Page 15

“Bones, go. I got this. You just make sure that son of a bitch knows to stay away from her and gets the lesson he deserves,” he snarled.

Like us, Dimitri, Soren, and Thoryn had the same outlook on abusers like Deon.

It was one of many things that made me think they’d make the cut and eventually become brothers.

I slapped his back, grinned so he knew I would, and left.

I walked over to the clubhouse. The men were all gathered there, even those who weren’t going.

They wanted to see us off, and I bet they’d still be here when we returned to find out how it went.

It didn’t matter that they had to get up and work in a few hours.

It didn’t matter to those of us who were going.

Sleep deprivation happened occasionally, and we were well used to it.

As a doctor, God knows I was accustomed to it after medical school and my early years in practice.

It was decided in church that five guys would be enough, much to the brothers’ disappointment.

Everyone wanted to go and get a piece of the motherfucker.

The lucky five were me, Hulk, Agony, Lethal, and Wire.

It took some debate before the final names were chosen.

Agony would always have priority if he insisted, which he did sometimes, as he did tonight.

Hulk as the enforcer made sense. Everyone knew I wanted time with the motherfucker.

Lethal was chosen as a solid man to have.

Wire had a technical reason for going, even though he was more than capable and willing to get his hands dirty.

We were going in a black van that Thoryn would drive to reduce noise and the chance of being seen.

Our bikes would announce to the whole neighborhood we were there, so they had to stay home.

Riding up on our bikes would be fun and probably scare the shit out of Morton, but it wasn’t the smart way.

Thoryn would be a lookout and ready to get us out of there if we ran into witnesses.

Telling the others we’d be back soon, we loaded up, and off we went. Agony rode up front with Thoryn. There was room in the back of the van for us to have a seat rather than sit on our asses on the hard floor. We’d done both, but this was preferable.

“Was she asleep when you left Dimitri there?” Hulk asked.

I’d told them in church that I wasn’t telling Blythe what we planned to do.

She’d object out of fear that we’d get caught or that it’d cause us trouble.

The woman worried about everyone else. The ride wasn’t long, but it felt longer due to my eagerness to arrive.

Hulk had done recon with Pyro, Knight, and Pope.

All of them, except Hulk, had been in the military.

They found the perfect spot to drop us off with the least chance of being seen and for Thoryn to wait.

There was a field behind the trees that backed up to Deon’s house.

He lived in town, but on the outer edge of it.

The field was owned by an elderly gentleman who didn’t often go out there.

Wire discovered it for us. There was a dirt road we could drive on, keeping the van out of sight from the main road.

A short hike through the trees and voilà, we were in Deon’s backyard.

Climbing out, we were armed with our usual handguns only.

There was no need to go in packing an arsenal.

Sometimes, we did, but this wasn’t the case.

We’d added to the unlikelihood of being seen, even if someone looked out a window at the wrong time.

He did have neighbors on either side of him.

Each of us was dressed from head to toe in black.

Our cuts were left at the compound. I felt naked without mine.

We crept through the trees. They weren’t so thick you couldn’t walk, but they provided good cover. When we reached his backyard, we paused to scan our surroundings first. The houses before us and off to each side were dark. Everyone appeared to be asleep.

“The backdoor, I need sixty seconds, and then you can pick it,” Wire whispered.

He had one of his babies in his hand. He used it to hook up to the outdoor electrical box.

Whatever he did would tap into Deon’s security system and allow him to enter the security alarm code, so it would never sound.

I had the code from when we packed up Blythe’s belongings.

Once he gave us the all-clear, I’d unlock the door using the key I filched from Blythe’s room.

If he’d changed the locks, which we doubted he’d do, then Lethal would pick them.

The other hope was that he hadn’t changed the alarm code.

Stealthily, in a crouch, we hustled to the house. Wire got to work, and fifty-four seconds later, he called out, “Clear.”

I inserted the key, took a breath, and then turned it.

The deadbolt slid back. I eased the door open.

No alarm sounded. I pushed it wider, allowing us to slip inside.

Being here with Blythe allowed Hulk and me to learn the layout.

We’d sketched the layout for the others in church.

Hulk and I navigated through the rooms to the owner’s bedroom with the other three on our heels.

One small penlight was enough to see by.

When we reached it, the light was turned off.

Hulk put his ear to the door, listened, and then nodded.

He held up his fist. When the third finger went up, he turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

Like downstairs, we opened it only far enough to get inside.

We didn’t bother to close this door behind us.

The faint streetlight coming through the blind outlined the bed.

I saw the mound on the left side, under the covers.

There was a faint snoring sound coming from it.

Agony was the one to take up position next to Deon’s head.

I was next to him. On the other side of the bed were Hulk and Lethal.

Wire had broken off from us downstairs. Since he wasn’t a part of this, we left him to do whatever he intended.

Agony leaned over Deon. In addition to our dark clothes and gloves, we’d worn full ski masks to disguise ourselves and leave no prints behind. Only our eyes and mouths were visible.

“Deon,” Pres whispered.

As the guy’s eyes flew open, Agony slapped his gloved hand over his mouth to prevent him from yelling and being heard, however unlikely it was. Hulk got on the bed and placed his knife against Deon’s throat.

“I’m taking my hand away so you can answer, but if you scream, my friend here will slit your throat. Do you understand?” Agony hissed.

Deon froze for a few moments, but when Hulk pressed his knife harder, he nodded carefully.

“Good,” Agony said as he lifted his hand. That was the signal for Lethal to turn on the bedside lamp. It gave us more light to see the asshole by. It would help us determine if he took us seriously and would comply.

“Wh-who are you? What do you want?” Deon asked. There was a quiver in his voice. Good, he was scared.

