Priest: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Viking’s Rampage MC: Tucson Chapter Book 2)
Priest: A Motorcycle Club Romance: Chapter 24

The clubhouse had been quiet today with most of the guys out at work or on the missions Seek had told me about. It was nearly sunset and we were having a movie marathon—well, Seek and I were having a wine drinking marathon—to cheer the girls up. They were transfixed with the show, curled up on one end of the huge sectional. They were bunched up together lying in a tangle of limbs. Seek’s two dogs were somewhere in the pile, loving having kids to chill with. I’d gotten to meet Auron and Jecht not long after Priest and I became official and I was over the moon in love with them. There was nothing better than having a combination of kids and dogs in the house. It made my heart feel like it would burst with happiness.

Seek was half asleep, head resting back, watching the movie. I’d only had one glass since I was technically babysitting.

The girls had been thrilled to have a ‘sleep over’ with auntie Seek and the pups. Things were going as well as they could with them. Their grief came in waves, pulling them to oppressive lows before finally allowing them to claw their way up out of it. At this stage their hard fought peace didn’t last long, but I knew eventually they would have longer and longer bouts where the grief was held at bay. At some point, that hurt and sadness would only creep in every once in a while.

They were too young to realize it now, but that blinding agony we suffered when we lost someone we loved was worth feeling. It was the price we paid to know the person, to love and be loved in turn by them. Without it we would have never had them there in our hearts to begin with.

I wasn’t responsible for the beautiful sentiment. That honor belonged to my grams. She had the most incredible way of making me feel better, no matter the situation. I only hoped I could help heal these little broken hearts the way she’d helped me over the years. A knock on the door broke me from my musings about family. I stood up, careful not to distract the girls, and went to the door.

Pulling open the door, my brows shot up in surprise. “Sylvia, hi.”

Sylvia was one of the older sweet butts. She was closing in on fifty and had never married or had kids of her own, though you could see the affection in her gaze whenever she looked at the children running around the clubhouse. She always spoke up whenever anyone needed a babysitter and she was an honorary member at this point. The guys all loved her to death and it was easy to see why. She was the sweetest lady. I had a feeling she’d gravitated toward the club because she didn’t have a family of her own, so she’d made one instead. And though none of the men had fallen in love with her and made her an old lady, we all treated her as though she was. She was a part of the club, a part of the family, and always would be.

“Hi, Taz,” she replied, giving me a warm smile. “The guys are back and Priest asked me to come watch the girls. He wants you and Seek to meet them downstairs.”

“Okay, thanks, Syl.” I turned and found Seek already stumbling to her feet. She giggled and swayed her way across the room toward me.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I helped her downstairs. “Careful,” I warned as we navigated the stairs.

She tripped, stubbed her toe, and bent forward to rub at it, almost causing us to topple headfirst down the last five steps. Strong hands managed to catch us just in time.

Another giggle sounded and Seek patted Priest’s chest. “Thanks, Muscles. ‘Preciate the help.”

Priest lips quirked as he stared down at her. “You drunk?”

“Psft, no,” she denied, then brushed past him so she could finish going down the stairs.

Priest eyed me for a moment, then turned to help her. Hush was already heading over, shaking his head at his old lady, but there was a grin on his face as he and Priest shared a look.

He turned back to me and held out his hand. I didn’t need help with steadying, so I linked our fingers and held his hand as we walked back to the meeting room. We’d just gotten in and settled when Lockout, Dash, Smokehouse, and Hellfire came in and sat down.

I listened quietly, horror rising as Priest and the others relayed what they’d found out near The Silverbell Mountains.

Seek’s eyes were hard and cold, her lips pressed into a firm line as they finished telling the story. Her buzz was a thing of the past as anger burned the effects of the alcohol from her system. “I knew it. I knew something fishy was going on out there.” Her eyes landed on Hush. “Are they killing the hikers? Or pulling them into the cult?”

“It’s hard to say,” Riptide said, answering before Hush could. “I’m guessing a little of both.”

“They probably keep the women,” Butcher added. “And any kids.”

“Odds are they end up killin’ the men they can’t convert,” Hush told her.

“Maybe not just the men,” Seek pointed out. “Since they killed Sherry.”

“That might have been Chet,” I said with a shake of my head, thinking about what Hush had brought up out in the desert. “Maybe he wanted his ex-wife out of the picture, so he lured her out there and killed her.”

I swallowed hard, but forced myself to say it. “And Caitlyn?”

Lockout’s eyes met mine and I saw the anger burning there. We were all pissed off about this entire situation. “He was probably going to kill her too… Which brings me to what we found.”

