The ride home has been slow and long. Henry and I talked it over with Mac and we decided to let Mac and the other guys travel at an accelerated pace, so the horses could get out of those trailers faster. They should have been home hours ago. We’ve made stops to tend to Blaze and I have calmed down a lot since we have been on the road. I think it has more to do with Blaze not having any complications so far. I now know how Callie and Maddie feel about their children. My babies may not be human, but they are in my heart and I would be crushed if I lost either of my horses. I don’t even want to have that thought. I keep the tears that want to flow over in check and bring myself out of those dreadful thoughts. Note to self, get a grip. I don’t show my emotions to anyone. I make myself come out of my thoughts to get myself back under control. I see the drive up to our ranch and everything feels better. In the last year I have come to find that this ranch will always be a big part of my life. All my childhood memories are here. I don’t think anyone, or anything, could make me leave this place, it will always be my home. This feeling of peace is something I have never found anywhere else. The only time I have ever felt anything even close is the few nights I have spent with Sarge, but I would never admit that to anyone. If I don’t admit it out loud then it can’t be true, or that is what I’m going with. Right, of course I am right. Henry slows down to take the trail to the barn and that is when I see a motorcycle sitting at the house. I let myself hope, no not hope but wish, it’s Sarge’s. Looking closer it looks nothing like Sarge’s Softail Convertible. I don’t know much about motorcycles, but I know when I am on the back of Sarge’s that I feel free. I look closer and that bike looks familiar, but I’m not sure who the owner is and why anyone on a motorcycle would be here. Aunt Deb isn’t the most inviting person when it comes to having visitors. Henry starts to turn closer to the house, but I point toward the barn.

  “I want to get Blaze settled before we go to the house.” I look at Henry and he has a worried look on his face. He is just as curious as I am about the motorcycle and who the owner is. “Do you know who that bike belongs to or has it been here before?” Henry hesitates to say anything. “Spit it out Henry, I know you know something.”

  “That’s Rye’s motorcycle. While you have been on the road this year, he has been coming around some. That man is up to no good and he is going to hurt your Aunt Deb. I don’t know why she ever let him past the damn front door, but she has taken quite a shine to him and him to her. All I know is it will come to no good for either of them. I just thought Deb had better common sense. It’s not like she is some damn schoolgirl. She has a responsibility to you and your sister and this ranch.” I’ve never heard Henry talk about Aunt Deb with anything but praise. Henry has been a part of the ranch and our family for years.

  “Aunt Deb is also a woman that deserves happiness. Maddie and I are grown now, and she stepped up and raised us when Mom died. She has also put more sweat and tears into this ranch than any of us. She deserves some happiness for herself and she needs a man that is going to step up and be man enough to give her the happiness she deserves.” I stop for a second and think about my next words carefully. Nothing has ever stopped me from stating my mind before and nothing will now. “Henry, if you want that man to be you then you are going to need to let Aunt Deb know it now. She’s not a mind reader and you are a little too subtle.” Henry swings his head toward me and I know I am going to get one of his talks.

  “Little lady, I think whatever does or doesn’t go on between your Aunt Deb and me, is none of your business. Just like your relationships are none of my business. Have any of you young’uns ever heard of giving a person space to make their own mind up? I won’t deny I have feelings for Deb, but she is well aware of my intentions. I’m no young buck that needs to chase no woman, even one like Deb. I am not fighting for Deb’s attention, if she wants me, she knows where I am.” I can tell by Henry’s set of his jaw that he is finished talking about it. The one thing that Henry isn’t grasping is the Bass women don’t take well to his approach. We want the words, we want the security of the words to know we aren’t assuming, it’s like we need it. I would never admit that to anyone, but it is so true. I just nod my head yes and I’m glad when we arrive at the barn doors. I don’t want to continue this conversation any longer. I don’t know where Aunt Deb stands and to tell you the truth, Henry is right, it’s none of my business. I just feel in my gut that someone I care about is going to be hurt. I am out of the truck at the back of the trailer before Henry can open his door, but it doesn’t take him long to join me. Henry is watching me carefully as I open the trailer gate. Henry grabs it and I look at him.

