by Lane Hart
“She’s coming back,” I say in relief.
Then, like a scene from a horror movie, I can only watch with dread as a van pulls up beside her. I want to yell at my best friend to keep walking, to go into a store or run away. But it’s no use.
I know what’s going to happen before it even does, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing when the men grab her, forcing her into the van so quickly no one around seems to notice.
“Oh god!” I say as I cover my gaping mouth and tears stream down my cheeks when the van speeds away with Tessa inside. “She’s gone!”
“We’re going to find her,” Roman says, but his words don’t give me even a shred of hope. How can he make such a ridiculous promise when we have no clue who those men are, where they took her, or-or what they’ve done to her? And what they’re doing to her right now as I sit here, unable to do a goddamn thing to stop it!
“We will find her,” the arrogant bastard says again.
“How, Roman? You’re not omniscient!” I say as I jump to my feet and pace around the bedroom floor. “You don’t know any more than I do about where she is or who has her!”
“Not yet, but I will,” he says when he stands up and blocks my path. “Do you hear me, Charlotte? We will find her.”
“When? Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? It’s already too late! She could already be…”
“It’s not too late.” He cuts me off before I can voice the worst imaginable thought. “You need to stay optimistic here, okay?”
“How? How can I stay optimistic? My best friend is gone, and-and right now the most god-awful things imaginable are probably being done to her, and it’s all my fault! I brought her here. I’m the one who suggested we go to your stupid club last night, and now she’s gone and may be hurting all because of me!”
“This isn’t your fault,” Roman says as he grips both of my shoulders tightly. “The only person or people to blame are those fuckers in that van! But you can bet your ass that I will find them and make them pay for this!”
“Don’t make promises to me that you have no possible way to keep!”
“You haven’t known me very long, but I always keep my promises. It’s only been a few hours. My guys and I will track down the van and find her even if we have to knock on the door of every hotel on the goddamn strip”
Now, seeing the determination on his face, the hardness in his eyes and stubborn jut of his chin, I want to believe him; that he cares and that he’s going to do everything he can to help us find her.
“Th-thank you,” I say before I bury my face in the front of his shirt and the first of many sobs erupt.
How could this happen? I should’ve kept a better eye on Tessa. She shouldn’t have ever left the building without one of us, true, but we had all been drinking, me less than everyone else, which is why I should’ve noticed when she left and went with her.
“I know what you’re thinking, Charlotte,” Roman says when he wraps his arms around me and rubs his palms up and down my back. “But if you had gone with her, then both of you would probably be missing right now.”
Maybe so, but maybe not.
I stand there in his arms for god only knows how long, crying while he keeps me upright. Before, when I knew Tessa had disappeared, I couldn’t figure out what to tell her fiancé. Now, with what we know, how the hell am I supposed to tell him that the woman he loves to death was taken by a group of men?
“How about I get one of the girls to come in here and sit with you?” Roman asks when he guides me to the bed and urges me to take a seat. “I need to fill the rest of the guys in. They’re waiting for me back at the clubhouse right now so that we can get to work.”
“I’m going with you,” I tell him.
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” I say as my fingers wipe away the dampness from my cheeks. “I have to do something. I can’t just sit here! Please!” I look up at him and beg him to bring me along; because if I have to just sit around in this house, unable to do a fucking thing, I’ll lose my mind.
“Fine, but we need to leave soon.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I say when I try to stand up from the bed and Roman grabs my arm to help me stay steady. “First, though, I need…I have to call Paul.”
“Who?”
“Tessa’s fiancé,” I answer. “And then I need to tell the other women what you found out.”
“Tell them and then tell them to go home,” Roman suggests. “If this happened to Tessa in my town right in the middle of the street, then it could happen to them too. I have a feeling it’s not the first time those assholes have grabbed a woman. Send them home.”
“The girls won’t like that, not being here to help...”
“Too bad. I’ll close this entire fucking town to everyone if I have to until we find her. Convince them to go home and stay safe, so I have a few less things to worry about. Because when I find out who these people are, we’re going to war until every single one of them is dead.”
Chills run down my spine at hearing Roman make such a violent threat. I actually believe him, that he will truly kill the men who are responsible. Right now, in this moment, that’s exactly what I want him to do. It probably makes me a horrible person, but Roman is right. I doubt if this is those bastards first time kidnapping a woman. Even if they haven’t touched Tessa, she must be terrified.
“Okay,” I say, voicing aloud that I condone and will support his vicious methods. “Okay,” I repeat, more to myself before I take a deep breath. Grabbing my phone from the bed, I finally have the courage, thanks to Roman, to dial the number I’ve been dreading calling. While I may not have any answers for him right now, at least I know I have someone just as determined as I am to find Tessa and punish the people responsible.
“Charlotte?” Paul answers the phone right away.
“Hey, Paul,” I say.
