Severed Ties That Bind

by Vera Quinn

  “Micah walked into a bar to meet Sarge and he had a stripper in his lap giving him a lap dance. You know your sister’s temper. Micah pulled the dancer off his lap by the hair and proceeded to whip her ass. Sarge left with the stripper that night and he took her to the motel room that Sarge reserved for him and Micah. When Micah got to the motel, Sarge and the dancer were having sex. From what Micah told me Sarge didn’t even lock the door so he did it on purpose. He was trying to show Micah that she had no hold on him. What Sarge doesn’t understand is now Micah is going to show him that he has no hold on her. It is going to be one hell of a ride for those two and I don’t know if either one of them is going to walk out of it alive.” Well, crap. My sister needs me, and she has been taking care of me. It is time for me to take care of her.

  “Does Sarge know that Micah is dancing?” Aunt Deb laughs.

  “Not yet, but I am sure that Micah is going to find one hell of a way to tell him and I would love to be a fly on that wall because that man loves her. He is just fighting it.” Aunt Deb is right. I know that Sarge has been fighting his feelings for Micah a long time.

  “I think that you have underestimated Micah a little. If I know my sister, and I do, she’s not going to tell Sarge she is dancing. She is going to show him, and it will be where and when everyone sees it.” Aunt Deb bursts out laughing.

  “You are so right and if you are there you better tape it for me. What are you doing then? Playing it safe or going wild with your sister today?” I think about it and a smile takes over.

  “Going with Micah.” I am looking forward to it too. It is time for me to let loose.

  “That’s my girl,” Aunt Deb tells me.

  Chapter 28

  Dra

  I am sitting on my bike in the shadows, waiting. Most of my brothers are scattered around the woods behind the school. Krill is sitting beside me, and we have our eyes trained on the gym door, waiting. When Bandy ran Sunshine’s prints we found out that we had let our enemy get too close. I take the responsibility for that. I know I have let my brothers down by crawling into myself and becoming someone that I didn’t even recognize. I think when I lost Callie, I lost a part of myself, and I have been looking for it since then. My eyes are wide open now.

  We found out that Sunshine was born Natalie Benson. She was born right here in Sunshine, Colorado, but she and her brother were moved out of the state when her mother divorced their dad, Ned Benson. When Bandy received the information of Sunshine’s real identity he was able to find a lot of information on Natalie and her brother, Isaac. Natalie wormed her way into the Troubled Fathoms MC clubhouse and our lives for the simple reason of revenge. Ned Benson was one of the marijuana growers that was burned out when Callie’s family and the BlackPath MC came to Colorado and rained down hell for retribution. Ned lost his life that day, like many others that planned the explosion that killed my dad, Howser, and my Gram. Callie thought she had lost me and for that she sought her own revenge. Everything that has happened since that bomb went off has been the domino effect. How many more people will come looking for revenge? With the information about Natalie we found her brother Isaac, who had assumed the name of Angus and was prospecting for us. Angus was taken out of the equation and we have him contained in a jail cell. Raven and Whistler coerced all the information out of him they thought he had. Sunshine put up a better front than he did. Raven wanted to hand out club justice but that is not what we are about. Angus or Isaac needed to pay for his crimes in prison. We’ll keep tabs on him, but we try to stay on the right side of the law. That brings us to tonight. Angus wouldn’t give up his help in the Troubled Fathoms MC. That is the one thing he held back. He was more afraid of the people that sent him than he was of us. Doesn’t make sense since death is death. What he did give us was this meet. Maybe he is setting us up but everything that has happened has brought us to this school. Who picks a damn school for drug meets?

  Our brother, Kross Tie, has disappeared, or he has run. We know that Angus and Sunshine had help, and I am betting it is Kross Tie, but we are finding nothing to link him to Angus and Sunshine or Natalie and Isaac. It seems a little too convenient that we voted on how to proceed with Angus and that night Kross Tie disappeared with most of his belongings going with him.

