When Creed stopped in front of the little blue house on Second street in Beaumont, Texas, he removed his sunglasses and stared at the house. Slipping the glasses on the top of his head, he studied the house.
He heard his grandfather’s truck stop behind him and Creed looked back at the truck. He saw Silas and Kimber get out and come up to him. He looked over at his sister. “Does Jack know we’re coming?”
Kimber nodded with tears in her eyes. “He knows.”
“And what did he have to say about that?” Creed stared hard at her.
Kimber met his stare. “He said it’s about fucking time.”
Creed grinned. That statement sounded like something Jack would say. At only two years younger than his own 33, Jack was all about family. That his house was small yet well kept didn’t surprise Creed, what did surprise Creed was the fact there was a truck sitting in the driveway. He never thought Jack would give up his bike.
Silas led the way to the front door and knocked. A moment later, the door was opened and Creed saw his younger brother standing there. He had grown up in the last seven years.
Jack’s eyes went from his grandfather to his sister and finally landed on Creed. At first, he didn’t seem to know who he was, then his eyes widened in surprise. “Creed?” He took a step toward his brother. “Creed is that really you? Oh my god, it is, it is you! Damn Creed, you look good.” Jack dragged Creed into a huge hug.
Creed grinned and let his brother’s arm wrap around him. He hugged Jack just as tight. “Hello Jack.”
Jack took a step back and grinned. “Damn brother, you got huge.” He looked all the way down and then raised his eyes to Creed’s head again.
“Survival of the fittest bro.” Creed shrugged. “I was the fittest.”
Jack nodded then glanced around at the group. “Come on inside, I want you all to meet someone special to me.” He turned and led the way inside.
Creed looked around and liked what he saw. Jack was obviously doing well for himself. Then he saw a young woman sitting on the couch. She turned chocolate brown eyes at the group as a whole then stood to meet everyone. Her skin was a darker color than theirs and her long black hair hung to her waist. She looked at least part Native American, she also looked terrified at the sight of three huge bikers in her living room.
“Grandpa, Kimber, Creed and Bear… I want you to meet my woman, Kalinda,” Jack said with a threat of stubbornness in his voice.
“You got yourself a woman Jackie boy?” Creed questioned as he continued to study the young woman in front of him.
“Yeah, I got a woman,” Jack insisted. “Is that a problem?”
Creed shrugged and smiled. “Not for me but does she know how bad you snore?”
Jack chuckled. “Yeah she does and she loves me anyway.”
Kimber shook her head. “Oh Jackie, she’s got to be a saint then.” She stepped forward and drew Kalinda into a hug. When she stepped back, Kimber smiled. “Welcome to the family. I’ve always wanted a sister. Instead, all I got was four annoying older brothers.”
Kalinda laughed. She suddenly looked as ease. She then excused herself for a moment and when she came back, she had their daughter Rosa with her.
Jack caught her eye and smiled hugely. “Oh guys, I want you all to meet my daughter Rosalinda.” Shrugging he admitted, “We call her Rosa.”
Silas sputtered. “Y-you got a daughter? Jackie, why didn’t you ever say anything?” He turned and searched the baby from top to bottom. “Oh Jackie my boy, she’s beautiful.” Silas went over to Rosalinda and touched her chubby cheek tenderly. Kalinda held the baby out to him and Silas took her in his arms. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Oh, you’re a real beauty aren’t you sweet baby girl?” He tore his eyes away from the baby and when he looked at his grandson he asked, “You named her after your grandma, didn’t you?” he whispered with tears in his eyes, tears he refused to let fall.
Jack nodded and kept eye contact with his grandfather. “We did.”
Rosa smiled and reached out her hand to touch his cheek.
Creed smiled at the sight of his grandfather holding his great granddaughter in his arms. Creed knew this was a special day for the old man. Family meant everything to Silas Armstrong Young. Letters from Kimber told him that their grandfather had taken the loss of his son badly. He remembered well when his uncle Todd had been killed in the war between the Lost Sinners and the Devil’s own, their rival MC. That almost killed the old man and now this? This would be intolerable.
