Chapter 7
Rebel
I am trying to wash off the grime from that filthy farm house. I know I do not have a lot of time, but damn this hot water feels great. Cap should be here anytime to get an update. Things are not adding up. Spinner didn’t have much time to talk to me. I was hell bent on getting back to Gracie. I met my brothers about a half hour into my ride home. I tried to call Brody, but the phone he has was off and it went to voice mail every time. I’ll relax more after I talk to Cap and get Brody home. I owe him that. Our ride back to the clubhouse was uneventful, or so it seemed. I never put my eyes on anything out of the normal, but it was like I felt someone’s eyes on us. Paranoid after what happened to us, but I never ignore my gut. In my kind of lifestyle, that will get you dead, real fast. This war with the Hell Keeperz MC has us all on edge. The situation where Brody and I were drugged and kidnapped in a place that has always been a safe place for the Demented Revengers MC tells me that someone has snuck their way into our inner circle of friends and supporters. That won’t be tolerated. This war is going to get bloody and it is time to bring our loved ones in, so they can be protected. Keeping our families safe is priority number one. If anything happened to Gracie, Shelby, Tony, or Ma, I would paint this town in Hell Keeperz blood. The members of their club, friendlies and supporters. Unlike the Hell Keeperz MC, the Demented Revengers MC, do not touch family members unless they are involved and even then, we try to find alternative ways to deal with the issues. When pushed, we can be drastic.
Gracie was overwhelmed with worry over me. She jumped in my arms and climbed my body just to get closer to me. I felt the same way, but I know it is time to take care of business right now. I held Gracie as she had to take a minute to regroup. Don’t get me wrong Gracie has become the perfect ol’ lady and she is a strong woman. She shows it from the things she has survived. I dried Gracie’s tears and she went right into taking care of her man. She had a plate of food in front of me and she brought our children into the kitchen, so I could hold them in my arms and kiss them goodnight. Shelby is the most beautiful little thing. She is her mom’s mini me. That girl may not have my blood running through her veins, but she has wrapped herself around my heart. Tony is our fifteen-month old son and he is a spitting image of me. The way Shelby has her mom’s light features, Tony has my dark features. Curly black hair and deep brown eyes. He carries my Hispanic family traits. No one could ever doubt he is my boy. The only thing that hung over our little reunion was the fact that Brody has not made it back.
I turn the water off in the shower and step out. I would love to be buried cock deep in Gracie right now but when Dawg Man’s ol’ lady arrived she took over watching Shelby and Tony, so a couple of my brothers could go with Gracie to get the things she will need for a lockdown. Ma will be coming back with Gracie. We are having a voluntary lockdown for now, but I will not leave Gracie, Ma and the kids out there not knowing where I may be on the road to and not knowing when that will happen. We live in small town Texas and a few years ago I wouldn’t have worried but since the Hell Keeperz MC came into the picture I take nothing for granted or I try not to. I grab a towel and dry off and then get dressed. I walk out of the bathroom and grab my cut and put it on and then get my 45 out of my lock box. Since there are small children in and out of the clubhouse, we take all precautions with our weapons now. I make sure the box is locked and place it back in top of my closet. I turn and walk out of our room and up the hall. I see Cap sitting at the bar drinking coffee with Sin and Tip. I make my way over to the bar and motion for the prospect behind the bar to bring me a cup of coffee.
“You’ll need a whole pot of coffee. We need to move this talk into your office.” The prospect brings my coffee. I blow it for a minute and then take my first sip. Just the way I like it hot and strong. I look at Cap over my cup.
“Prospect bring some coffee into my office and see if there is anyone in the kitchen to get me some breakfast.” I look at Cap. “You want something, Cap?”
“Just more coffee and to get down to business.” Cap is direct and to the point. “This needs to be a private conversation.” I lift my eyebrow at Cap. I don’t make a habit of keeping things from my brothers. It’s not how we operate, but I also do not argue with the mother chapter’s president.
“Let’s do this then.” I get up and walk towards my office with Cap right behind me. I have questions I want answered too. Why the hell didn’t Cap have brothers out looking for Brody and me? I take the keys from my pockets and unlock my office door. I open the door and walk over to my desk and sit in my chair and Cap sits across from me. I look at Cap and I can see he is under a lot of stress right now. The worry lines around his eyes are deep.
“What happened? Sin and Spinner said you had a text to meet me at the diner in Quitman. I never sent a text. I would have met you here, not in some damn diner.” Cap is sitting on the edge of his chair. I just realize that Cap is here alone. Con or Shine are usually Cap’s shadows.
“Brody and I both received text and they said the exact same thing, to meet you at the diner. Neldan, has some explaining to do because the only thing we had was water and there is no way anyone got the two of us out of there without everyone in the place seeing it. Neldan either went to the other side or he is playing all of us.” Cap is shaking his head.
