Patriot

by KJ Dahlen

  Annie sat back in her chair stunned. She and Harry stared at each other for what seemed a very long time before she slowly turned her head and looked at Becky.

  Her sister seemed to feel better now under Patriot’s care.

  She was laughing a little while being held in Patriot’s arms.

  With a sigh, Annie looked back to Harry, then she leaned forward and read the article he'd found. She didn't want to but she knew she'd better. A few moments later, she hung her head and began to softly cry.

  Cobra watched the two of them and he knew they'd found something important. The way Annie looked it wasn't something good either. He glanced over at Gunner and nodded. “I think we should check out what they found but I don’t think Becky needs to know about it yet,” he spoke low so as not to be overheard.

  Gunner stared at the man sitting next to him for a moment then turned to meet Patriot’s gaze. He motioned with his head to get Becky out of the room.

  Patriot nodded and bent his head to talk to Becky.

  A minute later, he got up and carried her down the hall.

  Once the infirmary door shut, Gunner and Cobra got up to walk over to where Annie and Harry were sitting. Cobra sat down beside Annie and Gunner sat down on the other side of Harry.

  “You two look positively sick about something,” Cobra commented as he chewed on a toothpick.

  “We found out something that could be connected to Becky,” Harry replied. “It ain’t good.”

  “Knowing Sheen, did you think it would be?” Gunner quipped.

  “No, I didn’t think it would be all roses and shit.” Harry sighed heavily. “But I...we never expected this.”

  Annie blew her nose as she got herself together and sadly admitted, “This is really bad, almost unthinkable.”

  Harry turned his laptop around, so they could read what he found.

  Both men were silent as they read the newspaper article from twenty four years ago.

  Gunner leaned back in his chair first. He just shook his head.

  Cobra shoved his chair back and stomped off. He swung the kitchen door open so hard it slammed against the wall behind him.

  A few minutes later, they heard a crash but no one got up to check it out.

  Cobra came back to the main room with a towel wrapped around his fist. When he sat down, he turned his glare at Annie. “You cannot tell your sister what you found. Your old man deserves what he got.”

  “I agree but I can’t keep this from her either.” Annie shook her head. “She has the right to know who she is.”

  “That article will break her heart.” Cobra growled.

  Annie hung her head. “Don’t you think I know that?” she whispered.

  “Hasn’t she suffered enough then?” Gunner asked quietly.

  Annie raised her head to glare at him. “Don’t you think I know that too? Do you for one moment, think this is easy for me? Randy Sheen was my father. His blood runs through my veins and I have never hated that more than today.” Tears rolled down her face. “This is going to kill her. She will never look at me the same way again. I’m going to lose my sister over something my father did twenty four years ago. You think you hate him? How the hell do you think I feel right now? He’s been tearing my family apart since the day I was born and even now, he’s doing it again from beyond the grave! Did he really think he could keep this a secret?”

  She got to her feet and swayed. She was so upset she grabbed her belly as if she were in extreme distress. Before anyone could do anything, she dropped to the ground in a dead faint.

  Cobra looked stunned as he scooted back, giving Harry room to get to his woman.

  “Annie!” Harry shouted as he jumped out of his chair, rushed around the table and dropped to his knees beside her.

  Gunner got up and moved out of the way while yelling for Patriot.

  The sound of footsteps came closer to the main room as Patriot and Becky rushed in.

  Becky stopped still when she saw her sister lying on the floor and cried out her name then rushed over to her.

  Patriot knelt next to her and grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. He began checking her vitals as he asked what happened.

  Harry looked up at Cobra then glanced at his computer.

  Always being quick, Cobra got the message. He closed the lid so no one would see the article they had just read.

  “She got upset about something and passed out,” Harry told Patriot. “Are she and the baby going to be okay? She hit the floor pretty hard. I-I was on the other side and couldn’t get to her in time.”

  “I don’t know yet.” Patriot looked distracted. “Let's get her back to the Infirmary and I can check her out.”

  Harry gathered her in his arms and carried her back to the infirmary.

  Becky twisted her hands together as she was clearly agitated and followed them back.

  Cobra whispered to Harry, “You go with your woman. I don’t want that article seen by Becky until you guys have a chance to dig a little deeper.”

  “That might be best,” Harry agreed. “I want to follow up on it and find out exactly what happened and who the woman was before we tell her. There’s no sense in upsetting her without knowing any more than we do now.”

  Gunner and Cobra watched as they all headed down the hall.

  Gunner looked over at Cobra. “We need to do some digging and find out answers before they tell that girl anything.”

  “They shouldn’t tell her anything at all,” Cobra spit out through gritted teeth. “They should just let the past alone and move on.”

  Chapter Five

  In the Infirmary, Patriot checked Annie over carefully.

  Becky came up behind him and whispered, “Is she going to be all right?”

  “I hope so but until she wakes up I won’t know,” Patriot replied. He paused then turned and pulled Becky into his embrace. “Sometimes this happens, there’s nothing you or I can do, it just happens. I’m going to try my best to bring her back to us, to you, because I know the next few days are crucial to us all and you need her. But just remember, both you and her will have our protection. And no matter what we find out about you, you will always be part of us and a big part of me.”

