CHAPTER BOOK-

THE NEW CHAPTER BOOK

Chapter One

The Hang Out bar was finally quiet as Torin dried the last glass in the dishwasher. He sighed heavily as he stacked it with the others on the back counter. It had been a busy night and he tried to get as much done before the last call. Now, the cleanup was finally over and he could go home soon. 

He shook his head as he remembered the party tonight. A bunch of factory workers were celebrating one of their own’s promotions and had gotten a little rowdy. But his brothers Callum and Archer had settled them all down after they had gotten out of hand while breaking bottles and talking shit.

Callum mentioned the more bottles they wasted by breaking, the bigger the final bill would be.

The workers all looked surprised that they would be charged for the breakage.

So when the final call came Callum took their bill to them. The workers grumbled and growled about it but Callum stood right there until everyone ponied up the final amount. With his size and look the men didn't argue. Then Callum said if they couldn’t behave themselves they couldn’t return.

Out of nowhere, another man stepped in, he’d been sitting there watching them and when they made a scene at the end of the night, he told them he’d never been more embarrassed by them. He also added that their jobs might be affected by their bad behavior. 

From the bar, Torin had watched all of this for himself. He might need to back his brother up.

Then the five men sitting at the table suddenly shaped up. They left quietly after that.

The other man watched as they filed out of the bar. He must have been a boss at their company. Then he laid a huge tip on the table.

Callum nodded at him politely. Then he continued his clean up, bussing their table.

 

Twenty minutes later...

Torrin shook his head as he was still here and his brother had gone home. Just a few swipes with a mop and he would be free to go.

Suddenly, he heard a crash of some kind from the basement where they had their extra cases of beer in the bottle stored. He dropped the mop and grabbed the shotgun from under the bar.

The bar was set up with a short hall leading to the basement door. The hall was behind and to the right of the bar.

When he got to the doorway leading down, he listened carefully at the door but he didn’t hear any movement on the other side. If it was a critter they would still be moving around but he didn’t hear any movement. He carefully reached for the doorknob and twisted it slowly.

Torin gripped the shotgun tightly as he descended the steps quietly. When he reached the bottom, he scanned the room carefully. The distinct smell of beer made him wrinkle his nose. He reached out and pulled on the cord to the light at the bottom of the steps. The light lit up the space now.

He discovered what the crash had been and the scent of spilled beer was a case of beer bottles that had been knocked over. Beer seemed to be puddled in the far corner, but something else was also in the pool of amber gold. When he stepped closer he knelt a bit and saw the bright red of blood swirling in it. He gripped the shotgun tighter in his hands and stood again. “I don’t want to shoot you so make yourself known,” he growled. “Stand in the light and hold your hands up,” he called out in a voice loud enough that his words echoed in the stillness and vastness of the room.

No other sound came for a few seconds, then a whimper could be heard along with footsteps from the very back of the room. Suddenly, a small voice called out, “I’m coming out, please don’t shoot me. I’m unarmed.”

Torin waited while still gripping the shotgun.

Then she stepped out of the shadows. 

Torin paused when he saw her, she looked like a child as small as she was. 

She was lucky if she was all of five feet tall. She might have been small but she was a woman full grown. Her full curves were prominent under her oversized jacket. She stopped almost right below the light Torin had snapped on. Her jeans were well worn and slightly ragged. She wore a t-shirt under a dusty and stained covered jacket. Her hair had been pulled back and hidden under a cap that shadowed her eyes. It was her feet that posed the biggest surprise. They were dusty and dirty and she was wearing flip flops. Her pink nail polished toes could be seen as she flexed them under his scrutiny.

Finally, he spotted the blood staining her right foot. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” Torin growled.

“Look, I had no choice, they were hunting me. I just needed a safe place to hide for a few hours.” She motioned toward the liquid mess on the floor. “Sorry about the case of beer. It was too dark down here to see where I was going. I can pay for it.”

Torin ignored the payment offer as he glared at her and asked, “You said something about someone hunting you? What did you mean by that?”

She didn’t say anything as she pressed her lips tightly together then she said, “I won’t bring trouble to your door, I promise. Just let me stay for a little while then I’ll leave.” She stumbled to lean against the nearest stack of beer cases and lowered her head. “I just need to rest for a bit.”

Torin slowly shook his head as she looked to be in a bad way. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “Not yet but I will be, I have to be. If they catch me now, I won’t survive.”

Felling impatient, Torin set the shotgun aside and walked over to her.

She watched him come close and she looked about ready to flee if he got too close. Looking fierce, she took a step back. “That’s close enough, buddy.”

Torin grinned. “No it really isn’t, now talk. How the hell did you even get inside the bar? We closed almost an hour ago.”

She glanced away for a few seconds then looked back at him.

He still couldn’t see her eyes and he growled as he reached for her cap. He tugged it off of her head and then was amazed as her hair flowed in a silky flash along her shoulders and down her back. At first, he thought it was a whitish blonde or something but the longer he looked the more the true color showed under the lights as a golden blonde. But damn, it was her eyes glaring at him now that surprised him the most.

They glittered a stormy grey and the rage in her body almost singed his soul. She then snatched her cap back from him and muttered something under her breath. Twisting her hair on the top of her head, she impatiently stuffed it all back into the hat. Then she glared at him from beneath the bill of her cap. “Why the hell did you do that?”

Torin leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mainly because I wanted to see who the fuck I was talking too. Now I want to know who you’re running from and why you chose to come here to hide out?”

She took a step back and shook her head. “It's best if you don’t know any of it. I won’t bring my troubles here.”

Torin shook his head with a scoff. “You’ve already involved us. I just need to know who and why?”

She moved another step back. “No, you don’t understand. I will not put you in the line of fire. They are crazy and believe me when I say they have a lot of secrets they can’t afford the world to know. I’ll leave and you won’t have to see me anymore.”

“Lady, you aren’t going anywhere.” Torin growled. Reaching out to her, he grabbed her by the upper arms.

Suddenly, her fear seemed to disappear and she fully went all in to fight back as she tried to twist away from him.

Torin held onto her shoulders. He brought her closer to him in order to wrap his arms around her but she fought even harder. She barely came up to his chest and Torin felt like he was indeed handling a doll-sized woman really. He grinned at her. “Damn woman, just struggle all you want, but you aren’t going anywhere.”

She growled in frustration but it sounded like a kitten growling and stomped on his foot then knocked her forehead into his solar plexus.

Torin lost his breath for a few seconds as he stepped back. Then he snapped at her, “What the hell?”

Before she could say anything, they both heard the whine of a motorcycle coming down the street.

She paled and reached for the light above her head, as the light went out, she tackled Torin to the floor. 

Torin hit the floor hard as he wrapped his arms around her.

The bike roared as it got closer. Then it sounded like a couple more cycles had arrived too.

He was about to yell at her when she covered his mouth with her hand and looked toward the only window in the entire room.

Torin halted as he saw the light coming in from outside showing that her face had gone completely white.

Before he could move her, they both heard glass shattering as gunfire from the bikers broke out. 

She scrambled off him and grabbing his hand she scooted back into the shadows of the stacked beer cases.

Torin kept down and crawled after her as they both heard more glass shattering from inside the bar above their heads. When they got against the wall, Torin grabbed his phone and texted an SOS to his brothers.

A few minutes later, more engines could be heard coming toward them and the attacking bikers seemed to be leaving in a hurry. Some of the incoming bikes followed while some parked and came into the bar.

Heavy footsteps came rushing into the building above them. Then the sound of swearing and shouts of rage were coming down the stairway.

Torin got to his feet and called out that they were down in the basement.

Loud footsteps rushed to the stairs and three men came crashing down the steps. They all looked around the storage room and finally saw Torin as he stood there unhurt.

The oldest man in the room asked, “What the hell happened here, Torin? Who the fuck shot up the bar?” Pope asked his oldest son.

Torin just shook his head. “I don’t know, Dad. But I have a feeling our guest might know.” 

Pope looked puzzled as he asked, “What the hell are you talking about? What guest? I don’t see anyone here but you.”

Torin walked back a few steps and growled as he had to literally pull her out of the shadows. He dragged the woman he found earlier in the evening, forward. “This girl decided to sneak in here. I don’t know her and I only found her down here because she tipped over a case of beer just as I was finishing up tonight.” He turned to stare at her. “But I have a feeling she knows more about the shooting than we do. I asked her what her name was and she wouldn’t tell me.” He snorted. “Kept saying she didn’t want to drag us into her mess. But I think that’s a moot point now. They already shot up the place… Whoever they are.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Pope stared at her then dropped his gaze to her bleeding foot and blurted out, “Are you hurt?”

She just stood there and didn’t say a word as she stared at the other three men. She took a small step backward when she saw the glares they were giving her. 

Torin paused at the look of terror on her face. He glanced at the others then back at her. She hadn’t been afraid of him before, but now she looked frightened out of her mind. He turned to her completely and wrapped his arms around her trembling body. “Look, you don’t have anything to fear from us,” he whispered in her ear. “No one here is going to hurt you.”

She looked up at him and whispered back in surprise and shock, “Y-you guys—are a-an MC?” Obvious fear rippled in her hesitant voice.

Torin cocked his head at her and asked, “Yeah, is that important?”

Swallowing hard, she glanced at him and gave him a barely there nod. 

Torin noted that she was now shivering as if she were freezing cold.

While trembling, she swung her fright filled gaze back to the other men at the base of the steps. All she could do was stare at their cuts and shiver in the silence surrounding her. 

 

Chapter Two

Pope stared at her. “We aren't gonna hurt you. Little girl. That's not the way we work, but we do need to parley as you seem to know what hit us tonight.” He paused then studied her before he asked, “Why are those other bikers looking for you or did they come here just looking for trouble?”

The woman shook her head but didn’t say a word. 

Pope didn’t look pleased by her silence. “Well, we aren't gonna learn anything here. We’ll leave a few brothers to watch over the bar and first thing in the morning we’ll get things back the way they were before all this happened.” He looked at Torin and said, “You bring her along and we can finish this conversation in the morning. You’re in charge of our guest until we know more than we do right now. Callum is bringing the security tapes and we’ll know more in the morning.” He rubbed the back of his head. “It's gonna be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow."

He and the men turned around and went back upstairs. 

Torin looked down at the woman in his arms. He loosened his hold on her.

She wouldn’t look at him as she stepped away and shivered a bit while she rubbed at her arms. “I can’t go with you. I have to get myself gone before they figure out I was even here.”

Torin shook his head. “That won’t work for us, sweetness. We need some answers and it seems you have them. You need to tell us what and who this was so we can be prepared for a possible fight. Whoever you’re protecting isn’t going to stop without bloodshed and I would rather that it be their blood, not ours.”

She sighed heavily and tried to reason with him, “You don’t understand. I have a feeling this includes my family and they won’t stop until I’m dead and they don’t care if anyone else gets in their way. They will go right through you to make sure I eat a bullet. They need to stop me one way or any other way.”

Torin furrowed his brows. “Your own family? They would shoot you?”

She looked down at the floor and shook her head sadly. “My father is a real bastard who thinks having a dick is the most important thing. He has three sons who have been given everything they ever wanted all their lives. I am the baby of the family and when my father found out I was a girl, my mom thought he would smother me the day I was born. He allowed her to bring me home, but she told me things changed in the house after that. He pretty much ignored me and never minded when the boys would be mean to me as I grew up. My mom kept me out of trouble and she protected me until I turned ten.” 

“What happened when you were ten?” Torin asked as he stared at her.

