Monster Slayers MC Book 7
Chapter 1-Rescuing an old friend’s widow

Rooster’s POV

It has been quiet for the past two weeks, since we rescued Mindy and we just finished another of Claire’s excellent meals. I walked into my office intending to get some work done but as soon as I sat down, my phone began to ring. “Hello?”

“Is this the Monster Slayers?” A woman asked in a hoarse voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes. Can I help you?” I asked.

“Please, I need you to come and help me. My man beat me up really badly and was trying to get to my kids. They made too much noise and he got mad and was going to whip them but I managed to hide them under my bed before he could get to them but he beat me up really badly. He is drunk and has passed out on the sofa now but I’m so hurt that I can’t barely move. Please can you help us get somewhere safe?” she begged. She was sounding like she was about to pass out.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Last trailer on the left. I think he’s waking up. No, baby. Stay under there. Please hurry.” she whispered and then the phone went dead.

I immediately sent a group text to everyone calling for church as I got up and walked to the meeting room. It took about 3 minutes for everyone to arrive from wherever they were on property and I immediately rapped my gavel to quieten everyone down.

“I just got a call from a woman at the trailer park. Her man, as she called him, has beaten her up really bad.”

Just then Knuckles came running in and sat down in his usual chair. “Sorry, I was on my way back from town.” He said and I nodded then continued.

“The man is drunk and she said he passed out in the living room but it sounded like she thought he was waking up . They are in the last trailer on the left. She said she’s too hurt to get the kids out on her own and they are currently hiding under the bed in her bedroom. I think she passed out before I could replace out anything more. Boomer, Hulk, Knuckles, I want you with me.

Someone, run get Doc and Millie. I’ve got a feeling they are going to need medical attention and if the kids are scared, Millie will be best to deal with them. If this bozo gives us any issues, we’re not going to even bother with Carl MacIntosh. If he’s still passed out, then we’ll call him to take him to jail. The woman and her kids will be going to the Farm. Go get ready, we ride in 5 minutes. I’ve got to call Papa Joe and let him know we are coming. Boomer, tell a couple of prospects to follow us with an SUV so we can transport them and another van for him if we end up taking care of him.” I told them and then rapped my gavel on the block.

“Got it.” Boomer said and we left the meeting room.

I noticed Knuckles went straight to the kitchen, probably in search of Mindy but came back a minute later and walked down to the family living room with me.

“Dixie, where’s Mindy?” Knuckles asked.

“She and Claire left here a few minutes ago. Are they not in the kitchen?” Dixie said.

“No, but could you let her know I’m going with Prez and the others on a rescue?” He asked.

“Sure.” Dixie replied and then turned to me. “What’s going on, babe?”

“Rescue of a woman with two little kids. Drunk husband beat the hell out of her. I’m not sure but I think she passed out on the phone. She was talking in a whisper but I’m not sure if it was because she was afraid he would hear her or because she was too beat up to talk any louder. I’m probably going to call Papa Joe, but I have to determine whether I need to take them either to the hospital or to the farm.” I told her.

“Ok. Take care and be safe. Let me know if you are going to be gone past dark.” Dixie told me and gave me a kiss.

I left her in the living room and walked back to the main living room as I called Papa Joe. I explained what was going on as I walked outside. “If they don’t need to go to the hospital, we should be there within an hour or so.” I told him before I hung up.

I didn’t even check who the prospects in the van were as Doc and Millie in his ambulance van pulled up as I mounted my bike. I couldn’t explain it but something was making me feel like we needed to hurry as we left the compound and took the shortcut to the trailer park.

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into the trailer park and there were people standing around outside, mostly older folks and young women holding on to their kids as they looked down at the last trailer.

As soon as we turned off our bikes, we could hear the sound of banging and a man yelling foul language for someone to open the door. An older gentleman walked over to me, leaning heavily on a cane. “Are you here to help her? That SOB beats on her all the time but this time he is really pissed about something.

