“It was crammed in one of the drawers. Cash always comes in handy,” I replied.
“Oh, almost forgot.” He reached into the backpack and produced a roll of duct tape. “I couldn’t find any shoes. Tear off a couple of strips and put them on the bottom of your feet.”
I gratefully took the roll of tape and started placing pieces on my feet. Hopefully, the duct tape would provide enough protection for our feet to get us back to civilization. With our loaded backpack and taped feet, Shaker and I ventured outside once again.
“This looks like the beginning of a path,” Shaker said, pointing to a slightly worn area on the ground. “Shall we start here?”
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Shaker led the way, and I dutifully followed him. We walked in a comfortable silence for at least an hour. I think we were both trying to process the events of the last few days. That thought had me breaking the silence. “How long did she have us?”
“I was there almost five days. I’m guessing you were there around three. She disappeared for over six hours on my second day, which is probably when she nabbed you,” he answered.
“Do you know what time it was when she came back?” I asked.
“I don’t know the exact time, but it was starting to get dark.” He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Why does it matter?”
“Because she took me from my office on Friday. She would’ve had to wait until everyone else left to get me out of there. That puts her leaving with me no earlier than 6:30 pm. If she was here by the time it was starting to get dark, we’re not that far away from Sugar Falls,” I excitedly told him.
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
We continued walking, for hours. Every so often, Shaker would stop and listen for the sound of cars in the distance. My feet enjoyed each small reprieve, but the feelings of hopelessness grew with each stop. How could we have walked so far and still be in the forest? My feet were killing me, and all I wanted to do was sit down and cry. Everything was starting to catch up with me, and an emotional breakdown was looming on the horizon.
When he stopped again to listen, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I dropped my ass to the ground and let the tears flow. “We’re never going to find our way out of here! She’s dead, and she’s still torturing us!” I balled my hands into fists and screamed to the sky, a deep, guttural sound filled to the brim with emotion.
Shaker dropped down beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He sat quietly with me, giving me time to compose myself. I was just about to tell him I was ready to keep going when I heard it. Shaker obviously heard it, too.
“A car!” we shouted at the same time and took off running, hopefully toward the sound.
He was much faster than me, and for a few terrifying moments, I was afraid I would lose him and be stuck in the woods by myself. The sound of tires screeching had me moving faster. “Shaker!” I called out, but he didn’t answer.
A burst of adrenaline appeared out of nowhere and pushed me forward even faster. Voices. I could hear voices. “Shaker!” I screamed, panting and running and hoping I didn’t die before I could make it back to Chase.
“Harper! Over here!” Shaker yelled.
I slowed my pace once I heard his voice. He was okay, and he wouldn’t leave me. Breaking through the trees, I saw the car pulled over on the side of the road first. Shaker was standing beside the car smiling like a loon. Then, I saw the last person I expected to see.
“Harper!”
“Hey, Shannon,” I said between gasps for breath, completely shocked to see my brother’s ex-wife talking to Shaker.
Shaker opened the car door and motioned for me to get in. “Shannon is going to drive us back to Croftridge. Get a load of this shit. The Manglers’ clubhouse is about five miles from here.”
I looked at him like he had grown two heads. “How in the fuck can you run that fast? And why aren’t you gasping for air? I feel like I could keel over any second.”
He chuckled. “I run five to seven miles almost every day. You didn’t know?”
If I could have, I would have smacked the smug look right off his face. Instead, I opted to collapse into the back seat of the car and concentrate on the difficult task of breathing.
“Here. Take a couple sips of water. Slowly,” Shaker said, thrusting a bottle of water at me.
Shannon climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. She glanced at me in the rearview mirror and then I saw her eyes dart to Shaker. She put the car in gear and glanced at both of us again. I laughed. “What did you tell her, Shaker?”
“Nothing. When she pulled over, I asked if she could give us a ride to Croftridge.”
That made me laugh even more. Clearly, I was losing my mind. “I can’t imagine what you’re thinking right now. What a sight the two of us must be.” I was laughing so hard my eyes were watering.
Shaker turned in his seat to look at me. “Harper!” he barked. “Not yet. If you lose it, I’ll lose it, and we can’t do that right now. Got me?”
Something in his eyes had my laughter dying instantly. I pushed myself to a sitting position and nodded. “Got you.”
“Are you guys okay?” Shannon asked, eyeing us both warily. “Should I call Boar or Phoenix?”
“No!” we both shouted, and she flinched.
“Sorry,” Shaker continued. “We’re okay right now. We just need to get back to the clubhouse. It’s not a story to be shared over the phone.”
Shannon nodded knowingly. “Enough said.”
She kept us occupied with idle chatter for the entire drive to Croftridge. I would be forever grateful to her for that. If she hadn’t kept us talking, I wouldn’t have been able to hold it together. I almost broke down when I saw the gates to the clubhouse come into view.
Shaker turned again, his eyes locked onto mine. “Not yet. We’re going to be rushed the moment we walk through those doors. Then, Phoenix is going to call Church, and you’ll have to come in there to tell your part of the story. He’ll decide what the next steps will be. Once we’ve told them everything and he dismisses Church, you can let it go.”
