CHAPTER TWELVE
Whiskey paused in front of her chair and stared at her for a moment. His cold gaze traveled up and down her body while his eyes dulled with lust. He twisted the knife in his hand and he checked out her body carefully. He watched as her breasts moved up and down with each trembling breath she took. Her breasts were full and almost bursting out of her bra. He licked his lips as he watched her face. Finally, he saw the fear she was trying so hard not to let out. Her fear wasn’t strong enough yet to give him the high he so eagerly sought, but he knew he could get it there.
Whiskey licked his lips again as the fear in her eyes grew. He lifted the knife and laid the blade on her skin just above her belly button. He drew a line across her belly. The blade touching her just hard enough to break the skin but not enough to really make her bleed. “Did you know one of the eastern continents, I’m not sure if it’s Japan or China or somewhere in between, has this torture called the death of a thousand cuts?” he asked her softly. “It don’t really matter where it came from I guess, only that’s it’s out there somewhere.”
Melora held still as he stood closer.
Again, he lifted the knife and cut her, not very deep but enough to get the blood flowing. This time, the knife wrapped around her side. He lifted the knife to her chest. “Did you also know you can stab the body in several places and not kill a person? That if you do it the right way, you can deliver however many stab wounds you want and the person will never die, at least not from being stabbed, she will die from blood loss first, well that’s the theory anyway. I’ve never tried it before now. When I stab someone, I want to do the most damage I can but I guess you know that don’t you?”
The cuts on her belly hadn’t actually hurt, they only caused her discomfort. Taking a deep breath and praying the knife wouldn’t slip, Melora answered him, “Yeah, I’ve seen your handiwork.”
Whiskey smiled. “That’s right you have, you were there the night Baily died. You saw what I did to him.”
Melora sneered. “You are one sick puppy, you know that?”
Whiskey shrugged. “The little sniveling bitch thought he could bargain with me. I’m not the one who borrowed money from the club. I’m not the one who thought he could get out of paying it back or thought he could use his uncle as a bargaining chip. I’m just the one who taught the boy some manners.”
“You murdered him!” Melora all but shouted. “How the hell was Raven supposed to collect his money from a dead man?”
Again, Whiskey shrugged. “At the time, I didn’t care one way or the other. It wasn’t my money and his debt carried over to other members of the brat’s family. His mother paid it back and that’s all Raven was looking for. She thought paying off the debt would get her the location of his body or at least that’s what she was told. Although, the debt would have been settled anyway by the Senator. Too bad, she’ll never know exactly what happened to him.”
“Sure she will,” Melora interjected.
Whiskey grinned. “And how will that happen? The hogs took care of his body. There wasn’t anything left of Baily to worry about.”
“That’s where you would be wrong, you psycho bastard” she assured him.
“What do you mean by that?” Micah spoke up.
She turned toward the other man. “It means…asshole, if anything happens to me Baily’s body will show up along with a copy of the video I took that night. Everyone and his brother will know what really happened and who did it.”
“That’s not possible.” Whiskey paled.
“Oh, it’s more than possible,” Melora stated in a firm voice.
Whiskey stared at her for the longest time then shrugged. “I don’t believe it. You couldn’t have known where we put him that night. We weren’t followed and the hogs would have been called by the scent of his blood.” He moved the knife to the top of her chest just below her collarbone. He angled the tip of the knife away from her skin “Here for instance…is a very good place to sink a knife into a body. If you do it right, there are no major blood vessels or organs to hit. ” He suggested as he slid the knife through her skin. The blade went through her muscle and struck bone on the other side.
Melora felt faint as the blade pierced her body. She felt like screaming but couldn’t get any sound out of her throat.
He didn’t extract the blade right away and when he did, he twisted it slightly, doing the maximum amount of damage with the minimum amount of effort. Blood flowed freely from the wound, washing down her chest to pool at her waist.
Whiskey moved a step or two away, then studied her for a moment. When he returned to her this time, he placed the blade against her right side. Pushing the blade into her body he told her, “Here is another good place. It hurts like a sonofabitch but doesn’t really do that much damage.”
