Page 4

When flying nonstop and directly from Hampton, Virginia, to Missoula, Montana, the flight was only four and a half hours. I’d flown much longer ones, and when you had the luxury of a private plane, there was no hardship. The pilot would wait until I was ready to take me back. If this took more than a day to resolve, then he’d return to Virginia to await my call and fly back to get me. If he were otherwise engaged, I’d get a commercial return flight.

The first thing I noticed when I left the plane was the temperature. I’d gone from temperatures in the forties to low fifties and ended up in what felt like twenties if I was lucky. I knew it would be colder, and I’d brought the appropriate clothing, but it was still noticeable. I slipped on the jacket I’d carried on with me. I didn’t wear it often. I had a small bag with me since I wasn’t planning to be here more than a day, maybe two at the most. I had another one with my gun secured in it. Margie had arranged a hotel and a rental car.

When I went outside, I found the car rentals right beside the airport. It was a quick check-in and out, and I was on the road with my car. I’d waited to fly out until early this morning, which was a few hours ahead of their local time, so I arrived around nine their time. I had Keeley Mills’s home address as well as her work address.

According to the information I was given, she should be at work. I knew it would be iffy whether I’d be lucky enough to catch her there. She could be out on a rescue, which could last for hours. As much as I wanted to get started, I decided the more intelligent thing to do was to wait until she was home—the fewer people who saw me and asked questions, the better.

I went to the hotel. Margie had paid for my stay to start the day before, so they had no problem giving me the room key. They had been warned I’d be checking in much later than usual. When I got to my room, I decided to take a short nap. I hadn’t slept before the flight. After three hours, my alarm woke me.

I got up, took a hot shower, and then, after getting dressed, I left. I found a spot and grabbed a late lunch. When I was done, I set out to explore the town. Missoula was about half the size of Hampton, but it felt much bigger, probably due to its location. The mountains were awe-inspiring to see. We had them in parts of Virginia, but they didn’t look like this.

I familiarized myself with the area. No matter where I went or how long I might be there, I always did that. If something went sideways, I wanted to be familiar with routes and avenues of escape or hiding places. This habit had saved my life more than a few times during my years in the Marines and since I’d joined the Dark Patriots.

Not every mission I did for the Patriots was dangerous. Some were cut and dry and involved basic security or even bodyguard duties. But sometimes, we did things like we were doing with the Pagans. Or when we’d get an assignment from Uncle Sam and had to do it off the books, which meant if caught, the government would deny all knowledge of us. Those tended to be more dangerous. Bullets flying wasn’t fun. Sometimes, getting out of a situation and returning later was the best move.

I made sure to drive by the building where the mountain rescue team in this area was housed. There were vehicles in the parking lot, but I didn’t stop. Once confident I knew my way around, I returned to the hotel. There, I sat down to study her file again, not that I didn’t have it memorized. Reading my emails, I saw that I had additional information that Sean had sent me. Wondering what it contained, I opened the attachment and began to read.

The first thing I saw was that it included more information on Keeley. Having as much data as possible was important, but I didn’t want to know about men in her life. I almost skipped it, but I kept being drawn to read it. Giving up the fight to ignore it, I read. What I found puzzled me and raised more questions.

According to what our techs found, she didn’t have a current boyfriend or girlfriend. The last long-term one was supposedly three years ago. In addition, if she had a lover or lovers currently, they were cleverly hidden. I was inclined to believe she didn’t have any. Otherwise, the computer techs would have sniffed them out. Or did a woman who could live off the grid know ways to hide that? No offense to our computer people, but maybe they weren’t as knowledgeable as others I knew. I made a mental note to see if Smoke or another MC whiz could find more. I told myself it was necessary in case I had to go up against a lover in her life while I was here.

Keeley seemed to lead a rather solitary life. She worked and had what most would call work friendships, but other than that and contact with some people who’d served with her dad, an old school friend, the only person she seemed to have the closest connection to was her sister.

I felt for her. I recalled what it was like when I heard that Bryony had disappeared. Our brothers and I had been going insane with worry. We tried to think of anyone who would dare take or harm her. At first, the police tried to insinuate that she might’ve run off with a man or ditched her life. We knew that would never happen. Even if she wanted to do that, Bryony would’ve told us. It took time to convince them she hadn’t and to look at other options.

