Page 37 of Cutter's Hope

“Put these in my office and get these men settled and comfortable. You get me?”

“Yes, Sir, right away. Anything else?” he asked.

“Girls up?”

“Not yet, Sir.”

“Well, get ‘em up and ready to suck some dick, looks like some of these fellas could use it, go on now,” he waved the prospect off and I straddled my bike, Hope was astride hers and had mouthed ‘thank you’ at me while whipping that long hair of hers into a French braid and tying it off with a band from around her wrist. Her face was now hidden behind the emotionless black facemask of her helmet.

“Fall back where he tells you,” I told her and she nodded.

Ruth got on his bike, a fat purple gold and black Harley, and fired it up. His two boys, Hex and La Croix followed suit. Hex didn’t seem so bad, a regular looking blue collar Joe but La Croix, he was a scary looking mother fucker. The kind of scary you didn’t want to encounter in a back alley late at night. Big, bald and mean looking with a set of blue tribal tattoos across his scalp, he wore his cut over a tee with the sleeves ripped off.

His arms crawled with some scary badass ink in twin full sleeves and his eyes were hidden by a pair of wrap around black sunglasses. He had no flash on his cut denoting office so I was betting that La Croix here was Ruthie’s enforcer. Hell, he had ‘enforcer’ traced all over him. From the set of his shoulders to the jut of his jaw, everything about him screamed that if you crossed him he’d just straight up fuckin’ kill you.

Ruth got his bike going and I sat my helmet on my head and buckled up. He put his brain bucket on after tying a purple bandanna over his shaved scalp and put on a pair of clear lenses to protect his eyes. I was sporting a pair of yellow shooter’s glasses myself. As the two presidents, we would ride even. That was a given.

“Hey Darlin’!” he called to Hope, she nodded in his direction to indicate she’d heard, “Why don’t you ride behind me?” he asked with a wink and she nodded again. I threw hand gestures at Lightning and Radar, my Enforcer and SAA, and they fell in where indicated. Ruth looked impressed and with a nod indicating our readiness, we rode out.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check on Hope like every three seconds the whole way there. She was tense and there was a lot riding on this for her. I just wondered where it all would lead. For her, for her sister, and yeah even for me. I guess we would just have to see.

17

Hope…

I was exhausted. It was pushing twenty-four hours since I last slept, and I knew for Cutter it had been the same. I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead but they kept straying ahead and to the right of me, to the sun shining down on Cutter’s back, turning the orange threads of the kraken dragging the broken ship beneath the waves bright. I knew I was breaking down, that the tired was catching up to me when I found myself wishing we could just stop for a minute so Cutter could pull me into the shelter of his arms.

I was afraid of what, or who, I would find wearing my sister’s skin.Prostitution…The word rattled ugly in my head, a whisper from the pervading darkness at the edge of my being that was constantly threatening to swallow me whole if I would let it. The darkness that had, apparently, snatched my sister right out from under me, rolled her, swallowed her whole and dragged her under completely.

It wouldn’t keep her, I wouldn’t let it. There was no way I could let it. As soon as we came up within sight distance of the Sherriff’s office sign, I showed these guys just why it was I loved my baby. With a sharp, angry whine I gunned her, and shot out from around Ruth, passing him by as if he and Cutter both were standing still. I caught a glimmer of dissatisfaction on both of their faces and saw Cutter shake his head ruefully and shout something to Ruth in my rearview but I would deal with whatever it was later. Right now I was throwing down the kickstand to my bike and striding to the door, pulling my helmet off as I went.

I bee lined for the sheriff’s office lobby, my heart hammering in my chest, crawling up into my throat as I breezed through the front door and right up to the glassed in front counter. I set my helmet down on the ledge in front of the old school partition and waited for the deputy behind the desk to acknowledge my existence, vaguely aware of Cutter, Lightning, and Radar hovering in my background by the glass doors I’d just come through. I glanced back over my shoulder and Cutter gave me a nod of support.

Baby Ruth and his two men sat and stood around the bikes in the early morning sunshine, smoking and shooting the shit. I didn’t blame them for not coming in, I doubted they were on the level where the cops were concerned. I swallowed and my impatience mounted as the deputy behind the glass continued to ignore me. Finally, with a gusty sigh, he looked up.

“What can I help you with miss?” he asked and I wanted to throat punch him for the bored tone he used with me. I smiled bravely instead, to hide my irritation and voice surprisingly steady, for how I felt like I was going to fall apart, told him why I was here.

“Yes, you have my sister, Faith Dobbins in custody. I’ve come to bail her out,” he turned back to his computer screen like he hadn’t heard me even though I knew he had.

“Let’s see… let’s see… Dobbins… Dobbins… Oh yep, looks like you’re too late, her boyfriend and his lawyer bailed her out something like two hours ago.” My stomach bottomed out, my heart dropping clean through it.

“What are you talking about?” my voice sounded shocked and hollow and I caught Cutter and his boys going still, their reflection in the glass just losing all movement as if a predator had just gone by, except that I knew the predator was me and what they were really afraid of was me losing my shit.

They were right to be afraid, because all the strings holding my emotions in check had been frayed by twelve plus hours on the road coupled with two years of fervent looking only to reach this time, this place, right here and right now to be told that I’d lost Faith all over again…

That I’d missed her by two fucking hours!? When they knew I was coming!? Oh hell no!

“Answer me you son of a bitch!” I grated, my fury bubbling to the surface, “What are you fucking talking about she’s been bailed out!?”

“I suggest you adjust your tone, Missy,” the Deputy narrowed his beady hazel eyes and I lost it, I hit the glass that separated us with the heel of my hand hard enough that my skin split and left behind a smear of blood. The Deputy jumped and had the grace to at least look a little scared as the blood thrummed through my veins, I could feel my face flushing, my temples throbbing in time with my heart beat.

“Where is she!? Who took my sister!? Who bailed her out!?” I demanded, a buzzing like an angry swarm of bees filling my ears. I felt Cutter coming up behind me saw his reflection nearing, but held my ground.

“Answer me!” I snapped.

“I don’t have to tell you that, what’s more I won’t tell you that. You should ask your sister,” he sneered from behind the safety of his glass and I hooked a fist into it, the glass spider webbing and cracking, Cutter was suddenly there, arms hooking under my arms, hands locking behind my head in a Full Nelson as I thrashed.

“Nope, come on Baby Doll, time to take a breather!” he said in my ear, then shot back over his shoulder, “Lightning, Radar, see what you can find out please while I take my girl here for a time out.”

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