Hopeful Whispers

by Bink Cummings

  I flinch at the sincerity of his words. He’s pissed that I insulted him. Yeah, well, I’m pissed he tied me to a chair and pulverized my face. We’re not even close to being even.

  They carry on for a few, arguing about who’s gonna tend to my face. Then they chat more about Vanessa and how she’s been sobbing like a baby, willing to tell them whatever they want as long as they don’t hurt her. They laugh, finding it hilarious that she’s so pathetic. My nostrils flare in agitation at the thought. She’s weak. She just told them what they demanded to know without batting an eyelash. She sold me downriver with her half-truths and bullshit. And here I wanted to be sympathetic to her. To be the bigger person. Screw that. I’m no longer gonna play nicey nice to that traitorous woman, regardless if she’s Ryker’s lover or not. My sympathy disintegrated the moment Tanner sliced into my face like a piece of filet mignon.

  Minutes later, Tanner stomps back into my room in a less foul mood. I remain motionless, my breathing steady. I even drool a little to sell my unconsciousness. I can’t risk him knowing I overheard his conversation. That wouldn’t bode well for me, or my poor face. He seems to enjoy hitting females. I just pray that Tanner will leave me alone until the meet, whatever that entails.

  Ryker

  Anxiously shiftin’ from one foot to the next, my ridin’ boots pulverize the snow under their heels. I flick the bark on the tree next to me to keep from losin’ my shit before our fuckin’ plan’s set in stone. I’m royally pissed. Hell. That’s not even the right goddamn word. Murderous is more like it. Yesterday, we got a call from a rival club, barking demands like they’re hot shots holdin’ all the cards. They can pretend they’ve got it locked up tight all they want—that their plan to get money and Ghost is foolproof. That’s laughable, ‘cause we’re about to put them six feet under for fuckin’ with my family. The sack of shits took my woman right outside her work, then kidnapped Vanessa, straight from her trailer. I’ll bet ya fifty bucks that she’s crying like a little baby, beggin’ them to release her. That’s how she rolls. Whiny as fuck. All the time yapping her gums about this, that, or somethin’ else. It’s been a million times worse since the love of my life stumbled back into my world over Thanksgiving.

  Have ya ever felt like you were dead inside and only went on with life for the sake of others? That’s been my existence since the moment I returned to the club, leaving Kat and my daughters behind. I’ve been a miserable fucking bastard.

  Years later, after countless faceless bitches have slept in my bed, Vanessa comes along, hangin’ at the clubhouse every weekend, always followin’ me around like a lost puppy. Don’t get me wrong. She’s cute in her own way. Some men would say she’s smokin’. Not me. She doesn’t have curves where I like ‘em, and I’ve got a soft spot for blondes. Suffice to say, she’s not my type.

  Bet you’re wonderin’ why I married her then. I’m gettin’ to that.

  One night, after watchin’ a surveillance video of Kat outside her house with our daughters, I got sloshed and desperately needed to drown my sorrows balls deep in random pussy. Apparently, Vanessa was there. I don’t remember takin’ her back to my room at the clubhouse, or bangin’ her brains out. It wasn’t until the next mornin’, when she was sprawled next to me in bed, butt ass naked, cum coverin’ the sheets, that I realized what I’d done. Freaking the hell out, I got dressed and disappeared before she woke. Then avoided her at every pass. Weeks later, she came cryin’ to me, sayin’ that I knocked her up. Kade begged me to get a DNA test before I believed anything. But what was I gonna do? Let another one of my kids go without a dad? I couldn’t do that. Not when I could be in this one’s life. It’s not like we hadn’t fucked. I knew the likelihood of Vanessa carryin’ my baby was high. I’ve got some badass Viking swimmers. How else can ya explain Kat gettin’ pregnant so easily?

  In a fit of selfish desperation, the week before we were scheduled to get married, I flew to Indiana to see Kat one last time. To say my final goodbye and let the years of endless heartache go. Only that half-assed plan backfired big time. I should’ve guessed that would happen, but I was too strung out to think straight. Seein’ my little Tiger was like breathin’ life back into my heart and lungs—every orifice of my body was renewed with this wonderful fuckin’ feelin’ I’d thought was dead, buried alongside my questionable morals.

