by Annie Buff
RESCUE ME He watched as the rust bucket of a truck rolled down the embankment and he laughed. No son of his would wind up with some prissy goody two shoes. He’d get over it, they always did. The bonus was a little revenge on Ajax, nobody killed a Bastard and got away with it.
Jester stayed on the cliffs edge for a while, making sure his mark wasn’t moving. The likelihood of anyone surviving that was slim to nil but stranger things had happened. When he was thoroughly satisfied the girl was dead he meandered back to his diesel and hopped in. The engine hadn’t cranked when he heard the rumble of a hog, a lot of them. The Devils were coming and he needed to be anywhere else when they arrived.
Smoke lead the caravan of bikes, hoping Izzy took the canyon road to the tire shop. The pace was slow, looking at everything. The smallest thing could point out where she was. Krispy rode next to him, Smoke allowed it as it was his woman they we’re looking for.
The skid marks were visible from half a mile, Krispy all but laid his bike down and ran to where they stopped; the edge of the canyon. At the bottom they saw what they feared, Smokes old truck.
Before the kid could slide down he was stopped by Smoke. “We need rope to get to her, you stay! Bones needs to be the one with me. Trust me kid, ok?” It wasn’t ok but he had no options, Smokes word was law. That and he had defied him enough in the past few weeks. So he stayed right where he was, watching and praying.
Smoke and Bones repelled down the canyon side several hundred feet before they reached the wreck. Smoke could see Isadora and she wasn’t moving. “Ah fuck man. Is she dead?” Smoke looked to Bones for answers. He almost didn’t want his brother to answer him, he could just pretend he didn’t hear him.
“She’s breathing, that’s the best I can do until we get her out of there and that’s not going to be easy. We need help Smoke. I’m afraid if I move her alone, whatever injuries she has could be worse.” That wasn’t what the president wanted to hear but it made sense. It was time climb back up and find Jace. His contacts with the sheriff’s department would come in mighty handy.
Krispy watched them climb back up without Isadora and he hit his knees, the wail he let go reverberated throughout the canyon. Peyton knelt down and put her arms around him. He needed as much comfort as she and the Devils could give him.
Smoke reached the crest first, announcing she was breathing but they couldn’t get her out. “Mule is mangled and if we pull her, Bones says we could aggravate her injuries. Jace, I need you to get us a rescue team here as fast as you can. Bones is calling Wisha for the truck. Isadora goes to the clubhouse, make sure they know that. No ambulance, no hospital. This wasn’t an accident.” He motioned to the skids. “Two sets, hers and something much bigger.” They all understood, the gauntlet had just been thrown down, this meant war.
Krispy looked at Smoke, then at the repelling rope as if he was asking permission. He had to be with her, to touch her. He thought he had lost her and had that happened he probably would have gone out to his spot in the canyon and eaten a bullet. Nothing in the world meant more than her. She was his saving grace, his blessing in disguise. “Go on kid but be careful, no need to fuck yourself up anymore than you already are. You need to let Bones look at you when we’re done here. That pretty face of yours looks like burger.”
Krispy shared just a minute with Smoke before starting down, taking one step at a time. The dirt and gravel was loose and the last thing he needed was to tumble down ass over teakettle. That would be one he would never live down. All he kept thinking was how Isadora was his life, his love and the blessing he never thought he would have. In his mind a poem began so as he lowered himself towards the mangled metal he began to verbalize what he was thinking.
"Blessing
You are everything to me.
You make me want to be
A better man.
You never have to fear. I will always be near.
This I vow.
To you I will be true.
I'll never leave you blue.
My heart.
I'll make you gloriously happy.
I know I'm getting sappy.
My soul.
You cure all my lonely.
My first, my one, my only. My love. ” Waiting was killing him, even if he was by her side. Smoke had allowed him to climb down and sit next to the truck, with Isadora, but Bones said not to touch her and he hadn’t, but it was killing him not to. She lay still, as if she were sleeping but Krispy knew better. She was still bleeding all over which meant she was alive. The dead didn’t bleed, no heartbeat meant no blood flow. He just stared, letting the tears fall. There was no one here to see him weak so he let loose.
