The Night a Barefoot Girl Ran Into Hell's Lantern
CHAPTER 1 - THE GIRL IN THE DOORWAY
"Please help me! They're hurting my mom!"
The wooden double doors flew open so hard they slammed against the walls.
Rain blew in first.
Then came the girl.
She couldn't have been older than seven. She wore an oversized hoodie soaked through with rain and mud.
Hell's Lantern went quiet.
Even the jukebox seemed to fade under the thunder.
At the round table in the back, four men in leather vests looked up from their drinks. Big men. Gray in their beards. Ink crawling up their arms. The kind of men strangers crossed the street to avoid.
The girl stopped in front of them, shaking so badly her teeth clicked.
Rain and tears ran together down her face.
"Please help me!" she cried again. "They're hurting my mom!"
Wade Mercer, president of the Lantern Riders, set his whiskey down so hard the glass cracked against the table.
He had a mohawk gone silver at the edges and a beard thick enough to hide half his face, but there was nothing hidden in his eyes now. Only fury.
He stood, and every man around the table stood with him.
The child flinched.
That made Wade drop to one knee at once.
His voice changed completely.
Soft. Careful.
"Hey, sweetheart. Look at me. What's your name?"
"Lila."
"Okay, Lila. I'm Wade. You're safe in here. Where's your mama?"
The little girl's fingers tightened at her chest, clutching the wet fabric of her hoodie.
"At the blue house by Miller Creek. My daddy's friend came over. Daddy's gone. They locked the kitchen door."
Wade's jaw hardened.
Maggie, the bartender, was already reaching for the phone.
"Calling 911," she said.
Lila shook her head so violently her wet hair whipped her cheeks.
"No! If they hear sirens, he'll kill her."
Wade glanced at his men. No one joked. No one hesitated.
Then Lila looked up at him again and whispered, "My mom said if I ever got scared, I should find the man with the raven on his hand."
Slowly, Wade turned over his right hand.
A black raven was tattooed across the back of it.
