Battle Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 3)

“I’ll get my guys onto looking for them. What are your plans?”

“We’re looking for the rat we have. I’m hopeful once we find him, we’ll be able to drag information out of him that’ll give us a better idea of how the gang operates. And once we know for sure they’re making a move in Brisbane, I’ll come up. I’ve got a shipment coming in soon from Torres that I need to take care of, too.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything. Hang tight till then, brother.”

We end the call and I follow King out to our bikes. Eloise Carter lives forty minutes away and when we pull up outside her house, I take in the run-down area. The houses in her street look like their paint has been sucked off them; the yards haven’t seen a mower in weeks; and it feels like people are watching from behind their curtains, ready for conflict at any moment. This isn’t an area I would allow Birdie to step foot in.

King checks the surroundings before making his way up the path to the front door. A minute or so after he knocks, the door is yanked open by a teenage boy who stares at us like we’ve interrupted something important. “Yeah?”

“We’re looking for Eloise,” King says.

The kid’s hard eyes bore into King. “You and every other asshole in this shithole city are looking for her.”

“She home?” King asks.

“No she’s not fucking home. I haven’t seen her for three days.”

King throws out another question. “Who is she to you?”

The kid scowls. “She’s my fucking aunt. Who the fuck is she to you?”

“I used to know her a long time ago,” King says. “I’m looking to catch up with her.”

The kid’s scowl intensifies. “Yeah, well she’s on one of her benders, so good luck with that.” He slams the door shut, leaving us staring at the graffiti-covered door.

“What a fucking ray of sunshine he was,” King says, turning to face me.

My thoughts exactly. “You want me to organise for Striker to keep an eye on the house for when she returns?”

“Yeah. I wanna know why Moses is living with her.”

I frown. “How do you know that was Moses?”

“The little shit looks exactly like his father.”

“So Eloise was his sister? Or was she related to the mother?”

“Neither. My guess is she took the baby and ran, but we’ll confirm that. Whatever the reason, though, it’s good to know he’s alive.”

“Christ.” This shit is all kinds of fucked up.

My phone rings.

“Axe,” I answer it. “What have you got for us?”

“Nothing much unfortunately. The preliminary checks we ran on Leif Jensen revealed nothing except that he’s a ghost. He disappeared off the radar about ten years ago after serving in the military for fifteen years. There’s not been a whisper about him anywhere since. Zane’s digging deeper, though, so we’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

“You think it will?” I’m running out of patience with this gang. With this whole fucking situation.

“Sometimes we get lucky, but I’m not expecting much, so keep your expectations low.”

Something I appreciate about Axe is his practical, no-nonsense approach. I always keep my expectations low, but I welcome the reminder. “They’re lower than even yours, brother.”

We end the call and I relay the information to King before saying, “I wanna pay another visit to Albert. See if we can’t get him to squeal.”

King’s eyes glitter. “I fucking like the way you think, brother.”

I make a call to Striker and organise him to get over here to watch for Eloise’s return. Then, King and I head to Albert’s club. The last time we visited him together didn’t end well for Albert. I’m in the mood for more of the same if he doesn’t have anything useful to share.