  I finally see motion behind the trash dumpster by the door. I take out my binoculars and there is a man there, but it is too dark to make out who it is. The gym door opens, and the man moves inside. That was Coach Jackson that opened that door. He has been here for nearly fifteen years. We did financial checks on every employee at the school and we ran background checks even though the school does background checks before employment on every faculty employee or any employee as far as that goes. It is state mandated. “Let’s move in,” Krill tells me and then talks into his radio. My brothers are moving in closer but will remain outside except for Whistler, Brass, and Hemi who will be going in from the other different doors to get in position to back us up. Raven and Time are already inside. Krill and I dismount our bikes and make our way to the door that the man from the shadows went inside. I put in the code to override the security. When we close the door, it seems so loud. Krill and I look around and we are inside the gym. Coach Jackson and the man are nowhere to be seen. There is no way to really hide ourselves. The bleachers are pushed against the wall, so we walk close to the wall. Coach Jackson’s office isn’t very far away and the closer we get to it we hear two voices that I recognize, Jackson’s and Kross Tie’s. They are arguing. Krill puts his hand up, so I know to stop and listen.

  “I don’t give a fuck what the boss wants. I am not staying in town so the Troubled Fathoms MC can catch me. I am a patched member and when they find out that I double-crossed them they are going to want my blood. Every member knows that when they patch in what happens if we betray the club. I am not dying for anyone and I will not go to prison. You do what you want but I am kicking rocks out of this town so give me my money,” Kross Tie says with menace in his voice. Then I hear the cock of a gun.

  “I can’t give you what I don’t have. Do you think I want to stick around so I can get killed? I’m only doing this because of my wife’s medical bills that I can’t afford. The boss is not taking my calls any more than what he is yours. I am worried. I was supposed to have my last drop of money yesterday.” Jackson is trying to explain to Kross Tie.

  “The kids haven’t dropped off the money they collected for the drugs?” Kross Tie asks.

  “That is not how it works, and you know it. Angus took care of all that. He dropped the drugs off to the dealers and then he picked up the cash and brought it to me. We both know that Angus disappeared with the Troubled Fathoms MC’s help. The only thing I was supposed to do was take the money and drop it off. I do not touch the drugs or deal with anyone but Angus. My money is delivered to me every week on time. This week nothing. I tried using the number I have and nothing. You are the only one I have talked to since Angus’s last drop and when I went to Boulder I dropped it just like always do. I am getting worried. I need to pick up prescriptions for my wife and I have payments that need to be paid to the oncologist.” You can hear the worry in Jackson’s voice.

  “I’m not taking the fall by myself. I don’t know what Angus let out when the club took him in. By the time Raven and Whistler finished with him he probably told them everything. I am headed to Boulder to track down the boss. Have you ever met him? I met Marshall in Boulder one time, but he looked more like muscle and not the brains behind this little ring. I am going to the bar where I met him and wait for him to show. If I don’t set eyes on him within a couple of nights I am out of the state. Better to cut my losses than find myself dead.” Jackson half laughs at Kross Tie but in a panicked way instead of funny.

  “That is alright for you, but if I don’t get the payoff, my wife dies because I can’t pay for her medicine and medical procedures. If they arrest me or I disappear then she loses the insurance that my job pays for. I know the kids that Angus was collecting from a
nd I am going to try and get to them and pick up any money they have. That’s something anyway.” Jackson is thinking out loud but that is his mistake.

  “I thought you didn’t know anything. If there is money to be had, we are splitting it. It’ll be easier for me to collect so give me the names.” Kross Tie presses Jackson. Krill gets my attention and motions for us to go in while they are distracted by the conversation. We both have our weapons in our hands. I hope everyone is in place. We walk into the room as quietly as possible, but Kross Tie catches us and points his gun at us, but we already have ours out and ready. Whistler comes in from the other door.

  “Cops are on the way,” Whistler says. My eyes are on Jackson. As far as I can see he doesn’t have a weapon, but Kross Tie looks like a caged animal. I know he is going to do something stupid.

