Page 21 of Crow’s Haven (Savage Legion MC #15)

Crow

M inutes tick by and after almost an hour I start to wonder how long it’s going to take Ladybug to come out and face the music. We’ve still got shit to hash out. And now that the red haze is going, I’ve got a lot of questions about this warrant for her arrest.

I pace back and forth in the living room. The water’s still running. How long does it take one woman to splash some damn water on her face and pull her shit together?

I glance at the closed door, anxiety clawing at my gut. I’ve given her space and tried to be patient. Every second that passes pushes me further towards anger again.

“Sharon,” I bark, my voice sharp and clipped. No answer. “Enough hiding out in the goddamn bathroom. Get out here. Now!”

I still hear nothing other than the running water.

A cold chill crawls down my spine. My fists tighten, a sudden sense of dread spreads through my chest. What if I came down too hard on her and she’s done something drastic?

I don’t think she’s the kind of person to harm herself, but who knows what a person is capable of when their back is against the wall with no way out?

I rush to the bathroom door and pound my fist hard against the door, rattling the frame. “Open the goddamn door. You’re scaring me.”

Again, there’s just silence. My irritation slowly turns to worry. I knock again, less harshly. “Ladybug, are you okay in there?”

Something ain’t right. I can fucking feel it.

Adrenaline floods my system and a kind of urgency I’ve never known before catapults me into action.

Without hesitation, I grip the doorknob and slam my shoulder into the door hard enough to splinter the wood and pop the lock.

It swings inward, cracking loudly against the wall. The bathroom is empty. She’s gone.

My gaze snaps across the room to the window beside the toilet. It’s wide open, and the curtain is fluttering gently in the breeze. My stomach drops when I realize I must have terrified my Ladybug. I scared her so bad that she would rather run away with just the clothes on her back than face me.

I rush to the window, leaning out to see the grass trampled directly beneath.

“Fuck!” I roar, slamming a fist hard against the window frame.

Pain radiates through my knuckles and up my arm, but it barely registers.

My mind races, creating one gut-wrenching scenario after another.

Each one is worse than the last. My Ladybug is going to be off somewhere all by herself, desperate, and terrified.

Only this time, she doesn’t even have a car to sleep in.

And all because I couldn’t control my temper.

I meant to help her, and now because of me, she’s worse off than ever.

I should’ve known. I scared her into running straight back into the same danger she’d fled before.

If the cops find her first, she’s as good as gone.

Now that my head ain’t so clouded with rage, I can see that none of this adds up.

I can’t reconcile the warm, affectionate woman I’ve come to know and love as being some kind of cold-blooded killer. It just doesn’t fit.

My heart thumps in my chest as I rush out to the garage.

Every wasted second feels like a knife twisting deeper into my gut.

In the garage, I yank on my helmet and swing one leg over my bike, without stopping to unhitch the sidecar.

The engine roars to life, but its familiar rumble does nothing to ease the fear now flooding my system. I need to find her.

I rip out of the driveway, tires squealin’, as raw, relentless panic claws at me.

I fucked this up, by letting my ego and anger get the better of me.

I won’t lose her, not to her panicked run, to the cops, or the shadows of her past. My anger’s still simmering because this betrayal is fresh, but underneath it there’s something stronger.

It’s the pure, gut-wrenching fear of losing her forever, of never seeing her smiling face or having her in my arms.

I push the throttle harder, as I sweep back and forth along the interstate near the house. I ride that stretch, searching, praying to find her and cussing myself every inch of the way. I patrol the area for a goddamn hour before I finally give up hope of finding her there.

Figuring she might’ve caught a ride to town, I turn the throttle and burn rubber all the way there. I’ll rip this town apart piece by piece if I have to. I ain’t stopping ‘til I find her.

I ride through the streets like a madman, eyes glued to every shadow, every alley, every crowd, looking for a glimpse of her. Whatever it takes, wherever she’s hiding, I’ll find her. Because I fucked up and this can’t be how it ends.

I shout Ladybug’s name until my voice is raw, and people are staring at me like I’ve lost my fucking mind.

I don’t give a shit who stares. Let ‘em think I’ve lost my mind because they ain’t wrong about that.

