The Way Home (Lights of Peril)

by Unknown

  He drags her to the couch where April is still sitting, unmoving. She’s not looking at him directly to avoid causing his attention to turn her way.

  Still standing in the doorway, I start to walk to a chair to sit down. He points the gun at me and I still. “No way, Sadey girl. You get the couch with the other two. It’s game time.”

  Fuck! He knows who I am and he knows Hem’s nickname for me, but I still have no clue who he is.

  “That what our boy calls you, sugar? Sadey girl? What the fuck kind of names are those for someone who looks like you?” He stares directly at my chest, then moves to my mouth and gives me a nasty smile letting me know he’s enjoying the view. “Sit your ass down. Fun’s about to start. Don’t want you to miss any of it by thinking you’re gonna go scrammin’ out of here.”

  I look towards the window again, praying to God in my head for Honor to come save us from this cruel human being. As I walk to the girls, my prayer is answered, but not by God. Only Lucifer himself hears my appeals and he’s enthusiastic to answer them. “Dead. Don’t bother looking for him. Dead. He should be about bled out by now. Once the boys left, I spotted him outside. Fuckin’ technology is a bitch sometimes. Brother was focused on his goddamn phone and didn’t see me crawlin’ to him. One blow to the neck with my knife, down goes the hero.”

  He whistles eerily through his teeth as he mimics with his hand that our friend, Honor, went down quickly. God, no. I can’t do this again. Another life lost, another funeral, and, as I look to April, I know another broken heart.

  April lets out a mangled cry, catching his attention. “Awwwe, pretty girl. He yours? Well, hope for you he had a good insurance policy. You could be a rich bitch now. As long as you win the game today anyway. If not you would just be joining him in hell.”

  I move each arm to her and Cherry both. I’m in the middle clinging to them and they huddle to me for some false sense of safety. It’s all we have in this madhouse.

  “What do you want with us?” If I can stall long enough, Hem and Shame will be back with Gunner. “Are you looking for something? You can have anything you want.” I have no belief that my negotiations will be successful, but I’m going to attempt it, delaying his madness further.

  “What do I want? Revenge, sweetness. Do you remember Greyson? Well, I’m sure you do. He talked about you and your boy Hem frequently. He wasn’t a fan of Hem’s, as you can gather. Can’t say whether he liked you much or not. I don’t know how he felt about stupid people.” He’s staring at me as if his mind is lost in memory.

  “I remember Greyson. He was with Mace.” Fuck, I shouldn’t have brought Mace into this. Mentally I’m still not connecting the dots, though. I don’t know this man. “I really don’t have any idea who you are.”

  “Well, let me introduce you to Greyson’s brother. I’m Ty Meyer.”

  Fuck. The resemblance is likely, but I’m looking through a lens of fear. If I had to guess, Ty is Greyson’s little brother. He can’t be older than twenty-one to Greyson’s twenty-seven.

  April has settled down in my arms and she’s resting her head in my neck as we continue to huddle together. She is forming words to say out loud, but I’m gripping her arm tight trying to get her to not speak. I’m not successful. “Are you the one that was hired…the one that Warren…”

  Psycho, now known as Ty, cuts her off. “Honey, I would have done this shit for free. Hem killed my brother. Raped him with tools before he killed him from what Warren had told me. Hem was supposed to be dead. Caught wind through the channels, though. He’s not dead. He’s been in California, but wouldn’t have known that had Ace not come back. I knew if I laid low long enough eventually the Hero to all, Hem, would come out of his hole, back to his precious Sadey Girl.” He looks at me hungrily and continues his verbal tirade.

  As he moves to the recliner across from us and sits down he continues, “Warren told me all about Hem and how he put Greyson on that prissy ass bitch daughter of his, Mace. Warren, fuck that man was just as crazy to kill Hem as Greyson was. I wasn’t allowed to meet her. I had to keep up appearances and the ex-convict brother really isn’t someone the likes of Greyson would be associated with in public. I wanted to, though. Fuck, I wanted a piece of that bitch. Greyson got all the fun, didn’t he? Hem, too. Look at you, woman. Fuck, I want some of that.”

