“And you.” Tiny looks at me. “If I find out that anyone, and I mean anyone, has laid a hand on my daughter…” He shudders. “I will go to prison for killing you,” he said. “And I will enjoy every minute of it.”

  He spends a few more minutes explaining how he’s going bury my remains and piss on my poorly hidden grave before Dog steps in with a helping hand. “Okay,” he says. “Now that we’re clear how many different ways you’re planning to kill these two, let’s figure out a plan.”

  Morris nods and hands Tiny a huge mug of coffee. “We know these assholes want Tim or these assholes are Tim. When did you last hear from this jailbird, and what can we do to find him?” He directs the question to both Arrow and me.

  We jump in with what we know. We talk about the timeline, when I last heard from my brother, and we go over everything that Arrow knows about Tim and Juliette.

  But like everything else, rehashing the details brings us right back to where we started.

  No new information.

  No ideas.

  No leads.

  Tiny looks at Arrow and points to a chair.

  Arrow looks as if he’s considering not sitting, sizing up Tiny, the vibe in the room, and the bikers who outnumber him, but he drops down.

  “I wanna know everything,” Tiny seethes. “Leave no detail out.”

  I’m not sure I want to hear every detail again, but if there’s any nugget, any shred of information that might shed new light on what happened, I’ll listen to Arrow describe in detail almost kissing my girl. Thankfully, he leaves that part out.

  He explains that they were dancing, she went to the bathroom, that he thought there might be some confusion over whether or not this was a date, and that for a while, even he wasn’t sure if Lia and I were trying to pull something over on him.

  “Sweet fuck,” Tiny blurts out. “You all need to lay off the podcasts or whatever shit you watch.”

  I don’t bother correcting him.

  We talk through the fact that the solution has to lie some place in or around Checkers.

  “We need someone on the inside at Checkers to talk,” Tiny says. “There’s no way a kidnapping happens inside a bar without somebody seeing something. Somebody knows Tim or you—” He points accusingly at Arrow. “And they knew something was up when you came in two nights in a row, feeling people out.”

  Even Dog shakes his head at that. “Isn’t there some kind of bounty hunter code? Do you have, like, other shithead friends you can ask around? How easy can it be for a felon on the run with a woman to stay in hiding? No money, no friends.” He looks at me. “You haven’t heard from your brother, so you’re not helping him out.”

  It wasn’t a question, but I feel the need to answer it anyway. Not if there’s even a suggestion out there that I might be helping out Tim.

  “Hell no,” I say. “It’s been a year plus, and after everything I’ve learned about him this week…that asshole better know not to come to me for help.”

  Tiny’s looking furious and exhausted—a dangerous combination for all of us. He wants someone to blame—we all do. But even more than that, I want answers. I want to do something. Unlike before, when I wanted to run away from this, I now want names, addresses, and goddamn phone numbers. I want to kick ass with my own hands and bring Lia back home safely.

  “Checkers,” I say. “We have to get back in there and shake them down. If they know a girl was kidnapped, I can’t imagine any of them want to take the fall for that kind of shit.”

  “Those people,” Josh adds, “they don’t talk. Or they won’t now. That’s why I was trying to hang out, see what I could shake loose. This isn’t my first fucking rodeo. In my line of work, you don’t get clients by having a slick Instagram account. You’ve got to hang out where the clients are. Let them know who you are and build up that trust.”

  “Trust,” Tiny spits. “You of all people should know there’s no fucking honor among thieves.”

  Josh continues, but the tension is building. We’re all feeling the pressure of decisions made when we had no clue how high the stakes really were.

  “Exactly my point,” Arrow says. “It cuts both ways. If I’m gonna do what I do, people have to know who I am. I’m guessing that bringing Lia there made people suspicious. And yeah… That’s on me.”

  “One hundred percent,” Tiny says, glaring at Arrow. “Which is why you’re going there tomorrow, and you’re going to talk to every single person who works there, owns the place, the suppliers of the beer. I don’t care what you have to do, someone in that bar knows how to find Tim. You find these people. No more of this James Bond bullshit. You go in heavy and hard,” Tiny demands. “You carry?”

