Chapter Four
Iceman went quiet as he finished telling them about what Peaches had done that ended up getting them together. Now he leaned his head back and gazed up at the starlit sky. “I can’t...” He seemed to get choked up.
“Man, she will make it out.” Deke patted his arm.
“If not for her sake she will make it out for yours,” Cassie told Iceman.
“You gave her a family of her own. That was the one big thing we used to dream about when we were living on the street, having someone out there give a damn about us. Have someone on our side with a pair of warm arms to keep us safe. You and Deke gave us that and so much more. You gave us kids of our own so that we’d never be alone again.
Peaches just has to remember that and I think she will fight to stay alive.
She found her family again after sixteen years.
We both got our dream after we found you guys. ”
“But you kept her safe growing up,” Iceman told her softly. “You gave her hope for another day.”
Cassie smiled. “Yeah I did but along the way we both learned some very harsh life lessons. We both learned that we have to fight hard sometimes just to stay alive to see that next day. But she learned that too, not just me. When I told her to wear that vest she knew this might be possible. She knew she had to be ready for anything but she also knew that you would come for her. She believes in that. She knows that but Banger doesn’t and that’s your edge. ”
Deke came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Babe, we all know you have a safe place in your mind, but does Peaches have one too?”
Cassie turned slowly and with tears in her eyes she nodded quietly.
Then she leaned into his chest. “Yeah, she does. She doesn’t go there often because she doesn’t like it there.
She used to be afraid of the dark when she was a kid.
I tried to tell her there was nothing to be afraid of.
The darkness would protect her but she was afraid anyway.
I think something happened to her at Janelle’s house, something she would never talk about, she was only eight but it scared her so bad she could never tell me.
I didn’t push it because I knew it was bad.
That was when Robbie started teasing her.
I stayed close to her then for the longest time but she never told me what happened and after a while we were on our own and life got hard. ”
Sam had listened in the shadows and his rage built with every word Cassie said.
He slipped away and crept closer to the building.
When he got close he could hear Banger snapping at Peaches.
He carefully rubbed the dirt from the windows and peeked inside.
He frowned at what he was seeing. Banger was pacing back and forth while Peaches laid on the floor, hands tied behind her back.
He looked closer and saw a bruise darkening on her jaw.
Peaches was the sweetest person, she and Melora were close too. She had been a good friend and helped Melora through her pregnancies and with the kids. He couldn’t stand it that she had been abused by this fucking nutcase. Sam clenched his hands into hard fists.
He quietly slipped away and went back to the group.
Deke looked up and stared at his father as he approached them. He could see the rage on his face and he sighed heavily. “What is it, Dad?”
Sam snapped his head up and jerked his thumb in the direction of the building. “I went and got a look inside. Banger is pacing back and forth and Peaches is laying on the floor all beat to hell,” Sam grumbled. “It looks like he hit her in the jaw more than once.”
Iceman growled then turned to face the building. “He’s mine to decimate. I promised Peaches no one would ever hurt her again and he made me a goddamn liar.”
Cassie grabbed his arm. “No, she knows you didn’t lie to her, that this isn’t on your shoulders. This is on his shoulders and his alone.”
Suddenly, Cassie’s phone rang.
When she answered it they all could hear Banger on the other end. “Are you ready to bargain yet?”
“Are you ready to let Peaches go yet?” Cassie grumbled. “I’m not telling you shit until she’s free.”
Banger let out a cold laugh. “You aren’t in charge here, little girl. That would be me.”
“And I know where Robbie put that gold. That means I got the answer to your missing fortune. You hurt my sister and you’ll never find it,” Cassie warned.
Banger screamed in rage, “OOOOH! If you double cross me there won’t be enough of Peaches left to scoop into a spoon!”
“If you hurt her,” Cassie growled lowly. “I will hunt you down and do to you what Robbie did to me and you know what a sick fuck he was. You send her out here right now. When I see her, then I’ll tell you where he hid it. But I ain’t saying a word until I see her.”
Banger paused for a moment then asked, “You’re outside?”
“Yeah asshole, I’m outside.”
“How the hell did you find us?” Banger roared.
“I just followed the yellow streak behind you,” Cassie taunted him.
“Oh honey, that’s gonna cost you,” Banger snapped, then the line went dead.
Cassie worried that this meant retaliation against Peaches. Maybe she had gone too far again. “Fuck,” she murmured beneath her breath. She glanced over at Deke then turned and looked at Iceman.
They both looked angry as fuck.
With a nod from her, the whole group moved closer to the building.
Cassie stood just outside the door when it opened suddenly.
