by Tillie Cole
“Tank!” I yelled. “Those motherfuckin’ fascists have taken my bitch!”
Tank paled and threw his head back. “Fuck!”
All the brothers began to gather in the yard, all glaring at Tank, waiting for intel. My skin felt on fire with the need to chase tail and get my woman back in my arms where she belonged, but I had no fuckin’ idea where to start. And what the hell did the Klan want with her? How the fuck did they know she was here?
“My source, Tanner, heard Landry order the last of his fuckin’ redneck minions to move against us, to distract us with the IED, then extract the beautiful bitch…”
Tank hesitantly looked at Styx, who had moved beside me, and his eyes winced.
Styx jerked his chin at Tank, signaling for him to continue.
Tank sighed. “To take out Styx’s old lady. They were told they’d know her, as she looked like a goddamn supermodel. Mae was the target. He didn’t know more than that.”
My mind raced and adrenalin pumped through my veins. Fuck, this must be what Flame felt like twenty-four-seven. I wanted to kill, murder every bastard that fucked with my woman.
Styx was a statue beside me, but I knew he was teetering on the edge of losing his shit, ready to go track and slice up the Nazis. “What did they want her for? What did Landry want her for?”
Tank shook his head. “Tanner didn’t know. She weren’t going back to Klan HQ, that’s for sure. Looks like it was a cash run. Came from outside. Someone wanted her and no doubt paid a shit ton for the Klan to carry out the dirty work. Whoever it was didn’t want us to know it was them.”
I stepped forward, quickly losing my last shred of patience. “We need a name, a location, something to go off. We don’t get it, I have fuck all problem going over to Klan Kunt with a motherfuckin’ flame thrower in hand and an arsenal of semi-automatics to tear the fuckin’ place apart.
Tank ran his hand over his shank scar, eyes to the ground as he thought shit through. I never broke my stare on the brother, thinking up some goddamn creative ways of slitting Nazi throats. Tank eventually lifted his head and addressed Styx.
“Tanner gets us this intel and he’s dead. We gotta give him our protection. Hell, we’re gonna have to keep him in hiding here. They’ll lynch him if he’s found out giving up their business, and knowing Landry, he will find out. I ain’t losing one of my best friends without doing everything in my power to cover his ass first.”
“He ride?” Bull asked.
“Like a motherfuckin’ bat outta hell,” Tank replied. “Strong bastard too and a fuckin’ genius. Can hack into anything, get intel on anyone, anytime. The brother got skills… skills we could use. We got more enemies piling up at our door than we can count. Tanner could be a fuckin’ golden asset.”
“Why the fuck’s someone like that in the Klan?” Smiler asked, the question I’m sure we all were asking.
Tank’s eyes narrowed as he looked at each brother. “His old man brought him up White Power and hating every fucker else. He’s rooted deep in Texas Klan, never known no different. Not sure you’re getting how fucked they’d all be if he left. He’s their motherfuckin’ golden child.”
“Who’s his old man, Hitler?” Vike tried to joke, but Tank’s jaw clenched and he shook his head.
“His family line ain’t public knowledge and that’s they way he likes it.”
Styx broke from his frozen position and walked forward, signing, “You’re a Hangmen first and this racist fuck’s friend second, so you better get to sharing. And brother, that ain’t a request.”
It was the first time I’d seen Tank pissed at Styx, but knowing Styx wasn’t up for bullshitting, he replied. “Sometimes you’re a fuckin’ cunt, Styx. A goddamn cunt! I swore I’d never tell! The guy did a shit ton for me when I wanted to get out of the Klan, and if it weren’t for him, I’d have been with the boatman and now burning in hell,” Tank hissed.
Styx remained stoic and crossed his arms over his chest, a hard, expectant expression on his face.
No one at the club fucked with the Hangmen Mute.
“Fuck! Fine! His old man is… Governor Ayers,” Tank spat icily.
“Governor Ayers is a Nazi?” I asked tightly, Styx’s eyes widening. That guy controlled all’a Texas. And we paid him a shit ton of green annually to overlook our businesses. Hell, we went to war with White Power, we got feds and cops suddenly coming our way from every fuckin’ angle.
