“We’re on Porter land.”
“So?”
Cash shook his head squatting down by a tree. “She rested here, someone found her and she left with them in that direction.” He pointed at an area to their left.
“How the hell do you know all that?” Shade said, staring at the ground.
“Because whomever took her was riding a mud puppy. The good news is it left us a trail a blind man can follow.” Now that they had easier signs to follow, it didn’t take them long to come to the large house built into a clearing.
“Son of a bitch.” They hunkered down as close to the house as they could get without being seen from the occupants within.
“Let’s go,” Rider said when they saw the four-wheeler they had been tracking parked in front of the house.
“Get down,” Cash hissed.
“Why, let’s just knock on the fucking door,” Rider tried to reason.
“You knock on their door, the coroner will be scraping what brains you have left off that front porch. Listen to me, the Porter’s are the biggest weed growers in the county.” Cash tried to explain the danger they were in. You just didn’t walk onto a weed dealer’s property in this area of the county.
Cash didn’t take his eyes off the house. Coming to a decision, he turned to Rider and realized Shade was gone.
“He’s going for her, dammit.” With no other option left, he ordered Rider to stay where he was. Coming out of the cover of the trees, he walked to the front door. He didn’t make it close before the door was opened. Cash knew the son of a bitch who came out of the door holding a shotgun pointed at him.
“Get off my land.”
“Greer, it’s Cash Adams.”
“I can see who you are, fuckwad. Get your ass off my property.” Greer didn’t raise his voice, the shotgun got his message across.
Cash bet he could. He had a fucking spotlight for a porch light.
“My friend’s fiancée’s sister found herself in trouble tonight, took off into the woods. We’re trying to find her.”
“Haven’t seen anyone tonight, other than you and that chicken shit you have hiding over by that tree,” Greer said, cocking his shotgun.
“Rider, come out.” When he didn’t, Cash knew where Dustin was.
“Dustin, you better not hurt him or you’re going to have deal with The Last Riders. You won’t have anything but scorched earth left to grow that weed you’re so proud of.”
“Shut the fuck up, Cash,” another voice from behind his back spoke, pressing a gun muzzle against the back of his head.
“Wondering where you were Tate. Will you tell your crazy assed brothers to back off? We just want Lily and we’ll go.” Cash tried to reason with the oldest brother.
“There isn’t any woman here!” yelled Greer.
“He always was a dumb fuck,” Cash sighed. “You better make them see reason Tate. You don’t want trouble with The Last Riders.”
“You think you’re going to scare me with a motorcycle gang?” Tate said quietly.
“The woman is ours. She got lost and we’re trying to find her to give her back to her sister Tate.”
The gun muzzle pressed harder against his head. “Why should we give her back, maybe this time we should steal one of your women, Cash. See how you like it.”
“Stop it Tate. Put down that shotgun Greer. Dustin bring out his friend.” In the doorway, Cash could see a woman come outside. The shining spotlight only allowed him to see her silhouette as she leaned against the front porch post.
“Put down your guns and leave them alone.” All three men slowly lowered their weapons, reluctantly following the woman’s firm orders.
“Rachel, get back in the house,” Greer told her.
“No need. While you three dumbasses were out here arguing, their buddy was climbing in the bedroom window.”
Tate shoved Cash’s shoulder as he walked past him to the porch. Dustin came out with Rider in a stranglehold, throwing him forward before he went to stand on the porch.
“Rider!” Cash stopped Rider before he could attack Dustin. Rider stopped, but Cash knew Rider wasn’t happy being called off.
Cash and Rider both walked to the front porch. As he moved closer, he saw Rachel. He hadn’t seen her since she was a kid. Her long hair was plaited down her back, coming to an end at the curve of her ass. She stared back at him with direct grey eyes and a winsome smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the famous Cash Adams,” she said mockingly.
Cash took in the oversize flannel shirt and loose jeans.
“How are you Rachel?”
“I was doing pretty good until I heard gunshots when I was checking my plants, went to see where the shot come from and found Lily sitting on the ground spaced out,” she said with a worried frown.
“We will take her back to her sister,” Cash said, studying the changes in her body since the last time he had seen her in town surrounded by her brothers.
“I want to talk to Beth before anyone takes her anywhere,” Rachel told him firmly. Cash didn’t argue, pulling his cell phone out to call Razer. Rachel was trying to protect Lily. He admired the way she was able to control her crazy ass brothers while letting Cash know he wasn’t taking Lily anywhere without Beth’s okay.
“Razer, there’s someone that Beth needs to talk to….”
Shade leaned against the wall, evaluating the situation before making a move towards Lily. Rachel had left, leaving them alone after a quick word. He was lucky that he had met her before, when he had made a couple of purchases for the brothers.
Lily was sitting in the corner of the bedroom on the floor with her face in her knees, arms wrapped around herself, rocking back and forth. The red rubber band the counselor had given her was on her delicate wrist. Penni had told him the counselor had told Lily to snap it against herself when she became too frightened to deal with a situation. Penni had told him that at first she would see Lily snapping it constantly, but it had begun tapering off to just a few times a day.
