10. ‘Raven’

TEN

‘RAVEN'

brENNA

Fuck, never thought I'd be doing this shit again. Poor Freak, he's dying over there, got some kind of sinus thing going on. Thank Christ I have an air purifier in my office because I can't afford to get sick. Ash and his family are getting ready to shift their herds from one pasture to another, so me getting sick almost guarantees that he will too. The Sterling family can't have him go down and end up in bed, so I've upped all of my vitamins and am drinking orange and apple juice.

From the little information we were able to get from Malcolm and Wildcat's family, along with the photo Squirt took of the asshole looking for our sister, Freak was able to kind of get a pattern on him. Oh shit, we know his name is Joseph/Joey McKallen. He was living in New York then New Jersey. From what I can see, he's been in and out of trouble just about all his life. After the incident with Wildcat and Malcolm, he kind of pulled up roots and disappeared before they could arrest him like Gerald. Left behind a few women with kids from him without a thought. I'm thinking they are all better off. Though he continued to stay in touch with Gerald, the guy who ended up in the emergency room that Malcolm ran into. Gerald even placed some collect calls to Joey a few times from prison. Though he never attempted to visit, as there has been an active warrant out for Joseph McKallen since the attack at the cabin. One man died from the shot from Wildcat and another, besides Joey, got away, though neither Wildcat nor Malcolm caught a name. He was one of the men who brutally assaulted both though.

Taking a minute, I walk over to the mini fridge and pull out two waters. Then I reach in the cabinet above and grab two packages of Emergen-C, which is something that is supposed to up your immune support when compromised by illness and stress. I've been giving it to Freak for the past eighteen to twenty hours and he's not gotten any worse.

"Raven, found something. Yeah, can I get another one of those? I feel better since I've been drinking that shit. So look at this. Joey has been in and out of town for the past three weeks. He's been to the Wooden Spirits, the trucking company Devil's on Wheels, and even checked out your gym. Before you ask, I hacked into all the computers. If you didn't know his past by the way he acted, you'd think he was a decent guy. He went into the grocery store a few times and even flirted with the cashiers and shot the shit with Bernie, the butcher. Fuck, I'm gonna start cracking up again. How Bernie became the butcher is hilarious. So long story short, this Joey is making the rounds. Establishing a presence. He was at the bank and bakery too. Oh, and stopped at the garage shop to buy some shit for his truck. I've got model and make, along with the plates, though they are stolen, just saying. I'm not sure if the truck is, would need the VIN number for that. Whatcha think he's up to?"

After all I've seen since I became a Devil's Handmaiden and all of our investigations into human trafficking, I figure he's trying to integrate into the town to keep suspicion off of him.

"We need to know where he's staying. Have you checked all the abandoned Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood locations? From what Malcolm and Wildcat have told us, this group of men was very racist. During the attack at the cabin, Malcolm heard them telling him they were going to beat his colored ass then string him up the way he should be. Gerald accused him of trying to take jobs and work from his brothers, like Joey and the other guy whose name we don't know. The sadist of the group. If they are prejudice and racist, what's to say they don't know the brotherhood or are hoping to be a part of it. I'm guessing, brother, but what else can we do at this point?"

"Good thought, Raven. I know that Panther and his group, including Dallas and Chicago, had put up some remote cameras on the properties your club busted up, along with that area where the Grimm Wolves club blew up that compound. Give me a few minutes. Hey, would you mind grabbing us something to eat? I'm fuckin' starving. Oh, gotta run to the can. I'll work on this once I get back."

He jumps up and rushes to the bathroom across the room. That's my clue to get the hell out of Dodge before he erupts. I've worked way too long with Freak not to know what just happened is his way of telling me he's got to take a dump. And just saying his bathroom breaks always need time to air out. Thank God there's a fan, hey, I don't hear it. Dumbass.

"Freak, turn the damn fan on, for Christ's sake. This room isn't big enough for the both of us and what you're doing in there. Gonna run to the kitchen, see if any of the sisters started lunch. Be back shortly."

As I walk out of my office, I hear him cackling in the bathroom. I've gotten to know Freak well as we work closely together a lot. He's got a good heart and works like a dog until he finds what he's looking for. As I come out of the office, I'm surprised by the number of people in the great room of the clubhouse. Not only my club sisters but also Panther, Avalanche, Dallas, and Chicago. They are talking with Tank, Enforcer, and Yoggie. I give a nod here and there until Tank pulls me close, giving me a side hug. Gotta love this big teddy bear. For a brief second, we thought we were gonna lose him, but he fought back and is stronger now than ever.

"How's it goin' back there, Raven? Freak pulling his weight?"

"Yeah, he is, Tank. Thanks for lending him to us yet again. Without him, I'd go friggin' crazy for sure. I'm on my way to find us some food."

