Page 39 of Thor
Janet!
She was crouched down in the middle of a clump of weeds and would have been almost invisible if I’d been standing up.She wasn’t moving, and her attention focused forward, away from me.In her right hand, she clutched a wooden stick about four feet long.It looked like the handle of a broom.
I took a deep breath to calm myself.I wanted to jump for joy and grab her and never let her go.Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option in the current circumstances.I needed to get her attention without scaring her.I thought for a moment and then started to hum her favorite song.
I had no fucking musical ability at all.I was always off-key.It was a long-running joke between us.
I saw her head come up and slowly pivot until she was looking right at me.Her whole face lit up, but I held a finger to my lips to make sure she knew she had to keep quiet.I had no idea how the hell she’d escaped, but we weren’t out of danger yet.
I took out my phone and fired off a text to Ace to let him know Janet was safe and they were good to go.Putting the phone away, I motioned Janet to move back to me.
She crawled back and collapsed against me.I wrapped her in my arms and held her tight.I could have lost her.Shit.Those assholes could have tortured her, raped her, done any fucking thing their depraved minds could come up with.And all because I’d failed to keep her safe.
“I knew you’d come for me.”She whispered the words against my throat.
“Damn right I came for you.”I frowned.“You should have been safe in the compound.”
The sound of approaching motorcycles drowned out her reply.Ace and the Riptide crowd were moving in.Between the bikes and the sound of gunfire it was impossible to talk.I motioned my team to move out.We’d accomplished our objective, albeit faster and easier than we’d expected.Janet was safe.
We made it back to the rendezvous point at double time, safely out of gunfire range.Shadow, Deuce, and Ghost stayed right with us, making sure there weren’t any nasty surprises coming our way.Our bikes were right where we’d left them with Tiny guarding them.
“Any problems?”I asked.
Tiny shook his head.“Haven’t seen a soul since you left.”
“Good.”
The gunfire in the distance died off and my phone pinged, signaling an incoming text from Rattler.
Threat neutralized.All clear.Meet and debrief at the compound.
I looked at Shadow, Deuce, and Ghost.“We’re headed back to the compound.”
“Wait!”Janet grabbed my arm.“You need to know you have a traitor back at your clubhouse.”
Everyone turned to look at her.I frowned.“A traitor?”
She nodded.“Yes.I heard the kidnappers talking.Someone named Sketch or Skeetch, maybe.It was a little hard to hear through the door, but they said he let them into the compound so they could grab me.They were laughing, saying you guys thought you were so close and yet one of you was willing to sell you out.”
I exchanged a look with Deuce, Ghost, and Shadow.That explained a lot.No one should have been able to breach our perimeter.I had no idea why a prospect would have done that, but it would be his last mistake.I fired off a quick text to Beast.By the time we got back, Sketch wouldn’t be a problem.
“Thanks, we’ll take care of it.He won’t be doing anything like that again.”I handed Janet her helmet.“I don’t suppose they mentioned what their issue with me was?”
She shook her head before slipping the helmet on.Flipping the face shield up.“Sounded like someone hired them, but I didn’t hear a name.”
“That’s okay.We’ll figure it out.”I put my own helmet on and threw a leg over the bike.Janet climbed on behind me and we headed back to the compound, riding formation between Ghost, Deuce, and Shadow.
Two of the prospects were at the gate, and they opened them up so we could ride through.Sketch wasn’t one of them.I tried to remember why we called him Sketch, but I drew a complete blank.It didn’t matter.He’d betrayed the club, his brothers.There was no going back from that.
The other team had made it back before us.I could see Ace’s bike sitting alongside Rattler’s as well as the rest of the brothers who’d gone with them.I pulled my bike up alongside them and glanced up as Jake came out onto the porch.He nodded his head ever so slightly in the direction of the interrogation shed.
That meant the team had brought back at least one person to question.Good.Because I wanted answers and I wasn’t overly squeamish about how I got them.When whoever the fuck was behind this escalated to include a woman, they gave up any chance of Riptide showing mercy.There was an unwritten rule in the MC world that excluded old ladies and all the other females from attack.
“You should go let Ace know you’re back.Janet, you okay?”Jake leaned against the porch railing.
“I’m fine, thanks.Just a little shaken up.”Janet lifted her helmet off and grinned at the old man.“I escaped all by myself this time.Beast will be proud of me.”
We held hands as we climbed the stairs.
