9. ‘Lachi’

NINE

‘LACHI'

MALACHI

As much fun as these last few days have been with my boys, I'm ready to get in the cars and leave. Yeah, we are taking both of the vehicles, Jude's and the one Patti rented for me. This way, when we get up to Montana, we'll have more available cars in case one of us wants to go somewhere and none of the others do.

This place is literally heaven. All the staff has to hear is you say something and in under an hour you have whatever you asked for. Example, grumpy Jude wanted to do s'mores but we didn't have any of the ingredients. He was talking to Vito about it at lunch and how he's been craving them since he got here. After we finished eating and were getting ready to leave, a young waitress approached the table with a picnic basket. We all looked at each other, thinking the same, "Shit, "I ain't going on a picnic with these guys."

Then she explained, "Hi. One of the servers overheard you, so here's a basket with everything you'll need to make some s'mores. Enjoy!"

With that she turned and Jude for once had a genuine, huge smile on his face. Just as I go to give him some shit, my phone goes off and looking down, I grab it, stand, and walk away.

"Morning, Ruby."

"Hey, Lachi. Umm, well, I don't know how to say this but you guys might want to change your plans to come up here to Timber-Ghost. No, wait, Lachi, I'm being serious. We had a situation at the Wooden Spirits. Two guys put hands on Addie, our newest prospect, and right now she's lying down with a black eye, split lip, and in the middle of a huge panic attack. Dr. Mal gave her a shot of something to calm her down, but as she was talking, we realized they did a whole lot more than a little touching. From what Glory told us, both breasts are bruised with fingerprints on them. And the biggest asshole had his hand between her legs and not in a good way. Don't want you walking into a fucking mess."

I'm literally taken aback. Is she worried about me? I mean, I can have any amount of security there by end of day, but she doesn't know that. So I do my best to calm her.

"Ruby, we are not going somewhere else. Now listen to me, the four of us have been in situations that weren't the best. I believe, but might be wrong, at least three of us conceal carry. Don't panic, we are all legal. How's your girl doing? She going to be all right? What happened to the two assholes? Was Shadow around?"

I don't push, just wait patiently for her to process and reply. That's the thing with Ruby, she has to have time to listen, absorb, and then process. Kind of like my youngest brother who has ADHD. Wonder if Ruby has it, not that it would matter to me in the least.

"Lachi, there's a lot I can't share if it's club business. Though with this one, probably have some leeway as it happened in a public place. Yeah, Shadow showed up with Spirit, who's from the Blue Sky Sanctuary, and just like my sister. It took three folks to keep Shadow from doing her ‘wet work' right there in the Wooden Spirits. It took Tink on the phone to tell her to step down. Before you ask, our prez is taking hormone treatments to try and get pregnant so she was at the ranch.

"Right now, those two idiots are in the old bunkhouse in the room that was designed especially for Shadow. Problem is, some of the townsfolk are kin to these two and Tink doesn't want anything permanent to happen to them. So the officers are meeting as we speak to figure out what needs to be done. If this takes a shit or goes way left, I don't want you to get hurt."

I feel it as my mouth goes into a shit-eating grin. She doesn't want me to get hurt. So if she didn't care, why would she be worried about me? Maybe a little but not like this. This right here has made the trip worthwhile.

"Ruby, I'm on my way. Probably will get up to you either late this evening or early tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll let the guards at the gate know. What are you driving so I can give them that at least. Text me when close, and I'll get you guys settled. Be careful."

I tell her what vehicles we are driving then we say our goodbyes. I stay where I am, looking out at the Wyoming landscape. It's gorgeous with a touch of wild in it compared to Cali. My head is going in all directions when I almost jump out of my skin and shit myself at the same time. Freddy busts out laughing.

"Who the fuck did you think it was? Bigfoot?"

Vito joins in as Jude walks out, eyes on me. He must see something on my face the other two didn't even look for.

"Everything okay, Malachi? Was that your girl on the phone?"

Great, how do I explain this. I know Freddy and Vito know about the Devil's Handmaidens Motorcycle Club but I know, for a fact, Jude doesn't.

"Yeah, that was Ruby. Had some shit go down at the club's restaurant last night and she's worried we might get some blowback. Told her I was coming no matter what, but it's up to you guys if you want to finish the trip. Ruby is part of a motorcycle club up there in Timber-Ghost, Montana, Jude. And when I say MC, I mean like you see on the news. So if you have any doubts, no hard feelings, promise. I'll even pay for the trip back, including your lodging. Vito and Freddy told me no matter what they were making this trip, so it's up to you, my friend."

