Page 46 of Ranch's Resolve

I stare at him as the realization hits me. “The last time I saw him, he was buckling his son into the SUV. I didn’t notice where he went. Son of a bitch! That fucker played me.”

“He played all of us,” Dante says grimly. “We’ll find him and make him pay. Let’s ride.”

“Put the others on alert,” I order Max. “This could be a distraction.”

When we drive past the Blanchard ranch, Carver and Flame join us. I’m glad they left Reaper and Ghost behind. I have a badfeeling about the situation and don’t want to leave Adele and Roger alone.

When we arrive at our destination, I spot the SUV sitting in plain sight outside what was once the reception office of the motel. The rest of the club beat us here, so the parking lot is full of motorcycles but no other cars.

“The place looks deserted,” Dante calls out after we disembark. “Isn’t this where those assholes who were outside Athena’s office went after we drove them out of the parking lot?”

“Yeah, this is where we tracked them,” Smoke says. “I pulled the feed and spotted the SUV when it arrived. That fucker Carlos was driving.”

“What about Athena and Santiago? Did you see them?” I ask Smoke.

He shakes his head. “Just Carlos. The SUV is empty. Several men exited the motel and greeted him. They took off about five minutes ago. Carlos got behind the wheel of the SUV with the tracker.”

I want to punch something. No, that’s not right. I want to punch someone. Carlos. That little fucker is going to die by my hand.

“We’ll find him and end him,” Dante assures me. “For now, we need to figure out where he took Athena and the kid. Spread out and search the place. See if you can find anything useful. Is Maestro tracking the SUV?”

“Yeah, he has them. He’ll let us know where they go. While they search, I’m going to put up cameras. They may not come back here, but if they do, we can spy on them.”

Dante nods in agreement as the rest jog off to search the grounds. I head over to the SUV and search it. I slam the door shut when I find nothing to tell me where he took Athena and Santiago. Leaning against the door, I rub my hands over my face as I consider their fate. Carlos could have killed them anddisposed of their bodies in several locations between the ranch and here. I push away images of their bodies lying in a ditch out of my head and pace over to where Dante is talking on the phone.

“That was Maestro. He’s still tracking Carlos. He’s headed south on 5. Maestro thinks Carlos went somewhere first before coming here. He’s checking the tracking system to see where he went. That might be where we can find Athena and the kid.”

I nod as I consider his statement. “If they left only a few minutes before we arrived, then he’d have had to have gone somewhere else first. The drive from the ranch to this place takes only twenty minutes. Athena left the ranch over an hour ago.”

The guys return from the motel search to report their findings.

“They left some clothes behind but not much else. Nothing to say where they were going or what they’re up to,” Grimm reports.

“What about weapons?” Dante asks.

“None. However, we found some indications that they were hiding stuff. In one room, the mattress was flipped off the bed, exposing hiding spots in the bed springs. Another mattress had a cut along the side. Somebody removed the air duct covers and toilet lids. They could have been hiding drugs, but since we found a few baggies containing pills left out on tables, I don’t think that’s what they were hiding. I think they were hiding guns.”

“So, what the hell are they up to?” I mutter.

“We won’t know until Maestro tells us where they went. But first, he needs to discover where Carlos took Athena and the kid. Where’s Smoke?”

“He’s finishing up in the last room. He should be done in a few minutes,” Babe supplies.

I spot Smoke on the second floor. He jogs down the stairs before joining us. “I’ve finished. We have eyes and ears in every room, as well as the office. I called Maestro, and he confirmed that the cameras and microphones are all functioning correctly. He’s close to pinpointing where Carlos went before coming here; he said Carlos went north. Simon and Axel are on their way here to pick up the SUV.”

“Good,” Dante says. “Let’s get on the road and head north…” Dante doesn’t finish his sentence because, at that moment, every single one of our cell phones let out a loud alert. We all know immediately the source of the alarm.

“Shit! Trouble at Crossroads! Let’s go!” Dante shouts unnecessarily.

We are already running to our bikes. We race through the city, a mass of steel and leather hell-bent on reaching our destination in record time. What could be the threat at Crossroads? Fenhua? The prospects took turns watching him, but none informed us that Fenhua was aware of Crossroads. Who else? Carlos was heading south. Did he send someone to Crossroads to distract us? That’s possible. I kick myself as I realize we openly discussed Crossroads in front of him. I know I need to help the innocent residents of Crossroads, but they aren’t the only innocents who are in trouble. I need to find Athena and Santiago. They should be my focus. I may want to kill Santiago’s dad, but I don’t want harm to come to the child. More importantly, I couldn’t live if anything happened to Athena. That’s how important she has become to me.

We file into the parking lot of Crossroads. Dante approaches the gate, but it doesn’t open. He opens the hidden compartment containing the security pad and enters the code. The gate opens, and we rush inside, drawing our weapons. The guardhouse appears empty as Dante enters the code and yanks open thedoor. The security desk is empty. However, two frightened women are standing over what looks to be a dead body.

Caitlin and Kingsley scream when we rush inside. Scar and Grimm make a beeline for their women and wrap them in their arms.

“What happened?” Dante demands.

“I don’t know, we just got here,” Caitlin says. “Kingsley and I were in Crossroads’ clubhouse watching a movie with the residents when the alarm went off. We rushed in here to see what was happening. That’s when we found Suzie dead.”

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