by Eve R. Hart
“What are we missing here?” Iron asked the question I knew we all were thinking.
“Let’s track him down and find out,” I said a little too eagerly.
“Any clue where he is now?” Mason asked.
“None. He could have taken off.” Cable shook his head. “But, thanks to the cell phone, I was able to see where he went the last couple of months. He did circulate Royally Brewed a lot. He could have even been there when Laurel and Gwen were working. But if Laurel didn’t mention that she recognized him, then maybe not. Maybe see if Gwen or anyone else that works there has noticed him hanging around. Then again, he could have just been waiting outside or something. I just know he was in that area.”
I didn’t like that. Sure, I got the feeling that he’d been watching for a while now, but hearing it like this, only made it worse.
“There is a diner across town and what appears to be a vacant building a few blocks away from the diner.”
“That all?” Iron asked.
“I was able to pinpoint a few other areas but nothing that really showed a pattern. A few fast food joints near that house. A gas station here and there.”
“Alright. We’ll start with the diner and building,” Iron said.
Then we began to formulate a cautious and well thought out plan. We weren’t going to enter the building, we’d decided. There was no way we were going to be stupid twice. But we were going to plant a few prospects to watch the place. It was a small chance that he’d return, but it was a chance I wasn’t going to pass up.
Honestly, the guy seemed pretty dumb. So it might not have surprised me if he did show up there. And I sure as fuck hoped he did.
“What about these clues? We got any idea about that?” Iron asked.
“No,” Cable said shaking his head again. “I searched all the feeds outside the buildings and didn’t notice anything. I combed through our text and emails, but nothing that stuck out.”
“What about his email?”
“Couldn’t find one for him. Nothing on the phone and nothing when I searched. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have one, I just can’t find it.”
“Okay. I’ve filled Axe in on everything that happened. He was the one that filled in the blanks for me. I want—”
“Wait,” Cable said abruptly, cutting off the Prez. “Shit.”
“Cable?” Iron asked with a brow raised.
That was when Cable looked up from his laptop and it seemed like all the color had drained from his face.
“I found it. Well one of them,” he said and hesitantly spun the computer around so we all could see. “For some reason, it got filtered through to my trash. I’m not sure how or even why he did that.”
Then he hit a button and a video started to play.
It was bad enough hearing about what happened to Laurel. Bad enough to know that she’d been naked and locked in a cage for weeks. Bad enough to picture it in my mind.
But it was worse to watch it play out in front of me.
To actually see her naked. See her cramped up in that cage. See her crying with that look on her face that said she’d lost all hope.
It went on for five minutes. It had been cut together like a movie, each section a minute long. At the end, it faded out to black and his voice rang out.
“If you really care about her, you’ll come find her. Four. Two. Three.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Time on that?” Mason asked.
“Uh, six days ago,” Cable answered after he turned the computer back around so he could look at it. His fingers kept working while he talked. “Those numbers are the house number. There’s another one. Sent two days ago.”
I didn’t want to watch. I couldn’t take much more.
I was ready to get this son of a bitch and tear him apart limb by fucking limb.
The second one wasn’t as long. Two minutes of her this time. Crying.
I wondered how many times she’d cried in there. How many times had she felt lost and alone. How much she must have hated that she did.
How much she would hate it now, knowing that we’d all seen it.
Damn.
This shit just kept getting worse. I probably shouldn’t have even thought that because it wasn’t even over. There was shit that could still happen.
At the end of the second video, there was a message. This one typed out and now paused up on the screen.
Since you are fucking idiots, I’ll make it easy for you. You have one day. One day and your little whore will be gone forever.
Then there were GPS coordinates.
Yeah, I bet we did look like fucking idiots. Only, we never got those stupid clues.
I wanted to demand that those videos be erased. Laurel would die inside if she knew we’d seen them. But I was also smart enough to know that Cable would need to go over them again to search for anything that could give us a clue to where he was.
“Forget you fucking saw this,” I said in almost a growl. “Laurel will never fucking know.”
And right there I knew I had to protect her at all costs.
“So he wanted us there,” Mouse said.
“Yeah, it seems like his plan was to use Laurel to lure us in and then blow up as many of us as possible,” Iron answered.
He wanted us to find her. Only she got away and her life was saved. But we still ended up losing people.
How was it I could be so happy and so pissed off at the same time?
This was all so fucked up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Laurel
A week went by.
Things were tense for the club and I started to find myself in the middle of some of those things.
I recalled, again and again, what had happened to me. I gave them every little detail I could remember. They asked me if I had ever seen my captor before. Steve, that was his name they told me. I tried to think, but there was nothing that had been familiar about him. I wondered what it all meant but they never told me anything.
With everything that was going on, I figured it was best not to push even though I felt like I was at the end of my rope. I wanted answers even if they didn’t want to give them. That was hard for me, to sit there and have all of these things going through my mind and not a clue how to figure anything out.