“Fuckin’ Imperial Grand Wizard of all Texas,” Tank said. “The guy is one of the leaders for the whole US of A.”
“Fuck!” Vike spat, and Tank’s shoulders sagged.
“What?” I asked Tank.
“That’s not all.”
“Then fuckin’ speak!” Styx signed, all his patience gone, and I swore Tank was actually gonna try and send his prez to the boatman. Bull put his hand on Tank’s shoulder, holding him back as Styx smirked, taunting the brother to even try.
Some fucker wanted to kidnap Mae. Styx weren’t to be fucked with right now… and neither was I. I was with Styx all the way. Those Klan fuckers took my bitch.
“Governor Ayers’s little brother is Johnny Landry… Landry is Tanner’s uncle. A real fuckin’ family affair.”
The brothers split into disbelieving rants and bouts of cussing, but tired of this shit, I pushed past Styx and faced Tank. “Enough of this bullshit! Get this fascist brother here… now! We get the info we need. Then we strike the bastards. We get Lilah back, protect Mae and Madds, then deal with the fallout later. We got more connections than that fuck will have. The Hangmen are not only nationwide; we’re fuckin’ international. We got thousands of connections that Wizard could only dream of. That cunt needs to fear us. We’re the mother fuckin’ Hangmen!”
The brothers around me rocked from side to side, muttering their agreement, clenching their fists—they were pissed and they were with me.
I glanced over my shoulder at Styx. “Prez? You in?”
Styx’s eyes burned with fire, and he nodded. I went around each of my brothers, who all nodded their heads in agreement. Flame was at the back, the brother having just walked out into the yard from guarding Maddie. He was already pacing, thirsting for revenge, every stacked muscle in his body tight with fury. The blood-curdling smile—his gums reading PAIN—that spread on his face when I looked to him for an answer told me what I needed to know. But then I caught someone behind Flame, someone with black hair and a pair of wolf eyes… a tiny bitch whose heart was fuckin’ breaking.
“Mae,” I said in exasperation. “Can’t be out here. You know this. Club business.”
Styx, having heard me say Mae’s name, plowed through the brothers to take his bitch in his arms. Her huge, tearful eyes looked up at him. “Someone has taken Lilah?” she asked, devastation in her voice.
I felt my heart crack right along with hers, right down the middle. Shit. This was why old ladies were kept away. They didn’t need to know shit until there was shit for them to know.
Styx nodded his head at his old lady apprehensively, and I watched him sign, “We’re gonna get her back, and we’ll kill the cunts responsible. Babe, I swear, we’re gonna get your sister back.”
Mae swallowed fearfully at seeing her man so pissed. She glanced away. Then her gaze met mine. More tears fell down her cheeks, and she held out her hand, gesturing for me to go to her.
Styx watched on with a scowl and sharply jerked his chin for me to move closer. Clearing my throat from a huge fuckin’ lump clogging up my windpipe, I slowly edged forward and took Mae’s shaking hand, licking my lips as I worked up the nerve to meet her eyes. All the brothers fell silent… even Flame.
Ky, keep it the fuck together, I told myself. Keep it the fuck together for your woman. You’re gonna get her back. Nothing bad has happened to her.
“Ky?” Mae said quietly as I waited for her to rip me a new one. “Bring her back to us. To me, Maddie… to you…” She trailed off, and I thought hell must have frozen over or some shit. Mae had warned me o
ff Lilah more times than I could count, but here she was giving me her blessing?
What the—
A fuckin’ crushingly sad smile played on Mae’s trembling lips. “You love her.”
It wasn’t a question, and we all knew it was the fuckin’ truth. Yeah, I’d given club slut pussy for that woman. Hell, she just fuckin’ got me, got under my skin… a woman pinning me down and really getting me for more than just my cock.
“Yeah, I fuckin’ do,” I rasped. “More than my goddamned life. That bitch is everything. Every-fuckin’-thing.”
Mae’s hand squeezed mine and she breathed a shaky sigh of relief. “She loves you too.”
My chest wound so tight I couldn’t fuckin’ breathe. She loved me. She loved me. She loved me.
