by K. J. Dahlen
A moment later, her body shut down for some much needed rest.
A while later, she was awakened by the sound of footsteps in the distance. They were slow and heavy. There were a couple of steps, then a pause then more steps. It sounded as if someone was searching for something and didn’t know where it was.
Sawyer caught her breath and the action hurt. Pain splintered her insides and she caught her breath.
Then the footsteps moved past the door to the room she was in and moved down the hall. A few moments later, they returned. Peeking around the corner of the boxes she was hiding behind, she saw a pair of work boots standing in the doorway. She didn’t dare raise her eyes, instead she watched the boots.
Finally, they turned and walked away.
She let her breath out slowly. Then she began to fret about where her brother was. Turning as much as she could without gasping in pain, she glanced over to the windows. The sun was up high in the sky by this time, so she knew she’d been resting for a couple of hours already.
Jordan had left her in search of food and water and had not returned.
Sawyer was worried about him but couldn’t look for him. She couldn’t move at all. She was afraid if she did, the pain would be too much. She would have to trust that her fourteen year old brother knew enough to hide himself well enough not to get caught.
She pushed her unusual colored hair out of her eyes and prayed he was safe.
CHAPTER FOUR
Cricket sat on the edge of the bed and waited while Raine removed the small dagger. She whimpered when he cleaned the wound and bandaged it.
Raine glared down at her tears. “What the fuck was that all about? Why would he hurt you like this?” he demanded. “What does he want?”
Cricket shook her head. She didn’t want to tell him.
Raine squatted down, so he could look into her eyes. Reaching out, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “What did he want?” he repeated his demand.
Cricket could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her world had been shattered beyond all she believed in and she didn’t have the strength to pull it back together yet. Everything she believed had been a lie. All of the childhood memories she had were tainted by Bane’s truth.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember what was real. The love she’d seen in her parents eyes had been real. The warmth of their embrace when she was young had been real. The goodnight kisses and hugs had been real.
Now, she knew it had all been lies. They had moved around a lot when she was a kid and now, she knew why. Bane had been looking for them. The girls hadn’t been allowed to go to school because that would mean paperwork. Instead, Grace had taught them at home until she got too sick to do it. Even changing their names had been a lie. Her last name had never been Tannis, it had always been Jessin.
Then she got a horrifying thought—Dusty was that monster’s grandchild. She gazed at Raine with terror in her eyes. Grabbing his arms she whispered, “You have to call your brother and tell him to run away. Take Dusty and run as fast and far as he can. Bane can never know about the boy.”
Raine frowned. “Why? Why does he frighten you so much?” Then a thought seemed to come to him. “Has he threatened Dusty?”
Cricket shook her head. “He has no idea Dusty exists and he can never know. He’ll tear the boy away from everyone he’s come to care about and kill anyone who stands in his way. Dusty has a chance at a good life but if Bane discovers he exists, he’ll become just like him. The man has no soul. He can never know about him.”
“Why did he come here?” Raine asked. “Was he telling the truth earlier when he said your mother was his wife? And that your father was his brother?”
Cricket nodded. “She and Orrin ran away together. They had a life as man and wife and all the time she was still married to Bane.” She closed her eyes again. “It was all a lie. My whole life was built on a lie.”
Raine wrapped his arms around her. Her words were so heartbreaking. “It wasn’t all a lie,” he whispered in her ear. “The love they had for you was very real. And the love they shared with one another was very real as well.”
Cricket sobbed in his chest. Before either of them could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Raine bid them enter.
Deke opened the door and stepped inside. He studied Cricket for a moment then said, “Your uncle wants to see you.”
Cricket’s face twisted into rage. “That monster is not my uncle. My family is dead!”
“Regardless, he still wants to see you.” Deke’s words were softly spoken, concern and uncertainty were also present in his expression.
Cricket nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Getting to her feet, she walked through the open door.
Raine was right behind her.
When she got to where Deke was standing, he laid his hand on her arm. “We’ll get through this together. We’ll stand behind you. You may not think so, but you are one of us now and we take care of our own.”
Cricket stared at him for a moment while inside her heart was heavy. If he only knew what Bane had said, he might not still feel like that. Then she remembered the Sin’s Bustard’s tattoo on her shoulder and hung her head. “But I’m not one of you. I have to serve this club for a year. My future is unknown after that.”
“That no longer applies.” Deke shook his head. “I never should have sentenced you to begin with. You proved your worth when you brought my children back to us. You proved your worth when you insisted the truth be told. You stood tall and proved your honor all the way through. That brand on your shoulder makes you one of us, not someone to serve us.”
Cricket frowned as her thoughts were muddled. “I belong here then?”
Deke nodded.
Cricket glanced over her shoulder at Raine and saw him smile slightly. Then she turned back to Deke. “Bane is still not my uncle. He’s a bastard.”
Deke chuckled. “Well, that bastard wants to speak to you again, and he grows impatient.”
Cricket held herself up and went to the door.
Deke opened it and led the way down the hall to the main room.
