Cadence Reflection (Wheels & Hogs Book 2) (21 page)

When we get to Wolf’s gift, we are both totally surprised.  He’s whittled us a rocking horse for the baby. He also gives us some handmade rattles and toys, but the one gift that takes our breath away is the beautiful dream catcher he’s made for the baby’s room. 

While Wolf, Willow, Archie and Axe carry the gifts up the stairs, I thank each and every one of my new family for everything that they have done. Cadence finally drags me away and takes me into his apartment, where he proceeds to take me down the hall to the spare bedroom, right next to the master. I notice the door is closed which is strange because he leaves all the doors open for the kittens.  He grabs the door handle and as he opens it, he whispers in my ear, “Surprise, baby,” The room is dark until he hits the light switch.  I’m blown away as I look at the once plain spare bedroom. It has been turned into a nursery.  The room is packed with everything from tonight, along with a crib, dresser, and a changing table, but what catches my eye are the murals all over the walls.  Tiny baby animals are placed around the entire room, along with some Native American signs or symbols.  As I walk to the crib, I can actually feel my heart beating faster. Without even asking, I know that Fern made the bedding.  The sheets, the pillowcase, and the small comforter were all made from a material with baby animals on it.  At the foot of the bed is a crocheted blanket in the same colors as the room. It’s so overwhelming, and I’m going on emotional overload.  Cadence Power did all of this for me.  I know deep in my heart that no matter what happens in the future, I’ll never forget this moment that he has given me.  

“I love it, Cadence. It’s absolutely perfect. Our baby is so lucky to have you for a Daddy.” 

“Baby, I am so glad you like it. This was a team effort. Fern, Dee, Willow, Archie, and even the kids helped.”

As we enjoy the peace and quiet of the moment, suddenly we hear loud voices coming down the hallway, “Dude, where do you want the rest of this shit. Got stuff to do,” I watch as Cadence shudders at Enforcer’s words. Who would have thought a badass biker who kills people and enjoys it also wanted to be a part of the baby shower, even volunteering to bring all the presents up here.

Cadence calls to them, “Back here. We’re in the nursery,” As the evening continues on, everyone works on getting the gifts put into their proper places within the nursery.  When everything is done, everyone heads out, probably seeing that I’m just beat.

“Baby, go on and get ready for bed. I’m going to finish some stuff for the ride and then I’ll be in, okay.” I nod and head to the bedroom. 

I
go to the office and pull out the folders to confirm that everything I’m responsible for is done and in place. Tomorrow is Thursday and it starts the arrival of all the people who planned on participating in the Charity Ride.  I know that the townsfolk are enjoying the added income all the visitors are already starting to bring in.  I’m in charge of sign-in and registration for the ride.  Also, since I live above the garage, I’m in charge of everyone camping behind Connelly’s, making sure it all runs smoothly. Even as I sit here in the office, there are campers already on the property.  This is going to be a busy weekend, and on top of that, I’m still worried about the situation with Roman and Duke.  I had to trust that my family and friends, including Axe, were going to be able to protect Trinity and the baby.  They are my top priority.

I
t’s finally Saturday, the day of the Charity Ride with work starting bright and early.  Everyone is running their asses off, trying to keep all the details in place, and more importantly, running smoothly. A couple of small issues needed to be taken care of, like where the bikers were going to fuel up on the ride. Des, Bear, and Stash ran the course last night and marked the fuel stops. Besides that, the event is going off without a hitch.  All the women are having fun as the kids run around, making a muck of things. 

I’m busy heading up the table for registration and sign-up, while Trinity is close by with the ladies at the bakery tables.  She has spent the last day and a half baking everything you could think of in Wolf’s kitchen.  Watching her from afar, I’m in such awe of her. She’s almost nine months pregnant and ready to deliver our baby.

Getting back to my duties, I call the next in line so they can register.  I look over to where Jagger is sitting and smile at the young man. He has grown over the last couple of months, filling in and bulking up.  Quiet as ever, Jagger works with a sense of responsibility of a much older man.  Never losing his temper with the bikers, his line seems to continually move faster than mine.  This day can’t end fast enough for me. 