“You were saving her, Ky. Day by day, you were saving her. I saw it. I did not like it at first, thought you would eventually hurt her, but you didn’t. In fact, you were accomplishing the impossible.” She suddenly hitched a breath, and sucking up some strength from somewhere down deep, she added, “Lilah needs you to save her again now, Kyler. She needs you to save her life… We all do.” Mae’s eyes dropped and she whispered, “I beg you to save her.”
Reaching down, I pressed a kiss to the back of Mae’s hand and said, “I promise you, sugar. I’m gonna save my woman… or I’m gonna fuckin’ die trying.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lilah
“Wakey, wakey, Blondie!”
I awoke with a jolt. A strong scent of ammonia filled my nostrils, forcing me to sit up to avoid the putrid odor.
Every part of me ached. My head hurt, I struggled to open my eyes, but I was unable to move my arms and legs, for they were tied together with rope.
Fluttering my eyes open, my heart began to race as the strange men from the river sat before me, smiling salaciously, as I sat together with them in a darkened box.
The one with greasy brown, stringy hair reached forward and ran his dry rough hands up my leg. Tears filled my eyes.
Suddenly, a loud knock sounded at the rear of the tinny box, and I realized I was in a van. “Get ready. Buyers will be here in two.”
Buyers?
Frowning, I returned my attention to the men sitting before me. The man who was fondling my leg sighed heavily and ripped away his touch. I exhaled slowly, relieved as he signaled to his men to move out of the van.
The doors opened and immediately slammed shut, trapping me in the darkened vehicle. I frantically tried to think of what to do. Who were the men? What did they want with me? What was to be my fate?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to suppress the sob traveling up my throat but failed as a cry slipped past my lips and water began spilling like a waterfall from my eyes. Were they going to kill me? Or… take me against my will?
Ky’s face flashed before my eyes, and another sob ripped free. Would he be looking for me? And Mae and Maddie, would they be frightened? Would any of the Hangmen know where to look? Would they know the identity of my captors?
They would not, would they? I was lost to them. They had not known I’d gone to the river to pray. Ky… Ky would have thought I ran away…
Suddenly, with the loud creak of metal grinding metal, the double doors at the back of the van opened, and the brown-haired man who touched my leg stretched out his strong arm and clasped his hand around the rope at my feet.
I scrambled to get away, but there was nowhere to go. With an almighty pull, the man dragged my legs forward, then aggressively heaved me out of the van, releasing me once through the doors. I hit graveled ground with a thud, my cheek scraping against the dirt.
“There, one beautiful bitch found at the Hangmen compound,” my captor said curtly. Hearing the shuffle of feet by my head, I looked up to see several men surrounding me, but from my position, I could not see whom.
Feeling a hand run over my hair, I stiffened.
“This is not her!” somebody snapped. “You were to retrieve the woman with black hair, the woman belonging to Styx, the president!”
Dread raced through my limbs.
Mae? The captors were meant to have taken Mae.
“Our instructions were to take the hottest bitch at the compound. We all agreed this was her. Bitch made her capture easy too. Down at the river, sprouting all kind’a religious shit, just waiting for us to show up.”
Strong fingers wrapped around my bicep and I was hauled to my feet. Letting a pained wail leave my mouth, I squeezed my eyes shut at the agony shooting through my arm. I swayed unsteadily as I fought for my balance on tied feet.
A silence engulfed me, save night owls hooting and crickets chirping. My heavy breathing sounding like a hurricane in the quietness. I bravely opened my eyes and all the air in my lungs whooshed from my chest, leaving me empty, startled… in complete and utter shock.
Five faces stared at me. Five men dressed in sacred white tunics, all with long hair and beards of various colors. Five faces I recognized, their identities etched on my mind. But two of them were identical… I was so confused.
My eyes dipped and, in a shaky voice, I greeted, “Father, Brother Luke, Brother Micah, Brother…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say in greeting to the other two men.
A finger slipped below my chin and lifted my face. I was met with the brown eyes of Brother Cain. But these eyes seemed harsher than the last time I saw him all those months ago. His mouth seemed sterner. He seemed changed. “B-Brother… Cain,” I whispered.
Brother Cain shook his head and bared his teeth. “I am Brother Judah, whore.” He pointed behind him to another man, another Brother Cain. “That is your new prophet, my twin brother… Prophet Cain.”
