Page 59 of Sabre’s Guard

“Fuckin’ hell,” Siege swears under his breath. “As if this shit weren’t real enough already. Do her family know?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. She hadn’t told me yet, I think she was planning to later today.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know. Why don’t you go help Zen and Lexi sort through the information on the family. We need to start ranking properties in terms of how likely they are to be used as a place to stash your old lady and kid.”

“Sure thing, Prez.”

***

Every property, cousin, and church member we cross off the list narrows the search. It’s necessary work, but every dead end represents more time Linsey and Noah are spending with their kidnappers. I stand in front of the map and study the vehicle switch point until the roads begin to blur together.

Sometime after two in the morning, Zen makes a strangled sound behind his computers. I turn and find him staring at a gap in the family tree.

“What did you find?”

“There’s a hole in this family’s history.”

Zen turns one screen towards us and explains that he mapped everything Linsey’s known relatives currently own in Montana, but her father’s family didn’t begin there. Her great-grandparents homesteaded in California before moving north during the Fifties. Most of their land was sold, but one parcel has remained in the family.

“The old survey shows one hundred sixty acres in the Estrella Hills with a farmhouse, barn and several outbuildings. The land belonged to his grandmother and has been tied up in probate for years. A lawyer in Billings pays the taxes from an account that has operated automatically for decades. This is it, Sabre. The property is fifty-one miles from the point where they switched vehicles. That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

I look at the map and that’s when my excitement starts to mount too. “They could even reach it from the switch point without touching the freeway or passing any known traffic cameras. You’re right. This is the best lead we’ve found so far.”

“I’m gonna call Shelly,” I tell him. “We need intel instead of going into this blind.”

Shelly answers on the second ring at two in the morning. She whispers because she can’t risk anyone hearing her talk to us. When I give her the location and describe the property, she knows it immediately.

“The family calls it the Home Place,” she tells us. “I went there twice when I was little for reunions. There’s no electricity, so they use lanterns and a generator. The farmhouse has a root cellar that scared me as a child.”

“Does Linsey’s father go there much?” Zen asks.

“Yeah, he drives down to inspect it and make sure the groundskeeper is doing his job. He used to say it was the only place where family business stayed family business.”

I ask Shelly a few questions about how to best approach the property from the road and then thank her for talking to us. I don’t tell her about Linsey and Noah being abducted and she doesn’t ask why I called at two in the morning. That tells me that either she knows what’s happened, or she knows something’s up and doesn’t ask for details in case her uncle tries to beat the information out of her.

Poor kid.

Siege and the other club officers crowd around Zen’s computer and look at the evidence spread across Zen’s screens. Siege announces, “That’s got to be the place. We need to move right away. Remember the group text I sent about Sabre’s old lady being pregnant. That means we need to be extra careful and prioritize getting her out first.” Stopping for a second to look around at all the brothers, he says, “I want everyone to gear up. We’re wheels up in thirty minutes.”

And just like that, every brother in the room jumps into action.

Chapter 19

Linsey

My father brings me to the old Home Place. I’d forgotten this place even existed. It’s in California and an hour and a half from Las Salinas. I’ve never liked this old ruin of a homestead. It’s one of several properties that have been in our family for generations. It’s also old and run-down, with no amenities. I dust off a chair and sit on it, dreading the moment I need to use the restroom because I’ll have to use the outhouse.

While I’m sitting there worrying myself sick, the door opens, and they shove Noah in the room with me. I fly out of my chair and meet him halfway. Relief floods my mind when I finally have him in my arms. But there’s also more worry. I’d hoped that Sabre would have been able to get to him first.

“Are you okay, bug? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

He whispers, “Mom, I’m fine. We need to stay together and stay tough.”

Shaking my head, I ask, “Say what now?”

“Pay attention. This is important. I sent Sabre everything before I got into the car. I forwarded the picture of you and the message they sent. Then I deleted the part showing that I forwarded it in case they checked my phone, but I don’t think they checked.”

His eyes glance nervously at the closed door, even though his voice is steady. “Sabre knows they took us. The club will find this place because Zen can find anything. Our mission is to stay brave until they get here.”