Link was leaning against his desk when we walked into his office. Mercy and I both took seats while Havoc closed the door and leaned against it like he was holding it up.
Link took a deep breath. “We’re all busy today, so I’ll get right to the point. We haven’t found Ben.”
“As in my brother?” Mercy’s gaze shot to me before returning to the club president. At his nod, she said, “You’re looking for him?”
Link also frowned at me. “Isn’t he missing?”
“Well, yeah, but… he doesn’t want to be found.”
Link nodded. “Explains why it’s been so difficult then. But we sure as hell won’t do anything to put his life in jeopardy. Landon said he’d had the shit kicked out of him when he showed up at your house, and you haven’t seen him since.”
Her displeasure threatened to strangle me, but she nodded. “That’s accurate.”
“Since going to the cops is out of the question, my team has been looking for him. It’s rare that they find no trace of someone, but he’s sneaky.”
Mercy’s breath hitched, but her features could have been carved from stone. “Do you think he’s dead?”
“It’s too soon to jump to that conclusion. We have learned that Ben’s employer is on a federal watchlist, though.”
She shook her head. “A watchlist for what?”
“I can’t really get into that, but you should know he’s not their first employee to go missing.”
“Were the others found?”
Link’s frown deepened. “Their bodies were.”
Mercy blinked rapidly at that, but otherwise held strong and nodded. “Understood.”
Something kept bugging me about Link’s story. “How do you know who’s on federal watchlists? Do you have connections with the Feds?”
Link and Havoc shared a look. “That’s club business,” Link said, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “Consider yourself updated on the situation. We’re doing everything we can to find him, Mercy. If anything pops into your mind that might help with the search, be sure and let us know.”
Mercy clasped her hands in her lap. “I tracked his phone,” she said. “It last pinged from their warehouse at the docks more than a week ago. It hasn’t come back online since.”
Link nodded. “If he hasn’t gone back to work to get it, there’s gotta be a reason. I’ll let Morse know.”
“Thank you,” she said. “For everything your club has done and is doing. You’re going above and beyond and… I’m not like the….” She swallowed. “Can I pay you for this?”
Link frowned. “That’s not necessary. The team needs to stay sharp. They’d grow rusty without these exercises. I should be paying you for their training.”
The moment Link released us, Mercy bolted. I tried to catch up, but Rabbit intercepted me.
“Poor Mercy,” he said, turning to watch her leave. He had five creatively shaped braids in his hair, and three ended in bows.
As his words sank in, I asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Likely she’s still all shaken up after what happened at the school last night.” At the confusion that had to be written all over my face, he added, “Didn’t she tell you about it?”
What the fuck had happened last night? I couldn’t see Mercy from where I was, which made me several shades of nervous, so I stepped forward until I caught sight of her again. She’d gone back to her table.
“I saved the fuckin’ day,” Rabbit went on. “Some drunk asshat was tryin’ to pick up a kid that wasn’t even his, and he was giving her a hard time. Can you believe that shit? Morse saw him stumbling into the school and knew he was trouble. He called me since I was in the area, and like some goddamn white knight, I tackled his ass and kept him there until the cops arrived.”
“Some guy was giving Mercy a hard time at the school?” And she hadn’t called me?
“Yeah, man. Fucker pulled a knife on her and everything.”
I saw red.
