Moments later, Hawk and Shotgun came out carrying the two metal briefcases. Two of Flint’s guards followed them out, and we waited as they placed them in the hidden compartment beneath the passenger seat. Once they had it secured, Hawk climbed into his SUV and Shotgun got in the truck with us. And that was it. No surprise attack. No altercation with Flint or his guards. The whole thing went off without a hitch. Even as we headed home, there were no signs of trouble. I couldn’t understand why I had that gnawing feeling that something wasn’t right. We were just a few minutes from the clubhouse, and everyone was kicked back and feeling relaxed, when a black van came barreling up behind us. Lynch eased off the accelerator, hoping the guy would just whip around us. He didn’t. Instead, he just inched closer—so close his front bumper was almost touching our rear end.
“What’s the deal with this motherfucker?”
“No idea.” Shotgun turned to look out the rear window. “Just stay calm and maybe this dickhead will move on.”
“He’s right on my fucking ass.”
“I see that, brother. Just keep your eyes on the road.” Shotgun looked at me as he asked, “Can you see anything through those fucking tinted windows?”
“Not a damn thing.” I didn’t like the look of them, not one fucking bit. “We need to lose ‘em.”
“Too big of a risk.”
“Too big of a risk not to,” I warned.
Shotgun pulled out his phone and called Hawk. After he informed him we had a tail, Hawk took a quick turn and started down a different street. When we followed behind, the van didn’t follow. Instead, it continued straight ahead. “What the fuck was that?”
“Got no fucking clue.”
Shotgun let Hawk know the tail was gone, but Hawk wasn’t taking any chances. He took several extra turns and made sure to take a completely different route back to the clubhouse. When we pulled up, Menace was waiting for us in the parking lot. As soon as we started to get out of the SUV, he came over and said, “Heard y’all ran into some trouble.”
“Not exactly sure what we ran into,” Shotgun answered. “Might’ve been nothing, but I highly fucking doubt it.”
“Any idea who was in the van?”
“Not a fucking clue. The tint was too dark to see.”
Menace nodded. “I’ll see if I can pull up anything on the street cams. Maybe I can get a license number or something.”
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“I’ll get on it as soon as I head inside.” Menace motioned his head toward the clubhouse door. “Viper’s waiting for you in his office.”
Shotgun nodded, then headed inside. Eager to know if he’d heard anything from Country, Rafe rushed over to Menace and asked, “Any word on Country?”
“Sorry, man, but I haven’t heard a damn thing. I called CC, and she hasn’t seen him either.”
“So, he didn’t end up at her place last night?”
“She said he was planning to head over after he locked up, but he never showed.”
“Fuck.” Rafe ran his hand through his hair with frustration. “I just don’t get it. Where the hell could he be?”
“No idea. I tried tracking his phone but got nowhere. The damn thing is either dead or busted.”
“You check Stilettos?”
“Yeah. I pulled up the cameras, but there’s no sign of him there either.” Menace was doing his best to remain calm, but I could see the concern in his eyes. Hell, we were all concerned. It wasn’t like Country to go completely AWOL. “Talked to Viper about it. He thinks it’s time for us to try and run him down.”
I turned to Rafe as I asked, “Any ideas on where we should look?”
“I guess we could try checking out around his place. Maybe check Shiner’s, the bar across from Stilettos, and Mikey’s down on the strip.”
“What about Candy and Leigha? Any chance he might’ve slipped off with one of them after their shifts?” Menace never cracked a smile as he said, “You know he’s hooked up with them a couple of times.”
Knowing they lived out by Frankie’s, I replied, “I’ll go by there and see what they say.”
“We’ll divide up,” Hawk announced. “Check in if you see or hear anything from him.”
After a quick nod, we set out to our bikes, and one by one, we rushed through the gate in search of our brother. There was a good chance Country had just fucked up and partied too hard, but there was also a chance he was in some kind of trouble. Either way, it was up to us to find out. We might not have been bound by the same last name or even blood, but when we each joined the club, we’d made a pledge to one another—a pledge to show up whenever we’re needed most. No matter what the circumstance, we have each other’s backs. We stand by our brothers, even when we’re struggling to like ‘em—those days can be the hardest, but that’s what brotherhood is all about. It’s why none of us complained as we ventured out to find Country. He was one of our own, and we’d do whatever it took to make sure he was safe. But we’d also kick his fucking ass if he was laid up in bed with some chick.