“Morning, sweetheart,” Reese said.
“Steph here?”
“What?”
“Did you hear Steph come home?”
“When? This morning?”
“Overnight.”
“I didn’t hear anything. Why?”
“She texted me. Right after you fell asleep. She said she wasn’t feeling comfortable and wanted to come home. I told her I would be awake when she got home. I thought I would hear the door open. I guess I didn’t.”
“That’s okay,” Reese said. “Nothing to worry about. I’m sure…”
Reese’s voice trailed off.
Josie had already turned and was working her way to Steph’s bedroom. At the door, she paused for a second and shut her eyes. She wasn’t into the praying thing, but she said a silent prayer as she opened the door. She flicked on the lights and wanted nothing more than to hear Steph yell at her for waking her up.
“Josie,” Reese said. “What…”
“She’s not here,” Josie said, her heart instantly starting to pound.
The bed was messy and empty, just the way Steph always left it. Josie remembered the million times she’d told Steph to just take a minute and make the bed in the morning. But she never did.
Josie turned and tripped, falling into Reese’s arms.
“Whoa, sweetheart…”
“No,” Josie said. “She’s gone. She was supposed to come home. She said she was.”
“Wait,” Reese said. “Can you call her friend? Maybe she decided to stay?”
“What if something happened with the baby?”
“Josie, relax for a second. Do you have her friend’s number?”
“No.”
“Shit. Okay. Let’s go for a ride then. Do you know where her friend lives?”
“Uh, yeah. I think. Worst case, we can go to the diner. Ask…”
“I’ll call Zac,” Reese said.
“Call Zac?”
“He can track Steph’s number.”
“How?” Josie asked.
“Does that matter?”
“No. Sorry. I’m scared.”
Reese touched her shoulders. “Hey. Don’t be scared. Let me put a shirt on and we’ll leave.”
“Do you have to put a shirt on?” Josie asked.
Reese leaned down and gently kissed her. “It’ll give you something to take off later.”
Reese disappeared into the bedroom. Josie turned and looked into Steph’s bedroom.
Where are you? What kind of trouble did you find now?
She could only hope that Steph decided to stay at her friend’s house. Maybe she tried to say goodbye and her friend got mad and forced her stay. Whatever it was, she needed to…
Josie darted for the bedroom just in time to catch Reese putting on his leather cut.
“Sweetheart…”
She got her phone and tried calling Steph.
No answer.
She sent a text.
No reply.
She called again. Three more times.
“She probably has it on silent,” Reese said. “Come on, let’s go for a ride. I’ll call Zac. We’ll track her down.”
“I hate when she does this,” Josie growled. “Being pregnant…”
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” Reese said.
“Let me throw on a hoodie and I’m right behind you.”
Josie found a hoodie on the floor and pulled it over her head. She tucked her phone into her pocket and raced out of the bedroom.
She found Reese standing at the front door, with it open. He slowly looked back at Josie.
“Fuck.”
“What?”
Reese crouched and stood back up, turning to show something in his hand.
A phone.
Steph’s phone.
Josie covered her mouth. “No…”
“Shit,” Reese said.
He ran forward and threw the phone onto the table. Josie saw the screen and saw the missed calls and texts from herself. It took her a few seconds to really comprehend what was happening.
She looked at Reese. “She was here. At the door. And…”
“Deep breath,” Reese whispered.
“Don’t fucking tell me to breathe.”
Reese gritted his teeth. He took out his phone and started making a phone call.
Josie’s mind began to race.
“Those guys,” Josie said. “They took her.”
Reese moved the phone from his ear. “Who took her? What guys?”
“The guys you messed with. You killed the baby’s father.”
“Josie…”
“What if that guy knew. Digg? Aaron? What if he knew? What if Steph told him but never told us?”
“Shit,” Reese said. “Just wait a second…” He put the phone to his ear again. “Zac. Listen, brother… wait, wait, wait… what?”
Josie started to pace the kitchen. Trying to fight back tears because that would do nothing. She could call the police, but what would that get? If this was something to do with the MC’s fighting each other, that would only make things worse. And the police wouldn’t help without evidence and really good cause. Plus, the MC was stronger and had no laws to follow.
When Josie stopped and looked at Reese again, he stood there, stone faced. She knew that face. That was the face of a man going from a man, a lover, to nothing but an outlaw.
“Is it Steph?” Josie asked.
Reese gave a small nod.
“No,” she whispered.
Josie’s phone started to ring. She let out a yelp and jammed her hand into her pocket. She took her phone out and quickly dropped it to the floor. Her hands were shaking that badly. Falling to her hands and knees, she got her phone and saw it was Jefferson calling her.
“I can’t talk right now,” she said, taking the call. “I’m having-”
“Starla’s been hurt,” Jefferson said.
“What?”
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but it doesn’t look good.”
Josie lifted her head and saw Reese standing a few inches away.
“What do you mean it doesn’t look good?” Josie asked.
Reese curled his lip, even angrier.