  Becky stared at him for a moment then turned to look at her sister. “Annie is all I’ve ever loved or known. Every day since the day I was born, she’s been beside me, watching over me. Keeping me safe. They must have found out something about my past and I know she doesn’t want me to know. But I don’t think there's anything they can tell me that is worse in my opinion than losing her.” She turned and looked over at the other three men standing close by. “Tell me what she found. I need to know. We share everything and now, is not the time to hold back.”

  Harry shook his head. “Becky, we just don’t know yet and what we found doesn’t necessarily pertain to you.”

  ”What did Randy Sheen do that was so bad that it caused all this trouble?” Becky wanted to know.

  “Girl, we don’t know anything for sure at this point,” Cobra protested. “Please let it go until we know more about it.”

  Becky walked over to him and placed her hands on her hips. “Old man, I have only known peace with Annie all my short life. I know the kind of man Randy Sheen was and I know we snuck out in the middle of the night more than one time. I never knew the reason but I could guess. Annie and I watched our mother’s will being broken until there was nothing left of her. He did that. At one time, she was a good woman. Annie used to tell me stories of how it was before she lost everything, including her life because of him. I know that bastard had a black heart and he was capable of just about anything.” She shook her head. “But that’s the difference between Annie and me. She always hoped things would change and get better, where I could see nothing would and neither one of our parents would ever be what she wanted them to be.”

  “Becky, you know how Annie is, she gets to the truth, not suspicions, we really don’t know if you could be this girl,” Cobra told h
er.

  “Becky,” Annie softly called out.

  Becky turned around and rushed over to her sister.

  She was awake now but she still looked pale and weak.

  “Annie, you have to stop worrying about me,” Becky stated gently. “I may not be a hundred percent yet, but I’m getting there. You saved me by not giving up on me. I’ll always love you for that. No matter what you find out please tell me. You don’t have to lie by omission to me anymore. I’m all grown up now. I have no illusions about Randy Sheen at all.” She leaned her forehead against Annie’s. “He took our mother, please don’t let what he’s done take you too. I couldn’t bear it if he did.”

  Annie closed her eyes and let a tear run down her cheek. She opened her mouth to speak but Becky put her fingers over her sister’s lips. “I know this is going to be bad so I’ll wait to hear what it is when you dig out the truth. And even if the truth sucks. I already know whatever he did was really bad so I’m not expecting much. I just need the truth.”

  Annie looked over at her sister and nodded. “Ok, I can deal with that.”

  Becky reached her hand out and covered her sister’s baby bump. “You are growing a little person here. You need to take care of you, so you can take care of her or him. This little one needs to know what an awesome mom you are. He or she deserves to know you like I know you.” She leaned close to her sister again and whispered so only she would hear, “Don’t you dare let Randy win this fight. I know he’s your dad, but you are better than he will ever be. Do you hear me? You are better than he will ever be.”

  Annie had tears running down her cheeks as she gazed at Becky with love in her heart.

  “I can’t make it in this world without you,” Becky whispered before Annie could say anything. “I know I got Patriot and his brothers, and the Lost Sons because of you loving Harry, but I need you too. You and Harry, that baby too. I’m gonna be the very best aunt I can be. Personally, I hope it’s a girl, so we can both spoil the hell out of her.” Becky laid her head on Annie’s chest.

  Annie’s arms came up and held her close.

  Patriot and the others had never seen anything like this before. These two women were so bonded with one another that nothing from the outside could even get to them.

  Harry shook his head slightly.

  Cobra walked over to him, put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Those two got something special don’t they?”

  Harry smiled. “All the time she kept looking for her sister, I had doubts creeping in from day one but she never gave up on finding her. We’ve been to places I didn’t know existed looking for her. But Annie never even thought about giving up. I guess I should have expected a strong tie but I.. I never saw such a connection like this. Those two may not be sisters by blood but their ties are stronger than anything I’ve ever seen before. They are true sisters.”

  Cobra then motioned to Harry to come out to the main room with them.

  Harry turned to Patriot. “Let me know will you? If anything... changes.”

  Patriot nodded, as he moved over to his table seeming to look for something.

  The three men left the infirmary as Patriot, Becky, and Annie seemed to be in their own bubble.

  Once all the men settled at the table where Harry’s computer was, Cobra told him, “You best find out what you can about Tessi Silvers and how it ties Randy to the event. If Tessi was her real mother, you need to find out who her father was. I think he will be the key here.”

  “You might be right about that.” Harry nodded.

  “What about the other two men?” Gunner wanted to know. “This Carl Womack and Damen Cole? What do we know about them?”

  “Carl Womack is a political wanna be,” Harry explained. “He only thinks he’s got connections but he’s nothing more than a thug. He also runs a street gang. He figured getting cozy with Blacky would build his street creds. He works for the local mayor in Waco and thinks his boss will protect him but that bastard isn’t going to do shit for him.”

  Gunner agreed with him, “Grizzly is gonna bust that gang up and put Carl Womack in jail for a very long time.”

