Cobra joined the others and sat down. His eyes sought Lola and for the longest time, all he could do was stare at her. He studied her carefully and he was beginning to see the small bits and pieces of her that made her whole. She was a fine looking woman. Her skin was fresh and clear of any imperfections. Her nose reminded him of his own and he winced at the thought. Her eyes were his in shape and color, as was the long hair she’d pulled back into a ponytail.
He knew if she left it loose, it would reach her waist like a cloud of black cherry silk. With her normally pale skin, she was a beautiful woman, full grown. He’d missed out on so many of her firsts, her first birthday, her first tooth, her first day of school, her first date… the list was endless but he was with her now and he knew he wouldn’t fail her.
Then he remembered something else Nora had told him. Today was his birthday but it was also her birthday as well. He leaned closer to where she sat on Creed’s lap. “Happy birthday baby girl,” he said quietly, looking her directly in the eyes.
Lola stared at him for a moment. Then she closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Happy birthday to you too,” she whispered back.
Silas looked up and stared at the two of them. Then he looked over at Creed. “It’s your woman’s birthday today?”
Creed nodded. “She’s twenty-four years old today.” Glaring over at Cobra he added, “Seems it’s her dad’s birthday too.” He growled, “It’s the only thing they share it seems.”
“Mmmm, maybe not,” Annie said as she hit the print key. A moment later, she handed Lola a piece of paper. It was a Texas birth certificate, her birth certificate.
Lola glanced at the paper in her hand and gasped out loud. After she stared at it for a moment, she lifted her eyes to Creed. Then she looked over at the man her mother knew a life time ago—her lifetime ago. “What is your real name?” she asked with a shaky voice.
“Lucian Valin why?” Cobra frowned at her. His eyes drifted to the paper in her hands, then rose again to look at his daughter.
Lola didn’t say anything, instead she handed him the paper.
He gazed into her eyes for a moment then dropped his gaze to the paper in his hand. It was indeed a birth certificate but instead of Lolannie James, it proclaimed his daughter’s name was Lolannie Lucia James Valin. He was named as the father on her certificate. It was there in bold ink. Cobra felt a cold spot in his body grow until he felt chilled. Goose bumps broke out on his arms and he passed the paper to his VP Thor.
Cobra rubbed his hands along his jaw. “Well fuck.” He lifted his glaring eyes to Lola. “Why are you going by the name James when that’s not your name girl?”
Cobra watched the violet of her eyes darken and he could almost see the rage growing in her body.
She first stiffened with outrage then her fingers curled into tight fists. “Because that was my name, Lolannie James is the only name I ever knew.”
“Well guess what daughter, that ain’t your real name. Your mother gave you mine instead,” Cobra stated.
“Yeah? Well, I wish she would have told me that. All I ever knew was my name was Lolannie James.” She almost screamed. “And for all my life that was all I was ever called, that no good Lolannie James, she’s a real trouble maker. Lolannie James, she’s just no good, just like her mama was. Lolannie James, who the hell wants her around?” Tears rolled down her face as she remembered everything everyone had said about her while growing up. “The only thing I was ever good for was a check every month, otherwise they didn’t want to know I was even there. That’s what I grew up with Daddy.” She sneered his title.
He almost flinched at her expression but kept his emotionless.
She glared at the paper Thor was holding in his hand. “And I never saw that before today, so don’t you yell at me about something my mother never shared with me. Just remember something here Mr. Valin, I never asked to be born. Not to you, whom I don’t even know, but I will tell you one thing, my mother was the best mom she could be. She showed me what it takes to be a real mom. She loved me first and foremost. She put me first and only in her life for as long as we were together. And when she left me—I knew I’d lost the most important thing in my life at the time.” She turned into Creed’s chest and sobbed quietly.
Creed’s arms wrapped around her body and held her to him. He really wanted to punch the other man but wouldn’t. He felt Lola’s words had done their job.
The look in Cobra’s eyes was pure pain. “Honey, I’m sorry…” Cobra tried to explain but was rudely interrupted when Lola turned on him a second time.
“Don’t you call me honey or by any other endearment. Don’t pretend you care about me either. I know you don’t,” Lola told him, as tears fell down her cheeks. “As you have so eloquently stated before, you didn’t know me until today.”
“Oh little girl, I think I’ve known about you all your life.” Cobra growled and brought out the necklace he carried around with him for twenty years. He held it out to her.
