Chapter Thirteen

Teagan

"I WANT TO show you something," Cash said, motioning for me to follow him.

"Oh, no. I'm not about to fall for the old, ‘I wanna show ya somethin',' trick."

Cash laughed as he led me to the far end of the shop, where the smallest, and least used auto bay was. In the center of the bay was what I assumed to be a motorcycle under a canvas tarp.

"Do you know what's under that?" Cash asked, motioning to the tarp.

"I'm really hoping it's a pizza oven because I am starving."

Cash rolled his eyes. "I'll give you one more guess."

"Then I'm gonna have to say a motorcycle. Final answer."

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner," he said, removing the tarp to reveal a vintage Triumph.

"Ooooh. What a beautiful bike," I said.

"Every now and then some of the crew will work on a shop project together. We'll all throw in some money to buy some old hunk of shit and do our best to restore it to its former glory. Then we sell it and split the profit."

"What's the story with this bike?"

Cash let out a long whistle. "This here beauty is a nineteen sixty-three Triumph Bonneville TT Special. One of only sixty-seven built in that year. It has a six hundred forty-nine cc parallel twin engine, which produces twelve to one compression ratio, and hits a top speed of one hundred twenty miles per hour. We call her Bombin' Bonnie."

I walked around her and let out a quiet hum. "She's pretty."

"Alaskan white," Cash said, running his hand over the gas tank. "And let me tell you, creating a paint color that perfectly matches the ‘fresh off the line' factory color was way harder than you'd think. We must have gone through eight or nine different samples before we nailed it. I thought Razor was gonna completely lose his shit after all that time in the paint booth."

"Where did the bike come from?"

"Believe it or not, the bottom of Lake Michigan."

"What?"

"No joke. The original owner was some guy from Traverse City, Michigan. It was his pride and joy, but he lost it to his wife during a nasty divorce. Apparently, the day she took custody of the bike she paid a couple of guys to dump it into Lake Michigan. She also had them take pictures of the bike sinking to a watery grave, which she sent to her now ex-husband. He got so worked up when he saw the pictures he had a heart attack and died on the spot. So, the bike remained in the shallow depths of Lake Michigan for ten years before a fisherman found it and had it towed to his garage. He put the bike up for sale online and I snatched it for eight grand."

I gasped. "You spent eight thousand dollars on a motorcycle parked in Davy Jones's locker for a decade?"

"Four of us did. And it'll pay off for all of us once we sell it."

"How much do you expect to get?"

"Somewhere between sixty-five and seventy thousand."

"Holy mackerel. Can we take her for a ride?"

"She's almost done but I need to finish the electrical work first. Do you wanna help me with the wiring system?"

"Who, me?" I asked jokingly, looking to my left and right.

"Yes, you, sexy."

"Wait, this is the project bike you were telling me about?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"This isn't a project bike, honey. It's something of value. I don't know the first thing about wires or electrical systems of any kind."

"No time like the present to learn, eh?"

"What if I royally fuck something up? You'll lose money. I don't know that I want to be responsible for that."

"I'll be here to guide you the whole way," he promised.

"Okay then," I said, rolling up my sleeves. "Oh, but we are going to have to order a pizza. I really am starving."

He pulled out his phone. "I can do that. Combo no anchovies?"

"You're seriously going to deny me anchovies?"

"You want my mouth?"

I sighed. "Fine, no anchovies."

He grinned. "Correct answer."

Once he'd ordered the pizza, we got down to work.

* * *

A week later, Huck's dad was involved in a bad car wreck and he and Daisy flew to Montana to be with him while he recuperated. Unfortunately for us, Booker insisted on Cash going, along with Razor, to have her back.

I was not happy about Cash leaving, and I was especially unhappy because I couldn't talk to Daisy about it. I still hadn't had the chance to talk to her about it (because I was a big, fat chicken), and Cash was getting a little irked with waiting. I was determined to do it when they got back and said as much as he kissed me goodbye.

For the moment, however, I was working in the club shop in an effort to distract myself when I heard Buzz call over the intercom.

"Shop's closed. All personnel head out for the day."

Gloria hit a few keys on the computer then turned to me. "I wonder what that's all about."

"Don't know, but I'd enjoy the afternoon off," I said.

"Oh, I plan to."

"Have a good one," I said.

Flea came out from the back office, glanced around, then locked up.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Daisy hit her panic button."

"What?" I screeched. "She's in Montana."

"Yeah, sweetheart, I know that."

