Tyrant Chapter 9 #2
“If Lakelyn would what?” I asked.
I swear, if he said she’d end up with one of them, I’d punch him. All the guys seemed to like to flirt with her. She appeared to take it in stride, laughing and joking with them, which kept me from losing my mind and hurting one of them. Crypto gave me a wary glance.
“Don’t kill me, Pres, but the way you’ve kept her at your house and acted with her, we did wonder if you might be interested in her. You stopped talking about when they would leave. She’s been helping out around here. It seemed as if you two might be sleeping together.”
“No, we’re not sleeping together. I want them found,” I ordered.
“And when I do?” he asked.
“Then you tell me. Lakelyn needs to discover that you don’t fuck with the Kings of Anarchy.
For now, this takes priority. If you can’t find them, we’ll get you help to do this and the Jacquot research.
I’ll check in later. We need to tell the rest of the guys what happened right now.
I want eyes and feet on the ground around this area.
We’ll go patrolling. Get the word out to our contacts to see if they have seen or can find them.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and find them without you having to do a bunch of work. ”
I stood, and Cobra rose with me.
“I’ll find them,” Crypto stated determinedly.
???
It had been nearly sixty-nine hours since we determined River and Lakelyn had left the compound.
It was nine o’clock on Monday night. I was unable to relax.
I didn’t go to the garage to work today.
I had no doubt I’d driven poor Crypto crazy with how often I was in and out of his office since they disappeared.
I couldn’t seem to stop myself. As for sleep, that had been practically non-existent.
In between being pissed off at her for running away, I found I was worried about them.
The things that could happen to them on the street were scary.
I knew that better than most. Homeless people were never seen or heard from again.
I kept imagining someone like the Depraved Sinners getting their hands on them.
We’d gone out on and off most of Saturday and Sunday.
Today, the guys had to work. I spent time out on the streets, just aimlessly riding around, hoping to catch a glimpse of them.
I was beginning to lose hope. They’d already found a way to leave Turmoil.
Lakelyn had talked about their need to get south before the fall, which was still three months away.
But if they had to walk it, it would take months.
And if they hitchhiked, that could be dangerous.
Crypto had assured me they hadn’t gotten a bus ticket out of town.
He had a way to monitor the bus stations.
He looked worse than I did. We were both dead on our feet and needed to take a break.
I was sitting at a table in the clubhouse, staring sightlessly at the bottle in front of me.
The guys were staying away from me. I was biting off their heads, and they didn’t deserve it, but I couldn’t seem to stop it.
The chair next to me was pulled out. The scrape of the chair legs on the floor made my teeth clench. I glanced up to find Cobra sitting down. Then more chairs were moved, and in them dropped my other officers. They wore determined expressions. Here it came. They were about to give me a lecture.
“Pres,” Cobra said first.
“VP,” I said in return.
“Tyrant, we need to talk,” Howler stated next.
“About?” I asked. I wasn’t making it easy on them. Yeah, it was the asshole in me.
“We’re troubled by how this hunt for Lakelyn and River is going,” Brutus added.
“Troubled how?”
“You and Crypto are killing yourselves. Do you ever think we should let them go? They obviously didn’t want to stay here,” Wrangler said.
“We’re as upset as you are that they snuck off the way they did, but they’re not club. This life isn’t for everyone,” Smuggler added.
“You think?” I asked. I was being a dickhead, and I knew it.
“Listen, we’re—” Cobra said, then halted as Crypto ran into the room. I came to my feet. He barely slowed down before coming to a halt by the table.
“I found them,” he said excitedly.
“Where?” I asked.
“How?” Cobra asked.
“One of our street contacts sent me a message and said he found them.”
“Are you sure it’s them?” I asked.
“I am. He sent a picture,” he said, handing me his cell phone. I held it up. Even if the photo wasn’t the best quality, there was no mistaking that it was Lakelyn. I hungrily soaked her in.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“He sent me the address. They’re sleeping in one of the homeless camps. He said they’re staying to themselves, but they’re there and appear to plan to stay the night. It was Dunk. He’ll watch them and let us know if they leave. I told him if that happens, to find a way to stall or follow them.”