“What’s wrong?” he asks automatically, likely able to tell by my sniffling that I’ve been crying and knowing I would never call him randomly unless it was important. “Is Tessa okay?”
“I’m…I’m so sorry, Paul,” I start. “She’s…something’s happened to her. We’re going to do everything we can…”
“What do you mean something happened to her? Was she in an accident? Is she going to be all right?”
“No, it wasn’t an accident. It was…” I look to Roman, who is listening to the conversation silently. “I can’t,” I whisper to him. “How do I tell him?”
“Here, let me have the phone. I’ll do it,” Roman offers, holding out his big palm.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yes. He’s going to want to know as many details as he can get about the woman he loves, even if they’re awful.”
I nod as more tears come pouring from my eyes and I let him have the phone.
“Paul? This is Roman McNamara, a friend of Charlotte’s. Look, man, I’m gonna be honest with you. This isn’t something that’s easy to say, but first, I want you to know that this is my city. I’m in charge of it and have more authority than the fucking mayor and entire police department combined.” After that proclamation, he goes on to deliver the gut punch. “Tessa has been missing since around midnight last night, but we are going to find her as fast as humanly possible.”
While Roman leans his ass against a dresser and starts going into more details, I can’t keep listening. Hearing it all again makes it more real and even more scary.
Instead, I slip out of the room to go and break the news to the rest of the girls.
Chapter Six
Roman
“I-I’m coming down there!” the hysterical man on the other end of the phone informs me.
“Good. You should. I’m sure Tessa will want to see you as soon as we find her. Charlotte is staying, but the rest of the women are going home. You can crash in the beach house here as long as you need, as long as it takes, which I hope won’t be long...”
“I can’t believe this is fucking happening!” Pa
ul exclaims. “We’re supposed to be getting married in two weeks! I shouldn’t have let her go…”
“There was no way you could’ve known this would happen,” I assure him. “I’ve lived here my entire life; and if anyone had asked me yesterday the chances of something like this going down right in the middle of Ocean Boulevard, I would’ve told you it’s impossible, inconceivable, and I would’ve been wrong.”
“I just…I can’t believe it,” he repeats again.
“Look, man, I know it’s a lot to take in, and I know you want to get here as soon as you can, but do yourself a favor and let someone else drive you and stay with you to help you through this, okay? Don’t try and take on something this rough on your own.”
“Yeah, um, yeah,” he says. “I’ll get my brother to drive me.”
“Good. Have a safe trip and call Charlotte when you’re here so we can meet up and give you an update on our progress.”
“Thank you,” he says before he ends the call.
I really fucking hope I have good news for the poor man before he gets here in a few hours.
Heading out of the bedroom with her phone in my hand, I go look for Charlotte to see if she’s ready to go. By now, my boys have probably played a hundred rounds of pool while waiting for me to get back there and start the meeting.
If I thought it was painful to have Charlotte crying like a baby on me until my t-shirt was soaked and not being able to do anything for her yet, it’s nothing compared to seeing all four of the women sobbing simultaneously.
They don’t think they’ll see their friend again. And while a part of me thinks it’s possible that we could find her too late, the resolute leader in me says fuck that nonsense. The MC and I will literally do whatever it takes to get Tessa back today.
“We need to go, Charlotte,” I tell her. “Unless you’ve changed your mind and you’re going back home with them?”
“No,” she says insistently when she lets go of Bev and dries her face with her hands. “I’m ready. Let me just say goodbye.”
“Clock’s ticking, and every second counts. I could already have at least fifty sets of boots on the ground searching…”
“I’m coming!” Charlotte says in a rush, moving her ass into high gear as she quickly hugs each of the women and then grabs her purse, darting right past me and out the door.
“Take care of her!” Bev calls out.
“I will,” I assure her. “You ladies get home and stay safe.”
Outside, Charlotte is already sitting in the driver seat of her car with the engine cranked. I walk up and rap my knuckles against the glass.
“What? Let’s go!” she says to me through the cracked window.
“You’re in no shape to drive. Get out. You’re riding with me.”
“I can drive!” she insists.
“Tick tock,” I remind her that we’re in a hurry.
“Fine,” she huffs before rolling up the window and shutting off the car. As she climbs out of the car with her purse on her shoulder, she tells me, “You better drive fast.”
“Like there’s any other way,” I remark before slapping my helmet on her head and quickly fastening the chin strap. “Hop on and let’s get moving.”
Back at the clubhouse, Charlotte follows me inside. When all the guys see me, they immediately lay down their pool sticks, put away their beers, and head into the chapel.
“Wait here while we meet,” I tell Charlotte.
“Why can’t I come with you?” she asks.
“Because it’s members only allowed through that doorway. That’s the rule.”
“You can’t make an exception? This is serious shit, Roman! Forget rules. You’re the president, and you can make an exception!”
I swear it’s like this woman knows my weakness for her and plans to exploit it in every way possible, including one that is not going to go over well with my men. Although, it would save time since I won’t have to answer all of her questions about what we find out from IT and how we decide to start the search.
