Heart Recaptured

AK and Smiler glanced to each other, seeming to debate on what the hell to share. I stepped forward, drawing their attention, and said, “Whatever you gotta say, brothers, you better start talking.”

AK sat back on the sofa and said, “We saw something, but no, we never saw Lilah.”

“What did you see?” Hush asked. “We gotta know everything if we’re going in.”

Smiler’s brows furrowed and he said, “We were well back, but we heard some crazy Bible shit being piped through huge speakers.” They glanced to each other again and that only served to piss me off.

“Stop fuckin’ staring into each other’s eyes and tell me what the fuck you saw!” I shouted, catching AK gritting his teeth

“You wanna know what we saw? We saw a motherfuckin’ orgy. A shitload of folk fuckin’ on a huge patch of grass, pussies and cocks everywhere, fuckin’ each other in every hole they could find, while shouting some crazy language we didn’t understand.”

“Never seen anything like it,” Smiler added.

Every part of me froze, and AK stood, putting his hand on my shoulder. “It was like some crazy sex cult, brother. Neither of us caught Lilah, but that don’t mean she weren’t there.”

Flame visibly shook and looked to Styx. “When we going in?”

Styx looked to Smiler and AK and raised his eyebrows, silently asking the question.

“We were thinking nightfall,” Smiler answered. “We got a pretty good idea what we’ll get for the first couple of miles, but it’ll be all surprises from then. Darkness will give us the extra coverage we’ll need to track down Lilah. And brother…” Smiler turned to me. “We will fuckin’ get her… at any cost. Even if I didn’t like the bitch, her staying in that fucked-up place wouldn’t sit right with me.”

“And the guns,” Bull said. “We gotta try and know what they’re stocking. Those fuckers are still just outside’a Austin. They’re gonna be making a play for our turf in no time at all. This could mean a fuckin’ all-out war with the cunts. And now they’re in with the KKK? Shit’s not looking good.”

“Everyone good with going in at nightfall?” Styx signed, nodding at what Bull had said.

A round of ayes sounded, and I said, “Who’s going in? ‘Cause I’m going and I don’t wanna hear no shit about it.”

Styx nodded and pointed to AK, Smiler, Cowboy, Hush, him, and me. “We six go, but, Ky?” I watched my best friend’s hands. “It’s AK and Smiler’s lead, right?”

My jaw clenched so hard it fuckin’ ached, but I replied, “Right.”

“Tank, Bull, Flame, Vike, you guys protect the club. No fucker comes in.” They all jerked their chin in agreement, but Flame growled.

“I’m coming,” Flame spat, looking as crazy as shit in his leathers, no shirt, and only his cut on top. “Don’t dare leave me outta this shit. I’m coming.”

AK walked to Flame. “Brother, this is an in-and-out mission. No fuckin’ drama or those nut jobs’ll catch us all and crucify our asses. This isn’t some pussy-ass hippy shit we’re dealing with. This version of the cult is fuckin’ locked and loaded to take any fucker out that crosses their turf.”

Flame stared at AK like he weren’t even listening, but he said, “I’m still coming. I’ll shut the fuck up.” Flame smiled and it just looked fuckin’ creepy on the freak. “The ways I can kill don’t need to have sound.”

I saw the apprehension on all the brothers’ faces, but I for one would feel better knowing that murdering bastard had my back.

“Then we go in tonight,” Styx signed. “Get rest. Y’all are gonna need it.”

Each brother tapped me on the shoulder as they left the bar to go to their rooms, leaving me with Styx. I threw him a jerk of my chin and went to hit the sack, when he stopped me with a grip on my arm. He let go to sign, “If this cult under Rider’s got worse than the fucked-up one our bitches were brought up in, then you need to prepare yourself, brother.”

“She’s only been gone a couple’a days. We’re gonna be back before those assholes hurt her,” I replied, but I knew I was fooling myself, as did Styx if his fucking pitiful expression was anything to go by. As soon as Lilah walked back into that commune, she was gonna be hauled into seclusion for those bastards to “save her.” She’d told me so herself.

“Go be with Mae,” I said and almost ran to my room. Slamming the door, my back hit the wood, and I slid to the floor, my head dropping into my hands.