Page 23 of Running Free
As both men approach us, I’m watching their every move. When the one named Noah steps toward me, hand out, I look at it for a while before I extend mine.
“Hey, Noah. Take it your ex-military, right? Your stance, man, it’s written all over you. I’m working with a special unit that’s been after the Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood for a long period of time. Quietly they have been trying to infiltrate each smaller compound or section across the United States. When their father approached Samson with his harebrained idea, I knew it was a way to slowly make my way in deep. I pulled Matt in with me ’cause I knew he wanted to get out of that cult and start a new life.”
We hear someone chuckle and it’s the old man.
“None of you are prepared for what is coming. You assholes think that by taking down one small section of the Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood you’re making progress. There are so many of them in every single goddamn state. There aren’t enough of you good-doers to stop their progress. That’s why I hooked my star to them. Together we can and will rule the world. Just watch and see. So, keep playing with each other, your time is coming real soon. That is as soon as the brotherhood arrives.”
I lean down to Dottie, whispering in her ear though loud enough for Dani to hear too.
“Your ole’ man is crazy, ain’t he? Like this ‘cult’ of bastards will even give two shits if he’s breathin’ or not. They were using him as much as he was tryin’ to use them. Come on, Dani, gonna lift ya and get you down to where Dr. Mal and Yoggie are. Dottie, are you coming too?”
She looks at her sister then me and before I can even figure out what she’s about to do she turns and runs to her father, putting her hands around his neck, getting close in his face. No one goes to stop her, but Dani screams out her name.
“Dottie, he’s not worth it. Karma will get him. We know that’s how this has to work for it to finally end.”
Either Dottie doesn’t hear her sister or is ignoring her because their father is turning blue, trying to shift and move to throw her off of him. Finally, it’s Panther who gently moves behind Dottie, putting his hands on her arms, whispering in her ear. Whatever he says she turns to look at him, and it’s like she is seeing something through his touch, I don’t fucking know. The way she is staring at him is eerie to say the least. Then when her father is starting to foam at the mouth, she releases him as Panther lifts her up onto her feet. She turns and falls into his chest, sobbing. I jump up and shove my way to her, pulling her into my chest as Dani limps her way to us. My arms are around the both of them as I shoot off a prayer that this too will pass.Then reaching down, I lift Dani and, with Dottie on my heels, I make my way back to the room holding their family and the medical help Dani so desperately needs.
Rubbing my hands through my hair, I’m watching as Dottie paces back and forth watching not only Dr. Mal and Yoggie, but a few of her club sisters working on her mother and siblings. They are in really bad shape and Glory put a call out to Tink to reach out to Tank to see if he can get some transportation here to get them to a hospital. So far, the brotherhood hasn’t made an appearance, which is kind of shocking as they were expected. Unless like Panther stated a bit ago, maybe they have inside information. A mole somewhere who warned them about coming in hot with all of us here. Most of the Devil’s Handmaidens women are helping the victims who were found in these rooms. They are starting to realize and comprehend how truly lucky they are. Because if the brotherhood had gotten here first, all these folks would be transferred into a new living hell. Freak and Raven, along with their drones, are scouting the general area, trying to see if there is a caravan of the brotherhood, which so far shows nothing of the sort.
As we wait to hear back from Tank, both Dottie and Dani are huddled together softly talking on the outer circle of their mother, sister, and brothers. Not sure how that is going to go but at least they now have a chance at life without the monster who was supposed to protect them. I slowly make my way to Dottie, leaning down, hands on her shoulders, placing a kiss on her head then one on her nose. I reach over and softly squeeze Dani’s upper arm. Feeling eyes on me, I turn to see their family watching me. I don’t smile or give any kind of reaction towardthem. I’ll wait to see how the sisters handle the situation with their family. Hearing engines, we all turn to see a travel bus and one of the trucks from the Devils on Wheels garage following close behind. At the end of the line is a huge SUV, which pulls up off to the side and out steps Tank. He makes his way to us, grabbing Dani, lifting her up, and hugging on her.
“Goddamn motherfucker, don’t ever scare me like that again, little one. Momma Diane is losing her mind, so expect some huge hugs from her. You all right?”
As the two talk I walk toward Avalanche, who is standing off to the side watching.
“What are you looking at, dude?”
He looks down at me, his face all serious like.
“Halo, something ain’t right. I don’t know what, but I’m feeling like we’re missing something. Are you getting any weird vibes?”
I take a minute and when my eyes start to look around it dawns on me that some of the guys who were here a bit ago are gone.
“Where did those guys that were hanging with Samson go? I know Samson took off running but they seemed to be hanging around. There were at least two or three more than what’s in that group over there. Maybe they are the leak, Avalanche.”
Looking over my shoulder, I connect with Dottie’s eyes so I motion that I’m going to follow Avalanche. She nods then turns back to her sister and Tank. I think the big guy is onto something, so very carefully I move behind him my AUG SAG swung around my side, ready for action at a split second. Hopefully it’s just the endorphins making Avalanche think he feels something ’cause I’m not wanting a war with all of these innocents around. All we can do is our best, I guess, as Avalanche makes his way to the forest around the property.After ten or fifteen minutes, we turn back to where everyone else was ’cause we didn’t find anything or anyone.