I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “For the record, I’m damn proud of you, Harper.”
Shannon pulled up to the gate, and I heard Kellan say, “Holy shit!”
“Not a word, prospect. Open the gate and keep your mouth shut,” Shaker ordered.
Kellan nodded. “Glad you two are okay.”
When the gates opened and Shannon drove through, I felt like I could breathe again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Carbon
Three fucking days and we still hadn’t found her or Shaker. We were assuming that Hilarie had done something with both of them, but we didn’t have any proof of that. Phoenix had a prospect basically living at Shaker’s apartment in case he or anyone else happened to show up there. The club was on lockdown. Ember, Reese, Aunt Leigh, and a few of the other girls were always crying. Duke, Judge, and I had put more miles on our bikes in those three days than we did on some of our longest runs.
I hadn’t slept more than the minimum necessary for my body to continue functioning. The same could be said for Duke and Judge. Phoenix was the only thing holding us together. He let us lose our shit when we needed to, he let us ride out when we needed to, and he sat us down for reality checks when it was warranted.
Walking into the clubhouse after spending several hours out searching for Harper, I went straight to Duke’s room in search of my sister. She opened the door to their room and pulled me in for a hug. I couldn’t hold it together any longer, and she knew it. She didn’t say a word while I cried on her shoulder. Giant, body-wracking sobs shook me and my little sister. I could hear her sobs mixed with mine, yet neither one of us uttered a word. Exhaustion took over, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep on my little sister’s shoulder.
“CARBON!!!” my sister shrieked. “Carbon! Carbon! Carbon!”
&
nbsp; I jumped to my feet and started running, slightly disoriented until I realized I was in Duke’s room instead of mine. She continued screaming my name as I ran toward the sound of her voice. I rounded the corner to the common room at a full sprint and immediately dropped to my knees when I saw Harper standing between Duke and Judge. I didn’t give a shit who was watching. I shamelessly let the tears run down my face as she walked to me. “Baby,” I croaked and yanked her to me as soon as she was within reach.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my hands all over her.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I missed you so much. I love you, Chase.”
“I love you, too, baby. I was so fucking worried. We haven’t stopped looking for you. Oh, I can’t believe you’re standing right here in front of me,” I rambled, holding her tightly to my chest.
“Church!” Phoenix bellowed.
I rose to my feet to protest. There was no way in hell I was letting go of her for Church. Hell, I probably wouldn’t let go of her for the next month. Phoenix stopped me before I could get started. “Relax, big guy, she’s coming, too.”
Phoenix cut right to the chase. “We’re all happy as fuck to have you two back. First, are either one of you hurt, other than what we can see?” he asked, gesturing toward Shaker’s beat up face. When they both said they were fine, he continued, “Before we get to the details, do we have any loose ends that need attention?”
Shaker nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but Harper rising to her feet had him closing his mouth. “Yes, we do. I killed someone, and we left the dead body in the house.”
No other words could have shocked me more. “What?” the room collectively asked.
Harper cleared her throat and explained. “The woman who kidnapped us. I killed her. I didn’t mean to. I was trying to knock her out. Anyway, I found Shaker on my way out and freed him. He said we could leave her and let the police handle it, or we could not involve the law and torch the place. I suggested we let you make that decision.”
I pulled her back into my lap and gave her a squeeze. “Damn proud of you, baby.” I looked up to see every brother in the room looking at her with pride in their eyes.
“Damn fine woman you are, Harper Jackson,” Phoenix told her, smiling broadly. His smile faded with his next question. “Did you kill Valarie Vine?”
She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Y-yes, how did you know?”
“Carbon can explain the details, but when you and Shaker turned up missing, we started digging. It took some doing, but we finally pieced together that Valarie Vine was posing as Hilarie Thaxton.” He cleared his throat and addressed the room. “I think we should let the law enforcement officers handle this one. It isn’t directly related to the club or club business, and it was clearly a case of self-defense. They’ve only been here for a few minutes, so if we call now, there won’t be any gaps in the timeline.”
“We didn’t file a missing person report for either of them,” Dash added. “How are we going to explain that?”
Phoenix grinned. “Oh, but we did. Byte filed them online.”
The room erupted in laughter, and Harper turned to me with confusion on her face. “I’ll explain later,” I whispered in her ear.
“I’ll place the call now. Until further notice, the club is still on lockdown. Dismissed,” Phoenix said and pulled out his cell phone.
I pushed open the door and stepped into the common room. Suddenly, Harper’s hand was ripped from mine, and she let out a yelp. I spun around quickly, ready to defend my woman when I heard her giggle. She was on the floor with Titan standing over her, licking all over her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I missed you, too. Yes, I did,” she cooed at Titan.
“Sorry, I didn’t know how to stop him,” Annabelle said, looking sheepish. She had volunteered to look after Titan while we were out searching for Harper.
When Titan calmed down, Harper got to her feet and asked, “Do you think I have time to take a shower before the police officers arrive?”
