“I trust you Mason and I will stay safe and listen to Rye, I promise, but you better come back to me alive or so help me I will pull you back to Earth to kick your ass. I love you and I don’t want to lose you since we have a chance together.” Mason pushes me back a little and looks down at me and I realize what I just said.

  “You love me?” Mason waits for me to say it again.

  “Mason Keith Brumley, I love you with everything that I am. I have tried fighting it, but I can’t. We still have some things we need to work through, but I do love you.” I confess everything I have been keeping to myself. Mason pulls me back to him and kisses me breathless. I sway on my feet and Mason steadies me.

  “When things have settled down, I am taking you to meet my dad. He is going to love you.” This is the first time Mason has mentioned his dad, Robert Brumley to me. “Micah, keep yourself and our child safe even if you need to hide. I know Bourbon and Rye can handle anything thrown at them, but I just want your word that this is what you will do if needed.”

  “I’ll do what I need to and that will just need to be enough for you. Please, don’t do anything to Henry on the ranch. If he did what you said, then I understand he needs to be handled but I don’t want it where Aunt Deb must see it. She’s going to feel bad about it as it is, but she doesn’t need it rubbed in her face.” I know Aunt Deb and she is going to take full responsibility for this. No one can control everyone around them.

  “I texted Rye earlier and he is explaining everything to Deb now. You know how Deb is going to react so be there for her like you always are. I need to get on the road. Stay in the house and make sure everything is locked up tight. Make sure you stay away from the windows.” Mason is going over everything with me. “We are going to also tell the rest of your family about the baby soon. Both your sisters deserve to be told by you and not through club grapevines.” I agree. Mason hugs me again and kisses the top of my head. “See you later.” I need to let him go, so I do. He’s not the only one worried about what tonight holds.

  22

  Sarge…

  I arrive back at the clubhouse in record time. I see the Legions MC is here by all the bikes parked in front. I also see that Slayer and Ritter have returned. I walk into the clubhouse and before I make it two feet in, I see our new friends are sitting together in the corner. I walk straight to the table and stop right beside Priest. I look the room over and I see that Slayer and Ritter are sitting in the farthest corner with Dee on the table in front of them, giving a strip tease. She’ll be lucky if she doesn’t break her damn neck. Priest stands beside me. I talk quietly, and I know the music drowns it out for anyone else. “We are accepting the proposition of you being a supporting club with a probationary period of one year and then we will vote to patch you over. We both need to know we can work together, and this is the only way to do it without hard feelings if it doesn’t work out. Do you need to vote on it or have you already?” I ask Priest.

  “We voted before we ever arrived here that we would take whatever the Rebellions 4 Bloods MC offered us, Priest answers me.

  “We have a situation that we need to take care of tonight and we would like it if some of your members could be our backup. I need a few men watching our clubhouse and the others would only be needed if we call. I need two outside and two inside to watch over the women and they can change up if need be. I will assign a couple of rooms and that woman dancing on the table, Dee, or Rainy will show the men where the rooms are. We treat the club muffins with respect here so be sure and remind your men of this so there will be no situation.” Priest nods. “Any of this a problem? I need your men here by four and they may be here until tomorrow sometime.”

  “Not a problem. Bounty my VP will be here with three of our best men. If any one of my men disrespect any woman then you just tell Bounty and he will handle it on the spot,” Priest tells me. That I can respect.

  “We will have a sit-down and a talk about going forward but the things we need to handle now are time-sensitive. The only thing I want your men to do is protect our property and the lives of people here. If they make it a legal shot, then we will have no problems. If the cops are called there is not one thing on these premises that will have blowback on anyone. All our weapons are legal and the men that aren’t allowed to carry by the law don’t have a piece on them and we don’t sell drugs. Do you understand all this and what I’m saying? If you have any questions now is the time to ask and then you need to leave because this place is going to be downright hell for the next few hours until we leave.” If Priest doesn’t get my meaning, then we don’t need to be working together.

  “I understand, and I will make sure my men do as well. Good hunting.” I guess Priest does understand. He motions to his men and they get up and follow him out. One thing taken care of off my list, now for the next one. I see that Stealth, Wedge, and Painter are in place, so I walk toward the table that Dee is on. I see Shield by the jukebox, and I nod my head at him, and everything goes quiet except for Slayer and Ritter’s bitchin’. Stealth hits the lights and the brightness even makes me blink.

  “What the hell?” I hear Slayer say. I make my way to the table and I take Dee by the hand and help her down. I whisper in her ear to get the girls out of there. She stares up at me and then her eyes flitter toward Slayer. Dee’s in on it too, damn, no loyalty at all. I grab Dee’s hand and I don’t let her go. I turn to Stealth.

  “Get the muffins in here. We have a bigger problem than I thought.” By this time Slayer and Ritter are standing but Boots and Wedge move in on them and get their guns and throws them against the wall and pat them down. “It seems we have had some traitors amongst us for a while now. I just didn’t know it was from anyone other than Slayer and Ritter. Keys, I need you and a prospect to turn over the muffins rooms and make sure there are no drugs or weapons that could get us in a bind. Zeus, you and Buster go and bring our other friends in and then lock the doors. It’s time to talk. Lair go get my work tray out of my office just in case someone doesn’t want to cooperate with us. Prospect Link roll out the plastic and bring those body bags in here.” Neither Slayer nor Ritter react. Dee on the other hand is crying and Lee is holding her.

