“AloneInARoom”—AskingAlexandria
“You all must be the luckiest motherfuckers in the world. Evidently, there’s a nomad convention in the Dallas area, and to top it off, they have a motherfucker from goddamn Australia there as a guest speaker,” Jameson’s voice carried through the phone’s speaker as it sat on the table. As the highest-ranking member, Raptor sat at the head of the table and had reached out to Jameson and Knuckles, the National SAA, with Venom’s okay.
Despite the gravity of the situation, there were several chuckles, as he was right. We’d gotten lucky there were so many who were close and willing to help.
“Fuck, Jameson, you know I’m happy to help when I can. I live for this shit,” Jigsaw said. He wasn’t lying either. As far as Jigsaw went, the more macabre the situation, the better. To each their own, though. Despite that, he was a good brother, and I could attest to his loyalty after he’d been there for Venom’s ol’ lady.
There were several nods and murmurs of agreement. Stone gave a grunt. That motherfucker was intimidating as fuck. He was here on “holiday,” but I called bullshit on that. If the look in his eyes was anything to go by, he was dealing with some emotional shit. Not that I’d call him out on it. I had my own shit to deal with. Like the fact that a woman I’d known a few days believed we were fated mates, and I didn’t know if I could truthfully argue that point.
Being away from her for this meeting left a hollow place in my chest as if she was physically gone and not in the other room.
“Talk about a merry band of misfits,” Jameson grumbled.
“No shit,” Knuckles added.
No one was offended. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room was fully aware that we all likely had a screw or two loose or had wandering souls. Top it off with the fact that the majority of us in the room had some type of “gift.” Okay, let’s be honest, sometimes they could be a curse—they were unexplainable paranormal abilities. As I looked around the room to the brothers, I was humbled at the way we came together as a club when needed.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Voodoo said. “It was a shock to learn I had a sister, but to learn that she was in some shit up to her neck, I wasn’t sure how we were going to figure it out and protect her and her mother on our own. I appreciate everyone helping out. Any word from Rooster?”
Raptor and Voodoo felt bad that they couldn’t look for him and Niara, but we were stronger together and had no idea what we might be up against. I completely understood where they were coming from, no matter how much it sucked.
“No,” Knuckles replied. “He carries a burner, so we had no way of tracking him.”
“Thanks again, Jameson,” Raptor said before running his hand over his face. “I need to give Venom a heads-up.”
“No problem. Wish I could’ve done more, but we’re not exactly around the block.”
“No worries. What you did by reaching out to everyone here and giving us approval if they were willing was more than we expected.” Raptor ended the call, then strummed his fingers on the table. Though he always said he hated filling in as our president when Venom was gone, he looked good at the head of the table. I could appreciate that he was level-headed and fair. Maybe he wasn’t a big talker, but he still got shit done when needed.
And he was an intimidating dude. Though he may appear to be a “sit and wait” kind of guy, he missed nothing. His road name suited him, and along with his form of remote viewing, he and Voodoo worked well together. It was how they’d tracked down Kira when she’d been taken.
“I’m sitting here because of my rank, but this is Voodoo’s sister and his show. I’m going to let him take over for a bit. Feel free to discuss ideas and plans you think might work. I’m going to make a call.” Raptor gave us a nod, scooped up his phone, and left the room.
Everyone started throwing out ideas. Most we shot down, others we set aside to dissect and maybe pair with better ideas for different options. Essentially, we all agreed that we needed to draw Belinda and Neville in, and this was likely the best place to do it. It was somewhat remote, which meant no witnesses. It was also fairly secure and easy to monitor the perimeters.
Suddenly the lights went off, and in a room with no windows, it essentially blinded us. Movement was swift and immediate as everyone stood and prepared for whatever was coming. We began to find our way to the door. None of us had flashlights because we left our phones sitting on the table outside the room.
The door to the chapel flew open, and I breathed a sigh of relief that it was Raptor and not someone I needed to fight.
“Voodoo, Phoenix—Sloane left,” Raptor said, and we immediately burst into the common area where there was at least some light. I tried to tell myself maybe she’d gone out for fresh air to clear her head. Yet, in my guts, I knew that wasn’t the case.
“What?” Voodoo asked.
“Stone’s car is gone,” Raptor explained. “I went outside to make my phone call. It didn’t click with me that the car was gone until I came in and the lights went out.”
Stone frowned and dug in his pocket. Disbelief marred his countenance when he raised his hand with the keys in it.
“Shit!” I muttered, wanting to punch or throw something. My gaze locked on Voodoo, then Raptor. “I’m going to find her.”
It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t an option. I was going to find her.
Raptor gave me the last location of Niara’s phone. It was an apartment complex. I assumed where she lived. If not, it was a place to start. I plugged it into my cell and attached my phone to the holder.
“I have some backup on the way,” Raptor informed us, and we gave him a brief surprised glance. “Some will be here shortly. The rest will meet up with you.”
“But—” I started, then stopped at his ask-no-questions expression. Instead, I gave him a definitive nod. I wasted no time pulling my helmet over my head and starting my bike. Tig jogged up the drive, presumably to open the gate for me.
“I’ll be going with,” Voodoo said as he straddled his bike and put his helmet on.