Page 42 of Rattler's Revelation
“Smoke, I need Maestro to work his magic. We need him to track a vehicle. The asshole driving it kidnapped one of our women. We think that they are holding other women at the same location.”
“Send me what you've got, and Maestro will get to work.”
“Thanks, Smoke, it’s on its way.” Spark hits a few keys before replacing the image on the screen with an array of photos. Spark scans them, enlarging a few here and there until he stops and points at the image on the screen. “I recognize this gas station. It’s on 160. See the mountains in the background, there?”
I lean forward and see Potosi Mountain in the distance. “Yeah. Shit. We figured they might be hiding out in thefoothills. This confirms it. How are we going to locate them? You mentioned traffic cams. NDOT has cameras. Do you think Maestro can track them?”
“He can, at least until they pull off the highway. Unfortunately, we may not know exactly where they exit the highway. I’ll let him know what direction we think they’ll take. We don’t know for certain that when Nadine took this photo, Walt was heading to the camp.”
Frustrated, I turn away from the computer and think. How can we search such a massive area? The police department has a helicopter, but they’d never let us use it, even if Rafe requested it. We need more than a hunch, and that’s all we have right now. Perhaps we could hire a helicopter to search. I turn to ask Rafe, but see he and Puma are deep in a discussion. Frustrated, I turn back to the screen and the image of Walt. Where is Walt? Why aren’t the Demon Dawgs looking for him? At the storage place, they seemed to think Tommy was the one who would show up when Stevie called him about the break-in. But not Walt. Why?
I open my mouth to ask, but Spark is already speaking.
“I’ve reached out to my contacts and can access the satellite images to search the area. We might get lucky.”
Puma frowns at his suggestion. “That’s a long shot. Do we know what we’re looking for?”
I nod my head slowly as I consider what I remember about the location when Tommy took me there for a visit. “I’ve been there. Once. It was years ago, so I’m sure the place has changed, but that may make it easier to find. It’s a compound consisting of several buildings. Most of the homesteads consist of a house, a barn, and possibly other buildings, such as storage sheds. However, Tommy said they were building a community. So, what we’re looking for probably looks more like a commune than a ranch.”
“That’s true,” Rafe says. “There can’t be that many parcels with multiple homes. That’s what we need to look for.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” Spark says. “I’ll set up workstations, and we’ll break the area up into grids. This might take some time,” Spark says to Puma.
Puma nods as his phone rings. He answers as he walks out of the room. Rafe and I study the satellite imagery. I’ve taken the area south of Highway 160 while he’s searching north. Each image covers an area of 15 km by 15 km, but the detail is so fine that we can easily see individual structures and even vehicles. We’re making progress, but it is taking too long. I can’t imagine the horrors that Bianca is facing while in the hands of misogynists and bigots. The thought of her in pain and fear has me sitting back and rubbing my chest.
“She means something to you,” Rafe says when he catches my action. I nod as I fight back my fear and my tears.
“She means everything to me,” I admit.
Rafe remains silent for several minutes before speaking again. “I thought she was with Rattler.”
“She is. She’s with me, too,” I glance at Rafe and wait until we lock eyes. “The three of us are together. It isn’t just her and me and her and Rattler.”
“It’s you and Rattler, too?” he asks. I nod.
“Is that a problem?”
Rafe chuckles. “No, why would it be? I can’t say anything. I’m with a biker, too.”
“That’s not what I mean…”
“I know what you mean, but you don’t have to worry. I knew you were bisexual.”
“You did?”
“I did. I’m a detective, remember? But I didn’t know Rattler was. I don’t think Viper knew, either.”
“It’s new for him, too.”
“I’m glad you all found each other. I like Bianca, and I also care about Rattler. You’ll make a solid team.”
“But…?” I encourage him when I can tell he has more to say, but he isn’t sure how to say it.
“But, it isn’t easy being with a biker, especially when you’re a cop. The Demon Dawgs are the good guys, but I’d never call them saints. Puma runs a solid crew, but they still break the law. I know it, he knows I know it, but he also knows I made my choice when I chose Viper. I may love being a cop, but I love her more. If it ever became too hard for me to be a cop and her lover, I’d quit the force without a thought. Rattler deserves your royalty. Puma is going to demand it if you want to be accepted by the club.”
I don’t immediately answer, but consider his words as I continue my search. Could I give up being a cop for Rattler? I’m a little surprised when my immediate reaction is, yes. I love being a cop, but the truth is, I need Rattler and Bianca more than I need to be a cop. There are other jobs I could do. Maybe they won’t be as fulfilling as wearing the uniform, but a job is just something I do to earn money. I imagine what my life would be like if I held onto my badge and turned my back on Rattler and Bianca. I shudder at the image of my future without them. “I would give up the badge to keep Bianca and Rattler,” I tell Rafe.
He grins at me. “I know.”
