“What the fuck…”
My words die as I see an older man standing on my porch. Thin face with sharp edges, and a salt and pepper goatee to match his graying slicked back hair. He’s wearing a thick wool coat and black leather gloves. His lips are in a thin line as his eyes rake over me, his eyes widening as he takes in my appearance. My bloody appearance. I can feel my blood boil as judgement rests so clearly on this son of a bitch’s face. How dare he step foot on my property, on Fury ground, and disrespect me. My jaw tics, fists clenching at my side as we have a silent standoff.
Footsteps hit the steps as another guy approaches. This one is younger, but just as put together. Clearing his throat, the old man speaks. “I’m looking for Sarah.”
“Don’t know no bitch by the name of Sarah, buddy. Get the fuck off my property.”
His eyes cut to behind me. “Sarah Jennifer Hoyt! You need to come out here, now!” he growls.
“The fuck?” I take a step forward to beat the shit out of this fucker, but I feel her hand on the base of my back, stopping me.
“Daddy?” she questions, and my heart sinks.
Coming up beside me, her hair is still dripping. When she doesn’t try to get any closer to the two men, I begin to breathe. Her arm wraps around my waist, and I know it’s going to be all right. It’s fucking crazy how her simple touch can put me at ease.
Her head swings to the younger guy. “Micah?” Worry laces her voice. “What are you doing here? Is Momma okay?”
“Sarah.”
He uses that name again. The sound of it is foreign to my ears, and my jaw tics in annoyance. When I glance down at Jenni, she’s already looking up at me. Fear set in her eyes. She swallows, her throat contracting under the pressure. Pulling her into my body, I need to make sure that she knows there’s no reason for her to feel anything but my strength.
“I’ll ask again, Daddy. Is Momma all right?”
The old man doesn’t make an effort to talk, but the younger guy clears his throat. “Your mother is fine, Sarah.”
“Why the fuck do you keep calling her Sarah?” I growl. “And who the fuck are you?”
Jenni squeezes her arms around my waist. It’s her time to reassure me. Crazy how we can feed off each other. How, without thought, we give and take from each other. Silently supporting.
“We call her Sarah because that is her God-given name.” The old man sneers, eyes full of disgust.
“This is my father, Daniel Hoyt, and this is Micah, my…um, a childhood friend.”
“The man you’re intended to marry,” her father confirms.
I stiffen. “The fuck?”
“No.” Jenni straightens her shoulders, shaking her head with determination, becoming more of the woman I know. “That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“No. It’s not. I–”
“Your time is up, dear daughter. It’s time to come home and be the woman you were raised to be. Enough of playing and living in Satan’s playground with,” he flicks his fingers to me, “Satan’s children. I forbid any more of your foolishness. Micah is ready to wed, he has been called to serve, and so you shall be ready too.”
“I’ve been gone for months, and you’re just now coming to me?”
“I don’t have the liberty to run off, Sarah.”
“Please stop using that name, Father. You know I haven’t gone by that since I was a young child.”
“I have responsibilities, Sarah,” he states, ignoring her request. “My congregation needs their leader. How can a flock continue down its destined path without their shepherd? I can’t go traipsing all over the country on a whim. Not when so many look to me for guidance. There was never a good time. Besides, the Lord spoke to me. I prayed from the moment you left, and the Lord told me to allow my lamb to reach the den of the lions. Only then would you see your path and come home. Now I’m afraid that I might have misheard the Lord’s instructions.”
He shakes his head. “So many sins mar your once pure soul. Such a waste, you’ve become such a waste. But no worries. We’ll cleanse you. You’ll be pure of heart, body, and soul again. I’ll see to it.”
“Hold the fuck up–”
“Tylan.” She lowers her voice. “Can we do this somewhere else? I don’t want the kids to hear.”
“Kids?” Daniel questions, tilting his head. “I see. Of course, he has kids. Oh, child…” He shakes his head. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
I’ve had about enough of this shit. “I don’t know what backwoods shit you think you got going on, but you need to step the fuck off. Both of you. Get the fuck off my property.”
I take a step forward, making them retreat off the porch. They stumble back, but I continue to charge forward with Jenni hot on my heels. They both stop once they reach the end of the grass where a sleek white Cadillac sits idling next to the curb.
“Tylan? Please.” She pulls my arm, making me give her my undivided attention. Her gaze moves to her father, and then back to me. “He’s my father. I–I need to explain.”
“You know he doesn’t give a fuck what you think, right?”
She doesn’t answer, but the tears that start to build in her eyes is my undoing. Turning back to the men, I give them the only option I feel comfortable with.
“I want you the fuck away from my family, but she wants to talk. You’re lucky your daughter means something to me, or I wouldn’t even entertain the idea. So here the deal; you and your minion are gonna accompany me to my clubhouse. There and only there is where you’ll have your time with your daughter before you bounce yourself right the fuck outta here.” I turn toward Jenni. “Now, get some more fucking clothes on, and I’ll make sure your Daddy gets where he needs to be.”