  Josh shakes his head. “No, I—”

  Tiny holds up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it.” He looks at Dog. “You help this pansy-ass bail whatever he is. You don’t take no for an answer, you hear me? You shake loose everyone and everything you can, and don’t give up until we get a lead on my daughter.”

  Dog nods and pats his belt. “We’ll get lips flapping, Tiny. We’ll get something.”

  After arguing for what seems like hours, disagreeing about everything, finally, Tiny pulls rank. “I’m in charge from here on out.” Since he’s the president of the MC, none of us are going to fight him. He eyeballs Arrow. “You got a problem with that, you can go. We take care of our own, and right now, there’s only one man in this room who’s not one of us.”

  I swallow a mouthful of sand as he says that. Tiny’s supporting me, but only because he has to. And if this thing doesn’t end well with Lia…I’ll be the first one to pay the price, and I’ll take that punishment willingly.

  “Priority one is finding Tim,” Tiny says as he points to Josh and then Dog. “You cover Checkers. You got that? I’m putting every member of the club on this,” Tiny continues. “By noon tomorrow, I want a lead on this Tim person.”

  Josh opens his mouth to say something, but Dog shakes his head and pulls Arrow back.

  “When Tiny gives an order, you nod your head. If you want it to stay on your neck,” Dog says. He points to Arrow. “You hear anything from anyone about anything that could help find Lia, you tell us, all of us, immediately. You hear?”

  Arrow nods. “Look, I want to find Lia as much as—”

  Tiny looks at Arrow with a withering look. “Don’t make me kick your ass. I’m old, I’m tired, and—” he cracks his knuckles for dramatic effect “—I’m out of patience.”

  Arrow nods, and he and Dog depart.

  That leaves Morris, Tiny, and me.

  I can’t say anything. I can’t apologize, can’t defend myself. All I do is sit there. Miserable.

  I stare at my coffee, all lukewarm and gross in the bottom of my mug. I can’t even imagine where Lia is right now. How scared or cold or hungry she might be. I can’t even begin to think what she’s going through if whoever has her wants her hurt or scared. I’m hoping if they really want to trade her for Tim, that they won’t actually hurt her. But if they do… This is the one time I wish I had weapons. But it’s also probably for the best I don’t.

  Tiny and Dog have an arsenal of guns, but Morris stopped carrying a long time ago. But those guys, they’ll go in dirty if they think they have to. I probably should have patted down Tiny’s pockets when he got here. No doubt he’s got a couple bullets with my name on them.

  “Where you want me?” Morris asks.

  “Go home to your family,” Tiny says. “If we don’t have any information by morning, we may need to start calling in favors. I’ll be calling on you for that.”

  I knew what he meant. I’d never met them, but I knew they had connections in all kinds of places—law enforcement, private security. You don’t trot out those kinds of friends unless you need a serious favor—the kind that’s not easy to pay back.

  I can’t believe my brother put me and everyone I care about in this situation. I feel sick, ashamed. I want this nightmare to end for Lia, but goddamn, I want this to be over for all of us. Ever since Tim walked out, my life has been one shame-filled shit sandwich. I’ve been taking bites of it one at a time.

  Morris comes over and squeezes my shoulder with one hand. “Stay strong,” he says. I know he means the squeeze to be helpful, but I can’t take any comfort in it. It reminds me of how much I stand to lose. The people I’ve come to rely on, treat as family. Alice and Morris and Zoey think of Lia as family.

  What the fuck will they do if something happens to her?

  I don’t see any outcome that is recoverable except one—finding Lia and bringing her home safe.

  Morris and Tiny trade looks, and I swear they communicate on some subconscious level. Morris nods as if he’s agreed to some silent plan between the two of them.

  Whatever they say, whatever they want to do, I’ll do it. I can’t stand the thought that Lia is spending a night alone someplace. Not knowing if she’s being harmed or if she’s cold or hungry fucking kills me.

  I hope to God my brother has her, because as much as I want to kill him for what he’s doing to all of us, I’d rather her be with someone who I know is a fuck-up but harmless.

