Chapter Twelve
More of the brothers heard the confusion in the kitchen and came to see what was going on.
As they crowded into the room, Titus began growling orders, “Search the compound. Find Frankie and Reno. Check every blade of grass, every building, every fucking cave. Frankie is to be brought back to me now. He kidnapped Reno after he zapped me and Ursala with a taser to get her away. Find him. Find him now!” He all but shouted.
Men went rushing out to search for Frankie and Reno. Pyrite and Bouncer stayed back to help Titus and Ursala out of the kitchen.
Setting them at a table, Pyrite proceeded to check them both over.
Titus sat there growling.
Pyrite called a brother for an ice pack for Titus as he had hit his head when he went down.
Bouncer watched his son and saw real worry in his eyes. He then glanced over at Ursala and shook his head. “What happened?”
Titus shrugged. “We were walking in to start lunch and suddenly I felt an electric jolt on my back and went out for the count. I didn’t even see who did it. I sure as hell never expected it to be one of our own.”
“We just found the certificate,” Crank told them. “Well, this Tommy person sent it to Hot Rod. As soon as he gave it to me, I came out to find you.”
“But what does it mean?” Ursala asked shakily.
“Dear ole dad has another son. Frankie Meyers,” Crank told her.
Bouncer snapped his gaze over and glared at him. “Frankie has been here for five years! And all that time, he was a plant to keep your dad informed?”
Crank nodded. “I think that’s exactly what he did.” Then he looked down at Ursala. “He was supposed to keep me under my dad’s surveillance to watch for her to come. I’m sure by now, my father is well aware of where she is.”
Titus glared at him. “Then let's get ready for a family union. This ends one way or the other soon.”
Crank nodded and hugged Ursala closer.
Just then, the front doors were thrown open and several men carried Frankie in.
Frankie was bruised and bleeding but very much alive. He glared at Crank as he struggled but couldn’t get himself free. his hands were tied behind his back and two of the men had him in check. “What the hell is this?” Frankie yelled. “I didn’t do anything. Why am I tied up like this?”
Titus looked at the men on either side of him then asked them, “Where did you find him?”
Jep snarled. “We found him in the garage. We didn’t find Reno and he really didn’t want us to bring him in. In fact, the stupid fool tried to run.”
Titus rose from his chair and ordered, “Keep him here. I need to check on something.” He stalked out of the clubhouse and made his way to the garage.
Ulyssess and Ridge followed him. Titus yanked the main door open and went over to the hoist. He pressed the button and the hoist lifted, exposing a pit under the floor.
There in the pit, they all saw a body, Reno’s body.
Titus lowered himself into the pit and gathered Reno into his arms.
She was tied up, gagged and unconscious with a cut on her forehead that looked bloody and raw. She also had a bruise on her jaw. Glancing at her injuries, he growled and made his way to the main floor.
Ulyssess held out his arms.
Titus hesitated then put her into his arms. Hoisting himself up out of the pit, took her back from him and strode to the clubhouse.
Everyone remained quiet when Titus brought her back inside. He gave her to a pale looking Crank.
Frankie growled at the sight of Reno in her father’s arms.
Crank carried her down the hall to the Infirmary.
Pyrite followed and began his checkover as soon as Crank lowered her to the bed. Pyrite carefully took off the gag and gently began checking her out.
Ursala, Bouncer and several of the Marauders quietly entered the room.
In the meantime in the main room...
Titus glanced at the two men holding Frankie. “Take him down to the cells and make sure he’s not comfortable. We’ll deal with him when we find out how Reno is doing. And grab his phone too. I need to see what this little fucker has been up to.”
“That’s my phone and you got no right to take it!” Frankie growled and struggled.
Titus got up from his chair and walked over to where the three men were standing. He grabbed Frankie by the jaw and his fingers tightened as he actually growled at the man.
Frankie winced but didn’t say a word.
