Buzz’s voice sounded relieved. “I’ll call right away. We’ve alerted Ziggy and Will is on his way in. The Call Out has been sent, Boss.”
Watching his old lady as she got out of bed and spoke softly to Devil and Angel when they came to her he knew she would be coming with him. He was going to need her beside him today. Pulling his attention away from her he finished the call.
“Good. Get the vet out there and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Shutting his phone down he pulled a tee over his head then pulled his hair back and tied it with one of the damned fabric covered ties his woman insisted he use.
“Who took her? Do you have any ideas?” His little bird asked quietly as she brushed her hair.
“I think it might be Pesto and his crew. It’s way too sloppy to be the old bitch. They would never have left Will alive. He would have been a complication they would have taken care of before leaving with her.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Shaking his head he shrugged. “I’m not sure, baby. Buzz said the men reported that there’s a lot of blood in the front of the car. If the Harrisons took her she will get medical attention. If it’s Pesto and his crew she won’t.”
“Shit.”
No further words were spoken as they finished getting ready and left for the clubhouse. Hawk had never felt so grateful to feel his old lady warm against his back as he did right now. He was going to have to call Scar. But not yet, he first needed to get a handle on the situation and find out more before he called him. It wasn’t going to be a good call.
Minutes later Hawk stood at the bar and sipped his coffee but not really tasting it. The room was quickly filling up with his men. When Jagger and Crash came through the doors he silently prepared himself. They were going to go fucking ballistic. Especially Jagger. He didn’t even want to think about how Dizzy was going to take the news.
Putting his mug down he looked at his men looking back at him. All of them waiting to hear why they had been called out but knowing it wasn’t going to be good. He gave Beast a sharp look where he stood next to Jagger. Beast had no idea what the look meant but his chin lift indicated that he was prepared to react if needed.
“I called you in because one of ours has been taken. An hour ago Will was taken off his bike and Chris was snatched.”
There was a stunned silence and then a roar as Jagger tried to get to the door but Beast and Wolf held on to him while Crash had both hands braced on Jagger’s chest speaking to him quietly. Whatever he had said to his brother calmed him enough to listen to what Hawk had to say.
While Jagger had gone ballistic the same could not be said about Dizzy.
He stood in stunned silence shaking his head as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing. Boots and Spook stood on either side of him and Boots was saying something to him but it didn’t look like Dizzy was listening. His head lifted and when their eyes met Hawk saw the rage and pain in his eyes and prepared himself for an outburst. But there wasn’t one, Dizzy looked right at him, waiting to hear what Hawk had to say.
Looking around the common room then back at Jagger, Crash and Dizzy he continued.
“Here’s what we know. The vehicle that hit them was a black SUV and by the amount of blood in her car we know that Chris is injured. At this time we don’t know who took her. But make no mistake we will find them and we will get her back. We’ll make whoever took her pay.”
There were grunts of agreement and muttered hell yesses. He had one final point to make.
“Before we get out there to search for her there’s one more thing. Everyone here knows there’s shit going on between Chris and Scar. What you don’t know is that he’s coming back to fix what he fucked up. That means no one calls Scar. You fucking hear me? No one. I will call him when I can give him more than what we know right now.”
Hawk didn’t wait for them to process the information as he focused on what needed to be done.
“Ziggy, you and Kobus get on finding that fucking cage. I’m sure there’s visible damage to the vehicle and it happened in the early hours of the morning when there’s very little traffic on the roads. Somewhere it had to have passed through a traffic cam. Find it for me.”
He turned to Wolf next. “Talk to your old lady. Find out if there’s anything we don’t know about Chris. Anything at all.”
Wolf immediately shook his head. “There’s nothing, Boss. My old lady would have told me if there was anything dangerous in her background. Her parents are assholes who kicked her out because she refused to study law. That’s it. Chris is clean.”
Hawk nodded. “I know her history and I get it, brother, believe me I get it, but we can’t leave anything to chance. Talk to your old lady.”
Wolf gave him a nod and Hawk moved on.
“Jagger, brother, I need you at the accident scene. Brutus is locked in his harness on the back seat and he’s going crazy. We need him calm. Buzz called the vet but I want you there in case the pigs arrive and try to kill him.”
“Over my fucking dead body will they touch that dog.” Jagger growled. “Crash and I will take my cage and leave right now. Don’t worry about it, Prez, we’ve got this.”
With that the two men ran out and not long after they heard the roar of an engine and tyres squealing as they raced off. Hawk wasn’t done with handing out orders.
“We’re waiting for our doc to arrive to take a look at Will. Spider, I want you to sit down with him and talk him through from when they left the pub to when he crashed. Record it. Specifically ask him about the registration and identifying marks on the vehicle. Anything he remembers could be valuable.”
Spider nodded and left, walking down the passage to their medical rooms.
“Ice, Kid, Sin and Beast, you’re with me. We’re riding to the accident site. The rest of you, I want you to lock this place down tighter than a ducks ass. No one in or out without getting permission from me. Kahn, take over for Jagger and send out extra patrols to our perimeter, all gates are locked until further notice. Wolf, once you’ve talked to your old lady I need you and Dizzy to take over the gate from Buzz. I want everyone who was on duty during the night swopped out for fresh eyes. All of you get as much rest as you can because it’s going to get rough. That’s it, let’s get out there and find our girl.”
