Switchin' Lanes (Savage Menaces MC Book 6)

by Kay Marie

  When my phone started ringing, it was like a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown on me. If it hadn’t have been Buster, I would have ignored it. He wants all the Riders to get together at his place next weekend to meet the new prospects. The plan is to have a BBQ, then go out to the races. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten out and gone racing. I’ve been itching to go, but things keep coming up, preventing me from going.

  I pull into the hospital parking lot, slowly driving down each aisle, searching for her car. Just when I think it isn’t here, I find it. I park three spots down and climb out. I walk to Tink’s car, walking around it to see if I can find any signs of what might have happened. Her cell phone is on the ground by the driver’s side door, shattered. I slip it into my pocket and head back to my car. Once in my car, I call Hollywood.

  “Hey. Find anything?” he says when he answers.

  “Yeah. Her car is still at the hospital and her phone was on the ground, smashed. I’m gonna ask Tech if he will hack the hospital security cameras to see if he can find out what happened,” I tell him.

  “Good idea. I hit him up a little bit ago to have him trace her phone. Obviously, that’s not needed anymore.” There’s a slight shift in his tone. It’s not something most people would notice, but when it comes to him and Tink, I notice a lot.

  “Hollywood, we’re gonna find her, even if it’s the last thing I do,” I promise. I don’t know who took her or why, but I will do whatever I have to do to get her back. I hang up with Hollywood and call Tech.

  “Bill’s Roadside Diner: you kill ‘em, we grill ‘em,” Tech says.

  “Dumbass,” I mumble. “I found Tink’s car and phone at the hospital. Can you hack the security feeds and see if you can find anything?”

  “You got it. Bring me her phone and I’ll check it out, too.”

  “Already on it,” I say and hang up.

  Before I take off, I give myself five minutes to feel everything I’ve been fighting since Hollywood and I realized Tink was late getting home. I’m trying to stay strong. If anything, for Hollywood. Hearing the worry in his tone and knowing how he can get lost in his head, he needs me to be his strength.

  22

  Tink

  At some point, the guy who grabbed me put some kind of black hood over my head before I could see who he is. Then he zip-tied my hands together and practically threw me into a vehicle. More than likely a van of some sort. After what feels like hours later, the vehicle comes to a stop.

  “Come on, chiquita,” the man says. He has a thick Spanish accent. He pulls me to my feet, dragging me so fast, I’m stumbling over my feet. I shuffle up a set of stairs. A door opens and he pulls me into a room. My foot catches on the threshold and I trip. The man catches me from hitting the floor, muttering something in Spanish. This time, he picks me up and carries me until he sets me on a bed. When he removes the hood, my heart skips a beat. He’s the same man who was creeping me out at the hospital.

  He smirks as if he can read my mind. “Get comfy. You’re going to be here for a while.”

  He walks out of the room, closing the door behind himself. I take the chance to check out the room. Other than the bed, there’s a side table and sofa chair. There’s one window and the only door is the one I was carried through. I fall back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. How the hell did I manage to get myself in this situation? I drift off to sleep, contemplating everything that could have led to this.

  Sometime later, I’m being woken up to someone walking into the room. I manage to sit up.

  “Who are you? And what do you want from me,” I ask the guy.

  “All you need to know is I’m a friend of your brother’s. He owes me quite a bit of money and with him being in the hospital, I didn’t think he would be able to pay,” he tells me. “I’m sure El Jefe will be pleased with you as payment.”

  “Why me, though? Why not his girlfriend?”

  “You mean that strung out toothpick?” He cackles, shaking his head. “El Jefe likes his women with some meat on their bones and clean of drugs. Plus you have some nice tits.”

  “You’re disgusting,” I spit out.

  “I never claimed to be anything else.” He moves closer to the bed with a sinister smirk sprawled out across his face. “Now, why don’t I test out El Jefe’s new toy?”