Lola gasped when she saw it. “Where did you get that?” she whispered.
“Your mother gave it to me the last time I saw her,” Cobra admitted. “She told me if I ever found you, that you would know it. Question is do you know it?”
Lola nodded slowly. “Yes, I know it. I have one just like it. My mother called it a lost love set. Two halves make up the whole necklace. She gave me one part of it and told me to never lose it and she wore the second part. She told me she would never take it off, that way she would always have a piece of me with her at all times.” Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “I never knew what happened to the other part of the necklace. But I guess you do know, right?”
“I’ve had it all this time,” Cobra admitted.
“Well now you know my mom was telling you the truth about me,” Lola stated. Digging into her pocket, she took out a small velvet pouch and handed it to him. “I had to hide it most of my life but I never lost it. I had nothing left of her except for that, but that kept me going all this time.” She looked over at Silas. “I’m so sorry this drama has taken over your mission. I never meant for anything like this to happen. You all need to concentrate on taking back your MC. This…” She motioned between her and Cobra. “…This takes second place to that.” She looked up at Creed. “You have your own battles to fight. You need to focus on that not on this. You are going to risk your lives in the next few days and I don’t want to make you lose focus of that. This Bandit person sounds like he’s got nothing left to lose and he sounds like he’ll try to cheat to win the game. It’s going to happen and you guys need to be ready for the fight of your lives because that’s what this mission is going to be.”
“That we do darlin.’ ” Silas nodded at her. “The next few days are vital. We’ll either win or fail but we have to try.”
“I hope you can win this fight.” Lola nodded then she looked angry. “I also hope karma bitch slaps the sneaky bastard good and hard.”
Silas burst out laughing as did everyone in the room. “Boy oh boy, Creed, you got your hands full with this one.”
Thor laughed so hard he had to wipe the tears off his face. “Well Cobra, she’s got your temper that’s for sure.”
Cobra glared at his VP. But even he had to chuckle at Lola’s comments. He turned to Silas and sobered up. “The lady has spoken, let’s figure a way to make it happen.”
Silas stared at the other man. “You plan on hanging around then huh?”
“Till this is over yeah, I’m gonna be around,” Cobra stated his intentions. “My boys will add to your numbers and I can call in reserves if you think we need them.”
Silas nodded. “Well, let’s see what tomorrow brings when we meet up with the rest of the boys. Then we can see where we stand one way or the other and solidify our final plans.”
“What have you got in mind old man?” Cobra frowned.
Silas snorted. “I may be old but I ain’t dead yet. I may even have an ace up my sleeve boyo. But I’m gonna wait until everyone can hear my plan. Cause I just hate repeating myself over and over.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the other man.
His grandsons snickered from different spots around the room. They knew his words got him into loads of trouble and he wasn’t afraid to use them, even in the face of his impending doom.
Cobra smiled slightly and held up his hands in surrender. “Ok. I get what you’re saying old man. I get it. This is your plan me and my boys are only along for the ride. That’s fine. But tell me something, you got someplace in mind for the girls to wait while this goes down? I don’t want them in harm’s way while we’re in the battle for our lives.”
“Yeah, I gotta a place in mind for the girls. They aren’t part of this and I would never put them in harm’s way either.” Silas nearly seethed at him. “What the hell kind of men do you think we are?”
Cobra held up his hands again. “I didn’t mean to imply anything wrong man. I don’t know you and you don’t know me but from what you’ve said, it sounds like we’re on the same page. I just had to be sure. I’m sticking my nose in your business and I got no interest in your club, save for her.” He motioned toward Lola. “She’s been through enough and now she’s in trouble big time. I’m not going to lose her now that I finally found her.”
Silas nodded. “I hear you man, I hear you. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my family either. Now that the boys are together again, we can take a stand and take back what’s ours. The only thing missing is the boy’s father and that bastard Bandit will pay for what he did to my boy.”
“Granddad, this has to be for justice, to right a terrible wrong and not for revenge or it will never work,” Creed stated. “We can’t go in there seeking revenge or we wouldn’t be any better than Bandit and Snake.”
Silas closed his eyes and hung his head a bit. “I know boy, but I want this so bad I can almost taste it. They killed my boy, murdered him and I’ve had to live with that like an ache in my gut for years now. Maybe it’s a little bit of both, revenge and justice. I just can’t seem to get past losing your dad to him.”
“But grandpa we don’t know what happened,” Jack protested. “All we know is what Bandit told us.”
