by K. J. Dahlen
Cricket slowly raised her head to stare at him. “I know. They hate me for what happened to Hammer and they have every right.”
“Will the truth come out today?” Deke asked. “The whole truth?”
Cricket closed her eyes. “I hope so.” Opening her eyes, she glanced at Deke. “One of the truths has been told already. Whatever happens today, Dusty will be cared for.”
“What does that mean?” Deke frowned.
“Raine seems to think Dusty belongs with his family.” She watched as he gave her a penetrating look but neither of them said anything.
“I think you should know the police reports from seven years ago will be entered into evidence,” Deke explained.
“I figured as much.” She nodded.
“I have to know something.” Deke told her. “Did you murder him?”
Cricket felt the tears fall down her cheeks. “No I didn’t but I was there the night he died.”
Deke and Sam waited for her to say more and when she didn’t, Sam reached out and held her elbow as he motioned for her to move forward.
Cricket felt each step forward was a step toward her own death. When they came into the main room of the clubhouse, she saw the set up and shivered. She stopped and wanted to turn and run away but Sam’s fingers tightened on her arm and she knew the only way was forward.
He led her to one of two chairs in front of a table.
Cordy already sat on one of the chairs.
As she sat down, she found herself looking at several men. The tables were set up to surround the main table and all of them were full of bikers. Most of them were wearing cut that proclaimed they belonged to the Sin’s Bastards MC.
There were two sitting at the main table that had different cuts. Their cuts read Hellspawn MC. They glared their hatred at Cricket.
When she sat down Cordy leaned over and snickered in her ear, “They want your blood,” she whispered. “At least I won’t die alone today.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cricket didn’t say anything she just got to her feet and moved her chair away from Cordy’s. It wasn’t as far as she would have liked.
The men around her were getting nervous. Three huge men came to stand behind them.
When Deke and Sam sat down the whole room got quiet.
Deke got to his feet and picked up a piece of paper. He looked at the two of them and began reading, “This is a tribunal for Cordelia and Cricket Tannis. Charges they will be faced with are kidnapping, murder and treason against the club. Evidence will be presented, so the club can understand who is guilty of what charges. You will have a chance to present evidence of your own to proclaim your innocence. Then the members of the MC will be your judges. Normally, tribunals are not held for nonmembers but in this instance, the club has made an exception since one of you kidnapped a members children and the murder happened to a member of another MC. Do you agree to be judged by the MC?”
“Do we really have a choice?” Cordy sneered.
“I do,” Cricket agreed.
Cordy turned and kicked her foot at Cricket’s chair.
Cricket didn’t move or acknowledge her in any way and that seemed to piss Cordy off immensely. “Are you so eager to die today little sister? Because that’s what’s going to happen here. They’ve already made up their minds as to our guilt.” When Cricket didn’t answer her, Cordy slumped in her chair.
Deke continued to read the charges against them, “We have proof that four days ago, Cordelia Tannis entered the nursery of Redemption House and kidnapped my two children. We have her on security tape and she was identified by the tattoo on her wrist. We have been told she took the children to where she was staying in Albany and surrendered them to Cricket’s care. Cricket did care for them and she did bring my daughter Jemmia back to us a day or so later. She tried to bring back Sammy as well but Cordy escaped with him. Cricket then told us about a cabin her father kept on Lake Placid. She offered to show us how to get to the cabin and she came with us to find my son. When we arrived at the cabin, she gave us the layout of the cabin and warned us what her sister might do. I left her with Raine and took the others with me. When the lights went out in the cabin, we couldn’t be sure where Cordy was. We found out that she left the cabin and came to confront her sister. Cordy is very proficient with a knife while Cricket was unarmed. Cordy gave her a blade and then proceeded to try to kill her. She did stab her sister but then was stopped before she could get away.”
“I gave her a chance to defend herself,” Cordy shouted out. “It isn’t my fault she can’t handle a blade? She never learned how to defend herself. Besides, she betrayed me, she deserved what she got.”
Deke ignored her outburst and went on with the charges, “Raine came upon them and shot Cordy in the shoulder. He gave Cricket medical care while we went through the cabin looking for Sammy. When we couldn’t find him we thought he wasn’t there, but then Cricket told us about a safety hole her father put in the cabin. She showed us where it was and inside we found my son.”
Everyone began to whisper in the background and Deke let them talk among themselves for a moment.
Then Sam Tory stood up and asked a question, “Cricket did you have prior knowledge of what Cordy was going to do? Did you know she was going to kidnap the kids?”
“I didn’t know what she was planning until a few hours before she took them,” Cricket admitted. “She told me to go to the store and get food babies could eat.”
Deke closed his eyes. Her words were damning her chances. “Why did you do it?”
Cricket paused then went on. “Since the time our mother died when I was six years old, Cordy was in charge of me. She was older and stronger and just plain meaner than I was. I learned the hard way to do what she told me to do. I didn’t have to like it, I just had to do it. I knew what she planned was wrong but I couldn’t stop her. She then told me that another woman had taken what she considered hers and she was going to give Deke a choice.”
“What kind of choice?” Deke frowned.
