Beauty From The Ashes Of Destruction (Rebellions 4 Blood MC Book 2)

by Vera Quinn

  “If any riders are caught, I get them first,” I state, and I dare anyone to argue with me. My phone rings. I look and see it’s Maddie. “Everything alright?” I ask.

  “I was just letting you know I brought B into town to meet her teacher for this year and now we are on our way home. I was calling Rye because he wasn’t happy with me sneaking out. B was so excited and if I didn’t take her, she would have been heartbroken. Things have been quiet so I thought it would be alright. I bought us some steaks for tonight and I was hoping you and Sarge will grill them for dinner,” Maddie tells me, as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. My blood just went to full on boil.

  “Get your ass home now, Maddie!” I know Maddie isn’t used to me talking to her like this, but I am pissed. “Where are you? I’ll come meet you. We’ve had some things happen today and I need you safe.”

  “Oh, shit! B, keep your head down.”

  All I hear is B screaming and pings that sound like gunshots. Maddie is frantic.

  “Maddie, keep your head about you. Deep breath in and blow it out. Where are you and what’s happening? Just talk to me.” I try to calm Maddie again. We can’t help her if we don’t know where she is. I’m already up and heading for the door with Sarge, Stealth, and Keys right behind me.

  “Fall out,” Sarge orders the brothers in the clubhouse.

  “There’s a big truck behind me and it’s running into the back of me.” I hear the loud noise of the truck ramming into Maddie. “They’re also firing shots toward the back of the SUV. B is back there. I’m on Twenty-one heading back to the ranch. Oh, hell no!”

  I hear screeching tires.

  “Hold on, B, Mommy is going to get us out of here.” I hear Maddie telling B in a calming voice.

  “Maddie, don’t do anything stupid. Think, baby, think.” I know my woman has gone into protective mode and there is no telling what she will do.

  There’s more screeching of the tires and shots that sound closer. We’re only fifteen minutes away. I get on my bike and roar out of there. I am driving no more than ten or so minutes, but it feels like I am going in slow motion. A big truck passes me and nearly swerves right into our bikes but Maddie is closing in fast behind them and she has her gun in her hand outside the window and she is shooting at the big truck. She hits the rear driver’s side tire twice, and the tire goes down. The truck slows down and Maddie speeds up and passes the truck and then swerves her SUV in front of them. The nose of the truck goes into the ditch and Maddie puts her vehicle in park and gets out of the SUV and starts running up to the truck. She shot the driver’s arm. We catch up to them, and I park my bike and make it to Maddie before she can shoot anyone else. I take the gun from her, and she stares at me with a deadly look in her eyes.

  “Those men put B’s life in danger, and they deserve to die.” I nod my head at Sarge, and he goes to the car to check on B. I have a hold of an incensed Maddie, but my eyes are on Sarge getting B out of her car seat. He’s bringing a thick blanket with her. Sarge walks over to us and Maddie has calmed down now, but she’s too quiet. I look at her and she has tears running down her cheeks. I bring her close to my chest.

  “Mommy mad and she said bad words.” Maddie laughs. Maddie reaches for B and she jumps in her arms.

  “Mommy is sorry, baby. I was afraid the bad men were going to hurt you. It’s okay now. Jeb and Sarge will take care of the bad men.” B shakes her head yes but when Stealth walks up to us, B wants him. To all our surprise, he takes her.

  “Cleanup is on the way and cops have been diverted to a bomb threat,” Stealth says. We all know that Stealth is the one who called in the bomb scare. All the cops in three counties will be there. Stealth walks away with B so we can talk openly.

  “Maddie, I know you’re scared but what the hell were you thinking? You know you are not supposed to be away from the ranch without a brother on your tail.” I am trying to put my anger in check, but I’m losing my last grip on it. Maddie pops her hip out and starts yelling.

