Page 84 of Obsession
Moth follows with Pike and two men behind him. Demo stays at my shoulder even though I didn’t tell him to, his face pale but set. We search outward in a hard sweep, not because I expect to find Oisín tucked behind a shed, but because every second of standing still feels like a trap closing tighter.
There are signs once we stop looking where a man wants to be found. A smear near the side gate where a heel dragged across damp dirt. A faint dark spot on the concrete that might be blood or oil until Moth crouches, touches it with gloved fingers, and looks up without speaking. Fibers caught on the bottom edge of the fence. Scuff marks heading away from the building instead of toward it. The trail dies where the rear service path meets gravel, and for several awful seconds, there’s nothing but cold wind and Demo breathing too hard beside me.
Then Pike calls from farther down the path. “Tracks.”
We find them a quarter mile down, beyond the reach of the nearest clubhouse camera and just past the point where the rear access road bends toward the old utility cut. There’s two sets of boot prints, maybe three, one partial drag mark between them.
I stand over the tire tracks with the night wind cutting through my shirt and see the board in my head. The Rogues knew the camera points. They knew the lockup grab would pull me and Bricks off center. They knew Oisín would be vulnerable if he walked out after our argument, which means either they were watching the clubhouse closely enough to read behavior or someone in Rogue territory knew exactly what kind of hurt would make him need air.
It also means someone in Obsidian is feeding them information.
I turn back toward the clubhouse, and whatever shows on my face makes Pike step out of my path without being told.
Demo follows me. “Saint—”
“Don’t.”
He shuts up, but he stays with me. Inside, Bricks comes in from the front door at the same time I reach the center of the main room, and the look on his face tells me Moth called him before I had to.
“I should be at your side,” he says.
“No.”
“Saint.”
“You and Moth are needed for the run.” I turn on him because I need him to understand before loyalty makes him stupid. “Canon will be moving on the eastern corridor. He took Oisín because he wants information and because he wants me off the board. If you leave the run uncovered, he gets both.”
Bricks’ jaw tightens. “I can put Halo on it.”
“I don’t trust Halo with this.”
“You trust Demo?”
Demo’s eyes widen beside me, but he doesn’t speak.
“I trust Demo to follow me into hell and not ask questions on the way,” I chuckle. “I trust you and Moth to keep my club alive while I get my husband back.”
Bricks’ face changes at the word husband as he steps closer, lowering his voice. “You sure you’re thinking clear?”
“No.” I hold his stare. “That’s why I’m giving you the corridor.”
Bricks nods once. “Keep your phone open.”
“Keep your fucking eyes peeled because I have a feeling shit is about to go sideways.” I look toward Moth, who’s still near the office door with his tablet in one hand and a phone pressed to his ear. “If Canon hits while I’m gone, you don’t chase. You fold the trap around him. Oisín gave us the map. Use it.”
Moth lowers the phone. “I already am.”
I move toward the front door with Demo at my heels, grabbing an extra magazine from the lockbox near the hall as I pass. Pike hands me a second sidearm without a word. Tally catches my wrist before I can clear the room.
“Bring him back, Saint.”
I merely grunt before pushing outside, Demo heading for the passenger side of the SUV. As important as the bikes are, I have no idea what condition Oisín will be in and I’m not hauling him on that. It’d be a death trap.
Sol steps out from the shadow near the front fender before either of us reaches the doors. He looks like he’s been there long enough to hear more than he should and not enough to help.
“Going somewhere?” he muses.
I get into the driver’s seat and start the engine as Sol comes to the window. I lower it halfway because if I open the door, I might use it to knock him down.