  He stares at me and smiles wide, sending me a mental assurance of pain. Then he whistles to capture my attention, eye to eye, once again. When I raise my gaze to his he’s still smirking, but this one is sinister in its own right. I want to be sick.

  “Do you know the pain that’s involved when a person is gutted? Any idea?” He waves his knife around like he’s trying to bait us into being a part of this conversation. “A knife to the flesh is a fiery pain, but that’s not all. When the blade itself is moved around, that’s when you feel everything. It feels like your insides are melting. The radiating pain is enough to bring any man down to his knees begging for the pain to stop. I heard that Warren was gutted. Fucker died and didn’t take care of shit before he fuckin’ died. Greyson was raped, per se.” He smiles viciously before dropping the last statement, “Payback, to me, is all about tit for tat. Which of you ladies are stepping up to accept punishment?”

  He looks to April, who is a shaking and crying mess beside me. “Hey, since your boy is gone, you ain’t got no reason to be here. Why you cryin’? I’ve learned inflicting your own pain will keep your mind off the mental anguish you suffer. Lighten the fuck up.” He lifts his shirt and I am thankful at that moment the girls aren’t looking at him. He’s covered, completely covered, in scars. Line by faded line. Some are new and some are old. He’s a cutter. Shocker.

  After licking his lips he pauses before looking back at Cherry, who is lost in her own head with memories of the night Greyson took her, raped her, beat her, got her high, and then brought her back to finish out her life in fear and loneliness. “Cherry, you got anything for me? My brother liked your taste. You have any of that for me or are you just a waste of crust now?”

  Cherry won’t look at him. She only shivers in my hold, buried in my side. “Stop, please. Leave them alone. It’s me you want, isn’t it? Take me. Use me. Do whatever you want, but leave April and Cherry out of it.” My bravery is about to crumble, and I don’t have enough reserve left to make it through this. I just need to keep stalling.

  Before he has a chance to answer me, I hear a loud knock at the door. Fuck, Mace is here. Cherry and April both pull their heads up from my body to look at me. They know whose here and they fear for Mace as I do. She was Greyson’s and she’s the reason, in a sense, that he was killed by Hem.

  “Well my ladies, looks like we have another party goer. Shit keeps gettin’ better.”

  As he stands I hear the loud voice on the other side of the door screaming to get in. “Sadey, you fuckin’ bitch I know you’re here. Open the fuckin’ door. I told you to stay away from Ace and I swear to God I’m livin’ up to what I promised, bitch. I’m scratching your goddamn eyes out. Open … The … Fuckin … Door … Now.”

  Sylvie. Not good, but so much better than Mace.

  “I’m going to open this door. Not one fuckin’ word from you bitches or I cut her throat and make her first. Believe me on this, you will be sorry I didn’t make you first after seeing how the one in front goes down, clear?”

  None of us say anything. We’re speechless and terrified of his promises.

  He opens the door, his gun behind him and looks at Sylvie as if he’s the next door neighbor in for a bit of tea. She relaxes and scans him up and down and her tone immediately changes. “Well, look at you, soldier boy. My, Sadey is certainly burning the candle at both ends. First Hem, then Ace, and now…who are you?”

  Without warning, catching her off guard, he grabs her by the arm and jerks her inside. She sees us sitting on the couch and the girls leaning into me, but it doesn’t register until he grabs her to him by her throat and shuts the door with his back foot. Her eyes are wide,
but I don’t see any fear yet. He moves the gun to her temple and she stays silent. “Thatta girl. Show these ladies here some manners. You, move over there, sit on the floor with your hands in your lap, and do not fuckin’ move.”

  He takes his hands off Sylvie who looks straight ahead to the floor where she’s expected to sit and he asks her in quiet confidence, “Who are you? You someone to Hem?” Sylvie shakes her head ‘no’ and sits down at the end of the couch, nowhere near us. Of all of us, go figure she gets a free card. Ty won’t want her because Hem doesn’t want her.

  He directs his attention to me now, “Sugar, are we expecting any more guests?”

