Page 142 of Crow
“It’s no big deal. It’s been so long. He gave up on us once he went on disability and my mom flipped out. It’s the way it goes.” Josh looked over at the tables. “What do we need to do? I learned decent tracking skills from my time in the Marines.”
“You’re going to be an asset. I’ll walk with you guys; then, we can get started. I was gonna go with my brothers, but I’ll search with you.”
“I hope we can find him,” Stu said.
The four men trekked over to the tables, picked up some supplies, and headed toward the wooded area.
By the time the sun dipped behind the mountain peaks, groups of searchers were heading back to the meeting place. Fatigue and disappointment were evident on their faces. Bitter frustration and anger burned inside Crow, making the strong urge to slam his fist through a wall or someone’s face nearly overwhelming.
“Sorry we didn’t find anything,” Benny said.
“Who knows where he is,” Josh added.
Stu clasped his hand on Crow’s shoulder without saying a word.
“Yeah.” Crow blew out a long breath. “Thanks for coming out.”
The headlights from hundreds of vehicles turned on and washed everything in light from all directions as the volunteers headed back to town.
“Sorry, bro,” Aztec said. “It’s like trying to find a fuckin’ needle in a haystack.”
“I know he’s out there. Fuck!” Crow kicked a rock on the ground. “I can’t stand this shit! I’ll get a copy of the list from my woman; then, we’ll divide and start looking into every damn person who showed up these past two days.”
“I think we can eliminate the chicks,” Army said. “I’m not saying they’re not strong, I mean, Mia can totally kick most guys’ asses, but the power used to kill these guys tells me it’s a dude.”
“Let’s start with the guys first, then look at some of the chicks,” Crow said.
“We’ll find him,” Eagle said.
“Yeah,” he replied, but he didn’t believe it.Where the hell are you, Jim?
“Are you ready to go, sweetie?”
The subtle scent of lilac and citrus wrapped around Crow like a warm blanket, soothing the fury raging inside him.
Angie gripped his bicep and leaned against him. “Everything’s packed up.”
He snaked his arm around her. “I’ll carry the stuff.”
“Later, bro,” Scorpio said.
Crow lifted his fist in the air, and his fellow club members followed suit; then, he padded over to the folding tables. Angie drove up the SUV, and he loaded up the car, then hopped into the driver’s seat.
“I know how disappointed you feel.”
“Rage is a better word.” Her fingers ran through his hair, calming him. “I can’t accept that we failed.”
“I wouldn’t look at it as a failure. It was a daunting task from the beginning. The important thing is you tried, and you had a whole lot of support from the community.”
“I bet no one would’ve shown if they knew the Night Rebels put it together.”
“Who cares about that? People showed up because they cared about Jim’s life.” She leaned over and kissed the side of his face. “Focus on that.”
She always knows how to pull me out of a mood.Crow smiled and put his arm around her, drawing her closer. Angie switched on the radio, leaned her head on his shoulder, and they rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence, listening to Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer.”
