by K. J. Dahlen
“And why is that?” Mountain asked.
“Rumor is their daddy is getting out of prison soon and there’s a man waiting for a debt to be paid.”
Mountain’s gut tightened. “That debt was what set this all into place.”
“Yeah, it was,” Timber agreed.
“Can you help me with something old man?” Mountain asked.
“Is it going to help them stay safe?” Timber nodded at Izzy and Boone.
Mountains stared at the other man for a moment then explained, “I’m going to marry that woman. Her brother is very important to her, therefore important to me. I would protect them both with my life. And if something happened to me, I have brothers both blood and non-blood that would continue to protect them.”
“What do you need?”
“I need to hear the rumors and I need an intro to the local MC. I also need a name.”
“I know all the streets in this town. I can do that.” Timber nodded.
~* * * *~
An hour later, Mountain entered a dining establishment near the pier. He walked in with the local President of the Saints and Sinners MC and three of his top men. He walked through the restaurant with confidence and paused when two very large men stepped in his way. “I’m here to see Dominic Marconi,” Mountain told them.
One of the men spoke into a hidden microphone and they waited for a moment, then he stepped aside. Before he could step forward, the big man said, “I need you to leave your weapons here. You can collect them after you speak to Mr. Marconi.”
Mountain held out the edges of his vest. “I’m not armed and I’m not stupid. I didn’t bring a weapon.”
The President of the Saints & Sinners and his men took out the guns they had and laid them out on the table.
Wordlessly, the big guy stood aside and let them pass. As they got to the table, where five well dressed men sat enjoying their meal, one of the men looked up and studied them.
Mountain crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the man staring back at him. The other man laid his silverware down on his plate and folded his hands waiting for Mountain to speak.
“My name is Talon Morgan,” Mountain announced.
“And what can I do for you Talon Morgan?” Dominic Marconi asked.
“I’m here about a bet one of your men made in a card game eight years ago with Sonny Clemends.”
Dominic frowned briefly and pain flashed in his eyes but was gone so quickly Mountain thought he’d only imagined it. Then he stared at him. “I am not aware of this bet.” He shrugged and added, “And why should I be? A gambling debt is between the two men involved.”
Mountain nodded. “It should be but this bet involved the man’s fifteen year old daughter. She was supposed to satisfy her fathers’ debt. I am a man of honor and that just doesn’t seem like a bet an honorable man would make or expect anyone to keep.”
Dominic grew angry at the implication. “I agree with you. Was this debt ever satisfied?”
“No it wasn’t. That’s why I’m here. The girl in question is now my woman and any threat to her safety is a threat against me.”
“What do you want here?” Dominic demanded.
“I belong to a brotherhood, same as you do. My brothers and I live by a code of honor. If we find anyone breaking this code of honor in a way we do not condone, we step up and make it right. All I am asking is, if there is an outstanding debt to be paid, that debt should remain between the two men who wagered and lost. A man’s children should not be made to pay his debt.” Mountain paused then said, “I have come to you with respect. Our two brotherhoods are not as different as some people think. I would stand with any of the men who wear a leather vest and they would stand with me, as long as the cause is just. I have come here to collect my woman’s younger brother and to take him home with me. The man in question is due to get out of prison soon and whatever responsibility he had toward the safety of his children is gone. I will protect them now and forever. He wagered the debt and he should pay this debt off on his own.”
“I agree with you.” Dominic nodded. He stood up and held his hand out to Mountain. “I will speak to the men and some arrangement will be made to honor the debt without involving the children.”
Mountain grasped Dominic’s hand and shook it.
Before he let go, Dominic pulled Mountain closer to him. “You are right in your assessment that our brotherhoods are closer than most people realize. You are also right in your belief that we have a code of honor that we live by. By coming here and addressing me as you have, you have shown me the kind of honor you live by. Be assured you, your woman and her brother are protected now, not only by you but by my word of honor as well.”
“Thank you Mr. Marconi. We won’t be staying long in your city though.”
“Then why did you bring these men?” he asked.
“When a man in my brotherhood comes into a town such as this, it’s the right thing to reach out to the local brotherhood and announce my business in their city,” Mountain explained. “They came here with me, not as a show of strength but as a way to honor both our brotherhoods.” He motioned at the men standing around the men at the table. “Just as your men do you.”
Dominic chuckled. “I think I like your brotherhood Talon Morgan and the honor you have shown here today. Consider this matter between us settled.”
“Thank you.” Mountain turned to leave. The three men with him also turned and together they left the restaurant.
Outside on the street, the President of the local MC shook his head. “Buddy, I have never been so awed by anyone in my life.”
Mountain turned and gave him a frown. “What does that mean?”
“You walked into a restaurant filled with mob guys and went straight to the top guy himself. That man could have had you shot without even disturbing his damn lunch. The fact that you walked away without being shot just plain stuns me.” The other man held out his hand. “It was an honor to do business with you Talon Morgan. Safe travels back to your home.” When Mountain shook his hand, the other man told him, “We’ll be keeping an eye on Uncle Mike. If he becomes a problem we can handle him.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Hey, we got your back same as you would have ours if we needed it.”