When she entered, she found Bane glaring at her. She glared back. She knew she should fear him but for some reason, she didn’t. She went over to a table near his, but she didn’t sit at his table.
Raine took the chair next to hers and leaning toward her he whispered, “Is it wise to anger him this way? Don’t forget who and what he is. I don’t want you to get hurt anymore than you have.”
Cricket closed her eyes for a moment the whispered back, “All my life I’ve been taking orders from someone. Most of them were from Cordy and if I didn’t obey them, I felt her rage. Now there is no one to order me around. I have choices I never had before. If he wants to talk, he can come to me. He may be a killer but right now, he won’t kill me. Maybe later, but right now he won’t.”
Raine sat back and thought about her words for a moment. He, like everyone else in the room had no idea what brought Bane Jessin here. Then he realized Cricket knew what the reason was, and as much as he wanted to demand an answer, he knew now was not the time.
Cricket and Raine sat there alone for a few more minutes before Bane got up from his chair and joined them at their table.
He glared at Raine until the other man got up and walked just a few feet away. He stayed near enough to prevent Bane form hurting her any further.
Then Bane leaned toward Cricket and snarled, “Do you want a blood bath here today? If you piss me off anymore than you already have, that’s what will happen. They will die today rather than a week from now. Their blood will still be on your hands.”
Cricket slowly turned her head and glared at him. “If you kill even one of them, you will never get what you want. I will walk away from this club and from you. If I do that, you will never find me again and you will have lost the only chance you will ever have to reclaim what my parents took from you. You’ve waited thirty years to get it back but if y
ou hurt anyone here, you’ll have lost it forever.”
Bane’s lips tightened. His eyes showed his intense rage. He seemed to struggle for a moment, then his eyes went cold and blank again. He placed a business card on the table and got to his feet. “You have one week to get me what I want. If you fail, I will kill them.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear, “I will enjoy killing your boyfriend the most. I’ll take my time with him. He will die cursing your name and it won’t be an easy death. I have become well versed in the arts of torture and giving pain to others. In fact, I get a thrill from their screams of agony.” Then he straightened and walked toward the front door.
Everyone in the room watched him go, everyone but Cricket. With trembling hands, she reached for the card he left. As her fingers closed around it, she heard the front door slam shut.
The questions in her mind was how the hell she was going to find something hidden so long ago? What was it her parents had taken from Bane? Did they still have it before they died? Why had they taken it in the first place? Why would Bane still be looking for it? All she had was questions and no answers.
~* * * *~
Sawyer listened to the footsteps fade down the hall. Letting the breath out she didn’t realize she was holding, she felt a new rush of pain rush through her chest. When she heard the echo of the steps going down the stairs, she hoped Jordan was close by.
A moment or so later, Jordan sneaked into the room and rushed over to where she was hidden.
Sawyer closed her eyes when she saw him. Part in gratitude, part in annoyance. “Where the bloody hell have you been?”
“I’ve been hiding.” He growled. “They came in early and almost caught me downstairs.”
“How many of them are here?” she asked.
“So far, only four,” he answered. “But that’s enough, these guys are huge! They must be related, because they all look alike too.”
“Well, the name of this place is Morgan Brothers.” Sawyer nodded.
“Yeah, the sign also said ‘in association with Sin’s Bastard MC.” Jordan reminded her. “I guess I picked a poor place to hide.”
Sawyer shook her head and winced in pain. “No you didn’t. Micah would never think to look for us here.”
Jordan snorted. “If you think Micah would let the threat of an MC stop him, you’re just plain crazy. He won’t let anything stand in his way.”
Sawyer shuddered slightly. “I know. I just wish he’d forget about me and move on to someone else.”
Jordan shook his head. “He can’t let you go now. Out of all the people in his past, you are the only woman that has ever told him no and meant it.”
Sawyer felt the tears well in her eyes. Brushing them away she sobbed, “He didn’t have to hurt anyone.”
Jordan reached out and turned her chin to him. “That’s the kind of man he is. You know it and so do I. When you told him no the first time he was surprised and it cost you your job, when you said it again, he had us thrown out of our apartment. When that didn’t work, he went after the only person that meant anything to you. He enjoyed hurting our mother.” He lowered his head. “I’m glad I didn’t see it. Knocking me out was a blessing on his part. Knowing she was in pain would have killed me. I would have done anything to protect her.”
Sawyer raised her hand to his cheek. “And you would have been hurt worse than she was. Micah would have killed you without a thought. At least, he let her live.”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, she lived long enough to get to the hospital where she died of internal bleeding because of what he did to her. He murdered her.”
“Yes, he did,” Sawyer agreed as her tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. “And one day, he’ll pay for what he did to her and all the others. That day won’t be today or even tomorrow. But as sure as I’m sitting here, it will happen.”
Jordan’s hands curled into fists and his eyes blazed with hatred. “I hope I’m there to see it. I want to see him beg for mercy and know he won’t get it. I want him to feel the fear he gave to others.”
“Don’t let vengeance turn you into a man like him,” Sawyer warned. “Nothing is worth that.”
Jordan squeezed the water bottle he held in his hand until the top popped off and water spewed all over both of them. The sound echoed through the room.
