Chapter 28: Chapter 28

“She signed in as a guest at Swan Creek two minutes after the doors opened this morning. They have her logged for fifteen minutes. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”

Blake’s entire body vibrated with blind fury, and with a bellow, he loosed his fist straight into the wall. Dust exploded into the air and bits of drywall crumbled to the floor. When the dust settled, he was no less angry…and his hand hurt.

From his place on Blake’s couch, Country gave him a bored look. “Feel better now? Get that all out of your system?”

Blake’s jaw popped, but he gave a sharp nod and resumed pacing the living room floor. At precisely seven that morning, he’d woken up to the alarm and an empty bed. There was no reason for the instant jolt of panic that shot through him, but somewhere in his mind, he’d known she was gone. How could a house actually feel empty in her wake when she’d barely lived in it?

Immediately, he’d called her cell phone, only for it to go straight to voice mail. After several calls like that, he’d shown up at her parents’ hoping she’d gone there, but they hadn’t seen her since dinner the night before. His visit set them on edge, and he’d spent several wasted minutes trying to reassure them that nothing was wrong, eventually feeding them some lame story that she’d left to get ready for school and he forgot to remind her of some plans later and was hoping to catch her.

Thankfully, after giving him some funny looks, they bought it. He didn’t see any need to get them involved or upset until there was something to be upset over. Hopefully, he’d have this all straightened out by the end of the day, but, Blake promised himself, when he did get his hands on Gabby, he was going to tan her hide and then fuck her senseless for getting him so upset. Disappearing acts were not okay in his book.

“I got Repo following a couple leads, and Cricket’s gonna see what he can find out from some of her coworkers. I have a few things I found on the Web this morning I want to follow up on as well, before the trail grows cold.”

Blake stopped in his tracks, hope surging in his chest. “There’s a trail?” Why hadn’t anyone told him there was a fucking trail?

“There’s always a trail.” He said it as someone might say peanut butter and jelly should always be served on white bread—simple fact.

Arms crossed over his chest, Blake worked to keep his temper in check. There was no point in losing his mind when there was so much work left to do. “What should I do?”

Country leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, his straightforward stare assessing. “Ain’t nothin’ for you to do, Prez. We got this covered.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Tuck. I can’t just stand here, idle, when my woman is MIA.” The fear in his voice couldn’t be masked. No words needed to be said for Country to understand the place Blake was coming from. They’d both seen what Cruiz was up to, what he was capable of.

Having no way to tell when Gabby had disappeared, Blake couldn’t say for sure what had driven her to leave, but he suspected it had something to do with her strange behavior at dinner last night. To know that she was out there, alone, without protection was driving him out of his mind with worry. A number of possibilities flashed through his mind, but the most prominent was Cruiz getting ahold of her and him never seeing her again.

“I just can’t understand why she left without saying something first. Whatever it is, I could have helped.” He couldn’t even think about what her disappearing act might do to Ash. The boy had already lost his mother. How would he react to losing the only other woman in his life that’d meant something?

“Can I get real with you for a sec?” Country’s serious tone captured Blake’s attention. Brows pinching together, he crossed the room and sat in the chair opposite him. Country fidgeted, his hands clenching and unclenching, his gaze skittering around the room before settling on his booted feet.

Blake’s anxiety shot through the roof just watching him. For as long as he’d know him, Tucker Abrams, stalwart and brave as he’d ever seen a man, had never been nervous.

“That night when we talked, after the guys left?” Blake nodded his understanding, recalling with perfect clarity watching the fight on television with the guys then his talk with Country afterward. “You mentioned Gabby’s past, where she came from, who she was with. I did some digging around. It all checked out.”

Blake never had any doubt that it wouldn’t. “That’s a good thing, Tuck. What are you getting at here?”

“You know I like to be thorough,” he continued. “On paper, she looked perfect. Good worker, grad student, stayed out of trouble, never even had a parking ticket. I moved on, but no matter how hard I tried to put her out of my head, something just kept nagging at me. So I went back again. Still couldn’t find anything. So I started checking up on the ex.”

“Shane.”

“Shane Douglas,” he confirmed. “Man, Blake, this guy…I know you said he was into some bad shit, but you don’t know the half of it.”

Blake sat forward, his brows knitting together. “Tell me.”

Country blew out a weighted breath, as if it physically pained him to speak the words. “I’ve been doing this a long time. Gathering intel is my shtick, and I’ve seen a lot of shit. Terrible shit that will give you nightmares. This guy, he wasn’t exactly the bad guy, but he wasn’t the good guy either. And he most certainly wasn’t smart.”

“Quit pussyfooting around. What the fuck was he into, Tuck,” Blake growled.

“The better question would be who he was into it with.” Country’s intense gaze met his and held for a heartbeat too long. “Ricky Cruiz.”

Blake’s back slammed into the chair, his breath gusting past his lips. His hands went to the top of his head, his fingers combing through the dark strands. “Fuuuuuuuck.”

“That’s what I said.”

