Ride the Wind, page 4
She stepped into my room and closed the door behind her. “Uh, well, yes, that is what we agreed, but that was before Kerry went missing, and you and your friend were the last ones to see her alive.”
*
Chapter Seven
Reese
I didn’t want to be here.
I didn’t want to ever step foot in the Sons of Sin clubhouse again.
But here I was.
Desperate for help to figure out where the hell Kerry was.
Kerry had been scheduled to work at seven o’clock this morning, and she had never walked through the front door. With each hour that passed, the more and more worried I got.
I had lost count of how many times I had called her, but I knew when I had called her around one thirty, it went straight to voicemail.
Blain and I had gone to the police station the second the bakery closed, but we were met with no help at all. I had told them what had happened two days before at the party, and as soon as I had mentioned the Sons of Sin, it was like the police washed their hands of anything else I had to say.
They told us we didn’t have any proof that something had happened to her because, from the sounds of it, she had just decided to run off with Brain, and there wasn’t anything the police could do about that.
So here I was.
I needed to talk to Brain and Zig.
I knew Zig wasn’t the last last person to see Kerry, but I figured he could help me.
“What do you mean Brain and I were the last ones to see Kerry alive?” Zig demanded. “She’s your friend, darlin’.”
Yes, Kerry was my friend, but I couldn’t find a trace of her anywhere since the clubhouse party. “I know, Zig. That is why I’m trying to find out where she is. Her car isn’t where we parked it, but it’s not at her house either.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “I just told you; you were the last one to see her. The last I saw of her was when she was in Brain’s lap, and he was manhandling her.” I shuddered at the image of Brain’s hand on her ass and arm around her waist.
“I wasn’t the last one to see her, darlin’. I don’t know what to tell you other than you’re talking to the wrong guy.”
“Then get me to the right guy, Zig. Where is Brain?” I would have asked for Brain when I walked into the clubhouse, but I wasn’t sure he would even talk to me. If he had done something to Kerry, he wasn’t going to just spit it out.
I was pretty sure that Zig hadn’t done anything to her, but he might know who or what had happened to her.
Zig tipped his head to the side. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” I asked. “You guys all live in the same building. It’s like a fraternity for thirty and forty-year-olds,” I snapped. I motioned around his room. “Hell, I think that might be an insult to fraternities.”
“You just come here to accuse me of some bullshit with your friend and insult me?” he growled.
“No.” I stepped toward him. “I came here because you are the only person, I think, who can help me. I went to the police station, and the second I mentioned the Sons of Sin, they pretty much kicked me out the door.”
“That was your first mistake, darlin’.” Zig shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “You never mention an MC to the cops. Most will just look the other way or act like there isn’t anything for them to help you with.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I figured that out once I was walking back to my car with absolutely no help at all from them.” Zig was my last idea. I wasn’t sure that he really could help me, but it was worth a shot. “Just point me in the direction of Brain,” I pleaded. “I will do all of the talking. I just want to find Kerry.”
“Your friend who left you high and dry the other night?” he asked. “From where I am standing, it seems like she should just get a little tit for tat.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you would be right if I was worried about some guy just walking down the street, but this is Kerry. Not only does she work for me, but she is one of my best friends. I can’t just not do anything when she doesn’t show up for work two days in a row. Her phone is either dead or off, and there is no sign of her at her house.”
“I get you in front of Brain, and then you leave me alone, right?” he asked.
I held my hand out to him. “I swear. Get me Brain, and you’ll never hear a word from me again.” At least I hoped.
Zig growled but put his hand in mine. “Get ready, darlin’, because your ass is going to be out of my room and my life in five minutes.”
I pumped his hand and smiled wide. “Let’s hope so.”
He dropped my hand and stepped around me. “Stay here, and don’t touch anything.” He opened the door and closed it behind him.
Well, this was going much better than I thought it would.
I was happy when I was able to just walk into the clubhouse, and I was ecstatic when MW led me to Zig’s room.
Now Zig was going to bring Brain right to me.
Kerry was going to be found in no time.
I still had the feeling of dread in my stomach, but it had eased when Zig had walked out the door.
The guy was pretty grumpy for being so young, but I had not once gotten a bad, unsettling feeling about him.
I moved over to his closet and looked at his clothes.
The guy needed a little bit more variety in his life.
Black, blue, and gray shirts along with about ten pairs of medium wash jeans.
I mean, I guess he did always look good the two times I saw him, but would a little more color hurt?
Five minutes later, I jumped when the door opened, and Zig stood there.
“Well?” I asked. “Is he coming in here, or do I have to go to him?” I wasn’t into playing any games. I just wanted to know where the hell Kerry was.
“You’re gonna have to go to him if you want to talk, but I don’t think he’s going to have anything to say to you.”
“What?” I snapped. “That is some major bullcrap, Zig. He just needs to tell me where Kerry is, and I’ll leave.”
Zig glanced over his shoulder and then stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him and ran his fingers through his hair. “He can’t tell you where she is, Reese, because I just walked into his room, and he’s got a bullet right between his eyes.”
