“You sure about that?” He laughs. “I heard about her parting words to you.”
I shake my head and down a third of my beer. “Those weren’t her parting words. She called me incessantly on my trip and when I got home from Miami, there was a note from her on my front door.”
He laughs again but before he can say anything, Blaze steps out of his office to bellow “Church” before disappearing again. Thank fucking God. The last thing I want to do is listen to more jokes about how badly my relationships go. Then again, maybe I just met the one who is going to change all that.
Sighing, I stand up and follow Storm into the war room before taking my seat near the back of the room as Storm sits on the other end. The rest of the guys begin to trickle in, some taking their seats while others stand around bullshitting with each other.
“How was the trip, by the way?” Storm asks. I set my bottle of beer down on the table and lean back in my chair as I nod and I fight back a smile, my mind consumed with thoughts of Juliette and our drive back from Miami.
“Good.”
He narrows his eyes, studying me, but before he can say anything, Blaze walks into the room and a hush falls over our group as everyone sits down and faces the front of the table where Blaze sinks into his chair and sighs.
“All right. Let’s get started, Smith,” he says as he nods to Smith, our sergeant at arms. Smith nods and glances down at the paper on the table in front of him.
“We’ve only got one rescue this week but it’s going to be super tricky and we probably need a couple of back-up plans.”
Kodiak crosses his arms over his chest with a scowl. “How is it tricky?”
“Peyton is basically a prisoner in her own home. Her boyfriend, Dustin, went a little crazy at their local tech store and installed cameras and motion sensors all throughout the house. He watches her during the day to make sure she doesn’t leave and if she even opens a door to accept a package, he gets a notification on his phone. When you add in the fact that he only works a mile away from their house, it makes getting her out of there a challenge.”
“Try impossible,” Chance says, shaking his head as he leans back in his chair. We all stare at each other, trying to come up with a plan that could possibly work, but no one says anything.
“Streak, could you disable the cameras and sensors?” Blaze asks and Streak, our tech guy, nods.
“Most likely but it would tip him off immediately if everything went dark. I might be able to run a loop. You guys would have to be quick and we’d have to pray he doesn’t just decide to pop on home for something.”
“How did we even find this girl?” Storm asks and I nod in agreement. It seems odd that she was able to reach out for help if she can’t even open the front door of her house.
“The one person she’s allowed to speak to is her mother and that’s who reached out to us,” Smith answers, shaking his head. “The other issue is we haven’t been able to have any contact with Peyton but her mother has agreed to pass along the message when we’re ready to move.”
Blaze nods. “Streak, why don’t you look into the security system and we’ll develop a plan once we know more?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Anything else?” Blaze asks, his gaze flicking around the room. When no one says anything, he grabs the gavel and bangs it on the table once, dismissing us. We all head back into the main room and Streak heads upstairs to his lair while the rest of us gather around the bar.
“Heard you got another stage five clinger,” Chance says as he walks up behind me and slaps me on the shoulder. These guys really should have better things to do than sit around and gossip like a bunch of women and yet, they all seem to know what’s going on in my life. Well… mostly. My thoughts drift to Juliette and the way she felt in my arms last night as I pushed her up against the front door and kissed her like my life depended on it. Quite frankly, I’m not convinced it didn’t.
I shake my head as he grabs a beer. “Naw. I’ve got it all under control.”
“Mmhmm,” he hums. “Let’s just hope she’s not as crazy as Courtney or we’ll have to find you a new road name.”
“Fuck off,” I growl, turning away from them. I hate how much they are always doggin’ on me. I mean, yeah, I’ve made some mistakes when it comes to women and relationships but they aren’t fucking saints either. Shit. Chance was married to a stripper for a while and Storm didn’t date at all before he met his wife.
“Moose. Kodiak. Fuzz,” Blaze calls as he walks out of his office with his phone in his hand. “With me.”
I set my beer down on the bar and clap Chance’s shoulder to say good-bye as I follow behind Kodiak and Fuzz. Blaze leads us outside to the line of bikes.
“What’s up, boss?” Kodiak asks. Blaze shakes his head as he grabs his helmet and puts it on.
“Not sure but Rodriguez just called and said there’s something he needs to show us. It sounded urgent.”
That’s all we need to hear.
We all nod before going to our bikes and following Blaze out of the parking lot. The club met Detective Rodriguez five years ago when he was involved with a case we were working on. After everything went down, we were able to develop a friendship with him and it’s proved beneficial to both of us. When things fall beyond our reach, he steps in to give us a hand and anytime he ever needs our assistance, we are there to help. It’s unconventional but it’s been a fruitful relationship and has resulted in more lives saved which is all we both want.
As we drive through the streets of Baton Rouge, my mind drifts to Juliette and that intense kiss on my front porch last night. I’ve thought a lot about what Cora said on my trip down to Miami and even if I can’t admit it out loud to anyone other than Juliette, I know she was right. I hold myself back and don’t invest in anything as a coping mechanism and to prevent myself from getting hurt again but this thing with Juliette… I have never felt anything like this so I don’t give a fuck how much it scares the shit out of me - I’m not letting her go.
Red and blue lights bounce off of buildings as we slow to a crawl. Police tape stretches out, blocking off the street as a crowd of people start gathering around, trying to get a peek and my stomach sinks. Why the hell would Rodriguez be calling us to a crime scene? Blaze pulls his bike off to the side of the road and we all follow behind him. As we park and dismount, we exchange worried glances. Rodriguez has never called us to a crime scene like this before so I have to assume that it has to do with someone we know but who? I look at Kodiak and Fuzz, my thoughts racing out of control.
“Let them through,” a voice calls out as we approach the police tape and an officer in uniform lifts the tape, allowing us to walk under it as Rodriguez makes his way over to us, his face strained. “Sorry to bring you out here, guys.”
“What’s going on, Diego?” Blaze asks, his gaze sweeping over the scene and I do the same. There are drops of blood in a line along the sidewalk and when I follow them, I suck in a breath. What I can only assume is a body lies on a gurney at the end of the trail, covered in a white sheet. My thoughts screech to a halt as I stare at it and then a list of names begins running through my head - anyone that means anything to us.