by Ryan Michele
“What does all this mean, Austin?” I thought maybe I had an out with her hearing not being good and she didn’t hear everything on the phone. But I’m wrong, and I’m glad she knows it all.
“It means you’re mine, I’m a Rebel. We protect ours at all costs. This shit ends today. Got my word, Drea, it’s over today. I’ll keep you safe,” I press my lips to her forehead, “for life.”
Chapter 17
Never been in the fold before … this is new!
The ride back to the clubhouse is all a blur as my vision wavers and the rushing noise assaults my ears. When we arrive, Kenderly and I are together in a back room while Dixon and Austin go to what they call church.
My head pounds. So many thoughts and memories flood my mind. When my boss from Ellis called me in, it was all very cold and none of it felt right, then or now.
“Andrea, I must remind you of the non-disclosure agreement you signed concerning David Holloway and the story you were investigating.” His face is blank, void of all emotion. There’s something strange there, but I can’t wrap my mind around it.
“I understand,” I simply reply as my head hurts. I really don’t remember enough about the story to tell anyone anything. I don’t bother explaining that, though. I really just want to get out of here and lay down.
“This project was for Mr. Holloway and his family. It was never the intention of the network to broadcast anything.”
“Then why send us?” I ask, feeling the tears prick behind my eyes in stunned confusion. We did this all for nothing? “Why put us in a war zone if none of this would ever to be seen?”
“Mr. Holloway needed to have his trip documented. He wanted proof of the lengths he was going to for his sons. Ms. Davies, it’s not my job, or yours, to wonder why one does things, it’s merely our job to assist. We did what we were paid to do. David Holloway was one of our biggest advertising customers. He asked for this and agreed to cover the expenses. We did our job.”
“I did my job under a false pretense,” I fire back as the anger hits me hard. I’ve been bamboozled by the job I love, not to mention someone lost their life because of it.
“You signed your waiver of liability. You signed the NDA. Your injuries have exceeded the time off allowable so, at this time, I have to ask for your identification badge and laptop.”
“I’m being let go?”
He doesn’t say the words, but he nods.
The memories are coming back in vivid details. It’s painful. Having bits and pieces I thought was bad, but the more I remember, the more pain I feel for my injuries and Luke losing his life. I can’t help but wonder now, more than ever, what was the real reason behind documenting the whole thing. Did it have something to do with my boss? Or was it all a twisted game from David? My head knocks as all the memories hit me like a lead weight, and I try to sort them all out.
Daisy, Thumper’s ol’ lady, squeezes my hand as she sits across from me. “Wheels are turning, talk it out, Andrea. We’re all family here.”
I blow out a breath. Is this what it’s like to be in the fold? This unconditional support. I find this peace with everyone here that I’ve never had before. Austin trusts them with everything he has in him, and I trust him. After being so royally screwed, it feels good to have people at my back who care—hell, who give a shit about me and my mom. We’ve been doing it alone for so long that this is a breath of fresh air.
“My mind is spinning, and I’m trying to piece together everything, but it’s coming so fast that I’m not sure I’m keeping up. Bear with me, but I think the whole reason for us going to Ukraine was Holloway trying to appease his mother.” The women look at me stunned. “If memory serves, the way Yelena spoke to Luke and me, she wasn’t merely scared of her husband, but his mother, too. She said something about them being a pair, or always connected, or something like that. Then the network let me go, just right out of left field when I was injured on an assignment they sent me on. My boss at Ellis even reminded me point blank about signing the NDA. Shit, I shouldn’t even be speaking about any of this.”
“Honey, that NDA went out the door the minute Shamus told Thumper you were his!” Gloria jumps up and comes to me. “You’re a Rebel, and we hold no secrets amongst us. Fuck the law, the contracts, and any agreements.”
I want to laugh at her remarks, but somehow I find the whole thing empowering to not be held back by societies laws, rules, and standards almost freeing in a way.