Silas scoffed. “Yeah and if you believe that horseshit excuse, I got a bridge I’ll sell you. Real damn cheap.”
“We all hear you gramps,” Harry stated. “But Creed is right. We can’t go in there with revenge on our minds or we’ve already lost the game.” Shaking his head he added, “Karma is a fickle bitch and we don’t need her lending Bandit and Snake a hand against us.”
Silas nodded. “I know boy, I know. But you boys are all the family I got left and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna lose you too.”
Lola got up off Creed’s lap and walked over to Silas. Kneeling at his feet, she laid her hand on his chest. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest she could feel every beat. Looking into his eyes, she spoke quietly, “I don’t know this man Bandit and I don’t know this Snake, but I do know about the type of men they are. I know about how they would do anything in their power to get the fame and glory they seek. It’s all about the money with them. Greed has them by the throat and she’s not letting them go. The devils on their backs are riding them hard to get more and more. He always seems to want more than they can get for him.”
Everyone in the room sat still and stared at the small woman at the old man’s feet.
“Most people aren’t like that but some are. They get a look in their eyes that’s scary as hell. Its cold and dangerous.” She paused and gazed around the room at all the faces looking back at her, then she turned her gaze back to Silas. “Do you want to know what I’ve learned over the years I’ve been alive?”
Silas nodded without saying a word. He was curious about what she had to say.
“I’ve learned that love really does make the world go round, I’ve seen the power of love turn a disaster into a victory, but I’ve also seen it turn into a catastrophe when it didn’t need to be. You have the love of your family here and that makes you stronger than Bandit and Snake will ever be. The people you have at your back believe the same things you do, they want what you want, not for the money or the glory or the power but because they believe in you. You have given them value and part of that value is what makes the difference.”
Slias blinked at her with surprise on his face.
She paused to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear then continued, “Growing up, I saw shit no child should ever see. But it taught me very young, not to trust too many people. It taught me that some people would look for any reason to hurt you and I learned how to avoid that sort of person. I also learned not to give up or give in to that sort of person either. They enjoy your pain, they enjoy listening to your screams. So when that time came, I learned not to scream, I learned to look those bastards right in the eyes and dare them to do their worst. I don’t know where that strength came from sometimes, but I always felt it deep in my soul. I used to tell myself it was my mother standing there beside me giving me her strength, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. You have that inner strength and that strength is in the men around you. Their belief in you is so strong they would follow you into hell and back. It’s pure and simple and oh, so very strong.”
Then men around the room all gave a nod as she spoke.
“But you also have the same devil on your back as Bandit does. If you go into this fight looking for revenge, that devil wins. He will have stolen your purpose and your reasoning. He’ll have you wanting more and more just like he’s got Bandit and Snake doing the same thing. Every move you make you’ll feel his claws sink into your soul deeper and deeper until you lose what little hope you got left.”
Creed quietly stared at her with an intense look in his eyes as if her words sank into his soul.
“Right now, you got right on your side, your mission is righteous and it has to stay that way. It’s easier to give in to the revenge part, I know but you need to stand your ground. These men need to believe in you, so please don’t let them down. Both sides of your heart need to come together and once it happens, you will be stronger than Bandit ever could be. Take back what’s yours but do so for the right reasons. If you let doubt and revenge come in, then you’re lost before this even begins.”
“Do you really believe all that little girl?” Silas asked her softly.
Lola nodded. “When life got hard for me as a kid I had to reach deep down and remember a time before I lost my mom in order to get the strength I needed to open my eyes the next morning. I remember thinking about all those times she would look me in the eyes and tell me everything would work out the way it was meant to. And when I needed her, she was always there for me. I would picture her looking me in the eyes and telling me she loved me when they were beating the hell out of me. And it was that thought alone that silenced my screams and got me through the worst of it. Once I learned this, they couldn’t touch me that way again. That’s what you need to do here. You need to find something from your past to believe in more than your need for revenge. You need to own it and use it like a shield to protect you in what’s coming.”
Silas nodded. “Thank you.”
Lola tilted her head in question at this.
“For giving me a reason to let go of my need for revenge. Until just now that need for revenge was winning.” Silas gazed around the room at all the faces looking back at him. “Hey, I’m a man and I’m flawed. Yes, I wanted to get my own back, I wanted revenge for everything Bandit took away from all of us, for your dad and president, for Creed. But now I can see things a little clearer and I know what we have to do.” He shook his head and looked down at her. “How did you get to be so wise at such a young age? Most people never learn this much.”
