Chapter 38
Lark
Neither Miracle nor I talk while she drives through town. Since it’s after three in the morning, there thankfully isn’t much traffic.
As we pull through the gate at the clubhouse, I exhale heavily.
Nothing happened.
Atlas leads the way down to Anthony’s house and I’m surprised that they both shut off their bikes when Miracle parks and shuts off her car.
I get out and Miracle pops her trunk. Before I can do it myself, the guys grab my suitcases as well as Miracle’s bags.
I roll my eyes behind their backs. We are perfectly capable of carrying our own suitcases.
At the same time, though, a part of me warms that they do that.
Once inside, I crouch down and give Igor some love. Looking up, I frown when Cannon turns on the alarm after locking the door. “Are you guys staying tonight?”
They both nod. “Yeah. Reaper asked us to until they get the assholes.”
My chest tightens. “Did they find Mae yet?”
They both hesitantly glance at Miracle, but thankfully, they still answer me.
“They were able to track her bracelets, phone, and cut. Fucking morons didn’t ditch her phone or cut—they’re all pinging from the same place. They’re on the road to her now but it’s a little over an hour away driving at normal speeds.”
The pressure in my chest loosens some at that. “Good. I’m sure they’ll get there quicker than that, though.”
Both guys smirk at me. There’s no way the guys aren’t speeding their way to Mae.
“How’s Smoke doing?”
During a lull tonight, the guys told me they busted him out of the hospital so that he could help if an issue came up during the rescue.
He wasn’t going with them, but I could definitely see them needing his computer skills.
I was shocked when Anthony and Python had previously told me that the government seeks him out when their hackers can’t figure something out.
I knew Smoke was good with computers from what everyone had told me, but I had no idea he was that good.
“Hanging in there. He’s refusing to take the pain meds though until he sees Mae.”
I nod, understanding needing to put your eyes on someone after something like that.
“Reaper asked us to also give Miracle the bracelets since she’ll be here this week. Be right back,” Cannon says as he walks down the hallway toward Anthony’s office.
Miracle looks over at me, confused. “What bracelets?”
Rolling up my sleeves, I show her mine. “The guys wear them, too. Levi made them after… after something happened when she was a teenager. When she got with Thor and Dragon, she had some made for their club as well as our club. There are trackers in them, but they also do something else.”
Turning around, I place my hands behind my back like they would if I were tied up.
I twist open one of the bracelets and hear her sharp breath when she sees the blade.
Turning back around, I re-secure the bracelet and swallow thickly.
I hear something shut in Reaper’s office before hearing Cannon’s footsteps as he rejoins us.
“It’s in part because of these bracelets that Levi and Reaper were able to cut through their restraints when they were kidnapped in June.
They will cut through rope, but you’ll have to practice so that you don’t cut yourself.
The trackers in their bracelets and cuts were also how the club was able to get to them so quickly. ”
Miracle glances between us nervously and she swallows a few times before taking the bag that Cannon hands her. She looks back at me and I nod, knowing what she’s thinking.
“It’s worth it, M. I love Anthony,” purposefully using his real name instead of his road name.
“Yes, I’m now dealing with a crazy stalker that doesn’t like that I’m with Anthony.
Yes, there’s danger, which you’ve now witnessed since the guys are off trying to rescue Mae, but it’s all still worth being with him.
I love him. There’s no way I could ever leave him. ”
She nods as she exhales heavily. “Okay,” she replies shakily.
Stepping forward, I help her secure the bracelets.
“Let’s get you ladies upstairs. We’ll let Igor out and take turns keeping watch tonight,” Cannon tells us as he grabs Miracle’s bags while Atlas grabs mine and heads upstairs.
“Slumber party tonight?” Miracle asks me and I work to hide my shock.
Shit.
Either she’s freaked out about the bracelets and what happened tonight, or it’s related to her bruise and change in attitude.
“Yeah. Pick whichever room you want up here. I’ll go change and be in in a few.”
Walking toward my room, I catch Cannon in the hallway. “What about the note and the blood on it?”
“I’m going to call Razor when we get downstairs. Not sure if he’ll come over now or wait till the morning to check it out.”
My throat tightens and, not trusting my voice right now, I nod instead. He squeezes my shoulder and heads downstairs.
Ten minutes later, I walk into the room at the end of the hall that Miracle claimed. She’s already in bed, so I crawl into bed next to her and face her. She took off her make-up so the yellow-greenish bruise on her cheek is even more pronounced.