But I guessed that was just how things went sometimes.
Maybe I would never find the answers I was looking for.
Maybe I would never know how or why this had happened to me.
Bryan was in some meeting thing. He had called it Church. I was still getting used to everything around here. Church was where the big men had their meetings or something. All I knew was that it was top secret stuff. He said it could take hours, he just wasn’t sure.
I was feeling slightly smothered and stir crazy.
So I left a note right next to the bed and sent Cami, as well as Chris, a text. Then I went in search of someone that could give me a ride.
I felt like I couldn’t even breathe without letting someone know. I wasn’t trying to be fussy about it. I understood and I was appreciative to a certain degree. But there were times I just needed to do things on my own and not have to worry about someone asking if I was alright. Or if I was sure I wanted to go out. Or if I could handle the real world.
Well, that last one hadn’t been said outright, but that was kind of how I felt.
“Hey, you,” I whispered as I cracked open the door to my room and found a man standing there.
He was a prospect.
I had learned that those were men that wanted in but were on kind of like a trial run. It sounded a lot like what I imagined the hazing that fraternities did to their pledges. And when I had said that to Bryan, I got a hard look cut at me.
But whatever.
I also knew that it was this guy’s job to watch over me. The main reason was because they still hadn’t caught the guy that kidnapped me. But I suspected that Bryan was uneasy about leaving me alone too.
&n
bsp; “Yes, ma’am?”
“Do you have a name?” I asked and rolled my eyes. Of course, he had a name. Everyone did. What I had meant by that was, was he allowed to tell me it.
I didn’t know all the rules here and the last thing I wanted to do was get someone in trouble.
“I do,” he said simply and his honey eyes sparkled with mirth. He didn’t sound like he was trying to be a ‘turd nugget’ as my sister would say. So I smiled and laughed.
“Alright. Mr. Funny Pants. Is it against the rules for you to tell it to me?”
“Colby. But don’t call me that around the guys, s’all I ask.”
“Colby. Got it,” I said motioning for him to come closer. Which he did but still left a respectable distance between us. “Can you get me out of here?”
He looked unsure for a moment.
“I left a note beside the bed. I also let my sister know that I was leaving.”
He still looked hesitant.
“I’ll take all the blame,” I said but it came out sounding more like a question.
“Okay, but only if you tell me where we’re going first.”
“To the coffee shop and then to the hospital.”
“I think that will be alright,” he replied.
He drove me to Royally Brewed and sat at the table while I talked to Dale. His eyes were on me the entire time. Well, they were with the exception of when he shot off a text, to Bryan, I assumed. And that was fine. I couldn’t even be mad because I didn’t want him to get in trouble and it wasn’t like I was trying to hide what I was doing.
“Are you okay?” Dale asked right away as he pulled me aside where there wasn’t anyone around.
“I will be?” Maybe? I hoped so. “I’m sorry that I haven’t called. Things have been crazy. I’m sorry if I put you in a bind.”
I didn’t really want to tell him what happened to me. I was going to kind of play it off that I had a breakdown and that I was working my way through it now. I also wanted to see if it was still possible that I had a job. I wasn’t expecting it and I figured after a month they had probably already found someone to fill my place.
“I know,” he said before I could get another word out. “I know about what happened. Well, not everything. B-ry came by here and explained that something had happened and it was beyond your control. He pretty much begged… well, it was more like threatened nicely, for me to not fire you if you still wanted to work here. Anyway, I figured something was going on and I still have hours for you if you want them.”
“Yes, please,” I said excitedly. “I don’t know how much I will be able to do right now. Things are still…”
“Yeah, I don’t want to know. Please. I need to know nothing. I get it though.”
I laughed because I understood what he was saying.
“Well, things are still a little crazy and I have a constant watcher now. Bryan is not all that thrilled with me being out of his sight.”
“And you think that will change?” he asked with a brow raised.
“Fair enough.”
“Just let me know what you can do and when you want to start back,” he said and patted my shoulder.
“Thanks, Dale. It really means so much to me.”
We said bye then Colby drove me to the hospital.
There were members in an out of here at all times. It was a waiting game from what I had gotten. Dade was still in a coma. Blade was in and out, most of the time he was out because they had him on a lot of pain medicine. But at least he was alive and talking.
“Hi,” I said as I walked into Blade’s room and saw someone sitting there.
I hadn’t learned everyone’s names yet, but I was working on it.
“Hey, Laurel.”
“Do you mind if I sit with him for a little bit?”
“You got someone with you?”
“Yeah, there’s a prospect outside the door,” I answered with a smile and was proud of myself that I had remembered not to say Colby’s name.
“Good. Okay, I’m gonna go stretch my legs and get something to eat. Take your time.”
“Thank you,” I said as he walked past and out the door.
