Patriot

by KJ Dahlen

  Becky shivered and Patriot wondered why as he whispered into her ear, “What brought that on, baby?”

  “I’ve never had a home before. At least not one that was mine,” she spoke softly. “When we were with Randy and Annie’s mom, it didn’t feel like a home at all. It was just a roof over our heads. I guess I didn’t know any better growing up. Then when it was just Annie and I, we tried to make it into a home but there were times when it felt like it was just a shack we'd rented. I didn’t realize it then that Annie was the one who made it a home.”

  Patriot just listened to her talk. His hands lowered until they covered her breasts and he held them gently while smoothing his fingers over her soft skin. He smiled when he noticed her body tighten as he kneaded her flesh.

  Becky moaned at his hands touching her body.

  He whispered in her ear, “Keep talking, I’m listening.”

  She seemed to gulp a bit then went on, “I was twelve when her mom left us that final time. She told Annie if she wasn’t home by morning, then she would know what to do. Annie told me at dawn the next morning to pack my bag cuz we had to leave. She’d said that we had to keep our heads down and become invisible until I was of age. We were now on our own. If I fucked things up, I would end up in foster care and I would be separated from her. If that happened, we would probably never see each other again. So I knew to behave and listen to anything Annie told me to do. I couldn’t risk losing her too.” Becky had to pause again due to his sensual actions.

  One of his hands was still on her breasts while the other had slipped under the waistband of her jeans and had found her folds.

  Becky closed her eyes and whimpered as his fingers dipped into her wet core. She moaned louder as he began thrusting a couple of his fingers in and out. She tried to turn around but Patriot wouldn’t let her. He held her in place as he nibbled on her neck. He took a moment to push her hair out of the way and frowned as he noticed a birthmark that had been hidden before now by the many bruises on her body.

  Becky sighed and moaned as he began pressing kisses on her skin. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, raising it up and over her head. Patriot then unsnapped her bra and pulled it away while together, they worked at removing her jeans and panties.

  Finally, once they were off, she opened her legs, giving him more room. One hand kept thrusting into her while the other hand got busy opening his jeans and releasing his cock. Then he removed his fingers as he pushed into her from behind feeling her tightly wrap around him. He shuddered at the tightness. His hands gripped her hips as he thrust into her deep and hard.

  She cried out and he froze until she urged him, “Please don’t stop.”

  Patriot growled with the need he felt to have this woman once again... his fingers tightened even more on her hips while he lost any sense of control he had left. He pounded into her and she allowed him to dominate her for the next few minutes. Then she cried out again, as her body released an intense orgasm and she flew over the edge. Patriot felt her go and thrust into her again and again before he joined her.

  Both of them laid there for a moment as they waited for their heartbeats to return to normal. Then Becky stretched and turned to him and whispered breathlessly, “God, I love you.”

  Patriot was a bit stunned. She loved him? He hadn’t expected that, not yet. He had loved her for a while now but never expected this from her so soon. “Are you sure? Because if you are baby girl, you won’t ever leave here or me again. I won’t let anything happen to you. Whoever your supposed dad is... if he comes here, he’ll be disappointed when he goes home without you. If he sends his men here to take you away, they’ll be sorry about going home without you. Even if god forbid, something should happen to you, I’ll go all the way to hell and drag you back here.”

  Leaning over, Becky cupped both sides of his face with her small hands. “I meant it. I do love you. How could I not? Just look at you, damn so hot. And you are more man than I have ever encountered. You took me in and then showed me love. And don’t think for one moment, I would ever leave you for any reason. I fought to stay alive when Blacky had me, because I knew my sister was looking for me. Then I met you and now, I think I was always waiting for you to find me. You are the missing part of my soul and I can’t...I won’t live without you, not now, not ever.” She leaned forward and crushed his lips under hers.

  Patriot leaned in and smothered her sweet mouth with his, thrusting his tongue in to entwine with hers.

  Before they could deepen the kiss the way they wanted to, there was a loud pounding on the door.

  “Patriot, we need you and Becky in the main room now!” Gypsy called out from the other side of the door.

  Patriot broke the kiss and groaned. “Be right there,” he called out.

  Becky pulled away from him as she too, groaned with disappointment as she rested her head on his chest. “Now what?”

  “I’m not sure but we better get ready. Gunner isn’t the kind of guy who waits.”

  She let out a sigh. “Ok, ok, let’s go find out what they want.”

  They got up and started dressing.

  Just as Becky got her jeans on, a sudden shot rang out and the window shattered. Becky screamed and fell back on the bed, smacking her head on one of the four corners.

  Patriot dragged her to him and snapped off the light plunging the entire room into the darkness. He could hear footsteps running toward the room. He pulled Becky to the floor and waited until the others got there.

  Gunner opened the door quietly and called out, “Patriot, you guys all right?”

  “Yes boss, I think so,” Patriot replied while running his hands were over Becky and he hadn’t felt any blood yet but he was aware she hit the bed with a thud when the window broke. “She dropped down when the glass broke. I hit the light switch before I could see her.”

  “Can you get her out?” Cobra asked.

