Heart Recaptured

by Tillie Cole

  At least he drove a Fat Boy; that bought him some extra points.

  Tank dismounted and walked toward us with Bull in tow and the skinhead trailing at the rear. The guy was built, had a shaved head and more Swastikas on his body than Hitler had in the Reichstag.

  As Tanner Ayers walked closer, eying Styx and me like a hunter watches his prey, I realized the man was a fuckin’ unit. At least six-four and no less than two hundred and fifty pounds.

  Tank stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding a backpack. Tanner had one too. Tank pointed at Tanner. “Prez, Ky, this is Tanner.” Tank faced Tanner. “Tann, this is the Hangmen prez Styx and our VP Ky.”

  Tanner stepped forward, all muscles and stern face, wearing a wife beater and jeans. He was one tough-looking motherfucker. Styx jerked his chin in greeting, and Tank looked to Tann. “He’s mute. Don’t talk to no one but his old lady and Ky.”

  Tanner nodded sharply, the sign of a man who’d been following orders his whole life. “The Hangmen Mute,” he said, nodding at Styx.

  Stepping down the stairs, I met the Nazi face to face. He never flinched as I pulled out a smoke, placed it between my lips, lit it, then blew the smoke out in his face. Gripping the smoke with my thumb and index finger, I asked. “So, Nazi, tell me. You got a problem with my man Bull here?”

  Tanner clenched his jaw, his blue eyes boring into mine, and he gritted his teeth. “No.”

  Looking over my shoulder at Bull, my gaze tightened. Bull was Tank’s best friend, but right now, he was as rigid as fuck with this neo cunt present. His huge tribal tattooed arms crossed over his chest and his whole body was tense.

  Stepping up to Tanner, my toes met his, and I said, “Bull’s Maori. Ain’t one shred of Aryan in his blood. No fiery crosses or white Anglo-Saxon stirring in his veins. So I’ll ask again. You sure you ain’t got a problem with our dark-skinned tribal brother?”

  I caught Tank cuss behind Tanner, but Tanner never flinched. “I ain‘t got no problem with Bull. I ain’t got no problem with any of your brothers.”

  “Really? ‘Cause all those pretty swastikas, white power brotherhood flags, skull and crossbones, and your fuckin’ SS inkings say otherwise.”

  Tanner dropped his rucksack at his feet and spread his arms wide. “Brought up in the life. Believed for a long fuckin’ time that we weren’t all equal, that we shouldn’t mix, and that all that was important was the white Christian race, but not anymore. I’m twenty-eight, heir to one of the biggest Klan’s in the States, and found myself fuckin’ obsessing about a fuckin’ bitch spic. Let’s just say I ain’t the poster boy no more, not when I’m getting hard for Mexican pussy.”

  Bull seemed to relax a little and Tank stepped forward, meeting Styx on the steps to the compound. “I’m fuckin’ vouching for Tann, prez. Any blowback if he rats or causes shit and it’s on me.”

  I glanced back at Styx and the brother met my eyes.

  Seems legit, he said with his gaze.

  I shrugged. Then Tanner spoke. “Choose to trust me or don’t. You’ll see over time that I ain’t no rat. But I got shit to tell you about the bitch that’s been taken, and I’m hoping you know something about the cunts that paid to get her delivered. ‘Cause I ain’t got no fuckin’ idea who these asswipes are, and honestly, I ain’t ever seen a setup like it before. Protection from state, but that looks like it’s my old man. They obviously cut a deal with the Klan. I tracked a shit ton of money going to several accounts. These cunts got more than governor protection too. Could be fed protection or even higher up in Washington.”

  Adrenalin surged in my blood as intel came slipping from his lips. “So it’s true you’re a fuckin’ technical whizz or some shit?”

  Tanner nodded and picked up his rucksack. “Ex-army communications, then took over laundering for the Klan, skimming the businesses. Ain’t much I can’t forge, crack, or break.”

  Styx clicked his fingers and signed, “Meeting. Now. Let’s find out who took your woman.”

  I called his order out loud and headed for church, only to turn back to Tanner and say, “You find the fuckers who took my bitch and we’ll be good.”

  Tanner’s expression turned to one of relief, and he replied, “I already found where she’s been taken. I just have to work out who they are and how we get her back.”

