by K. J. Dahlen
“What was he paid to find out, do you know?”
“We think he’s been paid to find out what happened to the relic Jolene took from Max. One of my men found Max’s books and there is a notation in it about the piece going missing thirteen years ago. It also stated that Jolene was brought to his home along with her daughter who was nine at the time. If she was with her mother, she might be the one The Priest will be after. Since Jolene’s memories have been wiped clean due to her accident, it’s possible Max thought the girl might know where her mother hid the relic.” Leon tapped his temple. “I know how Max thinks, he called in this man because he was desperate to find the Hand. He would never have been able to explain its disappearance, not to me or the Council.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to explain to the women what the piece means and simply ask them if they know where it is and if so, will they return it.”
“That simple, huh?” Deke had to ask as he raised his brows.
“Despite what you think you know about the Family, we are not monsters,” Leon chided. “I am a business man and I do not like to use violence against innocent women.”
Deke nodded. “I can accept that if you can accept this…” He glared at him. “…Calico has just found his family again, after a very long time. You know what that feels like, yourself. He isn’t likely to want to give up either of his women again. Those two women have been through enough. Enough pain and suffering to last both of them a lifetime. Please give them peace.”
Leon got to his feet. “I understand what you’re saying and it is my hope that we can resolve this matter quickly and quietly. It is time to put the past where it belongs and begin again, with a clean slate.”
“Please use my office to tell them whatever it is they need to know,” Deke offered. “I know you don’t want the whole club to know your business.”
Leon nodded. “Thank you for understanding. I will do everything I can to protect your people through this transition.”
“As long as you understand that I will protect what is mine, my family, my club and my people, and that does include Jolene and her children.”
“You are an honorable man I would expect no less from you.” Leon gave him a nod then smiled. “You know, you are quite unlike everything I’ve ever heard of in a motorcycle club. I expected something quite different when I first came here.”
“Oh? What did you expect?” Deke raised a brow.
Leon chuckled. “My first thought was illegal drugs and guns, followed by sluts and whores everywhere but that’s not what I found. You and your people are all about families and businesses. Cassie’s Redemption House is a wonderful thing for people who just need a helping hand. Yes, you run a strip club but it’s a decent place to go to. The garage and motorcycle shop are completely legitimate.” Leon paused then added, “When we got Peaches back after so many years on the streets, I was very worried about her. I didn’t know what she’d been through or what she’d seen in her young life. I thought she was merely playing a part for the money and the glory but she wasn’t. As I watched her those first few weeks, I realized something. I realized that under Cassie’s wing she had become the young woman she was meant to be. Cassie not only protected my granddaughter she raised her to be a fine young woman. Then when she met Iceman, I watched her even harder. I kept waiting for her to screw up but she never did. She’d been herself the whole time. I knew Iceman could have changed her but instead, she changed him. He could have gotten her into drugs and all kinds of trouble but he didn’t.”
Deke was floored by these revelations from this man. He sat stunned into silence.
Leon sat down again. “I watched the Sinner’s MC very carefully. I learned about their everyday activities and I saw for myself that for the most part, they were decent men and women. You still have your odd man that does something stupid once in a while, but they know how to come together and stand up for one another. Dominic told me when he first met Mountain…Mountain told him that your clubs were not dissimilar to what the Family was, in the fact that they both stood for something and if they needed to, they would stand together against foes. As long as the cause was just. The more I saw of your club the more I began to believe that.” He shrugged. “The Family I belong to has been around a long time. We’ve had our battles to win as well. Not all of them have been to our credit but today, I’d like to think we’re more than a bunch of thugs ruling the streets with violence and threats.”
Deke remained silent, as he felt respected by this man. He didn’t intend to allow the Family to roll over them, but he needed to consider also how a break between him and them would affect Peaches and in turn, Cassie herself. He couldn’t allow anything to hurt those two women, not while he still breathed. He turned to stare down the hall as he heard a door open.
Calico and Jolene came into the room. Soon, they were joined by Sawyer and Jordan.
Deke turned to Leon. “Best get this over with. Like I said, you can use my office to let them know what’s going on. May I offer a suggestion?”
Leon paused, then he nodded.
“Tell them the truth. If you want this relic back, then be honest with them. Give them the option of giving it back, rather than threatening them if they don’t. Jolene has lived too long under the threats from Max and I don’t think you want to get on Calico’s bad side. From what I know of the man, he’s ruthless against those who piss him off.”
Leon raised a brow.
Deke knew this man thought that others were not a credible threat to him or his outfit, but he felt obligated to try to avoid trouble for his club and family.
Leon got to his feet and held out his hand.
Deke shook it.
“I’d like to see this ended as swiftly with as little disruption as possible but I will not lie to them. Until the piece is restored to us, there could be a problem. The Council was very upset the piece is missing. The fact Max lied to them all this time is not acceptable, to them or to me.”
