Page 27 of True Me

“Who are you talkin’ about, Son?” my dad asks me, his rough voice washing over me but bringing me no comfort as it used to in the past.

“Chad has fuckin’ Rebel! He got her when she went out to deal with the garbage that was left behind last night,” I yell into the room and right in my dad’s ear. Guilt fills me because I was in here dealing with this bullshit while she was being beaten and taken from us. Now, I’m yelling in my dad’s ear and hurting him.

“Okay. Titan, call Cash and get his ass here right now. Not sure where he had to go or what he had to do, but he needs to be here. I’m gonna call Hawk and have him see if he can track Rebel down. When did this happen, Eagle?” my dad barks out orders despite me being the Vice President of the club and the man in charge here. Right now, I’m nothing and there’s no way in hell I can take charge.

I vaguely hear my dad talking on the phone as I continue to breakdown. The need to go out and scream at every single person here who didn’t do their job last night overwhelms me as I push myself from the floor and out of my dad’s arms. At first, no one stops me as I rush from my office and toward the main floor. It’s not until Panther sees me that I’m stopped. He doesn’t know what the fuck is going on or what I need to do, but he’s preventing me from doing anything at all.

“Not now, Eagle. There are a few customers inside already and the last thing they need to do is see you rushin’ out there and losin’ your fuckin’ mind over whatever is goin’ on. We handle our things in private,” Panther says, his voice barely above a whisper as one of the strippers makes her way past me. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“He fuckin’ got his hands on her, Panther. Chad fuckin’ took her from right outside and beat the shit out of her. She was out there because no one fuckin’ did their damn job last night. If this didn’t happen, she would’ve been inside and Chad never would’ve fuckin’ taken her after beatin’ the absolute shit out of her. I’m not even sure if she’ll ever be able to walk on her ankle again with the damage he’s inflicted on her,” I roar, causing everyone in the hallway to flinch back from me in shock and fear. I couldn’t give two fucking shits about them or what’s going on in their head right now.

“Shit!” Panther says, his voice full of anger but still having nothing on what I’m feeling right now. “Where’s Cash?”

“I don’t know. He left here before she was taken from us and I don’t know if anyone’s been able to get in touch with him yet,” I inform him walking back into the office that’s now empty.

There’s still shit in here that needs to be destroyed as I slam the door behind me so hard it flies off the two hinges and hangs at an odd angle now. The only thing I leave intact as I continue to destroy my space is the monitor for the security camera and the keyboard to operate it. Everything else is destroyed as my office starts to smell like pure alcohol when I smash the bottles I keep in here for my personal use. All of my glasses are shattered on the floor and it’s a fucking mess. None of it matters to me right now. I need to get some of this shit out of my system before anyone else shows up. Especially any of the ol’ ladies. I don’t see them being brought here if anyone knows what’s going on with Rebel, but it’s always a possibility.

I don’t stop trashing my office until arms once again wrap around me. No matter how fucking hard I fight to get out of the hold, I’m not released.

“I’ve got you, Eagle,” I hear Cash say, his voice getting louder and breaking through the haze consuming me with each word he speaks. “You’re not alone and neither am I. We’re gonna get our girl back and bring her home where she belongs. I’m gonna watch what the fuck happened and we’ll go from there.”

Looking up, I see tears sliding down Cash’s face and guilt resting heavy on his shoulders. He slowly walks over to my desk and pulls up the monitors. I can’t force myself to turn around to watch him see what I did. No one needs to see that shit, but I can’t stop him from witnessing what I did. I know the exact moment he sees the end. Cash roars out in pain much like I did and I hear him drop to the floor behind my desk. Every single part of me wants to go over to give him support, but I can’t. I’m frozen in the room and I can’t focus on a single thing. I’m not seeing anything around me, hearing much of anything other than Cash losing his shit, or feel anything but the rapid beat of my heart as it continues to shatter in a million pieces every single second our girl is gone and with that asshole.

Chapter Fifteen

Cash

RIDING THROUGH TOWN, I make my way to the diner where I’ve placed an order for Rebel. She’s still having a hard time eating since her grandma’s death and Eagle and I have decided to ensure she eats several small meals throughout the day. Eagle managed to get her to eat an early lunch with Reagan and Zoey before leaving the clubhouse. He said she didn’t eat a ton of food, but she did get a few bites down. She did manage to drink her milkshake entirely though. Before today, she wasn’t even finishing her milkshakes. If there’s one thing our ol’ lady loves, it's a thick chocolate milkshake. If that’s what it takes to get something in her stomach, I’ll give her one every time we try to get her to eat. Anything to ensure our girl is healthy and not losing weight or letting her grief put her in the hospital. It’s not the best or most nutritious, but that’s okay. We’ll figure it out one way or another and get through this.

I’ve already been to Fallen Ink. I had to reschedule a client I’ve had several sessions with already to work on a complete back piece. He’s been really patient and understands how I work. I’ll sit with him for a few hours at a time before wrapping up. He gets the time to heal and then we have another session. This piece literally takes up his entire back, starts to wrap around his sides, and rounds the top of his shoulders. The bottom of it disappears in his pants which is why he wears a loose pair of shorts or sweatpants when we have a session. He doesn’t want to ruin what I’ve done and I don’t blame him. This is shaping up to be my best work so far and I love the piece he designed for me to put on his body permanently.

Parking my bike in front of the diner, I get off and head inside. The place is busy as I bypass all the tables and booths filled with customers and make my way to the counter to grab my takeout order. I’ve got the three of us dinner and we can eat at the club regardless of what’s going on when I get back. Rebel is upset about the mess and that’s only going to make her not want to eat more. She’ll put her entire focus on cleaning the place up and making sure it’s ready for when the doors open. That’s just her work ethic and something she’s had since she walked through the doors of the clubhouse with Pound. Even before she got the job behind the bar, Rebel would clean and work in the clubhouse when no one else was awake. When Pound first brought her in, Rebel didn’t sleep a lot. She had nightmares regardless of if she slept alone or if Pound joined her in bed. No matter what he tried, she wouldn’t be able to sleep a full night and we all tried to think of ways to help her without her knowing. That’s when Reaper suggested she start working behind the bar for us.

As I go to give the waitress my name, my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see Titan’s name on the screen and a sense of dread fills me.

“Order for Cash,” I tell the waitress while answering the phone. “Titan, what’s up?”

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