Whiskey stood still as a statue in the middle of the room not saying a word, but Addy couldn’t deal with him right now. She needed the past to stay there just a little while longer, so she could get through with what needed to be done. She needed to talk to Tuck, or God forbid, Link. Addy made it within five feet of Whiskey and stopped.
“I need to speak to Tuck. Is he here?” Praying he was because she was sure Lincoln Frost wouldn’t give her a glass a drink of water if she were in hell.
“He's busy, but you and I have quite a few things I think we need to discuss, don’t you Addison?”
“No, Whiskey,” she said with disdain, “the talking we had to do should have happened ten years ago, not now, probably not ever.” Addy didn’t know where her attitude was coming from.
She could do what she planned on doing to Tuck, but Aiden, no Whiskey, pushed every button Addy ever had, and she just couldn’t help herself. Addy seemed to always be on the defense with him. She also didn’t want the douche bags listening in on the other end of the wire in her bra to hear what Whiskey had to say.
By the grace of a higher power, she was saved from having to saying anything else because Tuck and Link walked in from a hallway she hadn’t noticed in her quick perusal of the Clubhouse. Turning towards Tuck, Addy lifted her t-shirt showing him the wire.
“I need you to sign the deed to the farm back over to me, I’ve changed my mind.”
If circumstances were different, Addy might have been embarrassed showing every person in the room her bra covered boobs, but damn this was the only thing she could come up with on her short drive over here. She wouldn’t be one of those girls that thought she could save the world by herself. Hell no! The men in the Club were far more capable of getting Cathy and her out of this mess.
Tuck looked at her with shock on his face, his eyes going from the wire at her waist to the microphone in her granny bra, then to her face where he only looked at her quizzically. Link looked at her like she was Medusa; no change there, he always looked at her like she was evil incarnate, the jerk. That man would always be a problem for her. He might have respected her grandfather, but she sure as hell didn’t have any of that respect. Addy kind of thought he hated all women. Well, that wasn’t true, he didn’t have a problem using women, he just didn’t like them very much.
Whiskey, who she had been ignoring, started to say, “What…” but Tuck stopped him before he could get a word out by only holding up his hand and making several other gestures. Tuck came closer and looked at the wire. It took a couple of minutes, but he seemed satisfied with what he saw. What that was Addy had no clue. He stood up and stepped back, made a few more hand gestures that got everyone in the room moving.
“I don’t know if I can do that, Addy, the paperwork was taken to the courthouse yesterday. I’ll make a couple of calls and see if it can even be stopped. Why don’t you have a seat at the bar and I’ll go to my office and see what I can do?” Addy nodded her head, but quickly remembered the damn wire and the people listening.
“Okay Tuck, please try, I really need the deed back.” She tried to sound firm, but the last couple of hours were wearing on her. Addy had so much to tell these people, but she didn’t have the first clue on how she was going to do it. She didn’t know any Spidey hand gestures, and she didn’t even have her purse so she could write it out or fucking text it out on her phone.
Tuck took her arm and led her to the bar where a crisp white pad of paper and a pen was sitting on the counter top. There was only one line of text, write out everything that has happened. Before he could walk away, Addy grabbed Tuck's arm and wrote in big bold letters, THEY HAVE CATHY, AND I DON’T KNOW WHERE CRANK IS.
Tuck looked at her in shock, it took him a couple of seconds, but then he nodded laying the pad of paper back down on the bar, turned, and left the room. Addy wasn’t sure what she had wanted him to do. Hug her, because damn, she really needed a hug about now, or make a scene, but the man was calm under pressure, unlike Addy. He only tapped the paper looked her right in the eye winked and walked away like this was just another day.
Most of the men who had been in the room disappeared down the hall Tuck and Link had come out of, and Addy sat on that bar stool and wrote everything she could remember. Every detail of the night before and what had happened just this morning in her house. She also wrote about all the shit that had been happening, and why she tried to give the farm to the RBMC. She also apologized for putting her crap right in their laps.
When she would finish a page, the Prospect behind the bar would take the pad of paper and replace it with another one. This process went on for about twenty minutes. Addy hoped and assumed that the Prospect, someone she had never meet before, was taking the sheets to Tuck. Shit, right about now, she didn’t even care if he was taking them to Link, she was that desperate.
When she was done, and there wasn’t anything else to write, she asked the Prospect for a bottle of water. Her voice came out scratchy, and she had to clear her throat before the words came out so he could understand her. When he brought the water back, Addy took a drink, and the cool water helped some of the pain in her throat and nausea in her stomach. Addy prayed she had done the right thing. She still didn’t see another way around it. If she complied with those people's demands, she and Cathy would be dead, she knew that for a fact.
Chapter 8
“Listen up motherfuckers, I want Link and Tank to go find Crank. He and Cathy were supposed to be spending the week doing shit at their house. I wasn’t expecting to hear from him until the weekend. I want to know where he is and what shape he’s in. No way would he let some fucker take Cathy without taking his last breath. Brass, get all non-essentials out of here, but do it through the back. I don’t want these fuckers suspecting anything. If they are listening in on Addy, then chances are they are also watching the Clubhouse, I’m not taking any chances. Tal, do what you do best and hack the shit out of this mess, figure out who we are dealing with and why. Call Peyton if you have to. I don’t give a fuck if I owe NAC or not.
