Page 33 of True Me

After getting dressed and bypassing my shower, I head down to the common room to find it almost completely empty. Reaper is the only one down there as I walk up to him.

“Where are you goin’?” Reaper asks me, his voice full of suspicion.

“Gotta head into Fallen Ink for a while. I’ve got paperwork and shit to catch up on and I want to make sure all of my clients have been rescheduled for the time bein’. You good with that?” I return, not sure if Reaper’s gonna agree to this excuse and that he won’t send someone with me like he did with Eagle to Entice last night.

Yes, Hawk did manage to get the tracker on Fawn’s car. I haven’t talked to him since we left and got back here. He’s excited to be able to track her after losing so many of our guys. Even losing one of the members is too many. With how often we’ve all followed others and tracked men and women over the years, this isn’t usually a hard thing for us to accomplish. Our best guys have been following her and still manage to get lost in traffic or if she disappears down some random road in town. Eagle will end up going to see his brother at some point today and find out where Fawn’s been since she left the club last night. We were also talking about whether or not he could access her phone somehow to figure out if she’s actually with Chad and Rebel or at some other random location.

“Are you sure you’re goin’ to the shop, Cash?” Reaper questions me, his voice cold as he looks at me and I know he has a feeling I’m not being honest with him.

“Of course. I’ll be at Fallen Ink to go through some stuff I need to get taken care of,” I tell him, knowing I’ll stop in there so I’m not technically lying to Reaper or anyone else. It doesn’t mean I won’t take the longest route possible in order to get to the tattoo parlor. I’ve been so cooped up that I want to get some fresh air blowing in my face and feel the sun beating down on me. Not really, but that’s how I’m going to justify this shit.

“Go. Don’t do anythin’ stupid, Cash. And don’t make me fuckin’ regret not sendin’ someone with you,” he demands as I look at him with a smile on my face until I turn and leave him sitting alone once more.

I’m not happy about doing this and not letting Eagle know what my plan is. However, if he knew I was going out on my own in search of Chad, he’d stop me. Eagle isn’t happy about not being able to go out, but he won’t go against Reaper either. So, this is on me and I don’t know what the fuck he’s going to do when I’m back and he discovers what I’ve done. Eagle will be pissed as fuck and tell me about how wrong I am for going against Reaper’s orders. We’ve had that argument before and Eagle always sides with Reaper because he’s the VP of the club and knows why the orders are in place. It’s the only reason he hasn’t gone out searching right now. However, that’s what he truly wants to do.

Getting on my bike, I straddle my baby and start the engine before putting my helmet on. After a minute, I pull out and ride through the gate surrounding the compound and head through town on my scenic route for the shop. Like I said, I’ll actually go there so I’m not lying to Reaper or anyone else. In my opinion, it won’t hurt anything to take a long ride on the way there. At least that’s what I keep trying to tell myself to justify what I’m doing right now.

Heading for the outside of town, I make my way toward the bridge where I know a ton of shady deals go down in Clinton. Pulling up two streets away from the bridge, I turn my bike off and walk the rest of the way there. The last thing I want to do is let anyone who might be under there know I’m here before I’m ready for them to see me.

When I get to the bridge, I quietly make my way down the side until I come upon a conversation taking place. Getting as close as I dare to, I crouch down and peek around the corner until I see Chad and another guy in a heated debate.

“I need more time. I told you I’m about to come into a ton of money and can easily pay double or triple what I owe you. The girl who is supposed to be signing the paperwork is having a hard time right now. She broke her wrist and I have to wait for it to heal before she can sign her actual name on the signature line. For now, I’ve got about a grand I can give you as a good will gesture,” Chad states, anger showing on his face as it turns multiple shades of red while he glares at who I’m guessing is the loan shark he’s borrowed money from.

“I’ve given you several extensions already. So far, you have failed to pay up or stuck to your side of the bargain. You’re out of chances now. You have until the end of tomorrow to pay in full or we’ll take out your mother. Once she’s taken out, we’ll come for you. For now, get your hands on the fucking money and bring it here tomorrow at noon,” the loan shark states, his voice hard and cold as I try to figure out who this asshole is.

“I can’t come up with that kind of money by noon tomorrow,” Chad says, his voice going high pitched as I try to hold in my laughter while I watch him starting to sweat and blink his eyes rapidly.

“You better. You’re done with extensions and everythin’ else you’re gonna try to get through in order for me not to break your legs or go after your mother. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that I have more than enough blackmail to ruin your father.”

“You have nothing on my father. And I will do what I can to come up with some kind of money to start to pay back the loan,” Chad says, turning to walk away from the loan shark and head in my direction.

