“I will, but Max, I don’t think she will. There was something wrong. She wouldn’t tell me what it was… I tried to talk to her, but Casey’s never been one to let anyone get too close.”
Max knew Casey didn’t have many friends, but he had believed she had someone she would confide in. Gianna had dispelled that illusion.
There was only one person who had the information he needed, and it was long overdue for them to have a talk.
* * *
“Where is she?” Max asked his stepmother as she painted her fingernails.
“Who?” Renee looked up at him from her seat on the couch.
Max retained his temper out of respect to his father, who was standing next to him after letting him inside.
“Casey? Where is she?”
“How would I know? I haven’t seen her in months, not since she tried to get the Predators arrested.” She finished painting one hand and waved it in the air. “Have you tried calling her?”
“Yes, she’s not answering her calls. Casey asked her friend to sell all her things and to give you the money.”
The greedy excitement in her eyes before she concealed her expression disgusted Max. How could the woman not be concerned for her daughter, who had disappeared without a trace?
“Where would she go?”
“How should I know? She never tells me shit.” Renee shrugged. “Casey will turn up.” She began painting her other hand. “Don’t worry about her. She knows how to take care of herself.”
Max wanted to shake the woman; instead, he went outside to stand on the porch.
“I’ll talk to her and find out if she has any idea where Casey could be,” Mugg said, coming outside to stand next to him.
“Find out what you can. If I talk to her any longer…” Max took a good look at his father’s worn expression. “Everything okay?”
“We’re not exactly getting along right now. Renee bought an expensive ring I told her we couldn’t afford. I barely have enough to pay the bills this month.”
“I could help,” he offered.
“Not going to take money from my son again. If she doesn’t take it back, I’m leaving. Ice said I could stay at the clubhouse.”
“You talked to Ice and not me?”
“You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. Didn’t want to trouble you with my problems with Renee. She’ll take the ring back.” Max heard the doubt in his father’s words.
“If you change your mind, I have a few bucks I could let you have,” Max offered again, seeing the stubborn pride that would keep his father from accepting any help from him.
“No, thanks. Don’t worry, Max. Either she takes the ring back, or I’m leaving.” Mugg gave him a wry smile. “I’m too old to let a woman destroy me. Sometimes, you have to know when to walk away.”
“Are you talking about yourself or me?”
“Both of us, son, both of us.”
Max rode back to the clubhouse, finding the Predators sitting around. Many of them still watched him warily, keeping their distance.
“Where have you been? I’ve called you three times,” Ice questioned.
“Been busy.” Max went behind the counter, getting himself a beer. “What did you need?”
“We have a buy in a couple of hours. I need you and Jackal to make sure everything goes down okay. You up for it?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Max drank his beer, staring coldly at Lizard, who came into the room with crutches under his arms. The cast on his leg didn’t make Max feel better. He wished he had broken his other leg so the son of a bitch had to get around in a wheelchair.
“Leave him alone. I don’t want any more trouble between you two. He’s going to give you his cut for the next two months to make it up to you.”
“He shouldn’t have touched her like that. We don’t force women.” Max raised his voice enough that Lizard and the other brothers could hear him.
Buzzard stopped before crossing the floor, hobbling toward him.
“You’re right. I was stoned and drunk. It’s not an excuse, never done a woman that way in my life. I want to tell her I’m sorry. I feel like shit for—”
“She’s gone. I don’t know where she is.” Max slammed his beer down onto the counter.
“Gone?” Ice asked sharply.
“Disappeared, asked someone from work to clean her apartment out and sell her shit. Didn’t want the money, either. Told her to give it to Renee.”
“Doesn’t sound like she’s coming back to Queen City,” Ice said.
“No, it doesn’t.” Max ran his hand through his shaggy hair.
“Want me to get Jackal to find her?”
“Yeah.” Max knew he was opening himself up to ridicule from the brothers, but he needed to straighten things out between him and Casey. Then he could move on and close the door between them.
“What are you going to do when you find her?” Ice questioned.