23. Bronco
23
brONCO
I slid out of bed early, ready to get on the road. Amber and Olive were in the room next door, and I couldn’t sleep a wink. Even with Titan keeping watch, I was twitchy. I wanted to be with her, hold her, tell her everything was gonna be okay, but I couldn’t.
I dress, pull my cut on and my boots, and slip quietly out of the room giving Titan a pat on the head.
“Stay,” I whisper. He lays down on his stomach, paws under his chin, his ears prick up as our eyes meet. “Good boy.”
I don’t even get a few steps down the stairs when I hear her door open. I glance up and our eyes meet.
“Are you going without saying goodbye?” She appears at the top of the stairs as I turn towards her.
“I didn't want to wake you.”
She’s already in my arms before I even know what’s happening. “I hate this.”
“It’s alright, I promise. I’ve got some of the guys comin’ with me. You’ve got nothin’ to worry about. Titan is stayin’ here with you, he’ll protect you.”
Last night, Cash called a meeting to discuss the game plan for the lockdown. Since all the Cut City Boys were now dead, officially this time, and Bane called to tell Cash he was on the way to Jackson to find out what the fuck the Disciples were doing, things were looking up.
If Bane can put a lid on things, then there is no more threat to the club or its members, and everyone can go back to life as we know it. Cash was pissed that the cops didn’t get all the Cut City Boys during the raid on their compound. Which is just another reason to reiterate why MC club justice works way better than the law. Nothing is long and drawn out — aside from torture when it’s needed — and we get shit done without messy, expensive trials with fancy lawyers who just wanna get paid. Their moral compasses don’t exactly line up with ours the majority of the time, which is why I think most of the lawyers in this city are scumbags.
“Please be careful,” she whispers.
I place a kiss on the top of her head. “I will.”
“You still don’t have an exact location?”
“No, but all hands are on deck. Rock will be with us, and he can keep in contact with Jett and Star. I’m gonna bring her home, babe. Just look after Olive and I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
She stares up at me, worry etched in her face with blinking, red eyes and puffy cheeks. “I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”
I brush a knuckle over her cheek. “We may not have said it, but we both felt it.”
“Yes, we did. That’s what matters.”
I press my lips to hers. “I love you, too. When I get back, we’re goin’ on a real date.”
She laughs softly against my lips. “Was the Pelican’s game not a real date?”
“Nope. I was a stand-in for fuckin’ Ben. Have you deleted him from that app?”
“He wasn’t on an app. We were texting, and I’ve already let him know I’ve met someone.”
“Good, now you can delete his number.” I deepen the kiss. “You’re mine.”
“Yes.”
“My ol’ lady.”
“Are you asking to claim me, or just doing it?” she asks.
“Just doin’ it because that’s how it is between us. We don’t need to put on pretenses, Princess. We know what we have.”
“You know you could be a poet.”
I snort. “Behave yourself. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.”
“I love you,” I say again.
“Right back at ya, Bronco.”
I reluctantly let her go, going half-way down the stairs before I turn around. Amber is still standing there in her pajamas, looking down at me. I blow her a kiss. “Wait for me.”
“Always.” She blows a kiss back.
I leave without looking back. If I see her sad face one more time, I’ll turn around and drag her to my room and then I won’t be going anywhere. I can’t get distracted because we have a woman to find before anything bad happens to her, and time is of the essence.
24 hours later
They say finding a missing person is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but those people don’t have a PI who can get blood out of a stone, and two hackers who are the best in the business. Erica had been zigzagging, and then finally, Star got a hit on her cell phone. Since she only seems to turn it on when she needs it, getting any kind of trace from that has been impossible up until now.
We’ve been keeping a base at the Baton Rouge Holiday Inn, working between the locations bouncing off Erica’s cell, and her bank records.
“You know desperate people do desperate things,” Ryder says as we wait in the lot for Rock and Pipes to finish fueling up.
“Know it. Just fuckin’ hope the Olgettis didn’t get to her before we do. She’s still on the move, so that’s a good sign, but if she’s running around all over the city, then she’s scared out of her mind, and I would be too.”
“How’s Olive been takin’ things?”
I shrug. “She’s got questions that we can’t answer, but she’s doin’ good in school and makin’ friends. Amber can’t run with the ‘mom had to go away for work excuse’ for much longer, and Olive isn’t stupid. She knows something’s up.”
