Nomads' Fall: Burning Bastards MC (5 page)

He continued eating mouthfuls of chicken as he stumbled back to the wet bar. She had nowhere to go. If he bothered to look down, he’d see her. She held her breath, not daring to move an inch for fear it would draw his attention to her. He dropped the chicken carcass on the floor and started yelling, “Hey you motherfuckers, get down here and show me to my room. You thieving bastards took my bed, so I’ll fuckin' take yours for the night.” He upended his newest bottle and when he brought it down, his eyes must have seen her crouched there. His mistake was not seeing the gun in her hand. He reached for his side and she opened fire.

She’d seen the gun on his hip when he was standing in the light from the fridge. From what Gladys had said, this guy was a killer. She felt nothing while pulling the trigger. He hit his head when he tried to run to the door, and fell hitting the corner of the table. He’d crushed a chair on his way down, but she knew he was hit by her bullets. She knew he was still alive. She hadn’t made a kill shot. His judgment wouldn’t be coming from her. She might regret it later, but tonight he got a pass on his spot in hell.

She turned on the light above her, all the while keeping her finger on the trigger. If he twitched, he was dead. He was out cold and bleeding a hell of a lot from his shoulder, hip, and thigh. The head wound continued to seep blood, but it’d stop eventually, the cut wasn’t deep or very big. She took several extension cords from the dining room closet, and wrapped his legs from ankle to knee. She had to roll his heavy body to tie his hands behind his back, and lifted the gun and knife from his belt. She sat back on her calves and took a deep breath. Jolly really wanted to push him onto the front porch, but there was no way she could move him. The nasty smelling man had to weigh close to two hundred pounds. She went back to the closet and looked over the monitors for some sign of Gladys. When she didn’t see any trace of the woman, she took a chance and typed in a text on the computer. “Come Home NOW,” was all she could think to say. After all, anyone might read the message and she wasn’t about to admit in writing that she’d shot a man and he was tied up on the dining room floor.

She was exhausted, but kept busy cleaning up the mess the pig had made. She hated to do it, but she used hot soapy water on the wooden wet bar and hardwood floors. They didn’t look any worse for wear, but you never knew. At least they were no longer sticky and greasy. She pulled a cardboard cereal box from the cupboard and left the cereal in the plastic, but used a kitchen knife to cut a square to cover the broken window in the office door.

The sun came up and she was terrified Gladys had been murdered before this animal had broken into the house. She went into the closet again, fiddling with the controls, and still she couldn’t see any movement except the leaves fluttering in the breeze. Even the campfire from last night had disappeared. She felt funny using the old-fashioned telephone to call the first number on the list, but she punched in the numbers and waited for the line to be answered.

Chapter
Four

She allowed the phone to ring twelve times before hanging up and dialing the second number. It was answered in six rings, and she still had no idea what to say to whoever answered. “Yeah” was not exactly a greeting, but she wasn’t going to lecture the man on the other end of the line. “Um, I was told to call this number if Gladys didn’t come home by morning, she’s not here, and I’m worried. I’m sorry if I woke you, but the sun is up and she isn’t back, and someone needs to go find her please. I tried calling the other number, but no one answered, and I, could you just hurry if you can?”

“Who is this and what do you mean Gladys is gone? Gladys was at home last night, if this is some kind of bullshit, I can guarantee you won’t like it when I find you.” She hit the End Call on the phone. There wasn’t much she could do without knowing which direction the woman headed. The monitor started showing text across the bottom of the screen. “Need help, call Ge, northw.”

She grabbed the phone again. When the rude bastard answered, she told him, “Look, asshole, I don’t give a damn who you are or what you say you will do to me. Gladys is in trouble, she just sent me a text to call someone with the name Ge or G something, I need to talk to him, if you’re not him, find him, and tell him to get his ass over here now.” She punched the End icon and wiped her face with both hands.

The lump on the floor began groaning and cussing. He’d caused enough trouble as far as she was concerned and she kicked him in the ribs. “One more sound out of you and I’ll finish the job.” She bent down and checked to make certain he was still secure, and decided to add another extension cord between his wrists and his feet, just in case he thought he would find a way out of his predicament.

