Page 29

CHAPTER

EIGHT

Brick

Despite our best efforts, we come up empty-handed which has me equal parts angry and pissed-off.

“We’ll find them, brother,” Ban assures me, patting my shoulder as we head back to the parked trucks.

So far, we’ve checked out five different and distinct areas where hunting cabins are known to be located, coming up empty each and every damn time. Well, kind of; we did find two where they’ve been cooking their product and storing it for distribution, so Hawg has anonymously sent pictures along with the coordinates to the ATF. That shit has to be destroyed carefully and while we’re not huge on law enforcement whatsoever, in this instance, I’m perfectly happy with them getting involved, bagging evidence, and destroying the product. Just as long as we get the motherfuckers and can deal with them in our own way, that is.

“Bet the clubhouse is smelling mighty good about now,” Brew muses, patting his belly. “I know she’s planning to make cookies, do you think she’ll let us taste test some?”

Despite the seriousness of our current task, I can’t help the chuckle that his excited words emit. “Brother, you know damn good and well if Rayleigh is cooking or baking, she’s gonna make sure there’s enough for all of us to try.”

“Then let’s head in that direction so we can refuel and warm the fuck up,” Phantom suggests, rubbing his cold hands together in an attempt to warm them up. “Hell, even Kracken looks cold, and that motherfucker never seems to be bothered by the drop in temperatures.”

I glance at Kracken and smirk. In deference to the fact we’re out in thirty-degree weather with snow on the ground and more being forecasted, he has a hoodie on over his cut.

“You’re reaching, brother,” I tease Phantom. “But yeah, we’re heading back to the clubhouse. It’s getting too dark to see more than a foot in front of us and we all know how easy it is to miss shit back in this expansive area without that deterrent.”

Arriving at the clubhouse, I see absolute chaos going on.

There are several trucks with Iowa tags, as well as a few with Nevada tags.

“What the fuck is going on? Did you get any calls?” I ask Banshee as we both bail out of my truck and race inside, shoving people out of our way.

“No, brother, not at all,” he huffs as we continue to jog.

We come to a halting stop when we see Grim, Rael, Shadow, Voodoo, Venom, and Angel situated around the room in battle ready stances.

Angel looks pale as fuck and is unsteady on his feet as he walks toward me, Voodoo trailing right behind him.

I take a deep, cleansing breath because the one person I’m searching for and wanna see is noticeably absent. Then I take another one when I realize my father’s wheelchair is at his normal table but he’s not in it.

When I see the two prospects looking like they’ve been half beaten to death, I can’t hold the roar back any longer. “Someone start talking now and tell me what the fuck happened while we were gone!”

Grim looks at Voodoo who returns the look. Finally, Voodoo says, “We were headed here because I had a vision concerning your ol’ lady and your father. While enroute, my grandmother called to tell me we were needed here because she had one as well. When we arrived, we found your two prospects down for the count, as well as your dad.”

“Where’s Rayleigh?” My voice is quiet yet menacing.

Not that my father and the prospects aren’t important, but she’s number one and I didn’t hear her name cross his lips when he was informing us of what happened while we were gone.

I’ll burn the fucking clubhouse to the ground to find her and that’s just for starters.

“We don’t know, brother, she wasn’t here when we came in and found all of this havoc,” Venom admits. “Since we could do something to help your prospects and your dad, that’s what we focused on. Your old man is in one of the rooms resting now.”

Grim picks up the story. “We were told by Lucifer to come, that there were four souls who needed reaping. When we showed up and walked in, your prospects were awake but unfortunately, they don’t remember a whole lot. Seems while RiffRaff had them patrolling, they were attacked from behind and knocked out, brother.”

“RiffRaff had them patrolling,” I murmur. “Of course, he did because he was in protection mode over Rayleigh, I bet. Gonna need to nip that in the bud, I think. Okay, has my father said anything yet?”

“When he regained consciousness, he was surprisingly alert and coherent,” Grim conveys. “He said four guys came in and wanted Rayleigh. He pulled his gun but when he shot at them and there were no bullets, when they realized he was no threat to them, they beat him to a pulp then took her. He gave some good descriptions of the fuckers, though, and our Reapers were able to catch and have memorized their scents so now that you guys are back, we want to go hunting and see if we can track them down.”

