I shook hands with Mansel. He ran the local street gang, the Lifers. We had always had a good relationship with these guys, they dealt in things I could work with, mainly drugs and guns. The Lifers were big in the city, but they weren’t your typical thugs. These guys were high-class criminals, with high-class clients from CEO’s of businesses to politicians. People who did the dirty, but needed to keep it on the down-low and paid out their ass for just that.
“The president patch suits you, Kit,” Mansel said with appreciation. He had dealt with my father for years, but as my father had always known I would take over the club someday. I had always been a part of their meetings, earning Mansel’s trust alongside my father.
“Cheers, man.” I patted him on the back. “Pull your van up in the work bay, I got the parts you need in there.” Having a working garage on the club lot was an added bonus. It meant we had sufficient cover for moving shit in and out. Mansel only ever bought two guys with him to dust off any suspicion, if we were being watched. We packed our shit tight into old car parts just in case, for some reason, they were pulled over when they left.
Mansel and I walked toward the garage as his boys pulled their large van around. A couple of my Brothers followed closely behind but were casual about it.
“Word on the street tells me you got a girl now?” he asked with a smile as we closed the large roller doors and the boys got to work loading the goods.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, man.”
“Where she at? I get to meet this lady that tamed your ass?”
I laughed. “Nah man, she’s up north at Athens. College classes and shit to finish before I manage to tie her down.”
“Athens, huh?”
I raised a brow at him. “Yeah, we got a chapter up there.”
He nodded. “Yeah I know, bro. Just heard some shit on the street the other day about Athens.”
“Anything I should know?” I gritted out. I flicked my head at Tally indicated I wanted him near me to hear what Mansel had to say. My gut told me I would need him.
Mansel scratched at his jaw, his eyes on me and narrowed. I knew he was debating about whether to share information that he had always vowed to his clients would not be released. “This could get me in a lot of trouble, Kit.”
“Come on man, I’m always throwing extra shit in the van without charging you. Throw me something,” I urged.
The guy sighed, checking over his shoulder to make sure his boys were busied. “I have a client a few states over, he deals in a different kind of stuff – Rohypnol and shit. I have my suspicions about what he does with it, but I have a firm don’t ask policy.”
I wanted to grip him and shake him. Selling date rape drugs is never a good thing. There’s a fucking reason they’re called date rape drugs. But that was his business, not mine.
“Some dude associated with him came to me recently, a few weeks back. I gave him the stuff. Said he needed it in a hurry. Had to get back to Athens to deal with some shit.”
My fists clenched and I felt Tally’s hand on my shoulder. “Don’t suppose it was a well-off guy in a suit?”
Mansel laughed. “Brother, all my clients are well-off dudes in suits.”
“Daniel Ashley.”
His eye’s widened. “You know him, huh?”
“I’ll get Optimus on the phone.” Tally rushed off, ripping his phone from his pocket.
“We’re loaded up, boss!” one of Mansel’s boys called across the garage before he jumped in the cab of the van.
“This got something to do with your club?” he asked, his brow now worried. Mansel was a loyal guy, our club and his group had always had an excellent relationship. I knew he’d never do something to jeopardize that.
“The guy wants my girl.”
“Shit, bro. I didn’t know. Fuck!” He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Anything I can do?”
“You got a number for this guy?”
He nodded and pulled his cell from his pocket, rattling off the number as I scribbled it onto a scrap piece of paper I found lying around. “It’s legit. He answers the phone with his name, so it’s not a burner.”
“Thanks.”
“Man, you need any help, throw me a line.” He was sincere. Mansel’s laws mirrored our own in ways. One of the majors, you don’t mess with women.
I gave him a firm handshake and a pat on the back. My legs were cemented to the ground as I watched him pull out of the roller doors. My stomach clenched. This was bad. Very bad.
I saw Tally standing in the doorway that led from the garage to the clubhouse. His face was pale and his eyes wide, his hand clenching his cell so tightly I thought it might snap in half.