  Just as he reaches for me, his phone rings. He glances at the screen then to me.

  “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Business calls.” He answers his phone as he walks out of the room. I let out a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  Hours later, when the cabin is silent, I decide to try something I learned years ago. Breaking out of the zip ties. I wiggle off the bed, standing to my feet. I lift my hands above my head, holding them as high as I can. Swiftly, I swing them toward the ground and amazingly enough, the zip ties break.

  “Those self-defense classes really came in handy,” I mutter to myself. I move to the window and open it. I test the screen to see if it will come out quietly. Popping one corner out, I pause, listening for footsteps in the hallway. When I don’t hear any, I quickly pop the rest out and slide the screen into the room. I set it on the bed then move back to the window. I stick my head out and glance around, assessing my next move.

  Luckily, this place doesn’t have two stories, so I’m not stuck on the second floor. The downside, we’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees. Once I climb out of this window, I won’t know where to go next. I don’t know what’s out there. Anything has to be better than being some disgusting, sorry excuse for a man’s plaything.

  I swing a leg over the windowsill, then the next and slide down until my feet hit the ground. A twig snaps in the distance and I freeze. Once everything seems to still, I take off into the trees. Praying like hell they don’t realize I’m gone until morning.

  After what feels like hours later, I come to a paved road. There are no cars in sight. I take a moment to decide which way I should go. I choose to go right, walking close to the trees. That way, if a car comes by, I can duck behind a tree. I don’t want to risk being seen by the guys who took me.

  My feet begin to hurt, but I keep walking. I want to get as far away from that cabin and those creeps as I can.

  Eventually, I come to a gas station. I don’t know what time it is, but the lights are all on and it looks like there’s at least one person inside. I pick up my pace and hurry inside. I walk up to the counter. Thank God it’s a woman working.

  “Excuse me? Do you have a phone I can use?”

  She looks me up and down. I’m sure I look like a hot mess. “Sure.”

  She grabs the cordless phone and hands it to me. I dial the first number that comes to my mind— the Savage Menaces’ Clubhouse.

  23

  Hollywood

  Once Kicks and I were done talking, we headed to the clubhouse. Diesel spoke to Bull about Tink and he called an emergency Church. Which is where we’re at now.

  “There’s been an increase in drug-related deaths. My inside guy tells me that ninety percent of the deaths are due to complications from Supernova, the new drug on the streets,” Bull explains. “Now one of our own has been kidnapped. We don’t know who did it or why. What we do know, is she was at the hospital when she was taken.”

  He looks to Diesel as if to let him know it’s his turn to talk.

  “Tink’s brother, Andy, and Kicks’ cousin, Kara, were both admitted to the hospital last weekend due to complications from Supernova. Kara is fine, but Andy is in a coma,” Diesel tells everyone.

  “All Kara has admitted to us is that she and Andy owe someone a lot of money. Whoever it is wants it by tonight,” Kicks adds.

  “Do you think whoever they owe is who took Tink,” Ratchet asks.

  “It’s very possible,” Diesel responds. “But at this point, anything is possible.”

  “Fuckin’ finally,” Tech growls out.

  “What’d you find?” Bull turns his attention to Tech.

&nb
sp; “There was someone watching her at the hospital. He was there when she first walked in,” Tech says to the room. “By the time she left, he had left the lobby. It seems as if he hid outside and followed her to her car. There was a black van with no license plate.”

  “Print off a picture of him. We’ll go talk to Kara and see if his face jogs her memory,” I say.

  “Print off a few. Some of the guys can show it to their contacts and see if anyone recognizes him,” Bull tells Tech. He turns his attention back to the rest of us. “Anyone have anything else to add?”

  “I know it won’t make a difference, but Diesel and I have both claimed Tink as our Ol’ Lady,” I add.

  “About fuckin’ time.” Kicks laughs.

  “Glad y’all finally figured shit out,” Bull adds. “Now, everyone get the fuck out and go find out where Tink is.”

