Page 4

CHAPTER

THREE

Brick

Once everyone sees that there’s no immediate threat, the guns that came flying out are tucked away as I focus on Voodoo. “Where do we have to go?” I’m wondering if I can legally drive, but then realize it doesn’t matter, if someone’s in danger or needs help, my brothers and I will go one way or another.

“Your ol’ lady needs you.”

Having just taken a sip of my beer, I feel it spewing across the table at his words. “I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?” Maybe I drank more than I thought. Because I could swear he just said…

“Your ol’ lady needs you,” he states.

“Brother, no offense, but I don’t have an ol’ lady,” I retort.

“I’ll fill you in, Brick, but no fucking lie, we gotta go. She’s in danger.”

Shrugging, I stand while looking at Banshee. “I got it, Brother,” he says in response to me. We’ve been together so long, he knows what I’m asking for without me uttering the words. “May wanna take a few brothers just to be on the safe side, especially if there’s danger involved.”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Venom advises. “We don’t know the area and with that fucking wet shit coming from the sky, gonna need cages.” He growls out that word as I hide my smirk. We’re used to snow, so most of us have trucks equipped to deal with the uncertainty of living in the mountains.

“Gotta go, Brick,” Voodoo says, his voice conveying an urgency that has increased since he first spoke.

“Alright. My truck’s right out front. You have an idea where I’m supposed to go?” I ask.

“If I describe an area, hopefully you’ll know where I’m talking about,” he replies.

“Listen up,” Banshee yells, shutting the noise completely down. “Need a few Roanoke brothers to ride with Brick and the Ankeny brothers to watch their backs. Anyone else wants to go, we’ve got enough cages, but I’m gonna need some to stay here since we don’t know what’s going on right now.”

I nod in agreement, glad that he didn’t share too much since we’ve got club whores as well as some of their friends in attendance tonight. I don’t want our clubhouse left unprotected, especially since we’ve got the National president on the premises.

As Banshee and Brew organize the brothers who are going to stay, Voodoo and Angel follow me out to my second girl, Jet, a deep black four-wheel-drive dually with a light bar mounted on the roof. “Haven’t seen one of those before,” Voodoo says, pointing to the light bar as we all get into the truck.

“It gets pitch dark out here at night and with the wildlife, it made sense to have something extra when out and about on these roads. Makes sense if we’re looking for someone, it’ll be handy as well,” I reply, cranking Jet up. “Now, what area did you see?”

“Dirt road, deep ditches on both sides, what looked like pine trees. Small cabin, maybe a hunting shack?” he states.

“I may have an idea,” I advise, putting the truck in gear then pulling out of the parking lot once the gate opens. I notice several other vehicles following behind me. “Looks like we’ve got quite a crew. Not as impressive as if we were on our bikes, but hell, even my most diehard brother pulls out his truck keys in this shit.”

“Hurry, Brick.”

I pick up speed, grateful that Jet was recently serviced at our shop and she’s ready to handle any weather. “Can you give me more information? You said she was my ol’ lady, but I’m not even in the market for one of them, Brother.”

“Got a call from my grandmother while we were headed here. Seems whoever this woman is, her situation is dire enough that one of her loved ones came through the veil and woke my grandmé up.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. Anyone who’s anyone at all knows of Madame Laveaux’s abilities. “So, if Angel’s with us, that mean she’s hurt?” I inquire, turning down another road that quickly goes from asphalt to dirt and gravel.

“Yeah, Brother, which is why time is of the essence.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chant while activating the light bar, which illuminates not only the road, but also the ditches along each side.

“Damn, Brother, it’s like we’re out here in broad daylight,” Angel says from the back.

I don’t respond; my eyes are busy scouring both sides of the road. Not knowing how long this person has been out here or even what condition she’s in except that she’s injured, my heart rate accelerates. Even if I don’t buy the fact she’s my old lady seeing as I haven’t been searching for one, there’s no way I can not help someone in need, especially a woman.

Any alcohol I consumed earlier has dissipated as my eyes spot a small shape on the left side of the road. Pulling closer, I throw the truck into park then quickly get out and slip and slide my way over to it. “Jesus fucking Christ,” I whisper when I see strands of blonde hair blowing in the wind. Reaching out, I wipe the snow away from her face, fear gripping me as I note that her lips are tinged blue, and she hasn’t moved as much as an inch since I approached.

“Get her in the truck!” Voodoo yells. “Angel’s ready.”

