Page 163 of Outlaws of Tulsa

“Then what happened?” I urge Calla. “Tell us.”

Her teary eyes find mine. “I got a knock on my door from one of the other girls this morning saying there was a guy looking for me and was waiting for me at the front desk of our building.They wouldn’t let him up because we’re not supposed to have guys in the dorm. It was the same guy from the night before. He gave me sketchy vibes. I called Cove and he didn’t answer. I just knew. They took him and they were back to take me. As fast as I could, I packed a bag and slipped out the back. I came straight here. You have to believe me!”

“What did he look like?” Both Stormy and I ask at the same time.

“Mexican guy. I don’t know. Fancy suit. Lots of jewelry. Definitely smarmy. I knew something was wrong with him.” She sobs. “Oh God, I should have forced Cove to leave with me!”

“Shh,” Stormy says, pulling her to her chest and hugging her. “It’s not your fault. We’re going to find him.”

Fuck.

Something about this feels too personal. Too calculated. Of all the college kids to go after, they chose Stormy’s damn siblings. I need to talk to my brother.

I excuse myself from the room and dial Dan first because this is too big for a bunch of bikers who haven’t been able to do shit thus far.

“Retirement already boring you?” he asks in greeting, amusement in his voice.

“Collins and Vidal. You found anything on them?” I demand, heading straight for my office to power up my computer.

“What? Uh, no, man. Not yet. What’s wrong?”

“This is complicated to explain…” I sigh heavily.

“Try,” Dan urges.

“So you know those missing person reports?” He grunts out a yes, so I continue. “One of the guys I know wasn’t on the list, but after some digging, I found out he also went missing around that time. I’ve come to believe he knows Vidal and Collins.”

“Bring him in so we can question him,” Dan says as if I hadn’t already thought of that fucking idea.

“He’s not exactly the talkative type.” After Dragon bursting out of Church a few weeks ago when I was sure he knew Collins and Vidal, and after I’d patched in, I told Koyn we needed to pry the information out of Dragon. No more bullshit. For once, my brother listened. Problem was, Dragon flipped his shit and told Koyn if there was something pertinent he needed knowing, he’d tell him, but he was not going to discuss how he knew them. It was weird as fuck. But, having been in my position for so long, I recognized it for what it was. Fear. “We can’t question him,” I utter. “But that’s not the point of this conversation. The point is, the tentacles of those bastards is far reaching. And it’s a web that’s connecting too much for my liking.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you know of Brenda Gale?”

He taps on his computer for a second. “Hmmm. Looks to be an agent from Alabama put on administrative leave who then went rogue. You think they got her too?”

“I think they tried,” I say slowly. “She managed to evade them last year before she went into hiding.”

“This the same agent who gave you intel a while back?”

A heavy sigh. “Yeah.”

“Fuck, Jeremy. What have you gotten yourself involved in?”

“Something messy and somehow it ties to this case. The reason Agent Gale got put on administrative leave is because she was looking for her missing friend who’d been in contact with these guys. Came all the way from Montgomery, Alabama, to Tulsa sniffing out this lead.” I pause, wondering how much I should tell him. Dan is my boss, but he’s also been my friend for years. Fuck. “I…”

“Am a Royal Bastard?”

I nearly choke on my tongue. “W-What?”

“Give me some credit, man. I’m not where I’m at from being stupid. Ever since that anonymous call, I’ve been looking to seewhat the hell is going down. Between your pulling away and that call, I needed to see what you were involved in,” he grumbles. “A goddamn motorcycle gang. Most guys just take up golf in retirement.”

“You know I can’t handle that shit,” I growl. “I’ve spent a long time looking for the monsters who killed my brother’s family. Makes you jaded after a while. Golf isn’t for me. The open road is.” I pause and sigh. “I’m dirty.”

“Hell, Jeremy, most good guys are. The ones who get tired of letting the bad motherfuckers win all the time. Some of us only wish we had the balls to do what’s necessary. You think I got this job because I wanted to wade through red tape and watch criminals continue their bullshit with no recourse? The answer is, I wanted to get the bad guys. Just like you.”

Relief floods through me. I worried about telling Dan, but I’m reassured by his words. He’s a good friend.

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