Chapter 8 Crow
She freaked out. Fucking panicked and nearly ran off after I told her of my father’s murder. Why the hell did she react that way? Did she think being in my presence meant she was in danger?
Fuck.
She wasn’t wrong. Not entirely.
It wasn’t logical to freak out, but I didn’t know enough about Bella yet to form an opinion about whether she was truly spooked or hiding something. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, so I stopped asking questions, even if I wanted to grill her until she spilled everything.
Fuckin’ hated secrets. That shit pissed me off. They caused nothin’ but trouble.
At the same time, she had a legit reason to be worried.
I already knew the motherfuckers that took down my pops were watching the club and, by extension, me. That painted a huge fucking bull’s eye on my back, and since she was with me, that put her in a vulnerable position too.
I wasn’t thinking when I picked her up, taking her out of the city and nearly a half-hour from home. It was reckless and unusual behavior for me. Bella distracted me, which wasn’t something I was accustomed to dealing with.
Women didn’t get under my skin like she did. This feisty, mysterious redhead hooked me from the moment we met at Bull’s. Hell, I couldn’t take my eyes off her when she was near. And if my brothers noticed, so did my enemies, doubling the danger she was in.
Traffic had died down a little by the time we left the dam. We rode down the highway just as the sun was setting, and fuck if it wasn’t pretty as a peach. Bella’s head rested between my shoulder blades, and I felt a brief few seconds of peace.
It didn’t last. Guilt for risking her safety put me in a bad mood.
Now I was on alert, scanning the highway as we rode toward town, my gaze focused on any potential threat. I caught Talon and Cuckoo in my mirrors, so I knew we had backup if shit went down, but it didn’t ease the sudden tension I felt.
Once we were inside Henderson, I relaxed. The clubhouse was only ten minutes away. Almost home where I could talk to Bella and explore her reaction from the dam.
Checking my mirrors, I didn’t see Talon, but Cuckoo still wore the damn Scooby-Doo mask, and his psycho ass gave a little wave like he knew I was lookin’. We slowed down at an intersection, and Bella tapped my shoulder.
“Crow?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Are we close to your clubhouse?”
“Yes. Why? Your ankle hurtin’?”
She didn’t respond verbally but discreetly pointed to my left.
Two cop cars were parked on the street. One pulled away from the curb, coming our way.
I didn’t understand her concern until I caught the man in the black leather jacket, a jagged scar on his face, puffing on a cigar as he leaned against the wall, pushing off with his boot as he began to walk in our direction.
I couldn’t see his neck, but I bet a scorpion was tattooed there.
This wasn’t good. Way too fuckin’ risky.
“Hold on tight,” I yelled, pulling back on the throttle before we launched forward, the traffic light switching to green as we sped by the cop car and the asshole from the bar.
The same shady fucker that was there the night I met Bella.
Coincidence? I wasn’t sure, but as Bella tightened her hold, I began to wonder if she knew him and not just as a customer she served a few drinks to that night.
Sheriff Hobbs switched on his siren and the flashing blue and red lights that indicated he was about to chase me down. Not today, asshole.
That was when I heard the wildest, craziest sound rising above the throaty growl of my bike’s engine.
Cuckoo had pulled into the intersection, stopping all traffic as he spun in a wild circle on his Harley.
That wasn’t the hilarious part. The crazy fucker had ripped off his shirt and painted a thick arrow on his chest with black marker that pointed to his dick and read SUCK IT.
No way he had time to do that now, so he must have done it before he left The Roost.
He was yelling like a lunatic off his meds, switching sporadically to cry out ridiculous words and phrases that didn’t make sense.
Motorists were yelling at him to get out of the way.
He fucking tilted his head back and cawed to the heavens.
The entire time, his Scooby-Doo mask with the rubber tongue flopped back and forth in the wind.
“Kraaa!” bellowed from his mouth as he kept spinning around, making a wide arc that prevented any vehicles from passing by, effectively shutting down the entire four-way intersection since the traffic light might as well have been broken. No one was gettin’ through.
