Warlords MC: Book 1 – Ace (Truman) : Chapter 10

From the look on Charli’s face, Truman knew she was devastated. He didn’t know where she’d been all night but she had leaves in her hair. She was covered in tiny scratches and debris from the woods plastered to her knees. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks as she held her grandfather in her arms like she would never let him loose. Blood soaked both of them at the moment and Ben was struggling just to breathe. He was trying to tell her something but he seemed to be having trouble getting the words out.

Charli kept trying to tell him not to speak but Ben obviously has something to say.

As Truman knelt beside Charli holding her grandfather, he heard Ben gasping softly then Ben looked up at him. “Take care of her, do not ever hurt her.”

“Don’t worry old man. She’s my woman now, and I will protect her,” Truman vowed.

Blood stained Ben’s teeth and drained a little from the corner of his mouth as he smiled up at Charli. “I guess this is my time to join your grandma and your mom and dad. I taught you everything I know and then some. I guess you taught me a few things too huh—baby girl? This place ain’t much anymore but it was always good enough.” Ben looked over at Ace and with a thready whisper, he told him, “You got to stop what’s going on here. This place is wicked and in bad trouble because of a few bad apples. It might be time to take out the trash boy.” Ben tried to take another deep breath but his lungs were filling up with blood and he struggled to get in enough air to say the last few words he had to say, “I love you—Charli girl….”

Charlie watched as the light faded from her grandpa’s eyes. Tears of devastation blurred her vision and she raised a hand up to his face. Gently, she covered his eyes and closed them reverently.

Charli tipped her head back and sobbed openly as she rocked her body slightly while still holding her grandfather in her arms.

The men standing around them could only watch as her heart was breaking.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, Truman sat beside her to wrap his large arms around them both and just held her while she cried. He didn’t try to move her or take her away from Ben, instead he just held her. Ben’s blood was soaking into his clothes but he didn’t mind that. He knew Charli wasn’t ready to give Ben up yet and he could understand that. Her tears soaked his shirt and still, he just hugged her close. He looked around at his brothers and shook his head.

One by one, they left the room until it was only him and Charli there with Ben.

Finally, after about twenty minutes or so, Charli stopped crying. She still held her grandfather’s body but her sobs had mellowed out to tiny whimpers. She opened her pain filled eyes and stared at him. “He’s gone. My grandpa left me.”

Her whispered words were breaking Truman’s heart. “He didn’t leave voluntarily. He would never do that to you girl, don’t you know that by now?”

Charli looked down at the body in her arms and shuddered. Ben’s face was pale against her blue t shirt and Charli wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth. Her actions were gentle, almost as if she knew her actions would hurt the old man. She spoke to Truman but kept her eyes on Ben, “Will you please take grandpa to his bed? I don’t him on this cold floor.” She shrugged her shoulders to break Truman’s hold on her then laid her grandfather down gently.

Truman got to his feet and bent over to pick Ben up off the floor. He cradled the old man’s body as he lifted it up and carried it over to the bed. Laying him down gently, he took a step back.

Charli moved in front of him and covered her grandfather’s body with a towel from the bathroom. Before she covered his face, she leaned over and gently kissed his forehead. She whispered something under her breath that Truman didn’t quite catch.

Then she covered Ben’s face and stood there for a moment praying. Finally, Charli lifted her head slowly from her prayers and turned her head to stare at Truman.

He knew what all had just transpired, but the look in her eyes almost scared him. Almost, but he’d seen it too often in other people for it to truly surprise him anymore. Revenge burned inside her now and if he didn’t defuse it, she would let it destroy her as well. He had to calm her heart down before she ended up laid out next to Ben. “Whatever you got in mind forget about it,” he told her. “It isn’t gonna help Ben and it certainly won’t help you. Not right now, it won’t.”

Charli narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t know what I’m feeling. You have no fucking clue!”

He barked a laugh. “Oh babe, I know exactly what you’re feeling right now. I can see it in your eyes and your body language is screaming it loud and clear. You want revenge and you plan on going after Andy with all you got.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” she gritted out between her teeth.

He shook his head. “Not a god damn thing but you’ve got to be smarter than that in order to win. You got to think out a game plan that will get you what you want. You can’t go off halfcocked. All it will get you is killed and then Andy wins again. He walks away while you’re put into a fresh grave.”

Charli scoffed as she placed her hands onto her hips. “You really think I’m that stupid? You’re forgetting something here, hot shot.”

Truman leaned back against the dresser and smiled at her. “Oh, yeah? What am I forgetting? Are you telling me you aren’t going to go after that little fucker with all you got?”

