Chapter Nineteen
Steele
My mind raced. I had a thousand connections that could help me: police, city council members, senators, and an army of rich people with personal security. Hell, I even had the number of at least forty security companies that were fighting for my business. One phone call and they would all be combing the city for Claire.
Except I was still standing at the roadhouse with Reese giving me a blank stare.
There was still a chance I could handle it all with discretion. Claire didn't need her career harpooned by scandal on top of getting kidnapped.
I called my driver, Max. "You still got good connections on the force?" I asked.
Max had been a police officer for twenty years before he came to work for my father. He was more than a driver, he was all the personal security I had ever needed.
"What do you need?" Max asked.
"I need to find someone. They've been kidnapped. I know who did it," I said.
"Think you can get him on the phone?" Max asked.
"Probably."
"Do it. I'll head to the station now. My connection will be able to trace your call through the phone records and find out his location." Max paused and took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"
"I will be. As soon as we find her."
I didn't have to say anything else. My driver knew I was talking about Claire, and he understood.
Reese struggled against my grip. "If you're just going to stand there on your phone, why don't you let me go back inside?"
I shook Reese until his teeth rattled. "Because your sister deserves your effort."
I called Hack and couldn't believe he picked up. Even after the scene at the roadhouse, he believed I would help him. The drugs really were scrambling his brain.
"What was that?" I asked. "In the background? Where are you?"
My grip on Reese loosened. Wherever Hack had gone was echoing, and in the background I swore I heard Claire yelling.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to keep talking to Hack. "You need some backup? No questions asked," I said.
Hack honestly believed that the motorcycle club would back him up, no matter how insane the play. He must have done a few lines of cocaine before he picked up the phone because his voice was jittery. And he gave me the address without a second thought.
I hung up and called my driver. He agreed to meet me at the address and not share any more of the story with his connection. The police could stay out of it as long as Claire was all right.
"Some factory on the outskirts of town? No thanks," Reese said.
I reached out to grab him and then thought about what Claire would want. She would want to know her brother was safe.
"Fine. You stay here, and I mean here." I ushered Reese back toward the roadhouse.
Hen met me at the roadhouse door. "What's going on, Steele?"
"Can you handcuffed this loser to the bar, please, Hen?" I asked.
The bartender nodded. He shoved Reese past him and ordered the cook to lock him up.
"Hold on. Where do you think you're going?" Hen strode down the roadhouse steps after me. "Were you just talking to Hack?"
"Yes."
Hen narrowed his eyes. "He tell you exactly where he is?"
"You know Hack. It was more of a general description of the area," I said.
"And you think you're going after him alone?"
I hesitated. "I've got a guy meeting me there."
"Your driver? Max?" Hen stared me right in the eyes.
Of course, he'd talked to my driver. There wasn't a new face within twenty miles of the roadhouse that Hen didn't have a long, extended conversation with.
"And what are you going to do?" Hen asked.
I ran a hand through my hair. "Pay him. Whatever it takes," I said.
"Not without us." Hen took a firm stance between me and my motorcycle. Then he raised his hand in a signal to the window of the roadhouse.
The rest of the Road Claw Motorcycle Club came out the roadhouse door and walked down the steps.
I was touched but I couldn't accept their help. They would meet Max, most likely in my ultra-expensive armored sports car. They would find out I could call up a million dollars in cash without blinking.
"Steele. Stop overthinking it. We know," Hen said.
"Know what?" I asked.
"We know you're Steele Channing, heir to the Channing fortune. Yada, yada, yada," Hen said.
I took a step back. "And you didn't say anything?"
Hen shrugged. "Why would we? Sure you lied about a few things here and there, but you're a genuine guy. Plus, you have a right to your privacy."
The rest of the Claws murmured in agreement. They had known all along and never cared. My money meant nothing to them. Nothing mattered to the club more than looking out for each other while we rode.
"You realize it's Hack, right?" I asked. "He kidnapped Reese's sister."
"Your girl Claire," Hen clarified. "Look, we've all known Hack was becoming a problem. The drugs, the petty thieving, and all the reckless gambling. He's gone too far, and it's our responsibility to stop him."
"What are we waiting for?" one of the other guys called. "Let's go get your girl."
It felt good to get on the road with the Claws again. We raced across the county roads and then roared through the city. One of the club members had worked in the same warehouse district and he took the lead. We blasted past broken windows and dark street corners until we closed in on the factory Hack had described.
I felt my phone buzzing, saw the directions from Max, and took the lead.
He waved us to a stop in an open garage across the street from the massive factory. My driver shook hands with the Claws and laid out what he already knew.
Hen slapped him on the back. "Any chance you'll give up those fancy cars of his and come ride with us?"
Max shook his head. "Nah. Motorcycles aren't for me, but after this, I'm taking out that cherry 67 Mustang he's got. Been under a tarp for nearly three years."
"All right, enough chit chat," I said. "What's the plan?"
Max sketched out what he knew of the factory and the Claws argued over the best approach. I flexed my fingers and balled them into fists.
"Just go," Hen said. "We'll be right behind you."
I jumped back on my Harley and sped along to the loading docks that Hack had described. A beaten-up sedan was parked sideways by the ramp, and I knew I had the right place.
I turned off my motorcycle and a deafening silence fell over the warehouse. My heart stopped, my whole body straining to hear some sign that Claire was alive and well.
"Steele!" Her voice was distant but strong.
I balled my fingers into a fist and charged through the broken door.