“I took mine around two and a half years ago. I’ve got to look at the image’s metadata and compare it with my calendar, but if I’m right, I think they took over this house shortly after I took this picture, and now, I think they’re trying to get me back up there.”
“Then we need to go there and see what’s going on. If the woman and her children are in danger, we can’t just leave them there,” Phantom remarked as he looked at the images.
“Do you think Blur is there?” Cheyenne asked as Roughstock looked at the computer and picture then handed them back to me.
“I think Blur is running, hoping we won’t catch him, but I think that’s as good of a place to start as any,” Roughstock replied.
“When do we leave?” Jackie asked.
“You’re not going,” Cheyenne said, and I could see Jackie’s anger rising.
I stood from my chair and took Jackie’s hand as I told the group, “Jackie is going wherever we are, after I know she can handle a weapon. She uncovered all this, and she may be our way in to some of the more secretive parts of the reservation. And if anyone has a problem, now’s the time to speak up.”
I looked around the table and then to Cheyenne. I could tell she wanted to argue but didn’t. Standing up for my woman, allowing her to help, seemed like the best way to end this bullshit once and for all.
“I guess Jackie didn’t tell you about her skills?” Roughstock asked with a smirk.
I looked at Jackie, and she suddenly acted shy as she admitted, “I’m accurate with any weapon you give me. Growing up, Cheyenne’s father took us to Baretta Road to make sure we could shoot.”
If you’ve ever been to Rapid City, you know Baretta Road. Enough said. If you haven’t, imagine gullies and tight valleys leading in various directions, allowing for multiple parties to fire at their own personal area. Just don’t be a dick.
I pulled her to me and whispered, “You just keep getting better and better.”
The ladies sat down with us as we began to plan our trip. Jackie was searching for the picture’s metadata, and once shehad a location, we looked at it on the map. The house was so far away from anything, no one would be able to hear you scream.
And I hoped that was true, because once I got hold of Blur, I was going to make him squeal like a pig before I killed him.
Chapter 18
Jackie
Cheyenne tried and failed to talk me out of going with the Sinners to find that house. Her contention was they would be able to handle the situation better without me there, but I disagreed. I loved my cousin like a sister, but she and I lived very different lives—she had lived in Rapid City her whole life while I grew up on the reservation.
I spent time with elders of the tribe, listening to stories of our ancestors and when the buffalo roamed the grasslands free. I learned skills that many of the younger generation didn’t care about, and when I was ten, I was taken on my first hunt. They taught me to track, conceal, and humanely kill an animal. I learned how to give thanks to Mother Earth for the animal’s sacrifice, and when it came time to butcher the animal, I was involved with that too.
The sight of blood didn’t scare me, and the thought of using what I knew to stop someone who thought it was okay to take vulnerable women and force them into who knows what filled me with pride.
After speaking with Cheyenne, I joined Jagger and the others in a small room off Trent and Cheyenne’s bedroom. I’d never seen the hidden door in the countless times I’d been in the bedroom, and when they opened it, they revealed an arsenal.
“Pops always made sure the house was protected,” Trent remarked as he handed a 9mm to each of us before closing the door back and hiding the room again.
We returned to the kitchen and placed the guns onto the table for Animal to load the clips. I asked Cheyenne, “Do you still have that knife I gave you for your eighteenth birthday?”
“It’s in my dresser. Let me go get it,” she said and left the room.
Jagger looked at me with a curious smile, so I explained, “While I learned firearms here with Cheyenne’s dad, I learned knife skills on the reservation from my uncles.”
Cheyenne returned with the elk horn-handled knife I had custom made for her to celebrate her advancement into womanhood. Truth be told, I wanted to make sure she was protected. She handed me the knife and the sheath for it, and I stood from the table and unhooked my belt. Sliding the leather through the sheath, I positioned it on my right side and re-fastened my belt. Retaking my seat, I looked up and realized everyone was watching me.
“I won’t be a hinderance to your mission, but I won’t be a shrinking flower either. We may not even be on the right track, but I’d rather be prepared.”
Jagger smiled as he said, “My brave little warrior.”
Roughstock interjected, “The trucks are being gassed up now. We need to get moving if we want to get back tonight.” He looked at me and asked, “How far do you think it is?”
The GPS was spotty on the reservation, and some houses didn’t have addresses, so we were only able to get a general idea of how to reach the property. I ran the route through my head, thinking of which way was the best to get there.
“I’d say about two hours north, then another hour and fifteen, maybe thirty northeast.”