We call the cops every time but when they finally slowpoke their asses here, all they do is take him away until he sobers up and then a few days later, he’s at it again. We’ve tried to convince her to get away when he’s not here but she’s got no place to go. He’s not even her husband. Her husband was killed in Iraq when she was about 6 months pregnant with her youngest. She met this asshole about 2 months ago. They were okay at first but he doesn’t want her kids because they aren’t his.” The man told me.

“Has anyone called the law yet today?” I asked.

“Yeah, about an hour ago but they still haven’t shown up.” The man said in disgust.

“Well, if they don’t show up while we’re here, we’re going to take care of him and get her and her kids somewhere safe.” I told him.

Just then the pounding started again and we could hear wood splintering and the sound of a woman screaming and children crying.

Boomer and I ran for the door, followed by Knuckles and Hulk. The four of us are so big that we barely fit in the small trailer but when we looked down the hall we saw a large man with a hand ax in his hand chopping his way through the door. A couple of more whacks and he would be able to get in.

I pulled my gun and yelled down the hallway. “Hey! Asshole. Drop the ax and come out of there.”

He turned and I could tell he was drunk and pissed off. He was unsteady on his feet and when he turned he fell back against the wall. “Who the fuck are you? What the hell are you doing in my house? This is none of your fucking business. Get out before I chop you to pieces.” He yelled and began to stagger towards us but he was so drunk he kept falling up against the wall in the hallway.

“Hulk. Knuckles. Go come in the back door and one of you grab him if you can. I really don’t want to shoot down the hall if the woman and kids are in there.” I told them quietly.

“Please don’t shoot us.” Knuckles joked as they went back out the front door.

“Just be careful.” I told them.

The drunk man yelled “I told you to get out of my house!” He said as he tried to straighten up, swinging the ax back and forth which was probably causing him to lose his balance. If he wasn’t careful he was going to hurt himself. He started muttering “I just want to sleep but she can’t keep those damned brats of hers quiet. Always whining and making noise.”

He didn’t even notice when the back door opened at first and he was almost to the end of the hallway. I was really leery about that ax that he was swinging around. I saw Knuckles come inside and begin sneaking up behind the man but when Knuckles was almost to him, he stepped on a squeaky section of the floor and with amazing speed and agility the man whipped around and swung the ax at Knuckles.

Thankfully he managed to jump out of the way just in time but he landed up against Hulk who was standing behind him and managed to keep him from falling down. I saw my chance and rushed the man from behind. I grabbed him around his arms, trapping them against his body. The ax fell to the floor as the man tried to grab my wrists to try and get me to let him go. He kicked me in the shins and I told Knuckles, “Knock this fucker out for me please. He’s kicking me.”

“Gladly.” Knuckles said and popped the man on the jaw but while the man’s head jerked to the side, all it seemed to do was piss him off.

“What the fuck? Let me go and I’ll kick his ass!” He yelled and kicked out with his leg, catching Knuckles in the leg.

Knuckles had a surprised look on his face but punched the guy again, this time harder and the guy finally passed out.

I dragged him out of the trailer and threw him on the ground. The people standing outside began to clap and the older man who had talked to me earlier, made his way over to me. “Good, you got him. Are Jenny and the kids okay?”

Doc and Millie came over and asked. “Where’s the woman and her kids?”

“We haven’t gotten to them yet. He had an ax and was trying to chop his way into the bedroom.” I said.

Just then Hulk stepped out and said “Rooster! Doc and Millie need to come in. The woman is bad and the kids are afraid of us.”

I led them into the trailer and we walked down the hall. Hulk had taken the door off of the hinges and the woman was laying on the floor next to the bed, unconscious. Her face was badly swollen and she had dark purple bruises on just about every inch of skin that we can see.

“She’s going to need to go to the hospital. Her pulse is really slow. Call an ambulance.” Doc said and I whipped out my phone as I watched Millie get down on her hands and knees.

