Tension filled the room as the pounding continued. It sounded urgent, almost frantic, and when someone started shouting, I felt ice fill my blood.
“Lawson! Open the door!” Battle demanded.
“Nobody move,” Prez insisted, striding for the door.
“Wyatt–” Tank protested, but Prez put his hand up to stop him. He reached for the handle, opening it only far enough to show his presence without allowing Battle to see the rest of the room. Putting himself at risk to protect the rest of us.
“Battle. What are you doing here?”
Battle’s normal snide tone was missing, his words almost panicked as he said, “My sister was taken. I need your help.”
Following Prez’s order not to move was hard. I could see the guys shift, wanting to get closer, to present a united front against the asshole making our lives miserable. Why the hell should we help him? What had he done for us aside from causing trouble and threatening our families? If it were me standing at the door, I would’ve slammed it in his face without hesitation.
“Why should we help you?” Prez asked, his voice cold as ice. “Your guys attacked one of mine, threatened three little kids, and have been causing trouble in town for weeks now. We don’t owe you our help. If you need help, call the police.”
I couldn’t see Battle with the way Prez was standing, but I heard the desperation in his voice. “You know I can’t do that. Please, Lawson. She’s only sixteen. She shouldn’t be hurt just because I’m a fuckup.”
I hated that I wavered a little. Hated that I felt for him. If Jasper was taken, I wouldn’t hesitate to walk up to my enemy’s door in order to get him back safely. That he was willing to show up here, alone if the lack of input from his guys was anything to go by, was proof of how desperate he was.
“Please. I’m not a man who asks for help often, but I’m beggin’ you, Lawson. Help me find her. In exchange, I’ll take my crew and go. You’ll never see us again. I’ll give you my word.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
ZERO
The reason Battle’s crew hadn’t been at the clubhouse was because they were all searching for Battle’s little sister. After Prez agreed to help, we got the full story. She’d been at their clubhouse that was minimally manned with most of Battle’s crew out here causing trouble for ours. The clubhouse was attacked by an enemy of Battle’s, the girl snatched during the chaos. After several hours without a hint of where she’d gone, Battle had set aside his pride to come to us. With Wraith, Mojave, and even the prospect Rick, who was a PI, we had the kind of experience he needed to find her.
We hit the road en masse. Battle’s territory was outside the city, far enough away from ours to make finding his sister more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack. Most of the crew was sent south. We were close to the border, and Battle said the guys who took her dabbled in human trafficking. If they managed to cross the border with her, it’d be nearly impossible to find her again. We wanted to prevent them from getting near it.
Thanks to Wraith, all our helmets had bluetooth, so we could all check in and keep Prez updated. He was mission control, working not only with us, but with Hernandez and Gillespie to see if they had any information. We couldn’t ask them to join in the search, not with the shit Battle got up to regularly. Landing him behind bars while searching for his sister wouldn’t make him inclined to keep his promise to get the hell out of our town, but when Prez explained a teen was missing, they both agreed to check in with nearby precincts to see if there was any chatter they could share about her whereabouts.
My phone rang and I answered it, eyes locked on my surroundings for any hint of another crew. “Yeah?”
“Where are you?” Prez asked.
Pulling off to the side of the road, I answered, “On highway 146. No signs of anything yet.”
“Hold on. Wraith has some information for you.”
He must’ve handed off the phone because the VP’s voice came over the line. “Zero? How far south are you on 146?”
“Dunno, man. There aren’t any mile markers I can see. I’ve been driving for like an hour, though.”
There was tapping on his end, like he was typing something, then he spoke again. “You should be coming up on a town soon. We think it’s a possible location they’re holding her. Hang tight. We don’t want you going there alone. One of Battle’s guys shouldn’t be far behind you.”
Yeah, no shit. We were all given the same instruction. No approaching places alone. If we had suspicions, we called it in and waited for backup from one of the Hellfire Riders. They were the ones who carried weapons. We weren’t going into gunfights unarmed.
I wasn’t happy about working with the same guys who threatened Jasper, but I put up with it, riding alongside the guy after he pulled up beside me. The town Wraith directed usto looked mostly abandoned, half the streetlights off or broken. The only place with any vehicles out front was a shady looking motel with half the neon letters flickering. Two trucks and at least four bikes as far as I could tell. We passed it, heading to the edge of town and out of sight behind a house that was more scraps than walls. After shutting off the engine, the Hellfire Rider reached into his jacket, pulling out a pistol and offering it to me.
“No.” I put my hands up, leaning away from him. “I’ve got two kids at home. I’m not getting put away for murder.”
Surprisingly, he didn't argue with me. Just tucked the weapon away with a shrug. “You should stay here then. If this is who we think it is, then you’ll just be a soft target in the way.”
He threw his leg over his bike, preparing to go on foot to the motel to confront whoever was there. I stopped him with a hand outstretched, giving him a look. “Are you fucking nuts? I counted four bikes and two trucks. That’s a minimum of six people, maybe more.”
“I can handle it,” he argued with a scowl.
“Maybe you can, but can she?” I snapped back. “If they’ve got the girl here, you showing up guns blazing would only put her at risk.”
