Chapter 25

King/Dante

"I'm going to miss you." I tipped Ella's chin up and captured her lips, trying to resist the urge to take the kiss further. I wanted nothing more than to take her back up to bed and stay there all day, but that wasn't going to happen. I had a clusterfuck to unravel today, which is why I was getting ready to walk out the door at six-fucking-thirty in the morning.

"I'll miss you, too," she whispered, then gave me a quick peck on the lips before stepping back. "I'll show you how much when I get home on Sunday evening."

My spirits, and my dick, perked up at that idea.

"I can't wait, sugar." I couldn't resist grabbing her and stealing one last kiss. "Good luck with your presentation for the spa and drive carefully today. Call me as soon as you get to Chicago." I reluctantly released her from my embrace as she agreed, reminding me she planned to leave as soon as her meeting was done.

"We should be on the road by noon at the latest."

As I mounted my bike, I fought the urge to go back inside with Ella for just a little while longer. I felt uneasy about leaving her but forced myself to shrug it off. I missed her already, and she hadn't even fucking left town yet. It was going to be a long, damned weekend without her.

Once I got to the clubhouse, Cowboy and I threw ourselves into looking over the phone records Bull had finally managed to access in the wee hours of the morning.

We found quite a few calls between Star and Pic's cell phone from before he left town with our money. We already knew from Cyn that he'd ditched his cell phone that day and started using burner phones. He was smart enough to get a new one every few days, so tracking any communication between the two of them was almost impossible after that.

The only clue we had to go on was from the day Cyn fucked up and called Star. Within minutes of that call ending, Star called a number that Bull discovered was a burner. There was only a single text from that burner to Star's phone a week before Cyn called her, but then minutes after, Star called the burner and had a six-minute conversation. There were over a dozen other calls and texts to and from that same number during the following two days, the last of which came through from the burner phone to Star within twenty minutes of the 911 call made by Cyn's neighbors.

There's no way that was all a coincidence. That burner phone had to belong to Pic. That number hadn't contacted her since, but there was a new burner phone that had called her yesterday, an hour before she was failed to show up for her shift. We were tempted to call the burner numbers, but we didn't want to scare him off if it was Pic. Bull was trying to track down where it had been purchased, but that kind of shit took time.

We were just about to give up on the phone records for the time being when my phone rang. I was shocked to see that it was Lola, Pic's ex-wife.

"Hey, Lola, how are you, sweetheart?" She was a good woman, and I hated how hurt she'd been with the truth had come to light about Pic.

"I was doing well, until Pic called me just a few minutes ago. He's lost it, King. He's totally flipped out. He was screaming one minute and crying the next. He threatened you, or maybe Christy, I'm not sure. I'm sorry…he was rambling, and he wasn't making much sense."

Hearing my ex's name surprised me, and I glanced at Cowboy in confusion.

"I'm here with Cowboy, and I'm going to put you on speaker phone so he can hear this, too." I pressed the button on the screen to switch the call, then said, "Now, tell us everything, from the beginning."

I listened with growing unease as she explained that he called demanding to see her and their kids. She refused, and informed him that they were legally divorced, as of two months ago, and that his parental rights had been terminated.

"He went ballistic, and said it was all your fault. He said that if you hadn't suspended him from the tattoo shop last fall, then I would never have found out he was cheating. Then he started yelling about that stripper he ran off with. Something about you paying her to leave him and then he started crying, saying he's all alone now. That's when he said that maybe he should show you how it feels to lose your woman."

A ball of dread started to form in the pit of my stomach and my eyes shot up to meet Cowboy's. He looked as worried as I was, and I forced myself to focus on what Lola was saying.

"I didn't know who he was talking about but thought maybe because he was so out of it that he meant Christy. When I asked him, he just laughed and said he'd heard them talk about your special lady. I asked him who he'd talked to, but he got mad and screamed that nobody would talk to him, but he still listened. Like I said, he wasn't making much sense."

"Fuck! Did he mention the name Ella at all, or Eleanor?"

She hesitated, and I held my breath until she answered. "No…I don't think so. He kept referring to her as ‘ your woman' or ‘ your special lady' but he never said any names. He just kept saying that he was going to take her away so you'd be alone like him, and that he would show you how it feels to lose her."

I started to ask her to repeat everything Pic had said, to see if she might remember anything else, but Cowboy interrupted me.

"Lola, this is Cowboy. You said Pic wanted to see you and the kids. Does that mean he's back in town?"