Deke watched as he walked over to the table and spoke to the family. They all got to their feet and followed him down the hall. When the door closed behind them,
Gator joined Deke and asked, “Is that something we should worry about?”
“Maybe.” Deke looked over at his Vice President and longtime friend. “Get some of the men on lookout.”
“And what are they looking out for?”
“Hopefully nothing, but there could be someone after either Jolene or Sawyer.” Deke took a swig of his now cold coffee and grimaced. “I’m praying Leon can find his answers before this escalates into a situation we don’t want or need. But if it does, we need to contain Calico. His temper won’t help and it might get someone killed.”
Gator sucked in a deep breath. “What’s coming?”
“Max lost a piece of the Family’s history. Leon believes Jolene took it to protect her and her family. The problem lies with all this, is it may have happened thirteen years ago and Jolene can’t remember yesterday. Max hired a man called ‘The Priest’ to recover the piece.” He shrugged. “It could be Jolene or Sawyer he’s coming after. Sawyer was apparently with her mother the day she took the piece.”
“The Priest?” Gator gasped as all the color drained from his face. “Are you sure?”
Deke stared at his friend. “You’ve heard of the man?”
Gator nodded. “I think everyone has heard of him, if he is a man. More like a demon for sure. Most pray to never meet him. He’s ruthless and he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants.”
“That’s why I want the men on alert. He may not know where the women are just yet, but he will find them.”
“I’ll let the boys know we are on alert,” Gator agreed.
“Just have them watching and report any strangers in the area,” Deke warned. “We want to keep this low key for now. We have to give Leon time to do this his way but we don’t have to give this Priest time to get in and out of here.”
; Gator nodded and got to his feet. “I’ll get the men out there.” He took a step away before turning back to Deke. “I’m glad I’m not you in this situation.”
“And why is that?” Deke raised his head up.
Gator grinned but his eyes told another story. “Because it will fall on your shoulders if something goes wrong and one of Calico’s women goes missing. He is not going to be understanding if that happens. I have seen this guy take on a whole room full of bikers just for an insult.”
“No he won’t be happy and I wouldn’t blame him one bit. He’s going to go ballistic and take half the club with him.” Deke shook his head. “We have to convince him that the best way is to let us handle this and not go off halfcocked.”
Gator snorted. “Yeah, tell all those guys he’s beaten down over the years.”
Deke watched him walk away and prayed Leon could get the piece back before shit hit the fan. Calico will not be understanding. He’ll be out for blood.
CHAPTER FIVE
Leon sat down and stared at the group of people in front of him. He needed them to understand what and who he was in order to get the information he needed. He swung his eyes around and met everyone’s gaze as he explained, “You all know I am the head of a very important part of American history. The Family began in New York and when it began, violence was a method of insuring things got done. As we spread out and became stronger, territories were established and five very strong factions were formed. To commemorate the five families coming together under one umbrella, a symbol was made. Five hands made of a special dark wood to recall the original Black Hand of Italy. There are only those five black hands, given out to the five top branches of the family. Each person given one of the hands has the ultimate honor of protecting it. With his own life if necessary.”
“What does this have to do with us?” Calico asked.
“I’m getting to that point.” He paused and looked over at Jolene and Sawyer. “Max was given one of the original hands when he became the head of the New York division. He swore to guard it with his life.” He paused then gazed at Jolene. “When we searched his safe and home we couldn’t find the Black Hand. My people looked everywhere. We did find the stand the hand belonged in and we found a fingerprint on the base of the stand. The fingerprint belongs to you, Jolene.”
“Me?” Jolene looked stunned. “Are you sure? I mean why would my fingerprint be on the stand? I’ve never seen this Hand.” She shuddered. “The few days I knew Max I didn’t even like him, he scared me.”
Sawyer reached out and ran her hand up and down her mother’s arms. “Max has bothered her for years. Is it possible that at some time she touched the stand and it meant nothing?”
Deke leaned against the wall as he’d come in shortly after Leon started his conversation with them. He looked very troubled. His father, Sam stood next to him, his expression reflecting the same. Both men remained silent.
Leon shook his head. “The stand was located in his safe. Max would have kept the Hand in there as well. He shouldn’t have shown it to anyone. It is a symbol of strength and is most certainly supposed to be a secret. How do you explain that? The only way your mother’s prints would have been on the stand was if she actually saw the Hand. Max never would have allowed that, or at least he shouldn’t have.” Leon frowned. “But knowing Max had an obsession with this woman, I believe he did show her the Hand and I believe he explained its importance to her as well.” His frown deepened. “No one was supposed to know about the Hand, outside of the Council and the Family heads.”
Jolene looked as if she was about to burst into tears. She glanced over at Calico while wringing her hands. “I don’t remember anything like that. I had an accident that took my memories”
“We know,” Leon agreed. “But that brings up a problem we just discovered.”