  Diesel, Kicks, and I go straight for our vehicles. Diesel in his Camaro and Kicks and I on our bikes. Within twenty minutes, we’re arriving at the hospital. When we get to Andy’s room, we’re surprised to see he’s awake.

  “Andy, good to see you’re awake,” I say to him.

  “Hey, Hollywood. Good to see you, man,” he responds. “What can I do for you fellas?”

  I hold up the picture of the man who took Tink. “Do you recognize this guy? We have reason to believe he kidnapped your sister.”

  “That’s Carlos. He’s the one we got the drugs from,” Andy admits.

  “Who does he work for?” I growl out.

  “I told you, we don’t know!” Kara answers before Andy can.

  “Kara, shut up! My sister is fucking missing. Anything we know could help find her.” Andy snaps at her.

  She glares at him like she can’t believe he spoke to her like he did.

  “Kara, let’s go get you something to eat,” Kicks suggests. “Let Hollywood and Diesel talk to Andy alone.”

  “I’m not leaving him,” she states.

  “Now,” Kicks says sternly.

  Kara hesitates but complies. She stands and follows Kicks out of the room, closing the door behind them.

  “Tell us everything you know,” Diesel says.

  “We owe Carlos about twenty-five hundred dollars. We were supposed to pay him a couple weeks ago, but we ran instead,” Andy explains. “Apparently, he came by here earlier today, told Kara if we don’t pay by tonight, we’re both dead.”

  “Does he know Tink is your sister,” Diesel asks him.

  “No, but if she came to visit, he could have figured it out.”

  “Fuck!” I glance out the window. Diesel moves to my side, placing his hand on my shoulder.

  “Do you know who Carlos works for,” he asks Andy.

  He shakes his head. “We only ever saw him and he never mentioned anyone else.”

  “Did he have any tattoos?” I turn to face him.

  “One that was really memorable,” Andy says. “It was some sort of clown face on his forearm.”

  Diesel and I lock eyes.

  “The Torres Cartel,” we say at the same time.

  “Son of a bitch,” Diesel mutters.

  “I should have fuckin’ known that piece of shit had somethin’ to do with all this.” It’s a thought that slips out. Out of nowhere, the machines Andy is hooked up to start going crazy. Several nurses run into the room.

  “What the fuck is happening?” I attempt to step out of their way.

  “The two of you need to get out,” a nurse tells us. “Now!”

  We hurry out of the room, running into Kicks and Kara.

  “What the hell did you two do?” Kara yells at us, getting in my face. Diesel comes between us, knowing my fuse is too fucking short to deal with this bitch.

  “Watch your fuckin’ tone.” He’s calm when he speaks to her. “We didn’t do anything. He was talkin’ to us, unlike you.”

  “We gotta go,” I say to Kicks.

  “What? You can’t just leave!” Kara begs.

  “We have shit to take care of,” Kicks tells her.

  “So some random bitch is more important than your own family?” Kara’s words make me snap. Diesel puts his hand on my chest, telling me to leave it.

  “Tink is not some random bitch.” Kicks struggles to keep his cool. “She is family. She’s more like family to me than you’ve ever been.”

  With that, we walk out of the hospital. None of us looking back, done with those two druggies for good.

  A couple of hours later, we’re hanging out in the main room of the clubhouse. I’m smoking a blunt to try to relax so I don’t get lost in my head. The clubhouse phone rings, which is weird, because that shit rarely rings. Carmine, a new cut bunny, answers the phone. I try to ignore her but something in my gut tells me I’m going to want to know who’s on the other end of that call.

  24

  Tink

  “Savage Menaces MC clubhouse.” It’s a woman’s voice, but not one I recognize. She must be a new cut bunny.

  “Who is this,” I ask.

  “Excuse me? You called here. Who is this?” she sasses.

  “It’s Tink. I need to talk to one of the brothers, now.”

