Page 18

Lainey

Sitting in the house with the door locked felt like the exact opposite of what I should be doing.

My baby was missing.

Every cell in my body screamed at me to get in my car and drive street to street, knocking on doors, demanding answers—but I hadn’t moved.

Because there’d been something in Duane’s voice that made me pause. That made me listen.

So, I stayed. On the couch. Phone clutched in my hand like it could change something.

I’d called Lottie thirteen more times.

Each one went straight to voicemail.

And I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin.

Then I heard it.

The low, thunderous growl of engines coming down my street.

Bright lights swept through the living room windows, pierced the dark, and filled me with a dread I didn’t understand.

I shot to my feet just as fists pounded against the door.

“Lainey!” Duane’s voice boomed. “Open up!”

I fumbled with the lock, my heart in my throat, and yanked the door open.

Duane stood there, his eyes fierce and chest heaving. Behind him were four men—each looking like they could bend steel with their bare hands.

They barreled into my house like a storm and shut the door hard behind them. I took a step back. My living room felt suddenly tiny.

“I—uh…” I didn’t even know what I was trying to say. My brain was spinning. “I—”

“Tell me everything,” one of them said, with a firm voice.

I glanced at the name on his leather vest. Yarder.

Duane stepped beside him. “That’s Yarder,” he said quickly, and pointed to the others. “Compass. Cue Ball. Aero.”

My eyes caught on Aero. I recognized him. The farmers market.

Felt like another lifetime ago now.

I nodded, but I knew I wouldn’t remember their names. I didn’t care. I just wanted Lottie.

“Lottie was supposed to be home by six. Her friend Julie was going to drop her off,” I said, my voice shaking as I pushed my hair off my face. “I waited because… because I didn’t want to be that mom—you know? The one who panics if she’s five minutes late.”

I gestured at the clock. “It’s after nine-thirty. That’s not late—that’s missing .”

Yarder nodded once.

“I’ve called her over and over. Her phone just keeps going to voicemail. I drove to Julie’s house, and nobody was home. Even her friend next door wasn’t there.”

“When was the last time you heard from her? Text or call?” Aero asked.

I opened my phone and scrolled back. My fingers trembled. “She texted me at 12:34 to say Julie was driving her home. That’s it.” My voice cracked. “I should’ve said no. I should’ve picked her up myself.”

“There’s no way you could’ve known,” Duane said.

But that didn’t stop the guilt from sitting like a boulder on my chest.

“Give us the address to the friend,” Yarder said. “Aero and Compass will head there now.”

“No one’s home,” I insisted. “No one will let you in.”

Compass smirked. “That won’t matter.”

“We don’t need a key,” Aero added, rolling his shoulders like he was warming up to kick a door down.

That stopped me for a second.

These weren’t just Duane’s friends. They were his club . His brothers.

They were going to do what I wouldn’t.

And I was okay with that—if it meant getting Lottie back.

I rattled off the address.

“We’re on it,” Aero said, and the two of them were gone in seconds.

“What do we do?” I asked, feeling helpless. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

Duane, Yarder, and Cue Ball all shook their heads.

“We’ll find her,” Duane said.

“How can you say that?” I snapped. “We don’t even know what happened—how can you promise that?”

The air shifted.

Something passed between the men like silent conversation.

They knew something. Something they weren’t telling me.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded. “Tell me the truth!”

“Lainey—just trust us—”

“ No! ” I yelled. “This is my daughter! Tell me what the hell is going on!”

Yarder gave Duane a sharp nod. “Tell her.”

Duane looked like he might throw up. His jaw worked before he finally spoke. “There are two psychos out there,” he said, his voice low. “Boone and Gibbs. They’ve got it out for the club. Anyone close to us is a target. We thought it was under control.” He met my eyes. “But now, with Lottie missing… we don’t think it is.”

My breath stopped. “You’ve got crazy guys trying to kill you , and you didn’t think that maybe—just maybe—they’d come after me and my daughter?!”

I couldn’t breathe. My chest was closing in.

This was all his fault.

Before I could scream, my phone rang in my hand.

Unknown number.

“Put it on speaker,” Yarder said.

I hesitated, glaring, then did what he said. “Hello?” I called.

“ Mom! ” Lottie’s voice cracked through the speaker.

My knees almost buckled. “Lottie?! Oh my god—where are you? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know where I am,” she sobbed.

“Honey, breathe. Talk to me. What happened?”

“Julie and Tiff wanted to go to John’s house…”

I froze. My gut dropped.

“Who is John ?”

“Julie’s boyfriend. He lives in the country. We got there around one. It was fun at first, but then they started drinking. A lot.”

“You were drinking?” I snapped, stunned.

“No! I didn’t! I kept telling them I needed to be home, but they wouldn’t stop. They couldn’t even stand up. I didn’t know what to do, so… I took the car.”

I closed my eyes. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I lost my phone. We were out in the woods earlier—I must’ve dropped it. I didn’t notice until we were back at the house.”

“Oh, Lottie…”

“Where is she?” Duane asked quietly.

“Where are you now?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just drive home?”

“The car ran out of gas,” she whispered. “I started walking. I walked for hours. I found a gas station and borrowed their phone.”

“Do you know which gas station?”

There was a long pause and then Lottie spoke. “I’m at an Amoco. Off Highway Thirty. The cashier said mile marker 79.”

“I know where she is,” Duane said immediately.

“Mom?” Lottie whimpered. “Who is that? Did you call the police?”

“No, baby. I didn’t. But we’re coming to get you. Don’t move. Stay right there.” I wasn’t going to explain Duane to her right now. I just wanted to see her with my own eyes and make sure that she was okay.

“Okay. I’m sorry, Mom. Please don’t be mad.”

Oh, I was mad.

She knew better.

But more than that, I was relieved .

“I love you, Lottie. Stay put. Don’t talk to anyone. We’re on the way.” I ended the call, and the fury came flooding back in.

“Let’s go,” Duane said.

I shook my head. “No. You guys aren’t coming.”

Yarder stepped forward. “We are . This may not be Boone and Gibbs right now—but it could be.”

I stared at him. “I don’t want protection. I want my daughter .”

I moved to shove past Duane, but he gently caught me. “Lainey, listen to me. I should’ve told you everything sooner. But we’re here now, and we’re going to do this the right way now.”

I looked into his eyes, heart pounding.

There were so many questions. So many things I didn’t understand. But right now, all I cared about was getting to Lottie.

“Fine,” I said, my voice tight. “Let’s go.”

But as we headed out, I knew one thing for sure:

I had planned to ease Lottie into knowing about Duane.

Now I was going to drop it on her like a bomb.