by KJ Dahlen
“I got my cage with me,” Hound told him. “I was gonna go from here over to a construction site this morning.”
Sam nodded. “Ok, I’ll take your truck and you can take my bike back to the clubhouse. Warn your families to get back to safety and then get ready for a war.”
Wiley looked back at the doctors checking out Danny. “You think they’re gonna let him go?”
“They aren’t gonna have a choice. He needs our protection and I’m not leaving him here.” Sam growled.
The doctor stared at him for a moment then nodded. “Normally, I wouldn’t allow this but with this latest attack, I don’t have a choice. I have other patients that I have to worry about.” He looked at Danny. “I’m sorry son.”
“No worries doc.” Danny nodded. “These guys can protect me.”
“You take care then. And I want to see you back here when this is all done. You and I aren’t done yet young man.”
“Can I tell you something?” Danny asked.
“What would that be?”
“You’re the first doctor I’ve seen since I can remember.” Danny blushed a bit as admitted this.
Both Sam and the doctor were stunned by his admission. “You’ve got to be shitting me?” Sam scowled.
Danny bowed his head. “Shayna tried to get them to let me be checked out but neither Brody, Axel or Sean would ever do it. They said it cost too much money because we didn’t have insurance.”
“In other words you haven’t seen a doctor since you were two?” the doctor asked.
Danny shrugged. “If I did, I don’t remember it. You’d have to ask Shayna. She’s always taken care of me.”
“How the hell did Sean get away with that when she petitioned the courts to change guardianship?” Sam demanded. “I know she tried to get custody of you when she turned of age.”
Danny nodded, “Yeah, she did but Sean showed the court that she didn’t have a high school education and therefor no prospects of a good job or nice place to live. At least with him, I’d have a roof over my head.”
Sam clenched his fists at his side. After a moment, he got himself under control again and motioned toward him. “Come on kid, let’s blow this joint. We gotta get you somewhere safe while the getting is good. Deke and your sister are waiting for us.”
He picked up the boy and slung him around so Danny was on his back. Then he nodded at Hound and Wiley and the three of them walked toward the elevators. “When we leave here, I’ll get Danny settled in the truck and wait for you guys to leave. Then I’ll take off. Whoever is watching knows Shayna and Danny are with a group of bikers, they will more than like likely follow you guys, so watch your back. I’ll met up with you at the crossroads. Once we get the kid back to the compound Deke is going to lock it down until this is over.”
Hound and Wiley nodded and keys were exchanged. The next fifteen minutes were tense but finally all three men met. Sam had heard another shot ring out, as he turned left on the main drag through town and his brothers on bikes turned right. He only knew when they both showed up unhurt that shooter missed.
Then Sam saw blood on Hound’s leg and he knew the shooter hadn’t missed. “Are you ok?” he asked the brother.
Hound nodded. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a graze. Raine can look at it when we get back.”
Ten minutes later, all three pulled into the compound and whoever was manning the gate pulled it shut behind them. Sam pulled up right at the clubhouse doors and he heard Wiley and Hound pull up beside him He got out and went to the passenger side and opened the door. Danny was waiting for him and as soon as Sam unbuckled him and turned his back, Danny wrapped his arms around his neck. Sam positioned him and walked inside.
Deke, Mountain and the rest of the club was standing there waiting for them.
“Ok dad, what happened that we need to go on lockdown and why did you bring him here? He needs to be in the hospital, doesn’t he?”
Sam shook his head. “Brody is in town and he took a pot shot at Danny.”
Deke looked at his dad for a long minute then turned to look at Danny. “And how do you know that?”
Sam answered for him, “Danny recognized the sound of Brody’s rifle. He’d been around this gun before. He’s got a modified Henry rifle. He sniped Danny’s window. I decided to bring him here as we can defend this place better. Too many civilians could get hurt if we stayed there.” Shrugging he claimed, “At least here, we have home advantage. He’s more comfortable in an urban setting and we’re more comfortable here.”
