CHAPTER TEN #2
I hurry over to the bench, and I see a pile of our sweatshirts.
I pick them up and something drops. I look at the ground and see Mom’s cell phone.
I think this is what she was trying to tell me.
I unlock it and turn on the camera, taking a couple of pictures of the guy.
I try to zoom into the van that he’s pushing Mom into.
I can’t just let him take Mom and say nothing.
I yell out, “Hey! What do ya think you’re doin’?
” He looks over after he slams the door shut on the van with Mom inside.
He lifts his hand up and has a gun in it.
“Don’t go calling the fucking cops, kid.
You do, and I’ll find you and use this on you.
” Jerk doesn’t know I’ve recorded everything since I yelled at him.
I watch him get in the passenger seat, and the van takes off.
As soon as I can’t see it anymore, I call Ben.
It rings and rings and goes to voicemail.
I know when he’s working on cars, it can be loud.
I try him again and no answer. I look and see who Mom called besides Ben.
I dial the number, hoping they pick up. It rings twice, and then a voice I know comes over the phone.
“Kimbra, dear, to what do I have this pleasure?” Anna’s voice is always so cheerful.
“It’s Branson. I need help. We’re at the park, and some mean-looking man had a gun and made Mom get into a van with him.
I tried to get him to stop, but he aimed it at me.
” Anna’s voice turns serious, and she sounds like Mom when she’s mad.
“What? Do your brother and sister know?” I look and see that Bent has come up next to me.
I bet he heard me when I yelled at the guy.
“Bent knows a little, but Bailey is still playing.” I hear her talking to someone in the background.
“You let her keep playing, and me or someone you know will be there in just a few minutes.” I nod.
“Okay. I tried to call Ben first, but he’s at the shop working, and I think it’s too loud to hear the phone.
” Anna tells me she’ll get a hold of Ben and to try and stay calm.
Someone is on their way to us. I’ll be calm when I see Mom is okay and back with us.
Ben
I am just tightening the last bit to get this car done when I hear a commotion outside the bay door.
I stand up and look over and see Jackson and Wyatt talking to Rory.
All three of them, at the same time, turn and look in my direction.
Immediately, there’s a pit in my stomach.
I walk to the doorway, and Jackson is the first to speak up.
“Anna just got a call from Kimbra’s phone.
It was Branson. He said he tried to call you first.” He keeps going, but I grab my phone out of my pocket and see a couple of missed calls from Kimbra.
Jackson continues, “Branson said they’re at the park, and some man came and took Kimbra away in a van.
He had a gun.” Equal levels of rage and fear course through my body, but Jackson adds, “Anna should be at the park by now. She’s going to get the kids and—” I interrupt him because I need to see them and see they’re okay.
“Have her take them to the clubhouse, at least for now. I need to see them and make sure they’re okay.
We need to see if Branson saw anything that can help tell us where they’re goin’.
We all know Taz is fucking behind this, but we can’t just go up the mountain because he could be taking her there, or to their clubhouse or hell, to that property they have in Watson. ”
By this point, Jon and the rest of the brothers have all come out and heard what’s going on.
Jon starts giving directions. “Ben, Wyatt, Jackson, Ror, and J go to the clubhouse. Call Ry and Samson on the way and have them get there and start getting locations. Jameson, Mario, and Shane, you guys close up shop and have Shandy call any customers this affects. Then you know the drill. Get a hold of the rest of the brothers and get the family to the clubhouse.” I can’t stand here listening anymore.
I need to see my kids and find my woman. Taz is a fucking dead man walking.
I hurry over to my bike and take off the second I get it started and in gear.
I hear bikes and trucks starting up behind me, but I can’t slow down and wait for them.
I make it to the clubhouse in just a few minutes, breaking every speed limit between the shop and here.
I pull in and park right at the front door, barely getting the stand down.
I hurry to the door, and as soon as I walk inside, I see that Anna has the kids occupied with tablets.
She’s getting them a snack, though Branson looks upset.
He looks up from the table he’s sitting at and sees me.
He gets up and hurries over, holding up what I’m guessing is Kimbra’s phone.
“I took video and pictures. You need to see them.”
Bentley and Bailey look up at the same time and see me.
Bailey, still completely unaware, gets a big smile on her face and holds up a spoon.
“Anna came and got us ‘cause Mommy is busy, but we gets ice cream! I even promised I would eat my vegbatles tonight!” Hopefully, the smile I give her looks genuine because I don’t want her to be scared.
“That’s great, princess. You hang out with Anna for a bit, okay?
” I look at Bent, who looks a little worried but doesn’t say anything as he takes another bite of ice cream and looks back down at his tablet.
The clubhouse door opens up, and more brothers come in, including Juan and Samson.
I nod to Branson. “Come with me for a couple minutes so you can show them what you got, okay?” Branson nods and starts to follow me when the door opens, and Logan, Ry, and Leif come through, all of them carrying laptops.
We all head into church because the room is big enough for all of us since the tech room really only has Samson and Juan’s desks.
Branson follows me into the room, and I think he’s surprised it’s just a big room.
I’m not sure what he thought this room would look like, but from his face it must be different from what he pictured.
“Okay, so Branson is here ‘cause he said he took some pictures and video of the guy taking his mom away.” The guys all look at Branson, but Logan is the one to speak up. “Can you show us what you’ve got? We might be able to pick up some clues that will help us find your mom faster.”
Branson unlocks the phone and hands it to Logan.
He plugs the phone into a cord on his computer and brings up the pictures and video.
“I tried to get pictures of the guy, but I’m not sure how good they are ‘cause they were moving pretty fast and were already across the park when I started taking them.” I set my hand on his shoulder.
“You thought to get them in the first place, which is awesome, son. Anything it caught will be helpful.” Jon speaks up from the doorway.
“Branson did fucking great to think to hit the video on the phone during the whole thing. That kinda initiative is what we look for in future prospects.” I watch Branson’s eyes widen with excitement, but then he shows me that he’s more grown up than I realized.
“I wanna talk about that, but right now, I just want to get Mom back. Pretty soon, Bails is gonna realize something is wrong, and Bent is already figuring it out.” I give his shoulder a squeeze.
I want her back as much as he does. She’s everything.
I think the kids being here is the only thing keeping me just a hair on the sane side.
Jackson speaks up. “Branson, you did amazing. Would you mind going back out to the main room and helping Anna with your brother and sister?” He nods to Jackson and walks out of the room.
I must have a questioning look on my face when Jackson looks at me.
“If you are like any of us, when you watch the video, your reaction ain’t gonna be something he needs to see.
For as grown up as he sounds, he’s still a kid.
” Well, shit. I just nod and wait for Logan to get it queued up.
Logan starts the video and turns his laptop around so everyone can see. The first thing I see is fucking Taz standing by a van. Branson’s voice rings out, calling to the bastard, and we all watch him turn toward the camera and aim a gun at Branson. Several growls echo through the room.
This fucker. This cunt of a motherfucking loser dares to take my woman and threaten my kid with a gun? Eternity with Hel would be too good for him.
Logan is typing away and speaks up, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“I think I might be able to get a partial plate and the make at least of the van. We know the color. Actually, we know more than he realizes.” I look at him, waiting for him to continue, though I must not be the only one because Juan, who’s typing away at his laptop, speaks up.
“What do we know? Gotta finish your thought out loud there, littlest brother.”