Page 56 of Pigeon

“No, cockiness is, so to speak. And stupidity as it usually is,” Petey states with a booming laugh.

“Afraid to say this, but Horse is going to hate me even more when he finds out that Lucky’s the horse the kids will be learning to ride on. Difference will be, the kids will take advice and listen,” Ivy says.

Our phones all ping at the same time with an incoming text from Gunner.

Gunner: James said they didn’t find anything out at work. Chubs’ phone was lying next to his bike, smashed. Bike was parked along the highway, keys still in it. No blood, no tire marks. If there was a struggle, it wasn’t much of one. His cut wasn’t there though. Gun in his saddlebags was still there. Church at 8am tomorrow. Pigeon stays at the ranch with Ivy. We’ll put him on speaker during church.

Petey: How’d Lucy take it?

Gunner: Hard to tell. She listened to what we found, face went red and she went silent. Asked to be dropped at the bakery and Trudy said she went directly to the apartment and hasn’t come out since. Won’t answer the door or her phone. Bailey’s on her way there now.

Cash: Where do we go from here?

Gunner: Fuck if I know.

The guys eat quickly, say their goodbyes, and leave. Horse remains asleep, occasionally whimpering, on the couch. Ivy makes coffee, and we take our cups to the deck to relax.

“Any sign of your brother today?” I ask.

“No, never showed. Look, I know your club has things happening with Chubs, so I’m fine here if you want to head to town to help. Horse is here, and while he currently wishes evil to fall upon me, he’d never let anything bad actually happen. Raking the hay is the easy part, and I can still call my neighbors for help if I need it,” Ivy says.

“They need me, they’ll call. Problem is that we’re not sure where to start looking for him. There’s no reason that any of us knows of for him to have been where he was.”

“I like him. The kids all rave about him. I don’t know him as well as you do, but is he the type that would walk away from his woman that easily?” Ivy asks.

“No, he’s not. Not at all. If he’s missing because he wants to be, then that was a hard decision for him to make, and he’d only do it to protect someone. The club or Lucy, I’d guess, but I don’t know for sure. If he didn’t choose to leave, then someone’s snatched him up for some reason I don’t know anything about. Not sure anyone does. Rex probably has the best chance of any of us to finding something, though. Hopefully, we’ll know something by tomorrow morning.”

Sitting on the deck, sipping coffee, and looking over the peaceful ranch, my mind won’t stop replaying the conversation I had with him when he told me if anything happened to take care of Lucy. Chubs knew, and several of us suspected, that things were about to go sideways for him. But what?

With the guys’ help, haying is done for now. Ted’s popped up a few times before leaving again. A few sarcastic comments to Ivy are the worst he’s accomplished, and like the coward he is, those were only made when he didn’t think I’d hear him. After he and I had a conversation about his attitude toward Ivy, he’s kept his mouth shut. Surprisingly, he’s helped around the ranch a little, even though he chooses what he wants to do and not necessarily what needs to be done.

Horse recovered enough by morning to ride back to town but not before he apologized to Ivy. She brushed it off good-naturedly and then laughed her ass off when Horse very gingerly set his on his bike.

The search for Chubs has gotten us nowhere, and everyone is on edge. Ivy’s back to work at the rescue tonight, so we’ll be back to commuting between the ranch and town, but at least that way, I’ll be able to help give Rex a much-needed break.

Taja and Ava’s pregnancies are progressing without problems. The kids are bugging the adults constantly about their riding lessons that have been put on hold. Ava has been uncharacteristically moody and quick-tempered since Chubs disappeared. Lucy has been angry but silent. Gunner has spent a considerable amount of time trying to get Lucy to tell him any little thing she might know about Chubs, but to no avail. After the last conversation, Gunner walked out of his office while Lucy stormed out and admitted that he was a little afraid of the tiny woman. While we all laughed and teased him. Not one of us offered to take his place.

Walking into the security building, I stop in the doorway to Rex’s office. It’s a mess with fast food bags tossed everywhere, empty water and pop bottles, and the garbage can overflowing. Rex has the side of his face resting on his desk, one hand still on the keyboard, the other hanging toward the floor. He’s sound asleep while still sitting at his computer.

I walk to the supply closet and retrieve some garbage bags. Using my phone, I order two meals, including drinks, from a nice restaurant nearby and then return to Rex’s office. Working quickly but quietly, I empty his garbage can and bag up the trash lying around. After returning his office to its normal state, I walk to the main door to retrieve our dinner from the delivery guy, then return to his office.

Setting the food out on the small table, I wake him and point to our meals. Without speaking, Rex stands, walks to the table, and takes a seat. Sitting across from him, I watch as his eyes glaze over before he shakes his head hard and finally appears to be aware of his surroundings.

“This smells amazing,” he mumbles while opening the various containers.

I take a minute to study Rex. Being the best tech guy any of us have ever came across, the club leans heavily on him for more things than I can count. Rex is a genius when it comes to anything in the computer field and technology, but he never knows when to step back and take a break.

As a teenager, Rex got in trouble with the authorities on numerous occasions for hacking into things he shouldn’t have been able to hack. Sometimes, he would hack a secure system just for practice and the thrill of outsmarting others. Other times, he hacked to benefit someone he cared about. That type of hacking motivates him more than anything else and how he eventually made his way into the club.

Meeting Axel while both were in jail, a friendship developed. Axel was doing seven days for not being faster than Gunner and getting caught by the cops while Gunner got away. Axel refused to give up the name of his accomplice, so the judge gave him a few days to “think over his decision making.” Instead of pondering his criminal behavior, he met Rex.

Rex was doing a few weeks for getting caught trying to hack into the college of his choice and to give himself a full-ride scholarship. What the two young men learned from their time in jail was simple and, no doubt, the opposite of what the judge intended. Rex learned to cover his tracks while using the black web, and Axel learned to commit his future bullshit crimes with someone slower on their feet than him. Axel brought Rex to the club, and he’s been here ever since.

“You look like shit, brother,” I say.

“Thanks for the honesty. It’s why you’re my favorite,” he answers while shoveling food into his mouth.

Hair standing on end, several days’ worth of scruff covering the lower half of his face, and a wrinkled shirt, I know he’s been working nonstop on finding Chubs.

---