“You guys clear out of here and give us room to work. I’ll get the kids out.” Millie instructed in her no nonsense nurse’s voice and we all left the tiny bedroom.

After 2 rings to 911, I told the dispatcher who I was and that I needed an ambulance and paramedics and where we were.

Just about then, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (as we called the two officers that were basically worthless because they rarely did anything about anything) pulled up and got out acting all important. Instead of coming up to replace out what was going on and trying to do anything about it, they began to question “witnesses” who hadn’t actually seen anything. I just shook my head and turned to talk to the old man.

“If you talk to them, ask them why they didn’t come when they were first called. They might have saved her from taking the beating she’s had to suffer.” I told him.

“Don’t you worry. I’m going to rip these two new ones. Jenny is a good woman and she doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. And these two are totally worthless. I wonder where Carl MacIntosh is?” The old man said. “He’s the only one that does anything but he’s just one man and he can’t be everywhere at once. At least he got that jackass that was hurting Manny and his family. Is Manny staying with you now? I saw when you came to rescue him. His poor mama took beatings from that asshole for years until Carl finally rescued her. I was surprised when Manny showed back up here.” the man told me.

“Yeah, Manny is a prospect for my club but he’s about to patch in. He and his girl are about to get married soon.” I told him. “What is your name sir?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Ralph Jefferson. Pleased to meet you.” He said and stuck his hand out.

I shook his frail hand gently and said “Mr. Jefferson, I’m going to leave you my number and any time the women or children in this trailer park have trouble with anyone hurting them, you just give me a call and we’ll come take care of it. Okay?” I told him as I handed him one of the cards that Dixie had printed out for us.

We had all agreed to start carrying them whenever we went on missions so that people would know where to call when they needed help that they weren’t getting from the “law”. He took the card from me and put it in his shirt pocket and told me thank you before he turned to go talk to the two worthless officers.

Just then the ambulance pulled up and the paramedics jumped out and hurried inside, with nods towards me.

A few minutes later, Millie came out the front door and waved me over. “Rooster, can you please ask around if there is a woman that knows these kids? They are too afraid to come out from under that bed because they don’t know me. One of them can’t be much over a year old but the older one is holding on to her to keep her from coming to me.”

“Sure Millie. I’ll be right back. In the meantime, can you replace some clothes and stuff for them?” I asked her.

“Sure. I can’t get back into where they are working on the mom anyway. She’s in really bad shape, Rooster.”

I walked over to where Mr. Jefferson was ripping the two dumbassed cops a new one and they were both getting upset and began to yell at him.

“Gentlemen, I advise you to keep your voices respectful towards your elder who is only speaking the truth. My understanding is that you have been called out here several times to protect this woman and have done nothing about it but take him away until he sobers up and then he comes right back and does it again. Because of your ineptness, that young lady might possibly lose her life today, making her babies orphans. Now get your asses back in that fancy rig and get the hell out of here. Where the hell is Carl MacIntosh? You can rest assured that I’m going to be talking to him about replacing your sorry asses!”

“Sheriff MacIntosh is on an accident call out on the highway. A big rig jackknifed and took out a couple of cars.” One of them told me.

“Have him call me as soon as he’s back in the office. For now, clear out of here. We’ve got this.” I said and watched as they turned to leave. Then I turned to Mr. Jefferson and asked him, “Is there a woman here who knows those kids? They don’t know us and are afraid to come out from under the bed.”

Mr. Jefferson turned and looked around and spotted a woman with mousy brown hair holding a baby on her hip. “Cassie, can you come here for a minute please.” Mr. Jefferson called out to her.

She handed her baby to another woman who was standing close by and walked over to us. She was rather plain looking and a heavy young woman but she had a nice smile.

“Cassie, that jackass beat Jenny up so bad she’s unconscious and her kids are hiding under the bed and they are too scared to come out. They know you. Do you think you can get them out?” Mr. Jackson asked.

