When the call went straight to voicemail, Max had to admit that the worries started. He pulled out his phone and sent his own brother a text message to see what information he had on Desiree’s disappearance.
He walked quickly to the men’s locker room with Teddy in tow, still talking to Jose on the phone about their plans. He quickly got through his shower and got dressed, not even bothering to dry his hair.
He was running his fingers through his shortly cropped hair when Teddy came up to him. Both men were heading out of the gym doors as quickly as they walked in.
Both men met up with Jose and his partner, Max’s brother, Tiny twenty minutes later. When they had arrived at Desiree’s, controlled chaos was still brewing.
Three of Desiree’s sisters in arms were standing with Jose and Tiny. Both men in full uniform, letting Max know both were on duty when the call came in.
Andrea “Ivy” Starling, Julie “Bella” Stone, and Holly “Hemi” Delman turned toward him and Teddy as they walked up to the group. Curses rang out when Teddy shook his head at his brother.
The message was loud and clear, they hadn’t heard from her either. Everyone was now on high alert now.
“I thought you guys had each other on that 360-app thing, or whatever it’s called?” Max asked as he paced and ran his hands through his hair.
“Shit!” Jose spewed as he pulled out his phone again.
“Says she isn’t nearby. Her phone is on but she’s not close to us.” Teddy huffed as he tried calling Desire again.
“Hey, Angel just said she thought that Olly said she was going to the beach out in J-ville today. She’s not sure what time Olly was going though.” Holly “Hemi” Dellman informed everyone in the group.
“Go. You boys go check it out. If we hear from her, I’ll call you.” Andrea “Ivy” Sterling told Jose as she pulled out her phone. “I’ll mobilize the club and we’ll search for her here in case she came back earlier than we thought.”
Max climbed into the back passenger seat beside Teddy as Jose got behind the steering wheel and Tiny rode shotgun. As expected, they squealed tires on the asphalt and hauled ass to where they knew Desiree liked to relax on the beach.
The ride to Jacksonville was made in tense silence. Max knew they were all thinking of the worst-case scenarios.
Deep down, he was praying like he’d never prayed before that she was okay. He couldn’t lose her when he’d just found her again.
Okay, maybe he’d known where she was for the last four years. But, knowing the hell she went through on her last tour in Afghanistan, he’d purposely stayed away.
He knew neither of her brothers knew about what had happened to her because neither of them talked about it. He didn’t know if the women in the club knew about the incident.
Max and two of his teammates, both still active on his team, taught the smug asshole a lessen, Delta Force style. The fucker was dishonorably discharged four months later after Max had anonymously filed a complaint on her behalf with JAG.
What was even sweeter, was the female Lt. that Desiree had confided in was also dishonorably discharged for her statement to Desiree and for failure to act on the incident. It may not have been the justice she deserved, but it was close enough.
“Bella just sent me a text. Ivy just got ahold of Olly. She’s packing up to head home from the beach now.” Teddy brokethe silence to inform his brother just as they pulled into the Jacksonville city limits.
“Have them tell her to stay where she’s at. We’re five to ten minutes out.” Jose ordered as he sped up to get there sooner.
When they found Desiree’s motorcycle, she was already loaded and sitting on it, talking on her cellphone. Max’s heart skipped a couple of beats and then started beating normally again at the sight of her sitting on her motorcycle in one piece.
He followed the other three out of the SUV and walked behind them as they approached her motorcycle. He kept to the background while Jose and Teddy went up to talk to her.
He couldn’t help but chuckle lightly when he heard her snark at her brothers about them hunting her down. When she told them to keep up because she didn’t have time for old slow people, he thought about putting her over his knee and spanking her delicious ass.
Chapter
Five
Desiree pulled into her driveway, seeing where the bomb had exploded on her porch, had her shivering as memories from the past started pushing forward. Her mind drew her to the past, in the middle of the desert of Afghanistan where she lost two men.
“Hey Olly, you okay?”
Desiree jumped when she heard the deep voice breaking into her memories. She whirled around to find the source of the voice and realized it was her brother’s partner coming up to her.
“Yeah. I’m okay, Tiny. Just looking at the damage and my brain decided to bring up old memories. I promise I’m okay.”