Charli nodded. “Oh yeah, I AM going after the little fucker with all I got, but I grew up here. That old man taught me everything he knew.” She motioned to the body under the towel. “He taught me by words, actions and the stories he was raised with. His family settled these parts and they learned the hard way, how to make a good life here. I grew up on his stories and on this land. I can out hunt Andy Chapman any day of the week and now, it’s all or nothing.” She turned and headed out.

“Where you going?” he called out.

Charli paused at the door and looked back at him. “It’s time to go hunting. You want answers biker man? You come find out how it’s done.” Then she was gone.

Truman let out a heavy sigh. He glanced quickly at the body on the bed and shook his head. The old man wasn’t here to talk sense to her anymore. Truman had vowed to protect her. He would stick close. He’d seen the revenge burning in her eyes but at the last minute, he’d seen something else enter her eyes and that light concerned him. He had to wonder exactly what else old Ben had taught his granddaughter. He pushed off the dresser and his bootsteps ate up the floor between where he was and where he needed to be.

He made the living area in no time. His brothers were standing there watching Charli in the kitchen as she pulled out pots and pans, dumping them on the floor. Even with the clatter and the klinks of metal hitting the floor, she seemed not to care.

Next, she reached into the empty cabinet and pulled out something hidden way in the back.

It was a leather wrapped satchel. It looked old… the leather worn and supple. She got up, walked over to the table, and set the satchel on the wooden surface. She then laid out a worn towel to protect the table and her fingers shook as she worked the catch.

Everyone just stood there watching her, wondering what the hell she was going to do.

When she had the bag open, she reached inside and pulled items out of it.

King and Deuce gasped as they saw her empty the satchel. Inside, were four very wicked looking blades. These blades were of fine quality, knives forged a very long time ago. They were longer than today’s weapons and thicker than the usual blades of today. They looked very old and very wicked. These were items meant for one thing and one thing only.

They could have been tools of torture and Truman had to wonder where in the world Ben could have gotten his hands on them and why he had them in the first place. The old man must have had a colorful past that he’d never let on about.

Along with the blades, there was a sharpening stone and an old bottle of oil. Charli sat down on a kitchen chair and began working one of the blades on the sharpening stone. A drop of oil on the stone and Charli concentrated on honing the blade. She had to knock years of tarnish off the metal and then she angled the wicked looking knife on the stone and began sharpening the edge of the blade.

Joker looked over at Truman, a concerned expression on his face. Then he moved to get closer to where Charli sat.

Truman grabbed his arm.

Joker looked up at him.

Truman shook his head and pressed Joker back. They needed to let her pursue whatever it was she thought she was doing. He’d seen this before. She was running on feeling. Hate, revenge, bloodlust even. Justice came in many forms. Revenge for a killing was one of the worst forms of it. He knew this for a cold, hard fact. No, they should all stay back and let her go at whatever this was.

It took her about half an hour to bring the blade back to life.

Then men all sipped at their coffee and moved around silently and only enough to do what they needed. All of them kept an eye on that table and the determined young woman sitting there.

When she finished the first one, Charli picked up a second blade and went through the process all over again.

Ace finally asked her, “Just what do you plan to use those for?”

“You wanted to know what Andy’s doing. Well, these will get you your answers,” she replied without taking her eyes off the blade she was polishing.

“Hmm, OK. So, how are those going to get any answers for us?” he asked her calmly.

Charli paused in her task and peered up at him. She looked a little startled to see everyone standing there watching her but she was mainly staring at Ace. “In order to get what you want to know from someone else, you have to know which questions to ask and who to ask them of, correct?”

Truman had to give her that so he gave her a short nod. “Ok, yeah.”

Charli smiled but her smile held no mirth. “Well, I know who to ask and what questions I need the answers to.”

“Girl, you’re scaring the hell out of me,” King stated as he watched her working the last blade on the stone.

“You got nothing to fear from me. I’m not going to ask you a damn thing,” she told him sharply as she laid the blade down on the table. She went through exact and detailed the process of putting her tools away. When she was done, she gathered the weapons together and went to the sink to wash the oil off her hands.

Wrapping the towel around the blades, she carried them carefully out the back door and made her way over to the shed at the back of the cabin. She said not a word, and in fact, it was as if none of them even existed.

Truman and his brothers followed her but at a safe distance.

When she opened the door, she found Token tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

The gag in his mouth kept Token quiet enough but when he saw her standing there, he began to scream through the cloth in his mouth.

He kept up with the mouthing off as he watched her come into the shed. Charli looked around for a place to lay her bundle.

The gagged man saw Ace and the others standing in the doorway and he glared at them as well.

Charli ignored Token for a moment then finally turned to stare at him. She walked over to where he was sitting and ripped the gag out of his mouth.

“You fucking little bitch!” he launched immediately into a tirade. “Andy is going to love taking you down. You won’t be safe anywhere.”

