Tangled Threats on the Nomad Highway

by MariaLisa deMora

  Bane stood and made his way to one of the comfortable wooden seats the club’s prospects had crafted out of giant logs. Einstein stayed on his knees next to the fire, following Bane with his gaze. A forbidden subject? He didn’t know how Bane could think that about Einstein’s girls, especially since he’d dedicated the past three years of his life to tracking down the man who’d been the cause of their deaths.

  Sure, I don’t talk about them much, but that’s not because they deserve to be hidden away.

  Mostly it was out of self-preservation, at least at first. Being around couples, some of them with kids around Makayla’s age, had hurt like a motherfucker. Survival mode. Was that honest, though? They’d been gone more than a year before he’d met Bane. Wasn’t that I wallowed, though. A memory struck him of Retro standing in his kitchen back in Birmingham, staring at a pile of splintered wood that had been furniture. Dark days, that’s all it was. That had been nearly a year gone from planting his girls into the ground, though. Einstein was honest with himself, had come to grips with the knowledge that if Retro hadn’t dragged him kicking and screaming into the daylight, he would have gladly remained in the dark. I’d have stayed there until the dark was all there was.

  He thought of Marian’s face following their first kiss, her seated on the squeaky plastic of a bench in a booth meant for families and lovers. She’s the opposite of darkness. Softly yearning, her lips had chased his. The love-drunk expression in her eyes when they fluttered open had curled gently around his heart, warming him from the inside out.

  “Okay, I have feelings for her.” The honesty in his statement literally knocked him sideways, his ass landing in the packed dirt around the fire ring. No I don’t. It’s just a ruse. Bile rose in his throat at the thought, and he knew lying to himself wouldn’t be possible. She thinks it’s a stunt, a lie. Now he wanted to vomit at the idea he was actively taking something so good and perverting it for his own end. “Not sure she feels the same.” That was truth, because she’d only agreed to go along with the plan after she’d understood what happened to Lauren and Makayla. Will we ever be able to get past this into something that’s real on both sides? “I’m going to do what I can to get her there.”

  “Brother.” Gunny’s urgent shout came from the darkness. His tone had hair all over Einstein’s body raising into gooseflesh. Einstein awkwardly climbed to his feet, aware of Bane doing the same across the flames. “Answer your fuckin’ phone already.” Heat suffused his voice as he came into view. “There’s something happened to Marian.”

  ***

  It was hours later and the words were still circling his head.

  Something happened to Marian.

  Luke had first phoned the house, and unable to get an answer, had called Bane’s cell phone. With the device left on the kitchen countertop, that call had also gone to voicemail, and so Luke had turned to Gunny for help.

  Luke and Marian had been at the theater, walking out with the crowd afterwards, when he said his sister had stumbled. He’d caught at her to try and steady her, but a man was there faster. Luke said all he could grab was her arm, because the man already had a hold around her shoulders, keeping her upright as her head nodded. The man hadn’t said anything at all, ignoring Luke and steering a mumbling Marian to a van parked along the curb nearby. Luke had yelled as he’d yanked at her hand, trying futilely to pull her from the man’s grip.

  Luke had still been screaming and yanking at the handle as the van door shut in his face and the vehicle pulled away. Only then did some of the people in the crowd ask what was wrong.

  Gunny estimated it had taken less than ten seconds to incapacitate her, probably medically, and then another ten to abduct her in clear view of more than three dozen people. With everyone’s attention on the shouting boy, the police didn’t have a plate to run, and only the most generic “white panel van” as a description. Luke hadn’t looked at the man, his attention focused on his sister, so even the club didn’t have a single solid clue to follow.

  Einstein knew, though. He knew if there’d been a picture taken of the moment—there were security cameras that potentially had a view of the scene, and Myron of the RWMC was working that angle right now—he’d see the same face that had haunted him for three years.

  “Scar.” He leaned his shoulders against the outside wall of the house, staring into the darkness from the front porch. There were too many people inside, and he’d escaped out here a while ago, ensuring Bane and Gunny knew where to find him if there was a need.

