Page 2 of Spock’s Snare

“That’s a good choice,” I say. “Wildcard selected the lot next to it, and I know Viper likes that cul-de-sac, too.”

Bianca grimaces, causing Rattler to wrap his arm around her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure how I feel about living next door to my boss,” she says.

“You won’t be working at the casino forever, will you?” Randy asks. “Once you finish school, you’ll find another position.”

“That’s true,” Bianca agrees.

I lose track of their discussion when I hear Chloe’s voice rise in alarm.

“What hospital is he in? What do you mean he refuses? Okay, okay. I’m on my way.”

Chloe ends the call and whirls around. She stops short when she finds all of us staring at her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“My father was attacked at the other site. He was doing a walkthrough when someone hit him from behind. He refuses to go to the hospital. I’m sorry, Spock. I need to take care of him. I can’t believe they’ve escalated to violence.” I don’t think she meant to voice the last part.

Puma straightens and snags her eyes. “What do you mean? Who are they and what have they been doing?”

Chloe looks lost, but she takes a deep breath. “Someone has been sabotaging the work site. They’ve been vandalizing equipment and stealing supplies. I thought it was just kids, but now I’m wondering…” She shakes her head. “I can’t think about that right now. I need to get to my father.”

“You aren’t going alone,” Puma says. “Mount up.”

I climb on my bike while Chloe rushes to her truck. Puma and the others race across the street and disappear into the clubhouse. A few minutes later, several bikers flow out of the clubhouse to mount their bikes. We fall in behind Chloe as she leads the way.

We pull into the parking lot of a bank under construction. I spot the familiar sign for DC Construction. Chloe slams the truck into gear and hops out, rushing into the building without closing the door of her truck. I shut it as I follow her inside. The building looks to be close to completion. Tarps and a few tools are lying around, but the structure is in place. Chloe calls out, then ducks into a room when someone responds. Inside, we find an older man lying on the floor. He’s holding a rag to his forehead. A quantity of blood stains the rag, which doesn’t bode well. Head wounds tend to bleed a lot, but the dazed look on the man’s face tells me that he could have a concussion.

“Dad, what happened?” Chloe asks, kneeling next to him. On the other side is someone I recognize from Chloe’s crew. He must have been the one to call her.

“Bill was touring the site when someone hit him from behind,” he explains to Chloe. “I found him like this. He’s refusing to go to the doctor.”

“He won’t have a choice,” Puma says. “I’ve called for an ambulance.”

Chloe sends him a grateful look.

“Who did this?” Chloe asks.

“Who do you think? It’s the same person who left that,” the man says, nodding at the wall behind us.

I turn to find that someone has written a message. The message, painted in bright red, sends a chill down my spine.

NEXT TIME IT WILL BE YOU, BITCH!

CHAPTER TWO: CHLOE

My heart pounds as I jump out of the truck before it’s even fully stopped.

The construction site is usually a place of noise and movement—engines running, men shouting, equipment clanking—but now an uneasy silence hangs over everything.

Spock, Puma, Rattler, Chill, Dice, and Viper spread out around me as I hurry inside the building. I spot a group of workers hanging around the completed space that will be the building manager’s office.

Then I see him.

“Dad!”

Relief and fear crash together inside me.