“I remember being there, Luke and I met Yelena in a dirt-covered building about three miles from where she was staying. When she spoke, we didn’t know what was right or wrong, up or down. Nothing made sense. David, his mother, the mother the boys—none of it. Yelena talked about her husband and his mother having this affair. That she caught them together one night. The mother charged Yelena and knocked her hard to the ground. The mother beat Yelena so badly, she had to hide out in her room for a day to get the swelling to go down.”
“Well, his mom can be as crazy as she wants, we’re the Ruthless Rebels and ain’t a damn thing she can do to scare any of us,” Daisy says proudly.
“You’re so confident.” I feel the tears fighting to break, but I refuse to let them. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt trying to help me. This is my problem. I can’t let Austin get killed because of me and some shit I don’t even understand.”
“No one is gonna get hurt except the crazy bitch coming after you,” Gloria says, meeting my gaze head on.
“Look, Andrea, we’ve all had our own share of problems. We got good men who have stepped in to keep us good,” Daisy explains.
“Honey, my sister, she got herself in some serious shit with a drug dealer. This was before she got clean. Well, that dealer decided taking me would cover my sister’s debt. Thumper, Lurch, and the whole club saved not only me but my sister, too.” I watch Gloria’s eyes glass over in emotion. “If it wasn’t for the Rebels, no doubt in my mind my sister and I would be dead.”
“I didn’t know,” I reply, turning to Kenderly to see the shock written on her face as well.
“Not something I share often. Just want you to know, Andrea, there ain’t nothing you’re feeling we haven’t felt before. You’re not alone, and Shamus isn’t alone either. We’re family, and we’ll get through this like we have everything before.”
I find comfort in her words. For the first time since before we left for Ukraine, I feel like I’m a part of something. I feel like I’ve found a place where I belong. I feel a happiness I’ve never felt before.
I won’t lose it now. Not when I’ve come so far.
Chapter 18
The gavel crashes… and all hell breaks loose
“I call it,” Lurch says, slamming the gavel down in church. We just laid everything out for him and just as I expected, he called it. Meaning he made a call out to our associates, contacts, and anyone else we know and have worked with to be on the lookout for this bitch. Elise Holloway is on everyone’s radar. The bitch I’ll take to ground before I let her touch Drea.
“Got it!” Gilly calls out, turning the computer to the room. “The license plate from the car she rented. This bitch is stupid as shit. Used her fucking credit card to secure the car.”
“Get a tap on it,” I order then look to Lurch who nods. “Need to know where it is, now. Charlie Flint, need a location on him.”
“Girls locked up tight?” Lurch asks.
“Got them in with Daisy,” Thumper calls out.
“Good. I got Gloria in there, too.” Lurch looks to DJ, “Your woman with them?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, then they’re all accounted for.” He looks to Gilly. “Got it?”
Gilly smiles. “Bitch may not be as stupid as we thought. She’s at the storage unit we were at earlier.” He swings around the computer again so we can see the live feed of the woman in jeans, a fancy-ass shirt, and heels. She’s obviously not dressed to take on the Rebels.
“Let’s get this shit done,” Lurch ca
lls out, and I couldn’t agree more.
I quickly move to Drea who’s in the back room at the clubhouse. She’s surrounded by ol’ ladies reminding me I need to get my shit together on that end.
“What’s going on?” She comes to me, eyes fierce.
“Got a lock on her. Need you to stay here and don’t leave for any fuckin’ reason.” Drea’s eyes narrow. “I mean it. You keep your ass here and don’t go anywhere. I don’t give a shit what you hear or what you think. You stay here.”
“I’m not stupid, Austin.” She accentuates her words with a hand to her hip, but I see the glimmer. Stubborn woman.
I look to Daisy and then Gloria. “She gets the slightest inkling to leave this fuckin’ room, you tie her ass to a fuckin’ chair. Hell, duct tape her to the door, I don’t give a fuck, but she stays here.”
Drea gasps. “You wouldn’t.” I’m not sure if it’s more directed at me or the two women, but I answer.
