Page 69 of Iron Will

Jesus fuck.Mickey’s at her house. And he’s got a gun. And Bethany and Paisley are there with her.

It’s the hardest goddamn thing I’ve ever done to hang up that call. But I can’t risk having Mickey hear any noise from my end and realize Laney’s contacted someone outside the house. Heart in my throat, I punch in Yoda’s number and just about go out of my goddamn mind waiting until he answers.

“Yoda!” I yell as I fire up my engine. “Mickey’s got Bethany and Laney! He’s at Laney’s house, and he’s got a gun on them! Where you at?”

“Clubhouse!” Yoda yells back. “Fuck, what’s the address?”

I tell him. “Get there now. But keep an eye on Bethany’s car! I’m pretty sure he’s plannin’ to kidnap them!”

Following the speed limit, it takes about eight minutes to get from my house to Laney’s. I make it in just over four.

I’m the first Lord to make it there. Laney’s car is out front, but it’s the only one. “Fuck!” I yell. I practically dump my bike next to the curb and run up the short hill of steps to Laney’s place. I push through the unlocked screen door, yanking my gun out of my waistband. “Laney!” I yell, my voice booming through the house. “Laney!”

I’m met with silence. The living room is deserted. I go into the kitchen. There’s an open loaf of bread on the counter, and a block of cheese. A skillet is sitting on the stove with a piece of bread in it. It smells like gunpowder in here. I look around, scanning, and finally up at the far wall.

A bullet hole.

My stomach roils as I hear motorcycle engines approach outside. I turn and run back out the door in time to see Yoda pull up with Rogue and Mal.

“We just missed them!” I shout. “This is Laney’s car, so they must have taken Bethany’s! There’s a bullet hole in the wall, but I didn’t see any blood.”

Yoda pulls out his phone and holds it up to me. “The tracker I put on her car is still there. They ain’t gone far! Looks like they’re only a mile or so away. Car’s stopped right now.” He peers at the screen. “I think there’s a bank on that corner.”

“I’m guessing they’re on their way out of town somewhere! Maybe to Mazur’s place.” I pause, my mind going a hundred directions at once. “We gotta hope he hasn’t hurt anyone yet.”

“We can intercept them, if that’s where they’re goin’,” Yoda barks. “Wait until they get outside the city limits and surround them.”

“I’ll call Axel,” Rogue says, grabbing his own cell. “Have him send a couple brothers out that way to meet us.”

“No!” I counter, stopping them both. “Mickey’s the vindictive type. The type to shoot them if he sees us coming. We gotta ambush him. We can’t give him time to hurt them before we nab him.”

“Wait,” Yoda frowns, staring at his phone. “Holy shit! They’re coming back this way.”

What the fuck? “Okay, shit, get out of here before they see us! You guys go around back.”

We run to the bikes, and Yoda and Rogue peel out. I follow them just around the corner, park mine out of sight, then run behind a detached garage next door to Laney’s place, praying the owners are at work.

A minute later, Bethany’s car pulls up. She gets out the driver’s side, and then a second later the passenger door opens. Laney steps out, followed by Paisley.

Then Mickey emerges from the back seat.

He barks something at them, and the two women and the girl file up the walk, their bodies stiff, staring straight ahead. Laney opens the door, and they go inside.

I pull my gun from my waistband but hold off on thumbing off the safety. I want to deal with this without bullets unless I absolutely have to.

I zig across the yard on the grass, so my boots won’t sound on the pavement and warn Mickey I’m here. Ducking under the large window to Laney’s front room, I strain forward to listen.

From here, I can’t make out any words. I hear Bethany’s voice, though. Then, Mickey’s louder, sharper one in response.

My boots aren’t made for sneaking, so I slip them off and slide up onto the front stoop.

The voices I’m hearing aren’t close enough to come from the living room. The next logical place they could be is back in the kitchen. You can’t see the front door from there, which works in my favor. Slowly, I stick my head around the jamb of the open front door, ready to fire if I have to. Sure enough, there’s no one in sight.

Pulling myself up into a crouch, I glide across the threshold and into the living room. The voices are a little louder here, and more distinct. Mickey’s shouting, sounding agitated. I move toward the kitchen, still silent, my eyes scanning all around me to make sure Mickey didn’t bring anyone with him.

Paisley sees me first. She’s sitting at the kitchen table near the wall, her mother to her right. I barely see Mickey’s arm. He’s standing on the other side of the table in the middle of the room, his back to me.

Paisley’s eyes meet mine, and I shake my head rapidly once.No. She blinks, then turns back to Mickey, expression unchanged.