by K. J. Dahlen
As they turned to leave the hospital, Marnie came up to Deke. “We might have a problem.”
“What is wrong now?”
“That woman Reva,” Marnie told him. “She took three runaways home with her. I don’t know where she lives but if the Feds search the clubhouse are they going to find the kids there?”
“No, but they’re close.” Deke sat on his bike for a minute then told her. “I’ll let Gator know. He can warn her if they show up.”
“Okay, I’ll follow you guys to your place.” Marnie nodded.
~* * * *~
Twenty minutes later, everyone made their way inside the clubhouse. Deke, Gator, Deacon, Peaches and Iceman gathered around one of the tables, the rest of the brothers spread out and found seats where they could. Not only were the members of the club there but everyone from Redemption House was present as well. Everyone but Amos that is and no one told anyone he was missing either.
Wiley, at Deke’s nod, began passing bottles of Jack Daniels around to the different tables, while some of the others in the MC passed around glasses.
Finally, Deke glared at Lance Sullivan and asked what everyone wanted to know, “Just what the hell is this all about? Why did you come looking for Cassie?”
Lance exhaled. “During our investigation into Janelle Walden we found a number of things Cassie failed to mention.”
“Such as?”
“Such as we found six bodies instead of the four she told us about. Two of the bodies haven’t been there five years yet and we found a piece of jewelry that belonged to Cassie on one of the bodies.”
“I told you about the locket already!” Peaches cried out.
Lance nodded. “Yes you did, but I needed to hear that from Cassie.”
“What else?” Deke demanded.
“We found a stash of gold hidden in the basement wall. According to Janelle Walden, a good size portion was missing and we found Cassie’s fingerprint nearby.”
“Cassie was often locked down in the basement, so her fingerprints would also be there,” Deke pointed out. “Is that all you got?”
Lance stared at him for a moment then shook his head. “No it isn’t, but until the FBI gets here I can’t talk about it.”
“Look…right now you have our cooperation.” Deke gave him an icy stare. “If for some reason you’re dicking with us, you will lose our cooperation and this will become a battle neither side will win. Either tell us what you know, or get the hell out.”
Lance sighed as he shook his head in obvious disgust. “Janelle Walden was desperate when she turned herself in. When she explained to us who she was and who she needed protection from it was understandable. The Vincinti family is ruthless and they pretty much run Boston.”
“Maybe you should know something here.” Deke grinned. “Peaches is part of the Vinicnti family.”
Lance swung his head to where Peaches sat with Iceman. Staring at her for a few minutes, he finally said, “You’re the missing daughter of Calderone Vincinti?”
Peaches nodded. “And before you say anything, I want you to know Janelle arranged my kidnapping when I was five years old. She was also responsible for my mother’s death. Flynn Rearden rammed his car into my mom’s and carried me back to Janelle. My mother died in that accident and if Cassie hadn’t done what she did, Janelle would have sold me off or killed me. That is something, Janelle never let either of us doubt for a moment.”
“Just how did you escape the safe house we had you in anyway?” Lance asked.
“Cassie can get out of anywhere when she really wants too.’ Peaches grinned. “She had a feeling you wouldn’t keep your promise to find my family, so she found them for me.”
Deke and Iceman knew she was lying to protect them, so neither of them said anything.
“Yes, well, that wasn’t my call either,” Lance murmured.
“What else are the FBI bringing up against her?” Deacon spoke now.
“There is still a warrant outstanding for the attempted murder of Robbie Pierce.”
“Robbie killed himself!” Peaches cried out. “The most that charge is worth is assault and you fucking know it.”
“You’re wasting our time badge man,” Frankie called out. “Why is that?”
Deke suddenly got to his feet. “Close the front gate and lock it down,” he called out to his men. “Lock it down now!”
The crew of the MC scrambled to do his bidding. Within moments, the gates were locked and everyone was standing watch. It didn’t take long before they saw them. Three cars came down the driveway.
Iceman grabbed Lance by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall. “Do you have a death wish? Is that what this is?”
“No, I do not,” Lance replied. “All I wanted was the chance to talk to Cassie again.”
“Well now, none of us may get out of here alive.” He pushed Lance away from him.
Deke came over to where Lance was standing. “We don’t want any trouble here. We got women here. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt. Am I making myself clear to you?”
Lance nodded.
Deke looked over at Peaches. “Call your family and let them know what’s going on. Do it now, before the Feds get trigger happy. We got nothing to hide but they aren’t getting in here.”
Peaches grabbed her cell phone and called her grandfather.
When Lance’s phone rang, Deke nodded he should answer. “Put it on speaker.”
Lance held the phone out. “Sullivan are you all right in there?” One of the FBI agents asked.
“I’m fine as long as you guys don’t start something stupid.”
“We came with a warrant for Cassie Ryan.”
“They know why you’re here Jerry,” Lance told the other man. “She isn’t here though. She disappeared from a hospital bed after being shot earlier today.”
“Do you believe that for a moment?” Jerry asked.
“Oh, she was shot today and she wasn’t in her room,” Lance assured him. “I don’t know where she is but I don’t think she’s here.”
