Page 65 of Eagle

Lacy shut the door and met her halfway, grabbing her hands and they jumped and squealed. There were words being exchanged but if anyone could make sense of them, I’d pay them to translate, because it sounded like a foreign language.

Falcon and Hawk headed out, so I walked to them to let Lacy enjoy the moment with her friend. We all stood, watching as Lacy dragged Daisy to the car and they both climbed inside. Falcon took a step forward when she started the car but I threw my hand to his chest. “Down boy. She’s just showing her the car.”

He grunted and crossed his arms.

Hawk patted my shoulder. “She seems to be in a good mood. That the car we gave your pops from the shop?”

Nodding, I answered, “Yep. He hasn’t driven it, anyway. Not sure why he hasn’t sold it.” The car was abandoned by someone. After a while, they filed for a salvage title, showing proof of how many times they tried to contact the person who brought it in and the bill that wasn’t paid. There was some issue with the transmission that wasn’t under warranty since the car was three years old. It was low mileage and in good shape, but at the end of the day, you don’t pay, you don’t get it back.

They never turned up and a sheriff had even gone to confirm they weren’t at the residence before the title was transferred.It wasn’t unheard of for shady folks to do business at the shop. Raven gave it to Dad since he did all the work to it, tried to contact the owner, then filed the paperwork. The shop signed the title to him as soon as it came in. That was a while back and it’s been in the garage ever since.

“She staying?” Falcon asked, still standing like he was ready to chase the car if it moved.

“Not yet. Not for good anyway.”

More commotion erupted as Mama Hen, followed by some of the bunnies, hustled out to the car to greet Lacy and check out the new, shiny toy. Mama Hen gave me a wink as she passed, then beelined it to the driver’s side for a hug.

Hawk patted my shoulder again. “Alright. I’ll give you a few, but Church in half an hour,” he said as he walked back into the clubhouse.

I looked over my shoulder, then back at Falcon. “You know anything about that?”

He shook his head. “Nope. But Jackal’s here. Went to Hawk as soon as he walked in. I’d wager he’s got something.”

Looking back at the car, I gritted my teeth. Church could take a few minutes or an hour. And if Jackal found something, I’d probably be going to follow up on the lead tonight. I hoped to sway her into at least sleeping over, but until Church, I had no way to know if it would be worth it for her. I wanted her in my room–in my bed–but if she was there alone, it wouldn’t help my argument.

Falcon and I stood quietly, waiting for them to get tired of playing with the car and come inside. Slowly, the bunnies started filing back in, then Daisy, Mama Hen, and Lacy finally followed suit.

Falcon grabbed Daisy, planting a kiss on her temple. “GotChurch in a few. Why don’t you ladies go grab some drinks and catch up?”

Daisy put her hand out for Lacy, but I grabbed her first, planting a kiss on her lips. Wolf whistles sounded and there were some giggles. I didn’t care. I wanted everyone to see. “I’m sorry. I’ll try not to be long.”

She smiled up at me, cupping my cheek. “Eagle, it’s okay. I’ll be inside waiting.”She’ll wait for me.After a sweet peck on my lips, she grabbed Daisy’s hand and went inside, mentioning something about finding Mama Hen who had already gone back in.

We had a few minutes but I texted the other officers to head in, hoping if we could get started I could get back to my woman. Butch and Red both said they were still at work so I let Hawk know, but Rooster, Falcon, and I joined Jackal in sitting at the table.

Hawk paced, running his hand down his face. His normally styled dark hair fell across his forehead. Finally, he stopped and grabbed the back of his chair. “Jackal’s been keeping tabs on this Trans Am, but nothing interesting. Until he saw Scotty at Peaches N Cream.”

Hawk tipped his head to Jackal and he leaned up, folding his hands on the table. “I’ve been scouting all the clubs in the area, talking to the ladies and the bouncers. Was over at Peaches and saw Scotty.v When I saw him, I figured he’d run off, but waved me over. Said he needed to talk,” Jackal said in his gravelly voice.

I sat up. “He hasn’t reached out to me. What did he say?”

Jackal continued, “Said he was just talking to one of the girls in the private room and she was dancing for him but they were chatting. He’d been asking around about the car and that man.She said the night before on her way out, she saw one of the girls getting into the car.”

“Have they heard from her?” Falcon asked.

“Naw. And the owner didn’t seem to give a fuck, but did let me take a look at his videos. Sure enough, same car.” Jackal unclasped his hands. “He gave me her info so I rode by today and she wasn’t home. Went back to the club and she didn’t show for work again.”

“And nobody gives a shit since she’s a dancer,” I said as Lacy ran through my mind. Mama Hen would never treat her girls that way. If one didn’t show, Keys was notified immediately. As long as they were safe, she didn’t mess with them, but she’d never let them just disappear. “Didn’t Keys start tracking this guy’s phone, though?”

Hawk finally took a seat, blowing out a heavy sigh. “He did, but this guy either has a burner or a way to block the tracker.”

Jackal said, “Tracker stays at his house when the car is out sometimes. But I’ve seen him at the same time it’s tracking him in the car, too. He must be leaving it when he does business.”

“He knows he’s being followed,” Falcon said.

Hawk nodded. “I’ve already beefed up security at our club. Keys has it under constant surveillance. But something about all this doesn’t sit right.” He scratched at his short scruff. “I don’t want women being picked off, but I still think this is somehow connected to Pops. If we can crack this, I think we can find who offed him.”

We didn’t know if they were done with Raven, or if this was some sort of play at the club as a whole. If it was, any one of us could be next.

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