Hell Fire Riders MC: The Complete MC Series, page 29
Georgia couldn’t help it her throat felt so dry. Her body felt overheated and she needed to cool down. Her nausea was back and she did feel like she would vomit, but she held it back. Handing the glass back to him over half full, she groaned and fell back on the bed. “Oh god, I don’t feel so good.” She groaned.
“Do you need the bathroom?” he asked.
Georgia nodded slowly. “That might be a good idea.”
Caine set the glass on the table and assisted her to her feet.
Georgia groaned and with his help got to her feet. Her body ached in protest but she had to move. Her bladder was full and her nausea was kicking up again. When the blanket fell off her shoulders, she didn’t even care that her shirt was gone. She shuffled her feet forward and with his help, moved toward the bathroom.
“Can you manage by yourself?” Caine asked.
“I think so.”
Caine stepped out and closed the door behind him but he didn’t latch it shut.
Georgia held onto the sink as she made her way the last few steps to the toilet. She barely got seated when her bladder let loose, and she closed her eyes in relief. When she finished, she got up and pulled her clothes back on. Then she looked into the mirror above the sink and groaned at the sight of her face.
The door cracked open and she saw Caine standing there.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I was just taking stock of the damage.”
Caine opened the door fully and came to her. “I wouldn’t take too much notice in what happened. Bruises heal quickly.” He handed her the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders again.
Georgia groaned as she pulled the blanket around her body. “But who knew they hurt so much…”
Caine smiled faintly. “Yeah, they do that but even over time, the hurt fades.”
Georgia gazed into the mirror and caught his eyes. “There may not be that much time.” She frowned as she tried to determine what time of the day it was. “What time is it?” she asked.
Caine glanced over at the window in his room. “It’s still dark outside, so the sun isn’t up yet, why?”
“We need to leave before they find us,” she insisted. “Daylight might be too late.”
“Excuse me?” he frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I need to get out of here. It isn’t safe. I need to get a message to a friend. Can you help me?”
Caine searched her reflection in the mirror and shook his head. “You can’t even walk on your own yet. I don’t think you’re up to going anywhere, except back to bed.”
Georgia stumbled toward him. She hated that her body was so weak. Sweat poured from her forehead and began running down the sides of her face. “You don’t understand, this is important. I don’t know what’s going on yet, but I have a feeling something terrible is about to happen here.” She swayed as she spoke.
Caine frowned and grabbed her. Pulling her close to him, he stared into her face. “You’re going back to bed. We can talk about this later.”
“No.” She tried to shake her head but got too dizzy. Groaning, she laid her head against his chest. “I need to get a hold of my friend. This cannot wait.”
Caine swept her into his arms and carried her back to the bed. “You aren’t going anywhere until you feel better.” As soon as he laid her back down, she tried to roll to the other side. When she tried to sit up Caine grabbed her and laid her back down.
Holding her down by her shoulders, he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t quit struggling. “You can’t go anywhere right now. You have a fever. One more day isn’t going to make a difference.”
Georgia struggled as much as she could against his hold and her strength gave out a lot sooner than she hoped it would. “I can’t be sick right now. I need to get a hold of Mountain. I have to tell him what I found out.”
A slight knock sounded at the door and Caine called out, “Come in.”
When the door opened, Gage and a couple others came in. “What’s going on?” Gage asked as he looked between Caine and Georgia.
Caine shook his head. “She woke up with a fever a little while ago. She can barely walk on her own but she is insisting on leaving. She wants to get a message to her friend.”
Gage glanced around at the other men before he turned his gaze to Caine and Georgia. “What kind of message does she want to get to him?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve been trying to get her to rest.” Caine shook his head.
Georgia glanced over to Gage. “Can you help me? I can’t stay here. I need to get word to Mountain about what I know. If the Reapers find me, they’ll kill me first then ask questions.”
Gage searched her face and found her eyes were filled with fever. He knew what Caine knew. She wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least until her fever broke. But he could also see she wouldn’t rest until she got a message to this Mountain guy either. He’d heard the name before but he’d never met anyone with that name. Gage had to wonder how she met him. “Who is this guy? Maybe we can get word to him.”
“He belongs to the Sons of Satan over in Sabine Pass, just on the other side of the Texas border,” she told them.
Caine got to his feet and backed away from the bed. He stared at her before looking around at his own men. “How the hell do you know the Sons of Satan?” he finally asked.
They all knew that the man they called Mountain was almost a legend in this area. He’d earned his nickname and some people were leery of that group.
Georgia closed her eyes. She was so lightheaded at the moment. “I met some of them once,” she murmured.
“Yeah, well I don’t think you’re going anywhere today. Maybe tomorrow you’ll be better. We can drop you off then,” Caine suggested.
Georgia struggled to sit up. Between the fever and her lightheadedness, she couldn’t quite manage it. She flopped back down on the bed and began to cry. “You don’t understand. I have to get out of here. If the Reapers find me, they will kill everyone here.”