“Lily?” Shade tried to soften his harsh voice. He had seen her this way a couple of times. Beth had told Razer that only time would draw her out of her self-induced trance. It was her safety mechanism.
Shade slowly walked toward Lily before hunching down in front of her rocking form.
“Lily.” This time his voice was more forceful, commanding her attention. The rocking stopped. Coming to a decision, Shade reached out lifting her into his arms. It wasn’t the smartest decision, he found himself with a wildcat in his arms.
The unexpected fury of the woman had him forcing her against the wall to gain control of the nails going for his eyes. Pinning her against the wall with his body, he didn’t try to grab her hands, merely blocking her moves.
“Lily stop it now!” He said in a firm voice. “Aren’t you worried about Winter, she’s worried about you. She was crying she was so worried, Lily. Beth is probably scared out of her fucking mind, Lily.” Shade kept her pinned against the wall as he kept repeating Beth’s and Winter’s names. Finally he saw a light of reality break through her blank expression.
“Shade?” Her voice whimpered.
“Yes, baby.”
Lily sucked in deep breaths as if her chest was going to explode. Her hand wiped at the tears on her face. “Is Winter safe?”
“Yes, Beth’s friends stopped and helped. Winter is waiting with Beth. They are both waiting to hear from us. You okay?” Shade asked worried about the blood he had found on her clothes. His eyes searched her body finding a scratch with drying blood on the underside of her forearm.
Lily nodded her head still trying to catch her breath. “Lily, breathe slowly,” Shade ordered her in a hard voice.
Lily jumped, but her breaths gradually slowed. Shade took a step back giving her some room.
“Can we go now?” Lily said, her soft voice gaining strength. Lily sidled pass Shade making sure her body didn’t come into contact with his.
“Yes.” Shade backed away g
iving her enough room to slide by him.
Shade opened the bedroom door, letting Lily go ahead of him following her outside.
Lily walked out the door coming to a sudden stop, finding the yard filled with The Last Riders. Winter watched from the back of Viper’s bike as Beth jumped off of Razer’s bike running to her sister, nearly knocking her down. Shade’s hand on Lily’s back held her steady. Winter smiled. After the sisters talked for a few minutes, they moved toward Razer’s bike.
Shade got on his bike and started the motor. Viper had Knox ride it up the old mountain road to be waiting on Shade. Knox was now riding with Rider. Viper fired his engine too, waiting.
Shade rode his bike up next to Lily.
“Lily,” Winter could tell by her face she didn’t want to ride on that bike, she wanted the safety of her sisters arms. She wasn’t ready to lose her comforting strength after the nightmare of the night. Winter heard Beth ask Razer to call Mick to bring her car.
“Get on Lily, I’m taking you home.” Shade’s firm voice had Lily moving reluctantly towards him. She climbed on behind him, holding his sides with her legs, and trembling hands taking his helmet. As soon as it was on, Shade throttled his engine.
“Let’s go home, pretty girl.” Viper pulled out in the lead with the other’s following down the winding road. Winter wasn’t afraid of riding in the dark anymore. With The Last Riders, she didn’t have anything left to fear.
Chapter 18
Winter nervously smoothed down her skirt. Viper grasped her hand giving it a squeeze.
“Don’t look so nervous,” Viper said smoothly.
He wasn’t helping; Viper was part of the problem. He was dressed in one of his suits looking like the cold-hearted bastard before her assault.
“That’s easy for you to say, they’re too scared of you to say anything nasty.”
“If they know what’s good for them, they won’t say anything nasty about you either,” Viper said in a threatening voice.
Ms. Richards came out of the closed doors of the School Board’s meeting.
“They are going to call us back in a few minutes. They are going to open the meeting to the public. I wish you would have taken my advice and waited for your hearing.”
Her lawyer didn’t sound very happy with her decision. Winter could understand her apprehension, looking around the hallway at the public ready to fill the meeting room. All the women of The Last Rider’s were present. That morning as she was leaving she found everyone waiting for her in the kitchen, including Viper who had disappeared while she was in the shower.
All the women dressed in their regular clothes brought Winter to a standstill. They had informed her that they were going with her to the meeting. Of course afterward they planned on dragging her to the local tattoo shop for her long overdue tat.
Viper had told her, the day after the deputy’s attack, that all eight original members had given her their vote for trying to save Lily’s life. Winter had managed to avoid the tattoo until now. The women were determined that it was time that she made it official, she was a Last Rider. Winter gave in with a smile knowing they were right.
Ms. Richards, on the other hand, was not as moved as she was by their show of support, asking snidely if she wanted her job. Winter had remained quiet, sucking up the haughty woman’s comment. When Viper would have let the woman have it, Winter merely shook her head pleadingly, just wanting to get the ordeal over.
The doors to the school board meeting opened, giving the public entrance to the rest of the meeting. As they were about to go through the door, the outside door opened and the biker bitches came through the door. Winter’s face paled at their appearance. They were wearing their tight blue jeans and leather jackets with biker boot heels. Winter seriously wanted to melt in a puddle. Beth, seeing them come through the doorway, hurried forward hoping to prevent them from coming into the meeting.
