by Vera Quinn
“Why? I mean why the blood and the hair swatch? Why do you need them?” I know there is a good reason. The doctor takes a syringe out of his bag and connects a blood tube. I roll my sleeve up and he wipes my arm off with an alcohol pad.
“Cooper and Sean keep DNA samples of their children. A lot of parents do it these days. Cooper and Sean were just ahead of the times. I think it comes with being in the military.” The doctor says as he puts the band around my arm. I have good veins, so it doesn’t take long for him to stick me and fill the tube. He puts a cotton ball on the needle prick and then puts a band-aid over it. He then swabs Cooper and then Sean. I hear the door open and Shine and the other two walks back in, and then take their seats. “That does it for me. I will put a rush on this.” Sean shakes the doctor’s hand and then the man walks back out with him.
“Ewan make sure everyone’s chores are done, and then go and relieve some of the men on guard, so they can get them some food. Lachlan, you and Quinn follow the doctor back to his office. I don’t want to take any chances.” Cooper makes eye contact with each of his sons.
“Riley, you and your brothers get some sleep, so you can take your rotation later, and be sure to eat when you get up before you go out.” The other three go back up the stairs. I hear doors closing upstairs. Cooper waits a few minutes to start up again.
“Con, are you serious about Faith or is she just a passing fancy for you? You come in here spouting you have claimed her as your woman but is your heart in it because I can tell you that you are going to have a challenging time taming this one. She is young, beautiful and is full of sass. She walked right into our sex toy store and never batted an eye about it being full of men that she had no idea if she could trust. She has no self-preservation when it comes to protecting those she loves, and if I am not mistaken she is quite taken with you. She has a look of more than like in her eyes.” Cooper waits for Cons answer.
“I don’t think that is any of your business. The only thing that matters is for you to understand that she is my woman and I am not taking that lightly. I will protect Faith and she will listen to me or she will find her ass a bright red color. Is there anything else that we need to know before we leave?” Con still doesn’t believe Cooper and Sean.
“Fair enough. The community and this other biker club may be easier to find if you have the same intelligence that they have. I don’t have it, but I know someone that does, and he owes me a favor.” Cooper lets that sink in. “All of your opposition may not just be coming from these two groups. The Irish mob may also be watching and may be trying to get Charity and Faith.” My back goes straight. I don’t know anything about these people, but I am not getting a good feeling, and anything having to do with the mob must be bad. Right? Now I am paying closer attention.
“You need to explain that.” Rebel says.
“As we told you, Alice is very calculating and greedy for money. Darren, Cooper and I have never had anything to do with our family back in Ireland after we received notice that Mam was killed by them. I mean, how could we, they didn’t know we existed, but Darren told Alice. In most families in the Irish mobs they want sons to fight their battles on the streets and in the ranks, but we hadn’t had a female child in our family in five generations or that is the story our mam told.” I start to interrupt, but Sean holds his hand up. “Our mam was thrown out of her formal family because of her relationships with men and excommunicated by the church so in their eyes she didn’t exist unless they wanted to make an example out of her, but they would have taken us from her. Irish girls that are in the mob are expected to marry in the higher-ranking members of the mob to keep the bloodline going. It is a sign of prestige, and honor on the family and the only way that our mam’s family could make their family stronger and stay in power. I know this sounds foreign to you Faith but say if a female from our family marries a son of a high ranking from another family it bonds the two families and expands territory. It’s all a business arrangement. Mam’s family was very powerful, but they were also power hungry. That’s how the female children born become an asset and coveted by the family. They need sons to fight but they need daughters to bind families together and have heirs. Mam’s family is strong with soldiers but having no females makes them weak. The women must stay pure and know their place. They are an extension of their fathers at first and then their husbands. Our mam did not fit that mold. If Alice is desperate she will sell you both, out to our family in Ireland. You said Charity was pregnant and intends to wed, she needs to speed that up. Once she is married she will be no good to them, so her danger will be gone at least from our overseas family, but you dear Faith will then be their only option and they will come after her with everything they can. So Con, if you are indeed serious about Faith then marry her.” Sean finishes. I am shocked, and my only concern is Charity and getting her married.
“Have Charity and Brody set a wedding date? It needs to be soon.” Sean smiles at me.
“Always thinking about family first. You are a gentle soul and very loyal, but you need to think of yourself also. What would Charity do without her sister?” Sean sounds sincere and he’s right. Charity would freak.
“Are you willing to set up a meet for us and this man that owes you a favor?” Shine asks.
“Yes, and we will help in any way that we can. We also have done some research on your clubs and by everything on paper, you don’t deal drugs and if you don’t try to pull us into anything illegal then we will do anything to help family and Faith and Charity are family. We’ll know to what extent in a few days. Their safety is now our number one priority, but we will need to discuss this situation with the rest of our brotherhood, but you have eight more men to help you now.” I don’t know who is more shocked Con or me.
“Can I ask a few things to clear up some questions in my mind?” I look to first Cooper and then to Sean.