  “I think so.” He turned his head around to glare at the bunch of them. “What the fuck is going on out there? Why is someone shooting this far back into the clubhouse?”

  “We aren’t sure,” Gunner answered. “Just get the both of you out here with us,” he ordered.

  Patriot pulled the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her, then gathered her into his arms and crouching he ran for the door, pushing through the line of men standing there. He made his way to the Infirmary.

  As soon as they got there, Gunner immediately ordered one of his men to board the window with plywood. He wanted his bases covered along with the window. This way, there was no chance anyone out there in the shadows could take another shot.

  Patriot laid Becky down on the bed and began examining her. She had caught a bullet to her arm but it was only a graze. He could see the bloody path of the bullet at the base of her neck along the left side of her shoulder. “Fucking hell,” he swore as he reached for some gauze to clean the wound. He’d doctored many men. A medic for most of his life, but he was so tired of seeing this woman injured. His woman. He could see how close the shooter came to hitting her carotid artery and swore again. He went on auto pilot as was his way under stress until he got her cleaned up and bandaged.

  Finally, he moved to check out her head wound. She had a small goose egg but no broken skin, so there seemed to be no other real damage. When he finished cleaning her wound, he collapsed in the chair beside the bed and picked up her hand. He felt so lost now, without her presence as he gazed at her, willing her to wake up.

  Gunner leaned against the wall and watched his man as well as his patient.

  Cobra joined him and asked, “Is she gonna be okay?”

  “I have no idea but I hope so for Patriot’s sake, I hope so.” Gunner said under his breath. Before Cobra could say anything else, Gunner’s phone chirped with an incoming call.

  Gunner checked out the caller ID but didn’t know the number. He hit the accept button and pulled the phone to his ear. “What?”

  ”This is Damen Cole. I think you might be look
ing for me. I just wanted to tell you that I didn’t fire that shot earlier tonight. But I know who did.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Why should I believe a word you say, you bastard?” Gunner growled as his fingers tightened around the phone. He lifted the cell and tapped the speaker.

  “Because I know this killer very well,” Damen told him over the speaker. “And he’s going to come after you again and again and he won’t give a shit about how many of you he takes out. He won’t even give a damn if the girl gets caught in the crossfire.”

  “Who exactly are you and why did you call to warn us?” Gunner demanded.

  “Oh, I think you know exactly who I am.”

  “Pretend that I don’t and explain it to me,” Gunner retorted.

  “Let’s just say I’m an enforcer of sorts,” Damen replied. “I work behind the scenes as well as under the table for a group of men like Levi Silvers and his group. I’m one of a small group that Levi and his friends use to make a deal go smoothly and above board. We persuade good people to turn over their businesses to men like Levi and his friends. If they don’t want to play, then we show them why it’s the right thing to do.”

  “You and your friends are fucking assassins then?” Gunner snarled.

  “We have had to persuade some people in that manner, yes,” Damen admitted.

  “Why are you here then? Why did you come after Becky?”

  “My mission was to come here, find her and take her back to her real father. I’ve been looking for this girl for a very long time, most of her life in fact. We came close to finding her once a very long time ago, but we just missed her. I think she would have been around four at that time.”

  “Actually, she was closer than you realized,” Gunner informed him. “She was watching you guys storm her house from a car on the road.”

  Damen paused before he asked, “And how would you know that?”

  “She remembered it, she said one of the guys found her bunny and brought it out to a man in a black limo.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Damen swore under his breath. “So close.”

  “Tell me something you little maggot,” Gunner snarled. “Did you know who she was when you saw her at Blacky’s? She said you were there a couple of times watching her as she suffered under his hands.”

  Damen didn’t say anything for a moment that stretched out to an uncomfortable silence. “No, I wasn’t sure then. He only verified it before he lost his head.”

  “Yet, you still left her there, you fucker. Knowing she was being abused, knowing that Blacky would probably kill her. He almost did you know? Just before he intended to leave town, he beat her again and then he was going to leave her in an abandoned warehouse where no one would ever find her. If I hadn’t been there looking to find my daughter, she would have died and no one would have found her until it was too late.”

  Damen didn’t say anything for a moment then said, “Blacky got off too easy, didn’t he?”

  “So the man who shot at her tonight? What’s his story?” Cobra asked.

  “Jase?” Damen's voice came from the speaker. “He’s a heartless, stone cold killer and he enjoys his work very much.”

  “Does he work for the SANG group as well?” Gunner wanted to know.

  Again, Damen was silent on the other end of the call. “So you’ve uncovered a lot of information on us already. More than most people ever could.”

  “So tell me something,” Gunner spoke again. “Why the fuck does Levi Silvers want her so bad?”

  “She’s his daughter,” Damen answered simply.

  “Does he know this bastard Jase almost killed her tonight?”

  “No, but I’ll be sure and let him know.” Damen growled.

  “You can also tell him,” Gunner went on. “His man is going to die in the very near future. My men aren’t going to let this go. He took a shot at us and we’re going to hunt this bastard down and end him. He isn’t going to get a second shot at her or us.”

  “Is she well at this time?” Damen finally asked.

  “Why the fuck should I tell you anything more than I already have?” Gunner demanded.