There’s a war raging within me. I want to snap these fuckers in two. Make them bleed until they know they have no business here. She’s not their concern, not anymore. I’ll be damned if he thinks he’s going to take the one ray of sunshine in my otherwise, dark, fucked up world. I’m not willing to go back to the person I was before she showed me the light. If I have to permanently dispose of these two fuckwads to do it, then I will. Father or not.
As soon as Jenni retreats into the house, her father opens his mouth again. “This is none of your concern. Her time here with you is over.”
I straighten to my full height. “I don’t fucking think so.”
“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
“I don’t give a fuck what Bible crap you tried to throw at me, but if I were you, I’d turn my shit off, or you’re liable to lose your car. You know, it being parked in the Devil’s playground and all that.”
Instantly Daniel begins to instruct that pansy ass Micah to secure his vehicle and the sound of their dress shoes clicking on the concrete. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sin and Savannah standing on Bianca’s porch, watching. The audible gasp that hits my ears tells me that Savannah’s as surprised to see him here as I am.
Rushing through the door, I’m met with a concerned looking Ryder. “What’s the matter? Why is Uncle Tylan yelling? Who’s out there?” He tried to step around me.
I place my hands on his shoulders, trying to get his attention back to me and not what’s happening outside. “Baby, I need you do me a favor,” I say as I pass him to head to my room. “I need you to watch your sister. Give me a sec, okay?” I ask over my shoulder before I enter my room and shut my door behind me. I make a quick change of my clothes, I throw on a fitted Devil’s Fury T-shirt, a pair of jeans and my sneakers. Heading back out of my room I see Ryder still where I left him.
“For how long? What’s going on? You’ve never left me alone with Rox before.”
I stop in front of him, rubbing my hands up and down his arms. “I know, that’s true, but I need you to do this for me. Just for a bit. We’ll be over at the clubhouse. We won’t be l
ong.”
I pass by him, pulling up my still wet hair, I twist it into a messy knot while I walk. My heart’s racing. Seeing my father has scared the heck out of me. I never thought he’d make any effort to come and find me, but then again, my not being at home is showing the church that their precious leader doesn’t have a handle on his family. If he can’t handle one daughter, how can he handle the entire congregation?
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“My father’s here, and I need to speak with him, but I don’t want you guys involved. I’m certain that it’s not going to go smoothly, and I don’t want you kids to have to listen to anything that may come out of his mouth.”
“Jenni…” he groans.
When I turn around, he looks irritated. “I know, honey. You’re not a little kid, but your sister is, and I don’t want her little ears to hear anything that might put thoughts of doubt in her mind. My father…” I sigh. “My father is a difficult man, so I need you to stay here and watch your sister. Do not, by any means, allow anyone into this house. Make sure the front door is locked, and I’ll head through the back. Do not answer the door for anyone, Ryder, do you understand?”
“Yeah, yeah, lock the front door. Don’t answer it and you’re going through the back. Got it.”
“Okay.”
“Jenni?”
His voice stops me. “Yeah?”
“You–you’re not leaving, right? Is that why your dad’s here? Because he wants you to go home?”
“I am home.” I give him a wink and head towards the back.
“I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
My father’s voice booms from inside as soon as I open the metal door that leads into the main room of the clubhouse.
“Fuck, lusting in the flesh is the best part.”
Lick’s response makes me laugh. He’s not intimidated by my father and his constant spouting of his religious jargon. My father probably thinks that because he can silence the people in his congregation with his words and his tone, he can do the same here. But he’s not in his church, and he’s definitely not with his people.
Walking into the front room, I see Tylan. He looks larger than life sitting behind the octagon shaped table the guys play poker on. We may share a home, but I know that for the better part of his life, this clubhouse is the one place where he felt safe, and where he felt he could be himself. Right now, without The Fallen or any member of the MC taking up space, it’s a typical bar type room.
My father is pacing back and forth like a caged lion. I’m sure his skin is crawling having to be in the ‘lair of the devil’. Micah stands with his hands in his pockets as he eyes Tylan. He, on the other hand, pays him no attention.
“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth—”
“Father.” A rule I’d learned growing up, I was never to interrupt my father when he spoke. Another prime example how I’m not living up to my father’s standards. Yay me.
“Ah, so there you are. And dressed in the devil’s clothing, no doubt.”
“Fuck yeah, she is,” Tylan states with a chuckle. When I hear the scrape of metal along the wooden floor, I glance over and see that he’s pulled out a seat next to him, patting it for me to occupy it.
“Her clothing isn’t so bad,” Micah interjects, only to have my father shoot him daggers.
Poor Micah. He’s always been one of my father’s lackeys. I’m not sure what he thought he’d gain by following my father around like a little puppy. Maybe it’s because Micah’s own father had fallen to many temptations in his life. He’d left Micah and his mother alone years ago. The church helped raise Micah. We took a monthly donation to help families in need, and Micah and Rosemary were always on the list of handouts. Maybe Micah feels that he owes my father, but to me, it looks as if he is living a life my father wants him to live, not the life he wants.
“She dresses in the ways of sin and blasphemy.” His eyes sweep across my body, making my skin crawl in their wake.