Lola shrugged. “Most people haven’t lived the life I have.”
Silas’s gaze rose up and he glared at Cobra, but Lola wouldn’t let him pin the blame on the other man. “No you can’t blame him.”
“Why can’t I? It was his mistake that left you alone in the world,” Silas argued.
Lola shook her head. “His mistake led to what happened to me but I believe it all played out the way it was supposed to. Fate had a hand in my life too, you know. My mom always knew he would find her one day and I believe that’s why she didn’t run when they did find her. Instead, she taught me everything she felt I would need to know in life in the four short years we were together. She would hold me at night and talk about what she thought about, what my father was like, what life was all about. She would tell me about her fears and what she liked in life. That life is what you make of it, it could break you if you let it or it could be wonderful, if you let it too. She told me once that she had found her forever guy but he never knew it.” She turned and stared at Cobra. “She told me she fell hard for you but she never told you how she felt because she said you never wanted to know. That I would her rumors and lies about her and that she wanted me to know she could never betray you but that you would believe she did. She never stopped loving you and that part of that love was me.”
Cobra lowered his head as sadness took over his hard features.
She stared at his reaction that was obvious regret as they all could see this. “I didn’t say these things to make you feel guilty. I said them because that was the way my life was. I think she knew all along that one day you would find her and she would pay the price for another man’s lies. This was her way of giving me the strength to live without her. I think she always knew I wouldn’t be with her mother all that long too. Like I said, my fate was in other people’s hands but now I’m taking it back. I will stumble and fall but I will also get back up again. I’ve already learned how to do that and I will continue to do it until I can no longer get up again. That’s just life isn’t it?”
Cobra nodded. “That’s life. Sometimes it kicks you when you’re down and sometimes it doesn’t.” He swallowed heavily as if his throat was caught on something then he looked over at Silas. “But for now, I think we should discuss what you plan to do tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.” Silas nodded. “Tomorrow, we’ll meet up with the rest of the boys and go collect Daniel. “
“Where is this Daniel?” Thor wanted to know.
Bear answered this, “He’s working up in Wichita Falls, for the Russians. The club is called the Sliver Bullet.”
Thor startled at the name of the club and looked over at Cobra, then back to Silas. “Oh man… that is not good, not good at all.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Creed demanded to know.
“Three very big Russians own that club, don’t they?” Thor asked. “Ivan Antosha, Pyotr Nicolar and Leonid Garvil.”
Silas nodded. “That sounds about right. What about them?”
Thor snorted. “Those men are not the type of men to fuck with, that’s all.” He looked over at Cobra and knew he was aware of what he was talking about. “Pyotr approached us about four years ago, looking to set up a run between Mexico and Wichita Falls. He was looking for a club to take on this run because he knew an MC would be smart about it and that they would keep their mouths shut about the cargo they were carrying. Cobra told him we weren’t interested and Pytor walked away, but he warned us in no uncertain terms to keep quiet about it. I guess he found another MC to do his run. That MC was the Sinners. At the time, we didn’t know anything about them or what they’d done. They steered clear of our town and didn’t make any trouble for us, so we left them alone. Then we began hearing rumors. Rumors were not a good thing but they began to circulate.”
“What kind of rumors?” Harry asked.
Thor turned his head to stare at Harry. “Rumors about the Sinners bragging all over Texas about how they were stiffing the Russian’s on every run. And how they were skimming off the top of their loads and the Russian’s were either too stupid or too unconcerned to care about it.”
Silas shook his head. “Bandit is dumber than even I gave him credit for. The Russians know what he’s doing and they will come after him.”
“Sooner than you think Silas,” Bear stated quietly.
Silas turned to look at Bear and frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
“One of the other brothers that left the same time as I did moved to be close enough to keep an eye on Daniel. We all knew we have no right to protect anyone not associated with the club but then we weren’t part of it either anymore. We’ve been loyal to you and yours since the day we joined the Lost Sinners and will continue to be just that way until the day comes when you and yours step away. Flash has family in the area so he’s been keeping an eye on Daniel all this time. So far, things are going ok but he got a hold of me the other day and said he’s seen a couple of the Sinner’s in town. They’ve been waiting and watching Daniel really close.”
Silas glanced over at Creed. “They knew Creed was getting turned loose and they were watching for trouble.” Running his hands through his grey hair he thought out loud, “I wonder if they had people watching Jack and Harry as well?”
