, “It’s been almost four years now.” He looked over at Shayna then turned back to Raine. “Is she gonna be ok?”

  Raine half shrugged. “I hope so. She told Bowie this has happened before. But the bullet needs to come out. This fever could do more damage than help her in the long run.”

  Hawk looked over at Iceman and nodded. “That bullet might help convict the man who shot my brother.”

  Deke laid his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “As soon as we take care of Sean and Brody, we’ll get it for you. With the evidence she gave us and the bullet, Brody will go to jail don’t worry.”

  Hawk turned his head and stared at Deke. “That man will never see the inside of a jail cell.” Then he turned and walked away.

  Iceman stared at his president but didn’t say a word, then he too, turned and walked away.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sam walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the hospital this early in the morning. No one was up and moving yet as the sun wasn’t quiet up. When he came to the hallway Danny’s room was in he took note of the extra guards in place.

  There were two police officers and as he rounded the corner, another man fell into step with him. It was one of his brothers, Hound. Bowie’s own brother had been keeping watch over Danny. They both approached the room and the cops noted but didn’t stop him from going inside. Sam looked around the room and made eye contact with yet another brother, Wiley.

  “Bones.” Wiley nodded his head at him.

  Sam nodded back and walked closer to the bed Danny was in. The boy was laying there with his eyes open. When Sam approached, Danny’s eyes snapped over to him and he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Sam saw the effects of being kidnapped and thrown from a car on the boy. He was bruised from head to well under the sheet that covered him. He was sporting a new IV while hooked up to a pain machine. But his eyes were clear at the moment and he glared at Sam. “Is my sister ok?”

  Sam shook his head. “That’s why I’m here. She not injured or anything but she’s running a fever and she’s sort of sick. She told us this happens from time to time and we just wanted to ask you want we can do to help her through this.”

  Danny closed his eyes. “It’s that fucking bullet she’s carrying around.”

  Sam frowned. “You kiss your mama with that mouth?”

  Danny glared at him. “My mama as you call her died a long time ago. So no, I don’t kiss her with this mouth.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that kid.” Sam nodded. “What I need to know is how to deal with your sister. How did she get over this before?”

  Danny shrugged. “The first, second and third time this happened it only took a day or so before she got back to normal, but the last few times its seems to last longer every time. Each time, she stays sicker longer and she’s steadily been getting sicker and sicker with each time. The last time she got sick, she didn’t start to feel better for four days.”

  “What did she tell Sean about it?” Sam asked.

  Danny rolled his eyes in disgust. “Sean was so stupid when it came to Shayna. She told him she was having her period and she had really bad cramps keeping her in bed.”

  Sam had to grin. Sean really was a chump if that’s all she had to say to get him to back off. “And that worked?”

  Danny nodded.

  “How long ago was that?”

  “About four months ago.” Danny shook his head. “These attacks are getting closer and closer together and getting worse every time.” He looked away then back to Sam. “Is she ok?”

  Sam nodded. “We’ll keep her that way but she needs to lose the bullet.”

  Danny scoffed, “Yeah like that will work. Especially now.” He shook his head. “With Sean out there, she’ll never have the surgery she needs.”

  “She’s really worried about you being out here alone without her.” Sam told her.

  Danny nodded. “Yeah I know. Sean is really getting desperate now. He knows something is coming and he wants to get out of town.”

  Sam frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “He knew Ponch was reporting back to Brody. I mean he finally figured it out. We all knew from the moment we left Boston that Ponch wasn’t what he seemed. He’s also older than ten. Sean brought him with us when Brody kicked us out but he knew too much you know what I mean?”

  “Go on.” Sam wanted to hear what this kid had to say.

  “He’s a small kid but he got the pit hair and he has to shave his face every other week, you know. If he were only ten, he wouldn’t have to do that. I think he’s older than I am. Shayna knew that from the beginning and Sean was beginning to know it, but now it’s too late.”

  “You keep saying its too late, why?”