I pad over to Tylan, needing the security of his presence, and take a needed seat. Swallowing down my emotions, the feeling of dread takes root within my stomach. I lift my head, locking eyes with my father. “There’s no need to continue on with your sermon. There aren’t any followers. No ears open to listen. No praises to be heard. You will not gain any followers today.”
“Faith is never a waste, daughter. You best remember that, for your life will be based on nothing more than your faith. Your faith in the Lord, in your husband, Micah, in your children which you shall bore from your loins.”
“I’ve finished my finals for college. I’ve been taking classes online. I’m almost a certified teach–”
“Time that you’ll never get back. Such a shame. God doesn’t require credentials to teach his word. Once you’re home, you’ll see that.”
“You’re like a fucking broken record, you know that?” Tylan says. “She ain’t going anywhere.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Have you no family, boy? Do you not know the importance of loyalty? I suppose not since you have children and yet, no wife. Do you see my daughter as a sacrificial lamb? Her innocence appealing to you? Do you think you can tempt her to leave her faith? A life that she was destined to live?”
“Jenni?” Savannah’s voice pulls my eyes away from my father. She walks in, with Grace on her hip and Sin at her heel. His face is hard as he narrows his eyes at my father.
“Savannah,” my father says shaking his head. “Of course, this is all because of you,” he says as he streatches his arms out wide. “Because she had to come to you. Because her friend was in need.”
He continues to talk, looking up to the ceiling as if he’s talking to God. “My daughter is so blind by the wickedness of a pretty smile.” He brings his head up to face Savannah. “From the moment, you were adopted from that Jezebel of a mother and brought into my town, you’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side. I knew the day you came that you would cause nothing but trouble. Sometimes, when a child is born of Satan, there’s nothing that can be done. Even that child that is perched on your hip reeks of Satan’s blood. She has no chance. Just as her mother, her beauty will be her downfall.”
“What the fuck?” Sin steps forward.
“Don’t,” Lick commands. “He’s not worth it.”
“No, fuck that.” Sin takes a step forward. “You’re talking about my daughter, you piece of shit. If you weren’t Jenni’s father, I would have laid your ass out already.”
Savannah’s hand shoots out, grabbing Sin before he can advance any closer on my father. His breaths are quick, arms down at his side, fists clenching. The air is thick with tension. When I see Sin’s gaze move from my father to behind him, I follow his line of sight. One by one, the Devil’s Fury MC fills the room, including a few of the prospects, standing shoulder to shoulder in their uniformed black leather cuts. Leather bound, jean-clad with long hair, tattoos, and bearded faces; these men, right here, have been more of a family to me than my own.
I can see Micah swallow in discomfort. “Sir?” He tries to warn my father of our new visitors, but my father waves him off.
“Is this the company you keep, daughter?” Bringing his gaze to me, my father takes steps in my direction. “You’ve always been head strong, weak in heart but stubborn in mind. Your mother always tried to make excuses for you and your inability to conform to whom you were meant to be. You thought making friends who lived outside our faith was a right. You felt your need to find higher education was a necessity and your mother always obliged. Doting on her only daughter, and showing you love instead of raising you with a stricter hand. She did wrong by you. Surely sparing the rod, only spoiling the child! Why? Why has Satan tempted you? How can the devil be so alive within your veins when you were born of a holy man?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being your own person,” Savannah says. “Thinking for ourselves. It�
�s not the middle ages, Pastor Hoyt.”
The look on his face is one of total disgust. “I don’t care to listen to what you have to say, girl. Your words have no bearing on my daughter or me. You’ve influenced her enough, and those times are over.”
“You’re a piece of work, buddy,” Sin interjects.
“You should be proud of your daughter. She’s the strongest woman I know. How can you not see that?” Savannah continues her defense of me.
“Strong!” He raises his voice. “How is she strong when she has been here, living a life she’s wasn’t intended for. She fell to her weaknesses. Instead of staying home, learning as she should, she had to come and look for you. You make her weak, you always have. No, strong does not describe my daughter. She’s been weak since the day she was born.”
The hurtful words rip my heart right open. Tears begin to roll down my cheeks. Never have I felt so broken, listening to my father spew such hateful things to me.
Shooting to his feet, Tylan knocks over the chair he was just sitting in, slamming his hands down on the table. “You need to shut the fuck up, right now,” he shouts. Knuckles white as he clenches his hands, slamming them against the wood once more. “You are blind to think that. There isn’t a lot of good in this world. Everywhere you turn, Godly or not, there is evil and darkness. It’s a fucking miracle to come out of this life unscathed by the evil that’s behind every corner. Your God can’t help you defeat some of the evil I’ve met in my life. Jenni is the only bright thing in my life, and it’s because of her that I see clearly. I’ve become a better person because of her, because of her strength and her heart. You say she’s weak, you’re the weak piece of shit! I don’t see one ounce of strength looking at you. You’re fucking pitiful.”
“You have no right to place judgment at my feet.”
“I have no fucking right?” Tylan throws his head back and laughs. “Jesus Christ,” Tylan rasps between fits of laughter.
Lick: Devil's Fury Book 2 Page 23