Chapter Nine #3
“No, honey,” Rachel assured her, leading her to the couch. “Why don’t you lie down and rest while we wait for our friends? Then you’ll feel refreshed and can think better,” she said, covering the young woman with a blanket.
“If this comes down on us, I’m choking you with my bare hands,” Matthew hissed before returning to the kitchen.
“I’m no longer your employee. It won’t taint your precious ranch,” Garrett said, refusing to back down.
“Why don’t we stop this pissing match? You get your laptop, and I’ll make us some grub,” Mac said, entering the room. “Julio will be here soon. We’ll need a fresh pot of coffee. Why don’t you help me make some sandwiches?” he said to Garrett.
“I need to get Riley,” Garrett said, heading toward the door. “I’m packing my things, and I’ll come back for the girl.”
“Didn’t figure you as a quitter,” Mac said.
“You put up such a good argument to work here. You should know they changed the ranch’s name.
It’s called Haven Ranch. Rachel designed a fancy sign for the driveway.
It’s the only reason the gate remained open.
We finished measuring it, and one of the gates kept getting stuck. I’ll work on it while you’re gone.”
“Why do I care what they name the damn place? He basically fired me,” Garrett argued. “I may not know this woman, but I gave her the money and caused all the trouble.”
“Maybe you need a cup of coffee and some time to dwell on the name. Something might come to you,” Mac said, entering the kitchen.
“You sure fit in with this group, hard-headed, act before you think, and a complete asshole. I can’t wait till Julio arrives.
You think you got Rachel wound up, wait until you meet Rebecca. ”
“I’m not a damn quitter,” Garrett muttered as Mac laid out sandwich fixings and set him to work.
“Don’t put the tomato on the same plates as the rest of the fixings. Matthew has an aversion to them. Jameson will be here in a minute. You haven’t met him. He’s a little testy these days for good reason. Give him a break,” Mac explained as he measured out coffee.
“I won’t be here long enough to give him one,” Garrett said, still making a sandwich and wondering why the hell he stayed.
Mac chuckled. “Yup, as I said, you’ll fit right in.”
A few minutes later, a dark-haired man opened the back door, holding a thin child in his arms.
A blonde followed him inside. “We’ll get Megan settled and then join you,” she said, smiling at Mac. She noticed Garrett, and her eyes shifted away as she stayed close to the man.
“I’m Julio. Meet my fiancée, Rebecca, and Megan. It’s nice to meet you, Garrett. Let me set our daughter down, and we can get acquainted,” the man said as he walked through the kitchen and up the stairs.
A few minutes later, the couple returned, holding a baby monitor with a screen. Julio shook his hand while Rebecca nodded at him.
Matthew entered the room with Rachel. She went straight to the fridge and pulled out drinks while Mac set the sandwiches and cut up veggies on the table.
“I hear we have a situation,” Julio began. “What have you found out?”
Rachel crossed her arms and glared at her fiancé. “Probably not much since Matthew believes we need to involve the police.”
“Rachel,” Matthew growled.
“Matthew,” she mimicked and stuck out her tongue. “A woman needs our help. The local police consist of four officers, and they’re easily outgunned by a biker gang. What do you think they’ll do?”
Julio sighed and glanced over to Garrett. “Has he signed the NDA?”
“Yeah, I gave it to him yesterday,” Matthew concurred.
“If we involve law enforcement, they’ll want to know why you gave a woman ten thousand dollars,” Julio brought up.
“Because I hit her with my truck on my way back here. She suffered a concussion, scrapes, and bruises. Riley didn’t want to go to the hospital because of the bill. I told her my truck insurance will pay for it,” Garrett explained.
Rebecca shook her head. “But you didn’t file a police report, and we have a missing woman who you gave a large sum of money to, and she disappeared.”
“I stand by my decision. After I dropped her off at her apartment, I returned to pick up her friend’s car. I left it in the parking lot, and when I went to give her the keys, she wasn’t there. I left her a note under them. They live in a dump, and the cabinets were bare,” Garrett said, scowling.
Julio sat back, studying him. “How did you get into her apartment?”
This time, Garrett peered sheepishly at him. “I…ugh…broke in.”
“There’s the problem in a nutshell. We bring the police in, and they’ll connect the dots, leading them to believe Garrett’s the last person to see Riley,” Julio informed them.
“No, Tara said Riley distracted the bikers, and they took her. Tara saw her last,” Garrett argued.
“Who do you think they’ll believe? The skinny girl in there or the bear of a man who gave her money. What does she have to gain? They’ll say you intimidated her, and your ass will be in jail by tomorrow,” Julio said, watching Matthew click keys on his keyboard.
