Page 39 of Patch's Bride
I slide down the cabinet until I’m sitting on the tile, knees to my chest. My throat burns. “She can’t be in a house. She needs constant care. She needs the monitors, the sterile tubing, everything.”
“We’ll find her,” he states firmly.
“What papers?” I ask. “The judge said that he was granting the injunction, she was to stay at the care home.”
Patch looks at me, and I can see the anger and frustration in his eyes. “I don’t know. I’m guessing he got his attorney to draw up something that looked official. He knew to try and remove her early in the morning when the night staff were still there and no one would ask questions. Damn it!”
“He won’t know what to do. He’ll forget her meds, or…” My voice breaks. “He’s got a bad temper. I’m worried he might hurt her.”
Patch crouches beside me and takes my face in both hands. “Hey. Look at me.”
I do as he says, but it all seems so hopeless.
“We’ll find her,” he repeats. “But I need you not to check out on me. Do you understand?”
I nod, unable to make words right now.
“Good.” He presses his forehead to mine for a heartbeat. “We start now.”
He stands, grabs his phone, and starts calling everyone. First, he calls Serena, then Siege. “Emergency situation. He removed Lila against medical advice, waved some fake papers and scared the shit out of the night staff. An APS report is already in progress.” He pauses, listens, nods. “We’ll meet you at the clubhouse in twenty.”
He hangs up, scrolling to the next number. Puts it on speaker and dials. “Zen, I need a trace on anything with that asshole’s name attached. Phone records, credit cards, gas receipts, even look at camera feeds near the facility, you might be able to spot his vehicle. You’ve already got details on his car, but he might have hired a van.”
A low electronic hum crackles from the speaker as Zen answers, half-awake but already typing. “On it, Patch. You’ll have something by the time you roll up to the clubhouse.”
Patch pockets the phone, then turns back to me. I’m still on the floor, trying to get myself together. He crouches again, thumb brushing the edge of my jaw.
“Get your shoes,” he says gently. “We’re riding now.”
I nod and push myself up. My hands won’t stop trembling when I reach for my sneakers. I push forward anyhow.
While I tie my laces, Patch moves through the house with quiet precision.
***
Bikes are all lined up in front of the building when we arrive at the clubhouse. Patch parks the bike, and I quickly climb off with my helmet under my arm and follow him through the side door. I feel like I’m about to have a panic attack, but somehow, I manage to keep control of my rising anxiety. The last thing I want is to divert the focus from finding Lila to dealing with me.
When we get into the meeting room, a long table is already set up with a map, two laptops, and a half-dozen phones. Siege is standing at the head of the table with one hand on the back of a chair, watching everyone gather around. Smoke is sitting to his right alongside Serena. Rigs leans back in his seat, but his eyes are laser focused on one of the laptops Zen has set up. Meanwhile, Zen has his bag open and cords snaking across the table. He is already typing on another laptop. Several screens are glowing in front of him. Crow steps into the room from the hallway with his phone to his ear. He lifts his chin at me in a quiet greeting.
Finally, Siege speaks up, “You got any movement on that van you’ve been tracking, Zen?”
Without looking up, Zen answers, “I found it. It’s over in Redwood County, on Route 60. It had the same VIN and license plate numbers.” He turns on the big screen and uses it as a monitor so we can see what’s going on. “I got a security cam sighting on that lift van a couple of blocks from Redwood Medical Center,” he announces.
I take a step forward, worried that something happened to Lila that made my stepfather take her to an emergency room. I want to ask, but I don’t want to distract them. So, I stand here with my arms wrapped around my waist and wait for Zen to hack into the hospital’s security feed. It takes him multiple attempts before he gets in.
When the van pulls into the hospital parking lot, Tank whistles. “That’s got to be him.”
“It could be him,” Smoke counters gently. “We won’t know until we can get a closer look at their faces.”
We watch the van move past the emergency entrance. Zen looks confused and toggles a camera feed. It stops at a part of the hospital with a sign that says oncology. “Why is he going to the cancer center?” Siege muses out loud.
The minute the door opens and a man steps out, Zen thumps his fist on the table. “Because this isn’t him, dammit!”
I feel my stomach drop because Zen is right. The driver is younger and wearing jeans. He’s definitely not my stepfather. We watch as he helps out an elderly man and wheels him towards the cancer center. I can’t help but tear up. This was our only lead, and it wasn’t even him.
After a brief pause, the brothers begin to regroup. Patch walks over, gives me a hug, and whispers in my ear, “We’re not done,” he says into my hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll find Lila.”
I nod into his chest, and when we pull apart, he turns back to the task at hand. Watching them start all over from scratch is dispiriting. I need a minute to myself, so I go to the restroom and sit on the toilet with the lid down. I run my fingers through my hair, turning the situation over in my mind.