Grabbing up his now cool coffee he gulped it down and started for the doors only to have a small hand close over his fisted hand.
“Be careful out there, my Viking.” His old lady said softly and Hawk dropped his head and kissed her hard.
“I will, little bird. Be back as soon as I can.”
Jagger
When his headlights hit the crumpled car listing to the side in the deep drainage ditch fear clawed at his gut. It looked bad, really fucking bad. His brothers had parked their bikes with their headlights shining on the car. Jagger hit the switch to turn on the hunting lamps fixed to the roll bar behind the cab of the bakkie and the area was instantly brightly lit. By the debris field the lights revealed they could clearly see the path the car had travelled before it came to a stop.
“Holy fuck, Jag.” Crash’s voice was hoarse with strain.
Jagger kept his eyes on the crumpled car as he parked diagonally across the road. He didn’t give a fuck about traffic as he turned on his hazards, grabbed a leash and jumped out, leaving his door open, the interior light another beacon warning approaching cars. Crash was right behind him as he started down the slope towards the car.
“Brothers, fucking grateful to see you. I tried to talk to Brutus but he’s not hearing me over the noise his making.” Sludge said as they got there. They had moved away from the car obviously in an attempt to calm the dog. It wasn’t working.
Jagger could hear Brutus. He was growling but there was a high whine to the growl. The dog was frantic to get loose and find his girl. He hoped like hell the brute was going to listen to him.
“He constantly jerks against the belts hold
ing him in place, takes a rest then starts all over again. They’re too short for him to get his teeth on them, thank fuck.” Bok (Goat) said with a shake of his head. “If he gets loose we’re all fucking dead.”
The car creaked and metal squealed as Brutus started jerking against his restraints.
“Jesus, we need to get to him, Jagger.” Crash wanted to start for the car but Jagger grabbed his shoulder and held him back.
“We need to go in slow. Let him see and smell us as we get closer. He’s freaked out not only because Chris was taken and he couldn’t protect her, he’s freaked because his restrained and he has just gone through a traumatic experience. He can smell Chris’s blood all over the car and knows she’s hurt. No sudden moves and follow my lead. Okay?”
Crash nodded and they slowly started making their way down the slope to the car. Suddenly it became eerily quiet. Brutus had stopped moving and his eyes were on them as they approached. His lips were pulled back, his head up as he silently threatened them. Remembering what the dog trainer had taught him he slowly walked closer. No fear. No fear. No fear. Hammered in his head.
“Brutus, I need you to stay calm my boy. If you let me I’ll get you out of this fucking tin can. Can you do that for me, big boy?” Jagger kept his voice soft but filled with command.
On hearing his voice Brutus immediately tilted his head to the side, listening.
“We’re here to help you, Brutus. Do you understand? No fucking taking a chunk out of me because you’re pissed about some dumb fuck taking our girl. Okay?”
The big dog strained forward against the harness and the back seat creaked and groaned.
“Stop, Brutus.” Jagger ordered. “Stop pulling against the restraints, you’re hurting yourself.”
Dropping his head Brutus gave a low growl and fixed his eyes on him. Jagger blew out a heavy breath and moved until he was about one step away from the car.
“I’m going to try and open the door, boy. Brutus, sit. Sit.” Jagger felt his heart racing in his chest as they waited.
And then the big brute sat down. Thank fuck.
Slowly taking that last step to the back door he pulled on it but it was locked. Luckily the window was already broken and he broke away some shards before he slowly stuck his arm through. With his eyes on Brutus who was watching him intently he unlocked the door. But the thing was so damaged it only opened a few inches. Motioning Crash over the two of them grabbed the edge of the door and started forcing it open. All the time Jagger kept an eye on the dog. Once they had it open wide enough Jagger stepped into the opening and crouched down, getting on Brutus’s eye level.
“Now you listen to me, you big baby. I’m going to stick my fucking arm out to clip the leash onto your harness. Don’t fucking bite me, okay?”
Drawing in a deep breath he reached in and past the enormous head of the dog who was silently and intently watching him. Clipping the leash onto the harness he handed the end out to Crash.
“Hold him, Crash, as soon as he’s loose he might make a dash for it.” Jagger said as he reached into the car again.
He needed both of his hands to undo the restraints and he would have his arms around the dog, leaving his throat vulnerable. Looking at Brutus he slowly reached for him and rubbed a hand over the side of his face and the big dog gave a deep whine and pushed against his hand.
“I’ve got you boy, one more minute, just give me one more minute and we’ll have you out of here.” Jagger said quietly as he battled to unhook the special restraints that had kept Brutus from being flung around the car when it crashed.
The fucking things wouldn’t budge. The anchors had most probably been damaged during the crash and Brutus jerking against them hadn’t helped. Pulling back slightly he reached for his knife and Brutus rumbled at him.
