Page 54

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Banshee

The last thing I want to do is leave the warm bed where my woman is still sleeping, but Brick called Church this morning and I want to know what Hawg may have found out. As I shower, I let the hot water course down my body while I think of all that has changed in such a short time. The biggest thing is the guilt I held for so fucking long over that day is gone. I now know that what happened was pre planned by the Devils Demons MC, and somehow the two prospects we had at the time were involved. Since I was so young, I have no idea whether or not the two of them were ever apprehended, but if not, that’s my main focus and goal.

Find the bastards who helped kidnap Ryleigh and make them pay.

As I quietly dress, I glance at Rory who has rolled until she has my pillow curled in her arms. Shaking my head, I walk to the bed, then gently kiss her temple which is the only skin I can currently see. “Be back as soon as we’re finished,” I whisper. “Love you, minx.”

With a huge mug of coffee in hand, I walk into Church to see I’m one of the last ones to arrive. “It’s about time,” Brick rumbles as I take my seat.

“Not late, Pres,” I retort. “In fact, got about five minutes.”

“Did you get Rory settled in okay?” he asks, smirking. Fucker.

“Yeah. Left her sleeping, but suspect she won’t be that way long. Knowing her, she’ll wander around and check things out once she’s awake since we’ll be here until our place is built.”

“When are you starting on that?” Scythe questions from his seat.

“As soon as we find plans we can agree on, then hire a construction crew.”

“I still haven’t figured out what Madame Laveaux meant when she called Ryleigh,” Brick mutters.

“And Voodoo has no clue?” I ask. “Guess you can always ask her directly and see if she’ll give you more. By the way, do you have any recommendations for a crew?” I know I’m bouncing around a bit topic wise, but not having had any caffeine yet means I’m not as focused as normal.

“Check with the man who’s doing the renovations on the house,” Brick suggests. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he takes his gavel and slams it, then bellows, “Shut the fuck up, we’ve got shit to discuss.”

I find my mind wandering as Rainman goes over the financials. All of our businesses, including the gun transport, are prospering, which is good news for our accounts. But when Brick asks, “RiffRaff, a few weeks ago, I asked you if you remembered the prospects’ names from that day. What did you find out?”

“Went through the old minutes from around that time and came up with two names, Chet and Leroy,” RiffRaff replies. “Gave what I found to Hawg to research further. If those fuckers are still alive, they won’t be for long, that’s for sure.”

“Hawg?” Brick’s voice has taken on a tense tone, and the air in the room changes, as every brother seems to hold his breath.

“Took me some time, but it appears they relocated to Texas,” Hawg says. “They were actually planted in our club for the sole purpose of taking Ryleigh. Seems the Devils Demons were in the skin trade in that they would procure what was requested then pass them on to be sold to the highest bidder. When we wiped out their club, Chet and Leroy got away, along with two others, and started a chapter there.”

“Fuck me,” I whisper. “I wonder… no, it’s too far-fetched, but Rory’s ex said something to her about the drugs he had stored in her RV being product he was supposed to sell. Do you think it’s possible he is part of the rebuilt Devils Demons?”

“No clue, but we can do some digging, maybe reach out to our Texas brothers and see if they can possibly check into it for us,” Hawg replies.

Before Brick can say anything, the door flies open and Rory comes running in, a picture clutched in her hand. She waves it around then asks, “Why do you have a picture of Patrick up on your wall?”

Chaos ensues. Aside from the fact that women aren’t typically allowed in Church, her question answers the one I just asked. Somehow, some way, we now have to get to the bottom of things because he mentioned a brother to her while he held her captive. I don’t think they’ll overlook the fact that he’s missing.

Once Brick restores order, he looks at Rory and says, “Explain what you mean.”

I’m glad he doesn’t berate her for barging in; I haven’t really had the time to go over what’s expected of her as an ol’ lady yet.

“Okay, so I was exploring since Banshee said we’d be living here until our house was done. The kitchen is awesome, by the way. Anyhow, I saw the wall of pictures and wanted to find some with Banshee in them when he was younger. I found this one,” she replies, again waving the photo, “and this man right here,” now she’s pointing at a man I can’t quite see since she’s not right next to me, “is a dead ringer for my ex, Patrick.”

RiffRaff stands and walks to her and asks, “Which one, darlin’?” She points again and I hear his audible gasp before he turns to us and says, “It’s Chet.”

Chet. One of the motherfuckers who will feel the wrath of our club.

“Hawg, keep digging. I’ll get on the phone and reach out to Dragon as well as Raptor so they can start nosing around. In the meantime,…”

He doesn’t get to finish because Ryleigh appears in the still-open doorway. “Brick? My water just broke.”

He doesn’t miss a beat even though Rory’s question has opened up a whole new can of worms, as he slams the gavel down and states, “Church adjourned!”

“I’m sorry I broke into y’all’s meeting,” Rory whispers in my ear as we wait for Brick to tell us how Ryleigh is doing.

“It’s not permitted, but I think you’ll get a pass this time, minx. And even though this is now club business, I will say that it appears that Patrick was part of a club that used to be based here. It’s the club that took Ryleigh, sweetheart. One that RiffRaff thought they’d wiped out a long time ago.”

“I like him.”

“Who, RiffRaff?” I ask, momentarily distracted by her scent. Under any other circumstances, I’d pick her up and find a quiet spot so I could fuck her. Except, my only blood family member is about to bring her baby into the world, so I quickly get myself under control.

“Yes. He’s got so many stories about you and Brick from when y’all were kids,” she replies, giggling.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s full of bullshit,” I advise.

“Mmhm, guess that what he told me as to how you got that scar was just fiction, huh?” she teases, lightly brushing her fingers over the small mark over my eye.

“Depends. What did he tell you?”

“That you, Brick, Kracken, and Scythe decided you wanted to try bungee jumping, so you got some cords, tied them together, then jumped from the roof.”

I grimace at the memory. It was a few years after Ryleigh was taken, and we thought it would be good to try something out that we’d seen on a video. Me crashing into the ground after whacking my face on a tree branch as I fell because the cords separated is something I’ll never forget. Head wounds bleed like a motherfucker and when I walked into the clubhouse, RiffRaff nearly lost his mind.

“Yeah, that one was true, but I was the only one who got hurt.” Because I had gone first after a rock, paper, scissors game that I won. Some win; I got ten stitches and nearly lost my eye.

“Y’all were holy terrors,” she replies, giggling.

The door to the waiting room finally opens and I see Brick standing there with a grin so wide, I’m surprised his cheeks don’t split. “It’s a girl!”

After seeing my sister and holding my niece, Aubree Brianna, who looks just like Ryleigh did as a baby, we head back to the clubhouse. I’m anxious about the future now; because it won’t take much for Patrick’s brother to figure out that we were involved in his disappearance since Rory’s now with me. However, first, we’re going to celebrate my new niece.

The end…for now