37. Summer
Summer
Reese’s presence—calm and determined—helped keep me from losing it. He’d gone into problem-solving mode. If he had even an ounce of worry, it didn’t show.
We raced down the highway. Fear and anger simmered in the background, but my head was clear. There was no way Axel would succeed. He was not taking my son.
We already knew Nate no longer had his watch. It had stopped moving at a spot where there was nothing but highway, and when we passed it, there was no sign of them.
The tracker in his shoe kept moving south. So we followed.
I wasn’t sure what we were going to do once we caught up. Probably stay on his tail and call the police.
“I wish I knew where he was headed,” Reese said, breaking the silence.
“You don’t think he’s going back to Mayhem?”
He shook his head. “Too easy to find. And the club wouldn’t want the heat of a kidnapped child. Even if they’re helping him, he’ll go somewhere else to hide out for a while.”
“I’m calling my mom. She might know.” I brought up her number and called, but of course she didn’t answer. “Thanks, Mom. Super helpful.”
“Do you know of any other places with a connection to the club? Somewhere the members go regularly?”
“They have something near Reno. I’ve never been there, so I’m not sure what it is. A business they own, or maybe a warehouse or something?”
“He could be headed there. Especially if they have contacts in the area. Someone might be willing to put him up for a while. Anywhere else?”
“Not that I know of. The only other place that comes to mind is Montana.”
“What’s in Montana?”
“Axel has an uncle there. As far as I know, he’s the only family he has. His dad was never around, and his mom died before I knew him.”
“Doesn’t look like he’s heading for Montana. But if he turns east, that might be why.”
I checked the map again. “I think he left the highway.”
Reese glanced over. “Are you sure?”
“It looks like it. There’s an exit into a town. I think he took it.”
“What the hell is he doing?”
“I bet Nate has to pee.”
“That would track.”
I watched the map. Axel had definitely pulled off the highway. He went a short distance into the town and stopped.
“Where is he now?” Reese asked.
“He stopped somewhere.” I zoomed in. “It looks like a restaurant. Must be to use the bathroom. I can’t imagine he’d stop for dinner.”
“No. He has to know we’re following. I’m surprised he’s stopping at all. Although if Nate has to pee…”
“Someday the poor kid’s bladder will catch up with the rest of his body.”
Reese chuckled a little, and something about it eased the tension in my neck and shoulders. It was going to be all right. Axel couldn’t get away.
“Let’s call Garrett,” he said. “I want to see if he can send the local police to that spot.”
“On it.”
Using Reese’s phone, I called his brother. The Bluetooth in the SUV picked up the call.
“Yeah,” Garrett answered.
“Axel took Nate,” Reese said, his tone all business. “Grabbed him while he was at Lumberjack Park. I put a GPS tracker in his shoe, so I’m following south on ninety-seven. Looks like he stopped. If I give you the location, can you alert local law enforcement?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Reese told him the location based on the tracker, and we waited while Garrett relayed the information over his radio.
“Stopping for dinner?” Garrett asked when he got back on the line. “The guy has balls, I’ll give him that.”
“Might just be to use the restroom,” I said. “Nate is notorious for needing to pee on long drives.”
“Local cop is on his way,” he said. “I know you want to rush in and get Nate back, but let the officer handle it.”
Reese gripped the steering wheel and his jaw hitched. He didn’t like that. “I know.”
“We’ll touch base in a bit,” Garrett said. “Hopefully Nate is there.”
“Thanks,” Reese said.
The call ended, and I gave Reese a worried look.
“Hopefully Nate is there? Where else would he be?”
“Either he’s there, or his shoes are.”
A sick feeling spread through me. Nate had to be there. If he wasn’t—if we couldn’t track him with GPS—how would we find him?
My eyes remained glued to the tracker on Reese’s phone while he drove, closing the distance to that precious dot on the map.
We approached the exit, and my heart rate rose.
I was afraid for my son, but more than anything, I was furious.
It was going to take a lot of self-control not to launch myself at Axel as soon as I saw him.
The restaurant wasn’t far from the highway. No bikes in the parking lot, but I had a feeling Axel was in a different vehicle. The local cop was already there. His car was out front.
Reese parked while I held up the phone, trying to determine where the signal was coming from.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s inside,” I said. “How precise is the signal?”
He took the phone and glanced around. “I think it’s coming from the silver car.”
I practically flew out of the SUV. Reese called out after me—probably telling me to wait—but I didn’t listen. I hurried to the silver sedan and looked in the windows.