I sat there, unsure of just about everything. I didn’t want to touch Blade because I was afraid I would hurt him. I knew he was banged up pretty badly. Bryan had told me everything that they had to do to him. I wasn’t sure what it meant for after he got out of here. Would he need some kind of physical therapy? Would he still be able to ride a motorcycle? Could he still walk?
I chose to keep those questions to myself because I didn’t want to bring up anything that might bring people down. I was sure they were all thinking the same things anyway.
“So…” I said breathing out a long breath of air.
“You gonna say anything else or is that it?”
I let out a tiny scream and jumped.
Blade didn’t open his eyes but he did laugh. Not anything crazy and it seemed that he was trying to hold some of it back.
“You scared me,” I said like he didn’t already know it.
“I kinda got that.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you were asleep.”
“I was…”
There was a long stretch of silence as I waited for him to say something else.
“Be straight with me, Cami’s sister,” he said and he still hadn’t opened his eyes. “How are the guys?”
“Um, my name is Laurel,” I said as politely as I could. “And they are great.” It was a lie but I was pretty sure that would have been what they wanted me to say.
“Yeah, okay, Cami’s sister. Now tell me the truth.”
I rolled my eyes. It seemed I was never going to have a name to this guy.
“Mouse is still messed up over the whole thing. He feels responsible even though it’s not his fault…”
I let the words die there.
It was mine.
I wanted to say it because he needed to know it even if he already did. He needed to know that I owned up and took the blame for it all.
“Damn right, it’s not,” he said in a grunt. Then his eyes shot open and he looked at me. “If anyone is to blame for me being here, then it’s me. I made the choice to get in the way. I’m not saying I’m a hero, far from it, in fact. But the only reason I’m here right now is because I made that choice. And a man is nothing if he can’t live with the consequences of his actions. I would say the same thing if I’d died under that rubble.”
“Um, you wouldn’t be saying anything because you would be dead,” I responded giving him a pointed look.
He let out a chuckle.
“You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”
“Thanks?” I said shaking my head. “I’m not really sure how to take that.”
I looked down as his words replayed in my head. I wasn’t a man, but I felt it should still apply to me. I made the choice to walk home that night. I needed to own up and deal with the consequences of those actions.
“Let me tell you something, Laurel,” he said and it didn’t slip past me that he used my name this time. “I was there, not because I was trying to prove myself to them, but because I was mad that this had happened. That he had done this not only to a man I already see as my brother, but because he fucked with you. And that just isn’t right.”
I think I understood what he was trying to say. Maybe? A little? Oh, I wasn’t sure. But I got this feeling then. One that made me smile and feel some kind of protective warmth.
He closed his eyes again and I knew that was all we were going to say to one another.
I couldn’t lie, Blade was a little scary. He was big, but not as big as Bryan. While Bryan covered his scary edge with a playful cockiness most of the time, Blade didn’t do anything like that. He wore his scary and intimidation like an armor. So the fact that he had turned a little soft for me was something I definitely wasn’t going to forget or brush off.
“Don’t dwell on it, Cami’s sister. It won’t do a damn bit of good.
Hate him for what he already hates himself for, or love him because he’s a man worthy of your love. But don’t waste another second trying to decide what you want. Life is too fucking short. I should know. I died, twice, apparently.”
I sat there in stunned silence.
“Next time you come, try to sneak in my baby,” he said oddly.
There wasn’t another word said.
And a few moments later, his even breathing let me know that he was out again.
I would never tell him that I thought it was adorable that he referred to his dog as his baby. Nor would I tell the others that was how he put it. Who knew though, maybe that was what he called Biscuit around the guys and didn’t give a crap what anyone thought about it.
I left him when someone else came in.
While I wanted to go check on Dade, I knew I wouldn’t be allowed in. His sister was here and she had only put Iron and a couple of the others on the visitor list. Bryan told me that she didn’t want a lot of people in there until he was awake. She thought it would be too chaotic. I understood it but I still felt bad that I couldn’t see him and tell him how sorry I was even if he couldn’t hear it.
Dade was still in a medically induced coma and they had no idea how long that would go on. He had been closer to the blast point than Blade.
“I’m ready to go,” I said to Colby when I stepped out into the hall. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
He smiled and nodded.
When I got back to the compound I went back to the room and decided that I needed a nap. I had planned on talking to Bryan later about going back to work. At first, I figured he would say no and I was prepared to fight for what I wanted. I couldn’t sit around here all the time. I had to find some kind of normalcy again or else I was going to spiral out of control. Only after talking to Dale, it seemed like Bryan already knew what I needed before I did. Again.
Things with Bryan were… well, I wasn’t really sure how to explain it. He stayed with me every night and most of those nights we were wrapped up in one another’s arms as we slept. We barely talked but I think that was because we were both so drained by the time we got into bed. I didn’t see him much during the day, he was either off doing club business or at the hospital. Sometimes I went with him to the hospital.