  “Oh, you.” She sounds bored. “They’re all busy right now, call back later. Never would be fine, too.”

  “Put one of the guys on now or I swear on your fake ass weave I will beat your skinny ass into the ground the next time I see you.”

  The cut bunny gasps. Her voice is muffled like she’s covering the phone, talking to someone.

  “Hello?” Thank fuck it’s Buzz.

  “Buzz, it’s Tink.”

  “Tink! What the fuck? We thought you were kidnapped!”

  There are more voices in the background.

  “Tink, babe?” It’s Hollywood. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. His voice calms my erratic heart. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

  “I’m alright. I’m safe for now. I’m at Gas-n-Get in Wolf River. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay here,” I explain.

  “Wolf River? That’s about thirty minutes away. We can get there in twenty.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon. And Hollywood?”

  “Yeah, babe?”

  “Be safe. Both of you,” I whisper.

  “We will be.” With that, he hangs up.

  “Your guys coming to get you,” Kathy, the gas station attendant, asks me.

  “Yeah, they should be here in twenty minutes.”

  “Would you like something to eat or drink while you wait?”

  “I’m not very hungry, but I’ll take a water, please,” I say.

  “You got it.” She walks to the front of the store, coming right back and hands me a bottle of water.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. My boyfriend usually comes to visit around this time. If anyone else shows up, there’s a hide-a-hole behind you. You’re more than welcome to use it,” Kathy offers. “You can also keep an eye on the security cameras.”

  She moves the computer mouse, waking the screen up. It reveals six different views from around the gas station, inside and out. She sits in a chair next to me.

  “So, tell me about yourself. What brought you here?”

  “I was kidnapped, walking out of the hospital after visiting my brother,” I tell her. “I’m not sure how I managed to get away from them. It was almost too easy.”

  “Sounds like you got lucky.”

  “Yeah, I’d say.”

  “Tell me about your guys.” She smiles. “You’re dating two at the same time or what?”

  “Yeah, kind of. We’re all three together,” I explain. “It’s still new, but we all three care about each other deeply.”

  “You love them.” It’s a statement, not a question.

  My eyes go to hers. “What?”

  “The way your eyes sparkle when you talk about them. You love them.”

  I let her words sink in. I do love them. I didn’t realize it was so obvious that a complete stranger could see i
t. We fall into an easy conversation as if we’d been friends forever.

  “Oh, good. Greg’s here,” she states. “I’ll be right back.”

  I turn to face the computer screen. A white sedan pulls up, parking by the door. The bell rings as he walks in the door. Seconds later, a black van pulls up next to the sedan.

  “Fuck,” I mutter. Without another word and as quickly as I can move, I open up the hide-a-hole, crawl in, and close it behind me. I pray to the gods, the universe, whoever is listening, to not let Carlos or his goons find me.

  Minutes later, there’s faint shouting coming from the front of the store. Then gunshots. My hand flies to my mouth to stop myself from screaming out. The next thing I know, there’s shuffling in the office. Things are being thrown around and multiple people speaking in Spanish.

  “Where the fuck are you, chiquita?” Carlos shouts in his thick accent. “I know you’re here somewhere.”

  The footsteps fade away, letting me know they’ve left the office. I stay in the hide-a-way, not wanting to give myself up. I’ll stay here all night if I have to.

  25

  Diesel

  “We gotta leave now!” Hollywood orders.

  “What the fuck is going on,” I ask.

  “That was Tink. She’s in Wolf River at a Gas-n-Get. She got away from the guys who kidnapped her,” he explains.

  Hollywood, Kicks, Ratchet, and I leave right away, me in my Camaro and them on their bikes. What should be a thirty-minute drive only takes us fifteen. We pull up to a sedan and a black van parked out front. The guys park their bikes by the pumps to make it look like they’re just passing through. I pull around back and park. Hollywood, Kicks, and Ratchet are walking up to the door as a man walks out toward them.