AFTER speaking to Elizabeth’s sister, neighbors, and friends, I head back to the clubhouse, wondering why terrible things happen to good people. She really was a saint, just a good soul, and it hurts my chest to think of what she could be suffering through right now, if she’s even still alive. I really hope she is.
When I walk into the kitchen, smelling something delicious, I open the oven to investigate. I have to hand it to the women here: there’s always food in the kitchen, something I’m not used to, and something I won’t be taking for granted any time soon. We didn’t have any women who cooked for us at the Wild Men clubhouse. We had women who came and partied, stayed the night, then left in the morning. We had nothing like the family vibe here. I don’t even know which of the women can cook, but the fuckin’ lasagna in the oven looks amazing. I close the oven and go to the fridge for a beer, then head outside where I can hear the others laughing. Talon, Sin, and Tracker are sitting there watching the sunset, so I pull up a chair and join them. Ever since Sin stepped down as president, I’ve noticed that he’s more relaxed. It’s Arrow we turn to now if anything goes wrong, and I guess that must be a weight off his shoulders.
“How did it go?” Sin asks me, playing with the label on his beer bottle. “Any leads?”
“Not yet,” I say, nodding to Tracker. “Apparently you and Arrow have some cameras to plant tonight, so maybe you should stop after that beer.”
Tracker smirks, not fazed. “Or perhaps I should drink more. Faye wants me to install cameras where, exactly? Since when did we start working for the feds too?”
I laugh that he already knows it’s Faye handing out commands.
“Since Faye decided so. A biker bar about thirty minutes from here,” I tell him, giving him a quick rundown of everything that happened today.
“How exactly did you get dragged into this again?” Tracker asks, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Faye wanted me to help,” is all I say, because it really is an answer in itself.
They all nod like they understand.
“You need any help, let me know,” Talon says, the look in his eyes telling me that he means anything, no matter what. He has my back. I nod, because I already know that he does.
“I just hope we can find her,” I say, looking down at my feet. “Two weeks is a long time, you know?”
Silence takes over the group as we contemplate that.
“Let me know if you think Faye is getting in over her head,” Sin says, looking at the sunset. “I’m sure you’ve already figured out that she thinks she can save the world all on her own.”
“I’ll look after her, don’t worry,” I reply.
To the other men, he probably wouldn’t have even said anything, but I’m new to the MC, so I understand why he mentioned it. Still—it does annoy me a little. I get that trust is earned, but I’m a loyal man, and I will be loyal to this club, just like I was to my last. No one here besides Talon really knows that about me though. I finish my beer, listening to their easy conversations, but not participating. I feel like I’m an outsider looking in sometimes, yet I’m not exactly making any moves to fix it. I’m at a crossroads in my life, and I have no fuckin’ idea what I want or what will make me happy.
I’m just wandering, without direction or aim.
I really need to sort my shit out.
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It’s a few days later when I see something on the previous night’s camera footage that has me on alert. I pause the recording, then rewind it. Grabbing my phone off the table, I hit Faye’s name and wait for her to answer.
“I feel like we need code names,” is how she answers the phone. “Can we call each other Mulder and Scully?”
“No,” I reply instantly. This chick is so random sometimes. “I found something I want to show you. Can you come to the clubhouse?”
“Give me an hour,” she says, hanging up without saying ’bye.
I take a quick shower and dress in jeans, a black T-shirt, my black boots, and my cut—my standard attire—then grab some coffee from the kitchen, thinking about everything I just saw on the video. When Faye arrives, loud and full of life, I show her the footage and sit back, waiting to see if she picks up on the same thing I did. She watches until the very end, then pauses it and turns to look at me.
“What makes you think there’s anything suspicious about the girl getting into the car?” she asks me, eyes locked on mine.
“The car had no license plates.”
Her eyes widen. “I didn’t notice that. How did I miss it? Shit. How can we track it down if there’s no plate?”
She sounds annoyed with herself, which makes me smirk. Looks like I’m not the only one who doesn’t like to lose.
“Maybe we should find out if there’s another girl missing,” I suggest, running my hand down the stubble on my cheeks. “Put the cop on it. If there is, at least we now know where the pickup point is. We’re going to have to have someone there, making sure it doesn’t happen again, and twenty-four-hour surveillance.”
“You think that they think they got away with it when they took Elizabeth, so they tried it again two weeks later?”
I nod. “Must be. Pretty bold move, don’t you think? Just how big is the operation? If this girl has also been kidnapped, Elizabeth’s disappearance obviously isn’t a random act.”
Faye picks up her phone and starts typing out a message. “I’ll get Jo on it. Maybe this is even bigger than we thought.” She sighs heavily, presses SEND, and then turns those eyes on me. “Just what are we getting into here, Ranger?”
Her phone beeps almost instantly. She reads it, then says, “You’re going to have to meet the cop. I have to be at Clover’s school in thirty minutes. I’m going to text you the address.”
My jaw tightens at the thought of meeting and working with a fuckin’ cop without having Faye there as a buffer. “Can’t we go after your school thing?”
“No,” Faye says, amusement flashing in her gaze. “You don’t have to sit there and have a deep and meaningful conversation or anything. Just hand over the video footage. And we don’t want to bring a cop to the clubhouse, hence a random meeting place.”
“Probably a police station,” I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest. “Where they proceed to arrest me afterward.”
“You’re not going to get arrested,” she says, rolling her eyes. “There’s only room in this clubhouse for one drama queen, Ranger.”
With that parting line, she grins, waves, and exits the room.
My phone beeps with the address to meet this cop.
Better get this shit over with.
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