Jax

by Penny Anglene

  “Let’s load ‘em up and head out then. We need to go hunting. Call Josie and let her know we are on our way,” Garr tells me in a livid toned voice.

  I call Josie back and let her know we are on our way and to keep an eye on the house.

  We arrive within an hour and a half, pulling up to the house. There are twenty of us. Most of the men were at the clubhouse when the call came in.

  Josie is running out of her doors as fast as her little ole legs will let her. A few years back, I had her move in here, so she could keep an eye on our girl. She keeps all of us entertained and has been good at keeping an unobserved eye on Ria without her knowing.

  “I kept watch Trent, nothing in or out. That dog is having a fit,” she gasps out.

  I head into the house with just Garr behind me. The others are looking around and I hear a few motorcycles start up and head around the block looking for clues. I notice as soon as I open the door, the coffee cup sitting on the counter by the couch. I head toward the back. The bed hasn’t been made, pajamas still on the bathroom floor. I come back toward the front and notice her phone on the counter in the kitchen. I pick it up and see my missed call. I unlock it and go through it; I see a couple of things I don’t like at all. This is all wrong. She was taken against her will. She would never leave this stuff out and especially not with the door open. I let in Sassy and she sniffs my boots and sits on them and whimpers. I lean down and pick her up and rub the top of her head. I will need to come and get her later or stay here.

  I look at Garr, and he looks at me with his brow raised, as pissed off as me. I glance down, thinking to myself about what needs to be done and notice that by the back door on the floor is a bit of blood or what looks like blood. I go over and squat down and look at it. It’s not paint, that’s for damn sure. Someone has taken my sister and whoever it is, they are dead.

  I call Pete and let him know what’s going on. We start to round everyone up, so we can decide who is doing what. The guys meet back here, and they let me know they found one set of footprints, probably a heavier male. We decide to split up, but not knowing what we’re looking for, I have no idea other than we know Hedrick is back in town. I need to find that little fucker and have a long talk with him, using my fists if necessary. First things first though. I take Ria’s spare key; a few of us will be staying until we find her. We get on the bikes and leave, making a straight line to someone who should have been taking care of his woman.

  We all pull up in a line of rumbling mass confusion. I know they heard us coming down the block. I see Pete and the sheriff heading our way and nod my head at both of them. I know that the sheriff is as honest as they come, but he knows we can locate her before anyone.

  I back my bike up to the curb and the others follow suit, with all of us dismounting at the same time. To some it may look rehearsed, but this is our brotherhood and we all just know what the other might do. This girl with long black hair is in the window looking out. She has a look of amusement on her face for some reason. She doesn’t look scared in the least. We all step up and head toward the door. Ink-Fusion is marked on the sign above and has a great design on it. I’ve heard really good things about this shop and we at one time entertained coming up here for our tattoos. I am the first to stroll in. I look at the lady that was looking out the window and ask to speak with Jax and Toby just as they both walk out of the back. Two others peek out to see who is here. I just stand and glare at all of them.

  The two come to a halt in front of us and Jax looks and speaks first.

  “What can I do for you guys?” he growls out. He looks like he’s pissed off and he has no idea his shit day is going to get worse. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.

  “Yeah, what were you doing at Ria’s house this morning?” I ask him.

  “Ria is my woman. We live together. Why do you ask and who the hell are you?” he growls at me.

  “Well, I don’t believe some of what you’re telling me. Why did she fucking kick you out?” I smirk.

  “Where the hell are you getting your information?” he says in an infuriated voice. “I want to know who the hell you are or get out of my shop,” Jax spits out.

  “My name is Trent. That’s who I am, ring a bell with you?” I ask with an evil smile.

  Toby speaks up, with a look of distaste on his face. The little prick doesn’t know who he is fucking with. “This is the guy that I had seen kissing Ria. I told you Jax, she did. What the fuck are you doing here? The cunt was fucking you behind my brother’s back,” he stupidly says. Man, this guy seems to be tweaking a little, his face has a little sweat on it, and he seems to be shaking some.

