Page 48 of Ruthless

An MC in Sanford. I frowned, trying to think of who it could be. There were a lot of little clubs in and around the area, and I hadn't been home in a few years. There was no telling how many had come and gone. One thing I did know, though, was that Tanner would know.

"It’s a club called the Kings," Moody continued after chugging back half of his beer. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Run by someone called Wicked."

"I've heard of them." My gaze shot to Jace for an explanation. "They're mostly good at petty crimes and shit. I heard they caused some trouble here recently, got their asses handed to them on a platter for it. You said Daryl was tweaking when you saw him, desperate for money. It makes sense now if he owes someone drug money. You know as well as I do that if you owe money to an MC, they want it when it's due. They don't wait."

I thought about the situation for a minute, taking another drink. We'd spent hours hunting down and checking out the suppliers that we'd got from Jace's contact. Three lousy suppliers out of probably hundreds. It had hardly been worth the effort. Not one of them had known anything, or at least none of them had admitted to it. They hadn't heard anything either, and we'd had no reason not to believe them. Even though they weren't the most trustworthy individuals—they did, after all, steal innocent girls off the streets and sell them to be auctioned off--but if threatened with bodily harm they would give up their own mothers. Fucking cowards.

If Daryl hadn't found someone to take Ginger off his hands, then maybe he'd taken her to Wicked in the hopes that Wicked would take her as payment. I knew that some MCs would take a girl and prostitute her out to get their money back.

"Fuck." We'd been looking in the wrong places. I got to my feet.

"Where you going, brother?"

Jace's question did two things--it stopped me in my tracks, and reminded me that we had a job to do in less than two hours. Fuck! I met the solemn look in his eyes. He knew that Ginger meant something to me, although I was still trying to figure out exactly what that was. He wouldn't guilt me into staying to do the job that he'd hired me to do, we didn't roll like that. When something came up that needed immediate attention it trumped everything else. Yet we both knew that trust and brotherhood always came first. We were nomads. Our word was everything.

I let loose a loud breath."Christ." I sat back down.

"If I didn't need you I wouldn't give a fuck. It's?"

I held my hand up to stop him from saying more. "It's okay, man. I've never let pussy come between me and a job, and I'm not about to start now." Even I flinched at the callousness of my words.

Moody called me on it. "We all know that she's more than just pussy to you, brother." He held up his empty beer to get the attention of the bartender. "That's why you're torn up inside."

He was right. For the second time I thought about Tanner, and I dug out my phone, hitting his number. "Brother," I said when he answered. "Are you familiar with the Kings out of Sanford?" I'd be surprised if he wasn't.

I heard him make a pained sound. "Unfortunately. Why?"

"I just found out that the man who took Ginger might owe them drug money. Is Wicked the kind of man who'd take a woman as payment?"

Tanner snorted. "I wouldn't put anything past him. I take it you struck out this afternoon, too?"

Well, that answered my question as to whether or not he'd had any luck on the streets. "Yeah, but I think we've been looking in the wrong direction. Do you know how to find Wicked?"

"Yeah."

"Look, brother, I have a commitment I can't break. After that?"

"Yeah, I know. Say no more, we know where the Kings clubhouse is, we'll check it out for you."

"Thanks, man. I owe you. You won't be able to get in touch with me until later. You find Ginger, do whatever you have to to get her out of there."

"You got it. I'll be in touch."

I crammed my phone back into my pocket, meeting the quiet consideration in Jace and Moody's watchful eyes. "That was Tanner, president of the Sentinels."

Moody nodded. "Good man."

"Good people," Jace added.

I wasn't surprised that they knew the Sentinels or their reputation. The twelve ex-military men did a lot of good in Daytona, fighting to keep the neighborhoods safe. They were an MC who worked with law enforcement, but they'd also gained the reverence of other clubs. When you rode through Daytona, it didn't matter what caliber club you were, you showed respect by keeping shit peaceful and your nose clean.

"Tanner and I go way back. Haven't been here in years, but those kinds of friendships don't go away," I told them.

Jace nodded in understanding. "Let's hope he has better luck than we have finding your woman."

"Yeah." I ran my hand over the bottom half of my jaw, trying not to think about what Ginger might be going through.

My thoughts drifted back to four years before, and how she'd shown wisdom beyond her innocence, accepting what she couldn't change and all in the name of self-preservation. My gut warned me that she may not be that compliant this time around. She'd been on her own for a while, and she’d grown into a strong, independent woman.

This time she'd fight.

And she might lose.

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