Rage
IT’S BEEN A FEW MONTHS SINCE Christmas and we still haven’t heard a word from Keegan’s dad and Sam. She’s not allowed to go out alone and I’m spending most of my time with her. It’s not that I don’t trust my brothers to protect her and Kasey with their lives, it’s that I want to be the one to be there. However, the main place she goes is to the doctor and that’s it.
“Rage, I need to get out of this clubhouse today,” Keegan announces as she enters our room from the bathroom. “I can’t stand being cooped up anymore. Please, take me to get something to eat or something.”
“I don’t know firefly. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Is there anything I can do? It’s starting to feel like the walls are closing in on me,” she tells me, sitting on the bed.
“Let me talk to Grim and we’ll see what he has to say. I’ll be right back.”
I find Grim in his office and I know that he’s in a good mood today. He’s got music blaring, his feet are kicked up, and he just looks relaxed. Quickly, I explain the situation to him and he thinks about it for a few minutes before answering me. I hate when he does this, but I know he’s thinking about every possible scenario in advance of making any kind of decision.
“I guess you can. But, you’re goin’ to take Wood, Boy Scout, Cage, and Joker with you. Two in front, two in back. That understood?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Making my way back to our room, I quickly let the four men know that we’re going to be leaving. They get ready as I’m going to get Keegan. I know Kasey’s going to be mad that she can’t go, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Bailey and Skylar will keep her occupied for the short amount of time that we’re gone though.
“Let’s go firefly,” I say entering the room.
“We can leave?” she asks, excitedly.
“Yeah. We have to get takeout and take four men with us, but we can go out. There and back. No extra stops and no sitting down to eat.”
“I can handle that. Just need to get away for a few minutes.”
We’re all making our way out the door when a black van blows through the front gate and comes to a screeching halt in front of us. The sliding door on the side slams open and I know that these men are here for my girl. I push her back into Cage and Wood’s waiting arms while the men inside reach out for her. Instead, they grab me and pull me into the van. Boy Scout and Joker are trying to pull me back out, but they aren’t successful. The door slams shut as I’m thrown to my back. A black bag is thrown over my head and I can hear the anguished screams of Keegan as we speed away.
After my hands and feet are finally tied together, a hand snakes up under the bag and I can feel myself slipping away. The last thoughts I have are of my daughter and Keegan. Of the babies that I’m more than likely not going to ever see and have a hand in raising.
Keegan
“No!” I scream as I feel my body start to hit the ground.
Before I can make it all the way to the ground, Wood scoops me up and turns to head inside with me. we’re heading in as the rest of the men are running outside to find out what’s going on. I can hear myself still screaming and trying to wrench out of Wood’s arms, but he’s not letting go. I want nothing more than to go after the men that took the love of my life. That took Kasey’s dad away from her.
“You need to calm down firefly. Please don’t make me call the doc in to sedate you,” Wood pleads with me.
There’s no way I can calm down though. Rage just literally pushed me into the arms of these men so that they would take him in my place. Why the fuck would he do that? They’re not after him, they’re after me. He has no clue what they’re going to do to him because he’s not who Sam and my dad want. Eventually they’re going to get to me anyway. Rage should’ve just let them take me.
“Wood, I need to get to him. Please let me go after him!” I scream out.
I can hear a door being pushed open, but I have no clue who’s room we’re at. Wood lays me down on the bed and the only thing I can think of is that I need to be with Kasey, but going after Rage at the same time. Before I can make any moves, I’m surrounded by more men and the old ladies. They’re all trying to keep me in bed and warn me to calm down because of the babies. Unfortunately, I don’t have any clue what I’m doing right now. I’m so scared and out of my mind with worry that I can’t focus or concentrate on anything.
“Please, Keegan, you need to calm down!” Whitney says, trying to soothe me. “Please calm down. There’s already guys going after Rage. We’ll get him back.”
“I-I-I need to b-b-be out there with them!” I gasp out between gasps and sobs.
“No!” Bailey says. “You need to be in here waiting for the men to do their jobs and being there for Kasey.”
Without any further time, Kasey comes running in the door. Instantly she knows something is wrong. Climbing up in the bed with me, she wraps her little arms around my neck and buries her face. I know that she’s going to be asking where her dad is and I’m not looking forward to having to answer that question. Honestly, I know when she finds out what happened, she’s going to hate me. I basically took her dad away from her and her brother and sister. Who wouldn’t hate me right now?
“Why’s everyone look so sad?” she asks, looking around at all the adults in the room.
“Well, somethin’s happened and your dad has to go away for a little while,” Grim tells her. “He’ll be back as soon as he can.”
Kasey takes a minute to process what she was just told. She’s not a stupid little girl and knows that’s not the truth though. Anyone looking at all the adults in the room can see that it’s not the truth. Instead of saying anything more on the subject, Kasey gets up and runs out of the room. She’s been lied to and now she doesn’t want to be around any of us.
“I got her,” we hear from the doorway.
I look over through my tears and see Anthony standing there. He’s looking at all of us and disappears without saying another word. I’m glad that he’s going to be there for her right now. Even though I really want to, there’s no way I can get past what just happened and be there for her when she’s hurting and doesn’t know what truly happened.
So, I turn over and put my back to everyone. I let the tears fall as I curl up in a fetal position. Hopefully everyone gets the hint and leaves me alone. I know I’m not going to get that lucky, but a girl can hope. Before letting myself fall asleep so I can forget the nightmare I’m living in, I turn on Picture On The Dashboard by Brantley Gilbert.