Chapter 7 #2
“Gee, I wonder why they wouldn’t want to stick around? This place has everything you could ever want. Who doesn’t love burning trash piles, drunken abusive men, and hepatitis C?” Nick growls. “This place is a fucking joke.”
“If you don’t like it, then leave!” Julia yells.
“No can do,” Nick says. “Our orders were to make sure everyone is okay. And clearly they are not. My guess is, Ghost will take over this MC and clean it up.”
Julia’s face pales again. “He can’t do that.”
“He can,” I correct. “Either he takes control and puts someone new in charge, or the club crumbles and everyone is left with nothing.”
“That can’t happen.” Julia shakes her head. “I’ll have nothing left.”
Good. You don’t deserve anything, you sick bitch.
“Welp, better get to sucking,” Nick replies with a chuckle. “I’m sure there’s a member left that will take you in.” Nick eyes her up and down. “You still have all your teeth and you stopped bleaching your hair. Someone will take pity on you.”
“Go fuck yourself!” Julia spits.
“I’d rather fuck myself than you,” Nick retorts.
“Daddy isn’t around to keep you high on the ladder anymore, Julia.
I’m sure your skills can be put to good use.
I heard the strip club downtown is looking for new girls.
It’s dark enough in there, they wouldn’t know right away that you're old and used up.”
I can’t help but snort a laugh, and Julia’s furious gaze swings my way. “I expect that kind of bullshit from him. But you?” She has the fucking nerve to look at me with disappointment.
I bare my teeth in a snarl, taking a step towards her. Her eyes flash with fear. “You don’t have the right to have any opinion on who I am or what I do,” I growl. “I suggest you stay the fuck out of our way unless you want to be out on your ass. Understood?”
She nods her head with a jerk, swallowing hard.
“Now, be useful and tell us if Rafe was on that run?”
Her brows furrow. “No, I don’t think so. Your father had him doing something here in town.”
Both of us visibly relax. “Where is he?” I demand.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since before they left.”
“Do you have a number for him?” Nick asks.
“No.”
“Well, then, what fucking use are you?” Nick growls. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“You can’t talk to me like that!” She stomps her foot. “I’m your mother.”
“Stepmother,” I growl. “You were never a mother to us.”
“I loved you boys. I cared for you like you were my own when your whore mothers abandoned you.”
“Are you fucking delusional?” Nick growls.
“All you fucking did was make our lives misrable. You hated the fact that your old man was stepping out on you, fucking anything that moved. You saw us as the enemy and treated us just the same. Don’t fool yourself.
You’re an evil, crazy bitch. You're lucky we don’t put you out on your ass right here and now.
I’m sure I can get Ghost to agree to that. ”
“N-no.” Her eyes widen. “Please, this club is all I know.”
“Then. Fuck. Off,” Nick growls.
I want to tell her to leave, to never come back, and that she doesn’t deserve the help of the Steel Devils North Dakota chapter. But I bite my tongue, for now.
If Nick knew what she did to me, he wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet between her eyes.
I don’t want him to kill her. I want to be the one to take her life. I just haven’t been able to build up the courage to kill a woman. It isn’t in me.
Part of me feels like a coward. How many other kids did she hurt after I left? Did she take my threat seriously? Did she believe that I’d come back and kill her if I found out she harmed another boy?
I pray she did. Because I don’t think I’d be able to live with the guilt. I couldn’t kill her back then, it would have been a death sentence to both my brothers and me.
But my father is dead now. Everything has changed. And maybe, for the better.
***
For the next few hours, we explore the compound, discovering neglect around every corner.
How long has the club been crumbling? There are more women and children here than men. Any of the members still around are either elderly or prospects. I’m not sure if there’s anything really left to salvage.
Every child we come across looks curious but distrusting, like they don’t know if we’re here to hurt them or not. I try to show them with a smile that I mean them no harm, but I don’t think they believe me.
Not every child looks dirty and emaciated, but they don’t look like happy, carefree children. My heart breaks for them all. “How could he let this place get so bad? These are supposed to be his people,” I growl, kicking at a dirty mattress laying in the middle of the field.
“He didn’t care about his own flesh and blood, why would he care about anyone else’s?” Nick snorts. “He was a selfish monster who only cared about pussy, money, and power. Or whatever he could snort up his nose. The world is a better place without him. And so is everyone here.”
I agree with him, I just hate to see all of these people suffer. The women and children of the MC should be taken care of, but they look like they’re lucky if they get scraps.
As we head back to the front of the clubhouse, a little girl steps into our path. She looks to be about five or six. Her blond hair is long and matted, her pink dress dirty. A white rabbit is clutched under her left arm as she sucks on her thumb with her right.
My heart shatters into pieces as I stare down at her.
“Hey there.” I crouch down, making sure to keep my voice soft. “What’s your name?”
She stares at me for a moment before removing her thumb. “Rica,” she murmurs.
“Hi, Rica. I’m Will, and this is my older brother, Nick.”
“Are you bad men?” she asks, looking from me to Nick.
“No.” I shake my head. “We’re here to make sure everyone is okay.”
“Mommy says Daddy died. That all the bad men did.”
I look up at Nick, who’s scowling down at her. “Who’s your daddy, kid?”
Rica looks up at Nick, and I watch the two of them. Then it clicks. Fucking hell, the two of them could be twins. She looks exactly like Nick when he was that age. Long hair and all.
“A killer,” she says, sticking her thumb back into her mouth.
My heart starts to race. “Do you mean Killer?” I ask her. “Is his name Killer?”
She brings her bright blue eyes back to mine and slowly nods.
“Fucking hell!” Nick curses, making Rica’s eyes dart back to him. He blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “Who’s your mother?”
Rica glares at Nick.
