by K. J. Dahlen
Michael checked the mirror and found the car behind them still there. He glanced at Gage and saw he was watching the road ahead. “What else did you find?”
Gage shrugged. “The Vipers hired a local MC to disrupt and cause trouble for a week while they set up their first of three attacks. They had plans to blow up every oil rig in the Gulf waters. We stopped them but it cost one of us big time. Her father was murdered and the MC took over a town.”
“Since when does an MC take in women?” Michael frowned. He stared at his brother in law and wondered what he’d been doing all these years. He’d gotten out of the military shortly before Melissa and Kelly’s deaths.
“Women aren’t allowed but she belongs to a brother, so that makes her part of it without the benefits,” Gage explained.
“I see.” Michael didn’t say anymore. The rest of the trip to the airport in Minneapolis was quiet. All the way, he kept track of the blue car that followed them.
Two hours later, they were waiting while Judson turned in his car. Finally, when he joined them, Michael got back on the road leading south. His truck had an extended cab so Gage and Snicker were in the back seat while Michael and Judson were in the front seat.
Michael glanced over at Judson. “Tell me what you know. Gage has told me some on his part but I have no clue what you guys expect me to do, that you can’t.”
“There has been an increase in chatter over the wire and last week Interpol intercepted several packages with US addresses that held chemicals that could be used to make dirty bombs,” Judson explained.
Michael turned to stare at him. He was horrified by what Judson just said. “Is there anything else?”
Judson took a moment to answer, “Yeah, there’s one more thing, your name was mentioned in one of the intercepts.”
Michael raised an eyebrow. “And you’re just telling me this now?” he growled.
Judson shrugged.
Gage leaned forward and informed him, “Yeah, we got that too, they also have a very high price on your head. Good news is they want you brought in alive, bad news is they want to be the ones to spill your blood.”
Before he could say anything the blue car behind them sped up and put his blinker on to pass them. As the car pulled into the opposite lane to pull ahead of them, they heard a loud bang and their car careened out of control. Michael fought for control and when the car slid toward the edge of the highway, he was able to bring the car to a stop.
“Damn,” Judson swore as Michael finally got the car under control. His hands gripped the dash hard. He turned to look at Michael. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. What the hell happened?” He was rubbing his temple area where it hit the side window. He glanced at the road to see the blue car pull away from them at a high rate of speed.
Judson shrugged. “I’m not sure.” He opened his door and stepped out. When he looked at the blown tire, Judson swore again. “Damn, we got a flat tire,” he muttered as he slammed his hand on the metal of the car.
Michael and Gage got out of the truck and joined him.
“What is it?” Michael asked.
“It’s a flat tire,” Judson replied.
Michael reached through his window and got the keys. He kept close to the car, as the drop on his side was almost straight down. Passing over the keys, he watched as Judson unlocked the spare tire and got out the spare and jack.
Michael waited for him to get the tire off the hub and he reached out to take it from him. He swung the tire into the back of the truck and while Judson was replacing it, he checked the tire. He could see the rip in the rubber but when he looked closer, he found a groove in the rubber.
Reaching out, he tracked the groove and found the initial puncture. It looked to him like a bullet hole. Michael grabbed the tire iron and popped the tire from the rim. Wiggling his hand inside the hole he created, he felt around until he found what he was looking for. Pulling his hand out, he studied the object in his hand.
He glanced up at the empty road and remembered the blue car that had followed them from Twelve Mile Bluff. He slipped the bullet into his pocket and decided to keep the information to himself for now.
After changing the tire, they were back on the road. Michael began scanning the road around him. The scanning was just an old habit of his from his days at Homeland Security. He glanced over to find Snickerdoodles watching him carefully.
They drove for hours. When they got to the Illinois border, Michael continued to drive through Chicago and when they got to South Bend, he kept driving. When they got close to Pittsburg, he pulled over for the night. It had been a long day and all they wanted was a bed for a few hours before they continued their way to DC.
Michael dropped down on one of the beds and Gage dropped down on the other. Judson groaned as he hit the couch. None of them said a word as they settled in for the night, almost asleep when their heads hit the pillows.
Chapter Two
The shadows lengthened and Willow snuggled down deeper into the blanket, she’d wrapped around her. Glancing over at the car that brought them here, she smiled. Phoebe, her best friend since she was nine years old slept in the back seat while she was out under the stars.
Tipping her head back, she watched as the night sky changed around her. She loved the freedom of being outdoors. Even though it was cold, she couldn’t force herself to stay in the car. Up until three days ago, they had been working in a restaurant near Chicago. Then she needed to travel to Boston to get something. She didn’t know why she had to retrieve the item just then, but something told her to get it. Almost as if a voice from her past whispered in her ear, a voice she couldn’t argue with or identify.
Willow sighed and watched the stars overhead. It didn’t matter where in the nation she was, she loved watching the stars. All the stress of the day seemed to disappear when she watched the universe move. No matter what trauma or drama the day brought, it all went away when she watched the stars.
