Page 37

Danny

Dante was barely talking to me as we sat in the main room, watching Danika play with the other girls. I understood why he was angry, and if I was honest, I was angry at myself, too. Hell, if my mom was still alive, she’d take a damn switch to my ass for treating Melissa the way I had, and that’s not including what my brothers would do to me.

“Hey, you two, King wants you both in church now,” Blade said before walking away.

Getting to my feet, I said nothing as Amber walked over and took my spot, and I followed Dante back into church only to hear Gunner snap, “She’s my fucking sister, and she didn’t fucking kidnap anyone.”

Seeing the local sheriff, I frowned when King spoke up, “Sypher, this is—”

“Sheriff Declan O’Rourke. Brother of Braesal O’Malley, the Irish Mob boss in Boston, and Uncle to Kingston O’Rourke, president of the Silver Shadows.”

King sighed. “Not now, Sypher.”

“What’s going on?” Dante asked.

“Sheriff got a report of a suspected kidnapping. Dr. Melissa Jefferson.”

“Melissa didn’t kidnap our daughter,” Dante said.

“Is the child here also?” the sheriff asked.

“Yes,” I clipped, saying nothing more.

“I will need to see her.”

Narrowing my eyes, I stood my ground. “Why?”

“Danny, stop. I’ll go get her, Sheriff,” Dante said, before returning moments later with our daughter as the sheriff frowned.

“What’s her name?”

Dante quickly replied, “Danika.”

Looking at his paper, then at Dani, he pulled out his phone. “Blackwater, need you to confirm the details of the child on the suspected kidnapping. You’re sure? Ok. Yea. Something’s not right. I’ll let you know what I find.” Snapping his phone shut, we waited, all of us confused as to what was going on when he asked, “How old is your daughter?”

I didn’t like the twenty fucking questions he was asking; plus, it was none of his goddamned business. I didn’t give a fuck if he was King’s brother/uncle or what. Fucker was asking too many damn questions for my liking.

“She’s two,” Dante confirmed.

“Not five?” Dec asked.

“Does she look big enough to be five years old?” Cash barked.

“What the fuck is going on, Dec?” King asked as the sheriff removed his hat and ran his hand through his hair. He glared at King and asked, “Who does she fucking belong to?”

Standing from his seat, King eyed his brother. “She is the daughter of Danny Franks and Dante Sharpe. The two gentlemen standing in front of you.”

“Not the child. Who does Dr. Jefferson belong to?”

Gunner snarled, “I told you, she’s my sister.”

“Who’s fucking old lady is she?” the sheriff growled.

Ghost sat up and actually put his hand in the air as if he were in grade school, muttering, “Uh, mine.”

I shook my head as most of the brothers in the room started laughing, and I distinctly heard the sheriff groan. “Every. Fucking. Time.”

“Hey, asshole, you wanna clue us in on what the fuck you’re talking about?” King asked, sitting back in his seat. “Sypher and Pippen, have a seat. This will have something to do with you two.”

“This report says Dr. Melissa Jefferson kidnapped five-year-old Caylee Meadows from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was reported to have been seen in Diamond Creek, Nebraska, at the clubhouse of the Silver Shadows motorcycle gang.”

And as if on cue, the entire room said, “Not a fucking gang.”

“I’m reading the goddamn report. I didn’t write it,” the sheriff snapped.

“The stalker,” Ghost said. “Nav, you get facial rec on that guy yet?”

“No. All I have are his eyes. It’s gonna take time.”

“I can fix that,” Dante offered, handing Danika over to me as he moved over to Nav’s computer. Nav gave him his seat, and we waited while Dante did his thing.

The sheriff sighed. “What stalker?”

Looking at King, I asked, “You don’t share shit with your uncle?”

“I’m his fucking brother,” the sheriff snapped.

“Only what we have to,” King answered. Turning back to the sheriff, he filled him in when someone knocked on the church door. “Gunner’s sister showed up a couple of days ago. She’s being followed. We’re working on it.”

Opening the door, Blade asked, “What’s up, Joey?”

“Uh, Archie said you were looking for Melissa?”

“Yea, you know where she is?”

“No, sir, she left right after the sheriff got here.”

“What?” Ghost asked the prospect.

“She drove out right after the sheriff drove in. The gate moves kind of slow, and aside from stepping in front of her car, there was no way to stop her. Also”—he looked down at his hands—“this came a few minutes before. I didn’t have time to run it in before the sheriff pulled up.”

The prospect handed Blade the paper, and the brother didn’t waste time opening it, quickly reading the contents. “Where did it come from?”

“A kid dropped it off. Said he was given a hundred bucks to deliver it.”

“Thanks, Joey. You can go back out to the gate,” Blade said, closing the door, then looked at Ghost, who stiffened in his chair.

“What the fuck does it say?”

“You can’t keep her.”

“Son of a bitch!” he yelled. “Who the fuck is this guy?”

Nav’s computer pinged, and a face came up on the screen on the wall. “Detective Andrew Henderson is the man who destroyed Melissa’s office,” Dante informed the room.

“He’s also the man who reported the kidnapping,” the sheriff confirmed as Dante looked at me and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Fuck.

It was time to go back to work.

“I need a computer,” I demanded.

Nav quickly ran out of church, only to return moments later with a computer. The exact computer I used the last time I was here, and the very computer that had my own algorithm processing the drive. Blade walked over and took Danika from me, and I stretched my arms out in front of me, cracking my knuckles, as I shifted my head from side to side. The second my fingers touched the keyboard, I felt as if everything was finally as it should be in my life, like this computer was the last missing piece. Listening to the clicks of keys, I quickly found myself immersed in the dark web of ones and zeros as my world welcomed me home. Everything evaporated around me as I searched for answers to questions that no one asked. It was all there, hiding in the dark web, just a click away.