*
Chapter Eight
Zig
“What?” Reese screamed. She clamped her hand over her mouth, and her eyes bugged out. “Kerry?” she whispered.
I shook my head. “She wasn’t with him.”
“Oh my god, Zig. Brain is dead?”
I was pretty fucking shocked, too. I had barged into his room, ready to yell at him for getting me tangled up with his bullshit, but the words had died on my tongue when I saw he was very much dead. “Yeah, darlin’. Brain is very much dead.”
I stumbled out of his room and backed right into Moose, who had been walking past. He didn’t believe me when I told him, but he sure did when he laid eyes on Brain’s lifeless body.
“Oh my god,” she gasped again. She pressed her hand to her forehead and paced back and forth in front of the closet.
Oh my god was right.
“If Brain is dead, then where in the heck is Kerry?” she wondered out loud. “Oh my god,” she wheezed out and fanned her face with her hands frantically. “OH MY GOD!”
“Reese,” I shouted.
She kept pacing back and forth as she blinked rapidly.
Jesus. Reese was not the person to have around in a crisis, it seemed.
“Woman,” I growled. I stood in front of her and firmly grabbed her shoulders. “Look at me,” I called.
She tipped her head back, and her eyes hit mine. “Oh my god,” she whispered.
“You need to calm down, darlin’.”
“Kerry is dead!” she wailed.
Oh lord, Reese was about to go off the deep end. “No, we don’t know that, darlin’. All we know is that Brain is dead.”
“But Kerry was with him,” she reasoned. Her eyes bugged out. “She didn’t do this! Kerry did not kill Brain,” she shouted. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
I placed my hand over her mouth and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “The thought didn’t even cross my mind, Reese, but if you shout that, you might give some people thinking she might have.”
Her eyes bugged out even more, and she shook her head.
“You gotta chill out, okay?” I whispered. I didn’t for a second think that Kerry had killed Brain. The guy was a part of an MC, and I knew that always put a target on your back. I barely knew what the Sons of Sin were into, but I would bet my bike that they weren’t on the up and up.
She blinked rapidly and nodded.
“Take a deep breath,” I ordered.
She breathed deep, and her shoulders sagged.
“I don’t know where your girl is, Reese, but I know she didn’t kill Brain. I saw him yesterday after the party.”
Her eyes lit up, and she pulled back from my hand. “Was Kerry with him?”
I shook my head. “No, he was by himself. He was talking to MW by the bar.” I hadn’t talked to him, but I knew that he was very much alive, and Kerry hadn’t been with him.
“So where was Kerry?”
Reese was just going around in a circle. “I don’t know, darlin’. I’m not her keeper.”
“Well, neither am I,” she growled.
“Then why the hell are you walking into a motorcycle club looking for her?”
She huffed and stepped back from me. “Because I’m a good friend who is worried about her. It’s not like her to miss one day of work, let alone three.”
“I believe you are a good friend to her, but I don’t know if the roles were reversed if she would be looking for you. She did leave you sleeping while she ran off with Brain.”
“Who cares? Do you only do things for people because they can do things for you?” she shook her head. “How about just doing things because it’s the right thing to do?”
“You’re right, darlin’.”
“You’re just going to agree with me that quickly?” she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “You make sense. For the most part.”
She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. “Then help me figure out where the heck Kerry is.”
“Maybe in Brain’s closet?” I suggested.
“You think so?” she gasped.
Jesus. “Uh, no, I was just being a smartass. I’m pretty sure the guys cleared the room before the cops came in.”
“The cops are here?” she gasped.
I was kind of surprised Ram had called the cops, too, but also not really. Hell, Greta had hooked up with a bounty hunter, and Luna was shacking up with a detective. Ram calling the cops was nothing compared to that shit.
“They are on the way. Ram was calling them when I headed back here.”
“Do you need to be doing something?” she asked.
I looked around my room. “Uh, like?”
She rolled her eyes and motioned to me. “Something MC-ish.”
I clamped my lips and tipped my head to the side. “What would something MC-ish be?” I wasn’t ready for what she said.
“Hide some stash or maybe even get some money.”
“Get some money?”
She flitted her hand at me. “You know. Money to pay off the cops if they try to take one of you guys’ in.”
“You watch Sons of Anarchy, darlin’?” I asked.
She wrinkled her brow. “I mean, yeah. Who hasn’t seen an episode or two.”
“That would be my ass.” I had heard about the show but never watched an episode. I lived the life; I didn’t need to spend my free time watching it on TV.
Her jaw dropped. “You haven’t seen Sons of Anarchy? You are legit Jax Teller in real life.”
I shook my head. “No fucking clue what you just said.”
She pursed her lips to the side. “You don’t seem the type to be into Jax, so never mind. And honestly, I need to focus on Kerry.”
“Well, I tried to help you, darlin’, but the only lead I have is dead. Maybe try going to the cops.”
“I did, and they said there wasn’t anything they could do because she is a grown woman who can do whatever she wants.”
