Chapter Twenty
Chef
Every instinct inside me screams to get to Sage. To rip Nathaniel Mercy apart with my bare hands, but right now all I’m capable of is leaning against the warm wood of the church door as I watch the scene unfold.
Sage kneels before Nathaniel, head cast down, hands folded in her lap calm as death itself. The realization of what I’m watching hits me like a fucking bullet to the gut. Nathaniel thinks he’s the predator in this room. He has no fucking idea he’s the hunted.
“The shepherd guides his flock, Sage. Even when the lamb kicks and bites, fights against the hand trying to feed it,” Nathaniel smiles through blood. “A good shepherd corrects.”
Sage doesn’t say a word. She sits silently, drawing him in. All the while Damian stalks back and forth, like a caged tiger, between Justice and Nathaniel Mercy.
“She’s going to tear him apart. If she doesn’t, Damian will,” Loyal says softly as she wraps her warm fingers around mine.
“That she is,” I agree, squeezing her hand before letting it go. There is only one hand I want in mine, and it’s my wife’s.
“- For whom the lord loveth, he correcteth,-” Nathaniel’s voice is stronger now, more forceful.
His body may look beaten to shit, but words, words are where his power lies.
“And how will he correct me?” Sage asks sarcastically, “With fists? With belts? With whips and chains?”
“With whatever he deems necessary to cleanse your mind and body of sin.”
Sage’s face tips up, her dark tresses sliding back along her shoulders until all I can see is her pale face illuminated in the dim light of the church.
“Hard pass.”
She gets up with shocking speed, her foot kicking out landing with a sickening crunch on the side of Nathaniel’s knee, causing him to buckle. His pained cry fills the church, the harmony of it resonating through the building. Sage stands over his writhing body.
“I will never submit. Just like my husband.” Her gaze meets mine and I can feel the adrenaline leaching out of me.
“Ooohh girl!” Joe’s voice carries as she punches the air. “Boom, mother fucker!” She points toward Nathaniel on the floor as she struts out of church.
Lovely’s elbow nudges me, “Come on, let’s get you in the car. I can’t imagine that lot will be too far behind.”
I nod, letting her lead me away from the Church, Justice dragging out another body while Damien throws Nathaniel’s limp body over his shoulder.
We stop abruptly at the bodies lying naked outside the church.
Joe is squatting down beside one of them, taking off their socks and tossing them in a pile of clothes a little way behind her.
“What are you doing?” Loyal asks, stopping just short of the SUV.
“Gotta get rid of all identifying evidence,” Joe says over her shoulder as she moves to the man Justice has not long dumped.
“How do you even know this stuff?” Loyal asks incredulously.
I think she might be asking Joe. That is until she looks at all of us, Sage, Justice and Damian all standing in a semi circle.
Joe smiles gently, “You probably don’t wanna know, sweet Loyal.” Something darkens Joe’s gaze, but then quick as a flash it's gone, replaced by her bright smile.
But I saw it. So did Justice. He moves closer to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She sighs into the touch and then busies herself again.
“So, what we gon’ do bout dis one?” Damian says, shrugging his big fucking shoulder, Nathaniel still slung over it.
I glance at Sage who has a big fucking smile on her face. “Put him in the pine box. I’ll drop the seats in the God Mobile if you wanna bring him with you?” She asks Damian who just grins down at her.
“Aye aye, captain!” He gives her a two fingered salute then moves toward the box I was trapped in.
He shrugs and unceremoniously tosses Nathaniel into the box. He slams the lid on and then kicks it for good measure.
“Here, lemme help you, brother.”
It’s the first thing I’ve heard Justice say since Nathaniel taunted him and I know it’s taking him a lot to act like the words didn’t cut him deep. Joe watches him with careful eyes over her shoulder, before throwing me a sad smile when she catches me watching.
“Takoda?”
My eyes meet my woman’s and I know she needs me without her saying a word.
She’ll never have to ask for what she needs because I’ll know.
Holding my arms out for her she moves toward me before leaning in and letting me hold her weight.