  I reach across the counter and jerk him up and over it with him landing on his knees in front of me. I jerk him up by his shirt, shaking him like a fucking rag doll. “Is that why you took a picture and sent it to her phone from yours?” I growl out.

  “What the fuck have you done, Toby?” screams Jax with a voice filled with infuriated malice.

  I pick up Ria’s phone and show him the picture along with the other one. Jax takes his fist and cold cocks his own brother. Blood starts spurting out of Toby’s nose and it’s going everywhere. Commotion is everywhere. Someone had called Jax’s parents and they come running in.

  Jax is swearing and pacing around the reception area of his business, and it looks like the chick with black hair is trying to empty out the place of customers.

  At this point I need answers, so I holler out at everyone and tell them all to shut the fuck up.

  “I need answers Jax,” I say as loud as I can at this point.

  “Answers about what?” he says with a strong outraged voice.

  “What did you two talk about this morning? Did she say if she had any plans? What was she wearing?” I growl.

  “Why are you asking me these questions? Ask her,” Jax mumbles.

  Toby is muttering to his parents about what a cunt Ria is, sobbing and telling them that she is no good for Jax. That she ruined her best friend, Debbie. Garr is behind me growling now. I am done with this shit. I walk over and nail the little prick in the face again. More blood falls and it makes me smile a little inside. “Look you little fucker. You don’t get to call my sister a cunt. As for my other sister, Debbie, you caused and imagined those problems, not Ria.” I am so fucking pissed that I punch the fucker again. He goes down and he’s out.

  I turn to Jax. “Look, asshole, Ria is missing. I need to know what you know, so I can find her. Now quit being a fucking pussy and tell me what I want to know. I can’t believe you didn’t know what was going on with your own fucking brother and what he was doing to her. You don’t deserve her.” By the time I am done with saying all of this, Jax is in my face and I am in his.

  “That’s my woman, make no mistake about that. We had decided that there were problems from within and we were going to talk about it tomorrow night. Those were the plans. How do you know she’s missing? What the fuck is going on, and I want fucking answers now motherfucker,” roars Jax.

  Garr steps in between us, telling us this isn’t helping the situation and we need to get done cause each minute we argue is a minute more she is missing. Things start to settle down after that. I hear dinging on my phone. I am getting messages from Ria. Thinking that, that’s not possible, I look down and see that it is. I look at Ria’s phone and see where she sent a couple late yesterday. It’s Hedrick. That is the only thing that makes any sense.

  “Sir, I would suggest you get some help for your son. He is starting to tweak, and he’s going to go through some tough withdrawals soon. He needs help. When he gets clean, I am whipping his ass again for pulling this shit,” I let them know. No one hurts my sister.

  Jax looks at his brother for the first time. I think he realizes what’s going on with him. The other staff workers hear this and are nodding. Apparently, he is the only one not to notice, or maybe he has his head buried in the sand.

  “I need to help you find her. I love that woman. She’s
mine,” he chokes out.

  “Dad, Mom, take him to rehab, now, get him the help he needs. He isn’t allowed in the building until I know he’s clean and in counseling. Until then, he has no job with me.” Sounding defeated he tells his parents this. “I just pray that Ria is okay, and she listens to me. Dear God, what has happened?” Jax says in a muted roar. He grabs his keys and is right behind us. We have no clue of what is going on and I make a call to Whiz to find out if he found anything. He tells us he is getting close to Ria’s. That is where he is set up to do more research and find Ria before something more happens to her.

  We all mount up and go straight to Ria’s. We glide in and dismount, all of us tromping into the house. Jax starts going through the house looking for Ria, he is extremely upset.

  “Hey, Whiz, got anything yet?” I ask him.

