Page 24 of Roughstock
“I found twenty-three reports about missing women over the last six years.” He paused then added with pinched lips, “They were mostly indigenous women who went missing when they were living or visiting the area, and there were a few about local women, mostly working girls near the Air Force base. Inalmost every article, the women were described as having addiction or mental health issues and little to no support system.”
“How the fuck did Pops stumble onto something like this?” I asked, but neither man had an answer.
“That’s what I’m struggling to understand,” Phantom replied. “Nitro wasn’t a choir boy, but he was one of the men who prospected after the purge back in the late seventies and eighties. He understood loyalty, and while some of the clubs are into moving flesh, Nitro was completely against it.”
“Then how did he end up on the reservation looking for missing women? And why didn’t he bring us in on it? We could’ve watched his back,” I said, and both men shook their heads. “I want you to investigate everyone who was a patched member or prospect around the time of the purge. See who may have been a little too loyal to the traitors who tried to take over the entire Royal Bastards and those who killed Jameson’s father and ran him out of the country.”
“Do you think that’s what he meant when he told Whistler that it was a traitor who attacked him?” Jagger asked as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
“I don’t know, but you tell me where else Pops would’ve run into something like this. It’s not like he followed the news. Something tells me this is related to the Bastards, or at least someone who’s close to the club.”
A knock sounded on the door, and I held my hand up and said, “Enter.”
Comet opened the door and stuck his head inside. “I got the last three brothers out of bed and on the road, and I secured the money in the safe. Everything’s locked up and I’m headedout. The snow is getting heavier, and I want to make it to Spearfish before the roads are closed.”
“Be safe,” I replied, and he nodded before closing the door behind him. Looking across at my VP and Sergeant at Arms, I stated plainly, “If I discover it was a brother who killed my father, I will not hesitate to slit his throat where he stands. I don’t care about blowback from this or the National Chapter.”
“Understandable,” Phantom replied and stood from his seat. “We need to get out of here before we’re stuck.”
Jagger and I stood, and we all walked out of my office. Picking up our cell phones, I made sure the stoves were off and the coolers were locked before going behind the bar. The light switch for the back of the house and upstairs was near the register, so I flipped it, casting the club in near darkness.
The light at the front door illuminated Jagger and Phantom as I approached them. Phantom punched in the alarm code as Jagger and I walked out before him. Closing the door behind him, Phantom locked the front door and turned to face us.
The snow was getting heavy, the flakes fat and wet as they fell from the gray sky. The ground was turning white.
“Can I come by and get your Pops’s laptop?” Jagger asked, and I gave him a curious look.
Pops’s laptop quit a few months before he passed away, and he complained about having to get a new one the ever since. I didn’t know why Jagger would want it, but I trusted these two men with anything. “Stop by and I’ll run it out to you.”
The three of us got onto our bikes, knocked knuckles, and pulled out in a single file line. I was up front, Jagger was at the back, and Phantom rode in the middle. It wasn’t our normalformation, but all too soon, Phantom raised his hand into the air and turned left toward his house in Box Elder.
Jagger followed me to the ranch, and when we pulled up, he killed his motor and leaned back. I lifted my leg over the back of the bike and brushed snow from my sleeves as I walked up the stairs. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside and was instantly aware something was wrong.
Cheyenne was sitting in the chair in front of the fireplace, half facing the warmth and half facing the front door. Her arm was extended and her gun was pointed at my chest. I quickly raised my hands and stepped back as she seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in.
Her eyes began to fill with tears as she lowered the gun and I lowered my hands.
“I’m . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you,” she said through tears, and I slowly approached.
Kneeling in front of her, I asked, “What happened to make you so scared?”
“I don’t know, it just . . . it felt like someone was watching me and . . .”
I nodded and pecked her lips. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move, okay?”
She nodded, and I jumped up and walked out of the living room and into Pops’s room. His laptop was stored in the footlocker near the end of the bed, and I quickly removed it and secured the room behind me. Walking outside, I motioned for Jagger to come up the stairs. He looked confused but did as I’d silently asked.
“Something’s got her spooked. She pointed a gun at me when I walked inside said she felt like someone was watching her.”
His eyebrows drew down, and he peeked around my shoulder into the house before back at me. “She’s not one to get scared easily.”
“That’s what has me worried.”
“I can stay here tonight, to help keep an eye on the place, if you want,” Jagger offered.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to freak her out, but I appreciate the offer.”
He took the laptop and gave me a chin lift as he walked down the stairs and secured the small machine in his saddlebag. Lifting two fingers into the air, he cranked his bike and pulled away, leaving a thin track in the small accumulation of snow.
