Club Scars

by Mara McBain

  “Sure. I said I don’t make friends easy, not that I’m a hermit,” Kat snapped.

  Crux coughed and she elbowed him in the ribs. Hunter was unfazed.

  “Let’s start with where you have taken Cam?”

  “He’s gone into the grocery store with me a couple of times, and we’ve been to The Lantern several times.”

  “Think about the people you’ve seen. Does anyone stand out to you? Any bad cases of baby fever? Did anyone make you uncomfortable?”

  “They’re all a little baby crazy at work,” she said with a helpless little shrug. “Umm…other than friends and family, there was an old lady at the grocery store that was gushing over him and fussing that I shouldn’t be up and about. It was our first trip. Cam was only ten days old. Lee said that she thought the lady’s name was Linda something and that she used to be a kindergarten teacher. Other than that,” Kat hesitated, chewing her lip. “The only other place I can think of is we took him out to Karna’s. It’s an awesome little hippie den full of hand dipped incense, candles, wood carvings and stuff. That was the day that Ginny caught my father’s mercenary tailing us on the way back.”

  “That’s Daniel Carson that you spoke of with Officer Marchand?”

  Kat nodded and pressed closer to Crux. He ran his hand up and down her spine.

  “You said ‘we took him’ to the hippie shop. Who went with you?”

  “We went with three of my sisters, Ginny, Lee, and Eva.”

  “Any worries there?”

  Kat gave a dismissive shake of her head. “None. They’re my sisters. I hang out with them, work with them, we’re family.”

  “You said they’re all baby crazy at work. Are all the women that work with you married to members of the MC?”

  “Most of them are married to, engaged, or shacking with a Lord. We like to keep family close. There are a couple part-timers that aren’t and then the cook, Lou.”

  “Is there anyone else you can think of? Anyone, no matter how farfetched that might have a grudge against you?”

  Kat’s shoulders slumped and Crux pulled her closer. She shook her head, the helplessness in her expression making it tough to swallow. Kat was usually so tough but this shit was killing her.

  “Kramer ate his gun. Other than the college kid that Crux got into with at Hillside, I can’t think of anyone else that we’ve had problems with,” she said, still shaking her head, but the rest of her starting to follow suit. “Who would do this?”

  “I don’t know, Mrs. Croston, but we’re going to do our best to find out,” Hunter said, and the determined glint in his eyes gave Crux a sliver of hope.

  Zeke slouched in a kitchen chair. His barrel chest rose and fell in a big sigh. Ginny put a cup of coffee in front of him and slid around to stand behind him. He caught her hand over his shoulder and just held it for a minute.

  “The FBI has probably already done this, but I ran a check for all properties that Merrick, his family, or their corporation rent or own. I’ve called in some favors and we’re checking them all out.”

  “Cops?” Crux asked with a skeptical grimace. “Why would they help me?”

  “Maybe because it’s our job,” Zeke said with a pointed look. “Or if it makes you feel better, they’re doing it because I asked. I told them this is my God child, he’s family, and cops help each other. We’re a brotherhood too.”

  “When did we make your ugly mug my kid’s Godfather?” Crux asked, playing his sheepishness off with an insult.

  Kat tweaked his nipple in silent rebuke, but Zeke took it in stride.

  “Maybe not officially, but in my mind asking us to take care of the little man if something ever happened to you is close enough. Either way you’re family. That was just an explanation they would understand.”

  “The expression that ‘it takes a village’ is never more appropriate than in club life,” Ginny said softly. “We all love Cam and will do whatever we can to see him back home where he belongs.”

  “He knows that,” Kat said, giving her husband a reproachful look before laying her head back down on his shoulder. “He’s just worried and growly.”

  “Sorry,” Crux muttered, scrubbing his hands over his weary features.

  “No worries, brother.”

  “It’s been almost twenty-four hours. What is that they say about abducted children?” Kat asked quietly.

  “They say that the first forty-eight hours are the most crucial,” Zeke said somberly. “That doesn’t mean we won’t find him after that time, just that those initial two days are when the evidence is fresh and we gather all the background information.”