  “I will tell you everything I know just please, don’t do this,” Dee pleads.

  “Dee, have we not been good to you? Did we not help you out with whatever you needed, provide you with food, clothes, medical, and anything else you required? Why did you think these two would help you or be there for you more than the club was? Do you know some clubs would treat you with complete disrespect? So, tell me Dee, why?” I want to strangle this woman and I don’t even know what she has done yet. It’s the fucking betrayal that cuts deep. Zeus walks in with the men we picked up from the ranch earlier today. They are all shackled and gagged. Buster comes in the other door with Hemric and his group of preppy guys, again all shackled and gagged. “Lock this place down and put two men on the gate. I want a patch with a prospect, and I want them armed for bear. I’m waiting Dee and I’m not a patient man.”

  “My sister’s friend approached me when we arrived here. I saw her in town and I always thought it was weird that I would run into her while grocery shopping when she was from West Texas. We had coffee a few times and then she said I needed to become friends with Ritter and Slayer because they were going places and that she was related to Slayer. She said they would treat me right and I might even become one of their ol’ ladies. Then she gave me a little something to take the edge off when I needed it. I was getting bored just spreading my legs, so I needed it from time to time. I swallowed everything that she was feeding me and more and then she asked me to be a go-between for her and Slayer and Ritter from there the two men escalated it to snooping for them and giving the information to my friend.” It’s all I can do to rein myself in.

  “She’s a fucking slut, why would you believe her over us?” Ritter asks. “We’re your brothers.”

  “Dee were any of the other muffins helping you and who was your friend?” I look closely at the woman. “Don’t even think about lying to me or only giving me half the truth. You’ve already told me enough to go down hard. You betrayed the people that helped you for what, some damn drugs that you weren’t supposed to be doing? How did you pass the drug tests?”

  “Sarge, please. I was just confused. Lee and Chanel helped me, but they didn’t take any of the drugs, they were paid cash.” I am seething with pent-up anger and I look around the room at my brothers and they look the same. “My friend is Lorelle James Mahan, but I call her Lora. She was Diamondback’s ol’ lady at one time.”

  “You bitch, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Slayer yells. “She’s the one that helped you growing up and you just put a target on her back.”

  “You stupid idiot, she’s the one that got me into this. She’s the one that made me be a club whore to get information on Diamondback and ended up with all his money. She was greedy and thought she was entitled to Braun’s share even though he’d been dead and gone for years and on top of that she was using Diamondback’s last name even though they were never lawfully married. I don’t know why you’re taking up for her when she has a secret so big that it’s going to knock everyone on their ass and that includes you two. Do you really think she wanted this club for you two to take over, think again? She is on her own little mission and she was using you two. She knew you were going to get caught because you are both idiots.” Ritter and Slayer are looking at each other and then back to Dee. It seems that Ritter and Slayer are just pawns in someone else’s game. Dee is doing my job for me.

  “What the hell are you talking about bitch?” Ritter yells at Dee.

  “The rooms are clean except for this in Dee’s room.” I see the baggie is almost empty as Keys holds it up.

  “Dilute the powder in something and pour it over the fence and burn the baggie,” I tell him. “Take all the muffins back to their rooms.” I stop and turn to the other women. “Anyone want to confess anything before I beat it out of these three?” Dee is realizing the amount of trouble she is in. Ritter and Slayer try to act like this isn’t bothering them but the sweat pouring from them is a dead giveaway. The other muffins look at each other and then back to me.

  “We would never betray you or the club, but we knew that Dee was off lately, we just couldn’t figure out why.” Rainey steps up and tells me. I shake my head alright, but I don’t want to talk to her right now.

  “Take them back and be sure to leave someone on their door. I don’t want them hurt if this goes south. Dee, Chanel, and Lee stay with us.” Key escorts the women back and I know he won’t be back because he has a job he was assigned to and it won’t be on the damn door of the muffin’s rooms. I wait to make sure everyone has cleared the hallway.

  “Dee consider your options for this next question. I can tell you now that you would not be the first woman that I put down. What is Lora’s big secret and what does it have to do with the club?” I watch the woman as she thinks it over, but she is taking too long. “Now, Dee.” I look at Lee and Chanel but they look like they want to be anywhere but here. I motion them to a couple of chairs so they can sit down.

  “Braun never died. He’s in the witness protection plan so Petrov doesn’t find him. Diamondback didn’t even know. The cancer was real. When he went into the program, they didn’t even know if Braun would beat the cancer, but with the best medical care that the government could buy, he again beat it. Lora is the only person that knows he is still alive, and she told me she wanted this club so Braun could claim it when he was able to come home. It has been years and they still haven’t arrested Petrov. She was going to put in a good word for me with Braun.” I look at Dee and I see she is telling me the truth as she knows it.

