Chapter Fifteen
HOW DO I brEATHE
I take my seat next to Viper and nod at Knox, who’s posted up in the corner of the room.
One by one, my brothers trickle into the meeting room.
When Wrath comes through, everyone chuckles at his wide-eyed expression.
I laugh, too, when he starts shaking his head in disbelief.
He must have stopped to talk with Birdie on his way in like everyone else did and got an earful about being on lockdown.
My woman is always as sweet as a Georgia peach to everyone .
. . except today. Today she’s a raving, mad lunatic who’s bitching about being on lockdown.
I’ve explained why she can’t leave the compound, but she’s refusing to see reason.
Doesn’t matter. She’s not leaving until we figure out what the hell is going on.
“All right, everyone, listen up. Dex, why don’t you start.”
“I took the backdoor into the Depart of Justice and found nothing. Not a single thing adds up. There’s chatter on the dark web about the shit going down in New York, but my gut tells me this isn’t related.
I’m going to have to do some more digging.
When they were here yesterday, I got the feeling they were looking for someone. ”
“That’s what I thought when they stormed the scrapyard,” Wrath agrees.
“Same for the garage,” Thorn adds.
“What about the women? It doesn’t explain why a brick went through G’s window.
” The hair on the back of my neck stands on end when I think about the danger Birdie was in yesterday.
I am putting Tigger on her until everything is sorted out.
Thank the Gods he and Easy were with them yesterday and kept them safe.
I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to Birdie or our babies.
Not to mention what that would do to Nash.
Fuck, my boy would be scarred forever if something happened to his momma.
“That’s going to take a little more time.
I caught a glimpse of a black sedan on one of the security cameras but couldn’t get the plates.
It looked like an official government vehicle, but I’ve got George searching through cams to be sure.
So far, we’ve found nothing.” Fuck, I was hoping for something more concrete.
“Thanks, Dex, keep me updated,” Viper says. “Knox, how’s G?” Legend asks. We’re all wondering about her, especially since she’s not at the clubhouse this morning.
“She’s fine. Mad as a snake that I won’t let her leave, but other than that, she’s fine.” That gets a chuckle out of everyone.
I only half listen when Storm starts going over finances.
Once he finishes, I let everyone know that we’re going to postpone our upcoming run for a couple of weeks to let the heat die down.
We all agree it’s in our best interest. With nothing else to be discussed, Viper bangs the gavel, and church is dismissed.
Knox takes off like his ass is on fire, and I slowly make my way to the common room, in no hurry to get another tongue-lashing from Birdie.
I stand at the mouth of the hall and watch as she and Nash talk animatedly to each other.
I don’t think I’ve ever loved four people as much as I love the two of them and my unborn sons.
Viper slaps me on the back as he walks past, headed straight for Kierra like a heat-seeking missile. I get it now. The draw and pull towards your woman. It’s what has my feet moving on their own.
“Ready to go home, baby?” Leaning over the back of the couch, I sweep her hair off her shoulder, noting how tired she looks.
“Yeah. I’m getting hungry.” I figured as much. I tried to convince her to stay in bed while I came over here for church this morning, but she refused to be left behind.
“Come on. Let’s go home so I can make you guys some breakfast, and you can put your feet up.
” Twenty minutes later, I’m flipping pancakes and wondering how I’m going to convince Birdie she’s not going to work today.
She barely slept last night after everything that happened yesterday, and today, I want her to rest.
When I hear crunching gravel, I know that someone’s come to pay us a visit. I peek out the window and see Knox and his crew getting out of his truck. There’s a knock on the front door, followed by Birdie shouting for whoever’s there to come in.
“Hey, guys,” I hear her say a few seconds before Knox and his three boys appear in my kitchen.
“Uncle Sparrow, can I have some?” Braydon asks.
Before I can answer, G comes into the kitchen and beats me to it. “Yes, you can. You guys scoot, and I’ll finish this.”
“Thanks, G,” I tell her, attempting to give her a hug. I grin when Knox growls, not liking that I am attempting to touch her. Now, he gets it. It doesn’t stop me from smirking as I wrap my arm around her anyway, though. Payback is a bitch and all that.
“Calm your tits, brother. Not making a move on your girl, just giving her a hug,” I tease.
“Hug your own,” he says at the same time she hisses, “I’m not his girl.” I ignore them both and go in search of Birdie. I need to get to work, and she needs to eat.
Bending down, I lift Sierra out of my recliner and sit down with her in my lap. She breathes a sigh of contentment as she leans sleepily against my chest.
“I gotta get to work, Birdie. You want me to bring you a plate, or are you going to go in the kitchen with G?”
“Don’t go. Something feels off. I can feel it in my gut,” she begs, wrapping her arms around me tightly.
“It’s just the babies,” I tease, kissing the top of her head. I’m wondering if this new clinginess is part of her nesting and her wanting all her people and things close to her or a reaction to what happened yesterday. When I tip her chin up, I can see that she’s anxious.
