Damnable Grace

by Tillie Cole

  Then the van drove away.

  Chapter Eighteen

  AK

  “AK! You here?”

  Someone was hammering on my cabin’s door. I got up from the table and opened the door. Tanner stood there, rocking on his feet.

  “She here?” he asked as he came inside.

  “Phebe?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No, she’s gone to see Lilah. Why?”

  Tanner pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. He held it in the air. Ash came out from his bedroom, looking on. “No such thing as a fucking old folks’ home in that cult.”

  My jaw clenched as Tanner sat down. I sat down opposite and waited for him to continue. “Though I’ve found a Sapphira. Age fourteen. Blond, brown eyes, ninety pounds, Five foot one.”

  I frowned, wondering how he knew so fucking much about her. “Where?”

  He slammed down the paper and pushed it toward me. It was a spreadsheet, like an inventory or some shit. Shipping forms to Mexico, private accounts.

  “Meister ain’t just trafficking these bitches as hookers in the ghost town. The asshole is selling them. He gets them, uses them as whores, then ships them to Mexico to be sold to who-the-fuck-ever for whatever-the-fuck-ever” Tanner pointed to a row on the sheet. “Sapphira. Cult bitch. Sold by ‘Prophet Cain’—Judah—to Meister months ago. Meister has reels and reels of these order sheets. And he’s making a fucking mint selling these whores off to some dick in Mexico. Sapphira is getting shipped out soon. She’s on his latest form.” I felt the anger sweep through me like a storm. “Guessing the date Meister purchased Sapphira is about the time Judah told Phebe he’d sent Sapphira to the old people’s home, yeah?”

  I nodded, unable to speak. Then I got my shit together and slammed my fist down on the table. “She was in that ghost town with her all that time? She was there with Phebe and neither of them fucking knew it? Drugged. Out of their fucking minds.” Then the storm turned into a motherfucking hurricane. “And I was there! I could have gotten her out too!” I pushed my chair back, jumping from my seat. “Fuck!” I roared and ran my hands through my hair.

  “We gotta tell Ky and Styx. I need to go back in, I need to—”

  The door to the cabin flew open, cutting me off. “Is Grace here with Phebe?” Ky was fucking panting, his face red, breath fast.

  “No.” My eyebrows pulled down. “Phebe’s with Lilah.”

  Ky shook his head. “No she ain’t. I’ve been with Li all morning. Phebe never came.”

  As his words hit me, I felt my breathing sound in my ears. “She said she was going to Lilah’s.” Ky stared at me. “We got cameras on that fucking road, right?”

  Ky took in what I said. “Fuck! Grace disappeared playing hide-and-seek in the woods.”

  I didn’t think any further, just pushed out of my cabin and jumped on my bike. I heard my brothers do the same behind me as I raced up to the clubhouse. I jumped from my bike and ran through the door.

  Hush and Cowboy were in the bar. They were on their feet in seconds. “What’s wrong?” Hush asked.

  I heard Ky, Tanner and Ash run in behind me. “Cameras!” Ky shouted and ran behind the bar to the small side room where the security cameras were kept.

  Smiler came to work the monitors. “What you wanna see? And when?”

  “Perimeter road. ’Bout two hours ago,” I said, thinking of when Phebe left. I looked at the clock on the wall and felt my blood turn to ice. “Around eleven a.m.”

  Ky stilled and looked at me. “When those fuckers would be on the road.”

  Smiler scrolled through until he found the footage, and we saw it there before us in grainy black and white. Phebe walking out of the woods, standing on the edge of the road . . . waiting. She’d been fucking waiting for the fuckers.

  What the fuck?

  Bulging veins almost broke from my neck when I saw one of the fuckers grab Phebe and drag her back toward the car. Then out from the woods came Grace. I watched Phebe’s face as she obviously heard her. I saw her mouth open and scream something. Fuck, she was telling Grace to run. I could read it on her lips. But the asshole holding her slammed his hand over her mouth then bashed her head with the gun. She sagged forward, fighting consciousness. Another Klansmen took Grace before she’d even reached the edge of the woods and threw them both in the back of the van.

  They drove away.

  There was a heavy silence.

  “Get the prez,” Ky eventually said to Ash, words ice cold. “Get fucking everybody.” His tone was too calm, and with Ky, that meant he was about to fucking blow.

