by K. J. Dahlen
“Hindsight is wonderful ain’t it?” Sam chuckled. “Had a bit of it myself a few years back.”
Mountain searched and found his daughter in the kitchen. His eyes softened when he looked at her. “Wish I could have watched her grow up. I missed out on all of that.”
“So find a woman and have another child.” Sam shrugged.
“It wouldn’t be the same.”
“Fate is sometimes a cruel bitch.”
Deke joined them and shortly after he did, Cassie came out from the kitchen. “Gus just called. Whiskey and two of his men just found an abandoned warehouse over by the shop. They seem to be settling in for the moment.”
“At least we know where they are,” Deke commented as he took his daughter from his wife. He glanced over at Mountain. “Tell us what you know about this guy they call Whiskey. Have you met him before?”
Mountain nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met him. Never really cared for him though. When I first started doing business with Raven’s club, ten years ago, he was one of those guys that sat at the back of the room and watched everyone else. The last few years, he’s been working his way up. He likes the limelight and pushing other guys around. Likes to make himself out to be more important than he really is. He always had at least two or three men around him.” Mountain shook his head. “When we heard earlier that he had plans to take over the club from Raven I wasn’t really surprised. He’s plain crazy if he thinks he can do it. The men under Raven won’t allow that to happen. And his idea for running guns and dope on the East coast is just his own dream. Even with Walker in his pocket, he’d never be able to do it. That’s just plain dumb.”
“Not to mention very illegal.” Sam snorted. “How the hell did he think he was gonna do that? Walker would never allow it. His political career means everything to him. He wouldn’t risk it for that.”
“How do you know Walker?” Deke asked his dad.
Sam snorted. “Everyone knows Walker. He’s big in the political world and lately, he’s been sprouting some nonsense about turning back the illegals from his state. Says if they want to come here they should do it legally, instead of just walking across the border.”
“Well, he’s right about that,” Mountain agreed. “But that’s not what we should be worried about right now.”
“Now that he knows what really happened, Whiskey should be the one who’s worried,” Deke noted.
Mountain shook his head. “I don’t think it’ll make a difference. Whiskey is to the point where he thinks he’s untouchable.”
“No one is untouchable,” Melora told her father. “What Whiskey doesn’t know is that I know where Baily’s body is.”
“How is that possible?” Sam asked.
She shrugged. “Before I left town I collected his body and took it to a safe place. When this is over, I’ll tell Senator Walker where it is. He can see for himself what really happened.”
“Won’t the evidence be destroyed by now?” Mountain asked.
Melora shook her head. “I made sure it was preserved well enough. He’ll be able to see for himself what happened.”
“Does anyone else know about this?” Mountain frowned.
“No I made sure of that,” Melora replied with confidence. “A secret is only kept when one person knows it. My momma didn’t raise no fool.”
Mountain chuckled. “She sure didn’t.”
Deke got to his feet and handed Jemmia back to Cassie. “And on that note, I’m going to tell the men outside to be alert. Now that Whiskey is here, everyone needs to be more on watch. I don’t want him anywhere near my family.”
Melora sat down and reached for the coffee. Something finally caught her eye and as she looked up, she gasped. She found herself staring at the painting of a white tiger on the wall. All she could do was stare at the animal. “What the hell?” she whispered. “How did I miss that?”
Sam chuckled when he noticed her gaze. “Well, things have been a little crazy since you got here.”
Mountain turned to see what she was looking at. “Wow, he’s beautiful. Who painted him?”
“I did,” Cassie admitted. “When the three clubs came together, they needed a new mascot.”
“Three clubs?” Mountain frowned.
“Deke was President of the Satan’s Spawn when Iceman came over,” Sam explained. “He was President of the Sinner’s from Boston and I was President of Satan’s Bastards from Maine…Anyway, when we all decided to stay here, Deke combined our clubs into his own, and we all became Sin’s Bastards.”
“When did all this take place?” Mountain asked.
“Not too long ago, maybe six months or so.”
“What’s his name?” Melora whispered, not having taken her eyes off the painting.
“His name is Cade but don’t tell anyone.” Cassie leaned to whisper in her ear, “I’m not sure the guys would appreciate my giving him a name. He became the symbol of the new club.”
Melora shivered as she stared at the tiger from a dream she had at fourteen. She couldn’t believe she’d finally found him. For so long, he’d been a figment of her imagination but seeing him like this made him so very real. She turned her head to Cassie and for a moment, neither said anything.
Then Cassie whispered, “You’ve met him before haven’t you?”
Melora nodded. “In a dream a long time ago.”
“So he means something to you?” Cassie turned around and stared at the painting of Rufus and Diablo. “They mean something to me too.”
Melora turned to see the paintings. “Did you feel like they keep you safe when you were a child?”
Cassie turned and gazed intently at Melora. “How did you know?”
Melora turned and stared at the white tiger. “Cuz he did the same thing for me. I kept him in a safe place in my mind but he was there when I needed him the most. He was always there.”
Cassie wrapped her arms around the other woman. “We have more in common than we realized. Know always that you are welcome here and I will keep you safe.”