  *****

  “I managed to break into my Uncle Landry’s email and personal bank account and found two matching contacts. Someone ordered the Klan to attack the compound and snatch one of your chicks, and they paid them around a hundred grand to do so,” Tanner informed us, switching on his laptop and bringing up some files.

  “A hundred grand? Who the hell wanted Lilah that bad, and more to the point, who the fuck knew she was here?” Smiler asked, leaning forward to stare at Tanner’s screen.

  “Instructions were short but precise. Retrieve a woman living with the Hangmen. She’d be recognizable, as she was stunningly gorgeous, had long black hair and strange blue eyes. The men were to take her unharmed to a meet point and hand her over. Looks like the idiots cound’t follow even the simplest of orders.”

  My teeth clenched as I listened to this shit, and Styx’s fist slammed down on the table. The fuckers had wanted Mae. No mention or description of Lilah, or Maddie for that matter. The target had been Mae. And they’d taken the wrong fuckin’ bitch.

  “I managed to track the drop site,” Tanner said.

  Then Tank cut in. “And the men that took her? Who are they?”

  Tanner looked to Tank. “Low-level disposables. Last of Landry’s Brownshirts.”

  “Shit!” Tank spat.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Viking asked. “I swear if y’all start spewing German, I’m switching chapters!”

  Tank shot Vike a dark look and AK smacked him upside the head.

  “Tank? Explain,” I ordered, verbalizing Styx’s sign.

  “The men who took Lilah will already be with Hades. Landry sent the last of the redneck fucks he wanted to cull from his Klan. They will have delivered, then been disposed of… It’s standard MO.”

  “But we got the drop site?” I asked.

  Tanner began tapping away on his laptop, then seconds later, turned the screen to me and Styx, a map on show with a huge fucking red dot where the drop site had been.

  Leaning forward I studied the map. “In the middle of fuckin’ nowhere, bout forty miles out.”

  Tanner swerved back the laptop and brought something else up. When he turned back the screen, the map this time was military, showing a huge base just beyond where the red dot had been.

  “Military,” AK whispered. “Still government owned?” he asked Tanner.

  Tanner shook his head. “Purchased months back by a private bidder. From what I can tell, it was a hush-hush cash deal. No fly zone and off surveillance cameras was part of the deal. Whoever bought this place didn’t wanna be found. And those folks that didn’t wanna be found look like they got your girl.”

  I sat back and frowned, racking my tired brain for who the fuck wanted to send us a message from the military. New ammo dealers maybe?

  I voiced my idea out loud, and Styx shrugged and signed, “Maybe.”

  Tanner was furiously writing on the laptop with AK guiding him, when suddenly Tanner sat back, eyebrows furrowed. “I got a name,” he said.

  “What?” Cowboy asked.

  “I got a name of the buyer. Took a fuckin’ age, but AK here gave me an idea of where to look.”

  “And?” I pushed, leaning forward.

  All color drained from AK’s face and he stilled.

  “What? Who the fuck is it?” I shouted, close to losing my shit.

  Tanner looked to AK, and I frowned.

  “Tanner, I’m telling you now to speak!”

  Tanner looked at the screen and read, “Judah David.”

  I stared at AK and shrugged. “Why you acting like that? Who the fuck is Judah David?”

  AK looked at me and then Styx. “It was the cosign
er,” he said, and Tanner searched the screen.

  “Well?” I pushed.

  “Cosigner is… Yeah. The cosigner has the name Cain… Cain David.”

  All the fuckin’ air leapt outta my lungs and every single brother around the table froze.

  Cain.

  Cain?

  MOTHERFUCKING CAIN!!!!

  “Rider,” I hissed, and slammed my gaze to Styx. Styx was burning in silent rage, all the cords in his neck strained and his eyes bulging with anger.

  Losing his shit, Styx jumped from his chair, picked the fucker up, and launched it against the wall, wood splintering and smashing to pieces on the floor.

  Standing, my fists smacked down on the table and I screamed, “CAIN!”

  Flame began his psycho pacing, ripping at his skin with his fingernails, and I gripped onto my hair. Cain had got away. That fuckin’ rat got away and now he got my girl. Every bone in my body locked.

  Cain was the heir of that fucked-up place, and AK had taken out Prophet David… That meant…

  “He’s the prophet now,” I said out loud.

  “What?” Viking asked.

  My eyes found Styx, who was staring at me in shock.