  “You lying bitch. Lora wanted to be my woman and I was going to be the top man with Ritter by my side,” Slayer yells again. I want to laugh my ass off, but I look around the room and we have a lot to do between now and four o’clock.

  “Lora is crazy Dee. Braun never wanted this club. He hated the life. If he is in the witness protection program then when he gets out, he won’t come back to the club. He hated everything we stood for but thanks for the link to Petrov. I have just the guys to investigate that issue. Buster put these women in the lockup area. Make sure they go to the bathroom first; this may take a while. Put a bucket in there with them in case they can’t wait and take the keys with you.” I see the look of dread on the three women’s faces. They should have made better choices. I motion for Stealth to move Slayer and Ritter over with the other men and one chair is put in the middle of the plastic that the prospects rolled out. Stealth ties Slayer’s and Ritter’s hands. I face Slayer.

  “This can go as easy or as hard as you want it, but it is going to hurt.” Stealth pulls my work cart over beside me. “Question one, who were you working with? Was it just Lora or was someone else involved? I am going to tell you that I already know the answer so, please, lie.” I take the hammer out of the top drawer.

  “Eat shit and die, motherfucker.” I smile.

  “Thank you.” I pull back the hammer as far as I can and bring it down as hard as I can on Slayer’s knee cap. I hear Slayer yell in pain, and it is music to my ears.

  “Would you like to rethink that answer or just say again so I can unleash a little more anger on you?” Slayer has tears pouring down his face, but I know I won’t be using my hammer anymore. His tolerance for pain has been reached.

  “Ritter and I have been working with Lora ever since she had Braun. We took a little off the top here and there and when Diamondback started partying more and staying high and drunk, we took more. We split it three ways and just kept taking until you and Stealth showed up and we knew that one of you would catch onto us fast, so we slowed it down. Lora kept pressuring us and when she came to us with a plan to take over the club, we were in so deep that we couldn’t say no. Lora has four other men working with her. One is Driver and he was a club brother at one time. The other three are just thugs that will hire out to anyone for the right price. I also know that she was talking to Preece, who was Stiles’ son, and his eyes are on the Bass Haven Ranch. I swear to you that neither Ritter nor I had anything to do with your woman’s shooting. We just arrived back from the Dallas area and you can check the GPS from the truck we rented and the miles we drove.” I believe Slayer. I motion for Stealth to walk to me.

  I whisper, “I want Henry and then Preece.” Shield steps up and helps move Slayer since he can’t walk. I walk across the room and get a table and bring it back over by the chair that Henry is now sitting in. No one has questioned me or my methods and it’s a damn good thing. “Well Henry, it has been a good minute since we have spoken. How many times did I trust you with my woman’s life and how many times did my woman and Deb trust you with family secrets, their property and their own safety. You still couldn’t bag Deb, now could you? You were good for a roll in the old hay, but Deb just wouldn’t commit. Smart lady. Let me tell you how this is going to go. I am going to tell you what we have on you and then I have a few questions. You can either confess everything and answer my questions or I am going to take this very dull saw and cut off all your fingers, one at a time. Like I told Slayer, please, lie. Then I can work out part of my aggression and it will be gone. Do you understand the rules?” I still haven’t ungagged Henry so he can only nod his head. “Alright, let’s do this.” I get up and step beside Henry and take his gag out and sit back down. “I know that Stiles, not Deb, hired you. I know he used you to spy on Deb and that is how he got most of those pictures that Preece was trying to blackmail Micah with. We also know that you were the one that orchestrated the incident at the last rodeo that sent Micah running home. You really should be more careful where you hand off envelopes of money. There are surveillance cameras everywhere and the guy that was supposed to destroy it is in jail already.” I don’t know how hard Henry will be to break but I don’t think it will take much. “Micah installed some security cameras by herself in the front of the house and guess whose truck was seen leaving the ranch right after the shooting and guess where we found a 9mm with a silencer on it today? I also know that Deb didn’t approve the hiring of any of the guys with you today. They all have felony records and since Deb has a no-felons policy, I guess you must have screwed up. So how am I doing so far?” I look at Henry and his head has sunk down and the color has left his face.

  “I am in love with Deb, but she only wanted sex with no strings. I was hired by Stiles and he paid me big until he died. I was biding my time and playing mister-nice-guy until Rye showed up and Deb allowed him in her bed and into her life like she would never let me. I did let Preece on the property and he started paying me. I worked too damn hard to let a scummy gang member take my place. I was going to run him off the ranch and away from Deb but first I had to get Micah home. That is one stubborn ass woman and I knew her horses are her weakness, so I used it to my advantage. Preece was supposed to distract Micah from the ranch but he couldn’t even do that. That boy is as crazy as his dad was and he thought the land was only good to for the coal mine to buy. That hasn’t been happening for fifteen damn years, but that Lora woman convinced him he was entitled to that property and he would get a big payoff. They were both fools. Lora just wanted the property because two of Diamondback’s daughters owned it. Lora was always jealous of Liz. Diamondback loved Liz and he hated Lora. Lora wants everything that has to do with Diamondback to go to Braun.” There’s no need to go on any further.