As it gets closer to the “first bike out” time, Wolf, Des and I go to the shop to grab our bikes. We take that little bit of time to bullshit on the way to the garage and laugh about silly shit that has happened with this Charity Ride.

Wolf and Des will be leading the ride, while Enforcer and I will bring up the end.  With all of the shit we have to do, we managed to find time to work on our own bikes so that the machines are in top shape for this ride.

Each of our bikes are custom and built to each man’s specifications.  Des’ Pan Head is a brilliant cherry red, while Wolf’s Fat Boy is a sapphire blue with silver flames. My Shovel Head is matte black with lots of chrome. 

Once we get them out of the garage, we lock everything down and start to head back to the parking lot where the ride starts. My phone vibrates on my side and at first I ignore it, but as it continues, I get a horrible feeling deep in my gut.  I motion for the guys with my phone that I have to stop, and they point to their phones as well. We pull over and I kick my bike in neutral. I check my texts at the same time as both Des and Wolf do.  Knowing shit is about to go down, I look at the text, at the same time I hear Des start to scream and swear, “Fucking motherfucker!  When I catch those two assholes they are dead, and I mean after I pull their limbs off and stuff their dicks down their throats, dead.” 

Meanwhile, Wolf is trying to make a call as his hands shake. Looking at the screen on my phone, the text is from Axe and it reads,
“Where the fuck are all of you? Duke and Roman just grabbed Trinity, Dee Dee, and Willow. Get your asses back here right fucking now!”
 

I feel like my world turns upside down.  My entire body burns with rage as my breathing becomes shallow, making it damn near impossible to swallow. With all three of us gone, that left the girls vulnerable.  Fuck! They have her. They have Trinity and the others.

W
illow and I are handcuffed to the bench along the wall of a portable medical vehicle.  We watch in horror as Roman and a woman in full medical garb strap Trinity to the gurney.  She doesn’t look good. She looks extremely pale and I can see that her breathing is shallow and her pupils are dilated as she stares at her father in horror.  As he tightens the strap around her shoulders, he grabs her breast, squeezing hard, “Damn, girl. You should have never kept this tight body away from me.  Your tits have grown and you actually look like a real woman that I could fuck.

I take in an aggravated gasp of air, “Get your fucking hands off her you sick son-of-a-bitch.  Once Des and Cadence find you they will tear you apart.”

Roman walks toward the bench and backhands me right into Willow.  Blood shoots out of the split in my lip, “Shut the fuck up you old whore.  You aren’t worth much but we’ll take what we can get, that is after we break you in, you mouthy bitch.”

He then turns his attention to Willow, “Now you, bitch, are worth a mint. It will be fun fucking you into submission and showing you what a real man wants.”  Willow shifts so both of us are huddled together.  I watch nervously as Roman runs his hands along her sides up to her breasts.  He leans in and smells her neck, “Damn, bitch. You smell good enough to eat,” As he starts to laugh, we realize that the vehicle has come to a complete stop.

The back double doors open up as Duke steps in and turns to pull them closed behind him, “What the fuck? Why haven’t you started yet? We don’t have a lot of time,” He glares at Trinity and then her swollen pregnant belly, “Let’s start this shit and get that fucking brat out of her. We have people waiting for that kid and their patience has run out.”  Trinity starts to shake and thrash her head as both Willow and I begin screaming, kicking, anything and everything that we can possibly do. Duke walks over to us and grabs our hair by the roots to get us to shut up, “Bitches, shut your mouths or I will deal with both of you right now. Your decision. We take the fucking brat, or I fuck your brains out. Time is ticking.” 

As Willow and I quiet down, we watch the woman working with these deranged asshole start placing instruments on a roll table by Trinity’s side.  I know this is going from bad to worse as the medic grabs a large needle, explaining to the two men, “We need to get her up and bent over so I can give her the epidural shot.” 

Roman goes around and loosens the straps, “Behave you little whore or you’ll pay, do you hear me?”  Trinity looks like a doll with her arms hanging at her sides, her body limp and lifeless.  Both Roman and Duke take a side and bend her over so the needle-baring medic can administer the shot.  We watch in shock as the woman feels around Trinity’s back and then swabs it down before grabbing the syringe.  She whispers in Trinity’s ear, “Sweetheart, you need to stay really still. First, it will feel like a pop, and then it will get really warm.  Just try to remain completely still,” Trinity is violently shaking but takes a breath and somehow manages to stay still.  Her hands are clenched into fists as the needle enters her back.  It takes seconds and then they lay her back down. 