Melora began to sweat as she tried hard not to cry out her pain. When she felt him twist the knife, she moaned but didn’t scream. When he pulled the knife from her body, she felt the gush of blood run down her side and pool underneath her. She raised her head to glare at him.
~* * * *~
Whiskey smiled. He could feel his body respond to the pain and fear in her eyes even if she wasn’t screaming yet, he knew she soon would be. Then and only then, would he feel complete. Only then would his taste for pain and torture be complete. His body began to crave the end that would only come when she acknowledged the pain.
He was about to find a third nonlethal spot when the door to the room they were in flew open and several men rushed inside. He felt the sudden pain explode inside his head as a huge fist hit him in the face. He dropped to his knees in stunned disbelief.
Then he felt something hard hit the back of his neck and everything went dark. The knife tumbled from his blood soaked hand.
~* * * *~
Mountain glanced over at Raven as he saw the other man uppercut Micah.
Micah flew backwards hitting the wall hard. He slid down the wall and lay there crumpled on the floor.
Mountain turned to the other side and watched as Sam grabbed Whiskey’s knife off the floor and cut the ropes holding Melora to the chair. He knelt beside her and grabbed one of her hands rubbing her wrist as his eyes traveled over her bruised and bloody body. “Are you okay baby?” he whispered.
Melora turned her head and saw the concern in his eyes. “It’s nothing that time won’t heal,” she whispered.
Sam removed his own shirt and draped it over her abused body. “Deke is coming with a vehicle. We’ll get you to the hospital, so they can patch you up.”
Melora shook her head. “No hospital. They’ll ask too many questions.” She tried to explain in a breathless voice. “Can’t someone at the clubhouse take care of this?”
“Maybe she’s right,” Raven suggested. “We can’t exactly bring the police into this.”
Sam lifted her into his arms. ”Raine can take care of her. He’s dealt with worse than this.”
Melora lifted her arms to circle Sam’s neck. Laying her head on his shoulders she asked, “What’s going to happen to Whiskey and Micah?”
“Where is the third guy, Lightning?” Raven asked.
Melora’s lips curled upward. “He’s in the woods wrapped around a tree.”
Raven’s brows went up. “How the hell did that happen?”
She shrugged. “There might have been some speed, rough terrain and a helping kick involved in there somewhere.”
Raven snorted, looking at Mountain and Sam. “We’ll have to look for him in a day or two. Might not be safe out there at the moment, with all the wolves in the area.”
“At least he ain’t feeding the wild hogs,” Mountain sneered.
“Guys, I hate to rush this conversation but she’s still bleeding here,” Sam called out in a worried voice as he walked back to the door. Before he could go through it however, Deke, Gator and several other guys from the club rushed in.
Deke told the others to bind Whiskey and Micah. “Tie them up and throw them in the back of the truck. One of you guys will have to bring Sam’s bike back to the clubhouse too.”
“And mine,” Mountain told them. “I’m riding back with my daughter.”
Melora lifted one hand from Sam’s shoulder and reached out for her father.
Mountain took her hand in his and held it close to his heart. Then lifted it to his lips and kissed her fingers softly.
Then she turned back into Sam’s shoulder and groaned.
Mountain looked around the room and saw her clothing. Picking it up, he followed Sam and found them sitting in a truck just inside the building.
Sam was sitting in the back seat of the truck with Melora on his lap.
Mountain leaned over them and lifted Sam’s shirt out of the way. Pulling her away from Sam slightly, he balled Melora’s shirt up and pressed it against the bleeding wound on her chest.
Melora groaned but didn’t fight him. The bleeding had almost stopped and the pressure from his hand would stop it altogether. Next, he grabbed a towel from the seat next to where they were sitting. Moving down to her other stab wound, he pressed the towel against that wound. Then he pressed her against Sam again, and nodded. “That should hold until we get back to the clubhouse.” He turned to glare at Sam. “I hope your man can deal with this. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
Sam nodded and held her close. “Raine can deal with this,” he assured the other man. “Can you?”
Mountain glared at Sam. “Yeah, I can deal.” He backed up and slammed the back door shut, then climbed into the front passenger seat slamming that door shut as well.
