Page 129 of Break Out

There were many things I wanted to say to that, but I wouldn’t disparage Deb in front of him.

“I’m not the person to help her there. She blames me for many things that I didn’t do or couldn’t control.”

Jordan looked around the room, his expression saying he couldn’t argue with that. He locked eyes with me. “Maybe you can point me in the right direction to help her.”

I mulled it over. “You’ll be better off to encourage her to see someone for help if you’re concerned. And make it clear this is coming from you. She loves you very much. You bring me into this and… she’s more likely to dig in her heels.”

He nodded and stood. “Right. I’ll, uh, let you get back.”

I walked him out to the common room when Rafferty stormed in through the front door.

Everyone turned to him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

His eyes darted to Jordan and then to me. “A prospect is out cold, by the gate. Wasn’t sure if you knew about it.”

Tie darted out of the room and upstairs to check security cameras. Greco went to the rack of bats by the door, grabbed one, and shoved outside.

Torque sauntered toward me. “Why should we believe you didn’t have something to do with it?”

Rafferty aimed a dead-eyed stare at Torque. “Because forty-five minutes ago I was getting a speeding ticket from one of Augusta’s finest.”

“Speed trap on US 25?” Jordan asked.

Rafferty lifted his chin, then looked at me. “Is Simone here?”

I opened my mouth to says she was, but a bad feeling hit me. I knew when my instinct was trying to tell me something. “Let me check.”

I turned on my heel and hurried to my room. The bathroom door was open, and I saw Simone’s toiletry bag next to her suitcase by the wall. As quiet as the room was, I knew she wasn’t there. The deadbolt on the side-door exit was unlocked. I shoved the door open and stopped four feet from the clubhouse. Everything was too quiet. The hot tub had a cover on top of it.

My gaze traveled down the slope of the back lawn. By the fire pit, something seemed wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I ran down there. The mixture of dirt and trampled grass seemed more torn up than usual. I straightened and stared at the bikes and vehicles parked in the back. I recognized everyone’s – even Rafferty’s. My truck was still where I’d left it, so she hadn’t driven off on her own.

My gut said someone had to have taken her. Anger surged through me, but I had to keep a lock on it. Hot-headed reactions weren’t going to help me now. I hung my head as visions of her ran through my mind.

I focused on my boots, and noticed a small glass bottle. Only, when I stepped closer, I saw it wasn’t a bottle, but a vial. The label indicated it was Ketamine. We dealt drugs, but we stayed away from things like Ketamine because it was so heavily regulated and getting access to it normally required breaking into a pharmacy or veterinarian’s office. That didn’t mean other members didn’t use it every so often.

Yet, this vial still had a fair amount in it. Someone who took the risk of scoring Special K wouldn’t lose it or drop it randomly.

But someone struggling with a woman like Simone probably wouldn’t realize they’d dropped it.

I turned toward the clubhouse to yell for Torque just as Rafferty ran to me.

“You find any sign of her? Did she drive her SUV up today?”

I clenched my jaw and shook my head. “No, took my truck, which is still here. Go get Torque and Greco. I found this vial of Ketamine. Whoever took her, probably used this to knock her out.”

Rafferty’s eyes went wide. “What? She’s pregnant… what the hell is that gonna do to her and the baby?”

“Fuck if I know. Go get Torque and Greco, tell Tie to review the security feeds, then you can check WebMD to find out.”

If anything happened to Simone… I couldn’t even stomach the thought. I’d find Knuckles, then kill all of his men in front of him. Then I’d burn him alive and feel no remorse.

I sure hoped my kid liked orange because they would have to visit me in jail.

Torque and Greco ran down the backyard with Jordan on their heels.

I started up the slope and met them half-way. “Jordan, you need to leave.”

---