Chapter One Babe

CHAPTER ONE: BABE

"You've reached Min. Hang up and text me like a normal person."

"Fuck," I mutter, as once again I reach Min's voicemail instead of Min. I don't leave a message. She never listens to them. So why bother? I'd send a text, but I have already sent her a dozen. All delivered, none answered. Where the fuck is she?

"Problems?" Ghost asks, taking a seat next to me at the bar.

"Your fucking cousin won't answer her phone," I grumble.

"There's a solution to that," he says, seriously. When I lift an eyebrow at him, he continues with a laugh, "don't call her."

"Fucker. That's not helpful. I haven't heard from her in two days. Do you know where she is?"

"Not a clue. But I'm the wrong one to ask."

"Who should I ask?"

He shrugs. "No idea. She's spends more time with you than anybody. Did you two have a fight?"

I frown at his question. "No, we didn't have a fight." I think about our last discussion, which involved us arguing. But that's true about every conversation. I've never met a more combative person than Min Yan. She'd argue about anything and everything. Didn't matter how reasonably I expressed my thoughts, she'd make an objection. Like starting our bounty hunter business. We've completed our forty-hour certification course and passed the physical requirement. To her, this meant we were ready to go after a skip. As I explained to her, we had more to do before we could take that next step. Glancing at Ghost, I see him smirking at me. "Ok, we argued, but it wasn't a big fight."

"What did you argue about?"

"Bounty hunting," I admit. "You know her, she's raring to go. Has she always been like this? Go, go, go all the time?"

Ghost shakes his head. "We haven't been close since she was a kid, so I can't say I know her well. I will say that she wasn't like this back then. She was smart and methodical, but she's more impulsive now. I don't know if it is because of what she went through in China, or if something else happened in San Francisco before they moved here."

I knew little of Min's past. She didn't like to talk about it. Most of what I know is what Ghost's shared. His brother kidnapped Min, their cousin. He demanded Ghost kill her in order for him to join the Triad. Ghost refused and rescued her. He helped Min's family flee to San Francisco while he continued on to San Diego. At some point, Min's father moved the family here.

"Why did they move to San Diego?" I ask Ghost.

"I don't know. I never asked. They didn't reach out to me right away. Running into them was a surprise. However, not as much a surprise as learning that Min not only learned martial arts, but taught classes. She was always more bookish than physical."

"You think something happened? Something that made her want to learn how to defend herself?"

"Maybe. Could have been what happened with Fenhua, my brother. Since that day, she's been prickly towards me, so I never asked."

"Hey, fuckers, shut the hell up," Reaper calls out as he turns the volume up on the television.

Turning, I see our brother, Shield, standing in front of several reporters.

"I thought he was going to the hospital today to visit his sister and see his mom," I say to the room.

"He is, after this press conference. He said they had an update on the kidnapped babies."

"Yes, we rescued the two babies taken by the man who killed their mothers. A boy and a girl. Kate Markham's cousin and her husband are taking custody of Kate's son. Lindsey Webber had no family, but someone has stepped forward to adopt her baby. We found the babies both in good health. We hope they both live long and happy lives. As for the men responsible for these crimes, they are all in custody and awaiting hearings. Thank you."

Reaper turns the television volume back down when the news flashes to a different story.

"Too bad their leader, Jordan, wasn't part of the takedown. Then again, I'm hoping we find him first," Ghost says, fisting his hands. Ghost's woman, Tanya, was a victim of Theodore Jordan, the cult leader of God's Chosen Disciples. While we all want to find and stop the asshole, Ghost wants revenge for the Tanya. Jordan kept her captive for months. The fucker tortured and raped her during the time he held her. Fuck, Ghost isn't the only one who wants in on revenge against Jordan. Tanya's a sweet girl, but she's made of steel.

"Are all the girls still taking self-defense classes?" I ask. Brooke, Ashley, and Tanya were all studying under Min's father at his dojo until a dirty cop burned it down with them inside. Luckily, they escaped without injuries.

"Yep, Caitlin and Kingsley are attending the classes too. Lenora wants to take them, but she can't yet. Too soon after having Lana. Evie and Tally plan on taking them after they have their babies."

"I think it's a great idea to have all the Old Ladies able to take care of themselves. Won't mean their men will let them go around without a protection detail." As the Enforcer, I'm always worried about the safety of our members and their women. We have six prospects, five of which often have the task of protecting the women.

"Wait, I just remembered the last time I saw Min. She was working out at the dojo with Grant."

"Grant?" Grant Barker is a former physical therapy patient of Tanya's. She treated him after he suffered a gunshot wound while chasing down a bounty. He helped us protect Tanya when Theodore Jordan tried to recapture her. He's also helping us set ourselves up as bounty hunters. Pulling out my phone, I call him to see if he's heard from Min lately.

"Hey, Babe, what can I do for you?" Grant answers.

"I was wondering if you've heard from Min recently."

"Talked to her an hour ago, before she got on the plane. They should land soon."

"What? Where did she go?" I can feel my concern shifting into anger. There's only one reason for her to be out of town and for Grant to know about it. She's hunting down a skip.

"Reno. She went after a skip. Caught him this morning and they're on their way back here," Grant says. "You didn't know?"

"No, I fucking didn't know! We haven't started going after skips yet. We're still getting the business ready."

"She told me you guys were ready. You both passed the certification. What else is there?"

"We don't have an office or staff. We still need to buy equipment and advertise," I start, but Grant's laughing his ass off.

"Jesus, Babe. Did you want to become a bounty hunter or just play at being one? All that stuff is window dressing. You don't need any of it. Go out, catch a few skips and build your reputation."

"Is that what you told Min? To go off half-cocked and grab some skip. Who is this guy? Is he dangerous? You let her go alone? What the fuck's wrong with you?"

"Relax, he's harmless. Besides, even if he wasn't, Min can take care of herself. Fuck, she's a natural. She knew the guy was hot for poker, and figured out he was heading to Reno for some minor tournament at Legacy. She spotted him and when he tried to hit on her; Min had him. I doubt she even broke a sweat. Hell, she probably didn't have to move from her seat."

By this point, my temper spikes and I'm primed to deliver pain. I just don't know the target. Grant for letting her go by herself, the skip for hitting on her, or Min for putting herself in a dangerous situation without back-up. She and I are going to have words right after I kill the other two.

Before I can threaten Grant with a beat-down, another call breaks through. Glancing at the display, I see it's Min. "You and I aren't done talking about this," I threaten Grant. He just laughs and ends the call. Motherfucker. "Min, what the hell? Where are you?"

"I'm at the airport. What's the matter? Why did you blow up my phone with messages?"

"You went on a job. Without me," I bite out.

"You weren't ready. I didn't want to wait around and lose the edge. Besides, this one was easy. Weren't you Humphrey? You followed me like a puppy, didn't you?"

"We need to talk…" I start, but she interrupts me. "Huh? What's he doing here?"

"Who?"

"That asshole who burned down my dad's dojo. He just entered the terminal with three men."

A commotion behind me splits my attention from Min. Dante's calling Church.

"Min, I have to go. Dante's calling Church. We need to talk. Can you come to the clubhouse?"

"Did you hear me?" She asks, then huffs in disgust. "Never mind, fine. I'll head to the clubhouse after I drop off Humphrey."

Entering Church, I take my seat. Smoke is messing with the phone and soon Shield's voice comes over. "Did you hear what I said? Billings waltzed into the precinct and broke those three assholes out of jail."

Billings. The asshole who tried to burn down the dojo. The one Min just saw at the airport. Fuck.