“My dad drove off into the sunset with my mom and hours later he came home alone. He said they had gone into the swamp and a gator got her before he could get her to safety. He had to stand there and watch as the gator tore her apart. He said he couldn’t get to her without putting his own life on the line as another gator joined the first. When he came home his clothes were dusty and there was something that seemed like nasty water on his jeans. After that, I became the chief cook and cleaner around the house. I lost not only my mom but her protection too.”

Torin slowly shook his head as he looked disgusted.

She shuffled over to a low stack of the bottled beer and sat down. “After that, my hell went to hell in a hurry. Over the next ten years they all made my life miserable. But they also ignored me and that was their biggest mistake.”

“Why a mistake?” Torin asked.

“I watched every move they made and I learned how my father operated. And believe me when I say that was no small feat. My father is a true monster in human skin. He also has the monkey of greed riding his back and sometimes it rides him hard.” 

Torin shook his head. “You need to tell all of this to my dad’s club. They need to know what kind of man your father is and if he might be coming after you.”

She refused to look at him as she kept shaking her head. “Might? No, they are coming after me. And I already told you, I won’t bring my troubles to your door and I won’t. I’ll just gather my things and disappear.”

Torin shook his head. “Sorry, but that isn’t going to work for us.” Then he scoffed, “ For one, I don’t trust your father not to shoot you in the back as you’re running away and two…my dad gave an order and that was for me to bring you with me. So I’m not willing to let you go just yet. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. Whoever came in here shooting, means business and it's all aimed right at you. Hell, I don’t even know your name, but I am not going to let you just walk into your own death.”

She sighed hard. “If you really need to know, my name is Daisy.”

Torin stared at her and asked, “Just Daisy? No last name?”

“Nope, no last name, just Daisy.”

Torin nodded. “Ok, Just Daisy, let’s get out of here.”

“And where are you going to take me?” Daisy asked.

“I’m going to take you somewhere you’ll be safe.” 

“There is no safe place,” Daisy replied as she shook her head. “Not for me.”

Torin walked over to where she was sitting. He knelt down in front of her and took her hand in his. “You have to trust us to keep you safe. We aren’t like your dad, no one in the club is going to hurt you. I told you we are not like that. Only a coward hits a woman or a child.”

Daisy shook her head. “It’s nice to know there are decent men out there. But I still won’t bring my problems to you and your family. If my father knows I went with you he’ll bring hell to your club and I won’t allow that.”

Torin smiled. “You have no idea why that won’t work for your dad, but you’ll find out we are strong enough to hold him and his thugs off.” He held out his hand to her. “Now come on, we’d better move while my brothers have those guys on the run. We need to get you to a safe place and get set up for the trouble to come.”

 Daisy stared at him for a moment then she reached up to him. “ Damn, I think you’re gonna be sorry for doing this. I hope not but I think you are going to regret it.” When he got her up and on her feet, she disappeared to the back of the room to grab her back pack. She pulled it over her shoulders then she winced a bit. But she didn’t say anything as he escorted her upstairs. 

They left through the back door.

The three large men left behind to watch the place were all staring at her.

Torin walked over to his bike and turned to look over at her as he held out his hand to her again. 

Daisy approached him cautiously and when she reached out, her hand trembled. 

He nodded at her. “You will be safe. Trust me.”

She snapped her gaze up to his. “That’s just it… I’ve trusted before and I’ve always been disappointed.”

Torin shook his head. “We can protect you if you’ll let us. I know you’re scared of us, but I think you are more scared of who’s chasing you.”

Daisy paused and sighed then she took another step toward him. As she did, she caught the sound of a loud bike engine. She knew that sound. With a gasp, she leapt at Torin and tipped his bike over.

Suddenly, two men on cycles, rode down the alley toward them. They had their guns raised as they flew along by the back parking lot. Then gunshots rang out.

Torin flipped her over on the ground and covered her body with his own.

Then at the last minute, the three brothers rushed toward the street while shooting back. 

The two bikers then turned in the street and rode away.

Torin slowly raised up and gazed around at the parking lot, then he looked at his brothers. He was very happy to see all three standing there, alive and well, watching over every direction for more trouble. Peering down at Daisy, he saw fresh blood staining her shirt. Her coat had flapped open and he could see it coming from her side. With a gasp, he knelt beside her. He flipped her coat out of the way and pushed her shirt up.

 Thick pads of gauze wrapped around her side and the blood he saw had been seeping from them.

“What the hell?” He growled. “What’s going on here?”

Daisy closed her eyes and pushed her shirt down, concealing the wound. “You weren’t supposed to see that,” she muttered. “It happened earlier today.”

Torin reached down and lifted her to her feet. “Yeah, well guess what? It's bleeding again. Why didn’t you say something before now?”

Daisy looked puzzled as she replied. “Why would I say anything? I can take care of myself.”

Torin glared at her and then leaned over to pick up his bike. It looked dusty but there didn’t seem to be any bullet holes in it. “Come on, we need to get back to the clubhouse and have someone look at your wound.” 

Daisy rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, just give me a tub of super glue and a band aid.” 

Torin studied her for a few stunned seconds then asked, “You seemed to know that bike’s engine long before they came into view, how? Who was the rider?”

She snorted in disgust. “Someone you don’t want to know but he keeps coming back.” Then her eyes widened and she swore. “Damn, he must have seen me.” She gripped his arm hard. “If he saw me, that means he’ll be back here. Your brothers are in danger. He’ll keep coming until he finds me and he won’t care about anyone standing in his way. You have to keep your brothers safe. Tell them to go home.”

“Why is he after you? Who the fuck is this guy anyway?”

Daisy shook her head. “That doesn’t matter now. Just get your brothers out of here. You may have to give up the bar but it's only a building right? No one needs to die tonight and he won’t stop coming until I’m dead. Just go and make your brothers leave.” She looked upset. “I’m so sorry I brought this to your world.”

“Daisy, I’m not leaving you to face that fucker.” Torin snarled. “I told you I’d keep you safe and that’s what I’m going to do. Now get on the bike and let's get you to the club. My brothers know how to take care of things here. No one will die tonight unless it’s those assholes when they come back here.”

Daisy just shook her head. She looked around the parking lot then back at Torin. “Your men are big, but they don’t look like killers. Not like these guys are. You just don’t know!”

Torin swung his leg over the bike’s engine, then he turned to her and again told her, “Daisy, get on this bike and let’s get you safe.”

She sighed and stepped over. “You must regret this already. So I’ll just step away. Tell your dad you lost me.”

Torin stared at her and proclaimed, “We don’t lie to each other.”

Daisy looked a bit saddened as she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a daily hobby in my family.”

 “Well, I have never lost anything in my life.” He shrugged then added a joke, “Except maybe my virginity, but I gained more than I lost with that.”

Daisy kept staring at him.

He shook his head. “Ok, TMI. But you need help with that wound right away, Daisy Girl. And I don’t want the lecture I will get if I don’t bring you to the clubhouse.”

“Why can’t you just let me go?” She remained stubborn as she looked frustrated.

“You need me to list more reasons?” he scoffed. “Ok fine. First off, you have an appointment with our doc first. Number two: we need to know why you’re bleeding all over the place here.” He held out his hand one more time.

She scoffed at his stubbornness now. “Well, big guy, I hope you're right about this because now both our lives are on the line. Not to mention if your club gets involved they won’t stop until they wipe you guys off the map.”

“You will see that I am right most of the time, little Daisy.” He nodded at the three men staying behind, then he helped her aboard his bike, revved the engine and rode away.

Daisy wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and hung on for dear life as he raced his bike through the silent streets.

Chapter Three

At the far edge of town, Torin slowed down and took a right turn. Then he rode down a gravel driveway. Soon, they came to a front gate.

The man on duty ran over and opened the gate.

Torin rode in and right up to the front door. 

Daisy stared at the huge front door and saw the emblem of the club. 

A skull with hollowed eyes.Wings were spread out behind it. A pair of old fashioned long barrel guns crisscrossed at the base of the skull.

She swung off the bike and just studied the emblem for a moment. Then she turned to Torin and asked, “Who are you guys anyway?”

Torin shrugged. “We’re the Warrior Saints, the Texas branch, but we’re actually spread out, we have a sister club in Louisiana, and another club in New Mexico. My uncles run the other clubs but we all have the same values and morals. Like we have two bars and some of our men run Uber services.” He chuckled. “Minus the cuts of course as that biker stuff sorta throws people off. More importantly, our clubs are all legit.”

Daisy shook her head. “I don’t even know what legit means. My dad’s club breaks every law they can on a daily basis.”

Torin stared at her and shook his head. “Yeah, we need to talk about that.” He motioned her toward the front door. “And talk about your safety. A girl on the run from big ass bikers? This is bad for our image too.” When he opened it, they found a good number of men waiting for them inside.

Four larger men stood to one side, one was the man she knew as Torin’s dad, Pope, but she didn’t know who the others were. 

Torin took her straight to his dad.

 Stopping in front of him, she looked into Pope’s eyes.

 “Are you ready to tell us who you are and who the shooters were yet?” He glared at her.

Daisy glared back then she sighed. “My name is Daisy and the guys on the bikes that shot up your bar were most likely, my brothers.”

One of the men standing there said, “I got a few questions too. They call me Bowman, by the way.”

She nodded her head at him.

 He went on, “So when you say brothers, you mean your actual siblings?”

Again, she gave him a nod. “One of my brothers tried to stop me from finally walking out of the place they call home. He busted my lip and bruised me up a bit, but I got away. He thought I stole something from them.”

Bowman frowned and had to ask, “And did you take whatever they think you stole?”

Again, Daisy nodded as she admitted to it without an ounce of shame, “Oh yeah, I took it alright.”

“So, let’s get this straight,” Pope broke in. “You stole something from them and ran away?

Another nod from her.

Bowman looked perplexed as well as he asked, “And that is why your brothers are hunting you?”

“It was copies of records and payroll files. Only these files show corruption and illegal dealings. They have gotten away with everything for all this time. I took it and intended to bring it to the law. Only I wasn’t going to the cops back home. My dad has too many on his payroll there. He’s been paying them to look the other way for years now. No… I was going to find an honest cop and turn everything over to him and let the chips fall where they may.” She paused then shook her head. “But now, I’ll be lucky to find anyone I can trust enough to turn over what I’ve got before they get to me.”

Torin smiled and tipped his head at her. “You came to the right place though. Or the right bar, I should say. We know the right kind of lawman you need to do just that.”

Glancing over at him, Daisy did not look convinced.

“Do you know what exactly they’re doing?” Pope finally asked.

Daisy sighed heavily. “Yeah, I know. I sure as hell am not proud of it either. I grew up in that MC and my dad never tried to hide what he was doing.” She shrugged. “He let the boys grow up in the club too and trained them himself. So I wasn’t really surprised that they were mixed up in this too.”

“What exactly are their crimes, honey?” one of the older guys asked.

Daisy just stared at them for a long moment before she made up her mind. “I’m gonna trust you. I mean I hardly have a choice now.” She removed her backpack from her shoulders and opened it. She took out a very small flash drive and passed it to Torin. “I guess you better look for yourselves.”

Torin stared down at the flash drive then he handed it off to one of his other brothers. The brother with a patch that tagged him as Fox, took it and sat down at the table. Then he removed his laptop from his bag on the floor. He set that up and powered it on. Finally, he loaded the drive into a slot and opened the files. 

All the men stood waiting. They seemed to look patient.

Daisy didn’t feel patient. She knew she shouldn’t be here at all. She sighed again and crossed her arms over her chest.

Torin stood next to her as he glanced at her. Then looking back at Fox and his laptop, he looked curious as to what was on this drive that seemed to be worth her life.

