Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TRIXIE
Sunday starts as normal. I busy myself in the kitchen, alongside Star and Heaven, catering to the brothers’ breakfast needs.
It’s always a staggered affair at weekends, with everyone relaxed and not in too much of a hurry.
Sweetie eventually puts in an appearance, entering just in front of Woody, who’s fastening the button on his jeans.
You didn’t need to be a genius to figure out why she was late.
Around midday, the atmosphere changed. To start with, it was just the odd whisper, a sense that something was happening.
First, Bullseye appeared. Like a man on a mission, he’d approached Saint and murmured something into his ear.
Then, after raising his chin toward Genie, the three of them left the room.
There was almost a palpable foreboding in the air, and the men started to get up from the table, leaving their plates unfinished.
They began to gather in the clubroom in groups.
The air became darker, tenser, and the easy Sunday peace had disappeared into dust.
Activity ramps up, the clubhouse starts bustling, brothers on edge.
Some start cleaning weapons, while others assemble in groups, whispering and animatedly conversing as they wait for direction.
The sense of imminent danger on the horizon invades as though it’s a physical force, slowly at first, before it intensifies.
My unease increases in correlation. The last time I saw them like this, it was before the attack on the clubhouse the previous autumn.
I tense. Last time, we only survived as the Kings of New Mexico had come to help us. It had taken six months to repair the damage they’d caused. Were we facing another attack? Judging by the brothers’ preparation, I couldn’t shake the idea.
“What’s going on?” I hear hissed from behind me. Turning, I see the three other club girls approaching. Star, the speaker, is biting her lip and wringing her hands. It seems that they, too, have sensed something is wrong. Her voice is unsteady. “Are we going to be attacked again?”
Star had had nightmares for weeks after the MDMC’s attack on the compound, and though Heaven and Sweetie acted as though they’d taken it all in their stride, most of that was bluster.
I mean, who, and in that I include myself, could remain unfazed when there had been bombs exploding, the bunkhouse burning down, and a gunfight that seemed to go on for hours while we stayed hidden, fearing the worst and hoping we wouldn’t be found.
All of us were distraught to discover that the prospect, Heathen, had died.
For a while it had been touch-and-go whether Tempest and Genie would recover from their injuries.
It had been a bad time, and I don’t blame them for not wanting to have a repeat.
As they’re looking to me for guidance, I feel the need to reassure them.
I glance around, gathering evidence. “I doubt it,” I confide.
“They don’t look like they’re preparing to mount a defence.
I’d guess they might be getting ready to head out.
Something’s definitely happening, but I don’t think it’s coming to the compound. ”
Heaven looks uncertain. “Can you find out, Trix? Pippa is sure to know what’s going on, and you’re friends with her.”
Confidently, I nod, though I’ve no real pull with Saint’s old lady, and she might not have that knowledge, unless they need her skills.
If it falls under club business, she’ll be kept in the dark along with the rest of us.
Plausible deniability is a phrase we all know, and while there are good reasons for its application, it still sucks.
“I’ll see what I can do. Hey, doesn’t look like the brothers are going to need you for a while.
Why don’t you go back to the bunkhouse and have some time to yourselves? ”
As I’ve purposely kept my voice relaxed, even though my own stomach is in knots, some of their tension leaves them. “You’ll tell us as soon as you hear something?” Sweetie asks.
I make a shooing motion with my hands. “Of course I will.”
“We could watch that movie you wanted to see,” Heaven suggests to a more reluctant Star.
“I’m down for that,” Sweetie puts in, but I think it’s with less desire on her part, and more that she’s trying to encourage the younger girl. She puts her arm around Star, and Heaven follows them out.
Rubbing my hands together, I look around, trying to spy Pippa. And to my luck, just at that moment, she comes running in via the back door, with baby Jade in her arms. Moving quickly, I place myself in front of her, causing her to halt. “What’s going on? The girls are losing their shit.”
She looks past me toward the office to which she’s obviously heading. I immediately surmise whatever’s happened needs her skills.
“Pippa…?” I prompt.
Instead of sharing what she knows, she passes her baby into my arms, slips the diaper bag off her shoulder, and hands it to me to take as well. “Look after her for me, will you? I’m going to be busy.”