“Damn right about that.” Mountain assured him. “Anytime you are in our territory, just come and parley.”
He nodded. “Go get your woman and her brother and go home. Safe travels my friend.”
Mountain loped over to his truck and joined Timber.
Timber was the one who introduce him to the President of the Saints and Sinners and Timber was the one who told them Dominic Marconi was eating lunch at the restaurant.
He started the truck and headed back to where Boone and Izzy were waiting for him. “Everything went well?” Timber asked.
“Everything went well. Marconi thought the same as we do. The debt should be handled between the men involved, not his children.”
“I had heard something to that effect about him.” Timber chuckled.
“Thank you man, for watching over Boone all these years,” Mountain said.
“Hey, it was easy and a debt I wanted to repay in kind.” Timber assured him.
Mountain raised his brows. “Can you explain that?”
“Izzy and Melora were about seventeen the first time I met them. It was a cold brutal winter and we were slowly freezing to death. There were five of us in our little group. We were trying to stay alive when Melora asked us to come home with her. Her and Izzy took us to a place what was out of the weather and warm. They brought us food and shared what little they had with five old men. Your daughter and her friend went out of their way for us and we just returned the favor by watching out for young Boone when they had to leave town for their own safety.”
Mountain nodded. “They are a pair aren’t they?” He pulled out onto the street. “If you and the others ever need a home a
nd want to travel to New York, you come to Troy and look me up. I can give you a place to stay and jobs. My brothers and I own a hot rod garage.”
“Hot rods, huh?” Timber chuckled. “I once had the sweet little Deuce. It was a royal blue in color and a sweet ride. It had a four on the floor and a homemade stick shifter. I loved that little car.” He shifted in his seat. “If you mean that we just might show up one day.”
Mountain looked directly at him. “I mean it.”
Timber chuckled. “It would be nice to have a home again.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
By the time Mountain, Izzy and Boone came into Troy, Izzy and Boone caught up on almost eight years of being separated. Mountain had been watching the boy most of the trip and he’d noticed something he wasn’t sure Izzy realized. He was in pain and at times, the pain was severe. He didn’t think Izzy had noticed though, because he was covering it well.
When they pulled up outside Melora’s house, he was surprised to see a ramp in place. When he lifted Bone out of the truck and placed him in his chair the door flew open and Melora rushed out.
Boone had a smile on his face when she threw her arms around him. “It is so good to see you again!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, wow, you grew up since I last saw you,” Boone told her.
Melora chuckled, “I could say the same thing about you. You were a scrawny little kid and now you’re still scrawny but not so little. We’re gonna have to fatten you up some.”
Sam came out on the porch holding T-Bone and watched them for a moment.
When Mountain pushed the chair up the ramp and onto the porch, he came to a stop beside Sam.
Sam held out his hand and waited for Boone to take it. “Pleased to meet you young man.”
“Same here.” Boone nodded.
“I’d like you to meet my son, Talon Boone Morgan Tory,” Sam told him. “Melora is my old lady soon to be my wife.”
Boone’s head snapped around to search Melora’s face. “You named your son after me?” he whispered.
“Sure did.” Melora grinned. “You gave me something very special, so I returned the favor.”
Sam opened the door and everyone went inside. Once inside, Mountain watched the young man. His face was pinched with pain and he knew he would have to speak to him soon.
“Are you guys’ hungry?” Melora asked. “I have some hot food for you.”
“Starving,” Izzy replied. “And tired. I think I could sleep for a week after that trip.”
“I thought I’d give Boone your room since you never sleep in there anymore,” Melora informed her.
Izzy smiled and nodded her head.
“I’ll bring his bags in from the truck,” Mountain said as he motioned for Sam to accompany him.
When they reached the truck Sam asked, “So did you run into any trouble?”
“Not really.” Mountain shrugged. “The uncle needs a lesson in good manners though. He’s as bad as their dad.”
“Did you get the bet settled?”
“Yeah, I hope so.” Mountain nodded. “I saw the local mob boss and explained the situation. He said he would clear it up. I have to trust that he will.” He hesitated, “I did give the man my name but not where I lived.”
Sam just stared at him for a moment, then suggested, “You know there is more to the story than the girls or Boone realize, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know that. I just hope it doesn’t come here looking for them,” Mountain said. “Dad gets out of prison in a few weeks, so I guess we’ll find out.”
“Does he know where they are?”
“No and I don’t plan on telling him either. I did check with the local MC but I wore my Sons of Satan vest. They’ll go south before they come here.”
“So, what’s up with the kid?”
“You saw it too then?” Mountain asked.
“What, that he’s in pain? Yeah, I saw it. I thought he was paralyzed? He shouldn’t be in that much pain.”
“I think we need to get him to a doctor and find out the truth.”
