Chapter Seven #3
“We’ll set down there and see if we can figure out what happened,” Czar said. “Keep searching for the peak where he threw the cell phone. You find anything there, alert us.”
“Copy that.”
“Find a place to set us down, Storm,” Czar directed. “We’ll check out the site.”
Storm nodded, his face a grim mask. None of them were happy that they hadn’t questioned Keys about all the absences lately. It was unlike him, but they all believed in freedom. If Keys needed some time, they were willing to give it to him.
They should have followed him. That was the general consensus.
Had it been any other member of Torpedo Ink, they would have.
Keys was just—different. Edgy. He appeared easygoing and affable, but there wasn’t one person in the club who didn’t know it was all a show.
Keys was lethal all the time. He kept a tight rein on it, but there was no doubt under the right circumstances, he would be the most dangerous man they had in the club. And they had plenty of dangerous men.
He wasn’t obvious like Savage or Reaper. He faded into the background, a shadow barely noticed. When he came out of the shadows to work with wood or play with the band, he wore that mask, the one everyone outside of the club believed.
And there was the thing with women. They had Alena and Lana, two female members their crew held tight to.
Those women had always been protected by the club, although they were every bit as lethal as the men.
It didn’t matter. They were toddlers when Sorbacov brought them to the schools, and it took every member to keep them alive.
Keys was absolutely loyal to them. Steele was certain of it.
Just as he was certain Keys gave his loyalty to Breezy, Steele’s wife.
He was the same with Blythe, Czar’s wife.
All of them. Every woman in the club. He respected them, and he was utterly loyal to them.
Steele had no doubt Keys would lay down his life for those women. But loyalty wasn’t love.
He’d often wondered if Keys knew the meaning of love.
He knew the man didn’t trust women at all.
He had no desire to have one for his own.
Steele would have known. Unlike most of the brothers in the club, Keys didn’t have to command his cock to cooperate.
He was always ready for sex, and he treated the act casually.
He was rough, even brutal at times. He expected his partners to give him whatever he wanted, and they always did.
It was said that he returned the favor, and the evidence that he did was in the way the women kept coming after him.
Steele had never met a man more indifferent toward women than Keys.
“I failed him,” he said as he set the headphones aside, ducked his head and ran toward the burn site.
Czar sprinted beside him. “We all did, Steele,” he admitted. “But we’re not going to fail him now. We’ll find him and his woman and get them home.”
Czar had put the entire club on the line for Keys.
They had committed an act of war, riding into Sid’s territory and all but threatening to kill every member of his club.
Someone could report their ride to the cops.
That would bring them right under a microscope once word got out.
Steele knew Czar was angry with himself for not paying attention to Keys and letting this happen to him.
Every club member was protected. That was a sacred vow they all took, and they followed it to the letter.
It was how they stayed alive. Until now.
They had all failed a brother, and every one of them felt it.
They were pulling out all the stops to find him and set things right.
If that meant exposing the club to enemies, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Storm, Savage, Reaper and Steele followed Czar to the wreck of the burned-out truck. They examined the ground and the remains of the truck.
“He left us a mark in the tree,” Savage pointed out.
“He killed them all,” Reaper said. “Burned their bodies.”
“Others came.” Steele walked over to a split tree. “He hid in plain sight. Right here, listening to them, gathering information. He knew they’d come.”
“Tracks of two vehicles. Looks like eight men,” Storm said. “They didn’t bother to hide their tracks.”
“The hunters,” Czar commented. “They never even noticed their prey just feet from them. That’s Keys, blending right into the background. Best I ever saw.” He looked over his shoulder at Reaper. “No offense, Reaper.”
“None taken. I’ve watched him do it dozens of times. Fades right into whatever he’s standing next to or in.” He indicated the tree.
“He waited here when the hunters got in their vehicles and left,” Storm said, indicating the tracks.
“Waiting. Figured they sent out the bait and a couple more hunters,” Czar said. “Big mistake if Keys is in play.”
Savage and Reaper followed Czar into the brush. “There’s his mark.” Savage spotted it. “He’s following someone.”
“Four someones,” Storm corrected.