  “There were no guards there today except Rye! I wasn’t leaving Maddie, Aunt Deb, and the boys unprotected. I slipped out without Rye noticing so don’t blame him. B met her teacher, and I did the shopping we needed done. We had supplies we needed restocked. I not only had two handguns within reach, I also had a shotgun underneath my back seat. The blanket B had on is bulletproof. I had it made in Colorado and I have two of them. I had B put it on when my back glass was shot out, but I wasn’t taking any chances with her being in the back seat, so I chased them. They are chickenshits when the gunshots are directed at them.” I count to ten.

  “Callie was hit in Oklahoma earlier. They tried doing the same thing to her, but Kellan was there to help his mom out, so they are all alright. You should have known better. It’s not just you that you were gambling with. B deserves better.” That shuts Maddie up and I see the hurt in her eyes. I know I stepped over a line, but this could have been so much worse. “I’ll drive you back in the SUV and I’ll get a prospect to get my bike.”

  “I can drive myself and B back, and you can drive your superior ass back by yourself. I told you I wouldn’t take anymore shit off any man and I damn well meant it. I was trying to be less of a burden, and you yell at me in front of everyone like I am a two-year-old. You wouldn’t want me disrespecting you in front of your brothers, but it’s fine when you do it to me. I live in a two-way-street world and you will too if you plan on being in my bed. Did you get all that, you badass biker?” I have never heard Maddie speak that way to anyone. I don’t know if I’m proud of her or if I want to spank that sass right out of her. I start to walk toward her SUV, and she turns on me. She then motions for Stealth to put B in the car and he does. “Try it and I will shoot you with my other gun.” I know I need to let it go for now. She walks away from me.

  “Wise choice, brother. You questioned her ability to make the right choices for her children, not the right step to take,” Keys tells me.

  “What he said,” Sarge agrees.

  “We need to check in with the ranch to make sure they weren’t hit. Where are these guys going?” I wait for Sarge’s orders.

  “Let’s check the ranch and then we’ll meet back at the clubhouse later to get some answers from these guys. Zeus, Rico and Tater, take them back to the clubhouse. I want a lot of answers,” Sarge says. I see Maddie back her vehicle up and then turn it in the direction of the ranch. She doesn’t even look at me when she drives by. I will not jump through hoops for this woman and it’s time she learns that. I love her but I can’t be anyone but me. Time will tell if that is enough.

  16

  Maddie…

  I have been so mad since this afternoon and I’m still seething. Micah says I need to think about the fact that at least Jeb was concerned with B’s safety. I know what I did was foolish but B and I both were going house crazy and I hate taking the brothers from their other work. I hate being a burden. Sometimes I act without thinking. I would never put my children in danger intentionally. Alright, I know I was wrong, and I need to apologize for throwing a temper tantrum. I could really screw things up.

  We’ve had dinner, and Lucas and Wolfie are down for the night.

  Aunt Deb and Rye have been keeping to themselves. If I didn’t know better, I would think they were arguing, but they never fight. Everything has been off for a few weeks.

  I’ve already called and talked to Callie to make sure she was alright, and she assured me she was. Something else is happening and they aren’t telling Micah and me. I feel it. Callie even knows, but she’s keeping it from us, too. That hurts. Jeb has been reading to B for a while, and it’s time we put B to bed. Jeb and I need to have a talk. I need to eat some crow. I walk to B’s room, but I’m quiet. Yes, I’ve lowered myself to snooping around my daughter’s room. The door is cracked open and I stand next to it and listen.

  “Mommy is mad at you. She’s giving you the faces she gives me when I’ve been bad. Have you been bad?” I want to laugh, but I stay quiet.
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  “I hurt your mom’s feelings and a man should never hurt the feelings of the woman he loves. I was so scared when I heard the shots today. My heart froze with fear for you and your mom. Everything is fine now, but I was still scared when I spoke to your mom and said something I didn’t mean or not the way she thinks, anyway.” Jeb sounds so sincere.

  “Is my mom going to leave you like she did Daddy when he yelled at her? I don’t want to lose you Shield… I mean Jeb.” That brings tears to my eyes. “Mommy and Daddy used to get loud a lot and then Mommy cried. Daddy turned into a mean daddy.” I should have protected my babies more.

