Chapter 11
Eagle
I finally got to sleep in. We went out and roughed up some guys last night, but it didn’t lead us anywhere new. After the weeks of long days and all the shit with Lacy, I was beat. I was annoyed that I came back to an empty bed again, but it was the early hours of the morning when we got home and I was so tired, I wouldn’t have been able to have any kind of mature and meaningful talk with her, anyway.
After everything I’d put her through, she deserved a fully-awake, coherent conversation to explain myself. One more night wouldn’t kill me, so I went straight to bed last night but woke up feeling good after a long sleep with no interruptions.
I couldn’t believe it was nearly lunchtime before I woke up, but my body needed it. We’d gone hard for a while and the run up North didn’t help. Add the emotional toll of the last few days, and it was a wonder I woke up when I did. Rolling over, I grabbed her pillow and inhaled deeply. God, I missed that, and what was left on her pillow wasn’t anything close to the real thing. I had to hurry up and make this right so I could really smell her again.
After a good shower and a trim to my facial hair–she liked a little scruff but not a clean shave–I got dressed. I was ready to find her and see if I could get her to go somewhere private, besides my room, so we could talk, and I could show her I could be better.
We’d collected enough guns on the last run that we wouldn’t need to head up North again for a while and she knew sometimes I had to take off for what we called errands to anyone who wasn’t patched in, so for the most part, I could be more attentive. That was one of the great things about her…she understood my responsibilities and didn’t question them.
How could I have been so ignorant? That didn’t matter now. What was important was moving forward. With a jut of my chin, I headed downstairs with long, measured strides. Letting it wash over me that not only was I claiming Lacy, but she would be claiming me, I had a new sense of peace. One I didn’t know I was missing. Maybe that’s why I slept so hard. Things were falling into place.
I walked into the bar, bright from the sun streaming from the windows, and glanced around. The hum of low rock music filled the space along with a few murmurs and clanking of glass. Hawk was sitting at his corner table so I headed over, scanning the room as I did. No sign of Lacy.
“Hey man. Sleep well?” Hawk asked after he finished chewing.
I grabbed a chair and flipped it around backwards before sitting. “I did. Finally . Sorry last night was a bust.”
He waved me off. “We’ll keep chasing leads until we find what we need. You off today?”
“Yeah. And it was sorely needed.” I turned to look out the window to the front courtyard, but didn’t see any women walking or sitting around.
“Who you looking for, man?” Hawk asked nonchalantly as he took a bite of his sandwich.
“Lacy. You seen her in here today?”
Hawk shook his head. “No. Sorry. But I just came down about twenty minutes ago, myself. Maybe Ma’s seen her.”
As if on cue, Mama Hen came walking through the door and headed over. “Hey, hon. You hungry?”
“Yeah, actually.” My stomach was empty. The last time I ate was at the bar with my dad and that was peanuts. Between Church and the riding we did, I was too busy to grab a bite and too tired to eat once we got back.
Mama Hen shuffled off before I could ask if she’d seen Lacy, so I put my focus back on Hawk. “Any word from Keys on potentials?” I asked. He knew I meant potential rats. Hawk had told me he had our IT guy doing some cross checks, reviewing timelines, anything he could piece together from the night Raven was killed. He was keeping it pretty hush hush for obvious reasons, but I knew, and so did Falcon. He knew, if anyone, he could trust the two of us.
“Nothing solid. They’re smart. But something will come out. Always does.”
Mama Hen came back out with a plate and soda for me. “You look better,” she said with a smile after putting my meal in front of me.
I grabbed the sub sandwich filled with meat and cheese and took a hearty bite. I was hungrier than I realized, because I wolfed more than half down, barely breathing between bites before I realized Mama Hen had disappeared again. Making sure nobody was within earshot, I picked up the conversation. “We need to plan to go drop in on Scotty soon. Check those cameras like he said.”
Hawk agreed. “Sounds good to me. Take Jackal with you.”
“He said he plans to stick around ‘til this is sorted out. Damn shame to lose him when this is behind us.” Jackal had years of experience, and life lived, on all of the current officers. Butch was the oldest, but not by much. We all gradually replaced the older generation. Hawk was the new President simply because Raven was assassinated and he was being groomed for it. He had taken on the VP spot when the previous one, Viper, was killed in a motorcycle accident a few years back by a careless minivan driver. Falcon and I started out as prospects, then members just like everyone else, but our commitment and willingness to get the job done, no matter what that entailed, earned us spots at the table as roles were vacated due to death.
Recalling how we all got where we were now had me thinking of Lacy. I was so worried about losing her, I hadn’t thought about how she would handle losing me. We never thought of dying, really. You couldn’t. If you did, you’d never make it. You had to go into every situation thinking you’d come out on top. What set us apart from everyone else was that we were crazy enough to believe it.
“What do you think?” Hawk asked.
Realizing I spaced out and didn’t hear him, I had no choice but to fess up. “Shit, man. Guess I wasn’t as caught up on sleep as I thought. I missed that last part.”
Hawk grinned. He was my best friend before he was even a member. He was my President now, but he was the same idiot that used to sneak beers with me during the parties and peeked in the windows to see what kind of wild shit was happening inside. “I was asking what you think about asking Jackal to stick around on a more permanent basis. But clearly your mind is elsewhere. We can talk about it later.”