“Poor kid. Not easy on her, or on Amber.”
“She’s takin’ it well, but if anythin’ happens… Erica is like a sister to her, they’re close. It’ll devastate her if we don’t get her back.”
“We will,” he promises. “We’re close.”
Cash agreed to settle the debt until Erica can pay the club back. It’s only because of Amber. She’s been an integral part of the MC with her loyalty and work ethic. It’s a lot of money, but it’s not worth losing a life over. The most important thing right now is getting Erica back and her being able to start over. I want that for her and Olive, and for Amber.
With the news that the flames have been put out in New Orleans where the Cut City Boys are concerned, and with the cops now involved in sniffing out the Disciples, they’ve scurried back to Mississippi where Bane will be waiting. Of course, it’s a good enough excuse for Bane and the MC to start a new beef with the Skeletons for letting it get this far, but that’s on them to figure out. As long as they stay out of NOLA then we don’t have to intervene.
The fact that we came so close to another threat wreaking havoc, tells the entire club and our allies we need to tighten our belts. That fight is for another day.
I call Amber while I have a few moments before we head out.
“Bronco, are you okay?” are the first words out of her mouth.
“I’m fine, Princess . What about you? How's everything goin’ there?”
“Everything’s good,” she says. “Just been keeping myself busy, waiting to hear from you.”
“I know, babe, and we’re close, I promise.”
I hear the fear in her voice. “You’ve done so much for me and for Erica and Olive, heck, this entire club, and she has no idea you’re coming for her.”
“Don’t get all choked up. You know I’ll turn this sled around and come find you if you do.”
“We can’t have that.”
“No, we can’t. How’s Olive?” Even though I only left Amber last night, I still want to know.
“She’s fine. She was happy to have a day off school to play with her friends.”
“That’s one bonus about bein’ stuck there, I guess.”
“Titan has been following her around like a hawk,” she says. “I think he’s attached.”
I smile, but sober quickly. “He’s a good boy.”
“Please be careful,” she whispers.
“Always am.” I hear the straight pipes fire up behind us as Rock and Pipes climb onto their sled’s. “I gotta run.”
“Be safe, I mean it.”
“I love you, AJ.”
“I love you, too.”
We hang up and I smile at my phone.
“What in the fuck?” Ryder’s gaping at me. “When did this happen?”
I shrug. “It happened.”
“You claimin’ her?”
“When I get back, yeah.”
He smirks. “Does she know that?”
“Yep, and she wants it. Nothin’ like seein’ your ol’ lady wearin’ your club colors.”
“Another one bites the dust,” Ryder laughs.
“It’ll be that much sweeter when I’m back in my ol’ lady’s arms.”
“Won’t be long now. Gonna check out that lead Jett texted over earlier, could be goin’ home sooner than we think,” he says.
“Fuckin’ hope so.”
“We good?” Rock sidles up next to us.
I nod. “Let’s ride.”
Another 24 hours pass before we get anywhere. It’s late when Jett calls and tells us to check out a motel on the outskirts of the city. It might be our lucky break. The boys have all seen the most recent headshot of Erica, so they know what she looks like.
Ryder and I step into the small reception. It’s a shit hole. The musty smell that greets us tells me this place is in dire need of a decent clean. The curtains are raggy and barely hanging on by a thread. It stinks like smoke, too, and the carpet has probably seen more traffic than Baton Rouge itself.
There’s a tiny woman behind the desk who looks like she’s seen better days. She’s missing a few teeth, has a cigarette tucked behind her ear, and still has her hair curlers in.
“Evenin’.” I give her a curt nod.
“How can I help you boys?” Her southern twang, mixed with the hoarse smoker’s cough that follows, rattles around the room.
“Here to find someone.” I hold up a picture of Erica. “Name’s Erica Maxwell, she checked in today.”
The woman doesn’t even glance at the photo. “You lookin’ for a room?”
“Nope, just some answers,” Ryder says.
She coughs a laugh. “Well, answers cost money. You ain’t in Kansas anymore, boys.”
I glance at Ryder as his eyebrows shoot up. “You done this before, sweetheart?”
She turns her smirk over to him. “Who’s askin’, pretty boy?”
I roll my lips, dying to laugh, but instead I slide a fifty over the counter. “We’re askin’.”