  I underestimated him.

  Einstein was gutted that he’d been so confident in his read on Scar’s movements.

  Again.

  In the hours since the calls had come in, he’d had numerous flashbacks to what had happened before. Lauren’s terror as she sat on the couch next to Scar. Makayla’s fear as she’d asked what was happening. The horror of their silent and cold bodies lying next to him in a van very similar to the one in which Marian had been taken.

  Retro’s response on the call letting him know what had happened summed up Einstein’s world. “Jesus fuck, not again.”

  Bama Bastards were rolling to Baker in force. As were RWMC from the Big Bend charters. And the last he’d heard both Twisted and Wrench were coming from Louisiana with dozens of men at their backs. Of course, the Freed Riders were here, with more riding in every hour as Gunny rousted their men.

  Sour saliva flooded his mouth for the hundredth time. He leaned over and spat into the darkness.

  This is my fault.

  As fast as word had spread about his display with Marian today, flying north to Birmingham as well as making its way to Bane’s ears within hours, he had to assume Scar had heard about it too. That meant if he’d been on the fence with Marian’s importance to Einstein, everything today had simply cemented his knowledge and probably pushed him to act.

  I promised her I’d keep her safe.

  His gut ached, a hot burning buried deep, causing him to bend double in pain.

  He’d talked it through with Bane until he ran out of air. Everything except the fact Marian didn’t know his displayed feelings were real. The consensus between them had been that Scar wasn’t stupid. He could and had learned from mistakes in the past. His mistake in the last engagement had been to trust Lauren and Makayla’s safety to underlings. That meant he’d probably keep Marian close.

  “I just don’t get what he hopes to get out of this whole situation.” Einstein leaned back as he talked to himself, head thudding against the hard surface. “Not my cooperation with whatever fucked-up idea he’s got; he’s not that crazy.” Einstein’s activity over the past few years had ensured Scar hadn’t been able to return to his previous world. He’d forced the man into hiding, putting his life on hold. “Maybe he’s—fuck, I don’t know. I can’t get a read on it.”

  “Neither can I.” Bane stepped out of the doorway, letting the screen door settle gently into place. “I’ve been over it and over it, and I don’t see where the win is for him in this.” Einstein’s gaze locked onto Bane’s face, the man’s expression taut and pained. “Unless the win is fucking you up worse than you already are. If he made this personal in his head, then it makes the smallest amount of sense. Even as a kid he was always a bully, always needed to be the winner. Wanted to come out on top no matter what. What if he’s trying to break you?”

  “Or if he’s trying to draw me into the open? If he does and is successful in taking me out, then his life can go back to a closer version of normal.” Einstein pressed his folded-up hand against his belly, pushing hard to make the pain go away. “If that’s his game, then he leaves Marian alive.”

  “If it’s my version, then she’s probably already dead, and he’s just biding his time to reveal what he’s done. He’ll build it up and up, string you along for days, weeks even.” Bane tipped his face to the ceiling and clenched his jaw. “Fuck.” The growled word held a heavy burden of anguish. “Then he’ll drop the hammer, just when it would hurt you the mos
t.”

  “I don’t like that scenario for what’s happening. If he wanted to take away my world again, he could have killed her there on the sidewalk. He would have to know that I’m close to the boys, too. Hurting Luke by taking her was calculated, even if the location was chance—I mean, they didn’t make plans until this morning.” Einstein blew out a slow breath. “She works in the back of the flower shop. That means she had the opportunity to tell only two people not me or her family.” He pushed off the wall and stalked to the railing, turning his gaze outwards again, thinking. “What do you know about the owner, and the girl, Whitney? Noah isn’t from Baker, right? Where’d he come from?”

  “Noah?” Bane’s surprised bark of laughter was wrong, and Einstein hated how it echoed back to the porch from the tree line. “No, he’s not from here. Somewhere out west. Mesquite, I think?”

