The Way Home (Lights of Peril)

by Unknown

  I start to walk towards her, but she points me in the direction of the embankment they are supposed to avoid. I fuckin’ knew one day one of these girls would go around there and get caught up with the underbrush laying beneath, where all the waves move debris during the storms.

  I make my way to the edge of the water and I can hear Sadey, but I can’t see her. “Mrs. Cash, please help. Mace!” She’s crying through her words and I can’t make out everything she’s saying after her calling out for help.

  Finally I see her face bobbing up and down in the water in panic and just as I suspected, she’s caught in that fuckin’ underbrush. Goddamn it.

  “Mace! Get out and go get mother. Tell her to bring down the medical kit.” Instantly I remove my boots, cut, and shirt and I wade in, careful not to cut myself on something on the bottom in the process. Sadey spots me and her panic immediately eases. Once I make my way to her she breaks down in sobs of relief.

  “I forgot.” My eight year old little friend can read my face. She senses I’m pissed off.

  “You fuckin’ forgot? You know damn well you’re not supposed to be past the tall oak, damn it. Don’t give me that shit, Sadey.” I’m pissed as hell at her for putting herself in danger. She’s been to this lake almost daily every summer for three years and she knows damn well not to swim past that point. Too many dangers linger around there and should be avoided.

  Her arms are around my neck and she’s pulling at me, trying to keep her hold. I slip under water to remove the tree vine that has cemented itself to the bottom during its growth. Once she’s free and I’ve secured her around the waist, I dredge with her to the lake’s shore. My mom is already there with the medical kit waiting for us. Her face is full of concern as she starts walking towards us. Mace is standing by mom in a towel and tears are streaming down her face.

  “Sadey Marie Lyons, you scared me!” Mace screams at her and she looks almost as pissed as I am. My mom just stares at us coming towards her. I’ve got Sadey cradled like a child in my arms as her bloody ankle dangles towards the ground.

  “Patrick, honey, put her down. Let me look at her.” Mom inspects a cut on her leg and pats her thigh in comfort. “There, there, honey, you’re alright. It’s just a small cut. Let’s get you cleaned up and after that we will go inside and get you some ice cream.”

  “Right mother, rub some food on her stupidity, and reward her irresponsible behavior.”

  “Patrick Collins, enough. She’s already scared. Do not upset her any further.”

  I look to Sadey; her immense green eyes filled with tears behold me. I’ve hurt her feelings in effort to rid my anger and concern, thinking something could have happened to her if I hadn’t checked on them.

  I look at her, tempering my voice and stare, “Sadey girl, you alright?” She just nods in response.

  “Sugar, you’re fine. I’m not pissed at you, alright?”

  Again, the affirmation that she hears me, but she doesn’t believe me.

  “Mother, I’m going back to the house. Warren home?”

  “No, honey, he’s working today, catching up at the office. Go grab some pajama pants to change into. I will wash those jeans and get them to you. Don’t drip all over the floor either. I just got done mopping.”

  Good. Dear old step-daddy is gone. Thank fuck for small favors.

  Once I’m in the house I find Warrens stash of Jack Daniels whiskey and down two shots. I’m on the brink after picturing Sadey’s face going up and down in the water before I got there. Little shit has no idea how to make a decision for her own damn good.

  As I put my shot glass in the sink I hear her come in behind me, then feel her grabbing me around the waist from behind with both her small arms and pull me to her in a tight hug. “I’m really sorry. Don’t stay mad at me. I won’t do it again.”

  I pat her back to ease her worry. “Baby, I’m not mad. I’m upset, there’s a difference. What would you have done had Mace not have found you, had I not found you?”

  “You would have made your way to me, Patrick. I know you would have.”

  Yes, baby, I always make my way to you. Hold out for me now, sugar.

  Looking outside Sadey’s house you wouldn’t think anything was necessarily wrong. Walking past the van, looking to verify if Honor is inside or not, Gunner stops when he sees him. He’s so damn calm, even during a crisis, it’s sometimes hard to tell if he’s just fuckin’ with you or not. He wouldn’t fuck about this right now, though. He’s dead calm and serious. “Honor’s down. I’m calling 911. We can’t do this one alone.” He opens the van door and leans in as Shame and I watch the house to be sure no-one threatens this situation further.