“Tell me something Frankie, was it worth it? Was it really worth it to spy for your daddy? Is that what you’re doing here? Keeping an eye on us in case Ursala ever showed up here? Spying on your brother for a man that’s not worth a damn?”
Frankie glared at him for a moment before he could speak, “My father is worth all your lives put together. Crank never appreciated that. He stepped away from a fortune because he’s a weak man.”
Titus scoffed “No, he walked away from his family because he didn’t believe in what his father stood for.
His dad broke the laws like they didn’t matter to him.
He also hurt too many innocent people from what I know.
We all have to follow the rules. Without rules there is nothing but chaos. How soon before he gets here?”
Frankie grinned. “Sooner than you think, that’s for sure. And he’s bringing more men than you have here. He’s gonna wipe you out and not leave anyone alive to tell the tale of what happened here.”
Titus grasped his t-shirt and lifted him from the floor,
Frankie gasped then he looked panicked as his feet were dangling in the air.
Now Titus smiled. “We’ll see about that little boy. We’ll see who’s left standing and who’s left down in the dirt, bleeding and broken.” He then tossed Frankie a couple of feet away.
Crashing to the floor, Frankie landed on his ankle the wrong way and he screamed. “Ahhh, motherfucker. You broke my ankle!”
Titus glared at him. “Shut the hell up. I have a headache and it will only go away when you are dead.” He looked at the two men standing there and said, “Strip him down then throw him into a cell.”
Ironman and Jep nodded and handed over his phone then dragged Frankie to the stairway going downstairs.
Below the clubhouse they had an old root cellar they expanded.
It had been reinforced with new beams and steel.
In one corner they even put in a few old jail cells in case trouble came to their mountain.
Frankie fought them the whole way even as he cried out about his ankle.
When the door shut behind them, Titus closed his eyes for a moment as he swore, “Traitorous, backstabbing motherfucker.” Then he turned and walked down the hall to the Infirmary. He squeezed in through a small crowd of his men and his gaze found Reno.
She had just come around and she looked mad.
Crank and Ursala were sitting as close to her as they could get.
Pyrite was checking her wounds out. Finally, he sat back and shook his head. “You are stronger than you know. You and your mother have been through a lot in the last few days but you both are made of stronger stuff than most women. You’ll do, just be careful from now on, okay?”
Reno stared at him in indignation and griped, “What the hell are you talkin’ about? I was being careful, doc. Who knew a speeding train would run me over in the kitchen?”
Titus came forward finally. Feeling relieved, he heard the fire in her voice as he openly stared at Reno. Damn, his heart had thudded in his chest when he realized she’d been taken.
“Wasn’t that guy Frankie a Marauder or whatever you call yourselves?” Reno asked.
Crank cleared his throat and explained what he knew, “Frankie Meyes is one of my father’s little bastards.
” He shook his head. “He was sent here to spy for my old man. I also think he has been in place to let my dad know if your mom ever showed up. He had to find that fucking book no matter what happened.”
Titus stepped up and handed him Frankie’s phone, “And your dad knows she showed up yesterday. He’s on his way here even as we speak.”
Crank swung his head up to glare at Titus. “Well fucking hell. He’s gonna bring the fight to us.”
Titus smiled and nodded, raising his eyebrows. “Yeah, he’s coming here. To our home turf to settle things.”
Crank smiled slowly. “Yeah, he never was a smart man. Giving us home advantage? What a stupid move on his part.”
Ursala looked from one man to the other. “What does that mean?” she asked, still very confused.
Crank leaned closer to her and chuckled.
“A smart man never gives his enemy home advantage. That’s just not done.
Home advantage means we can defend our home from many angles.
Ones he doesn’t know about and we will. This place has its own comforts and advantages.
My father has no advantages here. This place is called Lookout Mountain for a reason.
We’ll see him coming long before he ever gets here.
That gives us the advantage to get ourselves into place. ”
Ursala’s eyes widened as he explained it. Unlike him and Titus, she did not smile. She took a breath and asked, “This is going to get bloody, isn’t it?”