Letting out a sharp gasp, my eyes widened. Prophet Cain had ascended? Prophet Cain had… survived? We all believed he had—
Prophet Cain stepped forward, interrupting my musings. His face seemed less harsh than that of his twin, but I was not fooled. Mae had told me about Cain, a man she grew to know as Rider.
Prophet Cain placed a hand on Brother Judah’s shoulder and Judah stepped back. Prophet Cain turned to me and asked, “Do you remember me, sister?”
I dropped my eyes and replied, “Yes, my lord. Although I only met you once, I remember you.”
“You are a Cursed? You are Delilah? Am I correct?” Wincing at that name, I reluctantly nodded my head. “Yes, my lord. I am a temptress, a sinful woman of Eve.”
“Do you know of this woman, brothers?” Prophet Cain asked the men behind him.
Shivers ran down my spine, and I suddenly felt nauseous waiting for the answers.
“We do, Master,” someone answered. A cough sounded as the speaker cleared his throat. “She was previously my daughter, until she tempted Brother Luke and Micah, and Prophet David proclaimed her to be a Cursed. The devil lay with her mother in her sleep. We did not know this until she was six. She is sin personified.”
“A Rapunzel whore,” Brother Luke said viciously.
“Brothers, calm,” Prophet Cain, said, seeming annoyed at the brothers’ tones, before turning back to me and holding out his hand. “Come, sister. You best return with us to rejoin your people in your new home.”
Unable to hide my surprise, my head rose to meet the gazes of the brothers. I asked, “Our people? They survived? We still have a commune? I was led to believe everyone had died.”
Brother Judah stepped forward and gripped my long blond hair. I resisted screaming out loud. I was being punished. I had spoken out of turn, to an elder, and I was being punished.
“You listen to me, whore! Our people survived and we are stronger than ever. The Lord brought you back to us and away from those impure men you have been living with in sin. Your soul can only be saved by the Lord and his chosen people. We, your people, are united strong and on a crusade for the Lord.”
Prophet Cain, stepped forward and pulled Judah’s hand from my hair. “Judah! Calm down!”
Brother Judah released me from his hold and my scalp throbbed. I cast an appreciati
ve glance at Prophet Cain. “My apologies, sir,” I mumbled and instantly warred with my emotions.
Our people lived. They could rid me of my evil and save me. Finally, I could be rid of this devil-spawned sin… But all I could think of was Ky—Ky’s beautiful face, his smile, his long blond hair that I could tangle my fingers in, his soft beard, his piercing blue eyes… his smile… his beautiful smile that he only had for me. Lord, Ky! I wanted him…
“Where is Salome?”
My gaze collided again with Prophet Cain’s. “Answer me, sister. Where is Salome? Is she still at the compound? And Magdalene? Is she there, held captive by those sinners too?”
I stared and stared at him, not wanting to speak. Seconds passed by, but my mouth did not open. Suddenly, a hand struck my face; the blow was blinding. All I could see were stars.
“Speak to the Lord’s prophet, whore!” I lifted my head to see Brother Micah’s angry face glaring at me. Micah, he had changed so much. That little boy I once called friend was gone. In his place stood this brutal and hateful man.
But I would not speak. Mae and Maddie… I had to protect my sisters.
Fire lit in Prophet Cain’s eyes as he looked upon Micah, and he swerved to face Brother Judah. “We take her back to Zion and we will revisit how to take back Salome and Magdalene. The revelation must be met! To save us all, it must be met!” Prophet Cain then faced the other brothers. “Do not hit her again. She will cooperate more if she is not struck by you.”
Brother Luke nodded at Prophet Cain, then lunged forward and took me by my bound wrists, wrenching me forward. My father joined me at my other side and hurt ached in my heart. He was my father; he had renounced me. Right now he was looking upon me like he was staring down the devil himself.
I meant nothing to him. I was nothing to him. He had truly renounced me, and a deep cave of rejection burrowed in my stomach.
“Hey! What about our money?” a male voice shouted behind us as my father and Brother Luke began hauling me into a thick forest, my feet dragging, still bound, along the ground.