Angel finally manages to get my attention. “Uh, Brick? I healed RiffRaff, brother.”

“Thanks, brother, but he’s a tough old bird, he’d have been fine.”

“No, brother, you don’t understand. I healed him. Maybe not to one hundred percent, but a lot of what he’s been dealing with, health wise, won’t be an issue anymore.”

“He has his memories?” I whisper the question, stunned. “Brother, he’s been more lucid since I moved him here with his nurse, but even still, he’s not always with it if that makes sense.”

“Thinking you’re gonna find that’s changed, brother,” Venom advises, grinning.

“I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m grateful, of course, but with my ol’ lady now missing, it’s not as important. Grim, you said you and your Reapers should be able to scent these motherfuckers and trace them?”

Rael answers, a sinister smirk crossing his face. “Oh yeah, Brick. Those assholes won’t be able to find a mountain big enough to protect and hide them.”

“Do you want us to ride with them and bring them back here?” Murder questions, having stood by mine and Ban’s side listening to everything. “That way, y’all can check on your father, grab some food and warm up.”

“Appreciate it, brother,” I reply.

Even though standing to the wayside isn’t my thing, in this case, I’m about to drop dead on my feet and won’t be good to anyone if I rode out with them. I’m torn between being part of the rescue team and taking care of myself, my pops, the rest of my men, and making sure our perimeter is once again impenetrable.

A dream from last night wafts through my head. Wrecker visited me while I was sleeping, insisting that when my brothers offered to go in search of my missing piece, in this case I’m thinking that means Rayleigh, I sit back or it could have dire consequences.

I’m not spiritual by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve learned that when one of my brothers who have been touched by the other side suggests something, it’s in my best interest to listen to their advice and follow it to the letter.

So, because of that, I’m giving my other brothers my trust. Implicitly, without hesitation.

“Bring her home, brothers. And I wouldn’t be opposed to you bringing the four Douches back scathed if you catch my drift.”

“We’re family now, Brick. It’s what we do. Grim, we’ll follow y’all. I know Brick wants these fuckers brought back here so they can enact some pain, y’all good with that?” Murder questions as he heads toward the door.

Right now, my priorities are warring with one another, but when Ban lightly shoves me toward a table where Layce is placing bowls of hot soup and some of Leathyr’s bread, I decide getting some grub into me is important. Then, I’ll check on my pops and the prospects while I wait for my ol’ lady to be returned to my arms.

Rayleigh

I’m unsure how, but I doze off still sitting upright in the chair.

While Clock’s been gone, the other three have been outside, murmuring about what they plan to do and how they’re going to get out of the mess they’re presently in.

I wake up to a familiar yet scary face grinning at me with mirth dancing behind his eyes. “Hello, Rael, what are you doing here?” I quietly ask as the huge, scary-as-hell biker quickly works to untie me.

“Heard you were in a spot of trouble, Rayleigh, so we’re here to take you back to your ol’ man, how’s that?” he replies, before scooping me up and carrying me outside. When he catches me anxiously looking around, he says, “We’ve already got them tied up and in another vehicle with Murder and his guys ready to take back to the clubhouse so your ol’ man can deal with them. You’re safe now, princess.”

“Why isn’t she scared of you?” Shadow asks Rael. “I mean, we’re scary-ass motherfuckers, especially when our Reapers are riding us, yet she’s like the old ladies at home, she acts as if nothing’s different.” Turning toward me, he states, “Why, Rayleigh?”

Once I’m settled into a warmed-up truck and everyone is inside, I inhale deeply then release all my pent-up emotion before answering. “When I was growing up, I lived with real-life monsters. They looked normal on the outside, but they were evil down to their very core. So were their friends who came and went from our house. I guess, even with the abilities y’all have, I instinctively know you don’t hurt the innocent, just the evildoers, so I’m no longer afraid? I don’t know how to answer that, Shadow. I mean, if I was in a dark alley and one of you came up on me suddenly, I’d probably scream my head off, not gonna lie. But y’all have helped me before, so when I recognized Rael, I wasn’t afraid.”

