Page 15 of Inglorious (Unwanted Bastards MC #1)

We headed outside, and the guys headed for their bikes.

Idly, I noted Chuck had his own Harley, which looked pretty fuckin’ nice.

However, I headed for my car with Vortex.

Kya was too young for the back of a bike, and depending on her condition, I might need Vortex to sit with her.

Plus, I hadn’t had a chance to visit a dealership yet.

Psych’s Harley belonged to me, but it was too high for me to ride.

We rode out and followed Vortex to a section of Black Hawk that had been deemed incredibly dangerous.

As I parked outside a rough-looking house, I shook my head.

I got out and stared at it. This part of Black Hawk was known as Hideaway Hills and had a massive problem with sinkholes.

The fact that Kya was here rang alarm bells because it was so dangerous.

“Did you know Manda was living here?” I asked Chill.

“No, last I knew, Manda lived in Summerset,” Chill answered me.

“Guess she’s downgraded. Fuck, this area isn’t safe,” I murmured.

“Manda’s gotta have lost her house in Summerset. She was paying a mortgage on one,” Chill stated.

“Are we going to chat shit or get Kya?” Vortex demanded.

“Let’s get her,” I replied, noting how on edge Vortex was. Child abuse was a trigger for many of the Unwanted Bastards.

We headed up the path, and I noted curtains twitching in the neighbourhood houses. Before Vortex could kick the door in, I tried the handle, and it opened. Inside was deathly silent, and a smell wafted from the house, which made me cringe.

“Shit. Chill, Vortex, Inglorious, find Kya and get her out of here. Chuck, you’re with me,” I said and entered, breathing through my mouth. The stench was indescribable, but body odour, rotten food, and stifling air were part of it.

Manda was in the living room, topless, wearing a dirty white bra that looked grey, a pair of unzipped shorts and her hair greasy and lank. She was snoring and had no idea we were present.

“Nanci,” Vortex said quietly. I turned from where I’d been standing and staring at Manda and hissed.

Inglorious held Kya, and you wouldn’t recognise her as a child.

Kya was dangerously thin; her hair was shorn and cut roughly, covered in bruises, and she was deathly pale. She lay listlessly in Vortex’s arms.

“Get Kya to Doc right now,” I ordered, and they nodded.

Vortex would take my car, and Chill would follow him.

“That cunt,” Inglorious seethed as I picked up a needle between two fingers. It was filled with a brown liquid, probably heroin.

“Kya’s in a bad way,” I muttered, looking at the needle and then at Manda. “That bitch doesn’t deserve to live.”

“I’ll do it,” Inglorious said, and I shook my head.

“This is on me, I’m president,” I murmured. Was I really contemplating taking Manda’s life?

“Have you ever killed?” Chuck asked as he placed his hand over mine.

“No.”

“Let me or Inglorious do this,” Chuck offered. “We’ll call the cops and explain what we found. She’ll be dead, and with the state of her, we can say we didn’t find her in time. The police won’t look too deeply into this. Bitch will just be another junkie overdose.”

Chuck had a point, but I shook my head.

“I’m president.” I approached Manda, and Chuck held her arm out.

Track marks were everywhere alongside bruises. Manda was that pale her veins stood out. I didn’t hesitate and pushed the needle in and quickly inserted the drug. A couple of minutes later, Manda spasmed, and Chuck nodded.

“Call nine-one-one. If we leave, the cops will have questions. It’s no lie to say we discovered her in this state,” I said.

“Nanci…” Inglorious began.

“Do it!” I snapped shrilly and strode away. This moment would stay with me forever. I’d just taken someone’s life. Albeit it was a cunt who was abusing and neglecting a child, but even so, it had been a living person.

Quickly, I walked outside and drew in several deep breaths of air. The squalor was terrible, and that stench would take a long time to fade. It felt as if it was burned into my nostrils.

“She dead?” a woman demanded, and I turned. An older lady stood in front of me.

“Yeah.”

“You took the kid?”

“One of my men had custody. We’ve been looking for Kya,” I lied.

“Kya needs help. She’s in danger,” the neighbour pressed.

“We’ve a doctor back at our clubhouse. Kya will be cared for. Here, this is the clubhouse address. Give it a couple of weeks and you can come and visit her. She’ll be a lot better looked after when you next see her,” I said.

The woman stared dubiously at me. “I’m still reporting this.”