He could hear the hum of a helicopter in the distance. Smoke was standing in front of him talking but Krispy couldn’t make out the words. Nothing was making sense at the moment, that is until the president grabbed on and shook him. “Kid, you hearing me? Helo is coming, we’re gonna get her out. Get your ass up the hill, you’re gonna ride behind Bones.” At least this time the words came through and Krispy nodded, heading for the rope. “Oh kid, stay away from Ajax. Isadora needs you whole and that eye looks like shit. You can beat each other to a bloody pulp later. You feelin’ me?” That he was, and his eye hadn’t hurt until Smoke mentioned it. Now it was throbbing, along with his head. Peyton was up on the road, hopefully she had aspirin or something to take the edge off. Smoking or drinking the pain away would come later when he knew his love was going to make it. For now he would either try aspirin or just suffer through.
The swelling was inhibiting his vision in that eye. The left side of his face was severely swollen and the bruising had started. The only thing that made this situation any better was that Ajax had the beginning of two black eyes. Krispy had clearly broken the cleaners nose which gave him the utmost satisfaction. Krispy saw Ajax staring him down and since Smoke gave the order to leave him alone he stayed put. Ajax must have been given the same order because he too didn’t move, but just to add insult to injury Krispy blew the cleaner a kiss. It was a dick move on his part, he knew that but Krispy just couldn't help it. Ajax flipped him the bird which he deserved and he knew things would eventually be ok between them, it would just take a while. That was alright with him, as long as his woman was ok then he would be ok.
JAKE THE SNAKE Jake watched from the west side of the canyon. Jester said she was dead but he didn’t think so. With all the commotion going on the girl had to be alive. His brother had sat by the wreckage for an hour before a helicopter arrived and a rescue crew lowered themselves down. The dead didn’t need to be rescued. Jake always second guessed Jester, he was a shitty president. Jester called him Snake because of the rhyme but Jake hated it. He hated Jester too, wishing that asshole would have just let him be. He was happy just being Jake.
He saw the helo lower the basket, and he smiled.
G oodshe’salivehe thought. Serves him right. The one thing Jester drilled into the heads of his prospects was do the job and do it right. Make sure you finish what you started. Looks like he needed to take his own advice. Now the only dilemma was should he go back to the Bastards hideout and report what he’d seen or take a ride to Devils property and hope like hell nobody killed him.
Jake wasn’t a cold blooded son of a bitch like Jester and the rest of the Bastards. In fact he hated the whole club thing, at least the one he was in. Maybe he could help his brother and the Devils, give them information they needed and they’d let him live. The only downfall to spying on his own club was if Jester got wind of it, well that wasn’t something he wanted to think about.
Jake had seen what they did to people they didn’t like, people that crossed them. He also saw what happened to women in their company. Remembering one particular lady, a shiver ran down his spine. There was almost nothing left of her after they’d all had their way with her. It was the most violent thing he had ever seen in his life. Horror movies were less grotesque.
With his decision made he hiked back to his bike, fi
ring it up and hitting the throttle. Jake headed east towards Devils property to warn his brother and the rest of them. Someone had to put Jester down. It was time to end the madness and end the Bastards for good.
It took two hours to free Isadora from the wreckage. She hadn’t come to but did make a few groaning noises so Bones was hopeful. Wisha had brought everything she thought he might need during transport. With IVs started he loaded the gurney into the back of the truck and the Devils headed for home. All except Jace and Falcon, who were left at the scene to investigate. Smoke had given special orders on this one.
Bones looked at his patient, shaking his head. He just couldn’t understand who would want to hurt such a sweet young woman. She would need copious amounts of stitching just to stop the bleeding. What he was concerned about was her tiny fetus. An ultrasound would be the first order of business once he got her back. Aside from being able to check on her pregnancy, the ultrasound would allow him to see if she had any internal organ damage. Bones said a prayer for her and the baby. He just couldn’t imagine losing a child, fetus or not.