Then they all waited for the others to put Whiskey and Micah’s bodies into the back. Deke got into the driver’s seat and without a word, drove out of the warehouse and back to the compound.
~* * * *~
Melora curled up in Sam’s arms, glad the nightmare was over. Lifting her lips to his neck she whispered, “Thank you for coming for me Bones.” Her lips pressed a kiss to his neck.
His arms tightened around her and he softly kissed the top of her head. “I think you knew I would come for you Silk,” he whispered back. “I’d have to be dead not to come after you.”
Melora tightened her grip on him without saying a word. Closing her eyes, she rested for a moment then Deke hit a pothole and jarred her. She hissed then groaned in pain.
“Hush now darlin,” Sam whispered. “It will be okay. I promise.”
“As long as I’m with you I’ll be fine. Just don’t let me go.”
“I won’t,” Sam vowed.
Melora sighed and closed her eyes, knowing Sam would keep her safe.
~* * * *~
An hour later, Raine put the last bandage in place and began cleaning up around him.
Melora had her wounds tended to under the watchful eyes of her father and Sam.
Raine had draped a towel over her girly parts while he tended her wounds, so neither man would feel the need to beat the hell out of him. He looked over at the girl and caught her smile. He grinned as he lifted a t-shirt off a pile of towels and helped her into it. As she tugged the garment down, he pulled the towel out from underneath and lifted the blanket to cover her bottom half. “That should do it,” he finally told her. “I’ll keep an eye on things for the next day or so, but you should be okay.”
“What about all the blood she lost?” Mountain asked with concern all over his face.
“Her own body can replace that if she rests,” Raine assured them. “Then we need to get plenty of fluids and food into her. I’ll have Reva bring her something hot and filling in a little while but for now, I think she should sleep.” He got to his feet and stared at the two other men in the room. “I’ve given her something for the pain and she needs the rest. Don’t you guys have some business to take care of?”
Mountain pushed himself away from the wall. “Yeah, we do.” He tapped Sam on the shoulder and turned to leave the room.
Before he could get too far, Melora called him back, “Daddy?”
Mountain halted in his tracks his face paling at the endearment he thought he would never hear. He slowly turned then stepped over to the bed.
She reached out and grabbed his hand.
Mountain gently squeezed her fingers. Looking at her, he could see the struggle she was going through. He leaned over her and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’ll be here if you want to talk later.”
She smiled softly. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”
Mountain kissed her cheek then stood up tall and straight. He nodded at Sam then left the bedroom.
Sam went over to the bed and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be back.” He straightened up and turned to leave.
Melora reached out and grabbed his hand.
Sam turned to look at her his hand reaching up to smooth her silky hair away from her face.
“Make him suffer,” she whispered. “He’s caused too much pain and agony in this world. Give him some of it back.”
Sam smiled slightly. “I don’t think that will be a problem. This time, it’s a matter of more than just bones, baby girl. If I can’t break him Mountain will.”
After he was gone, Raine caught her glance. “That man loves you.”
Melora smiled. “I know. I love him too.” She chuckled. “I never thought I would ever say that about someone.”
“Why?” Raine asked. “You’re young enough to fall in love several times over.”
She shook her head. “My mother only ever loved one man. That man just walked out of this room. She never loved anyone the way she loved him and when he left her behind, she never forgot him either. She taught me about that kind of love and I’ve never felt it until the day I met Sam. It was so strong and so sudden, I never knew what hit me. I never thought about it until then. Now, I can’t imagine my life without him in it. I don’t think I even want to try.” Melora closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
Raine felt surprised at this news. He’d known Bones for a very long time and suddenly, he saw him through this girl’s eyes and he shook his head. “I’ll be God dammed.” Then he stood for a long moment just staring at her. Finally, he raised the blanket up and over her then turned to leave.
~* * * *~
Whiskey shook his head and tried to clear away the fog. He registered the pain pounding in his head but couldn’t remember where it came from. His whole body hurt and he didn’t know why. He struggled to open his eyes but couldn’t quite manage it. He must have had a hell of a party last night.
A few minutes later, he came to again. This time, his head began to clear. He heard men talking in the background but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Shaking his head, he felt the pain but it was clearer now, sharper even than it had been before.
