Daredevil
Three hours. It had been three hours since my life went from the best to the worst. It happened when Shain didn’t return after work and Christmas shopping, and she wasn’t answering her phone. I went to Phantom to see if he might be able to ping her phone. He did, and it showed her last location, which was not far out of town on the way home.
Not panicking at first, I left to get her assuming she’d broken down and her phone died and she was either waiting for me to find her or she was walking home. Neither option appealed to me, especially in the dark.
When I found her car, and she wasn’t with it, dread filled me. Rallying my brothers, we did a search and ended up with nothing. She wasn’t anywhere along the route home nor anywhere in town as I thought she might be. The firehouse was the first place I stopped. I was told she left at the end of her shift and no one had seen her since.
We were all back at the compound, trying to figure out our next step. The inactivity was driving me crazier. I needed to be out there searching. I tried not to think about what might’ve happened to her. With our past experiences, we knew all the ugly things out there, and I kept imagining them. God help them if someone has taken her. No, forget that. There would be no help or mercy, not even from a higher power, to save them. I would torture whoever it was, then slaughter them without hesitation.
I wasn’t much of a praying man, even though I did believe in God. I went to Sunday school and church when I was growing up. Those lessons entered my mind, and I had to send up a plea for his help. God, I know we haven’t spoken much, or at least not officially, but I need you. Please help us find my Shain so we can bring her home. Keep her safe, and forgive me for what I must do to those who took her.
I was more or less pacing a trench in the middle of church. I hadn’t been able to sit down, and Sin seemed to understand it since he had let me continue to do it. All of my brothers were casting concerned looks my way. They weren’t sure how I would handle this situation. To date, I’d followed their lead when it came to dealing with unsavory elements. I did what needed to be done without complaint. I was always a backup person. This time, they’d get to see a whole new me.
I came to the club with my road name, Daredevil. I got it during my time in the Marines. I was the epitome of one. Going at something hell-to-leather was me. My parents claimed I’d been that way since I learned to walk. I was daring, somewhat crazy, and loved to triumph in a mission, and a mission was what this would be, which meant that those responsible when begging for mercy wouldn’t receive any from me.
Phantom was frowning as he worked on his laptop. The click of the keys was loud, with the guys remaining quiet. He was trying to catch a glimpse or a clue anywhere in town to see if he might be able to use it to then track her abductors. As he worked, the rest were talking about why someone would take her. There was a chance it was a random crime of opportunity. She stopped for some reason and was come upon. The car seemed to be running fine and had been brought back to the compound for our mechanics to check it over.
There was a chance it was someone with a grudge against the club or against her. I was leaning toward option one or two. She hadn’t been here long enough to have a personal grudge against her in Tenillo. This line of thinking immediately led me to a final possibility. That bastard Laz had done it to get her back for what Moose had recently done to him. No doubt he blamed Shain for his suspension and loss of leverage over the captain.
I hadn’t called Moose and the Regulators yet, hoping we’d find her in town. I knew it was time. I was dreading it. I promised him I’d protect and care for her, and I’d failed. He wouldn’t take that well. I needed not only to tell him since he was her family but also because I wanted him and some of his brothers to go see if Laz was in Nebraska or not. I swung around to face Sin.
“We need to call Moose. It might’ve been Laz. If he took her, he’d be headed back there, and they’d be closer than we are. If he’s there, then they can question him to see if he had someone help him take her, and they can keep an eye on him until we get there.”
“What if it has nothing to do with him?” Pitbull suggested.
“It seems unlikely to me that someone unknown took her. The car is running fine, so whoever got her to stop most likely knew her or they were in distress. And I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head we’ve dealt with lately who’s free or has the connections to take her for revenge against us. And for sure, she’s not been here long enough to gain enemies of her own. It has to be random or Laz,” I insisted forcefully.
“I’m not trying to piss you off, Daredevil. I agree that those two are the most likely possibilities, but we have to consider every angle,” he replied. He was right. We did.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. Let’s get the call to Moose over with. Be prepared for him to hightail it down here to kill me.”
“It’s not your fault. There was no indication of a threat. If there had been, she would’ve had a guard detail. Sometimes things happen we can’t control,” Sin added.
“It does, but it doesn’t make it any easier to handle. Okay, enough. Do you want me to do it here or in private?” I directed this to Sin. Personally, I didn’t care.
“In here if you don’t mind. I want us to be here to back you up and it’ll save you having to catch us up on what he says.”
Nodding so he knew I heard him, I grabbed the landline phone. I had my cell phone out and open to my contacts. I used the landline phone since it would be better to hear on. After tapping in his number, I waited as it rang. I was becoming antsy when the third ring came and went and he didn’t answer. I was about to hang up and try again when it stopped ringing and his gruff voice came across the line.
