Chapter 18 #2
Butcher and I crowded around Riptide as he picked the lock on the door. It was only the three of us. We didn’t need someone spotting us and calling the cops because a bunch of bikers were milling around their apartment complex.
“You sure no one’s in there?” Butcher asked, keeping his voice low.
“Not according to the company’s database. They aren’t allowed to touch a tenant's shit until they are officially evicted. Should all still be in there.”
Riptide opened the door and we all stepped inside, shutting the door behind us. I turned the lock then looked around and shook my head. “Light packer.”
“Looks like it was a layover spot for him,” Butcher said. “Like he wasn’t planning on staying.”
We split up and started searching through Chet’s meager possessions. It didn’t take us long to realize we weren’t going to find anything here.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered.
Riptide started to say something when we heard someone talking outside the door. His eyes widened and we all looked at each other.
“Hide,” I hissed.
We shoved each other along until we ended up in the bathroom. The tub had a shower curtain and I groaned, but pointed at it. By the time the front door opened we were all squeezed into the tub—shoulder to shoulder—barely breathing as we waited to see who’d just dropped in on us.
Butcher elbowed me to make more room and I glared over at him. Sure we could have just killed whoever walked in, but that wasn’t our style. What if one of the residents had seen us coming inside and had gotten security? Then we’d be killing innocent people.
No. We needed to figure out who this was. We had to make sure we didn’t hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.
“I don’t know why you insist on coming back here each week, Chet.” A man’s voice floated down the hall.
Looking over, I met Riptide’s gaze. We both grinned. Butcher looked like he was ready to jump out and torture the men who were walking through the apartment.
“Just grabbing what I need, John. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
I jerked my chin to catch Riptide’s attention. “Should we grab them?” I asked. My voice was so low I barely breathed the words out.
Riptide considered that, then shook his head. He took something out of his bag he’d carried in. I frowned at the tiny thing between his fingers and gave him a questioning look.
“Tracker,” he whispered.
Butcher rubbed his hands together eagerly. “We can get all these fuckers at once.”
He said it a bit too loudly and I buried my elbow in his ribs. He grunted softly in pain. We all froze and waited to see if the men had heard him.
They were too busy out in the living room to notice us. I motioned to the tracker. “I’ll do it,” I mouthed at him.
Riptide handed it over and I reached forward and slowly—as quietly as I could—pulled the shower curtain back. I hesitated—listening—as soon as I’d made enough room to get out of the tub.
I stepped out and listened again. The guys were moving back and forth from the bedroom to the living room. I’d stepped behind the door so I wouldn’t be seen. I had to make this quick. Poking my head out of the bathroom, I caught sight of movement in the living room.
“What the hell’s so important that you keep coming back for it?” Chet’s friend asked.
“Don’t worry, John. This is the last time. It’s all coming with us tonight.”
“Good. You should have grabbed it the first time around.”
I moved silently down the hallway and into the master bedroom.
There were bags on the bed that hadn’t been there when we’d first searched the place.
Moving over, I carefully unzipped one of the bags and shoved my hand with the tracker inside.
I rummaged around until I felt the bottom and dropped the tracker there.
“Good. Because Ethan isn’t going to sanction many more of these trips. I’m shocked he even let you come back for anything. You know we’re supposed to leave it all behind when we join. No earthly possessions beyond what he provides.”
“Yes, but some of these things were requested by him. More importantly, it’s not your place to question, only obey.”
What in the fuck are these guys talking about?
The voices were coming closer. I swore under my breath and looked around. The closet was open and it was easy to see Chet was taking shit from there and shoving it in the duffle bags. If I hid there, I’d be caught. My eyes dropped to the bed and I sighed.
Dropping to the floor, I worked on squeezing myself underneath the bed. It was a tight fit as I wasn’t a small man, but I’d just managed to shove myself back against the wall when the guys came into the room.
Christ it’s like I’m in high school all over again.
“I know the rules, but Ethan granted me a favor. This is what I asked for,” Chet said.
“Seems like a waste to me,” the other guy muttered.
I heard rustling as they picked up the bags. It was too bad they didn’t stick around so I could listen in more, but they headed out almost immediately. I was about to crawl out from under the bed when I heard John speak.
“Hey, I have to take a piss before we carry all this down.”
Groaning softly, I held still. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice the shadows of Riptide and Butcher still hiding in the tub. I waited, holding my breath as I heard the bathroom door shut.
The minutes passed slowly, and it seemed like he was in there for a long time, but finally the door opened again and I let out a sigh of relief. The sound of them loading up all the bags floated back into the bedroom.
As soon as the front door shut I crawled out from my hiding spot. I froze, on my hands and knees as Riptide and Butcher burst out of the bathroom, both gagging.
“Jesus fucking Christ! What did that guy eat?” Butcher gasped.
Riptide had a disgusted look on his face. I gave them a confused look. “That guy just dumped a fucking load that would do an outdoor shitter proud. Fucker said he was going to piss, fucking liar.”
The fact that they were grossed out was saying something since all of us had used the outhouses overseas during our deployments.
Fuck, we’d even been around when the Privates had dumped jet fuel into the toilets and burned off all the shit inside.
These men were no strangers to nasty shit and yet they still looked green in the face.
“Let’s get out of here,” I told them, shaking my head. I did myself a favor and held my breath as I passed by the bathroom.
We made our way out of the apartment and I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check it. I frowned when I realized Jenny had never texted me back. I could see that it’d been read, but she hadn’t responded. Damn it. I was going to have some fucking explaining to do tomorrow.
Shoving thoughts of her to the back of my mind, I got on my bike. If we were lucky, coming here tonight would finally give us an idea of what was going on.
One thing was for sure. Caitlyn’s dad was alive and he was a part of all of this. Whatever this was. I couldn’t wait to fucking find out and put the whole thing to rest.