  Overcome by years of repressed emotions, we made love on the patio table in her backyard. It was so fuckin’ beautiful watchin’ her writhe beneath me that I almost cried like a bitch. Leavin’ her house all over again was worse than the day I’d left to begin with. On the flight home, the pain ate away at my insides, hollowing out this rotted shell once again. For a brief moment, I knew what it felt like bein’ alive, with her. Only her. Then it was stripped away, along with my future, when I drunkenly said I Do to a woman I could never love. Trust me, I’ve tried to for the sake of our unborn child. It ain’t easy fakin’ affection, when the woman you’re married to turns your stomach. Sure, Vanessa has her moments when I can tolerate her. Most of the time, though, I regret tryin’ to do right by her. Even if it felt like the responsible thing to do. And if I’m honest, it still does.

  After a few months of marriage, I eventually came to terms with life. It was a shitty existence, sure, but the promise of becoming a father again lightened the load. Not that I could ever forget Roxie or Scarlett.

  Cue the day Kat unexpectedly walked back into my life, seein’ me for the man I really am, in my element, baring the mountains of lies I spoon fed her for the sake of her safety and the club’s. My name bein’ the biggest lie of them all. One look at her beautiful, devastated face while she curled up on the floor and that ethereal sense of life came floodin’ back—like it always does when she’s present. That shell of a man is gone for good this time, and in his place is me—a pissed off motherfucker about to disembowel these rival pieces of shits for kidnapping the woman of my dreams. The only one who fuckin’ owns me. Whether she realizes that or not, it doesn’t matter. I’d sell my soul to the devil to kiss her one more time. Tonight means war.

  “Dude.” Kade shoves my shoulder, ripping me from my vicious thoughts.

  Curling my upper lip, I snarl, pushing him back. “What the fuck do you want?”

  Shaking his head, Kade rolls his manic eyes. If the moon wasn’t hanging low and bright tonight, I wouldn’t be able to make out his attitude. It’s just as foul as mine. We’re both riding on razor’s edge, dyin’ to get Kat and Vanessa to safety. Nix that. My brother doesn’t give a damn what happens to Vanessa. Kat, on the other hand, he’s about to kill for—literally. The man’s lethal with knives. Add him being more pissed than I’ve ever seen him, and I’m certain it’s gonna be a bloodbath. I can hardly wait.

  “The tracker’s still pickin’ up signal in there.” Gunz, the sergeant-at-arms of the Sacred Sinners mother chapter, flicks his chin toward the building a hundred yards behind us.

  We can’t see it through the dense tree cover, but we know it’s there. We’ve been freezing our asses off, scouting this place for the past two hours, preparing our attack as we wait for the last of our reinforcements to arrive. Nearly all of them are here and in place. It’s almost time to rock and roll.

  Big Dick, our national prez, checks his phone, giving a small nod. “Bear’s in place outside their clubhouse.”

  My cell vibrates.

  I tug it from my pocket as Kade lingers nearby, pacing and playing with two of his knives.

  Pops: You don’t leave there without our girl. Protect her first. That’s an order.

  As if he’s gotta tell me that. If I wasn’t already hell-bent on gettin’ her back, Kade would kill everyone anyhow, so it wouldn’t matter if I’m here or not. An enraged brother isn’t good for any of us. He may seem friendly on the outside, smiling all the damn time, way more chill than I am. But he’s a sick, sadistic motherfucker—a loose cannon. And his crazy flag only flies when he gets like this. His emotions rule him a hundred times worse than Pops or mine ever h
ave. Which is like sending a savage, untrained pit bull hopped up on crack into a fight. All you can do is thank God that your blood isn’t on his mind, then watch the horror unfold.

  “Are we gonna go or what?” Kade grumbles, slicing one of his blades down a tree, chipping off bark.

  Big takes Kade off to the side, whispering something to him as Gunz continues messing with his techy shit, and Casanova, our shooter from a nearby support club, readies his 308 rifle with suppressor to take down the two fuckers manning the warehouse entrance. His prez, Sniper, is covering the rear, where two more men are stationed.

  I text Pops back.

  Me: She’s my woman. I’m gonna protect her. You don’t need to tell me what to do, old man. We’ve got this.

  Pops: You better. Cuz Ghost won’t stop textin to see if we got her yet.

  Me: It was your choice to leave him at home.