She glances at the patch on my cut. “New Orleans, huh? My third ex-husband lived there, ran a strip joint. Was a goddamn fuckin’ snake pit. The asshole probably drank himself into an early grave, if the juice didn’t get him first.”
“She here?” I wave the photo again.
“Yeah, she’s here.”
Relief floods through me. “Which room?”
She glances down at the book in front of her. The motel doesn’t even have a computer. It’s like we’ve stepped back in time. “Well, that kind of information is gonna cost you pretty pair a little more. I got bills to pay, and Baton Rouge ain’t cheap these days.”
Ryder pinches the bridge of his nose. This old bird is fuckin’ fearless, I’ll give her that. She didn’t even blink at our MC cuts, or the fact she’s about four-foot-nine and we tower over her.
I slide another fifty across, but this time keep my hand on it. “Room number, darlin’.”
She smiles, showing a toothy grin that almost makes me shudder. “One twelve, honey.”
I give her a pointed look. “Gonna need me a key.”
She turns without hesitation, grabbing a spare off the hook. “Don’t forget to lock up when you’re done, and don’t take anything big.”
It occurs to me that she doesn’t give a shit who we are, or what we’re about to possibly do to this woman, and that makes me fuckin’ mad.
Ryder taps me on the shoulder as he leaves. “Let’s go.”
“If she’s not home, there’s a diner next door, open until late,” she adds.
I nod, unable to thank her because she’s a fuckin’ scumbag, and I follow Ryder out. Leaving Pipes with our rides, we make our way up a flight of stairs toward her room.
I don’t even bother knocking; it’s not like we’re pretending to be room service, or housekeeping. Expecting a kerfuffle, I switch the lock with ease and push the door open. It’s quiet inside. There’s a bedside lamp on, only highlighting what must be the worst motel room I’ve ever seen. The carpet in here is worse than the one downstairs, and it has that same musty, damp smell that has gotta have mold hidden in the walls.
There’s nobody in the room, but there’s a large bag on the bed, and a couple of boxes on the floor.
I slide the bathroom door open with my foot, but there’s nobody in there.
“Jesus,” Ryder says behind me, pulling his bandana up over his mouth and nose.
“Gonna need disinfectin’ when we get back to the Holiday Inn.” Those are not words I expected to ever come out of my mouth. “Gotta check the diner,” I say, rifling through the contents of the bag. There’s mainly women’s clothing, a book, a notebook, and a smaller bag containing bathroom items.
Aside from that, the motel room isn’t somewhere Erica is going to call home for very much longer.
We head out of the room, back down the stairs and make our way to the front of the building. It’s late, and when we head toward the neon flashing sign, there’s only a couple of cars in the lot out front. The diner, as expected, isn’t doing a massive trade at this time of night. There’s two people sitting at the counter, talking to the waitress, then a couple sitting at one of the booths. Two other tables are occupied.
“Well, hello there, gentleman,” the waitress coos, leaving her conversation to look us up and down. “What can I get y’all?”
I give her my sweetest smile. “Just coffee, darlin’.”
“Comin’ right up.”
I glance around, spotting a woman with blonde, shoulder length hair with her back to us in one of the booths. It’s gotta be her. I signal to the others I’m going ahead, Ryder next to me. I walk towards her.
Before I even arrive at the table, she glances over her shoulder and our eyes meet.
Well I’ll be damned.
Fucking Erica.
I’m next to her before she can even react, blocking her exit as Ryder slides into the seat opposite her. I follow suit as Rock stands a few feet away, and Pipes guards the door. If the waitress is suspicious of us accosting this woman, she doesn’t do shit. I don’t rate the sense of security around here, or how everyone just looks the other way.
“No,” Erica whispers. “I have more time. Please. You said I had more time.”
“Erica,” I say. “This isn’t what you thi?—”
She tugs on the lapels of my cut. “I’m begging you. I’ll get the money. I have a daughter, I have to get back to her.” Tears are already streaming down her throat. “I had a life, a pretty good life…” She starts to sob and Ryder looks over my shoulder as the couple a few tables away glance over.
“We’re not here to kill you,” I say.
“No? Then why did they send four of you?”
“Who’s they?”
“The men I owe money to.”
“The Olgettis?”
She turns her gaze on me, her desperation turning to anger. “If you already know the answer, why are you even asking?”
“We know everything, Erica. Amber sent us.”
