“Where’s Harley?” Ethan asked.
Belle covered her face and shook her head. Banger gently shoved her closer to Emily. “It’s gonna be fine. I have to go.” He walked away and went over to Hawk. “The boys are missing. Belle’s a fuckin’ basket case and I don’t blame her. I gotta get a grip. We both do. We gotta focus or this isn’t going to turn out good.” He knew he had to put a wall between his love for his son and his determination to find him. If he let emotions enter into it, he’d slip up and it may cost his son his life.
With a face of stone, Hawk nodded. “We need to focus on getting our boys back. Cara’s convinced this fucker Garret is involved. I agree with her.”
“How’s your woman doing?”
“She’s trying to stay brave. She doesn’t want her parents to know anything’s wrong. But I know she’s dying inside and it’s fuckin’ killing me.” Hawk pounded his fist on the nearby table.
Rock ran up to them. “Throttle, Axe, Tigger, and Chas were outside talking to people and several of them said they saw two men rush out of the community center dragging two boys behind them. A couple of them said that the boys were telling them to stop.”
“What the fuck did they look like? Did they see where they went?” Banger asked.
“When I went out to question them, they said one was medium height, kinda looked like a dirtbag, and had stringy brown hair. The other guy was wearing a suit. They said the two didn’t look like they fit together.”
“Did they get into a car?” Hawk said.
“A van. It’s the fucker your woman pegged.”
Banger kicked the table over and people jumped out of the way. “We fucked this up. I fucked this up! We had him. He was here, and I fuckin’ handed my boy and yours to him. Fuck!”
Hawk place a hand on his shoulder. “No use blaming yourself or me blaming myself. We don’t have time for that shit. We gotta find them. Now.”
Banger let out a harsh breath. “You’re right. Get Blade over here.”
As he waited for Rock to find Blade, he tried to focus on finding his son, but Harley’s face kept flashing in front of him, and Banger knew he’d be scared. A weight settled on his heart.
Hang on, Harley. I’m coming to get you.
Not finding him wasn’t an option.
And when he did find him, Banger would tear apart the bastard who took his precious son.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Crazed Grinch
“We have to get out of here,” Garret said as he paced the length of the room. It was dank and smelled of stale cigarettes.
“You need to calm down. No one knows who we are. We’re good.” The man pinched the bridge of his nose, hating the whine in Garret’s voice. He preferred working alone, but he had to enlist the help of the druggie to unload the merchandise he’d stolen at all the houses he’d broken into and to help snatch the Insurgents’ brats. He’d shown Garret where to pull the breaker switch the day before the fundraiser. He hadn’t trusted him to snatch the kids. He was afraid the dirtbag would lose his nerve, so he made sure he was the one to do it.
And it worked out perfectly. What do you think about that, Dad? Who’s the loser now?
“I didn’t know you were planning to take the Insurgents’ kids. You’ve fucking gone insane. There’s no way they’re not gonna find us, and when they do, we’re dead.” His face blanched and he ran his hand through his stringy hair.
“They’re not going to find out. Anyway, I’m just messing with them. I don’t want their brats. I just wanted to make them sweat. I bet they are too.” He chuckled.
“You’re fucking crazy, and you dragged me into this. Damn. They’re gonna kill us.” Garret resumed pacing.
Taking out a baggie, he waved it in front of Garret. “Want something for your nerves?” He had to get the sonofabitch to stop pacing. Garret stared at the bag dangling from his hand then came over and snatched it from him. Without saying anything, he went to the corner of the room, dragging a small table behind him. Sitting on the concrete floor that had mildew cracks snaking across it, he opened the baggie.
What a scum bag. His whole life is about getting high and finding the next fix. Pathetic. He glanced over to where the boys slept on a stained mattress against the back wall. Still knocked out. The last thing he’d wanted to hear was them whining about wanting to go home. In the morning he’d take the rascals back to town and dump them somewhere, and then he’d place an anonymous call to Cara or Belle and let them know where their sons were. He didn’t want to hurt them, he just wanted to prove he could dupe the hotshot bikers. At that moment, he was enjoying the rush of accomplishment.
He stretched out his legs on the mismatched couch and rested his head on the arm. I’ll bet the bikers haven’t told anyone about the missing kids. At the event, he’d made his apologies to everyone, telling them he must’ve eaten something that didn’t agree with him. It was his way of slipping away without drawing any suspicion. His wife didn’t give a damn about him leaving. She’d been flirting all night with one of the members of the big board. They’ll probably fuck in his car before he drops her off home. That thought only stirred disgust and contempt in him. He was over caring about who she screwed and what she did. As long as it didn’t tarnish his name, he could care less what she did.
That night, he’d proven to himself that he could step over the line and execute a detailed plan well. He now knew that he’d be able to snuff the life out of his wife. Just thinking about it gave him an erection—something his wife hadn’t stirred in him for a very long time.
Excitement skated through his body. That night was the turning point for him, and he intended to make the most of it.
With a contented sigh, he closed his eyes while visions of his wife’s limp body danced in his head.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hawk
Blade rushed up to Hawk who stood outside the community center with several brothers.
“What do you have?” he asked Blade.
“I mounted a GPS tracking device to the bottom of the asshole’s van when I saw it on the street.”
“Why the fuck didn’t the prospect tell us he’d driven over here?”
“Banger called on all the brothers and prospects to be at the event. No one was watching him.”
“Where the fuck is he?”
“At a location outside of town. It’s the unincorporated part of the county. The van’s been stopped there for the last twenty minutes or so.”
“Let’s go. I’m gonna grab Banger and some of the brothers.” Hawk motioned Banger to come over. “Blade got a reading on where this fucker is. I’m gonna grab Rock, Tigger, Tiny, and Throttle. We’ll all go in one car.”