The search for her had been excruciating for us. The relief we felt when we discovered she’d been rescued had been incredible. It warred with fury at what happened to her and the fact we didn’t get a chance to put our hands on the ones responsible. The Warriors and Patriots had done it for us. I owed them more than I could ever repay. Working for them was a way to do that and make a difference in other lives like they did in my sister’s.

The police report showed that the Billings police had done the same speculation with Kensington that they did with Bryony. And like us, Keeley was adamant her sister hadn’t run away. Finally, the police seemed to believe her, but they had no clue where she’d gone. We were kindred spirits in this regard. An apartment with signs of a struggle was the only clue they seemed to have.

The next part of the report was information Anderson had sent about their dad. To those with government connections, Anderson was a mysterious man who worked for the US government, although even those in the know didn’t know exactly which agency he worked for. Hell, they only knew him as Anderson and nothing else. It wasn’t until we and our friends discovered his great-niece, Zara, who was the old lady to Demon in the Hunters Creek chapter of the Warriors, was connected to him that we learned his first name was Tommy. Anderson was his middle name. Zara couldn’t shed light on who he officially worked for, though. According to him, he kept it secret initially to protect Zara and now her family with Demon. However, he seemed to like the Patriots and the various clubs we were friends with, so he always found ways to come through for us.

The first part was heavily redacted, which told me that Ansel Mills had done a lot of highly dangerous and top-secret shit. The second part contained the same information, which was unredacted. Anderson had a lot of clout to get his hands on this. Perusing it, my suspicions were confirmed. If Mills taught his daughters even a fraction of what he knew, they would be formidable, which raised the question… How did Kensington’s kidnappers get their hands on her? She’d know how to fight.

When I was done, I found something I thought would be my in with Keeley Mills. I hated the thought of lying, but I would if it helped get her to leave this up to us. Not only to protect the Patriots and our friends, but I wanted to protect Keeley. If she dug in the wrong places or someone discovered she was doing it other than us, she could put a target on herself.

She’d been corresponding with a Reed Dallia. He’d mentioned that his friend was researching more information for her. Nowhere was the friend’s name mentioned, either by her or Dallia. That would be my cover. I rehearsed what I’d say as I waited for the remaining hours to pass until I could go to her house. I called the Patriots’ office, spoke to one of the techs, and got him to pull up what he could tell me about Dallia. I had to be armed with enough information that if she questioned me, I could make it seem that I did know him.

She was due off work at five o’clock. I waited until six thirty before calling to see if they were out on a call. I was told they weren’t. I hung up before the person answering could connect me to someone. It was an after-hours answering service. Grabbing my keys and phone, I headed out to my rental. It took over half an hour to reach her place. She lived outside of town in the wilderness. I’d scoped it out on my earlier reconnaissance. There was light coming from the windows when I pulled into her driveway.

It was a short walk to the front door. I briskly knocked and waited. I was about to knock again when the sound of a shotgun being cocked made me freeze. It was a sound you never forgot once you heard it. The sound came from outside and to the right of me.

“Put your hands in the air where I can see them, then turn slowly to face me,” a woman’s voice clearly ordered.

As I did as instructed, I couldn’t help but think her voice was smoky and sexy. Great, think with your cock, Beau, while you get your other head blown off. It wasn’t the time to get turned on, although her photo had been enough to do that to a hot-blooded heterosexual man.

There was enough light coming from the windows to see a faint outline of a figure standing in the shadows. “There’s no need to be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you. I know it’s late, but you were working during the day. This was too important to wait until you have another day off,” I assured her.

“Who said I was afraid? I’m a woman living alone in the middle of nowhere. I’d be a fool to answer the door to a stranger in the dark. This is just my way of saying hello,” she said as she took a few steps, bringing herself slightly into the light. The shogun was pointed at me, and her hands were rock steady.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve called, I guess. Reed told me to announce myself, but I didn’t listen. I will next time.”

“Reed? Reed who?”

