Warlords MC: Book 4 – Deuce : Chapter 12

A little while later, they left the bedroom and hand in hand, they walked out to the kitchen.

Someone had left a light on for them and they raided the refrigerator for something to eat. Making themselves sandwich’s, they then moved over to the sofa to eat. They sat back and were enjoying their meal in the quiet when suddenly, the outside light came on.

Deuce set his plate down as footsteps came running down the hall.

Ace, King and Joker rushed into the room and took their places by the windows with their weapons in hand.

Deuce reached for his own weapon from his back waistband then turned his head and stared out at the figure standing in front of the house.

Luna turned and caught her breath. Standing there was a man who scared the hell out of her. He didn’t move for the longest time but he found her face and stared into her eyes. He knew she wasn’t alone and he made no move toward her.

“Who is he?” Ace growled. “The man has some balls, coming right up on us likes this, I will say.”

“That’s Traven,” Luna whispered. She couldn’t look away from him either, she found.

“What the fuck does he want here?” King growled.

“I think he wants me,” Luna whispered.

No one in the house moved and neither did Traven.

He stared right at her through the glass but he made no other move. He was dressed as she always saw him. His dark cowboy hat hung over his eyes and shadowed his face. His long black duster coat covered him from shoulder to below the knees. His dark leather boots covered his feet and ankles.

His face might be in shadow but his eyes never left hers.

Luna couldn’t pull her eyes away either. He seemed to be beckoning her to come out to him. She felt the pull and took the steps toward the front door.

Deuce made a motion to stop her but King and Ace held him back.

“Luna no, don’t go out there!” Deuce shouted as he fought to escape his brother’s hold.

Luna stepped out of the door and onto the porch. She turned to stare at the man only a few feet away. “You found me.”

“Yes, I found you. But I found you a long time ago. I knew right where to look to find you.”

Luna frowned. “What does that mean?”

He raised his hand and held it out to her. His movements were slow and easy, as if he didn’t want to startle her. “Come here, little one.”

Luna took one step then another toward where he stood.

Traven waited for her silently.

Only when she was within striking distance, did she stop. “A-are you here to kill me?”

“No.” A ghost of a smile showed on his lips. “I’m not here to hurt you at all.”

“Then why are you here, Mr. Killjoy?” she asked.

Traven shook his head. “My last name is no more Killjoy than yours is Whittaker.”

Luna frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Our story goes back a full twenty four years ago. Do you want to hear it?”

“I wasn’t aware we had a story.” She felt truly confused.

Traven nodded. “Oh, but we do, little one.”

“Tell me.”

“My father made a mistake when he took my mother and married her. He found out the mistake when a certain man came looking for him and his wife. The man had warned him that he’d married the wrong girl. That he’d married a woman coveted by a powerful man, a dangerous one. A man that would kill him for it. So he took her and moved away, as far away as he could get. Where they had me. We were a loving family as far as I can remember. But Whittaker found us finally. It was hard for my family to get away that time because my mother was very pregnant and we couldn’t move very far, very fast. The day she and the babies came home from the hospital, was the day Whittaker found us. I was six years old that summer and I’ll never forget the look on that bastard’s face when he came into our house. He was with two other men. They grabbed my father and held him when Whittaker came in. My mother grabbed me and held me to her and together, we stood in front of the crib to protect my baby sisters.”

Luna’s eyes got big and round. “Sisters?”

Traven nodded. “My father tried to reason with Whittaker. Asking him what would be enough for him to leave us in peace. My father begged him for mercy for his family’s lives. Whittaker laughed and said that he would take his children then. He walked over to the crib and saw my twin sisters laying there. He told my father the babies would do as the penalty for taking what had not been his as now he would take what had been my father’s. Then he nodded at his man and the man slit my father’s throat. Whittaker didn’t even blink. He just reached into the crib and lifted the girls out. He turned to leave but before he got to the door, he looked back at my mother. He told her, ‘I don’t want some other man’s leftovers. I’m giving you your life and your son’s life. Do not let me catch you again in my sight, or I’ll take those as well.’ ”

Gasping, Luna raised her hand to cover her mouth.