“You sure it was Cruiz?”

“He worked hard to keep any evidence that might point to him buried, but yeah, I’m sure. If you know what to look for, and I do, it’s obvious his stamp is all over it.” He grew quiet again, the air thickening around them. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

Blake’s mind churned with possibilities, finally settling on the worst one. “You think he’s the one who hurt Gabby?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Add to that the fact that Cruiz showed up in town just weeks after she did…”

His words trailed off, but Blake didn’t need them to make a connection. Skirting their territory, moving in on Jodi, lingering in the shadows. He’d even bet that suspicious SUV he’d seen hanging around belonged to him. Hell, he’d been doing his own recon work the whole time. It just hadn’t been on the Spartans. “He’s here for Gabby. Goddamn it, that’s why he hasn’t made any moves on our turf. He’s been here for her the whole fucking time.”

“And if we don’t find her before he does—”

Blake’s hand shot up, stopping him midsentence. He couldn’t hear that mess right now without blowing a fuse. “We’re going to find her. If I have to turn over every goddamn stone to do it, we’re going to find her.”

“You sure she’s worth it?”

Blake’s blood boiled at the question. He pegged his friend, his right-hand man, with a lethal glare. “I’ll bleed for her before I let anyone hurt her again.”

Country studied him for a long moment before pushing to his feet with a resigned sigh. “Then we’d better get out there and find your girl.”

***

Blake watched Ash playing his second round of Jenga with Ginger in the middle of the clubhouse floor. Knowing the kind of shit the bunnies did with those blocks to entice the brothers had him hoping like hell Ginger had enough sense about her to disinfect them first.

Normally, he wouldn’t bring his son near the place, but with everything that was going down, he needed to keep him close, especially if Country was right and Cruiz was behind all of this. And there was no safer place he could think of than right in the middle of a bunch of bikers who’d lay down their life for any one of the people under its roof. Besides, everyone here was good people. They knew how to act when kids were around, and they definitely knew how not to act when the president’s kid was in-house. Everyone was on their absolute best behavior.

While his men were hard at work trying to track down Gabby, Blake was stuck behind the scenes, playing babysitter, while waiting for word to come down the line about where his woman was—Country and several of his brothers were out in the field, turning over every stone to find her, but it seemed she’d disappeared without a trace. He’d never seen anything like it. As Country said, there’s always a trail. So where was hers? It was almost as if she’d walked into that nursing home and never walked out again. But the copy of the records Country had obtained—no doubt through nefarious means thanks to his SpecOps training—clearly showed her signature and time out on their ledger.

So where the hell was she?

Every second she remained missing was another knot in his stomach and a chain around his heart. He had been prepared to give her—the first woman he’d ever considered for the role without reservation—his patch. If he found out that she simply left him high and dry…

No, he couldn’t think that way. She wanted him. Hell, she might even love him. He was, after all, a loveable guy. He knew she had reservations about their relationship, but she’d never given him any indication that she was about to call it off. Quite the opposite, in fact. So he wasn’t even going to consider the possibility of her leaving him willingly. She had to have been taken against her will. It was the only explanation he could stomach entertaining, and even that had him dancing the knife’s edge of nausea.

The only thing he knew for certain was that if Ricky Cruiz was behind this, then God help him, because Blake was going to flay him alive.

Blake’s head lifted and he looked toward the door to the room the club reserved for church to see Ash running in. Without pause, he leapt into Blake’s lap and looked up at him with the same slate gray eyes Blake saw in the mirror every morning.

“What’s up, buddy? You having fun out there with Ginger?”

He shrugged. “She’s okay. When can we leave? I want to show Gabby I learned a new game. I’m really good, too, Daddy. No way she’s going to beat me. I’m going to demolish her!”

Blake’s smile was strained. Ruffling his hair, he said, “I’m sure you will.” Recalling his promise to himself that he’d never lie to his son, he steeled himself for a dose of cold, hard truth. “Daddy still has some work to do here, and then we’ll go home.”

“Is Gabby waiting for us there?”

“Maybe.” Okay, so maybe he wasn’t so much telling him the truth as he was beating around it. Or avoiding it completely. He just couldn’t bring himself to burst the kid’s bubble. Or his own, if he was being perfectly honest. It just felt like if he said out loud that she was gone, it would make it true.

One way or another, he was going to make sure she came back. He just couldn’t stand sitting idle. He wanted to be out there doing something! But Country and Repo had insisted on him staying behind, keeping watch over the clubhouse in case Cruiz decided to send some men in while they were away. Their concern was sound, so against his better judgement, he’d stayed. Didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Can we order pizza tonight?”

Blake forced himself to put on a smile. “Sure thing, kid. Pepperoni?”

“With extra cheese!”

“Is there any other kind?”

Ash gave him a look as if to say duh! then hopped down from his lap. “I’m going to get another smoothie. Ginger makes super good ones. Even better than McDonald’s.”

Blake lifted his brows. “Wow, that’s pretty good.”