“You’re the reason Gladys is out there somewhere needing help, and if I have to shoot you dead and go find her myself, I promise to make it painful. I’ll gut shoot you and angle the barrel up, so the hydro shock will have a fun time ripping up your intestines and you can taste your own shit. I’ll even gag you so you can hear yourself scream.” She finished her roping skills and was happy with the result. His legs were now bent at the knee and the cord stretched his arms back so he almost balanced on his belly. After giving him another good kick, she went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee.

For the next half hour, she alternated between filling her coffee mug and checking for any more communication from Gladys. She had the Walther pointed and ready to shoot the filthy bastard, so she could go and find Gladys herself, when she heard the roar of motorcycles. She looked out of the dining room window, and almost dropped the gun in her hand. There had to be ten big machines, most of them black and chrome, being parked in front of the porch. She ran over and opened the front door.

“Are one of you G?” The big grey-haired man stepping onto the board looked up at her and nodded his head. “Gladys is somewhere in the northwest corner of the property and she needs help.” She made shooing gestures with her hands. The men stared at her like she had two heads. “Okay, I’ll tell you what, you stay here with him,” she gestured behind herself, “and I’ll go look for her, just point me in the right direction.” She turned away to find her shoes.

Georgie and Knight, followed by Show, who was actually called Freakshow, walked inside after the crazy woman wearing boy shorts and an oversized t-shirt that had bloodstains all over the front. She had blood on her cheek and her forearms, and several long streaks on her thighs. They heard her before they saw her, and could hear a man yelling at her to, “Just fuckin’ shoot me you cunt.” She was yelling at someone to, “Shut the fuck up,” and kicking the hell out of the man lying on his stomach, hogtied. The mystery of where the blood came from was cleared up by looking at her toes. They were glistening with fresh, bright red, when she drew her foot back for another shot.

Show approached her and tried to take the gun from her hand without hurting her. She backed away and held the weapon in front of her body. Knight distracted her by shoving Dorsey’s hogtied ass onto his side and laughing out loud. “Well, well, would you look at what she has here, all tied up in a nice neat bow. Show, leave her at it, she’s done us a big favor and I’ll be damned if she didn’t shoot him too.” She didn’t relax as he thought she would.

“I told you to watch him, I need to change clothes and find Gladys. All I need is for one of you to tell me which direction is northwest. She’s been out there all night and needs help.”

Georgie stepped right up to the barrel of the gun. “Lady, I don’t know who you are, but my name is George. You told Knight on the phone that she told you to call me. I’m here, I’ll go find her and take most of my guys with me. You can take a shower and maybe try to get some sleep, ‘cause if you were in your right mind, you’d know better than to point a gun at me unless you plan to use it.” His hand came up slowly, and he almost had her, but she backed away and ran into the closet. They heard the lock click, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Georgie went out to the porch leaving Knight and Show to deal with Dorsey. The seven men with George started trekking north. He was in the lead for the first half of the walk. He knew when the younger men eventually got bored following his old ass, they spread out, first flanking him, and soon passing him. The brush and trees got denser the further into the forested land they searched. At noon, he told them all to start heading west, and to double back the way they’d come. She couldn’t have gotten this far in the middle of the night. It was broad daylight and he was sweating his ass off trying to cover the terrain.

Beacon yelled for attention, and he headed toward the sound of his voice. Unfortunately for him, he chose to cut across a thick patch of wild roses and the fuckers had thousands of thorns. His legs got caught in those damn things and he had to pull himself loose with sheer muscle power. The only tree large enough for him to grab a hold of was covered in poison ivy, and he knew better than to willingly put his hands on the stuff.

Georgie was one of the last to come up on the sight of Gladys lying over a small outcropping of rocks. He came closer and saw her right arm was bent at an awkward angle, and one of her legs was wedged to the knee between two of the larger rocks. She had a large lump on her forehead, and her skin, what he could see of it under the black camo grease, was pale white. Her body was shivering, and she was unconscious. His heart was stuck in his throat as he touched her face. “Oh, doll face, what in the hell were you thinking?”

