Lake’s Legacy (Demon Dawgs MC: New Orleans #3)

Chapter One Lake

CHAPTER ONE: LAKE

“You okay there, Lake?” Pirate asks with a laugh.

“Fuck off,” I growl, gripping the handrest tighter.

“Why did you agree to go to Ireland with Dixie if you don’t like flying,” Pirate continues. “Or did you think we were driving there?”

“Seriously, shut up,” I growl back.

He’s silent for several minutes, but I can feel him looking at me.

“Have you spoken with Olivia recently?” He asks me, and I realize he’s trying to distract me from my fear of flying. I should be grateful, but what I want to do is strangle him.

However, I open one eye and glare at him. “I spoke to her after we landed in Ireland and then again just before we left for home. Why?”

“Did she tell you about looking at the photos of the dead women?”

I open the other eye as I nod. My thoughts on Olivia’s breakdown after she insisted on looking at the photos of each woman we found in the office building Cleo owns. “Yeah, tore her up.”

“Brave woman,” Pirate says.

“Have you found anything on her missing friends?”

“No. The police have made no progress. However, they discovered someone tampered with Talia’s car. The car broke down a few miles from the hospital. They’re still trying to figure out how and when someone sabotaged it.”

“Do they think that’s how whoever kidnapped her got to her?”

“It’s their current theory. They can’t find the doctor’s car, so there is no way to verify if this is a possible M.O.”

“Have they checked the security feed?”

“They have, but the camera angle only covered the car’s trunk. No way to see if anyone approached the vehicle from the front.”

“Maybe they’ll find something,” I muse. I know Olivia’s concerns for her former coworkers grow stronger every day. Now that we’re heading back to New Orleans, Pirate should have more time to help locate them. “Any ideas on how to look for them?”

“I spoke with Dante, and he’s permitted me to contact Maestro for help. I want him to run his program against the traffic cam footage for the nights the two women disappeared,” Pirate says, nodding toward Dante, sitting with Dixie and Hex.

Dante is the President of the Original Chapter of the Demon Dawgs. It’s his mother’s plane that we’re flying on today. Rather than letting myself remember that we’re flying, I watch Dixie take a small box out of his pocket and look at it before returning it. The box contains his mother’s engagement and wedding rings. He can’t stop himself from checking on them every few minutes after he retrieved them from the safe deposit box.

“Ten bucks says he drops to his knee the second he sees Delphine,” Pirate says with a smirk.

“Not taking that bet,” I laugh. “He’s been twitchy ever since he picked them up.”

I glance around the private jet's cabin and see Abra and Chaos in a deep discussion. I imagine they’re talking about various means of torture. It makes me glad to be sitting back here with Pirate. Even if he is pissing me off. I’d rather be asleep like Zip, sitting behind us.

“Have you heard anything from your friend about the DNA results for the babies at the clubhouse?” Pirate asks.

“No. He said it would take him at least two weeks to get through all the samples. I’ll only hear something if he finds a match early on. However, we don’t know if the two babies came from any of the dead women. We don’t know how long the women were in that building. The cops have only identified a few of them.”

“Thirteen,” Pirate corrects me. “They’ve identified thirteen of them. Just because they found empty cribs in the basement doesn’t mean that’s where Mikel acquired the babies.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t. The cops found two dirty diapers that weren’t more than a few days old. I think Mikel took advantage of the ship sailing with all those kids to dispose of the babies and earn some money.”

“Yeah, probably,” Pirate mutters. “We need to find those assholes, because we know Mikel wasn’t running that whorehouse alone. I want to tie them to a bed and ram a hot poker up their asses until they die.”

“Shit, if I wanted an image like that, I’d go sit with Chaos and Abra,” I complain.

Before Pirate can respond, our pilot, Maia, comes over the speaker to let us know that we’ll be landing soon. Thank the Great Spirit.