  “Dallas area?” The door behind Bane opened, and Gunny came out, followed closely by Truck. “That’s FRMC area. You know him at all from there?”

  “You talkin’ about Noah Penrose?” Truck’s question came with a tilted head as he tried to catch up on a conversation he’d stepped into the middle of. “Not Dallas. I wanna say New Mexico.”

  That had the hair on Einstein’s arms prickling into gooseflesh. “How close is Mesquite, New Mexico, to El Paso?”

  Gunny had his phone out already and was tapping on the screen. He angled the device so Einstein could see the display as he pinched and shoved at the surface with big fingers. The image halted, and Gunny zoomed in long enough to verify the name of the town, then out to show more of the state. Mesquite sat directly between Las Cruces and El Paso, a pipeline of highway between the RWMC chapter and where the Silent Deaths held territory.

  Turning to Bane, Einstein said, “Can you get Myron—”

  “Already on it.” Bane waved a hand through the air. “Myron, it’s me again. Got a guy we want some history on. Noah Penrose, owns the florist shop here in town, Penrose and Peonies. He’s from Mesquite, New Mexico. This is hot, man. We’re looking to see if he has any connection with Zipline.” His rapid-fire list of information paused, and he nodded silently, listening. After a few moments, he grunted, “Yeah. Soon as, brother. Thanks.”

  Looking at the men on the porch with them, Bane shrugged. “It’s something to look at, for sure. Whitney is just a kid. She’s from here, graduated local. Her daddy runs a bunch of chicken houses for the local packing plant. Jodan Cavanaugh, his wife died a few years ago. She’s a real good girl. No boyfriend, something Marian has bemoaned many a time.” He shook his head. “I don’t see her as having anything to do with this, but exposure to Marian would mean she’s been around bikers enough to not have as much caution as your typical citizen. Might make her an easier mark for someone looking for an in. I don’t know—that doesn’t feel as urgent as finding out about Penrose’s possible connection to Zipline.”

  “Anyone know Zipline’s government name?” Einstein glanced around the group, seeing only shaking heads and lifted shoulders. “Retro’s on his way down, and Mudd’s with him, but they probably left Buzzkill or Crazy Mike at the clubhouse. I’ll get him to dig into our files.” He pulled out his phone. “I could do it, but it’s a pain in the ass on my phone. My tablet’s upstairs.” There was one ring and the call connected, just like earlier with Gunny, and he marveled at how things had changed since then.

  “Einstein?”

  Relief washed through him at the familiar voice. “Buzzkill. I want you to look at Zipline, see if we know what his government name is. We’re trying to track through a couple of potential contacts to see where things might land.”

  “Half a second, brother.” Background noise he hadn’t noticed until now died away, and he knew Buzzkill had made his way to the secure room used for most information lookups. “I’m sure we’ve got it. We trace lineages where we can. It’s made a big difference in the past, knowing where a man comes from and what’s in his rearview. Half a second,” he repeated, the silence deepening around those moments when he spoke. “Zipline, originally from Las Cruces. His mother married a man from Mesquite, just south of where he grew up.”

  The gooseflesh was back, and Einstein interrupted him to ask, “Was the man’s name Penrose?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know? Oh, hang on, I’ve got a marker shows we’ve got more info on the family.” The system they used had been stolen from a major genealogy retailer and featured the same abilities to associate various interconnected profiles. “Mother’s name was Dorcas, maiden name Terrence. Zipline’s name is Walter Terrence, and I don’t show a record for his father. Stepfather was Nicolas Penrose, had a son by a previous marriage. Noah Penrose.”

  “Got it. Can you send that info to Retro and Mudd, so they’ve got it when they get here?” Movement at the edge of his vision made him look up to see Bane making an us-too gesture at the three men on the porch with Einstein. He nodded. “Loop in Bane, Gunny, and Truck, please. Fuck, send it to my phone, too, so I know we had this convo.”

