Hunger of the Heart

by Trinity Blacio

  Running Wolf lifted the man off of her and threw him down the hallway of the coffeehouse.

  Dark Horse lifted her up and flinched. “You’re going to have a nice goose egg, Kizzy. Let’s get you some ice on that knot. Did he hurt you anywhere else?” he asked, checking her out.

  “Other than needing a damn shower and the breath being knocked out of me, I’m fine. God, why do I draw the creepy ones?” She pulled her shirt down and pushed back into the bathroom, needing to at least wash her hands. “Make sure Running Wolf doesn’t kill the guy. We don’t need to be stuck here any longer than necessary.”

  Dark Horse stepped into the bathroom behind her while she washed her hands and face.

  “You know you are in the lady’s bathroom, right?”

  He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, giving her one of those scary biker stares.

  She laughed. “You really believe that look is going to scare me?”

  “I’m fine, and the police have him.” Running Wolf stepped into the bathroom, nodding to Dark Horse. “You okay, Little Gypsy?” he asked, brushing her hair away from the bump on her head.

  “Yeah. Thanks for getting here so fast.” She dried her hands, threw the paper towel in the garbage, and hugged him tight. “Let’s get out of this place, please?”

  He scooped her up in his arms. “From now on, you take a guard with you wherever you go.” Running Wolf kissed the top of her head.

  “How did I know you were going to say that?” She kissed his chest, resting her head on it.

  “Because he’s right. You need someone to watch your back with everything going on. I mean it, Kizzy. You can’t fight this.” Mason met them in the dining room.

  All eyes focused on her, and she hated it. “Running Wolf, get me out of here.”

  He shook his head. “You have to speak with the police, Kizzy.”

  So, for the next hour, she sat in Running Wolf’s arms, holding an ice bag on her head, as the police officer took her statement. By the time he left, she was mentally drained.

  “Can we go now?” She put the ice bag on the table.

  “I don’t know if we should be riding with your bump on your head,” he said, studying her wound. “Red Hawk, take a look at her?”

  “No, he is not going to do anything. I’m fine. If you want to stop early later on fine, but we need to get out of this town now.” She shivered.

  Red Hawk sat near them. “What is it, Kizzy?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to move on. Someone is waiting for us. Plus, we have to meet the rest of your group in Louisville.”

  ”Promise you’ll tell me if you get dizzy or need to stop?” Running Wolf asked.

  “I promise. Can we go?”

  He stood, not releasing his hold on her. “Let’s get out of here.” Running Wolf said as everyone started to move toward the door.

  Thirty minutes later, Kizzy took a deep breath. The land around them as they moved down I-71 was stunning. The nervousness was gone, and she could breathe again. She didn’t know why it was so important to leave that town, but it was.

  “You going to tell me what is wrong?” Running Wolf’s voice came through the helmet speaker.

  “I honestly don’t know. It was just a very heavy feeling, like someone was sitting on my chest. We have to keep moving or something will happen, not in our favor, either.”

  “You think it has something to do with my woman?” Dark Horse, who rode next to them, asked.

  “I have no idea, and that is why it’s driving me crazy. If I knew what was going to happen or had a vision it would be easier, but I hate when this happens.”

  Running Wolf reached back and squeezed her leg. “You do what you can, Little Gypsy. That is all that matters. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, really. The fresh air is helping a lot. I’ll be fine.” She tried to reassure Running Wolf and the others who were listening. “Do you really think I’m pregnant? Are you okay with us having a little girl first?”

  “A little girl who looks just like her momma,” Running Wolf said.

  Dark Horse snorted. “And you’ll have every boy around sniffing after her, too.”

  “Joke away, because I have a feeling you are going to have a load of children, and I can see them running around driving you crazy, too,” Kizzy teased.

  Sun Bull rose on their other side. He was a quiet one.

  “Sun Bull, how many children do you want?” she asked, trying to drag him into the conversation.

  “None,” he stated.

  “Okay. I hate to break it to you, but life has a way of changing our minds.”

