by KJ Dahlen
“And if she decides she doesn’t want to live here with the ghosts of her family, then what?” Cobra asked.
“She’s got to stop running at some point. Besides, she’ll have plenty of brothers watching over her from now on.” Beast nodded. “Sometimes it does take a village and that woman is gonna find that out. She doesn’t have to be alone anymore, either alone or afraid.”
Running out to the main room, Gunner saw everyone standing there or going through the items in the newly found cabinet. “Beast, where the fuck is your woman?”
Beast blinked his eyes at the question.
Jackal then looked around the room.
Beast looked back at Gunner and asked, “She was just here, why?”
“You’d better come see this!” Gunner turned and headed back to the camera room.
They all followed.
Beast almost ran and pushed poor Gunner to the wall as he went in. he swiftly tapped the keyboard and backed up the feed that was just taken.
A man came up behind Cin and hit her on the head with the butt of his gun.
Ricky Prentiss turned his face up to the nearest camera and flipped it the bird. “I got her now and you will deal with me. I will get back what George lost and then I’ll rip this town apart in revenge for what he did to me.”
Then he lifted her unconscious body up and hit it several times before he dropped her on the ground and began kicking her. Picking her unconscious form up, he threw her over his shoulder and walked calmly back into the woods.
The men inside the doorway watching this from behind beast... all moved back.
Cobra said, “We all better move!”
Even Jackal stepped to the wall by the door.
Beast let out a huge roar. He sounded like a wild animal or a beast, as was his MC name.
The men all slipped to the side as he barreled past slamming the door back almost off its hinges. “I am going to gut that fucker!” he shouted as he bolted for the back door.
Jackal, Wolf and Cobra were right behind him. They were running for the area she’d been snatched from. They could see signs of where the struggle had taken place but they also found signs of blood.
Beast knelt in the dirt when he saw the blood stains on the ground. His hands clenched into fist, his knuckles were so tight they were white.
Jackal and the others stayed away from him. Beast was well known for his temper. Usually, he was well balanced but now he was close to losing control and they knew it.
Jackal looked over at Wolf and Cobra, then shook his head. “Best if we just stay out of his way for now.”
Beast just shook his head. He looked over at Jackal and said, “Don’t try and stop me from finding that little bastard and he’d better pray she’s still alive. Cause whatever his daddy did to him ain’t gonna mean shit by the time I get done with him.”
“Brother,” Jackal warned him. “Let us bring him in. We don’t want to take this to the streets of Baton Rouge. If we can find him and bring him out here, we can do whatever we want to him. We’ll get our answers but we need to be smart about this.”
“I don’t give a fuck about finding answers brother,” Beast growled. “I want my woman back and I want to teach that little motherfucker a lesson he won’t live to forget.”
“I know you do, hell brother, we all do.” Jackal nodded. “Cin is one of us now and no one messes with the Advocates. But we got to do this right. We can’t just go busting down doors and dragging people out of their homes. We have to do it under the radar.”
“I’m listening. Not particularly liking what I’m hearing but I’m still listening.” Beast crossed his huge arms over his chest and glared at his president.
“I think we need to find him first, let’s get Silas and George to find him. They won’t be noticed moving around the city. They’ll find him and bring him to us then we question the little bastard. We find out where your woman is then we rescue her. Then we take care of that little prick Ricky Prentiss, the MC way. But we have to find her first. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Beast growled and he still looked a bit unhinged. “But if he’s killed her, ain’t nothing gonna stop me from killing him the hard way.”
“Agreed but give us a chance to find her first. Then you can tear him apart.” Jackal held out his hand. He knew if the other man took it, he would keep his word. He prayed Beast hadn’t lost whatever control he had left. They had given him the road name Beast for a reason.
Nick King, the Beast as they all knew him had been their interrogator in the Special ops group. He knew how to dish out pain to get the answers they needed. His methods might not be socially acceptable but they got what they needed to keep the troops safe.
“Stay strong brother. She’s going to need you when she comes back,” Jackal told him.
Beast paused then commented, “You know I finally figured out what made Blane do what he did after he lost his woman and kid. I can’t breathe without her. I never realized I wasn’t breathing all this time. That fucking war stole part of my soul, a part I thought I’d never get back but being with Cin has given me back what I lost.”
Jackal nodded. “I hear ya brother. Finding and being with Noelle has allowed me to heal too.” He looked around at his brothers. “Let’s get out there and find her. But before we can do that we have to find the bastard that took her. It’s time to bring your woman home.”
Chapter Eleven
It was late afternoon almost nighttime before Silas and George dragged Ricky into the clubhouse. He had a few bruises and scrapes on his face but with his hands tied behind his back, he was no threat to anyone.
They threw him on the floor in front of Beast and Ricky looked up at the other man and snarled.
Beast reached down and grabbed Ricky’s shirt. Hauling him to his feet he snarled into his face. “Where. Is. My. Woman?”