A moment later, Fox pushed his chair back and raised his head. Looking stunned, he just stared at Daisy. Turning his head, he looked over at Pope. “Pres, you aren't gonna believe this.”

Pope and Bowman walked over to read what Fox had up on his screen. 

After a few minutes, Pope raised his head and stared at Daisy.  “You’re dad is Demon? From Demon’s Rage MC?”

Daisy nodded. She didn’t have to say a word as it seemed the whole club knew her family.

“Who are your brothers?” Bowman wanted to know. 

“My oldest brother is Danny or Digger,” she told them. “My middle brother is Colton and he goes by the odd name of Forty-Five, and the youngest of the three is Hayden, but his MC name is Clipper and as you said, my dad goes by Demon.” 

Hearing these names and who they were, there were grumbles from several of the men in the room.

Suddenly, she began to feel weak and she swayed on her feet. Pressing her hand to her belly… her knees buckled. She reached out to grab the table for support but she missed and slid to the floor.

Torin rushed over to her but she hit the floor before he could catch her. He reached out and scooped her up into his arms, heading down the hall. “Patch,” he called out. “She’s gonna need you.”

One of the brothers broke away and followed him down the hall.

A few minutes later…

Pope shook his head then glanced over at Bowman and Fox. He then followed them as well. By the time he got to the Infirmary and stepped inside, he saw Patch pushing her shirt up. He stopped and stared at the bloody bandages or what she used as bandages on her side and shook his head. 

“Well, damn,” Patch swore as he carefully peeled the bloody gauze away from her side. Then he pulled the sanitary pads off next. With a gasp, he just stared at the open bleeding wound on her side. He looked up and said, “It looks like she took a blade and someone sliced her open without a care.” He gazed down at the wound again then moved his hand closer to pick at something on the cut. Shaking his head he admitted, “Looks like she tried to hold it together with super glue and the glue gave way.”

Torin nodded. “After you guys left, we went out the back way and heard their bikes again. She tackled me and tipped my bike over because her stupid brothers started shooting again. She saved my life. The shooters were almost passed us when our men came flying out of the bar. Fury and Riot shot back but they were long gone.”

Pope snapped his head over to stare at Torin. “She tackled you before her brothers started shooting?”

Torin nodded. “As soon as we hit the ground, I rolled over on top of her to protect her and my bike protected both of us.” He shook his head. “That must have been when the wound was opened. That’s when I noticed the fresh blood anyway. I thought she took a bullet but she told me she didn’t. I got her back here as fast as I could, then we got busy talking and I forgot she was bleeding.”

Patch scoffed. “Well, whoever slashed her did a damn good job. I’ll have to stitch this up.” He poked around a little more then glanced at Pope. “This wound is at least two days old, maybe three. The edges of the wound are already drying out.” Then he placed his hand on her forehead. “She might even be starting a fever. We have to get some antibiotics into her before she gets really really sick.”

Pope nodded, then looked over at her face. He noticed Daisy’s eyes were open.. “Why didn’t you tell us about this girl?”

Daisy turned her head away and whispered, “I didn’t think you would care.” 

Pope glared at her. “Damn girl… We may not know you very well but you’re a human being and you deserve so much more than you got from them.”

 Turning her head to stare at him, she asked, “Why do you even care about someone you don’t know?”

Pope crossed his arms over his chest as he felt disgusted by this whole conversation. “Because I’m a man and I care about the people I meet. You’re right I don’t know you yet and I may not like your father or your brothers. But it seems to me, you aren’t like them. So until you prove me wrong, I’m trying hard not to judge you.”

Daisy shivered. “You’re right about that, I’m not like my father or my brothers, but they never minded that. They tried to beat the good out of me, every chance they got. At least that was my reasoning for it. But I learned not to notice the pain anymore and after that it seemed to take the fun out of the beatings for them. When they could no longer make me cry or scream they finally backed off.” She snorted. “Hell, after the second year, I didn’t even feel the pain anymore. Yes, afterward, the beatings still hurt but I could bury that and get up off the floor to do my work again. After that, they began leaving me alone. That is until recently anyway?”

“What happened recently?” Torin frowned.

“They’ve got something big coming in the next few weeks. I’m not sure exactly what because they just stopped talking shop at home and I was never allowed in the clubhouse for like the last couple of years, but suddenly I was being watched by everyone in the club. I mean I couldn’t move without one or more of the guys following me around. It made me really nervous, you know.”

Pope frowned, then asked, “Did you ever figure out why they were watching you so closely?”

Daisy shook her head. “I left that place three days ago and it was Clipper that caught me sneaking out. Before I left though, I downloaded all of dad’s files and I had only taken that backpack with me. Clipper was outside smoking a cigarette when I tried to sneak away. He stabbed me to try and stop me from running but he only caught my side and I got away from him anyway. I had to keep to the alleys to even get out of that damn town. And I had to be really careful not to get caught the last three days.” She sighed hard then said, “Then tonight, I screwed up and they caught sight of me.”

 

Chapter Four

Pope crossed his arms over his chest and asked Daisy, “Just how far away is your dad’s MC?”

“They’re over in Many, Louisiana,” Daisy told them as she shrugged. “It’s a hole in the wall actually but Dad runs the place. He pays the whole town to ignore what they are doing. Then some people just look the other way out of fear. Then if you cross him, he gets right up in your face and warns you, that you either better do what he says or you won’t be doing anything anymore. Except taking up space six feet under. He’s a monster and he raised his sons to be the same way. They are all rotten.” She struggled to try and sit up. 

Patch and Torin both held her flat down on the bed.

Patch cleared his throat and advised her, “I need to stitch up your side. You’ve probably already lost a lot of blood. Then you need rest and some food to start healing.”

Torin growled and said, “I told you, you were safe here. If you try to leave here you’ll bleed to death and I’ll be damned if I let that happen.”

The Pope glanced at his son and just shook his head. Then he looked at Daisy again. “Let the boys do their thing. You need rest and food, at least let us give you that much.”

Daisy looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I can’t stay here. My brothers know where I am and they’ll come hunting for me. I won’t stay and let you and your men take a bullet meant for me. I never meant to drag anyone into this when I hid in the bar. I really don’t want anyone hurt. I know what those animals are like. They just don’t know when to quit.”

The Pope nodded. “Well darlin, there’s something you don’t seem to understand here. This is our home advantage. We know this area from front to back. North and south, east and west. We’ve been here thirty years or so. Your brothers haven’t been here long if at all. That gives us an advantage.” He reached out and patted her hand. “My boys know where to hide if they get too close. You just leave that to us. We can get your brothers to follow us anywhere and who knows what we’ll find along the way.” He tipped his head back and chuckled. “Yes indeed, we know the art of hide and seek real well.” Pope looked over at Torin and instructed, “You stay here with her and I’ll get the others to guard the Clubhouse. Might even let Archer and Ghost have a little fun with her brothers.” Shaking his head, he grinned. “On the other hand they might like it too much and then where would we be?” He turned around and left the room while snickering under his breath the whole time.

Daisy looked mystified as she just stared at Torin and asked, “What does that mean? And why is he smiling about this?”

Torin smirked at her and said, “Your brothers might be in more trouble than they can handle. That’s what it means. My dad loves to cut big-mouthed-rotten bikers down to their knees. Then if he calls those two into play. It will be on. Archer got his name because he’s a crack shot with any kind of bow and arrow. Then Ghost got his name because you never see him coming until it's just a minute too late. He’s good with knives and guns. I love to fight. They both play dirty. So if Dad gives them the word that they can play to protect the club… then your family will be sorry.”

Daisy sat still on the bed. “And you think he’ll give them the word?”

Torin and Patch both nodded. 

“Oh yeah, he’ll give them both the word. If they find their way here, they are gonna be in real trouble.”

Daisy shrugged. “I can live with that.”

Torin raised an eyebrow at this, though he knew how she felt about them.

Patch snorted. “Yeah, I just bet you could.”

Daisy sighed heavily as she stared at the ceiling. “I’m just hoping I will finally be free of them. They've been bullies to me all my life. Dad never once tried to stop them. Never told them to leave me alone. Most days, he just watched with a certain gleam in his eyes. I couldn’t dare to fight back. If I did, he would take off his belt and they would hold me down while he would beat me until I couldn’t scream anymore. Danny broke my arm once and Colt almost broke my leg. I still walk with a limp because of him. I thought when I turned 18, I could finally leave that damn house but even then they stopped me cold. Dad said I wasn’t going anywhere and they practically locked me in my room to stop me from walking out. Every day when they left for the clubhouse, they made sure I couldn’t get away. They only unlocked the door when they remembered I was in my room. Sometimes it would just be for the day but once in a while, it would be days.”

Torin shook his head. “That's inhuman.”

Daisy shrugged. “That’s my so-called family. I think I was seventeen when I first started listening to what they were talking about. I wasn’t surprised by what I heard, but I knew that one day I would need to leave there and I wasn’t going to leave empty handed. That’s when I really began paying attention. But I also had to be careful, I knew if they figured out what I was doing, I might just become gator bait just like my mom. So I began gathering information and I finally got a break. The only thing was Colt came back early. He might not know what I got but he knew I was in dad’s office and that’s the one place I wasn’t supposed to ever be.”

Torin nodded. “But he made a mistake when he came into our bar,  you were under our protection and that’s one thing we don’t fuck around with. You were safe from them from the moment I found you hiding in the basement.”

Patch looked puzzled as he asked, “How did you get down there anyway?”

Daisy shrugged. “Actually, I climbed in through the ladies room window and I thought I could just hide for a few hours then I heard them out in the bar. They were starting to cause a fuss then I heard Dad’s voice telling them to settle down and just pay the damn bill so they could get out of there.”

Torin froze. He remembered the table just before closing that caused Callum to step up. Frowning, he stared at her and asked, “Those were your brothers?”

Daisy nodded sadly. “Yeah, if Dad hadn’t told them to settle down they would have caused a riot. You see they usually don’t have to pay for their drinks when they go out, not around home anyway. The bartenders always know not to charge them or my brothers will tear up the place. It's cheaper to let them have a few rounds than it is to replace the tables and bottles of booze they break. Besides, they were all in town to strike a deal with an outlaw MC to distribute drugs. This town is half way between home and that MC’s compound.”

“Do you know who the other MC is?” Patch asked.

Daisy laid back on her pillow. “The Devil’s Spawn,” she said softly. “And from what I hear, they are one vicious MC. Almost worse than Demon’s.”

Patch scoffed. “You got that right. Those bastards are the worst of the worst. I don’t know if your dad is stupid for doing business with them or if he’s got balls of steel.”

Daisy snorted. “Oh, he’s just that stupid. He thinks they are just going to roll over and play nice, but I don’t think they are the kind that play anything but viciously. Some of Dad’s guys are afraid of the Devil’s and from what I hear, they should be afraid of them. There's rumors of murders committed by them and missing people from their ranks that refused nasty orders. Never to be seen again. And they peddle in more than just drugs. Dad’s got to be the biggest damn fool in Louisiana if he thinks to take them on.”

Torin just shook his head. “I think it's safe to say your father might have just gotten into more than he's prepared for. If the Devils get involved they might just take over the whole operation and leave your dad and his crew out to dry.”

Daisy smiled for the first time since she came into the clubhouse. “I’d love to see that happen. Somebody standing up to my father. I’m not sure ole Demon is ready for that to happen. He’s one of those men that think he is walking royalty and that he’s entitled to everything."

“Oh yeah?” Torin grinned. “Well by the time the Devils get through with him, they are gonna leave your dad’s bones in the desert to bleach. I think ole Satan will just ride away and never think about your dad at all.”

