Cottonmouth: Soldiers Of Hades MC, #1

“You lie!” the woman screamed as she shot to her feet.

“Honey, it’s the truth.” Python tapped the phone. “This man was Garcia Nunuez. He worked for the cartel all right, he was second in command for this area. He and the cartel tried to establish a warehouse and distribution point here in Odessa, but we weren’t going to let that happen. We burned him out and rather than lose their place here, there was a battle. We had the numbers and the home advantage, so we won that war. I shot the man down myself.” Shaking his head, he told her, “You’re hunting a dead man.”

“No, sir I am not.” She grabbed the phone from his hands and put it back in her pocket. “That photo was taken by Travis almost a year ago. I found the first two and I will find him as well.” Shaking her head she told him, “I won’t stop until he’s dead. Or I am.”

The room fell silent.

Cotton and Cobra stared at their dad.

She stared at Python and asked quietly, “Where is my truck?”

“Stay here tonight and get some sleep. Your mission can stand one night,” Python assured her quietly and with the authority he was used to exuding like the air he breathed. “I’ll give you your truck in the morning.” He got to his feet and looked around the room. “We all need some sleep. Cotton, show our guest where she can sleep.”

The woman just sat there and watched as everyone else left the room. She looked over at Cotton. “Why is your dad doing this?” she finally asked. “He doesn’t know me, so he can’t possibly be worried about me.”

Cotton shrugged. “I have no clue what the old man is thinking about at the moment. I do know you aren’t going to change his mind. He wants you to stay, so you’re staying. At least until morning.” He got to his feet and motioned toward the hall. “Come on, let’s find you and the mutt a room.” He paused then had to ask, “Hey, earlier…why did dad tell us to release you?”

Tory grinned. “Cuz Wolf had his balls in his mouth and wasn’t going to let him go.”

Cotton froze for a moment then threw his head back and laughed out loud. “That’s crazy. Python trapped by his—”

Suddenly, the lights went out.

Cotton grabbed her arm and pushed her toward the corner. Pulling his weapon, he lost sight of the dog as he scanned the room.

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

“I don’t know but I don’t think it’s anything good,” he whispered back. He looked at her and asked, “Were you followed here?”

“No, I’m sure of that much,” she assured him.

“Where is that dog of yours?” Cotton asked.

“He’s on patrol, but he’s here,” she told him.

They froze as they heard the front door open and footsteps walk in. “Puta, where are you bitch?” a voice called out softly.

Cotton felt her begin to shake and looked down at her. From the look in her eyes, she knew that voice. He reached out and squeezed her hand.

“You don’t want me to wake up everyone else do you, Senorita biatch?” the voice called out softly. “I will you know, but know if I do that, they will all die here tonight muerto bikers. It can be just you or all of them too, but tonight, you die.”

They didn’t say anything instead they waited and listened to determine where in the room he was.

Reaching inside her jacket, she smoothly brought out her own weapon.

Cotton leaned into her and whispered softly, “Who is this fucker?”

“He’s the third man your dad told me he killed eleven years ago,” she whispered back.

Cotton snapped his head up to stare at her for a moment then he nodded slowly. They heard the footsteps coming toward them and Cotton leaned forward again to whisper, “Don’t freak out on me now girl. Stay alert and if you value your life, stay quiet.”

Tory nodded and watched him slip away. She crouched down and listened.

The footsteps stopped just in front of her and his voice called out again. “I know you are here, puta.” His voice called out softly.

His accent grated on her nerves as she tried not to give away her position.

“I came here to kill you before you could find me alone and kill me like you killed my friends. So tell me, why have you been hunting us?” The footsteps walked away but not far. “Did we do something to you?” He paused, “Are you the waitress we took from Greenaway? We only had some fun, what was wrong with that? Huh, bitch? Quién eres tú? Why you have to kill my friends over that? We gave you money for our pleasure. It wasn’t enough maybe? Is that it? We didn’t leave enough money for you?”

Tory knew how to keep her silence but the more he spoke the more rage she felt. Like he even cared about how the woman had felt and talking about rape like it was such a meaningless act. She did want to shoot him so badly.

Then the footsteps came back again to stand in front of her. “You know I find this ironico. To find myself in the very clubhouse of the MC responsible for the death of my father is totally loco, isn’t it? I mean what are the possibildades of this ever happening? I was there, did you know that? I was there that night. The shadows hid me but I knew I had to live to get my revenge. I watched as the bastard shot my father in the head and then I watched the fire consume his body. And now after I take your life, I will hunt him down and take his life as well.” Silence fell for a moment then he spoke again. “No, I’ve changed my mind. I will not hunt him down. Instead, I will do to him what he did to my father. I will blow this place to hell and back al infierno y de vuelta. I will watch him burn as I watched my father burn. I will watch as the fire consumes his mortal body and then I will lift a glass of my father’s favorite brandy and make a toast.” He paused then said, “He might not have been worth a damn as a man but he was still my father. We only ever get one set of parents and he stole my father’s life.”

The footsteps walked away.

Tory breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he called out again, “Puta, come out, come out, wherever you are,” he repeated in a sing song voice. “Let’s get this done and move on. I need to set a charge and I want to see this place burn to the ground while I can see it under the shadows of the night. It’s just not the same in the daylight. Then I will let the cartel know I have found the bastard who took out my father. He was a great man for the cartel and they destroyed him and the work he was doing here. They will reward me when they know I have had my revenge.”

She stayed crouched down and felt more than saw when Wolf joined her. She hid her face in his fur and rubbed her chin on the top of his head. Then she gave him a command. She didn’t want to but she knew it was her life at stake. “Don’t hurt Cotton but get the other man, my friend.” She’d heard Python call him ‘Cotton’ earlier. She knew Wolf was smart enough to know the difference between the two men. Then she closed her eyes and prayed that Cotton wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.

She also prayed no one else would wake up before this was done. She watched and listened as Wolf disappeared into the shadows. Then while she waited, the silence grew heavy and filled with tension.

The air around her moved as the shadows closed in on her and someone grabbed her from behind. A hand wrapped itself around her waist and another clamped down on her mouth. She gasped and began to struggle but she stopped almost before she got started as his scent came over her. She knew him. It was Cotton.

It had been enough to catch the attention of the madman in the room. His footsteps rushed over to where they were sitting. “Oh, I heard you puta. Donde estas? Make yourself known to me.”

Then suddenly, she heard a low growl and she knew Wolf was closing in.

“What is that?” Nunuz called out in the dark.

Next, they heard a scream and a gunshot. Then they heard footsteps running away.