He gives me a squeeze then lets me go. As I walk toward the kitchen, it hits me that Wildcat and her man, Malcolm, aren't around. I'm hoping and praying they both get their shit together 'cause they are perfect for each other. I know, even though the other sisters don't, Wildcat has been working with Sheriff George and Yoggie to maybe become a deputy for Timber-Ghost. I had to do some inventive let's say legal/illegal shit to make her legal but not use her full name. Didn't know why when I did it, per Tink, but now I do. She's been on the run all this time. For fuck's sake, what is wrong with people?

I push open the door as the smell of something heavenly reaches my nose. Heartbreaker is putting her famous chopped salad together as Dottie is at the stove frying something in a pan and she has two big pots steaming. One, I'm assuming is her sauce, and two, some kind of pasta. Dot loves to cook up some Italian food. I move toward her and literally scare the shit out of her when I lean around her to see what she's frying. Oh man, I want one now. She made her famous meatballs that have a center of cheese, peppers, and garlic. I glance around and see a bunch on a paper towel, so I reach for one. She pushes me with her hip.

"Don't you dare, Raven. I'm busting my ass to cook, don't go stealing my balls. Maybe try some manners and ask before you just reach around me. What the fuck, sister?"

I can tell something's crawled up her ass. I turn to Heartbreaker, who's watching the two of us. This sister has been struggling for a while now. Since she fucked up her sobriety and went back on drugs. When Tink was looking for Hannah, Heartbreaker had an idea where she was but the drugs were more important. I think she's made her amends, but shit, who am I to even assume? I do remember Shadow taking a round at her and Heartbreaker has the scars to show. That's one human being, and I use those words lightly, who I wouldn't want to wake up to. Shadow could scare someone to death, I'm sure. Heartbreaker mouths "Michael" and it all makes sense. That's Wildcat's man's friend, and he's a total dog and player. I hope to Christ he didn't fuck around with Dottie 'cause that will just piss Wildcat off. And like her name, that's something you don't want to do.

"Dottie, would it be possible to get two plates for Freak and me? I'd appreciate it, we've been holed up in my office now for hours and we're both starving."

I give her, what Ash says are my puppy dog eyes. She just sighs and looks over me to Heartbreaker, who's already putting together two to-go bowls of her chopped salad. Gotta love that sister, for sure. Dottie reaches above her to get two huge to-go containers and starts to fill them up with pasta, sauce, and meatballs on top. Then she grabs the shredder and puts Parmesan cheese on both. Damn, my mouth is watering.

After I thank both of my sisters, I pick up the containers and grab some silverware. Making my way out, I glance around and see Wildcat's parents sitting off to the side taking everything in. Just as I go toward them, Tank looks up, sees where I'm looking, and gives me a chin lift. Then his group walks over and starts to introduce themselves. Awesome, now I can get back to my office and eat this food while it's hot. If the room doesn't smell like an outhouse at a campsite. Freak needs to talk to Dr. Cora about his bowels. Something ain't right. When I get to my office the door is cracked open, so I push on it and see Freak is done and it smells good in the office. He's set the small table off to the side. He comes to me, grabbing the containers and bowls. As we work together getting our lunch set up, I wonder why he doesn't have an ol' lady. He's decent-looking when he cleans up, though on the thin side. He's probably at genius level and generally he's a good guy. Wish I had someone to set him up with, but whichever club sisters are single wouldn't want to get the two clubs mixed up like that. I mean, already we have Taz with Enforcer and Glory with Yoggie from the Intruders. All I can do is hope someday a woman comes along who will treat Freak the way he should be.

"Fuck, check this out, Raven. My alarms just went off on that facial recognition software Ironside shared with us. It's Joey and, damn girl, you hit it right on the head. He's at that compound where Shadow's dad used to hide out. And from the looks of it, he ain't alone. I thought your prez said that crazy as fuck group of losers were gone from around here. If so, who the hell are all of those folks?"

I look at the camera he hacked into and am shocked at all the people walking around that compound. Goddamn it, this shit is never gonna end. That brotherhood is so friggin' huge. Well, before anything, I'm going to eat then I'll reach out to Tink and Glory. See what they want us to do. The scary thing is why is this Joey, who's asking around about Wildcat, hanging out with the assholes who associate with the loser club the Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood? That will be something my prez will want to know. Kind of makes sense because of the way he treated Wildcat and Malcolm at the cabin. He was brutal and from what I've heard, insulted both of them because of their heritage. What a dick, but hey, most are who hang around with that bunch.

In a matter of minutes Freak and I are sitting at the table, enjoying the first meal we've had in like almost a full day. Neither of us is speaking, just shoveling the food in as fast as we can. It tastes heavenly.