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TWO

Rio

I’m in our underground bunker going through the inventory that our East Texas chapter sent down when BamBam comes running down the stairs.

“Prez!” he shouts as he runs to my side. “You’re needed at the gate.”

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” I question turning to look at him, my eyes piercing. I’ve been trying to get this done all fucking day in between the countless interruptions.

While some of our chapters run drugs, others run guns. East Texas just had a shipment of guns delivered to us several days ago, and I’ve been working to get the numbers squared away so I can broker a deal. We’re in a good position location-wise that we’re able to transport them over the border to the cartels. Once I’m sure of the stock that’s been sent, I’ll reach out to our contact and get the deal finalized, then launder the money through our laundromat before I have Pokey transfer it accordingly.

“You’re gonna wanna see this, Prez,” he says. “Starlight’s at the gate, chuffing and she seems to be in distress.”

“Issy’s horse?” I question, confusion dripping from my tongue as I continue staring at him, dropping the clipboard on top of the box I was working through.

“Yeah, Issy’s horse,” he confirms, following me back up the stairs and into the huge, industrial kitchen.

I don’t worry about locking the door since it’s got a biometric lock installed. Once it closes, the only brothers who can get in this space are those who are officers. Concern thrums through me as I make my way outside to the Ranger that BamBam brought since the gate itself is nearly a quarter mile away. He jumps in, fires it up, puts it in gear then I grab the oh shit strap as he floors it to the front gate.

“Is Issy with her?” I ask. She had a show this weekend and was taking both horses.

She was putting on a dressage exhibition with Starlight and running the barrels with Stargazer.

For further confirmation so I can discern what it is we’re looking at in regard to the seriousness of this situation, I ask, “What about Stargazer?”

“No to both. It’s just Starlight,” BamBam says. “Something’s not right, Prez. I also had a missed call from Gage.”

“Gage? He drove the truck with Gazer in it to the rodeo, right?” I query, still trying to puzzle things through and assess the problem.

I feel as though I’m behind the eight ball right now and if Issy’s in danger, I need to see all the pieces clearly.

“Have you called Gage back yet?”

“No, I was about to when Starlight showed up. Figured it was more important to get you up here first, then we can call him back to see what he wanted,” BamBam replies.

“Good thinking,” I murmur, my heart skittering as we approach the gate. One of the ranch hands, who isn’t part of the club itself, has a feed bag around Starlight’s neck, while another is working to fill a water trough. It’s obvious that Starlight is worn out. She’s got flecks of foamy sweat along her withers and flanks, and I can see her chest bellowing in and out as she breathes.

“Let’s hold up on the food and water for a few, y’all,” I call out as I approach the gate. “Give her a chance to cool down.”

“Sorry, Rio,” Pancho says. “Shoulda thought of that myself.” He carefully pulls the feed bag off and steps back from Starlight. “Sorry, old girl,” he murmurs as he starts wiping her down. “You just work on breathing, okay? We’ll give you some food and water in just a few.”

Pancho’s been around for-fucking-ever, and he’s good with not only our herd of horses, but those we board. He’s got ‘the Midas touch’ as I like to call it. So does his son, Luis, who stops filling up the trough and steps back.

Actually, so do I, but it’s not as evident these days since I’m running the club and don’t get many opportunities to work with our horses.

“No worries, Panch,” I reply, walking toward Starlight.

She whinnies and bobs her head up and down when she sees me, making me grin.

“Hey, girl,” I whisper, turning my attention to the mare that I’ve been around since the day she came into Isla’s life. Rubbing my hand up and down her neck, I ask, “Where’s your momma, old girl?”

She chuffs and nuzzles my neck, tickling my flesh as she blows heated air out of her nostrils while I look over her bridle.

“What the fuck is this?” I murmur, pulling it closer to me for further inspection. When I feel it’s wet, I pull my hand back and see that it’s oily with a crimson substance.

A sense of urgency fills me and hurriedly, I turn to BamBam. “It’s blood. We need to find Issy. Call Gage back now and put him on speaker.”

I don’t give that first fuck how ruthless I sound right now as I issue the urgent command. Issy, my Issy, is apparently in danger and I need to find her.

A-s-fucking-p!

“Wait!” I exclaim, holding my hand up. “Don’t say a word about Starlight being here. We need to figure out what’s going on first, okay?”

“Got it, Prez,” BamBam replies while staring at both Pancho and Luis. When they both nod, he pulls his phone out and hits redial then presses the speaker button.

“BamBam!” Gage yells through the connection. “Thank God, you called me back! Issy’s gone, and so is Starlight!”

