Hope (14 page)

She looked behind her over at the horizon.

“Penny, get behind me,” Pearce said. She looked in front of
her. Three men were advancing toward the farm.

She gasped.

“Get in the fucking house. Lock the doors, and make sure
that Laura and the kids are all right.”

Without taking her eyes away from the men, she ran up the
steps.

“Laura, three men are coming. Pearce says you need to lock
all the doors and stay inside.” Penny ran to the window, bolting the lock.

“Get in the basement,” Laura said to the children.

The three men looked big. Pearce wouldn’t be able to fight
them off.

“I can’t leave him out there, Laura. Do you have anything I
can use to help?”

“I don’t think that is a good idea, Penny. They tell us to
stay inside for a reason. What if they take Pearce down and kidnap you? You’d
be valuable trade.” Laura stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

“All my life I’ve taken what has been thrown at me without
fighting. Pearce is working on something big down at one of the factories. He’s
an intelligent man, and if we lose him, we lose the potential to get to living
life better. Please, help me.”

****

Pearce was not happy. The men were not from Don’s area. He
saw that in the way they carried themselves and the way they were armoured up.
Their hands were on their hips, and their stride was one of purpose. They’d
come here for some serious business. He inhaled on the pipe dangling from his
mouth.
 

Smoking was a pleasure he refused to give up. If these men
were looking for an easy target to pick off, they’d be mistaken. Pearce knew he
didn’t look like much, but he could hold his own. There were women in the house
and children. He’d die protecting them. There was no way they’d be hurt on his
watch. He placed his free hand behind his back. His other knife was in his
jacket inside the house.

“That’s close enough,” he said. They were about five feet
away.

All three men paused shocked by his orders.

“Who the
fuck are
you?” the one in
the centre yelled.

He remained silent, flicking his ash on the ground before
putting the cigarette to his lips.

“Are you stupid or something?” The one on the left called to
him.

Protect the
women. Protect the women.

He said the words over and over.

“You have no business here. Go back home, and while you’re
at it, stay away from Don Michael’s property.” He threw the pipe in the dirt,
which he’d collect later. Pearce wanted both hands free.

“Don doesn’t know shit. This is not his land no more.” This
time the man on the right spoke up.

“Last time I checked this was Don’s land. You start talking
shit about him, you’ll be in trouble.”

 
“I’ve come from Grimes.
This place is his property, and he demands payment. I’m the person speaking on
his behalf.”

Pearce frowned. Then his heart leapt in his throat at the
sound of the front door banging open. He knew who it was before she made it to
his side.

The men’s gazes turned to her. Penny stood at his side with
a rolling pin.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m going to help you.”

He saw the glare in her eyes. This woman was not going to
back down. Pearce had to admire her. She’d clearly had enough of being ordered
around by men and being scared.

“These men are from Grimes’s area, Penny. Do you recognise
any of them?”

The men were still looking at Penny. Pearce knew what they
were thinking, and he hated every single one of their obvious dirty thoughts.
Penny was a lady. He saw that in the way she carried herself. She shouldn’t
have to deal with these men.

“No, I don’t recognise them.”

“We’ll take the girl as well. Grimes will be happy to keep
her.”

The colour drained from her face.

“I can’t go back there,” she said. Penny took a step closer
to him. “I pulled this out of your jacket. I thought you’d like it back.”

She pressed his knife into his hand. He took it from her,
thankful she’d risked her life to give him his weapon.

“Damon is going to be pissed with me, you know that?” he
asked. He felt better with the weapon in his hand.

“He’ll be pissed with me. I won’t let you take the blame.”

She tapped his arm.

If they lived through this he was going to give her a hug
and a kiss.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Chapter
Thirteen

“He’s been cleared out of everything. There is nothing left
but a few scraps of furniture,” Damon said. George was looking through the
cupboards in the kitchen.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. Have
you?” George asked.

He shook his head. Anything of value had been taken. Damon
rubbed the back of his neck. He was starting to get a bad feeling, and he
didn’t know why.

“Did you know Tony well?” he asked.

“Yeah, Tony was the one who taught all of us how to farm. In
the early days we didn’t have a clue about anything. Seeds, propagation, the
lot of it, Tony taught us everything. I can’t believe it. His books are all
that’s left.” There were several gardening books and some tatty looking
journals that had seen some action from the look of them. Since the wars,
everyone had to make do with what they could find. Tony was no different.

Damon grabbed the books and moved out to the jeep. The sun
looked like it was starting to set. The drive had taken longer than he’d anticipated.
“We’ll come back tomorrow,” he said.

George sat next to him. He started the jeep and headed in
the direction of the man’s home.

“Is it true the rumours I’ve heard?” he asked.

Damon took a quick glance at the man sat next to him. “That
depends on the rumours.”

“I’ve heard Don wants to try to get the world functioning
again. Is that true?”

“He’s trying to do everything he can to make the world
safer. I know I want the world to be safer. Since Penny came into my life I’ve
been terrified about her.” It had been hard not to go to her in the house. For
so many years he’d been alone. He’d never waited around for anyone or felt
guilty about doing what he did best. Now, with Penny at home waiting for him,
he’d begun to feel guilty about his actions. It was unfair of him; he knew
that.