He looked over at his brother and nodded. “You did good little brother.”
Jack grimaced. “When Bandit first chased us out of Killeen, I was so lost. You were in prison, Dad was gone, and we didn’t know if he was dead or alive and they’d just beaten grandpa so bad he almost died. Thank god, Kimber found him when she did, if he’d have laid there much longer the old man would have been dead. I knew that if we were going to survive, me, and Harry and Daniel had to split up for a while.” Jack turned to his oldest brother and looked him in the eye. “We wanted to continue the fight dad started, he was looking for the proof that would show the world you didn’t kill that girl. We had to have the proof before we could go to the state police. We knew you wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel if you had been drinking that night. Hell, anyone that knows you, knew you were innocent that night. You would have just gotten one of us to come pick you up. But Bandit holds that town in fear and he isn’t afraid to use his power to keep them under his thumb.”
Creed nodded. “Yeah. I would have. I had just gotten my first beer. Bandit, Snake, Reed and Nitro were there. Snake looked like he wanted to start some shit with me, so I didn’t want to even stay that long. Reed and Nitro started have a rather loud discussion and the next thing I know, Snake shoved into me. I turned to glare at him and shoved him off me, then he swung at me. Then it was on, we traded a few punches and I left him laid out on the floor in the dirt. I took the last swallow of the beer in my glass and the next thing I know I’m waking up along the road and Dan Murray is telling me I killed a girl. I mean he spilled most of the beer I was drinking all over my clothes and I admit I smelled like a brewery but I hadn’t even had one beer that night.”
Jack frowned. “Are you sure you didn’t finish that beer? We were told you were legally drunk with a .09 alcohol level.”
Creed scoffed. “I left wearing most of the only beer I had that night.”
“Then whatever report the DA had was fraud and we can’t prove it.” Jack’s fingers curled into fists. “That man needs to answer a lot of questions.”
“Well, he isn’t the only one under fire in this.” Creed growled. “Dan Murray has a lot to answer for as well. He’s always been a kiss ass and right now he’s kissing Bandit’s ass.”
Jack scratched his jaw. “Yeah well, Harry’s been doing a little digging into Dan’s background and he’s been finding enough shit to blow the man out of the water.”
“What do you mean?” Creed glared at his brother.
“Seems old Dan has a gambling problem. He’ll bet on anything and usually losses. He somehow got into massive debt until about seven years ago. He was on the verge of maybe losing his knee caps then all of a sudden, his debts are gone. He’s been in Bandit’s pocket ever since.”
“Did you guys find anything about the girl?” Creed had to ask. He hadn’t even known the girl he was supposed to have t-boned in what the cops called a drunken state that night.
Jack nodded. “As much as we could find out anyway. Dad found out her name, it was Mickie Reese. She was from a little town called Taylor. No one knew why she was in this area but a couple of her friends said she’d been seeing a biker. Course they didn’t know his name but they did tell us he had a rad bike. All shiny and lots of chrome. He also had a coiled cobra sitting between the handle bars.”
Creed’s frown deepened. “A coiled cobra huh? Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, when Murray asked why Snake’s knuckles were all busted up that night he told him they got busted up in a fight at the bar with you.”
Creed thought for a moment then said, “I always wondered why Snake would come after me like that. I was the Dad’s heir apparent after all. In any fair fight, I could have taken him and wiped the floor with him.” He chuckled lightly. “In fact, I think I left him all sprawled out in the dirt anyway.”
Jackie grinned. “Yeah, he didn’t look very good that night. And man, he really don’t like you.”
Creed shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m not overly fond of him either.” Looking carefully at Jack he asked, “Are Harry and Daniel ok? I mean they aren’t in danger from this anymore are they?”
Jack shrugged. “I know I was watched for about two years after I moved here. I told Harry and Daniel to keep a low profile and to keep their noses clean until we knew more. We keep in touch by burn phones but I haven’t seen either of them in years. We stayed apart for a reason. It’s the same reason we stay in touch every few days too.” He turned and scowled at Creed. “I don’t trust Bandit or Snake and now that you’re out of prison, I think they will try to take all of us out. They don’t want any problems with their deals.”