Empty.
“Where is he?” Panic rose, making my throat feel tight, and I struggled to catch my breath.
Reese looked in the windows, his brow furrowing. “Let’s go talk to the cop.”
He took my hand, and as we went into the restaurant, I scanned the dining room, desperate for a glimpse of Nate. A few of the tables and booths had customers, but most were empty. And no sign of Nate. Or Axel.
The police officer stood near the entrance to the kitchen talking with a man in a white shirt and blue tie. Probably the manager.
We hurried over. “We’re looking for my son,” I said. “He should be here, but I don’t see him. Has anyone checked the restrooms?”
“Sorry, ma’am,” the cop said. “It doesn’t sound like he’s been here.”
“Haven’t seen any kids,” the manager said with a shake of his head. “Not since earlier this morning.”
“He’s tall for his age.” My voice sounded desperate, fear overriding every other emotion. “He might not look like a child at first glance.”
“He has a GPS tracker in his shoe,” Reese said. “It’s coming from a silver sedan parked out front.”
He showed the cop the app, and I tried not to scream at him while he took his sweet time zooming in and out. The cop walked over to the window and looked outside, then fiddled with the app again.
“Excuse me,” he said, raising his voice so it would carry through the dining room. “Sorry to disturb your dinner, folks, but who’s the owner of the silver Nissan?”
A bald man with a beard leaned out from one of the booths. “That’s mine. Is there a problem?”
Reese leaned close and lowered his voice. “Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
The cop went to his booth and spoke to him. After a moment, he got up and we followed them outside.
“You can have a look,” the man was saying as we approached his car. “I got nothing to hide.”
“Have you stopped anywhere else recently?” the cop asked.
“Yeah, got gas a while back. I wasn’t planning on stopping again, but dinner sounded good.”
He unlocked the car and opened all four doors. The cop leaned over and looked carefully, but it was obvious no one was inside.
“Sir, can you pop the trunk?” the cop asked.
My stomach roiled with nausea at the thought of Nate stuffed in the trunk of a car.
He opened it, revealing a mess of random stuff—a duffel bag, a few loose pieces of clothing, jumper cables, bungee cords, and some bottles of water. Definitely no ten-year-old child.
Reese moved closer and reached in, drawing out a pair of sneakers.
Nate’s shoes.
“Oh no.” I covered my mouth with my hand. “Those are his shoes.”
The guy raised his hands. “I don’t know how those got there. I’ve never seen them before.”
“Maybe at the gas station.” Reese handed the shoes to me.
“Were you away from your car?” the cop asked.
“Uh, yeah. I went in to use the restroom.”
“Do you remember seeing a boy, about ten years old?”
Reese held up his phone with a picture.
The man shook his head. “No. Wasn’t paying much attention, though. There were probably other cars there, but I didn’t really look.”
“What about in the convenience store? Any kids?”
“Not that I noticed.”
“Did you lock your car when you went into the restroom?”
“No, I didn’t. Realized it when I came out.”
The cop cast a glance at us. “He could have stashed the shoes in this car while it was unattended. If so, there should be surveillance footage.”
He asked the man to wait while he went to his car and spoke to dispatch. Reese and I moved to stand next to his SUV.
“He’s moving,” I said. “Right now, he’s driving somewhere and getting farther away.”
“In Reno, or outside Reno?” Reese asked.
“What?”
“Mayhem. Do they have something in Reno itself, or in the general area?”
“I don’t know. I just remember something about Reno.”
“What about Montana? It’s a big state. Any idea where the uncle lives?”
I let out a breath, trying to recall. “I think it had big in the name. I remember because he said it was a small town and I thought it was funny. Big something.”
He tapped on his phone. “Big Timber?”
“That sounds familiar. I bet that’s it.”
“It’s outside Billings.”
“How far from here?”
“Almost eleven hours.”
The cop came over. Reese took my arm in a gentle grip, as if he could sense my impatience and wanted to make sure I didn’t launch myself at the guy for taking so long.
I wouldn’t have, but I couldn’t blame Reese for holding me back.
“We’re pulling surveillance footage now. I’ll be in touch with the Tilikum Sheriff’s Department with anything we find.”
He asked a few more questions about Axel and took a description of Nate. I felt like I was going to burst out of my skin. It was part of the cop’s job to remain calm, but I wanted to grab him by his stupid uniform and shake him. We didn’t have time to answer questions. We had to find my son.
My phone rang and I blinked in surprise at the number. It was my mom.