Jefferson sounded out of breath. “Starla was attacked and she keeps talking about your cousin…”
Chapter Twenty-One
Hawk balled up another towel and pressed it against Starla’s head.
“She needs to go to the hospital,” Jefferson said.
“Shut up,” Levi growled. “She needs to tell us everything.”
Reese kept Josie behind him, knowing that she was ready to pounce. Things had finally exploded and of all things to have happen, Steph was missing. Josie’s idea that maybe the DRM came after Steph because of Digg being the baby’s father, that wasn’t true.
This was personal.
This was…
“Haney,” Starla said in a weak voice. “He’s the one. He works for some group that you work with. I’m so sorry.”
“You knew this all along?” Reese asked.
“No,” Starla said. She looked at Reese. She looked tired and beat up. “I swear. It was exactly like I told you.”
“He showed up here?” Reese asked.
“Yes. As soon as I saw him, I got nervous. He was alone though. So, I kept dancing, doing my normal thing. He sat in front of me for two hours and spent a lot of money. He wanted a private dance and I told him I couldn’t. I got off stage and stayed away until he left.”
“You didn’t think to call us?” Hawk asked.
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“You were fucking high, weren’t you?” Josie asked.
“No. Not high. Just… okay…”
“Okay?” Jefferson asked. “Are you out of your damn mind?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Starla cried out.
Hawk stood up and backed away. “You were supposed to call us, Starla. We could have had guys here to figure this out. We’ve been
looking for that prick for a little while now.”
“I didn’t know,” she said. Her eyes were dazed, and it was obvious she was feeling the hit to the head that Haney gave her.
Reese stepped forward. “Okay. We can get to this shit later. Right now, Starla, I need to know what happened. Exactly what happened.”
“I left and had the feeling I was being followed,” she said.
“Jesus Christ,” Levi said.
“I’m going to kill her,” Josie said. “My cousin is missing because of you.”
Josie jumped forward and Levi blocked her. She was quick to throw a punch, hitting Levi in the mouth. Reese dove back and wrapped his arms around Josie to get her away from Levi.
“It’s okay,” Levi said. “It’s okay.”
“Christ, sweetheart,” Reese said. “You have to control it right now. We’re going to find her. We’re going to end this. Okay? One step at a time.”
Josie started to cry, and Reese hated himself, but he had to break away from her.
He turned and walked right to Starla. He reached down and lifted her chin so she looked at him.
“You get one chance,” he said in a low voice. “If you don’t tell me everything, you’re going to have a matching hole in the other side of your head.”
“I came back here,” Starla said. “I thought someone would still be here. Nobody was. That’s when he showed up. He attacked me. He broke my phone. He hit me… he wanted his stuff back. Or the cash. I didn’t… I just… I said you guys had it.”
“Fuck,” Hawk said.
“That’s okay,” Levi said. “He knows we’re onto him for sure now. Let me call D.O. and see what he says.”
“Don’t,” Reese said. “This is about us. This club. He took Josie’s cousin. He must have been following us longer than we were following him. This is a personal attack on me and on Lasz.”
“VP, you can’t think…,” Zac started to say.
All Reese had to do was shoot a glance at him to shut him up.
Reese addressed Starla again. “What else happened?”
“I was on the ground and he told me he was going to take care of some business with you guys,” she said. “Then he was coming back for me. Next thing I knew, he swung something at my head. I was out cold.”
“I found her out back,” Jefferson said. “I thought she was strung out. But then I realized she’d been attacked.”
“You didn’t call the cops,” Brett said. “Smart man.”
“I called you guys,” Jefferson said. “Then I called Josie.”
Reese felt Josie step up next to him. Inches from Starla.
Starla looked at Josie and started to cry. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he would do this.”
“If my cousin gets hurt… or that baby… whatever he did to you… is nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you.”
Starla cried harder, lowering her head.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Levi said. “Jefferson. Put her in your car. Take her to the hospital. The story is that a man in a black mask mugged you and hit you in the head. I’ll call Winston to confirm the story.”
“Winston,” Reese said. He looked at Levi. “Son of a bitch.”
“What is it, VP?” Jason asked.
Reese looked around the room and nodded. “I think I know where Steph is.”
“If I tell you to wait here, will you listen?”
“No,” Josie said without hesitation.
“Right,” Reese said. He turned and saw Benny wrestling with a ripped-up jacket and a ring of keys hanging from his mouth. “Jesus, man, give me the fucking keys. We don’t have time to waste.”
Reese took the keys as Benny zipped up the jacket. He grabbed for a trucker’s hat with faded text and plopped it on his head of messy, greasy hair.
“Let’s go,” Benny said.
“Just tell us where you heard the noise,” Levi said.
“Nah, too far. I’ll show you the exact spot. Had my gun with me.”
“Should have shot then,” Brett said.
“Stop,” Reese said. “Zac, are you ready?”
“Fucking ready,” he said. He looked at Josie. “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
“You should stay here,” Levi said.
“I tried,” Reese said. “She’s stubborn.”
“That’s my cousin,” Josie said. “And this is my fault. I let this happen.”