"What the hell are we supposed to do if she's in Montana?"

"Not sure. Booker's trying to figure it out. Good thing Cash and Razor are there." He waved me toward the door to the club. "Come on, let's go see what they know."

With my heart in my throat, I grabbed my purse and followed him.

* * *

Cash

I was at the motel bar with Razor, my second beer and what was supposed to be a burger in front of me, but it rather resembled hamburger helper on a bun. I wasn't sure, but there was no way in hell I was putting it in my body.

"What the fuck's that supposed to be?" Razor asked, peering at my plate.

"Cheeseburger."

"Note to self. Don't order the cheeseburger."

"No shit," I said, feeling my phone buzz in my pocket. I took a swig of beer as I thumbed my screen open and nearly dropped my glass. "Jesus, fuck."

"What?" Razor asked.

"My sister hit her panic button."

"Goddammit."

We dropped money on the bar and headed for the rental truck, calling my dad on the way.

"Hey," Dad said.

"What the fuck's goin' on?" I hissed.

"Not sure. I want you to get to Huck's place, pick him up, but have Razor track Daisy in the meantime."

"I should be trackin' Ducky."

"I need you to handle Huck right now."

"Dad—"

"Son, I need you to handle Huck. I know you want to find your sister, but she will want you to protect her man, and Razor knows the area better than you do. He'll find her faster."

"Fuck," I hissed. "Fine."

"Right, gonna let you go so I can get workin' from this end."

* * *

I pulled up to Huck's parents' place and Huck leaned in the window. "Where's Razor?"

"Following Ducky's signal. You wanna tell me how you let her out of your sight, prospect?" I snarled.

"Well, unlike you, I let your sister make decisions for herself. I don't keep her on a leash or locked in some dungeon. She has full autonomy over her person." He sighed. "That being said, had she fucking told me she was leaving, I would have gone with her."

"Perhaps a bell would be good."

"Isn't that why she wears the bracelet?" he challenged.

"You have a point." I glanced at my phone. "Ducky means everything to me, man. If anyone hurts her again… I just…"

"Yeah, Cash, I get it," he said. "We're gonna find her, and whoever took her is gonna die."

"On that we agree."

"I'll follow you." Huck headed to an old truck parked off to the side of the house and then we hauled ass to find my sister.

* * *

Teagan

The second I could sneak away, I closed myself into an office in the shop and called Cash. He answered on the first ring. "Hey, baby, I don't have long."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm following Ducky's signal. Huck's behind me."

"Does he know what happened?"

"No. She disappeared from Safeway and that's all we know so far."

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Oh my god."

"Baby, we're gonna find her."

"Please be careful." I could no longer muffle my sobs. "Come home. Bring her home. Okay?"

His sigh sounded through the phone. "Turtle, you're breakin' my heart."

"The two people I love the most are in trouble, honey. My heart is breaking."

"I promise with everything I have, I will bring both of us home."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

I closed my eyes and whispered, "Text me as soon as you can."

"I will."

We hung up and I slid to the floor and completely broke down.

This is where my mother found me, I'm not sure how much later, but it was starting to get dark. I was on the floor, my knees up to my chin, back to the wall. I glanced up at her as her worried eyes met mine.

"Teagan, baby, we've been worried sick."

"Sorry," I whispered. "How did you find me?"

She smiled gently, settling herself next to me. "Tracked your necklace."

I leaned my head on her shoulder.

"They're going to find her, baby."

I bit back a sob as I nodded. "Who would hurt her to begin with?"

Mom wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I have no idea."

We sat there for a few minutes, and she held me while I cried, until Dad came and found us, ushering us back to the great room where Maisie and a few of the other old ladies were cooking. The rest of the night was spent trying not to worry about Daisy and what might be happening to her and Cash.

* * *

Cash

Huck and I pulled up to the location Daisy's GPS led us to and we found Razor's rental parked about a hundred yards from an old outbuilding next to a rundown house. As quietly as we could, we made our way to Razor's truck, and he climbed out to meet us.

"She in there?" Huck asked, pointing to the building.

"I think so," Razor said. "I did a quick sweep around the house, and it doesn't look like anyone's been in there for a while."

"Okay, then, let's go," Huck said, pulling the revolver from his waistband.

"Whoa there, John Wick," I said. "That psycho's got more than your puppy in there."

"You think I don't know that?" Huck hissed.

"That's my sister in there."

"And I'm gonna go get her."

Huck took off as Razor and I tried to keep up.