I pushed my plate away and blew out a heavy sigh. “We can talk whenever you want, Prez. The club comes first.”
“You trying to convince me, or yourself of that?” he asked as he leaned back, draping his arm over the back of the booth seat.
“Not trying to do shit. The club comes first. Always has, always will.”
“Good. Just don’t fuck up everything else. Club business is the first thing, but not the only thing.” His blue eyes pierced into me.
“Trying to learn to manage that, brother.” I pulled my plate closer and finished off my sandwich then downed the soda. “I’ll be around. Need to talk to Lacy.”
Hawk smiled and waved me off. I stood up, turning the chair around and pushing it in before heading outside. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the bright sun. The bar had windows and lights, but it was still dim compared to stepping out into the light of day.
Looking around, I didn’t see anyone lingering. I walked around the side of the building and it was empty, too. Light clanking sounds came from the garage so I walked over to see who was over there.
Rooster was elbows deep in the hood of a black ‘67 Mustang. It was his toy and he was always tinkering with it when he wasn’t working at the shop with Dad.
“Hey man, you happen to see Lacy around today?” I asked as I walked over to peek inside at the engine.
He shook his head and leaned back in. I didn’t realize anyone else was there so when Squatch said, “Ain’t seen her since the party for Falcon and Daisy,” I whipped my head back.
“You been busy?” I asked as I walked toward him.
“Nope. Quiet weekend for me. I’ll be back at work tomorrow.” Squatch also worked at the mechanic shop we owned. But he was handy for body work. He was huge with a gravelly voice and the most impressive beard in the club. Plus, he was just an overall hairy fucker with wavy brown hair past his shoulders. He was solid as fuck though and would probably be an officer someday.
My brows pinched. “So you’ve been around all weekend but haven’t seen her since Friday?” What the fuck? She always helped Mama Hen with food and tidying up the clubhouse. She knew I’d be at work yesterday and it was easy enough to avoid me if she was laying low. Was she so upset that she hadn’t left the room?
“I gotta go.” I turned and power walked back to the clubhouse and headed to the bunny rooms. They were cramped but had beds for them and bathrooms they shared. The way Lacy was in the morning, I couldn’t imagine how she was handling sharing that small space with so many women.
I banged on the first door but opened it without waiting for an answer. A lamp was on but it was still not well lit. A couple of girls sat up in bed with sleepy eyes and one popped her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, but she grinned, moved her head back to the bathroom and the water ran before she stepped out.
“Hey, Eagle. Looking good,” the brunette said as the towel wrapped around her fell.
“Y’all seen Lacy?” I asked, then ground my teeth. Her naked tits did nothing but annoy me. They were fake as fuck. Lacy’s were real and they were perfect for my hands.
The brunette rolled her eyes then casually walked closer, “Nope. But when you get tired of looking, I’ll be around.” She brushed her ass over my jeans, right against my cock. He twitched from the touch, but I adjusted and left the room with a slam to the door.
Walking across the hall, I didn’t bother knocking and swung the door open. “Lacy? Lacy?” I walked to the bunks and garnered a few squeals and giggles as I pulled covers down only to find sleepy bunnies, no Lacy.
Sugar opened the bathroom door and was dressed, thankfully. “Lacy’s not here.” She leaned on the door frame, but didn’t seem to be trying to entice me like the other girl.
“Well where is she?”
Sugar shrugged one shoulder then stood. “Don’t know. But,” she said with an eye roll, “Daisy probably does.” They had a little beef recently. Sugar had been trying to get Falcon’s attention for a while, so she didn’t take well to Daisy. But it wasn’t long before Daisy shut that down and Sugar has left him alone ever since.
“Thanks.” I slammed the door again on my way out. Daisy’s her best friend but I assumed she was on the property and didn’t want to speak to Daisy if I didn’t have to. She was snarky enough yesterday. But Sugar was right. If anyone knew, it would be her.
Stomping down the hall, I banged on Falcon’s door. After several more times and no answer I tried the door. I was VP and I’d pull rank if I had to. This was an emergency. But it was empty. Leaning in just to be sure but finding nothing, I shouted, “Fuck,” before I slammed that door and stormed down the hall back to the bar.
Rushing back down, I ran to the kitchen and the swinging door flew open and Mama Hen dropped what was in her hands, sending her jumping and yelping. “Dammit, Eagle. I almost took out my toe!” She huffed then leaned down to grab a large knife and fork. Holding it up in my direction she said, “Watch yourself, son.”
I threaded both hands through my hair. “Sorry. I just can’t find Lacy and I need to talk to her right now.”
Mama Hen laid the utensils down and gave me a thin-lipped grin as she walked over and grabbed my shoulders. “Sorry, hon. I haven’t seen her today.”
Needing some kind of grounding, I pulled her close and hugged her tight. “Sorry I scared you. If you see her, tell her I need to talk to her and to come find me. Okay?”
“Sure thing, hon.”
After I let her go, I walked back outside and tried three times to call Falcon, then sent him two texts with no replies. Where the hell was everyone?