Page 58 of Tusk's Fury

We simmer down, and Zen launches into what he’s discovered. “This Silas Harper is just bad news all the way around. He’s from a family of hard-money lenders. They target religious organizations. I think he promised to turn Brittany’s old church into a megachurch, and that’s why they put him in charge. He’s known as Bishop Harper now.”

I jump into the conversation. “Brittany said he made her father a deacon in exchange for leveraging her into marrying Harper. But she ran instead.”

Rigs states in a monotone, “He’s sounding more and more like a dead man the longer you talk about him.”

Zen picks back up with his report. “Harper has been sending out flyers to every fundamentalist Mormon church regularly with her image and asking for help finding his Eve. He kept her search going for years and used it as a way to fundraise.”

“What the fuck is an Eve?” Dutch asks.

Zen explains, “Brittany thought it was some kind of religious reference he was using to build an image for himself. She said that if he could force her back into the church, his followers would see him as some kind of forgiving shepherd, protecting his flock and saving souls. Bringing fallen women back into God’s grace makes him seem powerful and charismatic.”

I tell them, “That’s the part that doesn’t make any sense to me. I can’t see a fundamentalist religious fanatic being interested in marrying a woman who spent five years as a club girl, hooked up with a biker, and ended up having his baby. I think he just wants to get revenge on her for rejecting him by coming up with some kind of humiliating punishment that she might or might not end up surviving.”

Everyone turns to Rigs, who used to be a chaplain. Siege asks, “As a man of God, which scenario is more likely in your opinion?”

“I’d like to say that Brittany thinking they want to save her soul is the more likely of the two, but I’ve seen religious zealots in action before. I wasn’t able to talk any kind of sense into them. They’re not like regular God-fearing Christians. So, I’m gonna have to agree with Tusk. I think she’s in danger of some kind of harsh punishment.”

Zen continues, “Harper was easy enough to track down. He was right where Brittany said he would be, at her old church, which is now a megachurch—maybe not as lucrative as some, but still a nice little earner for him. He was all over the local news sites, attending conventions, and serving on the mayor’s task force on lewd and improper behavior.”

“Like fucking kidnapping a woman isn’t improper behavior,” I mutter under my breath.

“Here’s the thing that threw me for a loop. Since the night those two idiots in Alaska tried to grab Brittany, Harper has been missing in action. No more sermons at his church, no more public appearances with the mayor, nothing. It’s like he dropped off the face of the earth.”

Siege frowns, “I thought you said we had actionable intel on where to find this guy.”

“It’s not the best intel, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Spit it out, so I can track this fucker down and beat the shit outta him.”

Zen tugs at the collar of his shirt. “I tracked his phone, and you’re not gonna believe where his last known location turned out to be.” Looking around from one to the other of us, he drops the bomb. “The last known location was at one of the most vicious one-percent MCs in the tri-state area. He’s with the Sons of Rage.’”

Shock rolls through my body. “He must have known we were coming for him, so he hired a one-percent club to protect him. You know, fight fire with fire. You gotta know he’s rolling in the money from that megachurch of his.” My hands ball into tight fists. “He’s still dead meat.”

Siege’s eyes narrow. “Here’s the plan. The Sons of Rage, being a one-percent club, only value one thing, and that’s money. And if there’s one thing shady men love, it’s cash. I say we find out where he keeps his cash, because a low life fucker like that is gonna have stacks of Benjamins in a safe or under his fucking bed, in case he needs to do a runner. We take his cash and use the money and other valuables we find to buy him from them. Then we’ll deal out the kind of club justice that we usually try to avoid.”

Rigs gapes at him. “You just came up with all that off the top of your head?”

Siege nods, his expression turning stormy. “It’ll work. I’m sure of it.”

I speak up because I’m raring to go. “Unless I hear a better plan, I’m all in.”

When we don’t hear any objections, I ask, “So are we headed to Utah tonight?”

Siege’s voice turns hard. “There ain’t no time like the present. Gear up. We leave in thirty minutes.”

Out come all the cell phones as we text our people and let them know we won’t be coming home—maybe for a few days. I wanted to call Brittany and tell her we were going after him, but I know she’s sleeping so I send a text instead.

Tex comes up to me. “How are you holding up, brother?”

“So far, so good,” I say. “I finally put Brittany in my property cut, and the only thing standing between me and a good life with my old lady is this Harper fucker. At first, I was thinking of giving him a good beatdown, but if any brothers get hurt wrangling him away from the Sons of Rage, I’m just going to tie him up like any other loose end.”

“Well, being a former law enforcement officer, I’m not a big fan of vigilante justice, but this might end up being an exception. We’ll just have to see how it all pans out.”

We continue to talk as we gear up and then head out to our motorcycles. It’s good to be back on my bike after being in a cage. My SUV is nice, but nothing beats riding the open road on my Harley.

***

The ride takes nearly twelve hours over two days, to get from Las Salinas to Cedar City, Utah. We arrive in the late afternoon, book a block of hotel rooms, and bed down for the next six hours. Tex and I share a room, like all the other brothers. Zen stays up fine-tuning his tracking on all things Harper. Right before we fall asleep, Siege sends out a text that we’re hitting his church first. The plan is to head out at midnight. Zen and Tex will go ahead to scout out the security. Then, once it’s dismantled, we’ll slip in, crack his safe, and look for information to help us figure out what he wants with Brittany. Me? I think it’s pretty fucking obvious what he wants with my old lady, and it pisses me off.

---