Page 4 of Panther’s Magpie (Mountain River MC #1)
CHAPTER
THREE
MAGGIE
M y eyes ache from all the tears I’ve cried. My hands itch to reach for my phone and text Aspen, but I know they will go unanswered.
Wherever Aspen is, her phone is not with her. I tried the “locate a friend” feature and found it was turned off. She would have never turned it off, so someone else has her phone.
I tried to fall asleep last night, but my dreams were plagued with strange men looking more like monsters as they terrorized both me and Aspen. Every time I thought I had saved her, she would slip away from my grasp and into theirs.
To say I am exhausted would be an understatement.
I don’t know what to expect as I come out of the room Eagle led me to last night, but I know I wasn’t expecting the silence. Walking out into the main room, I find one lone man sitting with his computer as he types away.
I am considering what to say to him when he speaks up.
“Good morning, Maggie. I am to feed you and keep you out of trouble. What would you like to eat?”
He finally turns and looks at me. He’s one of the men that went into the room after Panther last night.
“I need a shower,” I tell him, feeling the crusty feel of tears on my face.
“Bathroom is down the hall and to the left. There should be towels in there. The sweetbutts are pretty good about keeping it stocked. Use whatever you find in there. No one will care. Eggs and bacon okay for food?” he asks.
I nod, turning back to go to the bathroom.
How different one day can make. Yesterday I woke up in our shared apartment in Bakersfield, setting out on a journey to make it to Denver before midnight. I didn’t have a care in the world other than passing my classes.
Now I’m living a nightmare. My best friend is in trouble, and I can’t help her.
I’m stuck in a strange place with a man that I once knew as a boy, but he isn’t the kind, caring kid who loves Aspen anymore.
He’s the scary kid who showed up at school and told Principal Kinney off in front of me. Only now that anger is turned on me.
I don’t blame him, though. I should have done more. It’s all my fault.
I take a quick shower, wanting to pump the guy waiting for me for info. Have they found Aspen yet? I hope if they did, they would have woken me up. Then again, if that’s true, then she’s still missing, and I don’t want that.
After dressing in the same clothes from yesterday, I explore the clubhouse as I look for the man from before. I find him in the kitchen with an apron on. Seeing a tattooed biker with his cut, as I now know they are called, on with an apron over it is quite comical. I don’t say a word, though.
“What’s your name?” I ask the man.
He looks over his shoulder. “Meek.”
Weird name, but okay.
“Do they know where Aspen is?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “They are out looking. Try not to worry about it. Panther will find her. He loves his sister very much.”
He plates an omelet, placing three strips of bacon and toast on a plate before handing it to me.
“We can eat in the other room,” he tells me, grabbing his own plate and two cans of Coke before passing by me.
I follow him, taking the seat next to him. I slowly start to eat as I consider his words.
“I can’t not worry. She’s my best friend. She is all I have,” I tell him.
“That’s not true. Norma and Greg are in Spain right now, but they are still very much alive,” he says so matter-of-factly that I almost forget the fact that he somehow knows my parents’ names.
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“It’s my job to know everything about every person who sets foot inside this place.”
I scoff. “So you must also know that I haven’t spoken to my parents in two years.”
He shrugs. “I do, but they are still alive, so you do still have them.”
“You know nothing about real life, do you, Meek?” I shake my head.
He turns to me and frowns. “What do you mean?”
“My parents might be alive, and I might share their blood, but that’s where it ends. They have never been there for me my entire life. I stopped calling two years ago, and guess what? They haven’t even noticed.”
“They never hurt you, though,” he says, sounding confused.
“Sure, they never abused me. Not physically and not verbally, but emotional abandonment is still a form of abuse.”
We are both silent for several long moments after that. So long that I finish my food before I sip on the can of Coke he set in front of me.
“I’m sorry,” he says suddenly. “You are correct that I don’t understand the world like others.
I did not know that parents could abandon a child while supporting them financially.
I assumed they were caring because they do support you by paying for your schooling and your apartment. I will not make that mistake again.”
It is kind of sweet the way he heard what I said and processed it. As if he were storing it for future use.
“Thank you. To be fair, they don’t really pay for that stuff. They put money in an account and gave me access. They provide the money, but they have no idea what I do with it,” I tell him.
“So money means nothing if they don’t come along with it?” he asks as if he is trying to put a puzzle together.
“I’d rather be poor and have two parents who love and care for me than have all the money in the world without them.”
He nods. “Aspen is your family then. Like the brothers are mine.”
I assume he means the men in this little club with him, so I nod. He lights up like he finally understands.
“Aspen will be okay. Panther will get her back,” he promises me.
I only wish I could trust his promise. She’s already been gone for over twelve hours. A lot can happen in that little amount of time.
“I hope you’re right,” I tell him.
PANTHER
It’s been two days.
Two long days, and we haven’t found a trace of Aspen.
