Chapter 18 Heron
What the fuck was taking so long?
I finished changing clothes over ten minutes ago, and now I paced outside the women’s restroom, eyeing the door as I waited for Rebel to come out. My girl could be prissy, and I loved that she fussed with her clothes, hair, and makeup when we went out, but she didn’t need it. I thought she was just as beautiful in one of my old shirts, with no makeup and hair thrown into a bun.
When she exited, I caught the silly grin on her face. So fucking cute. I fucking loved this woman more than I ever could have thought possible. At one point in my life, I thought I’d always be alone. In those dark days, feeling loss, rage, and confusion after my father’s death, I didn’t have anything worth fighting for.
Until the night I dreamed about Rebel. Everything changed. I woke up with my cock throbbing, my heart beating fast, and a vision of a blonde, curvy bombshell I knew would enter my life in the near future. She helped drag me out of the pit I had sunk into before we ever met.
Her smile could light up the darkest night and shine into the deepest hole. Rebel healed my heart; because of her, I could allow my heart the freedom to love again.
The conversation with Carrion surfaced, and I didn’t want to think about my woman in danger. It suddenly seemed stupid to linger in this store without anyone at The Roost knowing where we went. I needed to text Hawk and Talon.
Rebel asked for makeup remover wipes since she got mascara in her eyes from the rain, and I dutifully set off to find it. When I asked her if she needed to do this before we went home, I remembered what Carrion said about her making a choice and allowing her to do it. She made a choice right there, insisting her eyes would bother her all night without removing her makeup.
It couldn’t be now that he spoke about. We got stuck in the rain. That’s all.
Brushing it off, I stalked down the aisle, searching all the shelves. How the fuck do women choose from so much variety? Every item had ten fucking brands. It took me fucking forever to locate what she described. Flustered, I finally paid for the shit and brought the bag to her.
A smirk twitched her lips. “Thanks, Babe.”
I waved her on. “I’m right here. Not going anywhere.”
“Okay.” She swished her ass as she returned to the bathroom, and I paced, growing increasingly agitated the longer she spent inside. I sent a few texts to Hawk and Talon before pocketing my phone inside my cut.
My instincts were screaming at me to grab her and run to my bike, rushing home to The Roost, where the club could help protect her. My spine tingled, and I paused, scanning the store. Something felt off.
I walked a few steps and heard a noise behind me. As I spun around, I found two Grave Robbers MC members.
Fuck! Hammerhead and his club found us.
I reached for my gun, but I wasn’t fast enough. They distracted me so the real threat could attack me from behind. I saw Hammerhead’s reflection in the corner mirror that hung high up in the store as a theft deterrent. He raised a baseball bat and swung.
“Lights out, motherfucker.”
I slumped to my knees, terrified for my woman. After knowing what hell this asshole put her through, rage ignited in my body. But there was nothing I could do. My ears rang as my head throbbed. I fell to the floor as my eyes fluttered and closed. Ironically, I faced the bathroom doors.
Please don’t hurt her, I begged as everything went dark. No thoughts. No movement. Just a restless, dark dream where I lost the woman I loved, and she screamed for me, reaching out into the void where I couldn’t be found.
Rebel!
“Wake up, Heron! Fuck!”
Someone slapped my cheeks as I groaned, slowly opening my eyes to find Hawk on his knees in front of me.
“Fucking Christ, brother. You need to wake the fuck up. Now!”
I blinked. For a few seconds, I couldn’t form thoughts through the throbbing ache in my skull. I winced as I touched the side of my head and felt a fucking lump.
“Rebel!” I shouted as it all came back, flooding my brain with anxiety, pain, and fury. I tried to rise to scramble to my feet and nearly face-planted.
Hawk pushed at my chest and held me upright. “You okay?”
No, I wasn’t fucking okay. “Hammerhead took Rebel.”
“We know,” Talon informed me. “When you didn’t come home an hour after your text, we came lookin’ for you. Good thing we did.”
So Rebel hadn’t been gone long. “We could still catch up to them. Let’s go!” I shouted, a bit unsteady as I shoved at Hawk’s hands and rushed to the door.
“As soon as we give you some fucking painkillers, bro. You look like shit.”
I flipped off Talon.
“Let’s move.”
Two hours later, fighting exhaustion and a headache, I still hadn’t found Rebel. Above me, flying in a desperate search, the crows looked for any sign of Hammerhead, the Grave Robbers MC, or my woman. They found nothing.
I finally pulled over, hands shaking as I struggled to remain in control. My body fought me to stay coherent and upright, but I couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t.
Rebel needed me.
“Heron, we should go back to The Roost.”
“I won’t stop searching for her,” I growled, hating that we weren’t making any progress.
How the fuck could she just disappear?
Talon rolled to a stop beside me. “Pres wants us back. STAT.”
Fuck.
Hawk ticked his head at the sky. “The crows will keep looking. We fill in Crow and form a plan.”
“We’ll find Rebel,” Talon assured me.
With a reluctant sigh, I gave in, but only because I wanted the entire club to help search, not just the three of us.
