Chapter 9 Hayride
“Boomer has got this shit on lock.”
I turn at the sound of Charon’s voice. “He is the sheriff.”
“Yeah, well, it can’t be easy to sort through all the red tape and bullshit to organize fifty townspeople, a biker club, deputies, and the visiting family from out of town.”
He’s got a point. “True.” I wonder why he’s here. Charon doesn’t usually show up unless there’s a body.
Shit.
“Did someone call you in?”
“No. Calm down. I’m not here for my expertise.”
I snort at that. It’s not exactly a skill most people would boast about.
What do you do for a living?
Oh, I embalm bodies, get rid of evidence, bury corpses, and spend a lot of time with dead people.
Charon stares at me like he just read my mind. “Just thought I’d show up and lend a hand. It’s fucked up that Natalya’s brother is missing.”
I’m instantly on edge. He sounds too familiar with my woman. “What do you know about it? Or Natalya?”
He shrugs. “She’s had it rough. Wasn’t she in the tent when Madam Serena, you know?” He keeps his voice low, but it doesn’t matter.
I’m agitated. “I’m helping Nat through it.”
“You sure you’re the right man for the job? Because, brother, I can take over, oof,” he exhales as I slam into him, knocking us both into the trunk of a nearby tree. “I’m fucking with you, Hayride.”
“Don’t fucking talk about my ol’ lady.” I swing at him, and he ducks.
Charon whistles. “Damn. Phantom was right. I owe the fucker twenty bucks.”
They fucking bet on me?
Now I’m pissed. I shove Charon away, spinning to look for Phantom.
He’s not far, leaning against a similar tree about thirty feet away. Never mind that all around us, people are combing through the woods and looking for anything that might be connected to Thad Scott’s disappearance. Nat is searching with her father.
But us? The club?
We’re here for show. To support the search.
It’s not our main focus. Later, when the search ends, we’ll head to Rashell Allen’s house.
Scythe and Voodoo already scoped out the address last night while I was with Nat.
They couldn’t see much. Scythe thinks it’s either abandoned or someone wants it to look that way.
“Phantom,” I growl as I stomp toward him, but he just poofs away before I can reach him. He reappears a few trees away. In frustration, I clench my fists. “Leave Nat alone.”
“We’re fucking with you, not your woman,” Phantom laughs.
He’s right. Why am I getting so worked up?
I wave them off and search for Scythe. I need to do something. Standing around and being idle makes me short-tempered and twitchy. Probably because I know there’s nothing out there in the woods to find. At least, not with Thad.
Wherever he is, it’s got something to do with Rashell Allen. I don’t know if that means he’s getting brainwashed by a cult, fed to them, tortured, or something equally horrible. And Nat and her father have to wait for news.
That fucking sucks.
I spot Scythe as I walk through the woods, standing with Boomer. They’ve got a huge map open on the hood of Scythe’s old truck. I know the forest is sectioned off by grids for the search. Boomer organized that this morning.
Most of the searchers have returned. Only a handful are still out there, including Nat and Hank. I asked Mayhem to stay with them since I had shit to do for Scythe. He asked me to text Ellie and see if she remembered anything else, but she never responded.
“Still no word from Ellie?” He asks as I reach the truck.
“Nope.”
“You go by the Hanging Tree?”
I did. “No contact, Pres. And no one has been in the room that Nat booked to share with her brother. Not even the maid. I paid it through Sunday, just in case.”
“Good. The staff let you peek into it?”
“Yeah. I grabbed Nat’s bag and left everything else.” I stashed her bag in my room at The Barn, making a quick stop at the clubhouse before coming back to help with the search. “I’m going to join Nat and Hank.”
Scythe nods. “They’re—”
Boomer’s walkie-talkie cuts him off. “Sheriff?”
“Yeah, Charles?”
“I think we found the kid.”
I look at the map, find the grid that Charles is searching, and run toward it. If Thad is dead, I don’t want Nat or her father to find him. That’s too fucked up. She’ll never recover from a shock like that.
I hear Scythe shout my name, but I don’t stop.
Thick trees cover the ground, but I know this forest. I grew up exploring it.
It doesn’t take long to reach the part of the forest where Charles is searching in his section of the grid.
I find him as I skid to a halt, staring at the body that’s been cut down, a rough piece of rope wrapped around the neck.
It’s just like the first victim with entrails exposed, knife wounds, and death by hanging. The work of the Hillside Stalker. Someone, maybe Rashell Allen, is copying his kills.
The guy is sliced up. Blood is soaked into his clothing. He’s got a gray beard that’s stained crimson.
It’s a man, but not a young one. It’s not Thad.
Relief hits me so hard that I drop to my knees. It’s not Nat’s brother. Thank fuck.
I feel like shit because this poor bastard is dead, but I can’t help feeling grateful that Thad’s body isn’t on the ground. I pull out my phone and call Scythe.
“It’s not Thad,” I tell him as he answers.
“Fuck. Who is it?”
“I can’t tell. The face is all cut up.”
