Wayward Soul

by K. Renee

  I smirk. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just like having me around, Prez."

  He snorts. "No, I just like knowing where the bastard who knocked up my daughter is at all times. Just in case I get the urge to kill you, you will be easier to find.” He walks off laughing.

  Her old man can say whatever he wants. She’s it for me and nothing will get me to leave her again. Now I just have to get rid of Kendall. Fuck me.

  I hear my dad talking to Johnny, but I can’t catch any of his conversation. When he hangs up, I can see something is wrong. "What is it?”

  "Johnny thinks they have a rat in their club." I watch Casey pale and Anslie gasps.

  “Fuck! Does he know who?” I ask. I know all of those guys. I may not get along with everyone, but they are all pretty solid men.

  “He said he might have an idea. I told him we are sending a few men to help out and to keep us updated.”

  I nod my head and Prez calls for church. Kissing Anslie on the forehead, I whisper in her ear,” Doll, be strong for her. She’s gonna need you, yeah?”

  I watch her face and she takes in a deep breath. “Yeah,” she whispers back. I kiss her again and walk out the door.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It’s been three hours since they went into church and I am going crazy. A rat? I don’t know much about the club rules, but I know something like that is serious. How could someone turn their back on Gunner? He’s one of the most caring men I know. He would die for his club, and I can’t believe one of his own would do that. Thoughts are racing through my head and the only thing I can think of is getting to Seattle.

  As if reading my thoughts, Anslie looks at me and says, “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Ans, you don’t understand! I have to go. He might need me!”

  “Casey, no! You need to stay here. It’s the only way for you to stay safe. Gunner would flip if he knew what you’re planning on doing.”

  “You don’t even know my plan!” I sneer back at her. I know she’s just trying to help, but I don’t care. I want Gunner and I want him now!

  “You’re thinking about flying back to Seattle and trying to find him. Casey, sometimes I know you better than you know yourself!” She yells back at me, throwing her arms into the air and sighing.

  “Anslie, you know I love you, right?” She nods, but before I can say anything else, a beautiful woman comes walking into the room. “Who is that?” I whisper.

  We both watch her walk closer and look around. Just as her eyes settle on us, the guys come walking back into the room. She whips around and sees Brantley, then rushes towards him. Is that his old lady? Does he have a thing for older women? I mean, she's hot, but a little too old for him. Anslie looks like she wants to murder somebody, so I grab her arm to keep her from moving.

  “Brantley…,” she sobs and wraps her arms around him. We both watch in shock. Who the hell is this bitch?

  He wraps his arms around her and his eyes shoot to us. He gives us a small smile and mouths, I’ll explain.

  “Aunt Christina, Jase and Bentley are on their way to help, and Johnny is already working on finding him. He’ll be fine.”

  Nick walks into the room and she releases Brant and walks over to him, tears in her eyes. “Nick, you promised me he wouldn’t come after him. You promised you would take care of him.” She pokes him angrily in the chest with her finger, then slaps him. “You promised…,” she sobs as Nick pulls her to him.

  Brantley walks over to us and whispers, “That’s Gunner’s mom. Put your claws away, doll.” He winks at her and she punches him in the stomach.

  I pull my attention from Anslie and Brant to watch Gunner’s mom and uncle. She looks as heartbroken as I feel. I walk over to them and Nick nods. He doesn’t look much like her. He must look like his father. I watch Brant and Anslie walk out of the room and I am left with Nick and Gunner's mom.

  Nick motions to me. “Christina, this is Gunner’s old lady, Casey.”

  She looks at me with tears in her eyes before wrapping me up in a hug. We both cry on each other's shoulders, then she leads me to a couch. “So, how did you meet my son?” she asks quietly.

  Smiling, I say, “We kinda met randomly a few times, but we never talked until he showed up with Brant at the club Anslie and I were at. We hung out for a couple weeks, then we went our own ways for a while. We dated for a year before I ended things again. When I had something to tell Brant, I went to see Gunner and we kinda started talking again. But it was only a couple of days ago when we, um…” I trail off, turning bright red

  Smiling, she says, “You can say you guys are having sex. I know my son and I know the life he lives. I just didn’t expect someone to be introduced as his old lady. He’s never had one before, so you must be special to him.” She squeezes my hand.

  “I don’t know about that, but I know he’s special to me.”

  She smiles at me and sniffles a bit. “I hope my son knows what a great girl he’s got.”

  I blush and look away. “It’s great to meet you, but I wish it was under different circumstances.”

  Patting my leg, she replies, “Me, too, sweetheart.”

  We sit in silence for a while, then she asks, “Are you from here?”

  I smile. “Yes. Born and raised, but I’ve been living in Seattle for the last few years.”

  We spend the next few hours just talking and getting to know each other. It’s crazy to see how alike Gunner and his mom are. I wish I was somewhat similar to someone in my own family. Some of the stories she’s told me make me want to just hug Gunner and make sure no one hurts him again.

  “You’re in love with my son, yes?” I am completely shocked. How could she possibly know? I never once hinted to that fact. “You don’t have to hide it, sweetheart. It’s written all over your face. It lights up when you say his name. You're a special girl, Casey, and I hope he keeps you around. He wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t care about you. His uncle has pretty much raised him since he was a boy. He knows you’d be safe here. That means something.”