“What about their deals?’ Creed demanded to know.
“They’re dealing drugs and guns in large amounts. Harry was able to find a connection to the Mexican cartel but where they deliver the stuff, they bring across the border is still a mystery. He’s been trying to track it for about a year now, but I haven’t heard if he found it or not.”
Creed stared off in the distance briefly. Turning to his brother, he asked in a low voice, “I have to ask you something and I don’t really know how to say this. Is there really no grave site for our dad? I mean really? I couldn’t be here when he died but I want to see the place you all buried him before we go to war with the Sinners.”
“There is no grave site brother.” Jack shook his head. “We never found his body to bury. Only Bandit knows where it is and he isn’t telling anyone. He only thing we ever had of Dad was his bloody vest, and that wasn’t even all there. It was pretty ripped up and covered in blood when Bandit showed it off. And he did show it off, almost like a trophy, bragging like how this was all he found of Tate Young. Just pissed everyone who loved dad right the hell off. Bandit put it on display at the club house when he tore down the sign we had. He left the Sinner’s part up but ripped down the Lost part. Burned it in the parking lot.”
Creed shook his head. “Damn, I was so hoping Silas was wrong about that part. Dad never even got buried properly?”
Jack shook his head. “No he didn’t. Hell, we don’t even know if he’s dead or alive way back then. There’s been no word of him since, so we have to assume he’s not around anymore.”
“How did granddad take that?’ Creed asked as he looked over his shoulder at the older Young.
“About as well as you’d expect,” Jack told him.
“So what’s the thing with Bear and Kimber?”
Jack’s lips tightened as he glared at Bear. “After we got the boot from our own club and Bandit ambushed granddad and left him for dead along the side of the road, Kimber took off to try and find him. She wasn’t gonna let what happened to dad happen to grandpa. Bear decided he wasn’t gonna stay either. He followed her and he helped her get the old man home after they found him. Because grandpa lives so close, Bear and a couple of the other guys watched over the two of them. About a dozen or so men left the club when Bandit declared himself the new President. They told us they just couldn’t stay with a man who could be so cold and downright mean about shit.”
“What do you mean by that?” Creed wanted to know.
“Bandit and Snake have been waiting for the right time and I guess two years ago was about the right time.”
“Right time for what?” Creed frowned.
“Snake ran into Kimber in town one day. He was alone and she was on her way back to the ranch with some groceries. She was only fifteen when everything went down but now, she’s twenty one, and he looked at her the same way he looks at any woman. He told her she was no longer a kid and that she should come back to the club cuz he was sure the guys would all welcome her back.” Jack looked at Creed and with a dead rage in his eyes.
Creed held his temper in check but he was boiling inside. “Yes, Grandpa told me what he said.”
“Bear’s been watching over her since,” Jack continued. “She’s never alone and he makes sure she’s always safe. Bear and couple other brothers moved Kimber and granddad to a secret location and they’ve been watching the ranch since then. Snake told her he’d give her a week to come back and if she didn’t, he’d come find her and drag her back.”
“So her and the old man have been living in secret for the last two years?” Creed stated softly.
Jack recognized his quiet tone. Only those who knew him well knew it. Creed’s temper was legendary in that he never really lost it, but when he did— he really did.
Jack looked at the brother he loved and saw what the last seven years had done to change him. He’d been buff before he went to prison and there weren’t many that would openly challenge him but now he was a powerhouse. His hair was a little longer but the color was still as black as ink. He still had the wary look in his eyes but now there was a certain focus as well. His chest and shoulders were wider and the muscles in his entire body were more pronounced. Jack’s eyes went down to Creed’s hands. His hands had always been on the big side but now they were even bigger than he remembered. Stronger too. “Yeah, Bear and the others have been watching over them and the ranch. Grandpa didn’t want to move at all. You know how stubborn he can get, then one night Snake and about ten brothers showed up to pick Kimber up and the old man gave them a warning shot. Told them to get off his ranch and never come back.”
