Club Scars

by Mara McBain

  “The cops were converging on the house with lights and sirens when I was getting the hell out of Dodge. I’m sure your Fed buddies will be getting a call soon,” Reaper said, running his hand over the wild tangles of his curls. He was still all pumped up.

  “You were careful?” Kat asked. She reached out to squeeze his forearm when he looked at her in surprise. “Lee would never forgive me if you got jammed up because of us.”

  “No worries, little mama,” he said with a confident grin and a wink.

  A knock at the back door interrupted the conversation and Crux went to see who it was. A box with bags from The Lantern peeking out the top earned Lee immediate entrance. Crux took the box from her and she pressed into Reaper’s arms. Kat felt a twinge of guilt watching the reunion. Crux’s brothers were doing all they could to help find Camden. Their women were keeping the home fires burning and trying to keep everything going, but that didn’t mean it was easy. They were missing their men.

  The kiss Reaper gave Lee left no doubt that he’d missed her as well. She couldn’t help a little smile watching their volatile brother fondle his woman’s ass and nuzzle her ear drawing a naughty giggle from Lee. The soft spoken young woman brought out a side of Reaper she never would’ve imagined existed. It was something to watch. Kat started as an arm went around her.

  “Are you okay?” Crux murmured in her ear.

  She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I won’t be okay until our boy is home and my father joins my uncle in hell.”

  “It’ll happen, babe. Whatever it takes.”

  “Who is this woman? Do you think this has to do with Cam?”

  “I honestly don’t know what to think. I’m sure your father and uncle have made a lot of enemies in their lifetime and it doesn’t surprise me that one of them is a woman.”

  “Maybe we should tell Hunter what Reap saw,” she said, biting her lip in uncertainty. “I mean, obviously we don’t tell him how we know or who, but—”

  Crux pressed his lips together as he mulled her words over. She could see the indecision. It was a testament to how worried he was about Cam when he nodded. He turned to Reaper.

  “I’ve got to tell Hunter about this mystery woman. If there is any chance this could have something to do with Cam—” he said, his look willing his brother to understand.

  “I get it. It’s cool. Just tell the Feds it was bird watchers or the neighborhood watch,” Reaper said with a grin.

  The comment drew smiles, a few laughs and shaking heads. Ginny gave him a hug.

  “We love you, Reap baby.”

  Crux clasped his shoulder in thanks and pulled out his phone. Dialing Agent Hunter, he put it on speaker and laid it on the table in front of him. Everyone gathered close.

  “I’m glad you called. We have some news,” Hunter said in way of a greeting.

  Crux looked at the faces around him and nodded before remembering the FBI agent couldn’t see him. He wet his lips, but his voice still came out a croak.

  “Did you find him?”

  “Not yet, but we have a good lead. Is Kat listening?”

  “I’m here,” she said, looking uncertainly at Crux.

  “This is going to be tough for you, and I’m sorry you have to find out like this,” Hunter said and paused like he was unsure of how to proceed.

  “Just say it. What’s tough for me is not knowing where my son is,” Kat pleaded, grabbing Crux’s hand.

  “Your mother is still alive and she knows about the abduction. Kassandra broke into the house and confronted your father and uncle about the whereabouts of her grandson. Your uncle is dead. Your father has been shot and your mother is forcing him to take her to where Camden is being held.”

  Kat couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t possible. It had been twenty-two years. Her mother was dead.

  “Jesus. Nothing stays buried around here,” Ginny muttered.

  “I’m sorry, Kat. I know this is a shock,” the agent said softly.

  “How the fuck do you know this? Do you know where Cam is?”

  “Your uncle made a call on his cell and the line was open for the conversation between John and Kassandra. From what we’ve been able to piece together he must have made the call after your mother shot him the first time.”

  “I don’t give a shit about my uncle. Do you know where my son is?” Kat screamed.