  “You know when your Mom and Dad raised their voices, it never had anything to do with you or your brother. They were upset with each other and they were too upset to just talk it out. They didn’t want you and your brother to hear it,” is Jeb’s answer to B. He is so good at this.

  “I want you to be my dad. You’re never mean. I don’t want you ever to leave me, please.” The tears are back again. I hear Jeb choke up when he answers.

  “B, I will be here for you every day for the rest of my life. I love your mom, you and Lucas with all my heart. If Mom gets mad at me, then we’ll talk it out. We are going to be a happy family.” I hear a smack and I know B has kissed Jeb on the cheek.

  “You are my dad, in here.” I don’t know where B showed him.

  “B, I love you and I will be here for you, but you have a dad who loves you, too. I will one day be your stepdad, but your real dad will always be there for you. We can’t leave him out. He’d be sad not to have you love him. We’re happy so we don’t want anyone sad. You give him all the love you can because this here, is big, and it has a lot of love in it. There’s enough for all of us.” Jeb sounds like a dad already. “I love you to the moon and back. Now, it’s time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day and you better be ready for it.” I step back away from the door and then I knock. I don’t wait for an answer. I walk in.

  “Hey, munchkin. It’s bedtime. I need to talk to Jeb before he leaves for work tonight so climb up in bed and we’ll tuck you in.” Jeb stands up and B straightens herself in the bed like she likes. Then I bend over and tuck her blankets in on each side of her as I say, “As snug as a bug in a rug.” B laughs and I kiss her head goodnight. “Night, B, I love you.”

  “Night Mom, love you, too. Love you, Jeb.” I look at Jeb and his eyes are on me. I grab his hand and bring it to my lips and kiss it. Jeb relaxes. I do too. I know everything is going to be fine.

  17

  Shield…

  We have been working over these two guys all night. I’ve had enough and I get Sarge’s attention and I wait for his agreement. We had talked about this earlier in the night, but we wanted to give these two a chance to live. Sarge is about as tired of this as I am. He nods his head. I go and roll out the welder and I watch both men’s eyes. They have no idea what’s in store for them.

  “I see my brother has your attention now. Are you wondering what my brother is going to do with this welder? I can guarantee you that you are going to learn a new respect for welders after this.” I go about setting the welder up. Stealth brings in a bucket of water, some gags and welding masks for the brothers watching. He hands me mine and then Sarge his. “Shield, you’re up.”

  “Well, Bill and Bob,” we have been calling them by those names since they had no identification on them, “have you ever smelled flesh when it is burned or electrocuted? It’s stinks like nothing else. Can you imagine how long a man can stay alive while getting little volts of electricity and the burning of their skin? You know it seems like the nerve endings should stop feeling the pain but adding just the right amount of burn in a small spot slowly keeps the pain coming. Even when we finish with you, it won’t be over because the pain during recovery of a burn is excruciating. Those nerve endings just keep giving you more pain. Then there’s the stink of peeling back layers of dead skin. I don’t know if I could stomach it. I might just shoot myself to make the pain stop and for what? Protecting the names of the people who hired you? They aren’t here helping you. You said that you aren’t a member of any club, so you must be doing this for money. Is money really as important as you living or your buddy living?” I start the machine up and look at Stealth. “Get their pants off. I like to start where it counts.”

  “No, no, I’ll talk,” the second guy says.

  “Shut the fuck up! They will kill us and our families,” the first guy says.

