Chapter 18
BEAR
Ipick up Brooke’s phone and leave the bathroom, walking past Jack and out of the gas station.
“Did you find anything?” Gears asks.
“I’ll tell everyone at the compound,” I yell, climbing onto my bike.
Quickly, I speed down the road to the clubhouse. Anger boils in me as I think about someone taking Brooke. Who would want to take her?
Ink, Gears, and I hop off our bikes and rush toward the club entrance. I slam the door open, and it hits the wall. Everyone’s eyes are on me as I walk through the door.
“What’d you find?” Pres asks, standing.
“Someone took Brooke! Her cell phone was lying on the bathroom floor.” Anger laces my voice.
“Did you get the surveillance tapes?” Phantom pipes in.
“The owner sent them to you already,” Gears announces, sitting at the table.
Phantom quickly opens his computer and starts typing. I sit in front of Phantom and watch him work.
“What do we know so far?” Pres asks.
“The person who took her is a white male around thirty years old. Jack said he’s never seen the guy before,” I grunt out. “Phantom, run his facial recognition and dig into Brooke’s past to see how they are connected.”
“On it!” Phantom replies.
“I knew Brooke was running from something. She is too skittish and shy around us. Heck, around anyone. I saw her in town once, and she was shy with other people,” Pres says, sitting next to me.
“I got something!” Phantom yells, catching all of our attention.
“What is it?” I grunt out.
“His name is Jared, and he broke out of prison a week ago. He was in for attempted murder by arson. Give me one second to find out his relation and how he got out,” Phantom says while still typing.
“He set her on fire?!” I yell, jumping up. “Who just sets someone on fire?”
“An abusive dick. That’s who,” Phantom mutters.
“What do you mean, abusive?” Gears asks.
“He abused her. He is her ex-boyfriend. He abused her for years. She didn’t tell anyone until he set her on fire.
They went to court, and that’s when she wrote that he abused her for years.
” Phantom runs his hands across his face.
The air is thick with guilt and frustration.
We knew she’d been through something, and we should have figured this out sooner.
“I’m going to kill him!” I yell, punching the wall.
“Sit down!” Pres shouts. “I know you are upset. All of us are, but we need to be at the top of our game when we get her back. And you punching walls only hurts your fists and will slow you down!”
I grumble, wanting to go on a killing spree. Get my hands dirty.
“He is working with the Italian mafia.” Phantom looks over at Pres.
“Are they the ones who broke him out?” he asks.
“Yes, sir.”
I take a deep breath in. We don’t like getting involved with the mafia. It never ends well, and we don’t want to lose anyone.
“I understand if you don’t want any part of this, but I am going to get Brooke back. She is my girl, and I don’t care if I have to kill hundreds of people to get to her. I promised I would keep her safe,” I say to Pres.
He stands and walks toward me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“No, you won’t go alone. She has planted herself here and has become part of the family,” he says. “Phantom, track down everything you can on this guy! I want to know everything about him. Most importantly, I want to know where he is holding Brooke.”
“On it!” Phantom types rapidly on his computer.
“Now, I know you are mad, but I need you to stay cool until we get her location. You can go ham whenever we get there,” Pres explains, looking at me.
“Yes, sir,” I reply. “I need a beer.”
Before I can even get up, a beer is placed in front of me.
“Here you go,” Whiskey says.
“Thank you.” I nod.
I pick up the bottle and take a big swig of it. My leg bounces in anticipation. I just want Phantom to find out where he is holding her. I want her back in my arms, safe and sound.
“Can I kill him when we find them?” I ask Pres.
He lets out a sigh. “I would like to question him, but if it’s a dangerous situation and you have a clear shot, take it.”
“Thank you.”
Oh, I can’t wait to end him. To have him dead and below me. I smile at the thought.
“Thinking of all the ways you could kill him? That smile is a wicked one,” Gears says.
“Oh yes. I can’t wait,” I reply.
Before Gears can say anything more, Ink beats him to it.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
I nod, standing and following Ink. We walk into the back room, where nobody else is.
“What did you need?” I ask, leaning against the wall.
“I just wanted to apologize. I know you gave me the responsibility to watch over her and keep her safe. It’s killing me that this happened. I should have gone in with her, but I wanted to give her space,” he says, looking me directly in the eyes.
I push off the wall and walk toward him.