“You okay, M?”
She sniffles and shakes her head. “Grant’s gone. Kicked him out after he went off the deep end and hit me.”
“What sent him off?”
She scoffs and her face hardens. “He gets jealous so easily. Every guy I talk to at the bar while getting the drinks, he thinks is hitting on me and me on them. I pointed out, repeatedly, that I have to talk to the customers. It’s part of the job.
Yeah, I flirt a little, but that’s as far as it goes.
If I don’t talk to them, I’d be out of a job in a blink of an eye.
” She pauses as she sighs. “He’s also gotten even more controlling and wanted me to text him every time I went somewhere and when I got there.
I told him in no uncertain terms that that would never happen.
It doesn’t help that his friend, Lucas, keeps making shitty comments about me and makes up lies about me.
Grant believes every word he says since they’ve been friends since they were kids. ”
I scoot closer and wrap my arm around her. “I’m sorry, M. I know you love him, but I’m glad you kicked his ass to the curb. He doesn’t get to treat my bestest bestie like that.”
She sniffles and is silent for a little bit before her fingers go to her bracelets.
“So, what was with that scowl after you said Reaper asked you to be his Old Lady?”
I sigh. “I’m just tired of fighting with the hang arounds. They don’t believe that I’m with him since I don’t have my property cut yet. It’s bad enough I’ve got to deal with the bunnies, but when you add them onto it, it just sucks.”
Her muscles tense under my arm. “Why do they call it a property cut?”
“It’s not a control thing,” I reassure her and her muscles relax.
“It will be similar to the guys’ cuts but back at the bottom there will be a rocker that will say ‘Property of Reaper’.
It’s because he’s mine and I’m his. It basically shows he’s taken while at the same time, it shows that I’m taken. ”
She nods, and we talk about random things but stay away from conversations about Grant or the club. I’m almost positive there’s more to what’s going on with Grant, but I know that if I push her, she’ll clam up and refuse to talk about it.
Sunlight wakes me up and I blink, confused for a moment before remembering where I am.
I stretch and look over at Miracle, noticing that she is still asleep.
Turning toward the nightstand, I’m surprised to see that it’s nine o’clock.
Not wanting to wake Miracle, I carefully climb out of bed, noting that Void and Igor are cuddled up together in the crook behind Miracle’s legs.
Igor opens an eye, looking at me, but then he closes it and goes back to sleep.
Quietly, I tiptoe out of her room. I’ll let Igor out when he comes down later.
Twenty minutes later, I’m showered, dressed, and heading downstairs. The smell of coffee has me humming in approval. I smile over at Atlas in thanks.
“Thank you for making coffee. Is Cannon still asleep?”
“Yeah, we switched off a few hours ago. He’ll probably be up soon though. That man hardly ever sleeps in.”
Once again, it’s on the tip of my tongue to ask about them, but I bite my tongue.
“Any word about Mae?”
He nods. “They got her and she’s back home.” He pauses and his eyes go unfocused. “It’s bad, Lark. Doc and Patch are still working on her but she’s at the clubhouse not the hospital, so I guess that’s a plus.”
My chest tightens with panic and I scramble for my phone, dialing Anthony. He picks up on the second ring.
“How bad is she?” I blurt out, needing to know. I haven’t talked with her yet, but hopefully soon I’ll be able to. Though, from everything Levi has told me, I know I’ll get along with her.
He sighs. “It’s fucking, bad, Darlin’. That fucker whipped her back. It’s not shredded,” he pauses and clears his throat, “but it’s bad, Baby.”
Tears well in my eyes. “How’s Smoke?”
“Stubborn fucker finally took his pain pills once they got Mae settled into hers and Timber’s room here at the clubhouse. We’ve been checking in every so often and bringing them coffee while Doc and Patch work on her, but she’s going to be hurting for a while.”
“I hope like fuck you guys were able to get the guys that did this to her,” I seethe as my mind goes through image after image of how bad her back could really be.
“Yeah, we got some of them. We found Lindsey, thank fuck. Apparently, they also kidnapped Jane’s mom, Elvira, when they took Jane and Lindsey. Lillian and Jane didn’t make it though,” he says quietly, and I close my eyes as tears run down my cheek.
“Fuck.” Drae’s going to be so devastated, but at least Lindsey is alive. Shit. “They… They didn’t hurt Lindsey… Did they?”
