Page 42 of Vex

“And he’s been charging you rent on your own house and payment to keep Tessie?” Gunner rumbles out.

“Yeah. Said if I didn’t, we’d have to earn the money for the club in other ways,” I tell him. The oxygen in the room disappears. I pull my eyes off of Vex’s, meet Trigger’s and then pass through the rest of the guys before stopping on Gunner’s.

“Please. I need her back. Please help her. He’ll do what he threatened to do. I don’t have much, but I can sell the house. I’ll work for free. I’ll trade places…”

“You won’t do any of those things. Grab some clothes and whatever you need for a few days. Toes will take you to the clubhouse. You stay there until we get her back. Don’t leave the compound unless it’s with one of us,” Vex orders while standing up. He pulls me up and into his arms. Cupping the back of my head, he pulls me tight. I cling to his strength and pray they can bring my little sister home.

Chapter 18

Vex

After some discussion, Cash, Pooh and I are headed toward Santa Fe. Cash is on his bike, Pooh and I in Pooh’s truck. Too many bikes coming into town would alert Rooster’s club. No cuts on any of us. Our plan is recon at this point. Find their clubhouse and see if we can get eyes on Tessie. Rex is working his magic on his computer getting us intel on the Skulls. The rest of the guys are on standby waiting to hear from us. We’ll make further plans once we find her location.

To have raised two girls that turned out like Taja and Tessie, their mother must’ve been a hell of a woman. I wish I’d have met her because I’m sure I would’ve liked her. How someone like that ended up with Rooster is beyond my comprehension, but it happens all the time. My own mother married someone not so different from Rooster. A tyrant that’s kept her cowed most of their time together. To this day, she won’t listen to a single word against him. I was a rebel from a young age and a disappointment to my dad and his plans for my life. I refused to bend to his will and be what he wanted me to be. When I couldn’t take his constant pressure anymore, I left my home state of Hawaii and have never been back. I begged my mom and younger brother Max to leave with me, but she refused. I call, keep in touch with her and Max, but she’s been angry at me since I left. Our conversations are hard and stilted. Max is an adult now, but he’s always been under Dad’s thumb. I haven’t spoken to my dad in almost a decade, and I like it that way.

Santa Fe’s about a six-hour car ride from our clubhouse outside of Denver. It doesn’t take near that long before we hit the outskirts and stop at a gas station. Cash pulls up next to my window and we go over the intel Rex has given us so far. The Spirit Skulls’ clubhouse is a rundown two-story house about two miles out of Santa Fe. An aerial shot of it shows a large hip-roof barn off to the side and fields surrounding the property. It’s not going to be easy to approach without being seen.

We drive most of the way there before hiding the bike and truck behind a small hill along the road. We split up and approach the property from different directions. We can’t get too close since it’s now daylight, but we all scout out what we can from our directions. I’m lying belly down on a small rise a few hundred yards from the barn, scoping the landscape and buildings with binoculars. There are about a dozen bikes and a few vehicles parked around the house but no movement anywhere that I can see. The windows on my side of the house are all covered with either blinds or sheets, so I can’t see in any of them. I feel my phone vibrate, and I carefully pull it out to read the text.

Pooh: Can’t see inside house. Hay mow northside guy on lookout.

Me: Armed?

Pooh: Yeah. Rifle with scope.

Cash: One on southside too. Armed. Double doors on bottom of barn.

Me: No movement anywhere that I can see

Cash: We wait for now. Stay low and still.

About an hour goes by and someone walks outside from the front of the house. Another man joins him and they stand around talking and smoking. After a few minutes, they walk to the barn and disappear inside. Two other men walk out of the barn and head directly into the house. Shift change.

Pooh: Either they’re always careful or they’re expecting blow back

Me: Maybe both

Cash: Bikes coming

I hear several bikes at the same time I read Cash’s text. I hug the ground a little harder, glad Pooh double checked us for anything shiny that might give off a reflection. His military experience makes him perfect for this kind of shit.

I watch four bikes pull up to the house, and the riders enter it as a group. Not an impressive looking group of men. Out of shape, greasy hair, dirty clothes, bikes not taken care of. Unfortunately, they’re what most people think of as bikers and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rex: Bar in town named Ike’s. Skulls hangout. Apts above it are used for pimping their girls. Trigger, Prez and others coming your way. ETA 2 hours.

Pooh: LEO’s?

Rex: Skulls control the town. Police Chief is tight with Rooster. Kickbacks most likely. Don’t count on them for help.

Cash: Support clubs? Friends?

Rex: Not that I can find. They’re not liked.

Me: Rooster own a home, property?

Rex: Haven’t found anything yet. I’ll keep digging.

Rex forwards photos of Rooster and several of the club members. I can’t see Taja or Tessie in Rooster’s face, and I’m grateful for that. Hard, dirty living has taken its toll on him, and he looks old and tired. Eyes have an evil glint and they match what we already know about him. I’m finding it hard to understand how he produced the young women that I’ve met and gotten to know. It makes me realize how powerful of an influence their mom really was on them. I thank God that she survived long enough to be that.

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