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CHAPTER NINETEEN: CHROME

“Mode’s awake,” I tell Eagle and Byte. Grins spread across their faces as Byte slams shut his laptop. We strode out of my office. I see Bush sitting alone at a table with a bottle of beer in front of him. He ignores us as he stares steadily at the table.

Taking a leap of faith, I approach the table and take a seat. “Mode’s awake.”

Bush’s head snaps up. “He is? What did he say? Do you know who attacked him?”

I shake my head. “We’re heading to the hospital to see him. I think I know who the traitor is. I’ll be needing your help to question him. We might not be dealing with just one vermin.”

Bush pushes back from the table and stands. “I’ll get The Shed ready.”

He rushes from the room while I join Byte and Eagle outside.

“We could have questioned him first,” Eagle says.

“We could have. But I don’t think it’s necessary. The traitor destroyed our trust. The only way to re-establish it is to show trust. Have to start somewhere. Besides, we’ll need Bush and his skills.”

Putting on my helmet, I lead the way through the gates. At the hospital, we head directly to the ICU. I’m disappointed when I don’t see Cicely after getting buzzed in.

“Only two visitors at a time,” the nurse scolds when we crowd into Mode’s room.

I ignore her as I take in Mode’s appearance. He’s still pale. The tightness around his eyes and mouth tells me he’s still in pain. Even after spending days in a coma, he looks exhausted.

“We’ll step out,” Padre says as he, Stone, and Eagle step back out.

I don’t acknowledge them as I study Mode. “You look like you’re still in pain.”

“My head hurts, but it’s just a dull pain. I can deal with it. Padre and Stone filled me in. One of the guys attacked me? We have a traitor?”

“Did you see who attacked you?” Byte asks.

Mode shakes his head once, winces, and then speaks. “No. I didn’t. I was studying my screen when I heard someone enter. I think I said something to him. At least I think it was a him. Next thing I know, I feel pain, and then everything turned black.”

“Fuck. I was hoping you’d know.”

“You don’t know who the traitor is?”

“Maybe. We think there are at least two,” I start, filling him in on what he’s missed. He was awake and aware when the traitor interfered with our plan to invade the rec center, so I told him what happened hours after his attack. I finished my narrative by relating Blue Michaelson’s tale of seeing two Demon Dawgs on the side of the road before someone knocked him unconscious.

“Fuck. I’m having a hard time believing we have one traitor in our club, much less two. Have you been able to uncover anything?” Mode asks Byte.

“I cleared the prospects first,” Byte says. “I’m working my way through the patched members. Managed to clear you,” Byte says with a grin. “Pretty certain that Bush is in the clear, too.”

Mode nods in agreement. “You saw his background? No way would he betray us to help a fucker who gets off abusing women. Besides, Bush was with you during the attack on Scorch, Trigger, and Michaelson, right? Who else rode with you that night?”

I stare at Mode like the idiot I am. Why hadn’t I realized the significance? When we came upon the crashed SUV and the prone forms of Scorch and Trigger, I assumed the traitor had called someone to intercept the SUV to rescue Fenhua. Michaelson’s story didn’t just confirm we had a traitor, but suggested we were dealing with more than one traitor. Whoever Michaelson saw that night couldn’t have been the men who were busy covering up Min’s massacre. How fucking stupid can I be?

“Fuck! Shit! What the hell is wrong with me?” I curse.

“No sense beating yourself up,” Byte says. “None of us considered it. We should have.”

“Because you weren’t fucking there. You know the story, but didn’t live it like I did. I didn’t think of the timing.”

“Now you have,” Mode says, logically. “So, who rode with you that night?”

“Bush, Piston, Torque, Ice, and Stitch. Babe, too.”

“So, we know they weren’t the men Michaelson saw, but that doesn’t clear them. I still suggest we run through their financials and phone records,” Byte says. “I didn’t see anything suspicious on Bush, but I want to run the others.”

