Bane shifted in his seat slightly. He wasn’t reaching for a weapon, but his movement was just enough for everyone in the room to cock their weapons. Holding up his hands slowly, he looked at his niece as if to tell her to call off her protectors.
Cricket glanced around and nodded at Deke.
They dropped their guns but kept them ready.
Then she looked at Bane. “Where is your son?”
Bane’s lips tightened at her question. Keeping eye contact with her he stated, “Michael made a fatal mistake, one that I could not overlook.”
“What mistake did he make that you couldn’t overlook?” she wanted to know.
“He got too cocky too quick. In my line of work, you can’t do that without paying the price.” Bane shrugged.
Cricket swallowed hard. “So why are you here then?”
Bane looked away from her for a moment. He stared at Deke and Raine. “Can you all take a seat while I explain the reason for my afterhours visits?”
Deke, Raine and Bones sat down at the same table as Bane and Cricket. Everyone else sat down nearby, close enough to hear whatever Bane had to say.
Bane turned his gaze back to Cricket. For a moment, he didn’t speak then he told her, “I had every intention of following through with my promise to never come back here. I had no desire at all to ever see you again. Family to me has been nothing but a source of betrayal and great disappointment. Even my own son thought he could betray me and not pay the price.”
“So what brought you back then?”
Bane smiled without any glee. “I wanted to tell you that you’ve crossed paths with a very dangerous man and he’s looking for you. He also put out a contract on your life. A very big contract. One that most men would take just for a chance at that kind of money.”
Cricket gasped out loud, while everyone around her growled their discontent. Her skin paled as the blood drained from her face. Her eyes took on a haunted look. “What are you talking about?”
Bane shook his head. “Have you ever herd the name Zevon Stark?”
She started to shake her head, then she realized she couldn’t deny his question. “I didn’t but Cordy did. She told me about him four years ago. Why do you ask?”
Bane stared at her for a moment. “Apparently, Cordy took something that didn’t belong to her. It belonged to Stark and he’s been looking for her for the past four years. Only he thinks you are the one he’s looking for.”
Cricket nodded. “Yeah, that would be thanks to my sweet sister. She liked to use my name when it suited her. That way if she ever got into trouble, I would be the one who took the blame, not her.”
Bane frowned. “Did that happen often?”
“She framed me for murder once, a murder she committed and then turned around to blame me for it. So yeah, it happened more than one time.”
“What was it Cordy stole from this Stark guy?” Deke asked.
“About eight million dollars,” Bane told him.
“And what is the contract worth?” Raine asked.
“Whatever is left of the eight million dollars.”
There was a loud gasp that went all the way around the room.
Cricket stared at her uncle and announced to him and everyone within hearing distance, “Then the contract is worth about eight million dollars.”
Bane frowned. “You never spent the money?”
Cricket shook her head. “No, we never touched the money. By the time Cordy got home with it, she was freaking out. She was supposed to meet this Stark guy at a certain place at a certain time and when she didn’t show up she was worried he would hunt her down and kill her so she just brought it home with her. When she told me what had happened, I refused to help her. When she couldn’t beat me into submission she agreed to hide it and leave. She didn’t want to be there when Stark showed up looking for the money.”
“Where did the money come from?” Deke asked.
“Stark is president of the Dragon’s Fire MC out of Bethlehem Pennsylvania.” Cricket looked disgusted as she spoke “They took down an armored truck and got the money. They gave it to Cordy as a getaway driver, so they wouldn’t get picked up by the cops for the robbery. She was supposed to meet them two days later but never showed up.”
“So why did it take him four years to put a hit out on her?” Bones asked. “If he knew Cordy had the money why’d he wait so long?”
“He went to prison on related charges and just got out of the pen,” Bane explained. “He hasn’t told any of his crew they were ripped off yet. He’s had people he trusted looking for the girls since then, but they haven’t found them yet.” He shrugged then added, “I’m assuming because they stayed off the grid and there isn’t any paper trail to follow. Believe me I know this for a fact. I would have found them before I did if there had been.”
“And you’ve taken the contract?” Cricket wondered out loud.
Bane didn’t answer her query, he just stared at her.
Raine jumped up and pulled her behind him. “Over my dead body.” He growled as he grabbed Cricket and pushed her behind him.
Deke and all the others got to their feet as well. They all stood around her making a circle to protect her. “You’ll have to go through all of us to get to her.” Deke snarled.
“No!” Cricket cried out. “Please don’t so this.” She fought her way through the lineup of men. When she finally broke free, she faced her uncle with tears in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt them. No one here needs to die here today.”
Bane frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“I want three days to say my goodbyes. Then I’ll surrender to you but I need your word that no one here will be hurt.” She turned to Deke and the others. “And I need your word that you’ll let him be. I can’t and won’t have anyone die in my place. I love you all too much to have you hurt because of something my sister did. Cordy wins this one. I hope that wherever she is she finally knows the grief she’s caused people all her life.” She paused to sob, “I hope she’s burning in the everlasting fires of hell. If anyone deserves that, she does.”
