32. Vex

32

VEX

T he brothers are going all out.

It's gonna be the kind of party that can get a guy into trouble. Club girls are beginning to trickle in, but it's funny how they have dwindled in number now that all the major patches have old ladies. They've got no choice but to focus on old-timers who are set in their ways, and the prospects.

Doesn't stop them from trying, occasionally.

A new girl, Veronica, or Ronnie, as some of the prospects call her, tried to touch up Bates earlier. You'd think the woman was carrying some kind of deadly contagious disease given the speed with which Bates veered out of her reach.

And it's another reason I feel like this club is the only club I'll find a home in. I fully intend to be a one-woman man, which isn't very rock 'n' roll by motorcycle club standards. But it appears the rest of the leaders of the club feel the same way.

Plus, their old ladies would end each of them in their own way if they cheated. Cat would probably kill Niro and bury him six feet under while playing the grieving widow. And, fuck, who am I kidding? Niro would kill any of the brothers if their old ladies gave him enough reason.

Not sure what Ari would do. Probably throw one of those jigsaw puzzles Halo is always buying her at him, which would probably break his heart more than being stabbed.

Switch taps me on the shoulder. "You know where your woman is?"

I frown. "Should be home. Why?"

"Cat and Sophia are outside ringing the doorbell, but no one is answering."

"One second." I dial her number but get no answer. "Maybe she's in the shower?"

"The girls already thought that. They sat in the truck for a while to kill time before trying again. Your truck is in the driveway."

I gave Calista the keys because she said she needed to go out and buy food for the girls coming over.

Panic floods me.

It takes a second to regain any kind of composure to respond.

I dial her again. It rings through to her voicemail.

I try two more times. Then, I call Catalina.

"Cat," I say, without giving her time to answer. "Go down the right side of the house. There's a black box near the side door that looks like a power box. Inside it is a lock box. The pin is two, three, nine, seven. Tell me when you've got it."

"On it," she says. "Gimme one second. You worried about something, Vex?"

"She has a stalker."

"Fuck," Catalina says. "Forgot about that for a second."

I hear Switch talking to Sophia, checking she has her weapon with her. I had no idea Sophia carried, but I'm glad she does. Even with her mobility issues, she's a better shot than everyone else, with the exception of Cat.

"Got the key," Cat says. "Which door?"

"The rear. The alarm panel is by the front door. The code is one seven zero one."

She opens the door. "There's no beeping. The alarm isn't on."

I pray that it means she's home and fell asleep or something, but seeing I told her to keep the alarm on when she's home, it's a bad sign.

"Are you armed?" She usually is, but seeing this was a social visit between girls, I need to be sure.

"Yes."

It's the only reassurance I need right now. "Search the place. Look for signs of trouble. And be really fucking careful."

"I'm on it." I hear her tell Sophia to stay on the phone with Switch.

I look to my brother, who has obviously heard what Catalina is doing, as he puts Sophia on speakerphone so I can hear if anything happens.

Music in the clubhouse makes it hard to hear.

"Niro," I yell. "Turn that shit off for a minute."

He does as I ask.

"Vex," Cat says, out of breath. "They came in through the kitchen. There's clearly been a struggle of some kind. The rug is all bunched up, like someone was dragged across it. And you have no power in the house. No lights. Nothing."

Switch's piercing whistle to get everyone's attention makes me jolt.

"See if you can find any clues as to what happened. I'll call you back," I say.

The trackers.

I run to my office, the one space that has helped me find so many who are missing. While my equipment whirs to life, I pull on my glasses and check her location on my phone.

Her phone says she's still at the house. The tracker in her locket says she's on the move.

I check the camera feeds to my property, and all of them are knocked out. All I get are black screens from every angle. I flip to my parents' house and get a perfect feed. So, it's just my property that's affected.

My heart races even faster. It's deliberate.

And smart.

King pushes the door wide open. Clutch and Switch are right behind him.

"What happened?" King asks.

I can't process a coherent answer as a raging fear unlike any I've ever felt consumes me like a wildfire. "She has a stalker. A private investigator, last name Orson, was following up on a bunch of leads...and…"

Shit, the other option is terrifying.

I look up at my president. "She said she wasn't, but there is a slim chance she's connected to the hacker Alessio has been having issues with. She met with Alessio's father, and he didn't like her because she's a woman. It's tenuous."

"Fuck," Clutch mutters.

I meet his eyes, but what I find there is empathy, not judgment.

"We can't assume anything," King says. He tips his chin at the monitor, which shows where the tracker is travelling. "Even that. For all we know, whoever has her found it and threw it into a passing garbage truck. There's also the break in at the strip club. We still don't know who did that. And Cillian remains pissed at us. He doesn't have an issue using women to get shit done. Remember how he tried to get Iris to spy on us."

The head of the Irish mob used to be an ally of the club, but who knows what he is now. I put my head in my hands. There are too many potential leads to follow, an overwhelming number of variants. And I want to be on my bike, looking for her, riding to her.

"Get Spark," King says to Clutch.

Before Clutch has even left the room, King asks me, "You want to claim her as your old lady?"

"Yeah. Was gonna ask for a vote after patching in, then ask her tomorrow."

Spark arrives with the rest of the club. Briar is staying over with Iris to help her with Archer, now that they're home. He wasn't gonna come for the patching in, but Iris insisted, so he arrived late and planned to leave once it's done.

Niro is on the phone with Cat, quietly talking through scenarios.

Switch comes to stand by me at my chair, his hand on my shoulder.

"Quick show of hands," King says. "Vex wants Calista officially as his old lady. All in favor?"

Hands shoot into the air in silence. All of the men standing here know what the vote means but have also been in my position. Where the women in their lives have been at risk.