“Who is in charge inside there?”
“I am,” Deke spoke up. “My name is Deke Tory and I have about forty people in here. One belongs to the Vincinti family, so don’t start shooting. We are unarmed for the most part.”
“Where is Ms. Ryan?”
“She isn’t here,” Deke assured them.
“Let me ask you something Mr. Tory,” Jerry Tate said. “Would you protect someone who committed an act of murder?”
“If you’re talking about Robbie Pierce, that wasn’t murder, that was self-defense and you fucking know it.” Deke growled.
“Perhaps, but I wasn’t speaking of Robbie Pierce. Does the name Jeremy Talbot mean anything to anyone in there?”
Peaches gasped and the color drained from her face. It was apparent she knew the name. She sat down on her chair hard.
“Can we call you back?” Lance asked before he ended the call.
“Maybe they should hear this?” Deke suggested. He waited for Lance to call them back, then he came over to where she was sitting and squatted down in front of her. “What do you know about this Peaches? Did you or Cassie know this kid?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we both knew him. We were twelve and still living in Boston when we met him and he was trouble from the moment he laid eyes on us.”
“What happened?” Iceman wanted to know.
“It was just before we left Boston,” Peaches began. “We lived in the homeless section of town. There was a gang of thugs that ruled our neighborhood and Jeremy was their leader. He was a bully and tried to pull crap on Cassie all the time. He and his gang caught her one time and beat the hell out of her. She barely made it home before she collapsed. She took a terrible beating. The one thing that kept us safe was that no one knew where we were staying. Cassie was always very careful about that. Two days later, Jeremy came looking for her again. He didn’t find her and that pissed him off considerably. He began roughing up the other peopl
e in our neighborhood hoping someone would tell him something. No one ever did…” She paused and looked up at Lance.
He nodded his head for her to continue.
“Four days later, Cassie knew we had to leave town. Jeremy was cracking down and cracking heads to find her. She didn’t want anyone hurt because of her. We packed up and moved out. We left Boston without running into Jeremy or any of his friends. We heard a disturbance behind us at one point but we didn’t look back.”
“How badly beaten was Cassie at that point?” Deke wanted to know. “Could she have hurt this Jeremy?”
Peaches shook her head. “She had several broken ribs and a sprained ankle, not to mention both eyes were black and swollen. One of Jeremy’s guys had punched her in the throat and she could barely swallow water. We couldn’t go very far without stopping. She could barely catch her breath. That’s when we found the cave on the top of the ridge overlooking the city. We ended up staying there for two weeks before Cassie felt good enough to move.”
“Can I ask a question?” Lance spoke up. “How tall was Cassie?”
“Back then?” Peaches shrugged, “Maybe four foot ten. She isn’t much taller now.”
“I’ve seen the video from the bank cameras. The person who beat Jeremy Talbot was at least five foot seven.” He looked at Peaches again. “Did Cassie ever own a dark green jacket?”
Peaches thought for a moment then shook her head. “She didn’t. She shopped Goodwill all the time and the only jacket she got from them was a blue one. But when we left Boston, neither of us had jackets. We didn’t need then it was summer time.”
“Did you hear that Tate?” Lance requested.
“I heard but I would rather have heard it from Cassie,” he grumbled from the other end of the call.
“Me too, but she isn’t here. Miss Vincinti was with Cassie the whole time.”
“Miss Vincinti?”
“My name is Killiegh Vincinti,” Peaches spoke up again. “I’ve been called Peaches most of my life.”
“And your father is?”
“Calderone. My grandfather is Leon.”
“I see,” Jerry Tate commented.
“Did Janelle Walden tell you she had me kidnapped when I was five, and that she was going to sell me?” Peaches wanted to know. “Just wanted you to know the type of person she was. She lied for a living, she was cruel to those under her care, and the only person she ever cared for was the son she had. She allowed that monster to do horrible things to the other kids.” Peaches scoffed in disgust. “I hope you didn’t give her too good of a deal, or the people will be outraged.
“What people would that be?” Jerry asked.
“The people who pay your salaries,” Peaches ground out. “I’m sure I can get at least one major paper to run this story. It seems the kiddy ring you busted made all the newspapers on the East Coast. An eyewitness account of the whole thing would really turn the tides against you wouldn’t it? If you screw me or Cassie over, the whole world will hear the story, I can promise you that. And I should probably tell you my grandfather knows you’re here hassling us. I don’t think he’s very happy right now.”
“Is that a threat young lady?”
“No sir that is a promise from me to you.”
“Can you give us a moment to discuss these latest discoveries?” Jerry Tate ended the call on his end.
Deke got to his feet and turned to address Lance, “Is that all or is there more?”
“Did you know anyone that owned a green jacket?”
“The only one I ever knew was Robbie. He had a green jacket. He used to wear it all the time, summer or winter. Probably the only thing his mom ever bought for him.”
“Was this before or after Robbie died?” Deke asked.
“This was after he died,” Lance informed them.
“Are you sure he actually died?” Peaches scoffed.
“Why do you say it that way?” Lance inquired.