“No,” I muttered, shaking my head as I forced myself to move, my stomping echoing in the large space. “Fucking no,” I said, pointing at him sharply. “Don’t fucking tell me, Tally.”
“She’s gone, Brother.”
The ride up north to Athens took a lot less time than usual. All but two club members and two prospects had joined me and we’d flown down the roads. My Harley pushed to its limit and my Brothers’ right beside me. I tried not to let anger and urgency cloud my vision as I rode, but it was inevitable. The thoughts of what that asshole was doing to Harmony playing over and over in my head like a fucking horror movie.
I knew Daniel was after Harmony because he had a buyer for her, and with the amount of money that was placed on the table, God only knew who this guy was. If we didn’t move fast enough, she could be shipped out of the country before I could even sneeze. If that was the case, my hopes of finding her were slim to none.
I’d just found Harmony. I knew it was ridiculous, but after a few weeks with her, I’d found something I didn’t know I’d wanted before. This wasn’t just about some asshole taking something that I claimed belonged to me, it was about them taking something that I knew I would never find again.
Fucking love!
Optimus was waiting out the front for us. Chelsea, Harmony’s best friend clutched to his side with tears streaming down her cheeks and looking completely devastated. Optimus bent so his mouth was at her ear. She nodded and he kissed her on the forehead. She detangled from him and walked back inside, wiping her eyes and holding her chin a little higher.
As I walked toward my Brother, I briefly heard her yell at whoever was inside to get off their lazy asses and get things sorted for the visitors. If Optimus ever decided to stop looking at the past and start thinking about his future, she would make a good Old Lady.
Optimus gripped my hand and pulled me in. We patted each other on the back before separating. I watched as my Brothers all parked their bikes, stretching as they climbed off.
“Church,” Optimus called. They all looked up and nodded.
I followed Optimus inside, club girls and prospects scattered, cleaning up as they went. Chelsea was still throwing orders around. She caught my eye and I stopped as she came around the bar to stand in front of me.
“I’m sorry, Kit,” she said sadly.
I hadn’t spent much time with Chelsea, but Harmony talked about her constantly so I knew she would be hurting just as much as I was. I hooked my arm around her neck and pulled her to my chest. “Not your fault,” I told her quietly. She gave me a squeeze and stepped back with a small nod and tears trickling down her cheeks.
Optimus’ crew already crowded Church, some of the Brothers stood to let my VP, Loose and my SAA, Tally take a seat next to me. Mix stood behind me. I needed him close. He knew the most out of all of us about what the hell was going on. His info could be significant.
“What have we got so far?” Optimus asked, eying his boy, Wrench.
“They were headed to the college to pick up some shit for Harm’s classes. One van cut them off, the other behind them. Our boy slammed on his breaks, said Harm’s belt broke and she hit the dash. They pulled them both out and beat the crap out of him and took off with her,” Wrench explained, his voice tight as he stared down the table.
I followed his gaze and found the little prick, Target, bashed and bruised sitting at the end of the table.
“Him?” I pointed but stared at Wrench. He nodded. “Why the fuck was he anywhere near my girl?”
“I was giving her a ride because no one else could,” the punk offered and I didn’t miss the cocky tone in his voice.
I slammed my palm on the table, finding Optimus with a glare. “Then she doesn’t fucking go.”
“We can’t change what’s done, Kit. We don’t need a lecture, we need a plan,” Loose offered, cooling the air in the room. “Is there anything else we know that might help?”
I gestured to Mix and he briefly went over what we knew about Daniel Ashley. Who he was, what he did, and what kind of people he dealt with.
I pulled the dirty piece of paper from my pocket and slid it across the table to Wrench. “That’s Daniel’s phone number. Our guy from the Lifers, Mansel, he dealt with the asshole a few days back. Sold him some Rohypnol.”
“Roofies?” Leo asked, his eyes wide.
I nodded. “Yeah, Mansel deals with top-end clients who want anonymity. Daniel told Mansel he had some business up here and needed it quick smart.”
