“I see,” she said, sitting up.
“Reaper’s making me bring Chaos.”
“Damn,” Kitty muttered then asked, “Does he suspect?”
“I don’t think so, but Chaos will once I find her.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. I hate lying to my brother.”
“Savage I can handle. I’m worried about Reaper taking my soul.”
“You let me worry about Reaper. You just find Layla. The quicker you find her, the faster all of this will end.”
“What’s going to happen when I bring her back here, Kitty? I made a promise to her to keep her safe. I didn’t expect her past and mine to collide like they did. Reaper is going to have my balls.”
“Honestly, I don’t think so. With everything going on lately and the truth trickling out, I don’t think Reaper will care. Now he might get mad because you kept it all from him, but in the end, I think he will be happy.”
I wasn’t so sure. Getting to my feet, I walked over to peek down at my daughter, sleeping peacefully. God, she looked so much like my mother. I wished my mother were alive to see her granddaughter. Gently caressing her chubby cheek, I whispered, “You be a good girl for mommy Hailey. Daddy loves you very much.”
Walking back over to my wife, I leaned down and kissed her lips once more before leaving the room. Walking down the stairs, I spotted my bag by the front door, packed and ready to go. Next to it was my rifle. Staring at the case, I wondered what my life would be like without it. Never having to pick it up again. Would I still be the same man? Would Kitty still love me? Would my brothers need me anymore? Would Reaper?
Picking up my bag and rifle case, I exited my house and headed for my bike, seeing Chaos already waiting on me. He said nothing as I put my bag in the small leather compartment and strapped my rifle case to the back of my bike.
“You okay?” Chaos asked, lighting a cigarette.
“No.”
“You know why Reaper is sending us to Tennessee?”
“I have my suspicions.”
“Wanna let me in on them?”
“Not yet,” I said, getting on my bike and starting it up, feeling the familiar rumble of the motor beneath me. I never thought I would enjoy riding a bike, but I was hooked the first time I got on one. My bike was a part of me, an extension of who I was.
I was no longer Dylan Franks, the Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant.
I was Bullseye, executioner for the Golden Skulls.
I was trained for this from birth, now I just had to own it.
Pulling out of the drive, I watched as my life faded into the distance. Looking forward, I headed east to the one place I promised my mother I would never return to.
Home.
I was leaving, and the look on my mother’s face said it all. She didn’t want me to go. I knew she’d never tell me outright. That wasn’t her way. Instead, she kept quiet, trying valiantly to hold back the tears I knew would come the moment the bus pulled away. Next to her was Layla, my best friend, who didn’t have my mother’s reserve. She was crying openly, begging me to stay.
“Please, Dylan,” she cried, hugging my neck. “We can find something for you here.”
“Layla, let your brother go,” Our mom said sternly. Layla obeyed reluctantly. “Dylan is a man. He’s made his decision. We have to support him. Now, give him a kiss goodbye and leave him alone.”
Doing as she was instructed, Layla quickly kissed my cheek and stepped back onto the sidewalk. Looking around, I wasn’t the only one leaving today. Five others were going with me. We had all enlisted in the Marine Corps, and today was the day we were leaving for Bootcamp. Though a few were eager to join, myself not so much. It was either this or become someone my mother despised…my father.
Growing up, I never knew who my old man was and when I asked, my mother would tell me he was gone. That was it…he was gone. I didn’t know what that meant for a small kid, but it only confused me more as I got older. Not dead, just gone.
I had no memory of my father, nor did my sister and best friend, Layla. Only a year younger than me, we grew up in the mountains of Tennessee, our mother’s birthplace. My mother was the sister of the president of the Golden Skulls M.C, Tennessee Chapter. The whole town knew of them and stayed away. I wish I could say growing up around a biker club was fun, but it wasn’t. No matter what I did, there was always a brother around to tell my Uncle, and he would tell my mother. I was part of their community, yet separate. My mother refused to have anything to do with her brother or the club. It was like straddling a line, a line that was so thin I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. I just couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Dodge and start over.
That was the plan. I joined the military, got settled, and sent for my sister. Then we would be free. Free of the town, the club, and the questioning eyes.
My sister and I looked nothing like our mother. Where she was blonde, blue-eyed, we were dark-haired with green eyes. We had heard all the rumors growing up. Our mother fucked the local banker, our mother fucked a traveling salesman, our mother fucked a brother in the club, hell one story was that our mother was artificially inseminated. Yet, nobody knew the truth because our mother said absolutely nothing, not even to her brother.
When my mother hugged me, she whispered. “Don’t come back. Not for anything, you hear me. You live your life, be happy.”
I knew what she was saying. Though it still hurt to hear her say the words. I knew she didn’t mean them to be hurtful. She just wanted me away from this place and the people. There was no life for me here, and she was right. Nodding, I let her go, bent down to grab my backpack, and stepped onto the bus. Sitting near the back, I kept looking at the only family I had and wondered when I would ever see them again. As the bus pulled away, I tried not to look back, but I couldn’t stop myself. What I saw was forever seared into my brain as I watched my Uncle and a couple of his brothers take my mother and sister away, and God help me; there was nothing I could do about it.