CHANCE To Load

by Dahlen, K. J.

  Leon let out a mirthless laugh. “No the man is not part of my Family. I won’t say he doesn’t try but we don’t deal with his kind of business. We’ve been watching him only to make sure his dirty business practices doesn’t slip into what we already have set up. That’s all I’m going to tell you about it.”

  “That’s all I need to know Leon. I promise,” Deke assured him. “If push comes to shove I didn’t want to cross a line by killing one of yours without checking with you first.”

  “I appreciate the heads up. When this is over, let me know what the outcome is. I’ll be more than happy to come in and clean up the mess I know you’ll have. From what I’ve heard, the man has a head for business and we would be interested in some parts of his ventures.”

  Deke snorted. “From what I’ve heard of the man, he’s dealer and a pimp of the worse kind. I’m learning more than I ever needed to know about this scumbag.”

  Leon agreed. “Do I want to know what the threat is?”

  “It concerns a four year old little girl he has his eyes on. Her father is deep in debt and Rossi is willing to trade the debt for the girl. We aren’t about to let that happen.”

  Leon was silent for a moment then told him, “If you don’t kill both of them I will. What about the mother of this child?”

  “She’s so far under her husband’s thumb she would hand her over and not even think about it.”

  “She needs to learn her lesson too.” Leon hinted.

  “Yes she does and she will. But we don’t usually kill women.” Deke hesitated then added, “But she will be dealt with.”

  “Is Peaches and her children safe?” Leon demanded.

  “All the women and kids are safe,” Deke assured him. “They are part of our family and we protect our own.”

  “I know but she’s also my family. Rossi might know this and come after her to get to us. We’ve refused him in the past and will continue to do so. I don’t want her caught in the crossfire.”

  “She won’t be.”

  “She’d better not be,” Leon warned him.

  “Do you really think Iceman would allow anyone to get to his wife and sons?” Deke asked. “Anyone coming after them would have the Sinners and the Bastards after their asses. They couldn’t find a big enough rock to hide under if they hurt one hair on Peaches’ head or her sons. They may be your family but they’re also ours.”

  There was a moment of silence on Leon’s end of the call. “Thank you for that.”

  “We’re going on lockdown with the women and families. I called to check on his ties to you and yours. I didn’t want to kill him if he were one of yours.”

  “Feel free to end his miserable life.” Leon seethed. “I’d like first crack at the race track though. It is a legitimate enterprise that could be beneficial for us.”

  “You got it.”

  “I’ll expect a call when this is over.” Leon ended the call.

  Deke swiped phone and went out to his bike. Looking around the parking lot, he noticed the man sitting in the shadows. It was someone he didn’t recognize and he was unwilling to lead him back to the clubhouse.

  Deke made a call and put Gator on notice. He also called Amos to let him know someone was watching the House. Moments later four or five men came outside and moved around the building as if they were standing guard.

  The man in the shadows noted the extra men and turned to glare at Deke. Then the roar of more bikers coming could be heard. Seven more men joined Deke and the man turned and walked over to his vehicle. Getting in, he drove off. As he turned the corner, they could see he was on the phone with someone.

  Deke looked over at Gator and grinned. “I guess he knows we’re protecting the House huh?”

  Amos came over and joined them. “My man Mikey will pick his trail up a block or so away then follow him back to where he needs to be and report in.”

  Deke nodded. “That’s good. Can you let me know where this guy went? I just want to be sure we’re all on the same page here and that it’s Jonah Rossi we’re actually dealing with here.”

  Amos nodded. “Ok, we’ll keep an eye on things here, day and night. You just keep Miss Cassie and those babies safe.”

  Deke grinned. “Oh, you can count on that.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Amos stepped back and a few minutes later, eight cycles roared out of the lot.

  Frankie and a few of the others standing outside came over to where Amos was standing. “Now what do you think that man wanted?” Frankie asked.

  “Nothing good.” Amos looked at the other men around him. “We have to protect Redemption House tonight boys. Maybe the next few days too.”