“You can’t do this,” Raine whispered brokenly as he gathered her in his arms. “I won’t let you do this.”
Cricket turned to the one man who held her heart. Holding her hand cupped around his jaw she told him, “Sweetheart, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wanted a lifetime with you, but it didn’t turn out that way. Our time just ran out. But to keep you and your brothers alive, I will do it. I’ll make a deal with the devil himself to keep you safe from harm.” She turned to glare at her uncle. “I have made a deal with the devil himself.” She turned back to Raine. “I love you more than life itself and I don’t do this lightly. You mean so much to me, but I can’t and won’t watch you or any of them die in my place. I wouldn’t want to live knowing I could have stopped that from happening.”
The room went quiet at her words.
She looked around the room at all the men. “You all have wives and family that don’t want anything to happen to you. How am I supposed to face them if I let you get hurt or worse… killed and I didn’t try to stop it? How am I supposed to face them if I allow you to take my place?”
“How the hell are we supposed to face our loved ones if we allow him to just kill you without trying to stop him?” Deke snarled back.
“As fun as this show of emotions is I think I’ll pass on viewing any more of it,” Bane stated as he got to his feet. “I’ll give you the three days you’ve asked for.” Then he paused, “How do I know you won’t run?”
Cricket sighed and stared at her uncle. “I’ve been running from one thing or another my whole life. We were running from before I was born but I know now that you were the one my parents were running from back then. Then after Mom died, my dad couldn’t run far enough away from his demons to be finally free of them. He died still fighting his demons and after he died, then Cordy started running and she dragged me along with her. She had her claws in so deep, neithe
r of us could get away from the other one. She’s gone and she’s still got ahold of me that won’t break. She was bound and determined to drag me down into hell right alongside of her and now she’s finally done it. All my life, I’ve never had a choice of not running. Well, I have a choice now and I’m not running any more. Here is where I’ll make my stand. If I have to die, I’ll get the choice of where that will be.”
Bane gave her a nod then walked out of the clubhouse. No one moved until he was finally gone.
Bane paused just outside the closed door and listened for a moment. He had no intention of killing her but she didn’t need to know that. She showed him another side to her character and it was one he hadn’t expected. But then maybe he should have. She was Grace’s daughter after all. Grace had run too, until she had no choice but to come back to him.
As he walked away, he could almost sense another pair of eyes watching him. His senses were wired to know what the human eye couldn’t see. Someone was out there watching the clubhouse. Instead of warning the MC, he thought he would have a little fun with whoever was waiting.
Bane almost smiled. Oh yeah, this would be fun for him. He hated playing games with people’s lives, but this was a game he knew he would win. No one else would get the prize but him.
He got in his car and drove away. Stopping along the highway far enough from the clubhouse, no one else would see him he quickly changed his clothes and retrieved his rifle from the special compartment in his trunk. Driving back, he parked in a hidden spot and grabbing his rifle from the front seat, Bane went out to hunt.
Chapter Six
For Bane, this kind of hunt was what he was built for. Pitting his mind against another was always a test for him for him. He might not know who he was hunting but whoever was in these woods would be fair game for him.
This was one game he knew how to play. Over the years, he’d played this game too many times to forget it. Sometimes between jobs, he would stalk someone just for the fun of it. This game is one that he maintained to keep his sense sharp and his mind keen as well.
It took him hours to find them but find them he did. He was surprised to find the three men hiding in the trees. Men had been patrolling the grounds and while he didn’t know them personally, he knew they were part of the MC by the leather vests they wore.
No it was only the three men that thought they were hiding good enough that he was interested in. By late afternoon, one of the men was making his move. Bane swung his rifle to his shoulder and watched as the other man took his shot.
Bane took special care and squeezed his trigger carefully. He wanted to wound the man not kill him. He knew Deke and his boys would have some fun with him. The second his shot was gone the other two men scattered. He would have to hunt them down again but that was all right to his mind. The last two men knew he was there now but that made the hunt all the more enjoyable.
Moments later, Bane walked out of the woods dragging an injured man behind him. He tossed the man at Deke’s feet. “I think you might be looking for this guy. Is Cricket ok?”
“Do you really fucking care?” Bones sneered.
Bane shrugged. “Not really, just asking.”
“You really are a piece of work, aren’t you?” Bones groused.
Bane ignored him and stared at Deke. “Is she dead or alive?”
“She’s wounded but alive.” Deke looked down at the shooter. “Who the fuck is he?”
Again, Bane shrugged. “No idea.”
“Why are you still here?” Deke asked.
“I gave her three days, just making sure she’ll be alive when her time is up.” He shrugged.
Deke stared at the man for a long moment. “You really are a bastard aren’t you?”
“You have no idea,” Bane responded. He turned and walked back to the edge of the woods watched the men as they gathered the injured man and dragged his ass over to Bones’ truck. They threw him in the back and Bones climbed up to keep an eye on him.