“And what would that be?” Calico asked, wrapping his arms around Jolene as he pulled her into a comforting embrace.
“We also found evidence that Max hired someone known to get information out of unwilling people. A specialist. He’s a dangerous man and no one knows what he looks like.”
~* * * *~
“Do you think he’s coming after my mother?” Sawyer asked.
Leon shook his head. “That would be counterproductive. The family and Council checked out her medical records. We know she can’t remember her own name. This specialist would know that as well.”
“Then who is he coming after?” Calico asked.
Leon paused then looked back over at Sawyer. “We think he might be after you.”
Sawyer gasped. Her mind flashed back to the warehouse when John and Jack kidnapped her. She remembered seeing a flash of icy blue eyes in the shadows. For a moment, she could almost hear him breathing. But that memory was a year old. He wouldn’t have been after her that long ago, would he? Then the flash of memory was gone and she was back facing Leon. She shivered in fear as she felt her body go cold. “Why would he be after me? I don’t know anything about this relic.”
Leon shrugged. “He may think you know something without realizing it. If Max was protecting Jolene, this man would go after you.”
“When did the payments originate?” Sawyer asked.
“More than a year ago,” Leon replied.
Sawyer sucked her breath in. She got to her feet and went over to the window to gaze outside. Thinking back to the warehouse…what she thought she’d seen could have been real. There was a man standing in the shadows. There had been a bigger threat than just John and Jack. But if he’d been there why had he allowed them to beat her? Had the two of them been working with this man? Were they supposed to soften her up before the real questioning began?
Jordan came over to his sister and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “He won’t get you,” he whispered in her ear. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“You can’t stop him,” Sawyer stated in a shaky voice.
“So, who is this guy?” Calico asked,
“He’s called The Priest. According to the information we have on this man, he’s the best in his field. Bane tells us his work is worldwide and he’s the best there is. Once he has his sights on his target, he never misses.”
“And just what type of work does this man do?” Calico asked.
“He uncovers secrets,” Leon admitted. “Using various methods he gets the information he’s asked to retrieve.”
“What kind of methods?” Sawyer whispered.
Leon didn’t want to answer that question. He didn’t want to frighten the girl any more than necessary. He shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“My sister asked you a question. The least you could do is be honest with us,” Jordan replied.
Deke let out a sigh and met Leon’s gaze.
Sam merely shook his head as if he too, knew the answers and they weren’t pretty.
~* * * *~
Leon turned and glared at the boy. “Do you really want the truth? Fine, I’ll answer the question. He uses various methods of torture to get his answers. No one knows for sure because his victims often do not live through what he does to them.”
Sawyer paled as she stared at him. “What the hell does he think I can tell him?”
Leon shrugged. “No one really knows except for Max and The Priest. And with Max dead, only this man knows for sure.”
“But wouldn’t the fact Max is dead negate the contract?” Calico asked.
Leon shook his head. “Not necessarily… The Priest may think he can sell the information he was hired to collect.”
“Who would he sell it too?” Calico glared at him.
Leon looked him in the eye and replied with a single word, “Me.”
“The Black Hand?” Calico asked. “He thinks Sawyer knows what her mother did with the Black Hand? That is if she took it in the first place?”
Leon nodded. “I’m not saying she did take it but if she did, she could have used the theft to protect her from Max’s pursuit. That scenario makes the most sen
se.”
“But my mother isn’t a thief,” Sawyer protested. “She wouldn’t have taken something that didn’t belong to her.”
Leon turned to look at the girl. “Maybe she felt she had no choice. Maybe she felt she was cornered with no way out of a situation she couldn’t control. Max had been told many times by me, Dominic and the Council to leave your mother alone and just do the business at hand. He didn’t listen, he didn’t comply with our demands. Maybe your mother felt she had no choice but to blackmail him into leaving her alone. She had you to protect and she couldn’t do that if she was under Max’s threat.”
Sawyer looked over at her mother.
Jolene had tears running down her cheeks. Calico had her wrapped in his arms but there was a look of loneliness in her eyes. She couldn’t meet Sawyer’s eyes, not because she was guilty of the theft but because she couldn’t remember it.
Sawyer’s gaze swung back over to Leon. “When you put it that way, it makes sense but when would Mom have done that? And what makes you think I would know anything about it?”
“We’re sure that is what The Priest was hired to find out.” Leon gazed into her eyes. “As for when it happened, it could have been any time over the last few years. Max finally stopped pestering her a number of years ago, that is as far as we know.” He paused then added, “We did find a notation in his records that both you and your mother visited him thirteen years ago. You would have been around nine years old. Do you remember the visit?”
Sawyer thought back. “I don’t know. That was a long time ago and you’re right, Max did leave her alone for a time but he always kept track of her. For a while, everything calmed down then it started up again.”