  “Are the people here in danger?” Monty asked.

  “Naw, the man was looking for Miss Cassie.”

  “Miss Cassie?” Frankie whispered. “Why is he looking for her?”

  “Yesterday, there was a sweet little girl her, do you remember her?” Amos looked over at Frankie. At the other man’s nod, Amos explained, “Well her mama left her behind when she left and Miss Quinn took care of her last night. This morning they found out that the little girl was payment to cover a debt her daddy racked up gambling at the Horseshoe Casino.”

  “Not Jonah Rossi’s place?” Growled one of the men.

  “The same. Rossi wants the little girl. The mama came back this morning looking for her daughter. Miss Cassie told her she had to call DSS and they took her last night. The mama doesn’t know she’s safe with the Bastards and Deke doesn’t want them to know. They don’t want Rossi to get ahold of the girl and we have to protect the House while they try to stop Rossi. That’s our mission boys, are you with me?”

  Everyone one of the men standing there agreed.

  Amos nodded. “Okay, we need to set up a perimeter then. Two men on ground level outside, one man inside and two standing watch on the roof. We’ll trade off every four hours until daybreak. Then I want fresh eyes covering the grounds. Most likely, no one will show up but I want plenty of warning if someone does.”

  “Will Miss Cassie be here tomorrow?” Matty Wainwright asked.

  Amos shook his head. “I doubt Deke will allow that. If she does come in, he’ll have his own men watching her but I think he said they were on lockdown until this is settled. He doesn’t want his club to be put into a position to have to trade that little girl for anyone else.”

  “I don’t blame him there.” Frankie said.

  “But we have to protect the people who are here, so let’s do our job.” Amos nodded his head at them.

  As the men took their positions, Amos and Frankie headed for the roof. They got into spots where they could see anyone coming for blocks and everything was quiet for the longest time.

  It was dark out when Frankie came over to Amos and asked, “Amos, is what I hear about this Rossi guy really true?”

  Amos scratched his chin a moment. “Well, I guess that would depend on what you’ve heard about the man. From what I hear I don’t doubt it.”

  Frankie snorted. “I think you know exactly what I’ve heard about him.” He hesitated briefly then had to ask, “You really think that’s true?”

  Amos nodded but didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally he said, “Yeah I know it’s true.”

  “How is that?”

  “Because that sort of thing runs in the Rossi family,” Amos explained. “I knew his old man and his granddad and I grew up hating both of them.”

  Frankie was quiet for a moment. “What happened?”

  Amos settled down on a short wall and looked over the city below. His mind went back to the past as it often did but this time the past was one he wished he could forget. “When I was just a boy, me and a couple of friends of mine were going fishing one day. We cut down over by the warehouse district as a shortcut when we came up alongside the Ford building. We could hear someone inside so Wes and I sneaked a peek through the window. It was old man Rossi with a kid in there. Hell we didn’t know what he was doing, we were
just kids at the time, it wasn’t until we were damn near grown that we figured it out but what that grown man was doing to that young boy was monstrous. We could hear the kid’s screams but we were just too damn scared to stop him.”

  “Who’s this Wes guy?” Frankie frowned.

  “A kid I grew up with Wes Wylde. I hear he’s a mechanic over at the hot rod shop now days.”

  “What happened after you saw the old man?” Frankie wanted to know.

  Amos shook his head. “I didn’t see him after that, not for a long time. I stayed away from him and his family. We all did. I heard a year or so later the old man got himself into trouble with the law and his son moved away when his dad went to prison. I didn’t hear much about them again until just before I went into the service. I hear Jonah’s dad came back to town and began the casino. I didn’t think much about it until I came home one time on leave and heard some nasty rumors about what went on in the back rooms.” Amos shook his head. “I never listened to rumors, still don’t but there was something in the rumors I couldn’t let go of. I was leaving again for a tour overseas and I didn’t think about it anymore. Then my mom wrote me a letter. She said Jonah’s dad Leroy was going to trial for the rape of a young woman. She was barely fourteen at the time. I remember praying that if it were true he would get his own in prison and I think I heard that he did.”

