“Question, Pres,” Blaze raises up his hand to grab my attention.
“What’s that?”
“What about the prospects, do we have to turn them back over or are we taking our justice?”
“Lorenzo tried to convince me they’re expendable. Not sure how much of that horseshit I believe. I’ll make sure we’re good to seek our revenge out on them before we act. One way or another, we will make them pay for their betrayal. All I’m willing to agree to is them leaving alive.”
“So they could be missing a limb or two and all will be solid?” Reaper asks. I can see the inner turmoil he’s struggling with. He’s our Enforcer so he’s used to doling out punishment, and settling for minimal payback is not sitting right with him.
“Seems fair enough to me,” I reply.
I pick up my phone and send Lorenzo a text: We have terms of our own if we’re going to do this deal. We’ll work with you if our children are returned today. Also, the men want vengeance on the two who betrayed us. You give us that, and we’ll agree to work alongside you.
A few seconds later I receive an incoming reply: I’ll agree to these terms. Like I’ve previously stated, they are expendable at the end of the day. Your children will be returned to you. I’ll message you with a drop off point, but you’ll need to hurry because they won’t have guards protecting them once they’re dropped off.
This fucking dickhead is going to just drop our girls and run like a pussy on crack? What a motherfucking coward! How many strikes is he trying to accumulate?
I send a response: Since the kids are so young, I’d like the drop off to be at the old steel warehouse on Meadow View Road. I’d like to position one prospect inside to guarantee the girls’ safety.
I tell the men about the conversation Lorenzo and I are having and they’re anxious to get their daughters back and make the two men in the ice house pay for their transgressions against them and the club.
I hear my notification go off on my phone: One prospect, if I feel as if you’ve broken this promise to me, the instruction will be to kill every one of them in the vehicle before you or your men have the chance to intercept them. Are we in agreement?
I respond: We are, one prospect to just sit with them until after you drop them off to ensure their safety. We will have him text us once the girls have arrived and your men have driven away. Only then will we leave to come and pick them up.
I grind my teeth while biting my tongue. I hate making the deal with this devil, but what other options do I have? I’ll dance with him, for now, but one day, he will burn in hell for what he’s done to our families...I’ll bet my life on it.
Ten
Miracle
The men congregated nearly an hour ago. I need to know what they’ve learned and if they’re going to get our girls back home. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet and I already feel like I’m holding on by a thin thread. It won’t be much longer until I reach my breaking point.
“Do you think they know anything yet?” Morgan asks all of us women.
“For our sanity, I surely hope so,” Shey responds.
“I want to kill someone!” I shout, “I’m not sure how much more I can take without hearing anything. I just want my Milly home.”
“I’m with you, sister, I would give anything to have Britney home,” Morgan inputs.
“Where’s Libby?” Carson asks, I can see how lost she is without her girls, we could be mirror images of each other.
“She said something about getting home. Knuckles insisted on being released from Doc and she took the girls and left.”
“Aren’t we on lockdown?” Shey asks.
“Last I heard we are, and it isn’t a soft lockdown either.”
“Did she at least take a prospect with her?” I inquire.
“I saw Gavin leave with her. He was carrying Shelby,” Sunny states.
“Maybe Knuckles didn’t want the girls thrown in our faces so he told her to head home while he met with the guys,” Sissy says.
“If that’s the case, I feel like an ass. Libby and her girls need to be just as much protected as us and the boys,” I say to the women, feeling like a bitch for even bringing up her not being here in the first place.
“At least they’re protected by Gavin,” Morgan states, but she has this faraway look in her eyes. We hear the church door open and every one of us stands waiting to see if they’ll clue us in on what’s happening.
Jasper peeks his head out the door and calls for Trent, who immediately comes out from behind the bar and rushes to follow Jasper as he heads into his office.
“What’s going on? Do you have any news on the girls?” Carson stops Dawg from leaving the room as she asks.
“We have a lead, that’s all I can share with you until Knuckles and Jasper decide what all to share,” Dawg says, and I can see it written all over his face that he regrets the fact that he can’t share anything about their daughter with her.
“That’s ridiculous! Josie and Hope aren’t just your daughters! Hope would be missing too if she hadn’t decided to stay the night with your parents! This is bullshit,” she cries out.
“Do not sit here and disrespect me in front of my brothers, there are consequences for those actions and you know it!” he hollers at her. We all know to not do this in front of the others when it comes to our men, but this is a completely different situation than any other we’ve ever come across.
How are we supposed to as mothers hold our tongues and not let it out? If we keep it held in, we’ll likely explode and that won’t be as respectful to our men as we are currently being.
“Everyone hold your tongues, Jasper will be in here in a minute and we will sit down in the main room and have a family meeting. Until then, if you can’t remember the rules then tape your mouth shut and go have a seat somewhere!” Knuckles shouts, and all of us old ladies walk into the main room of the clubhouse, find a seat and wait for Jasper to finish whatever it is he’s doing. As we wait—semi-patiently, we keep glancing at each other. We’re all at our wit’s end and tired of playing the meek little housewife while not knowing what is happening with our daughters.