“Of course, you can sweetness.” Cooper answers me, but my head swings to Con and he seems to have calmed down about the sweetness thing. I am thankful. I don’t want to argue anymore, and I like Cooper calling me that. It makes me feel special.
“Why did your mam’s family hate her so just because she had relationships with men?” I ask shyly.
“I used the name scrubber earlier because that is Irish for a woman that got around, but the truth is our mam was a prostitute and the Irish word seems less harsh. The meaning is the same, but I would never disrespect mam by saying the word whore when it comes to my mam. I use a lot of Irish words that I have no reason to remember but to me they sound better. I do it on purpose as in remembrance of our mam, and for being thankful we weren’t raised with hate in our hearts. Does that make sense? We loved our mam no matter what she did, only like a child can and we don’t judge her for her choices.” I accept Cooper’s explanation. It makes sense to me.
“Why didn’t you try to find out if we were your daughters before now? Did you not care that we might be your daughters?” I ask them with tears in my eyes and I don’t know where they came from.
“Sweet girl, we thought we were protecting you and we couldn’t be sure that you were anything, but our nieces, but we should’ve come and saved you. We knew Darren was losing his grip on reality.” Sean answers.
“Darren had the way of staying under the radar and you and your sister needed that to stay away from our family in Ireland. We could have been selfish and insisted on a DNA test, but we were also worried about Alice and Darren making you disappear, so we let it go and that is a great regret of ours.” Cooper says with regret in his voice and in his eyes. I need to take that regret away.
“What’s done is done. Let it go. We have found each other now. I have all of you now and my heart is full of happiness. Charity is going to be so happy. I can’t wait for you to meet her.” I get up from my chair and walk over to Cooper and walk closer hesitantly, but when I see the glassy look in his eyes I move in a wrap my arms around him in a hug. He stands up and pulls me closer. We stay this way for a few minutes
and I feel the love coming off him. I step back and he does the same and I go to Sean and do the same.
“Faith, why don’t you go upstairs and get your things together? Con will come and get you when we are ready to roll.” Shine tells me. I know this is code for me to go upstairs so they can discuss this amongst the men. This should irritate me since I am the one who had to bring the Demented Revengers here, but my mind is on overload and I know once I process all of what I have heard today that I will have a ton of questions but right now I am just overwhelmed with the past.
“Alright.” That’s the only answer I can give.
“Would you like something to eat or drink to take with you?” Sean asks me.
“No thank you. I am just going to try and get this all straight in my head so when I get home I can give it all to Charity.” I answer.
“Don’t try sneaking out of another window or everyone is going to see you get your first red ass.” I have no comeback, so I just flip Con off and all the men but Con break out in laughter.
Chapter Ten
Con
I watch Faith go back up the hall and then up the stairs. I wait to hear the door close and it does in no time. From the look on Faith’s face I know she is having a tough time accepting what Cooper and Sean have told her. I can’t blame her for that. Everything she has ever known has now been replaced with another point of view and she is conflicted with which one to trust. She will stay in that room and let every word that came out of these men’s mouth soak in. If I was a man that loved her wouldn’t I be there trying to help her? I am not a man that has a softer side. My job is to protect her and that means getting more information.
“Alright, Faith is gone, what are you not telling us?” Shine asks staring straight at Cooper.
“Let’s go into my office.” Cooper picks up the safe box and we follow him to his office. When we get to the door Sean steps between us and Cooper and puts a code in the door panel, so it will open. I raise my eyebrow to Shine and Rebel. They are just as surprised. Sean pushes the door open and Cooper walks in, we follow, and then Sean steps in and shuts the door behind us. Cooper open a closet and puts the box inside and then comes and sits behind his desk. “Sit down gentleman.” We sit, and Sean sits on the edge of Cooper’s desk.
“We need to get back on the road so just get to the point.” Rebel tells Cooper.
“Alright.” Cooper levels us with a hard look. “Everything I told Faith is the truth, but it is not the entire story and I am trusting all of you to keep this between us. I know you will need to inform your brothers but be sure you trust who you share with. There’s a lot more here than just pertains to your lives. Will you agree to that?” The three of us look at each other but Shine is the only one to speak.
“We won’t agree to a damn thing until we have all the information.” Shine says with determination.
“Can we agree that we will all keep those two sisters safe?” Sean asks.
“That we can agree on, but we need to know all the threats.” Shine is firm with that.
“We came to my office because no listening devices will operate in here. That’s how important this is to keep quiet and just so you will know we are being honest with you, we are all working with the NSA here.” Cooper says with a straight face and I see no deception at all. This day just keeps dumping surprises on us. “All of you have been on the radar of many government agencies but we couldn’t intervene because there is one person that needs to be taken down. The government has been after him for years, but he keeps slipping through our fingers. He’s the one calling the shots for both the Hell Keeperz MC and the community. He’s also their bankroll and he has a beef with the former president of the Demented Revengers MC, Jethro Duncan, and with Javier Sanchez, I believe that is your father, Rebel.” That has our attention.