“Reed Dallia. Listen, can we start over? Let me introduce myself. My name is Beau Winters.” I lied, but figured sticking to my real first name was a good idea. The last name was a total fabrication. I’d often lied about my name and more on assignments, which never bothered me. Doing it this time made my stomach cramp.

“Should that name mean anything to me? Because if so, it doesn’t. Reed has never mentioned you to me nor said anyone was coming to see me.”

“Would he mention my name? Probably not. He knows I like keeping my identity a secret. As for why he didn’t tell you I was coming, it was because he didn’t know. It was a last-minute decision. I can see that was a mistake, which, thinking about it, knowing him, and what he said about your dad and you, I should’ve known better.”

I was weaving together whatever came to mind. My rehearsed speech was being adjusted on the fly. I was pretty confident I could get her to put down the gun and let me talk to her. I’d been in other sticky situations. My quick thinking and charm had gotten me out of them. The ladies tended to be the easiest to charm.

“How do you know Reed and my dad?”

“I didn’t know your dad. I never met him. As for Reed, we met through another mutual acquaintance who’s into the same thing. I occasionally help him and others do research they can’t do themselves. I’m good with computers. I was the one who gave him the recent information about the Black Outlaws, the Pagan Souls, and a rich guy named Thacker.”

Her eyes widened. While there was still suspiciousness there, I noted a tiny crack. I hurried to widen it. “I understand being cautious, Ms. Mills. I do. I’ll answer any questions you have, but first, could I lower my hands? This is tiring. I’ll keep them where you can see them. And just for transparency’s sake, I’ll tell you I am carrying. I’m kidney-carrying on the right. I also have a knife on the left side of my belt and a backup gun in my left inner boot.”

There was no way she’d let me inside without patting me down. It was better if I told her what she’d find rather than let her discover it herself. Being a prepper, she’d expect me to be packing at least something. Her gaze narrowed on me, scanning me from head to toe.

“Tell me how Reed knew my dad.”

“They served in the Army together, in the Green Berets. That was before you or your sister, Kensington, were born.”

“And what was our dad’s call sign in the Army?”

I was thankful as hell that Anderson had sent that information. If not, I wouldn’t have the answer, and she’d undoubtedly shoot my ass.

“It was Guardian.”

“And why did they call him Guardian?”

“Because his name, Ansel, means divine protection in German.”

She didn’t say anything for several heartbeats. Then she jerked her chin toward me. “Lower your left hand, reach behind you, and remove your gun. Put it on the chair next to you.” She pointed to the rocker on the porch.

I did as she said. As soon as I was done, she gave me my next order. “Next, use your left hand to remove the gun from your boot and put it there, too. When you finish that, remove the knife.”

I did as she wanted. She might believe she was safe with me unarmed, but I had news for her. I didn’t need anything more than my hands to hurt or even kill someone. I was equally proficient with both hands when it came to weapons. However, the mystery for me was how good she was with hand-to-hand combat and weapons. She was undoubtedly taught, but there was no way of knowing how proficient she was.

“I want you to step off the porch and back away until I tell you to stop. If you make any sudden moves, I’ll put a hole through you,” she warned.

I backed up, and she told me to stop after I was a good fifteen feet away. She moved to the door. She opened it and gathered my guns and knife, which she tucked into her waistband, before stepping into the house. She did it without taking her eyes or the shotgun off me.

“Walk inside and kick the door shut behind you. Stay there with your hands up.”

Again, I did it. When I was inside, she placed her gun and my weapons out of my reach and approached me. She swiftly patted me down. Not finding anything else, she backed away and then nodded.

“You can lower your hands and have a seat over on the couch.”

I sat where she indicated. She sat in a chair opposite me with a small table between us. “Mr. Winters, tell me what brought you here.”

“Sure thing. After speaking to Reed the other day and telling him what I’d uncovered, I kept going. I wanted to see what else I might be able to find. He told me what happened to your sister. I’m sorry that happened. It’s such a disgusting thing. You must be going crazy. I was in Billings on business when I found more information. It seemed silly to give it to Reed and have him relay it to you when I was that close, so I drove over here. I realized you were at work when I arrived, so I waited until I thought you’d be home to come see you.”

“What kind of work do you do, and why were you in Billings? Do you live in Montana?”

