Page 67 of Beyond the Cut
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
A family.
Yes, she’d always wanted a family like she’d had before the car crash, but when she imagined a family it was much like what she’d had at the zoo: her children playing in the sunshine, and a partner who made her laugh, someone who respected her need for independence, but was there when she needed him.
“You don’t know what a family is.”
A shadow crossed his face so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle, the same voice he’d used when he coaxed her off the streets with promises of a better life, the voice he used on the good days just before everything turned bad.
“I’ve got a gun in my cut, love. If I wanted to kill you I would’ve done it already. But I want you back. I miss you… and the girls. A president needs a family so the old boys think he’s stable and… settled. And… the money. It doesn’t all belong to me.”
As if she would ever believe him. The red wheal on her hand from his belt and years of hospital visits had taught her that the soft words were usually followed by a hard beating, and she hadn’t missed the hesitation before he mentioned the girls. He didn’t want them. Never had. And he was crazy if he thought she had any money.
“Slide your weapon across the floor to me. And your belt. When I’ve got them, I’ll call Wolf and he can send someone to pick you up.”
Jimmy’s smile didn’t reach his ears. “That’s my girl.”
A loud thud on the door startled them both. Jimmy froze and drew his weapon. Resting against the wall directly across from her in the living room, he was in clear sight of the door.
“Who the fuck is that?”
“Dawn!”
She recognized Cade’s voice and her lips quivered with a smile. “Maybe it’s the mailman.”
“It’s Cade. Open the door.”
“I knew it.” Jimmy’s harsh voice echoed in the tiny room. “You are fucking that Sinner. You betraying little bitch. That’s why you wouldn’t come back. You were spreading your legs like the whore you really are. Open the damn door. I’m gonna blow so many holes in him you won’t be able to find his dick.”
Dawn glanced around the room, assessing potential places to hide. The kitchen lay behind her, visible through the opening at the breakfast bar, but accessible only if she could make the ten feet to the door. The small hallway leading to the bathroom and the bedrooms was directly across from the front door and also in Jimmy’s line of fire. If Jimmy started shooting, her best bet for cover was the couch beside her.
Jimmy put a finger to his lips. His black eyes gleamed and she knew right away if she’d gone to help him he would have found a way to hurt her. Drawing in a ragged breath, she threw herself behind the couch and screamed. “Jimmy’s here. He’s down but armed and at nine o’clock from the door.”
Silence.
And then the door splintered and Jimmy fired.
***
“You can’t kill him.”
Plastered against the walls on either side of the front door, Gunner and Cade shared a glance.
“He just fired at us.” Cade kept his voice to a low murmur. “We have to defend ourselves. My old lady is a hostage inside. Of course we can kill him.”
“Jagger says no.” Gunner lowered his phone. “He gave his word to Wolf that we wouldn’t touch Mad Dog. He wants us to go in, rescue her, and get out before the cops show up.”
“Do you hear sirens?” Cade checked his magazine. “The cops aren’t coming. No one heard the shot. There’s no one on the street and I didn’t see any lights go on. Not even a dog barked.”
Gunner twisted his lips to the side. “How ’bout we do as Jagger said and try and get her out without killing him?”
“He’s a threat to my old lady. I have a right to defend her and Wolf’s not gonna be able to say dick about it. No one fucks with a biker’s old lady.” Cade peered around the corner and a bullet zinged past his head, embedding itself in the wall behind him.
“Fuck.” Gunner sighed. “Where is she?”
“She’s behind the couch in the middle of the room, directly across from him and slightly to the right of the door, maybe twenty feet away. There’s a small hallway between the living room and us. She’s got her gun.”
“I’ll distract him and you get her out.” Gunner took a step toward the entrance.