Sawyer gasped as the coldness of the liquid washed over her. She looked at her brother and began giggling softly.
Then she heard footsteps rushing up the stairs and her eyes widened. Shrugging, she whispered, “So much for hiding.”
Just then, several men rushed in and she peeked around the stack of boxes at them.
Her eyes widened as she saw the four men standing just inside the door. They were huge. All four had white blond hair and two of them had oversized wrenches in their hands.
Jordan popped up from behind the boxes and stood in front of her.
“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” one of the men asked. He took a threatening step toward Jordan.
The boy held his ground. “We didn’t hurt anything,” Jordan announced.
“We? Who the hell is we?” the man asked.
Sawyer sighed and grabbed her brother’s hand. Taking a deep breath, she tried to rise to her feet. But laying on the floor so long had tightened her muscles and when she tried to get up, her body didn’t cooperate. She cried out and fell back to the floor.
~* * * *~
The men rushed around to see what they had missed before. When they saw her laying there, they were astonished. Chance, Byron, Bowie and Dante Morgan all reached down to help her up.
Bowie and Byron grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.
The woman screamed in the pain as she held her chest and passed out.
“What the fuck?’ Chance swore. He turned to boy and glared at him. “What’s wrong with her?”
“We were run off the road late last night and she hurt her ribs. Then we had to run for our lives from a mad man who is still chasing us. We broke in here to hide and get some rest. She’s my sister,” the boy summarized their situation. He glanced over at his sister with worry in his eyes. “I don’t know how bad she’s hurt.”
“Should we take her to the hospital?” Bowie asked.
“No.” the kid shook his head. “Micah will find her there.”
Chance glanced at his brothers for a moment then looked at the young boy. “Okay, we can keep her here. There’s a guy I know who can check her out. He’ll let us know what her condition is.” He nodded at Bowie who then bent down and swung Sawyer into his arms.
Bowie made his way downstairs and into the lounge area. Laying her carefully on the sofa, he checked her breathing.
Chance went over to the phone and called the clubhouse. A few minutes later, he returned. “Raine is on his way.” Then he looked over at the boy. “Why don’t you explain what’s going on. Who are you and why are you running?”
The kid glanced at Sawyer for a moment then turned to the others. “My name is Jordan Moon and my sister is Sawyer Moon. Four months ago in Rochester where we lived, she met a man named Micah Johnston. Micah is a piece of shit dog and a bully. He decided he wanted her but she wanted nothing to do with him and she told him that.”
“What did he do to her?” Bowie asked.
“First, he harassed her enough she lost her job, then when she refused him again, he got us kicked out of our apartment. I was staying with her because our mom was sick and staying with a friend. Anyway, after we lost our apartment she still refused to go out with him. That’s when he threatened the people we knew. He beat up a couple of friends then found our mother. He beat her so bad she ended up in the hospital and died a few days later from her injuries. I don’t know if that was his objective or not, but that’s what happened. That’s when we took off. Sawyer wasn’t going to give in and she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. We’ve been on the run now for about a month. Last night, Micah rammed our truck and put us in the ditch. We got the hell out of
there before he came back.”
Bowie looked at his brothers and shook his head. Then he glanced over at the woman on the sofa. “What is with this guy that he doesn’t understand the word no?” he wondered out loud.
Jordan snorted. “Micah is the kind of man who thinks he’s entitled. Entitled to whatever he wants. The woman, the cars, the money. He goes around with five other guys. They’re always with him. They do his dirty work, so Micah doesn’t have to mess up his own hands. Micah isn’t a nice man and he likes to hurt people, especially the women he dates. He’s a sadistic bastard.”
“Why is he still after her?” Bryon asked.
Jordan shrugged. “I think at first, it was because she was the only woman that told him no but now, I think he just likes the chase. He has something to prove. Now, he wants to really hurt her. It’s gone too far for him to just forget her.”
Just then, the door opened and two men walked in. Raine had his medical bag in his hand and Bones followed.
Chance frowned at Bones but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to Raine. “She was in a truck accident last night. Her ribs are hurt.”
“Did she hit the steering wheel or what?” Raine asked.
“Yes, she did,” Jordan answered.
Raine began probing her ribs.” I’m glad for the fact that she’s still passed out. This would hurt like hell.” He lifted her shirt and saw deep bruising but no tears in her skin. “I don’t think her ribs are broken, they might be cracked through and the only thing we can do is wrap them. Are you sure you don’t want to take her to the hospital?”
Chance shook his head. “No, she’s got some nut job after her and Jordan here thinks he’ll get to her there. We have to keep her here, if possible.”
~* * * *~
Sam wandered closer and watched Raine wrapping the girl’s ribs.
A few minutes later, Raine tied off the binding. He looked over at the Morgan men. “Without an x-ray that’s the best I can do. Someone is going to have to watch her all night. You need to watch her breathing. I didn’t feel any breaks but she’s pretty bruised. If she stops breathing, call an ambulance. She should be okay but don’t take any chances. If she’s in trouble, get her to the hospital.”