Page 35 of Torching Vixen
She looks back and forth between us, and when she seems to have found what she needs, she gives a nod and gets back to work. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been forty-eight hours since Vixen’s been gone. It feels like a lifetime has passed. It’s a fight, hour by hour, not to lose hope. I turn and slide down the wall, propping my hands on my knees, just waiting. Mom comes in with some food, and Lo just waves her away, continuing to type on her keyboard.
“Listen here, missy, you have to eat, or you are not good to any of us if you pass out,” Blue says with one hand on her hip.
“What about some coffee with protein?” Lo asks.
“Lo, sweetheart, you need fuel in your system, so you are strong when our girl gets home. Razor can continue, and then when you are done, he can eat while you work,” Blue pleads as she tries again to get Vixen’s cousin to eat.
Lo looks up at Mom, and I see the tears in her eyes. “I have to find them. I can’t lose them, Blue. I just can’t.”
Mom wraps her arms around Lo. “I know, baby. You guys will find them, but you can’t if you don’t eat. Eat for me, baby.”
Lo nods and starts eating the sandwich while watching every move Razor makes. She’s making him crazy when she points out what he’s doing wrong. I’ve never seen that man so frazzled in all the many, many years he’s been around, but I know that if Lo tells him he’s doing it wrong one more time, he’s going to lose his shit.
She finishes her food and goes right back to work. Razor sits back and starts eating. I watch them before laying my head back against the wall and closing my eyes, thinking back to my amazing woman. I think of the future that we will have, raising my baby in the club.
* * *
“Igot her! Fuck yes! I knew I could do it!” Lo screams before launching herself at Razor.
“You found them? How did you find them?” I still don’t believe we have them.
“Her tracker came back online for about two minutes, and then it was just gone again. I don’t know who or how that happened, but it did,” Lo says. “Now go get them and bring them home safe!”
“You got it, doll!” I reply, pulling her into me and kissing her forehead. The growl from Razor makes me pause.
When I look over at him, he just shakes his head and turns back to his system, continuing to type. I notice Smith and Wesson are gone, so I wait on Razor before following him into church.
“Coin, Pretty Boy, good to see you guys made it back. Did everything go okay with the transfer?” I’m shocked they are back; they weren’t due back for another week.
“Well, when you go away, and your brother starts a war with a two-bit club, unofficially claims a woman, gets himself kidnapped, and then his woman gets taken as well, you do what you can to get back as fast as fucking possible,” Pretty Boy says with a grin.
“I see your trip didn’t make you any less of a jackass,” I retort, flipping him off as I take my seat at the table.
“Why do you guys always have fun without me?” Duck asks from a video call.
“Is this safe?” Smith asks, not liking the unknown.
“All secured. We are in his ear and can’t be heard by anyone,” Razor replies, not looking up from his laptop.
“Good. Razor, let’s hear what you got,” Prez commands with a nod in his direction.
“Alright, so it looks like they are in a house between here and Nashville. It’s in the middle of a heavily wooded area with nothing around it for about ten miles in any direction. I’m trying to find any blueprints or tax documents available on the house to know how big it is. We’ll have a decent plan for getting up to the house, but everything after that’ll be a mystery,” Razor says, pulling all the satellite images up on the very large television.
As we are talking over the plan, an email comes through with the heading,This Should Help You!
“What the fuck is this?” Razor clicks on some programs. “No virus or anything. Let's see what it’s got.”
He opens the email, and holy shit, it contains pictures of the house, along with a list of every window and exit.
“Who the fuck sent us this?” Pretty Boy asks.
“The body of the email says the O’Malley’s say hi, and they’ll be calling in an IOU one day,” Razor reads, looking worried. We all turn to Prez, who hasn’t said a word.
“You remember the photos and information we got from some old friends of mine?” Prez asks. Everyone but Pretty Boy, Coin, and Duck nod. “Well, this is the friend that helped them out with their little problem.”
“Well shit! Prez, you have friends in high places,” Duck says, chuckling before groaning.
“That means we can trust it, so let's get a plan in place to get my woman,” I say gratefully, but itching to get things moving.