  Leaving him at home isn’t precisely what went down. Pops tied him up and locked him in the basement cellar with two brothers to keep watch. It’s gonna take a while for Pops to convince Ghost not to cut his balls off. That man’s gonna be in the doghouse for a long damn time. Not that I blame either one of ‘em. It was a hard choice to make. One that Pops decided without Ghost’s input. You don’t do that to your VP. Not ever. There’s gonna be some harsh backlash for pullin’ major rank. And, this time, I’m gonna be takin’ Ghost’s side. He deserves to be here just as much as the rest of us. Unfortunately, Pops couldn’t see past his damn emotions to let that happen.

  Pops: Don’t give me that shit! It was for his own good.

  Me: Says you.

  Pops: I take care of what’s mine.

  Me: So do I. So why don’t ya go and take care of your business while I take care of what’s gotta be handled here.

  Pops: Fine. But if so much as one hair is harmed on her head, I’m burnin all of their motherfuckin clubhouses to the ground!

  Me: Take a number. We’re all goin apocalyptic if she’s been hurt. No more of this small time bullshit.

  Pops: Agreed. Be careful, son. And do me a solid. Make sure Kade doesn’t lose his mind. He’s torn up enough about this.

  I glance over to Kade, who’s pacing fast, his blue eyes wild, knives twirling skillfully in his fingers. Big’s keeping a close watch on him as he talks to Gunz about some logistics that I’m paying no attention to. If it were up to me, we woulda infiltrated that building and slaughtered those cocksuckers hours ago. But we couldn’t go in without everything bein’ in place. We’ve got men stationed in the woods on all four sides of the warehouse, plus on the roadways a couple miles down. I’m certain these dumbasses figured nobody could catch a beat on their location, seein’ as though the closest town isn’t for thirty miles. Guess that’s what you get for bein’ stupid, and ill-prepared. My necklace tracker works like a charm. Just as it should, since Gunz hired out the job to someone he trusts in Texas so I could get those beauts for Katrina and the girls within twelve hours of makin’ the call. The A wasn’t my first choice. I’d been hopin’ for a K to go with her name, but seein’ as though she thinks I’m an asshole, it was sufficient. At least she’s wearing the thing. If not, I dunno how we woulda found her or Vanessa. We should’ve predicted this was gonna happen after that man rolled through town just days after Kat left. Pops said not to worry about it. That he had it handled. Looks like he didn’t have shit, now doesn’t it? ‘Cause if it weren’t for me, she’d be like tryin’ to find a needle in a goddamn haystack. Kade would have to be tranquilized for goin’ insane, while I went on a rampage through the entire US tryin’ to find her. It’s a good thing I did what I did. They’ll all be kissin’ my ass for it later.

  “Ryker.” Gunz waves me over, pointing to something on the tablet in his hand.

  Casanova drops a black duffle on the snow next to my foot, which grabs my brother’s attention. He ambles closer, but not too close. There’s no way he can stop playin’ with his knives at a time like this, and if I know him like I do, he’s worried about hurtin’ somebody undeserving—namely his club brothers. The man’s about to snap.

  Gunz points to the colorful heat signatures on the screen. “We’ve still got two men out front, and two in the rear. I’ve been hopin’ someone would come outside to change posts. But it looks like we’re goin’ in blind. My tech isn’t strong enough to travel through the tin roof.”

  Big claps him on the shoulder. “Ya did good,” he praises, thumbing away on his phone. Then adds, “We’re all set. It’s show time.”

  Crouching, Casanova passes us night vision goggles from inside the bag. “You’re gonna need these once we cut the power.”

  Placing mine on top of my head, I watch my fellow brothers follow suit, readying themselves for the fight we’re anxiously waiting for.

  Big Dick yanks a black bandana out from inside his cut and ties it around his head before fixing his low ponytail that falls in the middle of his back. Kade opens his vest, double checking his personal arsenal of throwing stars and knives in a variety of shapes and sizes. He isn’t packin’ a single firearm. That’s not his style.

  Gunz, who’s sitting this one out, works on his tablet, his determined breath fogging the cold air around the sucker stick that’s poking out from his lips. Grunting, he stabs the screen with his finger.