“I need my knife to cut you loose, you ass. Shut up and let me do my job.” He kept his voice even and chatted to the dog as he pulled his knife free and started cutting the belts that held him in place. After what felt like an age they fell away from the dog’s body and Jagger slowly pulled away until he was once again crouched in the door.
“I’m going to take the lead and bring him out. I want everyone to step away and give us space. He might lunge to get free. You fucking stay right where you are. No one runs or we are going to have shit here.” He had raised his voice so he could be heard before he took hold of the lead close to Brutus’s head and clicked his tongue at him then used the words he had heard Chris use to get him in and out of her car.
“Let’s go baby boy.”
Brutus moved with him as if they had done this many times before when in fact it was the first time. He movements were stiff as he gingerly climbed out of the car and stayed close to Jagger’s side as they walked towards the bakkie.
“There’s blood all over the side of your tee, Jagger.” Sludge’s voice was quiet but worried.
“It’s his. He’s bleeding from a wound on his side. I’ll look at it as soon as we’re far enough away from the car.” Jagger answered as he continued walking to the bakkie. They were almost at the vehicle when a car came racing towards them and pulled to a stop next to the bakkie. Brutus stopped in his tracks and refused to budge.
Relief rushed through him when a woman stepped out of the car and he saw it was the vet. Brutus must have recognised her too because he started moving again.
“He’s bleeding on his right side. I haven’t been able to have a look as I just got him out of the car.”
She nodded quickly. “Bring him to my surgery. If he needs stitches I want to be able to numb the area and not hurt him more than necessary.” With that said she hopped back in her car and raced back the way she had come.
Loading Brutus into the bakkie was a bit of a mission but eventually he climbed into the back seat with him and Crash drove them to the surgery.
Now that he had him sitting next to him he could finally see the deep gash across the dog’s shoulder. He had seen gashes like that before but not on dogs, on humans. It was a gunshot wound.
Someone had shot at Brutus. “They fucking shot him.”
Crash’s head jerk around to glance over his shoulder. “How bad?”
“A deep gash across his shoulder, thank fuck. A few centimetres to the side…” He didn’t finish the sentence, there was no need.
Dragging his tee up over his head he bunched it up and pressed it against the wound. Brutus sat stoically, not flinching or moving.
“Crash, let Prez know Brutus has been shot and we’ll be at the vet’s.”
Jagger silently swore that when he got hold of the fucker who had shot at Brutus and had taken Chris they were going to regret ever drawing breath
Standing next to the examination table in Dr Versveldt’s rooms Jagger was amazed that Brutus hadn’t protested being touched. But he lay quiet as the doc worked on him.
“The bullet put a nasty gash in his shoulder. I’ve pulled the skin back together and stitched it but I think it still might leave him with a scar. Poor boy, he has enough of those already.” She said as she rubbed between his ears. “The x-rays showed no damage to his bones but he’s going to be muscle sore for a day or so. Keep him from doing anything too strenuous. We don’t want him tearing open his stitches.”
Jagger nodded. “I’ll do that. Thanks for taking care of him.”
“Call me if there’s any change in his condition or if something worries you. And please let me know how Chris is doing.”
He felt like shit that he had to lie to her but he didn’t want her pulled any deeper into club business.
“I will do. Let me get the big guy home.” He nodded at Crash and between the two of them they helped Brutus off the high table, the big boy was still groggy and it looked like they might have to support him as he stood swaying a bit.
“I almost forgot, sorry.” The doc shook her head with a roll of her eyes. “I’m going to be away on holiday for the next four weeks. I’m going to visit family i
n Europe and doing a bit of travelling. I leave on Wednesday and my new partner will handle all my cases. She’s a great vet and I’ve told her all about your dogs. She’ll be coming over to do the checks and do any inoculations the animals might require. Please tell Chris she’ll take care of Brutus’s check up and take out his stitches.”
He hadn’t known their vet had a new partner and wasn’t really interested right now. He just wanted to get this done. “It’s fine. Tell her to give me a call and we’ll go from there.”
Dr Versveldt smiled and nodded. “I will do that.”
Looking at Crash he tipped his head towards the exit and with Brutus between them they slowly walked him out and carefully loaded him into the back of the cage. Again Jagger had to sit with him because even in his groggy state he wasn’t happy.
Crash didn’t take it easy on the way home and he didn’t give a fuck that his little brother was speeding.
He knew both them wanted to get back to the clubhouse as quick as possible to get the latest update on the search for Chris. They had to get her back, there was no other option.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Hawk
Pulling the heavy duty torch from his saddlebags Hawk started walking along the road, away from the scene of the accident. He kept the beam on the ground, slowly sweeping it from side to side. He stayed on the hard surface avoiding the soft sand on the side of the road. Sand that clearly showed what had happened. He kept on walking until he found where Will had gone off the road. He was fucking amazed to see how long the kid had kept the heavy bike from sliding out from under him.
Walking further down the road he found the exact place where the vehicle hit the back of the bike. Crouching he searched the area. Ice, Kid, Beast and Sin spread out and started doing the same. But all they found was a lot of glass and a few chips of what looked like black paint.
Following the track the bike had made they kept the beams of their torches on the ground until they reached the place where it lay on its side.
Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5) Page 26