  “I get what you’re saying, and I appreciate it. I can’t be anyone but me and I can’t go around throwing out flowery words and making big jesters. Deb would laugh at me because she knows that isn’t me. I’ll take care of Blaze and you go give that damn biker hell, just like you would anyone else that is in your house and you don’t know why. Your Aunt Deb will get over it.” I know Henry just wants me to raise a ruckus, so Rye will leave. I just don’t think Rye will be that easy to run off, but I don’t have the heart to tell Henry that. This is what happens when you put your nose in someone else’s business.

  “Let’s get Blaze comfortable and then I’ll go up to the house.” I wink at Henry. He knows me well enough to know my mind is set.

  “Damn stubborn woman,” Henry tells me.

  “And you love every bit of me, stubbornness and all.” I laugh at the man.

  “You have me there. Let’s get Blaze inside.” Henry is half laughing too. The tension from earlier is gone.

  8

  Sarge…

  The brothers and I ride up to the compound that Priest has built. If it was anyone else or in a different situation, I might be impressed with the work that has been done in the short amount of time that the Legion MC has been here. I have everyone in place with Sean and Cooper as backup so if this is some sort of trap then we will give back as good as we get. There’s something churning in my gut that has me on edge. Maybe the situation of how Priest suddenly wants a meet or just the unknown. I know I need to get a grip before we sit down and talk so I am on my best game. I know the only way to get my answers is to get this meeting started.

  I see Priest step out of a building and he waves his arms at the two men in a guard shack by the gate. “Priest is waiting by the building for you,” the smaller man says as they both open the gate. I see another building with the door cracked open and a mountain of a man with a scar across his face watching us as we drive into the compound. The two men that opened the heavy gate close it behind us. The guy in the building steps out so we can see him clearly and he motions for us to follow the pavement up to where the man is standing. It seems like they would know we would go in that direction since we can see Priest standing there. There’s no one else standing around or any movement at all that I can see. I see both Shield and Stealth watching the surroundings just like I am. It’s in our training from the Marines. I park my bike close to Priest. My brothers park their bikes beside mine. I get off my bike and walk up to the man with my brothers behind me. The man holds his hand out for me to shake it.

  “I don’t shake hands with a man that disrespected our club. We need to get some rules set in place on how we are going to coexist this close together.” I expect the man to give me a smartass remark, but he doesn’t. He just looks at me.

  “If you will just come inside and hear me out and then I think I can give you a reason to want to talk to me instead of blowing hot air up my ass. I don’t want to encroach on your territory. I have a business proposition for you and the Rebellions 4 Blood MC. Can you just give me one hour?” I eye Priest and I don’t see any dishonest tells on the man’s body or face. No shirking his shoulders, no avoiding looking me in the eyes, and no twitches. He seems relaxed but his eyes give away how tired he is.

  “We’re not looking for new business partners or business propositions, but I will give you one hour to convince me that we can all exist in these small communities.” I can give the man that much.

  “Come inside and have a drink with me.” He turns and opens the door to the building that looks more like military barracks. I see the surveillance cameras and the extra lighting outside. I follow Priest but look back at Stealth and nod my head towards the cameras. The building isn’t as dark on the inside as I thought it would be. There are rows of tables with folding chairs with four men sitting at one table. Priest goes to the head of that table and takes a chair. “Take a seat where you like. This is Bounty, our VP.” He points to the man who is sitting to his left. “That’s Gem and Lip, our enforcer and sergeant-at-arms. The other one is Tilt and he’s our treasurer, secretary, and tech man all rolled into one.”

  “Alright, now we have the pleasantries out of the way let’s get down to it. Times a ticking.” I am not treating Priest any differently than any other man or woman. I sit a few chairs down the table but my brothers all stand against the wall.