  “Fuck, there’s a lot of fuckin’ blood. I’m calling Raider to come stay with him. We need all of us if we’re going to get inside and make this quick.” As he says that, I can see Shame is manic in contrast to Gunner. His face is set with determination to end someone’s life. Gunner and Honor are close. They came to the club about the same time, making their bond all that much stronger.

  Gunner finishes the call to 911 and comes around to us again, covered in Honor’s blood. The house has remained quiet so far, until another scream erupts.

  We round up to the house, ducking under all windows. If the lunatic knows we are here, he’s not moving. I have yet to hear the sirens that Gunner requested and we most likely only have about three minutes to end this before the city’s best and most qualified fuck-ups make the scene.

  We have a plan to get in. We discussed it briefly on the way here before we all lost ourselves in our fear of the unknown. Gunner and Shame are going through Sade’s back door and window while I knock on the front to draw his attention. It’s not much, but not fifteen minutes ago we heard shots fired without knowing who is down.

  Once Shame and Gunner have rounded the back I let out a deep sigh, still uncertain what’s happening inside. If my girl has been hit, I need to keep my shit together so I can get April and Cherry out safely.

  I knock on the door twice with heavy anticipation. Let the games begin.

  Fuck, they could be twins. This has to be Grey’s younger brother, fuckin’ Ty Meyer. I had heard Warren mention him the night he was attempting to murder my ass, but I hadn’t given another thought to him since.

  “There you are, motherfucker. The guest of ‘Honor.’ Did you catch that little joke?” He’s pointing the gun at me and he thinks he’s fuckin hilarious, making jokes at my boy in the van, who is near death. It’s taking everything in me not to react right here on the front porch, but I need to wait for Shame and Gunner to get their aim.

  Just as he motions me I catch sight of a much bloodied body on the floor. I can’t make out who it is since there is so much blood, so as I glance to the couch I quickly assess who it could be. Immediately, I see Sadey carefully protecting her girls the best she can, but she’s visibly hurt. I see April and Cherry on either side of Sade, holding her up. This leaves fuckin’ Sylvie, the bimbo Ty mentioned. She’s dead, with that much blood and her not moving. She’s gotta be dead.

  With no time to mourn, I take another glance at the girls on the couch. My eyes immediately draw back to my girl. She’s biting her lip, staring into my eyes, willing me to hear what she’s wanting to say. I can’t. I can’t focus on her without losing my focus to kill this son of a bitch, so I turn again into Ty.

  “Sit, Hem, in that chair. I’ve got a deal to finish.”

  I say nothing as I enter the living room. I worry that any one of those girls will lose it if they know what I’m about to put into play. They don’t know of the small cavalry behind them, in the window, about to take down this monster.

  I see Shame’s head underneath the windowsill. Not a time for humor, I get that, but damn if that giant has any camouflage ability. Now I really need to step up the game to ensure this fucker doesn’t look behind my girls, see Shame’s head, and start shooting.

  I notice Cherry sitting up. She sees Gunner in the window. I give her a hard l
ook as the lunatic draws toward me. She needs to stay quiet and not get lost in her relief to see the men behind her.

  “You wanna kill me, fucker? Do it. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Hem, no! Shut up.” Sadey is frantic and that’s the last thing I need. This is exactly what I feared from her.

  “Will do. If your girl doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to waste her first and let you watch.”

  I give Sadey a look to calm her. She’s not budging. He interrupts our wordless conversation, “Not so big and tough now, are you? I waited your ass out. I knew you’d fuck up, leave your woman alone, and come here running with your tail between your legs in surrender to save her, again.”

  I’m about to goad him, keep him talking to give Gunner time to position himself. I see his head in full view as this cluster-fuck in front of me keeps his aim on me. “Took you long enough. You leave your love letter at my door, then you wait? Sounds like someone got nervous. Been waiting to meet ya for over a month.”