  “I feel so useless sitting here.”

  “No shit,” Crux grumbled in agreement.

  “Believe it or not you’re doing exactly what the parents should be doing in an abduction situation. I know it’s hard.”

  “Do you know they were going door to door here in Trinity?” Kat asked.

  Zeke nodded, turning his coffee cup on the table. “It’s standard and if they have nothing to hide, our neighbors won’t have a problem with it. Most people are extremely sympathetic to child abduction. It’s a nightmare no parent wants to think about and even those without children have family and were kids themselves at one time.”

  Ginny squeezed Crux and Kat’s shoulders as she left the table to retrieve the coffee pot and refill mugs. They all jumped at a light knock on the back door. Already on her feet, Ginny was the first one there. She peeked out and then unlocked the door to let Eva in. The girl gave them a shy half-smile and lifted the large Crockpot in her hands a bit higher.

  “I made some sausage gravy and biscuits in case anyone was hungry.”

  “Thank you, baby. That’s so sweet,” Ginny said giving her a one armed hug before shooing her into the kitchen and helping her with the extra bags.

  The men mumbled their thanks and Kat slipped out of Crux’s lap to hug her sister.

  “Thank you, Eva. We all appreciate it.”

  Eva pulled several gallon size Ziploc bags of biscuits out of her burlap tote and stacked two white bakery boxes on the counter next to them.

  “There are two dozen donuts, too. I figured with all the law enforcement going in and out they might come in handy,” she said, flashing her future father-in-law a cheeky grin.

  Zeke winked at her over the rim of his coffee cup.

  “Is there anything else I can do or run and pick up for you?” she asked, looking around. “Do you need milk, juice, another coffee maker? I could go to The Lantern and borrow one of the double burners and another pot.”

  “Actually, sweetie, that’s a good idea. Why don’t you go to the clubhouse and get the big coffee urn instead? While you’re there grab a can of coffee and some creamer too, just in case.”

  “Come on, little girl,” Zeke said standing up. “I need to get back out there. I’ll follow you to the clubhouse and let you in on my way.”

  “Thanks,” Eva said and gave Kat another quick hug. “I wish there was more I could do. If you think of anything else I have my phone with me. Just give me a call.”

  Ginny followed them to the door kissing her husband and daughter-in-law goodbye. Kat smiled tiredly at her when she stepped back up into the kitchen.

  “You can use our room to grab a couple winks if you want,” she said, crawling back into her husband’s lap.

  “I’ll sleep when they bring our boy home, little sister,” Ginny said, waving her off. “I’ll make you both a plate. You need to eat.”

  Kat smiled wanly. Arguing with the queen was futile. Watching Gin bustle around the kitchen she couldn’t help wonder why in times of trouble and stress women turned to trying to nourish everyone? How many times had she kept helplessness at bay by busying herself with making food or hot beverages? The answer was, too many times, especially lately.

  Closing her eyes, she pressed her nose against the side of Crux’s neck. She stroked his chest. Despite his steady stoicism, she knew he was worried and furious. Why w
asn’t he blaming her? Maybe he figured she was doing a good enough job of that herself. Right now it felt like he was the only thing holding her together. She heard Ginny put food on the table in front of them, but she wasn’t hungry. How could she eat not knowing if Cam was hungry? If he wasn’t at her father’s house where was he? That question scared her more than the thought of him in her father’s hands.

  Crux looked down at Kat sleeping on his shoulder. It was strange. He’d been up for longer than twenty-four hours at a stretch many times, but today’s emotional strain had taken a toll. As exhausted as he was at the moment his brain was spinning. Unfortunately, it kept coming back to one thought, if he’d killed the bastard a long time ago it wouldn’t have come to this. It was a lesson he was going to drill into Cam when they got him back. Never procrastinate in dealing with your enemies because they’ll just come back to bite you in the ass.