I carefully lift her into my arms, her slight form causing me to frown. She can’t weigh more than eighty or ninety pounds. As I make my way back to my truck, the rear passenger door opens with Angel thrusting the blanket I keep back there at me. Between the three of us, we manage to wrap her in the blanket then Angel takes her into his arms as I close the door then get back into the driver’s seat.

“Are you able to wait until we get back?” Voodoo asks Angel. I see him shake his head in the rearview mirror and my heart plummets. “Then do what you’ve gotta do, we’ll take care of you.”

At my look, he says, “This will wipe Angel out, causing him to fall into a deep sleep. I want him to know that since he can’t wait to work on her until we’re safely back at your clubhouse, we’ll be sure to keep watch over him.”

“Absofuckinglutely,” I growl out before connecting my Bluetooth to Banshee. When he answers, I state, “We’re coming in from the side, Brother. Gonna need you, Brew, Scythe to help us get her to my room, while Kracken and Rooster watch the hall. No one comes down there without my say-so.”

“Got it, Pres. I take it you found what you were looking for.”

Glancing back at Angel to see him with his eyes closed as he continues to do whatever it is he does to the unknown woman, I reply, “Yeah, she’s in bad shape, Brother. Hoping we weren’t too late.”

“I’ll get everyone in place and see if the brothers who are with the club whores can take their fun to their rooms until y’all get back and get her settled.”

“Appreciate it, Ban. See you in five.”

Disconnecting the call, I notice Voodoo has a smirk on his face. “What’s funny?” I question, anger causing my voice to turn raspier than normal.

“You really think you’d get an ol’ lady just to have her snatched away like that?” he retorts. “Not how it works, Brother.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. “You’ve said that multiple times, Brother, but I’m not in the market for an ol’ lady. The sweetbutts take care of that itch just fine. Too busy to deal with the dramatics of having a woman around twenty-four-seven.”

My declaration has him laughing so hard that as I pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse and maneuver over to the side entrance, he’s doubled over nearly wheezing. “Glad you think this is funny,” I huff out, putting the truck into park then hurrying out and around to Angel’s side. “I got her,” I murmur when he won’t let go.

“Not done yet, Brother,” he replies as he carefully gets out of the truck, the blonde wrapped up like a burrito snug in his arms.

“Then let me get you into the clubhouse and to my room,” I reply.

Only the officers have keys to get into the side entrance, although everyone can exit from there. As we make our way inside, I see Banshee did what I asked and there’s a wall of Royal Bastards at the end of the hallway not letting anyone down. Quickly unlocking the door to my suite, I open it so Angel can get inside with the girl.

“Should I turn on my heated mattress pad?” Voodoo snickers but nods. “Listen, fucker, it gets cold around here at times and even with a generator, if the power goes out, I’m gonna be warm.” Because I’ve got another, smaller generator for my room in the event that happens. All of the brothers do, actually. It’s something the originals decided was needed and while it isn’t an annual event where we lose power for any length of time, we’ve availed ourselves of the back-up generators a few times.

Angel unwraps her from the blanket once he has her settled on my bed. Seeing her covered in dried blood, her clothes ripped and torn, with obvious bruises everywhere skin is exposed has my anger ramping up again. “Who the fuck could hurt someone so small and fragile?” I ask, my fists clenching and unclenching.

“A dead motherfucker,” Banshee says, walking into my room. “Do we need to call Doc?” he asks, looking down at our unconscious guest.

“No,” Voodoo emphatically states. “May want to get someone you trust to come in and clean her up though or she’s going to have questions when she wakes up. You good, Brother?” he asks Angel who appears to sway unsteadily on his feet.

“Yeah, almost done. Fuck, it’s a damn miracle that she’s still breathing,” Angel quietly says, his focus and concentration solely on the tiny woman taking up minimal real estate on my big-ass bed.

“Ban, send everyone back to the party. No sense in all of us being tied up, we’ve got more than enough reason to celebrate. I’ll stay with her, and I’m sure Voodoo, Phoenix, and Venom will watch over Angel once he’s done.”

“If you need one of us, holler,” Banshee replies. “Otherwise, I’m going to make sure everyone’s behaving but having fun.”

Chuckling, I wave him away as I mentally think of who could possibly be trusted enough to help me take care of her.

“You’re going to do it yourself, aren’t you?” Voodoo asks, smirking at me.

Nodding, I reply, “We don’t have any ol’ ladies around here now that some of the old timers have retired and moved away. I sure as fuck ain’t gonna trust the club whores to clean her up. Right now, I’m wishing some of y’all had brought your women.” At that, he laughs out loud.

“Yeah, no. While ours trust us, they had no desire to hang out in bedrooms while club whores were prancing around all the men.”

