Stitch: Satan's Fury MC (3 page)

“He’s lucky to have her. You both are,” she said smiling. “I’ll tell you what… why don’t we hit the movies this weekend? We can take the kids with us and grab a pizza after.”

“That sounds great. Wyatt loves Annalise, and he’s been wanting to see that new Charlie Brown movie.”

“Great! It’s a plan then. Having something to look forward to might help me get through the next thirty minutes of Dr. Boring,” Rachel said laughing.

After class, we both headed over to the gym for self-defense training. Rachel was a little hesitant about taking the class until she met the instructor, Brandon. Even though she spends most of the hour gawking at him, it’s nice to have her there with me.

“Is it just me, or does Brandon look like Joe Manganiello?” Rachel asked as we were walking out of the gym.

“Hmmm… no. Not even close,” I told her laughing.

“Yeah, well, he probably has a girlfriend anyway.”

“For a guy with a girlfriend, he certainly keeps his eyes trained on you,” I told her as my phone began to vibrate in my duffle bag.

“Really? He looks at me?” she asked like she didn’t know what I was talking about.

“All the time,” I told her, looking down at my phone. My heart dropped when I noticed that I had three missed calls from Mrs. Daniels. “Shit. Mrs. Daniels has been trying to call me.” I dialed her number and prayed that she would answer.

“Wren?” Mrs. Daniels asked.

“Yes, it’s me. Is everything alright?”

“I tried calling earlier, but I couldn’t get through to you. I knew you had your class tonight, but no one answered the phone there either. I wouldn’t have left, but I didn’t have a choice when I couldn’t get in touch with you,” she explained.

“Left? What do you mean?” I asked, feeling the panic begin to grow in the pit of my stomach.

“My husband was taken to the hospital, Wren. I called one of my associates, and she is on the way over to Michael’s house now to see about Wyatt. Everything should be okay, but I wanted you to know what was going on.”

“Wyatt’s there alone with Michael?”

“Just until Anita can get there. He was fine when I left. Michael was finishing up some work on his computer, and Wyatt was playing one of his video games.” She paused for just a second before she continued, “Wren, you know I wouldn’t have left him unless it was an emergency.”

“I completely understand. I’m on my way over there right now to make sure everything is okay,” I told her. “Thanks for calling to let me know.”

“Let me know if there is a problem. I will call Anita and let her know you are coming.”

“Thanks,” I told her as I hung up the phone. “I’ve got to head over to Michael’s and make sure Wyatt’s okay!”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Mrs. Daniels had an emergency and had to leave,” my voice trembled. I fought back my tears as I started walking towards my car.

Following close behind me, Rachel asked, “Don’t you want me to go with you? You don’t need to be driving when you’re upset like this.”

“No. I’ll be fine. I just need to get over there,” I explained as I got in my car and started the engine. I didn’t have time to explain why having her there would only make it harder. Michael wouldn’t be happy about me showing up there early and having someone with me would only make it worse.

My mind raced with a million awful thoughts as I pressed my foot against the accelerator. I couldn’t stop thinking that something terrible had happened. I needed to pull it together. Wyatt didn’t need to see me upset. I took a deep breath, trying to push back the agonizing panic that was spreading through my chest. I hated it. What if Wyatt had one of his meltdowns when Ms. Daniels left? What if Michael lost his temper and hurt him? Damn. I was so sick of worrying all the time. Sick of being scared.

It was just starting to get dark when I pulled up in Michael’s driveway. Looking at Michael’s house, I found it hard to believe that I once called it home. Michael’s parents bought it for us as a wedding present. They wanted us to have the perfect place to start our new lives together, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. It didn’t take us long to make the place ours, and I actually loved living there. That was a long time ago. Now, it seemed so unfamiliar, haunting. The porch light was on, revealing all the leaves and dirt scattered by the front door. I shook my head as I thought about how hard I used to work to keep the place clean. I knocked on the door and tried to be patient as I waited for someone to answer. The door swung open, and Michael greeted me with an angry snarl on his face.

