Bear by Lily J. Adams

Chapter Seventeen:  Escape

 

Bear

 

Dear Sweet Bear:

I didn’t want to leave this way. But I had to. The thought of him killing you to get to me had become more than I could take. I know you would protect me, but that is why I am leaving. I cannot lose someone else. If I did, I might not be able to put myself back together again.

Just know that you have meant so much to me and I will never forget you. Please don’t look for me. I will be safe.

Delphia

 

Delphia was in serious trouble. I put the note down with my heart hammering and called Keys. “Hey, you guys far?” My question came out in a quick snap, but this was urgent. I had to get to Delphia.

“Cool it man. We are not far away. Are you okay this morning?” Keys asked.

Frustration built on the inside and I wasn’t okay, not by a long shot. “Sorry, Keys. I’m going to need you guys to help me out with something. I have a situation with a young lady who is being targeted by a murder suspect. The guy’s name is Rocky and he’s affiliated with the Road Warriors. Are you stopped somewhere?”

“Yep. You called at the right time. The guys are on the inside grabbing burgers. I ate mine already, but we’re about to get back on the road. Aren’t the Road Warriors the same gang from the casino that you guys were having problems with earlier?”

“Those are the same pricks. I’m pretty sure they’re bidding against us for the casino as well. We’re going to eliminate them.”

“A tangled mess. So how is the girl involved?” Road traffic was surrounding Keys in the background which made it hard to hear him.

“The guy that showed up missing in the Mississippi river was her brother.”

“That’s heavy.” Keys sighed over the phone. “How did you get involved in it?”

“Same gas station I go to a lot of the time and the reporter that ran the casino story on us is tracking the story. I told you it was a long, complicated one.” A dejected sigh escaped my lips. “I promised I would protect her, so I have to hold up my end of the bargain. Something’s up. There’s more to the story, but I’ll save you the details.”

“Cool man, we got your back. We know it’s been hard for you after Murphy. You think she’s a runner? If she goes missing, we’re going to get her back. I need to flex my muscles a little bit.”

Hesitating, I replied, “She’d been held up in an armed robbery by this same guy recently, so yeah, she already ran.”

“Sheesh. Who is this girl? That this guy wants a piece of her?” Wind cut up part of Key’s words but I caught the majority of what he had to say.

“You’re breaking up, and I’ll fill you in when you get here, man. This might not be the trip you originally planned, but it will be a trip to remember, that’s for sure,” I promised wryly.

“No doubt. Ten minutes away. See you soon, Bear.” He hung up.

I tried Delphia’s phone again. All I got was the deafening sound of a dead ringtone in my ear and her phone ringing out as it went to voicemail.

I dropped the phone down and got dressed. Then slid my feet into my boots. I needed to head out and quick. In the meantime, the guys were on their way to me. I let my legs carry me as I propelled myself to my bike, expelling the air from my lungs. I hoped I could extinguish the image of shooting Rocky right between the eyes from my mind.

Pulling my Harley out front, I waited for the guys to arrive.

It didn’t take the crew too long to appear in grand fashion. One by one, the grunt machines rolled down my street with their horns honking as all six of the guys lined their bikes up out front.

“Hey! My brothers. Welcome to Holbeck,” I called out, trying to give them the greeting they deserved, despite my overwhelming anxiety.

Keys got off his bike first and gave me a man hug.

I dropped back a bit to take him in. “Looking good, man. You haven’t changed a bit.” And he hadn’t. He still had that cocky, playboy smile that all women loved.

The familiar scar under his chin he didn’t speak on too often unless you knew him. He’d been kidnapped in the Gulf and the ordeal had taken him years to get over. If there was anyone you wanted in your back pocket when the heat was on, Keys was your man.

Andy was next. He greeted me with a smile, his salt and pepper beard hidden by a bandana around his neck. “Hey man. Good to see you. Bear, you’re looking like a beast! You’re putting me to shame.” Andy shook his head at me.

I gave him a hug. “I might be, but I guarantee you can still hit a bullseye so you don’t have to work out,” I told him. Andy was known affectionately to us as ‘Trigger’ because he really knew how to pull one. He had an amazing handle on guns and was one of the best sharpshooters in our unit.

Tank, Ranger, Wildcat and Roller all embraced me. The spirit of camaraderie flooded back into my veins, but it didn’t stop me from worrying about Delphia. I couldn’t celebrate knowing that she was in trouble.

