Page 60 of Tex's Angel

“Yeah, I did. How the hell did that happen? I thought we were protecting her.”

“We thought she’d be safe at school with so many people around. She stayed late and that stalker was outside waiting for her.”

When I see the signs that my son is about to panic, I tell him in no uncertain terms, “You’re a junior prospect for the Savage Legion now, Levi. You’ve got to hold it together while we work as a group to find her. Can y’all do that for me?”

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and get a stubborn look on his face. “Yeah, I can do that. Just promise we’re gonna find her.”

“Son we’re gonna find her alright. And when we do, whoever abducted her is gonna spend the rest of his fucking life behind bars.” Yeah, that last part was a bald face lie. I don’t like lying to my boy. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell a fourteen year old that once I get a hold of that asshole, he’s gonna wish he’d never been born.

I park up, and the moment I walk through the door Wade is all over me. “What the fuck happened? I thought you had this under control. You were supposed to be with her?”

Reaching out, I grab his shoulder. “Trust me, man, I feel exactly the same way you do. I thought she’d be safe at that school with hundreds of people around. You know how stubborn headed she can be. It was her first day back, I thought she’d just finish work on time and head back to the clubhouse.”

“So, what’s the plan?” he asks.

“The cops are on the streets looking for suspicious activity. Hopefully, they’re gonna be looking through the school’s CCTV footage and see if they can get eyes on the vehicle. We’ve eliminated you, Clara’s sister, and the father of one of the kids she made a report on. As well as the parents of the other kid, I’m planning to pay another little visit to that ex-husbandof hers. It’s a little too suspicious that she’s gone missing when their divorce is almost finalized.”

“No. You had your shot at Chris. Now, his fucking ass is mine,” Wade says.

“You sure you can handle him?”

“Not only him but I’m gonna interrogate my soon to be ex-wife and Clara’s parents as well, see if Clara ever had any trouble in the past. If there’s anyone else we need to be looking at, I’m gonna sniff him the fuck out.”

“Alright. Take a couple of prospects. Y’all never know what a man like Chris is gonna pull out of his hat.”

“Roger that, Tex. Good luck dealing with that last suspect.”

We go our separate ways, each clearly in mind what we’re gonna do. When I walk into the back of the Savage Legion clubhouse, where our huge meeting room is located, I see a multitude of men. Some are gearing up like we’re heading into war. Zen has several brothers all lined up along one table on laptops looking through CCTV footage. I know Las Salinas PD were gonna do that, but I feel much better knowing that Zen is onto it. The other club officers were all in Siege’s office making plans.

Siege startles when he sees me walk into the room. “We thought they’d taken you to the cop shop for interrogation.”

Smoke chimes in, “I was just about to go down there and threaten them into letting you go.”

“No need, brother. I know how to handle my own. The officer in charge is very clear that Clara was abducted by her stalker and her stalker is not me. I’m free as a bird. Where are we on finding the other parents she made the CPS report against? What was her name, Anabel Miller?”

Siege picks up a piece of paper from his desk. “Yeah, that was her name. Zen got us basic contact information for the parents Andrea Miller-Richards and Herman Miller. He didn’t go far, just over the county line in Marlon County, near his family. We think the father is working at a building supply company, but the mother hasn’t popped positive for employment in the state of California.”

“I want to head on out and talk to this man myself.”

Rider jumps up from his seat, as does Rigs. Siege frowns, “I guess you have two takers. I’d like to come along for the ride, but I need to stay here and coordinate the search.”

“Two will be enough,” I say while looking over the sheet Siege handed me. “Looks like he’s only a civilian with no prior military experience.”

Rigs speaks up, “I was hoping you would want to pay him a little visit.”

“Y’all better fucking believe I am not going to rest until Clara is safe, sound, and back in my bed.”

“We assumed as much,” Siege responds grimly. “The clock is ticking. We have brothers gearing up to hunt for her in this area. Since we don’t know for sure it’s Miller, I hate to pull them off assignment.”

“Don’t,” I tell him. “We’ve got this.” Refusing to spend more time talking, I head to the armory and gear up. Truth be told, I’m prepared to kill and to die to save Clara. Nothing and nobody had better get in my way. I swear to God, if he puts one mark on her body, I’m gonna make him wish he had never been born.

Within ten minutes, the three of us are on the road, our GPS pointing the way directly to Herman Miller’s house. If he’s not there, we’ll go to his place of employment and ride down to each of his relative’s houses. After reading the short synopsis Siege gave me of Herman’s life, his employment experiences, criminal history, and a vivid description of the abuse his little daughter suffered at his hands, I’m in a mood to deal out some good old fashioned justice tonight. If I come to find out he’s the one who took Clara, he ain’t gonna survive my wrath.

I roll around all the possibilities in my mind as my tires eat up the road between Las Salinas and the backwoods of Marlon County. As a former cop, I’m supposed to be a big fan of law and order, not vigilante justice. Unfortunately, official justice is thin on the ground here in this remote part of California. That means I have to do what I have to do in order to ensure this fucker doesn’t get away and circle back around to steal her away another day.

Chapter 26

Tex

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