Affliction

“You know my sister died at the hands of men like this?” Beau breaks the silence a few minutes later as we head to the first safe house.

“Yeah,” I reply, unsure how to respond. Fuck, what do you say to that? I only found out about Beau’s sister last year. Jesse was talking about it one night and I had no fucking idea that’s what happened.

“Could have killed the fucker, too. Could have taken him out with my bare hands.” His voice becomes harsher with each word he speaks.

“Why didn’t you?” I know if I had a sister and her husband killed her with his fists, I wouldn't hesitate to fucking kill him.

“Because I wanted justice for my sister. The fucker would have gotten off easy.”

I nod, agreeing to some extent, but in my quest of redemption and letting go, I haven’t got to that point yet. “This is why you do this?” I ask, wondering why we slowly seem to be getting in deeper.

“Yeah, these women, if they don’t get out, they’re dead. I wish my sister had that option, a place to go.”

I don’t say anything, what is there to say? I wish he didn’t have to live with that. Wish we all didn’t have to live with some of the ugly shit from our pasts.

After a few more silent minutes, we pull up to an old dirt road and turn down it.

“We need in and out on this one; she’s been patched up, but she needs medical attention, fast,” he tells me as we come to a stop out the front of an old barn.

“Where are we go

“Let's just see how bad she is. We need to get her out first.” He reverses the old truck we use for pick-ups, and slowly brings it closer to the entrance.

Leaving the engine ru

“She’s not good,” a woman’s voice says and the fear in it puts me on edge.

“Okay,” Beau replies, walking past her into the house. I wait outside making sure we can get out without being seen.

“Door, Sy,” Beau whispers, coming into view while carrying a small unmoving woman in his arms. I don't stop to look, just open the back doors for him, and step back as he climbs in and positions her on his lap.

“I’m go

Closing the back doors, I make my way around the front and pray the trip to the Knights’ safe house is smooth. Fuck, a woman messed up in the back of the truck would never be classified as a night gone smoothly.

***

“She can’t be moved. That arm needs to be reset and I suspect a few of her ribs are broken,” the doc we called up an hour ago tells us as he packs away his medical bag. Once we got her to the safe house, we realized things were about to get tricky. The poor woman was so fucked up we had to call in a marker to get him up here, something the club does not like to do.

“We need to get her out to the next drop off,” Beau says from his chair next to the woman’s bed.

“She’s not going anywhere. Not until that arm is reset and cast,” the doc firmly replies.

“And how do we do that?” I ask, concerned this woman's chance of getting away is becoming slim.

“I’m going to have to go back to the clinic and get more supplies,” he explains, removing his gloves.

“Is she going to be okay?” Beau asks, coming to stand with us.

“I think the main concern here is who that woman is. That’s what I would be worried about, fellas,” he replies, looking over at her, “and how you’re going to keep her hidden.”

“Who is she?” Beau asks, just as confused as I am.

“That woman there is Mackenzie Morre,” he informs us.

“Fuck, Mayor Morre’s daughter-in-law? Jesus, I didn’t see that one coming,” Beau says, looking back over at her.

“Yes. Her husband, Chad Morre, is known for his temper, and this isn’t her first beating either.” He leans in closer so only we can hear. “His father smoothed out the last indiscretion without too much media attention, but this is beyond that.” He lets us in on that valuable information while looking concerned.

“Fuck,” Beau curses, realizing just how much shit we are in if we don’t get her out, and fast.

“Do you know this asshole?” I ask, wondering what's so special about him.

“Yeah, fucker is some punk-ass attorney. Thinks his shit don’t stink. But it's his father we have to be worried about. The mayor has more power. You need to get your stuff up here straight away so we can get on the road.” Beau turns back to the doc.

“Even if we get it set, she still might need surgery. Her arm is bad. Without x-rays, I won't know the extent of her injuries,” the doc delivers the bad news. Shit, we need to get out of here.

“We can’t take her to the hospital, especially with her husband's co

“You might not, but I can,” the doctor says, writing something on a piece of paper.

“Call this number and ask to speak to a Sydney Patrick. You need to quote this when you get through and tell her we have a code three coming in and we will need two rooms,” he fires off his instructions. “Use your burner cell. We can’t have it traced.”

“How are we going to get her into the hospital? Can this person be trusted?” Beau questions, not looking confident with the plan.

“I need to collect some more supplies. Once we stabilize her, we’ll discuss this. Until then, I suggest you settle in for a stay, boys.” He walks to the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me if anything changes,” he adds, leaving us alone with a woman who will more than likely have her husband out looking for her as soon as he realizes she’s missing. Fuck.

“You might want to call Nix,” I tell Beau as I head to the chair ready to sit it out. “Things just got a whole lot more fuckin’ complicated.”

“You fucking think?” he growls, walking next to her bed.

This is the last thing I needed tonight, especially with Holly coming to me, but I can’t leave Beau. Settling in for the night, I try not to let my mind wander to Holly and what she wanted. I’ll only worry. All I can do is hope when I get back, we can sit down and sort this out, ‘cause I love her. I might be angry she kept her pregnancy from me, but I love her all the same. And knowing what we both lost breaks my heart.

***

“How bad is it?” Nix asks down the cell when we’re about to head out. Beau made the call an hour ago but couldn’t get through, leaving me to deal with a pissed-off Prez. We should have been heading back into town, not spending another night out.

“She’s pretty messed up. Doc says surgery, but we got bigger problems.”

“How so?”

“Mayor Morre.”

“Please tell me that fucker is not co

“Daughter-in-law,” I tell him what he doesn’t want to know.

“Fuck me! We are fucked if this shit comes out,” he sighs, clearly knowing who this asshole is. “When can you get the fuck out of there?”

“We’re about to take her in, but depending on what she needs, we might be another day,” I tell him and fucking hate it. This is the last place I want to be, but helping this woman is our priority. We can’t just leave her.

“Get your asses home as soon as possible. The fucker has bigger co

“Yep, on it,” I tell him before hanging up and walking back inside.

“You get on to him?” Beau looks up as I walk back into the room. Mackenzie is awake, sitting propped up by a few pillows.

“Yeah, all good. Says to get back as soon as possible.” He nods, looking over to the messed-up woman.

“You need anything?” he asks her. She shakes her head no, her face looking worse as the night moves forward.