“You leave that to Bear. He has his ways.”
“Copy that, sir.”
“Seth, do you need anything from us?” Maddox asked.
“Not at the moment, sir.”
“That will change. When it does, let us know. We’ll help.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Yep. Maddox out.”
Seth slid his phone into his pocket. “Riley, what do you have for us?”
“The farmer’s name is Christopher Merriweather. Since I don’t know who is going on this field trip, I sent his address to everyone.”
“Good. What do you know about him?”
“He lost his wife to cancer five years ago. They’d been married for 60 years.” Riley tapped a few keys. “Mr. Merriweather is an Army vet.”
Elias and his teammates exchanged grim glances. “We can’t let this go.” Seth looked at Riley. “Have you found any camera footage of Mr. Merriweather?”
“Some. Not what we need, though.”
“What does it show?”
“Here.” She turned her computer around and tapped a key. The screen filled with images of a busy emergency room at the local hospital. A minute into the camera footage, a grizzled man in overalls staggered into the reception area with blood running down his face. One of his eyes was puffy and his nose was swollen.
Iona’s quick glance at the operatives revealed fury and disgust simmering in the eyes of each person who watched the camera footage. Although she wasn’t a doctor, the injuries looked painful but not deadly. “They made an example of him.”
Elias nodded. “I believe we ought to return the favor.”
“We need to talk to him as soon as possible.”
“Agreed. We can’t all go, Seth. If I’m right and my father’s crew tuned him up, only a few of us should go. Otherwise, he might lump us in with the Reckoners.”
Seth grimaced. “You and Iona should go. Who else do you recommend?”
“You and Teagan,” Iona said. “You’re the leader of Echo unit and a vice president in our fake MC. Merriweather will respect and respond to another leader.”
“How do you know he’s a leader?”
Her gaze shifted back to the computer screen where the action was taking place. “He beat down the pain from his injuries enough to drive himself to the hospital. Most people would have either laid down and given up or would have called an ambulance for transport to the emergency room. This guy didn’t want help, so he did the hard thing himself. Hey, look at this.”
Seth and Elias crowded around her and stared at the screen. Two men dressed in jeans, leather jackets, and heavy motorcycle boots swaggered through the waiting room.
Although the recording didn’t have sound, you couldn’t misunderstand the nurse’s fear. She backed away from the desk and kept going instead of stopping when she was out of range of those enormous fists.
Seeing her fear, the two MC members laughed, treating it as a great joke.
Iona’s own hands fisted in response. Those boys needed someone to teach them a lesson in manners and etiquette.
On screen, the club members strode down the hallway. When the view shifted to the hall, they witnessed the two men opening a door and stepping inside. When they returned to the hall, they were laughing and smacking each other like a couple of teenagers. They retraced their steps and left the hospital.
Elias leaned closer to the screen. “Back up the footage about ten seconds and freeze the screen. I want a look at their faces.”
Iona tapped a few keys and turned the computer screen toward Elias.