  I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to say. She is the nicest woman I have ever met, and I know why Gun is protecting her. She didn't tell me the whole story, but she told me enough to know why he made me promise to stay here. Anslie comes in, after putting the boys to bed, and we grab some wine and continue talking until the early morning hours.

  For the first time since I got here, I don’t feel so alone. I am grateful to Gunner’s mom for helping understand the man with whom I’m in love.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Once my old man walks out of the room, someone else walks in. I look up and come face-to-face with the person I never would have guessed would rat me out. "So, I assume you didn't guess I would be the person to give you up to your old man?" I don't even bother to answer him. I'm going to take them both down and have fun doing it. "You’re just going to ignore me, huh?" he asks, feigning sadness. "You know, it was really easy to put you on the trail of Abe. He is always acting sketchy and just played right into my hand. Plus, your father offered me a lot of money, so I just couldn't say no. Hell, I'm pretty sure even you would give up your pretty little girlfriend for this kind of cash."

  He's fucking delusional. “I sure as hell would never bring my old lady anywhere near that motherfucker,” I spit back at him.

  "That's where you’re wrong, boy. Your brother's would be lining up to get a piece of this pie. Hell, I'm sure he could even pay off Johnny." How can this motherfucker stand in front of me and tell me Johnny would do that to me.

  "How much did he give you? What is the going rate for a rat nowadays?"

  I can tell I'm getting to him because he walks over to me and puts both hands on the back of the chair, getting in my face. "Fuck you, Gunner! You act all high and mighty, but you are nothing. I helped make you the man you are in this club and you can't even do what you’re told."

  I slam my forehead into his nose and he stumbles back. "Fuck! I
think you broke my nose, asshole!"

  Rocking the chair, I get enough slack that I can pull one of my arms through the rope. I grab the knife out of my pocket and cut through the ropes as fast as I can, hearing him stomping towards me.

  Cutting away the last of the rope, it falls just as he charges me. I jab him in the thigh with my knife. Screaming out, he clutches the wound and falls to the ground. Preparing myself for my dad to come into the room, the door opens and Jase and Johnny come running in, guns raised.

  "Thank fuck. Where the fuck have you guys been?"

  Johnny laughs. "I've been following Abe, but I found him tied up yesterday. Then Nick called saying there was something wrong and he was sending Jase and Bentley out to us.

  "How is she, Jase?" It's the only thing I can think of to say.

  "She's okay. She and Anslie are with your mom. Trust me, man. They are all getting too fucking close, if you ask me."

  I just smile. "Where is he?" I ask. I want to be the one to put a bullet in his head.

  Johnny smirks. "Tied up in the front room. I knew you'd want to do this yourself."

  Jase walks over to our prez, and ties his hands and feet together. He’s still moaning out in pain, but I don’t care. ”How long have I been here?"

  "Three days, give or take. Did he tell you why he did it?" he asks, kicking our prez in the side.

  "Money. They set up Abe."

  Johnny grabs his phone and calls the prospects to come pick them up and bring them to the shop. "J, I need your phone.” He tosses it to me and I call Brant.

  "Yo, brother. What’s the news?” he says.

  "Hey, B, let me talk to my girl."

  "Thank fuck, cousin! You okay?"

  I smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine after you let me talk to my girl."

  I hear him mumble something that sounds like “asshole”. I just laugh. "Stop your bitching, motherfucker. I'll talk to you once I hear her voice."

  He chuckles and says something to Anslie. I hear her squeal in the background, then I hear her voice. "Gunner?!" she cries.

  I never thought I would be happy to hear someone say my name before. "Hey, beauty. You okay?"

  I can hear her sniffles over the line. "Yeah, are you? When can I see you?"

  I smile. "I'm okay. Just a little sore. I need to take care of some things, then I'll get you a plane ticket home. Just give me the rest of the day, yeah?”

  "Yeah, Gun."

  I tell her that I have to go, but I'll call her with the flight information later.

  After I hang up with Brant, I clap my hands and watch the prospects take my old man and our prez out to the van for transport back to the clubhouse “All right, boys. Let’s roll. We have some trash to take care of. Jase, fill in your old man and let him know it will be taken care of tonight." Jase nods and pulls out his phone. Once he hangs up, we get on our bikes, crank them up, and take off into the night.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When we get back to the clubhouse, everyone is standing outside. Once I get off my bike, a few of the guys come up to see how I'm doing. This is why I will always choose the club, but I want to choose Casey, too. I just hope I can have both. I can tell they are all itching to find out what's going on.

  Most of the members who know my father are in Vegas. Johnny and Prez were the only ones here who knew, and that's only because they were here when I arrived years ago. Johnny calls attention and the guys all look around, waiting for some answers. "Church,” he says, then walks into the clubhouse.