  “Can I at least get you a beer?” I shake my head at him. “Have it your way. The last few years have been rough for us. We split from the club we had been in for years. I would like to say we left on good terms, but we didn’t. On the surface it appeared it was a friendly split in the club. It was the only way Missile could keep face and not look weak; Missile is the President of the Double Down Motorcycle Club.” Priest looks at me like I should recognize the name. It doesn’t ring any bells.

  “You left the club you were supposed to be loyal to. This is not giving me any confidence in a future for us. Loyalty is number one in our book, loyalty to the Rebellions 4 Blood.” I know some clubs don’t have the same loyalties that we do but those are people we keep away from our club.

  “Just let me continue.” I nod. “My dad and his brother Missile started the Double Down MC back in the days when everyone was into drugs, running guns, and prostitution. My dad, Simon, was getting up in the years and he wanted more family time and less fighting and dealing with the law. My sister was killed by a drive by shooting and when my older brother went on a run with Missile, he was killed. My dad had the feeling that Missile was trying to take us out one by one, so he could have the club. My dad was a smart man and he started buying up property around the clubhouse on the downlow with his own money. My dad was a visionary and he had plans for our future that were on the right side of the law.” Priest takes a breath but then goes on, “There were a few brothers that didn’t have police records and Dad started keeping us out of illegal runs. He put my younger brother in college to study cannabis. Drifter was studying Physiology of Cannabis and Medicinal Plant Chemistry for starters. My dad had started keeping track of the lawful way to grow marijuana for medicinal reason. It’s very profitable, and it can help patients with cancer, HIV, glaucoma and several other conditions and diseases. My own mom died of breast cancer and during her treatment is when Dad started delving into legalities, but back then you had to go to some other country to be able to get a prescription. Dad just knew one day it would be available in this country but we obtained what we needed for Mom on our own.”

  “It was a tricky situation that your family was in and terrible things happened but what does any of this have to do with us.” I motion my hand to include my brothers.

  “You’re one impatient man.” He shakes his head at me in disbelief that I am rushing him.

  “I’m a busy man. We have jobs to get to.” I give him the truth.

  “Long story short, Dad gave me dirt on the club and Missile to protect us if anything happened to him. We all thought it would be Missile that came after Dad, but he had a heart attack and Missile took over. Dad never made it out of the hospital. A good portion of us didn’t like the direction the club was taking. The drugs were flowing freely in the clubhouse and Missile was meeting with the Russian Mafia about gun deals in front of strangers and our families.

  A week or so later, one of the brother’s daughter, Tara, disappeared and it was rumored that Missile gave her to the Russians, but we couldn’t prove it. It was like a rumor that everyone was whispering about, but no one knew where it started, and no one would claim starting it. I knew I had to do something about it, if not me then who? All the brothers backing me supported me when I confronted Missile about Tara disappearing and the way things were being handled in the club. We weren’t having our meetings and no voting on anything. The brothers that backed me no longer were making any money and neither was I. We were being cut out. We knew the Russians were coming in for a meet with Missile, so we decided to confront Missile, and the brothers behind him, the morning before the meet. One of the things Dad had given me information on and proof of is that Missile had once helped do a hit on Anatoly Petrov which was Adrian Petrov’s twin brother.” Now that name I know. Adrian Petrov was the most powerful man in Russia, and he had a lot of arms dealings in west Texas. Diamondback had dealings with him back in the day and I heard Diamondback tell the story of what happened to Anatoly. It was a blood massacre and the Russians lost more than Anatoly that day, they also lost their mother and sister. The hit had been a well-planned one. Anatoly had made many visits to the United States, but his mother and sister were on their first visit. Why is Priest giving me so much information? I look at the man and I don’t see any traces of deceit.