  Amos sighed. “Now it’s Jonah’s turn and this time I’m not going to turn my head away from it. This time it’s my turn to do what I should have done years ago. I hope we can make a difference and stop this cycle of shit. It stops here and now.”

  Frankie was quiet for the longest time, then he said, “I’m with you there. Men shouldn’t hurt women or kids. We were made stronger to protect them. Miss Cassie gave us a second chance to be the men we were meant to be when everyone else turned their backs on us, now we have to stand up and be counted again.”

  “Yup, we do and this is our way of doing just that. We have to protect our own and Miss Cassie and her kids belong to us too.”

  “Damn right they do.” Frankie agreed. “Damn right.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The main room of the clubhouse was filling up as more wives and kids showed up. No one knew why they were all gathering but no one questioned it either. Everyone knew Deke wouldn’t call them all in without a good reason.

  Cassie came up behind Deke and wrapped her arms around him. Tension was running high in the clubhouse as everyone was waiting for Jonah Rossi to make his move.

  Deke had been talking to Gator, Mountain and Sam about the delay. As she hugged her man from behind, she let their words sink into her brain.

  “Yeah he truly is the boogey man the moms tell their kids about. Most grown men would be afraid of a man with that scar on his face, let alone a small kid,” Mountain was saying.

  “Makes a person wonder how the hell he got it, almost looks like he was scalped at some point in his life,” Sam agreed. “A bad scalp job.”

  “Fuck, scalped with what though?” Deke asked. “No knife put that mark on his face. The man is lucky that whoever gave him that make didn’t blind the bastard. I know the hit he took to his neck had to have changed his voice. He couldn’t have always had the rough a voice. Sounds like he’s fucking talking with a mouth full of gravel all the time.”

  Cassie’s arms tightened around Deke’s waist with each description. Her eyes were wide with fear and she wanted to back away but couldn’t get her legs to move. The past was racing toward her so fast and this time, there was no way to stop it.

  Deke finally felt her strangle hold around his waist and literally had to pry her hands apart. Twisting around, he caught the look in her eyes. “Cass…honey, what’s wrong?”

  Cassie didn’t hear his question, she couldn’t hear anything beyond the rush of dread in her head.

  Deke glanced over at his dad and Mountain.

  They looked concerned.

  Finally, Sam told Deke, “Let’s get her away from everyone else, they don’t need to witness this. Poor girl looks scared to death.”

  Deke wrapped his arm around her shoulder and he walked her slowly a little bit down the hall. The hall was empty of people except for him, Cassie Sam and Mountain at the moment.

  Deke reached out to cup Cassie’s chin. He lifted it forcing her to look at him. Then he began calling her name softly, “Cassie, are you all right? Cassie, please look at me sweetheart. See me, right here waiting for you. Cassie you have to come back to me. Cassie… honey…please come back now.”

  Cassie’s eyes returned to normal very slowly as she let go of her past. Finally, she came back and when she did, she burst into tears and planted her face into Deke’s chest. “Oh, my god!” she wanted to scream but could only whisper.

  Deke held her close while blinking back tears of his own.

  Mountain and Sam watched with concern but didn’t say anything.

  Deke finally lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. “What the hell is this all about Cassie?”

  Tears still rolled down her cheeks. She tried to talk but couldn’t get the words out. Finally, she calmed down enough to speak, “That man you were talking about, the one with the scar, what is his name?”

  Deke frowned and glanced over at the other two men. “His name? Why? Do you think you know him?”

  Cassie nodded. “Yeah, I know him. If it’s the same man, I’m the one who gave him that scar.”

  “What?” Deke was stunned, not to mention the other two men.

  They stood there with their mouths wide open in shock.

  “I think you heard me.” She nodded. “What is the fucker’s name?”

  “It’s Jonah Rossi,” Sam finally told her. “How the fucking hell did you give him that scar?”

  “I’d like to know what the fuck he did to deserve it,” Mountain whispered.