Tank read my mind. “I got a daughter and this is close to my heart. We all know what you’ve been through. What’s the first spot we gotta hit to go look for this girl you’re talking about?”

I nodded at him then faced all of them with steel in my veins. “Here’s what’s goin’ down. We got ourselves a recon mission. We are looking for a young lady named Delphia. She’s on the run from a guy named Rocky about the same size as Tank here. We need to get to her before he does. She has long black hair. She’s slender, tall, pale features and she’s a little on the shy side. You’re going to get your day trip after all. You know how we roll. Who’s in?”

My gaze fell on the group to see if anyone wanted to pull out. After all, they didn’t sign up for this. They came to have a nice, relaxing ride and enjoy themselves in Holbeck.

Every single hand went up as I approached my bike.

“I love a good recon. Let’s go get the girl,” Tank said as he pumped his fist.

“Yep. Let’s go get the girl,” Keys seconded.

“We’re gonna check her house first. So let’s ride. This warmth isn’t so bad, but it’s heating up out here.”

“I’m going to need a sweat rag. Holbeck heat is no joke,” Roller commented. His eyes drifted around the neighborhood and he wiped off his brow.

“You’re lucky you didn’t ride down when it was summer. It gets worse than this. Trust me. This is mild for Holbeck. Okay, keep in mind we might be a little early, so if she’s there, we might wake her. But I don’t fucking care. She shoulda stayed with me.”

My men all looked at me. They knew now that this was more than just a hunt.

“We’re following you, brother. Let’s roll,” Keys remarked.

That was my cue to flip down my visor and lead. In my element as road captain, I swept around in a one-eighty with six other men following me out on our mission.

Grabbing my handlebars with a curse, I cranked my engine and led the guys out to Delphia’s house which was blocks away from the gas station. As our bikes rolled through the neighborhood, people sneaked looks out of their windows and pretended to do yard chores.

At Delphia’s house, I tramped around the outside, desperately seeking clues and finding nothing.

“Easy, Bear. Come on guys, let’s check out back.” Tank, hit the left side.

“Me and Roller will hit the right like old times,” Keys directed. “Wildcard, Trigger and Ranger keep an eye out front.”

I wasn’t packing heat, but I had my gun in my bike bag if required. I knocked hard on the door to no answer as I called out, “Delphia! Are you in there? Delphia, answer me!” My voice was loaded with intensity, but it didn’t cross the threshold as it bounced off the house with no response.

I looked to my brothers frantically.

“She’s not inside from the looks of it. I took a look in a few of the back windows. No sign. What now?” Keys asked.

I sighed. “One more spot.”

We rode to the Holbeck gas station that I knew so well. A few of the crew took the opportunity to fuel up as I stopped and felt a brick hit my stomach. If she wasn’t here, then I’d failed Delphia again. With purpose, I walked inside the gas station.

Behind the counter stood a tired, fat man with a worried look on his face. “Hey, what pump?” The guy asked with a timid greeting. He did not want to be there, that was crystal clear.

“Hey, man. How you doing today?” I stated.

“I’m doing crappy, my best and most reliable staff member is out and I can’t get a hold of her either. So yeah. I’m not doing the best. I’m worried. She’s been under a lot of pressure lately. But that’s not your problem.”

“I’m Bear from the Rebel Saints MC. And it is my problem.”

“Appreciate you’re from the Saints.” The man looked confused.

The distraught expression on his face raised my blood pressure and confirmed my worst fears. “Delphia is my problem,” I confirmed as I slipped my leather gloves off. “She is in some real trouble. You know about the camera and the calls. Did you call that into the cops?” I asked hurriedly, my anxiety lifting like a rising tide.

“Sure did. Right when I got in. I explained everything and they thanked me. Said they had some other information. Man, I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve called her a few times already today because I hadn’t heard from her…” He paused. “Wait, you’re the guy who called?” Now the expression on his face took on real panic as his cheeks turned ruby red.

“Yeah, I am. She took off. She…” I shook my head. “She thought she would be protecting me.”

He nodded. “That girl. Protecting her brother and all, then losing him. She’s special. I always knew it.” He looked saddened.

“Yeah and I did too. But you’ve done all you can.”

My guys strolled in behind me.

Delphia’s boss gaped at them. He took care of them one by one.

The guys bunched up around me as I exited the gas station. “Time to check out the area,” I stated.

