“If you think I’ll be your damn snitch,” the boy spat, “and tell you where Dani is, you can all go straight to hell.”
Silence fell over the clubhouse. I shot to my feet but I barely took a step before Bear put himself between me and the boy.
“We didn’t say anything about Dani,” Brewer replied, pinning the boy with a black stare.
The boy scowled but kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll talk to him,” I said.
Brewer jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Rooster and Tank.
“Get the boy into the back room and stay with him. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
Brewer turned to me and jabbed a finger in my chest.
“Sit your ass down. You are too hot for this right now.”
“But he knows something about Dani,” I protested.
“Don’t push your luck here, Crow. You’re in bad shape and I want to bench you for it. I know you won’t stand down until you get Dani back though so I’m going easy on you. If you test me, even a little, that’s it. You’re out. Clear?”
Grinding my teeth, I nodded once to acknowledge that I understood, even though I didn’t like it.
Brewer gestured to Bear.
“Go put the fear of God into that little boy in there.”
Bear vanished into the back room. I knew he could handle the situation far better than I could. My emotions were too heated, my logic shot to hell. All I could think about was getting to Dani, making sure she wasn’t hurt.
It seemed as if Bear was in that back room for a lifetime. I fiddled with the edge of the ice pack taped to my knee.
The sound of an engine outside drew my attention to the window. Brewer glanced up, too.
“Shit. It’s Pete.”
“I called him,” I said, pushing myself out of my chair.
Brewer raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Right after talking to Brewer on the phone after the crash, I contacted Pete. Told him everything. He’d been worried, I could tell, but his calm, placid demeanor never wavered. I told him to meet me at the clubhouse.
I headed outside into the parking lot.
“Have you heard anything?” Pete asked immediately.
“We’re working on it,” I replied.
He glanced past me to the clubhouse. He was back in familiar territory with club business. Even though we were in California now, instead of Chicago where Pete and I used to ride together, it was the same story. We handled things differently than cops did. And you learned fast that it was better to not ask questions when there was a closed door with a brother behind it.
I gestured to Pete in acome ongesture.
“Hit me,” I said.
He looked baffled. “What? Why would I do that?”
I clenched my jaw, fighting back the guilt gnawing at my stomach.
“You told me to protect her. I had one job to do and I failed you. I failed her. You entrusted your daughter to me and I…I let you down.”
Pete shook his head. “Don’t talk like that. I know you did everything you could. That’s why I came to you, Crow.”