I may be battered and bruised, but I’m her strength when she needs it.
“In the backseat. I’ll drive, you just take care of each other,” Loyal murmurs.
Sage lets me go long enough for me to pull my sore body into the backseat, then slides in next to me.
She loops her arm in mine, then rests her head on my shoulder.
That’s not good enough for me so I move my arm, making sure I snake it behind her head, then pull her in close.
Her body plastered to my right side as I rest my head on hers.
Joe slides into the front seat next to Loyal, twisting to look back at me and Sage, and then through the back window to the SUV behind us. She grins and waves, then turns to the front.
“Justice and Damian are ready.”
Loyal nods, putting the car in drive and slowly turning the SUV in a tight circle. Joe’s window slides down and she tosses something out before the window smoothly slides up.
“What was -”
A flash lights up like a fucking fireball before the naked bodies catch alight.
“What the hell?” a voice yells hysterically from the back, causing the girls to scream.
Instinct kicks in and I spin in place, punching the unknown man. Hard. He slumps down in the trunk and I turn to the girls.
“Who the hell is that? And what the fuck did you throw out the window?” I’m yelling now too and I think that my adrenaline must be dropping. I’ve been running on high since Sage found me, and now I think my body has decided enough is enough.
“Ohh, I forgot he was back there,” Joe whispers.
“Takoda, look at me.” I turn to Sage, her dark eyes holding mine and everything starts to feel a little better. A little less urgent. A little more calm.
Taking a deep breath, I try again. “Who. The. Fuck. Is. Back. There.”
“Camel toe man,” Joe concedes. Then screws her face up as she tries not to laugh.
It doesn't work. A giggle slips out of Loyal first, then it catches. Joe starts snorting and then Sage loses it completely and starts cackling beside me.
I close my eyes, and let my head drop back onto my shoulders. Let them laugh it out. I’m on my way home after three days and all I really want to do is shower, let Sage tend to my wounds, and sleep. But something still niggles at me.
“Joe? What did you throw out the window?”
A snort sounds out. “Oh, just a little something Elio threw together.”
Of course it was. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Just, please get me home.” There’s silence for a beat too long before Sage decides to answer.
“Yeah…about that.”
Sage
Takoda tenses beside me but doesn’t ask any more questions, and I don’t give him any more answers.
I don’t have any. We haven’t heard from Dex for a while, so I can only hope that the Prez has gotten the guests to safety and he and the MC have everything under control.
Because I don’t know how much Takoda has left in him today.
The man has been beaten badly, sleep deprived for days and the only fluids he's had is the stuff Loyal gave him back at the church.
“I’ll be OK, babe.”
I turn my worried eyes to his and even though he looks exhausted, his words soothe something inside me.
“Three SUVs of religious nutjobs headed toward the Keep. We followed the one with Damian and Nathaniel in it. I don’t know how many men went to the Keep or if they had weapons.”
Takoda raises his hand, and smooths the wrinkle in my brow. “Trust me. Those men? They know what they’re doing. Ashfall could send thirty SUVs and we’d still win.”
Pressing my forehead to his I let out the breath I was holding.
I know realistically the men who make up The Keep are total badasses.
But in the same breath they're my family, and I don’t want anyone in my family to get hurt.
It's why I hate this shit so much. Why do we always have people on our asses?
The SUV slows as we turn into The Keep and I take note of the white SUVs parked haphazardly on this side of the MC gates.
“They must have gone in on foot,” Joe mutters, eyes scanning the fenceline.
Loyal presses the button on the gate opener on the SUV visor then slowly inches the car forward. A sudden bang has us all jumping, and I’m not too tough to admit a little squeal might have slipped past my lips.
“River! What the hell?” Loyal yells through the windscreen.
I’m not sure whether River heard her, he looks panicked as hell as he darts around the side of the SUV. I fling the door open and he dives in, his breath sawing in and out of him, his thin chest rising and falling at an alarming rate.