  Finally, he turned his gray eyes on her. “I think not.” Sun Bull returned his attention to the road.

  “Drop it, Little Gypsy,” Running Wolf said.

  “Fine. I’m sorry if I offended him. I was just trying to get to know your friends.” She placed her palm on her leg.

  Running Wolf reached back, bringing her hand around him again. “I know you’re trying, baby, but give it time. You don’t need to rush. Let things play out.”

  Kizzy was pushing it, but she wanted to fit in. Not always be stirring up trouble with her abilities. Sometimes, Kizzy wished she could just be normal, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  Running Wolf took a deep breath. Kizzy was hurt, but his friend Sun Bull was a man unto himself. He was smart and a fierce protector of his friends, but he was also very quiet, studying everything around him.

  “Tell me about your mom and dad, Little Kizzy,” he asked, trying to change the subject, but also wanting to know more about his wife.

  “Mom liked to work outside in the garden, and she’d go into the forest, planting things, food hidden, so if something ever happened, there would be plants. That’s how I knew to do this for Rose and her family. I don’t know how many campgrounds around the US now have wild lettuce, squash, corn, and tomatoes. Dad used to laugh at her, teasing her till we went back a few years later to a couple of those sites. Sure enough, the seeds she had planted had taken off. It was amazing. Even Uncle Stephan was impressed, and, believe me, it takes a lot to impress that man.” Mom had a green thumb. She would talk with her plants while pulling weeds.

  “My dad was smart as a tack. Half of our family allowed him to invest their money in the stock exchange. We were lucky Dad had a sense something wasn’t right and pulled out most of it before the market crashed. Every single one of my uncles is very well off. I used to have a nice nest egg, but I’m afraid half of it was stolen a month after I left home when my folks died.”

  He stiffened. “Who stole it?” The thought of someone taking what should have been hers had him furious.

  “Money isn’t important. What hurt the worst was Henry took my mother’s ring. It was one of the few things I had of hers, and I have no idea where he is now. I even checked the pawnshops near where he lived. I guess we all have been suckers at some point in our lives. We can sit around moping about it or move forward, even though it hurts.” She fidgeted behind him. “That is when I moved to Milan, Ohio. I loved the area, and everyone seemed so nice. Guess my judgment isn’t the greatest.”

  “Hey, you picked me,” Running Wolf growled.

  “It’s more like you took me, dear sir.” Kizzy giggled. “Even though I do have to admit I did find the whole degrading thing kind of sexy.”

  Both Dark Horse and Sun Bull groaned.

  “You do know his head is going to swell so big it won’t fit in his helmet?” Dark Horse said.

  “Hell, he’ll puff out his chest and beat it next,” Sun Bull added.

  “Watch it you two,” he snapped.

  “Tell me how all of you met. I know you’re not from the same area,” Kizzy said.

  “I’m not as gifted as you are, or Soaring Eagle, but, under his teaching, I did seek my vision quest. We usually don’t speak of this, but I’ll tell you. There were flashes of things I didn’t understand: the white buffalo, a horse, motorcycle, and flashes of our people suff
ering. With Soaring Eagle’s wisdom and a few friends, we knew what we had to do. Each man who joined came because he, too, had been given some sort of sign. At first, there was tension and disagreements among us, but our one purpose remains the same: to pick our people back up and lend a hand no one else has offered.”

  “I’m amazed at all that you have done. It seems each of you has a place in your group to help those who need it. It’s like an organized company.” Kizzy told him.

  She was right. Each member of their group had a specialty, but it was more than that. It was as if he and his men had connected the first time he had met his them. Running Wolf couldn’t explain something he didn’t understand himself.

  “I’m sorry, Little Gypsy. I don’t feel as I’m doing the experience justice with the way I’m describing it. Meeting each man was an experience in itself. Like they belonged. I guess it was the only time you could say I had a little gift handed to me because I’d never experienced anything like it until I heard your voice.”

  “Do you know when I knew you were going to be a part of my life? The day I saw your picture on your website. It’s the only reason I stayed where I was so long, or I would have left long ago. I usually don’t ignore my visions, but I knew in my heart I had to wait. Talk about a conflict of emotions and my gift, but in the end I chose my heart.” She locked her arms around him.

