Chapter twenty-one
SURVIVOR
SNAKE
“Any leads?” Keeping my voice low, I let my dialect seep deeply into every syllable, so no one can understand me if they overhear my words.
I watch the cold concentration on Angel’s face as he assesses the men in the room.
“No, but whoever took her is someone we know and helping to look for her. Nearly two weeks have passed, and they have not recovered her body. They are still sending Ulysses taunting calls — always when he’s out searching and always from an untraceable number as if they know where he is.
” Shaking his head, he turns to access the room.
I take in el Diablo clubhouse, now being used as the command center for the search.
We are mainly using our el Diablo riders, the Loves, and the Carringtons — knowing they are loyal and trusted.
Kandie’s family has closed ranks, trusting only those with whom they have long-standing ties. The family does not allow anyone into the inner circle except for el Diablo riders, Lex Spencer, the Takeda brothers, and Santiago Rosas, who are married to Kandie’s cousins.
Whoever took her is deeply entrenched in the town. The church is fielding calls from all over with people calling in any sightings, with the assistant pastor running the call center. We can’t control the volunteers, so the culprit could easily infiltrate the ranks.
Which led us to set up space here for the on the ground search facility.
What was once the dance floor has now turned into a hub of activity with people looking at maps of the entire county and surrounding area.
There has been no building not searched, no secret hideout not uncovered.
Love family members have scoured every inch of their land, walking their property, searching for their cousin.
The vast amount of property has taken more than a hundred family members a week, some using drones and infrared cameras to search for her body’s heat signature.
Many sobs broke out when the last area — one Kandie’s parents used to live on — came up empty. The wooded, overgrown area held out hope for many who knew she wanted to one day rebuild and live there.
Once we realized that she’d been abducted from her loft above the bakery, the alert went out and the search began.
We had to send several upset senior community members back home because they were too frail to help in the search.
It wasn't until then that people realized that every morning she’d been using her rickety bike to take breakfast to older neighbors who didn't have anyone cooking for them.
Surveying the room, I noticed Ellie and Saban have formed a tense truce as they both work the bar, though they are only serving coffee, while Lourdes passes out sandwiches to the volunteers.
The camaraderie in the room does nothing to allay the underlying worry and rising panic that permeates every minute our resident tipsy baker, who knows all the current gossip, continues to go missing.
Kandie is a fixture in the community, and her absence has been as loud as her presence since she saved all those kids from the group home all those years ago.
Ulysses losing his mother right before her disappearance and then their fight at the funeral seems to have left an open wound in his soul that is clear in his every action.
He's been absolutely feral in looking for her.
Taking no time to eat and I know he's not slept.
We've had to literally force him to sit down to get nourishment inside of him.
He hasn't stopped, nor do I believe he ever will until she's back safe with him.
I’m deeply aware of the feeling. Know the gaping wound Saban leaving wrought in my life. I shudder to think how I would feel if it were not of her own choice.
“Coffee?” Looking down at the diminutive form of mi pequena obsesión, I nod, taking the steaming cup from her. She’s been here all day, every day, since her friend went missing. I don’t like the lines of worry I see on her face.
“How are you doing?” I ask after Angel takes his nodding ‘thanks’ before heading back to his office and the secret intel headquarters Xandier-Rafe Leroi set up when it became apparent the suspect knew way too much about our strategy.
Many things can be a coincidence, but always knowing where the sheriff is ain’t one.
“I’m just worried about Kandie.” Seeing the raw vulnerability in her eyes guts me. “You’re going out?” Her asking the obvious is telling. She has kept the panic attacks and worse night terrors at bay, but she’s been sleeping fitfully.
“As soon as I get back, I’m coming to you.” My promise makes a small smile form on her plush lips. I can’t stop looking at them. I want to take them right now. It’s killing me. I can’t just take her in my arms, kiss and comfort her.
The situation has brought back what it means to lose people I care about.
I won’t deny what Saban means to my life, but what can I give her but more heartache?
I meant what I said — I’m never doing that shit again.