I shifted in my seat, finding it hard to sit still while I had this ball of anger and sadness building up inside of me. Chet had wanted to kill his own daughter. Or maybe have some of his friends from the cult kill her. Priest had told me the entire story of how they’d found Caitlyn and it’d chilled my blood. Now knowing this had all happened to her because of her father? It was inconceivable. What kind of person would do that to their own child?

“He was hotel hopping, checking out all the local hospitals.”

Lockout’s words brought me back fully into the conversation. My eyes widened. “He’s looking for Caitlyn?”

Priest’s hand covered mine and he squeezed. He picked my hand up and brought it over into his lap, keeping our fingers tangled together.

Lockout shook his head. “Maybe. We’re not sure. We weren’t able to get any information out of the people who’d seen him.”

“Why would he be checking hospitals almost a month after the shootout?” Toxic asked.

“Maybe they didn’t know what had happened and finally figured it out?” Hellfire suggested.

“The bodies were missing from the grave,” Riptide added. “Maybe they were waiting to make sure no one was setting a trap for them.”

“Which means they’re patient,” Lockout muttered. “It makes sense, but that’s going to make finding out more about them difficult. Whoever is leading them is going to keep them in check.”

“When we were in the apartment Chet mentioned that Ethan owed him,” Priest pointed out.

“Why?” Ricochet asked.

Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head. “Don’t know, but the one in charge is Ethan.”

“They didn’t find Sherry and Caitlyn’s bodies with the men in the grave when they came back and dug them up. Maybe they thought they escaped,” Hush said.

“He’s looking for Sherry,” I added as the realization struck. “Caitlyn seems to be like a by-product for him. Sherry is his obsession. He’s searching for her. Maybe when the men didn’t come back, they thought they had escaped with her. When they found the bodies, that would confirm that Sherry had help.”

“And we didn’t bury Sherry out there. We used our friend at the morgue to make her disappear. As far as they know, she’s still out there,” Priest pointed out.

We all thought about that for a minute before Priest spoke up again. “So what do we do?”

I jumped in before anyone else had a chance. “I know it’s not your guys’ style, but what about calling the police? I mean, it’s a cult, beating women and killing people.”

The looks I got were anger masking offense. The idea of calling the cops versus just killing the bastards left an unpleasant taste in all their mouths. It was written all over their faces. Despite the non-verbal answer, Lockout decided to explain it to me.

“I spoke with an FBI Agent—ex-agent—Flynn about that.” I knew Murphey Flynn—she was the sister of one of the Texas MC’s old ladies and now one herself—but I didn’t interrupt him. “She pointed out that all we have is a group of weirdo’s building houses in the desert. While they are on Federal land, that is in fact the only crime that can be proven. If we bring cops in, they’ll just pack up and move. Then we’ll have to start hunting them down all over again. And they’ll probably end up killing more people in the meantime.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said sheepishly.

“It’s okay,” Priest said while soothing me with his hand. “None of us did. That’s why we called Flynn. But that brings us back to my question. What do we do now?”

“Well, Caitlyn is safe here with us. Chet has no idea she’s here. The cult has no idea we know about them,” Lockout answered. “So, we’re going to find out everything we can about them and then we’re going to dismantle that fucking organization brick by brick.”

“Umm…” I piped up. “Depending on how smart these guys are, they can find Caitlyn. CPS processed her, by her birth name. We did everything legal, by the book. If he gets it in his head to check with the system, it will bring him straight here.”

“I can put a notification into the system at work. It will send me an email if anyone contacts CPS or goes through our systems to look for her,” I continued.

“Perfect. That just gives us yet another head’s up in case Chet somehow gets too close,” Priest said.

Lockout studied me for a long minute before saying anything. The whole table was quiet, no one dared chime in. They were waiting for him. “No one is going to touch that little girl. We will solve this before they get the chance.”

A glance around the table was all I needed to see that everyone was wearing the same determined, eager expression I was. I wanted that cult gone and Caitlyn safe. They’d mentioned that there were women and children out there, who may not be there by choice. We’d help as many as we could, but the guys were going to take out the rest. Considering they may have killed people to keep their awful community a secret, I didn’t feel guilty about that idea in the slightest.

“Taz?”

I smiled over at Taylor as she and her three sisters approached me. “Yeah, Sweetie?” The girls had taken to calling me by my nickname as well and I didn’t mind. Given how horrible the past month was, they could have treated me like an evil stepmother. Instead, they’ve treated me like part of the family. Well, most of them did.

It’d been a little over a week since we’d found out about the cult. Riptide and Dash were doing their best trying to track down information about the cult. They’d even called over to Texas and enlisted the help of Rat and his wife Ari. So far they’d all come up with nothing but giant goose eggs.

