Beginning of the Reckoning

by Vera Quinn

  “Sheriff Taylor, I’ll take care of the questions. Devil nee ds to get to the hospital,” I tell the man who is looking at us with a look of disgust. I look around at the position of each of the deputies. Bowie is watching me and I nod my head at him. He gets Crockett’s attention and Crockett positions himself to where he is in a better advantage point to see all the deputies. Sheriff Taylor looks at me as if he is shocked I spoke up to him before he got a chance to say anything. I look the sheriff over and I see he does not have a body cam on him. I get up close to him so that only he and Devil can hear me. “We were all here when Sarah was found and each of us can all give you a statement. Sarah is a friend of Devil’s wife, Callie. He needs to make sure that Sarah’s family, in Texas, is notified and get to the hospital.” Sheriff Taylor looks at me closely. I know I am intimidating him but that is exactly what I want to do.

  “Mr. Bridges, I am the one making the decisions here. Don’t interfere in an official investigation or you will be sitting in one of my cells tonight,” the sheriff tells me, trying to get me to back down. I don’t back down to no one. I know all the secrets of this hick town’s law enforcement officers. Taylor has a proclivity for the town hookers and our strip club. He also likes to occupy our backrooms where we have cameras. The cameras may be for the girl’s protection but they have come in handy to get the cooperation of the old cronies that run our small town. I bend down slightly so only Taylor can hear me. Me being over six feet five inches it is not easy since Taylor can only be five feet eight at the most.

  “Let Devil go or your wife will be receiving some visual looks into your extracurricular activities with the hookers on Eighth Street and your frequent visits to our strip club. I can give you the answers and you can talk to Devil tomorrow. Be a decent human being for once. Don’t test my patience.” I straighten back up and step back. Taylor looks at me carefully. He’s trying to size me up and get inside my head to see if I will be a man of my word. He shouldn’t need to look so hard. I am and will do exactly as I have said if he does not cooperate. His eyes go to Devil.

  “Mr. Steel you can go and follow the ambulance. Be sure to report to my office first thing in the morning to answer questions.” Devil looks at me and then back to Taylor. I see the relief on his face.

  “I’ll do that.” I watch Devil go to his bike. I know he will be making a stop by the clubhouse to get Callie. My mind goes back to Joy. I hope she is safe. “Mr. Bridges follow me so we can have a private talk.” I know I am not going to like what this asshole is going to say but I will listen so Devil can take care of what he needs to. It’s time to protect our own.

  I see the clubhouse coming into sight. I am dreading this talk but I need my eyes on my family to make sure they are alright. Callie and Tito are not going to take this very well. I should have texted ahead, but I am a selfish bastard that wants to hold my woman when she gets bad news. I need to be the one she leans on when she falls apart. Callie is a strong woman and she doesn’t fall apart very often. She keeps her shit tight but when she falls I am the only one to catch her. Sarah, Hanna, Callie, and Felix have been best friends since their first day in school. That explained the matching tattoos. They don’t always like each other but they always love each other and they stand together. To tell you the truth, I have always been a little jealous of their relationship. Not that I would ever express my feelings. It shows how possessive I am of my woman and the double standard situation of our relationship. Yes, I admit it. I have my brothers and I would bleed and die for them but I am jealous of my woman and her friends. It’s not that I don’t like her group of friends, they have proven to be loyal to my woman but sometimes I wish I could be Callie’s everything. That is where the bastard part of me comes in. I know it is irrational and my brothers would laugh at the thoughts going through my head. I would never admit to it anyway except to Callie. Who am I trying to kid, Callie is and always has been my weakness since she has been in my life and I love every fucking minute of it. Her and our children. Not too many people know that Sarah and Tito started fucking each other right after she moved to Oklahoma from Texas. Sarah moved here to be with her three best friends. After Callie graduated and we went through so much Sarah went her own way. She moved out to California. Her parents have money and they sat her up with a place to live, part-time job and paid for her schooling. Callie thinks Sarah was running from Tazer, Callie’s brother. Tazer had patched in with the BlackPath MC and he was nailing every woman he could. Sarah and Tazer had a little something going on but Sarah wanted more. I think Sarah’s parents couldn’t ignore the way their daughter ran after the biker and sent her away to get her as far away from Tazer as they could get her. They didn’t want their daughter becoming a biker’s woman. It worked but after a failed marriage she ended up in Oklahoma with us and she is a big part of our family. During the time, I was trying to convince Callie to marry me the first time, Tito spent time with Sarah and I think he genuinely liked the young woman. At the time, Tito was our tech man and he was helping get information on Callie through her friend. They spent time together but when everything went south with Callie and me, Tito and Sarah went their separate ways. Tito has never been like the rest of our brothers. He’s smart with computers and numbers. That’s what made him our go-to brother for anything to do with computers and surveillance. He became our tech guy but when it comes to a fight he is the first one to jump in. He’s good with a knife and a gun. To say the least, he is not your ordinary tech nerd but he also doesn’t drink and party like most of the brothers. He’ll throw back a few drinks but doesn’t get sloppy drunk and he is very respectful of women. He was raised by a single mom and he has three younger sisters. He doesn’t want anyone disrespecting them so he doesn’t disrespect other women. That’s not to say he hasn’t been with some of the club girls but he keeps it quiet and doesn’t flaunt it. When Oz joined us, Tito was voted in as our numbers man and is now the treasurer, but he still does his computer thing. Right after that, Sarah moved in with Felix and Hanna. Sarah began coming to the family parties at the clubhouse and Sarah and Tito picked up their friendship again and it has evolved from there but they don’t tell a lot of people. I think it is more that it is new and they want to know where they are going before they put themselves out there. Sarah is high maintenance and Tito is laid back. Opposites attract. I wouldn’t know myself if I hadn’t seen Tito coming out of the house Sarah lives in on more than one occasion in the mornings. Neither of them volunteer information and I didn’t figure it was my business to ask. If they don’t make it a club issue or a Callie issue then it is not my business. I stop my bike in front of the clubhouse. I see Callie’s SUV is parked not too far away. I know she will be waiting for answers. Tito, Oz, Creole, Slick and the prospects were left here with family but everyone should be here now. I see Tara’s truck and Gertie’s car. Creole and one of the prospects was on the gate. I get off my bike and make my way in the door. I see Callie, Gertie, Tara, and Joy sitting at one table. The kids must be asleep. I see the club girls at another table. Bo is behind the bar. Tito must be in his office.