Mode nods. “I can help, now that I’m awake.”

“That depends, how are you feeling?”

But we hear a commotion in the hall before Mode can answer me. Byte and I see three men wearing expensive suits crowding around the nurse.

“What’s going on?” I bark out.

The three men turn to glare at me. They’re all about the same height, over six feet. Two have black hair, olive skin, and green eyes. They look similar enough that I know they’re related. Probably brothers. The third is paler than the other two, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

“None of your business, stay out of it,” snaps one before he returns his attention to the nurse.

“I told you, Cicely’s shift ended over an hour ago. She left the hospital. I haven’t seen her since I replaced her,” the nurse exclaims.

“She was coming back here with my sister to meet up with my friend. They left my restaurant before me. They should be here by now.”

“Why do you want Cicely?” I demand, pushing my way into their group.

“Look, Chrome, we don’t have a problem with your club. So stay out of this. Our sister and her friend are missing.”

“Cicely is my woman,” I growl. “So, this is my fucking business.”

The leader frowns and glances at the man, who I assume is his brother. His brother shrugs.

“I haven’t heard Cicely’s been seeing anyone, much less a biker. However, if they’re involved, he has a stake in this. We need to find the girls.”

“What happened?” I demand impatiently as the leader strokes his chin in thought.

“Lily called me and suggested I come to the hospital and visit a patient here. They have two Jane Does. Both are older women. Somebody attacked them. Lily thinks she recognized one as my aunt. I’ve been trying to locate my aunt. Lily and Cicely planned to go to dinner and meet me here afterwards,” the third man tells me.

“Lily and Cicely ate at my restaurant, Vita Gustosa. I planned to walk with them back here, but had to deal with an emergency. The restaurant is just a ten-minute walk away. They should be here.”

“We need to see the cameras. Contact Lisa Kemper, tell her Chrome needs access to the security cameras,” I tell the nurse.

She nods and pulls out her phone. “She’s in her office and said you can go ahead and go up.”

“I’m Marco, and this is my brother, Bishop, and our friend, Frodo,” the restaurant owner offers. “I’m going to retrace their steps.”

“I’ll go with you,” Bishop says. “Frodo, stay here and visit the Jane Does. Might as well see if one is your aunt.”

Byte, Bishop, and I take the elevator to Lisa’s floor.

“I didn’t know Cicely had a connection to the mob,” I say, watching Bishop’s reaction.

He smirks. “The mob? Really? We’re just a close-knit family that runs a few businesses.”

“Yeah, right. Whatever you say.”

I led the way to Lisa’s office when the elevator door opened. We find her inside, pacing.

“You’ve heard about Cicely?” I ask her.

She frowns at me. “Cicely? No. I’m worried about my husband. He and Margo were supposed to meet me for dinner, but they are late. I can’t reach him on the phone. Now, what is wrong with Cicely?”

“She’s missing,” I say, frowning. Moving to the window, I glance into the parking lot. Maybe she and Lily ran into the doctor and his daughter. That could explain why they’re all late. “I was hoping we could look at the security feed.”

I see Marco gliding through the parking lot. His head is on a swivel as he alternates between glancing around the parking lot and examining the ground. I jolt when Marco rushes forward. He bends down and helps a man to his feet.

“Is that your husband?” I ask Lisa.

She turns to look out the window and gasps. “What happened to him?”

“Let’s go find out.”

We take the elevator to the lobby and exit. Byte turns off toward security while we rush to the doors. Marco and Frodo help a dazed Dr. Kemper through the doors.

“What happened?” Lisa cries out as she wraps her arm around her husband’s waist.

“I don’t know. Someone hit me from behind. I think they took Margo and Cicely along with Cicely’s friend.”

“Ms. Kemper, can you call security first and tell them I want to view the security feed?” Byte asks.

She fumbles with her phone before instructing whoever is on the other end to provide Byte with everything he needs.