  “Brother, if there’s anything else. Anything at all—” Buzzkill’s voice broke at the end. “Fuck, this is unbelievable, happening all over again.”

  “It’s not happening again. He wouldn’t have taken her if he wanted to kill her.” Einstein forced the words out with all the certainty he had in his body. He had to keep hold of that thought because the alternative— Not happening. “Thanks, brother. I’ll dial you back if we need more.” His phone pinged and he pulled it away to see it was the requested information. “Stay close, yeah?”

  “You got it, Einstein. I’m here, man, anything you need.”

  He disconnected and looked up, finding each of the men studying their own phones. “Noah is Zipline’s stepbrother.”

  “Fuck.” Bane clipped out the word. “How the hell was this on my doorstep and I never knew it?”

  “It’s hard to find something you don’t know to look for.” He couldn’t absolve Bane of the guilt creasing his face any more than Einstein could offset his own culpability. Don’t mean I won’t try. He’s more use to us if he’s less focused on the coulda-woulda, and more on the now. “You know where he lives? I bet Zipline’s confident that connection is buried, since Marian was working there. If you’d known, you’d have vetoed the job, no matter how she argued. Am I right?”

  “I’ve got his number.”

  Einstein reached out and halted Bane’s action, stopping him from dialing. “No, man. I’ve met Noah. If Zipline is there, if Scar is there and you call, there’s no way Noah will be able to hide his reactions to any questions you might have. Even if you wake Noah from a deep sleep, you can bet Scar’d hear the call.” Squaring up his shoulders, he stood tall and looked at the men surrounding him. The forced inactivity had grated against every nerve in his body. Not knowing had been paralyzing. But this was a good lead, a clear direction. “We’ve got our target. I’m rolling right the fuck now. Noah lives just a couple of blocks from the shop. Marian had to pick up something from him once and I took her there.”

  Moving on instinct, he pushed past Bane and ran down the wooden stairs two at a time, hitting the ground full stride as he aimed towards his bike. Ignoring the legal call for a helmet in Florida, Einstein didn’t take the time to put his on, leaving it fastened to the lock on the rear of the frame. Once out on the country road, he looked in his mirrors to see three headlights gaining ground on him and twisted the throttle viciously. The bike leapt underneath him, roaring as he rode into the last piece of night, an edge of light showing along the far horizon.

  Please God, keep her safe for me. She deserves to know this is real.

  When he found her—because he couldn’t stand to think about a possible future where that didn’t happen—he’d tell her, first thing. The truth this time.

  I think I could love you.

  No decision in his life had ever felt so right.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Marian

  The bed underneath her was so soft it felt like she was resti
ng on clouds. She sighed and rolled left, then right, giggling. There was a sharp niggling in her mind, but she ignored it to float on the clouds. “Thees nized.” That set her to giggling again, because what she’d meant to say was “this is so nice,” but it had come out garbled. “Gargd.” More giggling. Something stopped her rolling, and she blinked up to see Jim leaning over her, the expression of concern a weird overlay of the smile on his face.

  “Baby, love you so much.” His words were strangely out of sync with his mouth, and she tried to focus on reading his lips. “Marian, be still. You’re going to fall off the bed.”

  “No not.” She sighed. “Love too.” It was exhausting to compare what she was trying to say with what actually escaped her mouth, so she decided talking was overrated. Pushing up on one elbow, she lifted a hand to touch his face like she’d always wanted, but misjudged the distance, and her fingers whipped past, rising to the ceiling. “Uh-oh.” Her fingers fluttered like birds’ wings, and she watched them try to take flight. “Losin’ mah grip.” The pun had her giggling so hard it triggered a coughing fit, and she doubled over, hiding her mouth against her knees as she hung over the edge of the cloud-covered bed. “Das bad.”

  “What did you give her?”

  The angry voice shouting near her ear was familiar but wasn’t Jim’s. Marian would know his voice in a crowd, be able to pick his face and physique out in a lineup of hundreds. The hand that landed on her shoulder to tug her back onto the mattress wasn’t his either.