“Hey, hey, look at me.” I place my hands on his bony shoulders, “River! Look at me!” His blue eyes collide with mine, and he’s scared out of his fucking mind. “Breath with me.”
Closing my eyes I breathe deeply through my nose, then let it out slowly.
I don’t open my eyes, I don’t say a word, I just breathe and wait for River’s shoulders to rise and fall at the same pace mine are.
I just breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe away the panic, the adrenaline, the fear and worry until I feel River soften under my hands.
Opening my eyes I’m met with his gaze, watching my face.
He takes one last deep breath and then releases it on a sob.
He falls into my arms and I wrap him up, holding tighter when Takoda’s arms cover the both of us.
“I thought, I though -”
“Shhh, it's OK. You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”
“They got in Sage! They got in!”
“Who got in?”
“Ashfall! I don’t know who told them! How did they know?”
I share a look with Loyal, River’s panicked words making me think something isn’t quite right. “How did they know what, River? What do they know?”
River’s eyes widen and his breathing kicks up again. His gaze darts away from mine. “I don’t know,” his voice cracks, “I don’t know OK? I was hiding.”
“Sage? What do you wanna do?” Loyal asks, staring at the open front gate.
“I wanna lay this shit to rest.”
She dips her chin, then slowly inches forward.
We’re a moving target, and as much as the DRMC values safety, safety costs money.
I’m pretty sure these SUVs aren't bullet proof. We roll forward, through the gates, down the drive to where it widens. Damian’s SUV pulls up beside us, Justice’s arm resting on the open window.
“Damn that man is fine,” Joe whispers, eyes glued to Justice.
Damian leans forward, making some type of elaborate hand actions. Takoda’s brows fly up before he returns them. He settles back into his seat with a grin on his face. I stare up at him, waiting, but he doesn't say a word until I nudge him with my elbow.
“What?” he has the gall to ask, raising a brow at me.
“What did Damian say?”
“He’s going on ahead. Don’t wait up.” A slow grin grows on Takoda’s face.
“Oh wow,” River whispers, eyes glued to the front windshield.
We all stare straight ahead, eyes on the giant blonde viking who has just let out a war cry and kicked open the doors to the clubhouse.
“OK. Looks like we’re doing this.”
Omen
I have no idea where the fuck River is, but I know where he isn’t.
I’ve checked Church, his and Nell’s place, and now I’m headed to the cabin he had at the beginning.
Where he lived by himself before Nell took him in.
She’s a good woman. Super fucking timid, but I can’t blame her. I’ve seen her and her daughter’s file.
Looking around, I dart across the grassy area between the cabins. Gun fire is sounding out on the other side of the Keep, and I know I have fuck all time to find this kid before that gun fire finds me. Reaching the door, I knock gently, before trying the handle.
“Yo, River?” I hiss out as the door swings open.
The main room is empty save for a second hand couch and a coffee table.
I dart my gaze around the room, noting everything I see.
Or don’t see, in this case. River isn’t here.
Before I turn to head out the door, I decide to do a quick sweep through the rest of the small home.
The kitchen is clear, so is the bathroom.
The bedroom door is closed, but that doesn’t stop me rapping my knuckles quietly against the wood door.
“River?”
Turning the handle I push the door, letting it gently swing inwards.
“Holy shit.” I breathe as my gut drops into my ass.
I stand there and just…stare.
There, on the largest wall in the room is a mess of photos, names, notes, fucking string and question marks.
There’s so much going on that I can’t focus on any one thing, not until I see my own face staring back at me.
I remember that day. I was laughing with Damian over some stupid shit.
Now, I’m on this weird as fuck wall with a creased yellow post-it note stuck to my picture.
Stepping closer and uncurling the bottom of the post-it reveals a simple question mark. That’s it.
Shaking my head I step back, wondering what the fuck the kid has gotten himself into. Sliding my phone from my pocket I wake up the screen, scrolling to find my brother’s name.
A bang too close for comfort has me dropping to the ground, phone forgotten as I slide my gun from the back of my jeans, and lie in wait. Whatever the fuck is going on here can wait, I need to help secure my club.