Thor

by KJ Dahlen

  Gunner shrugged. “He got most of the stones if that’s what you mean. He also shot a girl, well I mean that piece of shit shot her,” He kicked his boot at Digger’s body. “But Hellspawn also held a gun on her as she laid in the dirt on our side of the gate until his men found the bags that had the stones. He had her lay there while bleeding out. They only found seven of the nine bags but he took what he had and headed out for places unknown.”

  “Is the girl still alive?” Kyle wanted to know.

  Gunner nodded. “She is for now. She has a rare blood type and needs a transfusion but she’s got family inside, so we’re hoping that will work out so she can gets some more blood.”

  The Sheriff shook his head. “Hopefully this will be over soon and our damn town can relax again. People are getting jumpy and we don’t need jumpy people.” He turned to leave and then said, “I’ll send someone out to pick up his body. I hope the girl will be all right.”

  “So do we.” Gunner nodded. “So do we. Her family has been looking for her for a long time, the same as the club she was born into. This is the first time they found her. They don’t want to lose her either.”

  When they went back inside the clubhouse, Lisa was just coming out of the Infirmary with her results. She went over to Gunner and handed him some papers.

  Gunner looked them over and announced, “Well Owen, she is indeed your granddaughter. A 99.99 percent match anyway. You and Spirit match the best but in a pinch, Reggie and Eli could donate blood too.”

  Lisa spoke up, “I would perhaps suggest you all donate blood. Your blood is rare indeed and having some in the blood bank would help and possibly save your own lives in the future. And also maybe note in your medical charts that you have this rare blood type, so doctors in the future, won’t make the same mistake they made when your oldest son died.” She nodded.” Gunner here told me about that.”

  Owen looked over at his son Joel, otherwise known as Spirit. “I can’t tell you what to do but I’m giving blood.”

  “I am too, Pops,” Spirit assured him. “As much as she needs.”

  “We all are dad.” Reggie nodded. “After looking for her all these years, I’ll be damned if we aren’t going to do whatever we can for her now.”

  “Let’s get this dog and pony show going then nurse,” Owen told her. “I want to be able to hug that girl soon.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hellspawn knew he’d only get one chance to redeem the stones and that would be by catching the others unaware of what he was doing next. He had to take out the three riders and strip them of the stones then still get away without catching a bullet of his own.

  He needed most of the stones to make the deal he’d already set up. Two million dollars was his if he could get the stones back. He didn’t care if they were cursed or not. And he didn’t care if he had to kill to get them. Two million dollars would set him up for retirement quite nicely.

  And now the stones were within his grasp. So close and still so far away. He’d waited seventeen years to have his hands on those damn stones. He’d been blackmailed, lied to, scorned and spit on because of those stones, well no more. No more would he take anyone's abuse by taunts and lies. Not anymore. He would do whatever he had to. Any other man would have done what he had done. He deserved this and by god, he would get what he dreamed of for the last seventeen years.

  He pulled into a wayside and the other three followed him. He shut down his engine and looked at the others. Holding out his hand he didn’t say anything for a moment then he demanded, “I want the bags.”

  “Why should we give them to you?” one of the three asked.

  “Because they are mine.” Hellspawn growled. “Those stones belong to me, not you and as I'm the leader of this group, what I say goes. Now hand them the fuck over!” He all but screamed.

  One of the three men facing him grinned. “That’s all well and good but you ain’t the boss of us. We signed up under Digger and he’s dead now. So now, it’s every man for himself and I for one am not giving up what I retrieved. It’s mine not yours, so fuck off old man.”

  Hellspawn didn’t even think he just reacted. He pulled his piece and shot all three men. The third man barely got his gun out before the bullet shattered his head. But when the smoke cleared— all three were on the ground and only Hellspawn was left alive.