  “Your father said that he gave Cam into the safekeeping of a friend of his because he knew we would search the house. He said the friend is a doctor. We’re going through his contacts and medical records to make a list of physicians. Can you think of any family friends that were or are doctors?”

  Kat closed her eyes and shook her head, frantically searching her memory for her father’s friends and doctors. It had been so long ago. A cold fist closed around her heart and her voice came out a low moan.

  “Dr. Beck. You found Cam’s sock at Oakwood. The bastard ran the hospital when I was there. He’s an animal!”

  “Get me an address for a Dr. Beck that works or worked at Oakwood Mental Hospital,” Hunter snapped at someone. “We’ll look into him and continue our investigation and search at Oakwood. I’ll call you when we have something. Stay strong.”

  Kat stared at the phone as Agent Hunter’s name and number blinked for a moment and then the home screen reappeared. A picture of Cam stared back at her. The icy hold on her heart didn’t let up. Beck was a monster. She still remembered him standing in the shadows, watching as her uncle played his sick games. If the glint in the good doctor’s eye while watching her suffer hadn’t been enough, the whispers of his experiments with people’s minds had terrified her. He took delight in the misery of others. How would a helpless baby fare in his hands? Her fingers tightened around Crux’s hand.

  He turned her head with the tip of his finger against her chin. Leaning his forehead to hers, he kissed her softly.

  “I know it’s a fucked up, scary place to be, but you’re doing a good job trying to get inside his head, baby. Without you they wouldn’t even be close,” he whispered.

  “I’m trying.”

  “I know, and we’re going to get through this.”

  Kat closed her eyes, clinging to the confidence in her man’s voice. She was so tired of the past coming back to bite them in the ass.

  “Promise me that when we get Cam back my father will burn in hell,” she whispered.

  “I promise.”

  She nodded and clung to him. That was one fucked up parent taken care of, but now she had two. She shook her head. Her mother was alive. She still couldn’t wrap her brain around it. All these years she’d been so sure. The word why just bounced around in her mind. Why desert them? Why leave her behind at her father’s mercy? Why now, after all these years? Tears stung her eyes and she rolled them heavenward to stop the flow. This wasn’t the time to deal with someone she’d mourned years ago. Right now Cam had to be her sole focus. Everything else could wait, but one thing was certain. If her mother had anything to do with Cam’s disappearance, Kat would make sure she burned in hell with her husband.

  Twenty-Five

  The whole alphabet of law enforcement was swarming over Oakwood like ants on their hill. John’s hands flexed around the steering wheel. Carson was watching Trinity. The FBI was still sitting on Katrina’s home, so they hadn’t found Camden. Had Beck gone underground here or had he managed to get the boy out before the onslaught? He couldn’t risk using the cell. If the things Connor had said in his rant were true, the FBI could be tracking him.

  “You left our grandson with Doctor Death?” Kassandra hissed in accusation.

  “Don’t be dramatic. Beck knows who his charge is and how important Camden is to me. He will keep the boy safe,” John said stiffly and turned the car around.

  “Forgive me for dramatics, but I’ve been under Dr. Beck’s tender care before,” she said dryly. “The Nazi comparison is accurate.”

  “Let’s not dredge up the past, Kassandra.”

  “I don’t
see much of a future for either of us, John. What would you suggest we talk about?”

  “You never were able to see the big picture. We can start over, Kassandra. You are not the woman that left twenty odd years ago and I know I’m not the same man. Age and experiences change a person. It changes our priorities, and personalities mellow.”

  “You think that we can just forget everything that happened, everything that you and your family put me through, and just start over?”

  “The old man is dead and now my blowhard brother has joined him in hell. You don’t have to worry about them anymore. Like I said, Kassandra, I’ve changed. I’m not that boy striving for his family’s approval, looking to validate my manhood.”

  “You bullied our daughter and kidnapped her child when you didn’t get your way. Forgive me if I’m not seeing this big transformation.”

