His Property (Iron Bandits MC)

Jack was not one of them.

I needed to focus solely on Peter.

Relying on Jack, leaning on him, was disastrous for me personally. I had finally figured that out. I was in this alone. All I had was Peter, and once I got him back, Peter would be my lodestone.

Not that I wasn’t grateful and super-appreciative of all the help and support and generosity of Jack and all of the Iron Bandits, including the old ladies. They were awesome to me, and to Peter, and I felt way better about entering this trailhead knowing they had my back, and had a plan for taking down the psycho. My newest determination to keep independent of Jack really had nothing to do with today’s activities, which considered alone, might have made me come to a completely opposite realization.

But I also knew that once today was over, I needed to be Jack-free. I needed to focus on building a life as a single mom for my sweet son, because I was utterly determined that I would get him back. Within minutes, hopefully, or hours, at most, I prayed to God.

Oh, I knew what Jack said, what he had meant when he told me that the MC would all have my back. That was the way they functioned, and since Keith had been among their members, I also understood that they would always be there for me and Peter, should we ever need them like this in the future—good God, but I hoped not. Once was plenty, thank you very much. More than enough.

But leaning too much on Jack, focusing too much on Jack, made me lose track of my baby. My mind had been on Jack, not on Peter, when Brian had entered the house and stolen my son. I had forgotten to turn the alarm back on after a quick run to the grocery store yesterday morning, as well. It was a series of unfortunate events, really. But every time my mind wandered to all things Jack-related, it was like I got lost in a fog.

And that was unsafe for Peter. I needed to cut that crap out of my life. It made me a bad mother. And that was unacceptable.

So, Jack had to go. Regardless of how great he was being today. That hug he gave me just before I started out on the trail, to me was like a send-off. I chose to take it that way. I knew that’s not exactly what he was probably thinking about, but it’s where I needed to go with it. So when I pulled away, I was ready. For Brian. For Peter. For whatever came next.

I was going to get my son back. And then, I was going to be Super Mom.

I was going to kick ass, starting immediately.

# # #

I followed the twisty-turny trail, in awe of my surroundings. The living rock formations were like something out of a Hollywood movie set for Planet Freak Out. They were huge boulder-like things, but also like columns, rising in bunches and dotting the land everywhere I could see.

The trail made no obvious linear sense, and I almost got dizzy as I followed the path.

Just being on the trail alone was a scary thing. I felt vulnerable. It took an effort not to look behind me, like Orpheus, in search of a chance sighting of Jack or any of the MC guys.

But I remembered my determination, stiffened my spine, and plunged onward. I could do this, and I would. Peter was out there, and he needed me. That was all that mattered.

I walked onward for what felt like forever, but what was probably closer to a half-hour, maybe forty minutes. The landscape had opened up enough for me to see that I was generally following along the bottom of a canyon, with walls rising up to be topped off by more of those amazing, intimidating rock columns. If Brian had wanted to choose a campgrounds that would give him an advantage over a person less familiar with outdoor survival—like myself—he could hardly have made a better choice. Had I not known that the MC was at my back, I would have been entirely freaked out by now.

The trail took another curve, and the vista narrowed again. It was beautiful, but also somewhat suffocating. I stopped for a moment in some shade to dig out a trail bar and sip some water, when I heard something rustle ahead.

Finally. Brian appeared, complete with camo paint on his face. What a fucking freak.

But then again, I thought, the saying was true. Just because a person might be paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get him. There was a whole pack of people out to get Brian today.

Before he got very close, I pretended to jostle myself awkwardly, adjusting my backpack, in order to dump some of the cheese puffs on the ground, to mark the meeting spot.