Chapter Seven

Wheels

SOMETHING IS GOING on with Brooklyn. I'm not sure what it is right now, but she's keeping some secret or news from Soul and I. It's been three days since my Little Warrior, Cricket, and Fee had their girl's day and that's when she started acting weird. She's lost in her head more often than not and when Soul or I try to speak to her, we almost scare her because she's not paying attention to anything around her. That's definitely not Brooklyn—she's one who always watches her surroundings and knows who's around her. Soul's noticed it too and we're both getting really worried about her. Especially considering she rushes to the bathroom at the most random times and won't answer us when we try to check on her. What makes it weird is that she has water running every single time this happens so we can't hear what she's doing. I've seen her body enough to know she's not harming herself in any way, but there's only so many reasons she wouldn't want us rushing into the bathroom after her.

Baker's has been busy as hell the last several weeks. It seems like any time we get all the cars done and ready to be picked up, half the town needs something done to their vehicle. Plus we've gotten some custom orders in and are slowly trying to work on them. It's not often we take custom orders for bikes, but when we do, it's all hands on deck. Anguish has also been approached by someone in town who wants his old muscle car fully restored and we're debating taking on the job. It's only going to add to our workload, but that's okay. The money we earn from all the custom jobs and what we'll make from the restoration if we take it on will be worth the amount of time I'm away from Brooklyn. Especially over the last week when business has gotten even busier.

"Wheels, get Brooklyn's SUV in and on one of the lifts today. I want to know exactly what's goin' on with it before we figure out what to do next," Anguish tells me as I finish working on the van I've had in my bay for the last two days.

"On it. I'm about to finish this van and then I'll bring it in. I've already taken this for a test drive and everythin' is good," I assure my President as I slam the hood closed after making sure all the bolts and screws were tightened down and nothing was left out of place.

I've always double checked my work before returning a vehicle to a customer. The less chance I have of messing something up only takes a few seconds to double check a few things depending on the job I've just finished doing. Most of us here do the same thing because if we don't take a few seconds to double check that we've tightened everything down, we could cause an accident, make more work for ourselves later on down the road by creating massive problems for the customer, and any number of things could go wrong. I'd rather be safe than sorry and everyone else would too.

Getting in the van, I back it out of my bay and park it in the parking spots reserved for customers to pick their vehicles up. Heading into the office, I drop off the keys and paperwork so they can be billed correctly before going over to grab the SUV. Theo and Creed help me push it in the bay and up on the lift. When it's in place, I put the SUV back in park and prepare to lift it in the air. Something stops me in my tracks as I close the driver's side door though. Bending down, I notice the front tire looks like it's losing air. It's not completely flat yet, but it's lost enough air for me to realize something is going on. These are brand new tires and shouldn't be losing any air. Hell, nothing should be wrong with it at all seeing as when we bought it, I went over it from stem to stern. It might have been a repo, but it's a newer model, so there wasn't much that we needed to fix.

Bending down, I inspect the tire the best I can. When I get almost to the bottom, I hear a small hiss that's barely heard over the other sounds in the shop. Running my hand over the tire, I feel the air leaking out. I turn on the head lamp I keep around my head while I'm working and find the smallest hole in the tire. I'm not sure what punctured it at this point, but I'm guessing it's not because one of us ran something random over in the road based on where the hole is located. This is something that was done to Brooklyn's SUV. Shaking my head, I grab the notebook I keep in my pocket when I'm at work and jot down a note before grabbing the chalk and circling the hole in the tire.

Making my way to the end of the lift, I press the button to raise it in the air. When I have enough room to maneuver under the SUV, I let go and walk underneath to start checking out what's been done to my girl's vehicle. The first place I go is to the brake lines that were cut. It's evident someone used a sharp as fuck knife to slice through the line and let the brake fluid leak out so it would cause Brooklyn to get into an accident. Or one of us if we were driving and didn't realize anything was wrong. Yeah, Soul and I know how to slow down a vehicle that doesn't have any brakes, but it's a pain in the ass and would still scare Brooklyn if she were with us. Shaking my head, rage once again fills me with the thought that Bennett is so desperate to get his hands on Brooklyn that he's willing to risk hurting or killing her. He's a fucking moron and deserves to be put down like the asshole he is.