Jude keeps staring at me for a long bit then lets his head roll. What the fuck is wrong with him? When he lifts his eyes, I see something I don't generally see…fear. Okay, this ain't right.

"Tell me what's wrong, Jude. Please, dude, you're starting to scare me and that isn't easy."

He seems to struggle to get words out, so Vito runs to the car, grabs one of the waters out of the back, and brings it to him. We all watch him suck down half the bottle. His hands are shaking the entire time.

"Malachi, this club, is their mission to stop shit like human trafficking and domestic violence? And they keep it on the down-low, right? Son of a bitch, how could this happen and why didn't I know about this? Your bitch is part of that club, isn't she?"

Before he can continue, I walk right up to him and punch him in the nose again. Then I grab his T-shirt, pulling him close to my face.

"Jude, you ever call Ruby a bitch again, and I'll personally ask Shadow to get rid of your remains, and believe me, that woman will do exactly that with a smile on her face. Now let's go to our room and you can tell us what's got your boxers briefs in a crunch."

His nose isn't pouring blood but enough that he's taken his T-shirt off to stop the flow. Freddy is on one side of me with Vito on the other. They are looking back and forth at each other, then Freddy grabs my arm.

"Malachi, you might want to call your girl, Patti, and get some security up here for you. Something doesn't seem right, and neither does Jude at the moment. Don't wait 'til it's too late."

Vito is nodding his head vigorously so I reach for my phone, hitting Patti's number.

"Yeah, boss, whatcha need? How's the mini-vacation, you finally able to relax?"

"Patti."

That's all I say and I hear her start barking orders. Then she's back with me.

"Need your location and what you think the threat is. I'll put a call out to your parents and brothers. Still in Wyoming? I'll get a few of the men on a helicopter, fastest way to get out to you. Stay right where you are, Malachi. Do you have your weapons with you?"

I see Vito and Freddy stop as they can hear exactly what Patti is saying. Jude took off up ahead to get to the room, which is kind of strange. I reach under my shirt to feel my weapon, thank God, I put it on.

"Yeah, Patti, got my firearm on me and the Wagoneer is locked and loaded, I'm assuming. We should be good until the cavalry arrives, and I hope I'm not making a big deal out of nothing."

"Remember five months ago? Thank Christ you followed your gut. Your dad always tells you to listen and follow your instincts. Do that. I'll text with an ETA. Keep your eyes open. It's one of your boys, isn't it? If I'm to guess, it's that troublemaker Jude. Told you to kick him to the curb. Are you ever going to listen to me?"

Before I can even reply, she hangs up. Looking up, I see Vito's eyebrows in his hairline and Freddy is looking at me, then toward the rooms.

"Malachi, what aren't you telling us about Jude? Come on, we're in this shit too. Shouldn't we be prepared?"

Freddy's right, so I tell them to follow me. We walk back to where we parked. I have the keyless entry in my pocket, so I unlock the Wagoneer and open the back end. Lifting the carpet and moving the spare tire out of the way, there is a specialized steel box that takes up the width of the car and is literally welded in. I put my fingers on the lock and the box opens.

"Holy fucking shit. Malachi, what the hell? Why do you have all that shit? Goddamn what's going on, something is, I can feel it now."

Vito is still spouting off, not Freddy. He's digging in the box, pulling out handguns and Glocks left and right. He looks at one, pushes to the side, and grabs a Ruger LCP, turns, and hands it to Vito.

"Dude, just like your gun at home. Here's some backup clips. Don't fucking act like an asshole, we have one of those already. Malachi, I'm going to take the Glocks. Do you have a bag, maybe we can stick one of those in there too."

I look to where he's pointing though, I knew which one he was referring to. The Night Fighter, which would have been my pick also. Since Freddy and I go to the gun range at least once a month, we have very similar tastes in our weapons. I lean down and grab two bags that look like what a service person would carry coming home from a long mission.

"Use this, Freddy. Load it up with that Night Fighter and another similar type weapon. Make sure we have enough ammunition. Hoping to Christ we won't need it, but who knows. Better to be prepared than taken by shock."

My phone starts vibrating so I answer it without looking at who it is.

"Boss, someone is trying to access your laptop. I've shut it down and doesn't seem like they have a lot of computer skills, so we might be okay. The helicopter is airborne so keep an eye out. I put a call out to Nova to see if he has any ideas. He's in Montana visiting with Tank, so he's also on his way in his own bird. Be prepared, boss, you have incoming."

Not sure if this is good or bad news, but hey, I'll take it. Turning to Vito and Freddy, I suggest we head back to our rooms, which they comply with. God only knows what's going to be waiting there for us.