Looking over her shoulder, Jada saw Brass, Creed, and several of the other RMBC guys talking in a huddle. She had no doubt they would be finding out what Jason Barns was up to, and who this house belonged to in no time.
Chapter Nineteen
Brass waited for the girls to be out of earshot, then faced the guys.
“We need to find out what Jason Barns was up to approaching Maddie and telling her to come here. Do we even know if this is his place or who owns it?”
“Listen, I think you need to focus on something else. Did you notice that trail? Bell was going fast, but that dirt was packed hard and someone just mowed it. That didn’t happen overnight, not with the overgrowth everywhere else.”
“Yeah, you weren’t the only one that noticed,” Brass said. He had expected the terrain to be much rougher.
“Plus, I think someone needs to go back to Creed’s house and check out the solar, pink wind chime, hanging in the tree. It’s almost directly in front of the window where Bell picked up Maddie’s scent. I noticed it right before Bell took off but not before. It didn’t look like something either of you would have put out there,” Cathy said looking at Creed.
“Hell, no we didn’t. I made Tessa take the small one she had on the back porch down because it kept waking me up at night. Now that I think about it, I hadn’t planned on checking on Maddie last night, something woke me up. It had to be that fucking chime, they annoy me even when I’m sleeping.
“Fuck, we already know Barnes got close to my property, talking to Maddie over the fence, but if someone else was even closer, hanging that chimes, those trees are what maybe fifteen feet from my house. And they cut the damn wire for the window, popping the sensor first, so the alarm wouldn’t trigger.”
“It hasn’t rained in a few days,” Brass said. “Why don’t we have someone take it down and see if we can get any prints off it. The thing that is really has a bug up my ass is the timing. No one knew yesterday Maddie was going to be at Creed’s tonight. I didn’t even ask them to take her until that morning. This shit was planned well before that, had to have been.”
Tal came running up, looking like he hadn’t slept in weeks.
“Jason Barns and his wife were found by the local PD just a while ago in their home, beaten and bound with single gunshot wounds to their heads. Remind any of you of a certain Clubs style?”
“Shit!” Brass said. The Vultures were known for that kind of home invasion. “Okay, we need to figure out our next move here and quick. These guys wanted Maddie to come to the shed while it was still dark. That means they have to be close. I’m going to start out on foot. Several of you guys need to go back to Creed’s place and get on the bikes. Cath, do you think Bell can do anything for us here?”
“Listen, I’ll give it a try, but I only do one scent a day and give her time to recover. The bigger problem is finding something for her to track.”
“I saw a blanket in the shed with the kittens or even the box someone had to have brought them in, hoping to keep Maddie around for a while,” Creed said.
“Yeah, it won’t work. Bell’s still a dog, she’s going to pick up on the kitten’s scent and nothing else. Whoever did this was smart.”
“Not all that smart. Think Bell will be able to pick up on blood?”
They all turned around to see what Talon was looking at, and sure enough, there was a smear of blood on the shed next to a jagged piece of metal. It hadn’t dried completely yet, so it was fresh. Brass had watched Jada going into the shed, and she hadn’t even come close to that side. Maddie was still in her pajamas with long sleeves and long pants, and he hadn’t noticed a single rip or tear.
“Well, damn,” Cathy said, “that’s almost better than if we GPS’d the asshole. Give me a second. I want to calm Bell down and give her some water. I need all you to get away from the smear, and if someone could get those kittens out of the shed and put somewhere downwind, that would help too. Make sure to take the box and the blanket, too.”
They all took off to do what Cathy had said, and several more brothers arrived on the property. They found out thanks to Tal the house was vacant and owned by some finance company. The wind chime had been boxed up, and Jinx was taking it back to the Clubhouse. If he found anything, he would send it to a lab. That was Jinx’s thing—forensics; if anyone could find something, it would be him.
Brass was getting antsy, wanting to get moving. He felt like there were eyes on him, and he didn’t like it. Cathy got Bell set up and issued a few commands. Moments later the big, old dog took off again, and Brass vowed to buy that dog the biggest steak bone he could find. A few minutes later when the dog treed two fucking Vultures, he vowed to buy Bell two and even cook them for her.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Boys, looks like Bell treed a couple of nuisance animals. What do you think we should do about it?” Brass asked, not caring what his brothers said, he already knew exactly what they were going to do with these two, and Whisk taking off toward the house they just left confirmed it.
“I think we should just shoot them down. Seems only right, wouldn’t want them depreciating your property values or anything,” Tank said.
Shit, Brass hadn’t even realized the brother was back or with them before he talked. Brass moved a little closer and got a good look at one of the guys; this man wasn’t low level like the drones sent to the warehouse.
“Well, damn, boys, looks like we got ourselves a yellow-bellied VP up there. I think that calls for a little more finesse, what do you say?” Creed walked up to the tree and jumped, latching hold of one of the men’s feet, and yanked, making him crash through the branches until he hit the ground.