I let my mind wander for a minute, thinking of all the ways I want to torture and hurt him. I've seen the scars on my Little Warrior's body and know she's suffered from his touch and her parents. Her parents might not have ever laid a hand on her, but they sure as fuck knew what Bennett was doing and did absolutely nothing to protect their daughter from him. Not only that, but their neglect of her while she was growing up left her with deep emotional scars; she believes she has no self-worth at all, but lately, we've both noticed that she's starting to show that she's overcoming some of that past. They aren't parents in my fucking book. They're enablers for a person they believe will have their backs when it comes to money and getting their next fix when they don't have any other way to buy drugs or alcohol. Brooklyn is better off without any of them in her life. Soul and I will provide her with a new family. People who love her and want her in their lives without using her for their own reasons. We're all ready to show Brooklyn a new way of life where she can grow and be the woman she's meant to be regardless of who she becomes.

Shaking my head, I clear the intrusive thoughts and start looking through the rest of Brooklyn's SUV. Anguish and I pulled off a tracking device after she got left the note on it when she went to the grocery store. We haven't really checked for any since that day. The two of us searched her entire vehicle and only found one of them. Someone has already placed another device and I shake my head when I find it attached to the undercarriage. This isn't the only one, I have a feeling deep in my gut that tells me I'm right in this assumption.

"Find anythin'?" Anguish asks, walking up to me and looking at where her brake lines were cut.

"Well, you can see where her brakes were cut. This fucker knew what he was doin' and made sure to cut all the way through so she'd lose all the brake fluid before she got out of work. I'm sure they didn't realize Soul drove her in that night and he'd know what to do to keep them from crashin'. It would've been scary as fuck for Brooklyn, but she'd be safe. If she'd been on her own, she wouldn't know what to do and would have gotten into an accident," I tell Anguish as he makes his way over to me and I point out the tracking device I just found.

"Another one?" he questions, his voice full of incredulity because it hasn't been that long since we found the first one.

"Yep. My gut is tellin' me this isn't the only one I'm gonna find on it either," I answer him, going through the rest of the SUV as he follows me around. "There's also a small hole in the front driver's side tire. It's lost enough air already that I could immediately spot it was soft. I've circled it with chalk so I remember where it is. These are brand new tires. Yes, I know shit happens, but this was done intentionally. Not somethin' we ran over or a defect from the tire company."

"Fuck. They're really tryin' to make sure they hurt her," he hisses out.

After making sure nothing else is on the bottom of the SUV, I move to the back and start looking by the rear tire on the driver's side. Nothing is there. Anguish still follows behind me and double checks to make sure we don't miss anything. When I get to her back license plate, I find another tracking device. This one is so fucking small and if I weren't actively searching for it, I would've missed it.

"Fuckin' hell. Here's another one," I inform Anguish as Theo steps up next to us and looks at what I'm pointing at.

"That stupid fuck wants to make sure he's able to track her location at all times. He's got somethin' planned and isn't gonna let her get away from him. Brooklyn doesn't fuckin' go anywhere other than work and the compound. It's one route she'd take so I'm not sure why exactly he wants to go for the overkill with two tracking devices this time. Unless the one in the undercarriage is meant as a distraction so we'd think that was the only one and wouldn't look for a secondary tracker," Anguish says, his logical side coming out as Theo looks at the passenger back tire.

"This tire's almost flat," Theo tells us, a grimace on his face as he runs his hand over the tire until he winces.

Pulling his hand back, a cut crosses his palm and is leaking blood fast.

"Get in the bathroom and clean that out. I'll bandage it up for ya when you're done," Anguish orders Theo as I move to the tire to find what cut him.

Theo moves away as I find the tip of a blade sticking out of Brooklyn's tire. This one isn't subtle and was left as a message from whoever did it. Anguish steps up as I make another mark on the tire so no one else cuts their hand open on the fucking thing. Together we move to the front passenger tire to find it intact and not fucked with.

"Call Darren and get him here, Wheels. I want him to go over this SUV with a fine tooth comb to make sure he can document everythin'. He knows Brooklyn has a restrainin' order against Bennett and I'm hopin' he can get a fingerprint that doesn't belong to one of us from the fuckin' thing to tell us if this is Bennett or if he's hired someone we need to look for," Anguish orders me as I pull out my phone and he disappears to go take care of our Prospect.

I fill Darren in on what I've found on the SUV. He's the one who served the restraining order to Bennett when he was in Odin's Gap. Darren lets me know he'll be right here and not to touch anything else on the SUV. He'll get a tow truck here to haul her SUV to the station or wherever the hell they take care of this type of shit so he can personally go through the vehicle with a team and make sure we're not missing anything in the inspection Anguish and I just did.

