I grabbed my phone and my heart sank. No messages from Ryder.
“That’s it.” I sat up and smoothed my hair. “I’m going out there. I’m not going to sit around here like some teenager. I may not be able to do much, but it’s better than sitting around here.”
* * *
“Won’tyou at least eat before you go?” My mom was stress cooking. She’d made pancakes and bacon, blueberry muffins, lemon scones, and was now in the middle of making a chocolate cake. “I just need to keep busy,” she’d said when I raised my eyebrows at the buffet in the kitchen.
“I don’t think I can eat, Mom.”
“Take a few muffins. The girls are likely to be hungry when you pick them up.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that there was a real possibility that I wouldn’t be bringing them home. She didn’t know the kind of people we were dealing with.
One look at my dad’s face and I could tell that he understood. He stood up and walked over to the desk in the living room and grabbed a set of keys. “Take the Audi, Paige. You’ll get there faster.”
* * *
Dad was right.The R8 was such an amazing machine that I barely felt the 110 miles an hour I was going. The stretch of highway on the way to Baker was deserted this time of day, and if I did happen to get pulled over, I’d explain that my sister was missing and ask for a police escort. But, pretty much everyone sped along this part of the desert.
Feeling the engine rev as I switched gears, I thought of Ryder. It was no wonder he fell in love with motorcycles. Being the one in control of a powerful engine definitely helped when you felt out of control in life. He’d gotten into it when his parents were killed, and I was feeling it now, worried about Bailey and Lily.
It was shocking, really, how quickly Ryder had become part of my everyday life. I found myself thinking about him all the time. I’d smile when I remembered something funny or witty he said, and my heart lifted every time he walked into Tiny’s. I’d only lived in La Playa a few weeks, but in that short time, that hunk of a man had wormed his way into my life.
As I wrapped my hand around the gear shift, I found myself looking forward to getting my hands on Ryder. It had been a long time since I’d been with a man, and I was long overdue for some loving.
Was it really love, though? We didn’t exactly run in the same circles. I couldn’t really imagine bringing him to the club or having dinner with my parents. I had to grin imagining him at the Schweigers’s summer barbecue. “So, Ryder? What do you do for a living? You’re a mechanic? And a biker? How interesting. I think I see someone I need to speak to.”
I didn’t see any way that Ryder and I could have a long-term future. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who wanted 2.5 kids and a big house, complete with driving carpool and Girl or Boy Scouts.
Would I be willing to give all of that up to be with him?
My phone dinged with a text message. I changed lanes and then pulled off to the side of the road to read it. There was no way I was risking an accident in my father’s $150,000 car.
Lots to tell you when I see you but no word yet on the girls. I know who has them and why, but not where. I’ll text when I know more.
I sat there for a moment and wondered if I should tell him I was on my way. No, he’d probably tell me not to come. Turn around and wait at home. But he wouldn’t say that if I were already there.
Putting the car in gear, I turned the radio on. In about an hour, I’d be one step closer to finding my sister.
Thirty-Seven
Ryder
I was so pissed off I was shaking. Of all the things I could have imagined, Padre being responsible for Lily’s disappearance was not even on my radar. The only reason I didn’t kill him right then and there was because I figured I’d have a better shot of getting her back alive if I didn’t. But, so help me god, if one hair on my sister’s head—or Bailey’s, for that matter— was harmed, I would kill that motherfucker with my bare hands.
The guy was obviously losing it mentally, because the man I knew would never have done something like this. His judgment was clearly way off. But that was a different issue for another day. Right now, I had five hours to find my sister, otherwise I’d be spending the rest of my life in South America trying to find her there.
I headed back to the Bun Boy parking lot to see if Hawk had any luck chasing down El Diablo. When I got there, the whole damn place had turned into some kind of tailgating party. The clubs had supposedly come to “help,” but instead were drinking and smoking weed, blasting music, and basically partying.
Fortunately, the Outlaw Souls were taking it seriously, and when I pulled up to the corner where everyone was gathered, I found Scorpion, Swole, Trainer, and Chalupa looking at a map of the nearby desert.
“Hey Ryder. I’m guessing you had no luck?” Chalupa asked.
“Where’s Hawk?” Scorpion wondered.
I wasn’t really sure how to answer that. Did I tell them that I found Padre and that he was responsible for this whole mess?
I didn’t want to, but I pretty much had to.
