6. Sammy
CHAPTER 6
SAMMY
I sat in the front seat of Juice’s truck and stared out the front windshield. Juice and a few of his fellow Mustang Mountain Riders had disappeared into the woods right after he pulled the truck over to the side of the narrow mountain road. He hadn’t wanted to alert anyone that they were coming, so he’d parked about a mile up the road from where Oliver was being held and would backtrack through the woods on foot.
Dense clouds blocked out the moon, and I couldn’t see much in the darkness of the cab. Juice had left Sirius with me like a four-legged babysitter. I hadn’t been in a position to object since none of the bikers wanted me to come with them in the first place. Having the big dog nearby provided a sense of comfort, though he didn’t seem to like having to stay behind in the truck.
That made two of us.
There wasn’t anything I could do to help Juice and the others, but I felt so helpless waiting. Sirius was getting antsy as well. He paced the short length of the backseat over and over.
“Hang tight, buddy. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to reassure the big dog or myself.
Sirius stuck his nose up to the crack I’d left at the top of the window and let out a soft whine. I ignored him. Juice had said not to get out of the truck under any circumstances. For once in my life, I planned on actually doing something someone told me.
The dog started pacing again, stopping at the cracked window to whine every few passes. What if he had to pee? Even though he didn’t look like a puppy, Juice said he was still pretty young. The only dog I’d ever been around was the teacup poodle mix we’d had when I was a kid. Seemed like that dog was always going outside.
“You need to go? Is that it?” I turned to face Sirius in the backseat.
His ears perked up and he let out a high-pitched whine.
“Be quick about it. I don’t want us to get in trouble.” I climbed out and opened up the back door.
Sirius hopped to the ground, then stood perfectly still.
“What is it?” I whispered. The silence made me nervous. He was staring at something in the trees, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the edge of the gravel road.
Then a huge animal stepped out of the woods. My scream stuck in my throat as I tried to force my feet to move. Sirius whined and took a few steps closer .
“Get back in the truck.” I scrambled into the front seat and pulled the door closed behind me. Dammit. With the back door still open, there was nothing to prevent the beast from leaping into the truck. I squeezed between the two bucket seats and tried to reach the open door. “Come on, Sirius. Get in.”
The two animals circled each other in the middle of the road, their teeth bared. It had to be a wolf, though it was bigger than any wolf I’d ever seen. I felt around on the floor of the backseat, searching for something I could use to scare it away. My fingers closed around a metal tube. I lifted it up to try to make out what I’d found. Nothing but an ice scraper with a brush on the other end. Still, it was better than nothing.
Pulling myself as close as I dared to the open door, I held up the ice scraper and shook it over my head. “Get away from here!”
Sirius and the beast paused and shifted their attention to me.
“That’s right. Leave him alone and go.” My voice cracked.
The two animals stared at me for a long moment as I held my breath, waiting to see what they’d do next. Would the wolf leap into the truck and rip me apart? Or would he go after Sirius first and save me for dessert?
The wolf growled and snapped at Sirius. Then the two of them disappeared into the woods.
“Sirius?” I hopped down to the ground and called out to him. “Come back, boy.”
Nothing. The forest had swallowed them up. What was I supposed to do now? I didn’t dare go after them, and I didn’t want to risk calling Juice on the two-way radio he’d left with me. He’d warned me to only use it in an emergency since my cell phone had no service out here in the middle of nowhere.
I hadn’t been able to protect my son from being taken from me, and now I’d lost Juice’s dog to a huge, wild wolf. Feeling like the most useless woman in the world, I shut the back door and climbed into the front. All I could do was wait. I just hoped it wouldn’t be too long.
Juice
Something wasn’t right. We reached the edge of the clearing where the cabin the Savage Bones were supposedly holding Oliver, but there was no sign of the club. Unlike other places they’d holed up, this place had potted flowers on the front porch and curtains hanging in the windows.
I crept close to Arrow. “You sure we’re at the right place?”
He pulled out his phone and showed me the address. “I’ve checked it twice. This is it.”
“Did you look up the owners?”
Scowling, he pulled up a browser on his phone that listed the property as belonging to Daryl and Connie Eastman. “You really think I wouldn’t have already checked that? ”
The names weren’t familiar. “Any clue who they are?”
Atlas shook his head. “No clear relation to the club.”
Hopefully we hadn’t been given false info. It was the only lead we had, so I wasn’t about to leave without checking into it.
“I’m going closer. Cover me.” I didn’t wait for him to confirm. We didn’t have time to spare. The Savage Bones wanted us to meet at the cafe in just a few hours and we were over an hour away. If Oliver wasn’t here, we’d have to hightail it down the mountain and make the drive to Silver Creek.
I stayed as low as I could as I made my way across the clearing. Thunder had already checked for security cameras. Unless the Eastmans had done a prime job of concealing them, we wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught on video. Movement by the garage caught my attention. Two large animals ambled over, side by side.
What the hell was Sirius doing here? I recognized him right away thanks to the reflective collar I kept around his neck. I also recognized the wolf next to him. Hades was known for showing up at the right moment. I motioned them over and waited until they sat down next to me before I stood up and tried to get a good look through the window.
Someone had left a lamp on in the living room. It sat on a side table by the couch and cast the room in a warm glow. Books lined the bookshelves, an embroidered pillow sat in a fabric recliner, and a cozy blanket draped across the back of the couch. Nothing seemed out of place.
It looked like a grandma and grandpa’s den, not like the hideout for a one-percent motorcycle club. I glanced toward where Arrow and Thunder waited on the other side of the clearing and shrugged. They probably couldn’t see me, but I gestured to the corner of the cabin anyway, signaling I was going to check out the side window.
Sirius and Hades followed me, their movements silent as they padded across the front flower bed. When I reached the next window, I motioned to them to wait while I pulled myself up to peek inside. It was a bedroom. The glow from a digital alarm clock provided enough light to see an older man’s head resting on a pillow.
I didn’t get it. Arrow hadn’t shared who’d provided the intel, but if someone had sent us on a fucking wild goose chase, I was going to be pissed.
The radio clipped to my belt crackled. I turned the volume as low as it would go as I retreated from the house. I’d told Sammy only to use it in case of an emergency. Obviously, Sirius had gotten away from her. My mouth went dry. If something happened to her, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
“What’s going on?” Thunder asked as I crouched down next to him.
I turned the volume up a little and spoke into the mic. “Sammy, you okay?”
“Lights… I left the… in the woods…”
“You’re breaking up. Can you hear me?” I looked at Thunder. “I think she’s in trouble. I’m going back to check on her.”
The faint roar of a bike came from down the road. Thunder, Arrow, and I stepped back into the tree line. I snapped my fingers to get Sirius’s attention, but he stayed by Hades. The two of them waited on the side of the cabin where I’d left them.
A flash of headlights sliced through the darkness as a bike turned into the long drive. I recognized the tall handlebars on the chopper one of the officers of the Savage Bones liked to ride. A hollow feeling opened in the pit of my gut. Hopefully he’d come from down the mountain and hadn’t seen where I’d parked my truck on the edge of the road.
Two more bikes pulled in behind the first. The rumble of their engines was deafening. A light in the bedroom turned on and the guy on the first bike motioned for the others to cut their engines.
The front door opened, and the older man stepped out onto the porch. I braced myself, hoping we weren’t about to witness the Savage Bones take out an innocent man.