  After Morris leaves, it’s just me and Tiny and the worst night of my life. And it’s only getting started.

  “You wanna crash here?” I ask. “I think it’ll be good for you to be here in case Lia comes back. Just in case anything goes down here at the house.”

  “Where you planning on going?” Tiny’s eyes are red, and he’s looking at me with distrust. Even through the stress, I can tell he’s beat.

  We all are.

  “I’m going to go look for her, man,” I say. “I need to be out there. Looking.”

  Tiny shakes his head. “Where the fuck you gonna look? If you have any idea where she might be, your ass should have already been there. Let the guys handle it.”

  I tear at my hair with my hands. “I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

  “I want you to not go off half-cocked, driving the streets in the middle of the night like an asshole,” he says. “We don’t need you in trouble too.”

  “Come on, man,” I punch the table, bringing the dogs running for cover.

  Tiny scowls. “I’m gonna get my ass back to the compound.”

  “You should be here. This is her home. Why don’t you take the dogs and go on up and get a little rest? An hour, tops. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”

  Tiny grunts. “If I crash for an hour, will you keep your puny ass here and not go riding off into the night to look for her?”

  “Yeah,” I lie. “You rest for one hour, I’ll chill the fuck out and think about everything I can do to find Tim, and we’ll regroup.”

  He seems a lot more vulnerable now. Lost. Like all the anger and rage have been hiding a confused, sad man. And the truth is, this is exhausting. Scary.

  He’s only just got Lia back, and I’m sure he’s realizing how deep his feelings for her run. He may not have memories of holding her through skinned knees and graduations, but Lia leaves a deep impression. To know her is to be struck by her light. Her kindness. I can’t imagine finding that woman as an adult, learning she was my daughter, only to be faced with possibly losing her.

  I can’t fathom having her and losing her either. I told myself it was all fun and games. Light. Easy.

  Fuck easy. I’ll never, ever take what I have for granted again. Not my business, my house. My friends. My family.

  “I won’t sleep,” Tiny says. But I can tell he’s considering it. “Is it weird sleeping in my grown-up kid’s bed?”

  “Nah,” I say. “It’s not weird.” I immediately picture the lube and condoms. Fuck, I haven’t been in her room since yesterday morning. I need to regroup and fast. “But, uh, how about you crash on the couch?” I suggest. “I’ll grab you some pillows and blankets.”

  I head upstairs and scan Lia’s room. There are clothes—tiny things she must have tried and discarded before her date with Arrow—and necklaces and shit on the bed. I pick up the cheap string of beads and set all the clothes on her dresser, sweep the clothes onto the floor, and grab all the blankets and pillows in my arms.

  I breathe in the familiar fragrance of her as I head back downstairs.

  Tiny is sitting on the couch with his head back against the cushions. His eyes are half closed, so I leave the pillows beside him and set the blankets near his legs.

  After I leave the bedding with Tiny, I corral the dogs up the stairs. I lock them in Lia’s room and turn the sound machine and night-light on.

  The sun will rise soon, but they know that when their machines are running, they need to be quiet and stay calm.

  When he wakes up and I’m gone, I’m only going to give him that much more reason to distrust me.

  But it’s worth it.

  I tiptoe down the stairs and grab the keys to my truck. It’ll be a lot quieter than firing up my bike. I need to get out without waking the big man, because if he knew what I have planned… Well, he wouldn’t snuggle down on my couch and watch it play out.

  I don’t leave a note or anything, and as I slip out of my house, I hope it’s the last time I ever have to lie to Tiny.

  15

  Leo

  I pull into the parking lot of my shop and am hit by a ton of emotions.

  Rage.

  Fear.

  Regret.

  Sadness.

  Everything that I’ve been working through over the last couple of hours seems to hit me even stronger now, but I do my best to get control of myself.

  I unlock the shop and stalk toward my desk. “Asshole,” I mutter, thinking about my brother.

  I close the folder on the desk and nearly have a heart attack when I notice something moving outside in the parking lot. I get up from the desk and grab an ancient iron wrench.

