Page 23 of Glory

“No, Glory, that’s not why we are here, but we do have some news.”

As I’m talking, Yoggie comes back out, catching Glory as she almost falls right into him. Then he puts his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in. When he kisses the top of her head, I can hear just about every one of us sigh. When he looks our way, his eyes meet mine.

“Tink, can one or two of the prospects go sit in with Olivia? I’m getting the feeling that maybe we should take this to either the garage or pole barn. I’d appreciate it if Olivia isn’t left alone. She’s worried like crazy in there, so whoever goes in, she’s been crying.”

Before I can say a word both Peanut and Kiwi step forward.

“We got this, Prez. Yoggie, we’ll keep her company. Do you want her to stay in bed, or can we maybe watch some television until she calms down? Also, how about some warm milk, might help?”

Hearing Peanut speak up, I can’t believe how far she’s come in the last year. I remember her when she first came to us, she barely looked at anyone let alone talked.

“Yoggie, yeah, probably the pole barn. It’s bigger, if that’s okay. Glory, just a few more minutes then we’ll share with you what we found out tonight. And just so you know, I made sure those motherfucking bastards suffered until they took their last breaths.”

Hearing Zoey’s voice filled with emotion, I’m struggling not to start bawling, but Hannah squeezes my hand so tight my mind goes blank. I look at her and she is watching me like a hawk. I hold on to her hand, and we all start to walk to the pole barn. The whole way there I’m struggling to find the words that will undoubtedly break my VP’s heart.

TWENTY-TWO

‘YOGGIE’

SEBASTIAN

I can feel the mood between the Devil’s Handmaidens sisters, not to mention the looks going between Noodles, Panther, and Avalanche. My gut is telling me my Bae’s world is going to be torn apart. I catch Noodles’s eyes and he shakes his head slowly. Can’t stop to question him as I’m holding Nora up as we walk to the pole barn.

Once in, everyone walks over to what I’ve started to make into a man cave slash movie area. I have all kinds of seating due to the kitchen area I just finished and added a table and six chairs. So as everyone finds a seat, I walk to the refrigerator and pull out waters and put them on the table before repeating it again.

The way Tink is panicking and glancing at Shadow, who is actually looking like she might cry, scares the shit out of me. If that woman is emotional, might as well shoot me now. I’ve never seen her show a lick of emotions. Once everyone is sitting and looking around, Tink stands as do Noodles and Shadow. Panther and Avalanche are standing against the wall close to Shadow. Oh, this is beyond bad, it’s going to be earth-shattering. It dawns on me the entire club is here. Well, we might be missing one or two of the sisters, but damn near the entire club.

Surprisingly Shadow takes the lead, though Tink is right beside her. Noodles is now behind both of them, a hand on each of their shoulders. The men know already.

“Glory, as you know we had to work over some of those assholes at our trucking company. During that some shit came out and, unfortunately, it involves you. Now, as you can see, just about the whole club is here to support you in whatever you need. So not gonna keep you in agony. One of the men broke down totally and when I questioned him about Lilly, he did tell us she was at a compound but he didn’t know which one. He did say they move her every couple of months from what they’d heard. Remember these are worker bees who are expendable. After working him harder, he told us that even if we found her, she wouldn’t leave, no matter what. When I asked him why, he explained that no way Lilly would leave because she’d have to leave her child behind, and she would never do it.”

Shaking my head, I know I didn’t hear Shadow correctly. Glory is completely still, staring at Shadow with no expression on her face. One second she’s almost comatose, then the next she’s up and running toward Shadow. When her first punch hits Shadow, her nose bursts blood. Through the next few minutes Glory wails on Shadow, and not once does she try to protect herself. I’ve never seen a woman just stand and take a beatdown like she is. What surprises me is that not one of the other women try to stop Glory but stand close, watching every swing, punch, and occasional kick.

When Glory starts to slow down, Shadow raises her arm to wipe her face but still not a word at all. I can already see her eyes turning black from the broken nose. Her lip is cracked and also bleeding. Then I hear Glory gasp as she takes in the damage she caused. Her bloodied hands cover her face. I walk over to her, pulling her back to my front. She instantly goes limp in my arms. That’s when Tink comes over to us both. She grabs Glory’s hands, hanging on to them.