It didn’t take long to make it back and get set up for his patient. Krispy did his best to get inside that room but he failed. The doc needed room to work and no matter how much it drove him nuts, he obeyed.
Smoke handed him a joint, hoping it would calm him down. Krispy was pacing like a caged animal, Isadora and the baby were on the forefront of his mind. Even with Ajax being within pissing distance, Krispy ignored him and silently prayed for his family.
He eventually gave in and sat down under a tree, isolating himself from the brothers. The pot was doing it’s job, helping him calm down. He could feel his heart rate slow to and blood pressure seemed to be getting back to normal. Krispy was still freaking out but he kept it to himself. With his head in his hands he closed his eyes, picturing Izzy swollen with his child. He knew just how beautiful she would be with his baby growing inside her. Krispy was so lost in his fantasy he never heard Ajax come sit next to him.
“She’s really pregnant?” Krisp y nodded, handing Ajax the test he’d had in his pocket. The cleaner just stared at the plus sign.
“Before you go all fuckin’ postal on me, she ison the pill. We didn’t plan it, it just happened and I ain’t complaining. I’m gonna love her for the rest of whatever life I got left so if we made a baby, well that’s ok with me. And you… well you gonna be a gramps.” Krispy smiled. It was the first one since realizing Isadora was missing.
Meanwhile Bones had made the decision to open her up, he saw the internal bleeding on the ultrasound and knew what had to be done. It was risky doing surgery on a pregnant woman but she had to be saved first, the baby was secondary no matter what.
There was damage to her liver and spleen, both had large lacerations from the impact so that’s where he went first. Peyton was his nurse like usual but some surgeries she doubled as a doctor, pointing out things and asking questions. With Izzy being so small, Peyton did the stitching. Her hands were much smaller and she did well.
Bones took care of the major bleeders, stabilizing her condition but keeping a close eye on heart rate and blood pressure. Peyton stitched Isadora’s forehead, cheek and arms. Now it was all up to Izzy, she had to fight. The broken bones would heal quickly, the ribs would be the worst. Her wrist was fractured in two places but neither would be a long heal.
By the time he had her completely stable, Bones stopped to take a good look at the baby. He carefully let the probe glide over the lower abdomen of Isadora. “Queen look.” Peyton smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
“Should I go get Joshua? He’ll want to know.” She asked but didn’t wait for Bones to answer and he didn’t expect her to. Peyton was a mother to them all and with this revelation she knew Krispy would want to see.
The door flung open and Peyton appeared. “Joshua!” She yelled. That got his attention quick and he hit his feet and ran. Grabbing his arm Peyton pulled him inside towards Bones office.
“Hey kid. She’s doing pretty good all things considered.” Bones mentioned as Krispy looked around. She had a tube down her throat and IVs everywhere. He saw the stitched cuts and the bandages on her torso.
“What did you have to do? Is the baby OK?” The doc nodded and motioned for him to sit. “We got the internal damage handled, Queen did all the sutures. I expect her to have a fuckin’ huge headache and she’s gonna need healing time. The breaks were minor but she just had surgery kid so pain is gonna be pretty bad. But I wanted to show you something.” Bones once again turned on the ultrasound machine and showed Krispy what he and Peyton had seen.
It took a minute for the eyes to focus and find what Bones saw. “Kiss my dick! That’s my kid! Oh my God, that ain’t just one is it?” Peyton hugged his neck and Bones patted his back.
“That’s twins kid. Congratulations daddy. Now go tell Ajax and let me get her set up for the night.” Krispy nodded with tears in his eyes, but he had questions for Bones.
“Are… are… are they OK? My kids, are they ok?” The level of concern the young man had was impressive. Bones heard the quivering in Krispy ‘s voice.
“They look just fine. Lemme get the fuckin’ machine going again and we can take another look.” Krispy kept hold of Izzy’s hand as he watched the monitor.
Bones ran the probe over her abdomen again, finding the tiny humans snug in their sac. Krispy was in awe, seeing their movements.