“We’ll follow the trail,” Czar said. “You get the chopper in the air and head to the next site, Storm. We’ll meet you there. There’s no question that’s where he’s headed.”
Storm nodded and took off while they continued at a jog to follow the signs Keys had left behind for them. It didn’t take long to come across the first body and then the second one.
“You see either of them before?” Steele asked.
“Nope. Definitely ex-military,” Savage said. “No one we’ve had a beef with.”
They found the second kill site. “He shot both of them,” Reaper said. “Didn’t bother covering anything up. Drug them to the cliff and threw them over.”
“He’s headed to the peak,” Czar said, already jogging toward the next site.
Keys had clearly marked every twist in the trails, every turn he made or path he took through the trees. He’d left a sign no one would recognize but them. They’d used it as children, in the Russian schools. When they snuck out through a crack in the wall to find food or weapons. Or to kill.
Both helicopters were at the peak, and their men were casting around for signs. Czar and Steele jogged up to them.
“What do you have?” Czar demanded.
“He took out two of them under their noses,” Absinthe answered for the others. “Bodies fell over the cliff. Firefight, bullets flying. One SUV took off and went that way, top speed. Keys cut through the trees running full out.”
“We’ll stay on the ground. Storm, Ice, you take the helicopters,” Czar said. “Absinthe can be Ice’s spotter; you take Reaper with you.”
Reaper clearly didn’t agree, but Czar gave him one piercing look and Reaper turned to Savage. “Don’t leave his side. I don’t care if you have to hit him over the head.”
“I got it,” Savage said. “Seeing as Czar knows I enjoy inflicting pain, I’d say he’ll behave himself.”
“You don’t actually have to hit him,” Steele said. “Just tell Blythe. Man’s pussy whipped.”
“And happily so,” Czar declared. “Get a move on. We’re catching up to him.”
They went back to a ground-eating jog, covering the terrain fast until Steele stopped abruptly. “Something’s happened. Something’s wrong. He’s cutting through the trees and brush, running full out. You can see the change in his stride.”
“Not good,” Czar admitted. “The only thing that could have triggered this is gunfire. I think the last two found his woman.”
They picked up the pace, following in Keys’ footsteps, racing down the trails until, again, they stopped abruptly.
A man, still alive, was tied to a tree. He didn’t look to be in good shape.
There were no bullet wounds, but he’d been worked over.
He was bound so tightly it looked as if the circulation was cut off to his hands.
“A little help here,” he muttered. “Maniac had a trap set and I stepped in it. You don’t want any part of him.” He coughed and spit blood and a tooth. “Seriously, man, cut me loose.”
Czar stepped around him and the others followed suit, moving quickly to follow the now-visible trail. Blood marred the green grass, a lot of it. A dead man lay crumpled a few feet away from what was an obvious crack in the mountain.
“Keys?” Czar raised his voice. “Got Steele with me. Don’t shoot anyone.”
Keys emerged from that crack. His face and clothing were streaked with dirt and blood. He looked exhausted. But he was alive. Steele grinned at him. “You wreaked a little havoc up here, Keys.”
“Didn’t leave us any fun,” Savage groused.
Keys shrugged. Swayed just a little. “Nothing much to do up here, so decided to play with the bad boys.”
“They didn’t fare too well. Looks like you took a headshot,” Czar said. “Let Steele take a look at you.”
“Need him to look at Lyric. I’m worried about her. She’s been sleeping on and off. Coherent when she talks to me but has a vicious headache we can’t seem to stop. She saved my life a couple of times. Wouldn’t make me happy if she died.”
“I’ll look at her,” Steele volunteered immediately. “Storm and Ice are bringing in the helicopters. We’ll get you two ready to travel and take you home the easy way.” There was no way Keys would allow him to look at his head before he took care of the woman, so he wasn’t going to bother arguing.
Keys turned and led the way inside. The little cave couldn’t even be called a cave, but Keys had done a good job of making it warm and bringing in the supplies they needed.
Steele glanced at the wall of dirt at the back and jerked his head in that direction, alerting Czar to the numerous bullets embedded there.
“Had a bit of a firefight,” Czar observed, his voice casual.
“Yeah, tell you later. Lyric disposed of him, and that doesn’t sit so well with her, so best not to discuss it right now.”