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Brian started talking directly to Cruz in a low voice. “I’m not a bad guy, Cruz. I’ve been struggling for three years now to make sense of what happened. I know that you know how that feels too.” Cruz’s features changed. They softened, and he didn’t look like he was full of hate…for just a second. “I tried to put the blame on you for having killed her. I’ve since realized that I was as much to blame for not dealing with Wendy differently. She obviously wanted something I couldn’t give her. I should have let her go. I’ve got to deal with that now.”
Cruz didn’t respond to that, but after several long seconds of silence, he finally said, “Where’s Jimmy now?”
“He’s waiting on my text,” Brian said.
“For what?”
“Eden’s photo.”
“What the fuck!”
“He wants to kidnap her, to get you on your own, so he can kill you.”
“So, where the fuck is he?” Cruz was almost shouting. He felt a surge of rage at the mention of Eden’s name in all of this. “I’ll kill him now if you tell me.”
“I don’t know precisely,” Brian said. “He knows where I am, but he won’t tell me where he is. Not far from here. I was with him not long ago. All I’ve got is the opportunity to manage him if you guys let that happen.”
“What’s he riding?” Chance asked.
“He’s driving a 2020 F150. Black, raised…got a dent in the front right fender.” He told them the license plate number and a brief description of Jimmy himself. “Jimmy Hanson,” Brian said.
“Wendy Hanson,” Cruz said. “You told me you were married.”
“She kept her maiden name.” He shrugged.
Cruz turned away from Brian and asked the others, “What are we going to do, guys?”
The answer came in the ping of a text from Jace, the president of the Phoenix Skulls, to his VP, Finn.“We’re in Tucumcari now. Amarillo later today.”
Finn turned the message to Cruz and said, “We need to get toAmarillo. Jace and Beck will be there.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Cruz asked Finn.
“Can we have a sec, guys?” The rest of the group moved away, and Brian followed. “Boots, Collin…you two need to stay.”
Finn called Jace, and while the other Phoenix Skulls listened in, Cruz and Finn told their president what was going down.
Beck was obviously listening into the call too, when she said, “Call me Eden.”
That was exactly what they wanted to hear. She added, “I hope I haven’t gone soft.” Everyone laughed…on both sides of the call.
Rebekah “Beck” Golden had had Jace’s baby since he’d been handpicked, as a nomad, to start the Phoenix Skulls. Prior to that she’d attempted to join the Westside Skulls on a promise that couldn’t be kept.
Her father, a Navy hero and biker, had died before she was even born. She’d come into the world in a car along the side of the road in a desert.
Beck had a dream to be a Navy SEAL…and while she had surpassed all the requirements to become one, she finally had to admit that no matter how hard she worked, she'd never be the right gender. The Phoenix Skulls had since given her more than she could ever have hoped for. But she did miss the adrenaline rush that came with the danger and thrills that she’d experienced in the Navy’s Flying Squad.
“Are you okay with this?” Jace asked. He already knew the answer.
“Fuck yeah.”
* * *
“Jimmy’s fucked,”Finn said. Even with all that was going on, they couldn’t help laughing. When they looked to where the others had gone, Brian was looking at them with a “WTF” look on his face. They gave him a head nod, but he just looked confused…and very worried.
* * *
“Where’sthe pic of his old lady?” Jimmy texted.