Charli looked calm and collected as she knelt in front of the tied up man and laid one hand on either of his knees. Nodding she asked, “Are you all right? You didn’t get hit by any of Andy’s bullets when he sprayed the cabin?” Her voice sounded gentle and concerned.

Token stared at her. He felt confused by her questions and it took him a minute or so to notice the stains on her clothes. “What the hell is all over you?”

Charli glanced down at her clothing and shook her head. “Andy managed to hit someone this morning when he fired at the cabin.”

Token finally noticed her tone of voice and the strange calmness that surrounded her. She didn’t look upset that bullets had sprayed over the cabin. “Who did he hit?”

Charli looked up to meet his confused gaze.

Token stilled when he took note of the rage banked in her eyes.

“He shot my grandfather this morning. This is Ben’s blood soaked into my shirt. The little bastard killed him.” Her voice sounded flat and cold.

At this news, Token’s anger left him and he grew afraid. Not so much for Andy, he knew exactly what Andy was capable of but this woman in front of him with vengeance in her eyes scared the hell out of him. She didn’t seem right. Then the large bikers were all gathered at the door, silent. Just watching her? It all felt off, somehow.

He’d always liked the fire Charli had and how she’d stood up to Andy at times but now, he was afraid of that fire because it was mostly pointed at him.

Andy couldn’t and wouldn’t save him from her this time.

“I’m glad Andy didn’t know you were in the shed this morning.” Charli nodded in an odd, detached way. “I mean if he thought for a minute that you were here, he would have shot holes all over this shed. Why would he risk you talking to us about what he’s been doing here for the last few years? He can’t have his secrets spilled now can he?” She paused then seemed to be thinking about something. “Has he been calling you all night?” She gazed around and found his phone on the bench a few feet away. “Oh, shall we check and see if he left you any messages? I can’t imagine that he didn’t call you.” Her voice was sugary sweet as she walked over to the table and picked up the phone. Staring down at the screen, she lamented, “Oh dear, you have twenty eight messages from Andy.” She let out a heavy sigh as she began scrolling through them, still shaking her head. Glancing over at Token, she giggled a bit. “You know he sounds really pissed that you aren’t getting back to him. Does he always call you a little fucking bastard? That isn’t very nice.” She paused then looked delighted as she spoke again in that same sweet tone, “Oh, I see a voice mail! I think we should we listen to it.” Tapping the screen a couple of times, she put the voicemail on speaker phone.

Andy’s voice came out cursing his friend, “You little motherfucker, you’d better be dead or I’m gonna kill you. I know they got you and you’d better keep your fucking mouth shut about what’s going on around here. You tell that biker scum anything about my operations and I will put a fucking bullet in the back of your head the next time I see you. I won’t even ask you if you told them anything. I’ll just walk up to you and pop a bullet into your brain. Then I’ll kill your mom and granny just because I can.”

Charli studied the phone in her hand like it puzzled her or something as she shook her head sadly. “And you’re protecting that piece of shit? Why?”

“I won’t betray him,” Token told her. “I can’t. Even if he kills me, I can’t betray him.”

“You’re going to let that little weasel kill your mother and grandmother just to keep his secrets?” Charli asked him.

Token shook his head. “I won’t tell them anything and you can’t make me.” He nodded at the phone. “He won’t kill my mom and Granny. He’s just blowing smoke.”

Charli grinned. “Oh, you won’t be telling them anything. You’ll be telling me everything you know about Andy and his little blue pills.”

Token glared at her. “If I ain’t telling them, I ain’t telling you either.”

Charli giggled. “Oh, they could break you and get you to talk but they would beat you too badly. I need you to be able to use your jaw and mouth to tell us stuff, so I’m going to ask you some questions and you’ll answer them.”

“What makes you think I’ll tell you anything?” Token sneered.

“Cuz little man, I got nothing left to lose now. Ben is dead and I just don’t fucking care anymore. I want to hurt Andy the way he hurt me. I want to leave him with nothing the same way he left me with nothing.”

Token looked into her eyes and knew she was telling him the absolute truth. Her eyes were empty. Andy’s threat was real but Charli’s threat was deadly.

Token knew how close she was with Ben. Hell, the whole town knew that. And Ben was the last family that she had left.

He stared at her. He also noted the men at the door did not seem to want to even get too close to her either.

She looked odd too. Blood all over her, though she didn’t seem to care. Her eyes held some gleam that he couldn’t identify and it actually made his skin crawl. Her voice wasn’t even the same as he remembered. Not like the Charli, he’d known before.

Damn…She did look like she had nothing to lose.

Token stared at her, as he sucked in a breath. He froze in his chair when he saw what she intended to do next.