Chapter 23
FOOL
Returning to the clubhouse, I didn’t see April’s car, but I saw Torpedo and Kayla outside talking. I park my bike, swing a leg over, and head in their direction.
“Where’s April?” I demand.
“Don’t know.” Torpedo grimaces and shakes his head.
“Torpedo stayed out here while I was on the phone with my brother, and April went inside. By the time we went in, she wasn’t downstairs.
I figured she went up to y’all’s room, but when I went up there and knocked, she didn’t answer.
I thought she might have been asleep, but when I came out here moments ago, her car wasn’t where we parked.
” Kayla relays all the information she has.
I grit my teeth and pull out my phone, calling her. When it goes to voicemail, anger starts to seep in. What the fuck is she playing at? She knows she’s not supposed to go out alone right now. Not until after the situation with those assholes is dealt with.
After telling Cannon and the others about the texts she’d been bombarded with last Monday, they all agreed with me it was time to handle the issue once and for all.
We were just waiting for her to finish her finals before doing so.
The last thing anyone wanted was for her to be targeted for anything else.
We’ve taken the time to put together a plan of action that won’t blow back on the club or my woman.
Today was the first day I had enough of my brothers to help me get the rest of her shit out of the apartment and move it into our house.
I also picked up a few other things for the house as a surprise for her.
Her couch, as sweet as it is, wasn’t going to be large enough for the living room, so I put it in the sunroom, and the new sectional sits in its place.
Even Lola got in on it, taking care of what she called ‘women’s touches.’ She and my mom went all out, getting everything we could possibly need for the place.
I try calling April several more times before going in search of Rimfire to have him find her location.
I’m not playing these games. Whatever is going on, she knows better than to leave like this.
Hell, she could have told Kayla, and that woman would have had her back and let her go, but at least then someone would know where the fuck she went.
Stalking across the main room and toward the stairs, my head all over the fuckin’ place, thoughts of where she could be swirling around. As I pass my room, I stop short at the sight of the door ajar.
The fuck.
Pausing, I press against the door and push it fully open.
When I step into the room, I know instantly something’s not right.
The bed, which I know my woman made this morning, is disheveled.
The covers are now wrinkled and they’re halfway off the bed.
The pillows are scattered, and my lamp on the nightstand is pushed over.
Not to mention, there’s a faint scent of sex in the room.
Who the fuck has been here?
The anger I already feel turns to rage as my gut twists and tightens. Backing out of the room, leaving the door open, I stalk the rest of the way to Rimfire’s room and pound on his door.
“What the fuck, brother?” he demands, snatching the door open and stepping back. “You don’t have to beat my damn door down.”
“Need you to find April’s location and pull up the security feeds. Someone’s been in my room.” I get right to the point. I’m not messing around to get the answers I need.
“Someone’s been in your room?” He blinks at me, his brows furrowing.
I nod. “Yeah, the door was slightly open.” If April had gone inside, she’d have closed and locked it behind her, as I showed her.
“Right,” Rimfire grunts, taking a seat behind a series of screens set up in the corner of his room. He taps a few keys, pulls up footage on several screens, then moves to another screen and types faster. “Strange, her phone is in one location, and her car is still moving.”
What the fuck?
“Either she’s lost her phone,” he says, tapping more keys, “in the middle of a highway. Or she’s tossed it out. For whatever reason, her car is heading north.”
Fuckin’ hell.
Turning my attention to the live security feeds, my eyes lock on the main room, where I see several of the clubwhores sitting together, laughing. Venus has her head thrown back while two others high-five each other.
“Here,” Rimfire says, pointing to another screen, “April came back to the clubhouse.”
I watch him play the footage as Venus and two others confront her. They’re talking too low for me to hear what’s being said, but I can see the annoyance on my wife’s expression. She looks exhausted, which I understand. This past week, she’s studied her ass off for her finals.
Rimfire shifts the footage up the stairs and into the hallway of our rooms. April stops in front of our room, hand on the doorknob.
She leans in slightly, then jerks back. I frown at the way she does this and see she doesn’t head back down the main stairs.
Instead, she takes the secondary ones, the look of anguish evident in her features.
