Mayhem
The festive mood for the Fourth of July weekend had been hard to manage at first, due to the tasks we had to complete, not only to end Baker but to arrange Cherisse’s hospital admission.
However, despite that, we did have a good time.
The Marauders not only helped us with that, but they also assisted in transferring Cherisse to a mental facility in Chattanooga.
We found the place due to Shadow’s younger sister, Blythe Marie.
She worked in social work and volunteered at the Fortress of Bravery, which Lark ran for at-risk children.
It was where she and Maniac met and ultimately ended up adopting Flynn.
Over the weekend, the club had an additional reason to celebrate, something dropped on us without notice.
On Friday of that week, Lash and Troian had asked for everyone’s attention.
When they had it, they revealed that the two of them were expecting a sibling for their daughter, Esme.
The baby was due at the end of March. That meant the club had three babies arriving one right after another.
Of course, we were all thrilled for them and had congratulated them, then had a few toasts.
As planned, the following Monday, Astrid began her orientation with the Dark Patriots.
She started with the paperwork and review of policies and procedures, which were online.
However, she was scheduled to be at the corporate office in Hampton, Virginia, tomorrow.
I was taking a few days off to go with her.
We were using it as a mini getaway. She had to work during the day, but the evenings and nights were ours.
For us to do that, one thing had to be done along the way.
She and I made a detour. The address we stopped at, just after nighttime fell, was in a nice, quiet neighborhood.
The houses were all pricey and sat on large plots, making their neighbors far enough apart not to have their noses buried up your ass.
I shut off the vehicle. I glanced over at a quiet Astrid. She’d barely spoken for the past hour.
“Baby, we don’t need to do this now. I can come back at a different time.”
“No, we’re doing it tonight. It’s time. And I want to be with you. You’re not taking care of this without me,” she insisted.
“But it clearly bothers you. You haven’t said hardly anything for the past hour,” I argued.
“The reason I haven’t isn’t due to my second-guessing it or anything. I was mentally composing what I wanted to say. We’re here. There’s no waiting. I can do it alone or with you,” she insisted.
“If you think you’re going in there alone, you’re crazy. I’m your partner in this.”
Her smile made me wink. I got out. Unlike other times when I’d slip on my cut, I left it in the car this time.
I instructed her earlier to do the same.
If anyone were watching, they wouldn’t see the cuts.
Opening her door, I held her hand as we made our way to the front door.
We knew the house wasn’t empty because a couple of lights were on inside.
Astrid had also called to check if he was at work.
He wasn’t. I rang the doorbell. It took two rings before the door was opened.
Cass Snyder’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected us. Wait until we tell him why we were here. Both Astrid and I had pleasant expressions pasted on our faces. It was to get us in the door.
“W-well…this is a surprise. What brings you here? I thought you were mad at me,” Snyder muttered.
“I won’t lie. I was upset after the last time we met.
However, I think we need to clear the air about something, and it’s best if we do it in person.
You were my commanding officer and friend for several years.
It doesn’t feel right to just block you and never see or speak to you again,” Astrid explained.
Her reply made his eyebrows raise, and then he appeared pleased. Snyder took a step back and then gestured for us to enter. “Come in.”
When we were inside, he shut and locked the door.
The inside was tastefully decorated. We were led to a comfortably sized living room.
He gestured to the sectional. “Won’t you have a seat?
May I get you something to drink? I have alcoholic and non-alcoholic options,” he offered, pretending to be the perfect host.
“That’s not necessary. I’m good,” I told him.
“No, thank you, but have one if you want,” Astrid answered.
Snyder sat down in an overstuffed chair to the right of us. He picked up a glass that contained either whiskey, rum, or something similar. “I’ve beaten you to it. I hope the drive was a pleasant one. That’s quite the drive,” he rattled on.
“It’s about six and a half hours, but we’re on our way to meet friends, so it was no problem,” I assured him.
“Good. Good. Are they friends of yours, Mayhem, or Astrid’s? Where do they live?”
No way would I give him the Dark Patriots name or location. I was deciding what to say to him when my Fury answered for us.
“They started as Mayhem’s, but they’ve quickly become mine. I’m there to see the HQ where I’m now working. I started last week. I can’t wait. It’s here in Virginia. What have you been up to since we last spoke?” she asked him.
“Oh, you know, work and that’s been super busy. So you have a job. What will you be doing? I can’t see you happy in some mundane office position,” Snyder remarked.
“Lucky for her, she won’t be. She’ll be a pilot for a very successful and busy organization,” I told him.
“Then you’ll be moving,” he said, sounding hopeful.
“No, it doesn’t require me to do that. I’m on a rotation, and if I’m needed for a flight, I’ll fly from home to there or wherever there are passengers. I was very clear before accepting the job that I wouldn’t leave Mayhem or ask him to move. They agreed,” she informed him happily.
I saw his face fall for a moment before he was back to feigning a smile. The idiot still held out hope that he’d be with her. If there had been even the slightest chance, what he did by telling Baker would have killed it.
“I’m happy for you. Astrid, I want to apologize for the way we left things. I know I was an idiot, and I hurt you. It’s been eating away at me. I was coming to see you soon, after you had time to calm down,” Snyder told her.
“Cass, I would’ve forgiven you, I think. But I don’t believe you forgave me or wanted us to remain friends,” she replied. Uh oh, she was ready to get this rolling. It was fine by me.
