Page 60 of Lexi, Property of Rhyder

So, I break the ice by saying, “Let’s get goin’. Time’s not on our side.”

Angel straightens, then smirks. “Your boy is right. Let’s do this.” He grabs the paper back from Tate and scans it again. “Girls from one to four are going with you. Make sure you get them to these addresses. Angel turns the paper to face us pointing to the addresses next to each number.

Tate nods, then says, “We have our van, we will get them there tonight.”

I hope to God that Lexi has one of those numbers because if she doesn’t and she’s still on that truck, there’s no one who’s going to be able to stop me from getting to her. I have to come up with some kind of plan if things turn to shit.

Headlights appear in the distance, and Angel states, “Showtime, boys.”

My breathing picks up, and I fight with my body to keep still. Once the truck parks in front of the bikes, I squeeze my fists beside me at my sides using all the willpower I can muster not to run to the truck and see for myself if Lexi’s in there.

Angel steps forward when the driver jumps out of his truck. They shake hands and have a discussion.

“Easy, Tiger,” Hawke says as he steps in beside me.

Hawke’s our VP and a good fucking man, one of the best. He knows what it’s like to come close to losing someone who means a whole lot to you because he almost lost Luisa when she was shot at the clubhouse when we were ambushed. Things turned out okay, though, they’re married now and have twins and are happy.

Glancing over at him, I give him a slight nod, letting him know I get it. Pulling in a breath, I calm myself as another man steps out the other side of the truck wearing camouflage gear and a shotgun over his shoulder. They head toward the back of the truck where there are another two men dressed the same. My feet are burning to move, to check if Lexi’s in the truck, but I can’t. I have to remember I can’t jeopardize this deal. There could be a lot of bloodshed if I fuck things up for us tonight, so I must keep reminding myself to keep calm. Play it cool. How I feel and my actions are two entirely different things.

Angel turns around, and he waves Tate over as he leaves us to check things out.

I go to move with him, but I’m held back when Prez places his hand on my shoulder.

Fuck!

Waiting impatiently, I bite the inside of my cheek as I watch Tate walk toward Angel. They both vanish behind the truck, and I hope to God Tate has a good memory and has the image of Lexi and Paige burned into his brain.

Time goes slow as we wait for them to show their faces again, when suddenly, Tate appears with one girl in his arm and another three held by two of the men in camouflage and Angel. The girls have a black sack over their heads, so I can’t make out their faces. Once Tate passes me, I follow behind with Prez and the other boys. We get to the back of the van, and Tracker opens the side door to let them in. The girls are carried into the van, and my hands itch to rip the black sacks off their heads to see if any of them are Lexi.

Once the girls are seated, Angel and the other two men turn around and leave us.

Angel turns to Tate, saying, “If you run into any trouble, call me. We will deal with it. We have connections all around here, including the police.”

Tate nods, saying, “Will do.”

Then Angel opens the front of his cut and takes out a folded envelope, then places it in Tate’s hand. “That’s your cut.”

Tate thanks him, opens the envelope, and his eyes widen. Then he folds it up again and places it in the back of his jeans. I know it’s all an act. If Tate didn’t show he was happy with the cash deal, Angel would know something’s up.

They shake hands.

Then Angel says, “Thanks for your help,hermano. I’ll call you next month. We might need your help again.”

“Sounds good, brother,” Tate adds.

All I can think is we need to get the fuck out of here, so I can rip off these girls’ hoods and check them.

Angel finally walks away, and once they’re out of sight, I quickly jump in the back of the van and rip off their bags. Their eyes are shut, and with the darkness, it’s hard to make out any features. I grab my phone and turn on the torch function and place it on the girls’ faces. One by one, they come into view, and when my eyes land on this one girl, I know it’s not Lexi, but I’ve got the closest thing to her. It’s her sister, Paige. I grab her face between my hands and tap her lightly on her cheek. “Paige? Paige,” I say with as much tenderness as I can in this moment.

“Is that Lexi’s sister?” Prez asks, and I look away from Paige to Prez.

“Yeah, it’s her.” My eyes look away for a moment at the faces of the other girls just in case I got it wrong and missed something, but none of these girls are Lexi. They all appear so young, it makes my skin crawl.

I pull away Paige’s hair from her face, which is stuck there obviously from her tears, and once again hold her cheeks in my hands. “Paige, where’s your sister?” Her eyes flutter open slightly, but she’s all over the place. They’ve given her sedation, and she’s still completely out of it. “Paige, where’s Lexi?” I repeat.

Her eyes open at the mention of her sister’s name, and hope fills me.

“Do you know where she is? Was she in the back of the truck with you?”

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