Her mouth opens, then closes again. “Amber?”
I nod.
“They’ve got Amber, oh my God! What about Olive, you bastards!” Her hand comes up to slap me, and I stop it mid-air.
“Fuck,” Ryder hisses.
“Calm down, woman!” I whisper-shout. “You wanna get us all arrested?”
“Everythin’ okay here?” The waitress suddenly appears, eyeing us cautiously. Maybe I discredited her too soon. She’s staring at Erica. “Do you know these men, honey?”
“I… my… yes, it’s fine.” She smiles weakly and I don’t think the waitress believes us, but she places the coffees on the table.
I reach into my wallet, pull out fifty bucks and hand it to her. “For your trouble.”
She doesn’t hesitate, tucking it into her bra under her uniform. “Well, y’all enjoy your coffee, there’s plenty more where that came from.”
Ryder rolls his eyes as I turn back to Erica. “Not lyin’, and she’s about half a second away from callin’ the cops.” I pull my phone out and dial Amber. “Here.”
I hand her the phone as she wipes her tears, pressing the phone to her ear. Then, “Amber?” Fresh tears lace her eyes as she listens down the phone. “Yes, it’s me, I’m… I’m here with some bikers?—”
“Bronco,” I mouth, pointing to my name on my cut at the left breast pocket.
“He says his name is Bronco. No, I… Amber, I don’t know where to start… I know that… I know, but you don’t understand. These men are dangerous, they threatened to kill everyone I love… Please, I’ll explain, I promise.” She starts to cry again and shoves the phone back at me.
“Babe?” I glance at Ryder who hands Erica a bunch of napkins. She takes them gratefully, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.
“I… oh my God, Bronc, you did it. You found her.” I can barely understand her through the tears. “I can’t believe it.”
“Sit tight. We’re gonna leave first thing in the morning. She can ride with me.”
“How is she?”
I glance over Erica once more. “She’s fine. Shaken up, but she’s alright, Princess. Gonna bring her home.” Psychologically, I’m not so sure, but she’s here and she’s alive, that’s all that matters.
“I can’t even explain in words how grateful I am,” Amber starts. “Truly.”
“You can show me when I get back,” I quip. “Get some rest, I’ll call you first thing.”
“I love you. Ride safe.”
“Love you, too. We’ll be fine.”
I hang up and Erica stares at me. “Do you love each other?”
I run a hand through my hair. “It’s a long story. We gotta get outta here, not sure if you remember but you’re being hunted.”
“I know. They gave me till Sunday, but I didn't believe them.”
I turn to face her. “Right now, you gotta trust me. We’re gonna fix this, but I need you to not do anythin’ stupid. The longer we sit here debatin’, the more danger you’re puttin’ yourself in.”
She shakes her head. “I won’t fight. I promise I won’t.”
“Good, because I’ve had about as much of Baton Rouge as I can stand.” I contemplate leaving tonight, but the brothers are tired. We’ve been out all day. I can get another room with twin beds, watch Erica, and be on the way to New Orleans in the morning.
Ryder stands, taking a swill of coffee. He winces and slides out from the booth. “Gonna ride with me,” I tell Erica, holding onto her arm as she grabs her bag. “Can go grab your shit from the motel, but we ain’t got much room.”
“I just need my things,” she says. “Where are we going?”
“To the Holiday Inn.” I tip my head to the waitress as she finger waves. I think the fifty bucks did the trick because there aren’t any cops in sight. “I’ll take you to see Amber and Olive at first light.”
Once we’re outside she turns to me, then flings herself into my arms. “You’re an angel, Bronco, all of you?—”
I let her hug me, knowing this woman has been to Hell and back. “It’s gonna be okay. Amber’s been lookin’ for you, and I gotta tell you, woman, you better have a damn good explanation for why you left without tellin’ her shit. She’s been worried sick.”
“I panicked,” she whispers, her voice ragged. She’s a wreck. “I didn’t want any harm to come to Amber and Olive. Amber has already done so much for me.”
“She loves you, and you’re her family, but if you pull a fuckin’ stunt like that again and hurt her, you’re gonna have worse problems to worry about than the Olgettis, you got me?”
She glances up, her mouth opening and closing. “I… I understand.”
“Good. C’mon. Let’s get you something decent to eat and pretend this conversation never happened.”
I need to get back to my girl.