Deke nodded. “I sent the men home to make sure their families are safe. I got the men standing watch in the woods and no one has reported anything yet.”
Danny patted Sam’s shoulder and asked, “Can I see Shayna?”
Sam nodded and moved down the hall to the room Bowie and Shayna were sharing. He pushed the door opened and stepped inside.
Danny gasped when he saw his sister on the bed. “Oh man...” he whispered as he saw her pale figure on the bed. Bowie was wiping her down with a cool washcloth but she didn’t look well at all.
There was a chair beside the bed and Sam hauled him over to it. Swinging him around, Sam put Dany on the chair. Danny got his seat and held out his hand to take Shayna’s.
Bowie rinsed the rag again and wiped her forehead down.
Danny stared at his sister. He began to pray inside his head. He would never pray out loud, they’d never wanted Brody, Axel or Sean to know she was sick.
When Bowie lifted her shirt up, he saw the fresh wound on her side and he turned angry eyes to Bowie, “What happened to her?”
Bowie growled. “Well, I didn’t do that. She got it from Sean just before he came for you. She didn’t alert us because she knew if he got to her he could get to you and he wouldn’t hesitate to shiv you.”
“Damn him.” Danny swore as he looked at his sister.
“How long do these attacks usually last?” Bowie asked.
Danny shrugged. “At first, they were only a day or so but with each one they’ve been lasting longer. The last one lasted four days.”
“As soon as this is over, we’ll get that fuckin bullet out of her,” Sam swore.
Bowie looked over at Danny and then glanced over his shoulder to glare at Sam. “Why is the kid here? Shouldn’t he be in the hospital?”
Sam grunted. “Yeah he should, but Brody is here and he tried to snipe the kid in the hospital. We thought he’d be safer here.”
Bowie sighed. “Yeah, he’ll be safe here. Thanks man.”
“Told the boy you claimed his sister, you claimed him. He’s not sure he believes that,” Sam informed Bowie.
Bowie turned to Danny. Looking him square in the eye, he told the kid, “I did claim Shayna and that claiming includes you. You two are a package deal and I knew that when I claimed her. She’s part of my family, of this family and now so are you. Don’t ever doubt that for a moment.”
Danny stared at the bigger man for a moment then he whispered, “Do you promise?”
“Word brother.” Bowie nodded then he held out his fist to Danny.
Danny fist bumped him and then smiled. “I have a brother now! Cool beans.”
Sam chuckled and Bowie turned back to Shayna.
Her eyes were open and they glittered with tears. She mouthed the words ‘Thank you.’ Then she looked over at Danny and smiled, “Hey there kiddo.”
Danny grinned. “Hey there yourself. This same old, same old huh?”
Shayna nodded. “Yeah between everything that’s happened, I didn’t stand a chance.”
“You have to get better fast then cuz all hell’s about to break lose,” Danny whispered loudly.
“What do you mean?” She frowned.
“Brody found us.”
Shayna paled. “Are you sure?”
Danny nodded. “He shot at me in the hospital. That’s why they brought me here. I know the sound of his Henry.”
“Damn, if he finds Sean, he’ll ask him about the record bo
ok then Brody will come after us.”
Danny nodded. “Yeah, Sean would lie to save his own ass, wouldn’t he?”
“He thinks the truth will save him but Brody won’t allow him to live. He can’t. Sean knows too much about how he runs things. Brody will be forced to leave Boston and in order to set up somewhere else he has to start over, doesn’t he? New place, new crew, new everything.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Sam wondered out loud.
Deke, Hawk and Iceman joined them just then.
Danny held his sister’s hand a little tighter. “It means he’s going to dump his entire household in Boston. He’ll clean out his accounts and either leave his crew behind without his support or kill them all. He will go back and take out the upper crewmen. He won’t have a choice, they know too much about his operation. The kids he has working for him will be out on the streets again and then he’ll go somewhere new and set up his operation again. He’ll have to change it up, so no one catches on, but that won’t be until after he settles things here with Sean.”