  “And I let you get hurt,” Running Wolf growled.

  “No, Soaring Eagle showed me there was nothing you could have done. That it was predestined. I had to prove I was good enough to stand beside the warrior who would save us.”

  “Bullshit!” He glared at her. “You’re too good for me. I’m not a saint, Kizzy. Far from it. I have the soul of an old warrior, and, believe me, I wanted to skin those two assholes alive,” he said. “Maybe we balance each other out. Where you are honest, have a heart of gold, and are nurturing, I’m the opposite, a warrior. Burn me once, you don’t get another chance.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “The ground opens up, taking the earth we once walked upon. Will it take us next?”

  Sun Bull, White Buffalo MC

  Kizzy snorted, staring out at the landscape. She sure didn’t feel like a damn saint. Hell, half of the thoughts in her head were downright naughty. “Do you have other things packed in the truck?” she asked Running Wolf.

  “No, everything I need is in the saddle bags, why?”

  “Just wondering?” Knowing what she would be searching for in Louisville, all she had to do was sneak away from everyone if she could. Maybe she could take her brother, but nope, he’d open his mouth to her husband.

  “Your woman is planning something,” Dark Horse said. “I swear I can see the gears moving inside that little head of hers.”

  “Of course I’m thinking. With everything that is going on, how can one not?” Kizzy flipped down the visor on the helmet.

  “Oh no. She’s hiding her face now,” Dark Horse teased her.

  “Just wait. We’ll see who’s laughing when I find your mate, buster,” she grumbled.

  “Knock it off.” Running Wolf eased up on the throttle. “What the hell?”

  Kizzy tried to peek around him but couldn’t.

  “Do you think we can get around it?” Running Wolf came to a complete stop on the highway.

  Cars had stopped, too.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Dark Horse parked his bike, and he and Sun Bull walked ahead.

  “There are cars stopped about a half block ahead. They’ll find out what’s wrong. If we need to, we can take a back route around this.” He took off his helmet and got off the bike.

  “Wow, never seen anything like that,” Kizzy said. “That’s a news chopper flying over us, so whatever it is must be pretty big.” She pulled off her helmet. “Look at all that dust on the right shoulder.”

  “Get your helmets on and turn around. The ground is crumbling into a massive sink hole,” Dark Horse yelled, racing toward them. He jumped on his bike.

  Kizzy jerked her helmet back on and scrambled onto the bike behind Running Wolf. Sun Bull and Dark Horse pulled ahead of them, and the others followed as they raced back the way they came.

  “We’ll get off at that last exit and find out what is going on. We’ll plan our way from there.” Running Wolf said.

  No one said another word as they raced toward the exit marked West Chester. Kizzy did not like the looks of things. They needed to get to Texas immediately. Things were starting to happen around them too fast.

  “We need more time. I thought we had close to five years before this would happen.”

  “We still might have time. Remember, it’s not going to happen overnight. But you never know. Maybe the Great Spirit wanted us to take a different route. Our group has never been one for planning. We go where people need our help, Little Gypsy. Maybe there is someone here in need. We don’t question.” Running Wolf drew her hands around his middle and patted them. “Don’t worry. We’ll get there in time.”

  “We might as well eat lunch here, so we don’t have to stop again,” Kizzy said.

  Running Wolf finally found a diner called First Watch. Kizzy got off the bike, shaking her head when taking off her helmet. Fire trucks and police cars raced by them, heading back the way they’d come.

  Running Wolf grabbed the GPS and map from the saddlebag. “Come on, Little Gypsy. Let’s get something to eat and figure this out.”

  Kizzy stepped inside the diner filled with Running Wolf’s men. “You know we’re going to have to leave a big tip for the poor ladies.”

  “You’re a sweetie. Come on. Sun Bull has a table for us.” Running Wolf led them through the tables of his men and the townspeople.

