Page 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

MASON

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Luckily for us, the farm truck was parked in the pasture to the left of us, and since the keys are always left in the ignition, Maverick and I hopped into it so that when we find Myles he doesn’t have to ride bitch on the back of my motorcycle. Mamba stated he was going to take my bike and put it back in storage so I didn’t have to worry about putting it away before going after my brother.

A memory of the past flashes through my mind as I drive behind the brigade of brothers. I had just restored the frame of my bike and had gotten it out of the shop I’d used to paint her. I was so damn proud of myself as I drove it to where my brothers were throwing a party at one of the fire pits. It was the furthest one from my parents’ house. I remember to this day how high the flames were and the fear that one of the trees nearby was going to catch fire. Not wanting my newly restored bike anywhere in the vicinity of the roaring blaze, I parked yards away and walked over to the keg and grabbed a solo cup, filling it to the brim.

Swiping the foam off the top with my finger, I flung it onto Myles who took it like a champ. The night flew by and we became stumbling, slurring drunks and I forgot I’d rode over. When we were this fucked up, we’d always walk home. At that time, we were staying in the bunkhouse with the ranch hands, and thankfully, it wasn’t a far walk or we would’ve ended up planted on the ground face down for the night.

The next morning, Myles and I took our hungover asses to ride my bike back only to discover that the animals had chewed the leather off my saddle and gnawed on the wiring, splintering it. Needless to say, I was so damn pissed that I had to walk my baby back to the shed so I could start over with the revamp process that I’d mentioned taking them all to the slaughter house and hitting up the auction to replace them, all of them. I wanted them gone for what they’d done to my first true love.

Myles helped me on that second round and fell in love with riding and restoring, but his love went deeper and he started working on old muscle and classic cars—which is why he now has a side gig and has earned himself a soaring reputation of being the most sought out restoration mechanic in the surrounding cities and townships.

I continue to think about how proud I am of Myles and his accomplishments as I park the truck, hop out, and follow the brothers into the warehouse.

Hydro, issuing a command finally breaks through my inner musings. “Fan out, I want every damn shelf moved from the walls and checked. We’re looking for a red button that’ll slide open a floor panel so watch your step.”

Maverick, Gunner, and I end up on a team together. I have a feeling it’s because the man wants to keep his eyes on us. My family is tight, but our dad never hovered over us the way Gunner does so this has taken some getting used to. Instinct has me veering to the very back of the warehouse where row after row of shelving is stacked. Not only are they hugging the wall, but they're also piled in front of each other, five columns deep.

“Drag marks,” I say, pointing to the ground to show my brother and Gunner.

“Y’all start moving them and I’ll check the floor and see if I can spot the hidden door. Laura said it was on the deck, right?” Gunner asks.

Sometimes I have to read between the lines and interpret their verbiage. Deck to Gunner means the ground so I nod my head as Mav and I start working on removing the first row of metal shelves from the cement block walls. They’re heavier than they look and it has me considering the fact that we may be in the wrong area. If it takes the two of us to drag them, I don’t see how Benji managed to do this on his own.

As we get the first one far enough back so we can work on the next set, a horn beeps and we turn around to see Kruger driving a forklift and Tex standing on the side, a beaming smile on his face as he shakes his hips.

“That man,” Mav says, “is one crazy motherfucker.”

“They both are,” I confirm. “But they're smart as hell. Benji must’ve used that side loader to move them back and forth.”

Maverick snorts, shaking his head. “I bet he did the same as us the first time he tried this, which explains the drag marks you found.”

“I’m thinking the same thing, little brother,” I state.

“Need a hand?” Tex asks as he leaps off the machine.

“Fuck yeah,” I tell him, taking a step back so Kruger has enough room to drive the forks under the shelves. He manages to grab two of them at a time, which means we’ll be able to get to the wall that much quicker.

When the last two are grabbed and moved, Gunner announces, “Got it! Call the others over.”

A trickster look crosses Texas’ face as he jogs over to a room off to the side and when the loud speakers kick on, an ear-splitting sound reverberates through the warehouse. Its screeching is loud enough that I have to cup both of my ears. “Evening, my badass brothers. Thank you for shopping at Rescuing Myles R’ Us. If you will kindly make your way to the south wing of the factory, you’ll find the red button we’ve uncovered. As always, thank you for being a valued member.” When he hangs up the mic, the piercing sound is just as jarring.