“I know Cassie really messed him up that night but I wouldn’t put it past either Janelle or Robbie to fake his death for another reason.”
“Another reason?” Lance asked. “What would that reason be?”
“Janelle was losing control of her son. Cassie always said one day, Robbie was gonna kill somebody and after what he did to her, I didn’t doubt it a bit.”
“What did he do to her?” Lance asked.
“That’s Cassie’s story to tell you but only if she wanted you to know,” Peaches replied with a glare. “You saw part of what he did to her. She showed you the word he carved in her back. That was just the icing on the cake. He’s done so much more than that and none of it was pretty.”
“Why can’t you guys just leave Cassie alone? Hasn’t she endured enough?” Marnie asked.
Lance’s phone rang and when he answered it, he paused and then turned the speaker phone on. “We’re leaving. We heard enough to know Janelle Walden lied under oath. She violated her order of protection.”
Iceman looked over at Deke and raised an eyebrow. He knew Janelle wasn’t in custody anymore anyway. Neither man said anything.
“Wait and I’ll join you. I was leaving anyway.” Lance ended the call but before he left he looked at Deke and the others. “I hope Cassie is going to be okay. When I get back to Boston, I’ll look into Robbie’s death a little better. If I find anything off, I’ll let you know. Either way, please look out for her. Someone out there doesn’t like her and they will stop at nothing to get at her.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Deke nodded.
They all watched from the doorway as Lance got into his vehicle and drove to the front gate. Wiley was there to open it and when Lance pulled out, he closed and locked it again.
Deke turned to Frankie. “Can you get a hold of Amos and have him bring Cassie home?”
Frankie nodded. “You bet boss.”
Peaches chuckled and leaned into Iceman’s arms. “God, I’ve missed that woman.”
“Haven’t I kept you happy enough?” he wanted to know.
“Oh, yeah,” Peaches agreed and leaned into his kiss.
CHAPTER SIX
A while later they all waited for Amos to bring Cassie back.
Reva had joined them in the clubhouse. She assured Marnie the children had been bathed, feed and now they were all resting.
Marnie went outside to walk the grounds of the compound when Deacon found her. “Why are you out here?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t really know too many people in there. I feel like I’m imposing.”
“You’re not imposing at all,” Deacon insisted. “But if I may ask, what brought you here today?”
“Did you see the kids at the hospital?”
Deacon nodded.
“Those kids have gotten the shaft from Social Services since they lost their mother three years ago. They lost any faith they had in the system when a judge ordered them into three different homes. Peaches told me about Redemption House and I was bringing them here, so at least they could stay together. Now that might be impossible.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If the cops are still after Cassie, Redemption House may never be all it could have been. Peaches told me all about what Cassie wanted to do and I thought it had a great chance.” Marnie shrugged.
“We have to find a way to end this shit.” Deacon shook his head. “Otherwise, her dream is over before it began.”
“Will it truly end?” Marnie asked.
“It won’t if Deke and I have anything to say about it,” Deacon vowed.
“Are you in love with her then? This Cassie?”
Deacon smiled. “Yes, I love her but I think you misunderstand. She’s my niece not my girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Marnie blushed.
“So, you’re Iceman’s sister?”
“Yup, Jesse’s my brother.”
“Jesse?” Deacon raised an eyebrow.
Marnie made a face. “He insisted I call him Iceman but to me, he’ll always be
Jesse.”
Deacon laughed. “And he’s with Peaches now? I wonder how her Dad and Granddad like that?”
Marnie giggled. “I think for now, they’re letting it slide. They are just so happy to get her back, anything she wants is fine with them.” She paused then peeked at him from beneath her lashes. Her tongue poked out of her mouth to wet her dry lips.
Deacon followed the movement. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her mouth. So much so, he almost missed her softly spoken question.
“Can I ask you something?”
Deacon shrugged. “You can ask me whatever you want.”
Marnie’s fingers twisted around each other. Then before she could lose her nerve, she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She brushed her lips against his. The second their lips touched, Marnie felt the zing. It zapped her good. From the point of contact all the way to her core.
Deacon pulled her closer and deepened the kiss considerably When she gasped under his assault, he pushed his tongue into her mouth. He lifted her off her feet and took a few steps over to a tree. Backing her up against the trunk, he kept the kiss alive.
When he finally broke contact with her mouth, they were both gasping for air. He pressed tiny kisses along her jaw and down her neck all the way to her collarbone. “What the hell did you do to me just now?’ he whispered into her ear as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth.
Marnie groaned as shivers of want slid down her heated body. “I never knew a kiss could be like that.”
Deacon pressed his hard cock against her belly. “That was as close to an orgasm we could get without taking off our clothes.”
Marnie peeked up at him and found his eyes on hers. Licking her lips again, she heard Deacon groan with need. She also felt her body respond to the same need. “When I saw you today at the hospital, I got a funny feeling here.” Her hand slid down to her belly. “I couldn’t explain it and I couldn’t ignore it either. I had to know if this would happen when we kissed.”
Deacon frowned. “If what would happen?”
“Didn’t you feel it?” she asked. “When you touched me I felt a spark of lightening inside.”