“I can try. I haven’t seen Jenny much lately but her oldest might remember me.” Cassie said.

Just then one of the paramedics came out of the trailer and said “We could use some extra hands to help us move her. We’re going to have to put her on a backboard to get her out of there. It’s too small in there to get a gurney inside.”

“Can she be lifted without a backboard?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Doc said to bring a backboard to move her but we’re still going to need extra hands to get it turned and out of the room. I think we won’t be able to make the turn to get out the back door and are going to have to carry her to the living room to where we can get enough room to turn to get out the front door.” He said and then turned to go get the backboard.

I walked with Cassie over to the trailer and told her, “Wait right here. Let us get Jenny out then you and Millie can go in for the kids.”

“Okay.” she said and sat down on a cooler that was sitting outside the back door.

I stepped inside the back door and saw Doc talking to the other paramedic. “She has got to have internal bleeding but I’m worried about why she’s not waking up yet.”

“Doc? Can she be lifted without a backboard?” I asked when I saw how small she was. She wasn’t exactly real short but she was really skinny. She couldn’t weigh all that much.

“If she was awake and could tell me where she’s feeling pain, I would say yes but she’s been unconscious the whole time. I would rather we put her on a board until I know for sure that she doesn’t have neck or spine damage. She has some broken ribs and possibly a punctured lung. She’s got blood in her mouth but I can’t tell if it’s from her lungs or just the inside of her mouth but it’s enough to make me worry. Her breathing is very shallow and I can hear bubbles in her lungs.” Doc said. “We need to get her out of here and to the hospital asap!”

Just then the paramedic came back into the trailer and hurried down the hall with the backboard and a neck collar. Doc quickly put the collar on her and while they quickly lifted her enough to get the backboard under her, which wasn’t an easy task because of the limited space in the tiny bedroom.

They finally managed to get her strapped to the board and lifted her up. They had to step on the bed to get her lined up with the door, which frightened the kids and they began to cry even louder. The men finally managed to get her turned but they still barely made it down the hallway and had to do some creative maneuvering to get her out the door but they finally managed it.

When Cassie saw her, I heard her gasp. “Oh my God! Jenny! Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know yet. She’s in pretty bad shape.” Doc said as they hurried her to the ambulance. “Rooster, watch after Millie for me, please.” He called out as he climbed in behind the paramedics.

“I will Doc! Don’t worry.” I called back just as the doors of the ambulance closed and they pulled out.

I was rather surprised when Cassie walked up to the unconscious man on the ground and kicked him soundly in the backside. Then she turned and walked into the trailer. We all waited outside for her, while Millie stood in the hallway.

It took Cassie about 10 minutes but she finally came out holding a little boy about 3, maybe 4 years old and Millie had a baby girl around a year old. She also had a garbage bag that was only about half full of clothes and some diapers. Both kids were filthy dirty from being under the bed. The baby girl needed a diaper change and she had a grip on Millie’s blouse as she hid her face against her breast. The little boy never took his eyes off of Millie and his baby sister.

Millie took them over to Doc’s van and changed the little girl’s diaper and wiped her down a bit with a washcloth she had made wet in the trailer then put on some clothes that she had found in the house since all she had on was a t-shirt and her diaper.

The little boy got very upset when Cassie brought him out of the house and he saw the man laying on the ground. “No! No! Bad man out here. I want to go home! Sissy! Sissy!” He started crying so Cassie gave the man on the ground a wide berth, telling him “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. Mr. Rooster won’t let him.”

Cassie carried him over to Doc’s van as she reassured him that the bad man couldn’t hurt him and that his sister was okay. “See, Ms. Millie is just changing her diaper. The bad man can’t hurt you. Mr. Rooster won’t let him.”

I came up behind them slowly and asked Cassie, “What are their names?”