  Tanner ran out of the room to the office where the computers were held. Fuck knew what he was doing. But I couldn’t move. I was raging. Seething, Fucking growing killing mad. I just stared at the re-run of Phebe standing on the edge of that road, then being knocked the fuck out.

  Bitch had been giving herself up.

  She’d been going back.

  “Why . . . WHY?” I lost my grip on my anger. I picked up a chair and threw it across the room.

  Arms wrapped around me from behind and suddenly Flame was in my face. “Calm the fuck down.”

  “We’ll get her back,” Vike said in my ear. Brother after brother came running into the bar.

  Then Lilah came bursting in, tears pouring down her face. She ran to Ky. “We’ll get her back. I swear,” Ky said to his old lady

  I watched Lilah. I braced my body, prepping for anyone to dare and fucking lay blame at Phebe’s feet. Lilah looked at me, and I was ready, braced for a fucking fight. But then she said, “She said something to me yesterday. I have thought of little else since Grace went missing.”

  Lilah’s voice was thick with emotion. She shook her head. “She told me everything about her past. And she said she also had dreams. One in particular where Sapphira asked for her help. A dream where Sapphira was being drugged and held down by a man . . . just like Phebe had been in the ghost town.”

  I remembered her nightmare. I remembered her holding her hand out in the air when she was still asleep, calling out Sapphira’s name, gripping someone’s phantom hand in her own. “She remembered.” I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “She fucking remembered that Meister had her daughter too.”

  Lilah’s head fell in disbelief. “It is true? He has Sapphira?”

  I nodded. “Just found out.”

  “She will never forgive herself that Grace followed her and was captured by those men.” And fuck, Lilah was right. If things went to shit . . . if we didn’t get them back . . .

  “We’ll get her,” Vike said, clearly seeing what I was thinking.

  “Church!” Ky ordered. We piled into church and took our usual seats. Styx burst in, face full of thunder—the fucking Hangmen mute was out in force.

  With the slam of the door, church was in motherfucking session.

  *****

  Four hours. Four hours of waiting for Tanner to find something. Four hours, driving myself insane wondering why Red hadn’t told me what she suspected—that Meister had Sapphira.

  Why the fuck hadn’t she said shit to me? I would have helped.

  Boots came rushing into the room, and I got to my feet. Hush and Cowboy pulled their bandanas off their faces. “Nothing,” Hush said.

  Cowboy nodded. “Gone. Everything was cleared out. Fresh tire marks on the ground, so they haven’t been gone long. About three large vans, I’d say. A couple of trucks too.”

  I sank down on my seat. Ky was pacing the room. “Where the fuck would they have gone?”

  I remembered Tanner’s sheet on my kitchen table. “Mexico.” Styx and Ky looked right at me. “On the sheet that had Sapphira’s name on, an order sheet or some shit, it had Mexico as the destination.”

  The door opened, and Tank and Tanner came in, Bull following behind. “Drop-off tomorrow, over the border. Some isolated farming community about twenty miles out of La Cruz.” Tanner read the notes in his hand. “Buyer meets them there and they do a drop-off. Pric
k called Garcia.” He looked up. “That’s all the info that Meister had recorded.”

  The minute Garcia’s name was out of Tanner’s mouth, Styx and Ky went completely fucking still. The temperature in the room seemed to drop about twenty degrees. “What?’ I said and watched the prez and the VP look at each other. Silent, unspoken communication. “What?” I asked louder. Ky’s blue eyes were almost black, pupils blown. His skin was mottling with red, and his hands were clenched into fists.

  “That’s Diablo turf,” Tank said. We go onto their turf, that’s a declaration of war.”

  We all looked to Styx, who had lifted his hands. He looked at Smiler and signed, “Get in touch with Chavez, the Diablo prez. Tell him we want through the border, undetected, and we need to meet in a neutral place to do it.” He rolled his neck. “We meet them tonight and get in by morning. We gotta be there when the trucks arrive. Surprise the fuckers.” He looked at me. “I know that’s your bitch, but we need you and Smiler to get us a plan together. Tanner?” Styx looked at the White Prince. “You got us some eyes on this farm place?”

  Tanner nodded. “Old, but it’s something.”