“Do you know what damn time it is? Either this is a butt dial, or something is wrong. It better be you talking out your ass, Daredevil.”
Typically, I’d laugh at his biting wit, but not tonight. “I’m not butt-dialing you. Something happened, and we need your help.”
“Talk to me,” he ordered.
As concisely as possible, I explained what we knew so far and what we’d done, which, sadly, was very little. When I was done, he was going off. I heard something crash on his end of the call.
“He’s dead. I swear on the soul of my dad, Laz is dead. I’ll get Carnage and the others up and going. We’ll be rolling out to check on shithead. We’ll go from there. If he checks out by some miracle, we’ll be headed your way. No one, and I mean no one, takes my family and gets away with it. Motherfucker is gonna wish he hadn’t. The streets will flow red. Cocksucking, motherfucking bastard!” he shouted the last part.
“We won’t stop looking down here. How long do you think it’ll be until you can go see him?” I asked, trying to appease my need to have immediate answers.
“If we aren’t set to go within an hour, I’ll go alone.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call Carnage to coordinate in, say, twenty minutes. Will that give you enough time to tell him what’s up?” Sin threw in. His offer to talk president-to-president was a good approach and would solidify our alliance. This would be the second time they’d helped us in a matter of months. Our new friendship with them was paying off better than we imagined. Maybe someday soon, we’d repay the favors.
“Give it thirty. I gotta go. Daredevil, I’ll talk to you later when we can have some privacy.”
His meaning was clear. He would talk about my failure to keep my word. “I expected it, and I’ll be waiting.”
He didn’t say another word. He just gave me a low humming sound in response, and then he hung up. At least the news was out of the way. His talk would most likely be backed up with an in-person visit, and I’d end up in the ring with him. As long as we got her back, I’d take whatever he had to dish out.
Wanting something else to do or focus on, I switched my attention to Phantom. “Please tell me you’ve found something, man. I’m about to lose it.”
He gave me a sympathetic look. “I understand. You know we all do. I swear I’m combing every camera feed I have or can find in and near Tenillo.”
“I know, I know, forget it. I’m not calling your help into question. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Can I suggest something? Why don’t we take a break? Everyone needs to recharge. Grab some coffee, then meet back here. I do have a question. Was there anything suspicious with her car? Could she have been run off the road then taken?”
“Negative. The outside of it was perfect and inside, other than her purse and a shopping bag left behind, it’s clean,” I informed him.
“Where exactly did she go after work? You said there was a shopping bag. Is it possible someone saw her there and, for whatever reason, followed her and somehow got her to stop?”
I considered what he was asking. The fact she might attract attention wasn’t hard to believe. She was beautiful. Predators would love to get their hands on her. The part I had a hard time accepting was if she was followed, how they’d get her to pull over. The car without damage and not in the ditch refuted this theory for me. If they signaled her to stop, she wouldn’t do it, and her gun was still in her purse.
“She was going to look at a Christmas gift at the new store in town. She called after work and told me they emailed her to say they had one of whatever she was searching for come in. I didn’t open the bag to see what was in it. Although it’s possible someone followed her, I still don’t see her stopping, and there’s no sign of her being forced to pull over or get out of her car.” Two weeks ago, her car from Nebraska was brought down by two prospects. She told me she would drive herself. I wished I hadn’t listened.
He sighed. “It was worth a thought. Okay, let me get back to it. Be back in, say, fifteen minutes?” It was a question posed to Sin more than me. He was the one in charge. Sin nodded. This was the signal for the rest of us to get up and leave. I hated the delay but knew there was nothing to do at the moment. As I passed Phantom, I squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“Thanks, man. Daredevil, I swear we’ll find her. I won’t stop until we do.”
“I know, and you have no idea how much hearing it means.”
I walked off before I got emotional. When I got to the kitchen in the clubhouse, the others had two cups of coffee ready for me. Unable to speak, I gave them a chin lift, thanked them, and took Phantom’s to him. I left him alone and wandered outside to circle the building. It was cold.
I leaned against the clubhouse and stared up at the sky. Wherever she was, I prayed she was warm and not in immediate danger. Without anyone to see me, my mind went to the dark things she might be suffering. We’d seen firsthand what happened to Kinslee and Desi. Ember’s trauma was no less significant. The countless women and kids the club rescued over the past few years attested to the darkness in the world. They still struggled to overcome their traumas.
If anything happened to Shain along those lines, I would make sure every day she would know it didn’t change how I felt about her. She would always be the woman I loved, and I’d desire her no matter what. I’d be by her side to help her however she needed. Anything she needed, I’d make sure she got.
My eyes were wet as a throat was cleared, and a rustling sound caught my attention. I blinked to clear them before turning. Standing there watching me closely was Cuffs and Omen.
