Page 1 of Babe's Bounty

CHAPTER ONE: BABE

“You’ve reached Min. Hang up and text me like a normal person.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, as once again I reach Min’s voicemail instead of Min. I don’t leave a message. She never listens to them. So why bother? I’d send a text, but I have already sent her a dozen. All delivered, none answered. Where the fuck is she?

“Problems?” Ghost asks, taking a seat next to me at the bar.

“Your fucking cousin won’t answer her phone,” I grumble.

“There’s a solution to that,” he says, seriously. When I lift an eyebrow at him, he continues with a laugh, “don’t call her.”

“Fucker. That’s not helpful. I haven’t heard from her in two days. Do you know where she is?”

“Not a clue. But I’m the wrong one to ask.”

“Who should I ask?”

He shrugs. “No idea. She’s spends more time with you than anybody. Did you two have a fight?”

I frown at his question. “No, we didn’t have a fight.” I think about our last discussion, which involved us arguing. But that’s true about every conversation. I’ve never met a more combative person than Min Yan. She’d argue about anything and everything. Didn’t matter how reasonably I expressed my thoughts, she’d make an objection. Like starting our bounty hunter business. We’ve completed our forty-hour certification course and passed the physical requirement. To her, this meant we were ready to go after a skip. As I explained to her, we had more to do before we could take that next step. Glancing at Ghost, I see him smirking at me. “Ok, we argued, but it wasn’t a big fight.”

“What did you argue about?”

“Bounty hunting,” I admit. “You know her, she’s raring to go. Has she always been like this? Go, go, go all the time?”

Ghost shakes his head. “We haven’t been close since she was a kid, so I can’t say I know her well. I will say that she wasn’t like this back then. She was smart and methodical, but she’s more impulsive now. I don’t know if it is because of what she went through in China, or if something else happened in San Francisco before they moved here.”

I knew little of Min’s past. She didn’t like to talk about it. Most of what I know is what Ghost’s shared. His brother kidnapped Min, their cousin. He demanded Ghost kill her in order for him to join the Triad. Ghost refused and rescued her. He helped Min’s family flee to San Francisco while he continued on to San Diego. At some point, Min’s father moved the family here.

“Why did they move to San Diego?” I ask Ghost.

“I don’t know. I never asked. They didn’t reach out to me right away. Running into them was a surprise. However, not as much a surprise as learning that Min not only learned martial arts, but taught classes. She was always more bookish than physical.”

“You think something happened? Something that made her want to learn how to defend herself?”

“Maybe. Could have been what happened with Fenhua, my brother. Since that day, she’s been prickly towards me, so I never asked.”

“Hey, fuckers, shut the hell up,” Reaper calls out as he turns the volume up on the television.

Turning, I see our brother, Shield, standing in front of several reporters.

“I thought he was going to the hospital today to visit his sister and see his mom,” I say to the room.

“He is, after this press conference. He said they had an update on the kidnapped babies.”

“Yes, we rescued the two babies taken by the man who killed their mothers. A boy and a girl. Kate Markham’s cousin and her husband are taking custody of Kate’s son. Lindsey Webber had no family, but someone has stepped forward to adopt her baby. We found the babies both in good health. We hope they both live long and happy lives. As for the men responsible for these crimes, they are all in custody and awaiting hearings. Thank you.”

Reaper turns the television volume back down when the news flashes to a different story.

“Too bad their leader, Jordan, wasn’t part of the takedown. Then again, I’m hoping we find him first,” Ghost says, fisting his hands. Ghost’s woman, Tanya, was a victim of Theodore Jordan, the cult leader of God’s Chosen Disciples. While we all want to find and stop the asshole, Ghost wants revenge for the Tanya. Jordan kept her captive for months. The fucker tortured and raped her during the time he held her. Fuck, Ghost isn’t the only one who wants in on revenge against Jordan. Tanya’s a sweet girl, but she’s made of steel.

“Are all the girls still taking self-defense classes?” I ask. Brooke, Ashley, and Tanya were all studying under Min’s father at his dojo until a dirty cop burned it down with them inside. Luckily, they escaped without injuries.

“Yep, Caitlin and Kingsley are attending the classes too. Lenora wants to take them, but she can’t yet. Too soon after having Lana. Evie and Tally plan on taking them after they have their babies.”

“I think it’s a great idea to have all the Old Ladies able to take care of themselves. Won’t mean their men will let them go around without a protection detail.” As the Enforcer, I’m always worried about the safety of our members and their women. We have six prospects, five of which often have the task of protecting the women.

“Wait, I just remembered the last time I saw Min. She was working out at the dojo with Grant.”

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