“Mom,” I answered, stepping away. “Why did you tell me Axel had been ordered to leave Nate alone?”
“Because he was.”
“What happened? Did they change their minds? Nate’s missing. It has to be Axel who took him.”
“I’m sure it is. Don’t worry, honey. They’re going to find that piece of shit.”
“Wait, what do you mean by that?”
“Axel took off. Disappeared.” Her tone was indignant. “We figured he was going after Nate.”
I hesitated as the gravity of what she said overtook me. “Mom, are you saying Axel defied an order?”
“Looks like it. Hammer saw him before he disappeared. Said he was acting suspicious.”
It was hard to believe what I was hearing. Axel couldn’t have defied the club. Not a direct order. Members didn’t do that. Ever. The club was everything. Their law, their religion. At best, he’d be stripped of his colors—kicked out with no possibility of coming back.
At worst, they’d kill him.
Reese watched me with concern. I held up a finger to let him know I’d explain in a minute.
“What’s the club going to do?” I asked.
“Oh, he’s fucked,” she said. “He’s more trouble than he’s worth. Stryker sent out a few search parties to bring him in. They’ll deal with him here.”
“Where? Do they know where he’s going?”
“Not for sure.”
“Okay, but where are the search parties looking? Do you know?”
She hesitated. “I don’t think I should tell you.”
“Why not?” I snapped.
“Because if you call the cops, they’ll interfere.”
I lowered my voice. “I won’t call the cops. Please, just tell me. Where do they think he went?”
No reply.
“Mom, please. Help me get my son. He’s just a kid. He’s your grandson.”
She stayed silent. I was about to scream into the phone when she spoke, her voice almost a whisper.
“Tilikum, obviously. Also, Mesquite. It’s outside Vegas. His old cellmate lives there and they kept in touch.”
“Where else?”
“Reno, in case he’s stupid enough to go there.”
“I doubt it, but I guess you never know. Is that it?”
“No. Somewhere up in Montana.”
“Where?”
“Big Timber. He has an uncle or something who lives out there.”
“Is that all?”
“As far as I know. But don’t let the cops interfere, baby girl. That won’t end well.”
“I know. I won’t. Thank you.”
She ended the call without saying goodbye.
Reese raised his eyebrows.
I pocketed my phone. “Axel went rogue. Defied the club. He took Nate against orders, so now they’re looking for him. They sent search parties to a few places. Reno, Mesquite, and Big Timber. He wouldn’t go to Reno. He’s not that stupid.”
“What’s in Mesquite?”
“She said an old cellmate.”
He shook his head. “No way. That’s only eighty miles outside Vegas. Too close to Mayhem. He wouldn’t go there.”
“She also said Big Timber. The club knows about his uncle.”
His jaw tightened as he looked away for a moment. When he met my eyes, it was clear he’d come to a decision. “We’ll go to Montana. It’s our best option.” He tapped on his phone again. “I’m calling Gunnar. He can do some research on his end. Did you say you know Axel’s birth name?”
“Aaron Gunderson.”
“Any idea if the uncle is on his dad’s side or his mom’s?”
I shook my head.
“That’s all right. We’ll figure it out.”
I heard Gunnar answer, and Reese put him on speaker.
“We have a problem,” Reese said.
“What’s going on?”
“Axel took Nate this afternoon.”
“Oh, shit.”
I gave him the rundown—everything from Nate disappearing from the park in Tilikum to finding the shoes in the back of the silver car to our decision to head to Montana.
“Big Timber makes sense,” he said. “I think that’s the right call.”
“I need to find the uncle.”
“I don’t suppose you know his name.”
“No. Axel’s legal name is Aaron Gunderson. Figured you could start there.”
“I can work with that. Is he from Montana originally?”
“I don’t think so,” I answered. “As far as I know, he grew up in Nevada. But maybe one of his parents is from here. I’m not sure.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thanks, man,” Reese said. “Appreciate it.”
“Of course. I’ll let you know as soon as I come up with anything useful.”
I didn’t give voice to the big question: What if we were wrong? It weighed heavily, but Reese was right. Big Timber was our best option. Law enforcement would do what they could, and if Axel had another destination in mind, I’d hope they could track them down.
But for now, we had to act. Mayhem was on their way. I didn’t think they’d hurt Nate on purpose, but I had no reason to believe they’d try not to hurt him, either. If things turned violent, he could be caught in the crossfire. Their only goal would be serving their brand of fatal justice.
And the club wouldn’t care about collateral damage.