I burst into our meeting room, seeing all my brothers, except for Genie, seated in their places. I’m too wound up to even sit down. Instead, I start pacing. With an anguished cry, I tell them, “The cops had her purse. It was definitely Trixie who was taken.”
Bullseye leaves his seat, comes over to me, and places his hand on my shoulder. “Freak, we all fuckin’ love Trixie. We’ll find her.”
“Too fuckin’ right.”
“Fuck yeah, we will.”
“She’s ours, not that bastard’s.”
The platitudes echo around, but they offer no comfort.
Movement catches my eye and I see Tempest stand up and lean over the table. “This asshole doesn’t know who he’s fuckin’ with.”
Hands slam down on the table, and feet stomp. “Nobody fucks with the Kings,” comes from all around.
But they’re missing the point. “If it’s Alongi, are we going to take on the Mafia?” If they say no, I’ll have to respect that. But they won’t stop me from acting alone.
“We will if we have to,” Bullseye states, still standing by my side. Even though I feel I’m being torn apart inside, the conviction in his voice warms me. “Remember it’s not just this club, Brother. The other chapters will rally around. Alongi won’t know what the fuck has hit him.”
Raising my eyes to meet his, I snarl, “I want him dead.”
Bullseye nods, then points to my empty chair. “Come sit, Brother.”
“I can’t,” I growl. “I need to be doing something.”
“Riding without direction ain’t gonna get you anywhere,” he says, gently. “Pippa and Genie are working flat out to locate her. And…” he lets a twisted grin come to his face. “Due to the diligence of the woman at the bakery, so are the cops. We’re tapping into their radio communications.”
“They’re fuckin’ useless. They won’t find fuck.”
“Probably not,” he agrees, gently pushing me in the direction of the seat beside Saint. “But let’s cover all bases, yeah? You never know, the pigs might actually sniff out something we can use. Thanks to that witness and the 9-1-1 call, they’ve already issued a BOLO for a black sedan with two men and a woman in it. No fix on the license plate as yet. The only description for the two men were that they were both wearing suits, shirts, and ties, and looked more like businessmen.”
I suppose that’s something. I let him guide me to my chair. When I sit, I keep my head down, unable to be subjected to the sympathetic looks around the table.
Saint clears his throat. “Could we be missing something by focusing on Alongi? Could it have been the Mojave Devils? After all, she tricked her way into their clubhouse.”
My eyes meet his, and my jaw drops.Could I have it wrong?
But Bullseye’s shaking his head. “I already asked Genie to go over the footage from the CCTV cameras in town. He’s spotted no MDMC cuts. Also, none of the Devils that I’ve come acrossare the type to dress in expensive suits. And why would they have gone after someone who they thought was a whore? If they wanted to take someone, it would more likely be one of us.” His lips purse. “Though we can’t rule it out altogether.”
Words speaks up. “I think blaming the MDMC would be a distraction. That night, all they knew was a girl turned up looking to party. If they’re like us, she was just one of many. They didn’t know she explored their clubhouse. And if she disappeared in the confusion that followed, who wouldn’t want to hightail away while guns were shooting?”
“Paint got her SUV out of there,” Winchester adds, dipping his head toward the tail gunner.
There’s quiet for a moment as we all process his words. I feel in my gut it was her ex, but I can’t afford to be wrong. But looking at the evidence and the fact that Genie can’t find him in his usual haunts, I feel confident enough to say, “We need to concentrate on her ex.”
“If you’re right,” Words addresses me directly. “How would Alongi have found her?”
“Pippa spotted a man acting suspiciously when she was having coffee with Trix yesterday. We thought he was looking for her, but it could be he was watching Trixie. But whether he was MDMC or Mafia, who the fuck knows?”
“Toni,” I suddenly breathe out, at last looking up to see that all eyes are on me. “I let the bitch go. Somehow, she must have gotten in touch with Alongi.” As I ask myself how, I find an answer. “She’s a fuckin’ librarian. She must have her fingers on the pulse of everything. If she’d seen a missing person story, or a plea for information, she could have contacted him.” It’s a stretch, but the only thing I can think of. I slam my fist on the table, and cry out, “And I was the asshole who let her go.” Raising my hand, I crash it down again.
Saint grabs hold of my arm to prevent me from slamming my fist down for a third time. As it is, my knuckles are already bleeding. “No one could have predicted she’d take her revenge on who she thought was just a club girl.”
But I know something he doesn’t. “When they were in that room where the MDMC were holding Ace, he was asked who Trixie was. Ace called her ‘mom’ as a ruse because he didn’t want to admit she was part of the club.”
“And Toni wouldn’t have liked that if she’d taken it at face value,” Tempest, quite rightly in my view, remarks.
I shake my head vigorously. “Nothing else makes sense. If Piero’s seriously searching for her, he probably has feelers out everywhere. She must have come across it in some way.”