“You need to explain that.” Rebel is sitting on the edge of his seat. Rebel and his dad had a difficult relationship when Rebel was old enough to realize that the bruises on his ma’s face and body came from his dad and that his dad only came home when he damn well felt like it. Javier liked to chase ass and he didn’t keep it a secret. Audie, Rebel’s ma, loved her man and stood by him in thick and thin until his death. It was a death he deserved. He wasn’t only heavy-handed with Rebel’s ma but with Rebel also and no child deserves that.
“I am giving you the facts as I know them, as an NSA agent, I am given the information as they see I need it or a need-to-know basis. Most of this intel was just given to me last night, so I have not had the opportunity to investigate it myself. I won’t swear to it but the information I get is accurate most of the time.” Cooper tells us with little emotion.
“How and when did you become an agent?” Rebel asks Cooper.
“We were contacted by the NSA right after we moved here. They wanted the location of Darren. We were bound by blood to protect our brother, so we did. Our mistake. When the two women were taken and assaulted we contacted the NSA and they gave us immunity of past laws we broke and made us agents. We already had training from the military. Now we are used by many agencies to take care of things that they don’t want their hands on or want no blowback on themselves. The NSA knew where the community was for a while and with the new satellite technology they have now and then, they were monitoring the goings on in the community. Somehow some of the things slipped by or the government just didn’t care.” Sean answers. “They want the contacts the community has. Who bought the systems and files for the apps they had so they can file a case together and file racketeering and organized crime charges. That way even if the leaders of the groups get out of prison they will have grounds to keep them under surveillance without a time limit and get a broader range of information they can use. The government is trying to be able to use surveillance to watch people and use it in court legally. There are too many cases getting thrown out of court when a shark lawyer finds loopholes in search warrants and where the information comes from. The NSA has known everything that the Demented Revengers MC has been up to, but they are not after you. You are doing their dirty work and cleaning up people they can’t use and protecting innocent people. I would be sure everything is in order just in case they try to use the information to their advantage. I never said that though. Sometimes the government is as bad as the dirtiest thug on the streets. It is all about their bottom line and their target. Then there are the good guys that are only doing their job and not liking it but having to do it anyway.”
“We are after Deacon, Timothy House, of the Possessed Blood Soul MC. He is picking up where his dad left off. The BlackPath MC that is working with you, have had dealings with this club before. Deacon was raised by his mom and never had ties to the club and that is why he has her maiden name as his last name and he had no ties with their club until after his father’s death. The Possessed Blood Souls MC and the Hell Keeperz MC have joined forces and that is why they just keep coming. Butcher was the original president of the Hell Keeperz MC, but he was also connected to the community. His brother, Alvis, was one of the five founders. That is why Hack, Glenn Mills, had the presidency of the Hell Keeperz MC until his death. He was Butcher’s son. Shocker there, they shared Alvis’s woman and she gave birth to Butcher’s son. Now they are all dead except for Deacon and he is running the show from that end. The community has deep ties with this club now and their pretense of doing the right thing has been shot to hell and Alice knows the NSA is after them. She is desperate and out of control, but she is the one in charge. I did not want to hurt Faith with this news, but it is the truth that Alice either wants her daughters back to turn over to our blood in Ireland or she wants them dead because she blames them for the community falling apart and taking her endless flow of money away.” Cooper stops talking, and Sean picks up where Cooper left off.
“Our blood in Ireland have no female heirs to marry off and they have been losing power a little at a time because of it and for making bad decisions. Some of their own sons have switched sides making it worse.�
�� Sean looks directly at me, “If you care for Faith, marry her. Don’t just put your patch on her. Our family will not care at all if she has a patch. They will steal her away and have her back in Ireland before you know what is happening and then they will have her married. They believe once they are married in a church then there is no undoing it. Even if she was able to escape and divorce they will not recognize it. In their eyes the one she was married off to owns Faith from the day she is married, and she won’t only have our blood after her but the blood of the man’s family after her also, until death. It is a matter of honor for them and honor and respect is everything to them. They must keep it to stay alive.” Sean eyes leave mine but go to Shine. “Her sister, Charity, needs to rush her wedding up. She may not be pure anymore, so she is not as big of a bargaining chip, but older men that are widowers do not care as much but they would kill the child and more than likely they became widowers because they killed their wives.”
“Do you have any leads on whether your family knows about Faith and Charity?” Rebel asks.
“These people are not our family. We only share blood with them and that is why we refer to them as blood. We have no use for the way they choose to live with no respect to family. To answer your question, there was chatter between Alice and Ireland, but we can’t be sure of who it was. We keep close tabs on our blood and they have not made a move towards the United States yet, but that does not mean they are not setting up matches for the two girls before they come to get them.” Cooper stops and looks at Shine again. “We know where the community has set up again, but we were told to stand down and not to approach. They still have more contacts that the government wants, and they are giving them leeway to make contact. Last night we were given the okay to bring Deacon down and all his men.” What the hell? Cooper should have started with that.