“Well, damn, brother, I like the way you finesse things,” Brass said. The banter was a distraction. They used the technique often on missions. If you could get the perp to focus on something else, they never saw what was really coming. But with Breaker, he had something more in mind, like seeing how fast a man named Breaker broke. He planned on making it happen in record time.
Brass watched Tank coldcock the guy on the ground, knocking him out completely. Whisk tilted his head, motioning for Brass to look at the ground a couple of feet away from the tree, and he didn’t hold his laughter in. Breaker had dropped his weapon. He motioned for Creed to take over talking to the asshole in the tree and stepped back to where Cathy was standing.
“Do you have a command that will make Bell go apeshit like she’s ready to tear someone apart, but you still have control or will she let me say the command?”
“You want to use my dog to intimidate the douchebag in the tree?” Cathy questioned.
“Well, yeah. She scared him enough, he dropped his gun. Might help us get some answers.
“She won’t do it for you, but she will… for me,” Crank said, taking Bells leash. “Head on back, babe, I don’t want you to see this shit.”
“Please, I couldn't care less what you guys are going to do to that man, he deserves everything he’s about to get just for thinking about taking Maddie. But you better make sure you don’t traumatize my dog.”
“Babe, Bell loves this shit, and you know it.”
Brass looked down at the dog and shit, it was true. If a dog could smile, she was doing it right now with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, a big old grin on her face.
“We need to wait a couple of more minutes, Link is on his way back. He wants to make this official or some shit,” Talon said.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Fucker keeps moving up, but he’s not paying attention to the fact that the branches are getting smaller. All we have to do is wait it out, one of them will snap sooner or later.”
Two prospects came through the trees, scooped up the guy on the ground, and started carrying him out.
“They taking him to the warehouse?” Brass asked
“Yeah, Boone is waiting on them,” Talon answered him, but it wasn’t what Brass wanted to hear. Boone had been their best integrator, bu
t after the shit he pulled at the clubhouse, Brass didn’t trust him anymore.
“I think we need to have Jinx take this one,” Brass voiced his opinion as Link walked up.
“Whys that, brother?” Linked asked and not in a nice, Hmm… Why would you ask that? kind of way. More of a, You questioning my order, motherfucker? kind of way. But this was about Brass’ family, so he wasn’t going to back down.
“Because I don’t trust him. Shit hasn’t been making sense for a while now, and Boone playing his power game makes him stand out to me, VP. His abilities might be top of the line, bro, but it’s his loyalty I’m concerned about. No one should have known Maddie was even at Creeds house. Think about it. I took Jada to Merva’s where only locals and old-timers hang out, we rode for a while and went to the Clubhouse. After the other night, the place was just family and a couple of others who we all know and trust from town. Boone was there for a while too, but he left about a half hour after Jada and I came in.”
“Listen, Link, I agree with Brass on this one. He asked me to keep an eye out for anything weird because of the other night, and I noticed Boone hasn’t been on a single mission to help find Tuck, hasn’t been on a mission, period, in over a year. None of us get away with that shit, but somehow, he has. And his bank account is flush.” That was a surprise to Brass because he knew damn well if you didn’t go out on a mission, you didn’t get paid. “Here’s something else. When the Vultures got into the Clubhouse, he wasn’t there, came up with some excuse about needing to go up north to visit family. We never checked it out with all the shit going on. Boone’s family lives in Florida.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. What kind of trained unit are we if these fuckers keep getting to us from the inside,” Link barked out.
“That’s not all. He was at the clubhouse all day today. Twenty minutes before I got the call Maddie was missing, he drove off. I tracked his progress through town, and he was spotted heading north. Now he’s at the warehouse, but I didn’t call him to tell him to be there, he just was. Did you call him?”
“Nah, haven’t had the chance. Okay, call Jinx and tell him what’s going on, have him detain Boone. Let’s get this fucker out of the tree and get this shit done.”
Chapter Twenty
Jada was pacing the floor. It had been hours since they found Maddie, and Brass still wasn’t home. Maddie had been upset, but after a hot bath and some food, Jada managed to get her to take a nap. She just hoped that she would remain that way for a while. It was only ten in the morning, but with the way Jada felt, it could have been midnight.
Not sleeping the night before, then the frantic search for Maddie was starting to take its toll. She was on her tenth cup of coffee, but she wouldn’t rest until Brass was there. She needed his presence to feel safe. The two guys who were usually posted turned into six about four hours ago. Even that didn’t make her feel safe enough to sleep.
Someone was out there, trying to get to them, more specifically Maddie, and that scared Jada to death. On some level, she had known it all along but let the safety and security of Brass’ home and friends blind her to the possibilities. But her ostrich act was done now, period.
They had been so careful, making sure that she and Maddie stayed out of sight, it had been months without any problems. At least that’s what Jada had believed. No one had said anything to her, but she hadn’t asked either, and that just made her stupid and naïve. She should have been more involved with all of this, instead of just letting the guys handle it.
It could have been random, she supposed but doubted it, it was too convenient. A five-year-old who was generally afraid of the dark decided to go out in the middle of the night through a window into woods she had never been in before just to see magical kittens? Yet, Maddie didn’t have a scratch on her. That shit still blew Jada’s mind. So many things could have gone wrong.