“And they probably think there is no sign of foul play.”
Reese nodded. “Yes. Kerry, her purse, and her car are all gone. They said maybe she just got tired of living here and hopped in her car.”
“And rode off into the sunset?” I guessed.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
I didn’t know how much more I could help her. “Maybe you can talk to them now and tell them one of the last people she was with just wound-up dead.”
A knock sounded on the door. Reese clutched her hand to her chest and stepped behind me.
“You hiding?” I laughed.
She put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s the cops.”
“You psychic or something?” I chuckled. It was probably one of the guys wanting me to clean the blood stain off the wall once they took Brain out.
I turned to the door, and Reese stuck to my back. I shook my head and pulled open the door.
“They said I would find you down here.”
You had to be fucking kidding me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled.
Ransom smirked. “Got a call from one of the detectives, and they asked me if I could help them out for a couple of days.” He pushed into my room, and I stepped to the side. Reese stayed behind me, and I felt the heat of her body against my back.
“And I bet you shit a rainbow when you heard the call go out for Sons of Sin,” I growled.
Ransom shrugged and moved over to the open closet. “Not really. The call was 10-54. I was afraid I was going to be looking at your dead ass.” He turned his eyes on me and tipped his head to the side. “But I can see you’re not dead,” he stepped to the side, “and neither is the body attached to you.”
Reese peeked around me and waved. “Hey. Do you two know each other?” She slapped my shoulder. “See, this is when you might need to bribe him or something.”
Dear god.
Ransom raised his eyebrow. “Bribe?”
I pulled Reese from out behind me. “I’m not bribing anyone, woman.”
She brushed her hands down her shirt and grumbled. “Don’t call me woman. I was just thinking out loud.”
“Then you need to stop thinking out loud if those are the damn thoughts you have.”
Ransom put his hands in his pockets. “You want me to give you two a minute?”
I wanted Ransom out of my room, and hell, Reese could follow right behind him. I didn’t want anything to do with Ransom, and I knew I did not want to be a part of the strange shit that Reese was about to dive into to find her friend. “No. You can get out of my room and take Reese with you. You can help her more than I can.”
That had Ransom’s interest piqued. “Help her?”
“My Kerry is missing, and Brain is dead.”
He tipped his head to the side. “You don’t happen to be friends with Luna or Greta, do you?”
“Uh,” Reese murmured. “I don’t know who either of those people is. Should I?”
Ransom glanced at me. “It’s fucking uncanny how much she reminds me of Luna and Greta. Hell, maybe even Meg.”
“Her friend is missing, and one of the last people to have seen her is dead down the hallway.”
“Your friend is Kerry, and that guy's name is Brain?” Ransom clarified.
“Ding, ding,” Reese laughed. “You figured it out even though I forgot a few words.” Reese sighed. “Words are hard.”
Ransom stepped back and blew out a breath. “This was Meg twenty years ago, man.”
He wasn’t wrong. “Ask her what she does for a living.”
A smirk spread across Ransom’s mouth. “What do you do?”
Reese looked from me to Ransom. “Uh, well, I own Layers Bakery downtown. I do a little bit of everything, but cake decorating is my jam.”
“God damn,” Ransom laughed. “You are Meg.”
I got that vibe from her right a way. I hadn’t really thought about it until Ransom said it out loud.
Reese raised her hand. “Who is Meg, and is it a good thing that I remind you two of her so much?”
“It’s good,” Ransom and I replied in unison.
It was a good thing. Meg was a nut, but she was a damn good woman.
“Well, I guess that’s good then, though I don’t really know how you think I am Meg when you don’t even know me.” Reese looked at me. “You don’t even really know me,” she insisted.
“You don’t really know her, but she’s here?” Ransom asked. “Damn, you Devil’s Knights kids move fucking quick. I was with Luna for years before she gave me the time of day.” Ransom smirked. “Though she was giving me her time at night.”
“Oh,” Reese laughed. “She was just a hookup?”
“No,” I bellowed. I did not want to hear one more word from Ransom. Not about how he had been hooking up Luna. Luna was like a sister to me, and as far as I was concerned, she was a nun who never had sex and never would. “I don’t want to hear another word about Luna and Ransom hooking up.”
“Were you hooking up with Luna, too, and this guy was the better guy?” Reese asked.
Ransom doubled over laughing. “Oh god,” he wheezed. “Luna is going to piss her pants when I tell her about this.”
I glared down at Reese. “Luna is my cousin.”
“Oh,” Reese drawled, and her cheeks flushed red. “Now I get it.”
“This is great. I wish I had called Bear to come with me. He’d be laughing his ass off, too.” Ransom sighed and wiped a finger under his eye. “Fucking hilarious.”
“Shouldn't you be in Brain’s room trying to figure out why he has a bullet between his eyes?” I growled. If he was here to work, then he needed to get his ass out of my room.
Ransom shrugged. “I was in there. We’re waiting on the ME. I figured I would see if I could find your dumbass.”
