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“Boo fucking hoo,” Thunder rumbles like his namesake. “We had to hide out like rats while things died down. If any of us had died, you'd be a dead man walking right now. Hell, I’m not convinced we shouldn’t shoot you right here.” He loosens his gun in his belt.
Harper and Outlaw join us, walking back from where he was teaching her how to shoot. Not sure what passed between them, but if he let her patch him up, that’s a good fucking sign. I was half expecting her to come running back in tears after he tore into her but Outlaw’s walking easy, laser focused on Carnell. I don’t know if the cop knows Outlaw was shot or not, but if we don’t have to reveal that, it’s for the best.
I'll give Carnell points for bravery. The shoe is on the other foot this time and he doesn't shrink back at all. “But you haven't, so why am I here? You have no reason to believe me, but I won’t hold yesterday’s fiasco against you. Mesner’s mystery daughter is clearly choosing to be with you for whatever reason, and if that pisses him off, I’ll count it as the only silver lining in the fucking situation.”
Lightning nods reluctantly. “Missing person.”
He cocks his head. “Okay? It's not my department, but I could make some calls. I want to know why, though. I’m not tracking someone down so your club can execute someone who pissed them off. I feel like I owe you a favor, but contrary to how it might seem, I’m not dirty.”
“It’s Harper’s mother,” I clarify.
He barely reacts, his eyebrows rising just a touch. He turns to Harper. “Your mother? I didn't know she was part of this picture. I’ve been following Mesner for longer than any of you have been alive, and I’ve gotta say. The fact that he had a daughter came completely out of the blue. Has he had your family hidden away all this time?”
Outlaw and Lightning take positions behind Harper, like bodyguards.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t find out he was my father until recently. Mom moved to the east coast when she was pregnant. As far as I know, they never had any contact after that. He didn’t know I existed.”
Carnell frowns. “When did she go missing?”
“Yes—yesterday,” Harper says, her voice cracking. She starts to cry, and Lightning puts his arm around her.
“We don’t know for sure if it happened before or after we met with him. All we know for sure is that she was in a medical facility recovering, and Mesner had her checked out and moved,” I explain.
“Mesner.” Carnell says it like a curse.
I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the cliff wall. “He was helping pay for her recovery, but he shouldn’t have been able to move her. Harper is her only legal family. I'm betting my left ball that if she’s not in Vegas by now, she’s on her way.”
“Why, though?” Carnell says thoughtfully, only half paying attention to me as he thinks. “What would he have to gain? To use her to force Harper into line? To punish the mother for keeping his child away? I feel like I’m playing cards with only half the deck.”
I glance at Harper with a raised, questioning eyebrow. Her story isn’t mine to tell. Pretty sure she's had enough of fucking men making decisions in her life.
She takes a deep breath and nods. “I can tell you what I know.”
By the time she’s done explaining how she ended up getting mixed up with Mesner, Carnell's shaking his head in disbelief. “I don't fucking believe it. I mean, I do,” he adds quickly, holding his hands out. “I’m not saying you’re lying. It's just so… it doesn't sound like Mesner, is all. Bringing home his long lost daughter, setting her up for some kind of tax fraud marriage… We're still missing the bigger picture. Mesner's got a whole army of crooked lawyers and accountants to deal with keeping him looking clean. Trust me, my life would be a lot easier if he didn’t.”
“But can you find her?” Harper steps forward, glaring up at Carnell in a determined expression that’s a good match for his own. Poor girl's had it rough, but she's still got that fire within. The one that makes me wanna stoke it later to watch her burn, but I table that for when Carnell's gone again. “She was starting to be more aware last time I checked on her, and if he’s hurting or scaring her… I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he pays.”
“I do feel for your situation,” Carnell says with a nod. “I wish I could give you some sort of reassurance, but I know Mesner. I don’t believe he would go through the trouble of taking her just to let her get sick or die, but if he sees it as a punishment of sorts, I could see him emotionally manipulating her in the same way he tried with you.”
