Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

K ing had finally been spotted. While Fang still seemed to be in the wind, Keys had a surveillance photo of King in Atlantic City. That was Black Python territory. Bulldog and Ghost were putting together an extraction team to go get him.

Ghost wanted a two-man team to grab him. In, out, and the AC Pythons would never know the Via Daemonia had been there.

Bulldog was arguing a three-man team for extra protection.

Neither Angel nor Cage were officers and so they were not privy to the discussion or final decision. However, Keys was as he was trying to get into the Atlantic City traffic cameras and police scanners. Apparently, he had a friend or acquaintance in that area who was lending him a data point. Knowing how much Cage wanted King, Keys might have accidentally left an open com on that just happened to make its way into Cage's earpiece.

He was listening intently as he watched Angel dish out her daily punishment to Nathan Moore.

Sam was no longer in the cellar. Keys had placed a tracking anklet on the kid and Bulldog had put him in the prospects' care. He had to be in one of their sights at all times. He was also to be put to work from dawn until dusk. Bulldog did not care if the prospects handed him a shovel and made him dig holes all day long for no reason whatsoever. If a patched member caught Sam doing anything other than work, there would be hell to pay.

The kid had three more weeks before he was getting shipped off to boot camp. The VDMC was holding its breath as to whether the Marine Corp could make a respectable man out of him. Steel, who had retired a Master Sergeant, and Mitch, who had been a POW Master Gunnery Sergeant, both had contacts at Parris Island training camp who had agreed to pay "special" attention to Sam.

Cage did not feel bad for the kid in the slightest. In fact, he was getting off too easy in Cage's opinion. Angel wanted to believe that Sam could redeem himself, but Cage wasn't as optimistic as her.

Things at home were cramped but going well. Cage's lawyer believed the judge would rule in Cage's favor since it was what Aaron had expressed his wishes were. Veronica was not forbidden to speak with Aaron, but she had made no efforts to since their last court appearance. Cage knew this hurt Aaron, who still insisted that Veronica was a good mom.

Cage and Aaron had a weekend project ahead of them. After school on Friday, Cage was taking Aaron to the construction yard to help Cage load up supplies. They were turning the coat closet in the hallway into a half bath. Aaron would still need to shower in Bree's bathroom, but adding the additional toilet was becoming necessary in the household. The tattoo shop wasn't the only place Bree or Aaron had caught Cage and Angel in a compromising position.

Moore let out a pitiful groan as Angel pulled the second fingernail out of his right hand. She'd already done the left the day before. Cage had brought down a wooden chair and then used his nail gun to secure Moore's four limbs to the seat to give Angel easier access. He didn't like the idea of her having to climb onto a stool or step ladder to try and reach Moore's hands.

Bear was not going to be happy when he came down to treat Moore. The man was being fed intravenously by TPN, or total parenteral nutrition, and was being given a shit ton of antibiotics.

Between Moore and Cheryl, Bear and Tessa certainly had their hands full. Tessa did not know about Moore but knew something else was going on based on the supplies Bear continuously took from their medical stores. She was smart enough not to ask questions.

Whatever Angel had said to Pumpkin the other day had helped the man come to terms with his upcoming fatherhood. He wasn't looking for a house or anything just yet, but he was inquiring with Steel about taking out the wall between his apartment and the vacant apartment next to his to make a double apartment once his son started to grow.

The ol' ladies were working on a surprise baby shower for Pumpkin. They knew enough to know that one of the Honeys had come forward with a pregnancy and that a paternity test had been done. Not even Jenna knew that Cheryl was currently a prisoner on death row in one of the apartments on property.

Cage hadn't been back there himself to see Cheryl—he had no reason to—but he knew per Pumpkin that she was behaving. She was taking Steel's warning to be placed in a coma very seriously and, so far, was not doing anything to make Steel follow through on his threat. Pumpkin went to visit her often and generally took Bones or Grumpy with him. Bones had told Cage that he never spoke to Cheryl to ask her how she was feeling or if she needed anything. His questions were always about the baby to ask how he was feeling and if he needed anything.

Cage knew he wasn't the only brother worried that Pumpkin might grow attached to Cheryl or become sympathetic to her plight. Per Grumpy, though, Pumpkin acted like Cheryl was nothing more than a talking incubator.

Tessa continued to monitor Cheryl. Cage wasn't sure if she had been told of Cheryl's fate but doubted it. That was club business.

Gracie and Monica had started their training at the bar as servers and bartenders. One other local, a man named Brent, had also been hired on full-time. Ranger and Ghost were still hoping to find one more person to help on busy nights, even if they only worked part-time.

Carter's mom, Yelizaveta, had been hired as the clubhouse housekeeper. She had a heavy Russian accent and her English was broken. Though she had been in the United States since she'd married Carter's father when she was eighteen, she had not had the opportunity to socialize much and improve her English. Steel had told everyone to be patient with her. Carter would also be spending time on club property after school, as his dad worked evening shifts.

Angel had expressed to Cage that she got the feeling the dad did not approve of having a neurodivergent son. Additionally, Yelizaveta had asked to be called ‘Elizabeth' when her husband was around. If that wasn't a red flag, Cage didn't know what one was.

