Chapter 36
CILLA
Sitting at a small table in the diner, with Shelby making sure everyone stayed calm and did not cause any issues with the way the evening is run. I tap the small gavel Shelby found, from goodness knows where, and get everyone’s attention.
“Good evening, everyone. It is lovely to see so many of you turn out to support this fundraiser. Now, let me be clear on the fact that I cannot call certain people who have passed away. I can only connect you to the ones that appear. It is a case of some passing on to other places once they pass, and those places are out of my reach. Others stay within my reach until they are happy with either giving a message, or whatever it is they are waiting around for.”
At this point, I give a look to Bono, Tank, and Pyro who are standing on one side of the room, arms folded over their chests and pretending to lean against the wall. They know that I know if they try to lean on the wall they’ll fall right through it, but it seems to amuse them, so I ignore it.
I continue, “I can see a few people waiting to connect with one or more of you. I’ll make a start, and if you recognize the person, then give me a shout out.”
People shuffle in their seats, getting comfortable. Mr. Gallagher mumbles, but loud enough for most of us to hear, “If it’s Doreen, tell her I have had enough of her in life, and she can take a hike in death. I’m done with it.”
That is greeted with some chuckles, some gasps, and some are trying their hardest to pretend they didn’t hear him. I shake my head, roll my eyes, and look at Tank who is laughing his butt off.
“Okay, the first person I have here is a gentleman of I guess fifty-five years of age. He’s tall, with brown hair with flecks of gray.
Handsome man, and he looks fit, so not sure at the moment why he passed to the other side.
Oh, he says his name is Bartholemew,” I look around the room to see if anyone is recognizing the description.
“Oh my, is it you, Bart?” A lady in her later years asks. She is holding her hand around her throat and looks as if at any moment she is going to burst into tears.
“Do you recognize the lady, Bartholemew?” I ask.
*Oh, yeah, that’s my wife. Or was my wife. But tell her I divorced her on this side because she was being boned by the grocery boy*
My eyes must nearly pop out of my head. Bono falls to his knees guffawing so loudly I can hardly think, and Pyro is flicking his flames faster than I’ve ever seen before.
“Shit, Bono. Shut up laughing. I can’t tell her that in front of all these people,” I’m speaking to Bono and Bartholemew mentally, which means thankfully the crowd in the diner do not know what is happening.
*Why not? She did it, not Bart here*
I open my mouth to speak when Tracker, Finger, Cap, and four other brothers walk into the diner. They take a seat near the back and look around at all the expectant faces before looking back at my face, which must show some panic.
Tracker, of course, has no filter or shame. Whichever it is I don’t know, and don’t care at this moment in time. Tracker opens his mouth and I could put a sock in it to shut him up.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Tracker asks, and yeah, the damn room turns around and tells him Bartholemew is here, and his wife is here, but I’ve gone quiet. “What’s going on, Cilla. Did this bitch do something to him? Did she kill him?”
“No…” Bartholemew’s wife gasps, looking as though she’s going to run out the door.
“No, she did not hurt Bartholemew,” I quickly said, doing my utmost to calm the situation. The room is loud with questions, and most are staring at the wife by this point.
“What did you do?” Tracker insists asking, and I can see the woman finally understands what is happening. She looks at me with a hint of panic, and before I can say anything she jumps out of her seat and heads out of the diner.
*Crisis over*
“Shut up, Tank. It is not funny. Well, not too funny,” I state, but I can feel a little hysteria starting, and I quickly swallow the giggle that wants to explode from me.
“I’m sorry, Bartholemew. If I see your wife at some time, I will speak with her on your behalf,” I assure him, and he gives me a wink as he disappears.
Turning when I hear Tracker and the brothers from the MC guessing what could have happened, I quickly spot a child and speak to the room.
“I have a young girl here. She is around five, I think. Blonde hair with beautiful blue eyes. She is waving at someone over in that direction.” I point to the left of the room, and a woman rubs her hands together nervously.
“Is it Hailey?” The woman quietly asks. Turning to the little girl she nods and waves to the woman.
*Mama*
Now, the hardest thing is to tell a parent that a child is connecting with them. It can go one of two ways, it can tip them over, or it can give them peace. “She is calling you Mama,” I mumble.
The woman cries out, and the woman next to her wraps an arm around her and holds her firmly. Giving her strength, I am sure.
I relay the small amount the child wants me to, or she is able to tell me.
The woman is smiling, and peace is seen now that she knows her daughter is not suffering, not alone, and is ready to move on with her grandfather.
I wondered why the elderly man was hovering near her but didn’t want to break the child's concentration.
A feisty female rushes past Tank, and he gives her a vicious look. But when she snarls at me, he steps forward and gets right in her face.
*Get away from me, asshole*
Wow, that wasn’t nice, and it looks like she’s not nice. “I have a woman here who is rather aggressive, and one of my spirit guides—yeah, I have had to give the three idiots a label—is holding her back. She says her name is Anathena…”
“No, she can fuck the hell off. She is nothing but a skank, and she needs to leave me alone and move on. I’ll not forgive her and she should fuck off thinking I will,” a woman in her early thirties shouts as she jumps to her feet.