“I don’t live in this gorgeous state, but I’ll be back after seeing it. As for what kind of work I do, I’m in computer security. I was meeting with a new potential client in Billings.”

“You said you found more. What did you find?”

“Well, it was more on that man, Thurman James Thacker III. It bugged me that, on the surface, he appeared to be an upstanding citizen who was worth millions and involved in charities and much more. Why would a man like him be anywhere near bikers, especially ones like the Black Outlaws? Everything I found indicates they were the scum of the earth. They were one-percenters. Do you know what that means?”

“I do. It means they live outside the law and make their living in various illegal ways. From what I found, they could be into numerous disgusting things, including prostitution and the selling of people.”

“Exactly. Not the kind of people Thacker should be within a hundred miles of. Yet, he and a few of his employees were found dead with the Outlaws. I have this innate drive to find answers. It makes me very good at my job. I kept searching. I think I know why he was with them. Or I suspect I do.”

“And what might that be?”

“It isn’t common knowledge that the South Carolina police have been supplied with allegations that Thacker was the head of an organization that was kidnapping and selling people. The exact methods he supposedly used are unclear, but they’re investigating that possibility. It would explain why he was with the Outlaws motorcycle club. Now, I have no way of knowing if they had anything to do with what happened to your sister, but it’s possible. And if it wasn’t them, another group involved in the same activities as the Black Outlaws is likely the culprit.”

“What do you expect me to do with this information?”

“You, personally, nothing. I intend to continue to investigate. I have ways of finding information that others, even the police, don’t. I’m positive I can find evidence somewhere that will lead to who took your sister. That can hopefully be used to recover her. I won’t lie and say it’ll be quick and easy. It may take months or more. And while there are no guarantees that she’ll be found, it’s not hopeless. I’ve helped others recover their loved ones from similar people.”

“You’ve gone in and rescued people?” she asked.

I had to watch what I said. I was going off-script. “Not me personally, no, but I’ve been able to find information and turn it over to those equipped to do the job.”

“The police, you mean.”

“Them and other groups who do this for a living.”

“Who are these other groups?”

“I’m afraid I can’t share that. They like to keep their anonymity. It allows them to do the work without the bad guys knowing who they are. Law enforcement has restrictions they don’t. I wanted to come and tell you that I feel I’m onto something. No matter how long it takes, I’ll keep going. As soon as I have something definite, I’ll turn it over to one of those groups and have them do their thing.”

She sat there thinking over what I said. I watched her. I kept hoping she’d be so relieved someone was willing to help that she’d let me handle it.

“Mr. Winters, I appreciate you coming all the way here to tell me this in person.”

“Please, call me Beau, and it was no trouble. Like I said, I was in Billings, and the drive allowed me to see more of this lovely state.”

“I’m glad it did. I’m thankful you plan to continue investigating and passing along anything you find. However, I’m not giving up on my efforts. I can’t sit back and wait for my sister to be found by someone else or for her to be lost forever. With that said, I’m not opposed to us staying in contact and sharing what we find.”

Shit, this wasn’t working out the way I wanted.

“Ms. Mills—” I stopped when she held up her hand.

“Please, if I’m to call you Beau, you should call me Keeley. Alright, go ahead with what you were about to say.”

“Keeley, staying in contact isn’t a problem, but I can’t in good conscience have you digging into those types of people. What if they discover who you are, and this puts a target on you? I’d never be able to live with myself if that happened.”

“What if they find that you are?”

“Not to sound conceited, but I have ways to mask myself and not be found,” I told her.

“Then I think that makes it even more necessary that we work together. I want us to discuss this more, but I’ve had a long day and have to work tomorrow. Why don’t you leave your number so I can contact you? We can discuss this more when we’re both rested and have no time constraints.”

I knew if I pushed at the moment, she’d either close me out altogether or grow suspicious, so I took the only route left to me.

“I’m sticking around for a few days to soak up more of the scenery. Why don’t we get together for dinner and we can chat more? I’ll give you my number.”

It only took a few minutes to exchange cell numbers and say goodbye. She walked me to the door. As soon as I got in the car, I sent off a text to Smoke. I’d spoken to him earlier in case this next step became necessary.

Me: Block her.

Moments later, he replied.

