Page 32 of Sly (Dragon Riders MC 5)
“Then, what you need to do is start trusting him and his instincts. Sly is many things, but he’s sharp. He’s solid. And if he says he’s going to get your brother back, then it’s happening. No questions asked.”
And while I didn’t have a rhyme or a reason for it, her words gave me great comfort.
I just hoped both of my men returned back to me in one piece each.13SlyWith the wind wrapping around my body like a flailing blanket, I sailed away from the bar. I kicked my bike into gear and skidded around sharp corners, trying to go as fast as I could. I had no idea where the hell to start looking for Skeleton and his bullshit marauders. But I had his last known location.
So, as I headed back to the warehouse, I called Link.
“About damn time we heard from you,” he said.
I took another sharp turn. “Get the other guys on the line. It’s an emergency.”
Link wasted no time in routing the rest of the guys through our call. And pretty soon, I had all of their voices in my ear.
“What’s up?” Ash asked.
“You got something?” Knuckles asked.
Bowser went to speak, but I cut him off. “Skeleton and some assholes showed up at my last warehouse and took Chains.”
The entire phone call went silent before Link barked in my ear.
“What!? How long ago!?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Uh… maybe twenty or so minutes ago?”
Bowser scoffed. “And you’re just now getting back to us? What the fuck happened?”
I started cruising out of town. “Well, the first thing I had to do was update Tara. I promised to get her brother back myself.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Link growled.
I rolled my eyes. “Save the theatrics. Yes, I should have called sooner. But I didn’t. This is her brother, and I wanted to promise her personally that we’d get him back. He’s Fed, by the way. Got her to confirm it.”
“Shit,” Ash hissed.
I shook my head. “None of that. If we know he’s a Fed and the girls know he’s a Fed, there’s a damn good chance Skeleton knows, too.”
“And if he knows, then Chains doesn’t have much time,” Knuckles murmured.
I sighed. “The third warehouse on my list was the one Skeleton ambushed us at. I’m headed there now to scout for clues.”
Link cleared his throat. “How the hell did Chains find you out there in the first place?”
My tires skidded along the asphalt. “My guess? He tracked me somehow. Maybe by phone or some shit like that. Those are just theories, though. He’s probably been keeping tabs on me anyway since my date with Tara.”
Ash chuckled. “Smart man.”
“Can it,” I said flatly.
“I’m going to find the most creative way to punish you for this. You know that, right?” Link asked.
I grinned. “Can’t be any more ‘creative’ than the time you employed me as the janitor for the Iron Horse for those few weeks. Remember that?”
Link snickered. “Yeah. Place has never been dirtier.”
The guys had a good laugh at that before we all fell silent again.
“Is no one going to address the fact that he put Tara’s needs over the needs of this crew’s well-being?” Bowser asked.
I groaned. “And here comes Mom.”
Link jumped in. “Bowser, we’ve got a delicate—”
Bowser interrupted him. “No. No, for once, no one’s gonna shut me up on this. You know damn good and well Sly breaks the rules. Always. And we’ve kept him in this crew for this long because he’s good at the few things he does.”
I smiled. “Including my hunches.”
Bowser sighed. “Whatever. Anyway. Let’s lay this out for a second: he knew Chains was Fed and yet he intentionally dated his sister.”
“I mean I didn’t know know it at that point. I just had a hunch.”
Bowser continued as if he didn’t hear me. “And now, instead of calling us the second he’s got a very serious issue on our hands—or contacting us the second Skeleton fell into his lap—he lets our rival crew take some Fed guy we’re going to be responsible for and he goes to inform some chick instead of the guys who are trying to clean up this situation? And he’s just gonna get out of it?”
Link cleared his throat. “I never said that, Bowser.”
I blinked. “Wait a second, how the fuck am I in trouble here?”
Ash laughed. “For so many reasons.”
I revved my engine. “Well, I wouldn’t have done a damn thing differently. So, if this costs me my leather cut? At least I still have Tara.”
The words flew out of my mouth two seconds before my brain clocked them. And it felt like the entire world stilled around me. Bike engines sounded off in the distance, no doubt soaring in my same direction. But as the warehouse came into view, I couldn’t concentrate.
I was much too worried about Tara.