“Makes sense to me,” Rael replies as he navigates the truck toward what I’m hoping is Brick and our home.

“C-can I ask if you know how RiffRaff is?” I don’t mean to stutter, but my concern for Brick’s father is all-encompassing; it surpasses the fact I’m worried about my baby and whether or not the beating I took has hurt her or not.

No, I have no clue if it’s a girl, but I suspect the men in my life will go batshit crazy if they think I’m carrying a tiny female in my womb, so that’s how I’m referring to this new life I’m nurturing.

Gotta keep them all on their toes, otherwise, they’ll try to put me in bubble wrap and keep me insulated from the world.

“Voodoo and some of his men were there at the clubhouse when we got there, and they were taking care of him and the two downed prospects. I think all three are gonna be fine,” Rael says, grinning at me.

Okay, so his Reaper is still close to the surface because his grin was more like a grimace, complete with pointy teeth and shit. I swear, nightmares better not claim my sleep because I’m going to be pissed if they do. I know he’s trying to soothe me, which is why I just smile back.

“How is Brick?” I probe, missing the warmth of his arms that I’m wishing I were buried inside of now.

“Surprisingly, he didn’t lose his shit completely, but I suspect it was fucking close.”

“Why didn’t he come?” That’s the real question of the hour; I would’ve thought he’d be leading the charge to find me.

Once again, Rael answers, with Shadow grunting his agreement. “Murder suggested that he and his guys tag along since all of them just returned from looking for these asshats. He figured your ol’ man would want to check on his dad as well as the prospects. Since you belong to Brick and he’s a Royal Bastard, you’re family. Murder told him family helps whenever possible. Your man was ready to drop and when he found out you were taken, it was a major blow, Rayleigh.”

“I was so scared,” I admit, wanting to share my fear with these men so I can be calm for Brick.

“Give it to us, princess, we can handle it,” Shadow decrees in a commanding, intense, sturdy tone.

“From before, I knew the four men who burst into the common room were high on something, but when they pulled their guns on RiffRaff, I thought they were going to kill him in front of me. Especially after he pulled the trigger on his own gun, which had no bullets. I mean, Brick checks it every single day because he knows his dad will want a gun on him, but because of his Alzheimer’s there’s no way any of the men want him having live ammunition, y’know? So, I tried to get him to let me go with them, but RiffRaff was adamant that wasn’t happening. Unfortunately, when they realized his gun was empty, they rushed us and hurt him.”

I feel a hesitant hand pat mine, giving me strength to continue. Doing a few breathing exercises, I calm my heart rate and center myself.

“I fought them, though,” I proudly state. “Brew and Phantom taught me some self-defense moves when I first started working for the club businesses just in case a fight broke out in the bar. Although I'm not usually there when customers are, they felt it was important for me to know how to protect myself given how I grew up.”

“Princess, you kicked ass,” Shadow replies, a smirk lifting his upper lip. “Hell, that one guy’s face looks like raw meat or something with all the gouges, and the other one has quite an impressive shiner. I’d say you learned those lessons well, and you should be proud of yourself right about now.”

“I promised myself back when Brick found me half-dead that if I survived, no one was going to hurt me again if I could help it. I know I could’ve done more but they knocked me out, the jerks.”

“Well, their day of reckoning is upon them, trust me,” Rael haphazardly remarks, a sinister, dark tone in his voice that I choose to ignore.

“Yeah, thinking Brick’s not gonna be too happy when he sees how you’re bruised and banged up,” Shadow retorts, chuckling in such a way the hair on my arms stands up.

“He’ll be okay,” I reply, sounding far more confident than I really am right now.

I think he’s gonna lose his shit when he sees me.

“Why don’t you rest, we’ll be back before you know it,” Rael says, encouraging me to relax.

Despite the worry over what I’ll find at the clubhouse, the exhaustion pulls at me, and I find myself drifting into a light doze.