“No, thank fuck, but she did hear a lot of shit. She was mainly starved.”
I bite my lip. “Do you think Kenzie would be able to help Lindsey, and maybe even Mae if she needs it?”
Anthony makes a thoughtful sound. “She might be able to. I’ll mention it to Drae and give him her number.”
“Did Cannon or Atlas talk to you yet?”
He sighs. “Yeah, they did. So did Razor. The note was clean except for the blood. He got a partial fingerprint, but not enough to help narrow it down much. I asked the guys to take your car to the shop. Mark and Razor are going to go over it with a fine-tooth comb.”
“You’re not mad at me for waiting to tell you, are you?”
He sighs again. “No, Darlin’, I’m not. I get why you wanted to wait, and I appreciated it. I don’t think I would have been as focused if I knew you had something going on as well.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“How’s Miracle?”
I grumble as my anger rises again. “He fucking hit her, Anthony,” I damn near growl.
He curses.
“If I ever see that fucking asshole, you better have bail money ready because I’ll be beating his ass,” I hiss.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Atlas’ head whipping toward mine in shock before his face hardens in anger. A moment later, he walks down the hallway and I curse internally. I forgot that I wasn’t alone.
A strained chuckle comes over the line. “You’re fucking perfect, Darlin, but you won’t need bail money. We’ll be right there with you, and we’ll take his ass in. You and Miracle will get whatever you need to dish out your vengeance before he’s taking a dirt nap.”
We talk for a while longer and he promises to call when he knows more about Mae.
Hanging up, I walk into the kitchen and refill my coffee mug. Igor comes trotting downstairs as I hear the shower turn on upstairs, so I let him outside to do his business.
A moment later, Cannon and Atlas come back into the kitchen talking about the Halloween drive next week. Shit. With everything going on with Mae and Smoke, I’d forgotten all about it.
“I take it I need to place my order online instead of going into town to get supplies for the drive, don’t I?”
They both give me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Lark, but that would probably be for the best. If stuff is available in store, order it and we’ll send a Prospect to go pick it up. If not, order it to be delivered. Did Reaper get you a club card yet?”
“Yeah, he did. I’ll do that with Miracle later today. Do you guys want breakfast?”
“Nah, just coffee is good.”
“Okay, what else do we need to do for the Halloween drive?” Much like the Forest Creek chapter, we’re collecting food and clothing donations for those in need.
The town always has a bit of a celebration on Halloween to give kids a well-lit area where they can have fun before as well as during trick-or-treating.
There will be games, face painting, and of course, candy.
The guys fill me in on what they normally do and I make notes in my phone.
I’ll need to buy a bunch of candy, face paints, temporary tattoos, balloons, darts, and some rubber duckies.
Not to mention getting gloves, hats, scarves, coats, snowpants, and snow boots with the money that people donated on the website Python runs for the club.
We also set up bins in stores around town where people can donate gently used winter gear or they can also drop off gear that they buy.
“So what type of paints and brushes do I need to get for the face-painting, Atlas?”
“I like to use water-activated face paint, so we’ll need a variety of colors. I still have some, but we’ll need more. As for the brushes, I have what we need.”
“Face painting?” Miracle asks as she walks into the kitchen. I hadn’t even heard her come downstairs.
I look back over at Atlas, and I bite my lip when I see his cheeks pinken a little as he keeps his gaze rooted firmly on his coffee mug.
“Yeah, for the Halloween drive next week. We do a couple of booths at the park for a few hours before and during trick or treating. I usually help out with the face painting.”
Miracle’s face softens and she smiles. “That’s sweet.”
Atlas’ blush deepens, and I turn, grabbing a mug for her out of the cabinet. As I do, I notice Cannon looking at Miracle with a look I can’t quite describe. Huh.
“Creamer is in the fridge, M, if you want it,” I tell her as I pour her some coffee. A moment later, I hear her getting in the fridge. Luckily, we prefer the same type of creamer.
She doctors her coffee the way she likes it and hums as she takes a sip. “Mmmm. Nectar of the Gods,” she murmurs and I chuckle.
“Want to do some online shopping with me later? I gotta get a bunch of supplies and the gear for next week.”
Her eyes light up at the mention of shopping and I grin. I knew that would help her get out of her funk. At least for a little bit, anyway. She scoffs playfully.
“As if you have to ask, girl. I’m always up for shopping.”
I grin, happy that I get to spend some time with my bestie.