  “I was trying to do what is best for Camden. That sideshow freak that our Katrina hooked up with is violent. He did hard time for beating a police officer into a coma in front of his child. If passersby hadn’t intervened he would’ve killed the man with a crowbar,” he said adamantly.

  The hand that brushed hair out of her face had a slight tremble to it and she didn’t reply immediately. John tried to search her features out of the corner of his eye. He fought a smile. He was getting to her, making her second guess things.

  “Katrina seems happy,” she said, but didn’t seem so sure now.

  “She’s her mother’s daughter. Katrina’s strong and has perfected a mask just like yours. Think of the times when we were young and dumb, Kassandra. The outside world never knew what you were thinking or feeling.”

  She flinched. Direct hit.

  “Think of the subculture she’s immersed in. Bikers are a violent lot. Their women dress like whores and are treated with even less respect. Katrina admitted to me that she’s afraid of Croston. After she ran off I tried to work things out with her, he not only threatened me, but Katrina as well. He forbade her from having any contact with her family or anyone from this life. Etta and her old nanny were both crushed,” he said. He didn’t mention how the nanny had given Katrina a car, aiding in her escape. The old biddy had paid for that one. “I’ve tried, through others, to convince her to walk away, but she is afraid. We can’t force her to leave, Kassandra, but we can protect our grandson.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?”

  “We take Camden and we get out of here, start fresh. You know I have the means and connections for it. If we go now we could get out of the country, go someplace where our grandson can be raised in the type of privilege and luxury he deserves. We can give him the education and start in life that Croston never could. If he returns to Trinity Falls our grandson will grow up scraping for every cent and end up a thug like his father, continuing the cycle of poverty and abuse.”

  Kassandra didn’t say anything. He pressed down on the wadded undershirt he’d slid under his jacket and winced. Minutes ticked by and John searched his mind for something to add to the argument. He drove in silence, praying his words still had the ability to sway his wife. He turned into Beck’s driveway and still she hadn’t answered him. He wet his lips as he put the car in park and turned to look at her. She glanced at the conservative two-story colonial and neat grounds and grimaced.

  “Let’s go get our grandson. He deserves better than this.”

  John reined in his triumph and gave her a small smile of relief. She didn’t put the gun down, but did conceal it in the folds of her coat as she tilted her head to indicate he should lead the way to the door. The look on Beck’s face when he answered the door only added to John’s smug pleasure. He stared at Kassandra like seeing a ghost. Obviously Katrina hadn’t been the only one to doubt his story about her disappearance.

  “Where’s Camden?”

  “My wife is feeding him. Please, come in and let me take a look at that.”

  John brushed his hand away from his shoulder impatiently and grimaced at the pain. The sudden movement made him a little lightheaded.

  “We have to hurry. You might want to think about finding other accommodations as well. The FBI is all over the hospital. They already have evidence my grandson was there. That was sloppy of you. I’m sure they’ll be knocking on your door soon.”

  Beck blinked at him but then led the way into the living room, a little more urgency in his step.

  “We have to go. Pack a bag with the essentials,” he said coolly.

  His wife looked up in question, but obviously something in her husband’s face told her to move. John nodded in approval as she handed the baby off to Kassandra and disappeared. She was well trained. Turning, he reached for Beck’s hand, but the man was looking over his shoulder. John swore he heard the bullet wiz past his head as the force spun Beck away. He turned to look at Kassandra in shock as she put two more in the doctor.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “A dead man tells no tales, John.”

  He blinked at the woman standing before him. Camden cradled in one arm, she held the gun on him, seeming completely composed.

  “What about his wife?”

  “If she has any brains at all, she’s running or hiding.”

  John nudged the man at his feet. He didn’t move.

  “It’s funny. Katrina’s Tommy works on cars and motorcycles. My husband Ben worked for a company that made parts for cars. Isn’t that a coincidence? And after all these years I still don’t know what you do, John.”

  “What’re you getting at?”