“Goddammit!”
I feel such relief that I don’t realize I’m wrong. There’s not just one person with a rope around their neck.
Charles points to my right. “Hayride. Look.”
I turn my head and jolt. My body goes rigid because I’ve seen his photo. Nat showed me a snapshot of the two of them the night of the hotel tour. They’re both smiling.
It’s Thad.
I hop to my feet and rush to his side. He’s cut, but not as badly as the dead man only a few feet away. Blood is soaked into his shirt and jeans, but it’s splatters, not widespread pools.
A groan escapes his lips as I sink to my knees, knowing he needs medical attention right away if he’s going to survive. “Thad. Can you hear me?”
“Hayride!”
I forgot Scythe is on the phone. “I was wrong. So fucking wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s here, Pres. Thad is alive.”
I hear someone cry out, and I know it’s Nat. Scythe must have the call on speaker. “He’s hurt.”
I turn to Charles. “Did you call 9-1-1?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I called Boomer’s office. They’re sending an ambulance. Mary said it’s on the way.”
The forest is too thick back here. It’s a minefield to navigate, especially when carrying heavy medical equipment. The EMTs will never get a stretcher in here.
“Hey, Thad. Can you hear me?”
He groans again, and I lightly slap his cheek. “Hey, I know it’s painful to move, but we need to get you out of here.”
Thad finally opens his eyes. They’re bloodshot. It’s then that I see the ligature marks and several small slashes around his neck. “Cut it,” he rasps.
Huh?
Thad points to the ground. When I look, I see a bloody knife and a tiny section of rope.
“Cut it,” he repeats, slumping over as I catch him. “Up.”
I frown as I look up and see the frayed edges of a long length of rope. He fucking cut himself free with a pocketknife. Thad never would have survived if he hadn’t had that knife. It saved his life.
He fucking saved himself.
“You’re my fucking hero,” I joke as he coughs, then winces. “Help is on the way. I need to get you closer to the ambulance. Do you think you can stand?”
“I’ll try.”
I heave him up as Charles rushes to help. There’s nothing we can do for the body, and we leave it, supporting Thad as we hobble away from the crime scene. I know it’s reckless to do that, but Thad is alive, and I’m keeping him that way.
I hear the sirens before we reach the edge of the forest. Voices call out, and I answer, practically carrying Thad as I rush toward the paramedics. He’s weak and dehydrated. I don’t know how long he’s been out here.
I hand him off to the care team and huff out a breath as I hunch over. I’m tired. Charles sinks to his ass on the grass beside me, breathing heavily. We rushed through at least a mile of brush, pine needles, tightly cloistered trees, low-hanging branches, and fallen logs.
It was brutal, but worth it.
I straighten as I see Thad on a stretcher. They’re giving him oxygen and fluids through an IV. He’s going to be fine, I’m sure of it.
Nat screams his name and rushes toward the stretcher. I watch as she collapses on top of him, sobbing with relief. Hank touches his son’s arm and then grips his hand. No words have to be said. It’s a miracle Thad made it. None of them is taking that for granted.
Thad is loaded into the back of the ambulance. Nat and Hank climb in. It’s crowded, but the EMT lets them both ride in the cramped space.
Nat turns to me as the doors begin to shut. Her palm lifts and rests over her heart. “Thank you.”
I copy the gesture, hand over my heart.
When they drive away, I watch until the ambulance turns the corner and disappears. I’m conflicted. This means that Nat doesn’t have a reason to stay in Raven’s Crest. She probably won’t now. Their family is going to be focused on Thad’s recovery. As they should.
It takes a minute for me to realize I’m not alone. My thoughts and emotions are almost volatile. I don’t want to lose the only woman I’ve ever come this close to loving.
Sure, I’ve fucked a lot of women. I’ve had relationshits. And I stress the shit part. But I want to make this work with Natalya.
I think I’m already falling for her, and that’s scary as fuck.
Phantom grips my shoulder. “She won’t leave you.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve seen the way you look at each other. It’s the same as Scythe and Lottie. Even Mountain and Cami. The real fucking deal, brother.”
I tap my chest over the organ beating inside it. “I never thought I’d feel like this. It’s so fucking intense.”
“Yeah, well, she’s the one. If you believe in that sort of thing.”
“Until now, no.”
“Then I guess you need to go to her and make sure she knows how you feel, Hayride. Don’t let her leave town without making it clear. Then, if it doesn’t work out, you can say you gave it your best shot.”
Sound advice. “Damn, that’s beautiful, Phantom.”
He chuckles. “Seeing the three of you find an ol’ lady makes me itch for the same thing.”
“You’ll have to give up fucking club girls,” I tease him. They love Phantom. “Heard you like to fuck several at a time.”
He snorts. “Gotta keep up my stamina.”
“Or you just like to get laid.”
“There’s that.”
Chasing pussy used to be fun for me. I know things have changed, that I’ve changed, because I don’t want any woman but my Nat.
Phantom is right. I need to make sure she knows how I feel.
Even if she rejects me.