  “Brody is coming here.” He shrugged. “Sean kept going on and on about that before he wrapped the car around the tree. He kept saying Ponch betrayed him for the last time and when he found the little bastard, he would shut his mouth for good. Brody knows someone betrayed him and thinks it was Sean. Somehow, the cops and the mob are cracking down on the streets in Boston and Brody figured out where the information came from. Is what I think. He reached out to Ponch and Ponch told him what’s going on here and he knows or at least he thinks he knows who started this whole mess.” Shaking his head, “But that person isn’t Sean.”

  “No it isn’t.” Sam looked thoughtful as he stared at Danny. “You’ve known this whole time what Shayna did, don’t you?”

  Danny nodded. “She’s my sister isn’t she? She’s kept me safe all this time. She’s taken more than one beating for me. She fought our grandfather when he would have left me behind in Maine after I got hurt when we lost our parents. I was only a toddler at the time but there are some things you just never forget. Over the years, I’ve watched her and them and I’ve come to hate the whole lot of them.” He shook his head. “Shayna hated doing what she did for Axel then Sean. Sean used me against her all the time. I know she wanted to run away so many times but because I was still there she came home time and time again.” He sighed. “I never knew what she had but I knew she had something she could bargain with. We used to stay up all night sometimes dreaming and making plans for a different kind of life. A life without men like Sean or Brody in it, a life where she didn’t have to steal for a living. Where we were both safe and we didn’t have to look over our shoulder all the time.”

  Sam grinned. “I have a feeling you just got that life.”

  Danny looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

  “Your sister has been claimed by one of the brothers.”

  Danny looked uneasy for a moment. “That doesn’t do anything for me.”

  “The hell it don’t. He claimed her, he claimed you. You guys are a package deal, boy.”

  Wiley grinned. “You’re one of us now kid.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw something flash and he dove to cover Danny, pulling him off the bed and onto the floor. Wiley followed Sam’s motion and a few seconds later, the glass of the window exploded, sending tiny shards into the room.

  Hound was standing over by the wall. He slapped the light switch off and the room was plunged into darkness. The door flew open and the light from the hall showed the mess of glass while bodies huddled near the floor.

  Sam’s head snapped around and he glared at the officers standing in the doorway with their weapons drawn. “Shut that fuckin door t
ill we get a fix on the shooter!” He looked down at Danny. “You all right kid?”

  Danny shook his head. “Brody’s here.”

  “How do you know that?” Sam frowned.

  Danny looked up at the older biker. “That’s his rifle. It’s a custom made Henry rifle, modified for long range shooting. Brody takes on special jobs that require a rifle like that. We all know it but it’s something we don’t talk about, you know? When everyone else was out of the house, Brody used to practice shooting the damn thing. I couldn’t go anywhere else, so I was the only one who ever heard him shoot. You hear a sound often enough you never forget it. That’s Brody’s rifle. He was the only one that ever touched it.”

  “Can you hold onto me?” Sam asked. “We gotta get you the hell out of here.”

  Danny nodded. “Yeah, I can hold on, it just my legs that don’t work so good.”

  Sam respected this kid. Tough. Brave after all he’d been through, you’d think he would be afraid. “Climb up on my back then and wrap your arms around my neck,” he instructed him. While Danny climbed onto his back, Sam issued orders to Wiley and Hound. Then staying low to the floor, they all three moved to the door.

  “We got the kid and we’re coming out so don’t go getting trigger happy out there,” Sam called out before he cracked the door open wide enough to squeeze through it with Danny on his back. As soon as he cleared the opening, hands were pulling Danny off and doctors were right there to assist in checking him over.

  Sam got up when the doctor’s took over Danny’s care. He, Wiley and Hound stomped down the hall just far enough to be alone yet still watch over Danny. Sam got on the phone and reached out to Deke.

  When Deke answered, Sam didn’t ever bother greeting him. “You need to call everyone in and lock it down.”

  “What happened?”

  “Brody just took a sniper shot at Danny in the hospital.”

  “What the fuck?” Deke swore.

  “I’m bringing the kid back with me and we’ll be there in twenty.” Sam hung up the call and looked at his brothers.