For Her Honor (22 page)

“Martin Pearson?” Vic asked.

He hid even further behind the door. “Who are you?”

Vic raised his hands
to show he’d come in peace. “Need a little intel on your brother-in-law.”

Pearson cautiously looked the two men over, before noticing the other two down the walkway.
There was a certain way a person acted when in the presence of bikers, and Pearson didn’t appear to want to tangle with them. He stepped outside onto the front steps. “Jimmy okay?”

Vic shrugged.
“Not sure, but we think he was involved in an incident which got one of my guys hurt.”

“Look,” Pearson put his hands up, “I don’t want any trouble…..”

“Then cooperate.” Vic’s voice was calm, but insistent. “Does he drive a white pickup?”

“
He told my wife it was stolen couple of weeks ago,” Pearson replied. “One of the vehicles I fronted him when I closed up.”

“Quite generous of you,” Doug said.

“I didn’t
give
him anything.”

“You sure it was stolen?”

Pearson leaned on the wrought iron rail. “Look, like I said – I don’t want any trouble. He’s my wife’s brother. He worked for me at the logging company. Between competition and bad investments, I closed the doors. He wanted to take a stab and go off on his own, so I turned over the equipment and vehicles to him.”

“What’s he drivin’ now?” Doug asked.

“Only other vehicle was a Dodge Ram.”

Ben stepped forward.
“Bright blue?”

Pearson nodded.
“We worked out monthly payments based on their current value. Business has been tough, I guess. He’s about three months behind.”

Something inside Taz made
his hackles go up as he stepped forward. “Hard times make a man resort to other means. You know if he’s been gamblin’?”

Pearson straightened up, his eyes searching the men.
“Yeah. Don’t know where. I warned him to knock it off before he got in too deep.”

“I think he may be past that,” Vic said. “
Thanks for your time.”

“Hey, wait.”
Pearson bravely stepped off the porch then backed up a bit when Vic turned back around, Ben hovering over him from behind. “Look, I got a wife and two kids. I don’t need anyone else showing up on my doorstep looking for him.”