“Fuck me,” Optimus groaned.
“I’ll get on this number. Hopefully, we can track him down,” Wrench said as he threw his chair back and stormed from the room.
“Guess, we just wait,” Tally stated.
“I want to see the car,” Rifle said from his place against the wall behind me.
“What?” I heard Target ask but ignored him, turning to look at my Brother over my shoulder.
Rifle’s eyes were glued to Target as he repeated, “I want to see the car.”
Target scoffed. “You can’t come in here and demand shit.”
“Caleb!” Optimus yelled. The Church doors pushed open and the prospect who shot my girl poked his head in. “Bring Target’s car around to the front and let Kit’s boy go through it.”
Caleb nodded and disappeared quickly. Target glared at his president but kept his mouth shut.
“Everybody is to stay close for now. Keep your phones on you if you need to head out, as soon as we know something we’re on it. We’re gonna get our girl back.”
I nodded for Rifle to stay put and sat and waited as all the men except us and Optimus filed out of the small room. Rifle took a seat at the table.
“The car?” I questioned.
“He didn’t have any defensive wounds on him. Someone attacks you, you’re going to fight back or at least hold your hands up to protect yourself. He ain’t got bruised knuckles, or bruises on his arms from trying to shield the blows. Seems off to me.”
Optimus and I both nodded in agreement.
“Be quick about it, I’m running out of time and options.” He didn’t need to be told twice. My fists pounded on the table. “You think he could have been in on this?” I asked Optimus.
He leaned back in his chair. “None of us wants to believe a Brother could betray us.” He sighed and hung his head slightly. “But the more I think about it, the more I think that could be exactly what’s happened. Target isn’t exactly the most well-liked with our girls – club girls, old ladies, strippers, all included. Now I’m wondering why I hadn’t taken the complaints seriously before.”
“I gotta get her back, man,” I said quietly. I’d never felt so hopeless, so vulnerable. I needed Harmony. She’d worked her way into my life, into my fucking bones.
“We’ll get her back.”
It didn’t take Rifle long to return, finding Optimus and me at the bar and asking to talk privately. I knew it was bad. We sat in Optimus’ office, Rifle leaning against the door.
“The seatbelt was cut.”
“Say what?” I stared at him, confused.
“When a car stops in a hurry, the seatbelt has a mechanism that engages and grips onto it preventing you from flying out the front window or whatever. The passenger’s side had been cut so when the car stopped, it simply ripped and Harmony went head first into the dash.”
I was ready to go and lay my frustrations out on that pathetic excuse for a Brother, but Rifle held up a hand, letting me know he wasn’t finished. “What the hell kind of biker owns a brand new BMW?”
“Guess it is a strange choice. But the boy’s always been flashy, likes his high-class shit. He had wealthy parents, just figured sometimes you can take the kid from the rich, but you can’t take the rich outta the kid.”
“I’m about to take something out of the kid. But right now, I’m thinking more like a spleen or a kneecap because he has some fucking explaining to do,” I roared as I moved toward the door.
Optimus held me back and I almost turned to take a swing at him.
“We gotta do this smart, Kit. Use our brains, not our fists,” Optimus growled, pulling me back. “We don’t know what kind of power he has in this if any. You rush out there guns blazing, we don’t know what he’s going to do.”
My breathing was erratic, my chest heaving as I thought about ripping the little bastard limb from limb. “He has anything to do with this, Brother or no Brother, he’s a dead man,” I managed to force out between breaths.
“And I’ll be right there beside you with my shovel, but we think first, act later,” Optimus confirmed quietly.
There was a hard knock on the door and Rifle stepped aside to open it. Wrench barreled in.
“I’ve got him. Huge house over in Mobile.” Mobile was a neighboring town, about a thirty-minute ride.
“Call Church, this guy has guards galore following him around. We need to strategize,” I told them, my mind finally starting to work again, pushing the pain in my heart to the side for now.
Optimus clapped me on the back. “Let’s go get your girl.”