by Naomi West
“What about you?” Fender said, coming up behind Rascal and clapping him on the shoulder. “You’re going to take some men with you and ride, right?”
It was a tempting offer, but as much as the Dark Vultures had done for him he knew there were some things that simply couldn’t be joint efforts. He didn’t want to answer anymore questions or share any further speculations about who Roland Briggs was or what he wanted with Vera. He just needed to get out there. “I think I’ll just go alone.”
“I’m not sure that’s a smart idea,” Fender cautioned, running a hand through his scraggly beard. “We don’t know if this guy has any backup with him. What if there were other cult members who got away as well?”
Rascal could probably find out for sure by checking the news reports, but he’d already spent too much time at the clubhouse. “It’s possible, but I don’t care. I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure.” Fender sounded dubious, but he let Rascal walk away as he mounted his own bike and headed out.
The club members were flooding the city, but there was only one place that Rascal felt like going. It was a long shot, and he had questioned himself numerous times on it, but he threaded his way out of town toward the canal where he had first discovered Vera. On that fateful night, he had ridden out to the canal with the sole purpose of doing a couple exchanges and bringing back a wad of cash. He had accomplished that mission, but he had come back into town with so much more.
He wondered now why he had ever doubted whether or not he should help Vera. He’d saved her from those nasty men who wanted to rape her, but that was as far as he had been willing to go. Rascal had no business taking care of someone, not in the sense of being responsible for her. It had been difficult enough just to take care of himself and ensure that he was sending enough money back to his mother, so where was there time or space for a woman in his life?
And taking her to Lorenna’s had seemed like a good option once he’d gotten her cleaned up and off the streets. Then Rascal would know that Vera was taken care of without having to do it himself. As the city limits dropped away and he shoved up the throttle, he wondered how he had ever managed to convince himself that had been all right. He’d been a real asshole. Lorenna had been good for Vera, and he didn’t doubt that, but that hadn’t been any reason to stay away from her completely. He could have at least made a few efforts, and then it would have been Vera’s choice to turn him down.
But now they were having a baby. He wanted to deny that it was his, and there was still a possibility that it wasn’t. He didn’t know what might have happened before he met Vera, but the chances were certainly good that he was the father. Even if he wasn’t, he owed it to Vera to make sure she was safe.
He headed down into the canal, turning off his engine as soon as he hit the flat bottom of the canal. If anything was happening here, he didn’t want to give away his presence. Rascal took a moment, just sitting there and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, before he stepped off his bike and began walking toward the same viaduct where he had originally found Vera.
The vagrants watched him carefully, very aware of anyone who entered their territory. He’d been here plenty of times, and it had never bothered him before, but he suddenly felt as though he stuck out like a sore thumb. But he noticed that many of the people here only glanced at him for a moment before they turned their attention back to one of the pylons of the viaduct.
His heart froze for a moment when he recognized Vera’s pale face in the shadows. Her eyes were wide and scared, but her mouth was set in a hard line of anger. Rascal almost called out to her to tell her he had been looking all over for her and had set his entire club out across the city to find her, but then he saw the man who held her captive. A form lay on the ground only a few feet away, and he was certain it was Donovan. Rascal slowed down, creeping closer.
Vera hadn’t seen him yet, and she was focused on Roland. “What exactly do you plan on doing with me?”
Roland, his scruffy face the same one that had been plastered all over the news, scowled down at her. He ignored her question, continuing on whatever rant he had probably already been on before Rascal had arrived. “You can’t know how much you’ve disappointed me, Vera.”
“Maybe you should have just let me go,” Vera growled. “I never wanted to be with you, and it’s disgusting that you and all the others tried so hard to make me stay.”
Rascal was glad to hear her stand up for herself like that. Vera had often been shy and submissive around him, so it was nice to know that she had another side. He was tempted to dive in and save her, but he wanted to see just what this man was up to first. Fortunately, he hadn’t noticed Rascal’s presence yet either.
Roland ran his hand down the side of Vera’s face, a gesture that made Rascal’s stomach turn. “I had already brought you back to the compound so many times, and when I told you that you had the chance to be my wife I thought that was the turning point for us. You were hesitant, but that was the reaction I got from most of my wives. They’re always a little bit in awe when they find out they’re going to get to be with me.”
“Only because you brainwashed all of them into believing you were something special, Roland.” Vera glared up at the man who held her by the wrists. “I forgot so much of it for a long time, and it was a relief. But now that I can remember everything again, I almost don’t want to believe it. You were awful to those people, and to me.”
“Awful?” Roland made a sound almost like a laugh. “Well, that’s not a very fair thing to say. I provided food and shelter for almost 100 people. I kept them safe from the dangers of the world and modern society. I promised them a salvation they couldn’t have had anywhere else.”