“Kitten, I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe. Even if that means from yourself. Love you.” Her eyes soften, and I pull her in for a quick kiss. “Mean it. Stay put. You’re safe here.”
“Fine, but I want to know you’re okay.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. “I’ll be just fine.” I look to Daisy and Gloria, making sure they catch my drift because if Drea gets out, it’ll be on their asses. They don’t want that. Each lifts their chin in recognition, no doubt knowing they’re protecting their sister.
I meet my brothers outside, and we ride. Pulling up to the storage unit, the car is immediately visible and the roller door is open just enough for someone to get in. What she plans on finding there, I have no fuckin’ clue, but I know one thing that it’s not her fucking son. Turns out David’s body was recovered, but Yelena wanted to have her own private service for her boys and buried her husband in Ukraine without notifying any American embassy representatives. Skinny got the update for us, but we’ve kept it to ourselves, not wanting to add to the drama we have been facing.
Gun out, I roll up the door. To my surprise, though, the bitch turns to me with a wide smile on her face.
“So glad you could come. Now she’s dead.”
Time seems to not want to move as we wait to hear back from the guys. They haven’t been gone long at all, but just the thought of Austin being in danger makes my skin crawl. I hate it so damn much. Add in all the thoughts and memories coming at me from all angles and I’m a nervous pissed off hot mess.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.”
I look down to the tile and note it’s been there for a long ass time. “If I’m the one putting a hole in it, it’s damn time to change it.”
Daisy bursts out laughing, “I like your spunk.”
“She’s always had it. Just kept it dormant for a while,” my mother adds just as my cell rings. The display says Mr. Collins calling.
“My boss,” I tell the room. “He probably wants answers for why Kenderly and I left without telling him what’s going on.”
I slide the screen to answer wondering if I still have a job to come back to. “Mr. Collins?”
When he doesn’t speak, I pull the phone away from my ear and see that it’s a video chat. I can see them, but for some reason I’m blocked from Mr. Collins’ view because there is a solid picture on the corner of my screen where I would be if he could see me. “Mr. Collins?” I call out again just as the camera turns slowly. Mr. Collins has a knife pressed against his throat with blood seeping from the wound. Elise Holloway holds the knife, her crazy eyes coming to the video.
“You see this? See what I’m going to do to him. Just like you did to my boy. I’m going to destroy everyone you have come in contact with in this pitiful town and gut them like fish. Then, I’m coming for you.”
“Wait!” I cry out and try to think of what to say because I have no damn clue. “You want me, right? Just take me and leave everyone else.” I look to Daisy and shake my head no. The bitch on the other end doesn’t need to know I’m lying out my ass, and I’m so damn thankful she can’t see me. “Please, don’t hurt him.”
“Then come to the paper. Alone.”
Gloria is holding her phone up on video as well showing whoever on the other line what I’m exactly looking at. They say nothing, but Gloria gives me the finger roll to keep going.
“Fine. I’ll come alone, just please don’t hurt him. He has a family and kids.”
“I had a son, and you took him from me.” Her hair sways wildly with her movements, and the fear in Mr. Collins’ eyes is prominent. I wonder briefly why he’s not fighting her or something, but I keep my focus on the crazy bitch.
“I didn’t do anything, Ms. Holloway. David took us there. I was just doing what he wanted me to do.”
“No.” Her hands begin to shake, and I realize all I’m doing is agitating her more. I suck in a breath and use my head. “You’re right. Take it out on me. I was the one there with him.”
“You and that lowlife, Luke. At least he died which is what you should have done.”
“I get that,” I agree, trying to buy some time. Daisy holds up her phone with a picture of Austin holding the arms of a woman who looks just like the one on the other end of the phone I’m talking to. Holy fucking shit, they’re twins. Twins? I mouth to her, and she nods.
My head reels, but I keep focus.
“You get nothing. You come back to this shit town and start living a happy little life, while my boy is dead! You need to be there with him!”
“I agree. I’ll come to you, alone. I’m about thirty minutes away.”
“Liar! You’re at that clubhouse with all those biker people.” She says those last two words like they are despicable, and I take high offense to it. I hold my tongue because this is so not the time for it.
