Struck Love

By missing, I mean no one knows where he is. He jumped the $100,000 bond that my family's company is going to get hit with. I overheard my brothers and dad speculating he'd be laying low in the Ravens clubhouse, but they can’t be sure.

This is the perfect opportunity for me to get them that answer and prove to them I can do this family business stuff too. I’m over being stuck in the office all day. I want action. They never let me do any of the field work, saying it’s too dangerous.

“I love you, Ollie, but I’m pretty sure all of your MC knowledge was learned from romance books.”

“Hey!” I huff. She’s starting to sound a lot like my brothers.

“I love those books too! So I’m totally not judging.” She holds her hands up. “I’m just saying it’s a three-mile trek from here to the backside of their compound. In the dark. Do you think you’re going to slip in the back door or something?”

“How else am I supposed to get inside?”

I was hoping to blend in once I got there. To find a side entrance or something. All I need to do is spot the guy. There is no way Eddie would let me take him in. Plus, there’s the small fact that I’m walking into an MC club, and I’m pretty sure the members aren’t going to let me take Eddie from their property.

“Why can’t we go in through the front door?” I open my mouth to give her an answer, but I really don’t have one. To be honest, it had never really crossed my mind. My brothers are always stealthy and sneaking up on the people they’re searching for.

“Like go to the party?”

“It’s not a bar, right? Do they check IDs?” Neither of us are twenty-one.

“How would I know?” I chew on my bottom lip. It does sound more logical to go through the front door. The more I think about walking three miles in the dark, I realize I wouldn't make it. My fear of the dark stems from my own mother.

Apparently, she took off with me one night when she decided she was leaving my dad. She’d driven a few hours out of town and got us booked into some hotel, where she left me. I ended up trapped in a closet or something. I don’t recall any of it, but since then, the dark freaks me out. I just know the darkness scared the crap out of me.

“These places let pretty girls in. We just need to get dolled up.” I stare at Vee.

“Seriously?”

“What? We can totally get dolled up.” Even as she says it, she doesn't seem so sure herself.

It’s not that we don’t enjoy getting all dressed up; we just never really had a reason to. We weren't in the cool cliques when we were in high school, so we never really went to any of the parties. After we graduated, we haven’t really gone anywhere since we aren’t old enough to drink.

It’s now or never. We get in and out. It can’t be that hard. I can do this. I’m going to prove to my dad and brothers I’m worthy of this bounty hunter license. That I can work in the field too.

“Do not say ‘what’s the worst that can happen.’” I point my finger at Vee when she starts to open her mouth to reassure me we can do this. She quickly closes her mouth.

This is a terrible idea, and we both know it, but at least we’ll go down in flames together.

3

Jason

“Do I even want to know why he’s out on bail?” I grab the back of my neck and squeeze. I think I already have a good idea. The glassiness I’ve been seeing in Copper’s eyes is from more than him having a few beers.

“Drugs. I’m not sure what they caught him with, but I’ll find out.” I shake my head.

What is wrong with this kid? The only reason I haven’t put him out on his ass already is due to the fact that his old man had ties to my dad. It might be good for him to get tossed in jail for a while. Straighten him out some.

I’m actually thankful for getting busted all those years ago. Who knows how I would have turned out? I wasn’t on a good path back then. I couldn’t stand my old man for how he treated my mother, but I’d been on a road to follow in his footsteps. Getting tossed into the military was the best thing that could have happened to me, truth be told.

“This is not good. We can’t hand him over to the police. That will not go down well with the veterans.” It’s a hard line I have to walk while trying to clean this place up. The first thing I did was go legit with our drug operation. My father may have done illegal activities out of this place, but I want no part of that life. I promised my mom I’d be a better man.