I let out a sigh. “I don’t want to forgive you. I really don’t, and I just want to punch you for letting this happen, but I won’t. I forgive you. Brooke has gotten to me, and she would hate me if I didn’t.”
“Turning all soft on us?” He cracks a smile. “But thank you.”
I grab him by his collar. “Don’t you dare tell that to the brothers, or I’ll beat you unconscious.”
I let go of his shirt and walk off. Brooke is turning me soft, but maybe it’s for the better. I can be hard and emotionless when I want to, but it’s also okay for me to show what I’m feeling.
“Everything all right?” Pres asks.
I nod, sitting down in my spot, and take a sip of my beer.
“You find anything, Phantom?” I ask him.
“Not yet. All his property was sold when he was sentenced to life. No one thought he would get out,” Phantom replies.
I let out a growl and take another sip of my drink. This is just fantastic. No leads, and each second passing means that she could be getting hurt.
“Ding!” The sound goes around the room. Everyone looks at their phones and stuffs them back in their pockets. I slip my phone out of my pocket. Three messages from an unknown number. I quickly swipe my fingers across my phone and open the messages.
I have to fight not to crush my phone at the sight. Photos of Brooke hung by her arms from the ceiling. I growl and keep scrolling, looking at Brooke, who is battered and bloody.
“What is it?” Pres asks.
“Pictures of Brooke,” I growl.
“Give me the phone, and I can try to track the location,” Phantom says, reaching his hand out.
I place my phone in his hand and stand. Furious, I pace the room as Phantom does his job.
“What about Brooke?” Gears asks.
“She is hung from the ceiling by her hands. All bloody and bruised!” I yell.
I want to punch something. I want to find this guy and kill him with my bare hands.
“Calm down!” Pres says.
“How can I calm down when this guy has my girl hung up? She looks like she is about to die, and you want me to calm down?” I scream at Pres.
“Yes, I do! So calm down, or I’m gonna have Razor sedate you!”
I breathe in heavily, trying to calm myself. I need to be conscious for her rescue, I need to be there for her when she needs me.
“Find anything?” I bark at Phantom.
Phantom flinches and briefly looks at me.
“Not yet. He was smart and used coding to scatter his location. It might take some time to find his exact location,” he says.
I slam my fists against the table.
“She doesn’t have much time! You better find his location fast!” I yell.
I am on edge. Anything could set me off, and I won’t be able to stop. People won’t be able to stop me until I get what I want. I want Brooke back in my arms, and this Jared dead.
“Bear!” Pres yells.
I turn my head toward him and give him a grunt.
“Take a walk!” he tells me. “Ink and Gears, go with him. I don’t want him going anywhere.”
I turn and make my way toward the front door, Ink and Gears following me. I take a big breath in and touch the handle, but stop when Phantom yells.
“I found her location!”
“Where is she?” I ask.
“At an abandoned warehouse on the highway. Wait, it’s the warehouse we always drive by.”
I nod and race out of the front door. I know exactly where I am going.
“Bear! Wait. We need a plan,” Pres calls. “You can’t just go in guns blazing. That’s how you get yourself killed.”
I stop in my tracks and look over at Pres. I hate when he is right.
“What is the security like around the building? Can you see how many people are there?” I ask Phantom.
“There only seem to be about a dozen people inside the building. One posted outside the door, but nothing else,” he says.
I nod. That doesn’t seem too bad. I grab my gun from under my shirt and check how many bullets I have left. My brothers all do the same with their guns. Some even pull out guns from under the table or behind the bar.
“Any upstairs or is it one floor?” I ask.
“It’s just one floor, and there is only one exit and entrance,” Phantom says.
“So then let’s get going. From what I’m looking at, there are windows that we can plant people at,” Pres says.
“Sounds good,” several people say.
“Then we ride!” Pres yells, walking out the front door.
Everyone follows Pres, walking toward their bike. We all hop on and ride out of the compound. Everyone stares at us as we make our way through town and onto the highway. The closer we get to the warehouse, the angrier I get.
We park our bikes a little distance away from the warehouse and storm toward the building. The closer we get to the building, the more we can see. There isn’t a guard outside the front door.
“You ready?” Pres asks.
“Yeah,” everyone says.
Pres makes his way toward the building entrance. I stand on the opposite side of him, and everyone follows behind us. Pres looks right at me and gives me a nod. I place my hand on the doorknob. I twist the handle and quietly push the door open.