  “Jackson, I am going to give you one chance to walk out of here.” Jackson looks at Krill.

  “Just tell me what you want to know. I never wanted anything to do with this setup. I didn’t have a choice,” Jackson tells us.

  “Shut your mouth, Jackson. The cops are on the way. The Troubled Fathoms MC are not going to do anything. Shut up or I will shut you up,” Kross Tie says. Krill has his gun on Jackson. Both Whistler’s and my weapons are on Kross Tie. I see it when Kross Tie realizes Jackson is going to talk and he brings his weapon up to shoot Jackson. I just react without thinking. I fire my gun just a second before Kross Tie does. My shot hits Kross Tie in the chest, and he jerks, but he still gets his shot off, and Jackson goes down. I run to Kross Tie and take his gun from him, but it is too late for Kross Tie. His eyes are open, but he is not breathing. This is not how I wanted this to end, but it is the chance each of us takes when we make bad decisions. I look at Krill. I see he has his hand over Jackson’s shoulder trying to slow the bleeding. I look around the room and see some towels on the desk and grab them and kneel beside Jackson and try to help slow the bleeding down. I lift Jackson’s shoulder up and see an exit wound. I put a towel behind his shoulder and then lay him down and try to put pressure on him with a towel. Krill grabs a towel and we have done everything we can do until help arrives. An ambulance will take a while.

  “I don’t know who is in charge of the operation. I would never have done any of this if it hadn’t been my last chance to help my wife. The only people I talked to were Angus and Kross Tie. The rest was done by text or phone and the number was unknown. Angus dropped the money off to me and then I took it to Boulder and dropped it off every Monday night in a trash dumpster behind the high school.” Jackson is talking fast as if he is afraid he is not going to get it all out. “I had a meeting every Monday night with the coaches of the surrounding towns at the Boulder high school. During the summer, we kept the same schedule.”

  “How long has this been going on? Have you noticed anyone following you when you go to these meetings?” I ask Jackson.

  “I was approached last summer by Angus. They already knew my schedule and about the meetings between the schools. No, I never felt like I was being followed,” Jackson answers.

  “How much money each week?” Krill asks.

  “Ten to fifteen thousand each week.” Jackson shocks us both. Krill looks at me and I at him. That’s a lot of money every week for such a small town.

  “This is bigger than we thought,” Krill says and then we both notice that Jackson has passed out. That is all the questions we are going to get answered. Krill looks at Whistler.

  “Get everyone else out. You, Dra and I will answer the questions the cops have. We’ll meet back at the clubhouse after for church.” Whistler leaves to get everyone else clear of this place. I hear the sirens in the distance. We still don’t have all our answers just more questions. “Get Kross Tie’s cut off him. I’ll make arrangements, so we can take his ink off before he is put in the ground. No way is he going to buried with our colors or ink on him.” I get the cut off. Whistler walks back in with the sheriff.

  “Who wants to explain to me what went on?” the sheriff asks.

  “Pull up a chair Peter. This is going to take a while. How long for the ambulance?” Krill answers.

  “Be here in five. This is one clusterfuck. Now explain before I am tempted to haul your ass in.” We are in for another long night.

  Chapter 29

  1 week later…

  Maddie

  I think every muscle in my body is screaming for a hot tub of water. I thought I was in better shape than I am. I’m not a couch potato. I run after a two- year old and I religiously do my crunches every morning and night trying to lose this last bit of baby weight that won’t go away but going with Micah and doing some dance moves has proven me wrong. I have been going with her twice a week since the first afternoon I went. It’s fun to just relax and let go and people watch. Yesterday afternoon turned into last night and one beer turned into shots and I am a light weight when it comes to drinking. Well, I was a light weight before B was born and after that, it was a sip here and there. A glass of wine after B was asleep. Not only can I not drink much alcohol but when I do drink I agree to things that I would never do sober, and all my inhibitions go out the window. That leads me to my present predicament.