Smoke: It’s done. Tell me when you want me to lift it.

Me: I will. Thanks.

Smoke: Welcome.

As I drove back to town to my room, I knew I’d have to do some fancy talking to get her to drop it. Smoke would be able to keep calls, texts, and emails going through to Reed Dallia from happening for only so long. I didn’t ask the Patriot techs since I wasn’t sure if they had the capabilities. I had three days to make Keeley cancel her trip to South Carolina and stop pursuing this.

???

The first thing I did after getting out of bed while Keeley was working was call my bosses and update them on last night. They were less than happy with what I had to report.

“Christ, what’re we going to do if she won’t let you take care of it?” Gabe grumbled.

“Bring out that charm the ladies all seem to love,” Sean added.

“Hopefully, I’m meeting her for dinner tonight after she’s off work. I’ll increase it,” I assured them.

I heard Undertaker cough. We were on a video conference so we could all see each other. The other three glanced at him and glared. Undertaker was sitting there wearing a smirk.

“We know you’re dying to say something, Mark, so spit it out,” Griffin said.

“I told you so.” His grin grew.

“Bite me,” Gabe grumbled.

“No thanks. Beau, you can go through with whatever you plan to say to her tonight, but I can promise you she won’t fall for it. We need to be upfront with her and bring her into this with us. That way, we can ensure she’s safe. If we’re fortunate, we might find her sister sooner rather than later. We all know the longer she’s missing, the more unlikely we’ll find her,” Undertaker stated.

“I know, but is the risk worth it? If she discovers what we have a hand in doing, she could expose us,” I argued.

“That’s always a risk, but my gut tells me she’s not the kind to do it. Sure, if we were harming innocent people, that would be different,” Undertaker replied.

I addressed the others who were sitting there listening to us. “What do you think, bosses?”

They exchanged glances and didn’t respond for a good minute or more. Griffin answered first.

“Beau, you’re the one on the ground. You see what your gut tells you. If you think it’s best to do as Mark says, then go for it. Of course, if she calls that Reed Dallia, your cover will be blown. She could’ve already done that.”

“It won’t be. I asked Smoke to help me with that. I didn’t ask how he’s doing it, but he’s somehow preventing her calls, texts, or emails from reaching him, at least for a couple of days.”

“Damn, he needs to show our people how he does shit like that. It would come in handy. Remind me to ask him,” Sean said excitedly.

Not wanting to let us get off on a tangent, Gabe spoke up. “I agree with Griff. If you think bringing her into the fold, so to speak, is the best move, then do it.”

And just like that, all four were basically singing the same tune. I didn’t say it, but I wondered how much of this was due to their wives bending their ears. We discussed a few other points. Then they had to say goodbye. They were about to go into a meeting. I promised to update them in the morning before leaving the call.

With this out of the way, I got to work on a list of pros and cons for keeping Keeley in the dark about who I was. By early afternoon, I was ready for us to meet, so I texted her.

Me: Hi, Keeley. It’s Beau. Hope your day is quiet. Wanted to see if dinner tonight is still on.

It was a good half hour before she responded.

Keeley: Hi, Beau. I don’t want to jinx it, but yes, so far, I believe I should be able to go to dinner. If something changes, I’ll let you know.

Me: Do you have a suggestion on where to go since you live here? I’ll eat just about anything other than Indian.

Keeley: No worries there. I don’t like it either. As long as wherever we go has options other than shellfish, I’m good. I’m allergic to that. I have several suggestions. How about I send you a list, and you surprise me?

Me: Sounds like a plan to me. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll pick you up at your house at seven if that works for you.

Keeley: 7 is good.

Ten minutes later, the list of places came over. I went through them and then called to reserve a table for us. Once it was made, I worked on the expense report I owed the office. The accounting department would be after my head if I didn’t finish it on time.

I fiddled around, searching online for more information on mountain rescue. I needed something to talk about tonight. After I felt I had a decent understanding of how to ask half-intelligent questions, I went to shower and get dressed. I kept watching my phone to make sure she didn’t call or text to say she had to cancel. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was after six, and I’d heard nothing from her. I made sure to give myself enough time to get to her house by seven. I was eager to get this evening started.