Jett slammed the front door open just as Silas was speaking. He glared at Cobra and growled, “Well I don’t know about Jack but there’s somebody very interested in what’s going on in this house. When I left to run an errand, I picked up a shadow about three blocks from here. He followed me all over town. I finally got him alone and decided to chat with the boy.” He shook his head. “Seems this Bandit creep sent three brothers out to see what y’all were doing now that the big guy was out of prison.’ He nodded at Creed. “They were just supposed to keep an eye on the brothers and report back to him if there was trouble coming.”
“Well, hell’s bells.” Silas swore. “There goes our element of surprise don’t it?”
Cobra glanced at Jett. “Does he know about us?”
Jett shook his head. “I don’t think he knows, not yet. He said he hasn’t called in with his report yet but I checked his phone anyway. He last called Killeen yesterday, so he was telling the truth there. The Sinner’s don’t know we joined this crew.”
“And the lookout?” Harry asked.
“He’s under wraps for the moment,” Jett admitted without saying any more.
“I’d better let Bullet know, just in case. We could be riding into an ambush tomorrow and that’s the last thing we need to do,” Bear stated as he reached for his phone.
Silas looked over at Harry and Jack. “Did either of you boys notice anyone watching you the last few days?”
Jack shook his head and looked over at his brother Harry.
Harry sat back in his chair and looked pensive for a moment. His fingers were steepled on his lips.
“Baby?” Annie whispered.
Harry glanced over at her and nodded. Holding out his hands, she came forward and he hauled her into his lap. “You all might as well know. Annie is hiding from some very bad people. She came here looking for her missing sister and found herself in a different sort of world. Her sister Becky disappeared while on a date with a man named Terrance Wilder. We think that name is an alias and that he could be a broker for a human traffic ring. She’s been missing for three months now and could have been sold on the black market. Between the two of us, we have found an underground group for selling woman all over the world. We found a trace of Becky and we think she’s still here in Tyler somewhere. We haven’t quite discovered where yet but as hackers, we have all the information we need to bust those animals. All we need is a reliable agent to turn our information over to. We were hoping to uncover the name of the man in charge and we’re so close but we don’t have him yet.”
“And how did the two of you meet?” Silas asked.
Annie grinned at him. “Wrong place, wrong time.”
Harry chuckled. “What she means to say is that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was tracking down a bounty and she happened to stumble into things. The bounty almost got away, but her dog Jethro thinking she was in danger charged in and kept him trapped until I could get things sorted out.”
“You were a bounty hunter?” Cobra asked with a curious look.
Harry stared back at him. “No I’m not a bounty hunter but occasionally, I do work for one. When he can’t find a trace of his bounty, he asks me to check things out. I give him whatever info I can find and he uses it to trace down the bounty.”
“Jethro and I have been part of Harry’s life since that night.” Annie tucked a short strand of hair behind her ear as she stared at Silas. “We live on this street for a reason. It’s out of the way and you have to know we’re here to find this place. Not only that but we have the area wired for security. Motion sensors and cameras. Two days ago, we saw someone on the edge of the property. He just seemed to be watching us. He’s been there off and on since then.” Looking over to Jett she commented, “He could be the one you ran into.”
“Ok, well that makes sense then doesn’t it?” Silas said. Running his hand along his jaw he stated, “Well, we can look more into that when we settle the business in Killeen. There’s nothing more lowdown than trafficking human beings.”
“From what we’ve found, this ring goes way beyond trafficking people,” Harry informed them. “One of their routes goes right through San Antonio.”
“The hell you say.” Cobra growled.
Annie nodded. “They ship the girls down the San Antonio River out to the Gulf and load them onto boats that will take them to Mexico or Europe.”
Cobra looked over at his men. “Well boys, looks like were in this for the long run. Not only here but at home too.”
“Let’s help get this settled before we take on any more.” Thor groaned. “San Antonio can wait for another day.”
Cobra nodded then looked over to Annie. “We’ll find these bastards and we’ll try to get your sister back for you.”
Annie shook her head with tears in her eyes. “Please don’t make promises you might not be able to keep.”
Lola looked up into Creed’s eyes and she saw the emotion there. She had asked him the same thing. Maybe he hadn’t understood before but she had a feeling he understood now. She didn’t want false promises, only the truth. So when this was all over and if they lived through it, she would need the truth from him.
