Tom worried about Maya. No matter what the outcome was, Maya would be changed. He hated that. The girl was too sweet and innocent to be drug into a war, but it really seemed that Troy was good for her. The short time they had been together changed her in a good way. He forced her to remember to have fun in life. She wasn’t afraid of everything anymore.
“I’ll worry about that when Jake’s gone,” Tom finally answered. He couldn’t answer a question he didn’t even know the answer to. “I think we’re done here,” he pointed out. “Not much else to do until the crew gets here.”
~***~
The sun was shining through the window when Troy attempted to open his eyes. His face had somehow gotten even worse through the night. He didn’t even want to know how bad he looked. He was surprised his appearance alone didn’t scare Maya away.
Maya.
It had taken a few minutes for Troy to realize he was alone in the bed. He jumped up and bolted for the door.
“Maya!” he shouted as he entered the living room. Jeremy and Chloe were sitting on the floor playing a game with Mason. Maya was nowhere to be seen. “Have you seen Maya?”
Chloe shook her head. Jeremy jumped to his feet. “How long as she been gone?” His phone was already in his hand ready to send a call to his old man.
Troy frantically shook his head, sending flares of pain to his face. “I don’t know. I just woke up and she was gone.”
With a look of disgust and terror, Jeremy pulled the phone from his ear and began to furiously type out a text message. “How do people live out here without cell reception?”
If he wasn’t so terrified, Troy would have laughed. He had often thought the same thing. Troy pulled out his own phone and attempted to call Tom with no luck. He was tempted to call Maya’s house, but he didn’t want to worry anyone else if she wasn’t there.
Mason began to cry with all the commotion. Chloe attempted to calm him down while Troy returned to his room. He reemerged with a note in his hand.
“She went to check on Gavin!” he announced. “Alone! Why wouldn’t she wake me?” Troy was shaking. What is something happened to her? He looked at Jeremy. “You didn’t hear her?”
Jeremy turned red as he shook his head. He had spent most of the night in Tom’s room talking to Chloe and had fallen asleep next to her. He had only returned to the living room about twenty minutes before Troy came out.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said, attempting to calm Troy. “We will find her.”
The door to the apartment opened and Tom and Duke walked in with an inconsolable Cody. Cody’s tears turned to anger when he saw Troy.
“What the hell did you do with her?” Cody screamed.
“What are you talking about?” Troy asked. “Have you seen Maya today?”
“Cody saw Maya walking toward her house this morning,” Tom spoke up. “A couple of guys rode up alongside her on bikes.”
“I heard her scream,” Cody continued as he eyes shot daggers at Troy. “I saw her try to fight you off before you threw her over your shoulder and rode away with her.”
“Me? I’ve been here.” It took Troy a moment to realize what Cody was saying. It hadn’t been Troy he saw abduct Maya. His eyes narrowed. “Jake,” he said quietly. “I’m going to kill him!”
Troy grabbed a random sweatshirt from the couch and headed for the door. Tom jumped in his path and put his hands on his shoulders. “He won’t get away with this. We will get Maya back and Jake will pay for this,” he assured Troy, “but you can’t just run off blindly. You will get yourself killed. Then what would happen to Maya?”
“I can’t just let him have her,” Troy cried. “This is all my fault!” He collapsed to the floor and buried his face in his hands.
“What is going on?” Cody shouted. “He took Maya! I saw him!”
Tom shook his head. “It was Troy’s brother,” he explained. He looked over to Jeremy. “Where is Stacie? No one was supposed to leave the apartment.”
Again, Jeremy’s face burned. “Stacie is downstairs,” he said quietly. “We weren’t sure if you were going to keep the restaurant closed today or if she needed to get ready to open.”
Tom hadn’t even considered the business. If he opened, he would be significantly short staffed. Obviously Troy and Maya wouldn’t be there. Chloe wasn’t even scheduled to works, so she wouldn’t have a babysitter. He had no bartender.