Daisy shivered. “That’s the leader’s name? Satan?”

Torin nodded. “Yeah he’s in charge of the Spawns and he doesn't take shit from anybody. That’s how he got his name. He’s a man without a moral direction and he doesn't feel any pain either. Got some medical condition that doesn’t let him feel anything. Hell, I heard once that some dickhead shot him and he never felt a thing, he just charged the guy and killed him. He practically died of blood loss before his men told him he’d been shot.”

Patch snorted. “Yeah, that was when he shot his own man for not saying anything before he lost two liters of blood. The human body only holds four liters. That just goes to show you how clueless the man is about pain.”

Daisy just shook her head then she bit her lip. She worried why she didn’t feel anything about the man they were speaking of. Not remorse at any rate, not even fear. This might be the ending she was afraid of hoping for. If this Satan guy was as bad as they said, maybe he would end her suffering by just ending her family.  One part of her did feel bad, her dad and brothers were human after all, even from her perspective, but after living with them for 20 years, they had nearly beaten the part of her that cared about their rights, right out of her. 

And while her bruises faded, she wouldn’t ever forget the pain from their hands, fists and Dad’s belt. Just because she had learned not to scream with every hit, didn’t mean she didn’t feel them. But the fact they wanted to hear her screams  only caused her to put up more resistance. When they couldn’t get her to scream anymore they slowed down on the beatings. She had taken all the fun  out of it for them. She held all her emotions in and exhibited nothing if possible. But because of that they thought of other ways to torment her. Daisy shut down her thoughts on this. Shoved it away.. She didn’t want to remember what form of torture they had gone to. But for the rest of her life, she would carry those scars. Inside and out. Most were emotional scars no one would ever see.

She laid back on her pillow with a long sigh. She’d decided right then and there that she hoped her dad and her brothers made that fatal mistake. “Maybe pissing Satan off wouldn't be such a bad thing. I know it sounds bad but to finally be free from all that pain and misery…I could finally live.” She glanced up at the two men. “You know. To be able to do what I want. To not live in fear anymore. I mean I could actually get my own place? Have a job. Get a car.” She nodded as she felt hopeful for the first time…ever. “I never believed I could do it.”

Torin and Patch were silent as they looked a bit angry.

Torin looked stunned as he watched her carefully. “Could do what?” he asked.

Raising her gaze up, she replied, “Get away from that misery. You know…Be free to live a life. Or just be free… period.”

Both men couldn’t seem to speak.

Torin allowed a low growl to slip out as he clenched his fists at his sides.

Patch told her, “So let me stitch this up, ok? It’s gonna hurt. So I’ll make it quick.”

Daisy scoffed. “I endure  pain on a daily basis. Just go ahead.”

The two men looked like they didn't even comprehend what she was telling them.

 

Chapter Five

Patch stitched her side and he kept glancing at her face as he put ten stitches in her side.

 Daisy didn’t even flinch when he pierced her skin with the needle or when he pulled the thread through. 

Torin frowned, then he shook his head.

When Patch tied off the thread and clipped it he just sat back. Shaking his head, he began cleaning up the area. He placed a clean gauze over the stitches. Next, he got up, walked over to the refrigerator to get a needle and syringe. Then he walked over to her. 

“What’s that?” Daily asked him while staring at the medicine.

“Penicillin to fight off a fever,” Patch told her.

 She shook her head. “I can't have that, I'm allergic. It will put me into the hospital.”

“What do you usually have when you get hurt?” Patch asked.

Daisy shrugged. “I usually just get over it. Let’s just say Dad never let me see a doctor and leave it at that.”

“Jesus Christ.” Torin growled under his breath. 

Patch just turned around and put the loaded syringe in the sharps container. s 

Daisy finally looked down at her side. Then she relaxed a bit. Suddenly her belly growled and she flushed red. 

Torin chuckled. “I think your body is telling you it needs food.”

Patch looked at her again and it was then he noticed that her skin had an unhealthy paleness to it. His frown deepened, “Honey, how long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

Daisy’s flush deepened a bit and she didn’t want to say anything but Torin repeated Patch’s question and she closed her eyes, then she whispered, “A couple of days.”

Torin looked shocked. “A couple of days?” He growled. “Sweet Jesus, I’m surprised you’re still on your feet.”

Daisy ignored his statement and asked where her backpack was. Torin motioned at the table by the door and she asked him to please get it for her. He grabbed the pack and handed it to her.

She carefully opened it and dug around inside for a moment or so. She finally closed her fingers on something and brought it out. It was a flash drive. She hesitated for a moment then held out her hand to him as she opened her palm to show him. “This is what I copied from my father’s computer. This is proof of everything he’s got his hands into. It’s just nasty stuff. Him and my brothers, all my brothers are low lives and they all need to be held accountable.” 

Torin reached out but hesitated before he took it. “Are you sure about this? This might be the same as signing their death warrants, you have to know that.”

Daisy nodded. “I was never really one of them anyway. Just a victim of their nastiness. They are my bullies and that is all. Dad too. They made their bed and now they have to lay in it. Some of the stuff in those files shows just what kind of men they are. I really didn’t know until yesterday just what they were doing. And I am truly ashamed that I share his blood.” She put the flash drive in his hand and then she curled her fingers around his. “I don’t know what you’ll do with that information, or even if you’ll do anything at all.” She looked between him and Patch. “I’ll stay long enough to heal a bit then I’ll just go. You don’t owe me a damn thing but I need a place to stay for a few days. Like I said before, I don’t want anyone to take a bullet with my name on it, and if my family thinks I’m still here they will come. They won’t stop until they know I’m dead, and it won’t matter to them how many of your brothers are laying dead between them and me.” 

Torin kept shaking his head at her.

Lying back on her pillow, she stared at the ceiling, “They won’t care what I took, only that someone else might see it. They think I wouldn’t dare give it to anyone else, they still think I would be too afraid to do that. Just like any bullies, they count on their victim’s fear.” She turned her head slowly and stared at Torin. “I’m sorry if I’m using you to get the word out, but I don’t know what else to do. They need to be stopped before they get into bed with the Devil’s Spawn.” She shrugged. “Or maybe I mean before they can screw over the Devil’s Spawn.”

Torin snorted. “Maybe you should let that happen. Satan can take care of your family. No trouble for you. Then your dad and brothers would finally take accountability for their own actions.”

Daisy shook her head. “That day will never come. You see, my father and my brothers don’t see anything wrong with what they are doing. Hell, I'm surprised they had any cash tonight to pay their bar tab. Around our hometown, they never pay for anything. And the fact they came back and shot up the bar? Well, that’s just what they do isn’t it? They probably didn’t know I was even there until then and they had to come back, didn’t they? They came back to do even more damage. They didn’t even care that you were protecting your own property. Then you dared to shoot back and they saw me in the parking lot.” She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. ‘They’ll find this place and try to destroy it and as many of you as they can.” She looked at the flash drive in Torin’s hand. “I probably just signed your death warrants, not theirs.”

Torin stood back and rocked on his heels. “No, like my dad said before, this is our home advantage, not theirs. We have more than enough surprises waiting for them if they come here.” He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. Looking into her eyes, he whispered, “You rest and start the healing. I’ll have some food sent in.” He raised the flash drive and said, “I know my dad will want to see what’s on this and then we have to plan for entertaining your family if and when they show up.”

Daisy shook her head sadly. “Not when or if…they will show up. I know them very well and they think because I share their last name they have complete control over me. They think I will bend and break at their command. That was one reason why when they left me alone I decided to walk out. If Colten hadn’t come home when he did I would have just left and finally disappeared on them. That wasn’t a home I grew up in, it was a prison I couldn’t escape from.”

“Well, honey…” Patch stared at her. “You stumbled into a safe place when you got through that window. And then you trusted us with evidence of what your family is up to, all you have to do is trust us to protect you.”

Daisy shook her head. “But you don’t know the first thing about me and I don’t know you either.”

Patch just smiled sadly. “One thing you can bet your sweet ass on is that Pope and this MC don't hurt women or kids. We just don’t believe in that shit. And one thing you can count on is that as long as you are under our protection we won’t let anyone else hurt you either. Your family comes here looking to get you back, well that just ain’t gonna fly, not around here. They think they can come in here shooting, well honey… we will be shooting back.”

Daisy paused at this and stared at him. She then looked over at Torin.

He gave her a grin and nodded at her. 

She then sighed and replied, “Okay, I understand.”

Torin looked at her and said, “I’m gonna go get you something to eat and give this drive to my father to check out. I’ll come back here and feed you by hand if I have to. Right now, you need food and rest and I’m gonna see that you get it. I’ll be back.” He patted her hand then turned to walk out the door and down the hall. 

Daisy looked at Patch.

He was grinning.

 She shook her head and closed her eyes. After a minute she whispered, “Is he always this bossy?”

Patch chuckled. “Torin? No he’s not usually, but you need him and I think he needs you too.”

Daisy opened her eyes and stared at him. “I don’t need or want anybody’s pity. I hate pity and it's useless. My mother, before she died, told me once that you just accept the cards you’re dealt, use what you can and throw away the rest. Well, I’ve been accepting those shitty cards all my life and now I’ve finally thrown away what I don’t need. My father, my brothers and that house they kept me prisoner in. I’m done with that lot and I’m starting over. I just have to find a place far enough away to start over.”

“Girl, I think you just found a new place to start over,” Patch told her quietly. “You just have to make sure you throw away the old cards first.” He got up and walked over to the counter to put stuff away. 

Daisy watched him for a moment then she closed her eyes again and snuggled down to take a nap. Suddenly she was exhausted. 

She barely fell asleep before someone sat on her bed. Opening her weary eyes, she found Torin was back.

He had a plate of scrambled eggs and toast along with two cups of coffee. 

Daisy’s nose twitched as she inhaled the scent of good rich coffee and she tried to sit up but winced when her stitches pulled a bit from the movement.

 Torin set the plate and the coffee down then helped her sit up putting a couple of pillows behind her back. “Is that better?” he asked.

 Daisy nodded then reached for the coffee. Taking a sip, she gasped at the flavor. “Oh my God, that’s so good!”

Torin nodded then handed her the plate, “Eat.” He growled then he reached for his own coffee. 

Daisy set her cup on the table beside the bed. Picking the fork up, she took a bite of the eggs. She groaned not only at the flavor but her belly growled as she swallowed the first bite of real food she’d had in days. She ate slowly as she didn’t want to have to rush to the bathroom. She’d gone days without food before and she had learned that lesson many times growing up. Raising up a piece of toast she nibbled slowly then looked at him. “Thank you,” she whispered softly.

Torin nodded and kept his eyes on her plate. When she finished he took it from her and set it on the floor. He took up his coffee again and leaned on the railing at the bottom of her bed. He studied her for a moment then he said, “I gave my dad the flash drive and he was looking at the files when I brought in your breakfast.”

“Did he say anything?” She wanted to know.

Suddenly, Pope’s body filled the doorway and he growled, “Oh yeah, I said Holy shit when I saw the files. Do you have any idea what your father and your brothers have up to in real life? I mean really know what they are doing?”

Daisy set her empty coffee cup down and looked over at Pope. “Yeah I think I got a pretty good idea. I may not know the details but I got a glimpse of it and I hate it, almost as much as I hate them.” She paused, then asked, “Have you found the file on the Spawn yet?”

Pope nodded. 

She sighed and looked down at her hands. “Then you know what they had planned was not right, don’t you?”

Pope again nodded. “Yeah honey, what they had planned might just come up and bite them in the ass if Satan ever finds out about it.”

