Page 53 of Stitch & Steel
Scout stood by the door, ears alert, tail rigid.
“She’ll be back soon,” I muttered to myself. “She probably just forgot the time.”
But an hour passed. Then another.
And another.
By noon, I was pacing the floor and Scout was whining at the door. I grabbed the car keys and we drove into town, tires spitting gravel. Every bump in the road made my hands tighter on the wheel.
The grocery store hadn’t seen her. Neither had the café or the library.
I checked the park. The post office. I even circled the tiny church twice.
Nothing.
No car. No Gran.
I sat in the driver’s seat outside the general store, chest tight, vision starting to blur. Scout whined again from the back seat,and I finally gave in—pulled out my phone and dialed the one person I knew would come running.
JD answered on the first ring. “Bella?”
“She’s gone,” I choked out. “Gran. She went into town and never came back. Her phone’s still on the charger. I’ve checked everywhere, JD. I don’t know what to do.”
I heard rustling. The sound of boots on concrete. Then JD’s voice again, hard and sure.
“Where are you now?”
“Still in town. Just parked by the general store.”
“I’m six hours out. But I’m on my way.”
“Six—” My voice cracked. “JD, you’ve been working nonstop, you said?—”
“I don’t give a shit,” he growled. “She’s one of ours. You stay put. I’ll call my boys. We’ll get eyes on the whole damn mountain. I’ll find her, Bella. I swear to God.”
The line went dead before I could even say thank you.
I looked over at Scout, who laid his head on the console, ears perked toward me like he could feel my fear.
I wrapped my arms around him, buried my face in his fur, and whispered, “Please let her be okay.”
Because this wasn’t just about Gran anymore.
This was war. And I wasn’t sure if it was the kind that came from memory loss… or enemies circling the mountain again.
Eighteen
LOGAN
We rodelike the devil was on our tail.
No stops. No breaks. Only enough time to refill tanks, piss behind gas stations, and shove protein bars down our throats. My brothers could barely keep up, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t slowing down for anything. Not tonight. Not with Gran missing.
The roar of engines echoed through the hills as we tore across state lines, carving through the mountains like a steel storm. I called everyone I knew—every club chapter, every local contact, even a few friends on the force who owed me favors. Didn’t matter that it hadn’t been long enough for a formal missing person’s case. The red tape didn’t scare me. Bureaucracy wasn’t going to stop us.
Not when one of ours was out there. Alone.
Gran. Sweet, stubborn, shotgun-packing Gran.