He lifted his head and opened his eyes. Glancing around, he noted they were in the woods. They were in a clearing surrounded by trees. He tried to move but found he couldn’t. Lifting his head, he saw he was bound to a pole. His hands were pulled above his head and tied. He also found he’d and the others had been stripped of their clothing. All they had left on their bodies were underwear. Their vests were laying in the dirt in front of them with all the patches removed and shredded.
Turning his head, he saw Micah and Gremlin were also bound and tied to poles. Both men were sweating but silent as they awaited what was coming next.
Finally, the others noticed he was awake and Whiskey watched as several men came to stand in front of him. He knew Raven but he didn’t know the others. “What the fuck is going on here?” he demanded.
“This is a tribunal,” Raven informed him. “MC laws demand a tribunal judgment when treason is charged against a member.”
Whiskey sneered. “What charge of treason?”
“You and the others have been charged with treason against the Ghosts of Dixie, The Sin’s Bastards, and the Sons of Satan MC.”
“What the fuck did I ever do to the Sin’s Bastard and the Sons of Satan MC?” Whiskey demanded.
“You took my woman,” Sam replied.
“You shot my man in the back, paralyzing him for life, then you kidnapped my daughter,” Mountain spoke next.
Whiskey snorted. “I don’t know your woman, old man and I sure as hell don’t know your daughter.” He ignored the other charge completely. If they had the proof it was him they would have done something about it by now.
Mountain smiled. “Sure you do, Whiskey. She’s the one you were giving lessons to about all the ways you could stab a person without killing them.”
Whiskey paled. “Melora Shaw is your daughter?”
Beside him, Micah groaned in disgust. “Fuck! She was telling the truth.”
Sweat beaded Whiskey’s forehead but he tried to bluff his way through it.
“Yeah how is that for a kick in the head?” Mountain grinned. He turned his head to glare at Micah who for some reason couldn’t or wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Sam stepped forward and raised his hand to Whiskey. In his hand was Whiskey’s blade. It was still covered in Melora’s blood. Without losing eye contact with the other man, Sam simply shoved the blade into Whiskey’s shoulder. The action wasn’t slow or gentle like Whiskey’s had been—no Sam’s thrust was more brutal. It was the same place Whiskey had stabbed Melora.
Whiskey drew in a deep breath but didn’t say anything. When Sam twisted the knife around and pulled the blade out Whiskey smiled. “You’re gonna have to do better than that old man.”
Sam’s smile deepened and he moved the blade to Whiskey’s side. Slipping the knife in deep, he twisted the blade a bit then pulled it out again.
Whiskey groaned but otherwise remained silent.
Then Sam raised the blade to his other shoulder and dug the blade in deeper.
Blood ran freely down his body. Whiskey felt the pain of his wounds but he’d felt this pain before and it didn’t seem to faze him that much.
Just then, Sam noticed the old scars. They covered most of his chest and arms. Cut scars, some looked old while others where barely healed. All of the old scars looked to be self-inflicted. He shook his head. “You don’t even feel the pain anymore do you…you crazy fuck?”
Whiskey smiled. “Oh, I still feel it, I just don’t let it rule me like it once did.”
“Maybe you won’t feel it in the non-lethal places, nutjob,” Sam countered. “But you might feel it where it hurts more.” He pulled the huge bloody knife back again.
“No wait!” Raven called out. Stepping up to Mountain and Sam, he raised his hand to stop them. “We have to do this according to the MC laws.”
“And they are?” Mountain asked.
“With everyone present, we read the charges and take a vote.”
All three men looked around at the number of men standing beside them.
Raven’s men were all there, as were Mountain’s men. Deke’s men were also present. Sam’s men stood around the edge of the group too. They turned and saw Iceman leaning against a tree on the outer edge of the clearing. Beside him stood his men.
When Iceman noticed them looking at him he pushed away from the tree and came over to join the others. He met their gazes straight up then turned to the three men bound to the poles. “Which one of these bastards held a gun to my wife’s head?” Iceman asked quietly.
Anyone who knew him would have known that tone in his voice. Iceman was not a man others took for a fool. When his voice reached the tone it was at now—that’s when he was at his most dangerous.
