Page 37 of Devil's Queen
“Anything we need to be aware of?”
“Not yet. Tinley said she’d let me know if we needed to step in. Sounds like a pretty awful situation… kids and mother were removed from an abusive situation. They were at a women’s and children’s shelter awaiting permanent placement when the husband walked right through the restraining order and put the mom in the hospital. The kids are with Tinley now.”
“Shit,” I hiss under my breath. I wish I could say things like this rarely happen in New Orleans, but they’re becoming more commonplace with the economy the way it is. Jobs are being cut left and right, food costs have doubled compared to a few years ago, and desperation grows by the minute. If things continue the way they are in the city, we’re looking at a lot of work coming onto our plates that we may need extra pairs of hands to help with. “Will the mom be okay?”
“Should be. Tinley was waiting to hear back from her contacts at the hospital. Mom was stable the last time she checked in.”
“Keep me posted,” I remark. “Guess we’ll go ahead and get started. Might as well pull off the band-aid. Anything new about our missing bike?”
“Nothing,” Maya admits. Her eyes cast down to the laptop in front of her. “I have a friend who’s better at cleaning up video footage looking at it. I should have something back from him tonight. With your permission, I’d also like to send it over to your stepbrother.”
“Do it. I’ll give him a call when we’re done to let him know to expect it.” Between Maya’s friend and Beau, they’ll surely find something. “Anything from your informants, Cheyenne?”
“Not yet. Hopefully, I will hear something soon.”
With zero leads and no new information, we’re truly stuck. Thankfully, Diaz hadn’t called yet to inquire about his missing shipment. With him being on the other side of the country, we have maybe a couple more days before he would expect it to arrive.
“We’ve got to find something. Surely, someone out there knows something or saw something we’re missing.”
“I’m trying my best, Prez,” Maya admits.
“I know you are,” I apologize. “We’re on the clock, and it’s putting me on edge. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
“We understand,” Marissa, one of our newer patches, pipes up from the end of the table.
Maya smiles understandingly. “No worries, Remy. We’re all feeling the pressure. We’ll find that bike, I promise.”
Just as I’m about to respond, my phone vibrates again. This time, I can’t ignore it. I slide it out from beneath the papers and glance at the screen. It’s another message from Rex.
Can we at least talk about this in person? I think we owe each other that much.
I take a deep breath, torn between wanting to confront the situation head-on and fearing the emotions that might resurface if I see him again.
“Everything okay, Remy?” Maya asks, noticing me staring at my phone. “You’ve been off lately.”
“I’m fine,” I lie, tossing my phone to the table again. “Just a lot of irons in the fire.”
“Are you sure this isn’t Rex trying to mess shit up for you again. This has the Zulu Kings written all over it,” Marissa asks.
“Speaking of the rat bastards, have you met with their president?” Cheyenne interjects with a curious look on her face.
“I have,” I admit. “As I suspected, he doesn’t give me any reason to suspect he or his club are behind it.”
“Someone has to be,” she spits back. “Who else in this city would have a target painted on us? I know you want to believe him, Remy, but it’s still too convenient for all of this to shake down.”
“I know it seems that way, but I really do believe him.”
“Let’s hope your trust is warranted,” she remarks.
I start to argue back when all our phones begin to buzz or ring simultaneously.
“Amber alert?” Maya asks, picking up her phone. “Shit,” she hisses. “SOS from Harlow. Something’s going on at the club.”
“Let’s go,” I order.
We all scramble to our feet, shoving our phones into our pockets. Cheyenne glances at me with concern etched across her face. “Are you sure you’re okay, Remy?” she asks one last time before we head out the door.
I give her a tight-lipped smile, trying my best to mask the turmoil within me. “I’ll be fine,” I assure her, my voice wavering slightly. “Right now, we need to focus on whatever’s happening at the club.”