Three loud knocks on the front door answered her question for me. Phoenix gestured for one of the prospects to open the door. Phoenix greeted the officers and led them to our Church room. Shaker and Harper followed Phoenix and the officers while Duke, Judge, and myself followed Harper. Phoenix stopped us at the door. “You can wait right outside this door if you want, but you three aren’t coming in there.” Before any of us could say a word, he slammed the door, and I heard the lock slide into place.
Oh.
Hell.
No.
President or not, he was not going to lock me away from my woman, especially when I had just gotten her back only minutes ago. A small body hit me from behind, and arms circled around my waist.
Reese.
She knew I was about to rage. “Stay with me, big scary brother. She’s going to need you when they finish in that room, and you can’t be there for her if you’re locked up in jail or sedated by Patch.”
She didn’t let go of me until my breathing returned to normal. Once I had calmed, she led me to one of the couches and placed James in my arms. I couldn’t help but grin at the little guy. He was so damn cute. “Smart move,” I mumbled.
She dropped down beside me and didn’t leave my side until the locked door opened. She scooped James into her arms and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. “Call if you need me, either one of you. Love you both,” she said and carried her son toward Duke.
I stood when I caught sight of Harper. She said something to Duke and Judge, hugged each one of them, and came straight to me. “Can we go now? If I can’t shower and sleep in the very near future, I will not be held responsible for my actions.”
I took her hand in mine and led her to my room. “The club has been on lockdown since you and Shaker went missing. Phoenix hasn’t officially given the all clear, so we have to stay here for the time being,” I said, hoping she wasn’t going to be pissed about it.
“I don’t care where we stay, as long as you’re there, and I get to shower and sleep.”
I was already in bed waiting for her when she finished her shower. She crawled under the covers and nestled against my chest. Neither of us said a word before almost instantly falling asleep.
***
Pounding on my door woke us. “Carbon! Open up, brother,” Duke shouted.
I yanked on a pair of jeans and stumbled to my door. Pulling it open, I stretched and yawned. “What do you want?”
He pushed against my chest in a weak attempt to move me to the side. “I want to make sure my sister is okay!”
“She’s fine. Why wouldn’t she be?”
He looked at me incredulously. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” I shook my head. “It’s almost 1:00 pm. You’ve been asleep for 16 hours.”
My brows rose at his words. “Shit, brother. I guess we were both exhausted.” I moved out of his way so he could see Harper.
She was sitting in my bed looking sexy as hell in one of my t-shirts. She gave a little wave to her brother. “Hi, Dukie.”
“You two should get up and make yourselves presentable. Phoenix said one of the officers called and they’ll be here soon to discuss what they found at the house,” Duke informed us.
Right on cue, there were three crisp knocks on the door as soon as we entered the common room. Again, the officers were led to our Church room; however, this time I was allowed to tag along.
The officer began, “We were able to locate the property where Mr. Marks and Ms. Jackson were held. It was roughly a seven-mile hike to the property from the point where Mrs. Anderson picked you up. We did find the body of a young woman we believe to be Hilarie Thaxton, aka Valarie Vine. A search of the house turned up plenty of evidence to support your claims as well as other evidence that will need to be further investigated. Ms. Jackson, this was a clear case of self-defense, and no charges will be filed against you.”
Harper let out an audible sigh of relief and sagged against my chest. Then, I felt her body stiffen as she
straightened. “What else needs to be investigated?”
The officer cleared his throat and glanced at his partner. “I don’t want to cause you any unnecessary distress after what you’ve been through, but in the interest of your safety, you should be aware that we believe Ms. Thaxton was not working alone.”
Phoenix was quick to ask, “Why do you think that?”
“We can’t explain how Ms. Thaxton could have possibly carried two unconscious bodies seven miles through the woods, particularly one the size of Mr. Marks. We found no evidence of any means of transportation on the property or anywhere in the surrounding area.”
“Do you have any suspects?” I asked.
“Not at this time. We do have a few questions for Mr. Marks and Ms. Jackson in regards to a possible suspect. Shall we take care of those now?” Harper and Shaker both nodded in agreement. “Did either one of you ever see or hear anyone else in the house?”
“No, I didn’t even know Shaker was there until I escaped from the basement,” Harper answered.
The officers perked up. “Who is Shaker?”
Shaker answered, “Me. Shaker is my road name. I didn’t see or hear anyone else in the house, either.”
“Ms. Jackson, you were friends with Ms. Thaxton for several years prior to this event, correct?”
Harper explained her recent history with Hilarie. I wondered if they were aware of Harper’s kidnapping by the same family in Arizona, but I wasn’t going to ask in front of everyone. Harper said Hilarie never mentioned any other friends in the Sugar Falls area, and she never shared many details about men she dated or hooked up with. “I didn’t even know she had been seeing Shaker until I ran into her at Ember’s wedding. Shaker and I were both in the wedding party, and she came as his date. At the time, I thought it was just a coincidence…” she trailed off.
“That’s all we have for now. The investigation is still open, and a team is still on site processing the house. We’ll be in contact when we have more updates,” the officer said and pushed his chair back to stand, his partner mimicking his actions. We shook their hands, and they handed us a card with their contact information and the case number.
Carbon (Blackwings MC Book 4) Page 19