  “Rider—Cain—he was heir to The Order, right?”

  Styx nodded and I saw the realization hit.

  “AK put a slug through that old cunt David’s head, which means…”

  “Cain would become the prophet if he survived… and Mae let him go. That fuckin’ rat got loose and now he’s the fuckin’ leader!” AK spat.

  “Everyone sit the fuck down,” Styx ordered through sign, and we all did as he said.

  I was seething, twitching, going insane. Rider… Cain… The Order… Fuck!

  Maddie’s words circled my head. Prophet David said he would return if he were to ever be killed. He was to be resurrected to seek retribution on those that wronged him! He has returned—I just know it—and he has taken Lilah! They will kill her. They will make an example of her desertion!

  She had known. That bitch had believed those end of days fuckers would come back. And they had Lilah. What the hell were they doing to her?

  A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and Styx jerked his chin. I got that he was asking if I was okay. I nodded and waved for him to speak.

  “We need to call on the chapters again. Same plan as last time. We go in and kill all those living there… but Rider is mine,” he signed. “We need to kill these asswipes once and for all.”

  All the brothers murmured their agreement, and I pulled out my cell, ready to bring in the cavalry. But just as I was about to start the ring around, AK held up hand for me to wait, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen.

  “What is it?” I asked, losing patience.

  AK’s eyes narrowed on the map on the screen. “This ain’t nothing like last time. This place, it’s a fuckin’ fortress. The last commune was wide open, badly protected. Those men posing as guards weren’t trained. It was easy for us to go and tear up flesh.” AK pointed to the map, and I could see his mind ticking over. “This place has more land, it’s closed in, has several buildings, all of which are thick-walled, meant to withstand an attack. Place like this probably has underground bunkers.” AK looked up at Styx. “Whole new ballgame, prez. We don’t know how many people are in there, how tight they’ve got it guarded. But after what happened to the last commune, they’d be stupid if they didn’t prepare for a similar attack.” AK shook his head. “We all know Rider, prez. That guy weren’t stupid. In fact, he was the opposite. My guess is he’s rebuilt, reinforced, and ready for a Hangmen assault.”

  “You saying we couldn’t take those Jesus freaks?” I snapped.

  AK’s gaze met mine. “I’m saying if we go in all guns blazing, not all of us will be coming out.”

  “Smiler, AK… Tanner,” Styx signed, and the brothers all looked his way, Tanner shocked to be included. “Y’all are ex-forces. What you thinking?”

  Smiler glanced at his brothers and said, “We don’t go nowhere until we know what we’re dealing with. We need surveillance, numbers of people, list of ammo they got, schedules, and blueprints of that base.”

  AK nodded. “Agreed. We go in blind, we die. Gotta remember those fuckers believe in dying for their cause. Nothing worse than going up against folk that ain’t afraid to die. I’ve been there and done that in Afghanistan… I was the only fucker that made it out alive.”

  I’d been sitting here boiling like a pot on a damn iron stove, and when I saw the expressions of agreement around the table from my brothers, I shot to my feet. All attention focused on me.

  Styx motioned for me to sit, but I just couldn’t. “We go in… NOW!” I hissed through clenched teeth.

  AK sighed and went to speak, but I cut him off. “No! My fuckin’ woman is in that prison, and I’ll tell y’all now; you haven’t heard half the sadistic shit those cunts did to those bitches… to Maddie, Mae… to my fuckin’ old lady!”

  “Old lady?” Vike asked. “Since when?”

  “SINCE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!” I screamed, and Vike held up his hands. “Lilah, my fuckin’ old lady, has been taken and y’all wanna sit ‘round like fuckin’ housewives at coffee and discuss tactics? Then let me tell you what those cunts do. They fuckin’ rape kids. They raped my woman for years, forced her to take cock she didn’t want, brainwashed her into thinking she’s evil ‘cause she’s fuckin’ stunning. Told her that being fucked by a ‘disciple of God’ would help save her fuckin’ evil soul! And best of all, she was abused by her father… her fuckin’ father, because he said she tempted him! He couldn’t resist her and made her stroke his cock when she was six! But the worst part is she still believes it all… still doesn’t see how fucked up it all is because it’s all she’s ever known.”

  “Shit!” Bull spat.

  I turned to Styx.