I search every damn place I think she might hide within a twenty-mile radius of my house. But there’s no sign of her anywhere.

I ride for another half-hour, refusing to stop looking until I accept the bitter truth, which is I need backup.

Thirty men can cover more ground and search inside restaurants and bars.

My club brothers can be my eyes and ears.

I need their calm clarity to balance my frantic thoughts.

I turn the bike around sharply, headed straight for the clubhouse.

***

The Savage Legion compound looms ahead, lights glowing softly behind the windows, bikes parked neatly in a row along the front porch. I’m anything but calm as I pull in, cutting the engine off. My boots hit the pavement with urgency, and I practically fly into the clubhouse.

Inside, I find Rigs and Siege talking quietly at the bar, their laughter fading instantly at the look on my face. Siege straightens immediately, eyes narrowing with concern.

“What’s wrong, Crow?”

I stride forward, my fists clenched, anger and frustration spilling out unchecked. “I found out shit about Sharon and when I confronted her, she ran. She’s fucking gone. Climbed out the bathroom window and took off on foot. She didn’t take her car, phone, purse, or any damn thing else.”

Rigs curses under his breath, as his eyes narrow on me. “Bullshit. Why the hell would she run? What did you do to her?”

I hesitate, jaw grinding so tight it hurts. “She’s wanted. Has a warrant out for murder.”

The stunned silence hits like a gut punch. Siege finally speaks first, carefully measuring each word. “And I take it she didn’t exactly volunteer this information herself?”

“No,” I snap, bitterness riding shotgun with shame. “I overheard her talking on the phone. She’d been hiding it from me.”

Rigs folds his arms, leaning back against the bar, his voice firm but gentle. “Can’t exactly blame her for being scared, brother. Imagine how desperate she must’ve been.”

Siege shoots him a dirty look. “Fucking leave it to you to start making excuses before you even hear all the facts. I almost forgot that you’re the ‘women can do no wrong’ brother.”

Rigs frowns at our club president. “I never said women can’t be wrong. I just know that most of the time, it’s the men fucking shit up.”

I lay it out straight, no sugarcoating shit or breaking it easy. “She’s being charged with murdering a kid, a little boy. I was fucking furious when I found out.”

Siege raises his eyebrows and more club brothers start gathering around. Rigs isn’t having it, not at all. “I call bullshit on that as well. I know Sharon, and she doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to murder children. Want to try again?”

I tell it to them, just like she told it to me.

“She said she was a nurse, and the kid was her patient. She described him as a very sick child. Something happened and he died on her watch, and they blamed her for it. Now, there’s a warrant out for her arrest. She kept saying it wasn’t her fault, that someone was trying to set her up, but also seemed pretty convinced that if the police found her, she’d end up in prison. ”

“Where did this happen?” Zen says. He’s already got his laptop open.

I start pacing in front of the bar. “That’s all I know. I didn’t ask, I was gonna wait until she calmed down.”

Zen looks up. “You sure about all that? I did her background check myself and she was golden. She never even had a parking ticket.”

I palm smack my own forehead. “Shit, I forgot to mention that she’s been using a relative’s name. Said she was really called Sharon, but I don’t know her real surname.”

“You had a right to be furious,” Siege says slowly, calmly, watching me closely. “But I’m guessing your reaction didn’t exactly inspire a heartfelt conversation.”

My anger slips, leaving raw vulnerability in its place. “I lost my shit. Scared her. Gave her a fucking piece of my mind for dragging me and my boys into her shit.” My voice grows ragged, honest. “Yeah, if you want to know the truth, I fucked it up.”

Rigs steps closer, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Listen, brother. Nobody blames you for protecting Scout and Chase. But you gotta remember, Sharon did right by you. She took care of your boys and loved you enough to proudly wear your property cut. You should have leashed your anger.”

“I know,” I say roughly, guilt twisting in my gut. “Goddammit, I know. But the thought of cops dragging her away right in front of my boys scared the shit out of me.”

“Did you even give her a fair chance to explain?” Siege asks. “It sounds like there may have been mitigating circumstances.”

“I was gonna do just that. She was crying so hard, I sent her to the bathroom to wash her face and get her shit together.”