“Sex Piston, did you need something?” Beth asked quickly, hoping to get them out of the building before they were seen.
“Nope, when you texted me this morning saying you couldn’t keep your hair appointment and why, we decided to come too. If it was important enough for The Last Riders women to be here, then we needed to be here. The bitch needs all the support she can get.” Sex Piston nodded her head at Winter.
“It’s all right, the room is already almost full. I don’t want you to go through the bother. Why don’t we meet in the diner in an hour?” Winter came forward, also trying to divert them.
“Girl, there’s nothing more important than standing up for another bitch,” Crazy Bitch butted in, her breasts barely squeezed into her tight t-shirt.
T.A., Killyama, and another one that they introduced as Fat Louise ignored her, moving on towards the meeting room. Ms. Richards, striding out of the meeting room, came to a full stop when she saw who Winter was talking too.
“What are you doing here?” She asked sternly.
Winter didn’t understand her question until she realized she was talking to Sex Piston.
“Giving our bitch moral support. Why you here, Diamond?” Sex Piston answered
“I have told you not to call me that,” she hissed.
“It’s your fucking name bitch,” Sex Piston hissed back.
Her haughty lawyer lost her cool. “Don’t talk like trash.”
“I’m gonna tell mom you called me trash,” Sex Piston told her.
“You do and if she calls me, I’ll smack you silly,” Ms. Richards warned.
Winter’s mouth dropped open when it dawned on her they were sisters and Sex Piston was obviously the younger of the two. The resemblance was there. Both had the same shade of red hair and hazel eyes. Sex Piston was thinner than her sister who was heavier, but just as curvy.
Ms. Richards inhaled sharply before she gathered her professional persona around her like a cloak.
“If you lose this case, it won’t be my fault. You cannot flaunt your lifestyle and expect to keep a job in this community,” she told Winter. “I can’t perform miracles. If you really want to support her, go home Sex Piston and take your whore friends with you.” She started to leave, but turned back to Sex Piston for her final insult.
“If mom calls me, I’ll tell her to fuck off, so it’s up to you if you want to start another fight between us.” She concluded the conversation without a word of goodbye to her sister.
Sex Piston stood there and Winter could see that her sister’s words had hurt.
Winter stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“Let’s go in Sex Piston.” She owed these women her life. She wasn’t going to insult them by asking them to leave.
Once everyone was seated, the meeting was called to order. The meeting started with discussions of the budget. Ben Stiles read the next item on the docket, which was to terminate Winter’s employment. Ms. Richards stood to her feet. When they gave her permission to speak, she gave clear and concise reasons why Winter should not be fired, stating her professional record and the contributions she made to the school system as a whole. Not just the high school, she often volunteered performing duties beyond her job description. Several of her students had shown up also to support her, giving their testimonials of what she had been able to accomplish for their future. Then her fellow colleagues were asked to speak.
“They hire her back, I’m going to go back and get my diploma,” Crazy Bitch whispered loudly to Sex Piston.
“You’re too old,” Sex Piston told her, not trying to whisper.
“I’m not too old, I’m just twenty-five.”
“That’s too old, those snooty bitches,” Sex Piston nodded toward the high school teachers that had came to support Winter, “would be afraid you’d fuck the boys and turn the girls into bitches.”
“Don’t want no young dick,” Crazy Bitch refuted, not denying the possibly about recruiting the girls.
“You’d fuck young stud dick,” Killyama broke into the conversation.
“Don’t fuck
young dick, wouldn’t fuck them stuck-up bastards behind that big desk either,” Crazy Bitch argued back.
Winter bit her knuckle as they talked, having long since regretted inviting the biker bitches to stay.
“Two of them are women,” Sex Piston said popping her gum.
“Which ones?” Both Crazy Bitch and Killyama scrutinized the school board members.
The board stopped further testimonials, calling for a vote while several members glared at the women. Actually there were three female board members Winter counted.
Winter jumped to her feet. “Before you judge my future employment, I would like a chance to speak.”
“Go ahead.” Ben Stiles motioned her towards the podium.
“First, I would like to thank the School Board for taking time in their busy schedule to give me a fair opportunity to explain.” Winter described her attack and her recovery at The Last Riders. “I will not deny I am in a committed relationship with Mr. James, who is the president of The Last Riders, but in all fairness, the board must admit it is not in my contract that I couldn’t live out of wedlock with a male. Furthermore, I feel that it is hypocritical to hold it against me for living with Loker James when two members of the school board share a similar situation.”
“Loker James has also become an important member of our community and will, in the near future, be one of Treepoint’s largest employers. Next week, they will start hiring for over fifty positions that will also pay a very generous salary with full benefits.”
The school board perked up immediately, new business meant collecting more in taxes.
“If I cannot find employment in Treepoint, we have decided to move to Ohio, where Mr. James has an existing factory and I will be able to find a job in the field of education which I love. Mr. James has no ties to this town. It was his brother who was murdered by one of the very members who used to seat on this board. Both of us would like to see his brother’s dream of helping our financially deprived community find opportunities and wouldn’t want this board’s decision to effect the community by denying them much needed employment.”