Page 5 of Property of Mercury

“Good point,” Gemini replies. “I’ll add that to the ever-growing list of shit to have Orbit search for, how does that sound?”

“Works for me.”

I suspect that this group of people is going to test every one of my abilities as a tracker. Good thing I relish a challenge because I won’t rest or leave any stone unturned in an effort to find these bastards and shut them and their vile operation down. And if a few of them end up finding their way to Hell along the way? So be it.

While Gemini wanted another brother to come with me, it dawned on us both that we’re spread kind of thin right now, protecting Sutton while she’s with Skippy, as well as Finley, and I’ve got the experience and abilities to protect myself without needing a brother at my back. It’s a good thing that I took one of the ATVs out because the terrain is terrible. Some areas are muddy as hell thanks to all the snow melting, while others look like they were covered all winter long. I was able to follow Finley’s haphazard path and ended up at a ramshackle one-room structure that’s barely standing. It looks more like a lean-to than a shack. How she survived for a month in there is beyond me, especially since there are missing boards, broken windows, and no heat. It’s a miracle she even made it to ‘the hunt’. There was evidence that she was there; I found scratch marks on the bottom of a wall with her name and remembering the condition of her fingernails, I know she used them to gouge out each letter.

“Fucking pricks,” I growl as I take pictures of the chain that’s embedded through the floorboard and attached to an eye hook. It’s long enough to make it to the bathroom, but just barely. “Hopefully she was able to get water in between the times they brought her food. Assholes need to fry as far as I’m concerned. Hell, stake them out, cover them in honey and let the insects have them.”

As I continue searching for other signs about anyone else who was at the cabin, I fantasize about all the ways I can make these pieces of shit suffer. I’m not typically a bloodthirsty person, but the fact that one dead woman has shown up, Skippy was attacked, and now I found Finley tells me this is worse than I suspected and my mind has already gone to the worst serial killer known to mankind. I think these fuckers are worse because they seem to give the illusion that if the person can get away, they’ll be okay. And that can’t be further from the truth based on how I found Finley.

If I add in the fact that Sutton was in their crosshairs? Well, it lets me know they’ve got what they think is a well-oiled machine. That’s how I know they’ve got more hidey-holes out there, because there’s no way they only have one captive at a time. Maybe per property, perhaps, but I have no doubt whatsoever that there are other women in peril right now and I’m going to do whatever it takes to ferret them out of hiding.

These fuckwads might’ve thought they had a great playground here in Montana, but what they don’t know is there’s a new group of Kings in town and nobody fucks with us. We may be new to this MC, but we grew up in one and while we were definitely in the black and white category of life as far as what we did as a club, I have absolutely no problem going gray. The lines have been blurred now and maybe it’s my southern roots, maybe it’s because I had great role models in my dad and uncles, but women are to be cherished and protected. Not hunted like rabid dogs.

I end up checking about twenty acres in all which sounds great until I realize just how fucking big Montana actually is. Granted, like I told Gemini, we need to focus on our patch of the state for the time being, because we’re too new to the state itself, plus we’re not a large chapter. Satisfied at what I’ve accomplished so far, I make my way back to the compound. It’s time for a shower, some food, and a few ice cold beers.

“Can you send those to Orbit?” Gemini asks as we sit around the table we’re using for our meetings.

Growing up, our dads called it sermon time, other clubs call it church. I have no clue what we’ll end up calling it, I just know that it’s for members only.

“Yeah, give me his info,” I reply, my phone in my hand. Normally, we wouldn’t have them in here with us, but with Orion at the hospital with Skippy, and Hercules guarding Finley, Gemini thought it was a good idea for us to hang onto them.

I send a text with the pictures I took to the number Gemini rattles off, then groan when I get a thumbs-up emoji in response. “He’s younger than us, isn’t he?” I ask, looking at my phone.

Gemini chuckles then asks, “What gives you that idea?”

“The fact he’s using fucking emojis,” I retort. “Once he’s here full-time, can we get one of those projector screen things so information is easy to share?”

“Why not? At some point, we’ll stop bleeding money and start bringing it in, right?” Gemini retorts. “Before we wrap it up for now, I heard from both Hercules and Orion. Finley’s still in and out of consciousness, which is a good thing given the severity of her injuries. He lied and told them he was her brother so he’s able to go in and see her once an hour. As far as Skippy, she’s still in a coma. They both have a long road ahead of them recovery wise, and even though we don’t really have much, we’ll do whatever it takes to ensure both of them have what they need. Any issues with that?”

I’m already shaking my head, but it’s Pisces who says what we’re all undoubtedly thinking. “Fuck no. If, as Mercury suspects, they target those who have no one, well, they need to think again. Both Skippy and Finley are under our protection now, y’all.”

“Alright, y’all, if nobody has anything else, we’re adjourned,” Gemini says.

Thank fuck. I’m bone weary tonight and need sleep in the worst way so I can get up and check another area tomorrow. Walking out to the kitchen, I grab a couple of bottles of water and one of the sub sandwiches that Sutton made then head up to my room. I know I wanted a couple of cold beers, but even though I’m no lightweight, I don’t think I could make it through one tonight.

I set everything on the top of my dresser, hang up my leather cut on the hook that’s behind my door, then strip down before I head into my ensuite bathroom. Turning the water on, I don’t wait for it to fully heat before I step inside. I need the burst of cold on my skin in order to stay awake long enough to eat so by the time the bathroom is filling with steam, I’m already out with a towel around my waist. A quick comb through my wavy hair and I’m now stalking toward my sandwich and drinks. Thankfully, since I’m single, no one’s gonna give a fuck if I get a few crumbs on the sheets. I know I don’t care one way or another because I’m positive that once I lay my head down on my pillow, I’m going to pass the hell out.

CHAPTER

THREE

Finley

I hurt so badly I want to cry, but I know, from prior experience, that if I cry, it’ll pull at the stitched areas and will cause further pain. So instead, I allow my thoughts to wander as I think about how I got where I’m at right now.

As a foster care kid, when I aged out of the system, I found myself at loose ends. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to go to college, although I had a full ride courtesy of the state. So, I went to a technical college instead and got my ASE certification as an automotive mechanic. For the past few years, I’ve been moving around the country trying to find a place to call home and three months ago, I decided to try Montana.

No, I’m not a huge fan of snow, but the mountains are so beautiful, it brings me a sense of peace that’s been lacking in my life. The only reason I was at the hospital the day I was abducted was to get a current tetanus injection since I managed to cut myself at work thanks to a lazy coworker who didn’t toss some scrap metal but instead, laid it on a shelf. When I reached in, it sliced my hand and I earned a trip to get stitched up and a booster shot since it had been longer than ten years from my last one.

“I probably don’t even have a job now,” I grumble, “especially since I definitely went beyond a three day no-call, no-show event. Dammit, I finally had a little bit of savings to my name, too!”

“What do you do for a living?” Orion asks. He’s apparently checking on me before he takes off to the hospital and goes to see Skippy, which is fine. It seems like every day, one of them shows up, although Mercury’s been conspicuously absent.

Not like he owes me a damn thing. Actually, I owe him because if he hadn’t found me, I would’ve died out there. The weather alone would’ve gotten me and while I didn’t ask, I’m sure I was hypothermic when he found me. My clothes were little more than rags, I was barefoot, and severely malnourished.

“I’m a mechanic,” I reply.