“I know. I’ve not let Laura out of my sight after
Tony’s
death. I love that woman to death. If anything
happened to her I wouldn’t survive. There wouldn’t be a point to me existing. I
don’t get some of the men these days. They act like this is the better world. I
don’t see it.”

Damon understood what George was saying. “We’ll never know
what is going on in another man’s head.” He thought about the monsters who’d
tried to hurt Penny. Damon tightened his hands on the steering wheel. If he
ever saw those men again, he’d tear them apart.

“You’re a good man, Damon. I’m pleased you’ll be staying
with me for a little while.”

Don had ordered him to stay out at the farm until the person
responsible for the death of the farmer was caught. His boss didn’t want the
guy dead. Don wanted to question the man.

He pulled up outside of George’s house just as the sun set.

They climbed out of the jeep and walked into the house. The
house was deathly silent.

“That’s strange. The kids are usually causing a fuss.”

Damon pulled his knife out of the back of his trousers. The
bad feeling in his gut was getting harder and harder to ignore.

He walked through to the kitchen. There was no one present.

“There is light coming from the shed,” George said, pointing
over his shoulder.

“Do you have a weapon, George? If I was you, I’d get it.
This could get ugly.”

George left him for several moments. He returned with a fire
poker. “It’s the best I’ve got.”

“I’m sick and tired of all this shit,” Damon said.

He opened the door making sure his movements were silent.
His entire body ached from the journey and from being tense.

There were several grunts coming from the shed. He couldn’t
make out any particular noise.

Pearce should be able to look after himself.

When he was at the door, he allowed his heart to slow down.
He needed to have his bearings.

He counted inside his head.

One.
Two.
Three.

Damon slammed the door wide. There was a scream. His eyes
adjusted to the light. Three men were tied with their hands above their head to
the roof of the shed. Penny held a rolling pin above her head, looking deadly.

“Where’s Laura?” George asked.

“She’s back at the house,” Pearce said.

George threw the poker down and charged back to the house.

Damon stared at Penny. There was a dark purple bruise along
the side of her face. Her lip looked like it had been split. He lowered the knife
down to his side.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Pearce said,
turning to the first man in the line.

“We didn’t want Laura and the kids witnessing this. They’ve been
through a scare already. We were worried they’d got to you and George,” Penny
said.

She lowered the rolling pin to her side. Damon closed the
door behind him. He walked to where Penny stood. Taking her face in his hands,
he turned her face this way and that way, assessing her injuries.

“You were hit?”

“Yes, and kicked in the stomach. I think I’m fine. It just
hurts a little.” He stroked her injured cheek. She didn’t wince, which was a
good thing. If she’d winced he’d have torn the men apart.

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. He walked into the
barn. “I leave my woman alone with you for five minutes and she’s battered and
bruised.”

Pearce glared at her. “She wouldn’t listen to my orders, Damon.”

“Hey, I helped you. Without me you’d have been dead. You
know that, and I know that. I gave him his knife. He was such a brave man.
You’d have been proud,” she said.

Damon helped her sit down and then moved to Pearce’s side. Damon
had to fight not to look at her. She looked so fierce and yet gentle. That
rolling pin was practically glued to her hand.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“These three men came with the message that Grimes has taken
these houses. They’re speaking on his behalf. Apparently, Grimes owns these
houses, and he’s coming to collect a debt.”

“ I
don’t get it. I thought
this was the border between Don and Tristan’s area,” she said.

“It is, which can only mean one thing,” Damon said, staring
at Pearce.

“He’s inside Tristan’s area. That guy is insane. You don’t
think Grimes has taken him out?” Pearce asked.

Damon shrugged his shoulders.

“What are these men saying?” he asked.

“Nothing.
They’re refusing to
talk. They say they’re part of Grimes’s group and their loyalty is to him.”
Penny folded her arms glaring at the men.

Damon moved close and tested their bindings.

“They’ll be fine for tonight. The shed will keep them warm
enough. Let us leave them out to the cold and the wolves. I’m sure by tomorrow
morning they’ll have a whole new viewpoint.” Damon turned his back on the men.
He wanted Penny as far away from the men as possible. Lights were shining in
the house. They walked in through the kitchen where they found Laura making a
pot of mint tea.

“Are they …
erm
… are they?” She
stared past them to the shed.

“No. They’re not dead, but they’re not talking.” Damon sat
down at the table. It looked like George had brought through the books from
Tony’s
farm.

“I can’t believe they’re here. Shouldn’t we let them go?”
Laura asked. Penny took the seat next to him.

“No. If we let them go then tomorrow it will be six men
knocking at your door. Until we figure out what is going on, you’re not safe,
and we’re staying here. Pearce, I might need you to drive back to the club and
give Don an update.”

“The jeep won’t take a long drive like that, not to get all
the way there to update Don and then make it back, Damon. You’d be alone for
one night,” Pearce said.

“I can handle myself. Don needs to know what is kicking off.
If Grimes is in Tristan’s area then we need to do something about it.”

He opened the book flicking through the pages. Damon wished
he could read.