  “Yeah, just finishing up with what I’ve found so far,” he replies. “I spliced into the city surveillance system, accessed a facial recognition application and got a hit. We are looking for a dark colored van. It’s a two thousand four model. She was out cold it looked like. She was seat belted in the front seat. Doesn’t make any sense. Whoever did this made it look like she went willingly. Her head was tilted to the side and look here.” He shows a picture he has blown up. Blood.

  “I didn’t get a good picture of the driver, but this is it.” I look closer, and I recognize him immediately.

  “I should have killed him when I had the chance,” I roar.

  “Who the fuck is that Trent?” Garr snaps.

  Just about the same time, Jax speaks up and says, “Hey, that’s the guy who bought me a drink that night in the bar. It’s when shit went to hell with Ria. I still don’t remember how I ended up so sick and passed out in my brother’s bed,” he says with bewilderment in his voice.

  “Well, that’s Hedrick. The guy Ria dated about three years ago. He was the one that had become verbally and physically abusive toward her,” I tell both of them. I am so fucking mad at myself. I pick up my drink and throw it across the room. They all duck, and I scream out, “Fuck!”

  “These are some properties that are cross-referenced with him one way or another. This here is his parent’s address and this is his grandparent’s.” Whiz passes the papers to me. We are all looking at them when Jax leans over and skims the pages with me.

  “Jax, this is going to get messy; you may not want any part of it. We will find her and bring her back to you,” I state as I turn and look at the expression on his face when I tell him this.

  “I don’t give a fuck, I’m going. That’s my woman and I let her down once. It’s not happening again. You don’t understand, Trent. She’s my world, my heart. It doesn’t beat without her,” he says with a catch in his voice.

  I nod my head. “Okay. Remember I warned you,” I state empathetically.

  We all take a piece of property, but we send two guys to watch the grandparents while we first hit up the parent’s home. Jax comes with Garr and me.

  We pull up outside the parent’s home, located in a middle-income area. It’s a brick home with black shutters. I notice someone looking out the front window and nod to Garr. He noticed too. We walk up to the door with Jax following and knock loudly with our fists. We wait and wait; I beat on the door again. I look at Garr and I head to the back of the house as he stands, upfront on the sidewalk waiting for me to give the word.

  I get to the back; I look in the window and notice a man standing in a corner like he’s trying to hide. Fucking idiot. You want to hide, do it so no one can see you, dirtbag, I think to myself.

  I rear back and kick the backdoor in. He screams like a little pussy, and I cold cock the little bastard. He is out for the count. I shake my head as I start to search the house. I walk by and open the front door.

  Garr and Jax walk in as I hear a noise from the hallway. I look at them and head down the hallway. I bust open all the doors, and at the last one I hear a sob. I head in and see a young girl tied up to the bed and she has tears running down her face.

  Motherfucker. That’s the only thing that comes to mind. I go forward, and she leans away shaking her head.

  “Sweetheart, I am not going to hurt you. I’m going to remove this tape and it’s going to hurt like a bitch,” I tell her in a soft gruff voice.

  I lean forward again, grab the side of the tape and rip it off as fast as I can. She screeches as I do this.

  “What’s your name and why are you tied up?” I ask.

  “Tammy Sue is my name,” I hear, as she sobs. “Please don’t hurt me. I don’t wanna be hurt again. Please, I just wanna go home,” Tammy Sue says in a haunting voice.

  “How long have you been here? Who took you?” I ask her.

  “I’ve been here for a while; a man took me from a trail with my friend,” she whispers.

  “Where is your friend? How old are you?” I grumble out.

  “I don’t know where my friend is, I haven’t seen her. I asked, but he won’t tell me where she is. I’m fifteen,” she chokes out.

  “Get him to… fuck we have no place up here,” I spit out.

  “Yes, you do. I have a place out in the country a few miles. Four miles to be exact. I have a pole barn, no neighbors,” Jax says, as he speaks up for the first time.

  I make a call as Jax ties the fucker up. I call in Josie to come with the van. Tammy Sue needs medical help, so that means I have to call someone to help.