The rock had to be moved, and it was a good thing he had all this young muscle with him or he’d be digging the rock out by hand. They ended up having to take a couple of sturdy tree branches and wedging them between the rocks under her leg. When they got the rock to move, he pulled her leg up and out of the small crevice.

“Tarzan, you take Beacon, get the speedboat from the campground and bring it over this way. I’d call an ambulance, but they couldn’t get to her here. We’ll have to get her to a place they can reach her as fast as we can. We’ll follow the shoreline with her and you can pick us up.” The men began the trek back to the lodge, while Georgie sat her upright, holding her head on his shoulder for a few minutes to let the blood flow better, at least that was what he told himself.

He kept her propped against him while he unbuckled the belt at her waist. The thing had to weigh ten pounds with the guns in his estimation. He handed it off to Needles. His doll face had some explaining to do.

*****

Show tormented the man he’d been hunting for months. “You gotta think of the irony here. You’re always calling women “dumb assed split tails” and whores. Hell, you’d hide behind your own mother if she hadn’t seen what you were, and had the smarts to kill herself. That female that brought you down might be a goddamned nutcase, but she had the smarts to shoot your ass. I like her style.”

Big Dog and Future should be home by the time he got Dorsey back to the cells. He had a Louisville Slugger waiting for Big D’s old lady to use if she still felt the need. He remembered that it had been her fondest wish. She declared she’d be satisfied if she had a baseball bat and Dorsey in the same room. Show was all about giving the woman what she wanted. After all, she’d encouraged him to follow his dreams and had put her money where her mouth was for him.

Heckle drove up in the double cab dually and Knight waved him down to the dock. Tarzan had just left in the speedboat to pick up Georgie and the rest of the search party, so they could transport Gladys to the hospital in the truck.

Big Dog showed up with Tiny in the panel van and backed it up to the front door of the office cabin. The brothers walked into the door and Show watched Dorsey’s eyes scrunch closed, as his head dropped to the hardwood floor. “'Ol boy’s not looking too happy to see you, Big D.”

The big man was already hauling Dorsey’s ass to the door. He dragged him by the cords wrapped between his feet and wrists while Dorsey screamed in pain at the wounds being reopened when the muscles became strained. “Keep screaming like the chicken shit fucker you are. I got someone that wants to have a reunion with you, and she’s waited long enough.” He kicked the bastard in the side and laughed at the knowledge that he’d just broken ribs, enjoying the new screams of anguish.

Tiny came around and helped him lift the bastard into the back of the van. He slid a noose around Dorsey’s neck, and secured the end of the rope over the rack designed to hang bike parts. Big D went back into the building.

Knight was propped on the back two legs of a dining room chair next to a closet door. His hands were folded over his stomach, but his expression belied his relaxed posture showing it for the lie it was. “What the fuck is going on? I get a call for a pickup and see the gift you boys had for Future. Good capture by the way. And you look like you’re waiting for a rat at a hole in the wall.”

The chair legs hit the floor, and Knight stood, “Thanks, brother, but it wasn’t us.” His thumb indicated the door. “Got a call, mouthy bitch told me to get Georgie here on the trail of Gladys who was somewhere in the damn woods. We get here and this crazy woman with crazy hair and wild eyes, stood there waving a gun around. She’s covered in blood, and Dorsey was already on the floor as you saw him. Georgie’s in the woods with seven others, and I guess they found Gladys in rough shape. They’re picking her up in the speed boat.” He finished his cap of the events and held up his hands.

“The crazy bitch is in the closet, hiding from us. She looks like she’s about to drop from exhaustion or fright, something’s off with her. She won’t answer when I try to talk to her, but I hear a whimper every once in a while.” He beat his fist on the door and they could barely hear the noise Knight talked about. “Get your ass out here.”

He’d been waiting her out all day. It was getting to the point he was ready to rip the door off, but she had a gun, and she looked scared out of her mind. He didn’t want to get shot for no good reason. Sooner or later she’d have to take a piss, or be hungry enough to come out on her own. He didn’t want to hurt the fragile looking woman, but she would learn not to point a gun at a man unless she planned to pull the trigger. Remembering that she’d done just that was no comfort.