All I can think about is Marnie going through her mother’s death. Of the fact she said that the abuse got worse after her mother died. Since she was nine, she’s been beaten by that whip. The scars that line her body tell me some of what she went through. My full body shiver has me pressing my foot to the gas pedal more.
“Silas Joyce is fifty-seven years old. He’s been working for Afton since he was twenty-five and got out of the military. He was dishonorably discharged for excessive anger issues. Reports state they didn’t have proof but suspected him of a couple of rapes on and off base. He also has a wicked talent with a cat-o’-nine-tails whip. He’s aggressive and angry. Since he’s been working for Afton, he’s become worse. Several violent rapes were buried. He has a type, though.” He pauses, and I know what he’s going to say.
“Marnie,” I supply. I don’t even phrase it as a question, I know. He’s been focused on her since she was young. “What did her mother look like?”
He looks at his laptop, then at me. “You sure you want to know?”
“Fuck. Where are they?”
He types away on his computer and pauses. “Well, fuck. They just turned onto Millers Reach Road.”
I turn my attention from the road to look at him. We’re almost to the clubhouse. Now the need to get to Marnie is overwhelming. They aren’t headed to the airport. They are either doing one of two things. They’re going to kill her for her disobedience, or they’re going to break her to get to Oly.
“Tell the guys to meet us in Houston at the turnoff.”
“Prez, pull into the club. At least pick up Loki and whoever is there. We can’t go in half-cocked, and you know it.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I hit the steering wheel. “I’m going to get my old lady. You know what they have planned. I promised to protect her.”
The phone rings through the truck, and I answer it. “What?” I bark into the line.
“I got the stuff we need. I don’t have Shock’s finesse, but I can get the job done. Where are we heading?”
“You meet us there.”
“Kodiak,” Loki says. He doesn’t address me as President. “You wouldn’t let Aftershock go postal. Now it’s your turn.”
“Fuck,” I yell, and slam the truck into a slide as I pull into the clubhouse.
Loki is standing on the porch and runs toward us, dropping a bag into the back of my truck. Miner follows, also dropping a large duffel. Sparky pulls in behind me, and Fluke and GB jump into his truck. Wing, Gunny, and Romeo get into a third truck, and we all pull out of the clubhouse parking lot.
“I have some equipment for you,” Miner says.
Loki nods. “We packed for a real party. Shock is going to be pissed he missed all the fun. I’m going to make this one look good. Where are we headed?”
“Millers Reach,” I answer Loki’s question.
“Shit. Guess I don’t want to traumatize the old-timers out there. I’ll control the blast.”
Loki is referring to a ten-million-dollar fire that destroyed over thirty-seven thousand acres and three hundred structures. At the time, it was one of the most destructive fires in Alaska’s history. It left a lasting memory for most of us who knew someone impacted by it. I had friends who lost their cabins. Wildfires are part of summer here, and they can be overwhelming and catastrophic. Starting a fire there, even in winter, as dry as it is, could be dangerous. Especially with the wind blowing through the area like it is now.
“Can you contain it to just the structure and keep it from spreading?”
“Let me talk to Shock. He might have an idea. Do we have any clue what the area looks like?” Loki asks.
I glance at Vortex.
“They’ve pulled over at an address at the end of the road, close to the Little Su.”
“Get me information on the property,” Loki says.
It’s barely a ten-minute drive from the clubhouse to Millers Reach Road under normal conditions, but I turn onto the road three minutes later.
The road is paved at first, but I know it will be unpaved soon enough when we reach the old train track cutoff for Point Mac. I slow down and pull over so we can form a plan. The wind isn’t quite so bad here, but I still don’t want to risk a forest fire. Snow cover is thin because of the drastic temperature change. Hurricane-force winds hit in the evening after the snowstormblew through, driven by the pressure shift. Even though we’re further inland than Anchorage, we’re still affected by the coastal winds and sudden climate swings.
All three trucks pull up, and we all jump out as my phone rings through the speakers. It’s an unknown number, so I ignore it. It rings again, same display, but now a text pops up.
P