  Cassie’s head snapped around to glare at him. “I have to find Peaches. She’s here, right?”

  Sam nodded.

  She shook all over and clenched her fists. “I have to tell her.”

  The men all looked at each other in confusion as she rushed from the room.

  Just as she arrived, the front door opened and Calderone and Leon Vincinti came inside.

  Peaches saw them and ran over to where they were standing. Greetings and hugs were exchanged as they were all smiling and talking at once.

  Cassie hesitated to move toward them.

  “We’ll be here, right behind you,” Deke whispered in her ear, he didn’t know what this was about but with the life these two women had before he met Cassie was a bad one and for her to act this way…it must be something horrible.

  Cassie nodded. She took the first step and another step until she was standing right in front of her friend. She couldn’t look anywhere but at Peaches’ face.

  Peaches noticed her stare and couldn’t help but look a little bit afraid. Her smile faded away. Biting her bottom lip, she stared right back at Cassie. “What is it?” she whispered.

  “Honey, I have to tell you this. I wish to god I didn’t but I don’t want you to hear it from anyone but me,” Cassie whispered as she reached out to hold Peaches’ hands. Then her hands reached a little higher to cover an old scar on her neck.

  Peaches began to tremble. “No, please dear god no, not that!” Her face paled and she literally fell apart.

  Everyone around her grew concerned.

  “What is all this about?” Calderone demanded. He saw the fear and abject horror in his daughter’s eyes and he didn’t like it. “Stop this right now. You’re scaring her.”

  Deke moved to Cassie’s side, he himself didn’t know what this was all about, but he knew Cassie and he would back her up no matter what. “Please Calderone. She needs to know this and Cassie has to be the one to tell her.”

  “No she doesn’t need to tell her,” Calderone insisted with rage on his face. “Whatever this is, she doesn’t need to know about it.”

  Peaches turned her head to stare at
her father. “Yes dad, she needs to tell me and I need to hear it. I need to know, whether I want to or not.”

  Cassie took a deep breath and announced, “I found out his name.”

  Peaches paled and began to tremble.

  Iceman stepped up to her and wrapped her in his arms. He gave Cassie a pleading look. Imploring her to stop whatever this was that she insisted on telling.

  Peaches couldn’t look away from Cassie.

  Calderone and Leon stepped closer to her as well.

  “What is it?” Peaches asked even though she looked like didn’t want to know.

  “Jonah Rossi.”

  Peaches looked like she would faint. Her knees did give out a little but Iceman was there to steady her and to hold her up for a brief moment. Then Peaches got her strength back. “Tell them,” she whispered to Cassie.

  “Are you sure?” Cassie looked around the room at everyone standing there staring at them.

  Peaches raised her chin. “Yes, this is something they all need to know. I may not like it but they need to know. They need to know, so they can be prepared to fight him.”

  Cassie nodded as she took a deep breath then let it out. “We were living in a small town near Boston when we were fourteen years old, me and Peaches…”

  Calderone gasped. “You were? You were that close and we never knew it?” He glanced over at his father and then back to Cassie and Peaches. “We didn’t know you were so close.” His eyes took on the pain he’d felt all the years she was missing.

  Peaches reached out and patted his arm. “I know, but I was ok as long as Cassie was there.” She turned back to Cassie and nodded for her to continue her story.

  “…We were both working at a little diner, bussing tables and washing dishes. It wasn’t a great job but it kept us with enough money we could feed ourselves. Peaches was waiting outside for me to get finished for the day when a car pulled up and she walked over to answer a question one of the two men inside had asked her. I was on my way out the door when she was dragged into the car and it sped off like a rocket. I screamed but there was no one around to hear it. I followed the car the best I could but it took me three hours to find the damn thing. It was parked at a seedy little motel by the highway leaving town. By the time I got there, the engine was cold and it was getting dark. I looked through every window I could find and I finally found the room she was in.” Cassie had fresh tears in her eyes when she remembered this part. “Oh my god, what that fucking bastard did to her…” She glanced up at Deke.