Oh, fuck. I felt like my blood had turned to ice in my veins when he voiced his observation. I had been so focused on the threats Pic had made, and whether Ella was his target, that I hadn't even registered the significance of him demanding to see Lola and the kids.

"I…don't know. I'm sorry. I was so freaked out by the crazy way he was acting; I didn't even think to ask."

Cowboy sighed, then rubbed his hand over his face. "That's OK. Did he say anything else? Anything at all?"

"No, not that I can remember."

I sat there, frozen, as Cowboy confirmed that she and the kids were still staying on the Rossi estate. She assured us they were, and that Luca was going to put some extra guards on duty. I was glad to hear that. She and the kids would definitely be safe from Pic as long as they stayed there.

"One last thing. Text King the number Pic called you from, so we can try to track it. If he contacts you again, try to see where he is. Maybe pretend you'll meet him somewhere with the kids. Then call me or King immediately."

She agreed, and he pressed the screen to end the call.

"OK, man. Stay calm. We don't know for sure that he's in town – "

"I need to call Ella. Shit, what time is it?"

Cowboy answered before I could even look at my phone. "It's ten-twenty-two."

I took a deep breath and tried to relax my tense muscles. "She's still at work. She had a meeting from ten to eleven, and she and her friend were going to leave for Chicago around noon. I'm gonna send Trick over to pick her up when her meeting's over. You and I need to help Bull track Pic down."

"You call Ella, and I'll let him know. She works at Granger Marketing, right?"

I nodded, and he said, "I'll look up the address for him. Just make sure she knows to sit tight until he gets there. I'll have him take the club van so they can ride back together."

"Have him take a prospect along, too," I ordered. I cursed under my breath when her voice mail picked up, even though I knew she was probably in the middle of her presentation.

"Hey, sugar, uh, I'm sending Trick to your office to pick you up and bring you to the clubhouse. Everyone's OK, but I need you here. We've got some shit going on, and some threats have been made. I don't have a lot of details right now, and I know this fucks up your plans, but I don't want to take any chances. So, just stay in your office if your meeting ends early. Trick will be there soon. He'll be driving the club van and will have one of the prospects with him."

I tossed my phone back down on my desk as Cowboy walked back into my office. "Trick's heading out now, he should be there in less than fifteen minutes, according to Google maps. I also told Bull to sweep the common areas for any kind of surveillance equipment, just in case that's what Pic meant when he said he heard about your woman and hadn't talked to anyone but he's listening. He's gonna get Irish to help him."

"At least we know the chapel and our offices are safe, since he checks them constantly. I guess I'll stop giving him shit about being a paranoid fucker now."

"Did you reach Ella?"

I shook my head. "Had to leave her a voicemail. Dammit, she's gonna hate me for this, man. She was supposed to leave for Chicago in the next hour or so, and now I have to tell her she can't go, but I can't fuckin' explain why except for some vague shit about a threat? You know she's still not comfortable about me keeping secrets. She's been trying to understand what club business means, but this will drive her away." I slammed my fist on the table in frustration and worry clawed at my gut.

"Maybe. Maybe not, but at least she'll be safe. Once we take care of the threat, then you can beg for forgiveness if you need to. You know Dorothy would be happy to hook you up with more of those butthead bouquets of hers." He flashed me a shit-eating grin, and I flipped him off.

"All right, asshole. We need to put all the brothers on high alert. They need to know about the threat. I want every available member riding the streets looking for him. Check out all his old hangouts."

"I'm on it," he said as he left the room again.

Shit, I needed to call Rome in case Pic showed up at Guardian Ink.

Rome was worried as hell when I explained the situation.

"I'm gonna send a prospect over to watch the shop, in case Pic gets it in his head to go there. He didn't make any threats against you, but you know he was fuckin' pissed at you for telling me what was going on around there. I think Abby and the kids need to come stay at the clubhouse with Ella."

"There's no way fuckin' way I'm making Abby stay there. She can hardly stand to step foot in the place after what I did, and I'm not putting her through that. Listen, her dad just bought a cabin down at Kentucky Lake last month. I'll load up her and the kids and we can stay there for a few days until shit gets figured out."

"Sorry, I wasn't even thinking about how Abby would feel coming here. Do me a favor and call Jag. Have him and Molly go with you guys. I don't want Pic targeting any of you if he can't get to Ella. Besides, I'd feel better if you're both there, keeping watch."

"You know we'll protect them with our lives, if it ever came to that. You just worry about Ella and watch your ass."

"I always do, son. Be careful."

"You too, Dad."