A few minutes later, Trent comes running down the hallway and heads out the front door. We hear his bike start up only seconds after his departure and can hear the gravel spray from his wheels and hear them burn rubber as he hauls ass out of the parking lot. Then Jasper walks into the room, and all of our attentions are turned to him.
Jasper
As soon as I finish explaining the agreement we came up with my phone pings and it’s a text from Lorenzo letting me know I have ten minutes to have my prospect in place, and they aren’t going to wait any longer than that before they drop our girls off and leave them with or without our man in place.
Once Trent has left my office, I take a moment to myself before going out and facing the firing squad, in other words, the old ladies. Knowing I can’t put this off any longer, I head out to the main room. Once I get there, I notice everyone is sitting there waiting on me.
“Sorry to keep you all waiting. I had to finalize some things, but I’m hoping you ladies will let me get this out before asking your questions. Don’t shout them out at me either or I won’t even attempt to answer them. Are we understanding each other?”
They all acknowledge my words with a gesture one way or another, to let me know that they’re agreeing with my ultimatum. I would prefer a voiced agreement, but I’ll take what they’re willing to give me.
“Where are the boys?” I ask the room, not wanting them to hear any of what is fixing to be said and talked about in this room.
“We have them settled in the media room with a movie, popcorn and drinks,” Machete informs me.
“Good, they don’t need to be worried about what’s being said. This is adult stuff and they’ve already had to be witnesses to the events and heartache of this morning. I’ve made a deal with Lorenzo,” I begin, cutting right to the chase. We voted and decided to go all in and
inform the women of everything that’s taken place in church. “He’s agreed to let us have our girls back tonight, but only with the exception that we agree without any backpedaling to work with them in their skin trade. Which means we’ll be protecting their routes as they transport the women, men and children to their buyers.”
“Oh God! Is the reason our girls were taken was because y’all tried to do the right thing and not get involved?” Miracle asks, with her shaking hand covering her mouth.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I give her a small reluctant smile. “We also went to try and take them out and paralyze their entire operation the night the girls were taken,” I answer honestly.
“The night Knuckles and Dawg were injured,” Morgan whispers, looking at her man with a new-found respect in her eyes.
“And now, you men are forced to work with them so that our children can be returned safely?” Shey asks me.
“Not with them, for them. I’m afraid we’ll be stuck for years to come before we can climb our way out from underneath them. We decided to be upfront and honest with you ladies about this, but only this. Club business is still just that, but we wanted to let you in on this so that when the time comes, things may get bloody and lockdown will forever be changed after this incident. We won’t be as lenient with the kids leaving or with our families staying at home. I don’t give a fuck that they’re fenced in with the compound, you will be here—inside the clubhouse at all times with our children while we’re out fighting this. And heads up, we will be fighting this and shutting them down as soon as we possibly fucking can. I thought that our compound was impenetrable, but we’ve unfortunately been taught a very heartbreaking and valuable lesson that will stick with us for the rest of our years. We aren’t as safe as we think we are...that’s fixing to change. From this day forward, no women or children are to leave here unescorted. You will either have some prospects or patched members with you at all times.”
“Libby is at her house with Gavin, is she safe?” I hear from the back of the room. I look over and see that Jessa is the one who asked.
“Jessa, I promise you she is safe and will be here shortly. But, speaking of prospects, you’ll notice that Stewart and Jason are no longer with us. I will not be speaking about this with any of you, but know that we will be bringing in some hang arounds that we trust to take their spots. Now, if there aren’t any further questions, we need to get vans ready so we can go get our girls and transport them home.”
There’s a bunch of sniffles and crying so I leave them to their men and go up to my old lady. “Love you, beauty. I’m gonna get our girl home and then later tonight, you and I need to talk.” With a gentle touch, I lay my hand on her shoulder and lovingly squeeze it.
“I’ll be here waiting for you, Jasper.” I know she will, this isn’t the first rough patch we’ve ever gone through, but it’s the one that affected us both the most. We have never said such hateful words to each other, something I’m hoping to rectify later this evening. I bend over and give her a kiss. When I come up for air, I whistle letting the guys know we need to get a move on.
As a group, we head out of the door and huddle in front of one of the transport vehicles. “As soon as Trent gives me the text stating that the fuckers have left, we’re leaving immediately. Make sure the vehicles are already started, as soon as you see me pull out make sure to follow as closely as possible. I don’t trust those asses and am not guaranteeing that this isn’t a set-up of some kind. When we’ve reunited our women and girls, we head to the ice house to seek some revenge. Keep your eyes peeled and if something feels funny, or doesn’t look right, trust your gut instincts and give me a heads up.”
With saying everything I felt necessary to address, I head to my vehicle and jump in the driver’s seat. I make sure the temperatures are just right so the girls can be comfortable. My doors begin to open and Knuckles, Reaper, Blaze, Dawg and Malice jump in with me. The rest of the guys split up in the other two. “Want me to drive?” Malice asks me.