“We should be ok then, no one knows you guys are here,” Deke assured them.
Shayna shook her head. “You can’t count on that. Benjy knows the shop was under you guys. He and Sean knew that before we went in. Sean dismissed the connection at the time but to stay alive, he’ll tell Brody where we might be.”
Sam agreed. “When we left the hospital, the boys were wearing their cuts, so he could have seen them.”
“Ok, then we take the proper precautions and find him before he finds us.” Deke growled. Reaching for his phone, he called Amos and got him out there looking for Brody and-or his boys. After he made his call, he returned to the group.
Danny looked over at him with a frown. “What did you just do?” He looked scared for a moment.
Deke grinned. “I called in our backup. We have a group of men out there that knows these streets better than we could ever know them. They know everything that happens in this town and they watch our backs. They will find this Brody and Sean and bring them to us rather than let them hurt us or anyone in Troy.”
“Can they really do all that?” Danny asked in awe.
“You bet they can.” Deke nodded. “I have faith in them and so should you.”
“Ok.” Danny nodded still looking stunned at the idea.
Bowie knelt in front of Danny and taking both his hand and Shayna’s, he told them, “I know you guys don’t know how far you can trust us but we will go all the way for you. Not just because we claimed you, but because it’s the right thing to do. I want to give you something you haven’t had in a very long time. Faith, I want to give you both the ability to have faith is someone other than just yourselves. You can have faith that we will always be behind you, we’ll always have your back and always know no matter what happens, we won’t leave you out there on your own.”
Danny hung his head a moment then looked up at Bowie. “You know what? I believe you. You didn’t run when you could have, maybe even should have. What you did instead was stand beside me and Shayna. I was very young when I lost our parents and I don’t really remember them but Shayna does. She’s told me so many stories of what she remembers of our parents that I feel I almost know them. She tried to teach me so many things and one of those things was how to trust the right person. You guys are the right people.”
~* * * *~
Suddenly, the clubhouse was plunged into semi-darkness. They all heard a small explosion then the lights went out. Shayna gasped but didn’t scream. Others were doing that for her in other rooms all over the house. Bowie moved Danny over to the bed. Shayna wrapped her arms around her brother and held him tight.
Deke, Iceman, Hawk and Bones went to the door. Drawing their weapons, they left the room one by one, spreading out in every direction. Bowie drew his gun and went to stand over by the door. He didn’t leave but instead, stood guard, never leaving Shayna and Danny alone for a moment.
When her eyes adjusted to the dimness around them, as the only light came from the window, Shayna looked over at it and wanted to scream but her throat was swollen with fear. There was even less light available when two men stepped into the frame.
Sean stood there with a gun to his head. Brody himself stood behind her uncle. Sean was sporting a bruise or two. Brody looked at her with hatred in his eyes as he moved the gun in her direction. He cocked the handgun and smiled slightly.
Shayna tensed then when she saw his finger tighten on the trigger, she rolled Danny and her off the bed. They both hit the floor with a thud just as the window shattered and Bowie turned quickly and fired. A hoarse scream sounded from the other side of the window and then they heard footsteps running away.
~* * * *~
More footsteps ran outside and they could hear them as they rounded the corner. They came to stand on the other side of Bowie’s window...His shattered window.
Suddenly, the lights came back on again and Bowie could see Deke, Iceman, Bones and Hawk standing there looking down at a wounded and bruised Sean. He was lying there swearing at them all.
Deke just growled at him and kicked him in the belly. “Shut the fuck up, you fucking miserable coward.” Disgusted, he looked around at his brothers. “Drag his ass inside just in case Brody is still around. I don’t want him dead before we get our answers.”
Just then, Wiley ran up and huffing he told them, “We found the breach in our fence line. The fuckers cut through the chain link. We did find blood at the spot but we don’t know if it’s his...” He pointed at Sean. “Or if it’s Brody’s.”