“Did you misplace her already?” Ricky grinned. His teeth were stained with his own blood and one tooth was missing but he smiled through his pain. “You know your friends are in a heap of trouble don’t you? It’s against the law to assault a peace officer. I’m gonna love arresting them.”
“Yeah, that should go over real well,” Beast agreed. “Since we got footage of you beating and kidnapping a young woman from this land. You should look good standing there in court going up for life. But before you can do that we got some questions for you to answer.”
“I’m not giving you shit.” Ricky sneered and he fought the hold Beast had on him.
“Oh, damn pretty boy...” Beast leaned closer and spoke softly, “You’re gonna sit up and sing pretty when we get done with you. I give you my word on that. And when we break you, you better hope she’s still alive or I’m gonna take my time and it will be my pleasure to show you real pain.” He tossed Ricky into Wolf’s arms.
Ricky glared back at him.
Beast stared at him, his eyes gleaming. “I have to let my brothers question you first because I was told I can’t kill you yet but the longer they take to bring me news of where you took her, the more time I have to figure out just how much I want you dead.” He flexed his shoulders. “I got quite good at interrogating the rebels we were fighting back in the sand box. They never wanted to talk either but I showed them the error of their ways. When they breathed their last breath not even the 72 fucking virgins would have wanted them.”
Small beads of sweat rolled down over Ricky’s temples. “I ain’t afraid of you bastards.”
Jackal got to his feet and faced the younger man. “Why have you been watching us?”
“Fuck off!” Ricky sneered.
Jackal looked at Gunner and nodded. “Let’s teach this young boy some manners. Seems his daddy never taught him to respect another man.”
“My daddy never taught me anything except how to avoid taking responsibility. Being a man was something else he avoided teaching me after he booted my mom and me out of his club.” Ricky gritted his bloody teeth.
“Guess your mama never taught you a
nything either then did she?” Wolf whispered in his ear.
“No I guess your right about that,” Ricky admitted. “She was too busy earning a living on her back to worry about if her kid had food in his belly or a roof over his head.”
“Oh cry me a river you little fucker.” Beast growled. “You’re dad got exactly what he deserved in the end.”
Ricky looked him in the eyes and agreed with him, “Yeah you could say he did. As did the man who killed him. Circle of life isn’t it?”
“I’ll give you one more chance to tell me, where is my woman?” Beast asked.
“I’ll make a trade with you, information on where you can find her if you let me go and give me the Dogs of Hell medallion. I know it’s here somewhere and I want it. It belongs to my family.”
“And she’s my family.” Beast grabbed his already torn shirt. “Where is she?”
“I’m not telling you jack shit. Not until I have the medallion and I’m on my way out of here.”
Beast chuckled in his face. “Oh, I don’t think so boy. That just won’t work for me.”
“Then I got nothing to say to you or any of your brothers. Other than go to hell,” Ricky replied.
Beast smacked his face hard. “Oh, you’ll tell us what we want to know and you better pray that she’s still alive when we find her.”
“Or what, you’ll kill me? Either way I’m a dead man, so I don’t figure I got anything to lose.”
Beast watched as Wolf and the others dragged Ricky away with them. His fists were curled tight as he watched them disappear.
He looked over at Jackal and saw him nod his approval. He was very close to losing his temper, but he held it in. For Cin he would do anything he had to but if she was dead, Ricky’s world would shatter along with his bones, one by one, and he knew for a fact there were 207 bones in the human body.
Cin groaned as she felt the sun baking her skin. She could smell the swamp so she sort of knew where she was. She’d woken up hours ago. Her head hurt and her belly felt like it was on fire from when Ricky must have kicked her. Yeah, she’d seen him when he’d left her on the ground tied up. Her hands were bound behind her back so there was little to no feeling in them anymore. Then he’d blindfolded her, leaving her in the dark.
She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
She must have been close enough to the water to hear the swamp life around her. Every once in a while, she heard the water splash as some creature broke the surface. Her body temperature rose as the afternoon sun beat down merciless on her.
Ricky had also gagged her so she couldn’t scream out. She was basically helpless. Bound and gagged, left at the edge of the swamp for the gators she knew would be coming out now that the sun was setting.
Cin laid her head on the dirt. She shed a tear or two but she was so dehydrated she didn’t have any more tears to shed. She had just gotten home again, just found a man she could love. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell him that yet and now, it looked like she never would.
She realized as she laid there that she did love him. It was too fast but she knew what she felt. Ms. Katie told her many times that love might take a while to show itself or hit you the minute you see the person you’re meant to be with, just like she and Edward. They fell for each other the moment they met.
They shared 45 years with each other before Edward was killed. Then Ms. Katie waited all these years before she joined him in heaven. That was the kind of love she wanted and almost got with Beast. Now he would never know how she felt about him.
She made a mistake this morning when she left the house unaccompanied. But she hadn’t thought about the possible danger she might be in, she only felt her own heartache and it had been the last mistake she would ever make, probably.
Just then, she sensed another predator in the area. Someone or something was watching her. A chill ran down her spine and she shivered. She didn’t know what was out there but she had a feeling she was going to find out and really soon too.
