Chapter 20
Nora
Since the Sons cleared out all the Hyenas from Cedar Falls, I don’t have to worry about them rolling up on me like they did the day Jinx rescued me.
The relief I feel is immense. We even stopped by the hospital so I could make it perfectly clear to Stripe that just because he paid my father money for me, didn’t make me his.
Truth be told, I just wanted to say the words and gauge for myself if he was gonna continue to be a problem. His final words convinced me he wasn’t.
The first thing we both wanted to do was sleep at Jinx’s house. It felt like coming home, even though we’ve spent most of our time together at the clubhouse. I like his place. Sure, it could use a woman’s touch to warm the place up, but he’d done a wonderful job renovating it.
This morning, I rolled over to say goodbye at what Jinx calls zero dark thirty.
His hand drifted down to my belly, and he bent down to talk to my belly, telling our little one that he wouldn’t be gone long and would bring them a treat when he came home.
I can’t wait to see what he considers a treat for our unborn child.
He gave me a long, lingering kiss that made me remember how attentive he was to my needs last night.
He whispered, “Church won’t take long, sweetness.
Sleep in. You’ve earned it.” Then he left, and the sound of his bike faded away as he rode away.
I rolled back over and slept like the dead, feeling safe for the first time in years.
Giving myself permission to sleep in feels like a luxury, mostly because Jinx’s bed is so comfortable. It’s so nice that I have to make myself crawl out of it so I can get on with my day a couple of hours later. I’m looking forward to a few hours of solitude while Jinx attends his club meeting.
I slip on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt and pad downstairs barefoot around ten. I’m thinking about making some eggs and toast and how much I need the decaf Jinx picked up especially for me.
I get three steps into the living room before I come to a stop, thoroughly shocked by what I’m seeing.
The couch has a long knife slash down the back and slashes across every cushion.
The stuffing is pulled out and strewn around the room, draped on the mantel like Halloween decorations.
The curtains are slashed as well. Jinx’s recliner has been targeted the most.
I gasp when I see the walls have been spray-painted with blood red paint, the Hyenas’ signature color. The words are large, ugly and in all capital letters. Somebody has written WHORE, RAGER TRASH, and on the opposite wall, YOU DID THIS.
As I stand there staring, I can still smell the odor of spray paint in the air. Whoever did this was quiet. That’s the piece that horrifies me. Someone snuck into our house, vandalized it, and slipped away while I was sleeping upstairs. I’m a light sleeper and didn’t hear anything.
I reach for my phone in my back pocket and freeze when I hear light footsteps in the kitchen and the slow hiss of paint being sprayed. That’s when I realize that whoever this is, didn’t vandalize the house and slip away like I thought. He’s still here.
I back away quietly, while I pull out my phone, only to find it dead. I forgot to put it on the charger last night. My charger is upstairs, along with my shoes and car keys.
I know this can’t be Stripe. It’s not his style and he’s too injured to be up and about.
That leaves Brave or one of his minions.
I don’t even think Spark would do something this out of pocket.
I try to make it out the front door but Brave strolls out of the kitchen with a hunting knife in his hand.
“Mornin’, Sis. You didn’t think that I would forget about our little talk, did you?”
My brother looks terrible, like death warmed over.
He’s got dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and he hasn’t showered in days.
I can tell because his hair is greasy and I can smell his body odor from across the room.
He’s looking at me with that dead-eyed stare that always scared the shit out of me.
“Brave, what are you doing here?”
He lets out a forced, dry little laugh. “Can’t a man come and visit his little sister every now and then?”
“You’re not allowed to be here. Spark signed a pact saying every member of the Hyenas would stay a hundred miles away from Cedar Falls. You’re violating that agreement. It could trigger another club war. Spark is going to lose his mind.”
“I don’t give a good goddamn what our brother wants. He didn’t even help bury our old man.”
My fingers suddenly feel ice cold. “Did you do it, Brave? Like, all by yourself?”
“You know I did. He was my old man. I ain’t lettin’ nobody touch his cold, dead body.”
I stammer, “Brave, you’re not making any sense.”