  That first night he’d spent with Kat he’d known there was nothing this woman could ask of him that he’d ever deny her. In fifteen years he could count on one hand the number of times she’d really asked him for anything. How pathetic was that? A lump formed in his throat and he shook his head at the irony. At least two of the five tracked back to Merrick. She’d begged him to let the bastard live at one time. More importantly, she’d asked him to protect her and Cam from the bogeyman and that was where he’d failed. Rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes he prayed to God to give him one more chance.

  Kat jerked in his arms, ripping him from prayer. She whimpered in her sleep. Brushing his lips against the side of her head, he murmured words of comfort in her ear and tightened his grip. She lashed out, catching him off guard. The violence of her thrashing nearly capsized the chair. Ginny leapt out of her seat nearby, fear and worry etching her face. Kat’s body bowed, every muscle straining. Her mouth opened, in a soundless scream.

  Crux winced as her head bounced off the side of his. Ginny hovered over them, her hands spread in powerless entreaty, not sure what to do.

  “Wake up, baby,” Crux grunted, trying hard not to hurt her as he grappled with her twisting body.

  “Kat!” Ginny said sharply.

  Kat’s eyes flew open. She stared at Crux for a moment. He held his breath until recognition lit her gaze. Her body slumped in his grasp. Exhaling slowly, he stroked her hair.

  “You’re okay, baby. I’m right here.”

  “The hospital,” Kat whispered.

  Crux frowned, not following. “What about the hospital?”

  “They need to check the hospital,” Kat choked out. “My father said they could lock me up there and no one would ever hear from me again. What if he took Cam to the nuthouse?”

  Crux blinked at her. Leaping to his feet, he shoved Kat into Ginny’s arms and ran for the door. One of the Fed’s stationed outside was already half out of the car by the time Crux cleared the porch.

  “Oakwood Mental Hospital!”

  The look the guy gave him suggested he thought Crux should be shipped to the nuthouse in question immediately.

  “You need to check the Oakwood Mental hospital.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “We’re not sure, but it’s a place where Merrick had Kat held and tortured. He’s very familiar with it. He always told Kat he could lock her up there and no one would ever find her. The sick fucks have donated a lot of money to help keep it open. Kat’s great-grandmother was a resident for years. Kat said that there are rooms in the basement where people did nothing but scream and tunnels that lead to buildings they don’t use anymore. The bastard could’ve taken Cam there knowing that you’d search his house.”

  “Calm down, Mr. Croston.”

  Crux’s hands shook as he held them out to the agent pleadingly. “I know it sounds crazy. I’m not a nut, and neither is my wife. If she says she saw these things I believe her.”

  “You have to admit that it sounds like a bad movie,” the agent said gently.

  “I know, but those horror flicks have a grain of truth to them and that’s what gets people thinking. What is that they say, truth is scarier than fiction? You’ve got to check it out. Please,” he said and held his breath. If the Feds wouldn’t check it out he’d take his brothers and tear the place apart, brick by fucking brick.

  The agent stared him in the eye for a long minute and then relented and nodded. Crux let his breath out slowly.

  “We’ll search the hospital.”

  “And all the building and tunnels and shit,” Crux said intently.

  “We’ll search every inch. If anything is going on there we will find it, and God willing, your son safe and sound.”

  “Thank you,” Crux said softly. “You guys find my son and I just might have to change my shit opinion on law enforcement.”

  “Detective Brawer warned us about your attitude toward our kind, but told us not to take it personally,” the agent said with a slight smile.

  “Find my kid and I’ll donate to your damn ball.”

  “The FBI doesn’t have—”

  Crux grinned as the man caught himself. The agent shook his head and smiled back.

  “I’ll call it in.”

  Kat moved to the window and peeked out between the slats. Crux and Reaper were standing at the corner of the garage deep in conversation. As she watched, Reaper flipped up the hood on his sweatshirt to block the wind while he lit a cigarette. What were they talking about that they’d brave the wind and spitting rain? Crux turned his back to the bluster and buried his hands in his pockets. The expression on his face was intense.