  “Nothing really, just that we never talked. I wonder if Katrina and Tommy talk. Sometimes when I’m waiting somewhere, or driving, I look at houses and I wonder what is going on inside them. What are their lives like? Are they happy? Does he hurt her? Are they hiding? Do you ever wonder that?”

  “No. We need to get going, Kassandra. We’ll have a lot of time to talk on the plane and get caught up.”

  “Do you know what I liked about Ben?”

  Biting back a caustic reply, John counted to ten and took a deep breath. She still had a gun.

  “What was that?”

  “He had set expectations and they didn’t change. As long as he had clean clothes to wear, the house was picked up, and there was some plan for dinner, he was happy,” she said with a smile. “He was easy to please. I did my job and he never raised his voice and he never hit me.”

  “I’ve told you that I’m not that man anymore,” he said gently. “We will talk and start fresh, but right now we have to get going, Kassandra. We need to get Camden out of here before the cops show up.”

  “You’re not that man as long as I’m standing here with a gun,” she said with a smile that seemed sad. “I might be a little crazy, John, but I’m not stupid. You’re a liar. You’re very good at it. You know all the right things to say to get your way, but I know you too well. I shot you. Are you really going to stand there and tell me that we’re going to walk out that door now and live happily ever after?”

  “I, of all people, understand doing what you have to do, Kassandra. I don’t think you’re stupid or crazy. I have to admit that I’m impressed by the way you’ve planned everything out. I guess I shouldn’t be. You did an amazing job of covering your tracks all those years ago and you’re older and wiser no—”

  The gun roared and this time he felt as if he’d been kicked in the chest by a horse. He staggered back, tripping over Beck to sprawl beside him. White-hot pain exploded in his chest. Blinking up at Kassandra he waited for another one. The pressure was tremendous, like something sitting on his chest. He gasped for breath. Still, she just stood there, looking down at him. As he watched, she kissed Camden’s head. Her lips were moving, but he couldn’t make out the words.

  Something touched his cheek and he forced his eyes open. When had they closed? Kassandra was squatting beside him. His eyes crossed as he tried to follow the pistol’s barrel as she caressed his face with it. She had something in her other hand. He blinked, trying to
focus. He frowned at the crystal flute. She tilted the glass to his lips and he choked as the bubbly flowed down his throat. Gasping, he tried to force words past the pain. She smiled and leaned closer and whispered,

  “Here’s to a fresh start.”

  Twenty-Six

  Kat’s fingers clenched white knuckle around the crib’s railing. The cops had covered the window but the room still felt cold. She couldn’t take her eyes off the motorcycles circling slowly in front of her. A tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the orange and black sheets below. She’d had to get away from everyone for a while and clear her mind. Like the Harley’s in the mobile, it seemed they were all going in circles but not getting any closer to finding Cam.

  Forcing her eyes away from the bikes, they lifted to the wrought iron cross on the wall. Instead of the simple baby plaque that she’d seen in other nurseries Ginny had ordered the big Celtic cross with a Trinity knot in the center and Camden’s name wove in. Kat had never been close with God. A childhood of crying out to someone who never answered had soured her on religion, but it had been a gift from Gin who was big on symbolism. She’d said it was something Cam could have forever and he had seemed fascinated by it.

  Wetting her lips, Kat closed her eyes. Her fingers were stiff as she uncurled them from the railing. Interlacing them she took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind.

  “I know you don’t owe me anything, but he’s an innocent baby. I’ve done a lot of shit in my life that I’m not proud of, but I’m so proud of him and I’m doing my best. We want to give him the kind of childhood we didn’t have. I don’t need to go into that with you. Please bring him home safe. I’ll do anything for him, anything. Ginny says you don’t work like magic, but if just this one time if you could let me know you’re actually listening. I’m not looking for burning shrubbery. Just bring Cam back safe. Please. Amen,” she said awkwardly.

  “That was good.”

  Kat spun around, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment. Crux opened his arms and she stepped into them.