Melora patted Cassie’s arms. “No you can’t promise that but as long as I have him, I’ll be okay.” She turned to her. “But how did you know? You painted him exactly the way I saw him in my dream, right down to the chipped tooth on the right side of his mouth.”
“When the guys asked me to do the painting I just saw him in my mind.” Cassie shook her head. “I can’t explain it any other way than that. I just saw him in my mind.”
Melora felt tears running down her face.
When Sam noticed this, he joined the women and wrapped his arms around Melora. “What’s going on?”
Melora turned in his arms and burst into tears. Sobbing, she just held him for a moment.
Sam looked over the top of her head at Cassie.
Cassie motioned to the painting at then at Melora. “He means something to her.”
Sam frowned. “What could a painting mean to her?”
Cassie smiled softly. “He’s her protector.”
“I don’t understand.” Sam shook his head.
“You don’t have to.” Cassie shook her head. “She does and that’s what matters.”
Sam nudged Melora’s head up. When she looked at him he asked, “Are you okay?”
Melora nodded. “I will be now that he’s here.” She turned and looked at the painting again. “I never thought I’d find him.”
Sam was going to say something but he saw Cassie shake her head. Instead, he listened.
Mountain got up and joined them.
“When I was a kid, after I lost my mom I went into foster care,” Melora whispered. “I hated never belonging anywhere, living in someone else’s house, sleeping in someone else’s bed. I was always alone and I hated it. I missed my mom so much. Then one night, I cried myself to sleep again, only this time it was different. I started dreaming. I dreamt of my mother. I was remembering all the good times we had together.” She shrugged. “I know we didn’t have much, all the other kids made sure they told
me that. They used to rub it in that they always had more than I did but it didn’t matter. We had each other and I had something they didn’t. I had a mom who loved me beyond reason. Anyway, that night in my dream, my mom said she had a reason for visiting me. She told me that I had a protector and he would always be there for me when I was feeling lonely or scared. She said he would keep the ghosties away from my soul and as long as I believed in her, he would be with me.”
Sam looked troubled as Melora’s hands tightened on his arms.
“Mom told me she couldn’t always be there and that someday, I wouldn’t need her there anymore, but I would always have him.” Melora’s words were little more than a whisper at this point. “I told her I would always need her and I would never let her out of my heart and she smiled. She told me I would always have her but I would always have the tiger too.”
“Did she ever tell you his name?” Cassie whispered.
Melora smiled. “She called him Cade too.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “Oh, my Gosh…”
“What else did she tell you?” Mountain asked.
“She told me he would keep me safe,” Melora replied as she turned in Sam’s arms to look at him. “Maybe that’s why I feel safe here in this place, in your arms….That’s why I feel connected to you.”
Sam grinned. “I’ll never let you go now. I think I’ll keep you.”
Mountain growled deep in his throat.
Melora turned to her father. “Behave yourself.”
Mountain gave her a disgusted look.
Cassie tried to hide her smile as she watched the three of them.
“Right now, I want to bathe in the awesomeness that I finally found him.” Melora nodded. “I never thought he was real until now. He was always my little secret before. Something I had but no one else knew about.” She sighed. “I don’t know what the future will be but I do know that for now I’m safe as long as I stay near him, I’ll be okay. I never realized how much he helped me to get through the difficult times until now. He was there for me when I thought I had no one.” She chuckled. “Oh course, Izzy never understood it but that’s ok, she didn’t have to.”
“Tell us about Izzy again?” Mountain asked. His expression showed that he didn’t appreciate the fact Sam’s arms were around his daughter, nor the fact that she didn’t seem to mind.
Melora sighed. “Izzy and I met when we were sixteen as I told you before. I had just run away from yet another foster home where I didn’t mean shit to anybody. No one there cared whether I was there or not, so I decided not to be. She had ran away from home. Her father liked to drink and her mom was just worn out. They both shut her out and she couldn’t stay there anymore. I guess I didn’t blame her. Separately, we each had our own problems but together, we had each other and we never forgot that. We stayed together after that. We had each other’s back and together, we survived in Chicago for two years. We lived on the streets, just under the gaze of society. We did everything together and we got as close as sisters. And when we left Chicago for other places, we went together. When we hit Raleigh, she stayed when I left. I couldn’t take her with me. I wouldn’t put her life on the line either. I hated that I left her behind, especially now that I know Whiskey got to her but she’ll be here soon and we can be together again.”
Cassie smiled. “I have a friend like that.”
“Are you sure you want to be with her again?” Mountain scoffed. “She did give you up.”
Melora shook her head. “She didn’t betray me. She didn’t have any other choice but to do what she did.”
“She still told him where you were.”
Melora shook her head again. “She might have told him the city I was in but she didn’t tell him where I was. I always found him before he found me. She gave me as much of a head start as she could. I can’t blame her for that.”
“I can.” Mountain sneered.