  “No.” April and Cherry don’t give out a single flinch. They know I’m lying but won’t give Mace away. If we’re doing this, if we are to be killed, then I want Mace left out of it for as long as we can keep her off his radar.

  “Good. Game time. Wondering though, where is the mighty Hem, Sadey girl?”

  I don’t think fast enough to lie. “He’s out with some of the others. He will be back in just a few minutes.”

  “Let’s give him a call. That alright with you? He and I, we have a deal of sorts to make. His life for all of you … sound like a familiar game to you, Sadey girl? This time, though, he will be dead.”

  “Please. He has my son. Please don’t hurt my son. I will do whatever you want, whatever you want I swear.” It’s as if I’m pleading to no one. He doesn’t understand because he’s not capable of human emotion.

  He picks his phone from his back pocket while continuing to talk, “Your son? You are worried about your son? Hem killed my brother. Greyson was my only family I had left. Parents are dead. Hem ruined my life. It’s his turn to see how that feels now. That’s fair.”

  I feel the bile in my throat before everything comes up as I lean over and expel my stomach’s contents all over the floor. I don’t have much longer to keep my shit together. He’s telling me he’s going to hurt my Patrick.

  He looks at us and smiles like he’s ordering fuckin’ dinner. Jesus, he’s insane. “Okay little ladies, here we go. It’s ringing. Everyone be quiet and when he answers, let’s all say ’surprise’ at Shame as soon as he picks up, okay?” Holy fuck! He’s not only insane he’s off the charts mad.

  I hear someone answer on the other end through the speaker, “You got Shame.” That’s all he says before Ty laughs in retort.

  “No, I don’t got Shame, but I do got…” He scans the couch looking at each of us in order, “April, who is very upset about a parting Honor. I’ve got Sadey girl, and then I’ve also got Cherry, who ,from what I understand, is looking forward to me having a taste of her. Then I have a no name bimbo who made a pass at me when I opened the fuckin’ door. All your women whores, Shame?”

  I don’t hear Shames response because Ty cuts him off mid-sentence. “No, you fuckin’ listen and you listen good. I’m about to play a game, a roulette of sorts. You’re going to tell me which game we’re going to play. You have five seconds to decide. Do we play eenie meanie miney moe, heads or tails, or duck-duck-goose? Five seconds little brother or do I get to decide for you?”

  The line is silent. I don’t know what is happening on the other end other than the scrambles and it sounds like Shame is covering up the hand piece to avoid psycho from listening.

  Cherry has her nails dug into my lower back as she clings hard to me. I don’t feel the pain, just her fear. April still has her head buried into my neck and she’s sobbing in terror and heartache. I look to Sylvie who is still staring at the floor, no sign of fear coming from her at all.

  “Well alright, I decide. We’re about to play duck-duck-goose.” He stands and then I hear Hems voice is coming through the phone and he’s screaming for me. I’ve done all I can to keep my shit together but as soon as the voice cracks through the phone I lose it.

  “I love you, Hem. I love you. Don’t bring Patrick here. Don’t come here. Don’t fuckin’ do it.”

  I’m stopped from speaking with a swift hit to the head, much like Cherry, only this one lands on my temple, temporarily knocking me off balance. April and Cherry have a hold of me so I don’t fall forward. The pain is radiating from my entire head and down into my spine. Before I gather myself I hear Ty tell them to shut up, that he’s trying to count. This is it, my end. I feel it.

  Ty continues walking the length of the couch back and forth to us while pointing his gun. “Duck-duck-duck-duck, you still there Hem? Duck-duck-duck-duck…”

  The phone is silent, then I hear the blast and feel its effects all over me. The screams surrounding me are tearing through my ear drums.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for.”

  -Ernest Hemingway

  -Hem-

  A thousand emotions sift through my head as I hear what Shame is telling Gunner and me as we stand at the front door at the club. We had stopped here to get a load of the girls shit to take back to the house, our intentions were good. We were going to let them live at home again, with us being there of course.

  Shame is barely holding calm as he gets in my face telling me what’s happening at Sadey’s house. It’s a short ten minute drive from here. Once he tells me that this lunatic was about to play a game, I knew in my gut what the winner got. He’s holding the winning lottery ticket and his prize is a bullet to the fuckin’ brain.