Whiskey was standing there waiting for his orders. He needed to do something before he exploded. Addison had bruises all over her body, well at least all the parts he had seen, and that was enough to send him into a red-hewed rage. He wanted blood. No one had the right to put their hands on Addison. She was his whether she agreed or not. He also needed to keep his shit together, or Tuck would pull him off of this all together, and that wasn’t going to fucking happen.
“From what Addy is saying, these assholes are from a Club. They weren’t wearing their cuts or any colors that she noticed, but she stated that they used road names and called each other Brother. They also mention a president. Either that or they are playing some kind of game and trying to throw her or us off track on who they really are. Their demand of the Sinclair Farm makes no sense except for its location to us. Addy hasn’t been associated with the Club, but Cathy is Cranks Old Lady, and that makes this a Club problem. Bigger fucking question, what happened to Crank? We don't leave Brothers behind. These fuckers attacked family, and I for one will not stand for that.” Everyone in the room loudly echoed the same feelings.
“That could be one reason, another one could be the caves. You said Hank noticed activity and shit happening a while ago on the south side of the farm. The only thing over there is the pond and further back the caves. The caves are a perfect place to hide shit you don’t want others to see. It also opens a route out of the county if you know the layout. Pop is dead and to my knowledge, that only leaves me, Whisk, Talon, Addy, and whoever she told about the caves,” Link spoke up
“That’s not true, man. There is one more person who knows those caves better than we do. Jaime,” Talon disagreed.
“Son-of-a-bitch, I haven’t thought of that asshole in years,” Link replied. “Where the fuck is he and where has he been? The last time I heard about his ass, he was serving a dime up at Big Sandy. I haven’t heard anything else about him since, and that was right befo
re I joined up.”
“Someone will have to talk to Addy and see if he has contacted her,” Whiskey stated.
“I don’t think Addy has heard from him. When she was having all that trouble with the farm back in high school, I asked her about the possibility of him helping her out. She said he called a couple of times asking for money. She didn’t have any, so he got pissed. I think that was the end of it.” Tank the bastard just had to put in his two cents. Whiskey had just about enough of the bastard’s interference. It also pissed him off that as far as Addy was concerned Tank seemed to know more about her, then he did.
“Yeah, well, chicks don’t always tell it like it is where family is concerned. Jamie is her brother, she has more loyalty to him than any of us. We need to know if she’s been in contact. I’ve heard some shit through the years, and I think he linked up with the Vultures. I need you to confirm that Tal, but if that’s the case, then this just turned into war.” Tuck wrote some shit down on the pad of paper and walked to the door, handing it to Creed who was standing outside guarding the door.
Whiskey wanted to scream at the fuckers in the room. Addy was one of the most honest people he knew, if Jamie were causing this shit, she would have said so. Jaime had been a part of their little tribe growing up, but there was something that was always off about him. The dude had a bigger chip on his shoulder then Whisk did, and he could never figure that out. Pop took care of those kids like they were his own. They had to work on the farm, but they never wanted for anything. Jamie just always thought he was entitled to more. Addison was the complete opposite, she always strived to help others before she helped herself, it was just her nature. But, fuck him, if Jamie was involved with Satan’s Vultures then this really would be war. The Vultures were the type of people that the RBMC put down or got put away.
“I can’t keep Addy out there much longer without whoever is listening in getting suspicious, but we need to discuss another matter; it might be related, or it might just be coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidences, so it needs to be checked out.
“Agent Rutherford Raimes is our new FBI contact, and two days ago he approached me and said we needed to lay off anything that came up in our territory for the next couple of weeks. I told him where he could stick his orders. The fucker was none too happy. He is new and trying to push his weight around, I figured he just needed time to see how to deal with us. Now we have this shit going on. Makes me think there is a lot more going on right under our fucking noses than any of us knows of and that pisses me the fuck off.”
“Tal, once we figure out this fucking mess at our door, I want you to run everything you have on this little pissant. I want to know who is pulling his string or if he’s working alone. I want everything got me?”
“Understood.”
“Whisk, take two prospects and check out those caves. I want to know if there is or has been any recent activity in them. I also want you to map them out. We need to know if the routes are even viable. I can’t believe I have lived here almost my entire life, and this is the first fucking time I’m hearing about caves routes in our fucking backyard.”
“Shit, man, it’s not like that, Pop showed us all as kids,” Whisk said. “He also told us we couldn’t tell anyone about them because he was afraid of kids going back there to party and getting hurt. He already had enough problems with the kids that snuck into the pond. When we got older, we all helped keep people out, but it wasn’t until the Club bought this property, that the trespassing stopped. And, fuck man, I haven’t even thought about those caves since I was a kid.” Talon and Link echoed his response.