She tensed when she heard light footsteps coming closer to where she was laying. Then the footsteps stopped and she felt something next to her throat. Something cold and wet pushed closer to her ear and she felt hot breath on her skin.
Then she felt more cold wet noses and heard the sniffing sounds as they pressed softly against different areas of her body. There must have been five other animals close to her and it wasn’t until she heard one of them growl when she realized it was wolves, a pack of wolves had found her.
She didn’t know which predator would get her, the wolves or the gators. Neither death was one she particularly wanted but as she had no choice. She could only pray it would be a quick death. Like Beast had said, they rip your throat out first.
Then she felt a familiar nose shoved into her ear. She giggled the best she could but she knew that nose in her ear. Her gag stopped her from calling out his name but she snuggled against his muzzle. She then felt his teeth at the back of her neck and a tug as the big wolf tried to move her away from the water. She wanted to scream but couldn’t, she was helpless to do anything.
Finally, he must’ve thought she was far enough away and released her shirt.
He surprised her by flopping down at her back and laying his head in the crook of her shoulder. Another wolf laid in front of her as if to protect her from anything or anybody coming for her.
As time passed, Cin could hear the tree frogs and other sounds of the wilderness. She felt the air change from hot to cold and she knew night was upon them.
She heard one or two of the wolves’ growl from time to time but other than that... nothing approached where she was laying. She slept for a while off and on but it was a restless sleep. Hour after hour, she prayed Beast would come for her but he didn’t.
She had almost lost all hope the next morning when the sun came up and she could feel the heat of the day. Her skin felt on fire and more than her throat was dry. Over and over in her mind she called out to Beast to come and get her, to rescue her from the hell she was going to die in. But hour after hour, she remained where she was. But really she did not know how long a time passed. It could have been a day or more. Or merely just a few hours.
Cin could almost feel herself slipping in and out of consciousness as the sun’s rays beat down on her. Maybe she would just slip away and the misery would be over.
The wolf whined at her and she tried to assure him she was ok but even he knew—she wasn’t going to make it.
Chapter Twelve
Beast sat there at the table stiff and unyielding hour after hour, waiting for some new from his brothers. He didn’t look at anyone else in the room. He just stared at the clock on the wall, as time seemed to drag slowly.
Jackal had urged him to get some rest but he just snarled at the man and everyone finally left him alone. Several times during the long night, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and he knew it was Cin calling out to him but he couldn’t help her. He didn’t know where she was but he knew she was in trouble.
Finally, around noon, his brothers Cobra and Wolf came upstairs. They looked tired and blood soaked their clothing.
Wolf came over to where he sat and looked him in the eyes. “He left her near the edge of Bluebonnet swamp a day and a half ago. He said by this time she already gone.”
Beast got to his feet and shook his head. “She’s still alive,” he said quietly. “If she were gone I’d know it. I’d feel it here.” He pounded on his chest. “She’s not dead yet but will be soon if we don’t get to her.” He looked over at Jackal. “I’ll go get her, you get everything set up here to get her medical attention.”
“You need to take her to the hospital Beast,” Noelle told him.
“Absolutely fucking not,” Beast replied. “Whoever that little bastard is working with will kill her and that I will not allow. Get my room ready for her. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Do you need some help?” Cobra asked. “Maybe we should go get her and bring her
back.”
“One of you can drive but I’m going to get her. She needs me.” Beast headed to the door.
Wolf pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go, I’ll drive.”
When they left, Cobra looked over at Jackal. “Let’s pray to god, she’s still alive. He’s gonna lose his shit if she isn’t there.”
“I know.” Jackal nodded. Looking over at Cobra he asked, “How did you get Ricky to give up her position?”
Cobra shook his head. “That’s the thing, he just looked at the clock and said enough. He told us he left her at the swamp but there wouldn’t be anything left of her now, between the gators and the wolves she was someone’s late night snack. Then I told him Beast was gonna kill him and he shrugged. Said he had hoped to bring back the Dogs but if he couldn’t, he would just make sure certain papers got to the attorney general that would send us all to jail for the rest of our lives for the murder of a police officer. He would have the last laugh after all by making all of us something we despised. He would die happily knowing he put his father’s murderers in jail. Then he said karma was a bitch and it might take some time but she always got her due. Then he asked if we found the medallion yet. When I told him we did, he asked to see it before he died, sort of a last request.”
“I told him to go to hell,” Gunner joined the group. “That we would melt the fucking thing down and pour it down his throat.” The man shrugged. “The fucker didn’t even know the medal was pure gold.” He chuckled. “The little bastard demanded to at least see it before he died. He screamed he wanted to see the one thing his father cared about more than his own son.”
Jackal shook his head. “The man is twisted in more ways than one. Such a fucking waste of humanity. Keep him alive for Beast.”
The two men nodded.
As Beast and Wolf neared the turnoff to the Bluebonnet swamp Wolf looked over at Beast. Wisely, he didn’t say anything as Beast began searching for his woman. The closer they got to the swamp the more they both began to look.