Page 43 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

mitch

Leaving Juniper was much harder than I expected it to be, but I was leaving her here for her safety, with my brother and his family to watch out for her.

I have a feeling Juniper knows why I’m leaving, and it is why, when I was about to go, her arms tightened around me, as if silently willing me to be safe while I’m gone.

She knows now that I will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

She is my family now.

I doubt she realizes how serious that part of my little speech last night was, but it’s how I feel.

I am going to do what I have to so we can live safely and happily, and fuck everyone else.

We deserve to have that. We deserve to just be together without assholes coming in between us, without lies, deceit, or anger keeping us apart.

Heading into the clubhouse, I blink at the cleanliness of it all. Shock is an understatement.

“Where have you been?” one of the members calls out from where he leans against the pool table in the middle of the room. He already has a beer in hand, and it isn’t even ten.

He is one of the old timers, one that Mick can’t rightfully dismiss without breaking our bylaws, but I have a feeling he would like to.

He comes out of the war room, waving me in, and I ignore the old man’s question as I head inside.

Mick closes the door behind me, and I glance around to see Cheat, Loki, and Atlas all at the table.

Cheat is using his laptop, his brows furrowed over whatever he is doing.

Atlas is looking at a physical map. There are lines and circles all over it, marking specific locations.

Loki is watching the both of them with a grim look.

“Thought you were at Rosemary’s.”

He shakes his head. “She went to Sienna’s,” he answers, and I nod my head, remembering the girl who helped out at the charity concert.

“She safe there?”

“He shouldn’t be able to make that connection. He’s been sloppy so far.”

“He’s been obvious so far, which is how we know it has to be him doing this.” Mick looks at me. “Unless you and young Weaver have been making enemies elsewhere.”

I give him a hard look.

“Yeah.” He chuckles, rubbing a hand over his beard. “Didn’t think she was the type.”

“She’s way too nice,” Cheat says, shaking his head as if thinking there is no way she should be caught up in something like this. He is right. She shouldn’t be. “It’s like kicking a puppy.”

I almost crack a smile at his comparison, but I keep myself in check. “Where are we at?”

“Well, from what I can tell, the police are still pondering, but don’t have a direction since they don’t know about Juniper’s place.”

“We could tell them, but I don’t think it would get us very far,” Mick offers, looking to me.

“No. I don’t need their involvement. They can think my stove was leaking if they want to sweep it under the rug.”

“Did you insure your guns?” Loki asks, knowing how full my arsenal was before it was seized.

“Most of them,” I answer, wishing I had access to them, but not giving a shit about the guns at the same time.

“Okay. Well, we know he’s probably running scared. I’ve got a call in to the strip club, but I can have some guys head down there if she doesn’t…” He pauses, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He flips it open when he sees who’s calling and places it to his ear.

I hear Cheat make a remark about “old man phone” before I listen in on Mick’s call. “Last night, huh? And you let him in?”

I’m about to start moving when I hear those words, my heart hammering in my chest at the thought that he is stupid enough to go somewhere I can easily find him.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Mick flips his phone shut and shudders. “She’s freaky, man.”

I glare at him, waiting for him to give me an answer. “So Aaron was there last night. Tried to get into the club, but the bouncers know not to let him in anymore. Said he drove off in the car he’s always using.”

Cheat pauses, his brows furrowing. “He’s driving the same car?”

“Dumbass,” Atlas murmurs.

Cheat moves on his computer, typing things in quickly. I lean over the war room table, wondering if he’s going to be able to find him fast now that we know.

“I’m not seeing him on city cameras,” Cheat says, and no one questions how he can get into city cameras that quickly.

Acton sure as hell doesn’t have them, except the one traffic camera on the one traffic light we have in the whole town.

Fall Springs, where we are right now, has even less than that.

“So he didn’t go into the bigger city, which just means he’s sticking to rural areas,” Atlas says, in a questioning manner.

“Why isn’t he just leaving? He did what he came to do and failed.” Loki growls the words, obviously frustrated with the situation.

He has no fucking idea.

I am ready to go find this motherfucker and lay him in the ground for what he did. Juniper’s worried expression flashes through my mind, and I double down on that feeling. I never want to see that look on her face again.

“He’s not leaving because he’s broke,” Mick says, crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s desperate, so that means he’s probably not fucking done trying to make a mess.”

I have a weird urge to text my brother and whip out my phone, pulling up Logan’s contact.

Everything okay?

I wait a few seconds, and he must be by his phone because his text comes through moments later.

All good here, bro.

I breathe out a breath of relief and refocus on the situation. “So where would he go?”

“Back to The Lodge?” Cheat asks, rubbing his chin.

“Can you check their records, see if he checked in or out?” Loki asks, and I shake my head.

“I don’t think he’ll go back to where he was staying before, plus he has no money. He’s either at a motel, or he’s sleeping in his car.”

“Check just in case,” Mick says to Cheat. “But you’re probably right.” He turns to me. “It’s pretty likely he’s not going to be able to afford it, and he’s not completely stupid. He’ll have to know that we’re looking for him.”

Where would he go next? I ask the question silently, thinking through all the possibilities.

The girls shut down the bar for the day, not only because they need the break, but to keep it from being an open vulnerability for themselves.

Annmarie was heading to Logan’s for the day, so she and Shelly weren’t on their own and to visit Juniper.

The only other place they went was…“The ranch.”

Mick looks at me, frowning. “Three Rivers?”

I nod grimly. “He knows I work there. He knows that’s where our family spends time.”

“Call CT,” Mick demands, and I grab my phone again, dialing him.

Voicemail.

I hang up and try Dani. “Voicemail,” I growl.

Then I call Jax again. Nothing.

Finally, I dial Felicity, and she answers. “Hey, Mitch! How are you guys doing? Is Juniper feeling better?”

“Felicity, where’s Jax?”

She pauses for a moment, surprised by my question. “He’s at the ranch. Why?”

“Try calling him. I think there might be trouble heading that way.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“I’ll explain as soon as I can. Just call him, please?”

I hang up and start out the door. All the guys file out behind me and head for their own bikes. I don’t question it, but I am surprised they’re willing to come. This is out of our territory. It is the ranch, meaning it is the cowboys’ area.

It is an unspoken rule, but a rule nonetheless. Though given how much the club has helped my family in the last few years, those rules are quickly becoming more and more blurred.

We ride loudly through our town and into Acton, staying on the outskirts of it and heading up through the winding roads of the mountains, getting to Three Rivers way quicker than we normally would.

I ride to the house, knowing the loud engine of my bike might spook whoever is in the rodeo arena and not wanting that on my conscience, along with everything else.

CT steps out of the barn, his hat blocking his face enough that I can’t tell his expression, but I march over to him.

“What’s going on?” CT holds out his hand for me to shake, then does the same for Mick when he shows up right next to me.

“I think Aaron is going to strike here next.”

“Aaron?” CT questions, and it nearly makes me growl in frustration. Why did that fucker have to make this so damn complicated?