Hawkins looked over at Titan and growled, “You better check on our other guest.”
Titan nodded and left the room.
JuJu left with him.
When they got to the room Cheryl was in, they unlocked the door and went inside. Titan noticed the window was wide open and someone had untied Cheryl but she was still there.
She heard them come in and she raised her head to show them she was still alive but there was blood soaking her clothes.
Titan saw the knife in her shoulder and the look of rage and pain on her face. “What the hell happened?” He moved toward her. “Who did this?”
Cheryl tried to speak but her mouth was dry. She swallowed hard and tried again. This time her voice was stronger but it was only a whisper when it came out, “Isobel was here.” Shaking her head she admitted, “I thought she was here to free me but when I told her what happened… she stabbed me. The little bitch stabbed me, her own mother! Then she wished me good luck and left me here.”
“Are you really surprised?” Titan shook his head. He looked over at JuJu and said, “Better get her to Boots.”
“Hey man, maybe we should bring Boots to her? He’s got another victim in his infirmary.” JuJu responded.
Titan closed his eyes briefly and nodded. “Go get him then, this isn’t going to wait.”
JuJu left the room.
Titan glared at Cheryl. He got her to her feet and assisted her over to the bed. He didn’t touch the knife.
She glared at him for that. “Get this thing out of my shoulder.” She gritted her teeth.
Titan shook his head. “I’m leaving that to Boots in case it hit an artery. I don’t want you to bleed out before he can get here.”
Cheryl snorted. “Why not? It would make your job that much easier wouldn’t it? If I was dead.”
Titan shrugged. “Personally? Yeah it would, but I couldn’t do that to Cat.”
Cheryl sneered. “I mean nothing to that whore.”
Titan grabbed her throat and began squeezing as he raised her up a few inches. “Listen up, you evil piece of trash, Don’t you ever call her that. Not with your history. Whether you like it or not, she’s your granddaughter but I can see why you wouldn’t like that. She’s way better than her own mother could ever be. And ten times better than you, that’s for damn sure.”
Cheryl clawed at his hand as he slowly narrowed her breathing. She couldn’t even speak.
When Boots and JuJu came back, Titan let go of her and she flopped back down on the bed, gasping for breath.
“What the hell, man.?” Boots asked.
Titan stood up tall and straight, ignoring his glare as he said, “It appears Isobel came through the window and freed her mother, then when Cheryl told her what happened today, Isobel stabbed her and left her here. She must have gone past Brute’s window, saw them sleeping and tried to take a shot. Tatum shot back.”
Boots nodded. “At least, we know she’s got some balls, don’t we? Good for Tatum.”
Cheryl growled. “Hello, I’m bleeding here. What about me?”
Boots looked over at her then over to Titan. “Kinda bossy isn’t she?”
Titan nodded. “I have to wonder if she’ll be this bossy when Manuel Alverez comes back to talk to Luna? Or when Joel Greenaway finds out where Tatum is. Seeing as Patrice told him about his daughter. I’m sure Joel will want to find out who took his daughter away and hid her away all her life.”
Boots snorted. “Alverez is going to return the favor Montoya gave him all those years ago and rip his cartel apart. Then he’s going to come after Isobel and Isobel is going to run out of places and people to help her. Seeing how mama here is in our custody. I wonder which one will get here first?”
The men all chuckled at the web that these women had woven for themselves.
Cheryl paled as she listened to their banter and she realized they knew a lot more than she was comfortable with. They knew just about everything now but she still had one secret. Maybe that one secret would be enough to keep her alive, maybe.
Boots came over and sat down next to Cheryl. “So, let’s take a look here.” He checked out the position of the knife and shook his head. “Ok Cheryl, I’m gonna have to get personal here in removing the outer layer of your costume. I need to see your shoulder and upper part of your chest.”
Cheryl growled, “You wish. Just take the damn knife out and bandage it up. I don’t have to lose any clothing for that.”
Boots shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. I need to see the damage that’s been done, so I can treat it.”
Cheryl shrugged then hissed. “Then I guess you don’t treat it. Just take the damn blade out and forget it.”
Hawkins came to the door and frowned as he glared at Cheryl. “What the hell is the holdup here? Why is she still got the fucking blade in her shoulder?”
Boots looked at Hawkins and explained, “She won’t let me do my job. She doesn’t want me to see her body.”
Hawkins shrugged. “Then leave the knife right where it is, ziptie her to the bed. She can lay there and bleed to death for all I care. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want your help and I refuse to cater to her whims.”
Cheryl snapped her head around and glared at him. “You aren’t going to even get the knife out?”
Hawkins shook his head. “You refused medical advice. So no, the knife stays right where it is.” He looked over at Titan. “Zip tie her to the bed and leave her be.”
Titan nodded.
Between him and Boots they got her into position and using zip ties they secured her to the bed.
Cheryl fought them the whole way but they finally got her secured. She was spitting and swearing them up one side and down the other. She claimed she was in pain and still bleeding but Boots ignored her.
Titan walked to the window to secure it then disappeared for a moment. When he returned, he had a sheet of plywood with him. He proceeded to nail it over the window. Once he was done, he continued to ignore Cheryl’s questions and her whining about being hurt. He walked over to the door, snapped off the light, leaving Cheryl in the dark. He shut and locked the door behind him.
Cheryl was shocked as she lay there in the dark. She couldn’t believe what Hawkins had done. Yes, she told Boots she didn’t want to be undressed but then Hawkins had denied her any medical care at all.