“Sister, look at me. Now, Nora. I know what you are going through. No, you know I do. Don’t get pissed off or draw into yourself. As hard as that was to hear, you know more than you did earlier. No, I’m not making light of this, just trying to put it into perspective. We can’t do anything to change what’s happened to Lilly up to this point. All that’s left for us to do is find her, bring her and the little one back here, and help them both try to heal. You can do that and every one of us will help too. It’s up to you but this I promise you; this club will not stop until the Thunder Club Knuckle Brotherhood is put to ground.”

I can hear the emotion in Tink’s voice and I feel the way Nora’s body jerks with her words. When she pulls away from my body, I let her go because I know she wants to get to Tink. Watching them fall into each other, holding on tightly as they sob together, it takes but a second or two before Shadow and the rest of the women surround them. I look to see all the men looking anywhere but at the bunch of women holding on to each other.

Time passes and when I see that the women are not going to separate, I walk over to where Noodles, Panther, and Avalanche are now all leaning against the wall. When I get closer, Noodles pulls me into his side, slapping my back.

“Sorry, brother, for the intrusion but when Shadow beat the information out of them, she couldn’t hold back. Then she called Tink and the rest you know. Watch out for your ol’ lady ’cause this shit will hit her when she least expects it. These women are strong but it’s that soft center we need to protect.”

I nod before hitting the wall myself. Running my hands through my hair, I hear Panther and Avalanche whispering before the big man walks out. Panther leans out to see me next to Noodles.

“Avalanche is going to wake up the rest of our crew so they can start searching the area for any kind of unusual people around. Also, we have a pretty good nerd who can make a computer sing. He’ll get to work on any of the brotherhood names we know of and try to find where they are right now. When it gets to be morning, I’ll reach out to Ollie to see if he has any ideas of what can be done. He has connections, so between him and Tank maybe we can get an arial view to see if there’s any movement in the rural areas. That’s where this group tends to populate because they can then get away with the shit they are pulling. I’m also reaching out to a couple of my contacts in the FBI and CIA to see if they have any teams working on the Thunder Club Knuckle Brotherhood, and if so, what they’ve found out so far. Keep the faith, Yoggie, she’s one of ours just like you are, and we protect our family.”

Coming from Panther, a man I’ve admired since we first met, it hits me, the sincerity I hear in his voice. I’ve watched him and I’ve wished for some of his patience and humility. He is what he is and nothing more or less. Lives humbly and never have I heard him complain or bitch about shit. I believe it comes from his heritage but also because that’s the man he wants to be. Trying to keep my emotions at bay, somehow, he knows and walks over to me, pulling me in tightly, giving me what I needed from a friend.

When he lets me go, he looks me in the eye but doesn’t say a single word. I feel something move in me and suddenly my vision seems clearer and the weight in my chest seems to be lighter. I just return the stare, not sure what the fuck is going on. I’ve heard talk that both Panther and Avalanche are empaths, but this is the very first time I’m experiencing it. When I’m feeling calmer, he squeezes my shoulders then lets me go and moves back over next to Noodles.

I look over to the group of women. They are sitting at the table, have pulled the stools from the small island, and are in deep conversation. Nora seems to be holding her own, but time will tell. Honestly, Tink and Shadow look worse than my Bae. Hannah is glued to Nora’s side, while I see Raven already pounding her laptop keys. Heartbreaker is making coffee while Wildcat talks to her, sipping on a cup of coffee, I’m assuming.

This night that started as a nightmare is shifting, so maybe something good will come of it. In the morning I’m gonna talk to Tank and Enforcer, get some outside insight. With all of us working together we’ll find a way to rescue Lilly and her child. I also know, even though she’s not said too much, Nora is worried about Gino. I’m not jealous in the least, if she wasn’t I’d be worried, for Christ’s sake. He was her husband and father to her children.

Figuring on giving the women their time, I walk outside, taking in some deep gulps of nighttime air, crisp and cold enough to chase away my tiredness. Walking toward the house, I figure to check in on Olivia. When I open the door, I quickly walk in and close it. On the sectional is a mound of blankets and all three are fast asleep. Peanut is lying down with Olivia at her side. Kiwi is at the other side with Olivia’s legs over her lap. I can give this to Nora so she doesn’t worry.

Turning, I start to go back out but first set the alarm. Then when I’m out, I lock the door. Can’t be too careful right now. With my head clearer, I go back into the pole barn to see what’s going to be the next step to ridding the world of this brotherhood. Time to get fucking serious and take care of business. I’m getting into my military mindset, which can be dangerous if it mixes with the biker in me.

---