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CHAPTER EIGHT

Declan

The next morning, Carter got up and got ready for school with no issues. I drove him to school in my truck, which come to find out he wasn’t too happy about. He wanted his friends to see him rolling up on the back of my Harley and earn himself some ‘cool kid points.’ Whatever the fuck that means these days.

After dropping him off, I came straight to the clubhouse. I planned on talking to Pres before church, but Hawk met me as soon as I walked in the doors looking like he’d been up all damn night.

“We need to talk.” Hawk turns on his heels and I follow him to his room, where he has his computers with TVs as monitors set up.

“Someone is erasing Violet’s trail.”

“What the hell do you mean?” I ask, frustrated at the thought. “I thought you could follow any electronic footprint. We already know she’s using an alias, so follow that trail.”

“That’s just it,” he says, sitting in front of his computer. His hands fly over the keyboard, and I watch as an image of Violet’s birth certificate pops up on the screen, only to vanish as if someone was burning the corners of a piece of paper. It takes seconds, and the certificate turns into a black screen, then it quickly flickers to life again. Two pixelated ducks fly across the screen. Then a pixelated hunting dog pops up from the bottom of the screen with his paw over his mouth, laughing.

“Is that …?”

“An old Nintendo game?” Hawk replies. “Yep.” He pops the p, obviously not amused.

“How the fuck did that happen?” I ask, taken aback.

“I don’t fucking know. But someone is fucking with us.” Hawk scrubs his hands through his hair. “I’ve been going over everything I can for both Violet and Carter Dupree, and every goddamn time I start to get somewhere, this shit happens.”

“What about Trident Elite? Were you able to find anything on them?”

“Yeah. They’re a legit security business. They help with search and rescue and various other security details similar to Garrison, but?—”

“They have more off the books, black ops details. They’re similar, but not the same as Garrison. Of that, I’m certain.”

Hawk eyes me suspiciously. “All team members are former military special forces from various branches. The owner?—”

“Kayce Eaton,” I supply, cutting him off again.

“You know him?”

“We served on a few missions together. I saved his ass once.” I don’t give details, and Hawk doesn’t ask. He knows my time in the military isn’t something I like to talk about. My conversation with Violet is the most I’ve said to anyone about that period of my life in a long time.

“Does this guy owe you a favor?”

“Whether he does or not, I’m cashing one in.” I’m not above using an old war wound to get Kayce to tell me what he knows about Violet’s situation. We haven’t talked in years. It was part of the agreement when our team disbanded. We gradually lost contact. Some went on to have families. Kayce started his business and kept himself active with his cause, and I found my MC brothers.

“You think he’ll help?” Hawk leans back in his chair, studying me. “I mean, obviously someone’s going to some pretty far lengths to cover Violet and Carter’s tracks. What if it’s his team?”

I grunt, because I’m thinking the same thing.

“Either way, people with this kind of skill don’t come cheap. You think Violet has the money to pay for their kinds of services?”

Hawk’s got a point.

“I don’t know. The woman is the most frugal person I’ve ever met.” I sigh. “When I went through her room at the apartment, she had minimal clothes and belongings. Her bedroom wasn’t decorated. No pictures. No trinkets. Nothing that says she lives there other than a comforter and a couple of gifts Carter made for her on the dresser.”

“Maybe she doesn’t like material things,” Hawk suggests.

“Or she’s on the run and is keeping shit light in case she has to take off again.” It’s my turn to scrub my face in frustration. “Fuck. That must be it.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I’m not. But it would make sense if Kayce and his team are involved.” My gut tells me Violet’s situation is going to take me down a fucking rabbit hole, and if she had to use Trident to get her out, it’s going to be bad. “Shit. Do we know who she was married to? Anything on her ex-husband? Divorce filings? Anything?”

“No. I’m telling you, it’s like she and Carter are fucking ghosts,” Hawk grumbles.

“Fuck. What if she’s still married? If she’s hiding from him? What other reason could she have for not giving what we have a chance?” It’s all starting to make sense.

“Maybe she doesn’t like you in that way.” Hawk lifts his arm to block the slap he knows is coming.

Fucker.

“Or it could be she’s afraid to get close to anyone. She doesn’t want to lay down roots because she might have to leave again.” I’m talking more to myself than Hawk, processing through the information and scenarios.

“She’s pretty tight with Skyler,” Hawk chimes in. “Violet doesn’t seem worried about leaving her. If your theory is correct, wouldn’t she avoid all relationships?”