“Remind me to smack him in the back of his head so his ears ring!” Kruger broadcasts, wiggling his fingers in his ears to pop them which explains why his words are shouted.

We all come together, everyone, including me, sending Tex a murderous look as we stand shoulder to shoulder while Gunner hits the control switch and the floor opens up to a set of stairs leading downward.

Rock pushes Gunner and Hydro to the back as he and Master take the lead. Malice would be the one who’s normally at Rock’s side, but since he stayed behind to watch over Kings and the clubhouse, Master has temporarily taken over the enforcer job. Neither one of the presidents looked impressed by being shuffled to the middle, but the men were voted into their positions for a distinct reason—primarily, to protect the presidents and vice presidents of the club.

“Found the switch,” Master announces, and once he flips it, the entire lower level floods with a bright, fluorescent light.

“Myles?” Rock calls out his name.

“Here!” Myles shouts, and just hearing his voice has my shoulders deflating and I begin to relax.

Master turns around to look at us, saying, “It’s a small space, we won’t all fit so some of you need to step back until we unhook him and bring him up.”

In the end, both Hydro and Gunner refuse to stay up top. There’s no way in hell Maverick nor I are willing to sit back and wait so it’s the four of us as well as Rock and Master who make our way to the pit.

Myles’ eyes are skeptical as he takes in our four friends, he squints at them until they step aside and let him see us. His shoulders slump before he squares them and keeps his eyes trained on Mav and me. “Get me out of these cuffs. The key is on the hanger, over there,” he directs, tilting his head in the direction of the nail driven into the sheetrock with one, singular key hanging on it.

Rock heads to grab it while I crouch in front of Myles. “How bad is it?”

“Not too bad, Mase,” he answers. “He took a few swipes at me, but I’ve had worse injuries working in the fields. Other than a couple of scrapes and bruises, I’m good. No physical damage that won’t heal in a few weeks with rest. Hungry and thirsty, though. The asshole barely came down to bring me anything.”

As the key slides into the locking mechanism of the alloy shackles, I hear them give as they slide off his wrists and hit the floor with a resounding clank. They look more medieval than modern like the steel bracelets used a few years ago before they replaced them and started using the plastic zip ties.

When Myles stands, he wobbles and Maverick and I rush to his side so he can use us as crutches. The one thing I know about my youngest brother is that there’s no way in hell he won’t be walking out that door on his own two feet.

“Gotcha, man,” Maverick tells him.

“Appreciate it,” Myles states. “It’s been a bit since I’ve been up on my feet. He cuffed me to that chair and left me there.”

“How’d you take a piss?” Maverick asks, teasing him.

“He released one hand and gave me a metal can. One of those old coffee ones that he must’ve found lying around upstairs in the break room. Very archaic,” Myles laughs before stating, “I’ve been squeezing my asscheeks together though, so a toilet is the first place I’m going to visit now that I’m free.”

“Good idea, you can wash up while you're there,” Gunner pipes in and tells him. “I’m Gunner, this one’s soon to be father-in-law.” When he points at me he also shoots me a look that states loud and clear that he expects a wedding soon.

“Noted,” I verbally respond, nodding my head.

Mane and I may not have physically spent more than a handful of times together before I came back, but we talked on the phone regularly. Every morning, during our lunch breaks, and at night as we crawled into our beds. I fell in love with her during those conversations and vice versa. So some may say it’s too soon for us to tie the knot, but to me and her, it’s been a long time in the making.

A round of introductions are made as we assist an unsteady Myles up the staircase. Maverick and I, not wanting to let him leave our sides, followed him to the restroom. After he takes care of his bowels and washes up, he looks at us through the mirror with his jaw clenched and teeth gritted.

“I’m going to kill that piece of shit,” Myles declares.

I’ve seen my brother pissed before, but the anger inside of him is at an entirely new level than I’ve ever witnessed coming from him.

“You’ll get your pound of flesh,” I promise him. We take the next fifteen minutes to give him the cliff notes version of what’s happened and how we located him. By the time we wrap up, he has two targets to direct his rage at.

Laura and Benji. May the Man above have mercy on their souls because they’re going to need it when they answer Him for their sins.