“Gotcha. I can respect that fact, especially, since I suspect the single guys are going to party harder than usual. Your ol’ ladies don’t need to see that shit. Well, it’ll be me cleaning her up then. She’s tiny enough it shouldn’t take too long. Jesus, Angel, warn a brother when you’re gonna do that shit!” I mutter when Angel practically falls out at my feet. Thankfully, my reflexes are good, so he didn’t faceplant, but still, I could’ve been better prepared.

“Let me get Venom in here so we can get him to his room. Your woman should be just fine, but she’s likely going to sleep for some time. I don’t claim to fully understand what all he does, just know that if something was wrong, what he did should have fixed it.”

I nod, focusing on keeping myself and Angel upright at this point. Dead weight is just that, dead weight, and Angel sure as fuck isn’t a lightweight by any means. “Once she wakes up, I plan to find out who the fuck did this to her so they can pay the piper.”

“I’m sure there’ll be a few other brothers willing to assist you there,” he replies, slipping his phone back into his back pocket. “Venom’s on his way. He’s a heavy fucker, ain’t he?” he asks, pointing to Angel. “You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but I’ve been where you’re at a few times. Gotta wonder if it’s all the shit he takes on from those he helps. Guess I could always ask my grandmother.”

“You plan to call and let her know we found the girl?” I question.

“She probably already knows, but yeah, once I get Angel sorted, I’ll give her a call.”

“Little one, I’m sorry I can’t give you the privacy you deserve,” I murmur, as I carefully begin to remove what’s left of her clothing. I may be hardened to blood and gore, but seeing her, so tiny and defenseless, covered in bruises, gashes, and cuts, has me feeling murderous for reasons I’m not ready to examine.

She’s obviously been malnourished; I can count her ribs, and every joint bone is protruding. She’s emaciated. I wince when I see the boot print bruise across her ribcage. She was wheezing pretty badly when I first picked her up, but whatever Angel did seems to have fixed that issue. Even as I watch, I see the evidence of further healing; the bruises are still quite dark, and the cuts are obvious, but they’ve stopped oozing blood.

“How on earth could someone do this to another human being?” I whisper, my gaze briefly moving down her body while I catalog each and every injury she sustained. I note that some scars appear old as opposed to the fresh red lines. “When you wake up, I will find out who did this to you. They’re going to pay,” I quietly vow to the unconscious woman who has captivated me. Anger courses through me at what she’s endured, which obviously started long before this latest beating.

She’s so filthy, I briefly wonder whether or not she had access to a shower then realize in the big scheme of things, it truly doesn’t matter. Because I know she’ll feel better once she’s clean, I start out with a bowl of water, a bar of soap, and a rag, but there is so much dried blood as well as dirt, it’s impossible.

So, I covered her up, drew a warm bath, carried her into the bathroom and have been studiously avoiding looking at anything other than her face, using my hands and the washcloth to gently wipe all the blood and grime away. I’ve already had to empty the tub twice. The first time it was a disgusting shade of gray tinged in red. The second time, it wasn’t quite as bad, but I washed her hair, so the water was crimson by the time I was finished. This last time, as I wash her once more, it’s more what I would consider normal. Still, the sight of so much marred skin on a body so small has my blood almost to the boiling point.

“Death might be too good for them, little one. Perhaps a bit of reciprocation? I’ll think about it but first, I need to get you out of here then back to bed so you can heal.”

Taking the handheld showerhead, I turn the water on, adjust the temperature, then quickly rinse her off before grabbing the towel I’ve had on the warming bar and wrapping her inside. She never makes so much as a sound. If Voodoo hadn’t warned me that she’d sleep like this, I’d be concerned, but instead, I’m glad she’s not awake to realize that a stranger has seen her like this, injured and exposed. As I wrap her securely in my arms to take her into the bedroom, I look down and notice a ring of dirt lining the tub, angering me further than I already am. How long had she been neglected? Refusing to allow her to wake up and see the ire on my face, I revert my attention and place it solely on her and continue with the task at hand.

Once I have her dried off, I slip a pair of sweats on her even though they dwarf her tiny frame. My socks are the same way, but I figure it’s better that she's warm, so fashion isn’t important nor a necessity, right now. I probably could ask one of my smaller brothers for a pair of sweats, but feel extremely territorial over her. Seeing her in my clothes, in my bed, has something strange and foreign flowing through me. Something I don’t want to define or even look at right now. Tucking her in, I smooth the hair away from her face. “I know you’ll have questions when you wake up, but we do as well, Sprite. Just know that you’re safe now, no one will ever hurt you again. Not as long as I’m around.”