Page 39 of Cutter's Hope

“I promised I’d help you find her, Sweetheart. I meant it, I’ll be right here. Try and get some sleep.”

18

Cutter…

Her sleep was uneasy. I woke before her to it being dark outside. Some of the guys were up quietly playing cards with some of the other MC, nervously shifting eyes looking us over from time to time. I slipped my hand out of hers. Someone had taken the bag of ice a while ago. I’d woken up for that, but went right back out.

I smoothed some wayward tendrils of her deep chestnut hair away from her open mouth as she slept on and got up to take a piss. Ruth was waiting outside the bathroom and gave me a chin lift. Right. Detailed explanation was owed. I followed him back to his office, which I think was also their chapel and he shut the door. He took a seat at the head of his table and motioned with his hand. I dropped into the proffered seat and he lit up the stub of a Cuban I think he’d been working on most of the day.

“Mighty fine,” he commented and I smiled.

“Don’t smoke ‘em myself.”

“That’s a damn shame man, you don’t know what you’re missing,” he said. We enjoyed a moment of comfortable silence before we got down to it.

“You gotta fill me in, Man. What’s up with your little Darlin’ out there?”

I sighed, “I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”

Ruth snorted and laughed out loud, “Seems to me you got yourself one hell of a wild cat out there. So what’s doin’? How did you and yours get mixed up in all of this?”

So I explained, every damn bit of it. Me and mine had voted on it and decided it was only fair seeing as we were crashing on Ruth’s turf so hard and so fast and the guy was being so stand up about it.

I told him about the SHMC Lake Run debacle and Ruth shook his head, “That’s a damn fuckin’ shame right there. Now-a-days any ‘ol jackass with a Harley and a notion makes up a club, pulling all manner of bullshit ideas out of the ether. Most of these dumb fuckers don’t know the first thing about what it is to be a part of a brotherhood.”

“Preachin’ to the fuckin’ choir, Man,” I said and heaved a heavy sigh. “Had some trouble with that m’self, a dude by the name of Tiny. Inherited him along with the patch, part of the old guard…” I launched into the next part of the story about how Tiny took it upon himself to off Tonya and how Hope showed up a little under two years later, just last week looking for her and why.

“Hell, not sure I can entirely blame you for wantin’ to help there brother, a fine piece of ass like that walked into my place, I’d want to know what’s what too, damn shame – “

He didn’t finish what he was saying, a crash, some breaking glass, objects scattering across the cement floor out front and what’s more; several outraged shouts of surprise from both my men and his. Ruth and I both were on our feet and moving as one to the chapel door. Ruth thundered up the hall in front of me, shorter than me by a lot, his presence crackled like a thunderhead. We poured out into the main room by the bar to see cots overturned, and Hope on the ground. She had one of the Voodoo bastards between her legs, choking the shit out of him. I laughed, she had more than that, she was about to rip the poor bastard’s arm out of its socket.

Ruth squatted down by his man and tsked shaking his head, “What’d you do to piss off the lady, Rusty?” he asked his man. Rusty let out a strangled gurgle in response.

“Radar!” He was my man in charge of security, he’d better have a fuckin’ answer for me.

“Aye, Captain?”

“Report.”

“I was takin’ a piss, Sir,” he said plainly unhappy. I looked Hope in the eyes and met cold dark fury.

“Can you fill me in, Sweetheart?”

“Stop struggling or I’m going to break it!” she snarled at the man in her grip and wrenched down on him tighter with her legs, Rusty’s feet went to kicking and Ruth laughed.

“Let ‘im up, Darlin’, you’re going to choke him to death,” he chuckled and stood up himself. I like that Hope looked to me for confirmation before doing anything. I gave her a nod and quicker than light she’d shoved Rusty away from her and had lightly and silently gotten to her feet. She stood staring down those long, toned legs at the man writhing on the floor, sucking in air.

“Woke up with his hands where they didn’t belong,” she said darkly.

“Is that right?” Ruth asked.

Hope came to me and tucked herself into my side, shuddering with revulsion. She wasn’t hurt that I could tell but some injuries, no matter how capable or strong you are, aren’t physical things. Especially for a woman.

“Where was his hands?” I asked.

“Down her panties, wasn’t they?” one of the Voodoo Bastards asked. Ruth looked murderous, like off the fucking charts pissed.

“That true, Boy? You better answer me truthful now,” he said. Rusty was still trying to suck in air and was coughing miserably but he nodded.

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