“Fine. But you sit down and keep your mouth shut unless you have a reasonable question you feel you have to ask, all right? You can’t be bossy in there, Charlotte. That’s my room. The men take orders from me alone. Got it?”
“Yes,” she answers quietly.
Grabbing up one of the bar stools, I lead the way into the chapel where everyone has already taken their seat and are silently waiting for me.
I can practically hear all of their “What the ever-loving fuck?” thoughts when I sit the stool down next to my chair at the head of the table and a red-faced, tearful Charlotte climbs up on it. She crosses her legs at the knee and then rests her hands in her lap, the picture of obedience even though I have no doubt that she’ll be inserting her two cents loudly before this meeting is through.
“Everyone, this is Charlotte Newsom,” I announce when I pull my chair out and take a seat. “She understands that she is here under incredible circumstances as a friend of the MC, and that she will be seen and not heard while we discuss an urgent crisis in our city.”
“What crisis?” Abel asks.
“Give me just a second,” I say before I upload the surveillance video to an email and forward it to every man at the table. “I just sent you a video of Tessa…” I look to Charlotte to fill me in.
“Oh, um, her name is Tessa Singleton.”
“Tessa is Charlotte’s best friend, a bride-to-be who spent the week here with her friends. She was last seen on Ocean Boulevard, as you’re about to witness for yourself.”
I give them all time to open the file and watch. It’s obvious when everyone gets to the important part as they each let out various curses.
While they’re digesting the events, I call up Danny and put him on speaker.
“Roman. I was just about to call you.”
“Good,” I reply. “You’re on speaker in a meeting with all the guys and Tessa’s friend, Charlotte.”
“All right, so here’s where we’re at,” Danny starts. “We’ve talked to our contacts at the police station, and they refuse to share the video with the public until they complete their investigation, which is complete and utter bullshit. That’s why we’re ready to send it out to social media right now if you give us the green light. I’ve got our number here on the post for anyone with information to call.”
“We’re ready,” I instruct him. “Any objections?” I ask the guys as a courtesy, not that I really give a shit if they object.
“Do it,” Verek says, looking a little green.
“You okay, man?” I ask him.
“She was…I talked to her. We were dancing, right before,” he says as he stares at the screen of his phone.
“I know,” I tell him. “Danny, get the video out now. What else?”
“Like I mentioned before, we know it’s a North Carolina license plate, LVA eighteen-eighty-three.”
“That’s plenty to go off of. Have you run a search?” I ask.
“We have. The van is registered to Hessler’s Flooring Company in New Bern, and no surprise, it was reported stolen earlier this week.”
“Does Hessler have any video or anything showing who took it?”
“No. But we’re attempting to access some of the cameras in their neighborhood and here in the city to see if we can figure out where it went.” By ‘accessing’, I know he really means hacking. At this point, that may be all we can depend on since it was late and dark last night, probably flying under the radar as far as witnesses go.
“Anything else?”
“The four suspects appear to be white males in their twenties or thirties at most. The passenger has a black dagger tattoo on his lower right arm that he had resting in the open window. We’ll share the image with some tattoo artists in North and South Carolina to see if anyone recognizes their handiwork. If so, we may be able to get a name.”
“Great work, Danny. Keep at it and let us know if you get any calls with leads. Until then, the guys and I, along w
ith our hired staff, will split up and start on either end of the city, checking every hotel, every residence for that van until we get more specifics from you. Email or text all the Kings with any updates.”
“Will do,” he says before ending the call.
“Everyone got that?” I ask the men at the table who all give a solemn nod. “Then divide up who is going where and get started. Nolan, contact all of our employees. Shut down businesses while they get out to search.”
“Shut them down?” Nolan repeats in surprise.
“Shut them down. It’s the off-season, and we can afford the temporary closures. Right now we need more eyes on the streets.”
“Will do, prez,” he agrees.
“Marcus, can you contact the other chapters in North and South Carolina? Send them the video, license plate number and dagger tattoo information and have them check the highways?”
“I’ll have the email going out within the next five minutes,” he confirms.
“What are you going to do?” Charlotte asks me softly.
“You and I are going to pay a visit to the police chief to see if we can get him off his ass.”
“Good,” she says.
“Meeting adjourned,” I announce before slamming down the gavel. “Everyone communicates in a group text or email with all updates. Maybe Nolan can get the information to Danny to put one together with all the staff and members.”
“On it,” he says.
Chapter Seven
Charlotte
I have to admit that I’m impressed. Roman is an amazing leader. He’s smart and thorough. It was impossible to miss the way the other guys at the table looked at him with respect and admiration in their eyes. Those men would do anything for Roman, which hopefully means they will do whatever it takes to find Tessa and bring her home safe.
“In here, you can lose your cool all you want,” Roman says when he parks his bike in front of the police station.