“Go forward on that camera,” I order. I didn’t need him to follow her on the cameras because I know that’s when she left. Whatever was happening in our room spooked her.
Not just spooked, it hurt her, and I’m not putting up with that shit.
“Already on it.”
The footage slows, and the two people who step out of the room make me see red.
The new prospect, who hasn’t even gotten a name yet, steps out with DeeDee, one of the clubwhores.
They stop in the hallway so DeeDee can fix her minuscule skirt as the prospect grins at her. The two of them look smug as shit.
“Cannon’s gonna lose his shit over this,” Rimfire snarls. “We might not have many rules at the club beyond respecting those within it. This is outright disrespect.”
“He’s a dead man,” I snarl, jerking upright and already heading for the door. “Keep an eye on that car tracker and let me know when it stops. I’m dealing with the prospect, then heading out to go after my wife.”
“You got it, brother,” Rimfire calls out from behind me.
I step out of his room and prowl down the hall. At the stairs, I take them two at a time. As I enter the main room again, I scan the room and find the fucker I’m looking for behind the bar. Cannon, Hornet, and two others are standing nearby as he hands them beers.
Stalking across the room, I keep my emotions locked down until I am right in front of him.
“You want a beer, Fool?” he asks.
Cannon’s phone rings as I respond to the prospect’s question. Moving quickly, I grip him by the neck and drag him over the bar, tossing him to the floor.
I hear curses and my name coming from my brothers behind me. The screams and screeches have me shooting a glare toward the clubwhores. I point and order, “Do not fuckin’ move. You all are next.”
The prospect scrambles to his feet as I close in on him.
“What the hell, man?” he demands.
“You think it’s fun to go into a member’s room in this club and fuck in there?” I snarl, landing a punch to his gut with enough force to make him double over.
“Fool,” Hazard calls, but I ignore him.
“Did you and DeeDee have a good time? Was it worth it?” I jerk the prospect upright and slam my fist into his face. “What game are you playing?”
“It was DeeDee’s idea, not mine,” he says, as if that will be enough to defend himself.
“You always one to be led around by your dick?” Red haze fills my eyes, and I hit him again.
And again.
I don’t stop until his face is a bloody mess, and Hazard, with the help of Trench, pulls me back.
“Calm down, brother. Take a breath,” Hazard orders, getting in my face so he’s the only thing I have to focus on. “What’s got you worked up like this?”
“He’s worked up because April’s missing,” Rimfire announces.
“Come again?” Cannon demands.
“Was calling you as he came down. You didn’t answer, so I carried my ass down here to tell you,” Rimfire grunts.
The prospect croaks and spits blood onto the floor as he barely manages to get to his feet. The sight of him has me launching myself at Hazard to get to him.
“Fool,” Hazard snaps. “You need to get your shit together before I lock your ass down.”
“Don’t tell me to get my shit together when it’s because of him. My wife took off because she thinks it’s me who was fucking around on her.” I snarl, rage flowing through my veins like I haven’t felt since being out in the field and watching my brothers fall around me.
“Let him go, Hazard,” Cannon orders. “Let him do his thing and get it out of his system.”
Hazard moves and lets out a breath.
The prospect stumbles back, eyes wide. “Please, I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Bullshit,” I snarl, lunging at him and taking him to the floor once again.
“He didn’t know why I took him in there,” DeeDee screams. Her words are the only thing that halts my fist before it makes contact.
“Explain,” Cannon commands.
Pushing away from the prospect, I level my gaze on her, watching her pale face as she twists to look at Venus, then back to us. “Venus asked me to do it. She said she’d make it worth it, but this isn’t worth it. I’m sorry. She just wanted to get April out of here.”
“Excuse me?” Kayla demands. I hadn’t seen her until now.
“She said that if I took the prospect up to Fool’s room, it would be open, and we could have some fun and let April hear us so she’d leave.”
“I did not. We voted, remember?” Venus snaps.
“Bitch, you don’t get to vote shit in a club,” Kayla sneers. “You think your shit doesn’t stick just because you think you have a place in this club. Trust me, it reeks. I don’t even have a vote, and I’m the daughter of a VP. It’s a boys’ club, and you just get to be here.”