  “Actually, I wanted to kill your girl first. Glad she’s here to watch you die though. There’s a certain satisfaction for me in that. Happy I got to play with her a little before then, too.”

  Finally I’m hearing sirens. So does Ty. He takes the gun and points it directly at my forehead. I feel the barrel pressing into me. I close my eyes and picture Sadey coming down the aisle to me on our wedding day. My only solace is knowing if I die right now, my girl’s going to live long and happy. May be too late for me, but Shame will let nothing harm her when he’s this close to stop it.

  She cries out and, although I can’t see it, I feel the gun’s barrel adjust on my forehead and I know he’s turned around to hear what she’s screaming at. My reflexes quickly register and I grab his arm and stand. I’m bigger, stronger, and more skilled than he is, so I move his arm up, pointing to the ceiling and at the same time I hear the gun go off. I yell to Sadey to get the girls the fuck down.

  Shame shows up at the window. I see him break it with the butt of his pistol. Now he’s trying to aim without hitting me and I move my body into an awkward position so that I can push this fucker off me, even if he still has the gun in his hand.

  Shame doesn’t hesitate. Shooting through the window, one shot, the lunatic is down. He’s dropped the gun, but he’s alive with only a shot in the back. Cherry gets off the couch and runs to the rear of the house in terror. April runs towards the front door, opening, then exiting quickly. She’s of a mind to see Honor.

  “Sadey, get the fuck up and get out.” She’s still. She’s not listening to me. Staring at me without any emotion tied to her face, she remains sitting on the couch. Her eyes are swollen from tears and her temple is bleeding so much blood that it’s dripping to her shirt.

  Once she registers I may have this under control, she stands up on shaky legs and walks toward me. “Sadey, I said get out. Now go!”

  “Patrick, give me the gun.”

  “Fuck no. Get the fuck outta here. Sirens are here. Tell them they are good to enter.”

  “Give me the gun, Patrick.”

  She only calls me Patrick when she’s pissed, upset, or about to do something incredibly stupid.

  Shame enters through the window, careful not to get cut in the process. He grabs Sadey by her shoulders and pulls her back. She’s not lost eye contact with me for a single second. She looks about as crazy as the fucker who’s lying on the floor moaning in pain.

  He starts to sit up and with that Shame pushes Sadey aside, roughly moving her behind him. He then takes aim at Ty’s chest and shoots. With that, bingo, he’s dead. Guess he won the little game he was playing.

  Shame doesn’t show many emotions, but once again I see that look that I remember from years ago. We had walked in on his father beating his mother to death, literally. Shame lifted his gun, took aim, and shot his father dead as his mother lay lifeless on the kitchenette floor.

  As I look at Shame, disturbed at the place I know he is in, I’m alarmed seeing him hold that gun the way he’s holding it. Psycho is dead, he’s not coming back, but Shame’s memories are. Sadey, my brave girl, doesn’t hesitate as she walks to Shame and grabs the gun from his grasp, pointing it to the ground.

  The fuckin’ cavalry have the house surrounded, even though Gunner’s protest that it’s good, that we’re good. Shame says nothing as he makes his way to the front door, opening it, and, even though he’s met with a the local fuckin’ firing squad who have their guns drawn on him, he casually puts his gun back behind him in his jeans and walks towards them.

  I grab my girl, who stands staring at me speechless, take her outside, and sit her down next to the second ambulance that has just arrived. Gunner is making his statement and Shame is standing beside Honor as they work to stabilize him before packing him up onto the ambulance.

  Sadey cuts loose of my hand and runs to Shame. She wraps her arms around him firmly and pulls at his neck to bring him to her eye level. He’s still yet to show any type emotion after killing this son of a bitch, but he grabs my girl with both his arms and brings her to him, lifting her feet off the ground to his own level. She says something in his ear and he cracks a small smile. She walks towards me and, as she’s walking, he calls for her.

  “Sadey.” He is grinning ever so slightly. Her eyes leave mine and she turns to look back at Shame. “I love your face, too, baby.” Then I hear Shame’s phone ring and when he looks to the ID on the screen, his face changes from Shame’s past life the one he’s livin’ in now. That has to be my sister calling. He answers, he smiles, and then he laughs. She must be giving him some fit for not checkin’ in.