As the medic starts to drape a gown over her, Roman says, “No clothes or drapes. We want to make sure nothing goes wrong.” 

I plead for Trinity’s baby, “Please don’t do this. With the stress you have put on her, the baby could be in jeopardy. What kind of sick deranged fucks are you to cut a child from its mother? And you, you bitch. Wait until I get my hands on you.”

The men look at each other and laugh loudly, “We could give a fuck what you think, slut.  This baby is worth one hundred fifty thousand to us on the black market.  We need that to pay back some overdue debts, but what we get for all of you when we are done with you will make us enough to live comfortably for the rest of our lives away from here. Far, far away from here.” 

A
s I listen to the conversation around me, I know something is off.  The woman/medic didn’t strap me back down after the shot, she just laid the straps over me.  Neither handcuffs, nor zip ties, were ever placed on my wrists. Then to my complete surprise, the medic placed a very small gun in my palm and closed my fingers over it.  When I looked at her, she mouthed one word, “Axe.”

My heartbeat increases and I feel an anxiety come over my entire body.  Oh my God, one of Axe’s.  She’s risking her life to help us.  I try to relax as I finally see that Axe has someone working undercover who knows what they are doing.

Both men approach the gurney as Duke questions the medic, “Why haven’t you started pulling the kid out of her? Don’t be trying to pull anything over on us because I’ll put a bullet in your head.” 

“My name is Paula and I am a nurse practitioner and have done this procedure multiple times. If we all work together, no one will get –,”

Before she even finishes, Roman whacks her in the back of her head with his fist, “Once again, know your place, bitch. We’re running this show, not you. Do what you’re told and you might walk away alive.” 

Paula looks first at Roman, and then at Duke, “I can’t start until the epidural is working. She still has feeling down below her waist, see,” She reaches below the sheet and squeezes my thigh. Even though I don’t feel a thing, I let out a squeal and jerk my body. 

The men watch closely, “How much more time do you need?” Duke asks angrily. 

“Probably ten more minutes, if that.” Paula replies as someone’s phone goes off. 

Both men jump as Roman pulls his phone from his pocket, motioning Duke to leave the vehicle, “Bitches, we’ll be right outside so don’t try anything funny because there are consequences to everything you do going forward. Got it?”  Dee & Willow nod as Paula is going through some protocol with me. 

As the men slam the doors, we hear a lock and Paula softly states, “We don’t have a lot of time so please listen.  I work with Axe and they have a tracking device on this vehicle, and one on me, so it’s only a matter of time before they find us.  We need to be prepared,” As she approaches Dee Dee and Willow, she pulls a black bag from her back pocket.  As she opens it, I notice it has tools in it.  In a matter of minutes, she has opened the cuffs and cut the plastic from their hands and feet. 

“Sorry about threatening you earlier,” Dee says as Paula nods.

Paula reaches into the overhead, moving things this way and that and pulls out a gray object and hands it to Willow, “This is a Taser, so if we need to protect ourselves when one of them gets close, just touch them with this and they will go down,” Moving to Dee, she hands her a gun, “Please hide this in the back of your jeans.  Only use it if you have to,” We all hear the lock being opened and resume our prior positions. 

As the men enter, Paula is setting up a tray with multiple surgical instruments on it.  She pinches me and asks, “Do you feel that?” I shake my head and reply, “Barely, but I can still feel it.” Paula turns to the men, “We should be able to begin in five minutes. As we wait, I will need the water I asked you to supply. Can you tell me where it is?” 

Both men look dumbfounded, and then at each other, “Did you get the water?” Roman asks as Duke just shakes his head. 

Paula gives them a look, “This baby is your meal ticket and I need the water to clean the brat when I get it out of her, not to mention, you can’t afford for her to get an infection. There are too many people in here as it is so let’s try to keep the possibility of problems to a minimum, alright?”