  Taking a seat across from Dark Horse, Running Wolf sat beside her, pulling her chair over so she was almost sitting in his lap. “Now, tell why you were asking if I had anything else in the truck? What do you think I need?”

  “Nothing important. Just wondered.” The waitress set a glass of water in front of her, and she lifted it and took a sip.

  “Her face is a nice shade of pink. She’ll never be a great poker player,” Dark Horse said.

  “Keep it up and I’ll make sure I find a perfect voodoo doll for your butt. Wouldn’t it be funny to see you hopping around in front of your woman without knowing why, the first time you meet her.”

  “Kizzy has a little bit of temper, or maybe she just can’t take a good ribbing,” Dark Horse said, leaning back in his chair.

  Tucking her napkin in her lap, Kizzy smiled. “Oh revenge can be fun. Just ask Mason. He usually bore the brunt of mine.”

  Mason proceeded to enlighten both Running Wolf and Dark Horse about how she had no fear of snakes, but something was off. Her stomach knotted, her hands started to sweat, and she swore someone was waiting for her.

  Her brother touched her arm, scaring the living shit out of her. She jumped and almost fell out of her chair. If it hadn’t been for her husband catching her, Kizzy’s backside would have held a nice bruise.

  “What?” Mason asked.

  “You know, you are really a pain in the ass. I don’t know yet, so leave me alone,” she snapped and reached for her water, but her hand shook so badly so she gave up on that. However, Running Wolf was there, lifting the glass to her mouth.

  “We’re here for you. Just tell us what’s up when you can,” he said into her ear, setting the glass down after she took a drink. “Want me to order you a burger?”

  She nodded, slowly scanning the room, but nothing was out of place. Kizzy drummed her fingers on the table, and glanced outside. “Running Wolf.”

  Running Wolf’s gaze followed Kizzy’s, and he snarled. “Let’s go, guys, Kizzy stay behind us,” he ordered then stalked toward the crazy man with the knife carrying a blood-soaked blanket. It was wrapped around what he thought might be a small child…and he only hoped it was alive.

  A man from the diner stepped outside with them. “That’s Mark Sanders, a vet, but
also an ex heroin addict. His wife was pregnant with a baby girl. Looks like she might have delivered.”

  “You talk to him while we try and get around him. We need him distracted so we can get to that baby before he can hurt it,” Running Wolf said. “Dark Horse, you go to the left and I’ll go right.” Before he could, Sun Bull took the right side.

  For the next thirty minutes, the man from the diner talked to the stranger holding the knife, but the man said nothing. They had been told by the owner of the diner that the police were about ten minutes away but were finally coming.

  “You need to move now. He’s not going to last till the police get here,” Kizzy said. “Maybe if I talked to him.” She stepped around him.

  “Damn it, Kizzy.” Running Wolf dragged her back into his embrace. “You can do it from here.”

  She counted to ten. At once, Mark seemed to focus on Kizzy. He stepped forward.

  “Is that your baby? Is it hurt? Do you need a doctor? My name is Kizzy, and this man behind me is my husband. Can we help you?” she asked, her voice almost musical, calming.

  The man took a deep breath. “They killed my wife. I had no choice.” He inched forward, his gaze moving to hers. “I tried to protect her, but I didn’t get home in time.” The man fell to his knees. “She told me to save the baby.” He stared down at the child in his hands. “I’m dying, Kizzy. She got pregnant so she could keep a part of me, and now she won’t be here to raise her.

  She wanted you to have her. Before she died, my wife knew you were coming.” The man laid the baby on the ground. The little girl was moving around, crying now. He reached for his phone and punched some buttons. “She wanted you to believe me. Please come get it.” He dropped the knife next to him.

  “Stay here, Kizzy.” Running Wolf stepped forward slowly, while Sun Bull came up from behind him and kicked the knife away. Running Wolf reached out, took the phone, and handed it to Kizzy.

  She pressed some buttons and held the phone up to him. What he saw made his stomach knot. The woman in the video had the Irons’ mark craved on her face, her eyes were swollen shut, her lip busted open, and blood trickled out of her mouth.