  Aunt Deb has agreed to take B for the next few afternoons, so Micah can help me get a simple enough dance routine down so that Friday night I can dance in her place for one set. It’s not mandatory to lose all my clothes, because I refused to do that one, but it needs to be sensuous, sexy, and I need to get down to a thong and a very skimpy top. I don’t know how I agreed to this. All the girls have a warm up set before the night gets under way. It’s short and supposed to be an enticement for the men to hang around for all the girls to dance. Now I am trying to think of a way out of it without having Micah hound me like the dogs from hades. There is knock on the door and then it opens. Aunt Deb is walking in with B on her hip.

  “You look better than your sister does. I would have let you sleep in, but you have not been taking calls from Dra and he has called my phone repeatedly. You need to answer him and at least try and make some arrangements for him to see B. That being said, I am not here to preach but your attorney called this morning. Where is your phone? Do you not ever answer that thing? You have a set down in with him this afternoon. You my young lady are flying back to Colorado next week.” Aunt Deb hands me a stack of papers. “You have been served. Your court date is next Tuesday.”

  “They can’t make me go back to Colorado. I live here in Texas and I filed papers here. We should go to court here.” Aunt Deb doesn’t seem alarmed at all by this information.

  “Your attorney has turned your case over to his nephew in Colorado. His name is Alan George. He knows the laws in Colorado. Every state has their own family laws. You are the one that went to Colorado voluntarily and set down roots even if it was temporary. You said you filed for a driver’s license, you signed papers pertaining to Dra being B’s dad, and you moved your bank accounts and were added to Dra’s account. You want this to be legal, so you must follow the rules. So, get your butt out of the bed and go and meet your attorney. When you get back then we will discuss who is going with you to Colorado. You might as well get there early so you can meet with Mr. George and be prepared.” My mind is in overdrive but I can’t make my body move. I’ve made no decisions. “Hit the shower girl, unless you want to meet your attorney smelling like a smoke-filled bar. I am taking B with me to visit Rainbow.” I get out of bed and almost walk right into the wall. I hear laughter and it is my B who is laughing at me.

  “Silly momma,” B says. I rub my head.

  “She is silly, isn’t she?” Aunt Deb asks. She brings B to me and I kiss her cheek.

  “Love you sweet B.” B rubs my kiss off. Something she has picked up lately and I am not happy about it at all.

  “Love you momma,” B tells me laughing. I kiss her quickly and rub it in. She pushes my hand away. It’s a game we play. I kiss Aunt Deb’s cheek too.

  “Thank you, Aunt Deb.” Aunt Deb turns and walk
s out the door with my daughter. “What time do I need to be at the meeting?” I look at my clock beside the bed. It’s after noon already. Crap. I gather my clothes and get my shower. I try to stay out of my head and not overthink this. I miss Dra but thinking about flying back to Colorado is terrifying. What if Dra brings Sunshine with him? No, I will not worry. I can do this. I am not the same Maddie. I am stronger than that. I will not let Dra drag me back. I am a grown ass woman and will do what I decide is right. That’s right, I said grown ass woman! I hurry through my shower and run to the kitchen and grab an apple to take with me. Aunt Deb and B wave at me from outside of the barn and I am in my jeep and on the way to town.

  The drive to town is uneventful and I make my way inside Mr. Jessup’s office. Margie his receptionist is sitting and smiling as I open the door to walk in. That woman is always smiling. She waves at me and I take a seat. About fifteen minutes later Mr. Jessup walks out of his office and motions me over.

  “How are you this morning Ms. Bass?” I walk in the door that he opens for me and he follows me in. I sit in the big chair across from his desk, and he goes around and sits down.

  “I’m doing alright, Mr. Jessup, just a little confused. I thought we were going to court here in Franklin County. Why do I need to go to Colorado?” Mr. Jessup is looking over paperwork.

  “I hope that you didn’t mind letting your aunt know what is going on with the case. You signed a paper stating it was alright for your aunt or sister to get any information.” Mr. Jessup is always about the correct process.