  “Stupid fools,” he grumbled. “All they had to do was do what I said and they might have lived a few more hours. Damn waste of men.” Shaking his head, he kicked down his stand and swung his leg over his bike. He walked over to the three men and began ransacking their pockets. He found all the bags they said they had and stuffed them into his own pockets. Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

  He began walking back to his bike when a green truck turned in the wayside. He barely looked up when the truck never slowed down but instead, came right at his ride. The next thing he knew his bike was under the front wheels of the truck as two men had jumped out and were coming straight at him.

  The closest man to him swung his fist at Hellspawn and the blow flipped him off his feet. Hellspawn landed on his back. He opened his eyes and blinked at the pain from his jaw. “What the fucking hell?” he mumbled.

  Gypsy leaned down and with bruised knuckles, he grabbed Hellspawn’s weapon and threw it away from his body. “You just couldn’t resist huh? You had to kill them didn’t you?” Gypsy growled.

  Hellspawn spit out a mouth full of blood and agreed, “Yeah, I killed them. But you knew it would happen already.” He half sat up using his elbow to prop himself up. “They tried to shaft me on the stones. The stones belonged to me, not them.” He looked over at Gypsy and snarled, “They weren’t my men anyway, and I don’t share what’s mine.”

  “You damn fool.” Gypsy shook his head. “Those fucking stones just aren’t worth the price.”

  “They are to me!” Hellspawn shouted through a sore jaw.

  “Get up you motherfucker,” Gypsy ordered. “You have a date with a tribunal.”

  “I will not be judged by the likes of you and yours.” Hellspawn growled, staying on the ground where he was.

  “Yeah old man,” Gypsy vowed. “You will be.”

  “Like hell I will be.” He tried to get back on his feet.

  Gypsy grabbed hold of the heavy man and helped him stand then just as quickly had him in a tight hold with one hand pulled behind his back He went to grab the other hand but had to fight with Hellspawn to get it. Gypsy finally punched Hellspawn in the kidney area to get him to cooperate but he finally got both hands behind him. Putting his wrists in handcuffs, he dragged the other man to the truck.

  Jett stood there waiting for them.

  “Thanks for your help man. I appreciate it.” Gypsy nodded sarcastically.

  Jett smiled and held up his hand so Gypsy would stop putting Hellspawn into the truck. He reached inside the older man’s vest and took out the small bags of stones.

  Hellspawn began yelling and twisting while trying to get away. “What the fuck? You lousy bastards, those bags are mine!”

  Jett reached up and held his fingers around the other man’s throat. Digging into his skin, he held Hellspawn still. “You won’t need them where you’re going mother fucker.”

  When Jett let him go, Gypsy forced the big man to the backseat of the truck. Hellspawn began kicking until Gypsy shouted to Jett, “Throw me some rope will ya man?” Then grabbing the rope, he hogtied him, forcing him to lay on his belly. The rope wouldn’t let him move his legs as Gypsy wound the rope around his neck as well.

  Every time Hellspawn tried to move, the rope around his neck threatened to cut off his air and he decided to behave.

  Jett got in the driver’s seat and as they drove away, Gypsy called in the three bodies.

  Jett passed over the eight small bags of stones to him.

  Gypsy took them and shook his head. “So this is the price of so many men’s lives huh?”

  “Doesn’t hardly seem worth the price does it?” Jett c
ommented.

  “Hell no, these stones aren’t worth even one life let alone as many who have died for them,” Gypsy said.

  “That’s because you two don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hellspawn growled. “Those stones are worth two million dollars and that my friend... will set you up for life.”

  “That money's only paper, dumbass.” Gypsy shook his head. “A man’s life is worth more than just paper.”

  “Every man has his price.” Hellspawn sneered.

  “Not every man,” Gypsy commented quietly.

  The rest of the ride home was silent except for Hellspawn’s growling and swearing.

  They finally had to gag the man as both Gypsy and Jett got tired of hearing it.

  Back at the club, everyone waited for word from the Infirmary. Owen and Spirit had given blood and now, they waited to see if Dani would recover or not.

  Thor stayed beside her while the others gathered in the main room.

  Cobra had introduced Ivy to his men and they were getting to know her better. They were all laughing and joking around when the front door opened.