Stepping away from Brooklyn's SUV, I make my way over to sit on a stool so I can make sure no one else gets close to the vehicle while it's still up in the air. Darren isn't long as he pulls in the parking lot of Baker's within a few minutes. He parks right outside my bay and shuts his engine off before getting out and heading straight for me.

"Walk me through what you've already found, Wheels," he says as I get off the stool and take him to the license plate first.

I show him both tracking devices, the tires, and where the brake lines were cut. Darren gets more pissed with everything I show him and to be honest, we're not even sure if that's everything that's been done.

"This is what I found today since puttin' it on the lift. I mean, we knew about the brake lines. I think Hulk sent you the video already of the guy who cut the line behind Soul Escape. If not, I can get him to send it to you immediately," I answer our friendly cop as my own anger level rises with the knowledge that someone is actively trying to hurt my Little Warrior.

"I know Brooklyn has a restraining order against Bennett. We all know it's nothing more than a piece of paper and means nothin' at the end of the day. Yeah, he can go to jail for breaking it, but we both know his father will try to bail him out the second he's arrested. And if he's sending others to do his dirty work, he'll get off on a technicality. Bennett isn't gonna let Brooklyn keep this against him and will do everything in his power to get his hands on her. I've seen it too many times in the past. These stupid fucks are all the same and don't believe the paper means a damn thing," Darren states, more anger lacing his voice as he looks at me with fire shining in his eyes.

"I know. We all know Bennett doesn't give a fuck about a piece of paper. He never has and it's not gonna start with Brooklyn. The club has put plans in place to ensure she's never alone and not just with Theo any longer. She'll have at least three men on her at all times when she's not on the compound. Theo will remain at Soul Escape from the time she gets there until it's time for her to leave. Soul and Theo will be in the SUV with her on the way there and home again. She'll have a few other guys on bikes in the front and back. Brooklyn knows what's at stake and isn't willin' to leave the compound very often," I inform Darren as he pulls out his phone and places a call to get a tow truck here.

"Good. Word of advice, don't keep this shit from Brooklyn. Tell her what you found today and that I have possession of the SUV now so I can figure out everythin' that's been done and try to find out who's behind this shit," Darren says before walking away from me and heading back for his cruiser to wait for the tow truck. "I'm treating her SUV like a crime scene as of this second. No one is allowed near it and I don't want anyone else touching it. We've already got your finger prints in the system and I'm sure it will be easy to rule out Brooklyn's."

"Okay. I'll keep everyone away from it until your guys are here to load it up," I assure him as Darren gets in his car and closes the door so no one overhears his conversation.

Darren will keep us up to date with all information they find once he takes the SUV from here. He has to follow protocol, but if it's something we need to learn to protect Brooklyn better, he gives us information without telling us directly what's going on. The longer I sit here and think of everything going on with Brooklyn, the more pissed I become. I want to find Bennett and beat the absolute fuck out of him. To make him feel every ounce of pain and fear he's ever instilled in Brooklyn over the time they were together. He made her dependent on him and took everything from her. Her money, family, vehicle, and whatever else he wanted and thought would make her independent to the point she'd leave him. He's a weak, pathetic, vile piece of shit who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us.

Trying to calm myself down, I shift my thoughts to possible ways I can tell Brooklyn what's going on with the SUV. I have no clue when she'll get it back at this point. Soul and I each have a truck we can use and the club has more SUVs ready for any of us at any given time. It's not the same as Brooklyn being able to get in her own vehicle, but at this point, I don't want her going anywhere if she doesn't absolutely have to do so. If I could get her to stay home from work, I'd make it fucking happen. However, she wants to have her own money. It's something very important to her and after learning that Bennett was stealing her money every fucking time she got paid, I understand where she's coming from.

Anguish and Theo join me as we wait for Darren's tow truck to get here. I fill them in quickly on what's going on before Anguish sends me home. He knows I'm not gonna be able to concentrate on shit here when I know Brooklyn and Soul are at the cabin and I need to have eyes on her as soon as possible. This shit is too fucking much and I'm ready to get rid of Bennett in one way or another. At this point, I don't give a fuck if I take him out or if he's put behind bars where I can't get to him without pulling a ton of strings and going through a ton of steps to cover my tracks and all that bullshit. Things that will take me away from spending time with Brooklyn and my best friend who are more important.