“Take him out to the woodshed,” Deke instructed. “I’ll be there after I check on Cricket again.”
~*~
Bane heard the roar of people inside the club and wondered what the hell was going on. Being awake all night he decided it was too early in the day for foolishness. With all the danger closer than they wanted it to be, noise of this level wasn’t only stupid it could get someone dead before they had the chance to stop it. He stomped up to the front door and went inside. Bane stood just inside the main room and his eyes took in the scene. The flowery arch, the candles, the sense of pure happiness and it turned his stomach. Then he saw Cricket’s face and he had to stop and stare at her for a moment.
She looked so much like her mother. Her hair was a little different, but her eyes were exactly like his Grace. The only difference was Grace never once looked at him the same way Cricket was looking at Raine. Grace’s eyes never held for him the emotion Cricket had in hers at the moment. Grace’s eyes only held pain and fear for him.
He was surprised to find his hands curled into fists as he thought about his past. Usually, feeling he should have had but never did didn’t bother him. He wondered why they did at this moment but before he could ponder the thought, the entire mood in the room changed.
The noise level dropped so suddenly it took him a moment to hear it. Then he glanced around the room.
Every man, woman and child was glaring at him.
Raine turned around to see what everyone was staring at and when he saw Bane standing there, he quickly pushed Cricket behind him.
Deke got to his feet and stomped over to where Bane was standing. “You aren’t welcome here.”
“And yet I’m here, aren’t I?” Bane shrugged. Looking around he noted the look on their faces. This emotion he was used to. The hate and fear was something he was comfortable dealing with. “Are we celebrating something?”
“Raine and I just got married.” Cricket pushed her way around Raine’s huge body to face her uncle.
“Married?” Bane frowned. “You got married? At this hour?”
Cricket nodded. “I was born at this time of the day twenty-four years ago. With our present situation, Raine wanted to give me something special for my birthday.”
Bane stared at her with no emotion showing in his eyes or in his body language.
“Why are you here?” Deke demanded.
“I thought there was something wrong in here. I heard the noise and decided to investigate,” Bane admitted. “I was wrong.”
When he turned to leave Cricket called out. “Uncle would you like to stay and celebrate with us?”
Bane turned around slowly to stare at her. “I don’t celebrate. But enjoy your moment. Happiness rarely lasts very long, as you’ll soon find out.” He looked over at Deke. “Those other two men you were looking for earlier? I found them once but they got away. They may not make it very far but they got away from me.” He shook his head. “I must be getting old. I never should have missed them.”
Then he disappeared through the door.
Bane paused just inside the tree line. Leaning against the tree, he closed his eyes and shuddered. He just didn’t understand her. Even facing what she thought was imminent death she still didn’t run, instead she got married?
What the bloody hell was wrong with her? What the hell was wrong with him? Why had she taken that moment to ask him to stay? Why had he almost stayed? He raised his hand to rub his chest briefly. There was a small pain near his heart. This girl was Grace’s daughter after all. He saw in her what it was that touched him the first time he’d seen her mother.
Instantly, his eyes hardened, and he knew what he had to do. He couldn’t afford to start having any feelings now. He had a lesson to teach Mr. Stark. Word had already circulated in the underworld about Cricket. He’d made sure of that. They knew she was family to Bane. She was supposed to be untouchable and Stark had put out a contract on her anyway.
When Bane had found out about it, he had called Stark personally. S
tark laughed and told him if he wanted the contract he would give him a shot at the girl. All he really wanted was her dead. Even when Bane explained, he was after the wrong woman, Stark told him he didn’t care. He spent four long years in jail over the deal and he wanted blood. He wasn’t particular about whose blood but he wanted blood spilled.
Then Bane told him who he was speaking to and Stark laughed again. Bane felt his rage grow as Stark called him out. Stark told him flat out, he didn’t give a fuck who Bane thought he was, someone would take the contract, and he didn’t care if it was Cordy or Cricket who died in the end.
Bane told him he would take care of it. And he would. The only difference was it was Stark’s blood that would be spilled. Stark and his whole MC. Now he just had to set it up. But before he could move on Stark, he had two more dirt bags to take out.
He set out to track one of the two men still out there. Bane found a clear trail after about a quarter of an hour.
The second man wasn’t making any attempt to hide where he was. He was sitting up against a tree with his gun in his hands.
Bane crept up on the unsuspecting man and studied him for a few minutes.
The man was muttering to himself and Bane learned quite a bit about the man while he listened to him rant and rave.
Moving closer, the other man wasn’t even aware he was there until he felt the blade on his throat. He dropped the gun immediately and slowly raised his hands in the air.
He couldn’t see Bane but he could hear him as Bane leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “What’s your name, Dumbass?”
The man swallowed heavily. “Crank.”
“Okay, Crank…I can and will kill you if you don’t answer my questions in a timely manner. I will also know if you lie to me so the question you have to ask yourself is, is Stark really worth it? Is your life really worth the task he sent you here for?”
“I already know it isn’t,” Crank told him.
“Oh, how do you figure that?”
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