“Well you are right about one thing. Neldan had gone to the other side. I am sure that bastard is burning in hell about now. The diner was burned to the ground and Neldan was found in his bed at home with his throat cut. Someone had to have cloned my phone. That means we have one or more people that are close to us that have betrayed us. The farthest my phone is ever away from me is at night when I am sleeping and still it is in the same room.” Cap says while rubbing his forehead with his hand. This is not Cap. Something else had to have happened.
“What else is going on Cap? It’s written all over your body language. Don’t leave me hanging.” Cap looks up at me.
“Since when can you read my body language? You are the one that usually goes off half-cocked without knowing what the hell you are getting into.” Cap smirks at me with a lopsided grin. “The morning after you and Brody disappeared we found all of Lil’s sheep dead and one of the horses in the barn. It looks like poisoning, but the vet is not sure yet. If that wasn’t enough, Katie had an appointment with her woman doctor. Shine was busy, so we had a prospect take her and on the return trip they were run off the road. Five men on Harley’s but not flying colors. The prospect kept his head about him and put the SUV in four-wheel drive and pulled it out of the ditch, but they were chased back to the compound.”
“Is Katie alright?” I ask Cap. That brings a real smile to Cap’s face.
“Katie is fine but Shine and the prospect were on the edge of losing it.” Cap is shaking his head and he looks deep in thought. “Katie is a pistol. When she heard the shots hit the SUV she took the prospect’s gun and started shooting back at the men shooting at them. The prospect called Shine and he was hearing it as it played out. With Katie being pregnant, Shine was losing it and before they could get to their bikes the prospect made it back to the gates of the compound. Con, Lizard, and Zig Zag went after the riders, but they had too much of a head start and they lost them.”
“I’m sure Shine is over the moon with Katie being pregnant. I hadn’t heard about it. I can understand him losing it over what happened with Katie in the SUV. I was very protective over Gracie when she was pregnant with Tony. Who the hell am I kidding? I’m still protective over Gracie, Shelby, and Tony.” I look at Cap closely. “Have there been any leads on who did it? My guess would be Hell Keeperz MC.”
“Enough of the damn chit chat. I need answers from you about what happened and if you heard any information we might use and where the hell is Brody?” This is the Cap I am used to, right to the point.
“We were held in a farmhouse about fifty miles from here. The Hell Keeperz MC’s operation is no longer just mobile, and from what the VP, Light, said there was some sort of guard change in their club. I also got to see their enforcer, Titan. They are kidnapping or trading for women and then either using them for blackmail schemes, club entertainment, or selling them. I didn’t hear anything about the drug buses. There was a woman there, Charity Connors. They wanted to set up a situation where Brody and I would fuck her, and they would tape it and then use it for some type of blackmail. That part doesn’t make much sense to me. Brody is with Charity bringing her in by the back roads, but I have not heard from him and I am beginning to worry.” I know Brody knows his way around all the counties in northeast Texas but the more time that passes the more anxious I get. “As soon as the brothers that are going to get their families here have arrived we are going to go find him. I have Tip checking this Connor woman out.”
“Why did you two split up? What does your gut say about this woman?” Cap asks me.
“When Light and Titan left we knew it was our best chance to get out of there. Charity helped us but there is something that has me doubting her. She knows too much for the kind of life she has lead or it could be just my suspicious brain playing tricks on me. You know me Cap, I don’t trust anyone outside family.” Cap sits back in his chair.
“Explain the part the woman knows too much and the part about the way she was raised.” Cap waits for my answers.
“Charity was raised in one of those anti-government commune places, or some shit. She called it a community. The children born to these people have no birth certificates, social security numbers or driver license. They are home schooled and their contact with outsiders is limited but they train them in hand to hand.” I stop to catch a breath and take a drink of my coffee. It’s already cold. I hear a knock at my door. “Enter.” The prospect carries in a tray with a carafe of coffee. I get up and walk to my bathroom door and open it and step in enough to reach the sink and pour the remaining coffee in the sink and rinse my cup out. The prospect sits the tray on my desk. Cap is already filling his cup again.
“No one is in the kitchen and I didn’t find anything left from earlier. I can make you a sandwich if you want but that is the extent of my cooking abilities or I can go to the Dairy Mart and get you a burger.” The prospect looks nervous. I guess I would be nervous too.
“I’ll find something when we are done. You can go.” He doesn’t say anything, and then he turns and leaves the room.
“You have any whiskey to add to this stuff? That boy looks like he was about to piss his pants.” I sit down in my chair again and open the bottom drawer and take out a bottle and sit it in front of Cap. “The prospect is new, he’ll get used to me or he’ll be out. You alright, Cap? You aren’t much of a drinker this early in the day.”
“You need to recheck that watch of yours. It’s not early and I have had one hell of a week, so I am entitled. Don’t worry about me Rebel, this week showed me we have some vulnerabilities that need to be strengthened. It also has showed me that we have enemies that we think are friends and they need to be stopped and dealt with. We need fresh eyes on this situation Now, finish telling me about this Charity woman.” Cap pours some of the whiskey in his coffee and returns the bottle to my desk.
