I handed the phone back to Copper, completely confused by Phoenix’s reaction. He didn’t sound pissed at all. He sounded like he understood. Hell, I guess he did. He knew what it was like to find out you had a kid you knew nothing about. He also knew what it was like for your woman to be missing, not that Reese was my woman. She wasn’t, but she was my child’s mother.
Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted Reese from the moment I met her and I still did.
Shit.
CHAPTER 6
Duke
“Phoenix and some of his crew are about 45 minutes out, but go ahead and tell us what you found,” Copper said to Batta and Tiny. They had just returned from Reese’s house.
“We didn’t see any signs of a struggle or forced entry. Everything was locked up tight when we arrived. Her car wasn’t there, neither was she. We did find some letters in her bedroom that we thought might be of interest,” Batta said. Tiny handed a small stack of papers to Copper.
Copper scanned the page on top, growled, flipped to the next one, growled louder, and then rapidly flipped through all of the papers. “What the fuck is this shit?”
I snatched the papers from Copper and flipped through them myself. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Why wouldn’t she tell anyone she was receiving threats?” I wondered out loud.
“Do we have any idea when she got these? Is there a possibility that these are old?” Copper asked no one in particular.
Judge chimed in, “I think it’s safe to assume those are recent given the fact that she is currently missing.” I knew that, I just didn’t want to acknowledge it. I was certain Carbon knew nothing about the threats. He wouldn’t have left her up here alone if he had.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
“Spazz, any luck with her phone?” Bronze asked.
“Not a damn thing. The last time she used it was yesterday. Don’t know if the battery is dead or what, but I can’t get a location on it,” Spazz told us, dejectedly.
“All right, Tiny, round up about five guys and the prospects. Spread out through town and see if you can spot her or her car anywhere,” Copper ordered.
The clubhouse doors crashed open revealing a furious and frantic Carbon. Phoenix stood just behind him, looking like he was going to strangle Carbon. What the hell? I thought they were still at least 30 minutes away.
“Update! Now!” Carbon roared. He looked like a rabid beast with his wild eyes and his chest heaving.
Phoenix clapped his hand on Carbon’s shoulder and squeezed. “Lock it down, brother, or I’ll be locking you down, feel me?” he warned. Phoenix was the only one close to Carbon’s intimidating size and had the best shot at controlling him if he went on a rampage.
Carbon’s nostrils flared, his chest rose and fell with his heavy breaths. He nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He fixed his eyes on Copper and waited for him to speak.
Copper promptly filled them in on what we knew so far and handed the letters to Carbon. He looked at the papers, one by one. Then, the big guy collapsed onto a sofa and hung his head. The sound that erupted from him could only be described as the pained cry of a wounded animal. I knew this was hard for him, being in the town where his family was killed, and now his only living sibling was missing.
We gave him a moment to pull himself together. He quieted, but remained seated and hunched over. Copper carefully asked, “We know you didn’t know about the threats, but do you have any idea as to who may have sent them?”
Carbon shook his head. “No idea, Copper.” He hung his head again. “My baby sister was up here dealing with so much on her own and I had no idea because I was too much of a pussy to come back to this town. Damn. It!”
Phoenix, being the only one who could get away with speaking to Carbon in such a way, ordered, “Not now, Carbon. Get your ass off the floor and get it into gear. Reese needs you. Man up for your sister.”
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. All emotion disappeared from Carbon’s face. He rose from the floor in one fluid motion, straightened his spine, squared his shoulders, and nodded. Carbon the frightened brother was gone and the stone-cold enforcer had returned.
We heard the rumble of several Harleys approaching the forecourt. By the sound of it, the rest of the Croftridge crew had arrived. Moments later, Badger, Dash, Byte, Shaker, Edge, and Prospect Coal entered the common room. Surprisingly, it was Byte who spoke first. “Did you get a location on her phone? What about her car?”
“Spazz couldn’t locate her phone,” I answered. “Some of the Devil Springs brothers rode out a bit ago to see if they could spot her car.”
Byte scoffed and plopped down at a nearby table. He pulled his laptop out of his backpack and started clicking keys. “I need her cell phone number and make and model of her car, license plate if you have it.”
Copper gave him the information he requested, even the license plate, which surprised me. He shrugged, “We only ever saw her in her car and I have a photographic memory.”