“Then I suggest, Mr. Pearson,” Vic began, “that you pretend this little visit never occurred.
And whatever urge you have to call your brother-in-law after we leave, well….” Vic allowed a chilling pause, “I wouldn’t mind taking another ride out here for a surprise visit.”

~~~***~~~

The rush of the water over the falls allowed Karen to block everything out and think. She spread her hands out along the railing overlooking the reservoir. The early evening sun was taking on a purplish-gray hue as it began to set. She needed to get home, take a long, hot shower and make herself something to eat, but a queasiness which owed nothing to her condition kept her where she was.

The water drowned out
the world around her, but not her thoughts. Those two plus signs sitting in her purse inside her car changed everything about her life since she’d stumbled upon this town of Tippitt. From Eva to Kelly to even the mysterious Elle Connors, these women didn’t let a cut, ink and scruff guide their hearts. She thought of Eva’s story of how Ben proposed and saw him kissing her pregnant belly all over again in her head. She put a hand to her stomach, now confident that something was there to hold, and imagined Taz doing the same thing.

The only way she
’d truly feel absolved from this weight on her shoulders was to stand up and take her life back. Regardless of the outcome with Taz after telling him the news, she wasn’t going to let anyone make her feel guilty for her choices. He loved her. And……who the hell was she kidding, she loved him too. Somewhere after that second blue plus sign, that realization had floated over her. Some things couldn’t be explained or manufactured, and love was one of them. The sudden pull she felt towards him when her pregnancy was confirmed was an emotion she’d never felt with Preston. She shared her home with him. Now they’d have a child to fully connect them. She now understood what Eva had said about being excited and scared at the same time.

Her overthinking began to give her a headache.
Taking a deep breath, she leaned her head back and let the sound of the falling water cleanse her mind before heading home. To tell Taz how she felt, as well as the news. Then, to wait for his answer.

She never sensed a
presence behind her until a hand came out of nowhere, shoving a cloth into her mouth. And before the lights went out, the last thing she saw was a bright blue pickup truck.

Chapter Twenty-One

Taz checked his phone for the third time as they cro
ssed back into West Virginia. There was neither a reply nor a text from Karen, which he thought odd. According to the intel on Mallory, he was residing in Blacksville, which was a halfway point between the Allegheny Forest and where the equipment was still stored on Pearson’s lot. It was an hour away, but they needed to regroup at the clubhouse first to go over a plan as well as place a call to Conti to set up a ‘delivery’ time.

Everything was happening at once.
Yeah, Taz was glad for some ol’ fashioned club action, but he also found himself falling into the trap he’d sworn he never would – or, at least not for another decade or two. Although he would always do what needed to be done for the club, he looked forward to getting home. Not his dorm at the clubhouse, not his childhood room at his ma’s, but the little rental he shared with Karen. It was as if a gust of wind had blown in and spun his head in a complete 180, making him realize what guys like Ben and Tanner already had. Granted, Karen would have to be brought up to speed regarding the club, but if she hadn’t bailed after he’d gotten shot, he was certain she could tough it out. She had no choice. He loved her. End of story.

They tore up the gravel driveway as Aero came out and walked over to Vic.
“Spoke to Conti an hour ago. He’s waiting for confirmation.”

While Vic filled his V.P. in, Taz dialed Karen one more time, only to get voice mail.
“Fuck, where are you, sweetheart?”

“Can’t get a hold of your ol’ lady?” Ben asked.

Once his brothers started recognizing Karen as his
ol’ lady
, he knew he was far over that edge of the cliff. “She was at the store today, right?”

Ben shrugged.
“Dunno. I met Eva out back. Never went in.”

“Shit.”

“Gentlemen!” Vic shouted above the idling engines. “Get inside and stretch your legs until Tanner gets back. We’ll talk about Operation: Mallory then.”

Everyone began to file in except Taz.
“Nah,” he shook his head at Ben. “I’m gonna swing by the house. Make sure she’s okay.”

Ben immediately remounted
his bike. “I’m with you.”

Both men signaled their plans to Aero before heading back out.
Taz’s legs ached, but he needed to make sure Karen was okay. They pulled down her street and the reservoir came into view.

As well as Karen’s silver Focus parked in front.

“Ben!”
Taz pointed and they both pulled in. He came to an abrupt stop, pushing the kickstand down before tearing off towards the railing. “
Karen?”
He called out loud, in case she was walking around down below - where they’d first had sex. He couldn’t even find pleasure in that as the lack of response made his nerves stand on end. Ben looked around, checking the ground in the process. Taz went to the car and opened the door. The keys were still in the ignition and Karen’s purse was on the seat.

“No, no, no,” Taz murmured to himself.
“Shit, no!”

“What?”

“Her keys and bag are still in here. She wouldn’t leave the car unlocked to walk with her shit inside.”

“See if she left her cell
,” Ben told him.

Taz searched inside for her purse, but came up with something else instead.
“What the…..?”

Ben stared at the two, white sticks in his hand.
“Oh, man. I saw enough of those when Eva and I were trying.”

“Pregnant?” Taz’s voice was a whisper.
“She’s
pregnant
?” He raised his voice. “And fuckin’
missin’
?”

“Bro, calm down…….”

“Fuck you, calm down!” Taz shot back. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of her for almost two hours. Her abandoned car is here with her keys and shit still inside and she’s fuckin’ pregnant!” He took a deep breath but it wasn’t enough, and he threw his head back and let out a guttural scream.
“Son of a bitch! Karen!”

“Taz!” Ben’s voice was stern, but controlled.
“Calm down and focus, man. Look.”

He looked to where Ben pointed on the ground
, where a design of dried mud formed almost a perfect boot print. “Remember that day at the mill after Mallory left? Left dried mud all over the courtyard.”

Those scrambled pieces suddenly fit.
Mallory was in deep financial shit. He’d inherited a business he couldn’t afford and was gambling what money he had to turn it around fast. All because his brother-in-law had had to close up his business due to a bad investment. Because of Preston Vine.

He must’ve figured out Karen’s connection to him.

“He’s got her.” Taz grabbed Ben’s forearm. “That fuckin’ asshole’s got her.” He pulled away then ran his hands through his hair. “Holy, fuckin’ shit.”

“C’mon.”
Ben took control of the situation. His usual calm manner naturally allowed him to. “Let’s get back to the clubhouse and figure this out.”

Taz didn’t move.
He couldn’t. He stared at the falls pouring over the rocks in front of him as his mind wandered down to the chasm below, where he’d pulled her down to over a month ago. All he could think of is that he’d dragged her into the middle of this mess. Then he quickly dismissed it. If she had never met him, James Mallory still would’ve found her. But she would’ve been alone, by herself, here in Tippitt with no family, no friends, not even him to worry about her. To look out for her. To champion her.

He needed to find her.
He
had
to find her. No, he had to find
them
– her and the ‘little sporut’ she was carrying. And he wasn’t about to do that standing here wasting time. Clenching a gloved fist, he punched his other open palm and strode to his bike. “Let’s go.”

Before they took off, Ben’s cell rang.
It was Vic. “On our way back, pres. Got a bad sitch.” Taz itched listening to Ben relay what just happened, but his response to what Vic was saying just raised his alert level.

“He ain’t back yet?
Ben continued the phone call. “Tanner always answers his phone. What? You serious?” There was an unnerving pause. “Think you’re right. We’re on our way.”

“What?” Taz asked impatiently.

“Wes tapped into Ty’s phone. He found calls in and out to Mallory. They knew each other. Thinking maybe he was using Ty to try to get in Charles’ ear about using him. Several calls were made the night of the shooting. Ty was probably the one in the backseat while Mallory was driving.”

“Ty
knew too much,” Taz said. “So Mallory decided to kill him after hours and lit the place on fire with one of his cigarettes to make it look like an accident.”

“
Tanner ain’t back at the clubhouse yet and he ain’t answering his phone. He was the only one left with Charles at the mill.”

Taz gripped the handlebars.
“You think?”

“We all do.”
Ben started his bike. “Mallory’s at the mill. And if he’s got Karen, she’s there too.”