Chapter Six

Daisy looked over at Pope and nodded. “Maybe you should let him know then,” she spoke quietly. “Tell them just what they are getting into if they do business with Demon and his boys.”

Pope stared at her for a moment and finally replied, “Do you want to start a war, young lady?”

Daisy shook her head. “No, I want to try and stop one. My dad thinks he can’t be stopped, that he has all the power here. But I only want him to suffer, I don’t want him to think he can walk all over you and yours just because you offered me protection. I’d rather the only ones that get hurt are them and if Satan is as bad as you say he is, maybe he can go after my father rather than join him and come after you guys.”

Pope stared at her for a moment before he ran his hand over the top of his head. “I hope you’re right. I’ll have Fox send him the file and I guess we’ll see what he does about it.”

Daisy nodded, then she gasped as if she just remembered something. “One more thing, if you have anyone good with a rifle, get them on your roof. My brother Digger likes to throw grenades over the fence after dark. He figures if the explosion is big enough then the rest of them can get inside and do their own kind of damage. They like the element of surprise on their side.”

Pope nodded his thanks for the info. “I’ll get some guys on the roof. Just in case.” He turned and walked out.

 Nobody in the room said a word. Not yet. 

Torin walked over to the window and stared out into the sun lit yard. Finally, he spoke, “What else can we look forward to?”

“With my brothers and father?” Daisy shrugged. “Just about any attack move you can think of. The only thing you can really count on is that he thinks he can do anything, any time and anywhere. He really believes that no one with any power will be able to touch him. His word is law at home and he would be right, he’s paid off lawyers, judges and cops.”

“But he’s nowhere near his home is he?” Patch reasoned. “He’s in our territory now.”

Daisy looked at him and nodded. “But he doesn’t think that matters. He thinks he’s protected no matter where he goes.”

Torin scoffed. “Yeah? People around here don’t think that way. Plus, we have an ace on our side.” He smirked. “And that ace just might trump his belief in his own omnipotence.”

 Patch turned his head to look at him, the grin on his face widening with every second. “You think Thumper will be interested in that flash drive, don’t you?”

Torin nodded and agreed. “Oh yeah, I think he’s going to be very interested in that flash drive.”

Daisy looked back and forth at them. “And just who is this Thumper guy?”

Patch snickered. “He is a member of our club but he’s also a U.S. Marshal. If he knows about your dad and your brothers he can bring hell right down on their shoulders. And if Satan gets involved? Thumper will definitely want to be the one to stomp him in the mud. In fact, he’s been following every move Satan has made. But so far, he’s never gotten anywhere near him. If your information is real, he’ll bring them both down.”

Torin turned and nodded at Daisy as he grabbed his phone and texted his dad.

A few minutes later, Pope rushed into the room along with several others. He looked at Torin and asked, “Are you sure about this? Contacting the Marshal might be wise but  they might come after her as well.” He motioned to Daisy. “They might connect her with her family and think she’s working with them.”

Daisy looked skeptical as she explained, “I ran away for a reason. My family and I use that term loosely… would rather see me dead than have me work for them.”

Pope shook his head. “They might think because you have files from your dad’s computer that you are involved in his enterprises.”

Daisy’s jaw flexed. She dug into her backpack and brought out a notebook. She handed it to Pope and said, “Then you give them this record of what they’ve done to me since my mother died. You show them this book and let them ask me face to face.”

Torin glanced at the book, then looked over at Daisy. “What’s in it?”

Daisy went a bit pale as she refused to tell him, instead she stared down at the sheet that covered her. 

Tension grew in the room and finally, Pope nodded. “We’ll give Thumper a call. We might need him for this.”  He turned and walked out of the room. 

Torin went over to her bed and sat down. “What is in that notebook?” he repeated his earlier question.

Daisy didn’t look up, instead she spoke quietly, “Before she left, my mom warned me that if anything happened to her I should keep a record of what they did to me. At first, I didn’t know what she was talking about. It was only after she didn’t come back with my dad that I finally understood. It had been her protection that kept me safe.I was only ten when my life went to hell in a hurry. So I got myself that notebook and I kept track of things. I was lucky they never found it. I think they never looked because they just did not care. That book is fourteen years of their bullshit.”

Torin slowly closed his eyes and lowered his head. “You  didn’t have any help at all? Anywhere you could go that would be safe for you?”

Daisy shook her head. “I had one friend who would patch me up if I needed it but he never acknowledged it. He couldn’t, if my dad ever knew he helped me he would run the whole family out of town. My dad was pretty free with his fists and my friend didn’t want any trouble. His mom even had to take me to a hospital once but she wouldn’t give them my name, she didn’t want my dad to know she helped me. I never told him either.” She shrugged. “He never even noticed the cast on my hand for three weeks so what does that tell you about my father?”

“What about the school?” Patch asked. “Didn’t they ever say anything, do anything?”

Daisy shook her head. “My dad ran that town, no one even said anything and I missed enough days of school that they never cared anyway. No one would ever look me directly in the eyes on a good day, and especially when there were bruises. No way in hell.” Raising her gaze, she saw the pity in their eyes, she curled her lip and snapped, “Don’t you dare pity me. I don’t want it nor do I expect it. The one thing my life has taught me is that pity serves no purpose so it's useless. I survived and that alone made me stronger than my father or brothers. If I could survive them I could survive anything. When all is said and done I’m gonna walk away while they rot in prison or end up in the ground. And a year from now, I’ll come back and piss on their graves.”

Torin looked a bit stunned at her words. He shook his head slightly and glanced over at Patch. 

Smiling at her, Patch drawled, “Well girl, those days are about to be over. You won’t have to put up with that shit any longer. And if your dad or brothers come in our gates shooting, they’re gonna be real surprised when we shoot back. And we’re gonna make damn sure they finally understand that they aren’t bullet proof.”

Daisy nodded and laid back on her pillow. Her eyes filled with tears but she held them back.  

The silence in the room was shattered by the roar of bikes coming up the drive. 

Daisy looked up at Torin with terror in her eyes. She reached out and gripped his hand in fear.

Torin looked troubled as she was gripping his hand so tightly, then he looked over at Patch to tell him, “You’d better warn Pops that we’re about to have unwanted company.” He then scooped Daisy up.

She reached down and grabbed her backpack strap just before Torrin headed through the doorway. She had no idea what was happening, but refused to part with her meager belongings. Wrapping it over her arm, she tried to see where he was taking her.

He carried her deeper into the clubhouse to a room with no windows. He set her down and steadied her. “You stay here and don’t make a sound. If any one of your family gets inside the clubhouse they won’t be able to find you. Lock the door when I leave and stay here until I come to get you.”

Daisy reached up and cupped his face. “Please be careful, they don’t understand the word no. It’s like they’ve never heard it before and don’t go easy on them. They will be the first ones to shoot you then walk over your dead body to shoot the next Warrior.”

Torin grinned. “If they start this, we will be finishing it.” Leaning close to her, he covered her mouth with his.

 Daisy froze briefly then she kissed him back. 

For a moment they got lost in each other as the deep, wild kiss dragged on.

A gunshot coming from outside… broke the spell. 

Torin ripped his mouth from hers and turned to the door. “Lock this behind me and remember… no sound.” He went out and rushed down the hallway. 

Daisy got up on shaky legs. She felt weak but she made her way to the open door. She closed it softly then reached down and snapped the lock shut. The click sounded overly loud to her like a gunshot and she winced. Slowly turning around, she went over to the corner of the room and slid down the wall. Bringing her legs up to her chest, she let the tears roll down her face now as she listened to the loud world of yells and gunshots outside echo inside her mind.

And she prayed.

The battle raged on for some time. Daisy was thankful she remained safe but she also felt worried. She was afraid that some of the men who lived here would be hurt or worse, killed by her family. 

A lull finally came as the noise from outside dimmed. She raised her head and listened, feeling hopeful that her family had left. Suddenly, the ground and the whole building shook as an explosion rocked the quiet. Daisy reached up and wrapped her arms over the top of her head but she didn’t scream like she felt the need to do. She remembered Torin’s words about not making a sound and she waited.

 Dust and some debris fell around her but she didn’t make any sound.

She stared at the door with fear in her eyes. The lock had popped off from the explosion and she heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall. She scrambled for her backpack and grabbed her Bowie knife from its sheath.

As the footsteps reached the doorway she heard someone on the other side swearing under his breath, then the door was slowly pushed open and she saw a foot step inside. She had backed into the corner while staring at the intruder. But she wasn’t afraid anymore. She felt ready to fight as she gripped the knife in her hand.

Just as the man at the door stepped inside, Daisy slowly rose to her feet. Then she saw his face and dropped the knife to the floor. Rushing forward she grabbed Torin and planted her face to his chest. “Oh thank God, y-you’re still alive,” she whispered as she sobbed into his shirt.

Torin chuckled.  “Yeah baby, I’m alive and thanks to your warning, so are the rest of us.”

She looked up and gazed into his eyes. “And my dad? My brothers? Are they alive?”

 

Chapter Seven

 

Torin shook his head, then he sighed. “Unfortunately yes, they did. The one that threw the grenade was laid out unconscious. The rest of them were far enough away from the explosion that they were clear of the blowback. But they didn’t stick around long enough to check on the one that caught the full blast. They all ran away like the cowards they are.”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, they would have turned their backs on anyone to save themselves. They don’t care who gets hurt, but that means they will be back for round two. And this time they will come with more men, more guns, just more.”

Torin nodded. “Yeah, but now we’ve seen how they work. So we sort of know who and what we’re up against. They’re gonna bring more guns? Well baby, so will we. As soon as Thumper gets here, he’ll bring in men with him.”

Pope and a few others came to the door.

 Pope nodded at her. “You were right, your jackass brother tossed a grenade over the fence hoping to blow up the clubhouse. But thanks to you, we had a sharpshooter on the roof and he blew that grenade up in midflight. Your brother was tossed downed by the blast and the others just ran. They didn’t even stop to see how he was. Thank you for that tip. You saved our lives today and we don’t forget that sort of thing.”

Daisy shook her head. “They’ll be back. With bigger numbers, they always do if they don’t get what they want the first time. A lot of people don’t expect that.”

“Any idea who will be with them? Torin asked. 

“Probably Satan and his men.” Daisy sighed hard. “My father would consider this a show of good faith. Of course he’ll tell Satan that the whole mission is compromised because I stole the plans and am threatening to spill everything to the cops.”

Pope shook his head. “So he’d throw you under the bus and tell Satan that you need to die if they hope to go into business together? That’s harsh.”

“That’s my father.” Daisy replied. “As long as I’m alive I’m a threat to him and he knows this.”

“You think Satan will stay on your dad’s side?” Patch asked.

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, he will, he won’t have a choice. You see, my father has something on Satan and that whole mc. I don’t know the details but he wouldn’t be this eager to bring them in if he wasn’t so sure they would stand beside him.” Shaking her head she shifted in the bed, “You can almost bet he has something on Satan and his MC.”

Pope took a slow gaze around the room then he paused. 

Fox sat at a table and he looked a little uncomfortable. 

Pope narrowed his eyes and glared at him. “What? You know something about this we don’t, Fox?”

Fox shook his head. “Not for sure, boss. But several years ago Satan was about to be thrown out of the MC when suddenly the old President, Dagger, went missing. After the third day of searching, they found what was left of him in the desert and from what I can remember it wasn’t pretty. There had been a crash but a man like Dagger never rides alone. Satan had been VP back then, so he just stepped up but there were just too many questions left unanswered at the time. Satan stepped up and into Dagger’s shoes then led the MC into what it is today. The questions just sort of faded away after that.”

Pope looked a little uneasy as he glanced at Torin and Patch. “You think that’s what Demon found out?”

