Page 154 of Patching Over

“What do you mean, Lah?” he asks.

“They’re in Seven Points,” she replies.

“They’re hiding in our backyard!” Butcher roars.

“This faction is. But they’re also hiding in other chapters' vicinities too,” she states.

“Whose?” Banshee asks, walking up to her.

“Yours,” she answers. “They’ve taken up residence in Lynchburg.”

“Shit. That’s right down the road.” Phantom whistles. “Ban, you need to call Brick so he can be advised and tell him to let Hawg know as well. We’ve got some rats to exterminate once we’re finally back home.”

“On it,” Banshee replies, pulling out his phone before walking out of the room since the noise level hasn’t abated.

“Which place are they keeping Moira at?” I ask.

“The same place as Hannah,” she says, now sobbing.

“Where, baby?” Butcher questions, kneeling down next to her, grabbing her hands with his. “Tell us where we’re going, Lah. Where’s our girl?”

“Seven Points. They’re both there, Butcher. We have to go get them.”

“We will, baby girl. Pack up your laptop, Lah, and I’ll go gather our things.” As soon as Butcher hands out those instructions, Selah quickly shuts down and begins storing everything in her bag.

We’ve been on the road for hours, most of it silent as we’re all lost in our thoughts about what’s to come. This bunch of pussies has apparently infiltrated areas where the Bastards are located and that just won’t stand. No woman or child should ever fear being held in captivity for any reason whatsoever, and I know there are other chapters who are heavily involved in taking down various trafficking pipelines. There are some sick motherfuckers out there, yetwe’recalled the outlaws. Guess because we don’t wear suits and ties, we’re less than in their eyes, but fuck that! I’d pit any of my brothers in any chapter against those pussies—they may be loud and rowdy, but they’re loyal, honorable, and stand against those who hurt those who are weaker, like women and children.

Not that women are weak, per se. I mean, they push a baby out of their pussy, for fuck’s sake! But in terms of physical strength, even those who are military trained are not as strongas a man. It’s physiologically impossible, although they can learn ways to protect themselves. Again, that’s not something they should even have to worry about, they should be able to go out and run without fear of being abducted or go out with friends at night without being bothered by men or worse, being maligned when they refuse to allow said men to buy them drinks or dance with them.

“How much longer do we have until we make it back?” Selah asks Butcher, breaking the silence.

I tune in because I’ve never been this far in my life. The scenery has been interesting, although the number of cars on the road has me glad I’m not riding by myself. Roanoke born and bred, that’s me and most of my brothers, although Banshee was out in Texas not too long ago. In fact, he stayed at the Cedar Creek clubhouse if memory serves.

“Six hours, give or take,” he answers. “We’ll be pulling over for fuel shortly. Dragon’s waiting on us so we can put together a successful plan of attack. We need more brothers at our backs for an operation of this magnitude. We’re going to send out scouts to scope the property and give us an idea of the security risk we’ll be facing when we go charging in.”

“Having numbers on our side is a good idea,” she says. “I’ll get into their feeds when we get home, and depending on where they’ve situated the cameras, I can get a lay of the land and give you the blueprints of the outer perimeter of their land as well as the floor plan inside of the building. I’ll also break into their system and get their switch of guards schedule.”

“Let Beast and Hawg help you, Lah. You have two girls at home that I know you’re missing. Take a few minutes for yourself, spend some time with Amelia and Faye. I swear we won’t make a move without you,” Butcher says.

I agree with him. More than anyone else, I’m aware that time is of the essence, but while we plot and plan, she can see her other daughters for a little bit.

“You can’t go without me no matter what, Butcher. They’re notorious for changing the security codes randomly. I’m the only one who can get past their firewalls and shut their shit down,” she retorts.

I snort, because she has what I’ve come to know as her sassy voice going, and that one means she won’t take any shit from any of us, including her old man.

“And for shits and giggles, that’s not something you can do from the clubhouse?” Butcher asks.

“It’s not possible. The signal doesn’t stretch out that far. It has to be done onsite. I wish I could explain to you the way it works, but it’s very technical and confusing to describe. I have to hook my computer up to their wiring from the outside of the property, otherwise, you could alert them before y’all are ready for them to know you’re there,” she explains.

I’m lost again, but I’m positive Hawg would understand her perfectly.

“Again, this is a theoretical question, but Beast couldn’t do it in your place? He’s our tech guy, and he’s good at what he does, Selah,” Butcher argues. He sounds frustrated and I get it, because I know once we find Moira, I may be hard pressed to let her out of my sight.

“I know he’s good, Butcher. I’ve worked with him, but I’m the one who designed the program and am the only one who can break it down fast enough to go undetected. I know you’re worried about me being in the middle of this since it’s going to be dangerous, but I promise to listen to you and do exactly as you tell me to do. I won’t unnecessarily put myself in the line of fire,” she pleads.

“See. It’s that ‘unnecessarily’ part that has me the most concerned, baby girl. But if you swear to listen to me and do what I tell you to do, I’ll stop nagging you,” Butcher replies.

I suspect if he thought he could get away with it, he’d try to have us leave without her. But we need her along for this ride. That doesn’t mean we won’t protect her with everything we have because she’s an ol’ lady.

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