“What do you have to say about all this?” he asked.
“We’re putting ourselves at risk if they associate him with the ranch,” Matthew insisted.
“I told you I quit,” Garrett snapped. “Do you plan on helping me or not? I’m not leaving the poor woman at the mercy of a biker gang.”
Mac shook his head. “Those two have butted heads from the moment he arrived. Calm down, Garrett. We work as a team here. We’re brothers.
If you quit every time Matthew says something you disagree with, we’re not the right team for you,” Mac said quietly.
“Make up your mind. When you showed up on our doorstep yesterday, you seemed determined to work here.”
“We won’t let this woman down,” Rebecca said firmly. “Do we know who even took her?”
“On the edge of town, some bikers took over a small bar called ‘The Snake Pit.’ The bikers wear jackets called the Western Serpents. They’re relatively new and hang out in an abandoned industrial factory about three miles out of town.
The property shows a few buildings where they might live.
The rest of the factory seems too rundown to use for anything,” Matthew reported.
Garrett sat back, regarding him. The man protested, yet he knew everything about the gang by clicking on the keyboard.
“How do you know they don’t use the factory for drugs?” Garrett asked him.
“It’s old, and the windows have been busted out for a long time. I’m guessing they’re staying in this building.” Matthew turned his computer, showing a scaled map of the area. He circled the area where he believed they might be squatting.
“How can you tell?” Garrett asked, leaning in to stare at the property.
“I requested satellite imagery of the place. Two buildings contain electricity while the others don’t. I imagine one acts as the clubhouse and the other they use for privacy.”
“Tara said Riley distracted them for her to escape. When I sat with her on the couch, she mentioned Riley slipped through the fence,” Rachel offered.
“We’re not waiting until nightfall,” Julio said, taking a few notes on a napkin. “I’m in charge here, Garrett. Matthew hired you on my orders, which means you take them from me.”
Garrett nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’m Phoenix around here on missions. Rebecca’s Hummingbird, and Jameson, we call Jameson. Matthew will go with us today, but he usually stays behind the scenes,” Julio explained. “Mac takes care of the ranch side of things.”
“You mean she’s coming with?” Garrett peered at Rebecca.
Julio turned and grinned. “Yes. She’s coming, too.”
“At this time of day, most of them will be at the bar or doing business. It’s the perfect time to strike. Do we want to go in guns blazing or stealth mode?” she asked.
“I say we do it quietly. The less they know about us, the better,” Julio said as Jameson entered through the back door.
Julio glanced at his watch and arched a brow. Jameson’s eyes appeared red, and dark bags circled them. The man’s face seemed gaunt, and his expression felt dark.
“You’re late,” Julio announced firmly. “I know you have other things on your mind, but an order’s an order.”
“Sorry, boss,” Jameson grunted as he flipped a chair backwards and rested his arms on the back of it. His chin dropped to his arms as he reported, “The Colorado route turned into a dead end. I’ll have to retrace their steps.”
Julio placed a hand on Jameson’s shoulder and squeezed it. “We’ll find her. Rebecca remembered a couple of things, and she wanted to share them with you. As soon as we return from this mission, we’ll sit down and see if it means anything to you.”
“I’ll chase any lead,” he said earnestly.
“You won’t be doing it alone,” Rebecca said, lending him her support. “We have a young woman in trouble. You seem to fit the biker standard these days. Why don’t you go for a drink? We need someone with their jacket.”
“Gee, thanks,” Jameson muttered.
“Matthew, I want you to go East along the old cornfield. Rebecca, take the West side, here.” Julio pointed to a spot on the map.
“Jameson will hang out at the bar, and you’ll go in with me, here,” Julio told Garrett.
“We’ll breach from the back. Once Jameson gives us the location of the woman, we’ll breach and get her out. ”
“I can locate her but can’t find Caroline,” Jameson sighed. “It’s not fair.”
Rebecca rose and placed a hand on his back. “I promise you, we’re close. Don’t give up hope.”
“Thanks, Rebecca,” Jameson said, yet his expression appeared grim.
Garrett watched the interaction between the team members, and his chest filled with the familiar nostalgia of belonging to a team. He missed it more than he thought. As he watched them, his gut told him he was onto something when he believed they did more than ranching.
They didn’t include him, but Mac mentioned something about pondering the ranch’s name.
Once they rescued Riley, he’d make a point of discovering their little secret.
Matthew didn’t want the police involved, yet Julio called Riley’s rescue a mission.
Did they run black ops? Or did they participate in something illegal?
He’d soon find out. In the meantime, he planned to save Riley.