  Grabbing the phone I start to speak, telling the fucker to calm his shit down and that I’m on my way when I hear Sadey screaming in the background. “I love you, Hem. I love you. Don’t bring Patrick here. Don’t come here. Don’t fuckin’ do it.” It takes me all of one second to hear the blast coming through and the cries that erupt after.

  Shame’s face is pale and Gunner is already in motion towards the hall closet where we keep a few guns behind a false wall in the back. He’s pulling everything out and Shame is following him, as if they didn’t hear what just happened on that call.

  I’m holding the phone trying to listen to what the fuck is happening there while the guys finish gathering our shit. I don’t hear anything else after the screams except his fuckin’ voice on the line again. “I’m going to kill them all, in turn. You come here now, alone, and let me have you. Once you’re here, they go free. Agree, or I shoot another one just damaging her enough to suffer. Little Sadey girl looks ready to volunteer. I would rush it if I were you, but thank fuck I’m not, ‘cause you’re almost dead.”

  “Agreed. Be there in ten.” Then I’m quiet until the line goes dead.

  Mace comes walking in the room. She knew of our intentions to try to give the women some normalcy and she was helping us pack their stuff up. She was in on the surprise and agreed to miss this girl’s day to help. Shame hasn’t said a word to her and Gunner is playing stupid.

  “Mace, keep the kids here. We’re going to be right back. I swear it.” I look into her brown eyes, I see Doc in them now and my determination to rid the world of this scum is validated. I swear to Christ this is not a replay of last year.

  She is speechless as she continues to watch Gunner carry shit out front. He’s working so fast that she doesn’t have time to register Shame coming up from behind her and kissing her neck, squeezing her body to his tightly. After the quick embrace, he spins her around he gives her the look. They always had the most fucked up way of communicating so no one could hear or understand it, but them. Any other time this annoys the hell out of me, but right now I’m not sure Shame could speak if he had to, so it’s a good thing she understands what he’s after.

  I hear her mutter. “I’m okay, Shame. Go. Whatever you’re doing, just watch out for Hem, and then come back.” Yeah, sissy, he’s going to watch Hem kill that fucker.

  He wraps his arms around her again, holding her to him as if this could be the last time and his promises of safety were only for her benefit, but he’s no idiot. What we could be walking into, he knows.

  No words are said on the way to Sadey’s other than qu
ickly devising our plan of action upon arrival. Nothing more needs to be said. I’m not going to just give up and roll over this time. I don’t believe for a moment that Sadey was the target of that shot. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to kill her, yet. Fuck, I’m trying to only believe that so I get through this and might be able to stay focused.

  April and Cherry are with them and I have no fuckin’ idea if Honor was in that room or not so we need to move forward not being sure if we have someone on the inside, waiting for us to join them in an ambush.

  My mind is racing. I’m holding my fear at bay and I don’t have Sadey’s voice in my ear to calm me as I make my way to her. I only have a vivid memory replaying in my head of her as a kid, needing rescued.

  “What’s up, Mama?” I pull her into a side hold as she’s busy making sandwiches for the girls.

  “Patrick! What a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to see you today. Doc told me you have your hands full this week cleaning the latrines and cooking for the boys.” She smiles at me in jest, enjoying the fact that I’m nothing more than a housewife to all the brothers at Peril until I’m sworn in as part of the group. I love to see my mom smile. Sucks that this is at my expense, but whatever it takes.

  “Thought I would stop in and see what you all were doing. Girls out swimming?”

  “Yes, honey. They were playing Marco Polo a bit ago. I see Mace, but can you check on them? I hate that game. It makes no sense to me.”

  I smile as I leave mom at the picnic table and make my way down to the small beach, more like a patch with sand that Shame and I made last summer for the girls. They like to pretend and use this as their tropical setting.

  I see Mace to my left, but when she looks to me I see that she’s nervous. “Patrick, I can’t find her. I can’t find Sadey. She was just here. We were playing a game, then she swam off.”