Sam thought for a moment then suggested, “Let me talk to Quinn’s doctor and see what he can find out. He knows how to be discreet.”
“Hopefully, quick as possible.” He lifted out Boone’s suitcase and started back to the house. “I met some very interesting guys while I was there. Melora and Izzy shared a house with them and they have been watching over Boone since the girls left town. I told them they would have a house and jobs if they came out here.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. Those two girls just can’t help themselves.” Sam chuckled.
“How the hell did two old men like us get so lucky?” Mountain asked. “Damn.”
Sam nodded and they both stood for a moment. Then he sighed. “We’re going to have to talk to Izzy and Boone about what happened that night, you know that don’t you? We need to know if this is really over or if it’s going to come back and bite us in the ass.”
“Yeah I know, but let’s get Boone settled first,” Mountain agreed.
Sam paused then faced the other man. “Me and Melora are getting married next week. Just a simple ceremony but I want to claim both her and the baby. We’ll get married at the club in a few weeks but I want this now. As her father I thought you needed to know.”
Mountain shrugged his broad shoulders. “Thanks for letting me know. I have to ask, why two ceremonies?”
Sam grinned. “She wants a proper wedding night. Right now, it’s too soon to consummate the marriage but I want my ring on her finger as soon as I can get it there.”
Mountain just stared at the other man for a moment then nodded. “I understand both your reasons. That girl is the best thing that could happen to a man like me and I missed out on most of her life already. I wasn’t there when she needed someone to protect her but she’s got me now.” He hesitated then asked, “Can Izzy and I be there for the ceremony?”
“I think she plans to ask you to give her away, both times.” Sam grinned.
“As long as you realize she’s on loan to you,” Mountain informed him. “If you break her heart I’ll break you.”
For a long moment, steely violet eyes met steely blue.
Then Sam grinned. “I’d like to see you try,” he spoke softly as he eyed the bigger man.
Mountain grinned. “Let’s hope that day never comes. I don’t know about you but I’m getting too damn old for that shit.”
“Yup, we both are.” Sam chuckled as he followed Mountain into the house.
~* * * *~
A little later, after they’d eaten and were thinking about going to bed Izzy held her brother’s hand and they were reminiscing about the last time they saw each other. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been around the last eight years,” She spoke softly as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Boone lifted his hands and gently wiped her tears away. “Please don’t do this, don’t cry. It’s ok. I remember the night I was shot, I remember everything you did and said and I would go through it all again, to protect you.”
Izzy snarled. “He had no right, no fucking right at all.”
Boone shrugged. “Dad always was a bastard.” He looked at the rest of them sitting there. “I guess we should tell you everything. I think you have the right to know.”
“They know most of the story,” Izzy told her brother, her eyes warning him.
“Then they need to know the rest of it, don’t you think?”
Izzy let out a sigh and nodded.
“Our father was a bastard from the time I could remember. Izzy was seven years old when I was born, so she had endured much more than I ever did. The first memory I have is when I was about two years old. I remember being cold and hungry and hearing my parents screaming at each other. Izzy wasn’t home from school yet, so I was in our bedroom sitting in the corner waiting for her to come home.” He shrugged. “It was always better when she was with me. She would hold me and tell me I was going
to be ok.”
“Dad never could keep a job for very long,” Izzy took up the story. “Between his drinking and his gambling, we never knew from week to week if we would have a place to live or food on the table. It was a hard way to grow up. I think we changed schools fifteen times before Boone was ten.”
Boone let out a heavy sigh and continued, “The year before the shooting Mom had had enough. She wanted to leave and take us with her. She said she could get a job and support us and her. But Dad wouldn’t let her take us. He screamed at her that if she was going to walk out on him, she would go alone.” He glanced over at his sister and went on, “She surprised us all when the next morning she was gone. She took her clothes and left during the night. Things went downhill after that. Dad was never home and when he was there, he was drinking heavily. We never had enough food but Izzy took care of me, just the same as she’d been doing ever since I can remember. I remember that she often went hungry so that I could eat.” Boone rubbed his head almost like he had a headache. “About a week before the shooting, Dad came home one night in almost a good mood. He was drunk of course but for the first time in forever, he wasn’t angry.”
“I remember that night,” Izzy whispered. Her eyes were becoming haunted.
“He even remembered we were there. He brought us hamburgers from a fast food place. It was ten o’clock at night but he woke us up to eat cold, soggy hamburgers. He kept telling us his problems were over. He would stare at Izzy and tell her she was going to make him rich. I never did figure out what he was talking about. He finally fell asleep around one in the morning. Izzy had to carry me to bed after Dad fell asleep.”
Izzy shivered but didn’t say anything.
“Then a few hours later, he woke us up screaming about losing something. He tore the house apart, screaming and yelling. He was like a wild man that morning. He tore the whole house apart but didn’t find whatever it was he was looking for. Izzy would clean up and Dad came right behind her tearing things up.” He turned to her and asked, “Do you remember?”