Chapter 60
AVA - FORCE OF NATURE
The silence in the SUV wasn’t peaceful.
It was heavy, claustrophobic even, like we were all waiting for something to break.
Jack gripped the steering wheel like it might run off the road if he eased up even a fraction.
Gray sat behind him, laptop open, a sidearm within easy reach.
His eyes flicked constantly between his screen and the road, tapping keys with focused precision.
I sat in the passenger seat, fists clenched in my lap, watching the familiar streets blur past us as I was filled with a sense of dread.
These past few weeks... months... maybe even years had been heavy, weighted.
.. like trying to dance through a field filled with mines that you didn't know where they were.
We hadn’t had much time, maybe fifteen minutes tops, just enough to grab what we needed and run.
I’d grabbed the files we kept off-books, the copies of every client statement, photograph, and signed consent form.
The things I had tried to reorganize after the raid.
I grabbed my laptop from under my bed, heart in my throat the whole time, afraid someone would storm in before we got out.
I didn’t even pack properly. Just shoved a few changes of clothes into my overnight bag and took one long, final look at the space where I’d spent years with Remi... talking about our future... a future that looked nothing like our present...
Then I closed the door behind me and ran.
I caught Jack watching me, giving me sideways glances periodically. Not like he was suspicious, just… worried. Probably about all of us.
“You think she’s, okay?” he asked softly. “Remi?”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
“Those guys seemed solid. Right? For an MC.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But Remi’s not the same. Not since Erin pulled that raid and everything else cracked open.”
Gray didn’t look up. “She’ll be fine. Girl’s a goddamn force of nature.”
Jack nodded slowly, but I didn’t miss the glance we shared, silent, unspoken, still unsure if letting her go had been the right call. What choice did we really have?
Gray scoffed, "Seriously, how do you two know her so well and not see it. She will likely have reformed the club or be patched in by the time this is all over."
Then he shrugged, as if either would be acceptable, and went back to his laptop.
We drove in silence again for a few more miles before Jack pulled into a run-down little motel. I turned to Gray, confused. “What are we doing here?”
“My place,” he said casually. “Need to grab my things.”
Gray disappeared inside one of the rooms and re-emerged three minutes later with three duffel bags so large they could’ve doubled as body bags. He tossed them effortlessly into the back of the SUV.
“Jesus,” I muttered, stepping out to help.
One strap slipped off the seat, and I reached for it, only to nearly fall backward when it didn’t budge. “What the hell is in here?!”
Gray raised a brow. “Weapons.”
I stared at him.
He shrugged. “You thought I packed yoga mats?”
Jack let out a tired laugh. It was the first authentic sound of relief I’d heard from him all day. I didn’t laugh, but I didn’t fight the tiny smile that tugged at my mouth either.
We drove for another hour, then two. The roads grew quieter, more rural. Trees arched above the gravel lanes, a canopy of branches giving way to soft summer dusk. It should’ve been beautiful. Calming. But my heart hadn’t stopped pounding.
Not since the raid.
Not since Remi was cuffed and taken away.
Not since we sent her away with people she didn't know and a culture she'd never respect.
The cabin came into view just before nightfall. A quiet, modest place tucked back in the woods. No neighbours, no lights, no noise except the sounds of tires crunching gravel and a breeze moving through the trees.
Jack cut the engine, and we climbed out.
“I’ll sweep the perimeter,” Gray said, already pulling his laptop and weapons bag with him. “Won’t take long.”
I walked slowly up the wooden steps, unlocked the front door, and stepped inside.
The cabin was dusty and felt like it hadn't seen life in a long while. The place smelled like cedar and gun oil. I dropped my bag by the couch and wandered to the window.
Still nothing.
Still no word.
Still no Remi.
My hands trembled as I sat on the edge of the couch, laptop in my lap. I plugged in my external drive and synced the backups I’d made to a cloud account that Kane’s people had helped me secure after the raid. I double-checked every file twice. Then again.
“What if she’s not okay?” I whispered to the dark room. “What if we were wrong?”
But there was no answer, only the wind in the trees and the creak of wood beneath the couch.
Gray came back inside first. “We’re clear, no signs of traffic in or out for a while. Harlan mentioned something about trail cams... we will have to see if we can get them online.”
Jack entered behind him, dropping a large cooler on the floor. “I brought some food. Should last a couple of days... maybe a week.”
I nodded, absently.
“You alright?” Jack asked.
No. “Yes.”
They didn’t push. They just let me sit there a little longer, silent, worried, and unsure how any of this would end.
And somewhere beyond the woods, in a clubhouse full of men we often stood against, my best friend was hiding in plain sight, surrounded by strangers, and not answering her goddamn phone.
I closed my laptop and hugged it to my chest, then leaned back into the silence and prayed this was all going to be worth it.