  “Is his boss going to allow that?” Harry asked.

  “His boss isn’t gonna be able to stop it,” Gunner said. “Grizzly is working with the Attorney General himself. He’s going over his boss’s head completely. The AG was pissed that Grizz’s boss was taking all the credit and doing nothing to get it.”

  “You had a long talk with Grizzly I take it?” Cobra asked.

  Gunner nodded. “When Becky first told us about hearing his name mentioned I was pissed. Hell, most of the men were thinking he was a traitor. But when he explained everything, I could see where he was coming from. Once the AG has all the info and this takedown is complete, he’ll be back to explain to the brothers what his mission was all about. He’s simply taking out the trash and I think his boss is gonna have the cell next to Womack.”

  Cobra looked over at Harry. “And Damen Cole? Have you found anything out about him?”

  “Not yet. The man might not exist at all. Well, under that name anyway. The facial recognition program is still running.” Harry shrugged.

  Cobra turned his head as if he could see through the walls into the infirmary. “I hope we can find something quick, I’m not sure how much more those women can take.”

  “You almost sound like you got something to lose here.” Gunner studied the older man. “Care to explain why that is?”

  “I had a woman back in the day. Thought I was in love with her. Actually, I know I was in love with her but I was too dumb to realize just what she meant to me back then. Then we were betrayed and the blame was put on her by the traitor and the lies he told us. She ran rather than stay and let the truth be known. I didn’t know it at the time but when she left, she took my unborn daughter with her. We hunted her down and four years later, we found her. She tried to tell me about my kid but at that point...” Cobra sadly shook his head. “I didn’t know if I could believe her or not. The real traitor to my club killed her before she could tell us the truth then he just got on his bike and rode away but he did get caught and died in the pen. I spent the next twenty years looking for my kid, a kid I didn’t know.”

  “Did you ever find her?” Gunner wanted to know.

  “Yeah, I found her. My woman begged her own mother to take care of my girl and her mother promised only after my woman paid her a shit ton of money to do it. Then when she wasn’t back the next morning, her mother threw my baby girl out. Turned her over to children’s services. My daughter grew up almost like those two girl’s in that infirmary. Then she got in trouble and the Lost Sons stepped in. I found her about that time and she told me in no uncertain terms that she didn’t need me as her daddy now. She might have needed me at one point in her life but she didn’t need me for that anymore.” He paused, as he looked saddened. “I should have been there for her. I should have tried harder to find her, but I didn’t. That’s on me.” He looked over at Gunner and then Harry. “She belongs to his brother now. I’m still here because I want the chance I gave up twenty years ago. I want to know her as an adult now. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m not going anywhere this time. I’m gonna do right by her now that I found her.”

  “Then you’ve been in the position where I am now,” Gunner concluded.

  “Yeah, I have and still am.” Cobra nodded. “I also know the struggle those two are going through. My Lolanni went through hell because I wasn’t there for her. When you carried that broken girl into this clubhouse I thanked God that wasn’t what happened to my baby girl.”

  Harry’s phone pinged. He dug it out of his pocket and read the message. He frowned and studied the message again. Then he looked up at Gunner and Cobra. “I just got something more about Tessi Silvers.”

  “What is it?” Gunner wanted to know.

  “Her police report. According to this, her murder case is still open. Meaning her killer was never found.”

  “Well, they can
close the case now. He’s sure as hell dead by now,” Cobra said.

  “We may know that but the cops don’t.” Gunner pointed out. He turned to look at Harry. “Is her autopsy in that report?”

  Harry nodded.

  “Let’s have a look at it on your computer,” Gunner suggested. “We need to know everything we can find about what happened.”

  The three men sat waiting for the report to print out, then they all read it silently.

  “That fucking bastard,” Cobra swore when he was done.

  “We need information on who she was married to at the time of her death.” Gunner also looked angry. “Who Becky’s dad is and why did her mother have to suffer what Randy did to her?” Looking at Harry, he growled. “We need answers before we say anything to Annie and Becky, we need to know the why’s and what happened.”

  “I’ll dig into this and get you those answers,” Harry vowed, then he paused and looked back down the hall toward the infirmary. “I just have trouble concentrating. If Annie loses that baby...” His words faded away.

  Gunner and Cobra glanced at each other. If ever they were the type of men who prayed... they mentally did so now.

  Rigger came into the room. When he spotted the men sitting together, he made his way over with a grim expression on his face. “Boss, we might have a problem ...”

  Gunner stared at his man. “What kind of problem?”

  Rigger handed him a surveillance photo. “He’s been standing outside for over an hour now.”

  Gunner looked down at the picture in his hands and froze. Damen Cole had been keeping an eye on the club. He glanced over at Cobra. “He’s here and he’s been watching us.” He handed the other man the photo.

  “Well fuck a damn duck,” Cobra swore as he studied the photo. Then he looked over at Harry. “You’d better hustle on that information kid. Looks like we just ran out of time.”

  Damen stood in the shadows across the road from the clubhouse and watched the activity going on. Bikers were coming and going but he couldn’t tell what was happening inside and it bothered him.