Page 15 of Dusty and Dented
Chapter Twelve
“Pike said they’re headedsouth.What road?”Dagger asked.
“They’re on 191 for now.Pike’s keeping an eye on them.I will let you know if anything changes.Raven and some of the others are pulling out now.He’s got Bear, Shotgun, and Chain with him, along with a few others.”There was a few minutes of silence while Dagger focused on driving, and Hawkeye did whatever he was doing.
“Fuck me.”Hawkeye’s voice came across the line, pulling Dagger from his thoughts
“What now?”His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he wished he was on his bike instead of in Andy’s car.He could go faster and would be more maneuverable on his bike.
“I just got the enhancement done on the driver of the van.It’s not good.”Hawkeye’s tone told Dagger he wasn’t going to like what his brother was about to tell him.
“Just spit it out,” Dagger grunted, glad he wasn’t there with Hawkeye, or he would likely have him pinned to the wall for playing stupid fucking games while Dagger was worried about Andy.
“It’s one of the Royal Crows.”
Dagger’s blood froze in his veins.
“Can you tell who?”The silence that met his question was deafening.It said that Hawkeye knew who it was, and it wasn’t good.
“It’s Shadow.”
“Son of a fucking bitch!”Dagger slammed his fist into the steering wheel several times.He now had no doubt that this was Angels’ business, and it had leaked all over Andy.And to make things worse, it wasn’t just because of the Angels, it was because of him.He was the one who had a beef with Shadow, and worse, it had all started over a woman.Dagger had taken Shadow’s ex out, way back when they’d been in high school.Shadow had never forgiven him.Shadow could be dangerous and unpredictable.He hated that he, of all people, was the one to take Andy and he could only hope that she didn’t show Shadow that spark of resistance he loved when she dealt with him.Shadow didn’t handle it well when he thought someone was disrespecting him.And he would take Andy’s sass as disrespect.
Dagger cursed and pushed the car faster, ignoring the whine of the engine.He’d make sure he fixed it later but that wouldn’t matter if Shadow lost his temper and killed her.The roar of several motorcycle engines coming up behind him pulled Dagger from his self-recrimination.He checked the mirror and saw a half dozen Harleys closing in on him, fast.
Panic flashed through him.Was this more of the Crows?Was he in deep shit?As they got a little closer, he could see them better and it was another couple of minutes before they were close enough he could identify them.Relief made his muscles weak for a moment when he realized it was Raven and the other Angels he’d brought to help get Andy back.
“Sounds like your backup’s arrived.”
“Yeah.Does Raven know what you’ve learned?”
“He does.Pike has him through the mic in his helmet and has kept him up to date.He knows we’re dealing with the Crows.”
“But is it really the Crows?”Dagger asked.“Is this a club sanctioned smash and grab or is this just Shadow out on his own?Do we have any way to find out?”
“I’m not sure.I can’t think of anyone here who’s on speaking terms with anyone tied to the Crows, at least not close enough to know what’s going on.”
Dagger heard the clicking of a keyboard come over the line and wondered what Hawkeye was doing but stayed quiet and drove while he waited for an answer.
“They were in and out of the trailer park so fast, I’m guessing there are at least two of them, if not more.I’m leaning toward this being a Crows operation, but I don’t know what triggered it.The Crows have been quiet for a while.”Hawkeye continued to click on the keyboard while he spoke.
“Who knows.Could be they were behind the drive by or that they heard we were hit and are trying to take advantage of the situation and strike while we’re trying to recover.We won’t know until we catch up to Shadow and whoever is with him and do a little creative interrogation.”
“Pike tells me they just hit Highway 20 and headed west,” Hawkeye said.
