“Better company too. I prefer blondes to bald heads.” Yak shoots a look at Caterpillar.
“Fuck you, man. I’m a fucking catch.” Caterpillar seems genuinely offended.
“Sorry, dude. There’s just nothing like riding a girl’s ass and pulling on that hair like a handlebar. Makes me think I’m riding my Ethel. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
I snort. “Only you would compare riding your bike to riding a chick and then say that it makes you think of your bike while you are fucking said chick. You are messed up in the head, bro.”
Yak looks at me, confused. “You still love me, though, right? Like, this friendship is no judgment.”
I don’t get a chance to answer him as Eagle, Talon, and Panther all ride up to meet us at the gate.
I put my helmet on as Yak looks at me, panicked.
“You still love me, right, bro?”
I laugh once more as I turn on my bike. As a joke, I blow him a little kiss and wink.
He looks relieved as he helps Caterpillar open the gate.
“Come home soon, honey,” he calls out to me, making me roll my eyes even though he can’t see them.
I take the rear of the pack as I follow the guys down the back roads. It is so dark that the only light comes from the moon and our headlights.
When we get about a mile out from the bar, Panther comes on the headset.
“I didn’t want to say anything at the clubhouse in case someone was listening. We got an alert at the bar. It could be nothing, but with Adlet still in the wind, we need to check it out.”
“Is Meek watching the cameras?” Eagle asks.
“He is, and all he said was that there was a glitch in the system that caused it to reboot for about five minutes,” Panther says.
His tone says what his words aren’t saying.
This is not a coincidence.
When we pull up, Talon is the one who speaks up. “Keep your eyes open and stay alert.”
We stop in the parking lot. There is nothing there.
I climb off, pulling my gun from the holster. The others do the same, also leaving their helmets on. At least with them on, they offer a little protection, and we are able to speak with one another.
“Talon and Asher, you take the right, and we will take the left,” Panther orders.
I don’t question it. I follow Talon, watching his back as I take in everything surrounding us.
It’s surreal that we are checking this place for threats when just days ago, I had Aspen pushed up against the very wall we are walking by.
I don’t like how that makes me feel. We need to find Adlet and soon.
I won’t be able to settle until he is wiped from this planet, even if I have to do so with my very own two hands.
“We are clear,” Panther says.
We round the last corner and find them standing at the back door.
“We are too,” Talon tells him.
Panther nods at the note stuck in the ground with a bloody knife.