Everyone looked at the three men and it was Micah they all stared at.
Iceman walked up to the other man and spoke softly, “I guess that would be you, huh?”
“I was just following orders.” Micah trembled.
Iceman turned to gaze at Whiskey for a moment then turned back to Micah. “And were you and your other friend just following orders when he hit Cassie, not once but several times? And what about after the fact when Melora made him run into a tree? Were you just following orders when you dragged her off your bike and beat the hell out of her in the woods?”
Micah paled and began to shake. Each word striking him as if Iceman was using his fists.
“Your friend, the one they called Lightning, he deserved to die for what he did to Cassie. Melora got justice for her but I’m gonna get justice for Peaches. Sam over there, is gonna get justice for his woman.” He leaned closer to Micah.
Micah was so scared the sweat rolled off his face.
“You see, I made my woman a vow that nobody would ever hurt her again. Nobody would ever scare her that way again either and…you did both shithead.” Iceman took a step away and watched along with the others as Micah wet himself. Sneering, he shook his head. Turning his head to Raven he said, “Call out the charges and then call for the vote. But before everyone votes, maybe it’s time they see what Whiskey did to Baily and maybe they should hear what his plans for the club were gonna be. I don’t think everyone here knows what he had planned.”
Raven nodded. “That sounds fair enough.”
Melora’s video was passed from man to man, even those who weren’t Ghosts.
Whiskey could almost feel the crowds’ displeasure growing and for the first time, he began to feel the pain of betrayal. He began to feel the nerve endings all over his body tingling and the hairs on the back of his head began to itch.
The charges against them were read and the crowd immediately called out their guilty vote.
Raven motioned for two of his men to carry out the sentence of death but Deke stopped him.
Everyone turned to stare at him for a moment.
Deke shrugged. “While I totally agree with the findings of the tribunal, I think poetic justice should be administered here.”
“What kind of poetic justice?” Raven asked. “What do you have in mind?”
“Exactly what they wanted for Baily,” Deke told the group. “We feed them to the hogs.”
“Do you have wild hogs up here?” Raven asked.
Deke grinned. “No but we have a neighbor who has several sows that will eat anything put in front of them. He also has a couple of mean sows. They really tear into their food and devour it quickly, so there’s never a trace.”
“I like your idea.” Mountain nodded.
Sam stepped forward and made a brushing motion toward Micah and Gremlin. “Those two deserve death before consumption but I think Whiskey deserves to feel everything he has coming.”
“I like that idea even better.” Mountain gave him a cold grin.
Whiskey stared at them without seeing them. He was trying to escape to the place in his mind that would help him block out all the pain but it wasn’t working. He could still hear everything going on around him. When he heard the two shots that echoed in the woods, he was startled enough to look beside him. He saw Micah and Gremlin hanging limp against the poles and he knew for them, the nightmare was over.
Several men gathered around him and one began tying his feet together while another one cut the rope holding him in place. His hand were still bound but when they pulled him away from the pole, Whiskey began to fight in earnest.
It didn’t take much to subdue him and as they carried him away he began to beg and plead for his life.
The group as a whole marched behind him in stony silence and a few minutes later, they paused and waited to watch as the small group made their way to the fence line beyond.
The air here was stagnate with the scent of pigs and garbage. Whiskey felt his body being lifted up and dumped over the fence line. He landed with a hard thump into the mud. The sounds and scents came right up into Whiskey’s face and he let out an inhuman scream as a hog’s face came right up close to him and opened its drooling jaws.
~* * * *~
Raven, Mountain, Sam, Iceman and Deke along with the others watched from the other side of the fence. When the hogs noticed them, they all came running over and then the sounds of grunting hogs and Whiskey’s screams was all that could be heard.
When the sounds finally died down, none of the men smiled, they all did what had to be done. In silence everyone turned and headed back the way they came.
~* * * *~
It took three days of complete bed rest before Melora felt good enough to even sit up in bed. By the end of the third day, she was going stir crazy. Pushing the blankets aside, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She felt dizzy for a moment but as soon as her head cleared, she made her way slowly to the dresser. Opening a drawer, she pulled out one of Sam’s t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants. She had to roll the pants up several times before she could even take a step without tripping but finally, she was ready to go.