  “I know Mae went through something similar, and I get you don’t want that shit made public, but I guarantee you right the fuck now that if Mae had been taken by these bastards, you’d be storming that fuckin’ base, taking names and pissing on skulls!”

  Tanner suddenly stood from his chair, attracting my attention.

  “What the fuck do you want, Nazi? In case y’all haven’t noticed, this is motherfuckin’ Hangmen church, not a Klan rally, Prince of the fuckin’ White Knights!”

  “Ky! Enough!” Tank spat as he jumped from his seat, glaring me down. A chair scraped on the wood flooring, and suddenly Flame was by my side, fuckin’ rage in his scary fuckin’ eyes like I’d never seen before.

  Gripping my arm, Flame spun me around. “All that abuse shit… Maddie… rape… kids…” He boomed out a scream. Then his crazy fuckin’ black eyes met mine. “Did those Bible assholes do that shit to Maddie? What they did to Mae and Lilah, did they fuckin’ do to Maddie?”

  I sighed and reluctantly nodded my head. Flame ripped out the biggest blade I’d ever seen. Slicing it clean across his chest, blood dripping down his fucked-up demon-faced tattoos all over his sternum.

  “Worst done to her outta all of ‘em, brother. Her fuckin’ ward, Brother Moses, was one sick, imaginative fucker.”

  Flame’s whole body tensed, a fuckin’ scary as shit noise ripped from his throat, and he boomed out, “HE AIN’T HER FUCKIN’ BROTHER MOSES! SHE’S FUCKIN’ MINE!!!”

  Flame gripped the edge of the table. All the brothers leapt from their seats just in time for him to overturn the table. The brother stood there in the middle of the room, dripping blood and sweat, fists clenched, and panting like a fuckin’ rabid pit bull after a dog fight.

  Staring at Styx, he snarled. “We go in right the fuck now. I’m with my brother Ky. ‘Cause if any one of those abusive cunts come for my Maddie, Mae, or do anything to hurt Lilah, I ain’t gonna be responsible for the carnage I’ll fuckin’ inflict. I’ll fuckin’ bring a kind of evil those Jesus freaks will never have even thought possible!”

  AK and Viking walked to Flame and tried to calm him down, but this time the brother launc
hed them both back, his crazy strength knocking them both flat to the ground.

  Styx pounded forward and stood toe to toe with Flame. “Maddie and Mae are going nowhere, and as for Lilah, we’ll get her back. But, brother, we got one shot at this, and we don’t wanna fuck it up. Doesn’t mean you won’t get to bleed some fuckers dry. Just means we gotta get this shit down.” Styx’s hard, take-no-shit gaze met mine, and I knew he was addressing me.

  Fuck!

  Tanner suddenly stepped forward and split his attention between Styx and me. “I can get those blueprints. And I can get the coordinates to the base.”

  “Yeah, and how the fuck you gonna get that, American History X?” I asked. I suddenly didn’t trust this fucker.

  “I’m gonna walk right into Klan HQ and take it from the fuckin’ office. I know where Landry keeps his personal shit. I’m the fuckin’ heir and privy to more than any of the wizards know. I’m my old man’s pride and joy, and he taught me how to be one sneaky fucker. You said it yourself, Blondie. I’m the Texas KKK’s Prince of the fuckin’ White Kinghts!” he said sarcastically, staring me down without even flinching. “I know more shit that goes down in this state than the fuckin’ president of the United States. All the cops ‘round here are Klan.”

  Tank pounded forward and spun Tanner around. “You do that shit and get caught, you’re dead,” he hissed quietly.

  Tanner shrugged, his muscled traps bunching. “They find out I’m hung up for Adelita and I’m fucked anyway. At least this way I can prove to your pretty-boy brother here that I want out once and for all.” Tanner stepped closer to Tank and said, “I can’t be in that fuckin’ place one more day. I can’t stand and preach about white purity and the Christian race when the only bitch I ever wanted and can’t ever have is brown and fuckin’ Catholic. Nah, man, let me do this.”

  Tanner looked to Styx and me. “I get this intel. I join the Hangmen. I got a shitload to bring to this club, and you can trust me.”

  “Trust you?” I laughed with humor. “We don’t even fuckin’ know you. You’re leaving the Klan that’s provided for you your whole life over some Mexican/Nazi Romeo and Juliet bullshit. Why trust you now?”