~*~

“Thanks for coming out tonight.” I wipe the sweat off my forehead with a bandanna and shove it into my back pocket. “For those of you who’ve been listening to us play but don’t have a fucking clue who we are . . .” The crowd of over a thousand people erupts in cheers, chanting for one more song. “We’re Ataxia.”

The lights drop to dark, our cue to get off so that Five Finger Death Punch can take the stage.

The show was amazing. Playing The House of Blues has been a dream of ours and we’ve finally done it. We left everything we had up on that stage, and the place is begging for more.

I step down the steps and head backstage. Talon, Lane, and Ty follow me into our dressing room. I’m on such a high from the show I don’t notice the small group of girls standing off in the corner until their giggles give them away.

Groupies. Awesome.

Oh well, at least the guys will have fun. A few beers to come off the adrenaline rush and then home for a hot shower are the only things on my agenda for tonight. I pull a cold beer out of a trough-style bucket the bar set up for us.

“How’re you doing?” The feminine voice from over my shoulder sounds familiar.

I grin and turn around. “Trix, what’s up, girl?” I give her a quick hug. “I’m good. You?”

Neither of us says what we really mean. How are you without Mac?

She clicks her tongue and nods. “I’m good. Got a new roommate.” Her head jerks to the side, motioning to a girl who’s basically wearing underwear and high heels, talking to Talon.

“That’s good.” I take a long pull off my beer.

Her fingers sift through blond hair that is now adorned with a bright purple streak. “You?” She lifts one eyebrow.

“Nope. No new roommate.”

Her eyes grow tight. “You know what I mean.”

I shrug. “I’m good.” No, I’m not. I miss her. “You want a beer?”

“Sure.” She takes the fresh beer I offer and picks at the label. “Hatch was in town for a few days.”

“That’s too bad.” A grin tugs at my lips.

She chuckles and drops her gaze, pink coloring her cheeks. What the fuck? Trix embarrassed? “Yeah, uh, he mentioned . . .” She shakes her head and her shoulders slump. “Shit.”

A slow sickness spreads through my gut. “What?”

She doesn’t look at me. “I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t say anything, but—”

Lane steps up beside her and pulls her to his side. “Trix are definitely not for kids.”

He leans down to whisper something in her ear, and she fakes a smile, but worry paints her expression. She’s usually all bubbles and laughter, and watching her this uneasy makes me anxious. Something’s up.

“Lane, man, give us a minute?” I keep my eyes on Trix.

Her eyes go wide.

“Fine, you can start the night with him.” He smacks her ass. “But you’re ending it with me.”

If I wasn’t so worried about what was going on with her, I’d roll my eyes at the idiot.

After he walks away, I step in closer to Trix. “What were you saying about Hatch?”

She’s all over the place, shifting on her feet, eyes darting. “He was here for a few—”

“Cut the bullshit, Trix. You already told me that.” My muscles are tense and I could put my fist through a wall.

“He screwed up.”

“What does that mean?” I spit the question through clenched teeth.

She bites her lip and moisture glosses her eyes. “It’s Mac.”

My head gets light and my body sways. Hatch screwed up. It’s Mac. That could mean anything and everything and all of it bad.

“What. About. Mac.” The corners of my jaw pulse, and I imagine every kind of horror a man like Hatch is capable of.

“I didn’t know who else to go to.” The desperation in her voice cranks my pulse higher. “Hatch is on the run for some serious shit. He wouldn’t tell me what but said he had to disappear for a while.”

“Trix, I swear to God if you don’t start telling me what the fuck this has to do with Gia, I’m going rip this room apart.”

“Who’s Gia?”

I rear back and chuck my beer across the room. Glass shatters and the amber liquid drips down the wall. One of the guys yells “Rock-n-roll” and the girls whoop and holler.

Her eyes grow wide and she holds up her hands. “Okay, just hear me out before—”

“Talk right fucking now!”

“Hatch has been filling me in on how she’s doing.” The words pour from her mouth in a rush.

“And how the fuck would that asshole know how she’s doing?”

She rubs the back of her neck and cringes. “I think you know the answer to that.”

What? No. Gia’s with Hatch? The guy who fucking cold-cocked her in her own damn driveway? The biker piece of shit she can’t stand?