We returned to The Roost, and I parked my bike, rising off the seat when I saw Carrion. Something inside me snapped, and I threw down my helmet, stalking in his direction.
He didn’t move, staring me down. “Heron.”
“Don’t. You knew! You fucking knew this would happen!”
“Of course I did. That’s why I warned you.”
“You didn’t warn me about shit!” I shouted, shoving him in the chest.
The fucker barely budged. “You’re angry. I can understand that.”
“Oh, you can, huh? Understand this!” I lifted my fist, intending to punch him, but he caught it before I could reach his jaw.
The fuck? How did he move so fast and intercept it?
“I saw you, remember? I saw this whole fucking conversation and every fucking way it could have gone down. If you would calm your fucking ass down, I could explain more and help.”
“Calm down? Hammerhead has Rebel!”
“I know, brother. And she’s okay. I swear to fuck, she’s not hurt.”
“Yet,” I spat.
He agreed. “Yet.”
“How do I find her?” It was pointless arguing with him since he already saw every which way I’d come at him. But, fuck, I twitched with the need to beat his ass for this.
“Get over your rage at me and focus on her. Use your crow. Sweep all of Nevada and the Great Basin until you find her.”
He was right. This helped solve nothing and lost precious time. I had to focus on the rescue and not Carrion’s betrayal.
And yeah, I fucking felt betrayed. This could have been prevented. He should have warned me that Hammerhead was watching and waiting for his chance to snatch Rebel.
I didn’t want to admit that this was my fault, too. I’d gotten too lax and comfortable, too focused on her and not enough on the lingering threat. As the weeks passed, I thought Hammerhead moved on. Fucking stupid. I lost Rebel because I failed to protect her.
Agony spread throughout my body as I nearly sank to my knees. He could touch her, torment her, kill her, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Hey.” Carrion gripped my shoulder. “Don’t fucking do that. Don’t lose it now. You’ve got to keep searching for her.”
I lifted my gaze to him, trembling with a heavy mixture of fear for my woman and rage that she’d been taken. “I’ll never stop looking for my Rebel.”
“Good. Let’s head inside. Pres wants an update.”
Crow called an emergency meeting, and we filed into the chapel for church. I went over the details of what happened and how Hammerhead and his crew got the jump on me.
A tense silence followed as Crow’s thunderous frown warned us all how pissed and agitated he’d become. “Fuck,” he finally roared, rising to his feet to grip the back of his chair. “Carrion. What the fuck is going on?”
“Nothing we can’t handle,” he promised.
“Not what I fucking asked,” Crow bellowed.
“I can’t, Pres.” Carrion looked stricken. “If I intercede in any way, I risk Rebel’s life. And the club, too. I won’t do it, no matter how pissed you get at me.”
“Tell me one thing, will we all survive this?”
Carrion nodded. “Yes.”
Relief spread across Crow’s features. “Okay.” But then he stilled again, clenching his fists. “We’re not all gonna be untouched by this, are we?”
Carrion swallowed hard. “No.”
It was that single word that sent icy fear through my veins. What did that mean? Rebel had already endured so much. How could she handle additional trauma from a man who already raped and hurt her in the past?
He wouldn’t live this time. I should have killed him at the rally, even if it caused a bloody war with the Grave Robbers MC. Anything he did to Rebel now would be because I let that motherfucker live instead of putting a bullet in his fucking brain.
“Heron, take your crow and search for Rebel. Hawk, go with him.”
I nodded, knowing any further discussion was pointless. Now, the only thing that mattered was finding Rebel before Hammerhead forced himself on my woman. If he touched her, I’d invent ways to torture him until he begged for mercy. Then, I’d let Rael come and reap his fucking soul.
For the remainder of the day, I took to the sky and searched every inch of Nevada visible. Long into the night, only pausing to take small breaks, I kept up my search. It yielded nothing. No news. No hint where he’d hidden Rebel.
Defeated, I returned home, collapsing on the bed. Exhausted, I slept a few hours before I rose, rubbing my tired eyes.
Brax. The name popped into my head, and I blinked.
Fuck. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?
Our crows didn’t have the same enhanced sense of smell as other shifters, specifically those predators who hunted on the ground. We ruled the skies, but ground assault wasn’t our specialty. Even a mobbing of crows couldn’t hunt with the same accuracy and skill as when in the air.
I reached for my cell, swiped across the screen, and found Brax’s number. He answered after three rings.
“Heron. What can I do for you?”
“Help me find Rebel,” I growled.
“Shit. What happened?”
I filled him in, explaining why I needed his specific talents.
“Nightstalker and I will find her. We’ll be there within the hour.”
We ended the call, and I stood, rushing toward the bathroom for a quick shower. Now that I had a plan, I knew I’d find her. Hammerhead couldn’t hide her scent. Brax would pick it up. Today, I’d find my woman.
In the back of my mind, Carrion’s words lingered.
Three days, fifteen hours, twelve minutes, and eight seconds.
“Fuck,” I whispered, slapping my hands against the tile.
I couldn’t let it take that long. Rebel had only been missing a little over twenty-four hours. Enduring another two and a half days? I didn’t know how I would survive it.