“I think you can guess what we want. Who we are isn’t important,” Agony told him. Deon scanned the figures circling his bed.

“Take whatever you want. There’s money in the closet in the safe. I’ll give you the combination. Take it all. Just don’t hurt me,” he pleaded.

Agony glanced at me and nodded before he moved away to allow me to take his spot. I stared at the man whom I detested and wanted to beat within an inch of his life. When I looked at him, all I saw was Blythe and the bruises on her body.

“We’re not here to rob you, asshole. We’re here to leave you with a warning and a lesson.” I paused.

“Warn me about what? A lesson?” he asked.

“It’s been brought to our attention by concerned citizens that you’ve been a very bad boy, Deon.

You tricked a woman into being your girlfriend by making her think you loved her and wanted a relationship.

You got her to move into your house when she fell for you.

She had no idea you were sabotaging her birth control and your condoms to get her pregnant.

When she did get pregnant, you became controlling, forced her to quit her job, give up her friends, and wanted her to be where you could see and control her.

When she dared to go to lunch with an old friend, you beat her, leaving her bruised and hurting.

She had to be taken to the hospital after she escaped you. ”

Repeating it made me even angrier, but I wanted him to know that we were aware of everything he had done. His eyes widened, and he tried to defend himself when I was done. And with someone like him, that consisted of lies and fake concern, like he did at the ER.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I leaned closer as I hissed, “Blythe.”

“Listen, I don’t know what tale she’s telling people, but I didn’t do any of those things.

Yes, she’s my girlfriend. We live together.

One day last week, I came home, and she was gone.

I had no clue where she was. When I found her, she was at the hospital in Cherokee.

No one would allow me to see her or tell me if she or our baby was alright.

She’s off her medication. She’s schizophrenic.

Wait, I know who you are. You’re those bikers who were at the hospital,” Deon said, frowning.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about. What bikers? We’re concerned citizens who don’t want people like you in our town. Abusers and sexual predators aren’t welcome,” Hulk informed him.

“I’m not a sexual predator,” Deon protested.

“Like hell, you’re not. You stalked her without her knowledge to learn about her, and then you used stealthing and reproductive coercion with the birth control pills,” I snapped.

He wisely didn’t deny it. After a few tense moments, he asked, “What is it you want me to do? I can see that nothing I say will convince you. Say what you came to say and then leave.” He sounded a little ballsy now.

“You’ll forget you ever met Blythe. You’ll stay far away and never darken her life again.

That means no stalking or bothering her at her home or work.

If you see her in public, you turn and walk the other way.

Even better, you should consider moving to another state.

The further away you are, the better,” I informed him.

“My work is here. I can’t just up and leave. And this house is my home,” he declared.

“Ask us if we care?” Agony insisted.

“Fine, I’ll stay away. But you give her a message for me.”

“What message?” I growled.

“That she can leave me and send goons here to scare me, but she can’t deny me what’s mine.”

“What’s yours?” Lethal asked.

“That baby she’s carrying. No matter what she says, that child is mine, and she won’t keep it from me. She can expect a call from my lawyer, and when this baby is born, I’m not going to be excluded from its life,” Deon said, smirking.

“Idiot, did you think that you could beat her the way you did and it not have consequences?” I asked incredulously. I thought he would make this threat and had my speech ready.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“She was in the ER the night we were told you showed up looking for her. She was there because she was having stomach pains. The doctors worked on her, and they tried their best, but they couldn’t prevent her from miscarrying.

There is no baby, thanks to you. If you wanted it, you should’ve never beaten her.

The only good thing about the miscarriage is that there goes your last tie to Blythe.

There’s no reason for you to have any contact with her.

” I poured every ounce of conviction and sorrow I could into it.

I wasn’t sure if he’d believe it, but I had to try.

“I-I don’t believe you,” he said. His face had gone pale.

“Don’t believe us. Ask the doctor who took care of her in the hospital,” Hulk said.

“That one who tried to throw me out. What was his name… Phoenix?” Deon muttered.

“I think that’s his name. Ask to speak to him if you don’t believe us. However, we’re through talking about this. We have one more thing to do before we leave,” I added.

“What?”

“The lesson we mentioned. You didn’t think this was a speech-and-go kind of thing, did you?” Agony asked before he punched him in the face. That was the signal for the rest of us to commence with the ass whipping.

As we rained down blow after blow all over his body, and he writhed and fought to block us and even throw a few punches of his own, I held back.

The reason was that, as much as I wanted to kill him and be done with it, we’d do it the way Agony told us.

As horrible as what Deon did to Blythe was, it wasn’t enough to kill him.

However, if he didn’t stay away or he tried to hurt her in any other way, all restraint was off.

We’d discussed it at the club and agreed to give him a chance to learn and grow. If it failed, he was done.

After he was beaten bloody and lay there moaning and curled in the fetal position, we prepared to leave. Before I walked out the door, I left him with the final warning.

“Come near her again or do what you did to her to another woman, and you won’t be beaten to a pulp. You’ll be dead.”

He groaned pitifully, but I had no empathy in me. We left the house the same way we entered. After we got in the van and Thoryn drove off, I looked at Wire.

“Did you get what you wanted?”

He smiled. “I did.”

“You’re spying on him, aren’t you?” Lethal asked.

“You bet your ass I am. I’ll know if he plans anything or tells someone about it, via email, or whatever. It’s easier to do this than hack him. He’ll never know I was in his shit. I got to his computers and cell phone.”

I sat back and listened to them chat about what a prick and how much of a pussy Deon was. I prayed this would be the end of him in Blythe’s life. She deserved to be free.