Chapter 2 #2
It wasn’t long before the air vibrated with the throbbing sound of so many motorcycles.
I loved that sound. I saw Dylan go over to the truck we referred to as the crash truck.
It was driven behind the bikes, in case we broke down.
Sometimes, we could fix the problem right there on the side of the road with the tools it carried.
If not, the bike would be put in the truck and hauled back.
Wrath took the lead, then we fell in behind him in order.
Officers were behind him, followed by regular members.
If we had prospects riding their bikes, they would be at the end of the line before the crash truck.
A sense of exhilaration hit me right after we cleared the gate.
The air filled my lungs, and I was set to enjoy the ride.
Wind blew in my face. The sun caused the chrome on our bikes to gleam.
The air smelled of fall leaves and grass.
I let my obsessive thoughts of my prey sink to the back of my mind.
I’d have time later to go back to my hunt.
I was determined to track down my elusive one.
???
It was after midnight. I’d spent the bulk of my day with the club. After the ride, which took over three hours, including stops, we returned and spent several hours in the clubhouse. It was great to be with my brothers, and I enjoyed it.
When I called it quits around ten o’clock, no one tried to stop me from leaving, not even Nomad.
When I got home, I showered and put on a pair of shorts.
Then I sat at my computer and got back online.
For the past two hours, I’d been all over the internet, on the sites I knew would attract my prey.
There wasn’t a trace of them to be found. It made me almost panic.
Why weren’t they on? They never missed a day.
Has something happened? Were they hiding because they knew I was tracking them?
If so, what did they have to hide? What if they never came back?
It was the last one that concerned me the most. The thought of never being able to discover who they were would eat at me.
Mysteries drove me insane when they went unsolved.
It was one of the things that attracted me to my online work. I was compelled to solve them.
Knowing I had to be up at six to get ready to go to work at the scrapyard, I reluctantly got off my computer and crawled into bed. My brain took a while to shut down. I was still thinking of my prey as I drifted off.
???
Almost three days and nothing. I’d been periodically checking online, even when I was at work during the day, and there was no sign of the person I’d been tracking.
It had me on edge. My mind wouldn’t stop asking myself who they were and why they had stopped.
The Mora guy they had been researching had a lot more to be discovered.
Out of desperation, I continued the research my unknown prey had started on Mora.
I noted numerous items for further investigation.
If proof could be found for even half of the rumors, he could be prosecuted if the right people got their hands on the information.
And based on what was rumored to be his actual dealings, he was one of the people my club and the others would love to take care of.
He was powerful, with many influential connections.
People like that found ways to wiggle out of trouble, or if they did go to prison, continued to run their businesses from behind bars.
They got out and walked right back into a fully functioning operation.
Death was the only solution for them if someone wanted to stop the illegal activities.
As I dug into Mora, I kept coming back to why my mystery person was checking into him in the first place.
Could someone else be doing what my club and our friends did?
It was foolish to think we were the only ones doing that kind of work.
If someone else did the same, could they be an ally?
We were always on the lookout for those, but we seldom involved anyone outside our secure circle.
There was the danger of being discovered and turned over to law enforcement.
We’d be the ones behind bars if that happened, and our sentences wouldn’t be short.
I got home from work three hours ago. After a couple of beers at the clubhouse, a shower, and some food, I’d gotten online and found that there was zero activity I could trace.
Three days were too long. If they were anything like me, they would be in withdrawal soon.
This meant they either came back and risked being found or found a way to return under a different identity.
Switching gears to see it that way, I went back through the sites I’d been in since the last sighting.
Only this time, instead of searching for signs of them, I searched for anyone hopping from site to site.
It took a while to spot it, and it came to me when I found an anonymous post on one of them.
They were asking for information on crime in Venezuela.
The poster mentioned they were considering going there, but had heard it was dangerous.
The content wasn’t anything provocative, but it still caught my attention.
I noted the URL and turned to tracing it back to its owner.
I knew my hunch was correct when I was bounced all over, the way anyone searching mine would be. It had to be my prey.
My heart sped up in anticipation of being back on the hunt.
I was about to dive into it when my doorbell rang.
Seeing it was nine thirty, I was surprised and then worried.
Hurrying to the door, which remained shut, I yanked it open.
I found Rage and Betty standing there. Betty gave me a sweet smile. Rage frowned.
“Evening. Come in. No need to stand outside. This is a surprise. What brings you two here? I didn’t see you at the clubhouse.
I thought you were out for the night or at home,” I rattled out as they came in and followed me to the living room.
Rage sat in a chair and pulled Betty down on his lap. I took the seat across from them.
“Sorry about coming over late. You’re probably going to head to bed soon, but I couldn’t wait until morning to ask,” Rage blurted out.
“I told him there was no need, but he insisted there was,” Betty added.
“Need for what?” I asked.
“I want you to look into someone for me. I want to know everything you can find about them. I want to know if they pose any danger to Braelyn,” Rage said gruffly.
“My God, Rage, Brae has been using this person for years. Whoever it is, they’ve never harmed her and have always come through with whatever Brae needs. I swear. You’re getting so worked up over nothing,” Betty exclaimed.
“Back up and tell me who you want me to dig into and why,” I requested.
“We were talking to Brae on the phone tonight, checking to see how she, Branton, and the rest of the family are doing. I asked if she was enjoying her break from work. She said she wasn’t leaving her cases lying around.
Brae informed us that her investigator was working on a case for her.
Rage asked who that person was and if either club had vetted them.
She refused to reveal the name and insisted that there was no need for anyone to investigate her source.
She’s been using them for years, and they’re one hundred percent trustworthy.
Well, you know Rage. That wasn’t good enough, so he’s here bugging you to do it,” Betty explained.
“Damn right I am, woman. I won’t allow anyone to harm our daughter or our families. I know she’s worked with this person for years, and it’s been fine, but things can change. I want to know who they are. And if there’s anything I don’t like, they’ll be out of her life,” her old man growled.
“You’ll be lucky if Brae doesn’t box your ears when she finds out what you did. There could be a reason she doesn’t want her contact looked into, Rage,” Betty warned.
“Then she should tell us that! She’s into dangerous shit, Betty. We know that after what went down with that fucker last year. She won’t stop pursuing the worst of the worst. She needs to ensure she’s protected as much as possible,” Rage defended himself.
She gave him a loving look. “I know she does, and I want her safe, too. I do. But for Brae to be so adamant, there’s a reason.
I wish you’d talk to her again about it before asking Shadow to do this, but I know you won’t.
And I’m not telling her. That’ll be your job.
I might take a vacation to Hawaii when that time comes. ”
Rage grumbled, and Betty rolled her eyes. I tried not to grin. When he settled, I asked my next question.
“Do you happen to know anything about the person who does the research for her? Is it a man or a woman? Has she ever mentioned a name? How did she meet them? Where do they live? Anything?”
Rage shook his head. Betty sat there with a furrowed brow, concentrating. I could tell she was thinking back. Suddenly, she sat straighter.
“The first time she mentioned this person was not long after she got the assistant DA job in Georgia. That should give you a starting point—no mention of whether they were here in Georgia, too. One time, she slipped up and said the name Cam. That’s it, and she never did it again.
No idea if that’s a real name, an alias, or if it’s a man or woman.
Cam can be short for so many names. I’m sorry.
I wish I had more, but Brae is cautious. ”