  Eyes full of tears Sadey turns back to me from witnessing Shame’s litany of quick changes and carries herself directly into my waiting, open arms. “Can we ever just have some peace around us, Hem? Maybe, if only a week?”

  “Told ya, baby, I’m not all rainbows and horseshoes, but I can promise to try.” I squeeze her tight in my arms and her face is in my neck, letting out a heavy cry, finally.

  Gunner is finished with the police. “We’re taking off, going to follow the ambulance. Fucker missed his carotid artery by a cent. Lost a lot of blood, but the hospital’s on standby, waitin’ at Memorial.”

  “Sadey, go with Gunner. I need you to stay with April and Cherry. All of you are to get checked out. I’m going to hang back with Shame, help sort this, then meet you there.”

  “Hem, I love you. I’m so sorry for this.” I pull her off me to look at her.

  “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do this. Hell, I’m the cause, not you.”

  “No, I’m sorry for this.” She puts her hand on my heart. “I’m sorry for breaking it. I get it now. I get why you would do what you did with Warren. I offered the same to Ty, to keep you safe. I would do it again.” She’s being sincere, heartfelt, and damn, could I love my woman any more than I already do?

  “I know, sugar. We will talk later, okay?”

  She stands on her tip toes, pulling my head down to her so she can reach, similar to how she did with Shame just minutes ago. She’s offering her beauty and kindness, body and soul, to us in thanks for being there as we were.

  She kisses my temple, then my nose, then my cheek, and finally, she reaches my lips. She holds nothing back. Sadey has never been one for a public display, but fuck if she doesn’t give a rat’s ass right now.

  In front of the police, medics, and our friends, my girl gives it to me hard and rough. I don’t even know what to do with it. Once she stops she beams at me through the continuous tears that are falling down her face.

  I don’t crack a smile as I see Gunner standing behind her rollin’ his eyes at her display. He’s embarrassed and most definitely not used to this sort of act coming from Sadey. Gunner can’t help but stop her. “Woman, can you do this later? My best friend is headed into surgery, Mace is chewing Shame’s ass, and seriously, I do not need to be driving you all around while you’re all cryin’ and shit after watching you toss your tongue down Pr
es.’s throat. Can you guys please, for fuck sakes, do this shit later?”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  "And you'll always love me won't you? Yes! And, the rain won't make any difference? No"

  -Ernest Hemingway

  Three weeks later…

  -Sadey-

  Three weeks it’s been since the drama ended at my house. Ty is dead. The police filed this away as self-defense on Shame’s behalf after countless interviews from all of us. Shame didn’t make anything easier by telling the police that they were delinquents, taking their time getting to us because they despise Peril.

  Honor survived, but is still recovering. He lost a lot of blood and has a lot to come back from, but he’s biding his time during the hospital stay and using it to try to convince April that life is short and to marry him. She won’t say yes. Mace and I have talked to her several times about it, but she won’t budge. She has no interest in marriage or kids or anything resembling domesticity.

  Cherry is back to using. After everything that happened that day she has openly admitted she went back into her dark habit, but tells us she has ‘control over it.’ We are currently in the process to stage an intervention.

  Ace heard of Sylvie’s death through Shame. Those two don’t see eye to eye and in effort to keep as much emotion out of the news as possible, Shame said he wanted to talk to Ace. Surprisingly, Ace was upset, but told Shame it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own since she came over to my house to start more shit.

  Gunner is no different. He’s single, brotherly protective, and spends his time at the hospital when he’s not working at the club, pushing Honor to get better faster.

  Hem and I are together again, officially. The plans are to have another wedding. His plan, not mine. I never considered him anything other than my husband; however, he can’t let go of the idea that Ace and I were ‘messing around’ while he was away and he wants to piss on what is his again, marking his property, as soon as possible. When I told him all about Ace and I and our involvement while he was in California, he wasn’t surprised, but still very pissed off. So he is requesting, no scratch that, he’s requiring a vow renewal. Jesus, men.