Turning, I see two other men standing on either side of Duchess. She is the one who let out that painful yell, as she is now on the ground trying to hold her biker boot that has blood dripping off the sole. Motherfucker, one of those assholes shotmy club sister in the foot. I put my hands in the air, showing I’m complying. The uglier of the two smirks but the one with the gun pulls the balaclava off his face, and I feel every muscle in my body tighten as I let a gasp out. No way, dear God, please tell me I’m wrong. Though my gut never leads me down the wrong path. It’s Samson, my father’s best friend’s son. He’s grown up to be a mountain of a man but his damn eyes are still dead. Dottie and I used to be friends with Samson and his brothers, until the day we saw some of them torturing a mother dog and her puppies. We were able to save the animals and our mother took them and dropped them off at the vet’s. She got beat that night because our father stated, one, it was not our business, and two, the boys were learning to be real men. Giving pain is a technique that takes patience and skill. Besides beating our mother, he put both Dottie and me outside to spend the night thinking about what we did and how we would apologize to Samson, Cain, Omar, and Noah. In the end, we had to invite them over with their father for a fancy dinner that Mom, Dottie, and I cooked. Then we had to sit and allow them to ridicule us the entire evening while our father laughed along with their insults and sexual innuendos.
“So, finally, little Daneira, we meet again. I see you haven’t yet learned your place, whore.”
Feeling the gargantuan move behind me, I glare at him, which has him chuckling. When I turn back toward Samson, I growl in not only frustration, but a tiny bit of fear too. I know in my heart he’s the one who’s been watching us.
“My name is Dani, you big asshole. What the hell are you doing here? I don’t want any problems, Samson, but what you just did to my sister Duchess is going to get you in so much trouble. If you need cash we don’t keep any on site, but if that’s why you are here, I need to make a phone call to our boss, who can get some cash for you.”
He grins that demonic lip curl my way as he reaches down, pulling Duchess up by her hair. She doesn’t make a sound though her questioning eyes never leave mine.Please,I put out to the universe,don’t let him hurt her any more than he already has. That thought hasn’t even been released out of my mind when his hand grabs her breast and he squeezes so hard her face turns beet red, but again she refuses to cry out. That just infuriates the jagoff as he gets off on not only hurting anyone and everyone, but also hearing the pain he is causing. Right when he goes to pinch, what I’m guessing is her nipple, Duchess drops her head forward then flings it back, hitting Samson right on the chin as she lifts her foot backward, her boot heel connecting with his balls. Watching her, I turn and with a tight fist I swing fast and hard, hitting the bastard behind me right in the Adam’s apple. He immediately falls to the ground, though not sure if he’s out or not. Hearing screaming, I turn to see Samson and the other man beating on Duchess. I run and jump on the other guy’s back. My fingers of both hands going immediately into his eyes, which causes him to swear while trying to shake me off. Knowing this is a life or death situation, I push as hard as I can, hoping his eyes pop out of his head. I saw Shadow do it once and at the time I almost fainted, but today I’m thankful she taught me some of her tricks of the trade.
Hearing sirens, Samson lets Duchess go then points his gun at her head.
“Enough, whore. Come with me now or I will blow her brains out. Then I will continue to work my way through every one of those whores you’ve been living with. Your choice, Daneira.”
Duchess’s eyes are begging me not to give in, but I can’t take the chance of what he’ll do to her. Both of the other men are down and if the two of us weren’t hurt and Samson didn’t have a gun I’d take the chance, but Duchess’s life means more to me than getting one over on Samson. I move slowly towardthem, my hands at my side. Samson never takes his eyes off of me and my stomach turns when he slowly starts to lick his lips, those eyes still dead, but looking weirdly like they are glowing,probably from his insanity,I think to myself.
“I was promised by your father that I could pick one of you to take as my own pilegesh if I was able to locate where you were hiding. Even the bitch who is my wife, after a few good beatings, was on board, knowing she would be getting a break from my proclivities. Now it’s taken me way longer than I thought it would. Since the elders you and your sister were promised to have died, I think your father wanted to try to clear his name that was dirtied when you two ungrateful bitches ran away. Now, my first thought was to take Dorothea. That was until I saw what she’s done to herself. What the fuck is wrong with her, putting all those markings on her skin, even up to her neck and face. It’s disgusting and goes against everything we were taught. The book even states in Leviticus:
‘You shall not make cuts in your flesh for a person (who died). You shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am the Lord.’
“So, guess I’ll settle for you, though we are not going back home. Not yet, as your father and the elders want us to reach out to some like-minded friends who are just a bit north of here, since your club of whores chased them out of this town. We’ve been informed that they have the supplies we need to further our cause. Our numbers have grown, Daneira, and we have a new agenda with the help from our new friends. Get a large bag and pack it with supplies that will help us on the road. Remember, it takes only one bullet in this concubine’s head to put this bitch down for good. Now move your fine ass.”
Not sure what I’m supposed to pack, but I grab a huge travel bag and start throwing some tools, paper towels, toilet paper, and napkins from the supply shelving units off to the one side. Reaching up, I grab three flashlights and some batteries.Turning I see Samson has his hands up Duchess’s T-shirt while he licks down her cheek. I see the glint of tears in her eyes and I can only imagine how this is going to fuck her up with her history. And with this demon, the more he can hurt, the better he feels about himself. Thinking on what Dottie would do, I clear my throat, glaring at him.
