Page 42 of Jackal

Hawk stood up. “Ladies, I need to steal these guys away. Y’all enjoy your evening.”

I stood up, reaching my hand out for Shivana. She grabbed it and stood, and I jerked her close. Her friends were howling behind her, and she yelped when I smacked her ass.

“That still stings,” she squealed, giggling anyway.

“Good. You’ll think about me while I’m gone.” I gave her a deep, hard kiss and she kept giggling. When I stopped, I whispered in her ear, “I’ll make you really giggle later.” Then I swiped my tongue under her ear in the little spot that gave her shivers.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she said as she pulled me down for another pop on the lips.

“I’ll be back in a while. Have fun with your friends. And be in bed when I come back.”

Heading out, I followed Hawk toward the garage. Falcon and Eagle were on our tail. Before we fired up the hogs, Hawk said, “Rooster and Red are staying behind. We got some guys covering the bar so they can be here. I need to be out there with you.”

“Where we headed, Prez?” Eagle asked as he fastened his helmet.

Hawk said, “Let’s go canvas some of the strip clubs near DD. And check out that airstrip again to be sure there’s still no activity over there. Maybe we’ll see something.”

After the cacophony of engines erupted, we followed Hawk and Falcon. The temps had fallen, but only to the mid-eighties and the air was still sticky. Summer in Georgia was no joke. But even so, there wasn’t much like being on the open road with your brothers. Except maybe being buried in a sweet cunt. It was hard to stay focused knowing she’d be in my bed when I returned. I decided to push the thoughts aside. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted.

Unless Hawk told us to stop, we would just ride, keeping our eyes peeled for the Hellbound Heathens, Butch, or even the Trans Am. I wondered if that car was already stripped down.

Keys had kept an eye on police reports and the owner had been reported missing by his wife and the BOLO included the car. Butch was dumb enough to think he could get away with deceiving his club, but I doubted he’d be dumb enough to think he could get away with driving a stolen classic car.

I also was keeping a close watch for any black SUVs, but the closer we got to downtown, the harder it was not to see one. Atlanta and metro Atlanta were riddled with oversized SUVs. Some were car services, but a lot of them were folks who liked big vehicles. But Cindy and Raven were taken down by a black SUV and Shivana and Lacy were hauled off in one.

As we got closer to the strip clubs, traffic picked up and so did all the shiny black vehicles. Atlanta was a busy place, no matter the time of day or day of the week.

It still wasn’t too late, so we swung by Destiny’s Desires and chatted with some of the girls and checked the place out. None of us had made it in since Cindy was banished. But members of the club worked the place, too, and we’d added some extra bodies in the wake of everything.

A lot of what Cindy did was managed from a computer, so she still had access to most of her duties, she just wasn’t there with her girls, as she called them. Hawk grabbed a folder from heroffice then locked it up. “Let’s get back out there. They got it covered here and the guys at the entrance and exit know what to watch for.”

For a few hours, we drove from club to club, checking the parking lots and talking to managers and owners. We ran into Scottie, one of the local mid-level dealers in the area.

“Hey, guys. Hawk. Haven’t seen you out here in a while,” he said as pushed his wavy brown hair from his forehead, sniffling hard.

Hawk gave him a dead stare. “It’s good to show my face sometimes. You notice anymore girls missing? Or anything else we should know?”

“No more missing girls as far as I know.” He looked over his shoulder, then back again. “But a few of the bartenders here and down at Peaches-n-Cream mentioned they’ve had some staffing issues. Girls wanting to switch to day shifts, some not showing up at all, and lots being asked to be escorted out.”

“You just said no missing girls, Scottie,” Hawk deadpanned.

“No, I know. But if you ask around, it’s not because they’re missing. They quit.”

Hawk’s brow furrowed. “But what are they doing for money then? Dancers live on tips.”

Scottie shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe more private endeavors, if you feel me?”

“Escorts. We’d have an even harder time finding out about those girls going missing,” Eagle said from beside me.

“Do me a favor, Scottie. You know some pimps. Start checking around. An operation like they were running won’t just up and quit doing business. See if any of your pals are having issues with their girls not showing back up.”

Scottie nodded furiously. “You bet, Hawk.”

I asked, “You see any new riders? Maybe even new clubs around?”

“Nope. But I can keep an eye out, ask around. Why?”

Hawk smacked his hand on Scottie’s shoulder. “Nothing for you to worry about. Just let us know if you find out anything.”

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