How could these guys be hiding so effectively? We hadn’t been able to figure out pseudonyms they were living under or even where they were going to get their food and water. Of course, as Rat pointed out, you don’t exactly post your cult activities to social media. While the mystery of disappearing hikers was mostly solved, who the cult members were was another story. Even if they tracked missing persons reports from across the country, without pictures of the people there it would be pointless. And that’s assuming that missing persons reports were even filed on them. If they joined willingly, then they could vanish without a trace.

Lockout had decided after a few days that the guys needed to start staking the compound out. It was dangerous. If they found out we were on to them, we lost the element of surprise. Luckily the MC was used to this kind of thing and they’d managed to stay off the cult’s radar so far. If they could gather faces or names, that would give our techies something to work with.

No one had left the compound in over a week, but they’d have to restore their food and water supplies soon enough. Priest was going out on the day shift to keep an eye on them. He let the others take nights. He knew he needed to be here for his girls in the late hours. It was when missing their mom hit them the hardest.

Taylor gave Gabby a pleading look. The younger girls had taken to me right away. They just saw an adult who obviously loved them and clung to that. Gabby was a bit tougher. She was old enough to have doubts plague her about my intentions. I’d already spoken with her a few times about the fact that I didn’t want to take her mom’s place, and I think—despite herself—she was starting to welcome me in as well. It was a struggle. Though I understood it, it was hard because I just wanted us all to be a family.

“We have a favor to ask,” Gabby said, taking over.

I faced them, giving the girls my full attention. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“We want to go to Mom’s house.”

I wasn’t sure what to say at first. They’d been handling Wendy’s death as well as could be expected, but this took me by surprise. Priest had talked about selling the house later on, but for now he still owned it. It was sitting, fully furnished, though no one was living in it.

“May I ask why?”

Gabby swallowed, her eyes misting over, and I had to blink to hold back my own tears. It pained me to see them hurting. “We just want to spend a little time where…” She didn’t seem to know how to explain.

She didn’t need to. I understood it. Hanging out in Grams’ house after she was gone had given me comfort. I nibbled my lower lip as I considered their request. Any other time, I’d pack them up and bring them over, but with everything we’d learned about Caitlyn’s father and the cult—granted it wasn’t much—I wasn’t sure if it was safe.

“I’ll ask your father,” I promised them.

They nodded and went back into the living room to continue reading. School had started up for them, but Priest hadn’t made them go yet. He’d talked to the school and gotten permission for them to take time off and considering what they’d gone through, the school had agreed. But they’d be going back in another week or so and I’d been working with the younger girls on things that would help them with the upcoming year.

Pulling out my phone, I texted Priest, asking him to call me. I smiled when the phone immediately rang in my hand. “Hey.”

“Hey, Gorgeous. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry to bug you while you’re busy.” He was out with Hush and the others watching the compound, which was why I hadn’t called him. The last thing I wanted was to distract him or have someone hear his phone ring if he forgot to silence it. “The girls want to spend some time at the Oro Valley house.”

There was silence on the other line for a long enough period that I pulled the phone away and looked down at it. Still connected. I brought it back to my ear.

“Okay. The key is on the ring hanging on the hook above the microwave.”

“You think it’s safe?”

“It should be. If Chet had any idea where Caitlyn was, you would know. You handled her case, any inquiries should go through your office. If anything he’d come looking at the clubhouse. But I’ll send you a few phone numbers of the guys who are going to be around just in case you need something. Maybe take Seek with you.”

“She got called out for a rescue job.” It would still be hot for a few more months, but Seek had explained that things started slowing down for her now and wouldn’t pick back up full time until next summer. She’d have a few rescues over the winter months versus a couple a week during the hottest parts of summer. She’d only grinned when I asked her how she managed her bills with such an unsteady schedule, and said, “I get paid really well by the state for each rescue and it’s more than enough to live comfortably. Besides, then I get a bunch of time off and I train with my dogs.”

“Okay, well, that’s fine. I don’t think it’ll be an issue. Are they okay?” The worry in his voice floated over the connection.

“I think so. They miss her. They miss you, but they understand that you’re working.”

He sighed. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time off to give me a hand with them.”

I was using more of my annual leave with work. I was grateful that they were so understanding of my recent absence, but I needed to be here for the girls and for Priest. There was no way I was going to go to work only to be distracted and miserable while there when I wanted to be here. Priest had been shocked, but thankful when I’d offered to watch the girls while he dealt with The Silverbells situation.

“It’s my pleasure,” I told him. “It’s giving us a chance to get to know each other.”

I heard someone nearby say something to him, though it was too soft for me to make out much.

“Well, still, I appreciate it. Look, I have to go. Let me know if you need anything, but I’ll be home around eight. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” I hung up and walked into the living room. “Why don’t we have dinner over at your mom’s place?”

Four faces lit up with smiles and three of them started talking excitedly. Grinning, I started to gather the food I’d need to take with me so I could cook it over there. That way the girls got to spend a decent amount of time at the house.