“How is this your fault?” Reese asked.
“I let you back into my world,” Josie said.
Reese felt the wind get knocked out of him. Of all the things he’d been through in his life, that one hurt. Pretty fucking bad.
“Right,” Reese said.
He turned.
“Reese,” Josie said.
He ignored her.
“Stick to the plan,” Reese said. “Brett and Jason, take the sides. I’m taking the front. Benny, you unlock the unit and get the fuck out of the way. Zac, you’d better be in position when shit goes down. I will not stop until Steph and that baby are safe. I don’t give a shit if you have to bury me and hang my cut up, got it? Do not stop me from doing what needs to be done here.”
“VP,” Levi said. “Wait a second…”
Reese wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed Benny’s collar and started to walk. Benny stumbled and let out a yell as he tried to keep up with Reese.
Part of Reese wished this were at night. Prowling around in the dark was better suited for the MC. But that didn’t matter. They were going to do this in the daylight. And there was a chance they’d open the storage unit and find nothing. That this was just a bad coincidence. But after all these years, Reese had a feeling for this stuff. And he knew how this was going to do go down. Haney took Steph because she was an easy target. Being naive and pregnant gave him a really big bargaining chip. Chances were, he’d want his drugs back, along with cash, and probably a lot more too.
If Haney had been smart, he would have taken off with Steph. Instead, he put himself in a cage and he was done for.
“Right up through here,” Benny said.
“Whisper, man,” Reese growled. “We have to be quiet at this.”
“Right, right,” Benny whispered. “Heard the noise up here. Thudding and stuff. I tried to check and didn’t see much. It was dark out though. My mind was messing with me…”
“That’s the booze,” Levi said.
“Yeah, maybe. I thought I saw something. Who knows? But I heard something for sure.”
“How far now?” Reese asked.
“Right up there,” Benny said. “I think the second one in.”
“Second one in,” Reese said. He looked over his shoulder. “Everyone, take your position.”
Reese broke from Benny and hurried to the storage unit. He used the key Benny had shown him for that unit. He stuck it into the lock and twisted. It popped with ease. He opened the door, not giving a shit about the noise. He pulled his gun and was ready for a war.
Except he stared at nothing but boxes. Floor to ceiling.
“Fuck,” he said.
He turned his head, ready to point his gun at Benny. The old bastard had probably been drunk when he saw and heard the noise.
He made it two steps before he heard a noise.
It sounded like a cry. From the storage unit next to the one where he stood.
Before he could give an order, Josie jumped at the unit and started to slam her fists against it. “Steph! Steph! Steph!”
“Godammit, no,” Reese said.
But it was too late.
A voice screamed from inside.
It was Steph.
Reese ran toward the storage unit.
Then came the sound of a gunshot.
Everything moved really fast then. Brett and Jason stormed the front of the storage unit. Levi pulled Josie away. She turned, screaming and thrashing. Reese threw the keys at Benny.
“Open this!” he ordered.
“Let me find the key,” Benny said.
&n
bsp; Reese took out his gun and unloaded it on the lock until it exploded with sparks. He wasn’t thinking as he opened the door, not knowing whether it was just Haney in there or maybe an entire crew. It could have been an ambush from the runners themselves, setting up the MC for a deadly attack.
But Reese didn’t care.
The door flew open and Reese put his arms out, knowing that Brett and Jason were trigger happy.
“She’s pregnant, brothers,” Reese reminded them.
The storage unit had a small, circle carpet in the middle. Tables on each side with a lot of drugs on each. Scales, lights, a full inside operation for the junk that the MC worked hard to keep out of their town. Steph sat on the ground with her hands and legs tied. She had a cloth around her neck that had probably been around her mouth. Standing right behind her, gun drawn, was Haney.
“You know the routine,” Haney said.
“Drop them,” Reese said to Brett and Jason.
“VP…”
“Do it now,” Reese yelled.
Brett and Jason put their guns down.
“Now leave,” Reese said.
“What?” Jason asked.
“Leave. Right now.”
“Good call,” Haney said.
Reese showed his hands. “Look, man, this has nothing to do with her.”
“Yes, it does. It’s all tied together. You know that.”
“Your crew knows about you,” Reese said. “D.O. ratted you out to us.”
“I know. I saw. I’ve been working this deal for a long time. I need to finish this.”
“Then finish it,” Reese said. “We’ve got your drugs, man. We kept it from Starla because she can’t handle that. Now, me and my guys… we can talk about this.”
“You don’t deal drugs.”
“No, we don’t. But we can move them. Out of this town. Through. We can offer protection that nobody else can. Imagine what happens when D.O. sends the boys to come for you. And then we’re right behind you. Fuck, man, we can take D.O. out and make you the top runner. What do you think?”
“I think…” Haney started to pace but never took the gun away from Steph. “I think… fuck you.”
“Please, help me,” Steph said. “It hurts…”
“Steph, keep breathing,” Reese called out. “Don’t worry. I’m going to help you.”
The Devil's Curve: a Back Down Devil MC romance novel Page 19
