Chapter 8

Kracken

As soon as we pull into the parking lot, the clubhouse doors swing open and five of the Cedar Creek brothers come striding out, heading directly toward Butcher's bike. I can see from their cuts that it's Wrecker, Dragon, Animal, Striker, and Python, and I presume they're the officers based on the hardened looks on their faces.

I watch in fascination as Wrecker storms over to Selah, anger causing his face to turn brick red. He points his finger at her and starts yelling, "Don't you ever pull any shit like that again. You hear me? We're family, we take care of our own. I can't make sure you're taken care of if you're out there on your own."

With more members now surrounding us, I see Butcher looking around before he asks, "Where's Mammoth?"

"That's another problem we've been working on. He hasn't checked in with us in over a week and his phone is no longer getting any signal so we can trace him," Dragon informs us.

"What?" Selah squeals, her face paling as she clutches at her chest. "Beast can't track him… at all? His bike? His phone? Nothing?"

"It's as if he's vanished off the face of the earth," Wrecker tells her. "And another thing."

"What's that?" Butcher questions.

"Dad's missing too," he answers.

I don't know all of the dynamics at play here, but the look on Butcher's face as he growls out, "The fuck you say? I told you we should've put the asshole down a long time ago!" has me taking a step back.

"We know. But he was useful to us, and we still thought he had information we could use," Dragon states. "His disappearance and betrayal is on me."

"No. It's on him," Butcher replies. "Did he know where Mammoth was?"

Dragon says, "Not that we're aware of. He went off looking for Selah. The only ones who knew where he was were me and Wrecker. Neither one of us shared that with him. So as far as we know, he has nothing to do with Mammoth being radio silent."

While all of this is fascinating, my focus is on finding my woman and Selah's little girl, not on whatever father drama seems to be at play right now. I'm about to speak up but one of the other Cedar Creek brothers starts talking instead.

"Hate to be the one who poses this question, but do you think he went back to the community willingly?" Python asks.

That comment stops me in my tracks. I know from some of what Selah shared that she came from that fundamentalist crapshow, but it sounds like her father has been one of the fuckers we want to decimate. So why on earth would they have willingly had him here under their roof? Especially now that Hawg and Beast have determined they've been virtually underneath the noses of at least two of our chapters, likely for years for all we know. How many women in our towns have been taken by these bastards to further their so-called cause?

"Not on your life," Wrecker grits through his teeth. "You have no idea what it was like for him. He's still recovering from some of the things he was forced to do and the things they did to him when he refused or was caught going easy on those he was tasked with punishing."

"He wouldn't do that," Selah swears. "He wasn't and isn't loyal to them in any form or fashion. I realize y'all don't know him, but we do, and I can tell you right now, if he's with them, it's not of his own volition."

"So that's a possible third person they have of ours that we need to rescue?" Banshee asks.

"Sounds like we're fixing to cause a blood bath," I state, cracking my knuckles in anticipation of getting my hands on a weapon to make that happen.

"Wasn't that what was going to happen in the first place?" Scythe questions. "As far as I was aware, we weren"t going to leave any of those assholes alive when we blew up their operation."

"Yeah. I was of the like mind that no man was going to be left standing," Butcher adds.

"Well, if they have Hannah, Moira, and my brother, I'll carry the grenades and pass them out to you men," Selah supplies.

"You're not going," Wrecker argues.

"I'm not doing this with you, Wrecker. There's a reason I'm coming, and you know exactly what that is," Selah contends.

"It doesn"t have to be you!" Wrecker roars.

I can tell he's frustrated by his body posture, and I can't say that I blame him. We don't ever put ol' ladies in the line of fire. The problem is, Selah knows their inner workings and has been an integral part of setting up their programs.

"It does," Selah whispers. "There's nobody else who can get the upper hand on a system I invented. Put away the Neanderthal, Wrecker. I'm going, end of story."

"That's not the end of it! Back me up here, Butcher," Wrecker demands, throwing his attention toward Butcher whose arms are now wrapped around Selah.

"Wish I could, brother. I'm as much against her being there as you are. But she has some valid points, and it'll be us burying our brothers if we don't let her go and do her thing," Butcher states. "Trust me, she and I have already gone through this, and the scenarios of what will happen if she's not there isn't in our favor."

"Fuck!" Wrecker shouts, kicking the gravel beneath his boots. "We don't put our women in danger! Ever!"

"No. We don't. Unfuckingfortunately, we're at a standstill and are left with no other options as far as I'm aware of. What other alternative do we have here, Wrecker?" Butcher asks.

I want to know the same thing; as far as I can tell, there's no other way we'll have the element of surprise if Selah doesn't go with us. Rather, we'll end up burying most of the brothers who come along, because I'm sure as devious as these fuckers are, their muscle is likely capable of firing a weapon. In fact, they probably have automatic ones at that, not the Glocks and Sig Sauers we generally carry.