His anger flares and he growls. “Don’t fuckin’ talk to me about makin’ sense after you ran off with a damn Rager for no reason in the world.” He points his knife in my direction. “If you hadn’t run off, our old man would still be alive. This is your fuckin’ fault, Nora.”
“Just calm down, Brave,” I say trying to remain calm.
“You asked why I came, Sis,” he says menacingly.
“It’s because you betrayed our club and your own fuckin’ family, all because you wanted one biker instead of another.
You killed our old man, as if you pulled the trigger yourself.
If you think for one damn minute that I’m gonna let your dumb ass play house with the man who did, you’re the crazy one. ”
He takes a step closer to me, gripping the knife harder. “I’ve been thinkin’ about it for days. Every time I close my eyes, I see Pa bleedin’ on that floor. You don’t get to be happy after what you did to us.”
What he’s saying in a roundabout way is that he’s going to kill me. He doesn’t have to come right out and say it because his cryptic response and expression tell more than he intends.
When he lunges, I’m ready. If being brought up in an MC did one thing, it taught me to survive situations like this. I decide in an instant that he’s not getting his hands on this pregnant lady. I’m already running before he gets to me, with my cell phone still clenched tight in one hand.
I know the layout of this house and with luck that’s going to be the thing that saves me.
I can’t go through him to get to the front door.
The back door is through the kitchen, and he’d catch me before I made it outside.
That only leaves windows. The utility room at the rear of the house has a big window and the inside latch is easy to throw so reaching it becomes my all-consuming quest.
As I run, I can hear and feel Brave crashing through the house after me.
I skid to a stop inside the utility room and manage to slam the door shut and lock it right before Brave slams into it with his big body.
It won’t take much for him to break through the wooden door.
I cram my cell phone into my back jean pocket, unlatch the window and throw it open.
I’m through the window before he manages to break through the door.
I tumble out onto the grass and take off running at breakneck speed with no shoes on.
The faster I run, the more worried I become about what Brave will do to me if he catches up. I don’t like the way he pointed that gigantic hunting knife at me earlier. All I can think about is keeping my baby away from that knife.
And that’s when I hear Jinx’s bike turning into the drive. It’s the most beautiful sound in the world right now. I put on a burst of speed and run straight into his arms.
Brave is running after me, screaming, “Slow the fuck down and take your punishment, bitch.”
It takes Jinx less than a second to jump off his bike and begin closing the distance between us. Daring to glance over my shoulder, I see my brother barreling after me with the knife still in his hand. He’s so focused on me that he doesn’t see Jinx coming.
Jinx shoulder-checks my brother at a dead run. Brave is shocked to be knocked on his ass but scrambles to his feet in no time. After that, the fight is on. They’re two men intent on getting what they want today. Brave likely wants to kill or maim me. Jinx just wants us to make it out of this alive.
“Nora, call Morgan!” Jinx screams, slamming his fist into Brave’s chin in what looks like the uppercut from hell. “My phone’s in my saddlebag!”
I race to his bike, rocks in the grass poking into the soft soles of my feet.
I don’t stop for anything though. I can barely get his saddlebags open because my hands are shaking so badly.
While Jinx and Brave continue to duke it out in the yard, I pull his phone out, unlock it by making a figure eight.
Then I scroll through his contacts to find the name Morgan.
It says Cedar Falls PD after his name. I recognize the name.
Morgan is the club’s inside man at the local police department.
I start talking in a breathless rush before he finishes saying hello.
“This is Nora. I’m Jinx’s old lady. There’s a man at our house. He broke in and wrecked the place and came at me with a knife.”
“Keep talkin’. I’m on my way,” he says gruffly.
“It’s my brother,” I make myself say. “His name is Brave and he’s a member of the Hyenas.” Glancing back at the two of them going at it, I say, “He had a hunting knife, but Jinx got it away from him. They’re fighting in the yard. You’ll see them immediately when you pull in.”
“I’m on my way to Jinx’s place right now. That’s where you are, right?”
“Yes.”
His voice is calm and determined. “I’m five minutes away. Stay on the line. Are you safe?”
“I’m safe. Jinx isn’t. They’re still fighting.” Seeing them fight is like watching the clash of Titans. They are both big muscular men who put power behind their punches. They’re not afraid to slam their bodies into each other.