Venus glares and crosses her arms. “You and that bitch all think you’re hot shit because you came from another club. Well, we’ve been here longer. We get a say in things around here. That bitch is going to get what she deserves. Probably already has by now.”
Kayla launches herself at Venus, taking the whore to the ground. No one moves to stop her as she whips, fighting like a damn man, no hair-pulling. Venus doesn’t get a chance to fight back with how violently Kayla goes at her. Whoever taught her to fight knows what they’re doing.
“Get her up,” Cannon orders after giving Kayla a few minutes. Hornet moves in with Trench, while Hazard sticks to me to drag Kayla away from Venus.
“Come on, Spitfire, let’s get you some ice on your hands. Last thing we need is for your dad or pops to get pissed at us because you busted your knuckles,” Hazard remarks, curling an arm around her.
“Dad doesn’t even know I’m here,” Kayla mutters.
I snort and shake my head at her remark.
If she wants to think that, let her. But I’ve spoken with Horse myself, along with Cannon.
The man knows where his daughter is and that she didn’t return to school.
He’s giving her time to figure shit out for herself, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t checked in on her. The same goes for her mom.
“I need to hit the road,” I announce, gritting my teeth.
“I’m with you,” Hazard announces.
“Wrench and I will also be joining,” Cannon declares.
“I will be riding as well,” Rex booms from just inside the door, Lola at his side. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but I’m going with. You can fill me in when we get there.”
“I’ll get back to my computers and send you a location whenever she stops,” Rimfire says.
“Send me the coordinates for her phone first.” I’m not going after the car until I make sure it’s just her phone and not her.
“Will do,” Rimfire grunts, then heads for the stairs.
Sucking in a breath, I clench my fists and head for the doors. I’ve wasted enough time already, but retribution needs to be dealt with.
Behind me, I hear Cannon shout, “When I get back, you better not be here. You’re fuckin’ out. Torpedo, take his cut and see him off club property.”
“You got it, Prez,” Torpedo growls.
I ignore all of this as I head for my bike.
My only thought process now is getting on the road, finding my woman, and making things right.
I get that she’s hurt, and it’s going to take a hell of a lot to get her to believe it wasn’t me in our room with another woman, but I’ll fight like hell to prove it to her.
Hours on the road, April’s phone in my pocket, its screen shattered beyond repair, we’re heading for a hotel she stopped at. We’re still thirty minutes out when we have to stop for gas, and my phone rings.
Reaching into my pocket, I glance at the screen as I pull my phone out, not recognizing the number.
“Yeah,” I answer, holding the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” a woman responds. “Is this Beckham Underwood?”
“Yeah, who’s this?” I demand, my gut tightening. No one ever calls me by my name, except April, when I’m buried inside her.
“I’m Detective Brighton. Your contact information was set as the emergency number on April Underwood’s iPad.”
The knot in my gut tightens the more she talks.
“She’s my wife. Is she okay?” I hadn’t even realized she’d done that. I knew she was waiting for her new ID and whatnot to arrive, but she already started changing her stuff to my last name. Well, our last name.
“Your wife is at the hospital after being attacked in a hotel room. She’s—”
“What hospital?” I demand, cutting her off.
“Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital off HWY 60 in Lexington,” she answers.
“Right, I’m on my way. I’m thirty minutes outside of Lexington.”
“You should know. . .” she pauses. “She’s in rough shape. Brace yourself when you see her.”
“Right,” I growl, clenching the phone.
“I will meet you there.”
“Yeah.” I hang up and look at my brothers, all watching me. “She’s at a hospital in Lexington.”
“What the hell happened?” Rex demands.
“All I know is she was attacked. That was a detective. Evidently, April had me listed as her emergency contact on her iPad.” If it was on her iPad, it’d have been on her phone as well.
I could have had Rimfire check that if I’d thought about it.
April always took her laptop and iPad wherever she went.
“Then let’s get the fuck moving,” Cannon barks.
I’m already ready to roll, my tank is full. I was just waiting for them to finish up. Guess they did that while I was on the phone.
Together, we pull out of the gas station and back onto the road, heading straight for my woman. I hope, like hell, she’s okay. She better be. When I find out who attacked her, I’ll end them. I don’t give two shits about the law. No one fucks with mine and gets away with it.