Maybe a flamethrower isn't such a far-fetched idea after all. I make a mental note to bring it up when we have church. Because I'm positive that we'll be doing that relatively soon. While I continue with my line of thinking, Dragon speaks up.

"Why don't we come inside and cool our heads for a minute before we hash this out," Dragon suggests.

"I need to go see my girls, then I'll jump on my laptop and see what I can find. Don't kill each other," Selah says, shaking her finger at Butcher and Wrecker. "I mean it, you two. If one of you hurts the other, I'll be the one who kicks your ass. Don't test me, I'm not in the mood to deal with either one of y'all's macho bullshit."

"Go on, little mama. Give our girls a kiss and I'll meet up with you later," Butcher replies, kissing her. "Hug them for me."

"What about Nitro? Aren't you going to go see him before the meeting?" Lah asks Butcher.

"He'll be coming to stay with us tonight, baby girl. It's our first night under the same roof as a family, I don't want him to miss out on that. Soon, Hannah will be joining us, completing our family," he replies.

"She will," she agrees, vehemently bobbing her head. "Wrecker?"

"Yeah, sis," Wrecker replies.

"Where are our girls?" she queries, eyes never leaving Butcher's as she talks to her sibling.

I watch Wrecker smirk before he replies, "They"re at our house. Something about doing a girl's day. Painting nails and other girly shit they've missed out on. Harper swears that it's the best remedy for keeping girls occupied. They've been a little restless the past twenty-four hours or so."

Selah smiles as she smacks Butcher's ass, steps away from him and says, "See you around, biker man. Never had the chance to do that with my girls, it sounds fun."

"Have fun with that," Wrecker mumbles. "I was getting lightheaded from the contact high infecting the air from the fumes and had to get the fuck outta there before I ended up falling down on my ass."

Selah rolls her eyes at Butcher, lifts up on the tips of her toes and kisses him, then orders, "Go make plans to conquer the world. Love you."

"Love you too, Lah. Go paint your nails and shit."

"You really going to let her go with us?" Wrecker asks as he moves closer to Butcher.

"If there was any other choice, I'd be tying her to the bed and facing her wrath later. The one thing I have to remind myself of, is that she knows what she's talking about, and if she says that she's the only one who can disassemble their defenses, then I have to believe her," Butcher replies.

"She'd sacrifice everything for Hannah," Wrecker states.

"She would. But what she wouldn't do is hurt Amelia and Faye on purpose by taking herself out of the equation. Everything she did while being away, had a purpose and a plan. She hasn't admitted this to me yet, but someone laid the foundation for her, almost like someone had the foresight to send her out there, giving her the right places to be and when to be there," Butcher advises.

"Like a vision?" Wrecker probes.

"Exactly like that," Butcher says.

"The girls," Wrecker whispers.

"The girls," Butcher replies, only saying it louder than Wrecker did so the rest of us can hear him.

"So, being freaky is a family trait," Scythe murmurs.

"Careful, Scythe. There's something in the water, make sure you don't drink it, or it may affect you," Butcher teases, lightening up the atmosphere a bit.

"Bottled water it is then," Scythe proclaims.

Almost as a unit, we all grab our saddlebags and follow the Cedar Creek brothers into the clubhouse. Right now, as much as I'm ready for church, we all need some downtime that includes a shower, some food, and a few cold beers.

* * *

So, we ended up in church first, although Dragon and Butcher made sure we had food and drinks. Tonight, several of the brothers are going in under cover of darkness to do a little bit of reconnaissance based on what Selah, Beast, and Hawg have found. Once we were dismissed, we went to the rooms the Cedar Creek brothers gave us, and I finally got a shower to wash the road grime off.

Now, flipping through the channels on the remote to find something to watch, I'm surprised when my phone rings and I see it's Brick, my president.

"Hey, Pres, is everything alright?" I ask.

"Yeah, talked with Dragon and Selah earlier, then I conferred with Banshee, and he and I decided you needed to know what you might be up against concerning Moira," he replies.

"What do you mean?" I question.

"Well, according to Selah, children, specifically females, are to be seen and not heard. They're to be pretty, and not intelligent. They have no place in society to have an opinion, and if they do, they were punished for speaking their minds."

I think back to the day we found Moira the first time. Even covered in fresh injuries, blood, and infected wounds, I still saw evidence of older scars, especially when I rolled her over to check her back.

"Those sick motherfuckers!" I bellow, anger and rage simmering higher at what she's endured.

"One other thing, Brother. Her parents are recruiters for the organization, so she's been indoctrinated in their beliefs from a very young age," he advises.