When he didn’t say anything, I said, “Mrs. Daniels called, and I came to see if everything is okay with Wyatt.”

“Of course you did,” he growled.

“Look, I don’t want to get into an argument with you about this. Just go tell Wyatt I’m here to get him.”

He stood in the doorway, arms crossed with a smug look on his face and said, “Can’t do that.”

“And why’s that?” I asked, trying to hold back my anger. It was so hard for me not to cuss at him. A million profanities were sitting at the tip of my tongue, but I kept them to myself, knowing I needed to keep my cool.

“He’s not here,” he said with his eyebrow raised in defiance.

“What do you mean he’s not here? Ms. Daniels called ten minutes ago and said she left him here with you.” He repulsed me. I couldn’t believe that the man standing in front of me was someone that I’d actually cared about, that I had once
loved
. Looking at him now made my skin crawl.

“The little shit ran off. Just like always, he can’t take it when someone tells him no. If you stopped…” Anger surged through me, and I wanted to strangle him for not giving a shit that our son had disappeared. He should be worried, scared out of his mind, but he hadn’t even tried to go and find him.

“Damn it, Michael! Your eight-year-old son ran away, and you didn’t even go look for him?” I shouted, turning to head back for my car. “You’re unbelievable!” As soon as I got in my car, I started up the engine and headed to our secret spot, praying that Wyatt was there and that he was okay.

Stitch

‡

A
twisted feeling
of satisfaction washed over me as I watched Victor’s last breath of air seep from his lungs. I released the chain restraints that held him dangling from the ceiling, and his lifeless body plunged to the floor. I looked down at the bloody pile that rested at my feet. There wasn’t much left of the man Cotton had brought in a day ago, just mangled flesh and broken bones. I had to give him credit though; he fought harder and lasted longer than most. As the Sergeant of Arms of the King Python’s Syndicate, he’d tried to do what he could to protect his club, but in the end, there was nothing he could do to help them. His fate was sealed the night he put a bullet in my brother; there was no way I’d let him walk away after that. He knew I wouldn’t stop until the deed was done, knowing I had every intention of avenging my brother’s death. In the process, I did what I had to do to find out everything that motherfucker knew about his club trying to take over our territory. I spent thirty-six hours extracting every bit of information I could get on the Pythons. When I pulled out the blowtorch, that asshole started singing like a canary. In no time, I had everything Cotton would need to know to bury these motherfuckers.

I left what remained of Victor Gomez laying on the floor and headed out to my bike, feeling relieved to finally get out of that room. The brothers called it my playroom, and even though there were times I enjoyed dishing out my revenge, today I was ready to get the hell out of there. I’d been at it for hours, and I needed a hot shower and food in my stomach. The door slammed behind me as I headed out towards my bike. Before I started the engine, I pulled out my phone and called Cotton.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“It’s done.”

“Good. I’ll send the clean-up over,” he said.

“I’m heading out.”

“Need to discuss what you found out,” Cotton demanded.

“Sure thing Prez, but I need to shower and get some food in me first,” I answered.

“Understood, but hurry every chance you get.” I knew he was eager to hear what I’d found out, but I was relieved that he didn’t push.

“Will do.” I told him as I hung up my phone and shoved it in my back pocket.

My place was on the backside of town, a rustic log cabin out by the water and away from all the bullshit. I liked to keep to myself. I avoided the outside world whenever possible and the secluded cabin suited me perfectly. No one was around to ask questions, and with the life I lived, I needed it like that. As soon as I got home, I went straight to the back of the cabin. I stripped my blood soaked shirt and jeans off, and threw them into the fire pit. Then, I lit a match and watched the evidence burn to nothing. As soon as I got inside, I went straight to the bathroom and jumped in the shower, letting the steaming hot water run down over my aching muscles. I dropped my head and watched the blood stained water swirl around my feet, eventually disappearing down the drain. After several minutes, the water finally began to run clear. I grabbed my scrub brush and set to work on the muck under my fingernails. My hands were almost rubbed raw before I felt that they were clean enough to move on to the rest of my body. I pressed the brush firmly against my skin, forcing it back and forth over the scars that crisscross my back, making the bristles scratch against my flesh. Never feeling like I could wash away the filth, my shower routines had become methodical over the past decade. It was just one of the idiosyncrasies I’d developed over the years.