Torin shrugged. “Don’t know. But it is an interesting theory.” He looked over at Daisy and asked, “Would he use something like that against Satan?”

Daisy nodded as she looked grim. “In a heartbeat, you bet he would, but he’d also have undeniable proof as blackmail. Like something Satan wouldn’t want to be exposed with. The question is where did he get it and what exactly is it?”

“Well on that we can only speculate.” Pope shrugged. “I guess we have to wait and see if it's Satan and his boys that come back here. “Damn, we need Thumper here now rather than later.” He grabbed his phone and sent a new message text to Thumper.

Daisy looked at Pope and said, “Look at the flash drive I gave you, there might be something on it about what my father has on Satan.”

Fox got up and left Torin’s room.

Pope studied Daisy again. When she met his gaze he asked her softly, “You really think your father would be dumb enough to keep his blackmail evidence on his computer?”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, he would be that stupid. He honestly doesn’t think anyone in that house would cross him that way. He knows the boys wouldn’t and he would never figure I had the guts to grab any of it. He thinks he has complete control under his own roof. But he forgets that I have a brain and I’ve been waiting for the chance to get away from them all. Since the day he came back without my mother with some sob story about how a gator snatched her. That was just a lame excuse and he knew that even when he said it.”

“Yeah, Thumper is definitely gonna want to talk to you when he gets here.” Callum gave her a nod.

Daisy paused to look at him then she looked back over at Pope. ‘Where is my brother? The one they left behind?”

“We dumped him in a cell,” Pope told her as he shrugged. “He wasn’t hurt by the blast, just knocked out by the percussion from it.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t trust him any further than I can throw him. So he is locked up.”

Daisy smiled and shook her head. “I wouldn’t trust him either, but you better check him before he wakes up. Digger likes to carry a lot of blades. He thinks no one will ever think about checking for them if they happen to get his gun away from him.”

Pope smiled. “Thanks for the warning but we already searched him for other weapons and we did find four blades on him. Hell, we had to strip him down to his tightie-whities to find the last one before we put him in the outer cells. Which is nothing more than a tin shack out in the sun. He’ll cook out there but he won’t get himself free anytime soon. It may look like a shack sitting out in the yard but that building is built right, no one gets in without going through the locked door and no one’s been able to get out of it either unless we want them to, that is.”

Callum shook his head. “And I don’t think we want him or any of her other brothers too get free either.”

 Daisy glanced at him again and replied,“No, if they ever got free they would find a way inside and slit your throats while you slept. Dad has probably already given the orders to get inside and take everyone out, especially me. Most importantly, me. And hopefully before I can reach out and tell anyone what they’ve got planned.”

Patch shook his head. “Planned? Like setting up a drug lab?”

Daisy nodded. “They even got this plan started. They’ve got the place already and they’re working to get everything set up. So once Satan signs the deal, they can get started on making the pills.”

Torin and Pope shook their heads.

 “That’s insane. Most pill pushers want to hide what they are doing.” Pope growled.

Daisy scoffed. “Most dealers but we aren’t talking about most dealers here, we’re talking about Demon Clusoe. He thinks just because he has a few judges and cops on his payroll that he’s golden.”

Torin shook his head,.“Then I guess he’s gonna learn the hard way that he should have stayed home cuz he’s got no one here that will back him.”

Daisy shifted her position again. “You might be surprised about just who my father’s got in his corner. He thinks everyone has a price.”

Pope grinned then nodded. “And for the most part he might be right, but not around here. He shows up with a pocket full of money around here and somebody might shove a gun in his belly.” His grin got bigger. “Or if it’s the right person and I know plenty of them, they’ll stick him with a big ole pitchfork in the ass before they run him out of town. This is pretty straight up territory around here. We’re a close knit neighborhood and if one of us is in trouble, everybody shows up in one way or another to help.”

Callum groaned and added, “You got that right, we’ve already had three phone calls asking what’s going on over here. They all heard the explosion and are wondering what’s going on.”

Pope nodded. “Yeah, I got the sheriff calling my line wondering the same thing.”

Torin snapped his head up and asked, “And what did you tell him?”

Pope stared at his son and said, “I told him we had some bikers shooting the place up and that he should stay away until things settled down. I also told him we’d call him if we needed him.”

Everyone in the room nodded at Pope’s words. 

“We can call him in if we need to.” Torin smiled. “Hopefully we won’t need him once Thumper gets here. I’ve already told him what we’ve got going on here so he’s gonna bring some backup with him.” He looked over at Daisy. “And he was really interested when he knew Satan was involved. He said he would view the evidence you had when he got here.”

Pope nodded. “I let him know what happened when her father and brothers showed up a half hour ago. He said he would be here within the hour.”

Daisy felt her heart rate pick up and soon her heart was pounding in her chest. This was really happening. These men were standing with her and having support like this was so foreign to her she didn’t know how to feel about it. She glanced at Torin and found him looking back. He moved a few steps closer to her and reached out to take her hand. Leaning toward her, he whispered, “I told you Daisy that you aren’t alone anymore and we will stand with you.We will never see a woman hurt or abused. Only a coward hurts a woman or a kid and honey, we aren’t cowards. The moment your family stepped up to our front gate and demanded we push you out or risk their wrath, that was the moment we were fully involved. They dared to come after us and now we’ll protect our home. And with you being here, well that puts you under our protection.”

Pope stepped closer to add, “They threw the first bullet and started this war, but we’re gonna finish it our way. That’s just the Warrior Saints way.” Then he turned and started for the door.

Torin called out, “What are you gonna do, Dad?”

Pope turned his head and smiled. “Why should we be the only ones to have fun, boy? I’m calling in your uncles and your cousins. I know they’ll want a piece of this too.” He clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “Hot damn, we haven’t all been together in a while and it's about time for a family reunion anyway.”

Torin turned his head to look at Patch, then he looked at Callum, “Holy hell… the old man is crazy,” he muttered. 

Callum just smiled. “No brother, he ain’t crazy, he's brilliant.” Then he leaned his head back and laughed. He turned to Daisy. “Your family seems to be pretty stupid and they are reckless. And from what I saw, they aren't crazy, but they’re gonna meet crazy soon enough.”

Chapter Eight

Daisy laid back and closed her eyes for a moment. She sighed heavily when she realized her family had made the first move. Damn, of course they had. They were arrogant and a bit stupid too. She had to pray a little that this MC could stop them. If they failed to protect their home, her family would just rip through these men like they were trash. She had prayed for this day for a very long time for her father and brothers to be stopped. And now she hoped it would happen. She knew she would probably go to hell for her part in this but hell might be better than living under her father’s roof.

She just whispered a prayer for the men living here. And she prayed their friends would show up soon, she had a feeling her dad had Satan standing by.

Torin was watching her and when she looked his way, he asked, “What is it?”

Daisy shrugged. “I’m just worried that Dad has Satan standing by or closer than we know. Nothing about this situation is real at this point. And now he’s lost one of his sons, he isn’t going to let that go for long.”

Torin nodded. “Yeah, your dad seems the type to push it.”

Daisy nodded. “Especially since it was Digger that got left behind. He and Digger are very close, him being first born and all.”

Fox cleared his throat.

Torin looked at him. 

“Do you think we need more men?” Fox asked him. “I can call my cousin and see if he and his group could help us?  They might not be interested but it wouldn’t hurt to have more men.”

Torin shrugged. ‘You’d better ask Pope. I have no clue how many guys he already has coming but to my mind we need all the help we can get.”

Fox nodded. “I’ll ask him then.”

Torin turned his head to again look at Daisy. “What do you think your dad will do next?”

“I think he’ll come with more men, looking to get the upper hand,” she replied. “He’ll try to distract you. Then have someone get inside to get his son back and kill me for daring to take something from him. He may not know what I took but that won’t matter to him. The fact that I dared to take what was his is enough.”

“Is he really that much of a bastard?” Callum asked.

Daisy struggled to get off the bed.

Torin reached over and stopped her. “Don’t get up right now. You are still hurt.”

“Just for a minute… Ok?” she asked him.

He paused at the determined look in her eyes then he helped her to stand.

When she finally got to her feet, she turned her back to them and pulled her shirt up over her head. 

The silence in the room was absolute as the three men sitting there were stunned at what she revealed.

Her back was crisscrossed with welts, some were old and some were not so old. They were belt marks and each one told their own story. Some were deeper than they should be and a couple were raw and red. 

She spoke but her words were soft and careful, “The first of these scars I got were when I was ten and dared to ask him where my mother was when he came back alone. The latest ones are about a week old now and afterwards, I swore to myself that he would never hit me again. That’s when I decided I would take what I could and disappear. I needed to go far enough away that he couldn’t drag me back. Then the plan was to use what I’d taken and finally put an end to my father and my brothers. I just had to be careful who I trusted.”

Torin reached up and tugged her shirt back down then helped her put it back in place. He gathered her in his arms and just held her for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, “There’s no jail or hell cruel enough to make him pay for this. I think you are brave for doing all of this, to fight back instead of being a victim. He’s the coward, not you. I believe in Karma. She chooses the time for someone to repay their transgressions. After all, you now have the Warriors Saints on your side and that means more than you know. You will see that soon enough.”

She again sighed as she worried about any of them getting hurt by this war. So she didn’t respond to what he just said. Instead, she wanted them to win and so she tried to give them more ammunition to fight with. “I think he’ll wait for night to fall so he has more cover. Darkness hides monsters like him and his sons,” she whispered. “My dad and brothers like to work in the dark where they think no one will look for them. He also likes to distract from the actual plan he’s got running in his head.” Daisy paused then added, “I noticed you have a lot of trees around your compound. So if he can’t get in in any other way… look for someone to start a fire there. It's been dry in Texas for a while now. He might think if he can distract you long enough he’ll be able to sneak someone inside to rescue Digger. He’ll think your guys will run outside to fight the fire and leave the front door wide open.”

Torin swung her up into his arms and he boldly left the room. 

Patch and Callum followed him. 

When they came to the main room Pope looked up from the computer screen. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Daisy just told us her dad might start a fire in the woods around us,” Torin explained to his father. “Hoping to distract us. At least enough for one of them to slip in and try to find her brother. Then end her before she can get the information to anyone who could try to stop them.” 

Pope snapped his gaze over to stare at her. “Is this something he’s done before? The fire I mean?”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, he’s done that and much worse. There was a farm house too close to his compound. He asked the farmer if he would sell the farm to him but the farmer didn’t want to sell. That wasn’t what my dad wanted to hear but the farmer stood his ground. About three weeks later my dad had his fields set on fire and when the farmer came running my dad shot him. The farmer went down and the fire took his farm. Three people died that day, the farmer, his wife and his two year old son. They all burned up in the fire while my dad, my brothers and the whole crew just stood there watching it. Two months later dad bought the farm from the bank. He expanded the club and no one said a word.”

Pope glanced at Torin then at Callum. He took a deep breath and replied, “ Yeah, I’ve met his kind before. Greedy and ruthless. Right now, we’re under a burn ban. It's really dry out there and it would be the perfect time for a fire.” Then he looked at Daisy. “Too bad we know something he doesn’t.”

“What does that mean?” Daisy frowned.

“We just happened to pick this place for more than one reason,” Pope told her. “I’ve got two brothers of my own and we grew up around this area. Before my brothers decided to branch out and start their own clubs, we turned this place around. We built it up and we made provisions for every scenario we could think of. One of the features around here was an underground lake. Not very many people know about it but my brother Cardinal found it thirty years ago.  This being Texas and all we built a reservoir around it and we’ve protected it since then. When we need to we take some of the water off the reservoir and we feed it into the ground to keep the ground from cracking. When it gets dry the ground around here can crack about three inches wide. We also keep the floor of the forest clean so if it does catch fire it won’t burn out of control.” He shook his head. “But hey, now it’s getting dry again so maybe we should let the water run. What do you say boys?” he gazed all around.