“Ok kid, we’ll call this one baby A, and this one is slightly bigger but that’s normal. Baby B is smaller by a hair but more active. Just by eyeballing their size, I’d say she’s about seven weeks along. So using that estimate you’re babies will come in the late spring.” Krispy just nodded. He heard a hog outside but brushed it off. One of his brothers was either coming or going. The sound of Harley’s were normal in this world. Krispy stayed as long as Bones would allow before walking out to the shock of his life.
BROTHERLY LOVE “What the fuck are you doing here!” Krispy screamed at the newcomer who had ridden in when he was inside with Isadora. The young man still sitting on his bike grinned. Krispy just stared for a minute. He still had a boyish smile but being nineteen would do that. “He’s one of them! They did this to her!” Pointing at the clubhouse. They all knew he meant Izzy.
“Wasn’t me Josh, but I know who did it and I wanna help.” “Why Jake? Why prospect? And for fucks sake why them? You had it all. A good family, a nice house and a decent place to sleep. Why would you give all that up for the Bastards?”
The younger Harrison hung his head, this wasn’t the life he thought he would have growing up. He
envisioned going to college and becoming a veterinarian, not a biker. Well not until Jester showed up with some very interesting motivation.
“Didn’t have a choice, you don’t say no to Jester. Did that once about six months ago, he lit my hand on fire.” Jake said as he pulled his riding gloves off, showing the scarred hand. “Burned the left so I can still shoot. I’m right handed.” Smoke watched the dynamic between the brothers. Being the president of the club, he was leery. To just show up bearing an olive branch just didn’t happen. Smoke smelled a rat, it might not be his idea but Jake was a with all likelihood the rat. Now to bait the trap with some cheese and see who bit.
“Jacob Harrison,” Smoke bellowed over the chatter of the brothers, “Come with me now You too kid.” Renegade followed even though he wasn’t asked. It was his job to protect the president. Ren was biker Secret Service and Smoke was his charge.
Inside the Temple room Smoke stayed standing. At six foot three and some change he was nothing less than intimidating and he knew it. Krispy sat in his usual chair while Renegade ushered Jake to sit directly across from his brother.
“ Why are you here? No bullshit, no story, just the truth and if you lie to me I will let Renegade practice his new carving skills on you.” The younger Harrison didn’t say anything for a minute, just staring at Smoke. He was trying his best not to let his fear show but it was s
eeping through.
“It don’t matter what you do to me, Jester’s punishment will be much worse.” Krispy just listened, checking his phone every few minutes. He was still thinking of Isadora and his babies but was curious why Jake wasn’t scared of Renegade. Even he was scared shitless of Renegade. Krispy had seen Ren in action and shocked didn’t even come close to covering it. Renegade never batted an eye when he was in knife mode.
Jake just sat, not saying much of anything and that was pushing Smokes patience to the brink. Krispy had enough too.
“Answer him Jake ! This silent shit ain’t working, Speak! “ He yelled as his fists hit the table. Krispy didn’t care if he was out of line, he was done waiting.
“I hate Jester, have my whole life. He’s a sorry sack of shit and I’m done. I never wanted this life but since I’m here I’d rather help you get rid of him. “ Smoke finally sat down, letting the words sink in. He pulled his phone out and sent a text.
“ We sit until I get an answer on my message. Kid grab my bottle off the bar. “ Smoke said to Krispy as he pulled out his pouch of herbal medicine. The bottle had just been set down when the chime went off. “ Well I’ll be a son of a bitch! Jake when did he show up? I heard he got twenty years. “
“Yeah he did but got released on some technicality. Josh he’s out, dad is out of prison and he’s Jester.” Krispy went ghostly white, his father was Jester. That explained so much, now he knew how his baby brother got caught up in the mess he was in. Krispy ran to the sink, retching his guts out. His father was a sadist and that was being nice. Neva, his mother took the brunt of the rage but Krispy had scars too. Ones he never spoke of.
“You OK kid? Smoke asked as Krispy collected himself and wiped his mouth. Smoke had never met Jester but just seeing his patch he knew the Bastards president was much worse than he first knew. “We will get him, that’s a promise. “