Automatically, I balance Jade so I can hold her securely and keep hold of the bag. I’m practised at this. I seem to have become the babysitter of choice for both Pippa and Saint’s baby, and Short’s kid, Trip.
Now relieved of her burden, she makes a move to go past.
“Please, Pippa, can’t you tell me anything? I want to know if I can help.”
She sighs heavily, then rolls her eyes to the ceiling and back, and leans in confidentially. “There’s nothing you can do, Trixie. Ace has gone missing. Freak’s in Flagstaff losing his fucking mind.” Then, having dropped that bombshell, she skirts around me and disappears.
Standing with my jaw on the floor, it takes a second for her words to sink in.
Then the implications slam into me with a force that makes me reel.
Fucking Toni. I’d hoped I wasn’t, but it seems I was right all along.
Pippa’s wrong. I can help. Knowing I’ve got information she’ll need, I follow in the direction she’d taken, and without thinking twice, barge straight into her and Genie’s office.
I stop short. Instead of just her and the tech guru, Bullseye and Saint are there too.
They’re not looking impressed that a club girl has interrupted.
“Get out of here, Trix. Pippa’s got no time to talk to you,” Bullseye growls.
Saint looks confused. “Unless it’s a problem with Jade.” He stares at his beloved daughter in my arms, as if searching for anything wrong.
I stand my ground, letting the words flood out of me. “I know where Ace is. Or, at least, I might know how to find him.”
Pippa shakes her head. “Trix, if you’re going to say with Toni, then he’s not there.”
“I’ll take a guess and say Freak hasn’t found that damn woman either?
” Though they try to keep poker faces, their expressions give me my answer.
I breathe in deep. If I’m wrong, Freak’s going to kill me for this, and Bullseye might throw me out of the club for overstepping.
“I never trusted her. I know it doesn’t sound logical, but I’d suspected letting Ace stay alone with her was a bad move.
So, when I fixed his jacket, I sewed one of those tracker things into the seam. ”
While the rest of them stand open-mouthed at the audacity of my admission, Pippa straightens as if jumping to attention. She holds out her hand. “Unlock your phone and give it to me now. What app are you using?”
Immediately, I pass her the device and give her the information she needs. Within seconds, she looks up. “Got it!” Then her eyes narrow. “The tracker is moving down I-17. It’s almost at Phoenix.”
“Where the fuck are they going?” Saint leans forward so he can watch the moving dot. He rubs his face. “They must have stopped somewhere close to Flagstaff overnight.” His brow furrows. “I recall when New Mexico had a run-in with the MDMC a while ago. They had a base somewhere in that area.”
“The Mojave Devils?” A wave of panic goes through me. They are fucking bad news. They’re the ones who’d attacked us. “What have they got to do with Toni and Ace?”
“That’s what we want to know. It was the Mojave Devils that moved her out of her house,” Pippa answers me. I’m glad because the men probably wouldn’t have told me.
“They went willingly?” I don’t know what to think of this new information.
“Apparently.” Saint seems to speak half to himself. “Look at the direction they’re taking.” He shoots me a narrowed-eyed look. “All we know is that Ace is in a vehicle moving south. It could just be her and the boy. Maybe she’s bringing him back to us.”
At that moment, Bullseye’s phone rings. He answers.
“Freak? Yeah, we’re getting somewhere… Hold your fuckin’ horses and I’ll tell you.
Trixie had the bright idea to put a tracker on Ace, and he’s now on I-17 just outside Phoenix.
” Bullseye pulls his phone away from his ear, and while I can’t make out actual words, I can hear Freak screaming at him.
Bullseye raises his voice. “Calm the fuck down, Brother. Who cares why she did it? You can talk about boundaries and overstepping once he’s home.
It does mean we know what direction he’s heading.
Yeah, Bro. Get your ass moving. We’ll keep you updated. ” The call ends.
Prez’s cheeks puff out as he inhales. “Saint, I know you suggested Freak’s woman might be bringing him home, but the facts suggest she’d tried to cover her tracks so she could disappear with him. And being that the MDMC are involved, they’re not likely to just let a woman and kid leave.”
Saint swears loudly and brushes his hands back through his hair, gathering the strands together and holding them back in a ponytail.
He shakes his head. “You’re right. We’ll work on the worst-case scenario.
Our intel is that their main compound is close to Tucson, which could be where they’re heading. ”