Rage’s voice drifts from the side. “That’s pretty fucking cold, brother.”

I glance at him with surprise. “I was angry and thought giving her a moment to herself would help smooth the process along, ya know?”

He shakes his head. “No, bro. I don’t understand how smoothing the process along was more important to you in the moment than your old lady’s fucking feelings.

You’re supposed to hold your old lady when she cries, not send her off to the bathroom to wash her damn face. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You can talk. Remember how mad you were when you discovered Prissy had been keepin’ your kid from you for all those years?” It was a low blow, but it was the truth.

Instead of going on the attack he gives a single nod.

Rigs adds gently, “We’ve all made mistakes and your old lady deserved more than your anger. She deserved basic human compassion and a chance to explain. But what’s done, is done.”

I sigh, “I know that now. I couldn’t think straight when I heard her talking on the phone.” Emotions swell in my chest and I look down at my feet. If I thought I was guilty before, it’s nothing like after getting a well-deserved dressing down by my club brothers.

Siege’s voice softens with understanding. “We get it, Crow. You have two boys she took care of and then finding out she was being accused of murdering a little boy, must have been a total mind fuck. But right now, we need to find her and see if she really is a killer.”

“It was a mind fuck,” I tell him roughly, swallowing past the thickness in my throat. “I didn’t know what to call it, but I was freaked the fuck out at the thought of someone who killed a kid being around my boys.”

Rigs interjects, “She’s not a killer. I already told you that.”

“If she’s innocent, we help her prove it. But if she’s guilty, we turn her over to the police,” Siege says.

I look my club president in the eye and tell him, “After I had a chance to calm down, I realized there was probably more to this story than met the eye. I love Sharon and I don’t think she’s ever intentionally hurt a kid, much less murder one.”

Siege says, “It looks like we’re all on the same page. Is there anything else you learned about her background you haven’t told us? Anything that we should know?”

I run my fingers through my hair, worried about whether to tell them the most damning part.

Siege encourages me, “We can’t help you if we don’t have all the facts.”

“I overheard her say the police were thinking she might be a serial killer.”

I let my words hang in the air for a minute before adding, “Clearly, if I don’t think she killed one kid, I don’t think she killed more than one.”

Siege’s expression hardens, “If she’s a nurse, the police might think she’s an angel of death type serial killer. That doesn’t mean she is one.”

Tex is one of the brothers who has gathered around to hear about my problem.

He’s a former cop, so when he speaks up, everyone pays attention.

“I’d say chances of that are remote. The FBI estimates that there are between twenty-five and fifty active serial killers in the US at any given time and there are only about sixty-five or so known medical serial killers in recorded history.

The chances of your old lady being one are practically non-existent.

If you want, I can work you a profile and we’ll see if she fits it. ”

Siege clears his throat. “Why don’t you do that, Tex. If nothing else, just to set his mind at ease.”

“I can have it done within twenty-four hours.”

Rigs nods firmly, determination sparkling in his eyes. “It’s good to see that we’re covering all our bases.”

“I’ll search for any hospital deaths involving kids that have happened in the past few months. See if that can narrow things down,” Zen adds.

I speak up again, “We just need to find her. I think she was heading towards the interstate. I spent a while searching up and down there and didn’t come up with anythin’.

I thought she might have gotten a ride to town and cruised around, looking at every place I could think of and obviously didn’t find her. ”

Rigs states firmly, “You’ve got brothers at your back, Crow. We’ll canvas the fuck out of this town until we shake loose some leads.”

I breathe out slowly, shoulders loosening a fraction. I feel more confident in our ability to find her after talking to my club brothers. “Thanks, Rigs. I need all the help I can get.”

Siege clasps my arm firmly, eyes serious. “We’ll get her back and hear her out. Let her tell us her version of the events. You just need to stay calm this time.”

“I will,” I promise quietly, meeting his steady gaze. “I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“You’d better not,” Rigs warns with a note of humor in his voice. “Sharon is family now. We need to treat her right.”

I appreciate that he’s trying to lighten the mood, but I’m not there yet.

“Then let’s move,” I say firmly, before heading back to my bike. “She’s out there alone and scared. I won’t rest until she’s safe.”