Growing up in foster care hadn’t been easy or right but when you’re eight and your last relatives are gunned down, it kind of puts what happens next as all you can focus on. But that wasn’t the first time her life had been shattered beyond control. The first time it happened, she was six.
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the past. Her throat swelled and she had a hard time swallowing for a moment. Hanging her head on her knees, she pushed back the past. She refused to allow herself to remember.
Lifting her head, she stared at the stars again. Hot tears ran down her face as she fixed her gaze on one star and refused to look away for the longest time. She finally tore her gaze away and focused on her surroundings again.
That’s when she saw the big black truck in the parking lot again. She first noticed it a while ago but hadn’t paid attention to it, not until her eyes narrowed and the item in the back of the truck came in focus. She gasped and got to her feet. Stumbling, she rushed forward until she stood close to the truck. She gazed over the chrome and leather of the bike in the back. She traced every line of the bike just like she had sixteen years ago when she’d last seen it.
The bike was old but very well cared for. The chrome still shone after twenty years. Without a thought, she crawled in the back of the truck and ran her hands over the seat in a loving manner. She half smiled when her fingers found the slight tear in the leather. She remembered well the day the leather tore.
Then she just had to know if this was the bike she thought it might be. She laid down on the floor of the truck and searched the underneath of the leather seat. The parking lot lights lent just enough light to make out the words written there sixteen years ago.
Willow closed her eyes as bits and pieces of the past came rushing forward. She reached out to touch the pieces of her past but before she could, she heard footsteps coming toward the truck. Moving to the shadows of the pickup bed, she hardly dared to breathe as three sets of footsteps loitered near the back of the truck. Then she heard whispered words spoken.
She couldn’t understand the language but she did understand the tone they spoke in.
One set of footsteps moved away while she waited. Then she heard a strange sound. Something moved under the truck. She heard sounds of someone swearing and mumbling under the vehicle. Looking down, she saw a small rust hole in the bottom of the truck bed. Peeking through the hole, she could see a light wavering under the truck and she heard the tinkling of something striking the metal. Then she saw a wrist.
Instantly, her mind flashed back to sixteen years ago. The wrist she saw was decorated with the same images that haunted her dreams. She couldn’t breathe for a moment as she stared at the emblem. The wrist moved and the man could be heard crawling out from under the truck.
Willow didn’t dare move, lest she alerted the three men of her presence. It took like what seemed like forever for the three men to move away. She still didn’t move for the longest time. Finally, she peeked her head over the side of the truck. Her eyes swept the area but didn’t see anything out there.
Scrambling over the side of the vehicle, she raced over to the car and began pounding on the window.
Phoebe’s head popped up and she looked around to see what had disturbed her sleep. When she saw the terror on Willow’s face, she pushed herself up and opened the door. “What’s wrong Willie?” Phoebe asked reaching out for her.
Willow grabbed her arm and began to drag her toward the motel.
“What are you doing?” Phoebe asked as she stumbled along.
When they came to a door, Willow began to pound on it. She turned to her friend and tried to sign but it didn’t work one handed. The other hand was still pounding on the wooden door.
After a minute, they heard a dog barking and someone swearing on the other side, then the door was ripped open and an angry man stood there in just his boxers. He was tall and well muscled, his dark hair looked a little disheveled as he blinked with a sleepy yet annoyed expression on his face. “What the fuck is going on here?” he yelled. “Who the fuck are you and why are you waking us up?”
A light went on behind the man but Willow didn’t wait. She pushed her way into the room and began signing.
The three men simply looked confused while Phoebe frowned. She looked from Willow to the three men standing there in various stages of undress. Phoebe ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “She says someone put something under the truck. Three men came, one stood guard while another slid under the truck. She saw him or at least part of him.”
“Where was she that she saw this? Another man with deep brown eyes asked.
“She was in the back of the truck,” Phoebe told them with a shrug. Then she saw a huge dog peeking around the corner of one of the beds. Lying down, he just watched as the drama around him unfolded.
“What the hell was she doing in the back of my truck?” tall good looking annoyed man asked.
Phoebe signed to Willow and Willow interrupted the question. When she signed, Phoebe gasped. Turning to the men she asked, “Does it make a difference what she was doing in the truck?” At Willow’s continued signing, Phoebe went on with her translation, “She says she didn’t recognize the words they spoke but she did know the tone. They were angry and kept repeating one word, Al Mira.”
Two of the men exchanged a look while tall dark haired muscle man grabbed his pants and pulled them on. Then he disappeared out to the parking lot.
One of the other men ran his fingers through his hair. Turning to Phoebe, he held out his hand. “My name is Gage Torbin.” He turned to the other man and said, “This is Judson Markey. The man who ran out of here is Michael Severns. And you two are?”
Phoebe flushed. “Yeah and this Michael guy needs some social skills….My name is Phoebe Scott and this is Willie Parks.”
“How did you happen to be in the back of Michael’s truck when these men came around?” Gage asked Willow.
Willow shook her head and began to sign.