We didn’t need to speak too much. We’d been together in some of the harshest human conditions known to man. So they let me be while I thought about what to do next.

I should have gone after Rocky after the robbery. If I had, then Delphia would be with me right now.

I paused. Angie. I would have to call her and find out if she knew anything. Digging in my pocket, the rocket fuel firing through my system made it hard to get a grasp on the phone. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Delphia. I recovered it after a few fumbles.

Keys put a supportive hand on my shoulder to steady me.

I tapped her number. “Hey, Angie.”

“Hey, Bear,” she answered. “What’s going on?”

“Need your help. Delphia is missing,” the bad news tumbled out of my mouth in a raspy tone.

Her gasp came back through the line. “No! No, no. She can’t be gone. We are so close. We need her here. The article is coming out. Why?” Angie groaned.

I ignored her selfish protests, focusing as best I could on why I called her in the first place. “Angie… we have to locate Delphia. She’s missing, we need to find her. Screw your article!” Rage bubbled over in my system because I knew the consequences. I repressed my anger and pressed her for more information, “Did she talk to you about anything? Did she mention any places that she wanted to go? We have to get to her before Rocky does.”

“I gotta come with you guys. I want to be there,” Angie insisted.

I held back my surprise, because to me, despite Angie’s claims that she was on Delphia’s side, I didn’t believe that she had her best interest at heart all the way. Angie appeared to have an ulterior motive at every turn. I suspected it was to gain another exclusive if we located Delphia. “No. You won’t. Stay in Holbeck. My crew is here and you’re not going to turn this into another story. Somebody’s life is at stake here. Just tell me if she gave you a location.” My cutthroat tone let her know I wasn’t playing games with her. If she didn’t give me the information I wanted, I would let my frustration out on her.

“She talked to me about a few places she liked, but I don’t remember exactly… She said that she’d been looking at other places and that it looked pretty—something about it being more peaceful. She only mentioned it once.”

“Thanks,” I snapped. I could feel Keys’ eyes burning into me, but I didn’t care. “I’ll let you know once I find out more. I gotta get to her,” I said frantically.

“Bear. I would never run another story on her. I care about Delphia too. I’m not that heartless or desperate.” Angie sounded sincere.

I suspected she meant it this time. “I can’t have both of you at risk. You already got shot by Rocky. If I was to see Rocky’s face right now, I would shoot him dead. Him and the Road Warriors have to be exterminated like the rodents they are,” I spat out.

“I’ll do my best from here with Mia. We are piecing a few of the last cogs together and I will have news. Good luck, Bear. Keep me in the loop, and I will feed any information I can back to you,” she promised.

“Thanks. Bye, Angie.”

The guys were talking among themselves as I stepped onto the curb. I faced them with steel in my veins. “Guys, still nothing on where Delphia can be hiding or heading to. Not a single clue. Let’s keep moving. Let’s circle back to her house. There’s gotta be something. We’ll think about what to do next over there. I can’t fucking think straight. I might have to break in the back door or something,” I growled hastily as my jaw clenched wire tight. Wild desires for retribution were burning inside of me, but who was I going to get? Rocky or go save Delphia? My brain was scattered as I rubbed the back of my head, sweat beading over my forehead in exasperation.

I have to do everything to save her. I can’t fuck it up this time. I can’t let her die. I can’t.

As if he knew me too well, Keys spoke up, “That ain’t a good idea buddy. I know you wanna find her, but think with your head. That’s gonna put you in the suspect ring,” he reasoned as he looked at me with his hands out. He knew when I was mad he had to talk to me differently to get through.

“He’s right. Let’s just see what we can pick up. Circle back,” Tank reiterated.

They were right but if anything happened to Delphia, no one would recognize the monster I would become.

We searched around her place for ten minutes more. My eyes scoured the ground, desperate for any clue. I looked at her side window several times. All I had to do was rip my shirt off, cover my elbow and shove it through the window. She would have left a clue. She would. I stood there contemplating for a minute too long.

Keys grabbed me from behind. “Don’t even think about it, buddy. Nope. That’s not what you’re gonna do. We got you, but I can’t let you do that.” Keys held onto me.

My chest heaved and the sweat continued to drip from my body. “Keys. We have to get to her. The flashbacks, they’re so powerful. I’m str-struggling, man.” My voice cracked, but I couldn’t break. I just couldn’t.

Tank showed up. “Come on man. We can’t let you do it. We got you. We will find her. This is what we do.”