Creed felt more fury rise up. He vowed destroy them all for what they’d done.
Jack shook his head. “Snake got a couple rounds off at the house but three of the guys with him road over to the barn and set it on fire. They wouldn’t even let the animals out. Granddad, Kimber and Bear had to watch and listen as they heard the horses screaming while the barn burned down around them. Snake and his boys left after it was too late to save them, told Granddad he’d be back for Kimber and that he had a bullet with his name on it.”
“What happened after this?”
“Bear got some of the brothers together and left them in charge of the ranch and he and Bullet got Silas and Kimber out of there. That was two years ago and Snake is still looking for her.”
Creed turned his head slowly and glared at his brother. “Snake is mine. I’m the only one that gets to kill him. Do you hear me? DO you get my meaning? Snake is mine.” His words were low and deadly.
All Jack had to do was to look in Creed’s eyes to know he meant every single one of the them. Heaven help the man that took his prize away because it wouldn’t work out for either of them if Creed didn’t win this particular battle. “I hear you brother.”
Creed nodded then turned his head to view Kalinda speaking softly to his sister. “Sooo your woman…”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “What about her?”
“How long have you been together?”
Jack shrugged. “About three years now.”
“Why isn’t she wearing your ring yet?”
Jack shrugged. “It’s hard to explain…”
“Why is that?” Creed asked. “Don’t you love her?”
“I love her and that baby we made together, more than life itself.” Jack assured him.
“Then why?”
“Because our future might now be very long,” Jack explained. “I didn’t know what would happen when you got out of prison, I mean Christ think about it… Dad is either dead or missing, we haven’t heard from him in over six years, the rest of us are living in hiding. We can’t even be in the same town. Bandit and Snake are still looking for us. We all know he wants us dead so we won’t come back and take the club back.” Jack paused and looked around the place he called his home. “I got a job where I make good money. I got a good woman and a kid. Shit, I got responsibilities man…” He stared at Creed. “But what I also got is a deep-seated fear the life I’m living is only temporary, man. I got a to go bag already packed, and it’s been packed for six years. How can I expect her to just get up and go with me at a moment’s notice? I love both of them too much to ask them to live this kind of life.”
“How can you even think I would stay behind?” A soft voice asked from behind him.
Jack spun around and saw Kalinda standing there with tears in her eyes. He couldn’t even say anything as he gathered her into his arms.
“I thought all this time you didn’t want me to know your family, that you’ve been ashamed of me.” She sobbed.
Jack hugged her tighter then separated enough to look down into her eyes. “What on earth are you talking about woman? Why would I be ashamed of you? I love you.”
Kalinda stared into her man’s eyes. “There are so many out there that would never be with me because of who my people are.”
Jack chuckled. “There are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t want to be with me either for that same reason, but I love you. I love our life here and I love that baby we made together.”
“Our life here is good, I am very happy with you. I am also very much in love with you, but what if I wanted more?”
“More?” Jack frowned slightly.
“I want a ring and to share your name and your life for however long we both live.” She dropped her eyes to his chest. “You gave Rosa your name but you have yet to give me the right to it.”
Jack frowned slightly. “I wasn’t sure you wanted my name.”
Kalinda glanced up to his face. “I would be honored to share your name.” Lifting her small hand to his face she told him, “I love you with every breath in my body. Why wouldn’t I want your name?”
“Boy, you better put a ring on that girl’s finger and soon,” Silas grumbled from behind him.
Jack turned slightly and frowned.
“You were raised better than that.” Silas growled.
“What are you talking about old man?” Jack asked.
“I know it’s old fashioned to think this way but when a man finds a woman he can’t live without, he usually gives her a ring before the babies start coming. You put the cart before the horse boy and she deserves better than that. They both do.”
“Both?” Jack’s frown deepened.
“Your woman and your child.” Silas glared at him.
“My child has my name,” Jack assured him.
“But her mama doesn’t, and that’s wrong any way you fuckin slice it boy.” Silas narrowed his eyes at his grandson.