They aren’t keeping her somewhere obvious. I would bet they moved her to a safe house as soon as I called.
I knew I shouldn’t have called. It gave me a reason to start a war, but it also put her in more danger.
Pulling into the gate of the compound, I glare at the two figures sitting outside in two camping chairs. Maggie has her head thrown back as she laughs at something Meek has said.
How dare she be here happy and laughing while my sister is with the enemy?
I pull damn near right up into their laps as I stop the bike. Turning off the engine, I dismount, throwing my helmet on the ground.
Maggie flinches as it crashes into the dirt.
“What the fuck are you doing out here? You are supposed to be inside on lockdown. This isn’t some fucking retreat you are on. You are here because you let my sister get kidnapped by one of the worst MCs around and somehow ended up on their target list too.”
All the joy vanishes as she pales.
“I know,” she whispers.
“If you fucking know, then stop living it up here at my clubhouse. Get your ass inside and be on fucking lockdown.”
She nods, hastily standing. She falls into the dirt on one knee, but picks herself up quickly, scurrying inside.
I can feel the glare from Meek on the side of my face.
“Get pussy elsewhere, Meek. Trust me, that one is trouble.”
He shakes his head, but doesn’t say a word.
“What? Speak your mind,” I bark at him.
“You are angry. You will hear what I say, but you will not listen,” he tells me.
I take a deep breath. “Just say it.”
“You think she is not hurting, but you are wrong. You saw her smiling, but that is the first real smile I have been able to coax out of her. She blames herself for this whole situation even though after hearing her story, it is clear to me that your sister is the one who pulled Maggie into this,” Meek tells me.
I fucking hate him right now. Usually his matter-of-fact way of speaking helps me keep a clear head. Right now it makes me want to bash his face in.
“She could have not stopped the car,” I manage to say through gritted teeth.
“She had no idea of knowing that there would be danger there. How many other bars on that same strip of road could they have stopped at without issue? It was bad luck they ended up at that one, but it is not her fault. She is worried for Aspen. She is the only family Maggie has.”
I scoff. “You said yourself she has two parents and a bank full of money.”
“I have learned that emotional abandonment is sometimes worse than physical abuse. Aspen is all she has ever had over the years. Her only constant. Maybe try to be kinder to her. Sounds like you both have something in common.”
“I didn’t even know Aspen kept in touch with her. Are we sure they are still close?” I ask.
“Or was Aspen not telling you aspects of her life because you didn’t share yours with her?” Meek says back without hesitation.
Fuck.
He’s not wrong. When they graduated high school, I visited Aspen briefly.
I don’t even remember seeing Maggie there, but she must have been.
I had been so focused on getting in and getting out without anyone connecting me to her that I didn’t even pay attention to who else she might have been there with.
Then she decided to go to college in California, and I was grateful.
I had no idea that she went out there with someone else.
I kept tabs on her, but only from afar. I didn’t want to invade her privacy or leave any trail to me.
Now I realize that was a mistake.
I don’t even know my little sister anymore.
I glance at the clubhouse doors where the pretty brunette disappeared to.
My hands clench at my sides, and my throat tightens almost as if it’s too hard to breathe as the realization sets in.
Maggie knows Aspen. She knows more about my sister than I have ever known. I call Aspen my family, but could Maggie be her family too?
Maggie must be hurting as much as I am. The idea of Aspen being stuck in the grasp of the men of the Ragged Anarchy MC has me ready to raze the world. Could she be feeling the same way?
“I’d tell you to apologize, but I know you don’t like to do that, so instead I implore you to be a bit kinder to the girl.”
I sigh. “Fine.”
Heading into the clubhouse, I expect to find her in the main area, but she’s not. I don’t even know where she is staying. I have been in and out for the past two days. I sleep for an hour or two, then get back on my bike.
Walking down the hallway, I pause at Eagle’s door. I knock, hating that part of me hopes she isn’t in there. I don’t know why I care all of a sudden, but Eagle isn’t a one-woman man.
I don’t want him to hurt Maggie for Aspen. She means something to Aspen, so she has to mean something to me too.
At least, that’s the new ideology I’m adopting after speaking to Meek.
Seeing the empty bunk room door closed, I make my way down and knock. After a moment, a tear-stained face appears in the crack.
“Yes?” she asks.
Meek wasn’t wrong. I hate apologizing, so I won’t. Instead, I will offer her what little comfort I can.
“Aspen is a tough girl. She will be okay. We will find her.”
She nods.
Not enough.
I swear I can hear Meek in my head speaking to me.
“I don’t want you to hide out in your room. You can go outside, but only with a brother. It isn’t safe for you until we get Aspen back.”
“I understand,” she whispers. “Is that all?”
I nod. She closes the door, leaving me in the hall.
Why do those sad brown eyes make me want to comfort them?
“Boss? Talon thinks he might have found something,” Meek calls down the hall.
I take a deep breath, looking at the door one last time.
“Coming.”