Chapter 3
CHAPTER
THREE
Doc
Ever since I found out that Gretchen was missing, I’ve been a basket case. I’ve been interested in her for quite a while but never acted on it because I thought I had plenty of time. Nerd has come up with nothing, even using facial recognition software, which has me worried for her.
Still, despite the dread that I’ve been living with since our meeting, I’m with everyone enjoying the fruits of the fishing trip.
There’s nothing better than having a couple of cold beers, some fried fish and hushpuppies, and all the sides the women come up with, although I did notice most of the green salad is still sitting on the table untouched.
“Where are you?” I mutter to myself. “Are you okay?”
I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back to who she was before she was taken.
While I sit there watching the kids run around with bottles of bubbles, I see Nerd come flying out of the clubhouse. He’s not only our treasurer, he also is our IT guy’s back-up since both are wizards when it comes to electronics and gadgets.
“Doc! Doc! I found her!”
As the other brothers and I stand, I hear Rio yell, “Church!” so I follow the rest of them inside, eager to hear what Nerd has unearthed.
“We’re coming for you, baby,” I murmur as I settle in my seat around our table.
Once everyone is inside and the doors are closed, Nerd lowers the screen and does something on his laptop to bring up a map of the industrial area in town.
“Okay, I’ve been watching the cameras in town and noticed a major uptick in traffic to this warehouse right here,” Nerd says as he uses his laser pointer to tap the screen.
I have no clue why Pokey isn’t running this show, but he’s been a little off lately so maybe he let Nerd take the reins. Right now, it’s not the most important thing for me to worry about, so I push it to the back of my mind.
“So, how do you know for sure that Gretchen’s in there?” I ask.
“Because before I came and got y’all, I went last night with Gopher, and we checked the place out. There are cots lined up in there and most of them have men and women in them hooked up to IVs of what I presume are drugs of some sort,” he replies.
“You did that without clearing it with me?” Rio questions as he glares at Nerd.
“Sorry, prez, but I honestly felt like time might be of the essence because of all the comings and goings I noticed,” Nerd replies.
“Gopher and I put in some cameras to keep an eye out, but we need to plan something, prez, before they move them. Chatter on the street is that whoever is doing this is well-aware that the Kings are on the hunt.”
“We’ll deal with you going outside of the chain of command later,” Rio states, glaring at both Nerd and Gopher. Both brothers shrug, uncaring that they may get sanctioned, and I mentally decide that I’ll pay their fine because they were trying to find my woman.
My rage, which has been simmering the longer she’s been missing explodes and I stand, my fist flying into the wall. “Fuck!” I bellow as I continue to take my anger out on our walls.
It’s not the first time and probably won’t be the last that one of us does this, and I know I should get myself under control, but I can’t. Arms band around me and I hear Abyss murmur, “Steady, brother, we’re gonna go get them, I promise. Now, come and sit your ass back down so we can make a plan.”
My hands ache from my earlier activities, but I ignore the pain as I drum my fingers on my thighs as I ride with BamBam in one of the club’s SUVs.
The other brothers are divided up in our other vehicles, including two vans, since we have no clue what we’re going to face.
My medical bag is packed and sitting at my feet while I think about where we can put any of the people we rescue.
Right now, I wish I had a bigger facility with beds because I know the red tape that’ll be involved sending them to the hospital, especially if most of them are from our homeless community.
An idea comes to mind, and I pull out my phone and call Rio.
“Hey, you know the cabins we own?” I ask once he picks up.
“Yeah, what about them?” he questions.
“Think we can use them to help those we rescue? I know our local hospital isn’t going to have the capacity to deal with a bunch of people who have likely been force-fed drugs for fuck knows how long.”
“So, you’re what, thinking of doing your own detox program of sorts?” he queries.
“Yeah, modified, of course, at least until I can reach out to my contacts. It’ll give me a chance to assess everyone’s health and at least get them started on a path toward regaining their health and life,” I reply.
“I’ll call Constance and have her, Maria, and Millie head over and get the rooms ready. Marge and Buddy as well,” he says.
“Thanks, prez,” I tell him. What I don’t tell him is that Gretchen will be with me. If these past few weeks have taught me anything, it’s that life is too fucking short to wait around for the right time. She may not know it yet, but she’s gonna be mine.
We pull into the parking lot and park, then after receiving one last nod from Rio to confirm we’re all in place, we enter the warehouse from every access point and quickly spread out.
While my nose crinkles over the smell that pervades the place, my eyes are moving to and fro to see if I can find Gretchen.
When I finally see her, I waste no time running to her side, my bag banging against my leg as I eat up the distance from the door to the cot she’s lying on.
“Gretchen!” I exclaim as I hit my knees next to her. “Baby, I’m here, I’ve got you, shhh, it’s going to be okay now.”
Her sobbing nearly drowns me out and I can tell she’s actively withdrawing from whatever is in the IV. “Dr. Brooks?” she keens out. “It hurts, make it stop, please,” she begs.
“Okay, sweetheart, hang on,” I murmur as I quickly remove her IV, before I open my bag and search for a syringe and the medicine I need to help take the edge off. Once I have it prepared, I say, “Just a little pinch, Gretchen, hold on then I’ll get you out of here.”
“I’m so cold,” she stammers, her body now rocking back and forth.
I remove the restraints and grab the blanket from my bag then wrap it around her.
She’s lost a lot of weight and she’s filthy from head to toe, but she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Leaning in while ignoring the overpowering stench, I place a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s get you out of here, baby.”
The mild sedative I gave her has her drowsily looking at me. “You found me,” she mumbles. “I was lost but you found me.”
“I’ll always find you, Gretchen. Always,” I promise as I stand then scoop her into my arms.
All around me, the brothers are gathering the others who were abducted, and I’m grateful that most of them know how to remove IVs because the last thing I want to do is put Gretchen down right now.
Rio looks at Gopher and says, “Give us five minutes then torch the place. Mongrel dropped your bike at the entrance, brother.”
“Got it, prez,” Gopher replies. “Y’all get on out of here.”
One of the best things that Nerd and Gopher did the night before was put out cameras so we could hopefully get some intel on the fuckers who thought it was appropriate to abduct grown ass adults for nefarious purposes.
As the prospects hustle around from room to room with buckets for those who are now puking their guts up, the women start helping them get cleaned up so I can assess them.
Hours later, once everyone has a new IV with fluids to combat their dehydration and nausea, as well as meds to take the edge off, I walk over to where Gretchen is curled up sound asleep.
She’s in the fetal position, her arms wrapped around her stomach, and I can hear the small, distressed sounds she’s making even in her sleep.
Leaning down, I push her hair back from her forehead and softly call out, “Gretchen? Baby, come on, we’re gonna go now, okay?”
“Sixteen years,” she whispers, her eyes still closed. “Lost it all.”
I know she’s a recovering addict but had no idea she had sixteen years under her belt since she’s so young.
Granted, she’s younger than me, but still, she’s in her early thirties at least. “You have something you can rebuild on, Gretchen,” I reply as I carefully gather her in my arms, being sure not to pull her IV out.
“And I’ll be right there beside you every step of the way. ”