Jack held up his hand to stop the tirade. “Ok, ok. We’ll get married. I just wasn’t sure I could ask her to stay with me with Bandit and Snake hanging over our heads.”
Silas rolled his eyes. “Those two bastards will be on their way to hell before they realized it. We’ll be alive long after they’re dead. The Youngs aren’t gonna give up as easily as all that. We’re made of tougher stuff. We put out the call to arms and as soon as the four of you get back together, we’ll face Bandit and Snake head on.” He looked at Kalinda and his scowl softened. “But before that happens you’re giving her the right to carry on your legacy.”
“What are you gonna do if it can’t be done before then?” Jack asked his grandfather.
“Well, I gotta a shotgun that says it better.”
Jack’s mouth dropped open. “What the fuck old man?”
Silas nodded. “You heard me boy. You drank the milk for free too long, now you buy the cow.” He turned to Kalinda and apologized. “Not that you’re a cow darlin’, but you know what I mean…”
Kalinda grinned at the older man then turned to Jack. “I think I love your family and I would be honored to carry your name.”
Jack sighed. “Well, if he’s got a shotgun then I guess we’re getting married sweetheart.” He looked down at her and there was a twinkle in his eyes. “I should have done this a long time ago, can you forgive me?”
“Always,” she vowed as she reached up and kissed him. “Always.”
~*~
After Kalinda fixed a meal, they all sat around the table and discussed the upcoming confrontation. That’s when Silas pulled out a notebook from his travel bag. Flinging it down on the table he announced, “This is what little information I could find over the years. I found what info your dad had. In fact, he mailed it to me just before he disappeared. Everything is in that book.”
Jack sat up in his chair. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked at Creed and admitted, “Harry, Daniel and I have been gathering information too. Each of us has our own little piece of the pie.” Shrugging he said, “We figured it would be safer for everyone involved if we just kept what we had to ourselves. Bandit wouldn’t think to look for it either as long as we didn’t make our move just yet.”
“So where are Harry and Daniel?” Creed wanted to know.
“Harry is over in Tyler.” Jack chuckled. “You would not believe what he’s into. He turned to hacking and the hell of it is, he is a great hacker. He says the trick is to know what you want and just go after it. Get what you need and get the hell out.”
Creed barked out a laugh. “Harry always was a sneaky little shithead. He also knew how to keep a secret until he needed to let a person know they were caught. Then he would use what he knew to blackmail you.”
Jack chuckled. “Well, at least I wasn’t the only one he used that tactic on. There were times growing up when I wanted to kill the little bastard myself.”
Kimber felt tears well up in her eyes listening to her brothers talk about one another growing up. She’d missed that the most. The love of family they all once had.
Silas noticed her tears and leaned toward her. “What’s up baby girl?” he whispered.
Kimber shook her head. “It’s just nice to see my brothers together again, that’s all.”
“I get ya. It is nice now that Creed is home again.” Silas nodded. “Soon, we’ll have them all back together again.”
“No grandpa,” she whispered. “We can’t all be together ever again, not without daddy.”
“And Daniel?” Creed asked. “Where the hell is he hiding?”
“He’s up in Wichita Falls. He’s running a club up there.” Jack sat back in his chair. Staring at Creed he nodded. “There are rumors about the place he’s working at. People say the Silver Bullet is mob run, Russian mob, I believe they call themselves Bratva or something like that. They also host and underground fight club there. I have no clue what the hell he thinks he’s doing there.”
“It’s called earning a living brother,” Creed informed him. “In case you haven’t heard, it’s hard to live without working a job. Something that isn’t always so easy to find. Especially when you’re an ex-con.”
“No worries brother,” Jack assured him. “You’ll find something when this is over. Once we clear your name, you’ll no longer have a prison record, you should be able to get any job you want.”
Creed shook his head. “I’ll never get what I want little brother.”
“Why not?” Jack frowned.
“It’s too late for that, I’m afraid. I want the last seven years to be nothing but a bad memory, a bad dream if you will and I want our father home where he belongs, not lost in limbo, where we can’t even give him a decent burial if he is no longer of this earth. That’s what I want that can never be again.”