  “Because I feel responsible for what happened tonight. I didn’t fire the bullet but I knew Jase was here and I didn’t watch over her as close as I should have. Tell her I’m sorry for that will you? Seems I’ve always been too late to save her and bring her back home to her father but I know she’s been safe all these years. Well, she was up until I found her at Blacky’s. When I saw glimpses of her, I knew I’d seen her before. I just didn’t know she was the one I was looking for all this time.”

  “Tell me something, will you?” Cobra asked this time.

  “If I can.”

  “What kind of man is Levi Silvers?”

  Damen was quiet for a moment then he spoke in a quiet voice, “He’s a lot like Randy Sheen only more polished. He’s the type of man who can look you in the eyes and lie straight to your face. He’s also the kind of man who will stab you in the back for no other reason than just because he can. But he hides under a thin layer of respectability. He thinks because his public side is well known, so he can do whatever the hell he wants to do privately.”

  “Do you know what happened between him and Randy? Why Randy would murder his wife and take her baby at the same time?” Gunner asked.

  “Levi never said and he wouldn’t say if anyone asked him outright,” Damen replied. “But there were rumors that Randy did a job for him and Levi refused to pay him for it. We’re talking big bucks here, not chump change either. I also heard that Levi laughed in his face when Randy demanded payment or he would go to the police. Levi scoffed at him and asked him if he had any proof that he ever told him to kill anyone? Randy realized then that if he admitted to the crime, the police would lock him up and not Levi. Then about a week later, Sheen took his wife’s life and stole their baby. But that was only rumors mind you.”

  Gunner grunted. “Yeah Sheen always was a loser.”

  “What happens to the girl. should he get his daughter back?” Cobra asked.

  After a long pause, Damen spoke again, “I’m not sure. He isn’t a warm man nor a sentimental one, that I can say.”

  “What do you think will happen to her?” Gunner wanted to know.

  “Honestly?”

  “No fucker, we love being lied to,” Cobra snapped.

  “I think he has plans to sell her into a marriage that will bring him more power and more money. He won’t care that she doesn’t love the man, and she won’t have a choice in the matter.”

  “The hell she will,” Patriot shouted from across the room.

  “One more thing,” Damen warned them. “Levi isn’t a man who will stop coming after her. Men like Jase will be only the beginning. He’ll pick your brothers off one at a time if he has to. He will keep coming until you give her up to him. That much I know for sure. Levi is that kind of bastard. So unless you kill everyone he sends or cut the heads off the Sang Group... you and your men will be continually hunted.”

  “Why are you telling us all this?” Cobra asked. “What’s in it for you?”

  “Absolutely nothing,” Damen admitted. “Maybe...” He paused. “...maybe tonight, I’m just tired of taking the kind of orders I get from men like Levi and his crew.”

  “He’s going to kill you if he finds out, you know that right?” Gunner pointed out.

  “I knew he was going to kill me the moment I saw Jase here. Levi told me he’d give me a week to find and rescue his daughter from your club. That was less than twenty-four hours ago. When I saw Jase in the woods just beyond your gates, I knew what it meant. He was going to bring both of us back but we weren’t going to be breathing and Jase will then blame me for Becky’s death.”

  “The fuck if he will.” Gunner growled. “We protect our own and we don’t take kindly to someone shooting at us.’ He paused then asked, “Is this why you sprayed our house with bullets earlier? To warn us about his attack?”

  �
�The moment I saw him I knew she wouldn’t make it back to her father. Jase would make sure of that. He thinks whatever he does, no one can stop him. If he did get to her, he would blame you guys for killing her and bring Levi’s wrath down on you or he would blame me and take us both back dead. One way or the other, Levi would never meet her in person, not in this life.”

  “But why?” Cobra asked.

  “Well, there’s a story behind that,” Damen explained. “Jase hates Levi. He got rather messy once and made a fatal mistake. Jase left a direct trail right back to Levi. Levi had to fix the screwup and he was penalized by the SANG group for it. Levi left him humiliated and broke, meaning he took all of Jase’s money. Jase’s ego got in the way. He vowed he’d get Levi back one day and this is that day. He’ll drag the girl back but she’ll already be dead when he does. Like I said, he’ll put the blame on either your club or me. But Levi won’t get his revenge on me because I’ll already be dead as well.”

  “Why would he kill you?” Patriot asked.

  “I’m his competition, you see,” Damen admitted. “I get my choice of the jobs because I’m paid higher than he is. He wants my position in the company. Levi is such a bastard he doesn’t see the danger he’s in with Jase. One day soon, Jase is going to kill him.”

  “Why should we trust the words of a killer about any of this?” Gunner asked.

  “Because I’m all you got. I’m done with taking orders from men like Levi. Now tell me something will you?”

  “What?” Gunner wanted to know.

  “Is she happy? I need to know if she’s going to be safe and okay.”

  “Yeah, I would say she’s happy,” Gunner replied. “She belongs to the club now. We protect our own. She isn’t going anywhere. One of us has claimed her.”

  “Good. I’m glad for her. Randy never cared one way or the other about anyone but himself and her own father is the same way. I was hoping she would finally find someone or someplace to call home.”