If he kept it closed, people would realize something was wrong. Especially on a Saturday. He looked around at half of his staff that was currently hiding in his small apartment.
“Chloe, do you think you and Stacie can manage to run the bar only today?”
Chloe nodded but she glanced at Mason. “I have no sitter.”
“Cody? I know you have helped Maya with before. Mason knows you. Jeremy, I want you back and forth between here and the bar. I doubt Jake would come back, but we need someone close just in case.”
Jeremy and Cody both nodded. Cody still had no idea what was going on.
“Jeremy, bring Cody up to speed,” Tom instructed. He moved his attention to Troy and Duke. “We need to find Jake. We can’t wait for the other guys.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and headed out the door. Troy and Duke followed.
Cody was more confused than ever. He looked back and forth between Chloe and Jeremy. “What the hell is going on? Who are you? Why isn’t someone calling the cops?”
Jeremy sighed before he launched into his explanation of the entire situation. He wasn’t sure how much the kid knew, so he didn’t mention Tom’s involvement in the club or exactly how they planned to stop Jake.
~***~
“You really have no idea where they would be staying?” Duke asked Troy for the millionth time as they walked the streets of Deadwood looking for any sign of Jake or Maya.
Troy shook his head. “Last I knew, they were camping somewhere in Sturgis,” he said. “They wouldn’t be able to hold her captive in a tent. Someone would hear her.”
“Unless she’s hurt,” Duke pointed out. “Or drugged.”
The thought of Maya being either made Troy sick to his stomach. He chewed his lower lip as he bit back the bile from the back of his throat. Tears stung his eyes as he tried not to imagine the horrible things Maya could be enduring at the hands of his brother.
Tom put his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault,” he said as though he could read the boy’s thoughts.
“None of this would have happened if I never would have come here,” Troy mumbled. “If I would have just kept going any of the times I tried to leave, this wouldn’t be happening.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. I’m pretty sure Jake set his sights on Maya that first night. This might not even have anything to do with you.”
Troy shook his head. Sure, it was possible that Jake’s interest in Maya was purely coincidental, but he doubted it. Somehow Jake had connected the dots. He knew Troy had lied about Chloe. He knew the only way he could truly break Troy was through Maya.
Troy nodded toward an empty spot in the parking lot. “My bike is gone too,” he said quietly as the three men squeezed into the cab of Tom’s beat up pickup truck.
“By the end of today, we will have both back,” Duke promised. The missing motorcycle infuriated him more than anything else. He didn’t understand how Troy felt with Maya missing, but taking the bike was just going too far.
Duke had never been in love himself. His own marriage was more for convenience than love. His heart belonged to the club, not some girl. He didn’t even shed a tear when she divorced him and left him to raise their son alone when Jeremy was just a boy.
After seeing what losing Julia had done to Tom, Duke had realized that love made a man weak. Being the leader of the club, he couldn’t afford weakness.
Now stealing a man’s motorcycle on the other hand. Duke would kill the man who even thought about touching his bike. He had killed for a lot less.
The drive to Sturgis was silent. Each ma
n was consumed by his own thoughts. They all had different reasons, but they all wanted the same thing.
Jake Jackson had to die.
Of course his death would come with consequences. None of them expected that killing the leader of the MC would be easy, but they all knew it had to be done.
They drove through every campground in Sturgis, but there was no sign of Jake, Maya, or Troy’s missing bike. Defeated, they drove back to the apartment.
Jeremy was behind the bar when the three men walked in. He looked hopeful, but a stiff headshake from Duke brought his mood right back down. He called out to Stacie to let her know he was leaving as he followed Tom, Troy, and Duke upstairs.
Cody was in the living room watching cartoons with Mason when they entered. He jumped to his feet.
“Did you find her?” The defeated look from Troy told him all he needed to know. He slumped back onto the couch while the men shut themselves in Troy’s room.