Cage didn't know Billy, Carter's father, well but had seen him around on job sites. The man worked for a septic company and they occasionally were at the same construction projects. Once Cage had realized the relation between Billy the Sewer Guy and Yelizaveta the club's new housekeeper, he had to agree with Angel's assessment. Billy just had that ‘asshole vibe' about him.

The club had also hired a young college graduate named Francine. She and Sissy were friends and Sissy had given her recommendation to Lucky to hire Francine, who liked to be called ‘Frankie'. Steel was all for hiring Frankie, but not as a housekeeper. Frankie was the club's new full-time nanny. During the day, she helped take care of babies Conner, Caleb, Maggie, and Georgie as their parents needed. She was also to help out watching Scotty and Lila after school.

Cage saw the young woman juggle two babies and a crying toddler like a professional without breaking a sweat. Upon witnessing this, Cage had gone to the kitchen to get her a cookie because, damn, did she deserve it after that.

Frankie had also moved into Zoe's old modular trailer. The patched members didn't know the full story, but Steel had mentioned an abusive boyfriend.

Both Yelizaveta and Frankie were to be treated with the upmost respect and Steel had forbidden any of the patched members or prospects from pursuing them.

The era of the Honeys was officially over.

Cage's phone vibrated in his pocket. A little smile appeared on his lips as he saw it was from Aaron. He would forever regret not having made a harder effort to get his son in his life earlier.

Aaron: Can Ollie, Bree, this was a man who used his god as a smokescreen to be sadistic. Unlike the zealot men who had formed the cult that Cassie had escaped from, Bree questioned if his man even believed in a god. Or was he simply homophobic and used the Bible as his weapon so he seemed righteous?

The pastor stood up and looked over at them. Bree pretended to cower. He turned his attention back to his phone call. He opened the door to the motel room and walked out.

Bree waited a heavy second before she started working on her bindings even harder. Aaron let out a moan on the other bed. As soon as her wrists were free, she got the gag out of her mouth.

"You awake, Big Brother?" she called out to him, but not too loudly.

Bree planted her hands and lifted her hips enough to turn on the bed to face Ollie. He looked at her in utter shock and surprise as she started working on the knot in his bindings.

"What the hell happened?" Aaron groaned, turning his face into the mattress.

"Your mom's pastor kidnapped us," Bree told him. She was keeping one eye on the door while trying to loosen Ollie's hands. "Don't worry though. You've been re-baptized or whatever in the hopes that your gayness has been cured. Are you still gay?"

Aaron's snort was muffled by the mattress. "Pretty sure."

"Oh joy," Bree said sarcastically. "Having a straight big brother would have been so boring." As soon as Ollie's hands were free, she ordered, "Go get Aaron's hands."

Ollie scrambled to get the gag out of his mouth. "How the hell are you so calm?" His voice was high pitched with fear.

"Not my first kidnapping," she reminded him. There was an edge to her voice that seemed to help calm him.

Ollie scooted off of the bed and hurried over to Aaron's bed. Bree army-crawled her way across the bed to the phone. She picked up the receiver, but there was no dial-tone. She hit multiple buttons, but the phone showed no signs of life. "Fuck," she muttered to herself. Louder, she said, "Phone doesn't work. We need to get ourselves to the office or find someone with a phone."

Aaron rolled to his side to give Ollie access to his hands. He looked at Ollie over his shoulder. "Not really how I wanted to spend time in bed with you."

Ollie's cheeks flushed. "Me either." He let out a sound of frustration as he fought with Aaron's knot. "Can't you just Hulk your way out of these? What's the point of all those muscles if you still need me to save you?"

Bree saw how glassy Aaron's eyes looked as he threw Ollie a tentative smile over his shoulder and knew that her brother wasn't a hundred percent yet. Not good.

Though Ollie was unable to get Aaron's knot undone, Aaron was able to twist his body enough that he got his hands under his butt. Then he worked his legs through his bound arms and brought his hands in front of him.

"Ollie, look for a weapon," Bree said as she grabbed for the lamp on the nightstand between them.

Ollie rushed over to the dresser with the broken TV on top. He started going through the drawers. When he turned, he had two Bibles in his hands. "I'm starting to sense a theme here." He tossed them onto the table like they were poisonous snakes, landing next to the very worn one that the pastor had left behind.

Bree rolled her eyes. She looked to Aaron, who was making his way to his feet. "How are you?"

"Groggy, but I'll live," he reported. "You?"

"My leg's bleeding, but I'll live." Bree hated to ask, but they had no other choice. "You're going to have to carry me."

He nodded. "I know." His hands still bound, he knelt with his back to the bed. "Ollie, come help us, baby."

Ollie came over to them. He threaded Bree's legs through Aaron's arms and torso. Then he crawled back onto the bed and helped push Bree flush against Aaron's back.

"Use the rope. See if you can tie me to his back," she told Ollie.

But before Ollie could try, the motel door opened again. It was the pastor.

Bree let out a squeak she was not proud of as Aaron suddenly climbed to his feet. She clung around his neck with all her might. Aaron bolted forward like a linebacker and mowed the pastor down. The man slammed onto the ground, his head cracking on the metal railing.

"Ollie, let's go!" Aaron shouted behind himself.

Bree looked over her shoulder in time to see Ollie run out of the motel room after them. He had rope in one hand and the lamp in the other. As he hopped over the unconscious, possibly dead, pastor, he threw the lamp down on the man's already bleeding head.