“Hey, just getting some air,” I told them.
“We know what you’re doing, Daredevil. You’re thinking of all the terrible things that could be happening to her, and you’re going crazy, wanting to go after her. We get it. I’d love to tell you none of those will happen, but it can. What you need to remember is that Shain is strong and tough. She won’t be broken. If the worst happens, you show her she’s not broken, and you still love and desire her no matter what,” Cuffs said gruffly.
“You’re right. I was thinking about all those things, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help her heal.”
“She won’t forget, but it will become easier,” he added.
“Does it still affect Kinslee often?” She always seemed so happy, especially since they had their twins. They tried for a while to have them.
“Sometimes. A scent often triggers her to recall. It’s a form of PTSD. She has nightmares when it does. Talking professionally to Adara seems to help her.”
“The same for Desi. I hate to think where we’d be without Adara and the others who support her. I have hope that my daughter will grow up to be able to have a fulfilled, loving relationship with a man one day,” Omen added.
In a way, I thought what Desi experienced was worse. She had been a kid and a virgin when her tormentors took her, raped her, then left her pregnant. She’d come a long way in the few years she’d been here. I heard the stories about what it was like when she and Kinslee were rescued.
There wasn’t much to say, so I didn’t. The three of us stood there in silence as I finished my now cold coffee. It wasn’t awkward. It was comforting in an odd way. I knew they were giving me support and would continue to do it if the worst did occur. All of the club would, but these two would be uniquely equipped to help and understand.
It was as if, by agreement, we eventually moved back inside. Our fifteen minutes should be up. We all filed back into church. This time I sat in my chair. Phantom was still in his. Sin called the meeting back in order.
“I spoke to Carnage. The Regulators are on their way to Laz’s house. If he’s not there, they’ll find him. He assured me they’ll leave no stone unturned to find Laz and either find Shain or determine whether he’s involved or not. Meanwhile, we continue searching. Phantom, did you come across anything?”
“Not exactly. We spotted a vehicle which sorta made us suspicious.” He tapped on his keyboard, and moments later, a grainy video came up on the screen. It was obviously from a lower-quality security camera. I recognized the street by the buildings. Cars were speeding by.
He froze it on a dark van driving across the screen. The driver wasn’t visible nor was it possible to see through the windows. They were those dark smoke gray ones.
“What’s suspicious about it?” I asked. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary about it.
“Okay, I’m not sure if you guys know this or not, but I periodically scan various CCTV and security cameras all over town. Trident and Fang help and they get me access though they shouldn’t to the systems they install. I do it not to spy but to watch for indications unsavory elements are moving into town. We don’t want new criminals filling the empty shoes we left when we took down so many bad guys.
“This didn’t register until I began searching for signs of Shain and found none. I went back further. Tamysin helped me do it. She brought to my attention when she went back a few weeks that this van suddenly appeared to be showing up around town a lot. Now, I know it’s not enough to make them suspects, but the lack of a license plate and never seeing the driver or inside caught her attention then mine. Running with it, we went through today’s footage. Lo-and-behold, it was seen not far from the fire department before Shain got off work. It headed out of town a good hour before she did, and it was seen coming our way. I think it’s worth considering whoever was in it may have something to do with her disappearance. I know we don’t have much to go on without the license plate or registration, but we do have a make and model.”
A fluttering sensation woke in my gut at his words. Yeah, it wasn’t much, but it was a tiny crumb. I needed a crumb right now. I leaned forward eagerly. “How long will it take to search for it?”
“Getting into the DMV records is easy. It’s sifting through all the possible vehicles, and we don’t know if it’s registered here in Texas or another state. I asked Maestro to help. Hope that’s okay. He said Carnage wouldn’t mind. This black-and-white picture doesn’t give us a color, but based on how dark it is, we’re looking for a dark blue, black, or maybe a very dark green one. This grill narrows it to a five-year production period for this make and model. This helps, too. We’ll work on other identifiers that might help us eliminate more possibilities. Again, not much, but it’s a start.” He shot me a slightly apologetic smile.
“Don’t downplay it. It’s more than what we had. Thank you,” I told him in gratitude.
“Anything to get her back.”
“Damn, good job. Tell Tamysin thank you if you see her before I do. Daredevil, we can go out and do patrols on the off chance we spot something, or we can wait until we hear from Carnage and Moose. What do you want to do?” Sin asked.
As much as I wanted to run out and search, it was the least effective way. Stomping down on the voice screaming inside of me to hunt, I gave him the logical choice. “I say we wait to hear from Moose. We’ll decide then what to do.”
With this decision, we sat back to wait. No one left the room. I was grateful for their presence as I watched the minutes tick by on the clock.