  “What do you suppose they’re talking about?”

  Kat jumped as Ginny joined her. She shrugged, fighting back a manic giggle as their queen peered between the blind’s slats.

  “I have no idea. My question is do they not want us to hear, or our other guests?”

  “Maybe both.”

  “Maybe,” Kat agreed and frowned. “He’d have told me if they found anything at Oakwood, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, honey. Of course he would. I’m sure this isn’t about Cam. It looks like man stuff.”

  “As much as I’m praying they find him there, the thought of Cam in that hellhole terrifies me.”

  “The thought of you there scares the fuck out of me even with just the little you’ve told me,” Ginny said pulling Kat close in a hug. “They’re going to find him and bring him home safe to us.”

  “I hope this is one of those times where you’re annoyingly right.”

  “Me too, little sister.”

  Kat shivered and Ginny tugged her away from the window.

  “Come on. I think a day like this calls for a little Irish coffee.”

  “Amen,” Kat breathed.

  The look on Agent Hunter’s face made Crux’s stomach churn. He stared hard at him for a long moment searching for an answer before reluctantly stepping aside to let the man inside. Kat crowded close to his back, her hands fisting in his shirt: her eyes pleading for news she was afraid to ask for. Hunter sloughed a hand down his face and shrugged out of his dripping overcoat. He looked at the puddle forming on the floor for a moment.

  “Sorry.”

  “The floor is the least of our worries. You aren’t handing me a kid. What did you find?” Crux asked harshly. His heart pounded and he tried to steel himself for the worst.

  “We haven’t found Cam yet, but we did find this at Oakwood.”

  Kat cried out, lunging forward to snatch the evidence bag from Hunter’s hand. She clutched the tiny red bootie to her chest and hit her knees. Kneeling down beside her, Crux crushed her in a hug.

  “It’s okay, baby. It’s something. They know he was there.”

  “Cam’s like his mama, he’s always kicking his socks off,” she choked out, eyes clamped shut and trying to rock through the pain.

  “Now will you take us seriously that Merrick is involved in this?”

  “I never discredited your suspicions. We might have shown our teeth in a smile to the governor’s brother,
but John Merrick’s connections haven’t changed the way we’ve conducted our investigation.”

  “Did you check the cemetery?”

  Kat’s whisper made both heads whip around. Crux closed his eyes for a minute and then turned back to Agent Hunter.

  “We told you about the argument between Kat’s parents and her mother’s disappearance. There’s an old graveyard on the grounds at Oakwood and Kat thinks that John killed Kassandra and buried her there.”

  “Did they search the grounds?”

  Kat shook her head and gave a cynical bark of laughter. “I was a child. No one would take me seriously. When I wouldn’t shut up and fall in line, my father told them that I’d snapped. He said that the grief was too much for me. Guess where he sent me.” She laughed again at the horror on the Federal agent’s face. “But don’t worry. They gave me a room with a view. Even strapped to the bed I could see the cemetery out of my window.”

  Crux swept Kat up off the floor and carried her to the couch without a word to Hunter. Her laugh had sent a chill down his spine. If there’d ever been a time he’d worried about his wife’s sanity, now was it. Settling on the chaise, he tucked her under his chin. He gently pried the evidence bag from her hands and replaced it with Cam’s blanket she’d been carrying around. She buried her face in the light blue fleece with the small black motorcycles and her shoulders shook with the force of her anguish.

  Hunter sat down on the other end of the sectional. He scrubbed his hands over his face and Crux felt for the guy, they’d had a lifetime to get used to the dysfunction of their families. Wetting his lips, Hunter looked up at him.

  “The FBI is still searching Oakwood. It’s a massive complex and Kat wasn’t exaggerating about the underground labyrinth. I won’t go into the horrors we found there, but I can promise you that Oakwood is being closed.” Hunter looked down at his hands and Crux could see they were shaking. “Closed sounds so civilized. It’s the kind of evil where you should scorch the earth and never rebuild there,” he whispered, his eyes distant and haunted.