“Charity said that she was held in a different house with some more women and they were locked down. Charity’s pop traded her to the Hell Keeperz MC, but Charity has no idea why, or so she says. She said up until this incident, her family was close. Her dad traded Charity instead of her younger sister. The Hell Keeperz wanted the girl young and a virgin. The Hell Keeperz were using the older non-virgins for house entertainment but the virgins were either sold or used in these blackmail scams. There was one woman that was chosen as a blackmail type woman and the man that was supposed to be taped with her refused. They shot him and brought the woman back to where Charity was being held. Charity was worried about the Hell Keeperz going back for her sister, if she’s telling the truth.” I still don’t think that Charity is telling us the entire truth. I am hoping all the time that Brody is spending with her, he’ll have a better handle on what she is hiding.
“If your gut is telling you to doubt this Charity woman then don’t ignore it. That is what has kept your sorry ass alive for so long.” Cap has relaxed a little and I see the humor in his eyes.
“And I thought we were friends.” I laugh as I say it.
“We are a family and family is always much more important than friends.” Cap stands up and I think he is going to walk out but he starts to pace the floor. “I still think we need fresh eyes on this. We are missing something and if the Hell Keeperz have new people in place then we need to get a handle on what makes these fuckers tick. We need to find out their connections and what they plan on getting out of this besides taking over territory. If it was about territory, they would come at us hard, and not go through all this complicated shit. Why would they go to the trouble to kidnap you and then let you get away? It’s too easy. They are fucking with our heads. Who kills animals? Lil is beside herself, but it didn’t touch the club.” I don’t feel like it was so easy.
“Next time you can be the one chained up then. Since when, do you ask me for my opinion?” That stopped Cap and he grins at me.
“Wasn’t asking for you opinion. I was getting intel out of you and giving you a heads up. I am calling in some markers and we are going to get a fresh aspect on what the hell is going on. Chief, the president of the BlackPath MC, has agreed to help. I hold markers from his old man, Whiskey. Whiskey was one hard son of a bitch, but Chief has taken the BlackPath MC into the right direction since he has been president and he is bringing some friends. Chief can be difficult at times, but he is fair. You and I will be his contact points. You will need to empty out some rooms for them here in case they need them. I am doing the same.” I take in what Cap has just told me. The Demented Revengers MC does not call in markers without some serious thought. We depend on ourselves. I know this was hard for Cap to do but he always puts the club first. “Keep your head in the game, Rebel, it’s life or death this time for not only the brothers, but for innocent people and no one can drop the ball. The first thing I am having Chief do is find out about those damn text messages and then to find our traitor or traitors. Get some food and make sure everyone knows that lock down is no longer voluntary, bring family in. You need to find Brody and that woman and bring them in. If Brody is going to continue to help us, then bring him in and you keep close tabs on that female until we know where she stands. Chief may want to talk to her, if she belongs to one of those communities then Bourbon or Rye may know them.” I guess I look perplexed because Cap goes on. “Bourbon and Rye are Chief’s uncles and they ran the BlackPath MC with Chief’s dad Whiskey. They are in Oklahoma now but back in the day they used to gun trade with some of the militia around here. I don’t know if it is the same groups, but it is a start.”
“Is there anyone that you don’t know?” I finish the last of my cup of coffee.
“That’s my job just like any other MC President worth his salt. We need to know where the dead bodies are buried, that way we can use it later.” Cap has a grin on his face, but I know he is dead serious. “I know you and Brody are not always friends, but his contacts have helped us this time. I am putting him under Demented Revengers protection, but I want words with him and guarantees, so find him and get him here and then contact me. Put him over looking after that woman.” I think about what Cap has said and he’s right. Brody’s contacts have helped. I just don’t think Brody is going to be up to staying in the clubhouse. I’ll just tell him to do it the straightforward way, or the club way. “No one rides alone. I want the trackers on everyone’s phone and rides but do it in an inconspicuous way. That means anyone in the clubhouse and no exceptions. No one knows except officers and if anyone finds out and has a problem with it then send them to me. I am out. Zig Zag is in town taking care of some business and we are going to head back to Tyler.”
“I need to head into town too and grab me something to eat. I think I’ll ride with you.” I get up and make sure I have my keys. Cap walks out the door and I am right behind him as I make sure the door locks. We silently walk to the bar. Sin is still sitting there but he is on his phone. “Sin let’s ride.” No one says anything else. Then I remember my bike was left at the diner. “Sin did anyone pick up my bike?”
“Yeah, we picked up your bike and Brody’s jeep. Your bike is out front. Brody’s jeep is in back.” At least there is that. We walk out through the front door.
“Let’s ride.” Cap says. I am ready to get some wind in my face.