“You also lied to them, stole from them, and enslaved them,” Vera retorted. “You made them work long, hard hours while you sat back in your office and claimed it was all for the holy good. I remember what it was like, Roland, and those people have no idea how lucky they are that the government ended the whole thing.”
The way the cult leader looked down at her, Rascal wondered if he might try to eat her for dinner. “That’s just proof that you’ve been ruined by your time out here with modern society. You wouldn’t be having those awful, dirty thoughts if you had stayed safely with me back at the compound. I tried so hard, Vera.”
“Yeah, tried hard to get into bed with every woman under 30 who would have you.”
Rascal almost laughed out loud at her jab.
“I only pretended I was going along with the whole marriage thing so you would leave me alone for a little while. That’s what gave me the time to carry out my plan. I’d been socking away money for years, which was no easy feat when everyone else in the Brotherhood was against me. But I finally had enough for a bus ticket to anywhere I wanted, and I took my chance. I don’t regret it for one second.”
“Perhaps you should. You know, Vera, you’re not pure anymore. But I need you to be, so that we can be together in the afterlife. That’s the only way to purge you of the filth that you now carry on. We’ll sacrifice ourselves. I’ll be redeemed as one who has spent his whole life working for God, and I’ll be saving your soul with the cleansing.”
That was all Rascal needed to hear. He sprang out of the shadows, landing squarely in front of Roland and shoving him backwards. The motion caught the man off guard, and he let go of Vera to catch his balance. Rascal watched happily as the other man stumbled back. “Get away from my family,” he growled.
But once Roland stood on his own two feet again, he kept his attention on Vera. “Is this the sort of man you associate yourself with now? Tsk, tsk. Such a shame. It all is. You could have had so much. I thought things would be easy once that man at the bar slipped a little something extra into your drink, but you fought that just like you fought everything else. You make it so much harder on yourself, you know.”
Vera cowered behind Rascal, her hands clutching at his arms. “And I’ll keep fighting, Roland. I’ll never stop fight
ing until I’m rid of you!”
The leader’s movements were quick, and he suddenly held a pistol at his side. “You won’t have long to fight, my dear, because soon we’ll both be in heaven!” Roland raised the gun.
Time slowed down, but it couldn’t go slowly enough for Rascal. He’d brought his own weapon, but he would never get it out on time before Roland had a chance to pull the trigger. He could serve as her human shield, but what would happen after that? Once Rascal was dead, then Roland would be free to go after Vera once again or kill her as he seemed to inclined. His mind raced as he wished he had brought some of the other Vultures with him.
But it turned out that he didn’t need them at all. A bundle of rags near the fire suddenly erupted to life, joined by several other figures that pulled away from the shadows or formed from piles of garbage. They attacked Roland from behind, scratching at him with their filthy nails, clawing at his skin as though they wanted to claim it as their own. The canal had been silent as everyone had listened to the exchange between Vera and Roland, but it now erupted in an animalistic cry that thundered through the air.
Roland’s eyes went wide with surprise as he was pulled backward. He flung up the hand that held the gun, aiming it uselessly as the sky as he automatically fired. Someone ripped the gun out of his hand, and the barrel of it was soon pointed at his head. His hands slowly went up, and he was surrounded.
Rascal turned for Vera, but she was no longer standing behind him. He panicked for a split second until he saw her on the ground, kneeling next to the figure that had been laying there the entire time. “Donovan? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
The dark-haired man opened his eyes slowly. He nodded, but the action made him clench his teeth as he tried to sit up. “I’ll be fine. That guy packs one hell of a punch, you know?”
“I know. I’m sorry. But everything’s okay now. Rascal’s here.”
Rascal came to stand behind her, no longer feeling jealous at all of Donovan even though he wasn’t certain of his own place in Vera’s life. She could tell him to go jump off a bridge, and he would do it. Just knowing that she was safe was enough for him right now, and they could work out everything else later. He felt hope at hearing her words. If she equated him with safety, then maybe she hadn’t given up on him completely.
But Vera wasn’t ready to talk about matters of the heart just yet. She turned to Rascal with serious eyes. “Do you think we should call the police?” She glanced coldly at Roland, who had been bound with scraps of rags, dragged across the concrete, and propped against one of the pylons. Blood dripped down his temple.
“He’s a wanted man,” was Rascal’s simple reply.
“Yes, but I don’t want anything to happen to the people here. I know some of them are less than perfect, but they helped me before and now they’ve saved both of us. I don’t know why they bothered, but they did.”
He pulled her close, so relieved to have her in his arms again. “They probably just know what a good person you are, Vera. It’s obvious to anyone who so much as looks at you. That’s why I couldn’t resist you when you asked me for help, and why Lorenna was more than happy to take you in. You’re an amazing woman.”