  “Bo, where is Tito?” Bo is one of our newest prospects but it won’t be long before he is patched in.

  “He took Gully and Possum to do a perimeter walk. Said he had a bad feeling and he needed air,” Bo tells me. Tito’s feeling was right. “Go get Tito. Tell the two prospects to finish the walk. You get back here with Tito,” I give the order. I guess he can tell by my voice something is wrong because he starts for the back door. “Stay alert and be sure everyone is carrying.” He nods his head and he is gone. Felix and Hanna come walking out of the kitchen with mugs in their hands. Callie gets up and walks over to me. I open my arms up so she can walk into them. I am home. My woman is safe. “Where are the kids? Asleep?”

  “I put them in the office for now. We weren’t given an explanation on why we had to be here but I know it is bad and we can’t find Sarah. We have been texting and calling. Tito even tried the app to find her phone. Nothin
g. Oz is still trying to find something on her.” Callie is babbling but as I hold her close I feel her shaking.

  “Baby girl, calm down. Why are the kids in my office instead of my room?” I ask her. “We are going to be staying here for a while.” “The children were already asleep and since I had no more information I didn’t want them so far away. I had the baby’s monitor so I put them in your office and locked the door. The boys are on a pallet and Kaitlyn is in her pack ‘n play. I wanted them closer.” Callie points to the monitor on the table. “What is it Kylar? What’s happened?” Tito walks in the back door with Bo behind him. I need to just get this out. We are wasting time and we need to be at the hospital. My phone vibrates and I take it out and look at the text. More bad news. Chief has had trouble too in Texas and it makes it even worse that I have to add to what I am going to have to tell Callie. I take Callie by the hand and guide her over to the table to sit down. Tito walks up behind me. I nod to him.

  “We found Sarah and she is on her way to the hospital.” Callie starts to ask something and I hold my hand up to keep her quiet. “Just listen. We got a picture of a woman sent from an anonymous number and we couldn’t tell who she was. Rome recognized some of the scenery so we went to check it out. Sarah is in bad shape. She was strung between two trees out by the cabin that Rome owns. She’s not recognizable.” I hear Tito leave. I can’t blame the brother, if it was Callie I wouldn’t wait either. I look back at Callie, she has tears running down her face. “You need to pull it together for Sarah, babe. We need to contact her parents. Gertie, watch my boys until we can get back. The rest of the brothers will be here when the sheriff is finished questioning them. Tara, you and Joy help Gertie. No one is to leave this clubhouse. One of you women stay in the room with my children. Chief has had trouble in Texas too. He’s going to let me know more as soon as he can.” I stop and hug my woman.

  “Her parents cut Sarah out of their lives. The only thing Sarah has left is her trust fund from her grandparents.” I look at Hanna. “They need to be here if they want to see her. She stopped breathing before she was put in the ambulance. This is serious and I don’t care how mad I ever was at one of my children I would want to be there. Call!” I hear the gasp from Callie.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Felix says.

  “We need to go now. We have her medical power of attorney if decisions need to be made so we can make them,” Callie says. “Her doctor has a copy at his office.” “I’ll call her doctor too,” Felix says.

  “Is everyone alright at Dad’s?” Callie asks.

