“Jagger,” Trent started, and they both were in the process of pulling their guns from their holsters when my cousin, Jackie, got out and smiled over the top of the car.
“Isn’t she pretty?” Jackie asked as she walked around the back of the car and up the stairs.
Her long black hair was braided, reaching halfway down her back, and she had a huge smile on her face as she pulled me into a hug. Jagger shook his head and walked back inside while Trent stood nearby, waiting for his hug. When Jackie released me, she gave him a quick side hug before turning back to me.
“I know I should’ve called first, but my phone died and I just had to show it to you.”
“I’ll get you two something to drink,” Trent said and gave me a kiss on the lips before walked inside.
Jackie wiggled her eyebrows at me before linking her arm into mine and practically bouncing down the stairs to her new car. After a thorough tour, she was leaning against the side, sipping the coffee Trent brought us, when she began to speak.
“My dad told me what happened a few weeks ago. I’m sorry I haven’t been down sooner to check on you. I just . . . I didn’t know what to say.”
I knocked my shoulder against hers, trying to lighten the mood. “There’s no need for sorry. It was a few stressful hours, but I walked away unhurt.” Lowering my voice, I added, “I’m one of the lucky ones.”
She turned to look at me and asked, “Is there anything I can do to help? He told me about missing women, and I . . . need to do something.”
An idea popped into my head and I gave her a smile as I explained, “We found a picture of a house, but it’s not familiar to anyone. Would you look and see if you recognize it?”
She nodded with a smile, and we turned to walk up the stairs and into the house. Jagger and Trent were in the kitchen, and both men turned their heads as we entered.
“Can you show Jackie the picture?” I asked Jagger, who nodded and opened his phone as I said, “Since Nitro was going up to the reservation, maybe Jackie’s seen the house.”
“It’s a longshot, but it couldn’t hurt,” Trent responded as Jagger handed Jackie his phone.
She glanced at the picture with a confused look on her face. Handing the phone back to Jagger, she pulled her own phone from her back pocket and began searching forsomething. When she found it, her eyes inspected whatever it was before she handed her phone to Jagger.
“I was out a few years ago, taking pictures of urban decay on the reservation. I was hoping to draw attention to the parts of the reservation that don’t have the same luxuries as the cities do,” Jackie explained. “Scroll to the left and you’ll see the series I took in the upper northwest corner of the reservation. I camped out and drove through some isolated places, looking for the parts of the tribe that are struggling most.” She pointed to something, and I leaned over, trying to see what she was talking about. “This house was just inside the South Dakota border, but something about it seemed . . . off.”
Jagger scrolled through the pictures as Jackie continued to explain. “I went inside and, well, keep scrolling.” Jagger did as requested while the four of us huddled around the screen. “There were mattresses stained with something that smelled a lot like blood, and when I went into the bathroom, I found the next image.” Jagger scrolled and there was a photo of a heavy chain wrapped and padlocked around the base of a toilet. On the other end was a dog collar, and there was a brownish stain all over the floor that looked like a blood pool. “I snapped these and ran out the door, terrified someone was watching me. I drove as fast as I could, and when I got into cell range, I called my dad. I think he may have called your dad, Trent. I . . . I may have gotten your father killed.”
Tears streamed down her face as Trent stood from his chair and pulled her into a hug. Jagger’s gaze met mine before he turned his attention back to the phone. Trent consoled Jackie, telling her, “Whoever attacked Pops is the one who killed him, not you and not your father. I suspect that your dad neededsome assistance that the tribe couldn’t get involved with and he reached out to Pops. So, you don’t need to blame yourself, Jackie. Pops wouldn’t want you to.”
She sniffled and nodded as he released her. As she wiped under her eyes, I walked up and pulled her into a side hug, wanting her to feel safe. I looked at Trent and asked, “What are you gonna do?”
He sighed and ran his meaty hand through his hair before he replied, “At this point, without any leads where Blur ran off to, the only thing I can do is call in reinforcements from National in New Orleans.”
“Don’t do that,” Jagger nearly whined. “Jameson is such a dick, and I really don’t feel like dealing with National thinking they’re saving the day when all they’re doing is backing up a brother club.”
“I know, but we have to do something. Blur is a threat, not only to Cheyenne but to any woman who makes the mistake of crossing his path. He needs to be stopped, and if it means I have to eat crow with Jameson, then that’s what I’ll do,” Trent reasoned, turning away from us before adding a solid, “Fuck.”
Jackie and I went to the front porch while Trent made the call I knew he’d been dreading since the moment we found out Nitro had been attacked. Calling Jameson in New Orleans could have consequences, and I worried what kind of reaction he was going to give Trent.
“I think you need to stay with your dad or Granny until we find this guy. I don’t think I’d survive if something happened to you,” I said to Jackie, and she reached over and linked her fingers with mine like we’d done since we were kids.
“I can take care of—” she started to say when a deep voice sounded from behind us.
“Listen to Cheyenne, little warrior.”
We both turned to see Jagger leaning against the doorway. The screen door was closed, but the wooden door was open, allowing us to be heard from inside. Jackie cocked her head to the side, and I could see the sass coming out of her.
“Who the hell asked you, Micky?”
“Micky?” Jagger asked, and Jackie propped her hand on her hip and tapped her booted foot.
“You know, Micky Jagger?”
I was expecting Jagger to yell or storm off, so when he released a deep, cackling laugh, I was caught off guard. The screen door opened and he sauntered out, stopping in front of Jackie. She didn’t see the look in his eyes that said he wanted to eat her alive, and I was going to get a kick out of this exchange.