  “May God be with ya.” Cas tips his imaginary hat in our direction, making eye contact one-by-one before he carts his rifle and wool military blanket through the forest, closer to the warehouse to set up his scope for the kill shots.

  Patting my jeans pocket, my brother’s Christmas gift lays heavy against my thigh. It was the first present Kade has given me since before I left to spy on Katrina. He might not voice it aloud, but over Christmas, it felt like an understanding passed between us. I attribute that to Kat and the way she touches people. She has an uncanny gift that somehow bonded our club more than ever before. I’d go as far as to say she was the missing piece all along. ‘Cause I damn well know she’s been mine.

  “Sniper and Cas are in position,” Gunz announces, and we all take deep breaths at the same moment, eyeing one another, accepting that this may very well be our last minutes whole. Going to war with a rival is nothing any club wants, but it’s something that must be done to protect our own. We all know and respect that. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be the Sacred fuckin’ Sinners. We live for this shit.

  I walk up to my brother and clap him on the shoulder. “We got this.”

  “We better, ‘cause I’m gettin’ real fuckin’ twitchy here, Ryker. I need to cut somethin’.” Kade shuffles backward for my protection. His left eye twitches and hands tremble, driving him closer to the brink of no return.

  “Don’t worry. You can bleed ‘em all. Just give us five more minutes, brother,” Big interjects, and Kade nods once, the deep crease between his brows affirming his trepidation.

  Collectively, we drop our night vision goggles in place and my adrenaline skyrockets, dampening my forehead as my fingers twitch, eager to maim these bastards.

  Silently tracking through the woods, we spread out until we come to the edge of our cover. Pressing my chest to the bark of a tree, hidden mostly behind the trunk, I observe the two clueless patrols. Kade stops next to a tree a few yards away. Our gazes lock for a flash, and we lift our chins in respect, then turn our sights back to the men who are dressed in all black, aside from the patches on their shitty designed cuts.

  I hold my breath, waiting … waiting … waiting…

  Jittery, I dig the knife out of my pocket and flick it open. My nostrils flare in irritation, and I grit my teeth as one of the bastards lights a cigarette. The cherry glows mockingly under the moonlight.

  Waiting … waiting ... I squeeze the knife handle in my palm until my knuckles scream in protest.

  Protect. I need to protect her, and this is taking too damn long.

  There’s a muffled blast that cuts through the chilled air a millisecond before Mr. Smoker drops to the ground like a sack of shit. The man to his righ
t barely has a second to register what’s happening before he’s dropped, too. Then we’re on the move. Kade and I rush through the gravel lot as quietly as we can just as two more muffled blasts echo through the night sky.

  Hell yeah! We’re in the clear. Let’s do this.

  Big Dick’s right on our tail as we reach the only entrance, ignoring the two dead fuckers lying in a puddle of blood, a hole blasted through the center of their skulls. Carefully opening the door, I usher Kade inside first, knowing his taste for blood is worse than mine—not by much. There’s a flicker of light when we enter before everything goes dark. Vanessa screams and keeps on screaming from somewhere deep in the bowels of the building. No sound is heard from my woman. For a beat, my heart locks in panic.

  Keep your head in the game, Ryker. She’s stronger than Vanessa. She’s gonna be alright.

  My pep talk is short-lived when two men round the corner, frantically searching for a light switch. Kade and I bark demonic laughs, and then it’s on like Donkey Kong. My brother takes the man closest to him as I sink my blade into the neck of the asshole feet from me. He doesn’t know what hit him when he reaches for the wall and his gushing neck wound at the same time. I smile in triumph, watching the blood rush down the front of his shirt and the life drain from his eyes. He slumps into a heap on the floor, dead within seconds.

  That’s right, motherfucker! That’s what you get for messing with what’s mine!

  Suppressing the urge to kick his body, I seize my brother’s arm instead, tearing him away from his sliced up kill. Kade slips the dude’s eyeball from the tip of his knife, tossing it to the floor with a demonic smile.

  “That felt great,” he whispers excitedly.

  I nudge him with my shoulder. “We’re not done, yet.”

  Deeper, we travel into the empty warehouse. Big’s nowhere to be found. The scent of ice and crude oil abraids my senses, as puffs of our breath fogs the air in front of us, worrying me further. Kat has been here for at least a day, and it’s bitter cold inside. She has to be freezing.