Gage frowned at her statement. “The Reapers won’t hurt anyone, not without cause. We’ve never given them a reason to come after us. They might all be bastards but I haven’t heard of them just committing murder.”
Georgia shook her head. “You don’t understand. I need to talk to Mountain. Please take me to Mountain.”
Caine knelt down beside her. “Honey, you can’t go until your fever breaks. You aren’t going anywhere, not today anyway. Maybe tomorrow we can try to find this guy, but you need your rest today.”
“Tomorrow might be too late,” she whispered as tears rolled down her face.
“What does that mean?” Caine frowned.
Georgia’s eyes widened as she remembered what she heard the night before. “Oh my god, this could be the distraction they need to make. We aren’t safe here.”
“Slow down,” Caine urged. “What are you talking about?”
“The Reapers have to distract the police and draw everyone’s attention away from something that’s going to happen.” She tried to sit up by grabbing Caine’s shirt to pull herself up. “When they see I’m gone, they are going to look for me and if they find me here, we all could be in trouble.”
“Honey, they aren’t going to come in here guns blazing.” Caine shook his head. “That would be just plain stupid on their part.”
“But you don’t understand,” she cried out. “They might. They need something to distract the cops and draw everyone’s attention away from the gulf area.”
“Why?” Gage asked. “Why would they need to do something like that?”
“I don’t know. It has to do with the other men that were there.”
“What other men?” Lonnie wanted to know. “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t know!” Georgia cried out. “I need to get to Mountain. He would be able to figure this out.”
Caine laid her back down on the bed. “What if one of the guys takes your message to this Mountain?”
Georgia shook her head. “You don’t understand. The Reapers are going to do something very bad. This would only be the beginning of whatever they are going to do. No one around here is safe.”
“What about the other men you mentioned,” Gage stated. “What do they want?”
“I don’t know.” Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. “I didn’t hear everything I only heard this other group has paid the Reapers a lot of money to distract the authorities for the next week or so.”
Caine searched her face for a moment then looked at Gage. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“No it doesn’t,” Gage agreed. “And she might be right. Shooting us if they find her here would distract everyone, and it could very well be just the beginning of their mayhem. Maybe we should get the hell out of here for a while?”
“Can you and a couple of the others ride to Sabine Pass and get her message to Mountain?” Caine asked.
Gage nodded. “I can take Sal and Lonnie with me.”
“Okay, we can wait just this side of the border until we know more about what’s going on,” Caine stated.
“What do we tell this Mountain guy?” Gage asked her.
“Please tell him I need him to keep his promise. The one he made me at Shadow Lake. I’ll tell him everything but I’ll only tell him, no one else.”
Caine frowned. “What haven’t you told us?”
“Please, I need to tell Mountain first.”
Caine tightened his lips in frustration. “You can trust us as well as somebody else. We aren’t going to hurt you.”
Georgia laid her hand on his thigh. “I know that. And I have told you most of it. I just really need to talk to Mountain.”
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Caine insisted. “We’ll take you to the Louisiana border while Gage and a couple of the others ride into Sabine Pass. They can take your message to Mountain while we wait for his response.”
“But we’ll all go?” Georgia asked with desperation in her eyes.
Caine nodded. “We can all go along.” He shrugged. “We aren’t that big as a group but every one of us matters to the rest.” He got to his feet and went over to a dresser. From one of the drawers he pulled out a t shirt and a pair of shorts. Handing them to her he said, “Maybe you should change your clothes. You might not want to be seen in bloody clothing, if you don’t want people to remember who you’re with.”
Georgia nodded. “I don’t know that I can ride on a bike though. I’ve never ridden one before.”
“I have to take my truck. I have two dogs I’m not leaving behind,” Caine replied. “Gage and the boys will leave right away. When you’re ready, we’ll follow them. I have to load my wheels anyway.”
Gage nodded. “Sabine Pass is only an hour away. By the time you guys get there, we may know more to tell you.”
Caine agreed. “Yeah, while she’s getting ready, we can get my bike loaded on the truck. We shouldn’t be that far behind you.”
Gage turned to leave when Caine called out, “If she’s right, we all need to be careful. The Reapers would have found her gone by now.”
Gage grinned. “I won’t start any problems but I won’t stop them either. Anybody takes a pot shot at me and I’m gonna shoot back.”
“They might miss you but I know damn well, you won’t miss them. Just be careful,” Caine warned as they left the room.
Georgia swung her feet over the side of the bed. She found she couldn’t raise her arms to get the t shirt over her head as her body trembled
Caine turned to watch her struggle then asked, “Do you need some help?”
Georgia looked up at him with tears of pain and frustration in her eyes. “Yes, please. I can’t even get dressed. I’m a mess.”
Caine looked angry. “Honey, you just got beat up and now you have a fever. This is why it’s not a good idea to go anywhere right now. You need to get some rest and recover a little.”
“I can rest later, we need to get out of here now,” Georgia insisted.