Traven took a deep breath and continued, “I was only six that day, but I vowed I would find you again, and I would put an end to Jedidiah Whittaker.”

“So y-you’re my brother?” she whispered.

Traven nodded. “I am.”

“Who are you though?”

“I’m not sure I want to tell you at the moment.” He reached out and took her wrist. Then he reached in his pocket and brought out a knife. He moved slowly, so no one in the house would take his actions as an attempt on her life. He slowly ran his fingertip down her left forearm and when he found what he was looking for; he lifted the blade then pierced her skin slightly. “

Luna winced and jumped a bit, but she tried hard to remain still.

Then working the skin, Traven brought to the surface a capsule that had been in her arm. He popped it out from her skin and let it fall to the ground between them. He then stomped on the capsule until he destroyed it completely.

The wound he left in her arm was welling with blood and she clamped her hand over the top. “What was that?” Luna asked in stunned revelation.

“That was Whittaker’s tracker and it has been in your arm for most of your life. He’s known where you were since the day he put that into you. The same as he always knew where Collette was.”

“He knew? He knew the whole time where she was?”

Traven nodded. “Yes, he did.”

“Guthrie and Carmen Vance are still out there,” she warned him.

Traven snorted. “No, they’re not. Neither man will ever bother you again. I made sure of that.”

“They’re not?” she asked. “What did you do?”

“Let’s just say I evened the playing field. And no one will ever find them.”

“Where did Whittaker find your dad?” Luna asked.

“What does it matter now?” he asked.

“I-I want to know.”

Traven answered, “He found us in a small town near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Dad took us there because that’s where my mother’s family was. He wanted her to be close to her family if anything happened to him.”

“What did you guys do after he left?”

“I grew up there and my uncles taught me how to hunt, shoot and how to use my blades. Then when I was finally ready, I came looking for Whittaker.” Shaking his head he said, “I came too late to save Colette but I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose you.”

She reached out and grabbed his hand. She turned and began pulling him toward the house.

“No, I can’t go in there.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Those men are everything I am not. They are righteous and I’m just… not.” He shook his head. “I came here to find you and make sure you were all right. I did that and now, I did what I did to keep you safe, but I never intended to stay. You deserve better. I don’t regret doing what I did but I’m not good enough to claim you or any part of your life.”

“Please come in and meet the others?” she begged him. “There is so much more that I want to know about you and our mother.”

Suddenly, Deuce came through the open door and stepped outside. He looked over at them and stared into Traven’s eyes. “Please come inside. We need to talk.”

Traven sighed and gave in to her demands.

When they went inside, Luna saw everyone was awake now.

Shay and Joker were busy on their computers. Joker was running facial recognition software and Shay was running down bits and pieces of Traven’s story down.

Shay looked over at her. “We heard all of it…And so far, his story is proving to be true.” Shay got to his feet and held out his hand to Traven. “Well, Mr. Shaughnessy, I’m not sure if it’s a pleasure to meet you or not.”

“My last name is London not Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy is my mother’s last name. We took it to hide who we really were,” Traven stated in a hard voice. “My father was Keller London.”

Shay’s eyes widened. He knew that name, he knew the man behind the name too. “So you are claiming that Luna and Collette are not Jedidiah’s daughters?”

“No, they are not.” Traven shook his head. “They are my sisters.”

“Why did he take them?” Ace wanted to know.

“My mother told me a few years ago on her deathbed, that at one point in her life, Jedidiah Whittaker told her he loved her. He said he would offer her the world, but she never loved him, she was in love with my father. Whittaker didn’t take the news well. My father took my mother and left this area. It took Whittaker seven years to find them but when he did, the girls had just been born. He took them because he knew it would hurt my mother the most.”

“Was her name Lucy Jean?” Luna asked softly.

Traven turned and nodded though his face remained impassive. “How did you know that?”

“One night a year, he would set a table for two in his study. He would use gold plates and fancy silverware and then he would close the door and be in there for hours. We could hear him talking to someone in there but we never heard anyone answer. He used that name when he spoke…Lucy Jean. Then the next morning, the room would be back to the way it always looked. Collette and I never knew why he did that. Now, it all makes sense.”

Traven nodded. “The day she died was—”

“September 12th,” Luna stated.

He nodded.