Brass had done a good job with Maddie, being stern but fair, but Jada planned on talking to her niece a lot more from now on about stranger danger and acting on impulses. Jada heard the roar of bike pipes and smiled when Brass and Jinx came into view. Walking to the door, she opened it, stepped out onto the porch, and waited for them to make their way to her.
“Hey, babe,” Brass said, taking her into his arms and kissing her soundly. Jada could actually feel the tension start to melt away.
“Are you going to tell me what you found out or is it Club business?” Jada asked.
“Nah, babe, I’m going to tell you, but let’s get inside first, I want to check on Maddie.” Jada nodded and looked down, catching sight of his split, bruised knuckles.
“Shit, Brass, your hand, what happened?”
“It’s nothing. Come on you can be my nurse, later.” Jada followed him and Jinx into the house.
“I put her on the couch, I didn’t want her out of my sight.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.”
Jada went into the kitchen, grabbed a couple of dishcloths, the first aid kit, and going to the freezer, she grabbed two bags of peas.
When they first started staying with Brass, she had questioned him about his frozen pea obsession; the man must have had fifteen bags of them but not much else in the freezer. He had explained how they made good ice packs. It wasn’t until Brass started coming home with bruises that she got it. Her man liked to fight and was apparently good at it, but it still left behind marks.
She hadn’t paid attention to Jinx until she went back out in the family room. He had a couple of bruises too but not many, but he looked different. She couldn’t put her finger on it, he just wasn’t the same. Like he switched off his personality and was cold. It was the strangest thing to see. Jada handed him a bag of frozen peas, and it took him at least a minute before he snapped back into himself and took them, offering her an apology. Jada asked him if he was going to be okay, but he just nodded.
“Babe,” Brass said, taking her hand, “come on. Jinx is going to watch out for Maddie while we talk.” He led her to his bedroom and shut the door. Jada sat down on the bed and watched as Brass started to pace.
“Just tell me, okay? Not knowing and trying to figure all this out on my own is way worse.”
“We had a mole,” Brass blurted out. It was the last thing Jada expected to hear. She kind of knew what he was talking about, but she wanted to be sure.
“As in someone was watching us from the inside? That type of mole?”
“Yeah, not especially you and Maddie but the club. He’s been reporting shit back to the Vultures for cash for a couple of years now.”
“This might be a stupid question, Brass, but how did you guys not know? I don’t know the ins and outs of your club, but you seem trained, and I don’t know… careful.”
“Fuck, babe,” Brass said, taking a seat on the bed next to her, “we are, but just like with any chain, if you have a weak link, it will break. Shit has been coming at the club and our members for over a year now, and instead of taking measures to prevent it from happening again, we were just rolling with the punches and trying to stay above water. Those fuckers took advantage of it. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot, we would have too. Pisses me off that we let it happen.”
Jada couldn’t think of anything to say to console him about his club. She didn’t understand how it worked or what it all meant, so she did the only thing she could think of, wrapping her arm around his waist and snuggled up close. After a couple of minutes of just holding each other, she asked, “Do you know how they found Maddie?”
“Yeah, shit, we’ve been lucky. The fucker knew when Maddie was taken with Tuck gone, they assumed we would put her with Tess, and they had been watching the house. Set up measures to alert them if she ever showed up. That old man she was talking about lives about five miles away. Two Vultures went in and took his wife hostage and made him drive by Creed’s place several times a day. The kittens were from his place, the local PD found the momma cat along with Baxter and his wife a couple of hours ago.”
�
�Are they?” Jada didn’t finish but Brass knew what she was asking and said, “No babe they're gone, even the cat.”
“What else?”
“Tuck’s alive, at least for now. They’re holding him because they believe he has something they want. We don’t know what it is.”
“How do you know that?”
“We found the two Vultures in the woods after you and Maddie were brought back here.” Brass lifted his hand, stretching out his bruised fingers. “We asked them some questions and got some answers.” Jada didn’t doubt she knew exactly how they had gotten their answers. She wouldn’t judge any of them for their methods, and she didn’t need to know the details.
“Is Maddie safe now that you guys have taken care of them?” Jada asked cryptically.
Brass leaned back laying his body back on the bed and Jada followed him down, pillowing herself up against him. When he rubbed his hand over his eyes and let out a deep breath, Jada already knew the answer to that question was no, but she waited for him to answer, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms.
“You know I wish I could say yes, we took them out and Maddie and you could go out, be seen around town, and not have anything to worry about, but I can’t. This shit was too planned out, and even if the two were working alone, which we know damn well they weren’t, it still wouldn’t be safe. I’m so damn sorry, Jada.”
“You didn’t do this, Brass, so you have nothing to be sorry for. We’ll take it one day at a time like we have been, but this time, I need you to tell me everything that’s going on. I need to be better prepared next time. I’ve just been sitting here, letting you take all this on, going out every day, trying to make it safe for us, living in a dream world. That stops now.”
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