Christ. He sure had a few screws loose upstairs, but fuck, he could be goddamn brilliant sometimes. The cops were so busy trying to get him to move and watch out for traffic that Bella and I had time to slip away without any police on our tail.
My chest shook with laughter as I picked up speed, flipping off Sheriff Hobbs as a triumphant smile turned up my lips. Piss off, cocksucker.
Scorpion looked furious but he couldn’t catch up to us on foot. Whatever he intended, we were far out of his reach. He’d never find us once he managed to enter his vehicle.
Go choke on a dick, Scarface.
RED, THE PROSPECT WITH all that thick coppery hair, rushed to open the gate as soon as he saw me.
The kid nearly tripped but managed to stay on his feet as I rode through, parking my bike and scooping up Bella, concerned about her injury.
The rumble of bikes caught my attention, and I turned, shaking my head at Cuckoo.
He did good, and I gave him a chin lift, appreciative he was quick to think on his feet—one of the reasons I liked having his spontaneous, unpredictable ass around.
Talon hopped off his bike once he rolled to a stop and high-fived Cuckoo. “Fucking love you, brother.”
“Yeah, I’m goddamn sexy. All you fuckers need to wise up.”
Snorting, I decided not to reply as Bella wrapped her arm around my neck. “Sorry, honey. We’re goin’ inside. I’ll find Falcon.”
“Okay,” she replied, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Bet that ankle isn’t too messed up. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“It’s not my ankle,” she replied quietly.
Concerned, I walked straight to the bar, dismissing every other soul in the room as I placed her on a stool, gesturing to the prospect nearby.
“Find Falcon. Need him here ASAP.” The kid left in a hurry, his skinny ass moving fast to do my bidding.
My gaze never left Bella as I bent down, holding her hands in mine. “Talk to me.”
She seemed nervous, fidgeting in her seat before she sighed. “I have something to tell you, and I don’t think this is the place. We should go somewhere private.”
The last time I heard words like that, my mother pulled me aside and told me she was leaving my father.
When I asked her why she said life in a motorcycle club was hard, and someday I would understand.
I never did. To make matters worse, she wouldn’t take me with her.
I begged and cried, not realizing she meant to leave both my father and me.
After six months, I stopped asking my pops when she was coming back. After a year with no contact, I stopped wondering if she ever thought about me.
To this day, it still hurt she didn’t care enough to be a part of my life.
That was why Lou and Raven had such a significant impact.
I gained two more dads who tried to compensate for the loss I suffered.
For a long time, I was a needy, emotional, unruly mess with nightmares and abandonment issues.
They loved me through it, sometimes with more patience than I deserved.
As I listened to Bella, my jaw reflexively tightened as all the emotions about my mother surfaced. Thoughts of my pops and his death only added to that anxiety. For a few seconds, I just wanted to walk away instead of hearing whatever lousy news she was about to say.
But I wasn’t a kid anymore. Fuck, I was in my mid-twenties now. Much too old to run from my problems. Learned that lesson the hard way and didn’t need a repeat.
“Alright,” I answered slowly. “Let’s go to my room.”
Bella leaned against me for support, putting pressure on her foot. “It’s not that bad. I can walk, Crow.”
“Might as well hold on to me in case it starts to hurt.” I slid my arm around her waist, walking slowly toward the staircase that led upstairs. “You sure you don’t want help?”
She shook her head, wincing as she took a couple of steps.
“Look, baby, you can yell at me later. You’re in no condition to walk. Shouldn’t be putting any pressure on that ankle at all right now.” I bent at the waist, lifting under her legs as she gasped, throwing her arms around my neck.
“Crow!”
Taking the stairs, I climbed to the top, balancing her with one hand while I unlocked the door. The whole left side of the hall belonged to the pres and was an apartment more than a bedroom. Had everything I needed if I didn’t feel like leaving it.