"So, it may be an uphill battle," I muse.

"Got a plan to hopefully help with that," he replies. "Got a buddy who has a cabin in the North Georgia mountains. It's close enough to home but not too close so we can deal with the Lynchburg situation without putting her in harm's way again. Don't think she'd survive it a third time."

I think about the broken bird that Moira was when she left our clubhouse. She's been living a life of Hell, except, apparently, while she was in college. It's time for her to stop looking over her shoulder, and I mentally vow to do everything in my power to ensure her life is as trouble-free as possible. Once we rescue her again, anyhow.

"Pres, if you think that'll help, I'm all for it," I say. "But if you need me at our house, don't keep me on the sidelines, Brother. Those fuckers are messing with our way of life, one that your granddad gave all of us who've grown up together. Just as vested as you and Ban."

He chuckles at my words. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a chance to fuck plenty of shit up while you're in Texas, Krack. But we won't leave you hanging here either, because you're right, we grew up here and I might be the president now, but it's our house."

"Yeah," I growl out, wanting to pound someone's face in and get retribution on behalf of Moira and all the others who've ended up their unwilling prisoners. I think I'd like to start with Moira's father, who started that shit in her life. His actions and words caused those false beliefs she has to take root and grow like a motherfucking vine that's wrapped itself around her mental well-being and is strangling her.

"Gonna let you go, Brother. Know from chatting with Dragon that tomorrow's the day, and you need to get some rest."

"Thanks, Brick. For everything."

After hanging up, I turn the television off because there's nothing I feel like watching. Instead, I settle under the covers and drift off to sleep, one thought prevalent in my mind.

Moira, hold on just a little bit longer, baby. I'm coming for you.

* * *

Controlled chaos surrounds me as we get ready to invade the compound. The recon mission was a success; it's now time to bring Hannah and Moira home.

"Equipment check!" Dragon roars as we prepare to straddle the bikes.

"The bikes are loud, why are we taking them? We'll wake the dead when we pull up to their gates, it'll echo, there's no way we'll be able to hide ourselves from them," Selah states.

She's not wrong. A group of Harleys like ours will definitely be detected and noticeable.

"Our plan is to walk the last mile to their compound," Butcher answers. "We'll have the van and SUV with us too for those who are being rescued."

"Where's Hannah going to ride?" Selah asks.

"Between us," Butcher replies. "I don't want her away from me either, Lah. She's our girl and she'll be riding home with us."

"Do we have a helmet for her?" she queries.

"I have Nitro's in the saddle bag. It'll fit her, but even if the helmet is a little loose on her scalp, we'll strap it down as far as it can go so that her noggin's protected. I also have a harness that we'll use to tie her to me. Between that and the fact that I know your arms will be around her, she'll be as safe as if she were in a car seat in a cage. I'll never willingly let anything happen to our girl, Lah. I'd fight the devil himself if necessary to keep her safe at all times," Butcher advises.

I watch as he and Selah continue to talk while I take the time to check and double check my weapons and ammo, much like the other brothers are currently doing.

Wrecker comes storming toward us all and roars, "They have Mammoth. Beast just confirmed it when they updated some files with those they've captured. I'm gonna kill them all! First, they have the audacity to keep my niece in their facility, now, they've nabbed my brother! And it wasn't even a fair fight, the pussies."

"What do you mean it wasn't a fair fight?" Selah asks, worry for her brother evident in her tone.

"He was following a lead on you and went into a bar to ask further questions. He was ambushed by twenty fucking men in the back alley as soon as he went to leave. They fucked him up, Selah. We both know they haven't given him any medical attention. I swear to you, if he doesn't make it out of there alive and intact, I'm going to scour the earth until every last one of these motherfuckers are dead."

"And I'll be riding with you," Butcher declares, his fists clenched at his sides. "Nobody fucks with one of our brothers and lives to talk about it."

"Damn right they don't," Dragon states, entering our conversation. "Y'all ready to paint their compound in blood?"

"Fucking right I am!" Wrecker roars.

"Then let's ride!" Dragon screams as a bunch of bellows howl through the air. "Stay safe and with Butcher the entire time, Selah."

Three… they now have three of ours, something that I can't even comprehend. Two are females, no less, but I've seen pictures with Mammoth in them, and he's a huge motherfucker. Obviously, if it took twenty men to take him down, but still, what a bunch of fucking pussies to ambush someone that way. They're going to pay, and right now, in the mood I'm in, I'm beyond ready to fuck up some fundamentalist pricks to the point of death.

Butcher, not one to be left out, commands, "Eyes on the prize, brothers! Let's go fuck some shit up, Royal Bastards' style!"

Shouts and whistles fill the air as one by one, the rest of the brothers climb on their bikes, with Selah securely behind Butcher.