Everyone had a grin on their face as they all gave him a nod.

 Pope looked over at Callum and said, “It might be time to let the water run again.”

Callum nodded then left the main room.

Pope chuckled.

Daisy kept staring at him in confusion. 

“You see, there’s a basin of above ground water sitting on top of the hill right behind the woods there. If we need to, we can use that against any intruders as well.”

“Will that flood the compound too?” she asked.

Pope shrugged. “It might yeah but we also have an underground safe room, if we ever need it. Most houses here have basements for a reason. Like for tornadoes and such. But we know trouble comes when you least expect it and we wanted to be careful. So when we built this place, we put it in an underground room. We’ve  never had to use it before but your daddy is just not sane. I’d rather not waste a life on bat shit crazy, thank you very much.”

Daisy just stared at him, still unsure about safety.

“We got more people coming to deal with them, so we’ll have the numbers.” He reached out and patted her hand. “Don’t worry, the clubhouse is far enough away from all sides that if they start shooting at us, we can defend ourselves with minimal risk.”

Daisy nodded. “I did notice the clubhouse sits to the back of the property."

Pope nodded. “Yeah, and that was also done with a purpose behind it. And even if they do set the woods on fire we have plenty of options before it burns.”

Daisy nodded. “Its too bad you can’t just drown them all. The world would never miss any of them. I wish they would just…”

Pope paused at her reply. He glanced at Torin who just shook his head.

Fox looked up from his computer and announced, “Ok, water is running from underground.” He stared at Pope and asked, “You want it wide open?”

Pope shook his head. “Nah…Just get it up enough to soak the ground. We don’t know for sure what they’re gonna do and if we get it too wet, that might end up working against us. Besides, we don't want to give them too many options before they actually do anything. If she’s right, it's gonna be a long day. We need to keep our heads on straight and start thinking like them. Come up with a plan to beat them at their games.”

Daisy scoffed. “I hope you never have to think like them. But just think of the worst case scenario and times it by ten. My father and brothers have nothing to lose and everything to gain or so they think. And from what I hear, Satan and his band of merry men are even worse than they are.  That’s why I want nothing to do with any of them.” 

Pope nodded. “I can’t blame you for that, but this is our home and we will defend it from the likes of them. We don’t run from trouble honey and if your family comes here looking for that… they will find it. But we have home advantage and nobody outside these walls knows what kind of protection we do have. That’s an advantage I won’t give up. You just wait until my brothers get here, you’ll see what I mean.”

Daisy nodded. “Well I hope they can get here safely then. My father might have people watching the roads, looking for others who come in.”

Pope just smiled at her concerns. “Where there’s a will there’s a way, little girl. And my brothers know the way. He looked around the room at every face there. “And we got the will to protect what’s ours.” 

The room erupted in cheers of, “Warriors…Warriors!”  

Daisy jumped a little as they stomped their boots and chanted. She just stared at them. She didn’t know what they were all cheering about. This wasn’t like some high school football game or something. These men could actually lose their lives. She knew her father and her brothers only too well. They had no cheers, just grab, kill, grab…She knew they wouldn’t stop pushing until they got in and destroyed all of them. 

She only hoped these guys could produce a defense like they said they would.

She turned her face into Torin's shoulder and whispered a little prayer. Then she said another prayer in her mind that this nightmare would finally be over one day soon. She had made that prayer everyday for the last ten years, hoping that one day, it would happen and the noise in her head would finally go silent. Her whisper of, “Amen,” went unheard in the loudness of the room.

Chapter Nine

The afternoon dragged on as men were sent to the roof and several of the brothers went from window to window.

 Fox sat quietly and watched his monitors for anyone coming up the road.

Suddenly, a flashing alarm went off from his PC and Fox checked the cameras. He studied it carefully and then closed his eyes for a few seconds. Finally, he looked up at Pope and gave him a nod.

Pope gazed up at the ceiling and heaved a sigh of relief. Then he headed toward the back door while texting one of the men on the roof. Going out the back door, he paused and just waited for the men, coming in the back way to reach him.

 A dozen men pulled up to the back door. The leader took off his helmet and stared at him for a moment then he grinned.

 Pope just shook his head at him and commented, “Hell Hollis, the only change I see is you let yourself get old.”

Hollis “Bishop” DeLong grinned back and leaned his elbow on his bike’s gas tank. “You should talk, Lansing. You ain’t no young rooster either, in fact, you went grey a long time ago, long before I ever did.” 

The two brothers just stared at each other for a moment.

The men around them just remained quiet.

 Finally, Pope smiled as he walked over to him and held out his hand.

 Bishop grinned and shook hands with Pope. Then he stood up and dragged his brother into a back cracking hug. 

Pope pulled back from it. “Trying to break my spine or fucking what?” He then looked at the men Bishop brought with him and nodded at the them. He reached up and brushed his full beard with his hand. “I called you because we got big trouble coming. A foul MC that wants to wipe us out.”

Bishop frowned. “And just who does this guy think he is?”

“Demon Clusoe, Demon’s Rage MC and the other is Satan from Devil’s Spawn.”

Bishop hissed and shook his head. “Satan, are you sure?”

Pope nodded. “Yeah, Demon is recruiting Devils’ Spawn to run the drugs that they plan to design. Both of them are nothing but bad blood.”

“How the hell did you get involved in their chaos?” Bishop asked.

“Well, that’s a long story and you guys have had a long ride. Come inside and we’ll talk. We’ve got a lot to tell you.” Pope turned and headed back inside.

 Kicking stands down and dismounting from their rides, the others followed. When everyone sat down and hello’s were exchanged. 

Callum brought out the beer and everyone settled down. 

Finally, Pope began telling the story, “Two nights ago we had a rowdy group down at the bar, three of them sat at a table and acted like they owned the place. When last call was announced the three just got up and thought they could walk out without paying their tab. Well, we don’t run the place like that. Callum told them that, then an older guy sitting at another table came over and told the guys to pay their bill. The three guys glared at Callum but they did pay it. A little while later Torin heard a noise from the basement and he went down to find a busted case of beer. He found a young woman. She’d been roughed up a bit. Seems she was on the run from her family. Afraid they were after her and she had every reason to be. Turns out her brothers were the three guys that didn’t want to pay their bill and her dad was the older man that told them to just pay.”

Bishop frowned. “And just who is her dad?”

Pope shook his head, “Demon Cluso, leader of Demon’s Rage. Torin was gonna bring Daisy back here to get her fixed up, two bikers hit the front of the building with a spray of bullets. They shattered every window and took off. We left a few brothers there to make sure everything was safe. Torin and Daisy were in the back when two riders roared up the alley. Then Daisy took a bullet in the side for Torin and when he got her back here that’s when Daisy told us what was going on.”

“And just what was going on?” Hacksaw wanted to know. Hacksaw was Bishop’s oldest son and also his chapter’s VP.

Pope sighed and said, “Daisy is Demon’s only daughter and after he left his woman to the gators Daisy became his servant, not his daughter. He used and abused her for the last eleven years and she finally got away from his house. She also copied his files, hoping to put him in jail. Him and her brothers. When she tried to get away, one of her brothers tried to stop her with a knife to her side. So now her own family is hunting her.”

“And have you seen these files?” Bishop asked his brother. 

Pope nodded. “Yeah, and I called Thumper in. He should be here soon enough with more men. He’s gonna be able to take the whole damn MC down with what she’s got. Not only that but the Devil’s Spawn as well. Demon thinks he can open his own drug lab and Satan’s gonna distribute them.”

Bishop just stared at his brother then looked around at his own men. Then he looked back at Pope. “We’ve been hearing rumors about that very thing where we live. We just never knew how or who would be that fucking stupid. Now it all makes sense.”

Callum nodded as he finally spoke up, “They found out who we were and even came here once to try and take us down but Daisy warned us what her brother liked to do and sure enough he tried to lob a grenade over the fence. One of our guys on the roof stopped it with a bullet. It still blew up. It didn’t do any real damage to us, but the shock of the explosion blew her brother unconscious. The others scrambled like cockroaches when you turn the lights on.” He shook his head. “We collected her brother and he’s in a cell. Daisy warned us that her dad would be back with even more men to get him. Satan might come too, along with his men. We don’t know about that yet. But Daisy warned us that they might try and burn us out.”

Bishop turned his head and snapped his gaze over to Pope to ask, “Did you turn the underground pipes on?” He knew about the system Pope had here.

“Yeah, they’ve been going for a while now. The trees are all getting watered.”

Bishop nodded. “Good. Did you call Cardinal in too?”

Pope nodded. “Yeah, he’s on his way and Fox has a cousin with another MC, so we might get a few of them too.”

“Ok, so with all of them and Thumper’s group we’ll have more men if we need them.” Bishop looked around. “Where is this Daisy you talk about?”

Pope motioned toward the hall. “She’ recovering from that bullet and knife wound. Torin’s been staying with her.”

“Can we talk to her? Like is she well enough to have a conversation?" Hacksaw asked.

Pope nodded. “Yeah, she’s a tough little scrapper for sure. I’ll have Torin bring her to us.” He sent a text to his son.

They all sipped at their beers and discussed possibilities of the coming battle for the next several minutes.

After about ten minutes, they all saw Torin carrying a woman down the hall and into the main room.

Bishop watched as his nephew carefully set the woman gently onto a chair then sat down beside her.

Daisy looked around the room and noticed the other men. She leaned in close to Torin and whispered, “Who are they?”

Torin smiled and said, “These are my family members, my Uncle Bishop and my cousins Hacksaw and Bronc and their men. They live in Louisiana. They aren’t going to hurt you.”

Daisy gasped and went pale. She looked up at Bishop and whispered, “You all live in Louisiana?”

Bishop crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at her. “We do and we’ve heard about your family. Your dad and your brothers at least, but we didn’t know they had a sister.”

Daisy nodded. “I don’t suppose you did. If you know anything about my family then you also know my father and his temperament. After I was born my mother had complications and she couldn’t have any more children. My father hated that. He also hated the fact that he couldn’t get rid of me. He held out until I was ten before he did anything about it. He took my mom out for a drive one day and he came back alone, saying a gator had dragged my mom off and he couldn’t stop it. After that, he and my brothers turned me into a maid and a cook. Just a servant, mind you. It wasn’t until two days ago that I could get free of them.”

Bishop’s eyes filled with rage. “I’ve heard of Demon Cluso and his brats. And none of what I’ve heard is good.”

Daisy stared at him and whispered, “And he’s heard of you too.”

“What do you mean by that?” Bishop asked as he glared at her.

“My dad has a file on his computer with your name on it.” Daisy admitted quietly. “I copied everything on there before I left the house. He’s got files of everyone he knows and who he’s heard about too.” She hung her head and announced, “Look under the file named Bossier City on the USB I gave to these guys. I didn’t have time to look at it but that’s where you’re from isn’t it? I thought I heard them discussing you and your club not too long ago.”

Pope growled and looked over at Fox. “Is there a name of Bossier City on there?”

Fox checked his laptop and then froze. He nodded then clicked on the file and turned his laptop toward the main group.

 Pope stood to move closer to read the opened file. His hands clenched into fists and he turned his head to look at Bishop. “Yeah, Demon had you run through the system alright brother. He’s got a dossier on you and your MC. He’s flagged you as a problem to settle before he gets his drug lab set up.”