Gage, Lonnie and Sal watched the road all the way to the Texas border. They’d heard cycles in the distance but so far, they hadn’t seen any. They even heard gunshots in the distance. This fact led them all to believe Georgia’s warning about the Reapers causing trouble. Instead of turning back to find out what was going on, they pushed forward. When they were far enough away, Gage did stop long enough to send Caine a text though. He wanted the others to be safe.
When they hit the border, Gage got a text from Caine. They were on their way. Gage sent Caine a text back warning him of hearing gunshots and cycles then he and the others pushed forward and by the time they got to the outskirts of Sabine Pass, the sun was well up. The Texas heat was strong even at this early hour, and as they made their way into Sabine Pass, Gage, Lonnie and Sal began to sweat.
As the got closer to the Sons of Satan compound, Gage began noticing things. He saw hidden towers and chain link fencing topped with barbed wire with nothing behind it. At least nothing he could see. Then he saw a cluster of buildings in the distance. The closer he got, the more the buildings began to look like a small city.
The main building looked like a large warehouse. Over the main door, he saw the emblem of the MC. The snarling blood red face of Satan. There were several smaller buildings surrounding the main one and they all looked like separate housing units. There was also an auto shop and a garage. The whole area was kept up with some grassy areas but mostly rock paths. The roads were all paved with gravel. On the whole, the area looked well cared for.
The structures were well back from the fence line with a clear line of sight and there were lines and lines of parked bikes. When they reached the main gate, three or four men stepped up.
Only one came to where they were waiting. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“I have to speak with Mountain,” Gage told him.
The other man stared at him for a moment then said, “Mountain isn’t here anymore. He left over a year ago.”
Gage swore. “Damn, are you sure?”
The other man chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder at the others. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I think we would know if our old President was still here or not. He’s kind of hard to miss if you know what I mean.”
“Fuck a duck.” Gage swore. “Can I speak to your new President?”
“Before we let you in the gate, you have to give up your weapons,” The other man told him, motioning toward the gun under Gage’s vest.
Gage looked over his shoulder at the other two men with him and at their nod, he reached behind his back for his piece. Lifting it carefully, he held the piece with only two fingers and neither one on the trigger. He handed it over.
Lonnie and Sal did the same.
The other man motioned them forward and when they arrived at the clubhouse, there were several men standing there waiting for them. One motioned them forward and even held the door open until Gage, Lonnie and Sal went through it.
Inside, there were several members standing there making a corridor toward a table at the other end of the men. Sitting there was a lone man waiting for them. He looked to be about thirty years old. His hair was blond and long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail that hung down his back. His eyes were green and right now, they were curious. His chest was bare except for the leather vest he wore, the one that claimed he was President of the Sons of Satan. “What can we do to assist the Nomads?” he asked.
“We came here in search of a man called Mountain,” Gage replied. “We understood he was president of the club.”
“He was up until about a year ago. Now he isn’t, and he also isn’t here.”
Gage shifted his stance. “I gathered that. Do you know how I can get ahold of him?”
“My name is Hawk.” The President stood up and held out his hand to Gage. “Why is it so important to talk to Mountain?”
“I have a message from a friend of his. She only wants him to have it.” Gage shrugged.
Hawk shrugged as well. “If it was that important she would have his phone number herself.”
Gage shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. I’m not putting you or anyone else down but this girl was beaten badly and she managed to escape a dangerous situation to get this message out. It has something to do with the Grim Reapers from over near Cameron, Louisiana “
Hawk and several other men standing there shook their heads as they scoffed when he mentioned the Reapers.
“Yeah, we feel the same way,” Gage explained. “Those pigs are a plague on MC’s. They also claim they paid for this girl and were going to force her to be their sex toy. Now if a woman wants that sort of thing, that’s one thing but I don’t think this girl was one of those girls. Personally, I wouldn’t force a woman to sleep with me.”
“Yeah, neither would I or anyone that claims a Son’s vest.” Hawk sneered.
“But this girl overheard something she wants Mountain to know about. Instead of resting like she needs, she’s insisting on coming here in order to get what she knows out. I have no idea what it means but she will only tell Mountain.”
“Who is she?” Hawk asked.
“Her name is Georgia Lacey. She claims she met him at Shadow Lake. She said he made her a promise there.”
Hawk stiffened when he mentioned Shadow Lake. He glanced at a man standing next to him and then nodded at Gage. “Is this a small woman with long dark hair and light blue eyes?”
Gage frowned as he nodded. “That sounds like her. Do you know her?”
Hawk nodded as he reached for his phone. “I can put a call in. You have to talk to him here though in front of us.”
Gage shrugged. “I don’t have a problem doing that.”
Hawk took a step away from the table and dialed a number on his phone. It took a moment to get Mountain on and when he handed Gage the phone, he nodded at it. “You got Mountain. Talk to the man.”
Gage raised the phone to his ear. “Hello.”
“What the hell do you want?” a deep voice growled on the other end.