"We need to be careful," I whispered.

"This asshole already knows we're here," Huck said.

"Cash is right, we need to be careful," Razor said. "We should split up and check the perimeter."

"That's a good idea, why don't you go ahead and do that," Huck said, before hiking up his leg and putting his boot through the handle.

The door swung open, splinters flying everywhere to reveal Daisy standing with her hands bound behind her back and Cyrus Milhew, the guy who'd ordered the ‘hit' on Huck to end his career, holding a gun to her temple using her as a shield.

"Let her go," Huck growled, his gun leveled toward him.

"You're not the one calling the shots here, Loverboy," Cyrus said. "Take one more step, and you get to see what the inside of her skull looks like."

"You okay, baby?" Huck asked Daisy, ignoring Cyrus's threat.

"I'm alright."

"Shut up, bitch," Cyrus sneered, pulling her hair, and pressing the barrel of the gun deeper into the side of her head.

My heart raced at the sight of my sister's terror.

"Hey man," I said. "Maybe we should just do what this guy says."

"Shut the fuck up," Huck snapped.

"I told you," I bit out. "That's my sister."

"And she's gonna be my wife, and I need you to trust me and keep your mouth shut."

"You should listen to dear brother-in-law to be, Huck," Cyrus said. "If you ever want your pretty young fiancé to see her wedding day, you'd better put that gun down and get on your knees where you belong."

"Oh, I know that look," Cyrus cooed. "You're looking for that three inches, aren't you? You're wondering, with all this adrenaline pumping through your veins, can you find that fabled three inches that everybody loves to talk about? Can you make that game winning shot? You're thinking to yourself, can I shoot him without hitting her? Well, ladies and gentlemen," he said with an announcer's tone, "Can the great Huck the Puck find his three inches?"

"You're wrong. I only need nine millimeters, asshole," Huck said, squeezing the trigger, hitting him in his carotid artery, the force of the bullet throwing him back against the wall, blood spurting from his wound.

His gun hit the floor and Daisy kicked it well out of reach before running to Huck.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Huck demanded as Cyrus writhed on the floor.

"I'm okay," she said.

"Cash, get her out of here," he growled.

I wrapped an arm around my sister and guided her outside.

She burst into tears. "I'm covered in pee."

"Okay, sissy, it's okay. We'll get you back to the hotel and you can take a shower."

She turned into me and buried her face into my chest as she cried. "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be embarrassed, Ducky. You did nothing wrong." I gave her a gentle squeeze. "Come on, let's get you in the truck and I'll check on your man."

She nodded and I settled her gently in the cab, wrapping her in a blanket and making sure Razor was with her, before heading back into the building. It looked like Cyrus was dead, Huck was covered in blood, and the room looked like a war zone.

"Jesus," I hissed. "You okay?"

"Daisy," Huck rasped. "I need to see Daisy."

"Hey, hey, hey." I shook him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I need to make sure Daisy's—"

"She's okay. Razor's with her and she's in the car with a blanket getting warmed up."

"I killed him," Huck said.

"I know," I said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright, let's get you out of here," I said.

Razor walked up to us and frowned.

"Look, Daisy doesn't want to go back to your parents' place."

"What the hell?" Huck growled.

"It's okay, it's okay," I said. "We'll get her back to the hotel and take care of Cyrus's body. You go grab her some clothes, toiletries, and shit like that, and burn your clothes. Hear me on this, Ruin, you burn everything you're wearing, except your cut. Got it?"

Huck nodded. Having his prospect patch meant he was ‘Ruin' now, but I was still getting used to calling him that.

"You got any ideas on where to get rid of this guy?" I asked Razor. "Do we have any friendlies out here in Toad Fuck Holler?"

Razor scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah. You remember Pops?"

"Pops Waller?"

"Nah, Pops Dixon."

"Yeah, retired a few years back," I said.

"That's right," Razor confirmed. "Retired to a hog farm about thirty miles from here."

"A hog farm?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess it was a family business that went way back. I drove a U-Haul for him when he and his old lady moved out here," Razor said. "Funny thing about those hogs is they'll eat anything. And I mean," he motioned toward the building with Cyrus's corpse, "anything."

"Alright, let's get the body wrapped up and into your truck. I'll take my sister back to the hotel." I turned to Huck. "You take care of your shit, got it?"

He nodded. "Got it."

Once we took care of Cyrus, I drove Daisy back to the motel and then called Teagan while my sister was in the shower.