“She was going to take your children and give you the choice of them or her,” Cricket replied. “If you choose your kids, you would have to tell your woman to leave and she would be with you, if you choose your woman, she was going to disappear with your kids and you would never see them again.”
“You bitch,” Cordy growled under her breath.
Deke glared but didn’t say anything.
Cricket turned to stare at her sister. “The truth will be told here today. Every single truth. No more secrets and no more lies.”
Cordy paled but didn’t say anything. She seemed to slump in her chair.
“But you took care of my kids didn’t you?” Deke told the group. “You brought my daughter back to me and her mother.”
“It was the right thing to do.” Cricket shrugged. “She had no right to take them in the first place. She’s hurt so many people, I couldn’t let her hurt your babies.”
“What do you mean, she’s hurt so many people?” Sam asked.
Cricket turned to Cordy and had tears in her eyes. “My mom had breast cancer but that wasn’t what killed her. She still had time left, time she could have been with us except for Cordy.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Deke asked.
“Mom knew she didn’t have much time left and she sat us down to tell us something. She told us that while she loved us both that Cordy didn’t belong to Orrin. She told us that Orrin didn’t care, he loved her just as much as he could but her dad was someone who had raped her a long time ago. She wouldn’t tell us who he was and it never mattered to me, but Cordy was devastated. She had always thought Orrin was her father. That’s when she changed. I watched as a rage grew inside her.” Cricket shook her head. “I don’t think Mom or Dad noticed it but I did. I watched her close for the next few days.”
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“While mom was sleeping one day, Cordy sneaked into the room. She stared at Mom for a moment then she lift
ed a pillow and placed it over my mom’s face. She held it down even while Mom struggled, but she was so weak it didn’t matter. She might have only been a kid but my mother was so weak from the cancer. She only struggled for a moment then she was gone. Cordy put the pillow back under mom’s head and acted like nothing was wrong.”
Cordy gasped and turned to Cricket. “I never knew you saw that!”
Cricket didn’t answer her, she didn’t even look at her.
“How old was she at the time?” Sam asked.
“She was eleven years old.”
Everyone gasped.
Then Sam asked, “How long was it before you came to Maine after that?”
“It was a year before we moved over to Maine. Dad was pretty messed up for a while. Without Mom, he seemed so lost.”
“What happened once you got to Maine?” Sam asked.
“Dad lost himself in the MC.” Cricket shrugged. “You couldn’t blame him. After Mom died, the MC settled him. He left Cordy in charge of the house while he hung out with his brothers.”
“What happened then?” Deke asked.
“You are what happened,” Cricket said.
“Excuse me?” he frowned.
Cricket shook her head. “I don’t know what you did that summer but by the time you left Maine that fall, she thought she was in love with you.”
“I was in love with him!” Cordy screamed. “And he loved me too. Sam was the one who forced him to leave that fall.”
Deke shook his head. “I was seventeen years old and I never loved you. Hell, I didn’t even know you were there. Sam didn’t force me to leave Maine, I left on my own.”
Cordy looked heartbroken. “But you did love me,” she whispered.
“No, I didn’t,” Deke countered. “If I really loved you, I never would have left. When I left that day, I never looked back.”
“Damn you.” Cordy cursed. “Everything I did after that was tied to you.”
“No, what you did was for you and no one else.” Deke seethed at her. “We saw Cricket’s back, we saw how she suffered. That wasn’t for anyone but you. You enjoyed making her suffer.”
“Why should I be the only one in pain?” Cordy screamed.
“We talked to Sabbath,” Sam told her.
“Who the fuck is Sabbath and why should I give a shit?” Cordy sneered.
“Sabbath put a camera in Orrin’s shop at Orrin’s request. He knew someone was messing around in his shop. He wanted to find out who it was before someone was killed,” Sam informed her. “We know what happened the day he died. We didn’t see the tape before he died, but we saw it after he was gone.”
Cordy turned to Cricket and found her sister staring back. Cordy swallowed hard at the look in Cricket’s eyes.
“You killed him, didn’t you?” Cricket asked.
Cordy took a deep breath and released it. “Yes, I did. He told me to forget Deke. He told me he would never love me and I should just get on with my life. I told him I was going to find Deke.” Cordy seemed lost in the past as she stared at Deke, “Then he said something I could never forgive him for. He told me I would never be good enough for Deke. He told me I was trash and a whore and would always be nothing but those two things. He said no one would ever really love me.”
Cricket turned and asked, “Why would he say something like that?”
Cordy snorted as she continued to look at the floor. “Because I was sleeping with anyone who would take me to bed. But none of it meant anything. I just wanted to feel something, anything at all. It was like I was dead inside and I just wanted to feel something.” Then she raised her head and looked at her sister. “I could never forgive him for that. Part of it was his fault. He never gave me a chance. I think when Mom died, so did he. He wasn’t there for either of us.”
“So you killed him?” Cricket asked. “Because you couldn’t feel anything, he had to die?”
Cordy nodded. “With him out of the way, I could start to look for Deke.”
“You only stayed long enough to bury Orrin, then you took off,” Sam informed the group. “But you took Cricket with you didn’t you?”