“This little man is called Bucky. His real name is Rueben but before his daddy went to war, he always called him his little Bucky. Her name is Penny. Legally it’s Penelope. Their last name is Roberts.” Cassie said. When she told me the little boy’s name was Rueben, I couldn’t believe it. Then when she said their last name was Roberts, I was floored even more. She handed Bucky up to Millie who sat him next to his sister and she wiped his face and hands as she talked softly to him.

“Was his daddy’s name Michael?” I asked.

“Yeah. Did you know him? You would be about the same age, I think.” Cassie said.

“Was he about 6’2”, brown hair, blue eyes, a scar on his chin?” I asked, making a motion with my left hand down the side of my jaw to underneath the point of my chin.

“I only saw him once or twice before he was shipped out but that sounds like him. So you did know him?” Cassie asked.

“Yeah, I knew him. We were classmates from about 2nd grade. He got that scar riding his bike.” I told her as I began a walk down memory lane. There had been a whole bunch of kids that were riding our bikes around the neighborhood that day. We had gotten bored and decided to have a jumping contest to see who could go the highest and farthest.

We had put a piece of scrap lumber on a cement block and used it as a ramp. When Michael aka “Mike” came down, his foot slipped off the pedal and he landed on his handlebars on his chin and his boy parts on the cross bar. He was bleeding from his face really badly but his boy parts were hurting him more and he was screaming like a banshee. Scared us kids half to death because of all the blood that was pouring out of his chin. I rode as fast as I could to Mike’s house to get his mom. She raced down in her car and took him to the hospital. He got 6 stitches in his chin and the doctor said it was a good thing he didn’t bite off his tongue or break his teeth. His dad died when we were about 12 or 13 and his mom moved away.

“I wonder when and why he came back to town?” I said, thinking out loud.

“Because of Jenny. About a month before he went to war, Jenny came to help her mom out but her cancer was already too far gone. She left Jenny the trailer in her will. Her husband had already been called up to deploy and she decided to stay here so that she wouldn’t have to pay rent on an apartment or house while he was gone.

She only had Bucky then but I think she got pregnant the night before he had to leave. Then 6 months later, she got word he had been killed in action. I thought she was going to lose Penny because she was so upset.

Then a few months ago, she met that jackass when he stopped to help her fix a flat tire and he started coming around. He can be really nice when he’s not drinking but the problem is that he drinks a lot and lately it’s been more and more often.

When he drinks, he gets mean and then he beats on her. He doesn’t like her kids because she focuses on them and they have had several really bad arguments about him spanking Bucky and jerking him by the arm. I don’t know what set him off today but he really did a number on her today. This is the worst yet.” Cassie told me.

“Well, from what he was ranting on about, the kids were making noise while he was trying to sleep. He must have come here wanting to sleep off his drunk and got pissed when she couldn’t keep them quiet enough for him. But he won’t be doing it ever again. Do you know if Jenny has any family or even Michael?” I asked.

“I don’t think Jenny ever knew her father, she never talked about him. As far as I know she was an only child and like I said, her mama is dead. Jenny told me that Michael said that his mom drank herself to death after his father died.” Cassie said.

“Well, we are going to take them back to the club house with us and then go check on Jenny.” I said. I was second guessing about taking these kids to the Farm but I wanted to talk to Dixie before I made any decisions. I’m a little worried that Dixie is going to get attached to these kids. Hell, I’m worried about me getting too attached to them! If Jenny makes it, which I pray she does, then it’s going to be really hard to let these two little ones go. I think I had better replace out how the mother is doing first.

“Well, thanks for your help, Cassie. We better get going. I want to go check on Jenny.” I told her.

“Well, please let me know how she’s doing. I’ll try to go see her in a day or two. I’ll have to replace a babysitter to watch my daughter.” Cassie said.

“Okay. I will. Thanks again.” I said and walked away from the Doc’s van.