~~~***~~~

Flashes of sparkly light danced behind Karen’s eyes as she opened them. Focusing was difficult, as the pain in her head made her feel as if it would split in two. She was sitting on a floor covered in over an inch of sawdust and wood shards. The pungent scent of freshly cut lumber filled her nostrils as faint voices assailed her ears.

“Welcome back, sweetheart,” one of the voices said.

Sweetheart?
Only Taz called her that. But this voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Knock it off, Mallory,” another voice had said.
“Leave her alone.”

“Ain’t gonna happen, Charlie-bo
y,” Mallory replied. “She and the Owens family are at the top of my shit list. At least she’s conscious. Wish I could say the same for your thug cousin.”

Slowly, Karen’s senses began to come back.
The voices were clearer, her vision a bit sharper and the ringing between her ears had downgraded to a buzz. She turned her head ever so gently to see a body on the floor next to her. Recognition didn’t instantly come to her, but the longer she stared, the better her focus got. It was Tanner. Kelly’s old man. She spun her head the other way to where Mallory and ‘Charlie-boy’ were. “What happened to Tanner? Where am I?”

Mallory stood with a gun in his hand.
‘Charlie-boy’ was on the floor, clean cut and sharply dressed in a dress shirt and pants which were covered with the same wood clippings she was sitting in. He was leaning up against the base of a long machine which had an enormous saw blade attached to the top. That and the smell of wood pierced her dented mind enough for Karen to make sense of where she was. The lumber mill. This Charlie-boy must be Charles Owens, the friend of the club Taz took off for the night it had caught fire. Her eyes went to where that gun swerved back and forth between him and her.

“No questions
, except the ones I ask.” Mallory kept an eye on Charles as he walked over to her. “And I only care about one. Where’s all the money that thief of an ex-fiancé stole?”

Pres
ton? He was questioning her about Preston? “Who are you?”

“Someone whose livelihood
he fucked with.” Mallory crouched down in front of her. “You see, you little bitch, my brother-in-law didn’t suffer too much when his money got embezzled. Just closed up one business and concentrated on another. But that business was
my
paycheck. That asshole took it away.” He stood up sharply and pointed the gun at Charles. “And
you
fucked with it further. You always bought from Pearson, but decided to shop around as soon as I took over. Not cool, Charles. Not cool at all. I need money and I need it now, so,” he pointed the gun at Karen, “what little secret account did he stash it in?”

Karen’s breath came out in short spurts as she shook her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t know a thing, I swear. I stayed away from the entire trial. I had no contact with him. I was kept out of everything.” Her memory was coming back enough for her to put two and two together. “How….how do you know? How did you find me?”

Mallory snorted.
“It took some digging. My sister’s into that Facebook shit. She’s friends with someone who knows a Shelia Watson. Sound familiar?”

Karen wanted to throw up.
“That’s my sister.”

“
Talk about a small world, huh? Seems your sister has a page of her own and must’ve forgotten to take down a photo of you flashing your nice, fat engagement ring with an announcement, ‘
congratulations to my sister Karen and her fiancé, Preston Vine’
. Seems all the trouble everyone went to keep your pretty little ass out of a sling, your dumbass sister went and gave you away.”

She shook her head in denial.
“No.”

“Yes.
Found the real estate transaction for the sale of your condo. Had my sister grill her friend to ask Shelia about you – to say she thought she knew you from school or something. Mentioned the sale and asked if you moved. Shelia didn’t say much, except Tippitt, West Virginia, thinking it was too small to matter. Practically in my back yard. But this little, ass-crack of a town made it easy to narrow down my search.” He paused to look her over. “I see you downgraded to fuckin’ bikers.”

Karen’s insides coiled as she dug her heels into the floor to push herself back and away from him.
But Mallory only grabbed her hair and pulled her back. “Yeah, when I found out where you were, I trailed you. Saw you at the bank that day with your shiny little name tag. Saw you shacking up with that devil-looking freak. I’m betting you like it, huh? Not what your prissy ass is used to. Coming from a nice family with money, that stupid sister of yours married to a judge. I bet you all belong to country clubs and not have to give a rat’s ass where the next dollar’s gonna come from, huh, you little bitch?”

“Mallory, enough
.” Charles heaved those words out from the floor of the cutting room behind him. “She said she doesn’t know anything. You want money? I’ll give it to you….”

A fired shot caused
Charles to jump as it narrowly missed him. “Son of a bitch!”

“Then shut…..
the fuck
….up!” Mallory warned him. “I don’t
want
your money. I don’t
want
your pity. I
want
what was taken from my brother-in-law. What was taken from
me
. And I needed it
now
.”

His hand holding the gun was shaking.
Karen tried to push herself back, towards Tanner who was beginning to stir. When Mallory had brought her in here, she had been fading in and out of consciousness enough to know he had a gun pointed to her woozy head. Tanner and Charles must have surrendered and led back here with them. At some point, Tanner had been knocked out and they’d deposited her on the floor next to him while Charles was ordered to the floor across from them. He now swung that gun towards Tanner’s prone body and aimed. Somewhere inside her addled brain, Karen found her reflexes – and her voice. “No! Don’t.”