  “That’s a story that could result in a lot of deaths. You know from what I have heard, Adrian Petrov is the type of man to kill everyone and then figure out who was telling the truth.” I see a glint in Priest’s eye.

  “His reputation is well deserved, and I was counting on just that. Missile would be dead if those pictures were put in the wrong hands or if we raised a ruckus while Adrian was in town. If any dissension was showed, then the deal with Adrian would be off and if they found out about the hit then Missile would be dead. Adrian and his business partners were depending on the club to deliver. We brought a proposition to Missile and laid it out that all we wanted was to leave and start our own club that was more in line with our families in mind. We didn’t want to take the chances of spending years in prison and we wanted our families protected. With Adrian in town, he knew that all we had to do was give him a call and turn over the photos we had placing Missile at the site of the hit. Missile had no idea that Dad had sent someone just to get dirt on him and the pictures proved it. Dad had many suspicion’s when it came to Missile.” Priest has my attention. The Rebellions 4 Blood MC has no intentions of reconnecting with Adrian Petrov but secrets with proof to back them up can be valuable. You can never tell when something like that can come in handy and if not for us now, maybe down the road.

  “I hate to repeat myself, but what does any of this have to do with us?” If he has more information to give, then we are going to listen.

  “Missile agreed to let us leave and form another club as long as we gave up all our rights including the money the club owed us for all the jobs we had done since Dad died, the clubhouse, and all the land around the clubhouse including Dad’s place. Missile had no idea that Dad had already set aside a sizeable amount of money for us. Missile also made us create our club right there. We came up with the name and put officers in place. Missile wanted to know who to target to hurt us the most while keeping a smile on his face. We agreed to his terms and we were out of that town before sundown. We have been looking over our shoulders ever since and that is why we have been so closed off and keep away from strangers. We wanted this place defendable and ready for when Missile decides to rear his head.”

  “Why here? What about this small community drew you here of all the places you could have chosen? You are giving me a plausible story but why are you are being so forthcoming with information. You just gave me one of your aces up your sleeve. What’s to keep me from leaving here and going straight to Petrov or even giving Missile a call and telling him you just spilled your guts to me. That is not the way a president of a motorcycle club operates, or a tactical man thinks, at least not one that I’ve encountered in my life. How are you going to protect yourself from what I could do? I thought you were putting your family first, how are you doing that now?” I watch Priest wrestle within himself to give me an answer that I will believe or will make me at least think about believing him. The thing the man isn’t grasping is this isn’t the Rebellions 4 Bloods problem nor is it mine. We don’t need complications while we are establishing ourselves here.

  “The Legions name may be new, but my brothers and I have worked together for years and we aren’t stupid. My brother, Drifter, is the one that picked the area because of the property that you have been buying. Before Dad died, he was going to send a few brothers here to scout out an area to build a clubhouse here. It was either here or Colorado and land prices in Colorado have already skyrocketed. Drifter and some of his friends from school made a trip here and to Colorado to test the soil and whatever else that goes along with making sure if we produced a crop it would be what the medical places needed. I am not up-to-date or educated on any of the particulars the way Drifter is so I couldn’t tell you the exact tests that were run. They didn’t trespass while doing this, they had the property owner’s permission. They looked at and tested several parcels of land in both states. In this area there are two places that have the nutrients in the soil, so the initial investment wouldn’t be as expensive.” Priest looks at Bounty and the man nods his head at him as if saying go ahead and tell it all. “You have bought the land from old man Brown but there is a horse ranch that tested richer for humous soil. We are not going to give everything to you. We could save you some time because Drifter has formulated a new fertilizer and that with rich soil, and the right heating lamps the first crop could be a productive one where others will take years to get the quality weed that is needed for pharmaceutical companies to purchase and make a difference for people that need it. Growing medicinal marijuana isn’t the same as just growing a crop to sell for personal use.” Priest stops talking and looks at me to see my reaction since I have stayed quiet. Then a question is burning to get out of me.