She soaked up his words, listening with wide eyes, but she suddenly pulled back. It was only a fraction of an inch, and the change on her face was almost imperceptible, but it was there nonetheless. “I didn’t think you held such a high opinion of me.”
“I was an idiot, Vera. I was jealous and going absolutely crazy trying to figure out what happened to you.”
“I guess you know now?” she asked, one eyebrow quirked.
It was a challenge, but it was one he was up for. “I do. But it doesn’t matter. I’d already decided that no matter what had happened, I want to be there for you. You mean the world to me, and I was a fool to ever try to throw that world away. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She took his hand. “I think we’ve both made some mistakes.”
Rascal nodded. “I can’t help but think one of those mistakes was coming here in the first place. I kept hoping I would find you near Lorenna’s house, maybe out on the trails, or somewhere in town. But the more I looked, the more I worried that I would find you here. Why, of all places?” He refrained from doing what she really felt, which was to grab her by the shoulders and make her understand just how much worry she had caused him. All sorts of horrid scenes had gone through his mind as he had envisioned what might happen to her. Even if she had been all right, every second that Vera spent away from him was a second longer her had to wait to apologize to her and make everything between them good again.
She bit her lower lip, an action that was incredibly sexy even though she hadn’t meant for it to be. “I was pissed about some of the things you said to me, not just about who the baby might belong to but about my past. I didn’t want any of it to be true. But it was like hearing those words made me realize just how true it all might be, and I suddenly wanted desperately to know. I had been hiding from reality for the last few weeks at Lorenna’s, and as nice as that was, it was over. I had to face my demons.” She glanced again at Roland but looked away again. “When Donovan found me walking alongside the highway and offered me a ride, this was the first place I thought of.”
He understood, but he wished he had been the one to bring her. The night had fallen completely now, with only the barrel fires casting an eerie orange glow over everything. The dark sky seemed to have been pulled down close to the earth, a hot wet blanket that made it difficult to breathe. Rascal had to wonder if things would have been any different if Vera had ridden here with him. Would he have seen Roland before he stepped out of the dark? Or would the man have surprised him as well, leaving Vera with nobody to come to her assistance? The transients had shown no sign of actually stepping in to help until the very last minute, when there were no other options. But he had no more energy for speculation. He made a quick call to the constabulary and then another one to the president of the Dark Vultures.
They waited patiently for the police to arrive, which didn’t take much time. Many of the vagrants scattered or hid, afraid of being arrested or hauled into a homeless shelter. A few stuck around and gave full interviews to the cops, bragging of what they had done to save Vera. Their cooperation, plus the fact that the police had bigger fish to fry, meant that they were left to their own devices as they wished.
Rascal stood right by Vera’s side as she gave her statement, standing silently and as she spoke but letting her know that he was there for her in case she needed him. She was brave as she gave her account, only starting to tear up a little toward the end when she talked of Roland finally catching up to her once again. “He said he was going to kill me,” she said to the detective. “In his mind, that was the only way that I would ever be considered ‘pure’ again.”
The detective, a heavy man with a permanent frown but kind eyes, nodded as he made notes on a tablet. “That’s similar to what I’ve heard from the investigation up in South Dakota, so I’m not surprised. I think that’s everything for the moment, but you should be prepared to be contacted by the feds since this goes over state lines. Are you staying somewhere around here?”
Vera gave him Lorenna’s address. He tipped his hat to her and moved off to talk to someone else.
Rascal took her by the hand and led her to the back of an ambulance. Donovan sat inside, being examined by a paramedic. They took his vitals and tried to determine if he had a concussion. “I think we ought to bring you in for observation,” the EMT concluded. “It looks like you hit the concrete pretty hard.”
Donovan brushed gently at the side of his head, cringing. “You’re telling me. I think my entire head is sore.”
“We can do some tests and make sure you don’t have any long-term effects. You shouldn’t need to stay in the hospital for more than a day or two.”
Donovan nodded, but he asked for a moment or two with Rascal and Vera before the ambulance took him into town.
Rascal laid a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, not wanting to be too rough with him. “I’m torn between giving you hell for bringing Vera here and thanking you for looking out for her.”
Donovan gave him a weak smile. “I just wish I could have done more. Maybe we all would have been better off if I had just dropped her off at my mom’s house.”
“No,” Vera insisted, stepping forward. “You were trying to help me, and that’s more than I’ve had from anybody but Rascal and your mother for my entire life. I know I haven’t know you very long, and I hate that you got injured in the process, but I’m so glad that you were there for me, Donovan.” She leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug.
At another time, Rascal knew that his jealousy would have flared up once again despite the fact that Vera had told him she and Donovan were merely friends. But it was like there was something about her that made his entire perspective on life change, and he understood that there was nothing to fear here. Donovan, just like Lorenna, was a good person. He had a feeling both of them were about to become part of his swiftly growing family, even more so than they had already been.