The steaming water trailed over the back of my neck, and the tension in my muscles slowly began to diminish. I cupped my hands in front of me, watching the water pool in my palms, thinking back over all the shit that had happened in my life. There was a time that I didn’t think I’d make it, and the only thing that kept me going was Emerson. I thought about her every day wondering if she was okay. I still vividly remember the last time I got to see her in her teens. I’d been out on the streets for over a year and didn’t have a dime to my name. Out of desperation, I went to one of the local churches and swiped forty dollars out of the offering plate – just enough money to take the bus back to Mount Vernon to check on her.

When I got there,
I spotted her on the front lawn of the schoolyard, talking with a couple of her friends. It was a relief to see that she looked happy. She was laughing about something, but stopped the minute she spotted me. Without hesitation, she raced over to me and jumped in my arms, hugging me tightly.

“You’re here! You’re really here!” she squealed.

“I would’ve come sooner, but…”

“I’m just glad you’re here. I was so worried about you,” she cried, squeezing her arms around my waist. I pulled back and stared at her for a minute. I couldn’t believe how much she’d grown. She was almost fourteen now and looking at her reminded me so much of my mother. She had the same long brown hair and crooked grin. My eyes roamed over her, searching for any signs of bruises or welts.

Emerson shook her head and said, “I’m fine, Griff. He’s still mean as ever, but he doesn’t hurt me.”

“You know, I’ll kill him if he ever lays a hand on you. Never doubt that.”

“He won’t. Don’t worry,” she told me. “Are you okay? What are you doing with yourself these days? Where are you living?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I’d been spending my days at the YMCA and nights in the local homeless shelters, so I told her, “I made some friends. I’m staying with them ’till I can get a place of my own.”

“Good. I hated that you had to stay in those awful shelters by yourself.” A tear trickled down her cheek as she said, “I miss you so much, but I’m glad you got away.”

“I’m going to be gone for a while, so I won’t be able to get back here to check on you,” I explained.

“Where are you going?” she asked, panic filling her eyes.

“Gonna enlist. Just long enough to get on my feet… then I’ll be back.” I’d just turned eighteen, so I thought it made sense to join. When I’d gone in to enlist, I found out it wasn’t as simple as just signing my name on the dotted line. I had to give my background, where I’d been living for the past ten years, and that was just the beginning. I was lucky that the recruiter was willing to help me. I figured it had something to do with my last name. It was a small town, and I had no doubt that he knew my grandfather. I didn’t care why he helped me, I was just glad that he did. The recruiter helped me get my GED, and I just had to pass the AVSAB next week to have everything I needed to join.

“But why? What if something happens to you?” she pleaded.

“Made it this far, Em. This is something I have to do. I’ll be fine,” I explained. “You better get going. Don’t want you to miss your ride.”

“Please be careful, and come back,” she whispered as a small tear trickled down her cheek. She reached up and hugged me once more before she turned and ran for her bus. “Love you, Griff,” she called back.

I got out of the shower trying to remember the last time I’d been to see her. During my stint in the service, she’d become a typical teenager, busy with her friends and dating. After she graduated high school, she started college, by then I was a full-patch member of the club. I missed the sense of brotherhood I’d found in the military and joining Satan’s Fury gave me the family I’d never really had. My club and my brothers meant everything to me, and they kept me very busy. I hadn’t actually seen Emerson in months, but as soon as things settled down, I planned to go see her.