She looked over at the knife protruding from her shoulder. Damn it hurt. The wound was still bleeding too. She could feel it. The pain and the blood loss was making her weak. The adrenaline she felt when Isabel first broke in was wearing off and she felt nauseous as her belly rolled.
They had left Cheryl in the dark for about two hours before they checked on her.
When Boots and Titan came into the room, they found Cheryl white as a sheet, practically passed out.
Boots shook his head and said, “Come on, let’s get her loose and see how bad she is.”
Titan cut the zip ties and scooted her down on the bed.
Boots then cut her clothing off around the wound. Seeing the damage with all the dried blood, he took the knife out of her shoulder. By this time, it wasn’t so easy to get the blade out of her shoulder but eventually he got it. Fishing into his bag or his hypodermics he gave her a couple of shots. There was some fresh bleeding but not much. He cleaned the area. Taping and bandaging the wound, he began searching for other damage. It wasn’t until he tore her sleeve off to check her back shoulder area that his eyes found the branding on her shoulder. “Well shit…”
The branding looked very old, but even now, he could read the message burned into her skin. He had seen something like this before and he knew who put the mark on Cheryl’s shoulder.
“What is it Boots?” Titan asked.
Boots didn’t answer, instead reached for his phone and took a photo of the branding. Then he shook his head and told him, “Let’s get out of here. Make sure you zip tie her back to the bed or Hawkins is gonna be pissed.” He cleaned up the mess and left Cheryl sleeping.
Titan made sure she was secure and then left the room as well. He followed Boots out to the main room.
Boots was giving Hawkins and the others his report, ““When we went back in to check on her, we found Cheryl white as a sheet from blood loss. She was pretty much passed out. I got the knife out of her shoulder then I found this.” He brought out his phone and showed them the branding on Cheryl’s shoulder.
Hawkins growled when he saw it.
Kota looked at it then shrugged and looked up at him. “So what does that mean?”
“That mark is nothing but trouble,” Hawkins told his son. He shook his head in disgust. “No wonder she went into hiding. She had reason to. Still, that’s no excuse for the things she did later.”
“Come on, Dad,” Kota urged. “Tell those of us too young to know what that symbol is and why she had to hide it?”
“Back when a few of us were young punks, just starting out this MC, things were different around this part of the world. You had your outlaws all right and most of them were real outlaws. The cops held the peace and for the most part, they didn’t bust you as long as you didn’t get too wild.” Then he picked up Boots’ phone, looking at the picture again. “Then the Satan’s Outlaws came into the area, they were what we called the 1 percenters. Some of them stayed here but the rest went over to the Eau Claire area. They raised a particular hell over there. There was one man among them that really tended to piss people off.”
“He was very good at it too,” Cash interrupted Hawkins’ story. “His name was Big Mike. And he was a real bastard. Back then, he already had a prison record and everyone knew it wouldn’t take long before he would be back behind bars.”
Hawkins nodded. “Well, apparently he found something in Cheryl that he liked. That brand is something he was notorious for doing. He’d find a woman, dominate her for as long as he was in town. Brand her, then he’d turn her loose. Seems that this time, he left her alone and pregnant when he left town. So that might have something to do with what’s wrong with Isobel and why she just doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anything but herself. She’s her daddy’s daughter, reincarnated.”
“How old would this Big Mike be now if he was still alive?” Titan asked.
Hawkins and Cash just shrugged their shoulders.
Hawkins, finally answered, “Big Mike is somewhat of a legend in the biker world. He’s big and he is a bastard at being mean. So yeah, hiding behind the walls of the Abbey makes sense now. But what she did to her own daughter and what she did to Patrice and Tatum. Then how she treated Cat and Luna?”
“Secrets never stay secrets forever.” Cash shook his head.
“What if Isobel knew who her father was?” Cat asked the bigger question. “Could she be using him to hide behind? Is that why no one can find her?”
Hawkins turned his head to stare at her. “Oh honey, I doubt that, I really do. Big Mike didn’t want her when Cheryl was pregnant with her, so I doubt he would want anything to do with her now. Not his style at all.”
“What if she told him about the money?” Cat suggested. “She might not know we found the cave yet, so who’s to say that was her only hide away? What if she had another place to keep the drugs and money?”
Wanderer nodded. “She could be on to something, boss. Someone has been down at the old barn on the far side of the property. We don’t go out that way much but I’ve seen footprints out there at times over the years and some of the undergrowth has been disturbed every once in a while.”
“Damn.” Hawkins ran his hands over the back of his head. “We’d better check that out, come daybreak but don’t go alone. If Isobel is in the area, I don’t want to tip her off. Take three or four men with you to watch your back. If you find anything, bring it back with you. If she’s got money out there, I want it.”
“Why?’ Luna frowned. “Why do you want it?”
Hawkins smiled. “Because I don’t want her to have it. I want her broke and trapped. I want this bitch to be shaken enough to make her last mistake. She burned us out once, she threw her own baby away, then she tried several times to kill her. Now she’s after her own mother and her cartel connections are drying up. I want to take her down and destroy her the same way she tried to destroy this MC. She thinks she can’t be touched? Well, I want her to know she can be. I want her crushed and I want her to know who’s doing the crushing.”
Cash nodded. “And if she’s got Big Mike on her side with the promise of money in his pocket, he’ll crush her himself. He may be an old man now, but I’ll bet he hasn’t mellowed one damn bit. He’s not going to take being lied to, not by her, not by anyone.”