Bishop stood up in a hell of hurry, so much in fact that his chair tipped over and crashed to the floor. He clenched his fists hard and asked, “To settle? What else does that fucking file say?”

Suddenly, the tension in the room was split with the sound of an alarm warning that flashed across Fox’s screen. 

“We have incoming,” Fox shouted as he focused on the blaring screen showing a dozen bikes coming up the driveway.

The men all stood from the tables.

“We also have people at the back gate,” Fox called out.

Hacksaw ran for the backdoor. “We’ll check the back, you guys stay here and work on the ones coming for the front gate.”

Bronc gave them a nod and followed his brother Hacksaw out the back door. 

The rest of Pope’s men plus Bishop and his boys reached for their guns.

At Pope’s direction, more men went up the stairs to the roof.

Torin helped Daisy to the floor and turned a table over to protect her from incoming bullets. “Stay down and stay behind the table,” he instructed. “It should be enough protection for now. Then he grabbed his own weapon from his back waistband and rushed to one of the windows. He hit the glass and it shattered on the floor. 

This was repeated several times by other men and they waited for the moment the incoming bikers stopped at the gate. 

One of them rose up on his seat and shouted, “You in the clubhouse, we’re here to collect the man who got left behind this morning. All we want is him, just hand him out and we’ll leave you guys untouched,” the man paused then went on, “Don’t hand him over and we will crush you by torching the woods. We’ll burn you out.”

Bishop looked over at Daisy. 

Pope did the same as he met her gaze.

Daisy nodded at them. “They will burn you out. No matter what you do.”

 

Chapter Ten

Just then, the back door opened and several men came inside,.They were all armed and they joined the others at the windows.  

Pope nodded at his other brother Cardinal and his nephews.

Fox looked up and saw his cousin Raven and several others wearing his cousin’s cuts. There was even a woman there. Fox frowned, then commented, “Cuz, this isn’t really a social call.”

Raven smiled, “Oh Fox, we know that very well but Scarlette isn’t really the social kind of woman. If this goes the way you said it might, you are going to be thankful she’s here. Don’t you worry about her.” Then he looked toward the front, “What’s going on here?”

“We got Demon’s Rage and the Devil’s Spawn out front and they want one of Demon's back. They threatened to burn us out.”

Raven glanced at Scarlette and shook his head. Then he looked over at Fox and asked, “And just what are we gonna do about that, cuz?”

Cardinal leaned back in his chair and drawled, “Well, if I know my brother here…” he motioned to Pope. “They have the woods well hydrated so burning us out is not the issue. The issue would be the fact that these bozos think they can come in here threatening us while thinking we’re quaking in our boots.”

Scarlette smiled and said, “I do love a good fight. What you guys got in mind?” She slid into a chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

Pope just shook his head and asked, “What would a woman like you know about fighting?”

Scarlette’s smile widened. “Honey, I grew up under the Hade’s Demons MC and I’ve got two brothers in the Soldiers of Hades MC. My daddy taught me well and so did my brothers.”

Pope’s eyes widened as did Bishop’s and Cardinal’s.  

Then Pope asked her quietly, “You’re one of Python’s kids?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m Cobra’s and Cotton’s sister.” She shrugged. “I’m also a good cook and damn fine mechanic. I’m well versed in hand to hand. I own several guns. I can sharp-shoot and I can use a blade like it’s my bitch.”

Raven gave them all a nod. “Believe me she can handle just about anything.” Then the smile slid off his face. “But I got her back, always.”

The men there with the patches of: Rambler, Bearcat, Thunder and Hunter, all growled.

“And we got her back too,” Thunder stated. 

Pope stared at his cut and shook his head. “How the hell are you Thunder? Been awhile.” He held out his hand. 

“ I was wondering when you’d greet me,” Thunder grumbled and shook his hand. 

“Sorry brother, I didn’t see you until now,” Pope said as he looked at his other brothers. He nodded at Bishop and Cardinal then explained, “Met this guy many years ago. He saved my bacon back then and we sort of been friends ever since.”

“Sort of?” Bishop chuckled.

Pope shrugged and added, “Well, when he wants to be that is. He’s got a bit of a temper but he seems to have settled down a bit since the last time I saw him.”

Scarlette laughed. “Yeah, that’s our Thunder. But not to worry, his woman finally came home with his half grown kid and then they had another one. She settled him right down.”

Thunder glared at her. “It’s easy to see that it was Python that raised you, girl.”

Scarlette grinned at him. “I take that as a complement. Though he has the same temperament as you.”

The men around them all chuckled.

Thunder shook his head at her then turned to Pope and asked, “Did you come up with a battle plan already?”

Pope nodded, then sighed, “They think they will set fire to the woods and burn us out if we don’t hand over Digger.”

Daisy came out from behind the table Torin had put her behind.“They are gonna try to burn you out anyway. Even if you give Digger back, they will light the woods up. Then they will stand back and watch it all burn.”

Scarlette smiled then turned to Pope to ask, “You got any laundry soap?”

Pope frowned at her in confusion. “What? You want to wash clothes now?”

Scarlette shook her head.  “What happens when you spill laundry soap over wet ground?”

Bishop laughed. “Damn girl, I like how you think.” He turned to his brother. “Well do ya? We’re gonna need at least ten gallons.”

Pope crossed his arm over his chest and asked, “And just how are you gonna get it into the woods? You can’t just put all that soap in the underground lake, you know.”

Daisy shook her head. “You don’t need to put it in the lake, all you have to do is run a hose out into the woods. They’re probably watching the front gate. If you go out the back door you can run a hose into the woods. Then the soap will hit that water and go where it goes. They won’t even know it's there until they go deeper into the trees to set the fires.”

Scarlette sat back in her chair and added, “So if the soap runs enough, they will slip and slide all over before they know it’s too late to escape the mud. Not only that but the soap will make the mud slippery. It will irritate them more than anything but it will give us more time to set up our defenses.”

Cardinal smirked and looked at his brothers. “Damn, I like this idea.” Shrugging he added, “At least the soap won’t wreck the trees.You might have bubbles for a while, but that won’t harm anything.”

Pope looked at Torin then glanced at every face in the room. “That water has been flowing since last night, the trees should be soaked by now. There might even be standing water by this time.  Are you sure you want to use laundry soap? Oil might make things more slippery.”

Bishop shook his head. “Oil might also hurt the trees and the ground. Soap might be messy but it isn’t going to hurt anything long term.”

Pope nodded. “Ok, let’s do this then. We have to move quickly and quietly. “We’ll have to distract the bastards out front and get the hose deep into the trees.” He looked over at Fox and asked, “You still got cameras there?”

Fox nodded. “Yeah, we still have eyes there.”

“Alright, “ Pope said. “You watch the cameras and we’ll deal with the front gate.” He looked over at Torin. “Get everything set up and get the soap started.”

Daisy took a step toward Pope. “If my dad’s out there he’ll try to make a deal with you. He’ll probably demand you turn my brother over first then he’ll pretend to leave but he won’t do that. Once he gets Digger back, he’ll still try to set the trees on fire. If you dare fight back he’ll start shooting. With Satan out there watching them, the Demons will have to try to kill whoever fights back.”

“Your dad would break his word?” Cardinal asked quietly.

Daisy scoffed then looked at him.“Without batting an eye. He would look you in the eye or shake your hand then stab you in the back. That’s just how he does business. But he would need to get Digger back first. Those two have so many secrets that he has to protect him.” She shrugged. “Digger has plenty of secrets too.”

“Would he ever go against your dad?” Cardinal wanted to know.

Daisy just stared at him then she sighed hard. Lifting her hand to rub her temples she closed her eyes and replied, “I don’t know. Maybe if you can show him that dad might turn his back on him, then maybe? But I have no idea what you would say to convince Digger of that.”

Hacksaw smiled. “We’re pretty smooth. We can convince Eskimo’s to buy ice if we need to. But you have to tell us what we can use. Do you know  some secrets we can toss at them?”

Daisy paused at this idea then she finally smiled. “I might know one or two,”

Bishop leaned forward in his chair. “I might know one or two myself.”

Pope and Cardinal looked over at their brother in shock. 

“What?” Pope shook his head at him. “You holding out on us, brother?”

Bishop shook his head. “Naw, I ain’t holding out on you big brother. I didn’t even remember I knew something until now really. I’ve been hearing things, you know? Just rumors but you know what they say about rumors? There’s always a little bit of truth in them and a whole lot of exaggeration, right?”

“What have you heard?” Daisy asked him.

Bishop leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Heard about this drug operation your dad plans to start. Rumor has it that he recently acquired a farm for next to nothing.”

Daisy hesitated then she nodded. “Yeah, he got it for the price of human lives. He waited until midnight then he blocked the doors, before he poured gasoline all around the house and lit the match. He didn’t even give that farmer a chance to get his family out as the house burned too fast.” Tears filled her eyes as she looked angry. “He then picked it up at auction for almost nothing.”

The whole room went quiet for a long moment.

Bishop shook his head.  “I never heard that part.” He growled and looked over at Pope. “We need to eradicate these stone cold killers.”

Cardinal nodded at both his brothers, Bishop and Pope. “Yeah, it’s long overdue. They will be stopped now. We have the best fighting men in this part of the US.” He looked around at the Soldiers Of Hades and the Warrior Saints.

Bishop agreed, “They’d better say their prayers.”

Pope grinned at his brothers. “Who better to dispatch them, eh? The Unholy Trinity."

The three brothers, Pope, Bishop and Cardinal, all stepped toward each other. Then they actually did the sign of the cross over themselves and stated loudly in unison with their raised fists in the air, “AMEN!”

Everyone in the room paused to stare at the three brothers with the holy titles that weren’t road names.

Staring at the three brothers, Daisy leaned close to Torin and whispered, “Is this for real?”

He slowly shook his head and whispered back, “Maybe? But I’m thinking Holy Hell, not heaven.” He smirked.

Fox glanced up and murmured, “Holy shit.”

Torin was unsure if he was also making a joke until he saw that his eyes were cold as ice. 

Pope, Bishop and Cardinal snapped their gazes over to the IT.

“What’s going on?” Pope asked him as his voice had gone hard.

Fox then looked down at his monitor again and saw a whole lot of the enemy gathered at the front gate. “There are quite a few of these assholes at the gates and some of them are carrying blow torches.” He then glanced at Daisy and said, “You were right, they are going to try and burn us out.”

Pope looked over at his brothers, then at his son. “Get that soap in the trees before it's too late.” 

Torin rushed toward the back as Scarlette and several men joined him.

 Within minutes, they had rigged up a portion of PVC pipe long enough to reach the wooded area behind the compound. 

Scarlette and Raven were pouring the soap into the piping while everyone else watched the area on the monitors. They were happy the grass was long enough to hide the pipe. Then as soon as they loaded the last bottle of laundry soap into it, everyone gathered around and watched as the enemy bikers began shouting at the front door again.

Pope went to the front door and opened it. 

Some of the men ran for the stairs to the roof. 

Bishop called out to all the men, “Just watch for now, we can’t show them how many of us are here. They think you guys are just a few men. And be careful, don’t give them any targets.”

Pope stood in the doorway and shouted at the men gathering at the gate, “What the hell do you want here?”

Demon cupped his mouth and yelled back, “We were here earlier and my son got left behind. I want him back.”

Pope snarled, “Would that be the same guy who tried to throw a grenade over the fence?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Demon admitted. “But that was just to show you guys we meant business. You didn’t show us any respect last night and for that we had to show you not to mess with us.” He began to pace in front of the gate. Then he turned back and shouted, “Give me my son back or we’ll burn this whole place down.”