Once inside, I took her to the kitchen, depositing her thick, round ass on the counter. I didn’t give her a chance to push me away, sliding between her thighs as I grasped her chin, holding her in place.
“We’re alone. I’d like to know what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “You know that guy? The one from the bar with the scorpion tattoo?” she began, nervously clenching her hands in her lap.
“Yeah.” Fuckin’ knew he was bad news.
“He has something I want.”
What a strange thing to say. “What?” I asked, catching the somber look in her eyes.
“My sister.”
What. The. Fuck. “Your sister?”
“Yes. She’s been kidnapped.”
“What!?” I shouted, immediately regretting it as she pulled back, giving me a wary look. “Shit. Sorry. I’m trying to understand this. You got to start at the beginning, Bella.”
“My sister disappeared over a week ago. I went to her apartment and found the door open, and the whole place turned upside down. It was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. Straight out of an episode of Criminal Minds.”
“Did you go to the police?”
Bella shook her head. “No. I found a note taped to the inside of the front door. It was addressed to me.”
Fuck. “What did the note say?”
“To wait for a phone call. They had my number from my sister’s contact list and promised they’d kill her if I didn’t listen. I knew they were watching me.”
I had to take three deep breaths before maintaining control. “I’m guessing they called you.”
“Yes.” Her expression crumbled as tears filled her eyes. The green shimmered in pools of liquid emerald.
I cupped her cheek, rubbing a thumb across her soft, silky skin. “What happened?”
“The kidnapper demanded that I retrieve a package for him from a safe deposit box. I met Boris—the scorpion tattoo guy—outside. He gave me the key to the box.”
Goddamnit! That was too fucking risky. “They didn’t harm you, did they?”
“Not yet.” Bella sniffled. “But they will when they find out I told you.”
Shit! “No, they won’t. You’re under my protection, Bella.”
“They have my sister. They’ve been hurting Brianna. I don’t know if she’s okay,” Bella sobbed, breaking down as I pulled her into my chest. “They’ll kill her when I don’t follow through with their demands.”
“What demands? The package?”
“Yes.” She swiped her fingers under her eyes, brushing away the tears. “I’m supposed to sneak the package onto the president’s desk of the Devil’s Murder MC.”
Woah. What kind of game were these sick fucks playing? “Do you still have the package?”
“It’s in my purse. I don’t know if it’s dangerous or not.”
And yet, she had it. At the very least, it was a risk to herself. “Let me have it.”
Bella opened the handbag strapped across her shoulder, pulling out a thick padded envelope. “Here. I don’t want anything else to do with it.”
“Alright.” I took it from her, gripping it in one hand before I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll get Brianna back. Promise.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I can’t do this on my own.”
She wasn’t going to do shit. I’d fucking chain her to my goddamn bed before letting her get further involved. “You won’t have to,” I promised, stepping back as Falcon entered the room.
“What you need, Pres?”
“Bella twisted her ankle on our date. Need you to take a look.”
“No problem.”
“I’m going to take this downstairs and talk to my V.P.,” I announced. “I won’t be long.”
“Crow?”
I turned around before I reached the door, hearing the uncertainty and fear in her voice. “Be careful.”
“I will, darlin’.”
“One last thing,” she called out before I slipped out the door.
“Yeah?”
“They told me to get close to you and gain your trust. I don’t want to be with you under false pretenses.
I’m here because I want to be, not because I have to be.
I’d never use you. That’s why I told you about the package and brought it with me.
If you don’t believe me, I won’t blame you. I could have told you sooner.”
“Why did you wait?” I asked softly, watching her reaction.
“I was terrified for my sister. They could kill her, Crow. I’m the only thing that’s stopped that so far, but I don’t have long. They expect that package to be delivered soon.”
“Well, honey, you did deliver.”
“Yeah,” she replied with a sad smile. “I guess I did.”
“Hey, we’re going to take care of this, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
When I saw the hope in her eyes, I vowed to help Bella bring her sister home and make sure these assholes never bothered either of them again.