Page 38 of Riggs
I rush out from behind the protected area toward my men, who have just gotten Track down from where he was hanging. I look down, taking in the words written in bold black marker across a target sheet stuck to his chest.
I'll kill every man you've got until what belongs to me is returned.
I stare at the bone handle of a large hunting knife going straight into the center of the bullseyes; the blade buried deep in my man's chest. Wick looks up at me from his kneeling position.
"He's gone, brother. Track is dead, man," he says through clenched teeth. I look over at Fender whose head hangs looking at our dead brother. His fists clenched at his sides.
"Fender, lock it down. Call Everest, tell him to lock the clubhouse down too." Without looking my way, Fender walks off.
"I'll call it in." Wick stays kneeling beside our brother and digs his phone from the pocket of his cut.
It takes ten minutes for two officers to arrive on the scene and an extra fifteen before the other first responders to come in, making the official call. I give them all of Track's information, along with access to the surveillance footage, which come to find out, didn't do them or us any good. It seems someone was smart enough to track down the feed lines outside, killing all the functions to our security system. "Listen, Riggs," Officer Holloway pulls me to the side. "Before I send my men to his mother's house —."
"I'll tell her," I cut in. My stomach sinks, knowing I'm about to break his momma's heart. Track was her only son — her baby.
"Sorry about all this," Officer Holloway says.
Stone-faced, I turn my back and walk away. I head in the only direction my feet will carry me before I make that long drive to deliver the worst news a mother can receive. I head to the safe room. Straight for my woman. As soon as I get there, I type in the code and turn the handle opening the door. There she is, sitting on the cushioned seat along the wall. Her head whips up, then she rushes toward me, slamming hard into my chest. My arms wrap around her, holding her tight. Closing my eyes, I pull in a ragged breath. Lifting my chin, I peer at Kiwi. "I'm going to need you to stay with her until I get back from seeing Track's family." Kiwi's face says everything else I can't at the moment. Millions of emotions pass over his face before he nods. Peeling Luna off my body, I tell her, "I have one more task to handle today, so I'm going to need you to go back to the clubhouse with Kiwi." Her lips tremble, but she holds her feelings at bay.
"Is he okay?" Luna asks.
"No, baby." Tears fall down her cheeks "Kiwi," I look back at him. "Have the girls keep Luna company." I glance down again, and Luna's big beautiful eyes, full of sadness rips at my heart, making it hard to leave her side. "I'll see you soon," I assure her.
Reaching up, her hand caresses my face. "Promise?" she signs.
"I'll always find my way home, Mon Tresor."
A little more thanan hour later, I'm standing on the front porch of Track's family home in Ponchatoula. I knock on the front door. It doesn't take long for the curtain covering the window on the door to move, as Mrs. Dupuis peeks outside. The door opens.
"Riggs, it's good to see you." She looks around finding me alone. "What brings you out this way?"
"Mrs. Dupuis, mind if I step inside?" I keep my voice even, but her smile falls from her face, and her hand clenches at her chest.
"Something isn't right. I feel it. You tell me right now why you came all the way out here, Riggs." She pleads for the truth. How do you tell a mother that their child is dead? I try to find the right words, but there are none.
"Mrs. Dupuis, Daniel died." I hate to put it so bluntly, but I don't want to leave any room for doubt or confusion. The most gut-wrenching blood-curdling cry exits his mother's body, and I catch her as her knees buckle beneath her.
"Why him, Riggs? Why my baby?" she cries, as my cut soaks up her tears.
Night has fallen by the time I leave the Dupuis home in Ponchatoula. I called a couple of the other members, asking them to sit and watch over her and her daughter for the next couple of days. I told Track's mom the club would take care of all the funeral expenses. Hugging her one final time, I straddle my bike and take off down the road heading home.
Pulling through the clubhouse gate, I'm not surprised to find Wick outside by himself sitting on the picnic table facing the river. Parking my bike, I cross the yard. "How's everyone holdin' up?"
"Good, considering. How's his momma and sister holdin' up?" he asks in return.
"As good as can be expected. She'll call tomorrow with funeral arrangements." I stand there a beat. "We need to address the situation before heads hit pillows tonight. I'm callin' church," I inform him, and Wick stands.
"He was a good man, Riggs." We walk toward the clubhouse side by side.
"I know."
"It was those fuckin' Savage Outlaw bastards, wasn't it?" Wick questions though he already knows the answer.
"Yeah," I pull the front door open, and the cold air from inside cools my skin. I don't have to say a word. Once my men notice I'm in the room they get up from where they are sitting and head straight for the back room to conduct business. The door closes as the last member enters, and the room falls silent. The weight of Track's death looms over our heads like a dark storm cloud. "Over the following days, I want every man vigilant. Someone slithered their way into our den and took one of our own. Track wasn't a full-fledged member yet, but we all know he was well on his way to earning that patch." Fists pound the table.
"The message was heard loud and clear. We know the fuckers who did this, and once we bury our brother, you'll be damn sure we will hunt them down." I make eye contact with each man in the room. "Kiwi, work your social media outlets. Check out camera feeds around the city. See if you can find any evidence of just how many we are dealing with. Wick, you, and Cain spread the word. I want to know who may have seen these assholes. Get people talkin' on the streets. I want these fuckers to know we aren't laying down or tuckin' tail. Track's death will not go unpunished." The room falls quiet again, and I welcome it. I bring the gavel down and say no more.
My focus shifts to one person. My woman. Leaving my brothers, I head upstairs where I run into Payton in the hallway exiting my bedroom. "Hey, Riggs," she speaks low as she pulls the door closed. Her face falls, looking like she's barely holding it together. The girls spend a lot of time with both Track and Everest since the four of them live here at the clubhouse. "Luna wasn't feeling well. Said she has a headache, so I gave her some medicine, and she just crawled into bed. I was about to fix her a warm cup of tea," Payton explains while hugging herself.