“Don’t fucking walk away from me! We’re not done here, Chad,” the asshole yells, his voice echoing under the bridge as Chad stops walking and slowly turns to face the guy.

“I’m done. I’ve told you I’ll try to come up with some money. You’ll have to wait for the rest. I’ll make the bitch sign the papers and get them turned in today,” Chad states, his voice hard as fuck and I know today is the last day we have to get to Rebel.

Rage courses through me because I know she’s been hurt even more since being taken from us. I have no clue what else has been done to her but if this stupid fuck has managed to break her wrist, she needs to get to the hospital. Especially when she already has a horrendous ankle injury. Turning away from the conversation taking place, I hide and pull out my phone while waiting for Chad so I can follow him back to the house he’s keeping Rebel in. He won’t go anywhere else now that he’s out of time for her to sign the papers. Chad is gonna be scrambling to do what he has to in order to get Rebel’s money in his hands as soon as possible. Even I know it’s gonna take some time for everything to go through.

“Cash, what’s goin’ on?” Reaper answers his phone and I already know he’s not as oblivious as I thought he’d be.

“I found Chad. He’s meetin’ with his loan shark under the bridge on the outskirts of town. Yes, I was on my way to the shop, but wanted to take the long way there because I’ve been stuck in the clubhouse. We need to get Rebel out today. He’s gonna make her sign the papers with a broken wrist. That tells me she’s got more injuries and we need her back home with us,” I inform Reaper as he remains quiet for a few minutes and processes the information.

“I’m not gonna say anythin’ right now about this shit, Cash. What I will say is follow him. I’m not sure if Fawn is goin’ to the house or not. This way we’ll know for sure where Rebel is and we can bring her home. I’m gonna let Eagle know what’s goin’ on and have Doc here on standby,” Reaper says before hanging up the phone as I watch Chad make his way up the side of the bridge.

Ducking out of sight, I watch as Chad walks back toward the way I came from. He’s frantically looking around and I know he’s nervous as fuck. His steps quicken and I head for my bike while Chad makes his way up a little bit further and gets in a rusted out car that looks as if it’s about to fall apart. I honestly don’t even know if this is the same one Rebel was put in when he knocked her out. I don’t believe it would hold a person in the trunk if all the rust is anything to go by.

When Chad pulls away from the curb, I start my bike and follow him, leaving several car lengths between the two of us. With how pissed and nervous Chad is, I highly doubt he’ll pay enough attention to his mirrors to notice me following him, but I’m not about to take any chances. Rebel’s life is on the line and she needs to know we’re coming for her. I know it will still take time so we’re not going in blind, but this is important and we need all the details of the house and how many exits and shit there are. I also need to know how many people are at the house with him.

We make our way across town and head for the location of a few hunting cabins that no one has used in years. It’s like they’ve been forgotten somewhere along the way, the owners have moved on and forgotten all about this town and the hunting cabins they used to visit on a regular basis. Chad pulls off on a dirt road that’s long since overgrown with weeds and high grass. I’m not sure how much damage this is going to do to my bike, but I don’t give a fuck right now. What’s important is finding out exactly where Rebel is being held and getting that information back to Hawk and Reaper so we can get her the fuck away from Chad. And we can put him in one of the cells so we can torture the fuck out of him.

After following the road for at least a mile, I watch as Chad pulls up to a rundown cabin and parks the car on the side furthest away from where I’m sitting idle on my bike. Shutting the engine off, I roll it to the side and into the small group of bushes and trees where Chad won’t notice my bike sitting in the shadows. Watching him as he gets out of his car and makes his way to the front door, I take in every detail about him I can. Chad is practically racing across the porch before he slams through the front door so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t break in two.

Slowly, I move closer to the cabin and head for the windows so I can sneak around until I come to the room Rebel’s being held in. The only reason I know Rebel’s in there is because I can hear Chad screaming at her. However, I can’t see anything because it’s been boarded up from the inside and there’s no way in hell I can risk opening it from the outside and shoving the boards inside while he’s in the room with her.

“I don’t give a fuck if your wrist is broke. Pick up the fucking pen and sign the papers on the dotted line, Rebel. That money should belong to me after you put me through hell and broke up with me. Then you fucking sent that big guy over to beat the shit out of me,” Chad screams and I realize Pound took it upon himself to beat the shit out of Chad before he was killed.

Pulling out my phone, I call Reaper to let him know what I’ve found and where I’m at.

“Where are you?” Reaper questions me with a bark and I know something has pissed him off since our last conversation.

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