  “Get it to AK. He needs to see the plans.”

  “This treaty with the Diablos gonna stand when we all rock up in their territory?” Cowboy asked Styx.

  “Guess we’ll fucking see,” Ky answered for Styx.

  “We’re all going,” Styx signed. “Bikes and trucks.”

  “We’re taking Rider too,” I said and felt every pair eyes on me. I looked up. “You ain’t seen what this Meister prick does to these bitches. We have.” I pointed to Flame, Vike, Hush and Cowboy. I shifted on my seat. “Fuck knows what state we’ll be getting them back in. ’Bout three hours thirty from here to La Cruz. Something goes down, or he’s hurt Phebe or Grace, Rider’ll be needed. And if Sapphira is there, that bitch has been getting raped and drugged non-stop for months.” I shook my head. “I ain’t taking no chances with any of it. He’s coming. He’s the only medic that knows how to be on the road when shit goes down. Like it or not, he fought with us in the last war, and we need him now more than anyone wants to admit.”

  “I’ll get him,” Smiler said and left the room.

  “We leave in an hour,” Styx signed. “Gather all the guns we can.” The gavel was slammed on the table, and we all fled to get our shit together. I saw Lilah waiting in the bar, but I swung outta the back door and onto my bike. I was at my cabin in minutes and gathering my guns. I pulled my favorite sniper rifle from my trunk and made sure I had a fuck-ton of bullets. Ash came bursting in the door, face serious, and moved to the same trunk. He took the gun he’d been practicing with and loaded it up.

  I put my hand on his arm. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  Ash stilled. “I’m coming.”

  “Like fuck you are!” I snapped.

  The kid straightened his shoulders. “I’m driving the van with Slash. Rider’s in the back with all the medical supplies. Styx ordered it.”

  I stood right in front of him, watching his determined black eyes meet mine, unwavering. “You get we could be walking into a fucking warzone, kid? You get some of us might not make it back? This Meister fucker ain’t no joke.” I held up my gun. “We’ll kill. A lot.”

  Ash tipped his chin up, defiant. “I’m ready,” he said confidently. “I can shoot. And I’m ready for a war if we get one.”

  I watched this sixteen-year-old kid. Watched as he changed from a kid to a fucking man right before my eyes. If I wasn’t so full of anger and hate for Meister, I’d have been fucking proud. I grabbed hold of his prospect cut and yanked him forward. “Don’t do nothing stupid. Stick by me or Flame.”

  “Okay,” he said and released a long breath. I gathered my knives, my Glock and more ammo than I’d ever need and threw it all into a bag. When I stood up, Ash was looking down at the gun in his hand.

  Fuck, he looked so young.

  I walked over to him, waiting until he noticed me. “You might need to kill people today or tomorrow. You come, you fight. That’s Hangmen code.”

  His cheeks paled, but he replied, “I know.”

  I wanted to say more. But the truth was, the first kill you ever made was not something you could prep for. You do it, change forever, then get the fuck on with life and kill some more.

  If it happened, it happened.

  I loaded the van with supplies, then jumped on my bike. Flame and Vike came roaring up beside me. They each flicked their chins as Ash and Slash got in the van and pulled away.

  Twenty minutes later, the Hangmen rolled out of the compound as one unit. And with every mile made, I let my hatred of Meister build inside me—fuel to this fucking mission. Or massacre, I thought to myself. Because if that dick had gone anywhere near Phebe, I’d kill him worse than any of those fuckers that took my brother. I’d make him pay, strip his flesh and slice through his guts. And as I looked to my left and right, Flame and Viking by my side, I knew they’d be with me too.

  Meister was going down, and I was getting back my bitch.

  There was no other choice.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Phebe

  I did not know how long we were in the van, but it felt like hours. Grace had cried in my arms until she fell asleep, exhausted. But I never let her go. I kept her tightly to my chest as I thought of what lay ahead.

  Fear. I had nothing within me but pure fear.

  The van came to a stop, and I tensed when I heard voices outside. The voices were low, but deep and most certainly male. I trembled when I heard the sound of feet moving to the doors of the van. Grace woke and raised her head, a confused look on her pretty face as the doors flew open.