“Yeah,” Link continued, “Pop showed us, and we played back there, but without him, we always ended up getting lost. It was cool for a little while, but if you didn’t watch out, then the place was a disaster waiting to happen. Shit, I don’t know how many times I came back with cuts on every part of my body just trying to get back out into the light of day. Tal even fell in one of the holes, and we had to get Pop to pull him out; shit, he had to of been down there for hours.”
“Yeah,” Tal laughed a little, “I was about ten and scared to death. Pop came, pulled me out, and then beat my ass for scaring him. I remember I was pissed, shit, I was already hurt. A couple of days later he came and got me, and we boarded up a couple of the entrances and then covered them with rocks and planted bushes. The old man explained he was sorry that he beat my ass, but he was sorrier that he had ever shown us the caves. He even cried a little when he explained that it would kill him if something happened to one of us because of something he had shown us. I never went back.”
“Whisk, do you remember how to get to those caves?”
“Yeah, I remember, I wasn’t as respectful as Tal when I was younger. Pop never beat my ass, but I remember him telling us to stay away after Tal got hurt, I just didn’t listen. I’ll take one of the ATV’s and scope it out and report back, but I need to talk to Addison first.”
“No can do, Brother. Addy is off limits until we have Cathy and Crank back. That girl is out there trying to maintain her cover, and I won’t let you blow that because you have suddenly decided that she means something to you, again. Once we have our people back, then you can talk to her all you want because she won’t be this Club’s problem anymore.”
“What the hell do you mean she won’t be this Club’s problem anymore? Addy is family. She has been a part of everyone lives in this room for as long as I can remember. What the fuck are you going to do?”
“Exactly what I said. Addy isn’t Club. She hasn’t asked for our protection and doesn’t get it under the bylaws. The most we can do is keep an eye out for any trouble coming her way, but if this shit goes back to her brother, then that’s on her.”
“You’re a cold motherfucker, Tuck,” Tank said. “How can you throw that girl out after learning all this? She has always had the Club’s back, did whatever we asked of her and kept her mouth shut.”
Whiskey moved toward his President and friend. He was going to beat the shit out of him for even thinking about putting Addison out. Some of the other said things, but Whiskey was so filled with rage, he didn’t hear any of them. It wasn’t until Link’s fucking, big ass arm landed around his throat and stopped him from going forward, that he even stopped.
“Listen up assholes,” Tuck said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Addy either, but unless one of you fuckers want to claim her…” Whiskey started to answer, but Tuck held up his hand and continued to talk, “and she accepts the claim, the Club’s hands are tied. She will be treated like the civilian she is, do you understand?”
“I claim her, and she will accept my claim by the time we have Crank and Cathy back I guaran-damn-tee it,” Whiskey didn’t even think, just blurted out.
Tuck had the nerve to smile.
“Okay, see to it, then. Now, everyone, get the fuck out of here and find our people. Do what you have to do to bring them back safe. Live free or die trying.” All the Brothers echoed his words and left the room.
Whiskey shook Link’s hold off of him and exited the room, but Tuck stopped him, “Listen up, Whisk, you and Addy had a fucked-up history, and if you think that girl is just going to fall at your feet, you have another think coming. But, I stand by what I said, if she isn’t claimed, then we can’t do anything, but watch out for her. Maybe you should think about this shit before you make a bad situation even worse. Addy wanted to go to Lexington when all this started, maybe letting her go with the best thing for everyone involved?”
All Whiskey said was, “No.” When Link opened his mouth up, Whiskey got right in his face.
“It’s time for you to listen up, big brother. As the VP of this Club, you have my loyalty, but that is it. I will live and die for this Club, but your days of messing around in my life are over. You had no right to do what you did to Addison and me, and even if she found it in her heart to forgive you, I never will. Keep your mouth shut and stay the hell out of my personal business. Addy is mine. I should
n’t have listened to you ten years ago, and I sure as hell won’t listen to anything you have to say about it, now.”
With those words Whiskey stormed out of Church, he was done. He had a job to do and a woman to win. Only one of those tasks would be easy.
Chapter 9
Addy had been sitting at the bar for what seemed like forever. The last thing she was asked was about her brother and whether she had heard from him. She hadn’t; Jamie was a piece of shit, always had been, always would be. He was never happy, always wanting more, but not willing to do the work to get it. Shit, even as a child he would have rather stolen than work for anything. By the time he was a teenager, he had gotten himself into bigger and worse trouble until he wound up in prison.
In the last ten years, she had heard from him twice, both times he demanded money from his portion of the farm. The first time Addy had laughed because his portion, even if he was entitled to one, was more debt than dollars. The second time she was too numb to even respond and just hung up on his ass. If she hadn’t, Jamie would have ranted for hours on how he had been wronged and everyone else took advantage of him. Addy couldn’t take it anymore, so she stopped taking his calls.
He had always been that way, blaming others for his problems. When their parents died in a car accident and they went to live with Pop, he blamed him for them being gone. Addy loved Pop, but Jaime hated him; it was a constant push and pull until finally Addy just gave up. It made their lives a living hell. When he had taken off at seventeen, Addy had been happy and Pop seemed relieved, there just wasn’t anything either of them could have done to make Jaime happy.
Whiskey: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 1) Page 8