Now, let me just say that Tracker and the brothers are finding all this highly entertaining, and if I could kick their asses for laughing every two minutes, I would. I give Mason a nasty look, and he knows he’ll suffer for his part in all that.
Tracker has to ask, and I could wring his neck. “What did she do?”
The irate woman slams her hands on her hips and turns to look at Tracker.
“She’s my sister, or was, and she was cheating with my asshole of a husband.
Well, she was run over by a truck, serves her damn well right.
The husband I got rid of and he moved to Mexico where he had family.
Best place for him, I hope he catches something nasty and his dick falls off. ”
All the while this has been going on, I’ve had the mad woman shouting past Tank towards me. It seems she can’t move on without forgiveness from her sister, and hey, it looks like she will be stuck in limbo for a long, long time.
Tracker is nodding, and I think playing with the woman because he is encouraging all her anger. “Yeah, needs to fall off, rot like dried up…”
“Stop! That is enough. Tank is moving her along, now let us see if we can get someone nice this time,” I give Tracker an evil glare, but that doesn’t worry him, oh, of course, not, he just gives me a smile showing all his teeth, then freaking winks at me.
A young man in motorcycle leathers, holding a helmet, steps forward and I point at him. I can see he is in his early twenties, darn handsome, long hair, a dimple as he smiles at me. “Who do you want to speak to?” I ask, and he looks at a young woman sitting near the diner's door.
*Will you tell Esme to live a long and happy life? Find a new love. I’ll always be here watching over her. But if she wants me to move on, I’ll do that. I just want her to know I love her, and she can’t waste her life because I’m no longer here*
I relay the message to Esme, and although tears are running down her cheeks, she gives me a watery smile and a nod. “Thank you,” she whispers before she turns and leaves the diner. I look at the young man, and he gives me a smile before he turns and walks away, dissolving as he does so.
The evening was a success. Many tell me they are coming back for the next four evenings.
I am tired, but I am more than happy with the outcome, and the money Shelby has so far is better than I had hoped.
She knows why I’m holding these evenings and said she is proud of me for helping the young men be safer on better bikes.
Trouble is, where do I get better bikes, and how do I know they are?
*We’ll come* *We’ll show you what to buy* *I’ll fry their ass if they try to sell you junk*
Dear me, here we go again. The trio of assholes…
The weekend has come around. The evenings are done, and I have raised enough to get better bikes for Jethro, Spencer, Ian, Jet, and Robert.
I can only do it because Mason agreed to help me find and buy the bikes.
He’s even thrown in a chunk of cash, along with some of the other brothers, so I can get bikes for all the prospects and not just two or three.
Walking into the clubhouse, the first thing I notice is a man following Tracker and Cap. Without thinking, I loudly ask, “Who are you? Why are you following Tracker and Cap?”
Tracker and Cap turn and look at me, and at where the man is standing, only because that’s where I’m looking and they have instinctively looked where I am. They cannot see him, but I’m looking at him and seeing someone who has either been in a war zone or tortured.
*Tell Cap my sister is in the wind. My last mission turned bad, and I was killed.
The powers that be in the US are eliminating members of families that spoke to my team before we left for our mission.
Willow spoke to me before I left for the mission.
She’s now running after they attempted to grab her.
I told her that if for any reason she needed help to come to Cap*
I quickly relay the message, and Cap is standing rigid, with fisted hands at his sides. “Is his name Liam?” Cap asks, and I confirm that is his name. Nodding, Cap speaks to empty space, but we all know he’s speaking directly to his friend.
“I’ll find her and keep her safe. If necessary, I’ll kill the fuckers that follow her,” Cap looks at Tracker and gets a nod to confirm that he agrees. “Rest easy, Liam.”
Before any more can be said I hear Liam scream. But what happens next tears my heart out. A beautiful young woman gradually appears by his side, and Liam grabs her holding her tight against him. Crying loudly all the time.
I realize what I’m seeing and look at Cap. “It’s too late, Cap. His sister is now with him. I have just seen them unite.”
Cap bellows and looks at me with so much heartbreak that I want to hug him, but I know he’d not want that.
“Cilla, get as much information as you can, and I’m going after the fuckers that did this.”
“I can’t Cap, they are already walking away. They are together and they are leaving for another level. You will need to find out what, who, and why the old-fashioned way.”
Cap nods and turning leaves the common room, but he is already shouting for Keys to get to work. Tracker looks at me with so much respect that it makes my eyes water.
“You are a good person, Cilla. It cannot be easy to see something like that. I am happy that the siblings were united, but Liam was Cap’s best friend from childhood, and they served together for a long time too.
He’s not going to let this go, but if you hear anything from the other side let us know,” Tracker steps forward and hugs me, something I didn’t expect but I hug him right back.
“Pres, get your hands off my woman. I respect you above everyone, but if you don’t let her go, we are going to have a problem.”
I giggle, which has Tracker looking down at me, and earns me a huge smirk. He kisses my forehead, gives me a wink, and walks away. Mason is quick to reach me, but when he uses his sleeve to wipe my forehead, I can’t help the laughter that bursts out. Men, idiots, but we love them anyway.