An advantage to taking Angela Westbrook’s private jet is that we could take our bikes. Jake arrived with the SUV and loads our suitcases. Dixie introduces his guests and our new prospects to Jake. With help from Pirate, Dixie smuggled two men from Ireland into the US, Conor Byrne and Danny Flynn. The two men are brothers, but Dixie’s grandfather adopted Danny soon after Conor’s arrest for participating in the theft that led to the death of Dixie’s parents. Conor served his sentence but ran afoul of a gang leader in prison. Dixie brought them to the US to protect both men. Their arrival also helps us out. We need more prospects, especially after our previous prospect, Irish, betrayed us.

We say goodbye to Dante, Chaos, and Maia, who continue to San Diego.

As I mount my bike, my phone rings. The display shows it’s my younger brother calling. Ignoring the call, I slide my phone back into my kutte. I can call him back once we’re at the clubhouse. After Olivia has welcomed me home. Preferably naked.

Cleo and Delphine rush outside the clubhouse before we can park our bikes. Cleo flies into Hex’s arms while Delphine walks calmly toward Dixie. I glance around, disappointed not to see Olivia. But then, I remember she’s working a shift and sometimes can’t leave on time. Dixie wraps Delphine in a hug and swings her around before kissing her. Then, without warning, he drops to his knee and proposes.

Pirate and I smirk at each other as my phone rings again. My brother. Again.

“What?” I answer.

“Is that any way to answer a phone?” he gripes.

“If you just called to check my phone etiquette, I’ll save you the time. It sucks.” I move my thumb to end the call, but he calls for me to wait.

“Lake, stop. I need your help. We need your help,” he says.

“Did he tell you to call me?”

My brother’s pause tells me what I already know.

“Look, you know how he is…”

“Yeah, an arrogant bastard who thinks he never needs help, least of all from his wastrel of a son.”

Two-Feathers sighs, which sets off a twinge of guilt. My father’s stubbornness isn’t my brother’s fault. He’s been the unlucky buffer between my father and me for his entire life.

“What do you need?” I relent.

“Could you come for a visit? Some of our people need medical help, and you know how they are. They won’t go to the hospital if they have a choice. We have two pregnant women who need ultrasounds. Some of the kids need their vaccinations. That sort of thing.”

“What about the clinic?”

“That’s something I need to talk to you about. Someone broke into the clinic and ransacked it. They sent the doctor to the hospital.”

“Do you know who did it?”

“No one saw anything. The doctor was unconscious and can’t tell us anything. Can you come?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” I’m the unofficial Medicine Man for our tribe. Unofficial because our father, the Chief, won’t acknowledge me.

“We also need to pick your brain,” my brother continues. “I can’t discuss it over the phone, but we need your help. I need your help.”

“I don’t know…” I start.

“Please. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important or if I could handle it myself.”

Knowing this is true, I consider relenting. “Has Dad acknowledged you as his successor yet, Toff?”

The pause is longer, and I can feel Toff’s pain. “You know he hasn’t. He still thinks you’re going to come to your senses and take back your birthright.”

“I’m not. You know that. Coyote knows it. He’s just being an asshole. Look, I just got back and need to get some sleep. I’ll come by tomorrow, and we’ll talk. Let those who need medical help know to go to the clinic. For those who can’t travel, I’ll see them before I return home.”

“Thanks,” Toff says.

I end the call before he can say anything more.

Dreading the following day, I go inside and unpack before heading to the infirmary to prepare my medical bag. This doesn’t take me long since I’ve made this trip too many times to count, although it has been a while. After they built the clinic, they didn’t need me.

Glancing at my watch, I’m surprised Olivia hasn’t sought me out. She must be home from her shift by now. I scan the common room but don’t see her. A feeling of dread fills me as I seek out Levi.

“Have you spoken to Olivia?” I ask him.

“Yeah, earlier. I told her when you guys were due back. She was planning on being here when you arrived. Is she not here?”

“I can’t reach her, and she’s late. Was she going somewhere after work instead of back here?”

Levi glances around the room as he pulls out his phone. He calls her mobile but gets her voicemail. He dials again, and I hear him ask for Olivia. However, before they reply, I hear a noise behind me. Turning, I see a pale Delphine.

“Olivia,” she whispers, leaning into Dixie. “She’s in danger.”