“How did they get past the men walking the lines?” Deke asked.
“We found Bailey knocked out on this side of the fence. They must have already been through and hiding when he came up to where they were hiding.” Wiley figured. “He’s still alive but knocked out.”
“Get our men out on the streets, hunt this bastard down and do what you have to but you get his ass back here for a tribunal. This is an MC judgement now. He broke into our compound, he hit Hound in the leg and he hurt a member of our club. He would’ve killed Bowie’s woman and her brother. Not to even fucking mention how he treated Shayna and Danny before this. The club will judge him.” Deke looked enraged. Angier than most had seen him in a long-ass time
Wiley nodded then went to spread the word.
Deke turned to Sean and nodded at the two men that had a hold on the bastard. “Take him out to the shed. We’ll get our answers first.”
“First? What are you talking about, first?” Sean asked.
Deke just smiled but didn’t say a word.
~* * * *~
Shayna got to her feet slowly and painfully. She was still so weak and when she and Danny fell, she took the brunt of Danny’s weight so as not to hurt him any further. She looked over at Bowie. “How did the lights come back on so fast?”
“We have a spare generator in case we lose the lights.” Bowie ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t think it was meant for someone to blow up the transformer though.”
“Are you all right?” Danny asked as Shayna helped him to the bed.
“I am, are you guys ok?” Bowie rushed over to Shayna to pull her into his arms.
She nodded at him looking to Danny. “Are you ok?”
Danny nodded. “You made sure I would be ok.”
Shayna pressed her face into the crock of Bowie’s neck. “I was so scared. I couldn’t even move when he pointed his gun in my direction.”
“You did just right baby,” Bowie murmured as he kissed her temple. “You got both you and Danny to safety and let me take the hit. I hope I got a bullet in the lousy bastard but at least, we got Sean. The brothers will find out where Brody is going from him and then they will hunt him down like the trash he is.”
Shayna shook her head. “They may never find him, you know that right?”
Bowie smiled. “You don’t know my brothers or Iceman’s old MC. They will find him. Trust me on that.”
Chapt
er Thirteen
Brody Alkins stumbled down the street. His arm was throbbing and blood dripped from his fingertips. Shayna’s man had hit him. With his aiming at that little bitch, he’d been a fraction to slow. He grunted as he slipped behind a tree to rest for a moment. He was at a patch of trees near the edge of town, somewhere between the compound and the beginning of the town itself.
Checking his arm, he saw a hole in his shoulder and blood covering his shirt. He had found Sean earlier that day and had beat the little weasel until he knew everything there was to know about what Shayna had been up to here in Troy.
The fact that she’d taken up with a bunch of bikers surprised him, he didn’t think she had it in her. He took note of the fact that she’d grown up since the last time he saw her. He really should have known it was she who took his record book. She was always snooping around the house when they still lived there. Axel kept her in line as much as he could but she was too much like her mother to be content with her station. She always thought she was better than they were. And she hated stealing for a living.
But that’s how they did their business. He was the leader of a ring of thieves. He never claimed to be anything else. When she became the best they had, it was hard to let her leave but he really hated Sean. After he’d set up Axel and Adrick to go to prison, the entire town of Boston was his playground. After all these years, he reigned over the town, then Ronnie Silver came sniffing around and he ended up paying the bastard twenty percent.
When Ponch told him earlier that Ronnie had been caught in his lies and deception, Brody had smiled at the thought that it couldn’t have happened to a better man. He snorted at the thought of Ponch. He was a fourteen-year-old kid who wanted to be so much more. He thought he could become a golden boy, thought he could take his rightful place in Brody’s council. Brody laughed at him and pushed him away like he was dirt on his shoe.
Ponch had drawn his blade and come after Brody willing to stick him with it. The thing was Brody grew up on the streets of Boston and had faced this same situation time and time again. Without thinking, he used his strength to get the blade away from Ponch and then turn it against him. He thrust the knife into the boy’s throat and then turned and walked away.