  Two men stepped through, one being a big man, the other man older and in a sharp looking suit slowly walked in.

  The room went silent ‒ except for the boots of Gunner, Boone, and about five other men ‒ hitting the floor as they to their feet.

  Gunner stared at the big guy in the group. “What the hell is all this, Skeeter?”

  Skeeter, a.k.a. Frank Howard came forward and reached out to shake Gunner and Boone’s hands. “I am sorry to just barge in on you again, but this man here is Luther Boyde. I couldn’t keep him away any longer.”

  “Just who the hell is Luther Boyde and what does he want here with us?” Gunner demanded.

  Skeeter leaned forward and spoke softly to Gunner and Boone, “Seems Boyde here is Ivy Blue’s grandfather and he’s very influential in New Mexico. When he got word she’d been found, he got in touch with our office and insisted on coming here to meet her. She is his granddaughter after all.”

  “If he’s anything like his daughter, he can turn around right now and walk away,” Ivy Blue called out. “I don’t want or need to know him.”

  Luther chuckled and turned to view the young woman who spoke so harshly. When he looked her over, he nodded with a sad sound in his voice he said. “My daughter is a rather hard piece of fluff to stomach very long isn’t she? She takes after her mother in that regard, I’m sorry to say.” He walked toward where Ivy was sitting.

  Then before he could take two steps, the entire table of men got to their feet and stood between him and Ivy Blue.

  Luther stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow. Then he turned to Skeeter. “Please tell them I don’t mean her any harm, I just want to see her.”

  Skeeter shrugged. “Tell them your own self. I got nothing to say here.”

  Luther turned back to the group of men standing there. “I don’t mean her any harm. I just wanted to meet her.”

  The men parted as Cobra growled from behind them. Ivy Blue was sitting next to him and she looked up. She looked hard at the older man then asked, “What do you want here?”

  Luther shook his head. “I understand you met your mother and I want to apologize for her shall I say... unsavory manners.”

  “She may have given birth to me but a mother she was not.” Ivy snarled.

  Luther nodded. “Trisha always was her own mother’s child. I was always too busy trying to earn a living to pay attention to her and when I did notice her manners or I should say rather a lack of them, it was too late to stop what was already in place. I am sorry for that.”

  “I think I should tell you now rather than wait that I will never be part of their world and that’s fine with me.” Ivy Blue lifted her chin. “They don’t want me and I don’t want them.” She paused and suggested. “It's better that way for all of us.”

  “I completely understand, believe me I do. But you’re still part of my family and I won’t stand by and leave you alone to the fates of whim.”

  “But I don’t want or need anything more than what I’ve already got,” Ivy assured him. “I’ve got a good man and a place here.”

  “And that’s good enough for you?” Luther wanted to know.

  “It is.” She nodded looking over at her man. “Cobra is a good man, the best man I’ve ever known. I'm happy with him. I want to live and work beside him to build something we can call our own. If we stay here, we’ll live here if we go back to his place in Hondo, we’ll live there. I don’t care where we live as long as we do it together.”

  “What about security?” Luther asked.

  “We’ll be just fine,” she insisted. “I have a feeling he won’t let me go hungry, besides I can earn my own living and he knows that.” She shrugged. “I may not have a lot but what I do have, I know in my heart that I earned it. I didn’t have to suck up to anyone to give me something I didn’t earn. And that Mr. Boyde, is all I need.”

  “And you’re comfortable living here amongst all these men?”

  Ivy got to her feet and leaned in close to her grandfather. “Yes, I am. These men are like no others I’ve ever met. They may not be rich and wear suits but they are more man than some men will ever be. That prissy brother of mine wouldn’t fit in here because he has no clue what honor being a real man is. He’s too afraid of getting his hands dirty or sweating than these men will ever be. But they will stand behind you one hundred percent and you wouldn’t even have to ask them to be there. They would just show up. These are good men. Each and every one of them.”

  “I see.” Luther exhaled slowly.