“Skyler was the first person she met when Violet and Carter moved to town. She knows something, I’m sure, because she was quick to shut Little Man up when he almost spilled their secret.”

“What secret?” Hawk asks, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. I’m pacing the floor in his room.

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.” I take my phone out and shoot a text to Ethan, asking if he got anything new out of Skyler last night. “Keep looking. And reach out to Trident Elite. Email asking for a meeting with Kayce Eaton. Tell him Shamus wants a meeting.”

“Shamus?” Hawk looks at me, puzzled.

“He’ll know.”

There’s a knock on his door. When I open it, I find Blake on the other side.

“Pres told me to come find you. He’s calling everyone to church.”

“We’re coming” I reply.

Hawk stands up and we follow Blake out to the sanctuary. He checks with Gabe to see if Pres needs anything else before being dismissed to leave the room, closing the door behind him. Everyone takes their seats. I take the seat closest to Ethan and nudge his arm.

“Did you find anything out from Sky? Did she tell you whatever Carter’s slip was about?” The gavel bangs against the table, calling church to order before Ethan can answer.

“What’s the word, Dec?” Gabe cuts right to the chase.

“FUBAR, Pres.” I tell him, scrubbing the back of my neck, trying to loosen some of the tension gathering there.

“Well, what do we know?” Gabe leans back in his chair, his arms crossed, waiting.

“Violet took Carter to school yesterday and told him she had something to do, and I would be picking him up,” I answer.

“Did she tell you where she was going or when she’d be back?” Caleb asks.

“She didn’t tell him shit,” Hawk says, smirking. “Declan here is playing daddy to the little man until Violet gets back. If she comes back.”

“She’s coming back, asshole.” Jake slaps Hawk upside the head for me from the other side.

“Did the kid have any ideas about where she went?” Jameson chimes in from his chair across the table.

“He mentioned her having a friend named Emilia. Mili for short,” I tell the room. “Carter says she’s a doctor and she’s moving to Oakridge. But he didn’t give me much more to go on than that. He seems reluctant to share information.”

Hawk starts tapping away on his laptop.

“Has the doctor moved yet?” Mack asks. “Maybe Violet went to help her get moved in?”

“And leave her son, without warning, with Declan?” Jake looks at Mack as if his father has lost his mind. “You’d think if she was helping someone move, she’d have told Carter, let alone the babysitter,” he says, throwing his arms out in my direction. “What I don’t understand is why wouldn’t she leave him with Skyler and Ethan? They’re parents and babysit the kid all the time. Unless you two have finally figured your shit out and you’ve claimed her?”

All eyes snap to me.

“I’ve told her we’re moving forward with our relationship, but I haven’t made a formal claim … yet. Violet’s mine. She just hasn’t accepted it yet.”

“Well, she’s accepted something because she left you in charge of her son. If nothing else, I’d take that as a win. That’s a big fucking deal for a single mom to entrust you with her entire world.” Jake’s brow raises as he looks pointedly at me.

“Jake’s got a point,” Hawk says. “She could’ve left him with Skyler and Ethan. Hell, she could’ve given him to Caleb and Liz. The kid would be happy as shit on the farm with all the animals.”

“It’s not lost on me that Violet’s trusting me with Carter. What I don’t understand is what kind of trouble she’s in that she thought to entrust him to me. I’m not the obvious choice, as you’ve both pointed out. And as far as she’s concerned we’re not together.”

“She’s shut you down publicly more than once,” Hawk adds, earning him a glare from me. “So, maybe that’s the point.”

“What are you talking about, Hawk?” Pres asks, leaning on the table.

“If Violet is concerned someone may come looking for the kid, she wouldn’t leave him with Skyler or Ethan. Violet wouldn’t want to put Lilah or Sky in danger. It would make more sense to leave him with Declan, because no one in town would consider him an option,” Hawk says.

“But wouldn’t anyone who came looking think to look to the club?” Jameson asks, playing with his pocketknife in his hands. “Ethan is a King. She works for him.”

“But Violet isn’t claimed,” Hawk starts, and I growl. “She works for the gym, and she’s friends with Skyler, but other than that, there’s nothing tying her or Carter to the club. But leaving the boy with Declan now puts him under the protection of the club.”

“So, you think she left Carter with Dec because she knows someone may come looking for him? That’s what you’re saying,” Jameson says, nodding. “It’s a smart move on her part.”

