Page 74 of Jack

Nick is beyond exhausted if he’s admitting to possibly missing something. He’s never done that before. The club and Ariel’s Angels have grown. We may need to look into getting Nick an assistant. We can’t expect him to keep up with everything by himself.

“At 1:34 am Pacific Time this morning, a private jet landed in LA with a J. Clark on board. Joel lives in the same subdivision as his parents. I haven’t gotten into those cameras yet.” Nick taps a few keys on his laptop and turns the screen toward us. “But this is the last traffic camera before their fancy gated community.”

Jay, Rodeo, and I get closer to the screen. Dad doesn’t move. He’s already seen it. I lean back against the chair and run a hand through my hair. Joel Clark is clearly the driver of the black Mercedes in the photo.

“So you forgot to check private flights.” Rodeo releases a long breath and rubs the heel of his hand against his temple. Yeah, he’s had a really long night.

“No. I checked every flight out of Tennessee, commercial and private.” Nick points to his laptop screen. “The private plane he was on took off from Birmingham.”

I sit up straight. We can’t fault Nick for missing this. None of us thought anything about checking Alabama. There’s nothing we can do about Clark right now.

“What about the Mavericks,” I ask.

Nick pulled the camera from outside the back door of the library up again after Lily and Kayla called during Church. Joel ran out the door, through the sitting area, and off-screen. We only watched from the moment he ran out the door the first time around. No one else was there. Backing the footage up a few minutes revealed a man hiding among the decorative bushes and trees in the garden. Zooming in distorted the image to thepoint that Nick couldn't get a positive ID. Lily wasn’t wrong, though. Even from a distance, the man resembled Trace’s buddy, Buck.

“Nothing around Willow Creek. Our sources in Chattanooga say the Mavericks are celebrating Thanksgiving at their clubhouse like we are,” Dad replies.

“Should we call off the lockdown?” Worley Bird asks.

Dad stares at his desk, not looking at anything in particular. “No. It’s getting late. Everyone expects it for the night. We’ll end it in the morning if nothing happens.”

“Okay, boys. You know the drill for the night,” Worley Bird dismisses us.

My eyes land on Lily the moment I step into the Den. She’s still with Mom and laughing. I wanna soak this up for a while, but without everyone else around.

I clamp my hand on Rodeo’s shoulder. “I’m taking Lily home. Bring Kayla after things here get cleaned up. Don’t you two break my house.”

“No promises,” Rodeo grumbles as he heads toward the bar. If he starts an argument with her now, it’s Dad’s and Worley Bird’s problem.

I weave through the crowd, not letting anyone stop me to chat. These fools will talk for hours if I just say hello. I smile and toss my hand up when a brother calls out, but I don’t stop.

I put a hand on the back of Lily’s chair. I speak to all the women at her table. “Thank you, ladies, for dinner. It was amazing as always.”

Mom knows we’re leaving. She stands, and I wrap her in a hug.

“Don’t mess this up,” she whispers.

“Don’t plan on it,” I whisper back.

“You’re your father’s son. I’m no fool.”

I lightly chuckle. “Okay, Mom. I’ll try not to.”

“That’s better.” She pats my arm. My mom’s weird but in a good way.

I offer Lily my hand. “Let’s go home, angel.”

She stands and says goodbye to everyone. The sight of her hugging my mom makes me want to rub my chest. Some of Dad’s off-the-wall decisions over the years don’t seem so crazy anymore.

The ride back to the house is short, quiet, and peaceful. Like yesterday, Lily sits next to me with my arm around her. It’s fine with me if the console never lowers when she’s in my truck.

She looks down the driveway when I open the front door. “Where’s Kayla and Rodeo?”

“They’re going to help clean up. They’ll be here after.” Or they’ll destroy the clubhouse when they start bickering.

“Oh, we can help.”

“No, ma’am.” I spin her back around and walk her further into the living room. “You and I are going to relax and take it easy.”

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