"Motion carried unanimously," Clutch says. "Congratulations, brother." His words are solemn.

I nod.

"Right," King says. "Spark. Get on the phone with your uncle-in-law. If he doesn't answer, ride to his house and break down the fucking door. Find out if he has Calista in some fucked up tit-for-tat. Take Saint and Clutch with you."

"On it," Spark says. "Call me if plans change." He looks to me and nods once.

Clutch and Saint follow him out.

King turns to my best friend. "Switch, same for Alessio. Find out if he has her. Tell him all cooperation will cease if he doesn't release her. Take Niro and Cat with you—I don't trust those Sicilian fuckers. Get Cat to meet you on the road. Rae and Gwen are together, so have Cat drop Sophia there first. Switch, do not tell Sophia that you're going to challenge her brother. She'll want to interfere. If anything has to be done to gain information, let Niro do it."

"Did you just give me permission to beat up on those pompous-ass Sicilians?" Niro asks.

King's grin is menacing. "Do whatever you have to, to get answers."

Switch grabs me by the shoulders and forces me to stand before pulling me into a hug. "We'll find her, brother. We always do. Just do what you do best and trust the rest of us, yeah?"

I still can't find words, so I nod.

Then, there's me, King, and Bates left in the room.

"Find the private investigator," King instructs. "I know you want to be out looking for her. But Switch is right. This"—he gestures to all my equipment—"is what you do best. Find out where she is and lead us to her. Bates and I are headed out to follow that tracker."

"You know what's weird?" Bates says. "All roads are leading to New York. Alessio and Cillian. The tracker. We're all headed upstate."

"Which is why I should be coming with you," I say, finally finding my voice. "I need to be close when we find her."

King shakes his head. "You need to figure out what's really going on. We got three paths. We aren't sure any of them are the right ones. Do what you've always done. Find one of our old ladies."

With that, King and Bates leave the room.

I have two choices: Chase after them and go follow that fucking tracker. Or listen to what both Switch and King said. I calm my breath enough to think rationally for a moment.

They're right.

Now, I need to find Orson.

I think of searching the web for his details, but then, I remember how I found out about Calista's stalker. She was talking to someone. Becca?

I search up the name of Calista's company and find a company directory. I sift through, looking for a Becca, until I think properly and realize she's probably listed under the full version of her name. Rebecca.

I dial the main number, tapping my fingers on the desk. "Come on," I mutter.

"Good afternoon, Valentine Security. How can I help you?" the woman who answers says.

"I need to speak to Rebecca Potter."

"One moment, I'll put you through."

The phone clicks and another ringtone begins.

"This is Becca."

"Becca. Are you Calista's assistant?"

"I am, yes. How can I help?"

"I need Orson's phone number."

"What? I mean, I need a bit more detail than that."

I take a breath. "Sorry. It's Tiberius. Vex. Calista's…boyfriend."

"Oh… oh . Calista told me all about you. Sorry, I didn't realize it was you, at first, because Calista?—"

"We're worried something has happened to Calista. I need that private investigator Orson's phone number."

"Oh my God. Is she okay? Wait, of course you don't know if she's okay. That was a really ridiculous thing to?—"

"Becca. Sweetheart. The number."

"Oh, right. One second."

I hear the tapping of keys, then a pause. Becca rattles the number off to me, and I write it down.

"Is this something to do with the call we had today? Her phone got cut-off, and she never called me back."

"What was she calling you about?"

"I called her. She got invited to a big deal event. And then, she asked about the date of the Forbes article about her. When I told her, she said something along the lines of, ‘That's it. Of course, it is. Walt Timberlake. I need to call Orson.' She was in the middle of saying something else and the line died."

"That's good to know, Becca."

" That's why she freaked out!"

My palms sweat as I hold my phone. "What is?"

"In the article, she addressed the whole thing about him trying to take credit for her business success, and she completely shut him down. I bet she calculated that the messages started coming around the same time. Should we call the police?"

"I'll handle it. I'll be in touch."

It's funny that she thinks I'm going to call the police. She has no idea the power of who we really are. And let's face it, the police won't take a missing person's report seriously for twenty-four hours.

I'm just about to call the number Becca gave me when something hits me. It's a real stretch to think that a stalker would know Calista was in New Jersey, given how she made her trip here to avoid detection. At best, someone might have figured out where her mom lived.

Wait. There was the car that she thought followed her from her mom's house.

I breathe out again.

My initial thought had been nobody could know she was at my house. But over the last few days, someone could completely have picked up her trail. She's been to her mom's since then. Perhaps they changed vehicles.

Perhaps they're a team.

I think through the fact I have no power in my house. A line was cut, which meant having someone on the team who knew exactly which wire to cut and to be able to cut it safely.

I start to dial Orson's number when I realize the tracker has stopped.

When I look at where it is, I realize there is absolutely no mistake and that we've seriously underestimated our enemy.

This isn't about her stalker.

It wasn't Calista they wanted.

It was me.

I slam the lid on my laptop and shove it and some other equipment into a backpack I keep in here.

I grab my leather jacket, my helmet, and my keys.

On the way out the door, I call King.

"What's up?" he says. His voice is muffled. He's riding.

"The tracker has stopped. I think they're looking for me."

"What? How do you know?"

I think about the money I stole from the Righteous Brotherhood. Eleven million dollars. And how it led to Switch's injury.

We thought we were free and clear. In a planned attack, Iron Outlaws across the country took out the Righteous Brotherhood cells, including their headquarters. Their whole infrastructure was decimated, and a significant portion of their members were killed. And we took out their leader. Well, Ari did. Fired a shot that took him down before he could kill Halo, who was tied to a tree.

Which also happens to be the current location of Calista's tracker.

"I know, because the tracker has stopped at your cabin."