TWENTY-ONE
STORM
DOTTIE
It’s been a long-ass couple of nights. After we found Dani and processed the scene, the drive back to town was long as we were all exhausted. Our mom, sister, and one of our brothers went to the hospital while our other brother, along with Matty, went with Panther and his men to stay there. Avalanche thought it was a better choice since all of the innocents came to the Devil’s Handmaidens ranch. Both Shadow and Panther agreed with Avalanche to keep the victims isolated without men around them. Even Noodles, Panther, Enforcer, and the rest of the men connected to the Devil’s Handmaidens sisters are making themselves scarce. The only men the victims seem to tolerate is our Dr. Mal, for obvious reasons, and not sure why but also Halo. Strange as fuck but I think it’s because they saw him with me and the protective way Halo is with not only me but also Dani. No matter why, it helps that he can be here when I am.
Moving around the cabin, I hear footsteps coming down the hallway slowly. Poor Dani’s feet have been wrapped in gauze since we found her. Dr. Mal said to give it time and to try and stay off of them. Yeah, right, like she’s listening. Though come to think on it, she’s doing a ton of reading and time on her laptop currently. I don’t care what she’s up to as long as, one, I can seeher, and two, she’s starting to process the entire situation. Dani is one who will take it all in, hold on to it, and eventually get around to processing. I worry about her, especially since she had to spend time with our father, which couldn’t be easy. We both did a session together late the other night with the therapist at the sanctuary. I think it went pretty well, we’ll see.
Been talking to our mother since Tink and Noodles put her in one of the older cabins close to the ranch house. She’s in bad shape, but the hospital didn’t keep her. I think, one, because none of my family has health insurance, and two, she just needs time to heal. That and some good nutrition and sleep. From what I’m gathering, our father was a total prick. He was forcing our mother and sister into prostitution whenever the brotherhood would visit. Matty, Mark, and Josiah have been, in their own ways, trying to protect our mother and sister, which obviously wasn’t working too well. Dani and I have been trying to catch up with our family, though it’s tough. Our mother, even though he almost killed her by letting men beat and rape her, she’s so friggin’ brainwashed, she is still trying to protect our father. What the fuck is wrong with her? I thank God that neither Dani nor I are like her. Esther I worry about, though being away from him seems to be helping her. We will see.
I’m walking to Halo’s cabin to check in on him. He’s been working a lot with Avalanche lately, so I’ve not seen a lot of him because he’s spending time at Panther’s ranch. I know Ollie wants Halo back to help build the additional cabins, so he’s in high demand. Well, I want some of him too, so I’m doing a sneak attack. Making my way down to his cabin, when I get there, he’s sitting on the porch, head in his hands, elbows on top of his knees. My eyes can see how exhausted he looks. When he hears the crunch of my boots on the gravel his head lifts, and the smile that shows up on his face makes my heart flip in my chest and a smile instantly appears on my face. Shit, I’m so falling for—nopeI’ve fallen for him—there’s no doubt in my mind. Halo stands and extends his hands to me. I’m glad I followed my instincts by coming down here ’cause he looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Hey, Benji, you okay? You look so overwhelmed and tired. Two ears, no waiting, if you want to talk about it.”
He pulls one hand from mine and I lean back to watch him swipe his hand over his head then run his fingers through that long blond hair. I catch my breath because he’s gorgeous.
“Dottie, have you ever felt like you didn’t know what to do next with your life? Like no matter how hard you try, life keeps kicking you down? I’m bone-tired and now have some important decisions to make. I want, no need, you to help me because—well—just because.”
Something about how he finishes that has me really looking at him. Something has him fucked in the head, but if he won’t tell me I can’t help him. I use my free hand to cup his cheek, which he immediately leans into, like always. His eyes shut and I can instantly see the stress and tenseness leaving his face. Aww, my poor Benji is tied up in knots. I get it, as my thoughts drift to just the other day. I was feeling probably the same way until, leave it to my sister Taz to read what was going on. She came by the bar and grill with a burlap sack of “goodies” as she calls them. I got some crystals that should help me with clarity and some sage to burn. Oh, and Teddie with the help of Mickie colored me a picture, which freaked me out for a quick second. It was our cabin, Dani’s and mine, with four people in front and two dogs. The two women looked to be Dani and me, though the man next to Dani I didn’t recognize. But when I looked at the one next to me, I choked on a swallow. It was a tall man with yellow hair, but what had me blinking like crazy was the halo above his head. I looked to Taz, who had her eyes to her son Teddy. His eyes were locked on mine with a tiny smile across his face. Heleaned into me pointing at the picture, which I took another look at and almost passed out. Both my sister and I had rings on our wedding finger.How, what, and whenwere the thoughts going through my head as Teddy cleared his throat then he dropped his bomb.
“Aunt Dottie, you have to be patient. Love doesn’t happen overnight.”
He shifted and made his way to his little sister, Mickie, who was crawling on the floor. Taz was giggling and I was starting to panic. Until my sister pulled me into a hug, telling me everything was going to be all right; she’d seen it in her cards. Now, since I’ve had some time since that strange as shit day, it dawns on me that little Teddy and Taz already know how this is heading because of whatever it is that separates them from other normal people.
Cupping Benji’s cheek, we just enjoy the outdoor peace and quiet for a few more minutes, then I sit next to him, my hand now resting on his knee. He pulls me in close, keeping his arm around me, hand squeezing my shoulder and arm. I’m content but need to make sure he is too.
“Hey, Benji, be honest with me. You okay? I mean right at this moment not for the rest of your life. We don’t have control over that but we do have it for this instance. So, tell me, are you good”
Those dark eyes that still hold some secrets are searching my eyes right back. I give him a grin, which he returns, as the light in his eyes shines brighter. Without words Benji leans into me, his lips touching mine, letting me know he’s all right, which is way good enough for me. I mean, that’s all we can ask for in our lives, right? Holding his face I kiss my man back thankful for moments like this. Life is a fuckin’ rollercoaster ride and we just gotta hold on with both hands to those who mean the most to us.