I look at BamBam, my brow raised. For the time being, I won’t say anything, just listen to what Gage has to say. Sometimes, it’s their tone used and not the words themselves that give someone’s intentions away. Dubious or otherwise. Which is why I’ve been known to take my time when I’m working through something instead of jumping the gun.

“What happened, Gage?” BamBam asks, nodding at me to show he understood my nonverbal request. “Talk to me and don’t leave anything out.”

“We got Stargazer put up and Issy was taking care of Starlight. I’m not really sure what happened, though, because I woke up, beat to hell and back and the truck, trailer, and Issy were gone ,” he replies, sounding frantic.

Considering we’ve grown up and have gotten into our fair share of trouble, there’s something hidden in his words that have me frowning. But I can’t put my finger on what that is, so I continue to try and read between the lines as he breathes heavily over the phone line.

While there’s a slight ring of truth in what he’s relayed so far, there are so many holes in his explanation that my radar is pinging.

“Issy was by herself?” I bark out, deciding to enter the conversation.

“N-n-no,” Gage stammers, suddenly sounding more nervous than he was before hearing my voice. “I mean, she was, but just for a few minutes. After I knew Gazer was set, I grabbed a bottle of water for Issy and headed to her truck. She was feeding Starlight, so I gave her the water and was helping make sure everything was secure. I don’t really remember much after that.”

“What does that mean?” I growl.

“It means, when I woke up, I was outside on the ground, beat to hell, Rio,” Gage retorts.

I don’t like the tone he’s taking with me, but it’s not like he’s right in front of me where I can beat the shit out of him for being disrespectful. Plus, it’s not as though he’s part of the club per se, he’s just a hang-around and a friendly. The only reason he’s on the circuit with Issy is because I trust him to keep her safe.

Well, I trusted him before this turn of events, but that seems to be up for debate right now.

“So, you don’t know who took Issy?” I ask, my voice now silky soft. While my brothers know this means I’m heading toward the proverbial danger zone, Gage is clueless since it’s not a side of me he’s seen before.

“No, but there were some Devils roaming around the corrals this weekend and they took an interest in Issy, Rio,” he replies.

“Let me see if I understand you clearly, okay? Y’all saw some Mojave Devils around the rodeo this weekend and you didn’t think it warranted calling me? You know they’re an enemy to the club, Gage,” I spit out.

I take a minute to compose myself so I can get further answers from him. If I were to fly off the handle, he’d shut down.

Once I have control over my temper, I continue saying, “Not to mention, but some of the shit they’re involved in is beyond disgusting.”

“W-what do you mean?” Gage asks, his voice wavering and his communication skills becoming inarticulate.

“Human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking,” BamBam advises, a disgusted, contemptuous intonation littering his explanation. Bam loses his composure and tuts, “And you, forgetting to use any cells in your brain left Issy hanging in the breeze like that? Boy, if you were in front of me, I’d slit your fucking throat right now!”

I hide my smirk, because while I haven’t officially claimed her as mine, the brothers know she is, and they already protect her as though she’s the first lady of the club. BamBam, having come into our lives right after Paps died, has adopted her as his younger sister so he definitely isn’t taking Gage’s news lightly.

“Any idea which direction they might have headed?” I question through gritted teeth, already planning to reach out to Riptide, who’s the president of the East Texas chapter. Fuck, I should probably reach out to our New Mexico and Arizona chapters as well because they’re closest to where the Mojave Devils are based.

“N-n-no,” Gage stammers.

It hits me then with an electric current thrumming through my system. He used to stutter a lot when he was a kid, especially when he was nervous or lying. Then, he seemed to outgrow it, except whenever he was being deceptive while trying to cover his tracks. It’s one of his tells and I communicate with BamBam who nods once he realizes what I’m telling him nonverbally.

“Bring Stargazer back to the ranch,” I command. “We’ll figure out what to do next.”

With that, I reach over Bam’s shoulder to disconnect the call since it was still in his hand and order, “Pancho, Luis, y’all get Starlight back to her stall and take care of her.”

“Got it, Boss,” Pancho says, reaching for Starlight’s bridle so he can guide her to the enclosure.

She rears back, whinnying in alarm and I watch as she pulls away from him then starts trotting off. “Wait! She might know where Issy is,” I state, holding my hand up so they don’t go chasing after her. “BamBam, can the Ranger handle the terrain?”

“It’s what it was built to do, Prez. Get in and let’s follow that horse,” he replies.

Hang on, Issy, we’re coming.