Page 57

CHAPTER

ONE

Jingles, age 31/32 (present day)

“Jingles, man, I need your help.”

Shaking my head to clear it since the call coming in woke me up, I look at the caller ID and see it’s Sleeper. “What’s going on, Sleep?”

“Someone took Belle.”

At his words, I sit completely up in my bed, instantly alert and awake. Over the years, I’ve seen his sister, and in a way, watched her grow from a precocious, mouthy preteen to a beautiful, outspoken woman. Just guessing, I think she’s at least twenty, maybe twenty-one by now. Shaking my head to clear it, I hit the speaker button as I get out of bed and begin to dress.

“Do you know where she was last seen?” I question.

“She was actually down around y’all’s club, which is why I’m calling you. Y’all are the closest to check around and see if you can put your eyes on her, and her best friend, Moira. They were going to do some shopping before they started their summer job at some camp. Hell, I can’t think right now, Jingles.”

“Take a few deep breaths. Tell me what you do know. What are they studying in college? Could they have hooked up with some of their friends instead? How do you know she was taken and isn’t off gallivanting somewhere with her girls?”

“Okay, hear me out. With some of the shit we’re involved with, she let me buy several pieces of jewelry for her that had GPS trackers in them. Same with her phone, I have one of those apps so I can see where she’s at whenever I want. I don’t bother her too much, brother, y’know? She’s got to learn shit and have experiences. I may not like the thought of her hooking up with someone, but she’s not a little kid anymore. Anyhow, she and her friend applied to be camp counselors at a camp down near y’all’s club. Some wilderness thing or some shit. I had our IT guy check into it, and he couldn’t see anything too bad with the business, they’re a bit over-the-top as far as being religious, but I didn’t sweat it, y’know?”

I push how hearing about her hooking up makes me feel to the back of my mind, since I’ve never before thought of her in that way, and focus on what my brother’s telling me instead.

“Makes sense about the jewelry and phone, Sleep. I know y’all’s chapter is into some things we’re not down here, but at the end of the day, we’re both Bastards, and I’ve got your back.”

That’s right, a few years back now, the Roanoke Raiders MC retired their patch and as a club, we became Royal Bastards. Now, wherever we travel, we’ve got brothers we can call on if we need them, and vice versa. The fact that in some small way I might be able to give something back to Sleep for all he and his club did for me when I was younger has me straightening up even more.

“Well, we went to dinner the other night and I teased her about falling for one of those religious fuckers. She and Moira, that’s her friend by the way, laughed, then said that the guys were too straightlaced for them. Told the two of them to keep their eyes peeled and if anything didn’t look right, to get the fuck out of Dodge, then call me when they were someplace safe.”

“So, what the hell happened that has you calling me at three in the morning?” I ask, as I continue to put a bag together.

“Her phone location has been shut off, and the GPS stopped moving. Of course, all of it is in the same general location. We looked at local cameras and saw a white van with no back windows pull up to Belle’s car, then when the girls approached with bags, they shoved both of them into the back of the van, and took off. Someone came back and moved Belle’s car, though, and I do have coordinates for that. Need you to go check it out and see if you find anything around or inside the car, then I’ll send you the information for the GPS, if that’s okay?”

I can hear the terror in his voice; knowing him as long as I have, I’m well-aware he’s a stone-cold killer when he needs to be. The fact he’s scared for his sister lets me know that something’s definitely up when it comes to Belle’s and her friend’s disappearance.

“Send me what you have, brother. I’ll also let Brick know in case he wants me to take someone with me since we don’t know what we’re possibly facing. Do you think you can send him the links so Hawg can do his thing as well?”

Hawg’s our IT guru, and he makes me feel like I’m a bumbling toddler most days because his intelligence is off the charts, while I barely got my high school diploma. I managed to squeak by and get it, thanks to the brothers in the clubhouse, as well as Brick, Ban, and Kracken, who studied with me, helped me catch up, and wouldn’t let me quit. Still, he doesn’t make me feel stupid, that’s on me. I’ve got street smarts in spades, but book smarts? Yeah, not in my wheelhouse. I’m just a cut-wearing, foul-mouthed, blue-collar kind of guy. And honestly, I’m perfectly fine with that; give me an ice-cold beer or two, a game of pool or cards with some of my brothers, and I’m content.

“Yeah, just… find her, Jingles. I’ve got a really bad feeling about the group they were going to work with, brother. Add in the fact that they’re both pretty girls, and well, you know if I’m right, I’ll burn the fucking East Coast down to get them both back.”