“Rica, sweetie. Who’s your mommy?”
She pulls her finger from her mouth. “Everyone calls her Julia, but Daddy calls her a stupid bitch.”
Nick snorts, and I shoot a glare his way.
“What? She is,” Nick adds, unhelpfully.
I look back at Rica. “Wanna know something?” Rica nods. “Killer is our dad, too. That means we’re your big brothers.” My voice cracks just saying it. We have a baby sister, and she was growing up in this dump with all these sick, fucked up men.
Rica’s little eyes light up. “Really?”
“Yup.” I smile, nodding. “You have another brother, too. His name is Ian, but he’s not here. He’s at home with our Omega.”
“Your Omega?” Julia’s voice shrieks as she comes around the front of the compound. “You have an Omega?”
I stand to my feet and glare at her. “You didn’t think to mention back there that we have a sister?” I hiss. “Look at her. She’s filthy. You were in there getting drunk while your daughter is running around in this death trap of a place? She doesn’t even have any fucking shoes.”
Julia scowls, lifting Rica into her arms. “Don’t you judge me! You have no idea how hard it is to raise a kid. Her father just died. I’m mourning.”
“The world doesn’t fucking stop just because someone dies,” Nick growls.
“You're not mourning shit. Don’t lie, you’re happy that fucker is dead.
No one is sad to see him go. Don’t use that as an excuse for being a shitty mom.
You would think after bitching at the old man for years to finally give you a kid of your own, you’d be a better mother to her than you ever were to us.
Guess it wasn’t because we weren't blood, you're just a crappy person.”
“Stay away from me. And Rica,” she growls.
Nick steps forward. “You better get your shit together, or we’ll do it for you,” Nick warns.
Julia’s eyes flash with fear before she takes off with Rica, rushing back into the clubhouse.
“Christ,” Nick snarls. “A little sister? How many more siblings do we have running around here? I thought the old man got his balls snipped?”
I run a hand over my face. “I thought so too.”
“Maybe she cheated on him, and it’s not his.”
“She looks just like you,” I point out. “Just like he did.”
Nick shrugs. “Sure, same hair and eyes. But Julia has blond hair and blue eyes, too.”
He has a point. Still, as far as we know, she is our little sister, and we will treat her as such. She needs to get away from these people, this place. She deserves better. I’ll be making sure to bring this up to Kane.
“Let’s get out of here,” Nick mutters. “I’ll let Kane know everyone who’s left is alive. I can’t rightfully say they’re okay, though.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Nothing about this place is okay.”
As we mount our bikes, we hear the roars of bikes behind us. Looking over our shoulder, three bikes head towards us. I look at Nick, and he nods. We get off, waiting to see who the newcomers are.
When the one in the middle takes his helmet off, shaking out his black inky hair, a smile finds my lips. Rafe.
His face lights up, and he’s off his bike and over to us in a flash. We hug him, happy to see he’s fine.
“It’s so good to see you,” Nick grunts as the two of them hold tight in an embrace.
“You too,” Rafe says.
“You have no idea how happy we are that you weren’t with them,” I tell Rafe as they pull apart.
He sighs heavily, shaking his head. “I heard. One of the guys here texted me about it.”
“Why are you just getting back now?”
“Didn’t know what to do.” Rafe looks around. “I was supposed to be with them. But when Killer needed a side job done, I jumped at the chance. Something was telling me not to go. I had a feeling something wasn’t right. I knew the shit they got themselves into was bad, I just didn’t know how bad.”
“Good thing you took the side job,” Nick grunts, and Rafe nods.
“You here for good?” Rafe asks, looking between the two of us.
“Nah,” Nick says. “Ghost called and asked us to check in. He and his men are on their way down. Should be here tomorrow. He will make sure everything is okay.”
Rafe’s face falls. “Uh. Okay.”
“But hey.” Nick pats his shoulder. “The old man is dead. That means we can be in one another's lives again, and no one else has to die.”
Rafe chuckles. “There’s that.” He looks around. “Where’s Ian?”
“At home.” I grin. “With our new Omega.”
Rafe’s eyes widen. “You fuckers got yourself an Omega!?”
“More like kidnapped one,” I snort, and Nick glares.
“What?” Rafe’s eyes snap over to Nick. “You kidnapped an Omega?”
“It’s not like that,” Nick growls. “It’s a long story, but she’s our scent match. You really think Ian would let her go?”
“No.” Rafe grins. “He must be in heaven.”
“He is,” I confirm.
“Too happy if you ask me,” Nick grumbles. “He acts like she’s the best thing to ever walk the earth.”
“Because she is,” I point out.
“Not you too?” Nick groans. “Fucking hell.”
Rafe laughs. “I wanna hear all about how you guys got yourself an Omega.”
“Let’s go for a ride,” Nick suggests. “I don’t wanna be here any longer than I have to.”
Rafe nods. Before we get on our bikes, Rafe introduces us to the guys he drove in with. Marshall and Bo, two prospects.
We head out for a drive, stopping at a nearby diner. We fill Rafe in on how we met Nova, and he fills us in on all the horrors that the MC has become.
The only reason why he hasn’t left yet is because he knocked up Bandit’s daughter, and she refuses to leave. He stayed so he could be a part of his son’s life.
Thankfully, his kid wasn’t one of the kids who were walking around in the filth. His son is just a baby, and Emily, Bandit’s daughter, is a pretty good mom.
It turns out, the two of them aren't together. They were just two best friends who got drunk and had sex.
Interesting arrangement, but who am I to judge?
Once we’re done, we say our goodbyes to Rafe and promise to see him again soon.
“Let’s go home,” Nick says.
Home. After everything that happened in the last month, home sounds like a nice place to be.
Because she’s there. My Omega. “Yeah, let’s go home.”