“Not this time,” I reply, needing to feel in control. My phone alerts me and I pick it up and read the incoming text. “It’s Trent, you know what that means. It’s showtime, boys,” I say to four of my most trusted friends, putting the car in gear and head out of the parking area. I notice Gavin manning the gate for us which means Libby and her girls are safe and sound inside the clutches of the clubhouse. I give him a salute which he returns as I drive through.
Miracle
I’m looking out the window as the men surround the vans talking. Libby opens the front door and walks in with her girls. They rush into the media room where the other kids are hanging out. “They’ll get them home today I’m told,” she states coming over and standing next to me. I turn and look at her and she smiles at me, it just hit me that my girl will be home soon. I return her smile but immediately place my face back in the window. The other old ladies come around and surround us. We’re all glued to the window and when we notice the vehicles begin to leave the parking lot I get the sense of urgency.
“Do you think this Lorenzo character will uphold his end of the bargain?” I ask to no one in particular.
“If he doesn’t he will feel the wrath of several mother bears. No one fucks with our children and gets away with it scott free. If the men don’t make him pay, I’ll find the most ruthless motherfucker on the planet and set him loose on his ass,” Morgan angrily replies.
“Amen, sister,” Shey responds.
“I’ve got some money saved up,” I add.
“Me too,” Jessa states.
“I wouldn’t mind using my retirement savings if it means my children are safe from this particular monster,” Sunny announces.
“Then we all agree, we won’t sit back and do nothing if the men can’t get rid of this amoeba on their own?” We all make a pact there and then, that we aren’t going to sit back and do nothing if our families are in danger. I agree with Morgan’s previous statement, I will find the meanest, most badass person on this planet if I must to ensure my family's safety. I may end up regretting this decision if my husband ever finds out what we’ve got planned as a backup, but I can’t let that deter me from putting our childrens’ lives first and his honor second.
Eleven
Jasper
We pull up to the abandoned warehouse and slowly exit our vehicles. Just because the ride here was easy, doesn’t mean that getting the girls out will be.
“Eyes open,” I order, “just because it was Trent’s cell phone that sent the message, doesn't mean it was him who sent it.” We all pull out our pieces to have them ready in case they’ll become necessary to use. As I hold the grip tight in my hand, I realize that I should have it placed down by my leg because there are kids involved and I don’t want any accidental shootings.
Doing just that I’m getting ready to order my men to do the same when the warehouse door flies open and the sounds of a stampede take over my hearing as all of the kids begin running out simultaneously. They’re tripping each other accidentally and pushing each other out of the way as they come running for their fathers.
I don’t see Milly and begin to panic until I see Trent coming out last holding her in his arms. She’s clinging to him and crying into his shoulder. I hear him saying, “You’re safe now, Milly girl. Open your eyes, there’s your dad,” she lifts her head up and swivels it towards me.
I see her lips trembling as she cries out, “Daddy!” Instead of getting down, she reaches her arms out for me.
“C’mere, beautiful girl,” I stretch my arms out so that Trent can place her in them. She almost falls out of his hands trying to get to me as quickly as her tiny body will allow her to. As soon as I have her nestled against me, I look at Trent and ask him, “Why didn’t she come out on her own? Was she scared or is she injured?” I can’t ask my girl because she’s currently sobbing hysterically. Her face is buried in my neck and I feel her tears travel down inside the neck of my shirt and down my chest. Her hands have my cut clenched in
her little fists and I’m not sure she ever plans to let go.
“When all the kids heard y’all pull up, they got excited and started running all at one time to get to y’all. She turned her body wrong and twisted her ankle. She couldn’t get up and was extremely upset about that fact and was crying for you. So I decided to go on ahead and pick her up and bring her out to you.”
“Preciate it,” I say, holding her tighter to me.
“You ready to go home, baby girl? Your mama really misses you and would love to hold you in her arms too,” I tell my sweet angel. God, the saying you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone is running through my head right now. She’s only been gone around twelve hours, but not having her ripped my soul from my body.
“Please,” she whispers, head still buried in my neck.
“Then let’s get you home, your old man can’t be stingy and keep you all to himself,” I say, trying to get her to stop crying. I’d do anything not to see or hear her tears. She’s coming home, safe and sound. That’s all any father can ask for.
She giggles before she replies, “I miss Mama.”
“I know you do, baby girl. Let’s do something about that shall we? C’mon, my mini-princess, let’s get you home so you can rule your kingdom. All of your minions have missed you today.”
“I’ve gotta get home so I can feed them, Daddy.”
“Well, then it’s decided. We must rush you home immediately! We can’t have your people starving now can we?”
“Rush forward, my king,” she demands, wiping her tears on my cut. “We can’t keep the castle waiting.” And there’s that smile I’ve been dying to see.
“Alright, Milly-girl, we’re going, stop being so demanding,” I play along. All of us men have our daughters securely in our arms but we never stop scanning the area around us. Feeling a sense of foreboding I don’t like, I order the men, “let’s roll out!” I don’t have to say it a second time. We are all anxious to reunite our families and get the hell out of dodge. I gallop like a knight, trying to keep her mind on anything but the ordeal she’s just gone through, but keeping a speed that I’m comfortable with.
Walking The Crossroad Page 7