  I head toward the door and grab a wrench because my dumb ass doesn’t have a weapon.

  When the door is pulled open slowly, I get the shock of my goddamn life. “Tim?” I say, shock and horror at war in my chest.

  My brother darts his eyes from left to right, looking like the fox caught in the henhouse. “You alone?” he asks. “Anybody else here?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I drop the wrench, and in two long strides, I’ve got my forearm pressed against Tim’s throat. He’s not even struggling, not even trying to fight me. “Where the fuck is Lia?”

  “Who?” Tim coughs, and it’s then I can see it. He’s in a bad way. His eyes are rimmed with red, and he’s pale.

  I shove him once more, hard against the door, but then I release him. “You’re drug sick,” I seethe. “You’re on what? Heroin?” I turn and start to walk away before I realize I need Tim alive, with me, if I want to make a trade for Lia, but I still don’t know if he’s the one who’s got her.

  “You disappear for a year and leave me with the fallout? I oughta fucking call the cops and turn you in right now.”

  I make like I’m going to pick up my phone, but Tim stops me. “You call, I’m dead,” he says simply. But he drops down in the chair opposite my desk and covers his face in his hands. “I’m probably dead anyway. Just—whatever, Leo.”

  He shocks me by bursting into tears. Actual grown man fucking crying tears. “It’s so goddamn good to see you. I thought… I–I thought I’d never see you again. How are you?”

  He makes me sick, and the tears make me feel nothing.

  “How am I?” I shout. “How am I? How the fuck can you come in here ‘little bro’ing’ me when you left me? You left, Tim! What the fuck do you think I’m supposed to say, seeing you like this? Do you know what I’ve been through because of you?”

  I pick up the wrench I dropped, and I throw it at the wall of the shop, and it bounces off the cinder block.

  “Whoa, stay cool,” he urges. “Hear me out.”

  “Hear you out?” I walk over to the wrench, grab it off the floor, and head back toward Tim with it. “No, you asshole. You hear me out. The woman I love was kidnapped. Because of you. Now I either have to hand you over to the assholes who have her, or I don’t know what. They kill her? Worse? And that’s only what your bullshit has cost me over the last few hours.”

  “Aw fuck, brother…” Tim sinks lower in the chair, covering his face with his hands. “Somebody got your girl? Are you sure?”

  “I’m fucking sure,” I snarl.

  I come around to his chair and get in his face. Now, he’s nothing to me. He’s the reason my life is in the toilet and being sucked down the goddamn drain. He holds my future and Lia’s life in his ruined hands.

  “Are you behind this?” I demand. I pull out my phone and show him the text. “My girl for you,” I grit out. “They want you, so they took her.”

  Tim looks around the shop wildly. “Do they know anything?” he asks.

  “Anything about what?” I demand.

  “About me,” he says. “Do you think they know how to find me?”

  “Think about it, Einstein,” I say, using the slam we used on each other when we were kids and did something incredibly stupid. “Would they bother kidnapping a girl if they knew how to get to you?”

  Tim gets up out of the chair, but I grab his shirt, not letting him walk away. I catch a whiff of him, and it’s obvious he’s been on the run. He smells rank, and I can feel his bones beneath his shirt.

  “It’s not a good idea for you to leave,” I say. “Not until I get my girl home safe.”

  Tim nods. “I know what they want.”

  “So, you’re not behind this.” I need to hear him say it. “You didn’t kidnap my girlfriend as a ploy to throw off Arrow?”

  “Arrow?” He seems totally confused. “Fuck. Arrow came to you, didn’t he?”

  “You thought he wouldn’t?” I snap. “You put up my goddamn house.”

  “Our house,” Tim corrects quietly.

  “It’s my goddamn house!” I scream, shaking him by his bony shoulders. “You motherfucking left me and ran off. That’s when it stopped being ours.”

  Once I start, I can’t stop. I’m screaming in rage.

  “Do you know the bank took this place? I almost lost Gramps’s shop. The truck. Everything! Because of you! Because of your drugs. Because of your lies. Because you’re a selfish prick!”