  “Fuck that shit! I don’t have any family that would save me.” The guy looks at Sarge. “I wasn’t supposed to hear the deal, but I don’t trust this one here so I was eavesdropping so I would get a fair cut. One club is trying to take down the other club. They want everything—the clubhouse, money, and territory. They don’t care who they kill in the process. They want to kill everyone, especially the children, so they don’t have to worry about them growing up and coming back for vengeance. I don’t know what started the war, but we received a third of the money up-front. The next step was to find where the women and children were located and find the weak spot in their security. We brought a truck and a car to do surveillance and motorcycles to distract you and worry about the riders. Those riders were paid by the hour to ride their bikes and nothing else. We thought we caught a lucky break when that woman left the ranch alone. We were making sure it wasn’t a trap, so we let her do her thing in town. We struck when we were outside the city limits. If we had taken her and the kid, we were instructed to video them bound and gagged and send it back to the club. Then we were supposed to take them out to the woods and shoot them as we videoed it and then bury the remains in an unmarked grave so the family could never find them. After that, we would get the last third. If we disappear, he will just send someone else. This man has a hunger for blood, and he wants the bloodline of the president of the Troubled Fathoms MC wiped off this earth. He thought once the first ex-wife was hit in Oklahoma and then the second was hit here with the kids in the mix that the Troubled Fathoms MC would come here for the funerals. They would then hit the skeletal crew left at the clubhouse and burn it down. He’s after the other president’s son but he wants to kill him with his bare hands while it’s videotaped so he can send it to the boy’s dad. I’ve given you a lot. I should be able to walk out of here. I’ll leave town. Hell, I’ll get out of the state and I won’t be back.” I’ve heard enough.

  “You two were going to kidnap and kill an innocent child and her mom. They have nothing to do with this war or feud. They’re just innocent bystanders. You have any other names for us. How about you, the silent one?” Both men shake their heads no. Sarge nods his head and every brother in the room puts on earplugs and then take their guns out. The two men are riddled with bullets. We each empty our guns into them. When it’s done, we each take our plugs out of our ears and then reload our guns. “That’s club justice for targeting our loved ones. Buster, Rico, and Lenz, you’re on cleanup. Burn these assholes so their families can never find them. Keys, I want a complete rundown on the Shrieking Devil MC president. I want it so I know what time he takes his shit every day. Don’t leave anything out. When he targets one of ours, then we target him. No one else in that club is on our list but him. This has nothing to do with the Troubled Fathoms MC or their war. They have never mentioned this club and that means they have more trouble than they ever thought. This is personal. When we have the information, then Shield and I will go hunting, and his head will be sent as a message to his club. No one fucks with the Rebellions 4 Blood MC.” Sarge is going to his dark place and I am right there with him. I will protect my family.

  “Are you going to give Krill a heads-up? He has a son to protect, too,” Zeus asks. He has a point.

  “Yes, I will also tell him to clean up his mess or his club may be next on our shitlist. They won’t like our club justice,” Sarge answers.

  “I would love to show them some club justice. I have never liked that son of a bitch, Dra,” Stealth states. “First, Callie was prot
ecting him and now it’s Maddie. You should accidently shoot him. No one can blame you for an accident.” Stealth tries to stir the shitpot.

  “If he threatens Maddie one more time, I will be hunting him. I’ll only let him hide behind Maddie for so long. Sarge,” I look to him, “I need a cut made for Maddie and she will be getting inked very soon.”

  “I’m on it. Get me the measurements. At least we have this to look forward to. We can combine it with the patch over ceremony and Wolfe’s welcome to the world. It’ll be one hell of a family cookout and party. Work first though. Time to hunt a varmint down. Shield, be ready to move out as soon as the information is in. Stealth is in charge until we get back. Go to him if there are any problems,” Sarge orders.

  18

  Deb…

  “Rye, I do love you and you know it, but I can’t leave my girls right now. They need me and they need you. After all this blows over, then I will go back to Oklahoma with you as long as you need to stay there. I give you my word on it,” I tell Rye. We’ve hit a rough patch in our relationship and the arguments or non-arguments are wearing thin on my nerves. Rye is all man and I love that about him. He doesn’t believe in arguing. He says something, and that’s the way it’s supposed to go with no argument. I like it. I hate to admit that, but I do. I love every minute of it. I’ve never known a man before that could handle my shit without a cross word. In my world, I have always needed to be in control but laying that control at Rye’s feet has been the most freeing experience of my life.