“Okay, so now that we know why she left the boy with Declan, there are two questions we don’t have answers to,” Gabe addresses the room. “Where is Violet and who does she fear is coming for the boy?”

“And here’s where we’re having trouble,” I tell them. “Hawk’s been looking into Violet and Carter, and it seems every time he thinks he finds something, someone cuts him off the trail.”

“What’s happening?” Ghost finally joins the conversation. He’s another techy person who loves computers and can fuck your shit up with a keyboard. He’s the one who helped keep all the original member’s secrets hidden, like keeping Hawk from finding Skyler or Avery all these years.

Hawk casts his screen onto the large flat screen on the wall so the entire room can see what he’s talking about. Just like in his office, he pulls up a website with Violet Dupree’s birth certificate and the edges appear to burn and then the fucking ducks and the laughing dog pop up on the screen. He tries pulling up Carter’s information, hacking into the school records and the same shit happens, only it’s not the dog that shows up. This time it’s Jack Nicholson dressed as the Joker, laughing like a loon on the screen.

“Someone’s trying to shut you down remotely, or they’ve infected your shit with a virus,” Ghost suggests.

And it’s someone who knows the kid. Batman is his favorite superhero.

“I did a sweep. It came back with nothing. My computer’s clean.”

“Then someone’s fucking with you,” Ghost replies. “Who would Violet know that could do something like this?” Ghost’s brows raise as he looks pointedly at me.

“Sadie’s the only other person I know who could pull some shit like this off besides you two and Wyatt,” Mack suggests. “But none of you would do this shit, and Hawk is tracking everything Sadie does on her computers.”

“Fucking hell,” Jake grumbles. “Have we not learned that invading Sadie’s personal life will only lead to her doing even more epically stupid shit—like overriding a security system at a Mafia owned hotel to help my woman nearly get herself fucking killed?”

“Easy, Jake,” Gabe commands. “He has a point, Hawk. But Sadie’s involvement with Avery’s situation was different. Sadie cares for Violet and Carter, sure, but she’s not close to either of them. Not like she is with Avery.”

“Fair point,” Mack says, “But I still wouldn’t write her off. She’s done more for less. All the girl needs is a cause and someone to point her anger at to convince Sadie to do something crazy.”

“What about the Trident?—”

“No,” I cut Hawk off. “Trident doesn’t have anything to do with this.” I give Hawk a look that tells him to shut the fuck up. His eyes narrow, but he gets the hint and says nothing else.

“Who are you two talking about?” Gabe asks, noticing the tension in the room.

“I found a business card in Violet’s apartment for a security company. It looks like they’re the company she used to install her camera system. I don’t think they would have anything to do with fucking with Hawk’s computer.”

Gabe nods, then says, “We can’t rule anyone out at this point. If they’re in security, they may know computers too. Can’t hurt to look into it.”

Fuck.

“Have you tried using another computer?” Ghost asks, texting someone.

Two minutes later, the prospect knocks on the door, handing Ghost’s laptop to him. He’s quick to pull it open and starts tapping away. “Son of a bitch,” He grumbles. He turns his laptop around and the same shit happens on his screen as on Hawk’s.

“So, it’s not just someone fucking with Hawk. It’s someone trying to throw anyone off Violet and Carter’s trail, period,” Jameson explains, smirking.

“What’s funny?” Gabe asks, scowling at the VP.

Jameson shrugs. “I’m intrigued. I’m starting to wonder who Declan’s little bird is. Must be pretty fucking important for someone to go through all this trouble to keep her identity a well-protected secret.”

“What are you getting at?” I tamp down my temper at the way Jameson calls Violet my little bird. She’s my Dove and I don’t like what the hell he’s insinuating.

“What if she’s in WITSEC or something?” Jameson shrugs. “They’d do shit like this to keep her whereabouts hidden.”

“Then she would have a handler, and they wouldn’t let her leave without her kid,” I reply. “She doesn’t have a handler.” As I say the words, I realize I don’t honestly know that I believe them. Kayce could very well be her handler. He has connections to WITSEC and several other government agencies he works with on and off the grid. “And you’re right. If she did, they’d never let her leave the kid behind. He would be their way of keeping control of her.”

“Unless she decided not to go through with whatever they’re asking her to do, and that’s why she left Carter with you,” Jameson says. “You said it yourself. Without Carter, there’s no leverage over Violet.”

Fuck.