“I needed her to stay with me,” Cordy admitted.
“Why? Why did you need me?” Cricket wanted to know.
Cordy shrugged. “I figured I was pregnant and could use you for the baby.”
Cricket paled. “I thought you realized you were pregnant in Portland.”
“I took the test in Portland. I thought I was pregnant before we left Bangor.”
“Who is the baby’s father?” Raine asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She sneered.
“I already have a pretty good idea,” Raine replied.
Cordy frowned but didn’t say anything.
“What happened when you got to Portland?” Deke asked.
Cordy shrugged. “I met someone there.”
“His name was Hammer and he was a decent guy,” Cricket announced.
“You bitch!” Scythe growled as he got to his feet. “You don’t get to talk about him.”
Cricket turned and studied the man standing. Even with his face set in rage, he reminded her of Hammer. “You’re his brother?”
“One of them,” Scythe admitted. “But he was more than just my brother, he was my best friend and my twin. You murdered him in cold blood. You deserve to die and I’m going to be the one to end your life.”
Cordy cackled with laughter. “You dumb smuck. If you really believe that then you’re as fucking stupid as the cops in your town.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Reaper asked.
“Hammer was drunk that night,” Cricket began her story.
Everyone stopped talking and just listened.
“They had a terrible fight. Cordy yelled at him because he didn’t want her anymore. She told him it was too late, that she was pregnant with his child and he had to marry her and give the baby his name. Hammer laughed at her. He said the baby wasn’t his. He claimed that he had a fever as a child and that he couldn’t have kids. He told her she would have to find some other sucker to blame for her mistakes, or he said she could man up and take responsibility for her own stupid shit. Cordy was beyond pissed. She was screaming at him, something about not being trash. Hammer laughed at her and said that’s exactly what she was. Nothing but trash and a whore.” Cricket took a deep breath and continued as she exhaled, “Cordy grabbed the knife she had hidden in her boot and she lashed out at him. She caught him across the chest. The blade went deep and the blood just sprayed everywhere. Hammer screamed as she slashed him again and again. He tried to fight back but he never had a chance. She sliced open his face and he fell to the floor. I’ll never forget his screams. I hear them every night in my nightmares.”
The room went silent except for a few growls from Hammer’s family could be heard
“She knelt on the floor beside him and kept telling him she wasn’t a whore. She told him she wasn’t trash, she was just lost and that she needed him. By that time, she was covered in his blood but she didn’t even see it. Then she got pissed again, and just began stabbing him. Over and over again. When he didn’t move or make any sound, she stopped. Then she leaned over and kissed him. Laying the blade across his neck she sliced him one more time.” Cricket stopped talking.
“Finish it,” Cordy told her. “Tell them what happened then. Tell everyone about the bargain we made.”
Cricket began to speak again, “Cordy got up and began stripping off her clothes. She took a shower and dressed in clean clothes. When she came back out, she looked at Hammer then she looked at me. She told me to pack everything up that we needed to get out of town before anyone found him. She told me we would have to find a place to hide until she could get rid of the baby. I told her she couldn’t abort her child, that was murder and she laughed at me. She pointed at the body on the floor and said that’s what happened to him. Then she got this look in her eyes. She told me if I took the blame for Hammer, she would get us both out
of town and she would have the baby if I took care of it.” Cricket closed her eyes. “I didn’t want to, I just wanted to pretend it never happened but she wouldn’t let me. She told me to hurry and make up my mind because the police were on the way. We could her the sirens getting closer and closer. I told her fine, I would tell them I had done it. She made me dress in her bloody clothes but she got to the police before I could say anything. She convinced them that Hammer had attacked me and that I killed him in self-defense. She asked them if I could change my bloody clothes and they said I could as long as I gave the clothes to them. They would be evidence. She got me in the bedroom and when I changed, she hustled me out the window and we ran. We didn’t stop until we were in Vermont. We hid under false names and tried to stay out of trouble until after the baby was born.”
The men in the room stared hard at Cordy while Cricket spoke.
“All the while, she threatened that if I didn’t do what she wanted she could always call the police and tell them where I was. Either that or she could call Hammer’s brothers and let them know where I was hiding. Either way, I was so screwed. I never had a choice. All my life, I never had a choice.”
“I don’t fucking believe a word you’ve said here today!” Reaper told everyone. “It’s just too tidy. Hammer never would have drank that much and he would have fought back. He would have snapped a little girl like her in half if she’d have come at him with a knife.” He motioned at Cricket. Then he turned to Cordy. “He also wasn’t stupid about you. He knew you were trouble. He knew you were playing him for a fool and he was anything but a fool. He knew you were playing him but he wanted to know why.”
Cordy began to laugh. “Yeah, he would have snapped her like a twig but he never got the chance. And he wasn’t so much drunk as he was stoned that day.”
“That’s impossible!” Reaper yelled as he stood from his chair. “Hammer knew better than to take drugs.”
“Oh, he didn’t take them voluntarily,” Cordy scoffed. “I needed a way to control him. The drug I gave him rendered him almost helpless.”