Bull hurried into my office as I was ending the call.

"Found a bug in the kitchen, on top of the refrigerator. We haven't checked any of the bedrooms upstairs yet, but everything else in this building is clear. Now, do you want me to get rid of it? It might spook him if I do."

Before I could answer him, Trick called.

"Ella's not here, Prez. Her SUV wasn't in the parking lot, so I went inside. The receptionist said her meeting was canceled early this morning, so she never came in."

"Fuuuck!"

"Linc's with me. He tried calling her, but she didn't answer. He's calling Sinner right now so he can check to see if she's home." He paused, and I heard Linc talking in the background, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. "Shit, Sinner's not home, but he said she brought him some food over around eight. He left right after that to go check on his other rental houses and hasn't been home since."

For a second, I couldn't even think clearly. "OK, drive to her house. Hopefully she hasn't left to meet her friend yet."

Cowboy had come back in while I was on the phone, so he heard most of the conversation. He took one look at my face and told me to calm down.

"She's probably just in the shower or somethin', and that's why she's not answerin' her phone. We don't even know for sure if Pic's in town, man, so just take it easy. Irish and I got in touch with all the brothers, so everyone's on alert. He just rode out with Hawk, Skid, Tony, and Rod to start searchin'. They're gonna start with the strip club and the tattoo shop, and then the house he and Lola lived in."

"You should probably get Michelle, Hailey, and Nathan to stay here for a few days, too."

"You wanna call for a full lockdown?"

I considered it for a minute, but that would disrupt a lot of lives, and most of our businesses.

"No," I sighed. "but that may change if – "

I was interrupted as Lola called back.

"King, it's Lola. Pic just called me again, and God, he was completely unhinged. He said he was at our house, but it was empty. I told him I'd sold it, and he started screaming that he loved me, and he loved Cyn, and that you took us away from him. A few seconds later, it was like he'd flipped a switch, and he got really calm, like he wasn't upset at all anymore." She sounded scared, and her voice shook a little when she continued. "It was eerie, King. He said ‘ The only thing he's worried about is pissing her off for missing dinner, but he should be worried about me, because I'm going to take Ella from him. I'll show him how bad it feels to lose the woman he loves' and then he hung up."

I was too fucking stunned to say a word. Cowboy thanked her and reminded her to let us know if she heard anything else.

Bull was already on his phone, instructing whoever was on the other end to get to Pic's old house immediately, and to search the area for any signs of him.

"He's here, and he's after Ella. He knows about her, Cowboy. He fuckin' knows how I feel about her. Star must have told him…" I trailed off, as I remembered what Bull had found.

Bull pocketed his phone as he and Cowboy waited for me to finish..

"The fuckin' bug in the kitchen! He had to have been listening to me and Trick last night, because I told him that Ella was going to be pissed because I was late for dinner."

"Do you want me to get rid of it?"

"No," I answered Bull. "I think you were right, and it might spook him. Besides, we might be able to use it against him. Feed him false information, so maybe he'll slip up."

My goddamned phone rang again, and I answered it without even looking to see who it was.

"She's not home, Prez. Her car's not here, either. I looked in the windows, and nothing looks out of place that I can see. No sign of a struggle or anything."

"Check with the neighbors. I'll keep trying to reach her. Hopefully she's already gone to her friend's house."

I tried to call Ella again, but got voice mail, again. I left a message, and then sent a text, asking her to call me.

"Bull, I can't remember Camille's last name, but she lives somewhere over by the mall. I want you to find –"

"There's a Camille Donahue tagged in several of Ella's social media posts, Prez," Bull said as he glanced up from his laptop.

"Yes, Donahue, that's it. Get me an address." His brow furrowed in concentration as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

I didn't know how long it would take him to find it, and we would lose precious moments getting someone over there once we did.

I looked at Cowboy and told him to follow me.

"Where the hell are we goin'?"

"We're going to try to throw Pic off of Ella's trail, make him think I don't care about her, so he'll stop looking for her."

"He's not gonna fall for that, man, not if he's heard –"

"I just want to buy us some time, dammit, so we can find her before he does. If he's not sure she's important to me, he might hold off on doing anything just yet."

"So what's your plan?"

"I'm just going to have to wing it," I told him as rounded the corner into the common room. Since all the available club members were out looking for Pic, I wasn't surprised to see only DD and Diamond in there, watching TV.

"Just go along with whatever the hell I say," I hissed quietly, so the women didn't hear me.

As we walked into the kitchen, I was ready to put on the performance of my life.