Iona gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. “Gross. Who would do such a horrible thing to a living creature?”
“We’re not exactly influencing friends and winning enemies on this op.” Seth shook his head. “This is a message. The question is who sent it?”
“Rats usually signify betrayal.” Elias studied the pitiful creature inside the box. “No clues on the rat.” He picked up the box lid and examined the outside. Nothing. Picking up the part of the box containing the rat, Elias studied the outside of the box. It wasn’t until he looked underneath at the bottom of the box that he spotted the symbol that told the tale.
He clenched his teeth to stop himself from growling.
“What did you find?” Seth asked.
“Look for yourself.”
Echo’s leader studied the patch for a beat. “All right. I give up. What does it mean?”
“The skull and crossbones is the symbol my father chose for his motorcycle club. Someone burned the patch to symbolize what they see as my betrayal of the club. Same meaning as the rat.” He turned to his friend and the woman he loved. “My father and his cronies know where I am.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ELIAS POURED Acup of coffee from the carafe and tapped Zane’s name on his phone screen. He didn’t understand it. Never had. Why would his father want him to come back to his MC when he hated Elias?
“Yeah, Murphy.”
“It’s Elias.”
“What’s up?”
“I think my father is close by, Z.”
“Why do you say that? Have you seen him?”
“Nope. He left his calling card, though.”
“What kind of calling card?”
“A decapitated-rat kind.”
“Ugh. Sounds like he doesn’t appreciate what you’ve become.”
“Understatement, my friend.”
“What makes you say your father is close by?”
“The rat isn’t the only calling card. He also left a scorched skull and crossbones patch. The patch symbolizes the Reckoners. A scorched patch is a symbol of a traitor to the club. My father always delivers those personally.”
“I’ll shift my search grid to use Red Rock as the center.”
“Any estimate on how long this search might take?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll let you know when I get a hit. In the meantime, watch your back. This could lead to some ugly confrontations.”
That was a given. “Copy that.” Elias ended the call and went back to the living room to monitor the computer screens. Riley had set it up so two laptops split the camera views, allowing the night watch team to monitor all the camera angles.
Iona turned away from the computer. “Everything okay?”
“I talked to Zane. He’s shifting his search grid to put Red Rock in the center.”
“How sure are you that your father is here?”
He raised his eyebrow.