“I’ll do my best. Let me go see if Brick’s up so I can give him a head’s up.”

“Why would he be up?”

“Ever since they had their baby, he’s the one who gets up during the night with her so Ryleigh can sleep.”

“He’s a better man than me,” Sleep replies. “I like my sleep.”

“He is a good man,” I assert. “One of the best I’ve ever met.”

“No need to get your drawers in a wad, boy,” Sleeper teases. “I just know I’d have a hard time breaking my sleep up like that.”

“As many years as you’ve worked the night shift? I’d think you’d have no problem at all,” I retort. “Okay, send me what y’all have and I’ll see what I can find.”

“Appreciate it, Jingles. If… if you find them, make sure she knows I’m on my way.”

I hear fear in his voice, and am nodding even though he can’t see me. “Will do, Sleep.”

“Keep it shiny side up.”

“You do the same.”

My duffel waiting at the door, I head into our kitchen to see if I can find some caffeine. Coffee or a frosty soda; makes no difference to my system, I just know I have to have it since I’m going to need the extra energy boost if I’m going to head out looking for Sleeper’s sister. With the lack of sleep streaming through my system, the last thing I want to do is make any mistakes or become one with the asphalt.

“Hey, brother,” I quietly say when I see Brick with his little one curled against his chest, sound asleep and drooling.

“What has you up?” he asks, not lowering his own voice. At my raised brow, he smirks. “Ryleigh read something that indicates if you use your normal tone of voice when a baby’s sleeping, they won’t startle as easily. Personally, I think we should try that theory out in the shop office myself. If she can sleep with all the bikes revving and machines going, she can sleep through anything, even our rowdy voices.”

“Well, I guess it makes sense,” I reply. “What’s the word I want… oh, I know, it desensitizes her, and considering we all live here, it’s never truly quiet.”

“We’re at our place as much as we’re here, I really think because of how she grew up, Ry feels better when she’s around everyone.”

“I would too. None of us will let anyone harm a hair on her head, and considering she’s your ol’ lady and Banshee’s sister? Pretty sure the two of you would destroy the person who thought they could try to hurt her.”

“Absolutely. Now, what has you up at three fucking thirty in the morning? It’s a weekend, none of our shit’s open except the bar, and that won’t open until later. Plus, you don’t work it unless needed.”

“Got a call from Sleeper out of Cleveland, Brick. His sis and one of her friends were down here to be counselors at some camp or some shit like that, and they saw on some cameras their IT guy accessed where both girls were kidnapped.”

“Jesus, do you have any of the coordinates?” he barks out, standing, and pulling out his phone. “And you’re not going by yourself. Something like this requires back up. Let me get Kracken’s ass up. I’ve had word from one of the Texas chapters that there’s a group of scum who they’ve infiltrated, but before they could totally shut them down, several managed to escape and scatter. It’s possible they came this way and are dishing out some of their bullshit in our town. We need to nip that in the bud before they get too cozy and settle down in our neck of the woods.”

“Sleeper was sending them to me so I knew where to start, but he was also forwarding them to Hawg since I’m sure he’ll be able to dive into places that Sleep’s guy might be unaware of locally. Shit, I don’t know what I’m saying, they can probably all go there, right?” I question, walking over to the coffee pot.

Seeing that the pot is fresh, I pull down my favorite mug, pour a cup, and doctor it the way I prefer to drink it, then move over to the table where I sit down and pull out my phone. While Brick talks in the background, presumably to Kracken from the sound of it, I open up my texts and see one sitting and waiting for me from Sleeper with a bunch of added information as far as where Belle and Moira were when they were taken, where her car is currently located, and an approximate time of arrival.

At least I’ve got maybe five or so hours. The trip time is longer, but I’m positive Sleep isn’t going to be watching the speedometer, so I’m sure he’ll shave off at least an hour, likely more, in order to get down here.

“Yeah, Brother. We’ve got some of the best fucking IT guys in this club, someone will be able to find something to help us help our Cleveland brother. Kracken said he’ll be down in fifteen, Hawg buzzed in and is already headed into his office, and I’ll reach out to Dragon in Cedar Creek to have him send me whatever information he’s got on this cult so we can determine if this is the same group or not.”

“With all of us out searching, and our IT guys hitting the web, we shouldn’t have any problems finding them quick, Pres,” I reply.

Fucking famous last words.