“Back to the original plan then?” Jeremy asked when they were alone. He looked at his watch. “The rest of the guys should be here soon.”
Troy was confused as his eyes darted from face to face. “Original plan? How is letting Jake kill me going to bring Maya back?” He looked at Tom. His eyes demanded answers. He didn’t care what happened to him as long as Maya would be okay.
Tom sighed and clapped Troy on the shoulder. “Son, we were never going to let Jake kill you,” he said as they finally told Troy their plan.
Troy was stunned. He wanted to be furious that they planned on going against his wishes, but he couldn’t. “Why? You don’t even know me. Why would you do that for me? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“You already had your mind made up,” Tom reminded him. “We don’t have much time.”
Troy knew Tom was right to keep their plan from him, but it was grateful that they had plotted behind his back. It didn’t matter what happened to him, but Maya had to be okay, and Jake had to pay for getting her involved.
He shook his head when Duke went to hand him a small handgun. “I can’t be armed. They will make sure of that.” He didn’t want to mention how much he hated guns in the first place.
Despite the hatred he felt for his brother, he honestly doubted that he would even be able to kill him. He wasn’t sure he could end a life at all, even a life as evil as Jake’s. He would have to put his faith in Tom, Duke, and the crew that still hadn’t arrived.
Duke was pacing around Troy’s room, constantly checked his watch. His club was late. They should have arrived by ten, but it was nearly eleven and there was no sign of them.
“We might have to do this without them,” Tom said quietly. “They must have run into a storm.”
Despite the brightness of the sun that had woken Troy that morning, the sky had grown dark. No rain fell, but it hung heavily in the air. It was only a matter of time.
Tom gave Troy a few last minute instructions while he headed for the door with Duke. They had to get to the tower before Jake or they didn’t stand a chance. They had already wasted too much time searching for Maya.
As Tom reached the door, he turned back and wrapped his arms around Troy. “Be careful,” he said with a small tear in his eye.
“You too,” Troy replied quietly.
His bedroom was too quiet with Tom and Duke gone. Jeremy had returned downstairs, leaving Troy in the apartment with Cody and Mason.
Looking at Mason for the first time, Troy could definitely see the family resemblance. It was a shame that they kid had to grow up without a father, but he was definitely better off without a father like Jake.
Cody caught him staring at the child. He looked back and forth between Troy and Mason. “He’s not yours, is he?”
Troy shook his head. “My brother’s,” he explained. He turned his attention to Cody, and for the first time saw how awful Cody looked. He clearly hadn’t been sleeping. His dark eyes were red from endless tears and covered in dark circles. The kid looked completely miserable.
They stared at each other for what seemed like forever before Troy broke the silence. “I never meant for any of this to happen,” he said truthfully.
Cody shook his head. “I still don’t really understand what’s going on,” he admitted. “Just bring her home. I was an idiot. I need her in my life, even if it’s just as friends. Just bring her home,” he pleaded. “I hope it’s not too late to fix things.”
Troy reached out and put his hand on Cody’s shoulder. “I will,” he promised as he moved toward the door. “She misses you, too,” he said before he finally left the apartment.
Jeremy nodded to him as he made his was the streets of Deadwood for what very well could be the last time.
~14~
I t only took Troy about ten minutes to walk to the trail that would lead him to Friendship Tower. He stared at the trail, but couldn’t seem to step onto it.
What would he find at the end of the path? What if Jake and his lackeys found Tom and Duke? Would Jake have Maya with him?
He had no idea what to expect. He wasn’t sure what to even hope for. Obviously he hoped that Tom and Duke hadn’t been found. If Jake had Maya with him, Troy would at least be able to see that she was okay, but she would be in danger. He didn’t want her to have to witness the violence.
If Jake didn’t have Maya, they would still have to find her when everything was over.
Staring up at the sky, Troy let a few tears fall. He needed to get them out and he refused to let his brother see him cry. The rain still held off, but it was only a matter of time. Thunder began to roll in the distance.