“What the fuck did you two do? What did you say to her?”

“It was my fault.” I clearly heard Dante say as I muttered, my focus on the task at hand, “Baby, it was not your fault.”

“It was. I asked her about her brother. I shouldn’t have done that. We were supposed to be talking about Dani.”

It didn’t take me long and the information I was looking for popped up. “Ok, Caylee Meadows is a five-year-old girl, recently removed from her mother’s care. Neighbors called the police, asking for a welfare check when Caylee wouldn’t stop crying. When the police showed up, they found a severely malnourished Caylee who weighed only twenty-five pounds.”

“For a five-year-old? Christ, Charlie is almost five, and she weighs near on to fifty pounds,” Jack exclaimed.

“Child welfare reports claim her speech was severely delayed, and she exhibited the emotional and mental capacity of a two-year-old. There are medical reports that show the physical and sexual trauma Caylee endured as well as a signed confession from her mother admitting that she was neglectful and abusive, allowing the men she had traipsing through her home to have free rein over her child.”

“What the hell does that have to do with my woman?”

I continued, “Dr. Melissa Jefferson was the leading expert on the court hearing at the mother’s trial. When Caylee was taken into custody, Melissa was called. She does emergency assessments for child services. She recommended Caylee be removed, then testified when the mother went on trial.”

“What’s the connection to the cop?” Jingles asked.

“Still working on that.”

“I found Melissa,” Nav said.

“Where is she?”

“She left here and drove into town. She stopped at the diner for a while, and when she came out, she was with Jessie. They both got in separate cars, but it looks like Melissa was following Jessie.”

“Someone call Jessie!” Ghost demanded.

“I’ll do it,” Dante offered as he put his phone on speaker when Jessie answered, “Hey, Dante.”

“Hey, Jessica, are you with Melissa?”

There was a pause before she answered, “Nope. Just me in the car.”

Dante rolled his eyes. “Jessica, where are you headed?”

“Why?” she asked, hesitant to answer.

“Jessabel! Where the fuck are you going?” I yelled.

“Dude, what is going on?”

“Jessie, please. Is Melissa with you?” Ghost begged.

“Yes, she is following me.”

“Where are you taking her, Jessie?” King demanded.

“To the Powell Ranch. She wanted to go to the hotel, but I wasn’t letting her go to that shit hole. Greyson’s letting her stay in one of the cabins.”

“Did Greyson say that?” Jack asked with a chuckle.

“Not yet. But the man can’t tell me no. May as well take advantage of it.”

“Why are you taking her to the ranch?” Gunner asked.

“Um.”

Dante picked up his phone and took it off speaker phone. “You’re off speaker. Tell me why she left. Ok, yea. I’ll tell him. No, I get it. Tell her I’m sorry.”

When he disconnected his phone, Ghost asked, “Well?”

“She was upset and planned to leave town. Jessica ran into her at the diner, and they talked. One thing about Jessica, she may be blunt and socially awkward, but people trust her. They open up to her. She talked Melissa into staying, and when she mentioned the hotel, she talked her into staying at the ranch in one of the cabins.”

“Call Winchester, tell him to get his ass home and stay there until I tell him otherwise,” King said as Colt put his phone to his ear and walked out of the room.

Ghost got to his feet. “I need to go.”

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because I fucking said so. Sit your ass down. You too, Gunner.” King ordered. “Mellie has been through a lot of shit. She needs a break. I’ll call Greyson and make sure she’s in the cabin closest to the house. Winchester will be out there, and I will send two prospects as well.”

Ghost continued to stand and growled, “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said no. I’m not leaving her out there alone.”

“She needs some time away from the club,” King insisted.

“She can have it. She can’t have time away from me,” the brother said, heading for the door.

“Ghost, sit your ass down.”

“Sorry, brother. Can’t do that.” And before anyone could stop him, Ghost took off his cut and laid it on the table.

“What the fuck are you doing?” King snarled. “Put your cut back on.”

“I’m out. She’s it. You guys have been giving me shit for months about the woman I couldn’t forget. It’s fucking her. She’s here. I can’t let her go again. I won’t.”

“So, make her your old lady!”

“She doesn’t want to be an old lady! She wants nothing to do with the club. She needs one person in her goddamn life to put her first. I’m that fucking person.”

“So you’re willing to give up everything?”

“Damn fucking straight.” With that, Ghost walked out of church and the clubhouse.

“SON OF A BITCH!” King roared, picking up his chair and throwing it across the room.

Yeah, I’d seen this scenario play out many times and I really felt for the brother on the receiving end.

“YOU!” King snarled and pointed his finger at me.

Blinking, I looked around the room and noticed everyone looking at me. Gulping, I turned back to King and muttered, “Me?”

“Yes, you!” the irate president fumed. “Since I got involved with you and your goddamn club, my life has been one fucking shit show after another!”

“Well, at least we’re not as bad as the Soulless Sinners.”

“Not the time, Danny,” Dante whispered.

“I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!” King’s temper hit an all-time high. Even Cash and Jingles took a step back. “Let me be very fucking clear here, Sypher. I don’t give a flying fuck what you have to do, but before you leave this fucking state, my enforcer better have his fucking cut back on his back or I will take yours and send you back to California in a body bag!”

“Uh, King,” Cash muttered. “You can’t do that. Not without Steele’s permission.”

“I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!” the man roared, marching out of church, cursing up a storm.