  Once everyone is seated, Johnny starts, "Tonight, one of our own ratted out a brother. One of our brothers has suffered because of that, and another almost took the blame.” He looks around the room at all of the puzzled faces. None of these guys had a clue. Shit, I didn't even have a clue. "Our president became a rat and took money in exchange for getting Gunner alone. He was going to help his old man take Gunner’s old lady and torture her." My blood boils at the words coming from my VP. "Once he was done with Gunner and Casey, he was going to finish what he started with Gunner's mom. If this, alone, isn't reason enough to put both of these animals down, I don't know what is. But, according to law, we put it to a vote. ‘Yay’ or ‘nay’ for the deaths of Jaron Foster and our prez.” I hold my breath. Either way, I'm putting them both down. I just may have to go against the club to do it.

  Johnny goes around the room and I am hearing more ‘yay's’ than ‘nay's’. Johnny skips over me because he already knows my answer. The look on his face tells me not to say anything until the vote is over. Once the vote is done, the majority of the men voted ‘yay’.

  Letting out the breath I was holding, I feel the adrenaline coarse through my veins. I have been waiting all of my life to kill my father. He took away my childhood and made my mom's life a living hell. I stop listening to the conversation in the room. The only thing I can think about is moving on to the task at hand.

  When Johnny finally calls an end to church, I am up and out the door. Jase catches up to me and grabs my shoulder. "What, J? I have more important things to take care of right now,” I say, knocking his hand off me.

  "You need to fucking stop for a second, cuz. You got a good girl back in Vegas waiting for you, but you are determined to spill their blood here. Do you really want that on your conscience when she comes back home? Why not let the boys deal with it?"

  I know he's trying to get me to back down, but I can't. "I'm fucking doing this for me! You didn't fucking hear him and the shit he was spewing. He wanted to fucking torture my girl in front of me. He threatened to kill her, then go after my mom. I can't just let that go. If it was the other way around and you were in my shoes, you're telling me you wouldn't do the same damn thing? So get off your fucking high horse and get out of my way."

  "Shit," he says, running his hand through his hair. "Gun, you know I always have your back, but think about how she will handle it. Do you really think she'll be okay with this?"

  I can't think about that right now. "She’ll understand, and even if she doesn't, I guess it's a chance I'm willing to take,” I say as I make my way to the garage.

  When I open the doors, I see them both hooked to chains in the center of the large room. Smiling, I walk straight for my old man. "You deserve everything that's about to come to you, you sorry son of a bitch." My fist connects with his face and I watch him rock back from the force. He cries out and I hit him again.

  The rest of the guys walk into the garage and form a circle around both the men hanging. Johnny motions to me to start. "My father threatened to torture and kill my old lady in front of me. Then he told me he would go after my mom.” I turn to my dad. "What's wrong, dad. Can’t get it up unless you fucking hurt a woman? Is that what does it for you?"

  He snickers and I just want to bash his head in. "You're no better than me, son. You take joy in hurting people just like I do. A real chip off the old block, huh?”

  I shake my head. "I would never hurt a woman, especially one I supposedly loved."

  Laughing, he spits blood on the floor. "You may not physically hurt her, but when she finds out what you're doing, it will hurt her.” I know he's trying to get to me, but how much of that statement is true? Will she hate me for doing this?

  My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see her face on my screen. Putting the phone to my ear, I walk outside for a minute. "Hey, beauty,” I say. Anger is pulsing in my veins and I want nothing more to beat the fuck out of him, but her voice instantly calms me down.

  "Gunner. I’m sorry to bug you, but I need to tell you something."

  A million different things are running through my head right now. Is she pregnant? Does she not want anything to do with me? "What is it, babe?"

  She takes a deep breath. "I know you’re about to do something which could change you, but I just want you to know that no matter what, I'll still love you. All I ask is that you don't tell me any of the details because I don't think I could handle them. I know you have to do what you have to do and
I respect that. Just come back for me. Please." The last words are more like a plea.

  “Beauty, nothing is gonna stop me from bringing you back to me. I already told you you’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.”

  I hear her giggle and her breathless reply makes all this worth it. “Good because I’ve decided I’ll never let you go. You’re it for me.”

  I smile. “Is B there?”

  She puts him on and I tell him my plan. When we get off the phone, I can’t wait to get this over with so I can get my girl.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Walking back inside the garage, I focus on what needs to be done. The guys have been working them both over, and I just want to get this over with.

  I grab the torch and make my way to my old man. Lighting it, I crank it up as high as it goes. Watching him squirm away from me just makes me laugh. When I was tied up, he acted so fucking tough, but now he’s whining like the pussy he really is. I take the torch and run it close enough to burn him in the chest through his shirt. The screams that fill the room are so fucking loud, some of the guys cover their ears, but continue to watch in fascination.

  I run the torch over his jeans and dick and his hands, making sure he can never hurt a woman again. I watch the material start to catch fire and I don't even try to put it out. Luckily for him, he won’t have to live through the pain for too long. I watch his skin bubble up and his screams get even louder. When I put the torch directly on his skin, the pain is so bad, he passes out. I continue to run it down his back and Prez looks at me, fear in his eyes. As much as I want to turn the torch on him, I refrain. The boys can take care of him. I turn the torch off and hand it to one of the guys.

  “What are you gonna do next, Gun? You want Prez, too?” Johnny asks.