Brushing her long hair back away from her face, she made her way to the door. She had to stand there a moment to gather her strength. Just moving the little bit, left her trembling but she knew if she gave in to the weakness, she probably wouldn’t go anywhere for a while.
She opened the door and gradually made her way down the hall and into the great room.
Everyone sitting there stopped talking the moment she showed herself.
She could see them all, Mountain, Sam, Deke and Cassie, Iceman, Peaches and Raven. They were sitting at the main table in the room. The only one missing was Izzy.
Melora straightened her shoulders and carefully made her way over to them. She didn’t ask for their help nor would she have accepted it and they all knew it. It was the longest walk of her life but she made it.
Sam stood and brought her to him. When he sat down, his arms cradled her to his lap. “Are you okay?” he whispered in her ear.
Melora nodded and looked at everyone. Shrugging, she put off their concerns. “I was bored in that bedroom all by myself.”
Raven smiled. “I’m leaving in the morning and I hoped I would get the chance to say goodbye.”
Melora reached out her hand and when he took it she asked, “Are we good?”
Raven nodded. “Yeah, we’re good. Whiskey’s threat is over and I’m going home to pick up the pieces and try to get things back on the right track.”
“Before you go, I need to give you something.”
“What would that be?” Raven looked curious.
“The location of Baily’s body. I told the Senator when this was over, I would release his body for the family to get closure. I think they deserve that much, don’t you?”
Raven nodded. “Yeah, they do. I appreciate it and I know they will as well.”
“It was the right thing to do. I couldn’t let Whiskey win this one and Baily might have been a dumbass, but he didn’t deserve to die like that. Nobody does.”
“For the record, I never told Whiskey to jump him that night,” Raven assured her. “I know now that it was Whiskey who lent him the money and Whiskey was the one blackmailing him to get him in a position he could use to get the Senator under his thumb. That’s not the way my club is supposed to work.” Raven shrugged. “Would I love a political connection? Who wouldn’t? Am I going to use blackmail and the threat of violence to get it…No way. That always comes back to bite you in the ass in the end. Some of the boys and I have been talking about coming clean. We may be a motorcycle club and all but who says we can’t be legit? I’ve been watching things around here and so far, I like what I see and what’s more, I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble selling it to the rest of them.” He shook his head. “Hell, I’m getting too old for most of the horseshit anyway.”
“Maybe returning Baily to his family will help smooth things over then,” Melora offered.
Raven grinned. “I can say it’s been a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Melora Shaw.”
“Maybe the next time I’m in Raleigh, I’ll look you up.” Melora nodded. “Maybe.”
Before she could do anything else, the backdoor opened and Izzy walked in holding one of Cassie’s babies. She glanced up and saw Melora. Yelping, she rushed over to the table. Handing the baby to her mother, she went over to Melora and hugged her tight. “Damn girl, don’t ever do that again.” Izzy gave her grief. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
Melora smiled. “You should know better by now. How many times have we been in trouble together? Don’t I always come back from it?”
Izzy chuckled. “More times than I care to remember, that’s for sure but this time was different and you know it. This time, you might not have come back. I was really afraid for you.”
Melora raised her hand and cupped it around Izzy’s cheek. “I wouldn’t do that to you. We’ve been through too much together to start thinking like that.”
Izzy began to cry. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Melora’s waist. “This time, you weren’t alone with just me looking out for you.”
Mountain couldn’t stand to listen to the heartbreak in Izzy’s voice anymore. He scoped her up off the floor and held her on his lap. “This time, neither of you is alone. As long as you are part of Melora’s family, you’re part of mine too.”
Izzy wrapped her arms around the big guys’ neck. Glancing over at her friend, she tipped her head at Mountain. “So this Mountain man is your daddy, huh?”
“Yup, sure is.” Melora grinned.
“And that’s your old man?” She nodded at Bones.
“Yup, sure is,” Sam answered for her, his arms tightening around Melora’s waist.
“I can deal with that.” Izzy smiled.