“All right, baby. I’m going to run to the yard and forward the phones to my cell. I’ll come right back, okay?”
“Thank you.” She yawns. I lean to the side so I can see down the hall and yell for Knox’s oldest son.
“Braydon!” It sounds like a herd of buffalo as he and the rest of the kids come barreling into the living room.
“Yes, Sir?”
“Will you keep an eye on Nash while I’m gone? Shouldn’t be for more than an hour.”
“Uhm, sure.” He grins at Nash, making Nash jump around excitedly.
“Be good for Braydon and try to keep it down so Momma can take a nap. Okay, buddy?”
“Okay!” he yells.
After saying my goodbyes, I head for the scrapyard so I can get back as quickly as possible. I hate that Birdie’s feeling anxious after what happened yesterday. This stress isn’t good for our babies.
When I approach the gate, an eerie feeling comes over me. Fuck. Now I’m feeling anxious. I push it away, chalking it up to yesterday’s bullshit, and unlock the padlock on the gate.
When I walk into the lobby, I immediately go on alert.
The place has been tossed, and it’s not from the ATF fuckers yesterday.
No, this is something else entirely. The furniture has been tossed and shredded.
Pulling my gun, I make my way into the office, and just like the lobby, it’s been ransacked, too.
Fucking thieves. Probably broke in looking for old copper and any parts they could sell online.
I holster my Glock when I remember that Harley motor I just pulled.
If they took that fucking thing, I’m going to personally hunt them down and feed them to the fucking gators. That thing was in mint condition.
The sound of something hitting the ground has me picking up the pace.
I’m confused when I round the corner and find an old oil can sitting in the middle of the aisle.
What the fuck? Surely whoever was here isn’t stupid enough to still be here.
As I reach down to grab the can, I catch movement in my peripheral.
Before I can turn to see what it is, my head explodes in pain, and the world goes black.
The smell of copper is the first thing to register as my eyes struggle to open.
Fuck, my head is killing me. Reaching up, I press against my skull, trying to alleviate the throbbing and feel something wet.
I blink rapidly, trying to get my eyes to focus as I move my hand in front of my face.
Traces of blood are scattered across my palm, and I have no idea how the fuck I ended up on the floor.
I slowly roll onto my side and look around the warehouse, wondering who in the hell made such a mess in here.
I’m a little slow on the uptake, but I quickly remember the ATF storming this place yesterday.
I didn’t think they’d done this much damage when they were here.
I carefully sit up and groan at the wave of nausea that hits me.
“Shit,” I hiss as my eyes blur from the pain. Trying not to rattle my head, I lean to the side so I can pull my phone out of my pocket. When I look at the cracked screen, I see that I’ve missed fifteen calls.
What the hell?
With shaking hands, I hit Knox’s number and wait for it to connect.
“Sparrow! Fuck, where are you?”
“At the scrapyard. Someone broke in and must have still been here when I got here because someone cracked me upside my head and knocked me the fuck out. They’re gone now, but I’ve still gotta get this shit cleaned up. Is there a reason you were blowing up my phone?”
“Brother . . . it’s Sierra. She took off, and we can’t find her.” My world stops as I process what he’s just said.
“Come again?” That can’t be right. She didn’t even want me to leave.
“She not here, Sparrow. I was only gone for twenty minutes.”
“You were supposed to stay with her, Knox,” I growl. Fuck!
“Maybe she’s—”
“No. She walked out the front gates, Sparrow. Dex and George are going through our security footage. You need to get back here, now,” he asserts, sounding devastated.
“I’m on my way,” I rasp, stumbling out the door. I jump on my bike and hit the throttle, my back tire kicking up gravel as I speed toward the clubhouse. I make the trip in record time. Storming through the common room, I block out everything but finding Birdie as I jog down the basement steps.
“Who’s out looking for her?” I demand.
“Everyone. We’ll find her, Sparrow.” My stomach turns violently, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. Finding her is the only option. A life without Birdie isn’t one I want.
“There! Zoom in on that D,” George says, pointing at a car for Dexter to blow up on the monitor. We watch as Birdie walks through the gates and approaches a tan sedan. A man gets out and opens the back door, pointing for Sierra to get in.
“Why would she go with this guy?” Dexter asks as Knox comes barreling into the lair.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me.” I can’t think of any reason Birdie would willingly leave the safety of the compound.
“What’s that?” Knox asks, pointing at the car.
“Shit! You’re a genius!” George says as we watch Dexter work his magic.
“That’s a parking permit, and that barcode right there is going to tell me exactly who it belongs to. Give me just another . . . There! It belongs to a Talbot. Jeffery Talbot,” Dex says.
“Get me an address, Dexter,” I say, already heading for the door.
I’ve barely made it through the gates when my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. “Which way am I going?” I ask after hitting the Bluetooth in my helmet.
“2905 Wilshire Road. Warehouse district. I’m sending you the coordinates now. Everyone’s headed that way. Good luck, brother.” Without another word, Dex hangs up.
Hold on, Birdie. I’m coming.