  “I don’t know babe. I told you everything the text said. Let’s get g oing. Give Gertie the key to my office. There should be a key to my room on there too.” Callie takes the key out of her pocket and hands it to Gertie. Gertie pulls her in for a hug and whispers something in her ear. I hear the side door open. Slick walks in with two of the prospects. Oz is walking in from the hall his office is on. “Slick, we are on lockdown. No one in or out of here that does not have a Feral Steel MC cut on or family. The club girls can stay but their asses better be pulling their load. Put them to cleaning and cooking but if they leave then they don’t come back. Get a list of groceries and supplies we need and we can take care of it tomorrow. Oz, I want you checking out the BlackPath situation. Chief sent me a text so contact him or one of the members. Bo, you are with us. The rest of the brothers should be here soon.” Callie is ready to go. “Felix, you and Hanna are riding with us. We’ll figure rides out later if we need to do this in shifts. Let’s move.”

  “Kylar, you need a fresh shirt.” I look down at my shirt. I don’t know how any of them kept their heads looking down at all the blood on my t-shirt. I go to my office and open the door quietly so I don’t wake my kids. I get in and I see my two boys and they look so innocent lying beside each other. I bend down and kiss Kellan and then Killian on the head and then make it over to Kaitlyn. I give her a kiss too. I would kill anyone who tried to hurt my children. I don’t care how much we ever argue, it happens in families, if someone called and said one of them was hurt I would move heaven and earth to get to them. If Sarah’s parents don’t show then they never deserve to set eyes on her again. Sarah is part of our family now and we don’t turn our back on family. Gertie and Joy come in and pick each of the boys up as I open my filing cabinet and grab one of the club logo t-shirts out. I take my cut off and walk into the bathroom and grab a towel to try to wipe it clean. I get off what I can. I jerk my t-shirt off and throw it in the trash. I put on the clean shirt. I turn to the sink and wash my hands and grab a wash cloth to clean my face. I need a shower but there is no time, this will just have to do. I see that the women have left with my boys and that Tara is getting Kaitlyn with Callie’s help. I’ll get Possum to move the bed.” Tara nods her head yes but leaves the room.

  “Hanna and Fe are waiting in the SUV. Can we go? I want to be there… in case.” Callie can’t finish it. She starts crying. I walk up to her and pull her in my arms and kiss the top of her head.

  “Babe, Sarah needs you now. We need to roll out. We need to take care of our family.” Callie looks up at me and she kisses my cheek and then steps back and wipes her face on the bottom of her t-shirt.

  “Let’s go.” I take her hand and we w alk back into the common room. I see Possum and Gully behind the bar. It looks like they have moved a couple of coffee makers and are setting up coffee cups.

  “Possum, move Kaitlyn’s bed into my room. Bo let’s go. When the brothers get back send at least two our way,” I tell whoever is listening. I move Callie out the front door with Bo right behind us. Hanna is sitting inside the SUV but Felix is waiting for us.

  “Sarah’s parents aren’t coming. They said they don’t have a daughter anymore. Dr. Ren is calling the hospital so they can get Sarah’s records. He’ll be there as soon as he can get dressed and drive there,” Felix informs us. “I got Chief on the phone. Em was shot. She’s going to be alright but someone needs to tell Joy.” We don’t have time right now.

  “Are you sure she is going to be alright?” I look at Felix to make sure he is telling me everything. “Yes, Chief s aid it was a graze. It went through her side and didn’t hurt anything going through. Two men tried to grab Maizy and Em. Maizy fought them off. Em was carrying and shot one of the men but the other one shot back and hit Em. Maizy said the driver of the van almost backed over Em after she fell from being shot. Chief and Tazer are beyond pissed,” Felix tells us.

  “Aren’t you?” Felix doesn’t say any thing he just nods his head. “Let’s get to the hospital.” Felix goes to the back and gets in and I take the driver seat. I hope like hell this night gets better.

  I walk into the clubhouse and it is full in the common room but it is eerily quiet. I was the first person Taylor talked to and the last he let leave. Bowie stayed with me and rode back. Devil sent a text that no one is to be alone. For now, we are on the buddy system, no one gets caught alone. That’s the last word I received and that was three hours ago. I stopped to talk to Slick at the gate to see if Devil had checked in and no one has heard anything else. It seems that Chief’s woman was shot and some men tried to grab Em and Maizy. They didn’t find that an easy job. Maizy may be a quiet woman but she is a trained MMA fighter. She may not underground fight anymore but it’s not something that you forget. Her skills kicked in and she kept her and Em safe enough until one of the BlackPath MC members was there to help. Em took a hit but it is not serious. I hate the woman was hurt but I think our problems are a bit worse with the shape Sarah is in. From what Slick says, Devil thinks they may be connected. Devil is running on emotion. This hit close to home but how the two incidents could be connected is not clear to me. Better safe than sorry though. Even if they aren’t connected we still have problems here at home. Oz approaches me and I can tell he has some news. “Chief wants to talk. He said he can’t wait for Devil to get back. He’s waiting to skype.” I am not Chief’s favorite person and he is not mine so this should be…interesting. “I ha
ve it set up in my office.”

  “Alright. Let’s do this. Bowie and Crockett ,” I call to the two. They walk over to me. “I want you two in the room with Oz and me when I talk to Chief.” Bowie shakes his head.