“Go ahead. We welcome any input that child services might have. Honestly, I’ve a bad feeling Kya may need therapy.” A cop car turned the corner, and I nodded to it. “There’s the police.”

“Oh, you called them?” the woman asked, surprised.

“Yeah. We’re legit, hon. We found Manda overdosed inside and got Kya out immediately. No kid needs to see their parent dead, even if they’re a piece of shit,” I replied.

Without another word, I headed towards the black and white parking up and greeted the officers. Deftly, I quickly described the situation, claiming Manda had kidnapped Kya from her legal guardian and we’d been searching for her.

Inglorious showed the official documents, and then we explained that when we arrived that the door had been open and Manda had been dead inside.

The cop looked dubious at first. But when he went inside and came back out moments later, wrinkling his nose and gagging, he bought into our story a lot more.

The officer took our names and addresses, and we gave a brief statement repeating what we’d said, and he released us.

Saddened, I climbed up behind Chuck, much to Inglorious’s consternation. I could see that irritated him, but Inglorious didn’t comment. As soon as we hit the clubhouse, Inglorious disappeared towards the clinic without saying a word.

“Guess we’ve got a joint secret now,” I murmured to Chuck as I dismounted.

“Yup, we’ll both do time for that,” Chuck replied.

“You don’t need to prospect. Chuck, you understand that, right?”

“So, you mentioned. What would my road name be?” Chuck asked as we headed in the clinic’s direction.

I bit my lip as I considered Chuck’s question. “Sabre. You have an amazing sword on your bike surrounded by flames. Sabre suits you.”

“Do I need to sign any paperwork?”

A laugh escaped me. “No. We order your cut and patch, and welcome you with a cookout and a party.”

“Count me in. Slim and I didn’t get on. I blamed him for judging me. But Slim left me something, a legacy, and I can honour that.”

“If Slim had known—”

“Oh, Slim learned the truth, as I explained. Slim tried to make amends, but anger is a thing often regretted at leisure. If I could go back and accept his visits, I would, but it’s too late, and all I have left of Slim is this.

Order my cut, Nanci. Seriously, I’d be honoured to be a member of the Unwanted Bastards.

And I want to put roots down.” “You joining us means a lot. Slim would be proud of you,” I replied, stopping and holding his gaze.

“Just like your brother would be of you,” Sabre said, and I nodded.

“They’ll never be forgotten. Rapid City will always know their names,” I stated.

“Damn straight! Let’s see how the kiddo is.”

“Kya. Her name is Kya.”

“Is Kya the first kid the club had?” Sabre asked as we headed towards the clinic.

“Yes, which is why I’m so furious Inglorious lost track of her and didn’t fight for her. Kya should have been safe here. Instead, who knows what that drugged-up whore did to her?” I responded bitterly.

I hated the fact that Kya might have been damaged by what happened. It was an awful thought. A tiny voice nagged, saying there was always hope, but deep down I knew it was futile. Hope was a dead thing where Kya was concerned.

We entered the clinic, and Chill pointed us towards the examination room. Vortex, Razor, King, and Moon were all present, and Hercules paced a corridor. I guessed Inglorious was inside with Kya.

“Go in,” Chill said to me.

Sabre took a seat.

“Sabre has agreed to join us and rebuild the club,” I said as I passed them. Several of those present offered congratulations, but I knew everyone’s mind was focused on Kya and what she needed.

I quietly opened the door and met a huge pair of bright green eyes. Kya stared at me listlessly. I smiled, which elicited no response at all. Worried, I turned to Doc and Inglorious.

“How is she?”

“Kya is malnourished, dehydrated, covered in bruises, and has a water infection. Her left arm is also broken. I’ll be potting it soon, I’m just waiting on her X-ray so I can set it correctly. And Kya’s got a bad cut on her leg, which is infected,” Doc Paul said.

He was placing a bag of fluid onto a stand as he spoke. I glanced at Kya’s hand and noted she had a needle inserted.

“Does Kya need a hospital?”

“No. I can pot her arm and manage the other conditions here. Kya also has nits and needs her hair shampooing. Poor thing is covered in flea bites, too.”

I ground my teeth together. Well, that explained Kya’s shorn hair.

What a cunt Manda was. How could Manda treat her daughter like that?

What type of monster was she? A dead one, for sure.

A huge part of me nagged that Manda had got off too easily.

And I was in full agreement. Manda hadn’t suffered anywhere near enough.