“Take your hands off the whore, Samson, if you ever want to lay a finger on me. I don’t share so try and be worthy of me, you dick.”
He’s watching me with a smirk on his face as his hands drop out of the T-shirt and he shoves my club sister away from his body. I explain that I need to go to the kitchen and bathroom to grab some more supplies and he just nods. Something in his eyes isn’t right, and as I turn to walk toward the employee lounge, I hear him tell Duchess to run. Before I can say a word, he pushes her and as I turn, the fear on her face stops my motion. As I go to scream for her to get down, Samson’s pushing her toward the door. When she turns around, he raises the gun and shoots Duchess in the back. I lose my mind, running toward him, grabbing a wrench from one of the toolboxes. Before I can reach him, he turns and points the gun at my head. I stop immediately as he starts to grin.
“Think before you take another step. She might be dead or maybe not. Keep acting out and I will finish her with a bullet to the head. Now go get the rest of the supplies while I clean up your mess. And don’t bring any coffee ’cause that shit you been drinking, we’ve been fuckin’ with and has poison in it. Dumb bitches just kept drinking that shit day after day. Fuck she might be dying from poison and me shootin’ her ass will make her death quicker and without pain. Move bitch.”
Looking at Duchess, she’s not moving and can’t see if she’s breathing. Goddamn this motherfucker, if it’s the final thing I do with my last breath; I will be putting a bullet in his skull. Movingas quickly as possible, I’m throwing shit into the bag when I hear not one but two shots. By the time I make it back to the shop, Samson has dragged his two men off to the corner and is dumping gasoline on their bodies. When he pulls a lighter out of his pocket I scream right before he drops it, setting them on fire. I pray to Christ they are dead. As he moves to Duchess, the sirens are getting very close, so with a slew of swear words he makes his way to me, grabbing my arm with the duffel bag, pulling me out the side door and around the corner. That’s where I see a huge SUV. He opens the back end, throwing the duffel in, then picks me up, tossing me in. When he leans toward me, I go to raise my hands but way too late, as I see his fist coming right for my face. That’s the last thing I comprehend as his fist hits my temple and the darkness takes me under.
FOURTEEN
HALO
BENJI
Listening to the men and women around me whining and bitching about how much pain they are in I can feel a grin on my face. How long has it been since I’ve felt this feeling of being a part of a group or team? I’m on Tink’s property with Noodles, Triple T, Pitfall, and Spirit from the sanctuary; along with Yoggie, Omen, and Malice from the Intruders. We’re building a couple more cabins for the Devil’s Handmaidens. Currently we have two going up, one small and one pretty big. It’s a sunny day and I know that Dottie left really early and is at The Wooden Spirits Bar & Grill covering for Cook, prepping for the day. Cook had a doctor’s appointment so Dottie volunteered to go and, with the help of Kon and Heartbreaker, get shit started, her words not mine. I was gonna go help her too but Noodles asked me to stay back and give a hand, so I did. Actually, we’ve been having a great time giving each other shit, which is making the day go. That is until everyone’s phones suddenly start ringing and vibrating, except mine. Then I hear multiple vehicles with the pedal to the floor making their way toward us. Something is definitely wrong. Watching Noodles, I see the moment when he drops his head, running his hand through his hair. Looking up, I see Avalanche’s truck come to an abrupt halt as men jump outrunning our way. Panther is the first to us and he’s screaming, which scares me ’cause this man never loses his temper or raises his voice.
“We got trouble at Devils on Wheels. Shots fired reported and Sheriff George called Zoey, which of course has a downward chain of alerts going out. All-hands-on-deck, let’s move now.”
My only thought is Dottie. Well, shit, can’t forget Dani since she works at the trucking company, along with Duchess and a few of the survivors from the human trafficking circuits the club has broken up. I remember Noodles telling me they just got a huge partnership and were looking to hire more employees there. I know some of the Intruders, especially Pussy, do a lot of driving for them as do some of the other folks associated with the Devil’s Handmaidens club. Reaching for my cell phone, I almost drop it when it starts to ring. Looking at the number, I know someone told her what’s going on.
“Hey, don’t say a word. I already know, we’re pulling it together and will be on the road in less than five minutes. Are you still at the bar and grill? Don’t move, Dottie, listen to me please, wait for me. We don’t know what we’ll be walking into. Take a breath, we’re leaving right now. Hang tight, I’m coming.”
Making my way to Avalanche’s truck, he’s at the back end, and when I approach, he throws a sniper rifle at me with a bag, which I’m assuming is ammunition. My first instinct is to either let it drop or toss it back at him, but I catch it, opening the back door, and leap into the third seat as others fill the seats in front of me.
“Any news yet?”
Yoggie is on his phone so he puts up a hand and no one says a word. Just listening, I can tell he’s talking to the sheriff, who’s his boss since he’s a deputy besides being an Intruder.
“Yeah, Sheriff, we’ll be there in under fifteen, if not ten minutes. Hang tight, we’ll be coming in hot.”
When he disconnects, everyone starts flinging questions his way until Triple T whistles so loud my ear drums vibrate.
“Give the brother a chance to speak, for fuck’s sake.”
Yoggie kind of turns, looking in front and behind him. His face says it all.