  The men who had taken us reached inside and tore Grace from my arms. Grace screamed and reached out for me. I jumped out of the van, trying to get to her, but a hand wrapped around my hair and wrenched me back. “No!” I screamed, fighting to be free. “Grace!” I broke down in tears when the men led her into a building and out of my sight.

  I looked all around me and did not recognize the place where we were. The air was as hot and sticky as the Hangmen’s home, the sky still as clear. Fields of green were all around us. A water tank sat in the middle of several buildings, but there was nothing else for miles.

  “He wants her in Building Two,” one of the men said. With his hand still in my hair, I was dragged down a dirt path. I lashed out, trying to see around me for Grace, but there was nothing. Worse, I could no longer hear Grace’s screams.

  Just silence.

  Why was she being so quiet?

  We stopped at a building. The man holding me opened the door and threw me inside. I landed hard on the stone floor but scrambled to my feet just as the door shut behind me. I bashed my clenched fists against the wood, yelling to be out. But after minutes and minutes of trying, screaming . . . I broke down into sobs and slid down the door.

  What have I done?

  I looked around the room. There was nothing but an old table and chair in the center. Then I thought of the man’s order. He wants her in Building Two . . .

  He . . . Meister.

  On my hands and knees, I crawled into the corner of the room. I curled against the wall and tried to picture Grace. What were they doing to her? What would they do to her?

  Meister. He had coveted her in New Zion. And I had just delivered her to him on a silver platter.

  I chased back the vomit creeping up my throat. Lilah . . . she would never forgive me for this.

  What have you done, Phebe?

  The sound of the knob turning in the door made me freeze. I held still, my heart beating a frantic rhythm. I kept my eyes fixed on the door . . . then lost all strength when Meister walked though. He was just as big as I remembered. He looked at me across the room, his blue eyes meeting mine, and a wave of memories rushed to my mind. I remembered being chained to a bed . . . I remembered being kept naked, only given clothes when he claimed I had earned it.

  I choked o
n a cry when I remembered being in a bar of some sort. On Meister’s lap, riding Meister in a room full of people . . . then I turned . . . I turned and . . .

  . . . AK?

  Kind eyes.

  The tree . . .

  . . . my AK.

  The soles of Meister’s black boots stepped toward me on the hard ground. My muscles trembled as he stopped before me. I heard every breath I took echoing in my ears. I felt the pulse in my neck, temple and wrists race in an unsteady beat.

  He bent down. I closed my eyes, yet I still felt his gaze on me. I felt the daggers his eyes threw and the tension he held in his enormous body. I flinched when a finger landed on my face. My nostrils flared as I desperately tried to control my breathing. I wanted to throw his hand from me, I wanted to lash out and hurt him.

  But fear held me ransom.

  “Where have you been, my little whore?” his deep, rough voice asked. I froze, my tears falling down my cheeks. A short laugh spilled from his lips. “But I know, don’t I, Liebchen?” His hand left my cheek and pushed into my hair. Suddenly, my head was ripped back and I felt his breath on my face. “Open your fucking eyes, slut,” he demanded. I automatically did as he said, and my gaze clashed with his.

  My stomach fell. He was seething. The skin on his face was red, and his muscles were strained. His teeth were bared, and veins bulged from his neck. He yanked my hair back again, and I cried out. “You were with one of them, weren’t you, whore? Fucking them, fucking their cocks like the cult cum-slut that you are.”

  Meister reached down and slammed his hand between my legs. I screamed, unable to hold back my reaction when he dug his fingers into my folds, ripping at the flesh.

  Meister’s rough, unshaven cheek rubbed against mine, burning my skin. “After everything I gave you. After saving you from dying along with all the other dumbfucks at that cult, this is how you repay me?”

  Shaking and fearful, I managed to open my mouth and ask, “What have you done with her?”

  Meister’s head drew back, and he smiled. “You mean the little eight-year-old pussy you brought me as a gift? The one I’d wanted in the cult from the minute I saw her?” His malicious smile caused my skin to shiver. “Nothing. She is safe. A girl as pretty as her, untouched and a virgin, is going to make me fucking fortune.” He pulled me closer by my hair. “That gift almost . . . almost makes up for your disobedience. You’re a good little whore-fisher, Phebe. Bringing me only the top-quality bait for my buyers. I should have you on staff. We’d make a fortune putting your skills to use.”