“Why would you say that?” he countered.
“Well, if you wanted her forgiveness and to continue to be friends, you have a funny way of showing it,” I said.
He frowned at me. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s talking about the fact that you told Radley Baker a bunch of lies about me and then set him after me.
You showed me what kind of person you are, Cass.
Your jealousy ruined it. And you told him information that’s protected,” Astrid snapped.
All pretense was gone from us, and Snyder’s was melting rapidly.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t speak to Baker, and I most certainly had nothing to do with him coming after you. When did that happen? What did he say? I hope you set him straight.” He sounded nervous.
“It was not long ago. He was straightened out, and there will be no more visits from him. He told me how he had been stonewalled in his attempts to find out what had happened and what my name was. Then you called him and so helpfully gave him my name and address as well as filling his head with lies about me, and giving him a less redacted copy of the official report for that mission,” Astrid fired off at him.
His face paled, but the fucker shook his head and denied it. “Whoa, hold on. I did no such thing. Baker kept bugging me for information. I gave him the official statement. The guy is a nut. You can’t believe anything he says. I swear, Astrid, I told him nothing,” he pledged.
“Hmm, it’s situations like this that make me glad for my club brother, Spawn, and our friends. They can find anything. After we heard this story from Baker, they went digging. They found the call that lasted thirty minutes between the two of you.”
Snyder jumped in. “A call is hardly proof of guilt. I tried to reason with the man. He wouldn’t listen or get off the phone. I finally had to hang up on him.”
“That could be plausible if there wasn’t an email sent from your home computer to Baker’s not long after that call. The attachment was illuminating. If you like, I can pull it up to refresh your memory,” I sneered.
His web of lies was wrapping around him. His hand shook as he set his glass down. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Astrid, come on, this is a lie. Mayhem is fabricating things with help from his shady friends. I did no such thing. You know I care for you. I wouldn’t ever harm you,” he pleaded.
I had had enough of his lying. I shot to my feet and was over to his chair before he knew I’d moved. I grabbed him by the neck. As I choked him, I shook him like he was a rag doll. He gasped for air and slapped at my hand.
Astrid came to join me. “You’re a fucking liar, Cass.
Because of you, Baker plotted and found a way to kidnap me, using a friend to do it.
He took me out in the country and held me there.
He enjoyed telling me all the lies you told him and then detailing what he was going to do to me for killing his brother.
It was along the lines of torture and rape—a repeat of what had already been done to me.
Luckily, I fooled him and got loose. But even if I hadn’t, Mayhem and his club were on our trail.
They arrived not long afterward,” she shared.
His face was turning blue to match his lips. His struggles had weakened.
“Honey, let go of him. You can’t kill him. We talked about this,” she murmured as she rubbed my arm.
Astrid was right. Giving him a final shake, I let go of him. Snyder fell into his chair and sat there fighting for air while holding his rapidly bruising neck.
“You worthless motherfucker! You had my old lady kidnapped, terrorized, and almost raped and killed. If I had my way, I’d end you right now.
But I don’t do that, even to pieces of shit like you.
You were complicit in it, but Baker was the one to do the deed,” I muttered darkly.
My hand itched to be around his throat again.
“What happened to Baker?” he rasped out. It was barely said above a whisper.
“He was shown the error of his ways, and we ensured he would never do that to anyone. Now, it’s your turn,” Astrid informed him.
“What does that mean?” he croaked. He was back to a ghostly white, with sweat all over his face, and his eyes bugging. He shook like a leaf in a storm.
“It means you’ll be given a lesson you’d better never forget.
Once you heal, you’ll never come near us.
If anyone mentions her name, you tell them you haven’t seen her and know nothing about her.
If you do what you did with Baker, you won’t escape the ultimate punishment.
No one, and I mean no one, fucks with my old lady, soon-to-be wife, and gets away with it,” I informed him.
As he babbled that he was sorry and not to hurt him, Astrid and I ignored him and commenced to give him a beatdown. I had to admit, she was a machine. When we were through, he was a bruised, bloody blob on the living room floor. He was curled up in the fetal position, moaning and crying.
“Remember what we said, Snyder. You don’t want me to pay you another visit. We’ll be monitoring you, and we’ll know if you do something like this again,” I warned him.
“I won’t. Oh God, I won’t. Please, I need to go to the hospital. Help me,” he begged.
Astrid took a cloth out of her purse. She used it to pick up his cell phone off the end table and drop it on the floor about fifteen feet away from him. Even stretching his arm, he couldn’t reach it.
“Call them yourself. And if you tell anyone about how this happened, you’ll fucking pay with your life,” I threatened.
Taking Astrid’s hand, we strolled to the front door and let ourselves out.
Just to be careful, she wiped the door handle and the doorbell we’d touched.
Inside, we’d been careful not to leave prints.
We heard him moaning. I assumed he was dragging himself across the floor to his phone.
Not wasting time, we got in the car and took off.
As his house faded in the rearview mirror, I smiled at her.
“I can’t wait to get you to the hotel. Be prepared, babe. It’s gonna be a long night. Good thing you’re not due in the office until eleven,” I leered.
Astrid’s beautiful, joyous laugh made me chuckle. She was finally safe, and we were able to figure out our life together.