“I’m out of here. I need one of the prospects to come with me in the van,” I ordered. I was headed for the door. I didn’t care who did it as long as it was done.
“We’ll get one, but you’re crazy if you think we’re letting our president out alone after dark. It’s been bad enough you did it today,” Howler grumbled.
He snorted when I gave him the finger.
“I’m not some fucking baby who can’t wipe his ass or watch his back,” I informed him.
“No, you’re not, and you’d be the first to chew our asses out for riding alone like you did. You can swear all you want, but we’re coming with you,” Cobra said dryly.
“Then whoever is going better get their asses in gear. I’m rolling out of here in five minutes. If you aren’t on your bike or in the van, you’ll be left here. We need at least some of you to stay behind. We can’t leave the compound without backup,” I barked.
I left them to figure it out. A nervous quiver had taken over my stomach.
I was dying to see her, and yet I wanted to spank her ass, cuff her to my bed, and fuck her into submission until she learned her lesson and swore she’d never leave again.
I was dangerous right now. Lakelyn better not push me too hard.
When I pulled out the gate, I had half a dozen men with me, and Knife was driving the van.
I had the address. Crypto had sent it to our phones.
As we hurried there, I thought of Dunk. He was one of several street contacts we had.
They were a variety of homeless or, in some cases, what many people thought were the dregs of society who would help us out and keep their eyes and ears open.
If they came to us with helpful information, we gave them money.
I found that they were much more loyal than most people would expect.
The club had thought I was nuts when I suggested using them.
The night was decent as far as the temperature went.
Cobra paced his bike next to mine. Falling in behind us were Howler, Jury, and Handler.
Knife, Satyr, and Blood brought up the rear in the van.
I knew the place Crypto referred to. There was more than one area between Turmoil and North Platte where multiple homeless people would sleep and set up small settlements.
The city and the cops tried to run them off, but they just kept coming back.
When Cobra and I roared into the encampment, heads turned, and people either hid or stood there staring.
Dunk had told Crypto exactly which section they were in, so we’d gone straight to it.
We were in luck, and it was where two streets intersected next to that spot.
If they decided to run, we’d have them surrounded.
The others had divided up and would cover all four directions of those streets.
There were streetlights in the area, so it wasn’t dark.
I parked and shut down my bike. Cobra did the same. Out of the crowd came Dunk.
“Hi, Dunk,” I said, holding out my hand. He shook it, then Cobra’s.
“Hi, Tyrant, Cobra, this way,” he said.
He would save the pleasantries for afterward. I liked him. He was a young guy in his early twenties. I’d tried to get him to join the club or to work for us at one of the businesses, but he refused. I hadn’t given up on him but knew not to push him too hard. It was a delicate balance.
Dunk wound through the tents, cardboard boxes, and other things used to create shelter.
Toward the back was a lean-to constructed of cardboard.
He pointed to it and then stood back. A long piece of rag covered the opening.
I crossed my arms and raised my voice to be heard over the murmurs and mumbling of those surrounding us.
“Lakelyn, River, we know you’re in there. I’m giving you thirty seconds to get your asses out of here, or we’ll come in after you. And believe me, you don’t want to test me right now,” I growled.
My hands clenched into fists, but it was to hide the shaking. Adrenaline flooded my body. The prospect of seeing her made me feel high with anticipation and the desire to discipline her.
The next thing I knew, the cardboard exploded.
Two bodies took off, running in different directions.
I went after one and Cobra the other. It was automatic for him to chase River.
Lakelyn was running full speed away from me.
She wasn’t looking back. I might be in boots, but I had longer legs than she did.
I sped up. I was gaining on her when she glanced back at me.
Her eyes were wild. She appeared scared out of her mind.
“Lakelyn, stop! I just want to talk,” I shouted.