I groan and drop down into a nearby chair, counting the months since I last saw her. She’s been with him that entire time? Wait, he has to disappear? For what?

“Keep talking.” A growl rumbles behind my words. I need to hear more, but fuck, I don’t know if I can handle what she’s going to say.

“Mac’s been living at the MC Compound with Hatch. He had to take off, and he can’t let anyone know he’s disappearing or where he’s going. He stopped for an overnight in Vegas to pick up a little traveling money. That’s when he told me.”

Mac, my Gia . . . with him?

“The only reason he told me all this was because he’s worried about her. Guess she’s in pretty bad shape and he takes care of her.”

“I bet he fucking does.” Fucking piece of shit asshole. I hope he disappears in a dark dirt hole in the middle of nowhere.

Her hand rests on my knee, and I see she’s squatted down to my level. “I don’t know what Hatch did that has him running, but it’s bad.”

How could Gia trust a guy like him? Was she that desperate that she’d give any part of her life to a raging ass like Hatch?

I shoot up from my chair. “Where is she?”

She shakes her head and rises from her squat. “That’s the thing. I have no idea where the compound is. It’s like some fucking biker secret.”

My mind spins with ways to track it down and comes up blank.

“He never mentioned where he lived? Dropped hints?”

“Yes and no.” Her voice is serious, calling me from my shock. “You know who Hatch used to work for, right?”

“Don’t give a fuck.”

She huffs out a breath. “Well, you should.”

“He’s a drug dealer. That’s all I need to know to conclude the dude is bad news.”

She shakes her head and studies the floor. “I think he’s worse than that.”

“Who did he work for?”

“He worked directly under Dominick Morretti.”

My gaze darts to hers. “You sure?”

“Yes. He used to brag about it all the time. When Dominick was killed, Hatch bitched that he’d lose the compound.”

“You’re saying Morretti owns the MC’s hideout?”

“Owned it. But when he died—”

“Raven inherited it all.” I rub my eyes, thinking back to Jonah and Raven’s wedding reception. He hid his illegal activity in billions of dollars in real estate, most residential high-rises meant for the insanely rich. She got all his assets when he died, but sold them to fund Raven’s Nest. Shit!

“Trix, I need any information you can give me. Did he ever mention where he spends most of his time? Even a guess is better than starting with nothing.”

“My best guess? Colorado. He and the guys always talked about The Devil’s Hog. It’s a bar or hangout of some kind.”

“Colorado. Anywhere else he may’ve mentioned?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” A tear threatens to spill from her heavily made up eye. “One more thing. I don’t know if it’s important, but when he was here, he mentioned something that sounded off to me. He specifically said that she ‘depends on him’ and he was worried about leaving her.”

A woman like Mac would depend on no one. That’s a lie. It has to be.

“I don’t know what that means, Rex, but I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time.”

Fuck!

I grab my keys and phone from my guitar box and pull on my black baseball hat. I’m halfway down the hallway when Trix’s high heels clack-clack behind me.

“Where are you going?”

I don’t know yet, but I’ll scour the country to find Gia if that’s what it takes. Urgency pushes me to a jog.

“Rex?”

“I’m bringing her home.”

~*~

I called Jonah on my way, so I’m not surprised to find him standing on his front step when I show up. It’s close to midnight. My chest warms for a flash at his show of friendship and loyalty, but quickly dies when I remember why I’m here.

I park and jog up to him. “Jonah, thanks for—”

“Anytime, man, you know that.”

“Raven up?”

“Sadie’s having a growth spurt, so she’s nursing every hour. Yeah, she’s up.” He motions for me to follow him inside. “Come on; she’s in the office.”

My feet are almost burning to run back and start yelling instructions, but getting my ass kicked by Jonah will only hold off my search.

“Baby, Rex is here.” Jonah announces our arrival into the home office and once inside I can see why.

Raven has her face inches from the computer, her hand clicking on the mouse. She looks up for a split second but goes right back to the screen. “Hey, I’m trying to find some real estate files I remember seeing on this disc. If that Hatchet guy worked for Dominick, there’s a good chance he funded the purchase of their compound or co-signed. He owned a ton of property and kept very detailed files.”

Her blue-green eyes bounce around the computer screen to the beat of every mouse click. Guilt turns my stomach. They’re willing to help me out, and they don’t have all the information. Yet.