“What’s wrong with her?” Judson asked.
Phoebe looked away from Willow and stared at the men. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s fine, she just doesn’t speak.”
“Can she hear?” Judson asked.
Phoebe nodded as she turned back to Willow. “Yeah, she can hear but she doesn’t speak.”
“Why not?” he asked.
Phoebe shook her head. “No one knows. But she’s learned her own version of sign language and can communicate.”
“What did she tell you before?” Gage asked.
Phoebe glanced over at Willow.
Willow shook her head slightly but Gage caught the motion. He was about to say something when Michael came back in the room. He carried something in his hands.
Everyone watched as he carried it over to the table and set it down carefully. He turned and glared at Willow. Then he turned to Phoebe. Pointing a finger at her he demanded, “What the fuck was she doing in the back of my truck and what the hell did whoever put this thing on my truck want?”
Phoebe shrugged and motioning toward the thing, Michael had brought back with him she offered, “You should probably be thankful she was there. That thing looks real enough to have killed the three of you and without her warning, you would never have known about it.” With that, she grabbed Willow’s hand to get the hell out of there.
Unfortunately, they didn’t make it as Gage grabbed a hold of Willow and Michael slammed the door shut in Phoebe’s face. “You two aren’t going anywhere until we get some answers.” He growled.
Willow began to struggle the moment Gage wrapped his arms around her waist. Screams echoed in her head but her voice wouldn’t break the silence that held her for the last sixteen years. She stomped down on his bare foot and Gage swore but he held on to her.
Phoebe turned and when she saw them struggling, she rushed over to her friend. “Please don’t hurt her,” she begged.
“Hurt her?” Gage scoffed. “What about me? Tell her to stop stepping on my feet and I’ll let her go. We aren’t going to hurt either of you.”
Willow stopped struggling although her breathing was rapid and her heart was pounding in her chest. For a moment, Gage’s arms tightened around her but then he let her go. She quickly moved away from him and grabbing Phoebe’s arms, she turned to face him. Backing away slowly, she didn’t stop until her back hit the wall.
Michael watched the women for a moment then looked over at the two other men. Running his fingers through his hair, he told them, “Why don’t you guys put your pants on and we can all sit down and try to figure this out.”
Gage and Judson turned away and grabbed their clothes.
Once they were partially dressed, Michael turned to Phoebe and Willow, motioning them toward the table he said, “Please sit down, so we can get a grip on what happened tonight.”
Phoebe turned to Willow and looked into her eyes. “Come on, let’s do this and get it over with. Maybe we can salvage at least part of the night anyway.”
Willow kept a tight grip on her friend’s hand as they walked over to the table. Pulling out a chair, she sat down keeping her eyes on all three men.
Michael and Gage sat down opposite while Judson sat on the arm of the sofa.
Willow started when she felt something cold and wet nudge her arm. Looking down, she saw the head of a very large dog under the table. Reaching down, she rubbed the dog behind the ears, then raised her head to view the three men.
“Now,” Michael began. “Can your friend tell us why she was in the back of the truck when the three men approached it and what she saw after that?”
Willow shook her head.
Phoebe grabbed her hands and turned to face her. “Honey, they need to know what you saw and heard.” Glancing briefly at the three men she turned back to Willow. “I don’t think they want to hurt us, they just need to know about the other men.”
Willow’s eyes got big as she remembered her past. She shook her head and began to sign.
Phoebe groaned and after a few minutes, she looked t
oward Michael. “All she’ll say is that she was in the back of the truck when three other men approached it, one stood guard while another one slid under the truck and then she heard sounds like banging and then after a while, they left. She didn’t see what the third man was doing. She stayed down until enough time passed then looked around. She came and got me and we knocked on your door.”
Michael glanced over at Gage and Judson then turned back to Phoebe. “Did she see or hear anything else?”
Phoebe frowned then seemed to remember something. “She said earlier, they spoke another language and she saw some sort of tattoo on one of the men.” She gazed at Willow and shrugged. “At least I think that’s what she said earlier. She was rather upset while she was pounding on the door.”
“Does she remember what the tattoo looks like?” Gage asked. “Maybe we could use that image to figure out who left us a present tonight.”
Willow pushed her chair back and shook her head. She grew very pale and her whole body shook.
Phoebe took a deep breath and exhaled. “I don’t think that will work.” Shaking her head, she studied the three men facing her. “There is something about Willow you should know. In the sixteen years I’ve known her, she hasn’t spoken a single word. The doctors say there isn’t a reason for her silence other than the one in her head. She can hear and understand the spoken word just fine but she doesn’t speak.” She reached out a hand toward Willow and when Willow grabbed it, Phoebe pulled her back down to the chair. “Gentlemen, something out there scared her. She’s given you all the information she can, so I think it’s time for us to say goodbye and be on our way.” Phoebe stood and when Willow got to her feet, they turned to leave the room.
All three men got to their feet.
“Ladies, I’m afraid it isn’t that easy,” Michael informed them.