  “No, I don’t think you do.” Ivy shook her head. “I have no claim on you and you certainly have no claim on me. You have nothing I want or need, so please just go back home. Everything I want or need is right here and I’m not going anywhere.” She went back over to where Cobra was sitting and sat down on his lap. Wrapping her arm around his shoulder, she glared at Luther.

  Luther nodded at her. “You will find I’m not so easily dismissed, young lady. I’m glad I got to finally meet you and I have to tell you, I will be back. I’m nothing like my daughter or her husband and I refuse to be dismissed by you or anyone else.” He then turned and began walking away.

  Just then, everyone could hear a vehicle pulling into the parking lot.

  Gunner and Boone opened the main door and stepped out.

  Gypsy and Jett got out of the truck and went around to open the back door.

  Skeeter joined them and shook his head. “What the hell have you been up to now, Gunner?” the Texas Ranger asked.

  “Well, damn.” Gypsy glared at him. “Where the hell did you come from? Are you here to take this one away from us too?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Skeeter raised both eyebrows at his friend's question. “I have no idea what you’re talking about?” He looked over at the bound man. Frowning, he asked, “Isn’t that Hellspawn from the Satan’s Fury MC? What the hell is he doing here?”

  “Well, in case you don’t know it yet,” Gypsy scowled. “He’s here to get his hands on some gemstones that he thought to get when he sold out his MC seventeen years ago. When they were stolen from him around the same time he had to wait this long to find them. Then when he got them back, he began murdering his own men to get his hands on them. So far, he’s wanted for about a dozen murders, including his own nephew and he attempted to murder one of our own. A young woman by the name of Dani Rowlett.”

  “She’s still alive?” Skeeter asked.

  “She is,” Boone acknowledged.

  “And him?” Skeeter asked as he nodded at Hellspawn. “Does he face MC justice or Ranger justice?”

  “That will be up to Dani and Thor,” Gunner stated.

  Skeeter nodded.

  Gypsy growled. Then he turned and stomped inside the clubhouse.

  Skeeter turned and watched the man called Gypsy go inside then turned to Gunner and asked, “He hasn’t forgiven me
yet has he?”

  Gunner shook his head. “Would you be able to forgive the man who helped a murderer get off? Especially, if that murderer helped your woman’s killer get away with killing her?”

  “But I had no clue what was going on!” Skeeter exclaimed.

  “You should have let the MC have their justice,” Boone argued.

  “I know that now and I did hunt the dirtbag down. He did face justice in his own way. He wouldn’t come in with me so he died where he stood. Right or wrong, he faced justice for what he did to Gwen.”

  “That’s between the two of you.” Gunner sighed.

  “What would you say if I asked to come back?” Skeeter asked. “I know I could help with the Bounty hunting business and I...I honestly miss the family I once had here.”

  “You have to square it with Gypsy first,” Gunner told him. “He’s third in line and you coming back is going to affect all of us but it’ll affect him most of all.”

  Jett and Boone hauled Hellspawn out of the truck just as Luther came out of the clubhouse.

  Luther just watched as they dragged him out of there. Luther didn’t say a word. Instead, he walked over to Skeeter and Gunner. Holding out his hand to Skeeter he said, “Thank you for letting me meet Ivy.” Turning back to Gunner he asked, “May I come again? I’d really like to know her and of course, the rest of your men.”

  “That will be entirely up to Ivy.” Gunner shrugged. “But I suggest you get her permission before you come all this way again. I hate to say this but meeting her mother left a bad taste in not only her mouth but my men and myself and you’re of a like manner, so you will most likely not be welcomed here.”

  “I hear you young man.” Luther shook his head. “But I would like for you to know something, there is one important thing you need to know about me. I earned every cent I ever had and I respect anyone else who does the same. She told me she doesn’t need anything I’ve got and I believe her. She’s happy with her man and her life and in the long run, I’m glad she’s got something real. My daughter and other grandchildren might have the money but they will never have what my granddaughter in there has.” Reaching out he shook Gunner’s hand. “Will you tell her I’m happy for her? And I will be in contact with her and her man.”