Selah’s Wish (Imperial Knights MC #1)

Chapter 6

SIX

Butcher

“Repeat that,” I demand through clenched teeth. During his first round of confessions, I went numb and my brain blurred. That motherfucker is going to end up on the wrong end of my knife for what he’s done to my sister. And Joce, she’s going to get the tongue lashing of her life. His head hangs as he recenters himself to retell the same story he just spewed. Before I react, I need to make sure I didn’t imagine some of the shit he informed me was happening.

“I went to meet a few of my clients at the bar inside of the Blackjack Inn. They traveled to see me so when they asked me to join them, I didn’t want to say no. As I was walking through the parking lot, I saw your sister crying over her steering wheel. I knocked on her driver's side window and made the motion for her to roll her window down. When she did, streaks of mascara were staining her cheeks and I noticed that the kids were in the back of the car, buckled down in their car seats. They were fast asleep so I kept my voice down when I asked her what was going on. When she whispered to me that she just saw her husband walking into the lobby with another woman on his arm, and it wasn’t the first time she’d caught him cheating, I listened. It was then that I saw the fading bruises on her cheeks, as well as fingerprints embedded in her arms.”

“So let me get this right, not only is that shitstain is not only cheating on my sister, but he's also laying hands on her?” I thunder out the question, my entire body quaking with anger.

“Yeah, and after speaking with her, I found out those are only the bruises you can visibly see on her skin. After a bunch of probing and prodding and her clutching her ribs, I forced her to lift up her shirt just enough for me to see what was going on. Dude, there were shoe prints painted on her ribcage. It was then and there that I pulled my phone out to give you a call, only she stopped me by placing her hand on top of mine, keeping me from dialing your number.”

“What was her reasoning for not wanting you to place that call?” I inquire, my fists now clenched in my lap.

“Blackmail. He's blackmailed her,” he confides.

“With what?” I ask because my sister is as wholesome as one can get. At least to the outside world. She’s somewhat involved in our lives with me and Dragon being her brothers, but nothing that should be traceable. There should be nothing he has that’d keep her stuck in that sort of abusive relationship.

Only, Cuda says the one thing that I was hoping he wouldn’t. “You.”

“Explain,” I rumble.

He tilts his body sideways so we’re facing one another and says, “From what I could gather from her, he’s had a private investigator on her tail since the day they married, and during that time, he managed to get a few photos of unlawful things that could damage a few people in our club.”

“He has intel that could send us away?” I confirm.

“Yeah,” he admits. “I’ve been helping her track down this investigator, so I could rid him of the evidence and she’s been searching through his office and files while he’s at work or off playing with one of his mistresses. We’ve managed to find a few things and destroy them, but we haven’t been successful in getting our hands on anything having to do with you, Butcher.”

“That’s not good,” I say, blowing out a heated breath. “That’s why she’s keeping her mouth shut and staying in a home where that piece of shit is laying hands on her? Y’all should’ve come to us, Cuda.”

“I’ve been working on her telling you, Butcher. She’s determined, at all costs, to protect you and Dragon. Even if it’s detrimental to herself. We’ve had a few blow ups over it, but I didn’t want her to not trust me and confide in me anymore. I feel like I’ve been stuck in the middle, but hear me out on this, Butcher, I’ve never been against you or the brothers. If anything, I’m working in the background trying to protect you and the club as a whole.”

“I’m seeing that, Cuda. However, in a roundabout way, you’ve gone against the club. As your VP, I’m ordering you to have a sit down with Brick and Dragon. Tell them everything,” I stress. “We could end this and free my sister from her chains.”

“If I do that, she’ll know I betrayed her,” he sighs.

“How did Wrecker find out?” I probe, because if he’s kept things close to the vest as he claims, there’s no way that fucker should know anything about this.

“How do you think?” He raises his eyebrows at me and it’s then that everything clicks.

“Fucking dreamwalkers,” I snap. “Which means there’s a reason, spiritual or otherwise behind why he’s kept his trap shut.”

“He sees things that we don’t. If we jump the gun things could have a different outcome than if we play it the way it’s been set into motion,” he concludes.

“New plan, don’t say jack shit until I have myself a little chat with my brother-in-law. In the meantime, it’s in your best interest as her friend, or whatever the fuck you are to Joce, to let her know I cornered you. She knows if I want to know something, you don’t have a leg to stand on until I get the information I want.”

“Alright. I’ll send her a message in the morning letting her know when she’s able to, she needs to call me,” he promises.

“Good enough for now,” I state, standing up and walking away. For fuck’s sake, when are we going to catch a break from those using us for their own gain?

When I make it to my yard, I see Wrecker leaning against my front porch. “Thought you may need to talk,” he says in greeting.

“Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your old lady and boy?” I ask, using the steps to clear the snow from the bottom of my boots.

“Probably. But she has a guard stationed outside of the room and our family is important to us, Butcher, and that includes you,” he says, sending me a cunning smile. “You’re more than club to me. I told her you’d need me and she all but kicked me out stating she and Stone needed some sleep and me pacing the room was preventing her from resting.”

“Reasonable, considering who our old ladies are,” I laugh. Not a selfish bone in any of their bodies. They are the most giving, generous women one will ever meet.

“You can take the old ladies out of the club, but you can’t take the club out of the old ladies. You and Laney are our family, Butch,” he reiterates, sounding more serious than previously. “So if one of you needs us, no matter what’s going on in our lives, we’ll be there.”

“Should this be taken to the table, Wrecker?” I switch topics, needing to know.

“Not yet. And once Cuda calls her and tells her you figured out what’s going on, you need to get in contact with her, Butch. It’s not that she didn’t want you to know, it’s that when all this happened, you could’ve become a lifer behind bars. Give her a chance to explain everything from her point of view and don’t go off on her. Really listen to what she has to say, a few lives could depend on it.”

Looking upward, I gather my thoughts on what he’s saying. It’s not going to be easy keeping this from my best friend and brother, but if it’s for the greater good, I’ll find a way. “I can do that. It’ll be hard keeping this a secret from Dragon, he’s going to lose his shit when he finds out, but if you say it’s for the best, then I’ll keep my lips zipped, for now.”

“I wouldn’t steer you wrong on this, brother. It’s been hard for me too, but I’ve been shown the outcome if I don’t by Jericho, and it’s not a pleasant future for any of us if we jump into this head first without thinking through all the scenarios.”

“You’ve never misled me, Wrecker so I’ll concede to you on this. However, if I think she’s sinking, I’m going to send out an S.O.S and be her life preserver. I won’t watch my sister drown. And if I feel her life is on the line, those ropes you’ve tied my hands with, will be unraveled.”

“Understandable. I won’t let it come down to that, Butcher. But fair warning, it’s not going to be anytime soon that we can step in. You’re going to have to find your patience.”

“Great. Just fucking great,” I mumble.