9. Arrow
CHAPTER 9
ARROW
Fuck, it took longer than it should have to clean everything up and go through the cabin. We want to give Savage Bones a clear message that their VP was no longer alive, so he and Priest are dropping off several of Fright’s body parts in a cooler to the front porch of a cabin we know the Savage Bones are using for some of their really low-level guys.
I'm heading back with Thunder and Crank because I can't wait to get back to my girl. It’s agony being away from Katherine this long, and I can't wait to make sure she’s safe and hold her in my arms again.
“Some of the Whiskey River guys have just shown up at the clubhouse. They sent ten people to come and help, so there is going to be a meeting tonight where we make a game plan,” Thunder says.
As soon as we get back to the clubhouse, I don't greet anyone. Instead, I park my bike and immediately go looking for Katherine. Even from across the room, though, I can tell something is wrong.
“Is everything okay, Kitty Kat?” I ask her the second I have her in my arms.
“Is there someplace private we can chat for a minute?” she asks.
Instantly, my guard goes up and I wonder what she has to tell me. Taking her hand, I pull her down the hallway to my office. After I close and lock the door, I turn to her. Taking a seat in my chair, I put her in my lap and hold her tight. “What's wrong?” I ask.
A million things race through my head, from what might have happened here at the clubhouse to her changing her mind and wanting to go home.
“Atlas had some of us go help Ruby at the Mercantile. By the way, Ruby is super sweet. While I was taking some of the trash out, Shooter was on the phone. He was acting really weird, trying to hide from everybody. Even though I knew it was wrong, I eavesdropped on his conversation. There was some trash on the ground on the other side of the truck, so I walked over to pick it up and listened,” she says, looking guilty and completely adorable.
I can relax. She feels guilty about eavesdropping on a conversation. There's nothing about this club that she can't know. Maybe she has some questions she needs answered.
“That's okay, Kitty Kat. I know that I haven't been around to answer a lot of questions, so I'm sure your curiosity is at an all-time high right now. What did you overhear?”
“Well, Shooter was telling someone that they needed to warn somebody named Fright that you guys were coming after him. That you had traced the money to Fright, and that it was time for him to get out of there because you might be on to him,” she says.
At her words, my body tenses and anger courses through my veins. We knew we had a spy. Shooter was on the list and this confirms it.
“Are you sure that's what you heard?” I ask in the gentlest voice I can muster. This incredible woman may have just saved us.
“Absolutely. I haven't told anyone. I just said I wasn't feeling good and wanted to come home. When you got back, I wanted to tell you right away.”
It doesn't escape me that she called the clubhouse home, which encourages me. But I need to get this information to the Pres right now. “Let's go tell Atlas what you heard.”
Taking her hand, I lead her down the hallway to Atlas's office, where she repeats everything she just told me.
“Well, shit, I was really hoping we didn't have a spy in the house, but you did a good job coming and letting us know what you heard. Kat, why don't you stay here? Arrow, will you find Bear? Don’t say anything, but just tell him that I need to talk to him,” Atlas says.
Leaving immediately, I find Bear in the kitchen. “Hey man, will you come to Atlas's office? He wants to go over a few things that happened today.” I attempt to make it sound completely normal since Shooter is sitting at the dining room table eating. Thunder's there, too. When his phone goes off, he pulls it out and listens. His face is completely blank, but my guess is it's Atlas telling him to keep an eye on Shooter.
Once back in Atlas's office, my Kitty Kat tells us again what she heard.
Atlas, clearly furious, turns to Bear and says, “Why don't you take care of Shooter? See what information you can get out of him. While you’re doing it, make it painful. He doesn't make it out of this clubhouse alive. I want to send a very clear message that anyone they send to spy on us they're sending to their death,” Atlas orders angrily.
Bear's eyes light up as he leaves.
Kat's eyes are as big as saucers, “He's going to kill Shooter, isn't he?” she whispers.
“He is. Shooter is responsible for quite a few of our guys being hurt recently, including Lightning. I know you're friends with Ginger. Did she tell you her story about what the Savage Bones did to her?” I ask her these questions so she’ll understand that these are not good people and they are very dangerous.
“Yeah, she did today. Does it make me a bad person that I'm glad Bear is going to kill him? The rage that I felt when I heard what he said made me so nauseous,” she says, not meeting my eyes.
I try not to smile. I was so worried about her not fitting in. Or that killing Shooter would scare her off. Hearing the vengeance in her words assures me that she could not fit in more perfectly to this life.
“What I really like is knowing you're on our side. Let's go upstairs and rest for a little bit. You've had an eventful day after everything that happened earlier. Besides, I just want to hold you in my arms and enjoy being with you.”
“Don't forget about the meeting later,” Atlas says as we head out.
Once we are upstairs and in our room, I lie down on the bed and pull her to my side. She curls right into me, and we lie there for a few minutes soaking each other in. This is how I want to come home every day. To her. I know that without a shadow of doubt, but I don't want to scare her off by moving too quickly.
Just as I'm about to ask her how the rest of her day was, I feel her body relax and her breathing even out. I lie there quietly until I know she’s fast asleep, and then carefully slip out of bed.
While I hate to leave her, I really want to go downstairs and see how Bear is doing with Shooter and what information he might be getting. I make my way down to the room where we generally hold and question people. This is Bear's domain. It's pretty basic, with concrete floors and walls that make it very easy to clean up, and cabinets that hold his torture tools.
Bear has Shooter strapped to a chair, and there's already blood pouring down the side of his face. It's soaking through his shirt that is ripped along the side.
“He give you anything good yet?” I ask, and Bear shakes his head.
Leaning against the wall by the door, I let Bear do his thing as he picks up a tool that looks like it could be a pair of gardening pruning shears.
“I'm going to ask you again. Does Savage Bones have anyone else planted in this club?” Bear asks.
When Shooter doesn't say anything, Bear picks up one of Shooter's fingers and lines it up between the two blades.
“No! No, it was just me, I swear!” Shooter starts panicking.
Bear doesn’t move, just leaves the blades and Shooter’s finger where they are and asks his next question. “Where is the Savage Bones President?”
“I don't know. I swear only the officers have ever interacted with him,” Shooter says.
Bear looks over at me. “How do you build an entire club following the orders of a president that only a handful of guys have ever met?”
“Why is he so hell-bent on taking over Mustang Mountain when someplace like Whitefish has more resources?” Bear asks.
“I don't know,” Shooter says, and Bear doesn't give him a second chance. He just squeezes the plates together, and Shooter’s finger falls to the floor. His scream fills the air.
I stand there as Bear goes through multiple questions, all of which Shooter says he doesn't know the answer. He is pretty clueless for a guy they trusted to go undercover. I watch as Bear tortures him over and over from carving designs into his chest, cutting off fingers and toes, and even scooping out one of his eyes. Nothing seems to get us any more answers.
Eventually, Shooter has lost enough blood that he passes out. Bear goes over and puts him out of his misery by slicing his neck.
“So other than the fact that he was the only spy, we really didn't get any good information out of him,” I say, thinking it’s over. Bear picks up a huge knife and comes back over to Shooter. “What are you doing?” I ask, but Bear just smiles at me.
“Atlas wants to make sure that a very clear message is sent. What better way than to deliver his head in a cooler to the Savage Bones, just like their treasurer.”
“Have fun with that,” I say, smirking. Then I go upstairs to check on my Katherine. It's been a long day, but I know we're one step closer to getting all of this under control now that we have backup and help. We can wrap this up soon.