Maddie cuts off and I hear something drop to the ground with a small crash. A booming voice takes over, “What the fuck is going on in here? Who disobeyed my orders and gave her that phone?”
No one dares answer or even moves. I am also too fearful to even breathe. Whatever is going on right now isn’t exactly as planned. The voice repeats itself, “Who the fuck gave her that cellphone?”
There’s a click. I know it all too well – the sound of a gun’s safety being turned off. I hold my hands over my head, not wanting to hear what comes next. There’s a loud bang and then a thud followed by the sound of Maddie screaming. I hear bodies being thrown around the room as I have no time to think about what just happened. I stand up and run down the stairs, going back to my spot by the window.
I have just enough time to sit myself down and pointed towards the door before I hear loud footsteps and the pound of the metal door hitting the wood frame. “Stay down there, you little asshole. And don’t you think of saying another word or I’ll really give you something to scream about!”
I get one quick glimpse of her as a man tosses her to the ground. In the light, I see a flash of sparkle in Maddie’s hair – something I didn’t notice on her when I was comforting her earlier. I pull myself up higher with the support of the broken pole to get a better look at her. And suddenly, just like that, I have an idea that just might save her, Erin, and me. I just need the perfect opportunity to make it happen.
Chapter 29: Mission Mustang
CAL
“Maddie! Maddie!” I turn my head towards the group of men sitting at the table next to me, “What the hell just happened! Someone tell me what happened to my daughter!”
“We don’t know, Cal. Sit down, and we’ll figure it out.” Ace stands up, grabbing on to my shoulders and forcing me back in my chair. The group of five Mustang loyalists stares at me with pity in their dark eyes. I want to rip each of their heads off, but I can’t. These men have been sitting with me for hours since Red Dog came back with the phone number to one of Addison Bell’s main henchmen.
“You have to be crazy if you think I’m going to just sit here and wait for the next sign to go. Did you hear that noise? That was a fucking gunshot. And my daughter! She was screaming. Did you not fucking hear that?” I was losing all sense of cool I may have had just a few minutes ago. But could you blame me? I didn’t know if my daughter, who I just spent nearly ten minutes reassuring she’d be safe, was alive or dead and if my phone call was the cause of it.
“Just focus, Cal. I get what you’re saying, but we need to figure this out first.” Red Dog turns back to the man across the table still sitting with his large headphones over his ears. He’s our techie nerd. We’d never let a guy like him into a motorcycle club, but his skills at hacking and tracking have come in handy. “Walton, was that long enough? Were you able to track their location?”
He’s typing away furiously on a silver keypad, his tongue sticking slightly out as he concentrates. He holds up a finger towards Red Dog, but I stand, instantly grabbing it to twist his entire hand back to the table. “Don’t you dare tell me to wait. I’m the second in command here!”
“And I’m the first.” A loud, edgy voice startles me back into my chair. Jager walks slowly towards us from the door in the living to our spot at the kitchen table. I watch as his boots skid on the dirty tile before he scuffs them up against one of the empty chair legs, swinging it around for him to take a seat. He looks at me, concerned and slightly annoyed, “I know you want to find Maddie, but you’re not starting any infighting in this club. Do you hear me, Cal?”
I feel like a dog that’s been kicked. Jager has never admonished me before, especially not in front of my inferiors. I bow my head, looking at my fingers and palms for answers. “I hear you, Jager. I hear you.” My hand knots into a tight ball, which I slam down hard on the wood table top, “But I can’t just sit here and wait. That’s my daughter!”
He reaches over and places a hand on my shoulder, trying to ease me back down. “Walton, do you know where they are keeping her or not?”
Walton’s stringy, high-pitched voice fills the deep stillness of the room, “Well, Cal managed to talk to Maddie for around eight minutes and two seconds. I needed him to go for at least nine to get an accurate location—"
“DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!” I am on my feet again pacing. This is not the news I expected.