“I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“Sounds better. And if you so much as bring or tell any of those bikers you have around you, I’ll gut this man.” She disconnects the phone. I double check it making sure it’s off.
“Here,” Daisy says, handing me her phone.
“Hello.”
“Drea, there’s fuckin’ two of these bitches.” He tells me something I’ve already pieced together. I only wish I could remember all of the conversations with Yelena. If I wasn’t stuck in this fog of my past, I would have known Elise Holloway had a twin sister, Eleanor. The memories from her come back one slow section at a time. “We’re on our way to get the other bitch. Hang tight and don’t move.” He disconnects before I can say anymore. My legs wobble, and I fall to the ground on my ass. It stings but doesn’t hurt too bad.
“Honey,” my mother says, coming to sit next to me. “I need you to breathe. This isn’t good for you, Andrea. Breathe.”
It takes me a bit, but I pull my shit together and begin to breathe. I look to my mom, “She’s going to hurt my boss. The guy who gave me a chance again.” I shake my head. “I hope Austin and the guys get there in time.”
My mother’s arms wrap around me, and I suck in her warmth, the type that only a mom can give, and hug her back.
Chapter 19
Rebels Ride
I swear watching Gloria’s video had my heart in my belly as I had to listen to Drea tell this sick fuck of a woman she would meet her alone. The hell that’ll happen.
The crazy bitch, Eleanor, we encountered at the unit is stowed in the back of a van with Skinny driving. Her hands zip-tied behind her and a gag in her mouth. Deciding I need information, I climb in the back of the van with crazy number two and yank the gag off.
“What made you think you’d get to Drea? If you’re so smart and this was a trap for me and the Rebels, why didn’t you plan for your capture?”
She cackles loudly, in a way that has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Unsheathing the knife at my side, I press it to her throat stopping her wicked laugh.
“It doesn’t matter. Just needed you neanderthals away from precious, little Andrea long enough to get her to move.”
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I smile, not telling her that we already know all this shit and are moving to her sister now. “Why Andrea?” That’s the million-dollar question right now.
Her lip curls just as she says, “Andrea Davies follows orders to the very detail. That’s why our David chose her from all of the reporters. We sent him, you know.” She smiles proudly like the damn cat who ate the canary, and it’s seriously twisted in a way I’ve never seen before. And I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit.
“Sent David?”
“Why yes! Those boys were supposed to be for Elise and me to raise together like we did David. I’ve never been able to carry a baby to term. So, Elise had David, and we raised him together. She was never able to conceive another. We had David court a bride, marry that good for nothing Yelena, and have our two beautiful baby boys.” The woman’s eyes change dark and narrow. “Till the bitch kept trying to keep our boys from us. That was unacceptable, and we made David lock her in their bedroom and tie her up to stay away from us. Only he would feel bad for her and end up letting her loose for us to fight once again.”
I sit in shock as the woman continues, really at a loss for words.
“I mean, she should have been grateful. Elise and I were patient. We allowed her to bond with the first boy. We allowed her to have her dream of a happy family until we got her to have the second baby. It was a privilege, but she never understood. We planned to have her die at the hospital. Poison, ya know. But David was worried about the boys in the future asking about their mom or an autopsy he couldn’t prevent. He was smart, our David. When she came home, she wouldn’t let us near little Jonah. Then she found a way to get that silly temporary protective order on David, Elise, and myself allowing her to leave the house with the boys since the cops escorted them, and there wasn’t anything we could do about it. It was all the time she needed to get home to Ukraine, leaving us heartbroken. David had to pay a lot of money to make that order go away. It was just enough time, though, and that was all Yelena cared about. We had David go after her. He thought to have the news follow him so it could be documented. The boys, the cops, anyone who needed to know could see all the trouble David went through to get his boys back. Then, if the boys ever wanted to know what happened to their mother, we had the story of our plight and hardship to get them back home to us. It would have worked. We could have made the boys understand, David was sure of it.”