“Maybe you should ask her to make you one too. I bet she would, since all she keeps talking about is how nice you are.” He made a sound of exasperation, rolling his eyes. Then, pursing his lips, Ash appeared to think hard before finally lifting his gaze again. “I think she likes you, Daddy, but I like Gabby best, so I think you should let her down easy.”

Blake struggled to keep a straight face. “You got it, buddy. Hey, hold up a sec.” Ash’s body swayed in an effort to stop his quick feet. “Make sure you wash your hands before you get that smoothie.”

Ash’s expression pinched. “But it’s a smoothie. I’m not even gonna touch it.”

“Does it have more than one ingredient?”

“Yeah.”

“Does it fill your belly?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s food. Now go wash your hands.”

Hanging his head, he said, “Fine, I’ll go wash ‘em. But I’m only using one squirt of soap.”

Blake nodded, expression even. “Fair enough, kid.” As a parent, it was all about learning when to pick his battles. He just couldn’t, in good faith, let him touch anything when questions still surrounded those game pieces though.

Once Ash left the room—grumbling every step of the way—Blake slumped back in his chair, watching the door he’d disappeared through. That kid was his world, his reason for living, and he never ceased to amaze him. He was just so intuitive for his age, and mature too. It made him damn proud. Made him wonder how something so amazing could have come from him. No doubt, if he wanted it, he’d make the Spartans a good president someday.

As he watched Ash hop onto a barstool through the open door, Blake reflected on what he’d said about Ginger. They had history, Blake and her. Lost his virginity to her. She was a good woman, kind and loyal, a friend to everyone. He liked her, always had. But he’d known from the start he wasn’t interested in more than a quick lay. He was too young, still looking to sow his wild oats, and she had old lady written all over her, even back then.

He studied her now, moving behind the bar fixing up a smoothie for his kid, and could easily picture her being a mother herself. She’d be good at it. Just like she’d make someone a good wife. Just not to him. As if she felt his gaze on her, Ginger looked up and a shy smile turned her candy apple painted lips up. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that if she had it her way, she’d be wearing his patch. She wasn’t getting any younger, that’s for sure. But he knew, after meeting Gabby, he would never settle for a sure thing. He wanted more than a relationship based on mutual respect. He wanted that passion, that fire that he got whenever he touched Gabby.

Ginger could never be that for him.

His thoughts turned to his VP, Garrick Stone. Ever since Blake had been a tot running around in diapers, he’d been fond of Repo. The man had been a mentor in many ways, guiding him through his presidency after his father passed. He had nearly twenty years on Blake and just a couple less than that on Ginger, but he’d seen the look in the man’s eyes lately whenever he saw her.

All anyone had to do was take one look at the man to know that he was done for. He’d do anything, kill anyone for a chance to have her in his bed.

If only she would recognize that Blake was a lost cause as far as she and him were concerned, maybe she’d see what was standing right in front of her.

Commotion at the front of the compound brought Blake out of his chair. Rounding the table, he planted himself in the doorway, watching a couple prospects who’d been out helping in the search stride toward him with purpose.

Blake stepped back into the room and waited for them to enter before closing them in for privacy. “What you got?”

Tanner, the longest running prospect they had and the closest to getting patched in, spoke first. “Country and Repo staked out a spot down by that pole barn off two-eighty. Said they got eyes on your woman.”

Pure, white hot fury blistered his veins. “Fucking hell!” he shouted, feeling as if the top of his head might blow right off. He was right. That bastard Cruiz was behind it, but he’d made a fatal error in taking his woman, because now he had to deal with Blake. Raw determination surged through him, and Blake grabbed his jacket, prepared to shrug it on before Tanner lifted his hand to stop him.

“He said to tell you to stay put and wait for his call. They got everything handled, so long as they don’t get outside interference. He said one wrong move, and everything would go sideways. So he wants everyone to stay on alert, ready to go in case that happens.”

Blake thought of the several armed guards they’d spotted on those grounds and how expansive the estate was. No doubt, with the size of that operation, what they’d seen was only the tip of the iceberg. As much as he wanted to run in, guns blazing, he had to stay calm, think logically. He knew Country was right. They needed to approach this with a level head. Simple was better.

So long as shit didn’t go sideways.

And it could, fast. Which was why they needed backup.

Clenching his jaw, Blake pinned Tanner and Fish, the other prospect, with a hard stare. “I’m not taking any chances. Country wants space, we’ll give him space. But if things go south, I want men on the ground, ready at a moment’s notice. Get ahold of the others, tell them to get ready. We’re riding out to the property, but we need to stay back, hidden. About a half-mile down the road should be good. If Country or Repo call for backup, we can be there in minutes.”

“I’m sorry, Prez, but you intending to tag along?”

Blake’s hands fisted at his sides. He didn’t like to be questioned. He knew where Tucker and Garrick wanted him, and he valued their insight, but he was not about to continue sitting on his hands when he could offer so much more. Not when it was his woman whose life was in danger.

His words steady but clipped, he said, “You bet your ass I’m going.”