Having your life ripped from you so brutally as ours has been is a lesson you don’t unlearn — ever.
Knowing I can’t linger, I finish my coffee.
“Round-up,” I call to the twelve-man team coming with me out north of the Shelby side of the county where the old group home was — now it’s just an abandoned, burnout shell.
I doubt will find anything out there, but Mama-Pete was adamant that we check.
“Find my grandbaby,” she commanded us earlier when she came to tell us about a dream Crimson said she’d had about the school she’d never been to but able to describe in great detail.
Our culture is steeped in as much spiritualism as the Loves, and we know better than to argue with the matriarch.
I’d be the first to admit that not everything can be explained.
The connection I have with Saban is more than physical.
The one Angel and Easy share, as well as the cold CEO Takeda and Krie, surpasses all understanding, even Kandie and Ulysses, though they’ve fought it since the beginning.
We all probably should never have met, yet we did.
Still, knowing she’s mine and being worthy of her are two very distinct things.
I’m no good for her. I’ve done too much — shit I can never come back from.
Some stains on your soul can never be cleansed, no matter how noble you think they are at the time.
She deserves better than me. The thoughts chafe even as I take one last look at her before turning to the door’s entrance.
Turning just as a hush falls over the place as the heavy door swings open and Kandie Love steps inside, gripping a cattle prod like her life depends on it.
“What in the holy fuck?” Rocco yells from where he’s standing by the bar.
“Kandie?” My voice, sounding hollow, resounds loudly in the silence that follows her entrance.
So much happens in the brief moments that follow. Completely nude and obviously battered, she steps forward using the cattle prod as a staff. Looking first to Rocco and then training her wary eyes on me as I charge over to her.
“There are kids underground in cells at the old kid’s home.” Gasping out the words, her eyes roll back.
“Kandie?” I yell as her body chooses that moment to give out. Lifting her small form in my arms, I pivot, heading back into the club.
Worried, I search her face. She’s still breathing, but there is no telling what kind of hell she’s been put through.
The inexplicable urge to protect overtakes me. Not knowing how extensive her injuries are, I try to be gentle as I can as I round the corner heading to Angel’s loft.
“What the fuck?” Ulysses, Angel, and Xander-Rafe LeRoi all yell seeing Kandie draped over my arms looking as close to death as I have ever seen a person. Ulysses’ gaze is fierce as it rakes over his love.
“She fainted after she said there were kids being kept at that old school that twisted ass bishop had.” I hand her over to him knowing there’s no way he’s going to allow anyone else to touch her.
Heading back into the den, where the cacophony of noise coalesces into a crescendo.
“Aye!” Bahir Carrington gets everyone’s attention.
“We leave in five. We don’t know how many kids there are, so everyone needs to come.
Dr. Spencer has already alerted the medical center that we have a mass casualty event on our hands. ”
“Glove-up and let’s go,” Rocco says, leading a group of riders out, followed by Love and Carrington men.
Doing a quick sweep of the room before I head out, I miss my girl. My hackles rise. We still don’t know who did this to Kandie and those kids.
“Aye, where’s Saban?” Strolling over to the bar, I lean down to catch Ellie’s attention. She’s acted bitter since Saban returned and I stopped punishing her. Not even during the search for Kandie did she hide her animosity about our connection.
“I’m not her minder. That’s what your sucker-ass is doing now. Don’t bother me ‘cause you can’t keep up with your little pet. When she betrays your simple ass again, don’t say anything to me.” She hisses at me.
“If I can respect your decisions, then you can respect mine.” I keep my voice, not wanting to argue with my sister, not daring to remind her how toxic she and her wife can be.
I know she’s truly upset if she’s acting out in public.
Ellie is nothing if not deeply aware of how she’s perceived in the MC.
Stepping away from her mutinous expression, I walk through the MC looking for Saban before I begin my search.
I’m closing Angel’s office door when I hear sniffling and the scrape of boots. Three doors down is a supply closet, the same one where I kissed her for the first time. Panic and rage lick up my spine. Did someone dare corner her thinking I’d left?