“Boomer. You guys lock up the trailer but first see if you can replace Jenny’s purse. She’s going to need stuff in there.” I called, then turned to the prospects. “One of you, drive Millie and those kids back to the compound and take it easy. Remember they are sitting in the back and are already terrified enough. Drive like you’ve got loose eggs in the back and Dixie is going to remove your little boy parts if you crack even one.” I told them.

“Knuckles, I’m going to the hospital. Tell Boomer to meet me there and bring her purse. The rest of you, take this asshole to the compound and put him in the shed. I’ll decide what to do about him later.”

“Sure thing, Prez.” The other new prospect said. His name is Seth, I think.

I rode over to the hospital and walked inside the ER waiting room. I let them know I was here for Jenny Roberts and to let Doc know I am here.

A girl named Janet, that I was coming to know on sight, was working the reception desk tonight and she quietly said “I’m hoping because you are here tonight for Jenny that it means you are going to take care of that asshole? This is not the first time he’s beat up on her or one of several other women he’s dated before her. She just put up with it longer than most of them do.”

“Hmmm. Thanks for the info, Janet. I was kind of undecided about what I was going to do about him but I think I know now! Can you let Doctor Conners know I’m here, please?”

“Sure, Prez. I’ll be right back.” she said and walked away to the back. She came back a few minutes later and said “they are trying to get her stable so that they can take her up to surgery. You don’t happen to have her drivers license and insurance card, do you?” Janet asked.

“No, but Boomer should be here soon with her purse.” I said and about the time I finished speaking, he walked in with her purse. He handed it over to Janet and Boomer asked, “How’s she doin’?”

“Janet was just telling me they are trying to get her stable enough to take her up to surgery. I don’t know what they’ve found out about her condition yet but get this. Guess who her late husband was?” I told him.

“Not that jackass waiting for us in the shed, I take it?” Boomer said.

“Nope. Do you remember Michael Roberts from grade school?” I asked but Boomer had kind of a blank look on his face and I could tell the name was not registering with him. He had always had a lousy memory when it came to names, especially if it was someone from the past.

“Remember the kid that split his chin open that day we were jumping our bikes in front of Ox’s house?” I said and saw Boomer’s eyes get big as the name suddenly clicked in his memory.

“You’re kidding me? I thought they moved away after his pop died.” Boomer said.

I related what Cassie had told me and he looked like I had felt when I heard about who she was. We may not have seen Mike for years but he had been the fifth of our little group when we were just kids. We had all missed him after he moved away. We had kept in touch for a while but well, we all grew up and moved on with our lives.

“Apparently he died before he even knew he had a baby girl. And get this, the little boy’s name is Rueben! They call him Bucky and the little girl’s name is Penelope but they call her Penny.” I told him and the news apparently left him speechless.

We sat down and waited for about half an hour, then Doc came out with an upset look on his face. I was almost afraid to hear what he had to say.

“How’s she doin’, Doc?” Boomer asked.

“Not good. It took two of us to get her stable enough to go up to surgery. If she survives that, she’s got a small chance but it’s not looking good. She’s got multiple broken ribs and at least one of them punctured her lung. She’s seriously underweight which is going to work against her in recovering from this, IF she makes it through surgery. I don’t think she’s been eating right, if at all, for a while now. She’s got one dislocated shoulder and her wrist on the same hand is broken right above the joint. And he knocked half her teeth loose on one side of her mouth. He had to have been hitting her with a closed fist. There’s no way he did all that damage with an open hand.” Doc told us. “At least the surgeon has Kaylee tonight.”

“Damn!” I said. I told him what Cassie had told me and Doc was almost as shocked as Boomer had been except that he hadn’t known Michael.

“Look, she’s going to be in surgery for at least a few hours. I’m going to stay here and help out. They are short handed tonight. Why don’t you two go home and get some dinner. I’ll call the house whenever I hear something.” Doc said.

“Okay Doc. I’ll send someone back to pick you up.” I told him.

“Just tell Claire to save me some dinner. I could eat a horse right now.” Doc said.

“Dinner is on its way back.” I told him as we left the hospital.