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“In a minute. It’s not so important I can’t sit and talk with Talia for a while.”
So Talia started telling me about her new studio Doc and the club had bought for her in town. It was a combination dance and music studio where she taught kids who couldn’t afford lessons otherwise. She had a whole slew of students, as she put it. The glow on her face and the sparkle in her eyes told me she was happier than I ever thought she could be. Especially when she lived in the Grim Road compound.
I was about to start asking questions just to keep her talking when a young woman and one of the Salvation’s Bane members ran into the common room. When I realized who the woman was, my mouth went dry and dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
“Where’s Ripper?” Apple, the twin sister of the one woman I couldn’t seem to get out of my head looked like she was about to have a panic attack. “I need him to talk to Wylde!”
Several Bane members emerged from various offices and rooms just off the common room. One of them was the man in question. Ripper was the Bane computer wiz and intel officer. He’d been wounded during a tour that took muscle and tissue from one leg and put shrapnel in his face. He was scarred and had a slight limp, but he was one deadly son of a bitch. Especially when someone he cared about was threatened.
“I’m Ripper,” he said, not acknowledging the interruption or the fact that Apple was so distraught.
“I sent an S.O.S to Wylde and he wants to talk to you.” She held out her phone to the big man with hands that trembled like a leaf in the wind. Ripper put it to his ear and spoke.
“Ripper.” There was silence while someone on the other end -- presumably Wylde -- spoke to him. Ripper headed back to his office and Apple followed.
“What’s goin’ on, man?” Doc spoke to the guy with Apple. Lock, according to the patch on his chest.
“Her sister. She took off after a guy she saw nab a child off the beach. Poison ran after her, but he was on foot. That guy joined another guy and they took off with Lemon and another girl in a white van. No windows. No license plate. Poison got there just as they sped off. He’s right behind us.”
As if on cue, another man entered the clubhouse, a hard, angry expression on his face. “Don’t know whether to spank that woman or give her a medal.”
Ripper exited his office just as Thorn and Havoc appeared from deeper inside. “Thorn. I’ve got a location on Lemon’s phone, but she’s not in Palm Beach.” He glanced at me. “She’s in Riviera Beach.”
“OK. Stop.” I stood and joined the Bane president and vice president. “What the shit’s goin’ on?”
“They took Lemon,” Apple sobbed. “They took her and the girl she was trying to save.”
I glanced back to Poison. “You get a look at ‘em?”
“Yeah. One’s a big son of a bitch. The other’s a bit of a runt. Both of ‘em had on long sleeves, so I couldn’t see any distinctive tattoos and their faces weren’t marked.”
“Gang?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Not sure. Possibly.” Lock looked like he was ready to put his fist through a wall. Or someone’s face. “Poison said she fought ‘em hard but the big one got her in a choke hold and, well, you can’t fight if you can’t breathe.”
“Goddamnit!” Something akin to panic seized me. My chest tightened and at that moment I wanted to throttle the younger woman. “What the fuck was she thinking?”
“That a little girl needed help,” Apple cried. She marched up to me, poking a finger in my chest, much like Lemon might. “She did what she had to do. You better not say a fucking bad word about my sister.”
This… didn’t compute. “You’re supposed to be the docile sister.” Which must have been the exact wrong thing to say because Apple, bless her heart, slapped me full on the face. She didn’t hold back either. The side of my face stung and my ear rang where she’d clapped it with her blow.
“All right, Apple,” Thorn said, stepping between me and the girl. “Calm down. We’ll find your sister, but she’s in his territory. You might want to keep that in mind before you go beatin’ up the president of Grim Road.”
“He better keep in mind I might not be as big as he is, but Lemon is my sister. She’s taught me things.” Her words were tough, but tears spilled freely down her cheeks and she fought off sobs. Mostly.
At any other time, that might have gotten a laugh from more than one member of Bane. Hell, I might have even laughed myself. But not now. Not with Lemon in danger and Apple struggling so hard to keep it together.
“You know where she is precisely, Ripper?”
“Yeah. It’s a small crackerjack house near the beach. Kind of off to itself. Far as I can tell, it’s just the four of them, but I’ve had about two minutes to study the city camera feeds, so I could be wrong.”
“Thorn, I’d appreciate it if you got your people ready in case I need backup. Ripper, do you have Crush’s contact info?”
“Yeah. He and I’ve opened a loose dialogue.” The big guy shrugged. “Nothing heavy, just keeping tabs on each other.”
I didn’t like that and I’d be talking with Crush later, but I had bigger problems. I didn’t want anyone from Grim Road going in on this. They had a tendency to shoot first and consider the collateral damage later. Every single one of us, to the man, were black ops. Our specialty was killing. We were only sent in when there were no other options and there was a plausible explanation if more people died than were supposed to. While I trusted the men in my club… to a point… I wasn’t willing to risk Lemon’s safety -- or the safety of her charge -- with little to no planning. I’d be doing this myself.
“Give him the information. Tell him I said to watch. He’ll know what to do from there. Keep Wylde in the loop, too.” I turned to Apple. “You stay here until Wylde gives you instructions.”