He needed to save Maya. Too many people depended on her. It wasn’t just him. Gavin. Her father. Even Cody.
He needed to make sure Jake didn’t walk away. And then he needed to get away so he didn’t hurt Maya again.
The last thing on his list would be the hardest. He had tried to walk away from her before, but after hearing her tell him she loved him, it would be the hardest thing he ever did.
He loved her more than he ever thought was even possible. He knew walking away would leave him completely empty, unable to love or be loved again, but it was clear that she wouldn’t be safe around him.
He wiped his tears and stepped onto the trail.
It was almost a mile hike to the tower, but he never stopped to look back. He noticed several fallen trees and brush piles large enough to hide a man, but he knew they were empty. Duke’s crew never showed up, and Tom and Duke would be hiding closer to the tower. Unless of course Jake had already found them.
Jake was standing along at the foot of the tower waiting for his brother.
“Right on time,” Jake said with a sadistic smile. He nodded to the bushes and one of his men, Ray, appeared and patted down Troy. Troy held his arms out to the side and didn’t even acknowledge Ray.
“Where is she?” Troy called to this brother once Ray confirmed he had no weapons.
Jake shrugged. “Where is who?”
“Where is Maya?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Damn it Jake,” Troy shouted. He was already getting tired of the games. “Where. Is Maya.”
“Oh, you mean the girl you thought I wouldn’t find out about?” Jake nodded toward the tower. “Her and your friends have a good view for this.”
Troy’s heart stopped. He squinted up at the top of the tower. He could make out two shadowy figures, but he couldn’t see for sure who it was.
“Let her go,” Troy insisted as he turned back to his brother. “She’s not part of this. Let her go and I won’t fight you.”
Jake laughed. The sound echoed through the clearing. “You are not in a position to be telling me what to do, little brother,” Jake told him.
“Why are you doing this? You never wanted me to be part of the club. Why won’t you just let me leave?”
“If I let you out, too many others will be wanting out,” Jake explained. “Tony. Trent. Al. I’m sure there are more. They all see you as their leader. They p
ut up with me, waiting for the day that you come to your senses and take over like Dad intended.”
“What does that matter? I’ve never been part of the club. I never wanted to lead,” Troy argued.
“They don’t care what you wanted. They only care about what Dad wanted. You were always his favorite. It’s not fair!” Jake’s voice grew louder with every sentence. “I’m the one in charge! I’m the one who kept the club together when he died. I’m the one that had to give up his freedom to raise a kid that I couldn’t even stand to be around!”
“You killed him!” Troy hadn’t meant to shout it out, but he needed to hear it from Jake.
“Yes I did,” Jake admitted. “A lot of good that did! Most of the guys were more concerned with you than keeping the club together! They agreed to name me president, but only on the condition that you would take over when you were eighteen.”
Troy shook his head. “I never joined. I didn’t want to take your precious presidency away. I didn’t want that life. I only stuck around because of Trinity.”
“And she only wanted you because you were supposed to lead,” Jake interrupted. “I know you really don’t think that they time you caught us was the first time!”
Troy shook his head. He didn’t want to think about Trinity. He instantly regretted even mentioning her name. “You got what you wanted. You got the club. You have me unarmed. Just let Maya go,” Troy begged. He was struggling to hold it together, but he couldn’t break down in front of Jake. He refused to give his brother that satisfaction.
Lightning streaked across the sky. A few seconds later, thunder followed. The storm was getting closer.
“The girl is mine now,” Jake said coldly. “She’s a bit young, but the younger ones are easier to train. She’s cute too. I’m sure the guys back home will appreciate her when I’m done,” he laughed.
Troy stepped closer to his brother. His fists clenched. He didn’t know how he could stop Jake. He didn’t have a weapon and they didn’t have a backup plan, but he would not let his brother corrupt Maya. Not while Troy could still put up a fight. He had to find a way to keep her safe.
Facing Fear Page 13