Melora shook her head. Then asked, “Have you ever had one special person in your life? That one person who held you when you were scared, who dried your tears and didn’t laugh at you when you did something you knew better than to do? The one person who cared about you when you gave up on yourself? That person for me is Izzy and I hope I mean as much to her. If you can’t forgive her, then you can’t forgive me. That’s just the way it is.”
Mountain snapped his mouth closed. Her words slammed into him. He didn’t understand them. Izzy had betrayed her time and time again, yet she was willing to overlook her misdeeds. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to meet this woman. As much as he knew he wouldn’t do it, he wanted to slam his fist into her mouth. His daddy taught him never to hit a woman but he was tempted in this instance. “I can’t wait to meet her.” He growled.
Melora grinned. “I can’t wait to see her again. You guys are gonna love her.”
“Not bloody likely,” Mountain whispered.
CHAPTER NINE
By late afternoon, everyone was awake and there had been some progress on locating Whiskey. He’d been moving around the city all day and the guys from Redemption House had been following him every step of the way.
Melora was tired of being cooped up in the clubhouse though. The four walls were closing in on her.
Cassie came up to her and asked, “Is there anything I can get you?”
Melora shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Cassie laughed. “No you’re not. You’re as wired as a ticking bomb.”
Melora smiled. “How did you know?”
“I recognize the look in your eyes.” Cassie nodded with a knowing look in her eyes. “When I feel that way, I paint. It relieves the stress and I can calm down.”
“Yeah, well I don’t paint.” Melora shrugged.
“So what do you do?”
Melora shrugged. She wasn’t ready to share her secret yet.
Cassie grabbed her hand and led her to a quiet corner. Sitting down with Melora she asked, “What do you do? We all have our stress releaser. No one here is going to judge you.”
Melora took a deep breath. No one but Izzy knew about her hobby and as much as she wanted to keep her secret, she knew she couldn’t. She had to find some release. “I write.”
“Really?” Cassie smiled. “That’s great. I wish I could do that. Do you have anything published yet?”
Melora nodded. “Yeah I do. I write under a pen name.” She turned to Cassie. “Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone else to know.”
“I won’t, I promise,” Cassie vowed. “Tell me what you need.”
“Just a space away from everyone else. I have a laptop, I just need some alone space.”
“How about if you go down to our house?” Cassie asked. “It’s not far and still inside the compound.”
“That would be great.” Melora felt the stress flow away from her body at the suggestion.
“Good, then let me tell Deke where we’re going and we’ll get moving.” Cassie got to her feet and walked over to her husband.
Melora hoped she would be able to go by herself. She hated someone hovering over her shoulder. But she would survive this, she always did. She went to the bedroom and retrieved her backpack. Inside was everything she needed. She went back to the bench and waited for Cassie.
Cassie returned and held out her hand. Melora took it and walked behind her as they both left the clubhouse. “I told Deke you were coming to the house to get some rest, away from everyone else. That should buy you a couple of hours anyway.”
Melora nodded. “That would be great.”
“So what do you write?”
Melora fingered the strap of her backpack. “Mostly romance with a little mystery.”
Cassie grinned. “My favorite kind. Are you strictly a PG writer or do you do the real thing?”
Melora blushed. “The real thing I guess.”
Cassie laughed. “Good. I love a book I can believe in. Can’t wait to read you one day.”
Melora felt her cheeks flush with warmth. When they went into t
he house, she found herself under another gaze.
The woman she guessed was Peaches stood in the kitchen getting a drink of water. She raised her finger to her lips. “I just got the little heathens down for their naps.”
Cassie grinned. “Your son Jesse Junior may be a heathen but my kids are angels.”
“Yeah right, they take after their mother.” Peaches shook her head. “Face it woman, they are all heathens but we love them anyway.”
“That’s true enough.” Cassie agreed. “This is Melora and she’s here to rest. I’m putting her in the library for a while.”
“Best place there is to catch some quiet. I’m Peaches as you might have guessed.” Peaches grinned. “I’ll just get my book and let you have the peace.”
“What are you reading?” Cassie asked.
“The latest book from our favorite author, Delanie Shane.”
“Oh good, I want to read it after you. I love that girl.” Cassie grinned.
Melora felt a flush of pride inside. How small a world is that? She was Delanie Shane and these women loved her writing? It made her feel so good. For the first time in years, she felt a little beam of light. Maybe this was the right place for her to be for a while.
“So how is the story coming along? Did Harry ever get to second base with Olivia?” Cassie asked.
Peaches nodded. “Second base and a whole lot further.” She sighed. “But I wish she would finish the story of Greg and Tammy. I loved that story and hated to see it end.”
“Yeah, she did leave us hanging on that one,” Cassie agreed. “Maybe she’ll do another book about them.”
“I hope so, while I love all her characters those two are my favorite. They get into so much trouble it’s almost funny.” Peaches sighed. “Ok, on to better things while the heathens sleep.”
Melora watched as she made her way to the next room. “So you guys like this author? Maybe I should read her work.”
Cassie laughed. “Honey, we love this girl. She does get into the best kind of trouble sometimes. Her stories are funny and so true to life. I can almost believe I’m one of her characters. I love that in an author.”