Banger stood there and he held Peaches up in front of him by her hair.
Cassie looked her friend over carefully. She noted the bruises on her face and the fact that her hands were still tied behind her back. Then she asked, “Peaches, you okay?”
Peaches scoffed as she winced hard. “No sister, I’m really not.”
Now Banger broke in, “Ok you’ve seen her, now tell me what I want to know,” he shouted and tightened his grip on Peaches’ hair.
Peaches rose on her tiptoes and tried not to scream.
He forced her to step through the doorway. Moving his hand from behind his back he showed his gun to Cassie. Showing her that he would shoot Peaches if she didn’t tell him what he wanted to know.
Cassie’s eyes narrowed on the gun then she looked him right in the eyes.
“There’s a small house on the end of Winser Street on the west side of Boston.
The number on the door is 520. It looks abandoned because it is, but that’s where Robbie ran to when he didn’t want to go home.
He had been seen moving some heavy stuff there with an old truck. ”
Banger sneered at her. “Now was that so hard?” He raised the gun higher.
Sucking her breath in, Cassie could see his finger slowly tightening on the trigger.
The eerie tense silence was shattered by the sound of a gunshot and Banger was flung back from the door. The gun in his hand flew out the door and bounced to the ground.
It landed right in front of Peaches’ feet. She didn’t move for a moment.
That was all it took for Iceman to grab her from the doorway. He held her close for a long minute then he looked down at his woman and gently brushed the hair away from her face. “I’m here, baby girl.”
Peaches looked up at him and when she saw his face she burst into tears. “I thought I’d never see you again!” She sobbed and buried her face in his chest.
“Are you ok, baby?” Iceman whispered to her.
She didn’t reply as she kept crying.
Deke came up and pulled his knife out to cut the zip ties from her wrists.
Peaches cried out in pain when she was finally free.
Deke studied the raw broken skin around her wrists. He looked up at Iceman and shook his head slightly. Then he turned to glare at Banger.
He was lying there as crimson stained his shirt.
He had taken the bullet to his shoulder but the shot had frozen him.
He finally gained his senses back and glared up at the man standing in the doorway.
“What the hell?” Banger shouted. “Why are you here? Cassie was supposed to be the only one that came.”
Deke smirked at him. “Man, I don’t know how you dumbass Falcons do your business but my woman doesn’t go anyplace where she could be in danger without me. What? Were you planning on killing them both once she told you where to go?”
“Whatever.” Banger grunted. “She broke her word and you all know it. But you got Peaches back in one piece, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, we did but you aren’t going to be in one piece when we get through.” Deke walked over to where Banger was laying on the floor. He stepped on the other man’s hand and began grinding his boot down hard. “This is the hand you raised with that fucking gun to our women with.”
Banger screamed and tried to pull his hand free but Deke wasn’t going to allow that. By the time he removed his foot Banger’s hand looked mangled and useless.
Banger raised his injured hand and held it to his chest. Tears of pain were rolling down his cheeks and he looked at Deke and snarled. “You’ll pay for that.”
Deke just shook his head. “Damn, you are just so fucking stupid! Better men than you have uttered that very same phrase and yet I’m still here and very much alive.
You are about to find out that the Sin’s Bastards don’t appreciate men like you.
We firmly believe that a real man would never hit a woman.
You dared to beat one of ours. I just softened you up, so don’t sweat it.
Now it’s his turn to teach you a lesson. ” Deke moved over a bit.
Iceman turned Peaches over to Cassie then he stared through the open doorway straight into Banger’s eyes. With not a word from him, he swiftly stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
About the same time Sam joined the rest of the group with his rifle in his hands. He checked on the women and shook his head. He then glanced at the closed door. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly.
Cassie turned to look at him and saw the rifle in his hand. “You took that shot?” she whispered.
Sam raised his head slowly and answered, “Damn right I did. I wasn’t about to let him shoot Peaches. And I wasn’t about to let this shit go on any fucking further. But not to worry, I did this for a living once upon a time. I know how to shoot crazyass men who shouldn’t be running loose.”
Both Cassie and Peaches grabbed him and hugged him.
This startled Sam and he quickly moved away or at least he tried to.
The two women held him tightly.
When they finally released him Sam moved out of their reach. “Don’t you ever do that again! I don’t need Deke and Iceman on my case for hugging their women and I don’t think Melora would like it either,” Sam grumbled under his breath as he shook his head in disgust.
The women smiled at him through their grateful tears.
Deke shook his head as he grinned at him. His father could be such an asshole, then the next minute, he’s a fucking hero.