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There are a few quiet chuckles, and then Rage speaks up again. “While Vance and his guys continue to work on finding this cabin, we need to talk about the flash drive.”
“Do ya think Ben’s mom would know anything about it? She’s our last hope outside of Pres with this,” Sugar says.
Rage meets my eyes, and I see him process his thoughts before he speaks. “What do you think about the drive? With the way Presley responded, it has to mean more than what she said.”
Running a hand down my face, exhaustion seems to seep into my bones, but I can’t rest until this is dealt with. “I don’t know. I know that this is all overwhelming for her, so it could’ve been just talking about Ben and thinking about those days before she left, or it could be that it means something. But either way, we need to find out. So why don’t we go talk to her mom like Sugar said?”
Rage nods at me and then pulls his phone out, calling Vance. After a quick conversation with him that confirms she is awake and where they have her, we decide that Rage, Stone, and I will go over really quick and see what we can find out.
When we get upstairs, I look around for Presley but don’t see her. My mom comes around the corner from the kitchen and offers me a beaming smile. “If you are looking for your woman, she and Raven went upstairs. Based on how pale she looked, you’d best give her a little time.”
I nod and glance at the stairs. I want nothing more than to head up there and be with her, especially after how things went. But I feel as if things won’t truly be okay until Ben is dealt with. Going up there now and not having anything new to tell her won’t help. I know that Raven will stay with her if she needs her to.
Sighing, I glance at my mama as she approaches me. She wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me tight while I rest my head on top of hers. “I love her, Jackson. She is perfect for you in every way. You two were meant for each other. So you go and solve whatever the fuck is happening and get back here so you can be here for your woman.” She pulls back and wipes a stray tear away before hugging the other guys in the room and then walking back to the kitchen.
Rage glances at me, and I give him a nod as he, Stone, and I head out to our bikes and take off to the hospital. To no surprise, Vance was able to work his own magic and get her in a private room where all doctors and nurses that are working on her, are on his payroll. His reach seems to expand every year as his business continues to grow.
Vance leads us into the hospital wing that is sectioned off for him. He has guards posted all along the halls and one standing in front of the door that Vance walks up to. We go in with Vance and find Ben’s mom in the bed. She has IVs and cords everywhere, along with bandages on her face, arms, neck, and I assume more under the blanket.
Vance steps up to her bedside, and when her eyes finally connect with his, he speaks. “Why don’t you fill us in on what happened today? Then these guys have a few questions for you. After that, so long as you aren’t a threat to any of us, you will be free to heal and get the hell out of here. Deal?”
She gives a hesitant nod as tears flow down her face. She begins telling us how Ben showed back up. He had come by a few days ago but didn’t stay long, and then today he came back by. He was angry and she said the violence seemed to cloud around him as he stormed through their home.
“I had never seen him look so out of control. Even after—” She shakes her head softly. “Ben has always been one for control. He thrives on it. His father was the same in many ways, but Ben pushed his limits with control. He wanted to make sure he had power over everything, and he would let nothing stop him. He came storming in, screaming at his father. Saying that he messed everything up for him. I have no idea what set him off. He kept talking about something in Montana and some man turning him away.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “They started fighting and it all got so out of control. I tried to stop them; they are family, and things shouldn’t be like this. But Ben just turned on me. He tied his father up and then…” Her breathing grows erratic, and she clutches her chest, keeping her eyes shut. “He beat me,” she whispers, her words coming out broken. “He killed his own father. He’s out of control.” She breathes the last word as her eyes snap open, and she looks at Vance before scanning the rest of us. “Please—please, I won’t ask you to spare him. I know better. But please, make it quick. Don’t let him suffer.” She hiccups and tries to cover her sobs with a hand over her mouth.
Vance bends down slightly, meeting her red, tear-stained eyes with his own. “He will not suffer. I promise. It will be fast and painless.” His lie slides right out with ease. “You’re almost done. Just answer whatever they want to know.”
She nods and looks over at us.
Rage steps forward to stand at the foot of her bed. “The flash drive.” Her eyes flash with recognition. “What’s on it?”
Sighing, she deflates, like she’s giving up. “When Ben turned eighteen, his father wanted him to prove his worth. Prove his loyalty. He had him kill his grandfather.” Her eyes drop to where her hands rest in her lap. “He took him to a warehouse and had him shoot his grandfather. Ben refused at first; he always loved his grandad. But when his father started beating him with a belt and said it’s either Ben or grandfather, Ben gave in.
“The whole thing was recorded and saved on the drive. I only knew about it because a few days after it happened, Ben got drunk and told me. I could never find the drive until a while ago. His dad came home with a flash drive and was going on and on about how the boy needed a reminder. So when I had a chance, I snagged it and gave it to Presley. I hoped, I prayed, that if anyone could help Ben, it would have been her or she would have been scared and taken it to the cops. But she didn’t.”
She didn’t because if there is one thing I know about Presley, she is loyal to a fault and probably thought she could help him herself.
Sitting around the table at church, everyone has somber expressions. There is a lot to think about, to process after we fill them in on our trip to see Ben’s mom.
She didn’t give us much else after that; her body and mind were exhausted so we left her to rest after checking to see if she might know where Ben is. Unfortunately, she doesn’t.
This makes me feel no remorse for Ben. We have all been to hell and back in our own ways. Rage has been forced to do things that will haunt him for the rest of his life, but that doesn’t mean he would ever do what Ben has done. Ben is scum and needs to be taken care of.
“Where does this leave us with finding Ben?” I ask, ready to move on from how cold the room feels.
Rage clears his throat. “Vance is trying to locate the cabin with his guys. We were supposed to get Presley to see if she knew where it was, so we are going to need her back down here soon. But I want to go over what the plan will be. Sugar, you have been taking control of everything going on here while we have all been dealing with this. Are you still good to continue doing that?”
“Yep, not a problem. I’ve got the club under control. We will stay on lockdown ‘til this shit gets handled.”
“Good. Nerds, you will monitor from here like usual.” At this, Nerds nods. “The rest of us will divide up. Some staying here and the rest coming with us. We don’t know who he has contacted or what help he has, but Vance has promised that his men will deal with anyone else that is there and make sure we receive no backlash from this.”
“Why would he do that?” Blade asks with a head tilt.
Rage huffs, “I asked him that. He is claiming it is to make up for how things went when this started. Them trying to grab Axe. That something like that will not happen again. But also, they have a possible mole amongst them, because someone tipped off Ben from when we met, so he said they are reevaluating a lot of things they do and who they are connected to. They blindly trusted Ben because of previous family connections, and they won’t do that again. Nerds, before we try to have Presley come back down here, have you gotten anywhere with finding the cabin or heard from Vance’s tech guy?”
Nerds grunts and looks up from his laptop. “I’m never offering to work with their tech guy again. He is a fucking nuisance. But no, nothing. I can’t find anything under his name or Presley’s. I have also tried to backlog their trips and still can’t even find anything. Either they never go there, or it’s hidden very well.”