  “We need some help with her and a medical doctor or a physician’s assistant. Do you know any of those?” I say sarcastically to Jax.

  “As a matter of fact, I have a customer who owes me a favor or two. He’s a biker new to the area. They’re setting up shop, or that’s what they tell me. His name is Dog.” He pauses for a minute looking through his phone. “He’s with the Bitter Root Saints MC is what he said. Here’s his number if you want me to call him.”

  “Garr? What do you think? We can’t call in Pete, not at this time, anyway.” Garr already has his phone to his ear and making a call to Whiz. He has him to do a fast search on this new club and anyone by the name of Dog affiliated with them. He also tells them we need that van and Josie asap. I look at Jax and it looks like he is ready to blow.

  “You need to calm down. I know it feels like it’s taking forever but this is a process of elimination. This first stop is a great lead. We just have to get all set up before we can get the information we need. He starts screaming here, we would have the local cops and who knows who else show up and we don’t need that on us or on Pete. Understand me?

  Jax nods his head. He has a look of livid furious intent of bodily harm, on whoever gets in his way of finding his woman. He loves Ria. I have no doubt about it.

  “While we wait, tell me what the fuck happened with Ria. One day she is happy and the next you’re out of her life?” I growl out in a seriously pissed-off voice.

  “Man, you gotta know, I love her with everything that I am. I left work that day, one of my guys needed to talk to me about something important. I told him I had an appointment at the jewelry store. I had spilled ink on my shirt, so I stopped at my mom’s to get a clean shirt.” Jax sounds desperate, I believe what he is telling me. “Mom knew where I was going and promised to keep the secret, so when Ria called her, she just told her I had plans to go out with a friend. I left and went and bought an engagement ring for Ria. I went just down the block, went in and talked with Zeke. I went to go to the bathroom and when I came out the fellow that was sitting by my seat while I talked with Zeke, had bought me a drink.

  I left after to go to the shop to get a check so I could transfer some money. I just remember getting really sick and I woke up the middle of the next day upstairs in Toby’s room. Toby had my clothes from the house. He said that Ria didn’t want me back, that she called wanting me to get my things. It was that guy Hedrick at the bar. He fucking drugged me,” he spits out with an agonizing infuriating tone of voice.

  “Sounds like it. So how long has your brother had a drug
problem?” I ask Jax.

  His eyes pop open really wide. “He never has, other than the occasional weed. That’s always been his thing.” Jax shakes his head, really at a loss, it appears.

  “You know weed…” I start to say and stop for a moment to try to control what I say to him. It looks like he’s suffering a shit ton at this moment. I continue, “That shit can get laced without his knowledge. You know who his supplier is?”

  Jax is already shaking his head no. My phone rings just as the van pulls up. “Hello. Yeah, whatcha got for me?” I listen as I am told it’s an affiliate club that we have done business with before. So, I hang up and let Garr know.

  “Jax make the call. Tell Dog time is of the essence and if he can’t help, we need to know now,” I tell him.

  Jax walks a couple steps away and makes the call. Dog apparently says he can help and Jax gives him the address to the country place, telling him we need medical attention for a female.

  We load everyone up, the girl included. Josie road out with Jimbo in the van, and Jax is looking at us with a lot of confusion and, like what the fuck is she doing here.

  I have mercy on Jax and fill him in, or some of it at this point. “Josie is an ol’ lady to one of our past members. We lost Franks over twenty years ago. He was actually my sponsor. When Ria decided to move, I knew ahead of time, so I set Josie up in that house to help keep an eye on her. We knew that one kidnapper got away but didn’t know who it was. It’s a good thing. She knew something was wrong and called it in to us.”

  I can hear Josie talking to the girl. Sounds like the same M.O. as when Ria and Debbie were taken years ago.

  “Did Ria know she was there to watch her?” Jax asks with more than a demanding voice.

  He got a glare from me with a bellowed, “No!”